"Is that what a fox howl sounds like?" puzzled Jose. "I thought it would be more of a wailing or perhaps a yipping noise."
Kaeda nodded.
"It sounds like she's in a trouble," noted Ogela as her long thin elven ears perked up. She slowly scanned the crowd of soldiers and knights for signs of the now missing Grinder.
"No, the howl is one of distress or perhaps sadness," corrected Kaeda.
Magda held out her hand and closed her eyes. Jose stared at her and saw she appeared deep in concentration, seemingly attempting to analyze the sound. After a few seconds she nodded grimly and pointed towards the floating fortress above them. "Your cohort Grinder, or whatever he claims to be, is correct. The sound is originating from that dome, however improbable that may seem," stated the shape changed dragon. From her tone, Jose detected a hint of worry and anticipation. "Kit and her friends are there and in dire danger it seems."
Jose grinded his teeth and stepped towards the edge of the hangar. He could barely see the dome in question but more importantly he saw the gauntlet of enemies that lay between them. The knight saw the sky was full of Githyanki mages and dragon riders. They had switched their tactics from directly assaulting the Harbor Keep to raining fire and spells upon the defenders from high above. The attacks were mostly ineffective and did little overall damage, but it allowed the enemy to strike without fear of crossbow or ballistae fire, and instead concentrate on slowly chipping away at their walls. While the makeshift hangar was far below the brunt of the astral warriors' assault, the knight knew it would only be a matter of time before attrition took their toll on them.
"Grinder is right. Trent, Maid….Keeta…they need us," stated the knight as he squared his jaw.
Ogela placed a hand on his chest and shoved him back. Despite her small size the elven knight was quite strong and forceful. "No,no, no. You aren't seriously considering what that …thing…said. He speaks only of folly. For all we know, that Grinder creature is working for them and wants you to throw your life away in a futile attempt to rescue your friends. "
Kaeda scratched her head. "What is Grinder exactly anyways? From your tone, it doesn't sound like he's even human. You speak of him as if you met him before."
Ogela nodded. "I briefly met him while serving directly under the Warmaster a century ago. He takes many forms but he seems to favor that one currently. He may look, smell, and even act human, but its true form is that of a creature of pure chaos. I don't know what its motivations are, or why it's here, but if the Warmaster was wary of him, so should we all."
Jose snorted at the comment. Ogela pursed her lips at his dismissive attitude, but Jose did not back down from the senior knight. " I don't know what Grinder is or what he's supposed to be, but I was taught that one should be judged by his actions, and not by a label. He's fought bravely by my side before, and helped me , helped all of us to get to this Keep. If he says Keeta is in trouble, then I'm inclined to do something about it," declared the knight defiantly, conveniently forgetting his former bias against druids.
Ogela glared at Jose. " You're as crazy and fool hardy as your lord Rollo. As much as I would love to lead a charge against our foe, I will not throw away my remaining riders so carelessly," she sighed. Ogela then turned to the druid and shook her head. "Lady Kaeda has fought heroically today , but I sense she's too weak to change into an eagle or summon some to fight your way up there. Even if you are too insubordinate to obey my orders, your flight options are limited."
Kaeda took a step forward to the ledge to prove the elf wrong but stumbled in the attempt. Jose caught her and set her down on the steps.
"The halfling's plan to destroy their fortress has failed. The best tactic now in this situation is to retreat to the lower levels with the silver blade and force the enemies' hand. Make them assault the keep directly and we'll bleed them dry till they lose the will to fight. If they do overwhelm us, we could always break the blade. It probably won't stop them from returning back to time, but it will deny them a powerful weapon, " stated Ogela. "The worst thing you could do is to march into the enemy lair and hand the silver blade to the Githyanki."
Jose considered her statement and hesitated. Lady Ogela was right, their best chance was to fall back on the Keep's defenses and fight them floor by floor. It would negate most of the enemies' aerial advantage and exact a heavy toll on the attackers, but even then they would eventually be defeated. They just didn't have the numbers to fully man the Keep. He considered handing the silver blade to Ogela to defend, but he knew he couldn't. He didn't tell anyone, but he tried to do so before, but found some strange force preventing him from passing the blade. He heard of powerful magical swords binding themselves to their owners, and guessed that this must be one of them. He assumed he would be unable to part from it, till he died in battle. He knew he would not be given a Griffon or a flying lion, and Kaeda was out of eagles. He had already dismissed the gravely injured Greenpaw, and he couldn't resummon him in time. As much as Jose wanted to ride forth once more into battle, he was powerless to do so.
As Jose was about to accept Ogela's decision. Magda threw her head back and laughed. As the one eyed woman cackled, she changed in form and grew in size till the floor of the makeshift hangar groaned under her weight. "That's why I hate you non scaled folk. Always hiding behind your walls since you lack the strength to challenge your foes directly. The strong rule this world, and I am the strongest! I do not fear the enemy, they should fear me!" she roared as she stretched her mighty wings. The dragon buffeted the wall solidly causing a few dust and bricks to fall from the ceiling.
Everyone in the covered room took a step back from the dragon except Sir Jose. Most of the soldiers and knights had never seen the legendary Magda before and fled from her presence. Despite her boasts and impressive transformation, Jose saw that Magda's once imperious coat of scales sported many injuries. The knight guessed that the dragon's earlier solo forays against the enemy had cost her dearly. Magda ignored her wounds and instead turned her baleful gaze onto the knight and flashed her razor sharp teeth at him. "I'm not even going to ask. I see your primal need for violence, and more importantly your desire to save your friends in your eyes," purred the dragon as she motioned skyward with her draconic horns.
Ogela recovered from her shock and turned to face both Jose and Magda. "Your friends fought bravely, but you can't save them now. Don't sacrifice yourselves as well to your failed plan. I don't care if the heroic Sir Jose and the infamous Magda lead the charge, this is suicide and you both know it," she declared.
Before she could say another word, Kaeda pushed ahead of Ogela and hugged Jose in a loving embrace. "I know I can't stop you from going, since that's who you are. But don't die. Please return to me. Don't die," the druid begged in a tearful voice.
Jose returned her embrace and stroked Kaeda's hair once. 'She's so beautiful', he thought. It would be so easy to run away with her and let someone else save the day. Even if the defender's fall there was no guarantee that the Githyanki would succeed in shifting back in time. Even if the astral raiders succeeded in that impossible task , the timeline might be already set and they would be unable to change it. All their blood and sacrifices might be meaningless in the grand scheme of things. As he held Kaeda, he was tempted to stay back and aid the defenders in the long siege to come, but knew it would only delay the inevitable. More importantly, he felt that he couldn't risk even a small chance that the enemy could succeed. Besides failing the people here, he did not want to face his mentor Rollo, the Lady Sharliss, Kit or even his unborn child in the afterlife. How could he explain to them he shirked his duty for something as selfish as love. Despite Ogela's criticism, Jose knew that Trent's plan was a good plan. Defeating the Githyanki meant nothing if they could escape in their astral fortress and try again somewhere else. It was their only chance for victory. It might have hit a snag, but it could still work.
Jose gently pushed the druid away from him. He saw her heartbroken eyes and thought he should say something to comfort her. Instead, he turned and walked briskly to Magda. "Let's do this, before I let someone else be the hero."
Kit watched her opponent carefully as he stalked towards her. Though the Githyanki leader seemed to favor his sword, she saw the fingers on his other hand slowly making somatic gestures. She also noted that while he had a slight limp, it was inconsistent with his injuries. Kit guessed Zazoz was feigning weakness to lure her into a false sense of security.
"This farce however, ends now," he noted ominously as he raised the great silver blade while he approached.
Kit saw through his feint and was leaping to the side, even before the bolt of lightning sprang from his fingers. The Githyanki lord then followed his electrical strike with a wide fan of flame, but Kit was too fast and nimbly ducked and evaded his spells.
The squire then feigned a rush towards him, but broke at the last moment and rolled towards Maid's body. She spared her fallen friend's decapitated body a brief glance, before she quickly snatched the slain Innkeeper's weapon belt. She would mourn her friend later, but now was the time for revenge.
"Your skill is impressive, "applauded the Githyanki as he squared himself towards the squire once more. Once again Kit noticed he did not move his lips. "But even you know that you are overmatched."
Kit shrugged as she grabbed several throwing blades from her dead friend's belt. Zazoz was probably right she thought, since arriving at the Western Freeholds, she had been soundly defeated several times. The bugbear chieftain, her first fight against Mayor Gregor, the Githyanki Kazoz at the druid's grove, and most recently the obsidian warrior Malleus. Regardless of her failures, she burned with determination as she faced her deadliest opponent. Win or lose, she would make him remember this fight.
As she appraised her foe and more importantly the fallen Fluffy Two and Maid, she took quick stock in his abilities. From her time under Mogombo she gauged he was some sort of master mage, most likely an evoker, a master of physical magics. She assumed that was the source of his amazing speed in battle, and guessed his seemingly formidable telepathy was imperfect since it was not part of his specialization. She saw he was also a competent swordsman, but his skill seemed to be exponentially boosted by the dangerous blade he wielded. She recalled legends of magical swords that could control their wielders' actions, artifacts like the dwarf slaying hammer Gnome Mercy, Galatea the demon scourge and the soul devouring Dragon's Flame, and she shuddered at the thought of them. Being possessed by a weapon did not sit too well with her. Most importantly she saw he had an uncanny ability to ignore pain. The other Githyanki she had faced were similar to glass cannons, while they wielded devastating powers they quickly folded when damaged. Kit had injured him critically with her kukris, but her opponent seemed to shrug off the blows. From her observations she guessed she had to weather and endure his distance magical attacks, and it was imperative she stayed out of his deadly close range strikes. It would be a difficult battle but that did not deter Kit.
As Kit studied her foe, Zazoz appeared to gather his arcane power. Motes of power gathered around him, and began to spread slowly along the runes of the room. Kit wasn't sure what was happening but knew it wasn't good. She tossed a dagger directly at his head, but the mage simply deflected it with a wave of his hand, and simultaneously launched a bolt of lightning towards her which sent her scrambling away.
As Kit bounced away, Zazoz rushed towards her with silver blade in hand. Kit saw the attack for what it was and quickly spun away out of his reach. The Githyanki's sword twisted in his hand and slashed downwards at an odd angle but struck only her shadow. In a split second the werefox blindly threw another dagger at Zazoz as she fell on all fours and scampered away . The dagger was easily deflected by a simple gesture, as the two opponents emerged unscathed from their latest exchange.
Kit expected Zazoz to press his attack but instead the Githyanki calmly hopped back to the center of the room.
The squire wasn't sure why he retreated, but a crossbow bolt suddenly slammed and snapped against the adamant ground where the Githyanki stood. Kit was briefly confused but then saw the bloodied form of Trent weakly holding his crossbow. The Halfling nodded at her weakly as he reloaded.
"The pair of you failed before, I expect no different in your next set of attacks," commented Zazoz with his eerie closed mouth. The Githyanki lord then paused and closed his eyes briefly. "I don't believe it, but it appears that the blade I seek is coming to me. I've been given an opportunity that allows me to bypass the wishes of my council."
"This guy talks way too much," snarled Trent as he took aim once again.
Kit nodded in agreement and was ready to strike again, but suddenly the fortress began to shake. Trent fired his crossbow as he lost his balance, but remarkably his aim was true as it flew towards Zazoz's head. Despite his accuracy the bolt bounced off harmlessly against an invisible shell around his target, another reminder of the layers of arcane defenses the Githyanki possessed. When the room stopped shaking, Kit saw a cloud of crimson motes of energy surround Zazoz and began spreading around the room again in a more forceful manner.
"I no longer need to wait till my useless minions and incompetent lackeys recapture Kazoz's blade. I can supersede my council's wishes if I can reclaim Kazoz's sword. I can shift us all and hunt down the blade at my leisure, " the Githaynki declared.
Kit wasn't sure what he was talking about, but sensed a new urgency in the situation.
"Do you have any ideas how to ignite the coke?" gasped Trent.
"Nope, all out of ideas here, " smiled Kit as she took a tentative step towards Zazoz. She didn't want to get within range of his sword, but she knew that was the only way to end this.
"Guess we make it up as we go," said the Halfling grimly as he drew a dagger.
A flight of dragons scattered as Magda and Sir Jose shot upwards toward the Astral fortress. The smaller dragons easily flew out of their much larger opponent's path, but their speed was not enough. Magda grabbed one of the smaller dragons with a claw and crushed it with her awesome strength. A shriek of pain from both the dragon and its rider pierced the air even as the much larger dragon swung her tail at another foe. Her tail narrowly missed its twisting target but caught its rider directly across his chest, snapping his spine with a sickening crunch. For a second the dragon seemed to evade her wrath, but the great tail changed direction in mid-air and pierced it cleanly through the ribcage. The impaled dragon thrashed weakly before Magda flicked its dying body away.
"You really hate other dragons don't you," snorted the knight as he guided Magda towards the dome on the fortress.
"I don't care if they are my fellow dragons. I am the mistress of all I gaze upon, and such is the fate of those that get in my way," growled Magda.
Jose considered her statement for a moment and then laughed. "Mistress of all you gaze upon? Good thing I took out your eye on our first encounter here."
Magda's golden red hair seemed to stand on end, as the great dragon's single eye glared at Jose with a baleful stare. "Watch your words knight, less your journey ends now."
Sir Jose wasn't intimidated though and simply shrugged. "A thousand pardons lady Magda. I'll offer you a proper apology if we somehow survive this," chuckled the knight as they flew into another flight of dragons.
Trent charged Zazoz blindly, rushing towards his opponent in a brazen manner.
While Kit had hoped the pair of them would wear their opponent down with their numbers, the Halfling's suicidal attack did not surprise her. It didn't take a telepath to see that he was sacrificing himself to give her an opening against the Githyanki. She shuffled to the side quickly before beginning her own charge, picking her opponent's lower back and neck as her targets.
Zazoz squared himself towards his shorter opponent and seemed to ignore Kit. As the Halfling approached, instead of meeting him with a slash the Githyanki slammed the pommel of his blade downwards with unearthly speed. Zazoz's blow connected on the top of Trent's head with a sickening crunch before spinning around and swinging his sword in a wide circular arc. Kit instinctively brought both her kukris upwards to block the great silver blade as it snaked towards her neck, and was thrown back as her daggers shattered against the great sword.
Kit fell on her knee , and felt her arms dangle uselessly to her side. She saw Trent fared even worse as the Halfling lied prone underneath Zazoz.
Zazoz pointed at the Halfling and shook his head. "A clever ruse. Against a lesser foe, I would have chopped his head off while you stabbed me in the back. Unfortunately for you two , you forget I'm telepathic. Your thoughts are painfully clear, and I can sense your strategies and tactics before you even realize it yourselves," he taunted as he resumed directing the crimson motes around the room.
"Now be a good girl, and go curl up in a corner and wait while I shift this fortress back in time," he commanded. "If you obey me, perhaps I'll make you my slave. It's not like you haven't been one before."
Kit struggled to her feet and readied to charge the Githyanki once more. All her allies were dead or unconscious now, and it was up to her to stop Zazoz. She couldn't wield her weapons but still had her teeth. She had no delusions about her chance of success but she wasn't about to throw away their sacrifices and surrender.
As Kit recovered and prepared to pounce upon her foe, she felt the ground shift near her, and felt a crushing grip at her ankle. She looked downward and saw that during the last exchange she had fallen next to the prone Githyanki construct. The animate statue had grabbed her while she was being distracted by her enemy's taunts and she would be unable to press her final attack. She had failed.
"Yes, you've failed not only yourself, but your friends, this city, and perhaps this entire timeline," commented Zazoz wordlessly as he continued to manipulate the crimson motes. "I'm not a master of temporal magics but I do know the basic principles. Time corrects itself in the face of minor disturbances, but a great enough shift can send it spiralling off course. I've heard certain legendary individuals are capable of such a feat , but a large enough mass shifted backwards can also accomplish this. Despite your best efforts to slay my warriors, I still have more than enough troops to turn the tide of the battle we left a hundred years ago," he noted.
As she was being grappled by the construct, Kit saw the Githyanki stop his ritual and take several steps to the side. She wasn't sure why he did this, but an instant later the roof of the dome was ripped apart and a massive chunk of black rock fell from the roof where Zazoz had been standing. As motes and dust scattered from the rubble, a scaled body was tossed downwards, but Zazoz calmly chopped it in half , redirecting the halves of the corpse away before it struck him.
"Keeta! Are you alright?" shouted Sir Jose from high above the dome.
"Excellent, my blade has arrived," noted Zazoz as his stoic face cracked a rare smile.
