Chapter 45

Initially, Flint wanted to keep enemy casualties to a minimum. After Bluelake killed one of the young guards, everyone, including Winona, gave up on restraint. Instead, they took advantage of the inquisitor’s confusion and maimed anyone that got in their way. The fight had moved out of Flints’ weapons range, and he held his breath, watching the mass of armoured soldiers thinning.

“You should order a retreat,” Flint told Winona when Stark sounded his horn.

“The soldiers need this victory,” she replied. “It will give them valuable experience and confidence.”

“I don’t know how things were while you served the Wyld, Winona, but things are different here. I won’t risk our defensive force chasing after a superior enemy. If not for the giants, we’d have lost more than just one man.”

Winona stepped closer to Flint and lowered her voice before speaking. “I know what I’m doing, Flint,” she said. “We’ve got the giants on our side, and this fight is good as won.”

“I just have a bad feeling,” Flint replied. He pointed beyond the hill giants at the antlered individual behind them. “We can’t see its face, but I saw a smile. No. I sensed it. There’s something very wrong here.”

“They’re here to help us, Flint!” Winona exclaimed. “My people have dealt with them before! The violent essence use must’ve alarmed them.”

“Why would they help us, though, Winona? Did you offer them any tribute beyond the bodies buried at the bottom of the hill? This doesn’t feel right.”

Winona’s brows furrowed as she glanced between the attacking force and Flint. She appeared torn, unsure whether to pull back and show mercy or slaughter the Iron Army’s shoulders. Flint guessed she had lost several friends and allies to people wearing the same armour. Now, she struggled to let go when victory was at hand.

Flint held his breath as the goat riders got more ruthless with their attacks. They danced around the much larger horses, slipping between the giants’ legs and only darting forward to take out their targets. It especially concerned Flint that Maya, Bjorn, and the hounds were close behind them. They were much too far away from Flint to communicate through the empathic link. So, he praised raised his thumb and index finger to his mouth and whistled.

On hearing the call, Maya skidded to a stop straight away. She looked up the slope at Flint barked once and then trotted uphill. Bjorn hesitated for a moment, looking between the ongoing battle and her before trailing her. Much to Flint’s annoyance, only one of the hounds followed.

“What are you doing?” Winona hissed.

“The dogs are an extension of me,” he answered. “I’m not risking them for some stupid vendetta. If you can keep the fight within my empathic sense’s range, I’ll let them stay in the battle.”

“Fine,” Winona said through clenched teeth. “You’re the lord of these lands.” She turned to the puck archer by her side. “Sound the retreat.”

A reverberating bellow sounded from the puck’s throat. It almost resembled Stark’s horn. The pucks turned and trotted uphill straight away. The melee warriors followed them not long after. Flint felt the hill giant smile once again. His eyes darted to the antlered specimen, but he still couldn’t see a face under the long fur. Only the green glowing eyes were visible. Then his fears came to life.

The attacking giants stopped targeting just the horsemen but turned on the Woodson troops too. A swinging club dismounted one of the goat riders. Then a stomp squashed the brownie into mush. One of the giants picked up a fallen horse and threw it at the people retreating on foot. The neighing beast bounced a couple of times before crashing into Rowan. The axe-bearer fell with a loud gasp.

A terrified scream sounded from next to Flint. It was Jaimie. While Flint picked his shots, she had fired arrows indiscriminately. Unlike his attacks, her projectiles had found the joints in the inquisitor’s armours, inflicting significant damage. She had respected Flint’s request, though, and avoided lethal shots. Now, she drew her bowstring as far as it would go before channelling golden light through her arms. It flowed into the arrow swirling around the shaft and the head. When Jaimie fired, her shot transformed into a lance as bright as sunlight. It struck the hill giant closest to Rowan, knocking it off its feet.

Even though the dogs were still outside of Flint’s empathic range, Bjorn did just as he wanted. The snowdog darted back downhill to assist Rowan. He closed his giant mouth around the horse’s neck and threw the beast aside like a ragdoll. Rowan grabbed a handful of Bjorn’s thick fur, using it to get back on his feet. He screamed as his lower right leg bent in several different directions.

“He’s not going to make it alone,” Flint whispered, reloading the crossbow. He aimed at the hill giant Jaimie had felled. Even though blood intention soaked its brown fur, the beast was already climbing back onto its feet.

Bjorn licked Rowan’s face and lowered his giant body. The axe-wielder hesitated for a moment before climbing onto the snowdog’s back. The pair were back within the gates before long, and Maya brought up their rear with one of the bloodhounds.

A distant yelp from among the retreating force below tugged at Flint’s heartstrings. It had come from one of the other dogs. The canine was no longer visible amongst the chaos below. [Keen Eye] helped Flint spot the other one. It was the female bloodhound, and she was running uphill with her tail between her legs. In the distance, Flint spotted a couple of horsemen speeding down the South Western road into the Verdant Plains. It took just a glance, but Flint identified one of them as Bluelake.

“You were right,” Winona said, jumping atop the walls. She raised a hand over her head, and the black tentacles twisted into a long, ugly lance. “Wyld casters, prepare another wall!”

Emerald lights lit up around Flint, as he tracked the closest hill giant. Its long fur dripped with blood, but he couldn’t tell how much of it belonged to the creature. The giant closed in on a young man helping an injured brownie and raised its monstrous club. Even though most arrows were bouncing off the hill giant’s rubbery hide, Flint refused to leave the pair’s survival to chance. He steadied his aim using the ramparts and channelled [Focused Shot]. The released projectile found a home in the hill giant’s right eye.

“Release the wall!” Winona yelled, and like before, a new bramble wall propped up, separating the retreating force and the giants. If not for the dire situation, Flint would’ve used the opportunity to admire Winona’s ability to coordinate everyone under her command. He had blocked her out while focusing on the dogs before, but now he watched her move once again.

A hill giant failed to stop its charge and fell face-first into the bramble wall. The creature roared as it got tangled in the thorny vines. Winona used the opportunity to launch a shadow spear she had prepared. It drilled through the beast’s chests, putting an end to its thrashing. Winona fell onto her knees, breathing heavily.

“Are you okay?” Flint asked, rushing over to support her.

Winona pointed at the sky. “The sun’s too low in the sky,” she said. “I had to stretch the shadows to pull that last one off.”

“It stopped the charge, though,” Flint said. “Good job. We have some breathing room.”

The pair studied the battlefield once more. A trio of stray horses neighed, prancing away from the hill giants heading downhill. One of them got snatched up and bit in half by one of the injured specimens among their ranks. Much to Flint’s surprise, the muscles around its missing arm writhed around the stump and started to grow.

“It’s regenerating.” Flint gasped.

“That shouldn’t happen,” Winona commented. “I, at least, haven’t seen anything of the kind before. They’re not ordinary hill giants.” She pointed at the creature with antlers atop its head. “It looks smaller and frailer than the rest, but I sense a maelstrom of essence within it.”

“At least they’re retreating,” Flint said before rushing down the stairs to the dogs. Maya, as usual, was unscathed. However, Bjorn and the last hound to return had both suffered injuries.

Sorrow dominated Flint’s empathic sense. All the dogs were heartbroken for the dead bloodhound. Flint’s chest ached when he peeked inside Bjorn’s mind and saw a hill giant kick the poor canine into the cliff wall. There was no way an unenhanced beast would survive such an attack. Flint reached out with his empathic sense and pushed soothing emotions on the two dogs. Maya joined him, calming the two creatures. They flumped down on the stone floor and rolled onto their stomachs, whining.

“It’s alright,” Flint said, keeping his voice as soft as possible. “You’re going to be alright.”

He used [Guide Growth] on both dogs. One had most of its essence in [Power] the other had it in [Control]. Flint focused on their physical nodes, evening out their lacking sectors. The dogs were far from reaching their next stage of existence. Their current status was no different from Maya after her first growth. Both dogs grew in size, gaining height and girth. Flint named them Tobi and Gwen after a pair of twins he’d met at the orphanage.

In the distance, Flint spotted pucks, dryads, several armed humans heading downhill. They were passing his camp and were still ten minutes away. Their help was no longer necessary, but Flint appreciated their hustle. Adam’s lumbering giant form stood out amongst them. He had donned his leather armour and carried a new shield with his monstrous hammer.

Flint was just starting to relax when the wall shook, and he heard cracks spreading through the stone. All the dogs jumped onto their feet. Their ears pricked up, and shoulders tensed.

“Get down!” Winona yelled.

An empathic push got the dogs to follow Flint. He ran to the wall, away from the open space. A heartbeat later, a boulder as big as a hill giant crashed into the guard’s mess hall, shattering the [Totem of Nurture]. When the dust cleared, a shiver ran down Flint’s back. A hexagonal pattern covered the boulder. Giant insectoid heads poked out of the holes, staring at Flint and the panting melee troops with buggy eyes.

As more honeycomb-like fragments rained around the outer defences, Flint realised the fight was far from over. He reloaded his crossbow as dog-sized insects flooded the grounds.