Two days passed.
Everyone in Brega prepared at best it could, but they hadn't had the time to make any meaningful changes:
The walls were still as weak and fragile as they were before, although they now had wooden walkways to safely traverse them, and ladders were set in the places that would be otherwise inaccessible; the whole East side of the wall had been dotted with them.
Farmers were being trained in the use of bows and spears, but it would take them months to properly learn how to fight.
The few potions remaining in Gareth's tower had been identified and labeled, to be distribuited to a few trusted, so far they found three explosive potions, a dozen healing ones, and another dozen of assorted enhancement potions, but these last ones were too weak to make a difference.
Ray had no luck with the letters he sent, and Janus never heard back from Archibald, who tried delivering one of the messages by horse.
Small groups here and there escaped the city, but they had no way to know what became of them.
Some hoped they crossed the mountains safely, but those who had seen the patrols and ambushes of the undead weren't of the same mind.
Dawn came as Janus was walking down the main street, towards the gate.
The whole city was preparing for battle, lancers and swordsmen assembling in the main square, archers already stationed on the walls.
In the end their militia counted a little more than fifty soldiers, and while most still lacked training, they had no intention of giving up.
He climbed the stairs inside the tavern, getting on top of the walls.
The militia around him saluted as he passed, most still unused to the gesture.
Harth was already looking out over the walls, and Janus joined him
'Damn bone bag's late'
'Good morning to you too, Harth'
'Sure, good morning and all that'
'What's the situation?'
'So far so good, people now know which one is the pointy side on weapons, and young Jonas managed to learn how to hold a bow without embarassing himself, unlike the others'
'That's high praise, coming from you'
'Hah! It's still going to be a miracle if he hits anything'
They rested some more, silently gazing the horizon
'Who's keeping watch upstairs?'
'Uh, Petra, why?'
'She's been keeping watch on this side a lot, lately'
in all response, the dwarf started fiddling with his arbalest
'Guess I'll check how's it going on her side'
'You do that, boss'
Petra was sitting on the fortifications, lazily watching into the distance, bow at her side, quiver on the ground.
A couple of tankards were on the ground as well, empty, just beside a messed up bedroll.
'I see you've been making yourself at home here'
'Harth has nice ale, what can I say. Well, had'
'Drank it all yourselves?'
'Nah, we had help. Almost the whole town'
'Wanted to check if you were nervous, but it seems you're doing fine'
She nodded absent-mindedly, before tensing up, suddently grabbing the bow
Janus realized immediatly.
A black mass was moving towards them
He sounded the alarm.
Ray didn't want to be here at all.
Ever since the trouble started, he tried to flee in all the ways he could.
But here he was, blessing farmers that thought themselves warriors and heroes, hunters that pretended to be marksmen.
"To the Hells with all of you, I should be with Mark, who's probably safe, now, drinking his problems away."
As he recited the blessings, his mind was filled with plans to escape, once the actual fighting started.
"I just need a moment, once the fight starts; if I see an opening I'll run through the hidden gates on the West side"
He thought ,clutching the invisibility potion concealed in his clothes, the one he never told Janus about.
"Who'd have thought that cretin Gareth would be my saviour"
The alarm bells started ringing all over town, interrupting his sermon
'Now go, valiant warriors, blessed as you are by the Six'
descending the ladder back to ground level, he whispered to himself
'and try to be a distraction for my escape'
The alarm bells were ringing
Nicole woke up suddently, still dressed in her combat armor, an armored corset with a gambeson underneath.
"Must have passed out during last night's training"
Her master, Yofandel, was just arming himself, calmly.
A pair of elvish swords, curved and one edged hung from his belt, one slightly shorter than the other.
His armor was made of beautiful leather, dyed in the colors of the forest, adorned by a green cloak.
'It is time, Nicole. Are you sure-'
'I am'
'Then remember the plan, we'll only have one shot'
The elf had a last look at his shop, now completely empty, the stands raided by the necessities of war, before heading out.
Nicole was right behind him, Nosh's bow on her back, its runes glowing an ominous red.
They were coming.
High up on the walls, the archers were assembling on the South side, surrounded by lancers with stones in hand
'They are coming'
'Oh, thank you for clarifying that, John, I forgot my eyes today'
'Shut it boys. We're supposed to be the veterans here'
'We killed one, Lisa'
'Still more than the others. Now be serious for once in your life, Tim'
As it closed in, the defenders on the walls could see the full scale of the undead horde.
They were hundreds, coming out of the woods, from the road, zombies and skeletons moved forwards, carrying ladders made of bones, and rusted weapons, some with decaying armor.
Tension was rising as the archers loaded their arrows.
Some couldn't bear it, and crouched in panic, arms over the head.
Others were simply paralyzed by fear
They finally moved into range; high up in the tower, Petra and Harth both gave the order
'Fire at will!'
'Burn them all!'
Just like they practiced, the trio ignited their arrows on the brazier, before firing it into the horde.
The first arrow hit a zombie, right in the chest, but the small flame didn't ignite it, and the creature just kept shambling forwards
The second one hit a skeleton in the nose, splitting the skull in half.
The third one hit another zombie in the chest, igniting the clothes.
As the flaming mass tried shuffling forwards, a single piece of fiery oil touched the grass below.
Within seconds, flames engulfed the whole field, swallowing the enemy army in a blazing inferno.
'Ha! Did you see that? That was my shot!'
'Shut up Tim, before I "accidentally" shoot you as well'
'Yes ma'am...'
The oil that burned in the fields quickly dried up, and the flames lost their strenght soon enough.
Those who had been caught by the trap had been carbonized, nothing more than black spots on the charred soil, but there were more, standing, some burning, still going forwards, relentlessly.
From the walls came down arrows and stones alike, striking down many of the undead, as the creatures fell into pitfalls and got stuck in bear traps.
It was a valiant effort, Janus considered, as he counted the losses his forces were inflicting.
He estimated they killed at least half the attacking force, though most were killed by the fire.
But it wasn't enough, they were going to reach the walls.
He now also noticed a new unit was joining the fight, more skeletons and zombies, it appeared, but they wielded bows
'John, you almost hit me!'
'Next time I'll make sure to hit, then'
They were shooting almost straight down, the enemy army almost reached the walls, and were starting to deploy the ladders.
The farmers around the hunters were throwing stones at an incredible pace, but they were running out of stones and arrows both
'Hells, Tobias, the potion!'
'But Janus said-'
'Shut your trap and throw the damn thing. Now!'
Tobias fiddled with his clothes, his hands shaking, searching for the vial
'Now would be a good time!'
'Don't rush him, Lisa, if that thing explodes we're all goners'
An arrow bounced on the wall's fortification, grazing John's ear
'Oh, hells no'
From the tower, Petra cried out
'Take cover, they have archers!'
It was followed by a proper hail of arrows, the trio was quick enough to get behind the walls, but some were not so fortunate. A farmer by the name of Loic was the first to die, followed by many others.
They stared in horror as arrows flew past them, most bouncing harmlessly or shattering against the walls.
Lisa was aiming through a slit, and she managed to fire a shot, ignoring the projectiles around her.
Tim was dragging a farmer that had been hit behind cover with him.
John was the only one who noticed Tobias, who just found the correct pouch, and had a red potion, the size of a fist, in his hands.
The farmer's representative only had time to turn towards the battlements, before an arrow hit him straight in the chest.
His body was falling backwards, as his hand let go of the potion. It was falling right at his feet.