Second Nightfall

D had intended to use several of the boulders dropped by the Skrags to block up the hole knocked in the wall, it was a plan he had thought of before falling asleep. When he woke up another idea had come. Or better to say he had refined the idea in much the same way he had been refining the ward used to process lumber. It was that thought that had sparked his idea. He was considering making such a ward to process some lumber but didn't know where they would get wood. Then he thought of the mage raised stone walls along the path. And the earthen walls the palisade wall was built on.

Why couldn't he do something similar? He needed only to modify the processing ward for wood to work stone. Since he only needed to alter an existing ward he was familiar with, writing out the ward would be the longest part of the process. Thus after moving the large rocks he went to work. He short handed as much as he could, the ward was sloppy but it was also a one time activation. Soon enough he watched the stone breakdown and reform to seal the hole.

He turned around to find Jerimaiah closing in on him. "You fixed dat hole in the wall with magic?"

"Yes." D answered bluntly.

"What next then?" Jeremiah asked.

D thought it was odd that he was asking him and not the other way around but shrugged it off. "Check the walls for other holes. Start placing more wards."

"Then you think we can defend the place." Jeremiah himself found he was annoyed with himself at relying on the boy, but this was beyond what he could do alone. More so he really didn't want to abandon his home.

"Yes." D answered almost instantly.

"You be sure?" Jeremiah sounded hopeful.

"Yes." When he saw the look on Jeremiah's face D wanted to sigh with annoyance but instead just expanded, the older man still looked worried. "Now that I know better what we are dealing with I can adjust the wards." Jeremiah started to feel more confident. "Besides compared to battling that ancient destroyer. This still isn't that bad."

"Ancient Destroyer?" Jeremiah started to ask then shook his head. This just seemed to confirm his suspicions that D was someone special. 'I'll definitely see him wed to my Dorothy.' He remembered her flushed face from earlier. 'Doesn't look like I will have too much trouble convincing her.'

"Yes. Royal Ranger Dean made me fight it." D turned away as if that answered everything and started down the wall.

"Royal Ranger?" Jeremiah followed after him.

"Yes." Then because he thought it would help get the man back on track. "He's the one that's been teaching me to fight."

Jeremiah froze in his tracks then shook his head from the strange thoughts, there wasn't time for this. "You go do your magic thing boy. I'll check the wall."

D didn't even respond but instead changed his path to take him towards the stairs. Soon enough he was writing out more glowing words before sending them streaking out beyond the wall. Jeremiah shook his head and muttered. "Warden, Mage, Royal Ranger? Definitely a noble." With that, he quickly started making rounds of the wall.

**********

Jeremiah was pretty sure he knew what happened to Eli and Daniel based on what he found over the back wall. It looked like they had tried to flee and hadn't made it. Luck be with them though as the walls other than the one spot looked fine. He had gone up and dragged a heavy oiled tarp over the hole in the house. There were several holes in the stables and luckily the storage building hadn't been hit. None of the animals were injured but they seemed overtly terrified. Jeremiah couldn't really blame them.

Now he was sitting on a stool dragged from in the house to watch the boy. For hours he had been standing up there sending out streaks of light. The only time he stopped was when he sent Dorothy out to bring him food. The poor girl must be totally smitten he thought. She couldn't even look at him without blushing and stammering. While he was glad as it would make his future plans easier if she liked the boy, he couldn't help but feel a little protective of her.

Of course, the fact that the boy seemed to pay her no attention beyond the plate of food in her hands helped reassure him some. Right now he was watching the boy carry the last of the stone boulders to the center of the yard and shook his head. Each of the boulders were at the smallest as big as the boy. But he carried them all with an ease that was almost terrifying. Now Jeremiah watched as the boy did more of the glowing writing around them.

"Dad. What kind of magic is that?" Dorothy came out from the house. She had slept until time to make lunch and now looked refreshed. Jeremiah also noticed she had cleaned up, changed into her best dress, and he caught the whiff of some of her mother's old perfume on her. Shaking his head he wasn't sure if he was glad or sad.

"Dunno. But it not be lesser magic for sure. Ain't never heard of magic like he uses. Does things, powerful things. Might be we owe him everything after this." Jeremiah turned to watch the boy, the stone boulders were… wiggling.

Dorothy stood beside her dad also watching, she wrang her hands nervously before just coming out to ask. "You be thinkin of weddin me to him?"

"Yes." Jeremiah was more proud than surprised, he always thought his daughter was bright. "What ya be thinkin about it?"

"If that is what you want dad. You know best." Jeremiah turned to give her a look. She glanced at her father then blushed and looked away. "He not be bad to look at. Strong. Skilled. Plus he can do magic. And about my age. I always worried I'd have to marry some old man. What with living out here in the wastes." Dorothy took a deep breath. "You taught me to always look for the best options." Dorothy pointed at D with her chin. "Dat be the best option."

Jeremiah couldn't help but beam with pride. He'd raised a smart girl as far as he was concerned. "Good. Then after all dis, we talk to him about it."

Dorothy despite her little speech felt her heart flutter. "Yes dad."

**********

Unaware of the plans being made about his future D sweated as he worked on the experimental ward. Jeremiah had asked if he was the one that made the air try and crush them the night before. He hadn't been upset but asked that he not do that to his daughter at least. D agreed not to and Jeremiah thought it was for concern of Dorothy. In truth, D accepted that the gravity ward, while effective against the skrags, made it harder for him to fight as well. Plus, if he accidentally crushed one of the humans in the settlement they might not pay him.

So he had spent some time working on several other options for dealing with flying enemies. These boulders were one of them. Launching them airborne was easy enough but using a ward instead of a spell he couldn't on the fly change where they were going to fly. He needed to make sure they hit their mark. So, with a bit of tweaking, he thought he had a solution. He finished the ward and left it gathering power late that afternoon. It would last long enough to cover until the end of the new moon.

He approached Jeremiah and his daughter where they watched from the house's porch. "You be done with your magics boy?" Jeremiah asked as he came up.

"Yes." D answered with as much detail as always.

Jeremiah didn't mind. The boy looked fine but he figured he must be exhausted after the night of fighting and most of the day preparing. Magic was exhausting, right? "Dorothy. Take him in and let him sleep in your bed. So he can get as much rest before tonight as possible."

Jeremiah watched his daughter's face flush crimson but saw no reaction from the boy. Dorothy stammered as she asked the boy to follow. When his daughter returned with an exasperated. "DAAAAD!" he couldn't help but laugh. It was good to laugh he thought. That meant things weren't nearly as bad as he thought before.

**********

Jeremiah was right. He knew he was right. Things weren't as bad as he thought. Standing on the wall beside D he looked out over the sea of bunyips. The dark night sky seemed clear, with no skrags in sight. But in their place, he saw the towering forms of nearly a dozen huge hulking figures. Trolls. Things were not as bad as he thought, they were so much worse.

Twelve feet tall with arms like felled trees the palisade walls wouldn't be much of a problem for trolls. Jeremiah wished now he had taken Dorothy and the boy at first light to flee from his ancestral home. Now, now he just wondered what he should do. Should he kill Dorothy himself while he had the chance? Troll's favorite food was the flesh of human females, living human females. The thought of Dorothy being eaten alive sickened him. A quick death might be a mercy.

"Damn." Beside him, D swore and Jeremiah sighed knowing how he felt.

"Sorry boy." He didn't know what else to say, he had brought this talented young man to his death.

Beside him, the boy sighed. "I don't see any Skrags. Now I won't get to test my wards." There was another sigh. "They just brought stupid giants."

Jeremiah didn't know what to think about the boy's statement but heard himself correct the boy without thinking. "They not be giants, trolls."

D just shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

Jeremiah agreed with him on that. Whatever you called them, they meant the end.

D hopped down from the landing and headed towards the main house. "What you be doing boy?" He wasn't sure what the boy might be thinking. Did it matter at this point?

"To see if there are any leftovers from dinner. If there are no fliers then it won't matter." Jeremiah wasn't sure what he meant until the world ended beyond the wall.