Headmaster Bowen Taurus's POV.
Kaladin's idea of using the underneath portion of the bridge as cover was indeed the correct choice. I was able to guide a scouting golem underneath it and up to the base of the wall. With my shared senses, I ordered my creation to scale the face of the wall. Thankfully, it was made of wind magic, so it wasn't difficult.
Once I was about halfway up to the first group of murder holes, I could hear movement, although distorted as if I had my head underwater. I slipped into one and gave the command to dodge, and my vision swam as a flurry of spear tips flew past me. There were dozens of Skeletons who seemed rather prepared for my arrival.
I was forced to float up and around them, bouncing off the walls as I skittered down the first floor of the battlement. I took note and there were many Skeletons here. All of them were short in stature but still oddly tall, wearing rusted and decayed heavy armor. The corridor of the battlement was dark and dingy. The once beautiful craftsmanship was in disrepair. When I flipped my vision to the other side of the corridor, a small group of Dwarven Skeletons aimed shoddy crossbows at me and let them loose with a heavy snap.
Crossbows? At the defense of a fort? These must be the ancient Dwarves, indeed.
Crossbows were not considered entirely useless. But they were seen as an inferior weapon, mostly relegated to civilians, hunters, or militia forces with neither mages nor capable bowmen. It was simply because they lacked versatility.
A person who could utilize their reserves of mana for physical enhancement but not for magic could use a bow with a heavy draw weight that far surpassed the power or speed of a crossbow while being much faster. And, of course, ignoring the physical drain that pulling a bow required. It was also best not to have a large group of any type of bowmen on a battlefield huddled up together in a pack, lest they be decimated by a single spell.
Regardless, the bolts shattered against the ceiling as I dodged most of them, and those that managed to graze my golem would amount to nothing. Only a direct hit that destroyed the golem or the core I used would sever my connection.
But what are those?
The most oddly-shaped things I could have seen were along the walls, lying in rusted racks. Simply put, they looked like long metal poles with bells on the end of them. I could faintly see some type of design engraved onto the metal, but it was difficult to be certain.Their purpose was a mystery to me as they appeared surprisingly well-maintained compared to everything else. And sitting amongst them, were the rotted-open sacks that sparkled with a strange dust, almost like a multicolored sand.
Regardless, the target of my operation was nowhere in sight. I highly doubted the Dwarves had managed to hide such powerful siege weapons in plain sight. It was more likely that they would be on the higher floors.
So rather than bouncing around to avoid spears and bolts, I opted to fly out of a murder hole and back outside, where I scaled the wall from there. The undead were once again prepared for my arrival on the next floor, but a quick scan revealed no high-level undead waiting for me.
How do they know of my presence? Is there some invisible, silent network they use to report my movements? Or can they instinctively sense my golems? It's far more difficult to move around here in the dungeon than in the outside world.
I could consider the possibilities at a later date as I noticed another interesting detail. It was clear to me that there was some type of rail system on the floor. It would be easy to say it was to supply the battlements; the corridor was massive, allowing plenty of space on either side for troops and supplies to be transferred. However, the lack of a similar system on the first floor made it suspicious.
I maneuvered around the undead until I reached the end of the corridor, and there it was. A large ballista was moving on a cart along the rail system. Its design was familiar enough but with some slight differences. Instead of two arms, these ballistae had four, and there was a unique coil system as well. Perhaps that simple mechanism was what—
Oh? Are those runes?
Those would have to be investigated later, but I needed to continue to scout their positions. The fact they could move would be troublesome, but as long as we knew how many there were per floor, that would be enough, according to Kaladin.
It was challenging to move through the other floors and constantly straining my mental fortitude to rapidly give so many orders to a golem, but in the end, I had managed to find six ballistae across three floors, with another five at the top of the battlements, along the walls that had yet to be used, along with catapults.
But as I danced across the bastion, I began to feel conflicted. It's not that it wasn't swarming with undead but the amount I had seen was far below what I had expected. If there were a few hundred per floor and some at the top that meant there were barely over a thousand troops stationed at the bastion. Still plenty to man it, and with a force that never tired or required food I suppose it was enough to do the job.
However, if an overwhelming force had managed to get past the two other floors as I suspected, then the defenders could be at a disadvantage. I wondered if I was missing something, so at the top of the walls, I sent my golem off the top and into the enemy's backline.
I expected to see thousands of undead waiting in reserves but it was empty, devoid of any movement. Just a lifeless, desolate stone fortress. A seemingly empty, and unmanned keep beyond the great walls. I cut the connection off from my golem and my vision and hearing returned to my main body. Everyone was watching me in silence.
"I have good news, at least," I said.
—
After explaining the situation to everyone, Kaladin seemed convinced that we could suppress the battlements and charge into the building with limited resistance. But the young man sat quietly, his eyes shut.
He slowly opened them and asked me, "Can you make large battle golems in advance and take control of them? Or does it have to be done one at a time?"
"I could make some, yes. But I must warn you they will have limited defenses against such concentrated attacks. A single ballista will rip one of them apart," I warned.
"That's fine. If you could make two…" he trailed off.
"Yes, after using the swarm of smaller ones, I can maintain two larger golems. Once those are destroyed, I can use my minotaur as a last resort," I answered.
"Perfect. Now, to make a decision," he said, standing up.
"We can either go through the front gate or into the battlement itself. Going into the fray would be difficult, considering we plan on scorching it all," he said.
"But passing through that massive gate isn't such a simple task," Kelly said.
"I may have a workaround for it. The dull stone, or whatever the material they are using to build the bastion, has a heavy resistance to magic and impacts, but at the end of the day, it is just stone," Kaladin said confidently.
Kaladin looked over to Cerila, and his hands moved in quick succession of patterns and gestures that were entirely foreign to me. Honestly, I found it intriguing that they had developed an entire language that utilized only hand symbols. To be able to have a conversation in such a manner was truly astounding.
One day, I'll have Kaladin or someone write down all those gestures and their meanings. A new language, although beneficial for a small section of the population, would be beneficial to those who need it in the future.
Cerila looked confused for a moment as she tilted her head and looked up at the stone. After some thought, she shrugged and nodded her head.
"And you, Sylvia?" he asked next.
Sylvia scratched her head and said, "I'm not sure to be honest. I've never done something like that, but it doesn't sound too tricky. I just have to guide my blood into those cracks and make it expand until it explodes, right?"
"That's the basics, yes. We can practice plenty as we have a lot of space to clear out for Bowen's golems. Tsarra, your water magic would also be helpful in this situation," Kaladin added.
With a meek voice, Tsarra pointed to herself and said, "A—me? What do I need to do?"
"Nothing too difficult. I'll show you what we were talking about in a moment," Kaladin said.
"Then shall we begin preparations? This could take us a few days of work," I said.
Kaladin designated us into teams, and we set off clearing what would essentially be a raiding camp in the cave systems. There, we would clear an ample space to house my golems for the attack. I would also have to practice on my own.
As we walked into the cave system, I asked Kaladin, "Do you have any knowledge of those weapons I saw?"
Kaladains face turned grim. "Only theories at this point. I'll have to get my hands on one to be more certain."
Oh, he has some idea what those were, despite the fact that they are a design I haven't seen before.
I chuckled and said, "Surprising. Sometimes, you seem older and more knowledgeable than even myself."
Kaladin raised an eyebrow and chuckled awkwardly back. "Yes…that wouldn't be the first time I heard something like that."
"And where did you come up with this strategy? It's rather creative having me use golems to transport firebombs into the heart of the battlements," I asked curiously.
"Just a thought. This would be even more devastating if we were facing a living opponent. But the undead aren't immune to explosions or fire," he said with a shrug.
Indeed…if this was a regular fort and this endeavor paid off, an entire battlement of a fort could not only be heavily damaged but completely restrict the access from the defenders for a time, allowing the attackers to gain an advantage. This is something a mage couldn't do alone.
"And what of this…tactic regarding water and blood?" I asked.
"You understand that when you hit a stone with enough force, cracks can form not only on the surface but even inside the stone itself?" Kaladin asked.
"I'm aware of such things, yes. Believe it or not, I have done some physical labor in my life," I said with a nod.
Kaladin smiled softly and said, "Not much can fit into such small fissures, but water can."
Oh…I see…
"You plan to force water or blood into cracks and have Cerila freeze it. And when water freezes, it expands…further increasing the cracks," I said.
"With enough room and time, Sylvia, Tsarra, and Cerila should be able to bring down even the bastion's walls," he said.
I rubbed my beard, which was growing to become an unsightly mess. Going so long without a proper trim was surely giving me the appearance of a wild man. But Kaladin's idea was….so simple yet effective. It was indeed true that a phenomenon had appeared in the kingdom.
Pipes burst from the cold, and even the stone foundations of homes crack and crumble from the temperature change in the winter. But I would have never imagined inducing that effect during a siege, let alone on a fortress wall. However, there was a glaring issue for me.
"But such a slow and repetitive process… that usually takes years of wear to achieve naturally. We would have to make a significant dent beforehand to make it worth attempting, would we not?" I asked.
"That's where the rest of us come into play. With the combined force of Lord Vasquez, yourself, and me, it should be possible to make it work. After all, what would the effect be of such a large golem falling on the wall?" Kaladin answered.
"I'm starting to grasp your plan even more now. One day, will you explain to me how you devised it?" I asked playfully.
"Probably not."
—
I watched in amusement as the three girls tried their hands at cracking and then expanding the rock with their magic. At first, it seemed tricky for them to grasp the concept and force the magic into the crevices, and redo it all at a steady pace. It required them to be in sync. With Sylvia and Tsarra guiding their magic and Cerila freezing it rapidly only to turn around to unfreeze it.
After a few tries, the trio successfully found a rhythm. Practicing it was one thing, but doing it during a large-scale battle while under fire was another. When that concern was raised, Sylvia said she could protect them while also doing her job, but Varnir also volunteered to be on protection duty.
With the combined effort of us three damaging the gate and those three weathering it down, I was starting to believe it was all possible.
Then again, all of this was predicated on us arriving at the wall safely and disabling the battlements and murder holes for a significant amount of time. A backup plan was devised to scale the walls and attack from the top down, but nothing was devoid of risk.
If the undead managed to gather their strength and mount a proper defense, we would be in trouble. And if there was a hidden, high-level undead amongst their ranks, which was all but guaranteed, it would surely foil our effort.
"What will we do when we face a stronger opponent beyond the walls?" Lord Vasquez asked me abruptly.
I turned to face the gruff man and smiled. "It appears you and I are of the same mind. But can we plan for an unknown enemy at this point? Perhaps simply breaching the wall is all we need," I said.
"If things were so simple, we would be out of this forsaken dungeon and back home," he huffed.
I chuckled in response. "Then that duty will fall on us elders, won't it?" I said after a moment.
Lord Vasquez's dark eyes drifted toward the four younger members and a slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Yes…it will."
We remained quiet as we watched them work, and after a time, he quietly said, "Does it remind you of the past, Bowen?"
"I won't lie—there is some resemblance to our circumstances back then, Jacob," I said.
He nodded confidently and said with a hint of fondness, "It does feel reassuring that the next generation is this gifted. The kingdom will be in good hands."
"You speak as if we are going to die, Jacob," Jess said.
"That is…not what I meant. I refuse to die in such a place. I will pass on in a big, comfortable bed somewhere far from any conflict," he huffed.
"Is that the dream of Lord Vasquez himself?" Kelly chuckled.
"You wouldn't understand, and I will not be teased by a man who has yet to start a family, Garrison," Vasquez growled.
"What?! I'll have you know I am well on my way to start a family," Garrison protested.
"Only because His Majesty was hounding you and graciously bestowed you a title, forcing you to pass on your bloodline," Vasquez smirked.
Garrison groaned and rolled his eyes. "That—that has nothing to do with anything. I just hadn't found the right one yet…"
"I believe there were many beforehand…but this new one seems to fit you well, Kelly," Jess said with a giggle.
Garrison's eyes widened. "You…you know of Bella? Are you acquainted by chance?"
My wife hummed to herself and shrugged. "I suppose you could say we are?"
"That…does not inspire confidence in me, Jess. What are you doing in the shadows?" Garrison pestered.
"Nothing that I'm ashamed of," Jess said with a shrug.
I chuckled and asked the quiet one among us. "And what wisdom would you pass down to us, Ms. Shadowheart?" I asked.
The High Elf, despite looking younger than all of us, was the oldest by centuries. Or…was she that old? I suppose I don't know her actual age. She could be fairly young…
She smiled softly and answered eloquently, "I wish I could impart something on everyone but I'm just as inexperienced in these matters. I've only been a wife and mother for less than twenty years. But I do understand the feeling of accomplishing a life goal. When that day comes, you will all be as satisfied as I am. So please continue to work toward it."
Mmm…I guess she is much older than us.
"I suppose we should get to work. We can't let the young ones do all the heavy lifting."