Brian Pratt - Warrior priest of Dmon-Li

Suddenly, a clanking sound can be heard as the locks on the gate are opened. James looks to the gatehouse and sees one of the saboteurs lift a sledgehammer as he begins smashing the locking mechanism, making it so the gates cannot be locked again.

The door to the gatehouse finally buckles and shatters. The defenders rush in, killing everyone, clearing the gatehouse.

“Bar the gate!” can be heard from the captain of the defenders as dozens of men throw their weight against the gate, trying to prevent it from being opened.

Archers upon the walls are raining down a barrage of arrows upon the attackers as they work to push open the gates from the other side. The Empire returns fire with their crossbowmen and James hears a cry as an archer plummets off the wall, a bolt sticking out of his chest.

The prickling sensation of someone doing magic suddenly hits him. He looks around but it doesn’t look like anyone close is the source. Then suddenly he understands, it’s from someone on the other side of the wall.

The feeling spikes incredibly as the gates suddenly burst open, crushing men caught behind them as they slam into the walls.

“Beat them back!” James looks behind him and sees Lord Pytherian there in armor as he arrives with reinforcements. Rallying his men, they move to beat back the enemy.

His men surge forward as they clash with the enemy entering in through the open gates. The fighting is fierce and the defenders are slowly being beaten backward.

The remnants of Miller’s band begin to join the defenders but Jiron stops them. “We must stay and protect James. He’s our only hope!”

Yearning to join in the defense, they understand and position themselves around James to protect him from harm. Jiron nods to James and says, “It’s all yours.”

The prickling sensation begins again and James climbs up on a wagon to get a better look. He sees the mage standing upon the bridge, arrows from the defenders seem to glance off a barrier of some sort surrounding him.

James concentrates on the bridge and meets resistance as the mage begins to counter what he’s trying to do. A sudden thought comes to mind from a story he had read, ‘First mage casts a spell, second mage counters, third mage casts spell to help the first, fourth casts spell to help the second, then the army shows up and cuts them all to pieces.’ If he wasn’t experiencing it, he’d laugh.

Two of the enemy break through the lines of defenders and come straight toward him. Jorry and Uther move to meet this threat and quickly take them out.

The contest of wills between James and the Empire’s mage continues, as each tries to get the better of the other. Suddenly, the resistance eases up and James is able to finish his spell.

Crumph!

The area in front of the bridge explodes upward, enemy troops are flung into the air. Suddenly, the prickling starts again and before James has a chance to recover, a bolt of force strikes him in the chest and knocks him backward off the wagon.

Hitting the ground hard, he has the wind knocked out of him. Coming to his knees, he tries to get his breath back as Jiron comes to his side.

As Jiron helps him to his feet, he sees Miko running toward the fighting at the gate, sword in hand. “Miko!” he tries to yell at him, but he can’t get the volume needed to be heard. He watches as Miko begins to wade into the attackers, his sword moving so fast that the eye can hardly keep track of it.

“We’ve got to help him!” James cries out to Jiron.

“He’s too far away,” he replies. “We’d never be able to get to him!”

James watches a moment as Miko, in the state he’s in, inadvertently kills a defender that had been coming to his aid.

The dust clears from where the explosion had occurred and they see that the bridge and the mage are still standing. More troops are pouring across the bridge and working their way through the hole he’d just created to continue the attack on the defenders.

The attackers fall like grain to the scythe as Miko strides into them, totally oblivious to the many minor cuts he’s receiving. The line of soldiers that were pushing the defenders further into the city, buckles as Miko cuts a swath through them.

James tears his eyes away from Miko and back to the mage. The prickling sensation spikes again and another bolt of force flies toward him. Ready for it this time, he’s able to deflect its trajectory and it passes by harmlessly.

He throws two stones in quick succession but they bounce harmlessly off the invisible barrier. Though the mage was untouched by the missiles, he does have the minor satisfaction of seeing them striking soldiers next to him.

The attacker’s push into the city is at a standstill with Miko there. No one can stop him and the defenders are rallying around him. More archers are arriving from their positions on other parts of the wall and their arrows are having a devastating effect.

Lord Pytherian can be seen there amidst the line of defenders as he encourages them on to propel the invaders back. His sword is almost as deadly as Miko’s to anyone who comes close.

James sends his senses out to the barrier around the mage, trying to understand it and find a weak point that can be exploited. Suddenly, he finds it and realizes he should’ve thought of it before.

He redirects his senses, searching for what he needs. When he finds it, he lets loose an enormous surge of power. The one place the mage’s barrier does not cover is the soles of his feet.

Suddenly, an old root from a bygone tree breaks through the ground under his feet. The force of it hitting the mage’s foot sends him reeling, the unexpectedness of it breaks his concentration. When the prickling sensation stops completely, he knows the barrier is down.

He cocks back his arm and with another great surge of power, sends a slug speeding toward the staggering mage. The mage tries to erect another barrier but is too late. Striking his upper chest, the slug blasts through and he topples backward into the river.

A cry rises from the defenders when they see him fall, and Lord Pytherian shouts above the din, “Now! Beat them back!” With unbridled ferocity, the defenders wade into the attackers.

James, fatigued and staggering a little, looks over the battling fighters. Miko stands near the gate, momentarily still as the attackers keep their distance. They’ve learned that to come near him is to die. His sword periodically moves in a blur as it strikes a bolt out of the air as it flies toward him.

“Come on!” James cries to the others. “Now’s our chance to get him out of there!”

Running toward the fighting, James steers around pockets of fighting as he tries to get close to Miko.

Jorry, Uther and the others form a ring around him, taking out any attacker who gets close. Jiron, with knife in one hand, runs next to James. “Will he leave the battle?” he asks.

“I hope so,” replies James. “If he gets out of the gate, we’ll never get him back!”

“James!” he hears Lord Pytherian shout. He looks back and sees him pointing out of the gate. Turning his attention to the gate, he sees a large group of Parvatis coming across the bridge. If they get in it might turn the tide against the defenders.

“Jiron!” he exclaims. “Stop them!”

“How?” he replies. “I’ve only got one arm!”

“You’re the Shynti, remember?” he explains.

Jiron suddenly understands what he’s talking about. Reaching into his tunic, he pulls out the necklace with the three stones. “Right!” he says. To Jorry and Uther, he says, “You guys come with me, the rest of you stay with James.”

Jiron makes for the gates with Jorry and Uther who deal with any attacker foolish enough to come close.