ARC 6-Winter War-105


    I’m thrown away with no hesitation as na scrambles out of our stone dwelling. Lying on my back, I let out a huff of augh. I can’t me her for rushing off. Those reflexes have been ingrained in her over several years. I, however, have a different set of reflexes. Summoners don’t run into danger. They send their elementals.


    What’s the situation?


    [Good morning, my summoner. It appears the camp is about to be attacked.]


    Appears?


    [It’s a rather unusual form of attack.]


    Before I can ask what she means, na ducks into the dwelling, quickly followed by Kierra. “Get dressed and grab our things,” she snaps.


    Hearing the urgency in her voice, I hold my questions until we’ve emptied the shelter and Bell copses the stone. All around us, our army is in a simr frantic state, the confused hunters being guided by the tense but much more calm knights around them. Members of the other armies are crowding under the overhang and showing no signs of stopping. “What’s going on?”


    “Titan.” na grasps my arm and drags me past the crowd. “Do you remember what I said about them?”


    I nod but then I realize she can’t see that. “Titans are a ss of monsters in the north. They’re big, strong, and durable. They are also supposedly attracted byrge numbers which is why Victory sends several armies instead of marching together.”


    “You’re forgetting the most troubling part,” na mutters. “Titans are intelligent. Not clever. About as smart as a child. Enough to recognize patterns and learn from them. Normally, you’d never see them this close to the mountains but some bastard has gotten bold. Or reckless.”


    Beyond the overhang, she points, directing my attention up the opposite mountain. If I squint, I think I can make out movement high up on the mountain’s side. Dropping a ‘film’, the only details I can make out is that its white, a slightly off-white that distinguishes it from the pristine white snow surrounding it, and it’s vaguely humanoid. I say vaguely because its arms look a little too long and its legs have an odd shape. Its behavior is also odd. It seems to be…probing the snow? I can’t think of any other way to describe the way it shuffles about.


    “What’s it doing?” I ask.


    “Sir Thomas has an idea. A bad one. Come on.”


    She pulls me toward the front of the army. There, themanders are gathered, Zachariah, Thomas, and the Devil. The men look up as we approach, their expressions grim. It says a lot that I don’t see a trace of disdain on the favored heir’s face when he looks at na.


    “Have we reached a conclusion?” na asks as wee to a stop.


    The Devil scoffs, the slightest movement of his armor suggesting a shrug of his shoulders. “I still don’t know if I believe this old bastard.”


    “You pup. I’ve been fighting in the north for longer than you’ve been alive. I’ve seen this before. Tiny up there is looking to bring the mountain down on us. One giant wave of snow, ice, and rock that’ll exhaust all our mages to stop. The problem is that thing is going to use it as cover. We’re good but a titan dropping into the middle of the army is going to cause problems.”


    “Normally, it takes coordinated efforts from a dozen knights to take down a titan. That’s in an open field under controlled circumstances. A titan jumping into the middle of the camp?” Zachariah shook his head.


    “That’s a big target,” I say, drawing their attention. “We’ve got a lot of casters and a lot more des. Why not just throw everything at it?”


    The look Zach gives me makes me want to hit him. “We don’t have time to discuss the details of titan ss monsters. Suffice it to say that it’ll do too much damage before we can take it down.”


    “The exception to that are the duelists,” the Devil. “Knights with the skills to take downrge targets. One spell, one kill. Better to let one fighter exhaust their mana for a night or two than have half the army drained.”


    “We’ve got a few duelists, including Polluck,” Thomas continued. “The problem is we have yet to identify the titan and we haven’t made it through the mountains. Makes me nervous and I don’t likemitting valuable resources when I’m nervous.”


    “Which is where youe in, Lou,” na says. Her tone is brisk and professional but I think I detect a hint of smugness beneath that. “You’re strong enough to restrain the titan.”


    “You think,” Zach bites out. “This is her first time going against a titan. I rather not wager my soldiers’ lives on an unproven fighter, no matter how strong.”


    “That’s why we don’t send her alone.” na waves to the elf and subi with me. “Four physical affinity users. Two or three duelists behind them, ready to take action.”


    “I’ve seen enough from them to wager they can hold down a titan,” the Devil says.


    “Better to have the girlies be a little tired than leave our mages empty. Who are we sending to take it down?”


    “Magic and physical for unknowns. Since my sister is being generous with her forces, I say bring Polluck.”


    I look to na. At her brief nod, I send Bell off to find the vaulted Sir Pucky. “Don’t volunteer my people brother, but seeing as this is an emergency and I happen to agree, I’ll let this slide. Surely you’re as eager to volunteer your people.”


    He scoffs. “I’ll send The Mountain.”


    “And I’ll send—"


    “Sir!” A skinny man skidding to a stop beside us interrupts the Devil, drawing a scowl. He flinches but keeps talking. “The titan is changing its behavior.”


    “It’s making its move. Are the casters ready?”


    “They’re assembled.”


    Thomas scoffs. “I hope those boys haven’t gotten too warm sincest year. I’ll go stand on the front. Ladies, you’re with me. Devil, set up a perimeter. You know the birds are going to be drawn by this. If we’re lucky, they’ll be satisfied with the titan corpse. I hope we’re all agreed that there’s no point fighting over it?”


    No one looks happy but they don’t disagree.


    I could get rid of that corpse fairly quickly but it’s likely not a good idea. Besides taking away the bait meant to protect the army, turning into an unknown purple slime was entirely different from turning into an unknown purple slime that could make bodies disappear in moments. Victory is more forgiving than I expected when ites to my abilities but everyone has limits. Disying that particr ability would raise ufortable questions.


    “Zach, get the others ready to move. The worst thing that can happen from this is getting dyed. We need to be out of these mountains by the end of the day.”


    “I know already, old man.”


    On some unspoken signal, the threemanders break apart, rushing to their assignments. na jogs after Thomas and the rest of us fall in behind them. Facing the mountain that the titan is on, a line of knights, mainlyprised of those from the Bleak Moons, stand tall and grim. Ready for what, I don’t know. “So, I’m just wrestling the big man to the ground?”


    “Don’t underestimate that thing, Lou,” na says. “The smallest titan is twice the size of an average building. You’re strong enough to keep it contained but not if you’re reckless.”


    A hint of nervousness tickles my gut. “I’m—"


    A loud roar drowns out my words. It drowns out everything. The force of it seems to shake the air. My sensitive earsst two seconds before I shift them away, recing them with purple slime. To my amazement, the knights around me don’t even flinch. na shows the most reaction, lips pressed in a tight frown.


    My eyes jerk to the mountain and the imminent threat of the titan. They widen and my jaw drops as I see something incredible. The mountain is melting. Not the normal way, as in the ice turning to water. More like the melting wax of a candle, slowly rolling down the steep side. A wave of snow, ice, and stone that rapidly grows in size and speed. It soon growsrge enough that it could swallow the whole of the army. Now I understand why the oldmander was so worried. What a terrible attack.


    Thomas is yelling. Geneva, tell me what he’s saying. And tell na to get back to the others. Drag her back if she doesn’t listen.


    Oh, wait. na doesn’t need the prompting. She ps my shoulder before sprinting away. From the corner of my eye, I notice a half dozen figures running toward the frontline.


    [Thomas is ordering the casters to build a wall. They are all earth casters. He is cautioning them to keep their spells to specific dimensions so the durability isn’tpromised.]


    Nearly as one, thick gray stone walls rise to the height of my chest, the casters sheltering against them. I look at the wall and then back to the menacing wave of icy death headed our way. That’s not enough to stop that.


    [It will mitigate it. The creature ising.]


    What? With a start, I realize I don’t see the small shadow of the titan. Where is it?


    [It is using the avnche as cover.]


    …and it’s alive? These titans are ridiculous. Avnche. I’ll have to remember that. And there’s no way I’m jumping inside that. I’m not worried about it hurting me but I’m useless in that mess. That means the creature is going to hit the walls. I doubt they’re going to hold.


    [They won’t.]


    You know where it is?


    [The mind cannot be so easily obscured.]


    Get over there, make sure whoever’s in the way of its charge doesn’t get ttened.


    [Of course, my summoner.]


    I reach out to Kierra, drawing her excited eyes to me. “That thing is hiding in the snow. Stay close to me.” It’s weird speaking when I can’t hear myself.


    I can imagine my wife’s response from the curl of her lips.