Author's Note: This was a bit tricky to write and doesn't contain as much of the sexy stuff as the other chapters, but I'm pleased with how it turned out anyhow. I hope readers have grown to like the characters over the course of the story and want to see their adventures continue - I have some ideas bouncing around in my head about what happens after this tale winds down. As usual, your kind comments and good ratings are what keep me writing and any constructive criticism is appreciated.
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The Clan Wars, Chapter 19 - Drasich
Dayna fidgeted under the chainmail shirt she was wearing, still getting accustomed to the way the borrowed armour sat on her shoulders. She was standing on the northeastern battlements, intently watching a small copse of trees a few hundred yards from the walls. She had scouted out the area after the group had eaten lunch, making sure the roving bands of centaurs circling Drasich's walls didn't go too near the secluded clump of oaks, even going so far as to teleport over to get a lay of the land. Once she was sure the location was ideal for an illicit meeting, she had magically spoken with the centaur lass, Cress, telling her to meet there. The filly had been unable to respond, thanks to the one-way nature of the magic the elf was using, and Dayna fervently hoped the message had been received.
She didn't have to wait long for confirmation - her keen eyes focused on the distinct shape of a centaur trotting over to the copse. To her consternation, however, the demi-human was accompanied by a human figure. She glanced worriedly at Pointer, who was standing by her side. The lean elven thief had joined her on the wall while Bann and Mila remained in her quarters, checking their weapons and armour for the upcoming battle. Gomp, too, was back at the university, completing a few preparations the mage had tasked him with.
I think I should go with you, Pointer wrote on his slate.
"I'll be fine," replied Dayna, tightening the purple armband she and the rest of her party had been given, denoting their temporary membership of the city's militia. "If there's a problem, I'll be able to 'port back here more easily if I'm not bringing an extra body along with me."
The thief's brow creased with concern, but he made no further objections.
"Alright, here I go," said Dayna, concentrating as she opened a shimmering portal beside the pair. She stepped through quickly and the portal snapped shut with a sizzle and the faint smell of ozone.
Back at the university, Mila and Bann had cleared the remnants of lunch from the trestle table that sat in the main room of Dayna's lodgings. The large, rectangular room was part study, part comfortable living room. Besides the table upon which the human and orc had spread their various weapons and armour, a desk sat against the exterior wall, next to a pair of bay windows that opened onto a small balcony. A few comfortable chairs were arranged in a circle around a thick rug near the window. While the two warriors carefully attended to their gear, checking the straps and buckles of their armour and making sure the edges of their weapons were honed and their bows well-strung, Alagar slumbered peacefully upon the plush carpet.
As the two warriors worked, Mila stole a glance at the young human. He was tightening the grip on the shield he had purchased that morning but the orc could tell by the way he was chewing on his lip as he worked that he was uneasy.
"Nerves?" she asked.
"I'm not scared!" he blurted, jerking his head up.
"I don't doubt it," said Mila. "Being a bit anxious before a big fight is healthy. Overconfident fighters tend to get killed."
"Sorry, yeah," said Bann, "just anxious - I've never been in a fight like the one that's coming."
"That makes two of us," said the greenskin, giving the barbarian a reassuring grin.
"You've been in proper battles before, though."
"I guess that's true, but nothing on this scale before."
The two paused momentarily as Gomp entered the room, pulling a small cart behind him. The barrow was piled high with large, heavy stone bricks. Muttering at the indignity of manual labour, the imp proceeded to distribute the bricks in the centre of a number of small, chalk circles with patterned borders that Dayna had drawn on the floor during lunch. Having seen the elf make use of a pine tree with a similarly etched design upon its trunk, both knew the intended purpose of the numerous piles of stones and neither envied any creature on the receiving end of the mage's instant avalanches - a steel helm would offer scant protection against the piles of masonry her familiar was preparing. Before carting in the bricks, the imp had rolled a large barrel into the room and that too now sat within one of the chalk circles.
With a grunt, the tiny demon dumped the last of the bricks in their predetermined spot on the floor and then dragged the cart out of the room on his way to rejoin his master on the battlements.
"Let us know if things get started before we get down there," called Mila at the imp as he went out the door.
"Yeah, yeah..." muttered the tiny demon as he stomped out of the room.
"How soon do you think?" asked Bann.
Mila shrugged. "Not before this evening I imagine," she replied. "Judging by the size of that army, it'll take some time to assemble into assault battalions and a night attack would limit the casualties our archers and war engines can inflict as they approach the walls."
A flicker of concern traipsed across the youth's face. Mila raised her eyebrows in query.
