FICTION - Mortis Custos Part 80
Introduction
It's Christmas Eve! Forgive me if this is a short one, I do not have a lot of time, I still need to do some last-minute shopping!
Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy!
The last part of the story is here: Mortis Custos Part 79 by @lex-zaiya.
To start at the beginning of the story please see the links provided at the end of this post!
Viewer discretion is advised due to gory violence! Undead! Swords! Death! Beware!
Part 80
The Shambling Undead surged across the landscape. Mary noted that none of the armored phalanxes of the enemy were sent forward yet, nor any of the Seigeweapons or archers.
This was to be expected. Mary did not bother to convey this information to the other leaders on the wall. Everyone could see what the enemy's plan was. They would tire out the fighting force on the wall first and then send in their best while the mortals were fatigued.
The advice that Millmor and Lucien had imparted to Mary and her soldiers was invaluable. It was no wonder that so many villages and cities had fallen to this vast horde and that their power had grown with each victory.
It was tactically a brilliant ability for a campaign. To be able to raise the dead of your enemy after a battle was something no mortal army could accomplish.
Mary's archers did not fire. There was nothing a sharp-pointed arrow could do to the Shambling except weight it down a little. They would keep coming. The archers waited then, sweating and tense.
The first blood for the defenders came when the Harpy attacked. Flying out from the battlements, the Harpy did not need to fly over the enemy to deal them damage. The winged woman span in the air in a tight spiral and lets go of the glowing energy ball she clasped in her talons.
The energy span towards the enemy and the Harpy was already returning towards the wall where Mary could see the purple-robed Acolyte with one arm, generating another projectile. No doubt, the Shambling was still outside her range. The unlikely duo had stationed themselves at the wall where the ghouls were, who had a lack of ranged capabilities.
Mary watched with satisfaction as this orb landed in a densely packed group of undead and exploded in purple flames, incinerating a dozen or more of the undead, and more caught on fire as it spread.
"Fire!" Cried a grizzled Sergeant on Mary's center section of the wall and her own siege mangonels thudded and through heavy projectiles into the sky. These were far more effective than piercing arrows as they landed on the undead, crushing and dismembering where they fell.
A few more meters forward and the Queen's ballistae strummed as they shot, as low and as level to the ground as possible, their javelins slicing and impaling much undead in their path, rendering the bodies damaged and making them useless.
The Harpy had spread the eldrich purple flame nearly across that entire front as she went back and forth, but the Sorceress was now casting her magic into them herself. The Harpy came to land near the Acolyte to rest and recuperate.
Mary looked to the other flank where Lucien's kin was stationed on her walls. Just as she thought that this army had no projectile weapons either dark bolts darted out from their ranks. The life drinkers seemed to be armed with crossbows.
Where the darts struck the undead the Shambling faltered and fell. Mary thought it was magic but there was a glint of steel that ran across from one crossbow bolt to another.
The crossbows had fired exactly in unison, carrying a thin but strong steel wire that was imbedded into undead flesh along the line. Now the undead floundered and slowed as the wire cut into their flesh and dragged others back. With the press of bodies behind it was only a matter of time before the front line fell over and the whole advance came a halt as Shambling struggled to righten themselves while others attempted to clamber over the others.
Another two volleys of steel wire wrapped into the undead line and they were slogged down heavily. Two dozen or so Life Drinkers seemed to flow out over the wall and bolted toward the undead. With slicing blades, they began cutting and dismembering the bogged-down undead, who were unable to react to their lightning-fast attacks.
Their attack was building a wall of useless dead flesh that even more of the Shambling struggled to overcome.
A phalanx of armored undead responded by marching on the Life Drinker attackers. A Dreadthing stormed towards them as well and the Shades melted away towards the wall again.
The Dreadthing quickly outpaced the armored undead and vaulted over the mass of bodies stuck together and dead and raced towards the wall.
Even though it did not seem that the Dreadthing would be able to catch the Lifedrinkers there was still a response. A Dreadthing could climb the walls and it was in a fury, coming long before it was meant to.
A lone figure left the wall and charged to meet the Dreadthing on the field. Mary realised suddenly that it was Lucien.
Her heart was in her through as she saw the sabre weilding vampire charging the massive hulking beast. It seemed an impossible matchup.
The lifedrinker threw a steel wire bolas out at the Dreadthing and this wrapped its legs and arms together into a knot, the beast fell forward. Before it could struggle free and break the wire, Lucien was on it's back and the sharp sabre neatly parted the Dreadthing's head was parted from its shoulders.
The human soldiers cheered at this sight.
They had hope yet.
It was then that something fast sprinted out from the Shambling line to intercept the Life Drinker leader. Lucien had already began his retreat but the black blue that surged towards him was as fast or faster.
A volley of crossbow bolts sped from the walls to try spear the attacker, but it dodged and evaded the volley and continued its pursuit.
Wrapup
Aaand, mid action hand over! Mwahahaha!
Enjoy Lex!
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Merry Christmas to you and Claire and the kids
May 2023 be what 2022 forgot to be
Merry Christmas!
Well now, I do believe you left me with several angles to go with, firstly, where is Adiran? I think I'll cover that first.
Always good to leave open threads!
So true.
Wow you've reached a milestone at part 80. Approaching 100 soon, to be sure.
Right? So the plan is that Lex and I will eventually (soonish) tie off the story into a first book which we will edit and revamp and then publish together. In the meanwhile, we will carry on with this world that we have built and write a Book 2!
Very productive you are Zak.
🤞🤞🤞 I hope to always stay this way!