Fable - Ask Bros Before Dying in a Siege

[Landon]

Landon shook his head and shouldered his bow again. Sometimes he wondered how the noble houses kept their control on the dreadlords. These men and women could easily enslave those like him if they united and really wanted to.

Power of the gods.

He could only imagine Sibylla's comments if she was here with them. The ridge was steep. He'd have to scramble in a few spots. Legs pushed forward as he began weaving his way up, using the tree trunks to pull himself up and to keep his balance.

"Must be damned nice to fly," he muttered under his breath but there was no malice in his words.

What Landon didn't see were the three soldiers from a scouting party moving swiftly through the woods from the west toward him, using the night and the extra shadow of the trees for their advantage. Landon continued to pick his way quietly up the slope, trying to avoid loose rocks that would make unnecessary noise.

 

[Talus]

Talus saw them.

The same magic that allow him to flow through the air like a ghost was what allowed him to see through the ether and spot the soldiers. They were obvious among the teeming life of the forest, appearing as odd black spots slowly stumbling through the wood.

There was an oddity to how they moved, their steps jerking and the slow roll of their bodies seemingly have broken with every stride. It reminded Talus of how a marionette crossed a stage. "Landon."

Talus hissed down the ridge.

"Get up here." He would need the man's bow.

Talus had never been much of an archer. He was serviceable, but it was best to leave that sort of thing to the professionals. Especially in a situation like this.

 

[Landon]

Yes dear.

Landon barely kept that quip in. Barely. Muscles burned. The ridge may not be that long of a climb but it was certainly steep. And he wasn't just ghosting his arse on up.

Then he heard the snap of a branch to his right and just lower.

Yeah, he wasn't going to make it to the dreadlord in time. Sharp blue eyes peered into the darkness toward the noise. Trying to calm his breath, he eased his back against a tree. Just a few yards away and a good little rock scramble was the top of the ridge.

But it was in the open.

Bow was unshouldered and an arrow was set to the notch. Landon eased back behind the tree and waited a breath. On the second noise he positioned himself out of cover, eyes sighting on the three shapes. He didn't hesitate in releasing his armor-piercing arrow.

All three masked-head turned toward him at once. And the one that now had an arrow in its heart jerked forward. Landon loaded another arrow and let it fly to the...thing's kneecap. The other two were moving faster.

"Gonna be one of those fukin' nights," the man muttered. Another arrow was loosened at one of the closer ones but Landon was being pressed back and would have to use his bow as a weapon.

 

[Talus]

Fuck.

The ring of his sword seemed to echo slight within the ravine as Talus drew it from it's scabbard. There was no way in the nine hells he would let Landon fight those damned things alone. His form shifted, and in an instant he rushed down the cliff-side.

One of the black armored figures was moving forward, it's legs dragging across the ground as ligaments and muscles were cut. Yet it still moved in those odd jerking steps, as if someone were quite literally dragging it forward.

Just as the first of the black armor creatures reached near where Landon was Talus once again appeared. "GO FOR THE EYES!"

Could Landon make that shot?

There was just one small slit within the black helmet, a tiny visor. If anyone could hit it, then it would be Landon.

His sword clashed against the black one carried by the strange man, an odd growl erupting from the armor before him as their blades met.

 

[Landon]

"Glad you decided to join the party," Landon grunted and swung his bow at the first one that closed in on him. It dented the armor and there was a growl from within the masked helmet. Hands scrambled behind him as he got an arrow out. Landon backpedaled and narrowed missed a sword swipe to hit got.

He got his bow up in time to meet the blade of the sword, feeling the reverberations travel up through his arm. Twisting into the opening he brought his other hand up and stabbed the arrow he held into the man's eye and pushed, throwing his body against the armor. The one he'd shot from earlier caught up and raised his sword to Landon's side.

 

[Talus]

Talus blade swept low, high, cutting and slicing through gaps in armor.

The blade moved like lightning, it cut through flesh and caught what should have been arteries. Yet each time he cut, each time the blade should have swept through muscle and sinew...no blood showed. Nothing happened each time he cut.

It should already have been over, should already have been done, yet each stroke of his blade was met with absolutely nothing. "Landon what in the fu-"

His words were cut off as the hulk of a man tried to slam his own blade down into Talus' form.

Talus swept backwards, his blade finally moving to the left and sweeping up to sever the mans head. Metal clattered against the earth...and the man in armor kept moving.

 

[Landon]

"Don't know," Landon grunted back. The one he'd stabbed through the eye fell immediately still and to the ground. The other one grabbed Landon's side and fell on top of him.

A grunt and curse left Landon's lips as he hit the roots and rocks.

The man scrambled for a dagger on his side. He may be the best at archery but he was no slouch with a few other weapons. He was a trained knight, after all. Fingers enclosed around the dagger's hilt and he stabbed the already-injured body in the kneck again and again. Warm blood sprayed out, coating his beard.

"DAMNIT." With a hard shove he got the body off him then threw the dagger at the opening in the helmet for the eyes. The animated body finally stilled.

"I'd say aim for the eye but," Landon's voice trailed off as he watched Talus continue to hack away body parts from the remaining enemy.

What in the nine hells?

 

[Talus]

Eventually the creature gave up, but only after Talus thrust his sword through the eyeslit in it's helmet. There was a sudden jerk, and then like a marionette the creature crumpled into itself and fell onto the floor with a thud.

"What the fuck." He repeated as the body fell onto the floor and the last of the three enemies was vanquished.

Lips thinned, and as he drew back his sword Talus stepped over and kicked the helmet from the now corpses head. What was revealed was not human, not exactly. The skin was ancient, old, stretched over a taught skull and missing a nose.

"Undead." He declared. "But...nothing like i've ever seen before."

What the hell was going on here?

 

[Landon]

"Whelp," Landon sniffed and picked himself off the ground. A hand dragged through his mop of unkempt dark hair. "This is a real shit show," he muttered to his superior and friend.

"We don't have the numbers or weapons to fight them." And they were surrounded. Stooping back down, Landon began picking some of the armor off the now dead...dead. A chestplate. Some wrist guarders. His men could use these.

Hell, he could use them too.

He looked to Talus.

"Can you get in touch with Vel Anir to get reinforcements?" Maybe he could do his ghostly thing and get through the surrounding troops. Landon had no idea he had a psychic connection going on with a secret lover. He already offered to try it himself but Talus hadn't been too keen on that idea.

 

[Talus]

"Yeah." He said quietly.

There was a way of reaching out, one that he had done on the first day of the siege. Zana already knew what was happening here, was already gathering the guard to come and help, but...it would take time to properly get everything together.

His lips thinned for a moment as he reached out through his bond with Zana. Honey. We really need you. Badly.

He tried to send flashes of what he was seeing before him. The army of thousands, the magic he had cast towards them simply breaking apart, and then the face of an undead man beneath the helmet. Lips thinned as he showed it all, hoping she saw it.

"Let's drag this fellow back." He told Landon. "I'm sure I can find something out with some digging."

 

[Landon]

Landon turned his head, blues focusing on Talus. They narrowed. There was something going on with bossman. He'd never been an overly chatty fellow. But for a long moment, he seemed like he was very much somewhere else.

Stringing some of the armor into his pack, he nodded to the dreadlord that most would be quaking with fear around.

A sharp nod and he took hold of one of the limp arms and elbows, curling it around his shoulder and neck. He knew Talus would get the other side. Landon took a deep breath inward and instantly regretted it was they wove their way down the trees and hillside.

"Ah, dragonshite. Smells....so bad." Landon had smelled some pretty rank things since his time in the Anirian army. But this? This was topping the list for sure.

"We'll have to keep this news from spreading. When we get back." Landon was worried about mutiny. Desperate men and women did desperate things.

 

[Talus]

"Aye." Talus said as he crinkled his nose in agreement, lifting the corpse and wondering what exactly it was.

He wouldn't have called it a zombie, not in a million years, but...perhaps a ghoul? The thing definitely had an odd sort of look about it, that was for sure. Lips thinned for a brief moment and he decided to wait until they were back in the city.

"We'll drop it by the hidden gate first." He told Landon. "Then grab those we trust the most and bring this...thing inside."

Then head straight to the morgue. "Never seen anything like it, Landon."

A frown touched his lips.

"Don't like it when things are new." It bothered him, not knowing.

 

[Landon]

Head shook. A frown beneath his dark mustache. "We've been through a lot, mate. And I think this is the first time you've got me a bit spooked."

For a dreadlord who could rip souls out worried about this? Having not seen something before? That was concerning. Landon shifted the weight as they weaved around trees at the base of the ridge-line. Breath came out in cold puffs as they worked, seeing the lights of the fort now.

"Here," the knight grunted toward a bush that hugged the fort's wall by the secret door. With a shift of his shoulder, he let the corpse sag to the ground. Stepping around, he began working on the door. A glance at Talus behind him.

"How're you gonna reach command?"

 

[Talus]

"As much as we like to pretend, Dreadlord's aren't invincible." Talus explained with a slight frown, pulling the body into the bush fully as Landon looked and began to work on the door.

The truth was Talus could probably have just made a b-line for the south and gotten himself out of there in an instant. Hell, he probably could even have taken Landon and a few dozen Guardsmen with him as well. Problem was...Talus would never do it.

He couldn't leave the city, especially now.

"It'll be alright." Talus assured the other man. "Just gonna use a little bit of...magic."

The Dreadlord smiled at his friend, it was the only explanation he'd offer.

 

[Landon]

"Oy, you're not?" The smirk would be hidden to Talus as he got the door open. Nodding back to the dreadlord, he disappeared inside and quickly returned with two others. Both under his command and the most he could trust. One was a young man, younger than Landon and another was a young woman.

"We can trust them," bearded chin tipped to each in turn and they brought their fists to their chest and dipped their head in the Anirian salute. They didn't say anything as the remains of the body was pointed out to them. A grimace and a stoic press of lips and that was it. They dragged the evidence inside.

"The eastern tower room might be best," he suggested to the dreadlord. It would be the most out of the way and least likely visited.

 

[Talus]

Talus nodded, motioning for the two Guardsmen to quickly grab the body.

He and Landon followed behind the two, eyes wide open as they made sure that no one noticed them. Eventually they found a piece of canvas to drape over the corpse, and within just a short few moments they found themselves in the tower.

"Throw it on the table." Talus said as he walked over to where he had pointed out and cleared away the wood.

There was a loud thunk as the corpse landed.

"Stand guard outside." He told the two Guardsmen. "Landon, stay here."

Talus didn't really need help, but it was nice to have company.

 

[Landon]

Pale eyes flickered to the two other guards who followed orders without hesitation. They even managed to hide their curiosity. Perhaps a glint on one eye but their gaze didn't linger on the corpse as they left and stationed themselves outside.

The knight gave a sharp nod to his dreadlord superior. Turning to his friend, he came alongside the table and clasped his hands behind his back. A frown formed above his dark beard. He knew the odds and they weren't in their favor right now. Landon had no family left to say goodbye to. If those reinforcements didn't come. Well. At least he'd go down fighting.

Fighting alongside those he respected greatly.

One didn't take up the position of knight knowing they'd live a long life.

"What're you going to do?" The man asked quietly.

 

[Talus]

For a brief moment Talus simply inspected the corpse. "I'm a little out of my depth."

The Dreadlord quietly admitted to Landon.

Talus would not have said those words to anyone except for perhaps Zana, but he trusted Landon. The man had proven to be reliable again and again, a true friend. It...eased his mind to know that he could speak freely with him.

"I was never the smartest Dreadlord, and most of my magic doesn't...apply to this." His eyes shifted to an odd wispy blue for a moment. "All I can tell is this....thing doesn't have a soul."

A deep frown settled on his lips. "And even zombies have a soul."

Dark and twisted, but it was there still.

"It was almost like this thing was...constructed. Put together." An odd sort of...flesh golem.

 

[Landon]

A hand raked down his beard.

"Well then the other dreadlords must be goddamned scholars," Landon muttered. He'd always thought Talus was pretty sharp. Where it counted. Like battle-strategy. Handling the guard and the politics of Vel Anir and how he commanded the men and women beneath him.

"Shit, zombies. I'd almost take them right now over whatever the nine levels of hell these are." Landon pressed his hands on the edge of the table, his frown deepening, looking down at the remains of the thing that had attacked them.

"Who would even have the power to make these...things? And make an entire army out of them?" Landon was assuming that's what surrounded them. And the handful they'd run into the hills couldn't just be a fluke.

 

[Talus]

Now That was a good question. Talus had absolutely no idea. Vel Anir had a list of enemies longer than the White Towers. There was no shortage of mages who would have liked to see the entire place burn to the ground.

Taking this city would be a good prize. "Elbion?"

Talus looked up at Landon, both of them immediately shaking their head. The Mages College was...something, but they wouldn't use an army of flesh golems to try and destroy Vel Anir. More likely they'd send some mages.

"I don't know." He frowned. "But...well now I know why magic doesn't work on these things. They're warded."

A surprisingly...boring thing to learn. It wasn't that they were immune, someone had just taken great care to weave wards of protection. "Would kill an ordinary human, the way they did it, but...this thing can handle it."

For some reason Talus felt almost...relieved.

"Would take a hundred mages to make an army like that." Maybe more.

 

[Landon]

Landon pushed off from the table.

"Gods damned," he muttered. "Elbion?" Blues narrowed. They did have a lot of mages in that city. But Landon saw that as the stereotype of book-to-nose pushers. Perhaps they'd just done that good a job at hiding their real intentions.

There was a loud pounding on the door and a shout from one of the guards on the other side.

"Sir! The armies are starting their attack on the city."

Landon stiffened, hands going to that bow shouldered across his back. "Let's hope your reinforcements arrive soon, mate. Otherwise, we're gonna be in a load of troll poodoo."

 

[Talus]

Talus frowned for a moment. "I hoped we had more time."

The Dreadlord glanced down at the corpse for a few seconds, fingers tightening before he shook his head and snatched up his sword once again. The blade was quickly strapped onto his hip, put into place before he turned on his heel and motioned towards Landon.

"Let's head towards the walls." If this was going to happen then Talus would be in the thick of it all.

There was no way in hell he would play armchair general. "You."

He pointed to the soldier.

"Make sure Lieutenant Thawne get the civilians into the Keep. Don't care if it's stuffed to the rafters." He wouldn't let anyone die that didn't have to.

The soldier nodded, and they quickly went their separate ways.

 

[Landon]

Landon unshouldered his bow. They'd been going on watches over twenty-four hours straight. Perhaps just enough time to catch a thirty minute nap here or there. And after that trek up the hill and the fight? Landon had to fight for the wells of his energy.

He knew Talus probably felt similar.

He walked alongside the dreadlord, barking out orders to the men and women beneath him with the fluidity of a knight who'd been seasoned in the position. Landon offered a good chunk of the armor they'd found to some of the younger conscripts beneath him. The lads and lasses who'd just turned eighteen.

Getting to the top of the wall, he looked to Talus, taking in a sharp breath through his nose as he saw the thousands of approaching...things moving toward the city.

"Whelp, mate." Reaching within the folds of his armor, he brought out a small, silver flask. Mostly used to disinfect wounds in the field. Popping off the cap, he took a swig of the whiskey and offered it to Talus. "To the end."

 

[Talus]

Talus watched as the army ahead approached. He himself had taken a bow from one of the extra storehouses, though it was an ordinary thing and he wasn't half as good as Landon with it. All Dreadlords learned with more than one weapon, but Talus knew his skill wasn't up there with his friends.

It was something he did not mind admitting, mostly because he could trounce any man on this wall with a sword while wearing a blindfold. "I don't think it'll be the end."

The Dreadlord said as he took the small flask and took a swig nonetheless.

"There's still some hope." Talus said as he offered the flask back to his friend, watching as the army suddenly began to march forward.

That was when the first trebuchet fired.

A massive fireball launched itself over the approaching army, floating high through the air and smashing into the city behind.

 

[Landon]

Still some hope.

He watched that fireball like a hawk. Brought back memories from the front. Turning, he yelled orders for water and sand to try to put that fire out. They were about to get trampled from the front. Didn't need to get burned from the inside too.

"Here's to hope, mate." Landon slid the flask back into his armor. Taking up his bow, he turned and notched an arrow. It loosened. He had a long-bow and he was aiming for those terbuchet's and their archers. The arrow sailed through the air, nearly a silent killer.

Blues squinted as he continued firing.

Other archers along the wall let loose a volley of arrows into the approaching army. They barely stumbled.