368 Old Blood and Stone - Part 4

He said that with authority, even whilst being immensely shaken himself. 'A mage…' he thought quietly to himself, shivering. He didn't know what such a thing meant – that the brother of Jok could be afflicted with such a title – but he knew enough that he couldn't allow it to distract him.

With the Water Sprites at his back, Vol finally smashed his way out of the encirclement, once more breathing the fresh open air, just in time for the infantry to begin their arrival. With Northy at the front, supported by Vagrin, Jeva and Borne, they slammed hard into the shield wall where Vol had just been.

That charge alone should have been more than enough to make it buckle, but even after the excitement that Vol had caused, the shield wall held firm.

Vol snorted bitterly. It wasn't going to work, as Vale had guessed from the start. His instincts agreed with her earlier assessment – they needed to move off to the right, and approach the shield wall from the side.