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

long I can keep it up. But if I exhaust myself, don’t bring me down

yet. Let me recover and do it again if those bastards are still around.”

“Heard you. Now let me and Hrun play house decorating.”

Tyler stayed seated. He kept watching the movements of the enemy host. He took his meal while keeping an eye on them. Nothing changed except a movement of some

forces to the front. He could already see the rising of the false dawn. Only a few hours

left to go. He stood up and went to the mountain wall. He curled up and went to sleep.

“Havard, wake up.”

He sat up. He noticed the rain had stopped.

“Been trying to wake you, lad. Must have been more tired than you thought. Anyway,

your stage is finished. Better check it first. No lights, please.”

They went to the prepared area. It was next to the ledge. The two had laid down a flat

field, more wide than deep. Boulders of different sizes were lined up in three rows.

More were stacked behind the stage. He looked at the two.

“Hope this works. At the very least, we’ll squash some of them and provide a barrier for

the siege towers. The only thing left now is to wait.”

“It won’t be long now. My guess is they will attack at first light. We’ll be on the ledge

watching the festivities. Holler if you need something.”

Funny thing about waiting for something, thought Tyler, you feel it takes longer. He

was seated on the ground, his back to a large boulder. Slowly the sky lightened. Then

he heard it. The sound of thousands of voices. Men, dokkalfr, and jotnar. All shouting at

the same time. It reverberated throughout the Gap, reaching up to the mountain peaks.

He peered into the Gap. He could see the front rows already moving forward, covered

by large shields.

Catapults from both sides starting firing and the siege towers lumbered forward, drawn

by the huge armored beasts he saw before. Some armored beasts were being used as

moving towers, with a rough enclosure protecting those riding on them. Looking at

Scarburg, he could see movement on the walls. Unfortunately, he was closer to the

enemy than to the town so his vision didn’t allow him to see more.

The first rows were methodical in their approach. Though a few gaps were torn by

catapult projectiles and other defensive equipment, they merely closed ranks and

continued forward. The following ranks increased their speed and now followed directly

behind the first. A solid mass of infantry was next with smaller shields arrayed at the

front and held above their heads. Giants and trolls strode through the attacking forces,

heading for the town walls. The ogres he assumed to be within the mass of infantry, he

couldn't see any of them on the open field. It was Tyler’s first look at a full-scale battle.

One thing he did note is that there were too many details to keep watch on. No wonder

commanders kept back. Being in front would overwhelm with minute details the leader who stayed there. Strategic considerations will definitely escape him or her.

He let the first row pass his front. He wanted the mass of infantry which was moving at

the speed of the siege towers. As the initial rows of the gathered bulk entered the zone

he had previously designated, he let loose with AWAY! spells on the first group of

boulders. He took a look on where they landed. The rocks were landing at different

spots in the Gap. The smaller boulders reached almost as far as the other side while

heavier ones landed nearer to him. But the boulders didn’t just hit the ground. Most hit

and then rolled some distance with enough force to flatten anything in their way. Even

giants were not immune. Once hit, they were flattened, crushed, or thrown away by the

force of impact. A lot were wounded by stone fragments. The top of a siege tower was

hit by a boulder and disintegrated.

After that, he went down the line, casting spells, throwing off the deadly and massive

projectiles. He didn’t bother to see where they landed. What he had on his mind was to

release as many as he could down into the Gap. Moving to the second row, he adjusted

the direction and cast the AWAY! spell diagonally, in a direction further into the

attacking enemy. By the third row, he was already very tired and took a breather. He

again lay prone and looked into the Gap. It was chaos. The ordered ranks of the enemy

had disappeared. Large stones pockmarked the battlefield. He could see fighting on the

walls of the town but the siege towers, those not destroyed, had stopped. Proceeding in

a straight line for them was impossible, stones blocked their way. In some instances,

what the projectiles hit were the beasts hauling the towers.

On the field itself, he could see masses of attackers caught by boulders. It was as if

giant bowling balls were released on squishy pins. In one macabre scene, a giant rock

hit one corner of the defensive mass and then rolled diagonally deeper into it, leaving

bloody and dismembered figures in its wake. In another part of the field, the boulder

fragmented upon impact but the resulting stone shards laid low enemy warriors in a

circle around it. But more enemies were coming up towards the town. He decided to

wait until they reached his killing zone. The newcomers had disdained the use of

formations and were coming in a pell-mell fashion. As the first of the newcomers

passed the zone, he went back to the third row and started casting spells again. By the

time he got to the middle of the row of boulders, he was exhausted. Rumpr suddenly

appeared at his side.

“Stop and rest, young mage, or you’ll burn yourself out. The town is holding and the

rest of the enemy host is keeping back from running your gauntlet of rocks. They won’t

be moving for a while as Ymir’s lieutenant will pause and try to determine what to do

next. Their casualties have been heavy and their towers have stopped. So rest!"

“Thanks, Rumpr. I will.”

Tyler closed his eyes as he sat down again. After a few minutes, Hrun appeared beside

Rumpr