51 Chapter 51

Aerwyn's stood in the ravaged village as the realization that an army was on it's way to Setrhyn manifested itself into a boiling rage within him.

"Erit, have the spiders gather the dead in the square and search the village for survivors. Do it quickly we need to leave."

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"Yes, master."

The spiders spent a half hour gathering the bodies and searching for survivors but no living elf was found within the village. Aerwyn didn't see Nyris amongst the dead, nor Semmy. He also noted that there was far too few bodies considering Lyr's population which means it was possible that some had escaped or had been captured. Either way, they would still be alive which meant that they could be saved.

Aerwyn and the undead crossed the river once more and left Lyr, heading towards Ardin at full speed. It would still take them nearly two days to reach Setrhyn and he could only hope the army of humans was slower. Aerwyn couldn't shake his anxiousness so he connected to one of the jakku and looking through the creatures eyes he watched the humans depart from their ships.

It appeared as though they planned to march today, with Setrhyn only twenty five kilometers away they would reach the village long before Aerwyn could. He saw two horses being attached to a massive cannon that looked like it should be too heavy to traverse such terrain even with the added help of horses. Once they began marching he knew he had to do something to slow them down else Setrhyn would fall.

The only thing he could think of was to send his jakku to kill the horses but the humans wouldn't just let the horses die without fighting back. The thought of sending his undead to their death always made him uncomfortable. It was a feeling like trying to hold his breath for too long, the mind's will to live would take over and force him to breathe but he no longer had any choice, he had to act.

Aerwyn quickly switched over to Rorik and sent him a command.

"Run as fast as you can to Setrhyn. I need you to warn Tylin or Master Ferlin that Lyr has been destroyed and an army of nearly two thousand humans will be coming from the west. Tell them i'll be there as soon as i can."

"..Fine." Aerwyn's solemn tone didn't leave room for any sass and he immediately switch back to looking through his jakku's eyes. Even if Rorik was a braver barghest he wouldn't cause trouble right now lest the boy decide he was no longer needed.

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Earl Abery rode atop a horse at the front of the marching column. The path to the second dark elf village was dense forest terrain that wasn't suited for an army let alone the cannon that kept getting stuck in mud and vines which only slowed them down further. Despite that, he was still confident in reaching the village by nightfall, his men were strong Abery men that would make do even in the worst circumstances.

Marshal Dolan rode up from the rear and hailed him.

"The scouts spotted orcs mirroring our movements, my lord."

"How many?" Earl Abery's face displayed a rare concerning expression.

"Only a few, they're keeping their distance for now."

"Leave them be. If more appear notify me."

"Yes, my lord. I'll-"

"KRAW!"

Earl Abery turned to look at the commotion and witnessed the flying creatures that had been following them all this time dive into the horses that were pulling the cannon. His men rapidly swarmed the creatures hacking and slashing a few apart as they retreated back into the air. He rode to the rear of the column and checked the situation.

The horses were dead, their bodies full of puncture wounds from the creatures dagger like limbs. Pontus was nearby and rode over to him in a hurry.

"They're undead my lord. I didn't notice it before because they were too far but now i'm certain of it."

Earl Abery watched the creatures circling far above them before speaking.

"...If they're undead that means there's a necromancer nearby, send the scouts to find him. Give your horses to the cannon, we march on."

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Aerwyn had lost four jakku in the assault, bringing down the number of jakku in the area to thirty six. It was unpleasant but necessary and he decided to call the other ten jakku over that he left watching the tenri nest. When he saw the humans replacing the horses he took it as a challenge, he would kill every single horse and force them to carry the damned thing before he let it reach Setrhyn.

After the first attack they were much more wary and had increased the amount of soldiers walking beside the cannon. Over the next few hours Aerwyn and the jakku relentlessly attacked any horses that were tied to the cannon and they began firing arrows whenever they saw the flying creatures come near, increasing Aerwyn's casualties two fold. He lost most of his jakku in the process but successfully killed all the horses except the one beneath their commander.

With only six jakku left he kept them at a safe distance and continued to monitor the army as they slowly trudged along.

"Master, there are elves on the other side of the river and one is attempting to cross." Bon's voiced echoed out into Aerwyn's head.

Aerwyn didn't bother responding, instead he switched his view to Bon's eyes and looked upon the hundreds of elves across the river. They were too far to make out faces but he could see the one swimming across, it was Nyris. A sense of relief swept over Aerwyn as he watched the skinny necromancer swim across the river next to Ardin.

"Have the undead help them across and let them into the city. Tell the one swimming that i'm aware of the situation and that i sent word to Setrhyn already. Tell him to stay there until i arrive." Aerwyn ordered and switch back to his own eyes for the first time in hours.

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Rorik ran through the forest and soon Setrhyn village came into view.

"AWOOOOOOOOO!" He howled as he got close to the gates startling the guards but once they saw the beasts purple eyes they relaxed.

"..Get me Master Ferlin or Tylin..."

"Where's your master barghest?" One of the guards asked with a laugh.

"GET ME MASTER FERLIN OR TYLIN NOW, ELF!" Rorik roared so loudly that it wouldn't be surprising if the army of humans heard his voice on a gentle breeze. The roar startled the guard once again and he quickly realized something was wrong so he ran down the walls to fetch Master Ferlin.

Ten minutes later Master Ferlin was standing in front of the angry barghest.

"What are you doing here without Aerwyn?"

"...The boy sent me to warn you.. Lyr was destroyed.. An army of nearly two thousand humans are coming from the west... The boy is coming here with his undead as quickly as he can..." Rorik's words manifested a frown on the elf's face which gave Rorik a tinge of pleasure.

"...Has anyone from Lyr survived?" Master Ferlin spoke in a sorrowful tone.

"..Don't know and i don't care... My duty is done.." Rorik turned and fled into the forest leaving Master Ferlin to his thoughts.

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Aerwyn was making record time as they sprinted atop zin beetles following the river north. Occasionally he would check in with the jakku to get a look at the armies movements and he was glad to witness them moving at a snails pace through the forest. As night fell and he arrived at Ardin he checked back once more to see the army making camp in the forest and feeling satisfied, he let them be for now.

Nyris was waiting once he arrived and ran over to him.

"I'm glad you're ok but pleasantries will have to wait. I'm taking my undead to Setrhyn, are you coming?" Aerwyn spoke before the necromancer had a chance to speak.

"The army would have reached Setrhyn already... I'm afraid it's too late, even if we leave now."

"No, i killed all their horses with my jakku and forced them to pull their cannon themselves. They made camp about eight kilometers outside of Setrhyn. If we leave now we can reach them by the time the battle starts."

"Y-you... It's not important, let's go." Nyris had a curious look as if he wanted to ask a question but quickly snapped out of it, realizing it wasn't the time for his curiosity.

Aerwyn sent his spiders to seal the goblin breeding building in webs while he called all of his troops to him. He didn't want the goblins getting loose while his forces were away, he had no intention of dying and he would need those goblins no matter the outcome of this battle. The spiders finished quickly and formed up with the rest of his troops.

All was ready for his march to Setrhyn.