War Of The Wildlands(73)

Nat and his archers had discovered a merchant stall full of lamps and oil which had provided the fuel to burn the city. Not only had they saved runed arrows from waste, but they had also been able to toss the burning lamps at the mobs of citizens who tried to flee. No elven lives had been lost, and the town was destroyed with very little fighting.

Essa raised her sword in victory as her troops gathered at the tree line. They were still eager to fight, and they cheered loudly as they raised their weapons high in the air. The celebrations came to an end as the high pitched whinny of a horse broke through the air. An army had come to pursue the elves.

“Reform the charge!” Essa commanded, turning to face the sound of hooves. Through the smoke, she could just make out the silhouette of horses coming their way.

The archers quickly ascended the trees and waited for a clear shot. As the horses broke free of the smoke, the elves loosed their arrows. Fire rained down upon the Na’zorans as the runed arrows exploded. Frightened horses threw their riders and fled. Many of those riders were quickly trampled by the horses still coming from behind.

The archers continued to shoot, sending more riders to the ground as their horses were struck with fire. The maidens stood ready behind the trees, hoping for their chance to join the fight. Once the remaining horses reached the tree line, they wouldn’t be able to stay in formation. Their riders would be at the mercy of the elven blades.

Prince Aelryk and Mi’tal had managed to stay on their mounts despite the fire from the elves. Their mages were somewhere toward the back of the line, probably stumbling over fallen soldiers as they tried to rejoin the group. Aelryk had not expected to find Duana under attack, and he didn’t realize the elves had acquired such weapons.

The elves continued to fire relentlessly from the trees. Aelryk turned his horse and signaled his troops to follow. The mages needed to blast the elves out of the trees if his troops were to have a chance at fighting them. While they remained aloft, he could not hope to advance.

Near the rear of the line, he found the mages. All of them still remained on their mounts, awaiting the prince’s orders.

“I need you to concentrate fire on those trees. We have to take care of those archers.”

The mages began conjuring their fire, and after a few moments they began to fire white streaks of lightning at the trees. The arrows stopped flying, but there was no sign the elves had been injured. As the mages ceased their fire, a strange silence filled the air.

Nat climbed ever higher among the branches until he felt he was in the proper position. Licking a finger and holding it skyward, he tested the direction of the wind. Knocking a runed arrow to his bow, he aimed high in the air. His arrow flew, arcing high out of sight. Silently, he counted down from ten. As he reached one, he heard the sound of his arrow hitting its mark. Smiling to himself, he began descending the branches.

The arrow landed in the midst of the mages, exploding as it hit the ground. All six of them were thrown from their mounts as the terrified beasts were burned with fire. Two of the mages were trampled to death as the horses fled. Aelryk’s horse was visibly frightened, and it took nearly all of his strength to keep it under control.

Mi’tal rushed to the prince’s side. “We’ve lost too many to pursue the elves into the woods, my lord.”

Nodding in agreement, the prince replied, “That was only their archers. I’m betting their swordswomen have improved their weapons as well. We have to retreat.”

“What of Lisalla?” Mi’tal asked.

“We’ll have to find another way,” he replied, looking off into the woods. “We must return to the palace and gather the rest of our army.”

Mi’tal sounded the retreat. From the forest, cries of victory could be heard as the Na’zorans sped away. The archers descended from the trees to celebrate with the sword maidens on the ground.

Essa made her way over to Nat. “Well done,” she said, clapping him hard on his back.

He nodded and smiled proudly at her.

“We mustn’t give them a chance to return,” Essa said. “We’ll head for the troll forest immediately.”

The elves began to make their way to the section of evergreen forest known as the troll forest. Legend states that thousands of years ago, before the Wild Elves came into existence, this section of forest was home to horrible, vicious trolls. Now, it would serve as cover for the elves if the Na’zorans managed to locate them.

“Does Reylin know to meet us here?” Nat asked as he walked.

“Yes,” Essa replied. “We discussed everything before our group traveled north.”

“I hope they’ve had as much success in the south as we had here.”