The Accidental Archmage by Edmund Batara (read out loud books .TXT) 📕

DRAGON?”

“She prefers “Dreke” or “Draken”, lad. Not “Wyrm” or “Dragon”. Hates “wyrm” actually.

She's very polite. Anyway, I think we're here but it’s raining outside.”

Polite? A dragon? What do they do when they meet? Tea and crumpets?

“Hrun, would you terribly mind a roof over the ledge? I doubt if our young friend here

wants to be drenched.”

Hrun simply grunted. After some seconds, he looked at Rumpr and said something. An

opening appeared in the rock wall before them.

They stepped out. It was indeed raining. But an outcropping sheltered them from the

rain.

Tyler oriented himself. He stepped to the edge of the ledge and sat down. His Elder-

enhanced eyesight showed a sorry sight. To his right, he could see Scarburg. Its walls

still stood, pockmarked by signs of struggle. Burned and burning mantlets and other

equipment were on the field before the walls. Mounds of dead were on the field. A lot

of barricades have been destroyed and ditches filled in. As of the moment, nobody was

attacking the town. But smoke billowed from the settlement itself. Some structures

have been burned. The small tower fortifications have also sustained damage. All

details pointed to several heavy attacks and the struggle of the defenders to keep the

walls.

On his left was the enemy host, deployed in attacking formation. Mantlets, a few siege

towers, and catapults were deployed behind the front ranks. We must have done more

damage than we thought. The siege equipment is far less than what I expected. He

looked at the mass of the enemy. There was a lot of them. Torches and campfires

marked the entirety of the enemy force in the Gap. The rear of the host moved like a

living thing, the slightly twitching tail of a snake.

Most of the front ranks were already arranged in assault formations. And the entire

column stretched back for some distance, a good four miles in his opinion. Daylight

would bring a major attack as the enemy favored the use of the jotnar. They formed

the bulk of the forces available anyway. Giants, ogres and trolls, the shock forces of the

enemy, also do not do well at night. His shoulders slumped in disappointment.

When he began the skirmish against the jotnar and dokkalfr, it was an exercise in his mind. Now after the blood, the fear, the adrenaline, and near-death experiences, it had

become part of him. He wanted to see the battle through. He wanted to win. But the

mass of figures he saw brought him crashing back to reality.

Rumpr sat beside him.

“You look like you lost your favorite horse, lad,” Rumpr said. The being looked at the

deadly vista before them. “That's a lot of ants. But a smidgen of Ymir's true might.”

“Then why not send more?”

“You forget you’re dealing with a paranoid and a bit unhinged entity. Who has gone

through wars with the Nordic pantheon, with the dark elves, rebellious jotnar, and even

Sutr. He fears an attack anytime from long-standing enemies and even from erstwhile

allies. That's Ymir for you.”

“Look at that, Rumpr, how can I ever think of defeating them! There's too many!”

Hrun gave a grunt. He was kneeling behind them. Tyler didn’t notice. The being was

also looking at the mass of enemies.

“I see a stream,

Not a wall of shields;

I see water,

Not armor and swords;

One does not need,

To empty a river,

A flooding to prevent;

Barriers strong, will hold

True, when a storm surges,

Towards the far shore.”

“You know, Hrun, one of these days, I am going to find a madder and a more atrocious

skald as my teacher. Those lines stink.”

Tyler was silent. Hrun's words had some truth in them. There was no way he could

defeat the enemy in open battle. That would be tantamount to suicide. And to what

purpose? Scarburg would still fall. Ragnarok will follow.

He looked at the opposite side of the Gap. It was a distance of roughly a mile. The

sheer sides of the far peaks could be glimpsed through the pouring rain. He looked

down. The passage through the Gap below was narrowed by the rocks and boulders at

the foot of the mountains on both sides. That left a distance of less than a mile.

I could try to put as many barriers as I can between the enemy and the town. Break the flow of their attack. Narrow their frontage and minimize the impact of their attack.

That way, the defenders would face fewer enemies at any given time. Compared to a

wave of enemies all advancing in a wide frontage. Now the question. How to do it?

He looked around. There were rocks and boulders here and there but he doubted if he

had enough. He also needed a good level launching area. He would probably exhaust

himself quickly once he starts but no omelets without breaking some eggs. Or is it no

pain, no gain?

He turned to the two powerful beings.

“Hear me, please. I know you cannot go directly against Ymir. But would it be possible

to have a flat ledge nearby with plenty of large rocks and boulders. I will perform the

spells to release them down the Gap. It must be timed with their attacks so as to cause

casualties among the attacking jotnar and dokkalfr. Yet it will also bring down solid

barriers to break up their attacks.”

The two looked at him and talked between them. Tyler couldn’t get used to the

grinding language. At times it sounded like somebody scratching a blackboard. It rattled

his teeth.

Rumpr looked him and gave him an impish smile.

“We don’t see any problem with that, my lad. I doubt if they'll suspect a mage doing it.

No ordinary mage, even a High Mage, could keep the pace you’re thinking about.

Without our magic working the boulder throwing, no magical being will suspect us

lending a hand. They would suspect a rogue group of stone giants but that’s another

matter.”

“Thanks. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“Be careful with giving thanks, young mage. You don’t know if or when some may try to

collect on your appreciation.”

Tyler gave a wry grin. “That’s a lesson I need to be reminded about.”

“Anyway, rest while we play. Which reminds me. If a giant asks to play, don't accept.

You will not survive.” Another laugh accompanied Rumpr’s statement.

“I don’t know how