Steel Wolf

Unto Death

Captain Rance MacNaulty sat beside the front door in full battle armor, faceplate raised, watching the glow of the fire demons far down the mountain moving steadily. Most of the guards and all of the mages in their own battle armor were gathered in the great room to discuss their options. The guards outside had been pulled in and there were now eight atop the tower.

"How about we tie a few horses together, make it look like a bunch of them, and send them home cross-country? Misdirection?"

"And what happens when one goes on one side of a tree and another on the other side of the tree? Their ropes get wrapped around it and they get stuck, that's what."

"Can the mages blast chunks out of the mountain and roll the boulders downhill?"

"Nah, you idiot, the slope's too far away. How we gonna get the boulders to the edge? That's why you ain't the commander and she is."

"There's enough bows in the armory for all of us. We got higher ground than them. Why not rain the arrows on 'em at long range?"

Tanaya's mind whirled at the suggestions pouring in, a plan forming in her mind. All conversation ceased when her royal highness spoke up.

"Or, we could use the portal in the basement. It goes directly to my parents' bedchambers. I'm sure the city is quiet now."

Tanaya jerked her head in Scualdon's direction, indicating for him to check it out. He was back less than two minutes later to report that the castle was infested with demons and undead.

-o0o-

The guards poured out of the tower's doors and formed a skirmish line, their armor gleaming in the moonlight. Five guards had been detailed to remain inside the tower with the princess. The undead scout had taken a position well out of arrow range and watched the new development with interest. As his eyes swept the line of suited warriors, he failed to see a lone figure clad in dark brown sprint down one side of the line and curve in on his hiding spot.

-o0o-

Quinnel, the fastest runner in the Royal Guard, practically flew as he dodged rocks and leapt over small bushes. His sword held low so as not to reflect the moonlight, he dashed behind the scout then brought his sword level with the ground. As he sprinted past the scout, he neatly severed the scout's head and kept running, never breaking stride. As he ran back to the tower, he gave the signal for the mages to blast the mountainside. He continued into the tower to don his armor and prepare for battle.

Working together using fire bolts, arcane missiles, and levitation spells, the mages blew out huge chunks of the mountain, some as large as the tower, and arranged the rubble to form a channel. Only three people abreast could get through at a time.

-o0o-

Twin double-curved swords began to whirl and scythe at the attackers as they came through the manmade gully a few at a time. The battlemages dealt with the demons. The archers on the tower turned the few undead who managed to get through the Royal Guard into pincushions. Winged demons of all shapes and sizes added to the numbers, being blown out the sky by a mage, or skewered with arrows. Some bodies of the undead caught fire when a demon ran across their inert forms and lit their clothes ablaze. Screams, shouts, yelled orders, the stench of burning flesh, the stench of blood...all filled the air in a miasma.

As the piles of bodies grew, the guards were forced back in order to get a little fighting room. Still, the horrors came; an unending tidal wave of destructive power. The mage's mental powers were starting to fade, the spells not as powerful but still effective. The warrior's reflexes were slowing as well. Slash, slice, hack, stab, step back. Thrust, parry, spin, dodge, hack, step back.

As Tanaya twisted, turned, slashed, hacked, and stabbed, somewhere in the back of her mind she heard a wolf howl. A long mournful sound. Any other time, she would have looked for it and tried to make a spiritual connection with it. She was too busy trying to stay alive to do that now. She parried an ill-timed blade from one of her comrades and shouted, "Them! Not me! I've been through the trials!!"

"Just making sure you're awake, Commander!" shouted Selthan, eliciting hearty laughter from those around him.

"Hey!" yelled Jacqueline, "These guys are trying to kill us!"

"Kill them back!"

"They need more guys!"

"The regular army's missing all the fun!"

"Bah! They gotta haul those all those damn cannons around!"

"Death from below!" A battlemage shouted as she unleashed an onslaught of arcane missiles, a huge group of winged demons raining down. The healers joined in with various shouts and taunts. As the occasional smart-ass remark was yelled, the members of the Guard's skills began to improve as they reaffirmed to a man that they were not alone; each helped the other.

The wolf howled again. Far away, a replying howl. Then, another, a little closer. And another. Soon, it was impossible to ignore the howling as the air filled with canine voices to join the sounds of battle.

As Tanaya whirled, she checked her position in relation to the tower. It was so close at this point, one sword tip sparked as it contacted the side of the building. With her back pressed against the wall, chopping and slashing were her only options. If she performed a thrust, there would be no room to withdraw her blade. She was waist deep in undead bodies, with more pressing in on her. She had nowhere to go.