The Accidental Archmage - Book Five Edmund Batara (classic children's novels .TXT) 📖

encountered and instructed to proceed to the impromptu laager at the rear. The mage saw that almost all of those retreating were exhausted, some had injuries, and the condition of their armor spoke of a difficult withdrawal.

Skarde had left behind one of his men as the commander of the protective screen of the camp, with instructions to get the wounded, the ballistae, and the survivors back to the fortress as soon as possible. The way back to town seemed free of enemies, and those who got to proceed to Hedmark needed no protective screen. The camp was to be a temporary waystation for the wounded to get some aid, and for weary men and dwarves to get some respite. Or at least, for them to get their nerves back. If any undead got past the rescuing host, the warriors of the reserve would take care of such advance groups. From Tyler’s observation, the better part of 4,000 men and dwarves had passed through them, in separate bands, though they all looked tired and battle-scarred. He noticed they all still had their shields and weapons.

At least widespread panic is absent, observed the mage. We still haven’t come across freaked out individuals.

The retreating warriors were in groups and always had wounded or the odd ballistae with them. But there was no way they could join the rescue force and fight effectively, if it came to that. The exhausted and dirty faces, with dented or broken armor, clearly indicated such a possibility was nil. The two dwarven chieftains were quiet, except when they instructed the dwarves they met. The mage couldn’t understand how the two dwarven hosts were driven from the field that quickly, so he asked Kobu while the wedge was marching forward.

“I guess they were caught unaware by two large-scale ambushes, the human scouts luckily coming up later, getting them away from the ambush sites. Only our party recognized that the undead could fight like living men. I recognized the tell-tale signs of battle shock on the retreating faces, only seen in some truly unexpected, catastrophic event. It quickly wears out the urge to fight, swiftly demoralizing the defending forces,” replied Kobu. “I think they expected to fight the usual slow-moving, witless revenants. The encounter must have been a severe shock. But the will to fight, though diminished and affected by the encounter, is still there. Discipline and battle experience maintained it.”

“I’ll put out a magical barrier when our front is clear of men and dwarves,” said Tyler.

Suddenly, a mass of flesh crashed against the dwarven wall at the front. It was a sickening sound, the meaty thud of undead flesh and the crack of bones as they smashed against the large rectangular shields of the dwarves. As Tyler and Kobu turned to look at the unexpected disturbance, they could see the warriors at the front furiously trying to beat back the attackers. The mage immediately cast a light spell well forward of the dwarves, just as the two flanks also erupted in melee combat. What he saw was a relief to his worried mind, but a nauseating view to his senses. The green radiance in the sunken eyeholes was there, reminding the mage of the undead back in the forest trail.

What attacked them was a much smaller force compared to what the rearguard was keeping back, an occurrence for which he was thankful. Despite the heavily-armored dwarves and the protection given by wedge battle formation, he doubted the small relief force could withstand a massive attack from the entire pursuing force. He could now see the group of men and dwarves in the rearguard fighting in a circular formation, surrounded by a sea of revenants. They were but half a mile away, but right now it was a great distance to cover.

Why didn’t I see those green dots before? It might be dark, but surely, I should have glimpsed the glow from those eyes! Unless the emerald radiance only glows when they are about to engage in combat. Bad news. They could sneak up on the fort at night.

To the mage, it looked like the attackers were undead which had bypassed the rearguard and smashed against the tip of the wedge. As the front ranks were engaged, the rest of the attackers flowed around the tip and met the ready flanks of the formation. But the assault, though minor in relative terms, still comprised a vast horde. The illumination spell nicely showed gaping skulls, armored skeletons with shreds of decayed flesh, and tattered banners at the back. The disgusting smell perfectly complemented the revolting sight.

Tyler thought of his cloud lightning spell, but immediately discarded the idea. It was bound to hit members of the rearguard. A chain lightning spell also was dangerous to the dwarves at the front as the fighting was already hand-to-hand. Some undead were grasping shields and pulled them to their ranks, bringing the unfortunate warriors with them. He settled for a force blade blizzard, the old reliable standby. Cast in a downward arc, the tightly-packed small rectangular blades sliced through undead flesh and bones, returning many to their disturbed rest. At the same time, he created a prow-shaped shield conforming to the structure of the wedge, giving time for the warriors to recover and dress their ranks. But he immediately felt the immense force exerted on it by the sheer mass of their enemies.

Dizziness started to set in, though it was too early for magical exhaustion to set in. He had barely started casting spells.

“Hal! Why am I getting dizzy?” he asked immediately.

“An after-effect of the animating spell. This close to that number of revenants, the spell was bound to affect those who are magically sensitive. Similar to what you experienced in the woods but on a higher scale. But our proximity to such a concentration of the strange energy would enormously help us in examining and assessing it.” It was X.

A lab progress report is not what I need right now, thought the mage.

Tyler looked around and saw the