"Asha is already at the castle and under attack."
The dragon didn't respond, and continued his spiral upwards. Killum was about to demand Gye head for the castle when a bolt thundered past them. It came within a few feet of hitting them.
"That's does it! I'm going to eat that bastard alive and shit him down a volcano!"
The enraged dragon veered to the north and went into a power dive straight at Warlord's Castle. His vast wings beat faster and faster as more bolts thundered up at them. The battle-mage had to lean forward and try to hide behind Gye's head to keep the wind from stripping him off the beast's back. They were going so fast he struggled to breathe, while Gye deftly avoided all of the thrown bolts.
Killum spotted Asha in a circle of drow warriors in front of the gate, with another drow standing over his friend. The enemy drow held a spear to Asha's throat as the sorceress lay sprawled before her. He tried to take aim at the woman threatening his friend, but the dragon was flying too fast and he was past her in an eye blink.
He turned his attention to the menacing figure atop the gatehouse.
Kathro. Drow necromancer (Lvl 102). -81 Dark. PK: 119.
Gye swooped down and tried to snatch Lord Kathro off the gatehouse. He forced the necromancer to jump off into the inner ward, before flying back upwards. Killum commanded him to wheel right, and flame all of the undead troops rushing towards the castle and Asha's fight.
While Gye incinerated hundreds of zombie warriors, Killum spotted Fergus, Tiana, and Rand riding up the road. They were almost to the fight outside the castle.
"Drop me off at the gate to help Asha!"
Gye wheeled around and headed straight toward the fight. The drow holding the sorceress at spear-point saw them coming, lifted her spear to kill Asha, and Killum shot a lightning bolt at her. He missed, but it gave Asha the opportunity to roll aside. He jumped off the dragon to crash feet-first in the drow's chest.
"That's for hurting my friend!"
Killum pulled his sword and plowed into the surrounding zombies. His three friends slammed into the circle of zombies at full gallop, scattering orks, drows, goblins, and humans in all directions. He saw Asha fighting with a sword in both hands, leaving a path of death through them. A second later Rand came flying when his mount went down, landing beside Asha.
With Asha and Rand fighting back to back, Killum turned his attention to the female drow. She was trying to get to Asha, so it had to be personal. That meant she was still alive.
Petriana. Drow Sorceress (Lvl 21). -7 Dark. PK: 1.
"A drow sorceress?" he said, checking her out. "Petriana? The name sounds familiar."
The uber bitch drow was also more powerful than either Asha or him. The blue crystal in her forehead said she was Lord Kathro's to command, and much more dangerous than a mere zombie drow.
"Watch out for Petriana!" he shouted.
The two sorceresses shared a hostile look before Petriana turned back toward him. He hit her with Disorientation, which took his mana so low he wouldn't be casting any other spells. When she stopped and shook her head, he quickly fumbled for and drank another Mana Restoring Potion. Only then did he take his Power Sword in both hands and charge toward the drow sorceress.
"No!" Petriana cried, throwing a hand out at him.
An invisible force struck him in the chest and sent the battle-mage flying backwards. He hit the ground and rolled to his feet, before dropping to one knee when an ork tried to behead him. Killum gut stabbed the ork, ripping his blade out with a spray of entrails and blood. He hacked left, slashed right, and kicked a goblin in the face. For a long moment he felt besieged almost beyond his ability to defend.
Fergus moved past, slashing throats and cutting off limbs as he moved. The ranger put down three of the orks threatening Killum, giving the battle-mage the opening to break free. But even so, it was looking bad.
Tiana was backed up to Asha and Rand, with dozens of bloodthirsty zombies fighting each other to get to them. The bodies were piling up around them, but also entrapping them. Fergus was outside the perimeter and being pushed back toward the open gate. And Petriana had commandeered a dozen drow zombies to fight Killum.
"Do you remember me, battle-mage?" Petriana growled. "After today you'll never be able to forget me!"
The drow sorceress came at him with a pair of drow swords, similar to elven curved swords. She and Asha fought with a similar style, which he attributed to the type of weapons they carried. It was all he could do to parry her lightning fast thrusts and cuts. She scored a dozen minor cuts on his extremities in as many seconds, while he managed to bloody her left bicep and right thigh.
"I'm a better sword fighter, and a better spellcaster," Petriana sneered. She stepped back, pointed a finger at him, and Killum's breath rushed out of his lungs. "I'm going to suffocate you. Die nice and slow for me, Killum."
GYE! HELP ME!
On my way, boss.
Blackness crept in around the edge of his vision. His limbs went slack and he fell to his knees. All Killum could see through his tightening tunnel vision was a grinning drow sorceress slowly walking toward him. Then she pulled his Power Sword out of his weakened hand.
"I'm going to kill your friends with your sword, battle-mage."
He so wanted to say something defiant and cutting, but didn't have the breath for it.
"Aaagggghhh!"
Petriana spun around at that enraged scream. Asha came down from the sky, thrusting a sword through her heart.
"Die again by my sword, bitch."
The spell was broken as soon as Petriana died. Asha stood over him, fighting off the horde, while Killum desperately sucked in air. He crawled over to Petriana and pried his sword out of her hand before she faded away.
Movement caught his eye. The black dragon was coming in low and fast. Lightning bolts streaked down from the keep at Gye. The dragon avoided them, but each bolt seemed to be getting closer and closer, so Killum turned his attention to Lord Kathro.
"Asha, I'm out of mana. Can you distract Lord Kathro?"
She glanced up at him. "Yes. Take over my light work, and I'll take him on."
Gye swept over them. A thick torrent of dragonfire scoured a path through the zombies, leaving many running around in flames. The dragon dropped to the ground and swept his vast wings around, smashing countless others to pulp.
"DUCK!" Gye shouted.
Killum and his friends dropped flat on their bellies before his long tail swept the remaining zombies away. Asha immediately rose up and sent two thunderbolts up at Lord Kathro. Gye flamed the downed zombies. Killum had just enough time to survey the battlefield. No zombies or other bad guys were anywhere to be seen. Of course, there was still a castle full of monsters waiting for them.
"Head for the cover of the walls!" he shouted. "We'll regroup before heading inside."