Chapter 164: Thin Ice
"FALL BACK!"
The cry went out as the darkspawn horde seemed to lunge forward like the finger of an angry god. Genlocks, Hurlocks, shrieks, and tainted ghouls swept over right wing of the army. A wedge of armored ogres slammed into the cavalry, horses were lifted over monstrous horned heads and flung into the Ferelden defenders; others were torn in half, what remained used as makeshift weapons by the snarling giant darkspawn.
Fergus Cousland watched in horror as the shifting darkspawn force maneuvered closer and closer to the distant trebuchets and ballistae. The reserves had been forced to abandon the siege equipment to try and reinforce the collapsing left wing of the army.
"FALL BACK!" the shouts continued.
"FALL BACK!"
Trebuchets no longer fired, the horde had moved in too close. Ballistae launched their bolts at point blank range, right into the faces of a newly formed wedge of advancing ghouls.
Fergus' eyes widened with horror.
A single word went through him, filling him with horror!
Kallian.
"SOLDIERS TO ME!" He called out, trying to rally his weakened cavalry; they had charged again and again into the horde, and despite the trail of bodies left in their wake, more and more darkspawn seemed to flow into the gaps.
"To the ballistae," he ordered, waving his sword around, trying to rally his men.
"TO THE BALLISTAE!"
The war horses leapt forward, their riders chopping at the advancing darkspawn, heads and arms flew away as Fergus and his men hacked their way towards the endangered siege engines.
"FORWARD!" the Teyrn of Highever shouted!
"FORWARD!"
Yet for every rider that followed him, two more fell as they made their way to the distant hill. Either dragged off their mounts by savage darkspawn, or shot out of their saddles by bolts or foul spells cast by darkspawn emissaries.
The worst, however, were the ghouls.
Fergus coughed as he split the head of a diseased creature wearing what had once been a Ferelden military uniform. Black ichor geysered as the ghoul fell.
Yet the enemy did not stop. The victims of the darkspawn plague no longer had minds of their own. Whoever they had been was gone, swept away by the fever and the taint that now burned in their blood. Soldiers marched with washerwomen, tailors, and farmers, all lost to the plague. Diseased wheat before the scythe, bodies used to break the Ferelden lines. Any soldier that hesitated when the ghouls attacked were dragged down and torn to pieces by them, if they were lucky. If they were not, the creatures would leave them bitten moaning on the battlefield. These were left to suffer the ravages of the Blight, to rise again and take their place among the ghouls.
So many, Fergus realized as he tried to cut his way through and reach his elven lover. He…
He pulled up short, his horse reared up.
A group of children stood before him, cutting him off.
He only just managed to maintain his seat.
The sight horrified him.
The eldest may have been fifteen, the youngest eight or seven, they stared at the Teyrn, their eyes pale as milk, their faces covered with weeping black sores.
As one, the children shrieked.
They rushed the Teyrn, trying to pull him from his horse!
Children they may have been, but now they were ghouls!
And every ghoul in the horde now sought to end their lives.
He pushed them back; he kicked a girl away from his leg while he brought his pommel down on a ten year old boy's head.
The thing snarled, a liquid gargly sound, it reached out for his face with long bony fingers.
He flipped the creature off, and put his heels into his mount's sides.
It leaped forward, scattering the ghouls.
Fergus choked back a cry of horror!
He tried not to think of what had just happened!
He tried not to think of the boy.
He tried not to think of Oren.
Not now!
Not now!
Kally.
Focus on Kally!
He rode hard for the hill; Kally was up here, helping defend the trebuchets.
She was alright, he thought.
She had to still be alright.
IOI
"FALL BACK!"
Sten howled as he brought Asala around in a wicked arc. The darkspawn trying to push past him squealed and fell, bodies littered the field around where the Qunari warrior had planted his feet, yet it did not matter, for every spawn they cut down, five more seemed to be waiting to take its place!
So many, the Qunari thought, so many…
…Too many.
At his side stood Oghren, the drunken dwarf had broken his battle ax dealing with an ogre and now fought with a heavy war hammer, scattering any enemy that drew to close. He screamed rage and obscenities at any foe that dared try to slip past him, but to Sten's practiced eye, he knew that it would not be enough.
Too many, he thought, far too many.
It was only a matter of time now, he realized.
The darkspawn horde would soon overwhelm them.
"Some fun, huh?" Oghren shouted over the din of battle, he struck a genlock in the belly with his hammer, as the creature fell; he brought the heavy weapon down on the monster's head.
It toppled over with a crushed skull, that and merest of gurgles.
"COME ON!" the dwarf shouted, "COME ON, YOU NUG HUMPERS! Ole' Oghren is waiting; he's got enough for all of you. He…"
A crossbow bolt struck the dwarf in the chest.
He staggered back.
A shriek leapt over its compatriots, it cried its foul war cry as it lunged at the staggered dwarf.
Sten managed to catch the beast in midair. Asala's blade impaled the leaping monster before it could bring its weapons down on the wounded berserker.
The Qunari howled with fury as spun the blade around, the motion caused the monster to fly off, the fine blue steel blade, split the monster in two, black ichor rained down on the advancing spawn, emboldened by something that only they knew.
Sten dared a quick glance at Oghren; he broke off the feathered end of the bolt, and somehow regained his feet.
The dwarf spat blood.
"That the best you got!" he shouted, "Not good enough! Come on you Fuckers!"
"COME ON!"
Sten's red eyes narrowed, he could no longer see where the army had first punched into the city; the darkspawn had managed to close that route off.
The Qunari glared.
They were surrounded; the army was pinned against the walls of Denerim. They could fall back into the city, but if they did, the line would collapse.
They were now caught between a hammer and an anvil.
And the darkspawn continued to hammer them…
…Again, and again, and again!
It was slipping away, he realized. The trebuchets were no longer firing, and the darkspawn had them pinned against the walls, too many, far too many darkspawn.
The tactician in him began to embrace the hopelessness of their situation. It was only a matter of time now, if the wardens did not succeed soon.
Even if they did succeed…
…who could say what would be left when it was over.
His blade began to dip.
Perhaps…perhaps it was better to fall.
"GET THAT BLADE UP!"
He glanced over, Oghren was glaring at him; blood stained his red beard.
"WE AINT DONE YET!" the dwarf shouted.
HE whirled his hammer over his head and bellowed a might war cry.
"WE AINT DONE!"
Despite the chaos swirling around them, the Qunari felt a brief twinge of shame for what he had been considering.
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
He was a Sten of the Beresaad, the Vanguard of the Qunari!
Never let it be said that a Sten gave up before some drunken dwarf!
He raised his blade, and whispered what some might consider a prayer.
Struggle was an illusion.
Victory was in the Qun.
He raised Asala high.
"FORWARD!" he shouted, "RALLY! PUSH THEM BACK!"
"ATTASH QUNARI!" he cried.
Sten and Oghren surged forward, the soldiers at their back shouted as well, so many battle cries that what could be heard over the gates was a simple animalistic roar.
The line reformed, as the darkspawn broke against it, broke and reformed.
The defenders shouted a challenge.
This was not over yet!
They weren't done yet.
They weren't done.
IOI
"It is over, missy."
Kally ignored the veteran as she cut down another genlock. The spawn were swarming over the ballistae now, smashing the weapons to pieces. The firing crews drew their blades and tried to form up for protection. A group of genlocks did manage to seize one of the ballista and try to swing it around on the Fereldans.
One of the mages left behind to help stopped that. A fireball turned the weapon into shrapnel, stopping the darkspawn before they could make use of it.
It bought the defenders some time, but that was it.
Kally hissed angrily.
Where in Andraste's name were the wardens! Hadn't they reached the Archdemon by now? They could no longer see the beast flying over the city so she had hoped that the battle was nearly over.
Perhaps it was, she realized grimly.
Perhaps it would end with a darkspawn victory!
No, she refused to believe that.
She cut down a surviving hurlock, giving her a few moments to catch her breath.
She glared at the soldier next to her.
"We have to hold," she shouted, "We have to give the wardens more time.
"We're not giving up lass," the trebuchet commander assured her, but we can't stay here! Our position is overwhelmed. If we don't fall back and reform, these beasts will kill us all."
The man's grim words had the ring of truth in them. Before them the army was getting pushed back against the walls of the city, some would be able to fall back, but many would die pinned against those walls, and without the siege weapons to keep the spawn distracted, it would happen sooner rather than later.
She blinked, her eyes stung with tears when she thought of her family, her people trapped within the Alienage.
And when she thought of Fergus, the father of her child, she was filled with an equal sense of dread.
He may be lying dead somewhere on that field, and she could do nothing to change that. She…
An arrow whizzed past her head, as a company hurlock archers began to form up near the ruins of one of their doomed trebuchets, the creatures used the wreckage to get some elevation and started raining down shafts at the fleeing soldiers.
Kally's eyes narrowed dangerous, she brought up her shield and tried to rally the remaining men to help her charge that position.
They had to stop this now, before the monsters pushed them back any further.
They needed to silence those archers.
The sound of a war horn drew her attention, hers and the advancing darkspawn. Suddenly over the hill flowed the remnant of the Ferelden Cavalry, Fergus charged right down the throat of the advancing darkspawn, cutting down monster after monster. The archers that had been harrying their attempt to regroup scattered as several of the beasts were rode down by the charge of heavy horse.
Kally's heart leapt as she recognized the rider leading the attack, the markings of Highever on his armor.
"FERGUS!" she shouted excitedly, raising her blade in salute.
The darkspawn scattered, as the cavalry secured the Ferelden position…
…at least…for now.
"Kallian!" Fergus shouted as he leapt from his steed. The elf ran to him and let him pull her into his arms.
"You're safe," she heard him murmur beneath his helm.
"Praise the Maker you're safe."
She pulled away quickly, now was not the time for such shows of relief. They were still in grave danger.
They needed to do something about that.
"The horde is too close," she informed him, "We're going to have to pull some of these weapons back! Maybe we can draw some of the horde away from the city."
"It is too late," Fergus said, "More spawn are even now moving up that hill. We can hold for a bit, but…"
"WE HAVE TO TRY!" she shouted, "Alim and the others are counting on us. They...
Kally's eyes widened.
Large shapes began to fall from the sky!
No not fall, she realized, dive, they were…
"LOOK OUT!"
She pulled her lover out of the way as his mount and two of his fellow riders burst into flame! Their screams were cut short as their killers fell upon the burning victims, fell upon them and began to devour them!
Kally and Fergus staggered to their feet.
The sight that greeted them was horrifying.
They were large as horses with necks and tales as long as their bodies, their wingspans were wider than two merchants; carts. Their pale green looked almost black in the darkness of the tainted sky, their long beak like muzzles ended with white taint filled eyes; eyes that radiated a dark malevolence.
Kally brought up her shield just in time barely managing to shield both herself and Ferus.
A blast of searing flames struck her shield pushing them back. The elf screamed as the heat burned her forearm, but still she managed to hold.
These dragons were not as large as the Archdemon, praise the Maker for that, but that made them no less dangerous…
…and now, the sky was filled with them, more dragons than Kally thought existed.
They seemed to be everywhere!
All around them the Ferelden line broke, as these new arrivals used their flames to push the defenders back. Darkspawn flowed into the breaches the creatures made, trying to cut off any escape.
Fergus tried to hold the army together to keep the fall back as orderly as possible, but against this new threat.
There was little the few defenders could do to hold.
A group of archers did manage to form a wedge and bring down one of the beasts as it tried to return to the air, but their success was quickly snuffed out as two more dragons bathed the hill where they stood in fire, those that did not run were incinerated.
Kally and Fergus found themselves being pushed further and further back.
The dragons took to the air again, a few remained to harry Fergus and the survivors, but most turned towards the main army, and half of those made straight for the city walls, intent to join the battle inside the city.
Kally did not need to guess where those dragons were headed. No doubt to defend the Archdemon, and make things even more difficult for their friends.
There was little the elf or he noble could do from here, all they could do now was hold out, and try to give the wardens more time.
The wardens needed to reach the Archdemon, if they did not slay the beast soon…
There would be precious little left to save beyond Denerim's walls.
Again the horde surged forward, yapping and snarling like a pack of rabid dogs.
Fergus called for the men to stop, he brought up his sword and shield. Kally did the same.
They need more time, she thought to herself.
That is something we can buy them.
Hopefully…it would be enough.