There at the top of the hill they stood motionless captivated by the sight of the Capital, like moths drawn to a flame. There were some with frowns on their faces, but most stood there with shocked or horrified expressions as the flames engulfed much of the city and the screams of the people and the grunts and growls of the monsters could be heard from even this far away.
"The…the Capital. Just two years ago we celebrated our victory against the Demon Lord there." Hero looked toward the city, a stunned look present by her wide eyes. "This…this is so much worse than when we dealt with the Demon Lord and his forces."
"What…what do we do now?" Rookie Warrior feeling his stomach tensing as his mind went back to the battle at the dwarven fortress in the north.
The was no immediate answer from anyone, the King, the Sword Maiden and the Hero were silent as the continued to look at the burning city trying to come up with some plan that they could do. The younger adventurers looked on with great concern while the silver-ranked adventurers were silent as they observed the blaze. While the others were thinking about how tragic the scene before them look, Goblin Slayer looked ahead clenching his fists. For him the blaze of the capital shifted to the blaze of his village, he could easily remember hiding in the small crawl space while watching the village burn, its people being tortured and slaughtered and the devastating events that befell his sister.
"This will not stand."
All eyes fell on Goblin Slayer who stood with clenched fists before he checked his weapons and started down the hill. The moment he started walking, both Wolf and Snow were quick to follow alongside him, though he didn't get too far before his friends called out to him.
"Hold on there Goblin Slayer!" Spearman was a bit worried by his friend's impulsive actions. "You really mean to go in there! You do see the blazing inferno ahead of us yes?"
"The longer we wait, the more lives may be lost."
"I know you're eager to stop this Necromancer from his monster creations, but we may need to rethink things a bit Beardcutter. That city, we could be facing hundreds of thousands of those monsters, a force much stronger than the horde we faced in the north."
"Sir Mage is right Milord Goblin Slayer, we are but a force less than 50 attempting to assault an enemy stronghold. Perhaps given the situation, it may be wise for us to regroup with fellow adventurers and plan for a counter-offensive."
Goblin Slayer was silent for a few moments before looking back toward the city ablaze, again clenching his fists before releasing them.
"More than ten years ago, I watched for three days as my village burned to the ground due to the goblins. I watched as they tortured, butchered and defiled those I had known for years. I lay in a there in my own waste, eating dirt to keep my stomach from growling and giving away my position while waiting for help to come…none did."
Everyone was silent as they now took their eyes off the city to focus on Goblin Slayer, this was the first time he had ever said anything about his origin. For Cow Girl, she was not looking at her 22-year-old friend, but the small ten-year-old boy she had remembered when she left the village all those years ago.
"Once the goblins were finished with the village, they moved on. It was five years later when I found them and took my revenge; that rainy night they paid for all they had taken from me. It should have ended for me that night, but it didn't…just because those goblins had been slain did not mean that other goblins would not try to repeat the same thing." Goblin Slayer turned around once again to face his friends, comrades and allies, his eye appearing to glow within his armor. "If we do not fight here, this city will fall and the force that will come to fight us later will be far stronger. Like the goblins who destroyed my village, they will continue to lay waste to everything around them. I won't allow it."
The adventurers steeled themselves after hearing Goblin Slayer, whatever hesitation had been there was now gone as they tightened their grips on their weapons while other checked their sword to ensure they could be easily drawn from the sheath at a moment's notice.
The King was already determined to enter the city despite the sight, his younger sister was still in that hellhole, he convinced himself that she was within the castle, the most secure structure in the city, but now having listen to Goblin Slayer willingly speak about his own vulnerabilities made him feel more comfortable. He had heard of this man before, a man who fought alongside the Hero when dealing with the Lich Queen and her horde in the north. Then had managed to meet him when his sister had been kidnapped though he had not been entirely impressed with the man during their first encounter, but now he could truly see that this was not just a ruffian pretending to be an adventurer, this was a man ready to give his all protect those around him.
"My master once said the moment you decide to act, you win. If we do not act, then we will have surely lost."
The King suddenly gasped upon hearing Goblin Slayer, he too had heard that same expression used by a particular adventurer, one he still had personal dealings with.
"You there, Goblin Slayer, you say your master taught you that saying? Who was your master?"
"He was a rhea that I simply knew as Burglar."
The King was surprised, when he had last met with Burglar the old rhea had a wicked smile as he mentioned that he had been training a young boy. He knew of the Burglar as being a rather cruel individual, the thought of him saving and training a boy had been a bit farfetched at the time, but now seeing this man before him made him think it was wise for his colleague to have done what he did.
"This master of yours sounds like quite the villain, but perhaps there is some good within him." The King smirked as he turned his attention from Goblin Slayer to his soldiers and the other adventurers. "There is no shame in being afraid, but I will follow Goblin Slayer. I would ask that you summon your courage to aid me in this fight. I am determined to fight to end to save my people…will you help me?"
From Hero to Sword Maiden, from the other silver-ranked adventurers to those young adventurers who had only dreamt of an experience such as this, all nodded. They stood ready, not only to follow their king, but to follow the man many would only consider as an embarrassment to the title of "adventurer". From the edge of the woods, several eyes watched the capital burn and heard the cries of people suffering and monsters attacking, but soon their eyes were upon the group of warriors that stood at the top of the hill. It was a strange mixture of knights, priests and adventurers but amounts them were several familiar faces, the parties knew now was the time to meet.
"Then what the hell are we waiting for? Let's get in there and stop this…"
"My Lord!"
Hero growled, feeling like this one soldier had stolen her thunder, just as she was ready to lead the charge. Everyone turned toward the soldier pointing off toward his right, a quick glance and they could see movement near coming from the nearby trees.
"Hey, there's something coming from the left too!" Heavy Warrior readied his broadsword as he could see and feel the ground rumbling as something big was moving through the trees, actually knocking over the small ones.
The group readied for the attack to come on both sides, spell casters ready to chant their incantations the moment the enemy could be seen while the fighters readied themselves to charge forward. High Elf Archer's ears twitched as she could tell that there were several individuals were approaching both on foot and something was running toward them on all fours. Suddenly a figure emerged from the right, it was a male elf with long golden hair, fine leather armor and a shimmering head piece, he rode atop a mighty deer with regal looking antlers.
"It's an elf." The King was surprised by the sight of this lone elf riding a deer mount.
The elf brought his left index finger and thumb to his mouth and gave a powerful whistle before his deer rushed toward the party. From behind the elf followed dozens more elves, each riding atop a deer and wearing leather armor, bows strapped to their backs and obsidian blades at their sides. As surprised as the adventurers were by the sight of the elf riders, from the left they could see figures charging forward, given their stature they were clearly dwarves, but these dwarves were covered from head to toe in dwarven forged armor, though a dull gray, the armor appeared very durable, only added as many of the dwarven soldiers charged forward with their war axes in hand.
Along with the dwarves were a few dozen tall figures, their green skin and long tails gave away their identity as members of the lizardman race, these mighty warriors marched forward wear what appeared to be armor made of bone. Covering their heads were skulls of small swamp dragons, their fronts and backs were covered in with bones of various size stacked upon each other forming a type of breastplate that went all they way down to their stomach; around their wrists and shins were leather bracers with bones wrapped tightly around it. From further behind the dwarves and lizardmen emerged a large chariot being pulled by four might rams, the actual structure hidden beneath a massive tarp. Goblin Slayer and the others stood there surprised by the sight of the elves, dwarves and lizard men drawing closer to them; one close enough the forces came to a halt while their leaders approached the King and the others.
"Your majesty, it would seem that your city has come under quite the misfortune." The elven leader looked toward the city before turning back toward the King with a slight smile. "We have come to offer what aid we can."
"I…I am grateful for any aid that will help me save my people, but how? How is this possible?" The King was clearly surprised by the sight of these warrior in the hundreds.
"An alliance exists between the kingdoms of the humans, elves, dwarves and lizardmen tribes. An oath was made to fight side by side against the evil that threatened our people." The elven leader bowed his head toward the king. "We come to honor that allegiance."
"I am deeply honored and humbled to have your aid this day." The King smiled as he too bowed his head toward the leaders.
"This may not be the Demon Lord's forces, but if we simply ignore these monsters, we'd be dooming ourselves to a future slaughter." The dwarven leader removed his helmet, revealing a small scar along his left eye.
"These monstrosities threaten not only our borders but the lands of the free people. We who are descendants of mighty naga of the past, will not allow such evil to flourish." The Lizardman Chieftain proudly thumped his fist against his chest.
While many of the other adventurers were happy by the sight of these extra reinforcements, there were some who were over excited by the arrival of certain figures.
"Elder Brother!" High Elf Archer rushed forward to embrace her brother-in-law a bright smile on her face. "What are you doing here?"
"With the monsters threatening our lands, it was only right for us to venture out to hunt down not only the creatures but these "Faceless Men" who are creating them." Elder Brother smiled as he returned the embrace of his sister-in-law. "Besides, the Forest Princess would be devastated to learn that her sister was fighting alone. I figured you'd be out here fighting these things as well."
"Of course, this is a grand adventure, and I don't intend to miss out! I'm surprised to see so many elven riders."
"We began this journey with 300 riders and mounts…we are now a little more than 200. Those who were lost, shall lend us their strength in this coming battle."
While High Elf Archer was eagerly talking with her brother, Dwarf Shaman moved to embrace the dwarven leader, his Honored Uncle.
"What the blue blazes are you doing here Honored Uncle?"
"We lost communication with the Capital some time ago, which also meant that any of our kin had gone silent here. We heard rumors of horrid creatures roaming the forests, and common people being afflicted by a strange plague. We were not about to wait for this hell to come to our front door my dear nephew, the battle with the Lich Queen taught us that. Nowhere near as large as the force that fought the undead, were about 200 hundred extra hands to aid you." The Honored Uncle soon smiled as he went about stroking his beard as his nephew often would. "Besides these fine warriors…we've been working on a little invention and this is the best spot to test it out. Remove the tarp!"
The nearby dwarves did as they were told and removed the tarp, revealing a massive wooden chariot with what looked like a ballista mounted near the front, but rather than firing rocks, this would shoot two-foot-long wooden bolts. Upon the center of each of the wheels, was massive, jagged spikes that seemed to spin as the wheel moved.
"The War Wagon! I don't care how big some of the brutes are, I'd like to see them stand up to this." Honor Uncle continued to smile as he proudly looked over the instrument of war they had brought with them.
"Oh…what a fine tool you've brought with you Honored Uncle. If given the chance I'd be more than happy to fire off some bolts at the giant goblins." Dwarf Shaman happily rubbed his hands together in eagerness of trying out this chariot of war. "And look at that, pulled by mighty rams. Clearly the superior mount."
"Huh? I think all that firewine has gone to your head. There is no way those rams can compare to the noble deer." High Elf Archer annoyed by the dwarf's comments crossed her arm before motioning with her head behind her. "Just look at them, agile, regal in appearance, and with natural defenses to that can get them out of nearly any situation."
"Hah! I'd expecting nothing less from my elven comrade, claiming to be the oldest and wisest yet not realizing that the only thing those deer are good for is food." The Dwarf Shaman scoffed at the elves' ideas of the perfect mount. "It's obvious that the ram is superior! Tough, imposing, and capable of handling any threat…just like the dwarves."
Honored Uncle and Elder Brother chuckled as the two comrades had their friendly argument over the superior riding mount, only for them to finally notice the two large dire wolves slowly approaching them. Both High Elf Archer and Dwarf Shaman were ready to continue their argument but stopped when they heard the barking of the dire wolves, they turned to see the two wolves wagging their tails at them.
"Yes well…the deer is good, but not nearly as good as a dire wolf." High Elf Archer chuckled as she looked at the two massive beasts.
"Indeed Long-Ears, something we can agree upon. The dire wolf really is the best mount."
While this brief conversation was going on, The Lizardman Chieftain walked toward Lizard Priest, who have already placed his hands together and bowed his head.
"I am honored to see so many of my people here to aid in this battle."
"We would shame our ancestors if we were to sit idly by and wait for this evil to come to us." The Lizard Chieftain smiled as he returned the gesture toward his brethren. "The Lizardmen will fight valiantly to the last. No matter what happens today, we will make our ancestor proud."
"Though I do not doubt the strength of my people, will the fifty of us be enough?"
"Who says we will be alone in this fight?" The Lizardman Chieftain then turned toward the others and nodded his head. "Call forth the Dragontooth Warriors!"
The other lizardmen nodded their heads as they threw down the catalysts for the summoning ritual and began to chant, the group of adventurers looked on happily surprised as the summons took shape and stood ready, nearly a hundred more fighters had been added to their growing force. Half-Dragon Mother and Half-Dragon Daughter looked on with amazement at the sight of so many other lizardmen, even in the town of Crossroads, they had rarely seen any lizardmen. The Chieftain soon turned his head his head when he took notice of the two female figures with reptilian wings, purple horns and scales that covered their bodies, he could tell they were not demons but was hesitant to believe his eyes.
"Those two there…who are they?"
"Ah, allow me to introduce my mate and her hatchling…both are half-dragons."
The Chieftain and the other lizardmen were surprised by the statement and were quick to bow their heads and bring their hands together before the two half-dragons.
"It is an honor to be in the presence of such noble dragons. We shall fight not only for our ancestors but for those who watch us now." The Chieftain chuckled as he returned his attention toward Lizard Priest. "You have my envy dear brother, to meet a dragon is an honor in itself, but to claim one as your mate and to raise a hatchling…even if I was to live a thousand years, I doubt I'd ever be able to be so fortunate. We have additional armor if you so desire."
"You have my thanks, but I must politely decline. As it would be my first time donning it, it would slow me down and for this battle I will need all my reflexes. My scales shall be my armor in battle this day."
The Chieftain smiled and nodded in response to his brother's reply, nearby though Spearman looked toward the "bone armor" the lizardmen were wearing and had his doubts.
"I think you'll need something a bit stronger than those bones. These creatures were going up against will break that armor with a single strike."
The Chieftain turned his attention toward the adventurer, a stern look on his face before it changed into a light smile. He calmly removed the skull helmet the rest atop his head and held it out for Spearman to hold. Spearman was hesitant for a moment before he took hold of the skull, the moment the lizardman released his grip, Spearman grunted as he held it within his hand, this skull had quite the bit of weight to it, perhaps as much as the armor that covered his front and back.
"Quite heavy isn't it? Now would someone be willing to strike it with a sword or dagger?"
"If you don't mind a knife, I'll go ahead and strike at it." Half-Demon Thief stepped forward and drew out one of her throwing knives before stabbing the top of the skull, to her surprise it was unable to penetrate. "I'm not even sure I did any damage."
"Look at your knife." Priestess was quite shocked as she pointed at her friend's blade.
Half-Demon Thief did as her friend suggested and gasped when she noticed how badly chipped her throwing knife was that first attack using all her might. The "bone armor" was as hard as stone, yet the Lizardman Chieftain smiled as he retrieved the helmet and re-affixed it atop his head.
"These bones do not break so easily."
The King and the others now felt far more confident with the force beside them, true their might hundreds if not thousands of the monsters to contend with, but now a larger force would be present to aid them. The adventurers got back on their wagons, ready to charge down the hill and across the plains in order to reach the gate, but Goblin Slayer stopped as Wolf blocked him from moving, the dire wolf remained where he was barking at Goblin Slayer who remained motionless.
"I see."
Goblin Slayer nodded his head before moving towards Wolf side, he firmly took hold of the dire wolf's hide and swing his leg over its side. Once mounted on top of Wolf, Goblin Slayer carefully situated himself before looking down at the dire wolf who barked at him again. The warriors were ready, the moment the wagons hit the town, the adventurers would disembark to begin their fighting, the elves would ride in like calvary firing away with their arrows and the dwarves and lizardmen would come in behind to aid in the fight. Once a foothold had been gained, they would then decide how best to operate, but the first step would be to secure their entrance and determine the fighting strength of the city.
"For your homes! For your families! For your loved ones! For every unborn child! For death and glory! Charge!" The King sat at the top of his wagon beside his drivers and drew out his sword.
There was a mighty yell from all combatants as the charged ahead, the drivers cracking the reins on the horses to drive them forward; though fast, the elven riders outpaced them but even before them were the two dire wolves charging forward at top speed. Spearman silently cursing that Goblin Slayer would be the first one to reach the city while others like Cow Girl and Guild Girl were worried about him being out in the front. Priestess and Apprentice Cleric made their petition to the Earth Mother and Supreme God respectfully to keep their party safe during the battle.
xxxx
"Hold them back! We still have wounded and civilians here!"
The knights struggled in their battle to hold back the monsters while a few of the adventurers moved through the rubble to pull out the crying child and his injured mother. At first no one was quite sure what had happened, the number of people transforming into monsters started small but within a week soared as men, women and children began to transform into horrid monsters left and right, worse yet was the stream of monsters running from the sewers. The knights tried to coordinate themselves but even some of their people began to transform within the ranks, it soon devolved into a free for all, each knight responsible for protecting their district while the others rushed back to the castle to protect the civilians who had found shelter.
"We got the injured out! Where…where should we take them?" It was a young male padfoot who cradled the boy in his arms while his human partner carried the injured mother.
"Anywhere that isn't here!"
The two adventurers rushed away from the sight, they themselves also injured from the constant fighting. For many of the knights they had been on two or three days without any sleep, the monsters mostly kept to the night and darkness during the beginning, but now with the fires arguing out of control, casting dark clouds into the sky, the sun was blocked out and now the creatures were on a perpetual march against the humans. Whatever rest they could have gotten during the day was now long gone, search and rescue had now been greatly limited as the only thing on the mind of those who were still fighting survival.
"This is hopeless! We need to flee the city and save ourselves." It was a young male knight who had seen his best friend torn apart in front of him only a few hours ago.
"We are knights of the king! We do not abandon our post! Now get back up on your feet and fight!" The female knight snapped as she reached down and yanked the young boy back up, refusing to allow him to sit on the ground.
"What the hell are you talking about? The King has already abandoned us! He left two months ago! He knew what was coming and saved his own ass!"
What the young knight was screaming was not lost on the others who were still fighting through the streets, attempting to not only stop the monsters but the fires from completely burning the city to the ground. The discussion of taking what supplies they could and fleeing had crossed the mind of many, those who had tried to had been executed for treason, it had indeed been quite a long month of fighting and the weariness showed on everyone's face.
"Even if the King is not here, we are! We took the oath to stand strong against all challenges!" The female knight removed her hand from her comrade and looked back at the small group of twenty around her. "This is our home. These people look to us for guidance and support! If we abandon them to save ourselves, how can any of us retain the title of knight?"
The other knights looked at her, some older, some younger and nodded their heads in agreement. They were scared, there was no shame in admitting that, but whining about it would not save them or others from these monsters.
"Here comes another charge!"
The knights looked ahead to see one of the four of the three-headed and three-armed abominations roaring as they ran down the street towards them. Behind them were civilians and adventurers trying to get to safety and helping get the injured away from the battle scene.
"Form up the wall! Spears in front, swords behind! Hold them!"
Her fellow knights nodded and took up positions, eight of the knights with spears in hand took up the front position with spears in hand while the others were directly behind them with sword and shield ready to combat the monster if they broke through. The knights were terrified as the monsters bellowed as they drew closer, many wanted to run but none of them did, if they were to die that day, they would die in battle. Suddenly they heard it, it was the sound of horns being blown, a diverse sound of horns, human, elf, and dwarf horns blowing in the distance. The knights broke their lines to turn behind them to see what or who was blowing all these horns, praying to the gods that this was not their imagination playing tricks on them. From the entrance by the gates, they saw them charging ahead, two massive wolves, one white and one black, atop the black wolf was a figure in leather armor, a mace in his right hand as they charged forward.
"Gods above who is that?" The young male knight looked on with wide eyes at the sight of this warrior charging towards them.
As fast as he appeared, he and the other wolf rushed around them startled knight towards the nearest abomination. The armored figure raised his mace and as he and the black wolf charged forward, he swung with all his might, smashing the main head with a sickening crunch. The monster staggered and the white wolf rushed in taking hold of one of its unsteady legs and pulled, making the monster fall backwards. Once down the two dire wolves savagely mauled the downed monster, the armored warrior dismounted and then drew out his sword, with weapons in hand aided the dire wolves in slaughtering the monster.
"That's one."
The knights were at a loss of the sight of the armored adventurer and the two dire wolves who had defeated one of the Abominations. Even the other monsters had paused as they curiously studied the new figure before them, their desire for flesh insatiable but seeing this one made them stop for some reason.
"Who…who are you?"
The figure it the dirty leather armored turned toward the group of knights, his body stained in the blood of the monster and for a moment, they all believed they could see a red glow coming from his eyes within his helmet.
"I am Goblin Slayer."
It sounded ridiculous, no adventurer would want such a title, yet none of the knights dare to laugh as they looked ahead at this strange man. Soon enough came the triumphant horns again, a volley of arrows flew past them, effortlessly missing them and the Goblin Slayer as they targeted the Abominations behind him. Dozens of deer ran through the street, atop them where elven archers firing away at the monsters on the ground and targeting the shrieking harpies that flew in the sky. Behind them were horse drawn wagons that quickly pulled off to the side and various warriors leapt out. Some rushed ahead to join in the fighting other nearby monsters. Others quickly went about aiding in the recovery of the injured, sifting rocks out of the way to help those who were trapped. Among the people who had entered the city was the King, the Sword Maiden, and the Hero, all three charging ahead to attack with the King and Hero using their swords to carve their way through the monsters, while the Sword Maiden used her magic to attack from afar.
The knights quickly recovered from their stupor and rushed back to push the monsters attacking in the Old District. Soon enough the War Wagon came rushing down the street, its spike-covered wheels tearing through the monster's bodies while the dwarf on the chariot laughed while firing away the wooden bolts, easily tearing through the bodies of one of the giant goblins as they fell like a heavy tree.
"You see that Long-Ears! That's dwarven ingenuity! Now you're not the only one firing your arrows at the monsters."
"That may be dwarf, but if I was the one firing, I'd make every arrow count not miss half the time. Stick to your spells and leave the archery to the professionals!"
The dwarves and lizardmen were not far behind quickly dispersing through the streets to aid the struggling knights. They could see a pack of the Hellhounds growling and snarling before charging forward, many injured and frightened people running from them, those not fast enough were quickly pounced upon.
"Alright boys form up and create a shield wall!"
The dwarves quickly stood side by side with shields and spears facing forward, they did this until the covered the entire road behind them were the lizardmen with weapons ready as the Hellhounds drew ever closer. The Hellhounds slammed into the row of dwarves, not caring about the spears that pierced their bodies, but the line of dwarves held, thankfully being reinforced by the lizardmen pushing behind them.
"Now Dragontooth Warriors! Descend on the enemy!"
More than a dozen of the skeletal warriors quickly climbed over the lizardmen and leapt onto the struggling Hellhound, with weapons in hand they gathered from the streets they quickly went about hacking and slashing at the monsters. It had a few tense minutes, but the combined forces had cleared the streets within the immediate area. The groups quickly went about examining their casualties, Goblin Slayer and the others went about meeting the near the center of where they had first entered into the city.
"Damn, that's one hell of an entry. I got eight of these bastards myself. What about you lot?" Spearman eagerly ready to boast about his achievements.
"I got nine of them if you have to ask." Heavy Warrior chuckled as he saw the irritation of Spearman's face.
"Six." Goblin Slayer checked the bodies around him.
The adventurers quickly conversed with one another while the King spoke with the leaders of the dwarves, elves and lizardmen about the status of the forces thus far. The King then noticed the twenty knights who had been fighting when they first arrived, a smile crossed his face as he moved away to greet them.
"Your Majesty." The leade female knight bowed her head towards the King.
"I am glad to see that you are…"
"Why the hell did you abandon us?"
Everyone went silent as all eyes fell upon the young male knight who angrily screamed at the King.
"We've been having to fight for nearly a month. Watching as friends died or became these horrid monsters we've been forced to kill! You were not here to lead us, only now do you show up and expect us to follow your orders. The gods damn you!"
The King was silent as looked toward the young knight, the scowl on his face present while the other knights looked at their comrade as though he had lost his mind.
"You're right. I was not here when this siege began." The King walked toward the young knight and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "These past two months, I have been traveling the countryside fighting the Necromancer's forces. I had sent word to make the Capital ready, but it would seem that my message was intercepted. I have no right to demand this of any of you, so I ask…will you follow me in the defense of this city?"
The knight were stunned by what the king asked them, during the initial phase of fighting more knights has rushed toward the gates and were surprised to find the King present along with so many additional warriors. The knights quickly bent a knee to the King, bowing their heads toward him; the other knights nearby had done the same as they could easily see this King was not a coward.
"My Lord!" Came the unified and triumphant response from the knights.
"Rise my most splendid knights. Now is the time for us to plan not just for defense but for a counter-attack to reclaim our city." The King motioned for his knight to get back to their feet. "Tell me, what is the status of the city. How large a force are we expected to fight? The citizens, where are we moving the injured?"
"My lord. Since the infection began some time ago, we estimate no less than 40% of the people have been afflicted by this horrifying transformation. The number of dead and injured is well in the thousands. We've been trying to evacuate them to the castle, but the roads there are becoming far more dangerous with every passing day."
"We also want to mention that your sister, the Princess is there at the castle working with her fellow Earth Mother Acolytes to treat the injured."
"I am relieved to hear that. But as what to do now…we need a plan and it must be shared with everyone." The King was silent as he carefully thought about what had been said and what would be the next best course of actions. "Right. The first step is to fully secure the Old District, once the location has been made safe, it can be a fall back point for troops and civilians. Have those who can use purify treat any and all water sources, the contamination is being distributed from there. If any of you have taken well water as of recent, throw it out!"
"What of those who are injured and unable to flee?"
"Outside these gates, there was no sign of the monsters. I want doctors and aids to set up treatment tents, use spells and healing potions sparingly, primarily for those critically injured. For the others I want bandages, cloths and herbs used to treat them." The King looked toward the nearby adventurers who aided in recovering the injured and nodded his head. "Send this word to all adventurers. Each person below silver shall rise one rank, no promotion exam required. With our forces depleted and so many injured, we need everyone working together. All silver rank adventurers will be compensated 200 gold coins for their service to the kingdom."
The nearby adventurers who heard this smiled and redoubled their efforts, carrying the people out of the city and bringing with them cloths to be used for simple bends and tents. Guild Girl, Cow Girl and the other noncombatants used the wagons to transport the more injured who were unable to walk back out the gates while the others
"But how do we spread the word? There are so many spread out." The King was not sure of the best way to send his instructions. "Messenger doves won't be able to make it to all locations. They can't deliver the message across such a wide area."
"Then you're quite lucky to have the aid of a dwarf your majesty." Honored Uncle smiled be he looked out toward the top of the stone walls that surrounded the capital and began to make a sound like a crow.
The others watched as he continued this action, some not exactly sure what he was doing until they heard a similar sound. Everyone looked up and could see several large black birds circling around; as Honored Uncle continued to call out even more birds continued to join them until at last the landed on the nearby rooftops, nearly three dozen large ravens looked down at the adventurers.
"Ravens. Is there any companion better than this bird?" Honored Uncle held out his arm as one landed and he began to whisper to it be raising his arm to the sky. "Be off with you."
The raven took to the air cawing rapidly as the other ravens took to the sky and joined it, the mass of bird circling around one another before they eventually flew off in different directions all around the city.
"Purify the water!"
"The King has returned!"
"Make for the west gate!"
The ravens continued their shrieking their messages over and over, smiles crossing the faces of many who heard the cry while other looked on with wide eyes as the ravens continued to fly over the city. The time for smiling would not last as they could hear the collective growls and roars of the monster, they had been drawn to the sounds of conflict and pursued prey that was heading for the west gate.
"All troops ready your selves for the next attack! Be ready to defend those evacuating! We must secure this district if we are to move further and defeat the Necromancer!" The King raised his sword high as his soldiers and knights began to regroup in readiness for the next assault.
xxxx
"Hmm…what is that noise?"
From the highest vantage point of the Tower of Law, Necromancer could hear the sounds of horns blaring in the distance, he looked ahead and saw what appeared to be a large force charging through the gates. He could recognize the colors of the King and saw an armored figure riding atop a large black wolf as they entered the city and attacked his creations.
"My, my, my…they've finally arrived. The King, the heroes and even that odd figure from the village. What was it they called him…ah yes, the Goblin Slayer." The Necromancer chuckled as he continued to watch the city burn but smiled as this new force managed to push his forces back. "Very interesting, I must make note of all these new observations for my research."
"Previous analysis: After a month-long siege, forces appear scattered, all district well within control of subordinates, castle is only strong point left to fall.
Observation: The King and other adventurers have arrived at Capital with allied forces, estimate 500 or less.
Observation: Allied forces have entered into district, secured first streets around the west gate entrance.
Observation: Allied forces have fortified their position in anticipation of coming attack.
Theory: Even with additional support, overwhelming number of creations should break them with an hour or less."
"Very well my King, let us see what you and the others can do in the face of my miracles." The Necromancer smiled as he eagerly rubbed his hands together while watching the monster draw closer to the group.