-Four-
Upon reaching the top of the wall, they found every branch of the armed forces preparing for the oncoming attack.
Guards in black armour with spears backed them up until they were forced to sit, their backs against the wall's edge.
There were guards dressed in armour of various colours: blue, black, red, yellow, purple. Each colour appeared to be associated with a different part of the army.
"The black armour are the foot soldiers," Pero devised.
"And the red are the archers," said William.
"And the blue are all women," cried Constanza. All women being led by the woman who had spoken to and confronted them back in the hall.
"Look at this army," breathed William. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"
"No," she said.
"Incredible." Even Pero had to admit.
There was a rush as everyone prepared around them, grabbing what they needed and taking their places. Then, suddenly, stillness and silence.
"They look nervous," Pero observed. "It's a big wall to be so nervous."
A beat longer of silence, then, they heard it:
The shrieking.
And the thundering, like horses hooves, but it must have been an army of them...
Only it wasn't hundreds of horses approaching the Wall, but thousands of scaled green creatures, like the one they had killed, only hundreds upon hundreds more.
The Wall's army burst into action firing arrows and catapults.
The creatures were not being held back, and persisted, making for the Wall, fast approaching. As they began to reach the base of it, the women's branch of the army, spears in hand, leapt off of the side of the Wall, attached with cables, leaping downwards and spearing any creature that made it too close.
However, many of the cable rings that held them came back up from the jump bloody and empty.
Constanza's stomach lurched - from the sight and from the horrid smell of the creatures - and muttered a soft prayer to any of the gods who were listening.
"William, over there - why isn't he tied up?" Pero nodded to a man in long red and black robes standing off to the side. The thing that struck them most about him was the fact that he was not Asian like the others, but European like them.
"There's our escape."
The creatures had not only reached the Wall now, but were climbing up the sides, their sharp claws finding purchase in the stones and heaving themselves upward. If it was this bad with them approaching, if they managed to make it over the Wall, there would be a bloodbath.
And it seemed that they were managing to make it over.
"We need to move," cried William. "We move or we die!"
"Agreed!"
The young soldier who had been tasked with keeping them prisoner now appeared conflicted.
"Go!" William urged him. "Go and fight!"
He cast one last glance at them before charging into the battle, armed with his shield and spear.
"Hey, you! Cut us loose!" William called to the other European man, who rushed over, picking up a dropped blade and cutting them loose with shaking hands.
"Hey, watch it!" Constanza cried as he narrowly missed slicing her hand open.
Now having managed to cut the ropes binding them, they found themselves no less centred in the battle.
"Fight or run?" asked Pero.
"Run where?" William grabbed a downed crossbow and smashed it apart, aiming to grab the bow part to use.
"Good point." Either they'd be hunted down by their captors or the creatures. Constanza grabbed a heavy spear.
With the creatures having made it over the Wall now, the trio was now in attack range as well. So it was fight, fight or die.
The young soldier who had been guarding them was being charged down by a creature. William jumped in, shoving him away.
Constanza leapt in with her spear, driving it through the creature's head, and spraying herself with green blood. "Ugh!"
"I need a shot!" William had his new bow ready.
"Hey, bitch!" Pero scooped up a torn red cloak and waved the red material in the direction of a nearby creature.
"Hey! Over here!" Constanza called, waving her arms over her head, also trying to grab its attention.
This double effort caught the creature's eye and it charged towards them. At the last second Pero pulled the cloak away to reveal William, who fired an arrow, striking the creature in the eye. Green blood poured from the wound and the creature gave a shriek and then collapsed.
"Ah! Ahh!"
"What the hell is he doing?" Constanza cried, watching the other European run around. "And without a weapon."
Pero shoved the man out of the way, giving William another opening for a shot.
And suddenly, just as quickly as the battle had descended upon them, it stopped.
The creatures all turned and retreated at once, fleeing the way they had come, leaving complete and utter destruction and death in their wake.
There was another collective beat of silence as the battle ended.
"Think they'll hang us now?" Pero asked as the general and female leader approached them.
"I could use the rest," William mumbled back.
He dropped the bow and arrows at his feet. Pero grunted in frustration and dropped his swords. Will nudged him and he sighed, also tossing down the blades he had grabbed.
"You've earned General Shao's praise," the woman told them.
"Will they come back?" William asked.
"Yes."
"All we can do is prepare," said the strategist. "For now, rest and regroup."
"What kind of god made those things?" Pero asked as they stared out at the barren landscape, now eerily empty.
"None that we know."
Constanza yelped when she saw a man standing over her, leaning in close, his face illuminated by candlelight.
Immediately, William and Pero leapt to their feet, weapons drawn.
It turned out it was the European man who had cut them loose atop the Wall. He had come to find them where they were asleep in the barracks.
"I'm Ballard," the man said, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm.
"William. Constanza, and Tovar," William introduced.
"I'm William," she joked.
"What are you doing here?" Ballard asked.
"We came looking for black powder."
This made Ballard chuckle. "I bet you did. I came with a group of mercenaries myself looking for the same thing - twenty-five years ago."
"And did you find it?" Pero pressed eagerly.
"Finding it and leaving with it, let alone alive, are two very different things. You smell like animals."
"Thank you."
"Clean up, and they'll feed you." And with that, Ballard took his candle and left them.
"Nice guy," Constanza muttered. Then she smirked at her companions. "He's right, you stink."
"He was referring to all of us," Pero grumbled.
"She has a point - you stink the worst," chuckled William, rubbing at his scruffy, overgrown beard.
She ran a hand over her own jaw. "Yikes, its been so long I was starting to think I would grow a beard."
I'm having lots of fun writing this story! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)