Chapter 734: POV Shieldmaiden

The shout and cry of soldiers in battle pressed upon Thea with almost as much force as the push of bodies and shields around her. It was that familiar chaos that was both unmistakable and impossible to get used to that surrounded her every time she had ever gone into battle. There were variations, of course. But that was chaos. Constant variation to the point of sameness. At least, that was Thea’s belief. She wasn’t sure that priests or scholars would agree with her. But she didn’t know many priests or scholars, and even fewer who fought in battle, so she wasn’t sure that their opinions had as much weight as a soldier’s when it came to war.

It was important to stay composed. Not calm. It was impossible to remain calm, at least for her. Maybe Magistrate Vraekae could remain calm. Or the Paladin Lucia. But Thea could not stop the hammering of her heart, the surge of adrenaline, or the shaking of her limbs. No, there was no way she could remain calm. But composed? Yes. That she could do. Thea could stay composed, think clearly, and take action to defend herself and others. Just like Jadis.

“Shield change! Shield change!”

The call, started by Ludger, was carried by the captains in their own language. Thea shouted out the words herself, echoing the order to make sure that those who were standing to her left and right heard and followed the command. For a longer-term military action, it was best to switch out the front line of soldiers regularly, to give them time to rest and recover their stamina. The most recent wave of Demons had been cleared, so it was the best time for the change.

As the soldiers shifted around her, the front falling back and the reserve moving forward, Thea did not move. Just like Ludger, it was her duty to stay at the front. Not only because her own defenses were so high, but because she had an aura that increased the defenses of everyone around within fifty feet, thanks to Severina and Jadis. If she moved off the line, all the soldiers who stood on the front would have significantly less Fortitude and Resilience to protect them.

Even more importantly, Bridget wouldn’t have her to watch her back.

Azure fire roared as living flame fell upon the enemy in a whirlwind of burning destruction. Bridget, transformed by magic, danced across the battlefield. She was beautiful. She had always been beautiful, of course, but the way she looked as living blue fire, both her body and her flail whirling above the ground like gravity had no hold on her…

Once, when Thea had been a little girl, she had gone with her parents to another village for a winter market. That village had had a lake, unlike her own, and it had frozen solid. The children there had walked and slid across the icy surface, turning it into a game. There had been two, though, who were not children, but a young man and a young woman, probably just old enough to marry. They had not played on the ice, but danced together, moving weightlessly across the lake like magic, enraptured in each other’s eyes. It had been a magical moment, one that Thea had only just barely touched on as an observer, yet she always remembered it as a scene of blissful beauty.

The way Bridget danced across the battlefield reminded her of that long ago memory, though the orc’s weightless dance was a thousand times more deadly than anything the couple could have ever represented.

Halvor and Lucia moved beyond the shield wall, too. They were strong, too strong to simply sit back among the common soldiers like her, waiting for the enemy to come. Instead, like Bridget, they attacked the enemy head on, striking the Demons down as they ran towards the defensive formation. As powerful as the two Hero companions were, Thea did not give either as much attention as they perhaps deserved. They were constantly moving to the far reaches of the line, outside of her range, so she could not focus on them much anyway. Bridget, on the other hand, stayed close, always within range of her aura. And her aegis. A good excuse, Thea was happy to admit, for her to pay very careful attention to the orc’s movements.

Three mire hounds charged up the slope, having broken past the field of destruction created by Aila and the other mages. Moving in a wedge formation with one slightly ahead of the other two, they shot like an arrow towards the woman of fire blazing brightly before them. As they neared, the one in the lead and the one on the left threw themselves at their target in a coordinated leap, while the third one on the right dove low, skittering unnaturally across the ground as it aimed at legs and ankles.

Bridget leapt back, her body contorting so that her torso was horizontal with the ground, rather than vertical. Spinning like a top, her polearm smashed into the forward most Demon’s head in a burst of flame, sending the creature of mud and sticks flying back. The leftmost mire hound missed its attack entirely, the distance of its leap gauged for a much closer target than Bridget had become. As Bridget and the Demon landed together, her flail was already coming down on top of the hound’s back, crashing into the creature’s thin torso with enough force to break it in half.

The third Demon, which may have required Bridget to react differently if she had been alone, had not reached her. Thea’s aegis spell had blocked the hound’s advance, keeping it at bay for a few moments, long enough for the orc to quickly deal with her other two foes before turning her fire onto the last enemy.

As the three corpses fell, their bodies smoldering blue flames, Bridget turned and gave Thea a salute. Her smile hidden by her helmet, Thea raised her spear in response. Then, both women focused back onto the Demons charging up the hill, as the storm had not yet ended. Nor did it seem likely to end any time soon.

The battle continued for a time that Thea could not count. Sometimes the enemy would surge and their forces would press up against their formation, striking hard against their shields. Some soldiers would fall back, wounded by the viciousness of relentless hate. Others would fall back, carried away to never return. Then the tide would recede and a breath could be taken. Bridget and Halvor and Lucia would clear the field, giving her time to observe the wider landscape.

A battle was raging in the sky. Thea could see enemies falling. Sometimes allies as well, though she did not think she saw any reach the ground. She did see Severina. The shine of her holy smite was hard to miss, even on a bright summer day. Thea thought that she was fighting with, or rather, against another Seraphim. She had a guess as to who that would be, but there weren’t any opportunities to confirm.

Sweat trickled down Thea’s back, the salt of her body stinging her eyes. She could feel the dampness inside her armor, the heat of the sun overhead, the exertion of fighting and fighting and fighting without end. Every breath she took was hot and stifling, the scent of death and putrid mud fouling the air. Still, Thea remained composed.

Stand tall.

Do not falter.

Be the wall that others could rely on.

A rush of movement rolled in from the right flank and Thea braced her shield, prepared for another surge of Demons. Instead, the wave proved to be led by Noll, Rein, and Meli. The Runners had circled back around to meet with the main formation, their blades cutting through the few enemies that were still climbing the hill.

As the group passed, Thea saw Noll stop to exchange brief words with the forward fighters. When he moved on, Bridget, Halvor, and Lucia all fell back, returning to the main line of the shield wall that the Voltonian soldiers had formed. Bridget’s flames extinguished as she turned back to her usual green self, and the orc came to a stop directly in front of Thea.

“We might have an opportunity,” Bridget shouted in Thea’s ear over the din. “Hold the line! I’ll be right back!”

An opportunity?

Thea could only guess what that meant. The forward assault force had been sent ahead of the main army for the purpose of clearing out the charybdis Demons that were capable of long-range attacks. Breaking the defenses of the city itself was an undertaking that wouldn’t be done until the full military force had arrived and the siege equipment had been set up. The lightning that the domes could lash out with was too dangerous for anyone to approach directly. Even Jadis and the Hero kept away from the lightning.

Maybe she or Ludger could withstand the power of those bolts, but that was still a question in Thea’s mind.

Whatever the case, the charybdis were the only targets that they absolutely needed to destroy before the rest of their allies arrived. That said, the Lares Sirio was leading a specialist team for a reason. If there was an opportunity to strike a tactically crippling blow to the demonic forces holding Kastoria, then it would be foolish not to take it. And if that opportunity meant that Bridget and the other forward fighters needed to break away from the main formation to launch an attack, then that was what needed to happen. Thea could hold the line until they returned.

“Thea! Thea!”

An unfamiliar voice shouted behind her, barely heard above the crush of battle. The calls grew closer, though, and soon, Thea felt a hand tugging on her shoulder from behind.

“Thea!” a man said, his thick Voltonian accent coloring his words. “Fall back! Fall back! To the healers!”

Fall back? Was there something wrong? Was Eir alright? Or had there been a change of plans? Was she needed for whatever opportunity had arisen?

There was no point in questioning the orders. Thea shifted, letting the man behind her take her place in the line as fell back through the ranks. Her aegis moved with her, taking up a position overhead as she pushed through the crowd to reach open space. Once she had extracted herself from the rows of soldiers making up the bulk of the forward defenses, Thea broke into a sprint, hurrying to reach the location where Eir and Jocelyn would have been stationed near the center of the formation.

Reaching the spot, Thea was surprised to see not only Eir and Jocelyn waiting for her, but also Aila, Bridget, Meli, Noll, Halvor, Rein, and Lucia as well. The group were quietly discussing amongst themselves, their words masked by the bustle of healers and soldiers around them, though Thea caught a few words as she approached. Turning to her, Noll waved her forward, his piercing yellow eyes capturing her full attention.

“We’ve got a chance to take out two of the domes,” the therion wasted no time at all getting to the point. “We need you to ride with Aila on Meli, keep her safe and get her close.”

“Yes,” Thea responded without hesitation.

This was clearly a rapid response to a changing situation, one where a brief window of opportunity existed. Every second spent in delay was a second wasted. They would have to move, fast, and standing around asking for more details when they weren’t necessary could cost them all dearly. Thea didn’t need to know more. All she had to do was protect Aila and Meli. She could do that. She would do that. No harm would come to either so long as her shield was in her hand.

Moving to the Dryad, Thea waited for Meli to lower her flank and help her up onto her back. As she looked at her strangely plant-like spider body, Thea wondered if it was possible for Sabina to craft a saddle for Meli, so that when Thea rode her it was a little more comfortable. That thought had the unfortunate side effect of prompting a little voice inside her head that sounded very much like a certain archer to make all sorts of inappropriate innuendos that had no place in her head during a serious situation.

“Should I go on first?” Aila asked as she walked up next to Thea.

“N—no,” Thea replied, her stutter only coming out a little. “Let me be in front of you. Easier, ah, to see.”

Aila didn’t argue, and a moment later Meli turned to them both and reached out a hand to help Thea up.

“Make sure to hold on tight,” The Dryad advised with a serious look on her face. “I will be going as fast as possible.”

Thea couldn’t help the blush that colored her cheeks as she got up onto Meli’s back and wrapped her legs around the other woman’s human-like waist. She was glad that her helmet hid her expression, because she knew that she would be embarrassing herself otherwise. Meli’s spider form had multiple levels of power, with the strongest involving a change in the transformation. Jadis had once teased her with the hint that she would find Meli’s full-power form interesting, though it wasn’t until that morning that Thea had finally seen what Jadis had meant.

Meli’s lower body had transformed into a giant jumping spider, just as usual, but her upper body, starting right at the hips, had remained in her usual appearance. The effect was very much like how the golem, Kalliope, looked. Except, Meli was a spider rather than a horse. It was as though a beautiful woman’s torso had grown out of the face of a giant spider, which was definitely strange, but because of the positioning of her hips and the spider legs and those… Jadis had called them pedipalps, maybe? Well, the appearance meant that Meli’s loincloth draped from her waist and hips across that space between the pedi-things, creating a mystery that Thea really, really wanted to uncover.

Releasing a breath, Thea released those thoughts from her mind at the same time. She had to stay composed. Just like Jad—no. In this case, not like Jadis. Like Aila. Aila was composed. She could be like Aila.

Soon enough, Aila was also on Meli’s back with one arm wrapped around Thea’s waist. The two were swiftly carried by the spider Dryad to the back of the formation, where they followed Noll, Bridget, Halvor, and Rein. It seemed that Lucia was staying behind with the main formation, which was no doubt for the best. It wouldn’t be safe to deprive the soldiers of all of the strongest fighters at once.

Thea had seen Halvor move, so she didn’t doubt that the barbarian would be able to keep up with the others, but she did wonder how exactly Bridget was meant to follow along. Was Noll going to carry her on his back? The question was answered a few seconds later when the orc once again burst into flames and her form lifted slightly off the ground. A short length of metal chain was in her hand, the other end wrapped loosely around Noll’s left shoulder. When he moved, she moved with him, dragged along like a kite on a string.

“We’re swinging wide,” Noll called out to the others as he picked up speed. “Ignore the small fry. Get to the domes.”

As they circled around the back lines of their allies, Thea finally got a good view of where they were going. The sharp intake of breath was involuntary, and she couldn’t help but tighten her grip on Meli. At the same time, she knew that at least Aila was feeling the same way, as the woman’s arm also tightened around her waist.

The walls surrounding Kastoria ended at the rocky shore, turning into the worn breakwater that protected the city’s harbor. The domes that ringed the city stopped at the water as well, the cliffs leading down to the water too difficult for them to pass. At the most southern point, where the cliffs overlooked the sea, was one final impenetrable dome that had been positioned almost directly against the city wall.

The hexagonal structure was in partial ruin, a huge, jagged fissure torn through the hexagonal plates from the midpoint all the way to the top. The metal spike that capped the dome was bent and broken, though erratic bursts and tendrils of lightning still crackled from the bronze material, occasionally striking the wall and land around it. A dark, squirming mass could be seen within, but part of the mass looked like it was melting out of the hole, like a cheese that had gone rotten in the sun.

The wall just beyond the dome was also broken, with the watch tower that had once overlooked the sea missing completely. Part of the wall had collapsed outward, like something had hit it from within, and a heavy load of stone bricks was leaning against the side of the dome. How the wall was still technically standing was a mystery, but it didn’t look like it would remain upright for much longer.

To the left of the badly damaged dome was another, some two or three hundred yards away. It would have provided cover to the first dome, but it, too, was damaged. There was no gaping hole in the side of the dome, but the metal cap on top had been crushed like some giant had stepped on it.

At the thought of a giant, a huge black form lifted up from beyond the city walls. Thea’s eyes went wide as she recognized the three pairs of glowing white tendril wings supporting the wriggling slug that had been lifted high above Kastoria’s walls. Then, the gigantic leech fell back to the surface, carried with even greater speed by Jadis’ flight. A moment later, there was a distant thumping sound that could be felt more than heard.

“What is she even thinking,” Aila murmured just loudly enough for Thea to hear. “She cannot fight in the city alone…”

Thea’s response was interrupted by the sudden crash of stone as the city wall exploded along the weak point that had already partially crumbled. Jadis and the huge black slug smashed through at great speed, shedding bricks and lesser Demons who had thought to latch on as they went. The massive, bloated creature was dragged along the rocky cliffside for hundreds of feet before going over the edge, where the Demon and the Nephilim crashed down onto the shore in an explosion of sand and water. Soon, Thea saw one of Jadis’ forms detach from the melee, rise hundreds of feet into the air, then rocket straight back down, landing with an impact that had to have been audible even to the main formation of soldiers on the hill.

“Well, she’s not inside the city, ah, anymore,” Thea numbly replied to Aila’s earlier comment.