Jinx

The situation came under control for a bit and it seemed even the monsters realized their efforts were futile. They slowly retreated a few hundred meters and remained there.

Gerald got bored from just sitting around, so he decided to check on the niter production. The workers, although unwilling at first, were eventually convinced to go back to work. The environment was completely safe and they could work in peace.

The refinement was going slow, but the first tests were proving to be excellent and already produced a handful of the precious white powder.

"Good, a few more days and it should be ready," Gerald commented as he examined the niter in a small cloth sack.

"Keep up the good work, but be careful to keep the final product away from the flames," he warned and stored the sack into his Ring. Although niter by itself wasn't flammable, it was a strong oxidizer and could make a fire go out of control.

After returning back to the camp, and seeing that there was still nothing to do, Gerald decided to take a walk along the wall and collect some scrap metal. He still needed a lot of it.

As the day turned dark, and night came, the two groups gathered around the campfire once more and leaned on the building behind them, resting and chatting in high spirits.

Gerald also sat down near the fire. Only his flames were self-made and much, much hotter, and filled with metal weapons and scraps of discarded armor.

The heat was well contained inside a Sound Barrier that he repurposed to block any escape of hot gasses. The light coming from melting metal was like that of a small sun but with a distinct lack of warmth.

Elly came and sat beside Gerald. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Making a weapon. I'm going to kill the Giant," he answered without moving his eyes from the Forge.

"Aren't you boasting a bit too much?" Tabbris suddenly spoke, appearing out of nowhere. "Usually you would need a battalion of Master Mages to bring one down."

Gerald lifted an eyebrow and glanced at him, "I got my ways…"

"You mean this?" Tabbris pointed at the blob of molten metal in the air that was slowly taking shape. "What even is this? An iron bowl? A cauldron? A barrel maybe?" He shook his head in dismay.

'Close, it is a container…' Gerald mused but didn't answer.

"Another one of your ideas? Honestly, sometimes I wonder if you really belong to this world…" Tabbris casually said and turned around with his hands behind his back. He glanced over at the barrier.

Gerald's body shuddered subconsciously, but he quickly got himself under control and changed the topic, "Why are you here anyway? Don't you have work to do?"

"Of course!" Tabbris grinned, "I'm here to supervise… And also to enjoy the show."

"Show? What are you talking about?"

"You know Spark? The Grandmaster Fire Mage?"

"I think so, I heard of him before… Why?" Gerald stored away the glowing metal. Time in the ring didn't flow, so items there remained unchanged forever.

"He's here in the capital. He's going to be coming here in a few hours with his group of Mages. And I'm here to see the spectacle."

"Here?" Gerald asked, "You mean right here where we are? What for?"

Tabbris scratched his chin and said, "Well, maybe not right here, but somewhere at the northern wall. We should still be able to see it through. His magic…"

He then looked around where most defenders were resting. "Still, I expected this attack to be way worse, I guess the barrier works great, huh?"

"It's okay…" Gerald answered unenthusiastically.

"I see the attacks slowed down… That's good! Luckily we can get some rest before dawn."

Gerald frowned, "Don't say that, you are going to jinx it…"

"Oh? Superstitious? I never knew that about you," Tabbris grinned.

"I'm not!" Gerald frowned. "But is better not to take chances."

"Oh come on, what's the worse that could happen?"

Gerald silently cursed in his mind and focused his ears. It was the quietest evening in the last month. "Okay, maybe I was-"

"Incoming!" a guard in the watchtower suddenly shouted. "Hobgoblins! Thousands of them!"

"Huh, what a coincidence…" Tabbris made a surprised expression and then shrugged, "Well, it's just Hobgoblins after all. It's not like hordes of Orcs and Ogres would suddenly attack…"

"God fucking damn it, Tabbris!" Gerald barked and jumped on his feet. He gripped his spear and ran up the wall to see.

Thousands, tens of thousands of Hobgoblins were running full speed across the plains towards the city. They carried bows and spears covered in mud and blood. They were of a distinctive human origin. Most likely plundered from nearby towns and villages.

"Orcs! Orc and Goblin Shamans! Watch out!" the lookout shouted from his watchtower. Seconds later the sky was filled with balls of flame striking the barrier and exploding like fireworks.

Some managed to fly above it, but they exhausted most of their power before striking the ground. Nonetheless, some wooden houses and thatched roofs still started catching fire.

Thump, thump, thump!

The sounds of something massive moving at high speed attracted Gerald's attention. Like a power hammer beating on a piece of metal, the sound traveled in rhythmic waves to his ears. He could feel the powerful strikes shake his body ever so slightly.

Squinting his eyes he could see a humanoid form running from afar. At almost five meters tall, it towered over the rest of the monsters as it charged forward. Its body was like a giant barrel and its limbs like centuries-old tree trunks.

It carried a weapon in one hand, a young uprooted tree, and used it as a club.

Tabbris stood behind Gerald and whistled. "Wow, is that an Ogre? Man, we sure are lucky that the Gian- Mmph!"

A strong hand suddenly covered his mouth, shutting him up.

"Not another word!" Gerald hissed.