John leaped forwards without thinking, trying to catch the vial before it smashed into the ground.
He managed to catch it moments before it impacted, rolling as he impacted the ground, almost falling from the walls himself.
After rushing behind a wall for cover, he threw the potion just outside the walls, in the direction he remembered seeing ladders.
'Take cover!'
Lisa turned to him to make a snarky remark, but as she opened her mouth, a blinding light came from behind the wall, followed by the sound of a massive explosion and the earth shook.
Sighing in relief, John sat against the fortifications, only now noticing the damage he took in his desperate attempt to prevent a disaster: his leg had been hit, and while it wasn't life threatening, standing up would be a challenge.
The explosion wiped out the attackers close to the gates, and brought down their ladders, effectively halting the attack for a few moments, as the enemy regrouped and waited for new ladders to be deployed.
The arrows stopped as well, but some skeletons managed to climb on top of the wall.
Farmers on the walls were handling the few that managed to climb, but they were taking losses, and theyr lack of skill was evident.
A skeleton was getting closer to the trio of hunters, his sword red with blood, the body of two defenders at its bony feet.
As it stepped forwards, Tim cowered in his corner, too scared to face the threat with his knife
'Help!'
is all he managed to yell
The other two turned as the skeleton was approaching Tim, raising its sword for a strike.
Lisa jumped at the creature, stabbing with her knife in desperation and fury, but her blade was having little effect.
The skeleton lashed out at her, but the huntress was having none of it.
She decided against using the blade of her weapon, hitting the undead with the pommel, straight in the skull.
The monster crumbled, its bones falling in all directions.
Janus was overseeing the battle from his house; all three entrances were being attacked at the same time, it looked like the enemy split its army evenly, and the defenders were taking losses on all sides.
The situation was beyond hopeless, and the few reports that came back at him only solidified that idea.
He knew it was a losing battle, they all knew as much.
Two explosions echoed across the city, first from the West gates, followed by the South gate shortly after.
"So early into the battle and already using our last resort..."
All he could do was wait for the inevitable, no order of his would have overturned the insormountable odds.
"Why isn't the East gate using its potion?"
'Gorm, check the situation on the East side, but be careful, it might be breached already'
The young man attempted a salute, before darting off.
"Who'd have thought Tobias's son would be so reliable"
He waited for what felt like ages, dreading his next report.
Then one of his messengers entered the room, and he calmly turned to him, knowing what was about to be said
'Janus! The enemy is retreating!'
Did he hear correctly? Retreating? That had to be wrong
'Can you please repeat that?'
'The undead! They're retreating!'
The messenger, Beatrice, was panting from running all the way from the West gate where she had been stationed, but was undoubtly excited
'I'm sorry, but are you sure?'
'I've seen them with my eyes, there's no mistake!'
another messenger rushed in, the same face, radiating excitement
'The enemy! They're going back! We won!'
Janus turned to see for himself, trying to make sense of the small dots of color in the distance.
It did look like the gray mass of the undead was going back into the forest.
So many things didn't make sense:
The delayed use of archers, this inexplicable retreat.
Maybe they scared their leader with the explosions, but it was looking more and more unlikely.
He was no fool, and he wouldn't make the mistake of assuming his opponent was one; he exited his study, sending messengers to all three gates.
He was missing something, and he intended to know what.
Ray had been hiding for the whole time.
When combat started, he made sure to disappear, sure that the chaos of the battle would make people forget about him.
As the arrows fell he cowered away from the window of the house he found refuge.
The living corpses climbed the walls, and the defenders on the walls cried for help; he held his hands over his ears.
Then, the explosion came, and time stood still for a second.
The fighting continued, but something was different, Ray could hear... cheering?
It all stopped, suddently, the battle was over, but he could still hear people cheering.
"We... won?"
Cautiously, he checked what was happening through the now broken window
The defenders of the West Gate were raising their weapons in the air, celebrating.
"A miracle! The gods love me after all"
but he had little time to lose, if he wanted to escape, it had to be done now.
He snuck out of the house from a backdoor, and followed the smaller roads until he could hear the sound of water flowing.
Reaching the small river that crossed Gama had been easier than expected, but the again, the defenders were surely preoccupied with the wounded.
"I bet they're already searching for me, wanting me to tend to some worthless farmer about to die! I couldn't care less, all I want is to get as far away from here as possible"
He finally got close enough to the walls to be able to see what he was searching for: a small opening blocked by a series of iron bars letting the water out. At one side, gates allowed access to and from the city.
Janus had stationed a pair of guards, just in case; he just had to hope they already heard the news.
Ray cautiously approached the entrance, but nobody was in sight.
Seeing the freedom so close, he jumped out of the backstreets, running the few last meters.
With shacking hands he found the keys he was searching for, opening the small gates as fast as he could.
He considered leaving them unlocked, but he wasn't that heartless.
Finally out of the city, he checked his direction, intending to go as North as possible, intending to cross the mountains, and then flee into the mainland.
Maybe he'd reach Brega, or Woodsburgh; he still had some friends there.
Potion in hand, he went into the forest, jumping at every shadow and sound.
He thanked the gods again for his luck, as it seemed the undead had retreated South.
The journey was painful and slow, but he was making progress, and the difficulties of the forest trails were nothing compared to the certanity of death he faced in the city.
Hours passed, Ray managed to get some distance from the city, following the river upstream not to lose his bearing, but his body wasn't used to long hikes, especially up a mountain. He could see the top, now, and the forest wasn't so thick anymore.
Feeling confidently far, he stopped, dropping to the ground, exhausted.
He had managed to sneak out of the city some rations and some sort of bedroll, so he decided to make camp for the night.
He reached a small pond from which the river flowed out, back into the city, the zone around it was decently flat, perfect for camping, he thought.
But something caught his eye: a figure, dressed in black robes, sitting on a chair just beside the lake.
Curiosity took hold of him, and he approached it. Not wanting to risk anything, not after getting so far, he drank some of the potion, just enough to last a few minutes, hopefully.
The figure was calmly reading a book by the lakeside, undisturbed by the dimming light of the day.
As Ray got closer, it closed the book, suddently, then turned towards Ray.
Where a face was supposed to be, only the skull remained.
Ray's blood froze in his veins, as he realized he had not ecaped at all.
'Stop'
It spoke, an alien and unknown language translating itself in Ray's mind, becoming a command, an order.
He tried to turn away and run, but his body refused to move at all.
The creature stood up, as the chair disappeared in a whiff of smoke, and approached Ray.
'I was getting bored of waiting, you know'
Ray tried to respond, to scream, call for help, but his mouth was refusing to obey him, only his eyes were free to move around.
'Seems like I used a bit too much power, but luckly it didn't kill you. It's always so hard with you living beings; you break so easily. Ah, right, you are allowed to speak'
Ray could feel his face relaxing, and he could now speak.
'Wha- What do you want with me?!'
'Don't be so scared, I just want to talk. For now'
'Talk? I can talk, just let me go, I promise-'
'Shhh. I was told by an old friend of yours that you have something interesting'
'I... do?'
'Yes, something that will make the siege a bit more... enjoyable to watch'
'Ah, the potion, it's righ-'
'Invisibility is fun to play pranks with, but it's no real spell, is it?'
Ray just realized that he was still invisible
'How can you see me?'
'It's a decent potion, that one, but it doesn't stand a chance against a real wizard. But before I get too sidetracked, you have a ring of keys, if your friend isn't mistaken. You know, he predicted you'd be escaping from the river gates, and he even predicted you'd run on this side'
'I'll give them to you, just let me live!'
'Then give the keys to me'
Ray coudl do nothing but watch as his body moved on its own, searching and then giving the water gate keys to the creature, who was staring intently at the halfling
'Please, sir, can I go now? I promise you won't ever hear of me again'
'Ah, sorry, I was contemplating my new strategy. You see, it can't be too effective, or they'll just die immediatly. No, they have to feel despair. My despair'
For the whole conversation, the skeleton's voice had been calm and collected, but the last few words had been full of rage.
Ray could feel his body freezing up, breathing became hard, and his own heart slowed down, before the spell vanished, the sudden return of control and dizziness made him fall to his feet
'Hm, almost killed you there, sorry. That's a choice your friend should make, not me. Speaking of, Mark, it's about time you came out'
A zombie appeared at his side. Had it always been there, or did it get close while he had been confused?
Ray tried to run away, but his legs were giving out, and all he could do was crawl backwards, away form what remained of the merchant, who was still approaching him.
'So, what do you want to do with your friend? Hm... I see. Rejoice! your friend has decided to give you a gift...'
The zombie picked up the pace, reaching Ray
'... the gift of Undeath'