Shadowheart

Panting and out of breath, he made the relative safety of the walls. The last TaiGethen cell was climbing a trio of ropes that dropped from the overhang high above, and the only people left were Rebraal, the Al-Arynaar mages and The Raven themselves.

'Stealth,' said Rebraal. 'When you have learned what stealth means, Hirad Coldheart, then you can question how we do things. The tracks you have made through the grass could be followed by a blind man.'

The ClawBound communication was dying away to echoes on the wind. Denser looked back and saw the dark trails slashed in the grass.

'Hardly matters,' said Hirad. 'Your ClawBound saw to it that they know we are coming.'

'They already knew,' said Thraun, voice a hiss.

'You keep saying that,' said Hirad, his voice quieter now the panthers were silent. 'What do you mean?'

'They saw the battle,' said Thraun. 'They knew we would be coming.'

'He's right,' said Darrick. 'If their commander's anything like a tactician, he'll have seen the change in plans today. Nothing we could do about it. We had to test them. But the mere fact of more guards on the walls tells us all we need to know.'

'Yeah, but they won't be expecting us. Only elves,' said Hirad.

'I'm counting on it,' said Denser.

The Raven looked up at the ropes disappearing into the deep shadow under the overhang. While they watched, the ropes stilled momentarily, signalling the Al-Arynaar to begin their ascent. Not hesitating, three elves hauled themselves up the ropes, making a nonsense of the effort, their lithe bodies ideally suited to the task.

Denser frowned, feeling his heart beat a little faster. Beside him, Erienne shuddered.

'Bloody hell,' she whispered.

'Now at the top, there's a slightly tricky move,' said Rebraal, as if describing a walk along a beach containing the odd slippery patch of rocks. 'You'll have to swing out to grip the decorative ridge then pull yourselves up. There are people waiting to help you so you should be all right.'

'Should,' said Erienne.

'Hmm,' said Denser. He breathed deeply. It did nothing to calm his nerves and the obvious option was already in his mind. 'Sure is a long way up.'

'And down,' muttered Erienne.

'Fair enough,' said The Unknown. 'Here's the order. We'll follow the last of the Al-Arynaar. Hirad, you go with Thraun and me. Darrick, you'll guard the base of the wall until we're clear while you two,' he turned to Denser and Erienne, 'are flying. We can't risk you.'

'You're saying you don't trust us to make the climb?' Denser bridled in spite of the relief he felt at The Unknown agreeing with his thoughts.

'I'm saying you aren't sure you can. Tell me if I'm wrong.'

Erienne shook her head. 'No, you're not.'

'Denser, once you've carried Erienne, bring up Darrick. He should be light enough, unlike the rest of us.'

‘Ican climb,' said Darrick.

'That's not the point,' said The Unknown. 'We can't spare the time.'

'Whatever you say.'

Denser felt a strong hand clamp around his shoulder.

'Never mind, Denser,' said Hirad. 'We can't all have the muscle and guts.'

'Fuck off.'

Hirad chuckled.

'I'm letting you fall if you slip, Coldheart,' added Denser.

'More pull-ups,' said Hirad. 'Build your upper body and arms a little.'

'In fact, I'm going to cut the rope above you.'

'Just leave him,' said Erienne. 'Don't let him get under your skin.'

'He's already there. Has been for years.'

Denser tuned himself to the Xeteskian mana spectrum, pausing to see the multiple points of focus all over the city, from healings to wards to Communion. One more casting wasn't going to be noticed. He drew in the simple shape for ShadowWings. The basic planar structure, feathered along one edge, was complete in moments.

'Ready?'

Erienne wrapped her arms around his neck, he swept up her legs and they rose up the wall. Denser found his heart hammering in his chest. He kept looking up and could see elves on the ropes, swinging out into nowhere to grab the narrow ridge. Not for the first time, he was glad to have alternative means at his disposal.

He flew slowly, breasting the battlements at snail's pace. Tai-Gethen were waiting there. Erienne unlocked her arms and was helped onto the wall. Denser descended again to watch The Raven climb.

He found them a little under halfway up. They were all very strong men. Thraun looked like he was born to it, Hirad's teeth were bared as he surged up, hand over hand, and The Unknown, typically organised, used his feet as a brake on the rope while his hands found new grips.

Denser smiled to himself and twitched his position to fly next to the barbarian.

'All right, muscleman?'

Hirad glared at him. He was forty feet from the ground now and the exertion was beginning to show.

'Absolutely fine,' said Hirad between gasps for air.

'I had every confidence.'

'I know,' Hirad grinned. 'I'm me.'

'Yes you are,' muttered Denser. 'The Gods save us all.'

There were no alarms. Denser plucked Darrick from his unnecessary guard duty and deposited him on the wall next to Erienne before watching his friends swing out to the ledge, elven hands helping them as they pulled themselves up.

He landed next to The Raven on the walkway. It was darkened and almost empty of elves. Auum and Rebraal were seeing the last of the Al-Arynaar down the ropes to the muster point. The TaiGethen leader looked over to them and nodded.

'Quickly,' he said. 'There is an alarm further along the wall.'

Denser took one look at the panorama of his city. A place he had loved, still loved, but now he had to class it as an enemy. He shook his head, picked up Erienne and stepped over the wall, dropping steadily. Slowly, the sights were lost to him. The market square, dark and silent; the Park of Remembrance, lawns now surely turned over to crops or grazed by livestock; the iron foundry, still belching smoke and flame; the grain stores, huge and solid and the reason Xetesk could survive famine and now siege. And finally, the seven towers of the college, their target for the night. They could not have chosen one more difficult.

At the base of the ropes, Rebraal was waiting with a TaiGethen elf. Denser was directed to the muster point, floating quiedy past the bakery, cold and lifeless, a victim of the war.

Inside the empty house, the raiding party gathered. Denser dismissed his Wings and set Erienne down, moving slowly while his sight adjusted, the assembled elves resolving gradually from the gloom. Twelve TaiGethen warriors, six Al-Arynaar mages, Rebraal and The Raven. About to take on the Dark College.

'Dear Gods preserve us,' he whispered.

'What was that?' Erienne's voice too was barely audible.

'Sorry, love,' he said. 'I'm just imagining what we could face in there.'

If anything, the quiet in the house deepened still further as Auum walked in. He spoke briefly with Rebraal, translating for The Raven.

'One final time, here is what we know from our nights of scouting. The Protectors are outside the gates. Most of the college and city forces are stationed outside the walls of the college. We expect those walls to be heavily defended, leaving little sword strength but much mage strength on the ground. Secrecy for the maximum time is therefore critical.

'But, my brothers and sisters, never forget that we face a powerful adversary. Keep within the Al-Arynaar shield whenever you can. Let Tual guide your senses. We know what we must do and what we must find. Keep your Tais close. This is a jungle like our own; it will show you no mercy.'

While Auum led the prayers before battle, The Raven gathered together.

'Think we'll die in there?' asked Darrick.

'If we pretend we are up against anything less than we are, I think there's every chance.' said Denser. 'And if the Julatsan mana flow fails again while we're inside, the TaiGethen will be defenceless.'

'Not sure you can ever call them defenceless,' said Hirad.

'You know what I mean.'

Around the house, the elven prayers finished. Denser looked into Auum's eyes and nodded.