David Bishop and the Legend of the Orb by T.C. Crawford (tools of titans ebook .txt) 📕

scrambled through the camp frantically searching for the captain. She found him shouting orders to his men to gather as much water as they could from the nearby streams to help put out the fires.

“Captain!” she said, trying to catch her breath. “Tyrius said we are under attack by mages. We have to get the men into defensive position!”

“Just when I was hoping it was only an accident.” he said, shaking his head. “Okay, go tell the archers to get into line behind the defenses. I’ll get a small group of soldiers to help the others contain the fires while the rest of us get ready to face the enemy. I’ll meet you back with Tyrius near the front lines shortly. Go, get those archers ready!” he screamed before rushing off to get his men into position.

Erin quickly ran to the archery range and grabbed a bow and quiver before rushing off to find all the archers she could. She was able to locate several groups of men she knew to be good with the bow before directing them all to line up behind the barrier walls and begin firing into the tree lines.

She directed them to shoot anywhere they saw the flames coming from, hoping they would hit their mark and take down the mages before they could cause further damage to their camp. They immediately sprang into action and began lining up and firing volley after volley of arrows into the depth of the trees.

She could see dozens of balls of fire ignite seemingly out of nowhere and quickly fly over their heads and into the encampment beyond. The screams of men, women, and children rang throughout the camp and she knew from the horrendous sounds that some of them were dying.

People were rushing frantically around, some working to put out the fires, others to prepare for the attack, while some she could see were only children, screaming and crying amidst the confusion and chaos, paralyzed by the fear that consumed them.

Erin couldn’t believe her eyes. Only moments before the camp had been bustling with purpose, now it was a scene of total chaos and confusion.

The smoke from the fires started blocking the full view of the scene behind her; however, she could see the shadows of figures endlessly running back and forth. Formations of soldiers began to appear through the smoke, making their way toward the defensive line, preparing for battle with Captain Ryan leading the way.

Just as they lined up, the thunderous sound of footsteps coupled with the eerie sound of the screaming undead came echoing through the forest. It was almost muffled, like they couldn’t get enough air to make a real scream emit from their decaying bodies. The soldiers quickly lifted their shields, forming an impenetrable wall of steel, while holding their swords at the ready for the coming onslaught. Through the smoke they could see the shadows of hundreds of men running between the trees.

“Archers! Fire!” screamed Erin. Immediately dozens of arrows flew through the air over her head into the tree line. The sound of dozens of deadly impacts thudded through the forest as arrow after arrow struck its mark. Some of the shadow men fell to the ground while others continued their charge unwavering.

“Get ready men! Something tells me these defenses won’t hold them back forever!” cried Captain Ryan.

And almost as if in response to his call, the shadow men finally reached the barriers and flung themselves at it mercilessly, without concern for their own safety. Dozens became impaled in the jumble of spearheads, but it didn’t slow down the charge, as others simply climbed over their fallen comrades and continued full speed towards the line of soldiers.

“Steady, men, steady!” cried Captain Ryan. “Wait for it!”

The horde of undead were only feet away and the soldiers were getting uneasy waiting for the command to attack. They could see the whites of their eyes under their dark armor when at last Captain Ryan signaled the attack.

In unison the men bashed hard against the oncoming legion of undead, forcing them a step back, before lunging in with their swords to take them down. Blades connected with flesh, severing limbs and heads, causing dozens of undead soldiers to fall with the first wave of attacks, but the onslaught continued.

Fireballs were unceasingly being thrown over the front lines and into the encampment, wreaking havoc in the crowds behind the men. Erin ordered the archers to renew their efforts on the mages hidden in the trees and let the soldiers deal with the undead soldiers, seeing their arrows were having little to no effect on their unfeeling flesh.

Some arrows found their marks and the number of fireballs seemed to diminish, but there were still dozens of mages hurling balls of fire from the darkness beyond the tree line that seemed to be just out of reach of her archers.

Erin ran over to where Tyrius was standing to let him know of the situation. He nodded his head and instructed her to stay with the archers before running off into the smoke. She trusted him to take care of the situation, so she immediately set her focus back on the battle at hand and began firing her arrows at every fireball she could see forming in the darkness, hoping her arrows would meet their mark.

As she set another arrow onto her bowstring she glanced over to the front line where Captain Ryan and his soldiers were holding off the enemy onslaught with surprising efficiency. She could see wave after wave of the undead soldiers falling to their blades left and right. When one of Captain Ryan’s soldiers fell wounded, he would be quickly pulled away and replaced to fill the hole in the shield wall. They slashed and stabbed and battered the enemy with their sword and shield tactics and seemed to be coming out on top, despite the unending horde of undead soldiers mercilessly throwing themselves at their blades.

As the bodies stacked up, Captain Ryan ordered