Part 10C

The next day did nothing to improve the companion's spirits, because the creatures in the wood were now marching north, preparing to strike at the Training Grounds. More monsters than ever approached, despite the numbers killed in previous attacks and during the companion's attacks in the wood.

Terran estimated the horde would strike the next day. Danica took word to the Commander, though preparations were well underway and as complete as they could be already. The monsters would pay a dear price for their attack, though the sheer numbers of the creatures greatly worried the Commander.

The companions all felt tense, the anxiety and anticipation of the coming battle wearing on one and all. Danica felt strangely aroused by the excitement — and she wasn't the only one. Everyone adjourned quickly to his or her chambers that night.

Janelle and Bear shared the night, as always. Both Venaru and Brandon joined Cheron. Mara led a smiling Terran to her chambers. Nara and Danica shared their intense, hungry desire, completely exhausted when they collapsed onto the bed afterward.

Danica and Nara mind spoke of Danica's use of the telekinetic shield around the women. The speed with which Danica created the shield impressed Nara, and she expressed even greater surprise at the strength of the telekinetic bubble, easily shoving aside the muscular goblin as if he were no more than a toy. Nara explained the way she stunned the one goblin, thrusting out her powers in a powerful burst of mental energy to scramble its brain. They both drifted off to sleep as they spoke without words, and fell off in mid 'sentence.'

Danica and Nara were the last to awaken, though the sun was barely above the horizon. Everyone immediately prepared for battle when they awoke, and none were surprised at all when Terran came into the room and said, "They come. An hour — no more."

The companions quickly went to the main complex, Terran sealing the portal after them. Moving to the East wall of the outer complex, the companions awaited the onslaught to come beside the warriors of the Training Grounds.

The monsters burst from the wood in a rolling tide of destruction. The giants stayed near the rear of the sea of creatures, hurling rocks at the walls and structures with devastating force. The spells of ogre magi crackled and exploded against those defending the walls.

Half of the battle mages quickly went to work hurling their magic at the giants to distract the living catapults. The other half sent their devastation into the charging creatures, adding their fireballs and lightning to the arrows and balls of flaming pitch falling into the advancing creatures. Special details of archers kept up a steady stream of arrows at the area where the spells of the ogre magi originated, pinning the monsters down. War wizards concentrated their magic there as well.

The creatures reached the wall, ignoring the other buildings beyond the outer complex save to leave small groups to watch over them in case a few defenders lurked there. Scaling ladders and grapnel hooks appear on the tops of the walls, and the monsters battered the gate with a ram.

The defenders quickly worked to dislodge and hurl down the ladders and hooks, while continuing to rain death down on the swarming horde of monsters. The mages did a good job of keeping the giants pinned down with their magic, and the rain of boulders slowed to a near halt. Few spells from the ogre magi assaulted the defenders, as the archers and mages kept the hulking monsters from rising to hurl their magic.

When the monsters fully committed to the battle, the cavalry hidden in the mock village used for training in the Southwest suddenly took the field, falling on the creatures from the West.

The horsemen hit with devastating force, felling over a hundred of the monsters in their initial surprise attack before wheeling back to set for another charge. Some of the monsters pursued, but couldn't match the speed of the well-trained cavalry.

A boulder crashed hard against the wall near where the companions fought on the East wall. Danica sent a swarm of magical meteors hurtling into the hordes below, felling numerous creatures. The monsters behind the front ranks quickly trod upon their fellows, trying to gain the wall.

Brandon sliced an orc that nearly gained the top of the wall with his silver sword, and then cut the rope to the grapnel the creature had used to gain the wall, sending many of its fellows crashing to the ground below. Another boulder smashed hard against the wall, showering stones and dust into the courtyard below, killing one of the defenders.

"There," Venaru screamed and pointed to the East. A giant suddenly loomed up and hurled another rock, which slammed into the wall. Danica could see a rudely crafted bandage over one of its eyes — it was the giant they had wounded in their escape from the wood.

The creature concealed itself behind a small hillock between the main complex and the house of women. It stayed low except to throw, the cover preventing arrows or magic from the defenders on the wall from reaching it.

Another rock sailed in, too close for the companions' comfort, and shook the wall. The rocks were doing some serious damage.

"We've got to take that giant down. It will breach the wall if it keeps that up, and we'll be swarmed under," Danica screamed over the cacophony of sound.

The companions gathered together and Mara said, "It is well behind the hordes. We could teleport and be upon it quickly. A giant is no easy target even when taken by surprise, though."

"We don't have any choice, someone has to go down there and finish it," Danica said loudly over the noise of the battle.

The companions gathered in a circle, shuddering as another boulder slammed into the wall, and rode the wings of magic.

The companions appeared behind the creature, quickly breaking their circle and fanning out to attack. Two bolts and an arrow stung the creature in the back of the neck, alerting the giant to the presence of enemies. The monster spun to attack.

By this time, Brandon, the dwarves, Cheron, and Bear were charging across the short distance toward the creature. Danica's Crushing Fist reached the creature first, slamming it hard in the gut and bending it slightly, nearly knocking the wind from the giant.

Cheron's mace connected with the top of the creatures head, causing the giant to rise up and bellow in rage. It did so just in time to see Brandon and Bear leaping in to attack.

The creature remarkably took Bear's war hammer strike against its arm in stride. The giant snatched up its huge club and brought it in line to block Brandon's flashing silver sword just in time.

The dwarves reached it then, whooping and taunting the creature. When the giant swung at one of them in rage, both dwarves ducked inside the monster's guard and went to work slashing and smashing the creature's legs.

More arrows and bolts thudded into the creature. The mages cast their magic at it as well. Nara closed her eyes in concentration, but snapped them open suddenly and shook her head. She quickly rushed in toward the battle, bringing out her chain mace.

The dwarves used their small stature and the giant's blind side to great advantage, dodging its stomping feet as it used its club to fend off Brandon and Bear — as well as Nara when she joined the fray. The dwarves scored many painful hits on the creature's legs, and it howled in rage and pain.

A long arrow from Janelle's bow took the giant's other eye, and the monster let out a long wail. The blinded giant lashed out madly with its club in all directions. Bear, Brandon, and Nara had to back away from the huge weapon. The dwarves were inside the club's effective reach, and they both struck telling blows. Feros' war hammer slammed against the giant's knee with a cracking report, and Griffith's terrible axe sliced through both of the giant's hamstrings in one mighty stroke. A horn blast sounded from somewhere within the walls of the complex at the same time.

The creature fell with a pitiful wail of pain, and Brandon and Bear quickly attacked. The dwarves both scrambled up the creatures body to hack away at vulnerable portions of the giant's anatomy. None of the blows caused serious harm because of the giant's thick skull and bearskin armor.

When the giant rolled over to try to dislodge the dwarves, it made its final mistake. Brandon's silver blade flashed and opened a gaping wound in the giant's throat. The creature let out a gurgling moan and started thrashing on the ground.

The companions scrambled back from the dying giant. Fireballs soared overhead, hurled by Danica and the mages to explode amongst a host of creatures that had turned from the walls to attack the threat behind them.

The companions retreated toward the house of women, firing arrows, bolts, and spells into the charging orcs and goblins. The monsters fell screaming to the earth and those who came behind quickly trampled the fallen.

Venaru spun, hearing the sounds of hoof beats behind him. The pursuing creatures suddenly skidded to a halt and turned to run the other way. A second company of cavalry from the East quickly rode down the monsters. The cavalry in the West charged at the same time, catching the army of monsters between two unstoppable juggernauts.

Three fireballs exploded near the gates as the companions rushed forward to take down those creatures that survived the charge and didn't flee south toward the main host. The gates instantly cleared of living attackers. Moments later, the gates swung wide and warriors advanced upon the ranks of monsters moving toward the gate to replace those immolated by the fireballs.

With three groups of fearless warriors charging into the horde, as well as arrows and spells raining down from the walls, groups of the creatures retreated toward the wood. Leaders snarled orders, but the retreating monsters ignored them, having endured more than enough slaughter this day.

A loosely knit army at best, the coordinated attack from well-trained men behind stout walls had broken the monsters' resolve. Every time a group of monsters broke from the attack to flee, another would follow the example. The monsters were soon in full rout, retreating from the better trained — if numerically inferior — defenders.

The warriors that had charged from the gate pulled back to the walls, while the twin cavalry units continued to harass the retreating creatures all the way to the woodline. The defenders won the day — but at great cost.

"The creatures are in chaos. They were intent upon passing through the woods and leaving, but the demons and undead barred the way. Magical barriers also began to spring up, blocking more. Leaders are gathering their kind up wherever they find them. As they move, more of the creatures cease their flight to organize. I think the charm magic must be centered on the leaders. It will take them some time, but they will reorganize the monsters. This must be why the creatures never make subsequent attacks until some time has passed," Terran told those assembled in the Commanders war room. The companions, the Commander, the Knight who led the cavalry, and several of the Commander's lieutenants and confidants were present.

"Or, perhaps each attack is nothing more than a test of our skills and our tactics. Surely, not all the creatures you have observed in the wood participated in this attack," the Commander countered.

"That is true. The entire host did not commit to this battle. It may indeed be as you suggest, but the creatures were in full rout. Were it not for the wizards bringing them under reign, they would have surely dispersed," Terran noted.

"We may not survive the next attack, even against a part of the host of the beasts," the Commander lamented with a growl of frustration. "Our walls were weakened by the giants' boulders, and the gates nearly buckled under the rams. We can repair them, but each attack weakens them more. There is only so much that can be done without replacing them entirely — and we lost too many. Too many..."

Beyond the walls of the Commander's war room, the defenders attended to the injured and the dead. Nearly one hundred of the defenders perished in the attack, and fifty more would either never fight again, or would not survive long.

Two giants had died in the attack, one killed by the companions and one by the war wizards. One ogre magi had perished, and roughly six hundred of the other creatures died in the assault. The defenders gathered the monsters into piles for immolation. A loss of one hundred was far more significant to the around nine hundred defenders than the six hundred lost to the boundless hordes in the wood, especially if reinforcements continued to bolster the numbers of the monstrous host. Nearly every able-bodied man and woman nearby had joined in the battle this time. The defenders of the Training Grounds had little reason to expect any reinforcements in the near future.

"We have to cut the head from the host. We must strike at their leaders — and more importantly — at the mages," Mara declared.

"My warriors cannot long last in the wood with the traps and illusions. We cannot possibly acquire enough magical defenses to send more than a paltry attack force into that accursed wood in time," the Commander growled, banging his fist onto the table.

Danica spoke up, "I have a plan that may draw out one of our foes. If it works — the illusions in the wood will be no more. Without those illusions, bands of warriors may be able to enter the wood and harass the monsters, maybe even reach the wizards. It's only the illusions confusing the trails and creating creatures that aren't there that really prevents an attack on the wood. While the illusions remain, such an attack would be disastrous. With them gone..."

The Commander asked, "Can you do it? Rid the wood of those damned illusions and my men can find the traps, both magical and mundane. Small groups could penetrate and begin cutting the heads from the hosts, in much the same fashion you and your companions have proven effective."

Terran stepped forward and nodded his head toward Danica. "I agree with Danica's idea. Destroying the Phantasmal Force spells that supplement the illusions and make it difficult to tell reality from fantasy will draw out the master of Illusion. The power he expends to craft and maintain the phantasmal creatures must be tremendous. He could not overlook a systematic elimination of them."

"I will bow to your knowledge of things magical," the Commander said. "If you can do that, we may yet survive this."

"We'll begin tomorrow," Danica said and then smiled. "I think Illusion is going to have a very bad day tomorrow — and for many tomorrows to come."

Her confident and somewhat jocular tone lightened the mood of the gathering as it drew to a close. Everyone felt more hopeful about their chances of survival when they left, though fear still remained.

The next day the Celes, Terran, and Mara joined the companions in the common room of the fortress to speak of what they had discovered while scrying the wood that morning.

"The illusions are easy enough to be findin', they put off a lot of magic," Celes explained. "They're all about the wood, but we ne'er see more'n one of the Phantasmal creatures about at a time. They come out from inside the area where we believe Illusion is hidin', roam about scarin' the other critters in the wood, and then return. Another comes a stompin' out right on the first's heels."

"Illusion is using something to power the illusions, something beyond his power alone. Some sort of powerful magic device is probably being used. The phantasmal creatures must be brought within range of the artifact for renewal every so often, and it apparently has limits or more of the Phantasmal ones would be running free at a time," Terran surmised.

"You can find whichever one is out in the wood now?" Danica asked.

"Aye, in a trice. We kin find 'em with spells that detect illusion, an' they'll shine like a torch," Celes answered.

"Let's get ready then — and go ruin Illusion's day," Danica said.

The wizards explained to the rest of the companions how a Phantasmal Force spell worked, while Celes tracked the illusionary creature that stalked the wood — a Storm Giant. The magical monster would have substance, and weapons would hit it, though the phantasmal creature would not truly take wounds, as would a living creature. Strikes against the creature would weaken its power and eventually destroy it, however.

It could also cause real harm, and the companions would have to battle the phantasmal creatures as though they were real beasts. Knowledge that the creatures were illusionary magic would lessen their ability to cause injury, but battling them would still be quite dangerous. To someone unprotected by their magical charms and without their knowledge, such a battle would certainly prove life threatening.

The creature moved toward the South edge of the wood, near where the companions had attacked goblins once before. Danica and the others prepared for battle, and then hurried out to intercept the creature.