The Accidental Archmage - Book Five, Edmund Batara [best way to read ebooks txt] 📗

have no fighting here,” said Tyler emphatically. “We will have more than enough to fill those appetites soon. You are here to save Hedmark, not to resolve old grudges.”

Tyndur bowed in his direction while Thor swiftly walked toward the mage.

“Truly said, Havard,” said the deity, who spared a quick glance at the darkness. He stopped for a while, continuing to look in the distance.

“Ah, this is indeed going to be a battle. I left Ullr and my band of warriors also facing undead, a nest of skeletal wyrms. But this is promising,” Thor mused. “This must be what Vígríðr would look like in the final battle.”

He turned his attention back to Tyler. “What would you have of me?”

The mage quickly explained what he wanted – for the deity to wreak havoc at the rear of the enemy, preventing the greater mass of undead from reaching the fort.

“You don’t want me to handle those already in range?” asked the puzzled Norse god. Tyler could hear the mangonels starting to release their deadly cargo. Light flooded the flat terrain in front of the fortress. The light spell of the mages, though it appears more than one has been cast, thought Tyler.

“The field in front is full of traps. Fighting there would inadvertently trigger them, and the heavy weapons won’t be able to fire. If you see their leader, probably the group with the most banners, don’t engage.”

“Why not?” It was apparent the deity was not accustomed to combat with restrictions.

“I need that particular revenant nearby. I have an idea which might enable me to stop the undead plague.”

“Uff da! I pray Father Odin grants you his help! This blight is draining Asgard. Even now, I hear our world is under attack, and still, the Allfather insists we defend the mortal realm first!”

He would. Without mortals, you’ll all just fade away. With or without Ragnarok.

Then Tyler noticed something strange.

“Thor, your gauntlets are glowing. A bit faint, but visible at this distance.”

“Ah. Don’t mind Járngreipr. They’re just curious why I am holding an unfamiliar weapon.”

“They?” Now it was the mage’s turn to be puzzled.

“Magic gloves. They enable me to handle Mjolnir. And if I ever find out who stole it…”

That part I didn’t know. Does it mean if I wear them, I could handle the hammer? Cool!

“So, you want me to act as a reef to slow down the waves,” observed Thor thoughtfully.

“Exactly. But remember not to kill the leader. The energy animating the undead conjuration appears to have some connection with him,” replied Tyler.

“I do have to run forward. The demand for an exact location in unfamiliar territory doesn’t work well with how we travel through the ether,” replied the war deity, thoughtfully staring in the distance.

“How are you going to avoid the traps and the stones from the catapults?” asked Tyler. The sound of the release of boulders from the heavy siege weapons was already a steady drumbeat.

“Float and run like Fenrisúlfr. Smashing what I could along the way,” grinned the deity. “I can’t stay long, but what’s out there is sufficient entertainment.”

“Happy hunting,” was all Tyler could say.

“Oh, I will,” laughed Thor as he walked down. Everybody swiftly stepped out of the way.

The men could now move. I guess the shock and awe stage is nearly over.

The mage saw the jarl looking at him, slowly shaking his head in disbelief. Tyler watched the area outside the fortress. A sudden streak of light sped off toward the bulk of the enemy. He could see undead, groups of them at times, being smashed aside, thrown high into the air, or crushed under the running deity’s metal sabatons. Then he heard roars of approval from the battlements. The mage looked back and saw Thor was already in the lit area, and the result of what he was doing was open for all to see. The actual strikes were too fast for mortal eyes. Unfortunately, he also saw Thor crashing into the various mounds, creating openings in the earthworks.

Win some, lose some. I do hope that thick head remembers not to ground Bjarte to pieces.

After the deity passed, the undead quickly reformed, got beyond catapult range and the lit area, and waited for more of their kind to join the advance ranks. Based on what Tyler saw, they didn’t have to wait long. Already, the archers among them were arrayed in front of the warriors.

“Kobu, they’re reforming beyond the range of the catapults and preparing to attack,” he advised the exile even as he created a shield for the parapet. Creating and maintaining a buffer for the entire frontal part of the fort would be an impossible strain on his magical reserves; magical constructs decayed over a period. Kobu didn’t reply and instead ordered the men to expect the assault.

Their first indication the attack had commenced was the rain of arrows on the battlements. The central parapet was safe as it was protected by Tyler’s barrier, a double one. Innumerable shafts broke against it, but he could hear the loud clatter as the arrows landed on the shields of the men not covered by the magical protection. The mage saw the archers had kept to the sides of the magically lit area.

Fuck. They move fast. In the short time I talked to Kobu, they were able to change locations. He immediately cast light spells to the left and right sides. Meeting his gaze, under the illumination given out by his magic, were two huge groups of archers, all busy unleashing arrows on the battlements.

The eruption of light in the sky over the archers evidently also was the signal for the warriors of the main group to commence their assault. In utter silence, the undead warriors and various creatures rushed forward. Even in the absence of battle cries and war shouts, the movement of the immense formation had its own ominous and terrible noise.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Deadlord

Loki spake:

62. “Along time still | do I think to live,

Though thou threatenest thus with thy hammer;

Rough seemed the straps | of