52 Chapter 52

Under the full moon's pale light Sera, Jeren, and Master Ferlin left the protective walls of Setrhyn. Their destination was eight kilometers to the west, the camp of the human army that was encroaching on their land. It wasn't that they didn't trust Aerwyn's information, it was just that they needed to know what they were dealing with so that they could better prepare.

The trio effortlessly moved like the wind and covered the distance in no time at all. When they came within half a kilometer, Master Ferlin raised his hand signaling them to stop. Sera glanced at his eyes. they appeared to be locked on to something and matching his gaze she saw a glint of moonlight in an otherwise inconspicuous bush. Master Ferlin remained still as stone as he watched the bush and tried to glean any information he could.

They stayed frozen for nearly twenty minutes and when the bush shuffled ever so slightly Master Ferlin's decades of training displayed itself as an arrow was methodically notched and fired from his bow with extreme precision. Before even hearing the thud of an arrow, he had already loosed another at a different bush a meter away from the first.

"THUD! THUD!" The arrows hit each target with barely half a second of time between them.

"Let's go." Master Ferlin spoke in a whisper and broke into a sprint.

As the trio darted past the first bush Sera sneaked a peak, she saw a man covered in leaves and netting that now laid motionless with an arrow in his throat. She believed herself to be a skilled ranger but Master Ferlin's abilities just seemed to be a goal far outside of her reach. They continued on, silently running through the forest and soon they came upon the view of the camp.

Hundreds of canvas tents were seemingly placed without the order one might expect from an army, no doubt due to the rough enclosed terrain of the forest. Sera felt remorseful that Setrhyn didn't have more rangers. If it did they could have easily lay waste to the sloppy camp but as it was, they could do little but sneak around and watch.

Losing a single ranger for the slim chance of creating chaos wasn't worth the price with a battle on the way. A single ranger on the walls of Setrhyn would be able to do far more damage than they could do in the middle of an enemy camp.

They quietly skirted the edges of the camp making a full revolution and gleaning all they could before heading back out the way they came. Sera was the first to speak once they were far enough away from the camp.

"That cannon..."

"I saw... The walls will be useless..." Master Ferlin looked as though he was deep in thought as he replied.

"Should we evacuate the villagers who can't fight?" Jeren asked.

"No, they'd never make it to Itheas Village without protection."

"We could send them to Ardin." Sera added.

"There's only seven hours before sun up, we have to be quick... We'll let the villagers decide, gather everyone in the square once we get back."

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Once they returned, they did just that. The villagers were already aware of the situation and had varying responses to Master Ferlin's proposal. Some wanted to fight, some to flee, and some simply let out their frustration on him as if it was his fault the human's were attacking the village.

They argued back and forth for a bit before ultimately deciding to stay and fight. There would be no guarantee that they could even reach Ardin if they chose to leave the safety of the walls. It was entirely possible that the humans had scouts watching the city and while the rangers were great at their job, there simply wasn't enough time to search the forest for scouts before fleeing. They could end up walking right into the humans hands.

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Earl Abery walked out of his tent clad in steel plate armor and his signature barghest pelt as the morning sun peaked over the horizon. Marshal Dolan and Pontus greeted him as he stepped out.

"Report." Earl Abery grumbled at Marshal Dolan.

"The orc scouts have increased in number but they're still keeping their distance. A squad on the western end of camp was attacked by a 'bear-like' beast that killed four and we lost two scouts. The scouts were killed by arrows and i believe it to be the dark elves doing. That is all, the men are ready to march on your order, my lord."

"Have you found the necromancer yet?" Earl Abery asked as he looked up with an uneasy expression to see six purple eyed flying creatures circling above.

"No, my lord. The scouts searched two kilometers in all directions but turned up nothing. The necromancer may have already retreated behind the village walls."

"Can necromancers normally control undead from so far?" Earl Abery turned his attention to Pontus.

"I-i don't know, my lord. Necromancy is a magic that only the demons and dark elves have knowledge of. During the first invasion the demonic necromancers were never recorded being able to control undead from so far but that doesn't mean it isn't possible. It is far more unlikely that this necromancer is able to hide so well within our reach than it is to believe he can control undead from afar."

"...Send scouts to check on the status of the village, let's move out."

The armies march was quicker now that the flying creatures were no longer harassing them but it still wasn't quick enough for Earl Abery's liking. Between the orcs shadowing them and the mysterious necromancer that evaded his grasp, his gut instinct was warning him of danger. He was a simple man and his gut had never given him bad advice before so he decided to take the side of caution during this battle.

The scouts returned a short while later, reporting nothing out of the ordinary with the village which only made his worries increase. It was clear that the dark elves knew his army was there and if they didn't attempt to flee it meant that they believed they could win.

No matter how he thought about it he could only see their confidence coming from another force that would be lying in wait for him. He began to consider giving up on the village and returning back to his territory. They already had enough slaves to pay for a few years of grain, even if his farms produced nothing.

The only thing preventing a retreat was that he knew the gate would be opening soon and with it there would be many armies marching through his lands that he would be required to help feed. As he struggled to come to a decision the forest broke into a field. A few hundred meters in the distance he could see the village walls and his army began to form up as if the decision had already been made.

Once the army was in position, Marshal Dolan walked over to him.

"On your command, my lord."

"...Begin. Fire as many times as it takes to break down this entire section of wall. I don't want to be stuck in a choke point like the last village."

"As you say, my lord." Marshal Dolan walked back over to the cannon and issued the order before returning.

"BOOM!" A ten meter section of the walls exploded before crumbling into dust. Setrhyn's stone walls were far sturdier than Lyr's but the cannon still managed to shatter it as if it was made out of glass.

"BOOM!" His men quickly loaded the cannon and fired again, and again. The bombardment lasted until they ran out of cannon balls nearly an hour later and a two hundred meter gap now in the walls.

In the distance he could see the dark elves marching forward to fill the gap now that the bombardment had ceased. Besides what looked like village guards, most of them appeared to be equipped no better than peasants, using farm tools and kitchen knives as weapons with little to no protection in the way of armor.

His soldiers on the other hand were equipped with steel swords, shields, and chain mail over a soft leather doublet. A kitchen knife would be about as threatening as a wooden spoon to his soldiers unless these dark elves were trained in combat. Even then, it's one thing to know where to strike to kill a man in armor but it's entirely different to actually succeed when they're swinging a sword in your direction.

No matter how Earl Abery looked at it, they had to have another force somewhere.

"...Send half the men in." He ordered Marshal Dolan. He was confident that he could win with half given the situation and he would still be able to react if another force appeared during the battle.

"Are you sure my lord? Our lines will be thin with only-"

"Do it."

"As you command..."

Marshal Dolan began to shout out orders which in turn were followed by the sounds of horns bellowing. Half of the soldiers began marching forward at a brisk pace. Once they were a hundred meters from the village the dark elves began to loose arrows, claiming a dozen lives with each volley and Earl Abery's soldiers broke out into a charge in response.