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The Bow of Haladan Part XII
A young woman in a dark blue robe stepped from the tent. She
walked to the edge of the road and faced the bridge, goblins began hooting
and shouting from the wall. A stone arched out and slammed into the ground
near to where she stood, but it did not seem to faze her or slow her pace.
Arrows began to whiz toward her, but fell short, they snapped and sparked
against the stone paving of the bridge.
She stopped, but had to step aside as a stone came hurtling by, it
exploded into a thousand knife edged chips, the gathered troops gave a cry
as they saw the woman twist in pain and grab her side. With a fierce
determination she held herself still and did not flinch as another stone
crashed down nearby. Her arms raised up and her voice called out and as
she spoke a swirling mist began to form high above her head and out across
the bridge. A wall of fog obscured the giants view, they threw their
stones blindly and to no effect as the young mage turned and ran at full
speed from the hail of rocks.
"Now! Advance!" came the call.
Kyle nudged the signalman and he gave forth the charge, the horn
squealed but the troopers understood. The first ranks were already running
for the bridge.
Even blind the boulders took their toll. A stone came from the
wall of mist and struck a man full in the head and kept on going. The man
behind was killed as well, his chest took the stony blow and caved in
like a fist smashed down on a jam filled cake. The three others in
the hand were knocked from their feet, they did not move as the following
rank swerved by.
Arrows came sailing out as well, the goblin shafts struck several
men, Waddard was one, he ignored the stinging pain and snapped the shaft
off that stuck from his left arm. A soldier took an arrow in the throat
and fell, another felt something clip him on the head and reached up to
find his ear was gone.
And then more stones came smashing down. One missed but flying
shards brought three men down with wounded legs, another bounced and took
a soldier from the bridge and joined his lifeless corpse into the stream
rushing by, driven deep below the surface of the water. A boulder
landed short and rolled down the bridge, a trooper stuck out a foot to
stop it like a ball and lost both foot and lower leg as the massive block
rolled past.
Then the misty shield was gone and the wall lay close at hand.
A goblin set a torch to a bale of hay and pushed it down upon a trooper,
he was knocked flat, the burning straw engulfed him, the wooden scaling
pole he brought fell across the flames. The man behind grabbed for the
wooden pole and was struck three times by goblin shafts, he fell atop
the burning bale.
A giant leaned down above the wall and dropped a stone straight
down upon another man who'd climbed halfway up. It broke him and the
ladder both and threw another to the ground, the giant laughed then bent
back behind the wall to get another rock.
On the right, two men had reached the top, one took an arrow in
the face and fell back, the other dodged a short dark sword and cut a
goblin down with a sweeping stroke of his own blade. A massive club
shattered a wooden board on his left and killed the goblin archer there as
well. The trooper jumped forward and cut at the giants arm. A small dagger
cut into his leg, he turned to see a goblin give it a twist then the
giants backswing smashed him from his perch and sent his body sailing
forward, first across the wall, dead upon the giants side of the bridge.
* * *
(To Be Continued...)