Born a Monster

Chapter 55: Born A Monster, Chapter 55 – Walls

Born A Monster

Chapter 55

Walls

Those who could moved inside the walls. The others – well, it was war. The Uruk showed up, dug trenches just outside our bow range, dug their way inward under their stone barriers, and then would spread out into a new row of trenches.

I got to fire two arrows before the watch realized I just didn’t have the training to wield a bow effectively. But there were other trained archers, including those with the actual Archer class.

People like Depelome shone and were celebrated. The rest of us hunkered down behind the crenelations.

The enemy looked to be entirely Black Fist in those early days, about six hundred strong and well provisioned. They may have been expecting to catch Narrow Valley with troops missing or defeated at Seacrest. If so, it seemed they weren’t deterred by finding a fully staffed town.

.....

“Why don’t they just go away?” Chanter asked. His real name was Agnopos, but his litany of repeating complaints had sounded to sergeant Gilean like a chant, and more people used his nickname than his real name.

“They probably can’t.” I said.

“Well, why not?”

“Honor and such. They have to live with others who will know what they’ve done.”

“Well what have WE done? It’s not like we’ve ever attacked them.”

There had been rumors that exactly that had happened, that people didn’t want to pay, or had insulted the Uruk when entering or leaving their lands. These are only rumors, and I know only that I chose to give them credit.

“Are you planning on asking them?”

“Why would I do anything that stupid?”

I shrugged. “If we never ask, we may never know.”

“I suppose. But why do you think they’re here?”

“The same as yesterday; I think they’ve come as the advance force of an army that means to conquer Narrow Valley.”

“Why? We’ve nothing they want!”

If that were true, we’d have never been able to negotiate passage through their lands.

There was a murmur to our right as one of the trench-diggers was escorted to the outer trench, an arrow sticking out of his arm. Initially, every little victory had been celebrated. Today, it was just part of normal life.

“I don’t see why we crouch behind these raised rock things.” He said. “They aren’t returning our arrows.”

I looked down at their latest progress. “Two days. Four at most. I’d rather be in practice when they are in range.”

“I’d rather they just went away. Four hundred of them isn’t enough to take the city.”

“It is if we defend stupidly.”

“But if we defend smart, we’ll win, right? And they’ll go away?”

“With the troops they have here now? I think we would win that battle.”

Agnopos spat over the wall. “Wish they’d figure that out and just go home.”

But those who have been reading this know that I had very low expectations once the real army arrived.

I didn’t even honestly expect to survive at this point; I just hoped to take one of those burly Uruk with me.

#

[Your Valor has reached rank 3. No further biomass evolutions are queued.]

Well, that was done. All in all, a little more than three months of evolutions. I was still repaying on the biomass loan.

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[Maternal Biomass Loan Reserve: 3044/2500 used, 31 biomass per day interest (1%). This loan is in RECLAMATION status, and may not be borrowed against.]

It wasn’t the loan itself that worried me, nor what it would claim if I ever defaulted again. Recall, if you would, that I required 54 biomass a day just to avoid starvation.

Eighty-five biomass, or most of what I could get by stuffing myself on grass three times a day. Well, it was more now that I had a fourth stomach slot, but that really didn’t matter. The grass was on the other side of the city wall.

Food was going to get tight, and with famine came disease. I’d done a little preparation for that last winter, and had been ignoring it since then, as other things came up.

I was preparing to suffer through the siege. As lofty as three Might may have seemed when I was young, it was still only human average.

Yes, impressive for my age. Still not impressive enough to avoid what was coming.

“I don’t see why they’re making us wait.” Agnopos said. “I wish they’d just assault the walls, and lose, and go home already.”

“Is that what you would do, if you were leading them?”

“YES! If there’s not enough men or orcs or whatever to attack a town, then you ought not to attack it.”

I shrugged. I had already tried to speak truth to him, and he didn’t want to accept it. That was his choice. I risked a look over the wall. “Doesn’t look like they’re going away.”

“Well I wish they would.”

Sergeant Gilean was making his rounds. He did that, just making sure we hadn’t died of boredom or some such. “Wishing they would go away again?”

“I don’t even care if they assault the walls. I just want them to realize they have no chance and to go away.”

“No chance, eh? I like the sound of that.” And then he was on to his next group of wall wardens.

I would have liked the sound of that, too, if I could have believed it.

I took comfort in the fact that sieges were long things, and we were far from the gate, where the most ferocious of fighting would be.

Still, I remembered the fighting on the walls at Montu’s Glory. We wouldn’t be spared, we’d just have an opportunity to see it coming.

A thunderous crash came from the east.

“What was THAT?” Chanter asked.

“That sounds like the first of many siege engines the enemy will set up to attack our walls.”

“But – but the walls are ENCHANTED! That’s useless.”

“Magic-”

“No! It’s USELESS! They should just GO HOME!”

He went on like that for some time.

#

Agnopos went to see the siege engine at work first, and then it was my turn.

I noticed that they had done a good job with the wood lot, this time. I wish it had been a source of pride rather than dread.

The original siege engine had been broken by those on the city walls, but they were in the process of building another.

I poked my eye as close to the machicolations as I could. “I see no damage to the wall.” I said.

“Enchantment’s holding, so far.” One of the soldiers stationed in that section of wall said. He was an elderly veteran, hair more white than gray, though not totally of that shade yet.

“So things go as well as can be expected?”

“For now, yes. Looks like there will be another machine to destroy before dusk. But mostly, a slow day today.”

“Sorry for your boredom.”

“Don’t be sorry, be bringing a deck of cards or something.”

“Maybe after they pay me.”

He grunted. “I’m not counting the days until then, either.”

And that is what I had seen with my own eyes. Agnopos had seen more, and wouldn’t shut up about it. Boulders hurled high into the sky, and hovering there like hawks, before descending on their targets with a mighty and thunderous crash.

“Do you think they would let you be on one of the siege weapon crews?” Oh please, just let him be yammering into any pair of ear-holes that weren’t mine.

“Oh, if only they would! I’d even take a ballista, if such an assignment were available.”

“We can only hope.” I said.

“I mean, it was a thing of awe, of beauty. It was poetry, but done with giant rocks.”

I rolled my eyes. “You have something new to say about it, then?”

He didn’t, but that didn’t dampen his enthusiasm in the least. He was off to see the next duel when the crashing began. I thanked the merciful spirits, but he was back again before dusk.

Fortunately, there was a break at dinner time when I let him go first. Then, I went in for a bowl of stew, viciously murdered by overuse of peppers and tomatoes. Whatever, it was enough nutrition to survive on, if just barely.

I still hadn’t gotten out of the habit of trying to release Black Snake at dusk. She had stolen her home, and hidden it somewhere. She still stopped by every few nights to ask questions.

The inns were still open, so I took in another meal to match my special nutritional needs. The townsfolk seemed animated enough, and there were plenty of them. Prices had gone up by a tin piece, or they had doubled, depending upon how you viewed things.

.....

Everyone’s bunks were set up in the towers. Day shift in one room, night shift in another. This meant that I got to hear about the poetry of siege engines AGAIN before being able to get to sleep.

#

WAKE UP

“No.” I mumbled, rolling over.

WAKE UP

“Ugh. Fine. What is it, Black Snake?”

“You must tell Raisa to teach me magic.”

“I do not command Raisa. Only Raisa commands Raisa.”

“Raisa says she will not teach me magic.”

“Then she will not.”

“You must make her do so!”

“How would I do that?”

“I don’t know. Use your physical thing words.”

“You want me to speak with her.”

“Yes.”

“Now.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not waking her up in the middle of the night to ask her to teach you.”

“She is awake. Come. Use your words.”

She urged me to hasten through the dressing process, urged me along roads, and tried to hasten my knocking on the Guild door.

“Duenan.”

“I know that voice. But Rhishisikk is on the wall.”

“My spirit demands that I speak with Raisa.”

“Well come back in the morning.”

“Raisa is awake, it must be now. I am sorry, Duenan.”

There was muttering I couldn’t make out through the heavy oak door, but then he unlocked and opened it.

QUICKLY, she urged.

I had to carry her across the threshold.

“She hasn’t been in that kind of hurry since the night we found Kismet.” He said.

“I just want this done so I can get back to sleep.”

“Ah, that’s me every dawn. Come find me when her business is done, and I’ll let you out.”

“Thank you, Duenan.”

HURRY HURRY THIS WAY

I sighed at her. Duenan chuckled, and returned to his rounds.

Raisa sat at the edge of a circle drawn with occult signs and sigils. I recognized some of them, enough...

“Summoning circle?” I asked.

“Oh. There you are. No, I will no longer teach you magic.”

“What? When have you ever done that?”

“Don’t pretend that your pet there has her own will.”

“First, she does. Secondly, anything you’ve been teaching her, she’s kept to herself.”

“Tell her to teach me magic.”

“A moment, I need to learn what is going on.” I said.

“What is going on is that both of you are about to disrupt the summoning and binding of a fire elemental.”

“Oh. No, that is much too advanced. Black Snake ought not to be taught that yet.”

Black Snake used her voice. “You must use words. Get her to teach me magic.”

“She’s doing something else with magic. Something you’re not ready to learn yet.”

“Then get her to prepare me.”

“Not tonight. She is busy.”

“No! If she cannot teach me magic, she cannot use magic!”

She moved to knock over a cup of water near Raisa.

“Move Water!” I said, to keep the water from her designs.

“That is no longer amusing.” Raisa said.

“Indeed it is not.” I said.

“She will teach me magic.” Black Snake insisted.

“That seems unlikely, now. We should leave.”

“NO! MAKE HER TEACH ME MAGIC.”

“We are leaving; if you make any more trouble, I will enforce the spirit pact.”

“You will not! I deny the spirit pact.”

[Spirit Pact broken. Black Snake is now a free spirit.]

[You have taken 15 points of Serenity damage from mystic backlash.]

Black Snake screamed, and slowly hovered to the floor, unconscious. I gently lifted her into the palm of one of my hands.

“You should destroy her now.” Urged Raisa. “That or bind her against her will.”

“I understand your advice, Raisa. I’ll take her from the guildhall and not bring her back across the threshold until she learns to behave herself.”

“It was hard for me to slay my first spirit familiar, as well. Good night, Rhishisikk.”

“Good night, Raisa.”

#