Sir Jose's lance shattered against the giant's skull. The massive humanoid stumbled back into Greenpaw's path , but the mighty war husky easily evaded it. The giant growled in confusion as it stumbled about clutching its bleeding head. A well-aimed throwing axe to its lower leg staggered it , before a crossbow bolt to the knee caused it to lurch before falling heavily to the ground.
Jose nodded at his passengers, Pig Iron and Trent, before resuming guiding his war dog across the battlefield.
"Damn, I broke my last lance, "the paladin grumbled as Greenpaw jumped over a troop of hobgoblins.
"Woof!" barked the massive green war husky.
"Well…it's your own fault isn't it. Never strike a giant in the skull, everyone knows the bone is thickest there ", laughed the Halfling as he fired his crossbow at the tall goblins now behind them. One of the goblin's spun around from the force of the small weapon before expiring on the ground.
Pig iron wrinkled his nose , but declined chucking another axe. Jose guessed he had either run out or had one more throwing axe left at most.
With the skirmishers behind them, Sir Jose concentrated on getting back to Essuria. With Greenpaw's speed and agility they had evaded the bulk of the infantry units between them and the town. A few more bands of skirmishers remained before them but Jose was confident they could either bolt past them, or shatter their ranks.
After their raid on the goblin forges they had traveled swiftly back to reinforce the town. They expected a clear path to Essuria but instead found the goblin army laying siege to it. The goblins and giants had reorganized more quickly than they had anticipated. It shouldn't have surprised them though, now that they had discovered the puppet masters behind this attack; a race of magical warriors which lived in the Aether , known as the Githyanki. A race well known for their swift and brutal strikes.
Sir Jose had his doubts when he agreed to accompany Trent back to town, he had hoped to mount a rescue for his squire instead. Now faced with the army before them, Jose cursed himself for not making greater haste in returning. The goblin horde seemed to have swelled to even greater proportions from their last defeat. Sir Jose counted a dozen tribal banners that he had not seen before, and the paladin wagered that the number of giants was twice as great as well.
"I thought you said they will launch a half-hearted attack. This doesn't look half-hearted at all to me. If we destroyed their furnaces why are they attacking the town again in so much force? They don't need the coke anymore or are they after something else Gregor had hidden?" asked Jose as Greenpaw raced through the battlefield.
Trent did not reply. He carefully aimed his crossbow and fired. A few seconds later he cursed, and Jose guessed his shot was spoiled. "Perhaps that is the case. I understand that goblins and giants aren't the smartest of creatures, and I would have expected them to move on to easier prey, "noted the Halfling as he aimed again.
As the group raced towards the walls, a chorus of howls sounded behind them. Jose glanced back and saw a large pack of goblin worg riders were closing in on them. Normally Greenpaw would be faster than any goblin's wolf, but the long journey and his heavy load gave the worg cavalry a definite edge in this race. Jose knew all it took was a single wolf to bite and latch on to Greenpaw to hamper his movements , allowing the rest of the pack to catch up and tear them to pieces. Even if they defeated the enemy cavalry in a straight melee, the rest of the goblin and giant infantry would catch up and slay them.
Trent sensed their precarious tactical situation as well, and began firing his crossbow rapidly with scant aiming. One worg was struck in the nose, while two more in their flanks. They were not lethal shots, but it did give a few of their pursuers pause and cause them to break off from the chase.
Pig Iron's aim was more deadly though, and he tossed what appeared to be his last hand axe into a wolf's head. The poor beast tumbled head over heals from the strike, tossing its rider fatally into the path of his fellows and colliding into another wolf in the process.
Despite the efforts of his comrades, the wolves drew closer. It looked like they would be doomed, but suddenly a shadow flew overhead, followed by the piercing shriek of a great golden eagle.
Kaeda and her animal companion swooped from the sky and savagely raked the lead wolf with its steel like claws. The rest of the pack briefly scattered in confusion, but both the war husky and the golden eagle were out of reach before they reorganized.
Jose smiled and waved at the druid , who blushed at his attention . Kaeda was the first to fall during their assault into the forge room, and apologized profusely over and over for her weakness after she recovered. Jose wasn't surprised though, a druid was more suited to an outdoor battle not the tunnel fighting they went through, and expected her to leave in shame soon afterwards. To his surprise, the strangely alluring druid promised to redouble her efforts and contributions to their informal group. Kaeda seemed more determined to return to rescue Kit than he was, but the group followed Trent's consul instead. They needed to regroup and gather reinforcements if they were expected to battle the dragon riding Githyanki again.
Kaeda was still too weakened to shift into an eagle herself and the group could not all fit onto her companion eagle's back, so she offered to scout the path ahead of them instead. Jose would have preferred if she flew to Essuria and appraise them of the situation but the druid fiercely resisted leaving their side; having abandoned one companion due to her perceived weakness, she would not abandon another. Jose was vocally angry at her opposition but he secretly valued such loyalty in his companions.
"We aren't out of the fire yet Jose," warned Trent as he saw another company of worgs approach from tangent to join in the pursuit. A volley of arrows was shot by their goblin riders but they scattered uselessly around the knight and his companions. Though goblins were fair archers, firing while mounted was a difficult task. Added to the fact, that their target was moving made such a feat even harder to accomplish. Even Trent, a trained mounted dogoon, missed roughly half his bolts and Jose doubted the goblins were better shots. Regardless of their firing discipline, the arrows did drive Kaeda away and it became a pure foot race once again.
Jose knew they only had a small window of opportunity. The brief respite bought by Kaeda might have gained them enough time to reach the town's massive walls, but after that they would need to scale them. He planned to dismiss Greenpaw once again to the aether, and hoped the sentries guarding the wall would have half a mind to throw them down a rope. The best case scenario would be that the town's defenders would deter pursuit by covering them with withering arrow fire but goblins were sometimes known to ignore their personal safety and go straight for the kill. Their casualties would be heavy, but easily replaced by the vast horde gathering outside the town.
As they neared the town, something unexpected happen. The mighty gates of the small City, the barricade that stopped even the dragon Magda, began rumbling open. Jose couldn't believe it. If the goblin's seized the gate, the town would quickly fall. It was a nice gesture, but was far too risky and threatened the safety of the entire town. Even if a few worg riders made it in, all the enemy needed to do was to stop the gate from closing for a few minutes and Essuria would be doomed.
Jose snarled at the town defenders and shot an angry look at Trent. The Halfling sergeant's fellow outriders were supposed to be in charge of the town's safety and Trent was ultimately responsible for their decisions. Trent remained silent and looked on helplessly as he sensed the town's survival now hung by a thread.
Greenpaw accelerated to the town. Jose hoped to gain entrance through the crack the defenders had opened and order them quickly to shut it. To his dismay the the gates opened wider, almost inviting the goblins to assault the town directly.
Despite being daylight, the mostly nocturnal enemy saw this tactical blunder as well. The company of worgs that was pursuing Jose was followed by the company that were briefly scattered by Kaeda, they no longer cared about the knight and sought only to end the siege quickly. The paladin guessed even if all the militia and guardsmen were manning the gate house, they could not stop such a force. A withering barrage of arrows and ballista bolts rained down on Jose's hunters and dozens fell from the first volley. Despite this, the roughly two hundred worgs and goblins were undaunted and continued their charge.
"I'm making my stand here, maybe those idiots will realize their folly and close the gate," spat Jose. Trent nodded grimly, while Pig Iron seemed preoccupied with a loose string on one of the saddle bags.
Greenpaw leaped at a large boulder, and sprang back against his pursuers. The mighty war hound crashed and rolled into them, sending dwarf , worg, and goblin tumbling to the ground. Being expert riders that were specifically trained on canine cavalry, both Jose and Trent managed to dismount and landed lightly before the collision. Trent drew his shield and short blade and viciously impaled several prone goblins and wolves. Jose had lost his holy blade during the cave in caused by the small dragon, so he drew the silver blade he salvaged off of the Githyanki mage he slew. The weapon was much longer than his regular broadsword, but seemed light and perfectly balanced. The knight easily cleaved a wide swath into the enemy and was in awe of the weapon's power. The weapon was sharp beyond belief, and due to the blade's enchantment, even small wounds seemed to quickly grow and consume their victim.
"Nice…New blade?" asked Trent during the brief respite the pair earned.
"I prefer one handed weapons and shields," shrugged Sir Jose as another wave of attackers rushed them.
As Jose and Trent desperately fought back to back, covering Pig Iron and Greenpaw as they regained their stance, the battlefield was blasted by a roar that drowned out everything in the battlefield. Even the howling wolves and worgs stopped and cringed at that sound that reverberated through the mountains. Suddenly a large pride of lions burst through the town's open gates and launched themselves at the stunned wolves and their riders. Jose immediately saw that the lions were mainly white in coloration, adorned in armor and heraldry, and more importantly ridden by knights. Jose's heart jumped as he recognized the legendary Knights of the Snow Lion , one of the major Order of Knights in the northern realms, had entered the fray.
In less than twenty seconds most of the two pursuing companies of goblins and worgs were annihilated by both the defensive wall fire, and the savage strength of the Lion Knights. Standing over the carnage, the petite leader of the knights strode confidently forwards and blew a great horn at their foe. Thousands of goblins faltered at the challenge, and for a second Jose though they would break and run. With the theatrics completed, Sir Jose and the victorious knights withdrew back into the city gates.
"Thank you …umm Lord…err Lady," offered Jose. After the dramatic sally by the Order of the Snow Lion , Sir Jose had a better opportunity to assess his rescuers. There were roughly twenty mounted Knights and Lions, and judging by the tabards of the additional soldiers on the walls, around eighty assorted squires , men at arms, and military retinue supporting them. Their leader was short and thin, and she wore an elaborate white and gold lion tabard over her cavalry armor.
"Lady Ogela, knight commander of the Snow Lion", stated the woman curtly as she took off her silver maned helmet . From her fine features and pointed ears, Jose could tell she was an elf. She was short like Kit and had very pale skin and a bob cut blond hair. Although she possessed a hint of elven beauty, her grim demeanor made her look fairly plain and oddly intimidating.
Jose knew she was quite important, and wanted to make an impression on the woman. He attempted to impress her with his simple elvish. "Sir Jose at your service, just a simple Knight of the Husky, " responded the paladin with his crude southern elven dialect followed with a respectful bow. Though Jose was far from fluent in the language, he was told by many linguists, including the Baroness Stille, that his elvish was particularly good for a human. The gesture was noted, and the knight was rewarded with a slight nod from the veteran knight.
Besides knowing their tongue, Jose possessed a surprisingly fair degree of knowledge about elves. Something he learned from his dealings with the reclusive graceful folk since his homeland of Darokin bordered the great elven nation of Alfheim. Though the elves mostly kept to themselves, there were many times in his early military career where the two nations worked together in joint operations against the orcs and other monsters in the area known as the Broken Lands. Being a naturally charismatic fellow, especially when under the influence of his beloved agave worm juice, Jose found many opportunities to converse with and learn about the fair folk.
True Elves in Grom and the other northern nations were a different matter though. Instead of organizing in larger nations and principalities like the south, the northern elves were more nomadic and pastoral. They lived in tribes or secluded villages , typically in a serene natural setting. Most people had never seen a true elf, though almost all had seen the hybrid race called half elves.
As Jose recalled his elven lore , he thought it odd that half elves were rare and considered an oddity in the south, while up north the descendants of elves and men were quite numerous and prosperous. While the few half elves in the south normally followed either the ways of their elven ancestors or the traditions of their human lineage , the half elves up north had their own unique culture; one that revolved around playing Zug ball, excessive eating and drinking, and acts of heroism and daring.
"Please, the common tongue is fine, my elvish is rusty, "stated Lady Ogela apologetically. Jose nodded and recalled that due to the many wars of the north, a great number of true elves were orphaned and actually raised by humans and had little knowledge of their racial heritage.
"I was wondering why the knights assigned to defend this town were errant, but seeing the Order you represent, it should not surprise me. The Order of the Husky has always been known to strike first and ask questions later. Sometimes their bravery has been known to get the best of them, "said Lady Ogela impassively. Though she had just wounded the pride of Jose's Order, her tone was not insulting but curiously reminiscing.
As the paladin considered all this a rare moment of gestalt struck him. "Wait…Lady Ogela, formerly of the boar which served under Lord Tusk? Then briefly a squire of the Husky which served under the great Champion Zax, before being asked to join the Lion under the banner of the Mistress of the Lion Blade? "asked Jose in reverence.
Ogela was stunned briefly by his statement , but nodded and recovered her composure quickly. "Yes, that is correct. I assume you must be one of Lord Rollo's squires or at least served under him. Rollo and I both served under Tusk before the boar lord was slain, and I'm sure he had a few tales to tell," she replied. "Is..is Rollo well?" she asked softly.
"My lord is definitely not well, but he's still kicking. He came out the losing end with a battle against a succubus a few years ago, but the old goat pulled through," laughed Jose. The paladin noticed that many of the other knight's and squire's shifted uncomfortably at the casual way he referred to his master. Since Rollo and Ogela were officially knight commanders and roughly of equal rank, Jose guessed that they were unaccustomed to such crass statements about a man with their mistress's rank.
Ogela briefly smiled at the paladin's remarks but her serious demeanor quickly returned. "We received a distress message from a Sergeant Trent , and we responded immediately. It seems, out of all the garrisons of the Freeholds, we are the only ones to do so. I was unsure of the extent of this goblin incursion, but it appears it was greater than we had anticipated."
"That would be me," piped Trent as he stepped out from behind the paladin. Jose glanced back and saw Pig Iron off to the side , seemingly engaging in a conversation with one of the massive war lions by purring and playfully rubbing his beard against their heads. Kaeda was still overhead, flying her great golden eagle in a circular pattern. Jose guessed that the reclusive woodland beauty was unused to large human settlements and reluctant to enter one.
Ogela turned towards the Halfling and saluted, "The enemies are much greater than you reported. As I stated before, we expected you amongst the defenders, not engaging the enemy on the field, beyond the safety of your walls. I consider your strategy, unsound," she stated once again in her impassive voice.
Trent nodded and rolled his eyes. " We had a theory that the enemy was being manipulated. We guessed that they desired a secret stock pile of coke that this town possesses. "
"Coke?" asked Ogela in confusion. " They were after drugs?"
"No, no , no. Not that type of coke," corrected Trent.
"My Lady, I believe the type of coke they refer to is a refined form of coal. Similar to how charcoal is from wood. It is used mainly for industrial purposes when high temperatures are needed," pointed out a young man behind Ogela. Jose noted from his infantry armor as well as the long spear and crossbow he wielded, he was most likely defending the wall. Probably a squire of some sort he guessed.
Ogela turned and silenced the young soldier with a stare. "Thank you Rasmus ",she said icily.
Trent sighed and continued his story. " Knowing that they were using coke in some sort of heavy industry, we hoped to find signs of its use and track down their main base. We did discover their location, and we were successful in destroying the forges we suspect the coke was for. "
Ogela shrugged and glanced at the few dead worgs and goblins that were taken as trophies by her knights. "Yet, the enemy is still attacking the town," she noted dryly. "As foolish as goblins and giants are, I doubt they would throw away their lives so carelessly. Even without our aid , the siege required to break this fortified town would extract a heavy toll from any attackers. If they are controlled by some sort of mastermind like you suggest, it would not be prudent to sacrifice one's pawns without an ultimate goal.
Trent shrugged and shook his head. "Yes our assumptions appear incorrect. Although we did listen in to some of our opponents, and it did appear they required the coke this town possesses or at least they were; as we were returning to town, our best guess is that their masters are now seeking something else. From this siege, I guess they believe that this town holds what they seek. "
"These dark masters, do you at least know their identity?" asked Ogela.
Jose nodded. "The Githyanki , we fought them in their forge room, and I battled a particularly powerful one earlier in a druid ring. They're kind of like skinny guys who don't like the sun, and wear clothes and armor straight from a masquerade ball," explained the knight.
"Githyanki?" asked Ogela.
Trent shrugged ,"Truth be told, even though I fought with and against them in the Great War, we know little about them except they are from the aether and wield magic."
The elven knight sighed and turned back to the squire named Rasmus. She gave him a nod , and the young man immediately smiled and stepped forward.
The squire coughed once and began reciting the lore he knew. "Githyanki are a race of plane traveling humanoid warriors that serve an ancient liche queen. They are forever engaged in wars against their cousins the Githzerai, and their former masters the mind flayers. They are skilled magicians and warriors, and are infamous for their ability to combine the two arts. They came to this dimension roughly a century ago with a massive force, where they battled the Warmaster himself. They typically ride red dragon into battles, and are known for their adamant fortresses that float on the edge of Limbo. "
Both Jose and Trent had heard this story before, but raised an eyebrow at the mention of their adamant fortresses.
Ogela however was still fascinated by Rasmus's information. "Continue my squire. Is there more?" she pressed.
Squire Rasmus rubbed his chin and searched his thoughts. He then nodded with a smile. "Oh yeah. As you know, the Astral plane is the home of all sorts of dangerous denizens. Besides their martial and magical powers, they possess keen silver great swords , often imbued with devastating magical powers; like the ability to deflect blows, permanently wound their opponents, or even head chopping. These swords are rumored to be able to cut one's astral cord, thus finishing a fight with a single swing while on that particular plane. These blades are of course greatly prized and given only to their most powerful members. It's said if they lose one, they will tear a world apart to recover it. "
Ogela reflected on this knowledge and then turned back to Trent and Jose. "Rasmus is more of a scholar than a warrior, but he has his uses. Does this information shed any light on the motivation of our foe?"
Jose grinned and drew his silver blade once again. "Oh …I have a few guesses, " he said with a grin.