David Bishop and the Mystic of Creation T.C. Crawford (icecream ebook reader txt) 📖

time for them to begin their long descent up the pass towards Ravenfell.

“You up for a game of cards?” asked Christopher, satisfied the army wasn’t going anywhere fast and eager to pass the time in a more entertaining manner.

“Not until you hand over your copper piece you owe me!” said Fredrick, punching Christopher’s arm playfully.

They had made a bet each night as to whether or not the army would reach them by their next shift. Last shift, seeing how close the army was and that they had been camped out for several days, Fredrick had finally decided to bet against the odds and say that they would remain camped for the day. A bet he had apparently won.

“Fine, fine,” said Christopher, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few small copper coins and handing one over to Fred.

Just as he did, a high-pitched whistle came flying through the air and an arrow stuck through his outstretched hand. Blood splattered over their faces and the impact of the blow sent Christopher twirling around before he fell to the ground, gripping his hand in pain.

Fredrick, completely caught off guard, quickly shook off the surprise and ran to the bell, ringing it hard while screaming “The enemy has come! The enemy has come!” as a volley of arrows flew over the walls striking several men who had jumped up to prepare for the coming attack.

General Ryan, hearing the alarm bells at the front tower, quickly jumped out of his bed in the encampment behind the final walls, got dressed, and ran as fast as he could to the front lines to meet with the officer on duty.

Soldiers were running everywhere, scrambling to get into their positions. Men were screaming and being carried away with arrows protruding from various places. By the time General Ryan had arrived at the front, blood was pooling up in a few areas on the walls where a high number of men had been struck and long streaks of blood could be seen where the men had been dragged away to safety before being lifted and carried to the infirmary.

“Captain, report” said General Ryan, to the captain on duty.

He was a young man with brown hair and green eyes. He had been in the battle of Eldergate, so he had seen his fair share of battle, but tonight he looked deathly afraid.

“Captain, I said report!” said General Ryan, snapping the young soldier out of it.

“Sir! It seems the enemy has snuck up the side of the mountain pass on a series of ladders with a smaller group of archers to avoid our detection. We never saw them coming, but we don’t think it’s the main force just yet. No casualties so far, but a few men have suffered wounds that will keep them out of the fight.” he said, quickly gathering his wits.

“Thank you, Captain!” said General Ryan. “How many do you think there are? How are our archers doing?” he asked.

“A few dozen, maybe? It’s hard to tell in the darkness, sir. Our archers are doing the best they can. I ordered them to return fire but, again, it’s hard to tell how effective their firing is. Without the moonlight, it’s a dark night, sir.” said the Captain.

“Understood, thank you, Captain.” said General Ryan, dismissing the soldier to return to his post.

He looked out from the barricades, careful to not let too much of his body be exposed to the incoming arrows. The captain was right, it was near impossible to see anything further than the light from the torches.

Every now and then they could catch a few glimpses of the enemy here and there when the cloud cover would open up enough of the sky to let the starlight reveal more of the landscape. That is how they were able to spot the ladders and the men climbing up the mountain side in the first place. But those breaks in coverage were far and in between.

As he peered through the darkness, a loud horn blew somewhere far off down the mountain followed by the unmistakable roar of thousands upon thousands of demons and men still loyal to General Krauss. Slowly a line of torchlight began marching up the mountain pass.

It had finally begun.

Fortunately, the losses from the surprise attack had been minimal, and had done no real damage to their fortifications or preparedness.

The General ran up and down the walls, yelling to his men to make sure they were ready for the coming battle.

The hours passed by as if they were minutes and soon the main force could be seen coming up the final bend of the switchback pass. Torches stretched as far as the eye could see down the mountain road, revealing the true size of the army to all who watched from the ramparts of the fortifications.

Since the initial firing had stopped from the enemy’s surprise ambush the spectators watched in awe, fighting back their internal urges to run. The men had to suppress their fear and remind themselves of what they were fighting for. It was either kill or be killed. Victory or absolute annihilation.

General Ryan stood at the front of the wall by his men, looking out across the expanse of empty road between his position and the coming army. They were roughly a few hundred yards out when they suddenly stopped.

The night was still and silent. It was the calm before the storm.

The General looked down his line of defenses one more time. He could see the rows of archers standing at the ready, arrows notched and prepared to fire at his command.

The soldiers behind them stood prepared to take out any siege ladders that landed on their walls – instructed to knock them back and push them away as quickly as they could and to fight back anything that crawled over.

He could see Orin in the distance on one of the towers on the second wall, prepared to send flaming balls of fire towards any flying beast that got through