The War of the Crystals

At that very moment, all the men, including Farin and Kendre, heard a horrible rasping sound. At first, it was very faint. But then it became louder, and louder, and louder still. Whatever it was, it could be heard closing in on all directions. The men were becoming filled with fear and instinctively turned back to back to look for the oncoming noise. The men at the gates also heard the noise and stopped cold, afraid to move for fear of their lives.

As the rasping sound became louder, the men of the company became more fearful. Were the Eledais sending some great horde after them? Was some cataclysmic event about to happen? The ominous sound seemed to be continuing in their direction. It continued to grow ever louder until it was so deafening Farin concluded it had to be nearly on top of them. And then, as suddenly as it started, the sound ceased and everything was in total silence.

It was so quiet that one could hear the panting of the men as they stared up into the sky, searching for whatever it was that had been closing in on them. The troops stood still, but out of fear and uncertainty rather than discipline and bravery. Farin and Kendre were on opposite ends of the square and could not communicate. Their thoughts were attempting to unravel the mystery before them. But as their minds worked feverishly to unravel the mystery, it unraveled itself.

Within the blink of an eye it happened. One moment they were not there, and the next, they were. Several hundred impish soldiers appeared from thin air, ready to do battle, and all of them were perched atop the roofs of the buildings. There were so many of them that the buildings around the square seemed to instantly grow several feet. They were hidden from the men’s eyes by some fiendish spell, or worse, by an evil enchanter. Farin and Kendre instantly realized they had walked into a trap!

From the very beginning the pace was fast and the rage furious. As soon as they appeared, the imps fired arrows and hurled spears down onto the ranks of the soldiers. Immediately after that, they themselves jumped onto the ranks, swinging their axes and maces against the gleaming swords and mighty shields of the Orallian Soldiers. The fighting was soon raging across the village square and quickly spilled into a few of the streets. Kendre took charge on the eastern half, with Farin charging to the western end with their mounts.

As the great numbers of imps attacked and started to inflict casualties among the men, some soldiers lost their will and tried to retreat. However, as they ran down the main street, they could not get past the gate, for it had been sealed. In a strategic action to stop the troops from escaping, the imps had attacked the gate first, trapping the remaining soldiers in the city. The impish maces, swords and axes sliced down all the ones who dared run towards the gate. After the imps slaughtered those who ran, they joined the rest of their allies in the battle at the square.

One after another, Kendre’s and Farin’s swords found the heads and necks of the impish soldiers. Though the imps were smaller in stature, few creatures rivaled their strength. Whenever a man and imp wrestled, the imp almost always won, and this battle was no exception. Despite the seemingly incredible odds arrayed against them, Farin managed to kill many of the imps due to his great skill with the blade. However, despite his great skill he could not protect his horse fully, and an arrow struck its side, causing him to fall off and forced to fight on foot. His horse managed to stand upright and galloped away safely through a back street, though Farin did not attempt to mount it again. Kendre was still on horseback, but Farin could see that he was soon going to be overpowered, and that his end was nigh.