Also Titled: Two Against An Army? Seems Legit.
Arthur had imagined the forest beyond the canyon to be as sickly as the one before. He was pleasantly surprised to find an open grassland waiting for them with little islands of healthy trees scattered about. Directly ahead of them rose a gigantic light grey castle, the afternoon sun casting a faint glow over it like the proverbial beacon of hope that it was.
"Tir Asleen!" Lukas crowed, soaring above the two horses.
As they got closer Arthur admired the huge structure, the many towers, the thick-looking walls, and the imposing main keep peeping over the top of the walls. Alfred however noticed the fact that no man patrolled the wall tops and that most of the towers looked to be in a state of disrepair.
They entered the open portcullis and traveled through the gatehouse without incident. It wasn't until they approached the open main gates that Arthur had any inclination that something was wrong. Alfred looked distrustfully at the open wooden doors. They were warped and old, with boards missing here and there. He looked around at the courtyard. Not a soul other than themselves was to be seen and the whole place had a desolate feeling to it. Scattered around the area were black boulders, long and thin. Arthur gulped as he looked upwards. The bridges above them connecting the keep to the walls looked unsafe and the flags hanging from the towers were tattered to shreds.
Alfred dismounted first, wandering around. "Hello?" he yelled, his voice echoing against the stones. He approached one of the black stones. "Hello!" The wind whistled. He leaned his hand against the stone, looking around some more. He was about to pound the rock in frustration when he finally got a good look and the rock. There was a face in there! A human face twisted with fear and agony! He yelped and backed away, looking the stone up and down. His eyes widened in horror as he realized that a whole human being had been trapped in the rock. Alfred looked around again, finally noticing the human silhouettes in all the boulders. Arthur came up behind him, carrying Lilli, and simply gaped in shock. He flinched when the Daikini turned on him angrily.
"Why did I listen to you, peck?" Alfred made his voice high pitched and mocking. "'Everything will be alright once we get to Tir Asleen'." He scoffed and pointed to the gate. "The only army around here in the one about to ride across the valley and wipe us out!"
The General pulled his mount to a stop and the rest of his group followed suit. Just across the valley lay the ruined castle. Behind the helmet he grinned.
"We will wait here for the rest. They're not going anywhere."
"But Elizaveta said we'd be safe here!" Arthur reasoned.
The Faerie Queen's forehead creased with worry as one of her scouts gave their report.
"It's been so long since I've visited, I just assumed… Oh dear."
"Safe? Dude, look at these guys! This place is cursed, peck. It's falling apart, open your eyes! And it-" A squishing sound beneath Alfred's foot made him look down. He'd stepped into a fresh pile of excrement. He disgustedly shook it off and cursed under his breath. "Trolls," he finally said, hammering in the final nail to their hope's coffin.
Arthur looked up at the bridges again, more nervous than ever. "I hate trolls…" he muttered. They were hairy, filthy beasts that had plagued his village when he was small. He'd almost been carried off by one of them only to be saved by his elder brothers.
Lukas alighted on one of the stones and said what they were all thinking. "This is the work of Ivan!"
Alfred shook his head and walked towards the keep, leaving the wizard, the crow, and the baby behind.
Arthur looked around uncertainly. He was about to follow Alfred when Lukas croaked, "Arthur, the wand. Turn me back into a human."
"...Are you sure?"
The General barely spared Natalia a glanced as she pulled up alongside him. Behind her came two hundred men, more than enough to finish the job.
"Prepare your men, we attack immediately."
Natalia paused. "Sir?"
An annoyed grunt.
She pressed on. "Back during the winter when we were betrayed… did the army have more to eat than everyone else?"
"How does this pertain to what we are doing?"
"I just-"
"Of course our soldiers had extra rations, they protected our country after all."
Natalia nodded, trying to ignore the fact that her superior sounded oddly evasive.
Alfred grunted as he pushed the doors to the armory open. His eyes lit up at the sight of all the dusty yet still usable weapons. Tir Asleen must have had a large army to require such an extensive amount of crossbows, spears, maces, and swords. Soooo many swords! He laughed as he flitted from one rack of weaponry to another. The walls were still strong, he'd seen catapults on the towers and if he had time to set up traps… They might make it out of this.
A richly adorned black and gold suit of armor caught his eye. This was obviously made for a king.
"Well, don't mind if I do…"
"Hurry up and transform me," Lukas snapped, shuffling his feet in the dirt.
Arthur petulantly bounced Lilli with one hand and tried not to pout. "I can't do it. I'm just not a sorcerer."
The crow fluttered onto a fallen wooden beam. "You can be. Speak and be one with the words."
Arthur gritted his teeth and raised the wand with his free hand. He still remember the awful, blood boiling pain. Quickly remembering the new spell Lukas had taught him in the maze, he began chanting.
"Avalorium, greenan, luatha, tye-"
Just as the wand began to glow and his fingers started to ache a thundering broke his concentration. He looked away, not noticing that Lukas was growing and his feathers turning white. No, he was much more interested in the Nockmaar army he saw riding up to the open gate. He yelled into the keep, "Alfred! The General's coming!"
"You idiot!" a voice baaed. Arthur turned back to Lukas… and saw a billy goat.
"Lukas?" At least he hadn't exploded.
"Arthur, arm that catapult up there!" Alfred yelled, pointing up to walls. The ruddy idiot was decked out like some general himself! Thoroughly bewildered, Arthur obediently climbed the stairs.
Meanwhile, Alfred rushed to the gate. There was no time to try and make the rusty portcullis mechanism work, so he braced his feet against the wall and tried to close the wooden doors that usually wouldn't budge for less than three men. Desperation and his ridiculous strength pushed the first door closed. A quick peek out revealed the army to be almost on top of them. He practically rammed into the next door, forcing it closed. He grabbed the giant wooden beam that would fit into the slots on both doors to seal it. His arms trembled against the weight. It sounded as if the army would burst through at any second. With one last yell he slammed the beam into place, effectively locking the gates. There were hurried shouts of "Whoa!" and even the sound of a panicked horse from beyond the gate.
Alfred laughed through a crack in one of the doors, looking right into Natalia's angry gaze.
Lukas trotted up to him. "Good work, idiot."
"What the hell happened to you?!"
Natalia glared at the laughing blue eyes before the General started snapping out orders.
"Natalia, get a battering ram!"
Alfred rolled a barrel out of the keep and past the murky pond nearby. This would be essential for his first trap.
Natalia located a straight, tall tree and pointed to it with her sword. "Cut it down!"
As her men went to work her thoughts wandered to the terrible winter. There had been barely any food. Her cheeks had sunken in and her ribs had been prominent. Her sister… she bit her lip.
She didn't like thinking about her sister. It hurt too much.
"Faster!" she yelled.
Struggling greatly, Arthur loaded the catapult with rocks.
"Turn the catapult so it faces inside!" Alfred called, dragging spare helmets up the stairs and heading towards another catapult.
"Inside?!"
"Yeah, that gate won't hold for long." The warrior eyed him seriously. "When they start attacking the gate, get into the keep and barricade yourself in a room with Lils."
The tree finally went down and everyone else got to work chopping off the limbs.
Natalia suddenly remembered how calm her brother had been through it all, how decisive and kingly he'd looked. How… well fed... he'd looked…
Alfred practically cackled as he ran around the keep, setting up the bear traps he'd found. Arthur, standing on the bridge and looking down, shook his head in amusement.
They both paused when they heard a deep BOOM accompanied by the cracks and creaking of old wood. The battering ram was ready.
Remembering Alfred's instructions he hurried across the bridge to the door that led inside the keep. He had no way of knowing that a disgusting black figure was following his progress, clinging to the underside of the bridge boards, nor that another was watching from atop the keep.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
There was only one problem… the door was locked. Underneath the bridge, the troll growled and its strong, furry, black hands grasped the supports.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Arthur laid Lilli down on a moss covered boulder near the door and looked around for something to batter it open.
With a sudden leap the troll from the top of the keep swung down and landed in front of Arthur, growling gutturally. Arthur yelped and backed away in fear.
Lukas saw his predicament from the ground and called, "Use the wand on that troll!"
He struggled to pull it out of his bag, but Arthur soon had the wand in hand. Facing his biggest fear, he yelled, "Locktwaar!"
A bolt of blue light shot from the wand and hit the troll square in the chest. It doubled over and began screaming in pain. Green mist began rising from it's fur.
"He should have used bellalockt," Lukas mumbed.
Arthur watched in horror as the troll was transformed into a hairless fleshy ball the size of a dragon's egg. Two reptilian heads poked their way through the membrane and hissed at him.
"Eugh!" With a powerful kick he sent the squalling… thing off the bridge and it fell the fifty feet down into the dank pond below. The water began bubbling violently.
BOOM!
The doors broke.
Alfred quickly hid behind the barrel and waited for the first few men to come. For their part, all they saw was an overturned barrel and three crossbows propped atop it.
The water bubbled on.
The General was enraged. That worthless warrior had positioned the barrel close enough to the gate that he was able to keep picking off his men and stop them from advancing while avoiding their arrows and hiding behind the barrel.
After a few minutes Alfred ran out of crossbow bolts and unsheathed his sword. He stood and swung it in the air, hoping to intimidate them. Unbeknownst to him, a gigantic, two headed beast rose from the water behind him.
The Nockmaar soldiers froze at the sight of the monster. Many had heard of the eborsisk, a two headed water creature related to the hydra. One head spouted fire and the other had a poisonous bite. They retreated, gathering just outside the gatehouse.
Alfred grinned, thinking he himself had scared them all away. Then he heard the roar.
He turned around and looked up.
Without another thought he ran, following his enemies. One head of the eborsisk let out a burst of flame to hurry him along.
Alfred finally stopped once he was safe amidst the soldiers and they all looked at this new threat. He exchanged a disbelieving look with a Nockmaar soldier. With a sudden burst of realization, he looked to his right and found Natalia staring at him with an amused expression. Everyone else quickly realized just who was in their midst.
"Get him!"
He had no choice but to run back to the keep.
Arthur pressed himself against the wall in an attempt to keep the eborsisk from noticing him. Had he really made that?!
Alfred was everywhere and nowhere, leading men into bear traps, firing catapults, dodging arrows and the eborsisk's teeth and flames. The odds were against him and he loved it.
The fiery eborsisk head noticed Arthur. The Nelwyn grabbed Lilli and started running across the bridge, hoping to reach Alfred. The head's throat pouch bulged for a second before it spewed out fire all across the middle of the bridge. Arthur yelled and stumbled to a halt before turning tail to head back to the keep door.
Natalia inadvertently saved his life by firing an arrow just below the eborsisk's eye. Other archers followed and the beast was distracted. Rumbling deep in its throat, the poisonous head bent down and chomped down on a man, pulling him right off his horse. Almost politely, it held out his flailing lower half to the fiery head and they shared their first prey. More arrows were fired, but they only agitated the eborsisk and stuck to it's tough hide like toothpicks.
"Destroy the beast! Find the baby!" The General yelled. He ignored the wild chase Alfred was leading his men on and scanned the area with keen eyes.
Lukas was enjoying himself immensely. He'd made it his personal mission to headbutt as many soldiers off the walls as possible and he was doing it with right goodwill.
Arthur hide Lilli in the same spot as before, wondering how she was staying so calm when he himself was internally panicking.
The troll from under the bridge sprang up behind him, clubbing the back of his head. Arthur stumbled forward and instinctively grabbed a fire arrow that had landed in the railing. He swung the arrow at the troll and it backed away, displaying the inherent fear most animals have towards fire.
The main doors to the keep were closed securely, so the Nockmaar soldiers tried one of the side doors. The door opened without effort, but they set off Alfred's trap in the process. Two crossbows fired simultaneously, killing the first two men.
Alfred meanwhile jumped out of a pile of musty hay and brandished a pair of crossbows. He scared a group of men and shot at them before disappearing again.
Despite it's aversion to heat, the troll managed to drive Arthur back towards the fire. Suddenly remember the magic acorns, he scrambled in his pouch for one. He fumbled with it though and it slipped from his hands. As it hit the wooden beam beneath his feet it turned the wood to stone.
Lilli, suddenly bereft of her guardian, began crying. The troll heard and spun around, exposing it's back to Arthur. Taking the chance Arthur stabbed it in the back and it screamed in pain. They ended up grappling for a few moments before the boards beneath them suddenly gave way and they fell. The troll grabbed the nearest board and Arthur clung to the trolls leg, forcing them to both dangle above a frightening drop.
Arthur saw a supporting beam just a foot away from him. gathering his courage he let go of the troll's foot and grabbed for it wildly. One hand managed to grab it and he quickly clung to the beam for dear life.
The eborsisk noticed the still dangling troll and snatched it up, once again sharing the meal between the two heads.
The Nelwyn stayed where he was, quivering, hoping that it wouldn't notice it. More arrows drew it's attention to the ground and he swiftly pulled himself back up onto the bridge. He checked on Lilli, she smiled at him and he grinned wearily back.
Natalia watched the lone warrior closely. Alfred had used up all his crossbows and was now proving his prowess with the sword.
She honestly didn't know what to think. Her head told her she shouldn't believe a word the man said but something deep inside her whispered that she was fighting for the wrong cause. She'd found inconsistencies with what her brother had told her and his actions in her quest yo gain his attention. What was she supposed to think?!
Alfred climbed to the wall top, kicking a pursuer down the stairs. He scanned the scene. The eborsisk, while still a risk, had done a great job of causing confusion and spreading the General's army thin. If he could find Arthur, they might be able to escape in the confu-
"ARTHUR!" he yelled, suddenly catching sight of him. The Nelwyn was trying to break the door down, but what Alfred could see and Arthur couldn't was a third troll crawling down the wall towards him. The bridge was almost completely destroyed by the fire so the Daikini couldn't get to him that way. An empty catapult caught Alfred's eye… He had an idea.
The troll leapt on top of Arthur without warning. Dazed, Arthur barely had the wits to protect his face from its sharp claws.
Natalia didn't know what to think when she saw Alfred climb into the basket of the catapult.
Fighting off men with two swords, Alfred cut the rope holding the catapult in place.
"ARTHUUUUUUR!"
The eborsisk heads watched with curiosity as a man flew over them.
All Arthur heard was the sound of metal crashing against stone and a small grunt before powerful hands pulled the troll off of him and flung it away in the eborsisk's direction.
Alfred grinned down at him and pulled him to his feet.
"Here," he said, handing Arthur one of his swords.
How on earth…?
The fire breathing eborsisk head (which Alfred had dubbed Sparky) swung its giant head around and growled at him.
Letting out an exasperated puff of air, Alfred decided to finish the stupid thing off. He let loose a war whoop and jumped off the bridge and onto the top of it's head. However, he soon regretted this as it began shaking its head wildly.
Two soldiers had actually managed to enter the keep while avoiding all the traps (they'd stuck to the back the whole time) and opened the door Arthur had been trying to enter from the inside. The Daikini nearest the door saw Lilli and shouted, "The baby!" in amazement, ignoring the Nelwyn.
Neither man was prepared for Arthur's furious charge. The first Daikini let out a low groan as Arthur's sword pierced his torso and he slumped against the wall. Arthur and the other soldier both ended up tumbling down the stairs in the confusion. Arthur broke his pride in the fall. The soldier broke his neck.
Arthur was almost sure he hadn't broken any bones when a boot slammed down next to his face and cold laughter echoed up the stairs. Looking up, Arthur gasped and shrank back, his eyes fixed on the skull shaped helmet.
Somehow Alfred had managed to cling to Sparky's head long enough to pull out his sword. Silently apologizing to Sparky (This thing was really cool!) he plunged the blade deep into its skull, through the brain, until the tip poked through the chin. It screamed and bucked, finally throwing Alfred off.
Natalia saw him hit the ground and rushed forward, her sword drawn. Before Alfred could move she jabbed it towards his throat, letting it hover inches from his skin. He watched her warily, his chest rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath.
That indefinable moment passed between them again.
She grabbed him by the front of his armor, pulling him to his feet. With another jerk, she crashed her lips into his.
It was crazy. It was stupid. It was going against her brother. But something deep inside her told her it was right.
As he kissed her back fervently, Alfred vaguely realized that the blissful euphoria was back. This time, though, it was real.
Then Sparky's head exploded.
Unable to live on it's own, the poisonous head let out a shriek and fell to the earth. The eborsisk was dead.
Alfred and Natalia separated with a jerk.
"Aw, I'll miss him," Alfred whined. Natalia lightly batted his shoulder.
"Matthias' army! Get the general!" one of the Nockmaar soldiers shouted, pointing towards the broken gate. In the distance but approaching quickly was Matthias and the hundred men he still had.
Unnoticed, two tiny heads popped out of Matthias' saddlebag.
"Ve are here!" Roderich yelled.
Gilbert whooped excitedly, "You are rescued! CHARGE!"
The General ran out of the keep and mounted his horse, holding a tiny, crying bundle with one arm. He watched impassively as the rebel and his captain fought back to back, fighting the few soldiers he had left. Gathering all the able men he had left, there were only ten, he led the charge out of the gate.
"No mercy!" he roared, heading straight for the opposing army. He dodged Matthias' horse then left a path of bodies and riderless horses as he broke through Matthias' men, leaving his own to be cut down.
Arthur woke with a painful head wound. He was dizzy, frightened, and bereft. Tottering out of the keep, he kept yelling, "Lilli! Lilli!" Another wave of giddiness hit him and he felt to his knees, sobbing.
Natalia noticed him first, she shook Alfred's shoulder urgently and pointed to his friend. Alfred's eyes widened when he saw his companion crumpled over. "Arthur!" he yelled, sprinting over to him with Natalia hot on his heels.
"Lilli's gone!" Arthur wailed. The two Daikinis knelt next to him and Alfred helped him up while Natalia grabbed a fresh cloth and her waterskin to clean the wound. "They've taken her. He- I couldn't-" He'd failed. Again.
"Arthur, can you ride?"
Arthur looked up. Alfred's eyes shone with determination. Hesitantly Arthur nodded.
"Then let's ride."
*flops to the ground* Again with long action sequences...
And yeah, Alfred and Natalia fell into the I-love-you-even-though-we-barely-know-each-other cliche. XP I feel like if the movie had been longer, or Sorsha and Madmartigan had interacted more, that it would have been more believable. I mean, c'mon! Madmartigan was under the influence when they first kissed-
Monty: *pulls soapbox out from under her and watches as she falls to the ground*