Over the Wall

With Ashleigh escorting the injured man to a secure location, Devrim returned to the tower at the northeast corner of oblivion. From his vantage point, he hoped to spot the next assault.

He was disappointed. While he was still helping to spread the news that anyone scratched or bitten was to report to the infirmary as soon as possible, the west wall lit up brighter than the sun.

The Emperor shielded his eyes against the assault of light, hoping that his son-in-law's years of research had been accurate. They had only had enough of the oil to defend one wall once, so he hoped that it had been well used.

There had been a brief debate on how best to use the fire oil, but in the end, using it on the end of torches to combat the creatures was deemed risky and unwise. One poorly flung torch could set the city on fire, burning up the very place they hoped to protect.

As Devrim watched the flame burn, he hoped that many of his enemy were extinguished by it. The bright light afforded him one more advantage. Looking northward and eastward, the Emperor could see the ring of abominations hovering around Oblivion.

They were far closer than Devrim had realized. He could almost see the hunger in their eyes and the thought of the damage each could do nearly paralyzed him with fear.

As the fire began to dim, he saw them begin to advance. "Be ready!" he called to those below, though he was sure most of them had witnessed the same movement.

Junayd still had not returned from searching for the rogue wolf who had gotten over the wall. That was just as concerning to the Emperor as those who were advancing.

Perhaps he should not have sent the former general out alone, but Devrim had not felt like he could spare any more people to catch the injured villain. Every man had a place and already Collyn had left a hole with his rampage, that could only partially be refilled.

Those on the east wall began to shout to one another trying to mount their coordinated defense. They had another of Renat's ideas for keeping the abominations from reaching the wall, but it required combing two harmless mixtures together in just the right way.

There was also the matter of timing. If the soldiers dumped the vats too early, then the creatures below would be able to miss the results. Too close and the concoction might take too long to take effect.

Because of the shadows of the valley, the humans were having difficulty gauging exactly where the creatures were in relation to the ground. So when the moon rose over the mountains at that very moment, it was as if the Maker himself had turned on a light on the enemy.

With the glittering stone basking in the moonlight, the creatures looked like blemishes on the pristine surface...blemishes to be removed.

The soldiers waited in pairs to pour the mysterious liquids, which were contained in every manner of vase and large bowl. The people of Oblivion had been generous with their possessions and household goods; Devrim could not have asked for more.

The light made those on the battlement exhale in relief before tensing with their full vessels slightly tilted.

Someone at the center called the order, which filtered down the line. The first in the pair of people poured their liquid into the second container. The second person swirled it with what was in their own pot and then quickly sent it upon the heads of abominable army.

Before the liquid could even make it clear of their containers, it grew hot and foamed into gigantic frothy clouds.

The caustic bubbles descended on the monsters like a fog. Covered in the blanket, each creature began to scream as the hot bubbles popped and their acidic insides ate at the skin and hair of their victims.

One by one they released their grip on the wall, trying to scrape the froth from their blistered bodies.

They fell, battered, and broke against the ground with a sickly thud. The ground at the base of the sizzled and cracked as well, leaving only scorched earth behind.

The second wave of abominations, who were still on the ground, backed away. Their red vision faded as reason overtook their anger.

The ghastly site before them in the bright moonlight was enough of a warning not to approach again. For now they would wait.

———-

On the rooftop of the tower, Devrim was relieved by the lack of a second assault on the eastern wall. In his mind he had only given the plan half a chance of working.

Renat had made a similar mixture before but not with the addition of an irritant. The scientist was not sure how much the acid would affect both the mixture and the test subject. It seemed that the mixture was unharmed and the victims were.

"Knowledge is indeed power," he muttered to himself, remembering a similar sentiment he had made when first entering the Storehouse nearly two decades before. With the right knowledge anything was possible.

With a hope that the two walls he could not see were having similar success, Devrim turned his full attention northward. Like the wall, the valley was quickly being bathed in the luminous glow of the celestial moon.

Far behind her army, Livie stared at the wall with grim determination. It seemed she was searching for the fabled Empress, but was obviously failing.

Little did Livie know that although she had not found the ruler, Aurora's husband was honing in on her from above. He had a plan.

Using his fingers, he estimated her location. He would only get one shot. Devrim needed to focus.

On the wall itself, archers were draining quivers of arrows into those who dared to climb the wall. Some of these had armor, others had leather coverings in addition to their thick skin.

As a result, the pointed objects were not being as effective as desired. They did, however, slow the advance of the climbers to a crawl.

Those that were at the lead took the brunt of the assault. A few climbed one-handed with shields held over their heads to protect them from the arrows.

It was a slow but effective process until those on the wall got heavier objects to hurl down. At one point, an entire handcart came tumbling from the battlement, knocking four abominations back to the ground.

The onslaught was not as strong as the other walls, but this had been intentional. The Emperor wanted Livie to be focused on her troops and how she could win the battle.

He also had run out of alternative methods to repel the horde. This wall would require strength and stamina to defend.

While Devrim was still checking his measurements, the first of the abominations reached the top of the wall. Due to the crenellations, the creatures could only come in at certain points, forcing them to come in single file or climb even higher to gain access.

The first few were shoved back down to the ground, but after a silver wolf took two soldiers with him on his deadly plunge, the human army changed tactics. Drawing their swords, the people engaged the abominations in hand-to-hand combat.

While the humans were fighting for their lives to repel the beasts, the monsters were out for blood. Those that they could not easily kill, the abominations tried to scratch or bite. Any injury which broke the human's skin seemed to suddenly negate them from battling, and the monsters used this to their advantage.

It was an unfair fight.

The Emperor blocked out the battle below him as he got his final count. All the practice with Renat's massive ballista before the final battle with Cafer had not been in vain. Together, he and the scientist had learned how to precisely aim the bolt.

However they had no ballista and no massive arrow to impale Livie. All they had was a decrepit catapult.

The relic was left over from days gone by. It had sat quietly in the center of Oblivion much like Juanyd's statue did in Valiant.

It had taken the three of the shipwrights from the time when Junayd had arrived until that very eve to get the large weapon into working order. Even then, it was not in perfect shape.

That was one reason why Devrim wanted to aim perfectly the first time. After the first projectile, the element of surprise would be gone. But more importantly, the machine might not make it to a second shot.

Calling down directions to a citizen on the ground, Devrim allowed his message to be carried to the catapult's platform. It needed to be a little distance back from the wall for the massive stone to clear the battlement, and so the messenger raced as fast as he could to deliver the location.

Fortunately, Livie was glued to one spot as she watched the battle.

When the Large stone they had quarried was finally released, it headed straight for her.