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Sunday, April 19

Serpentine Path: Part 11a – The Final Stand

The day wore nerves and spirits thin. Through the valiant sacrifices of many, the citadel still held…barely.

Sebastian looked out over the walls from his position at one of the citadel’s tower windows. Kham and Ilmarė watched with him.

The change to the once-proud city was profound. Everywhere, buildings lay burning or in ruin. The sewers of the city could not contain the mass carnage and had backed up. As a result, the streets ran red with blood.

Down below in the base of the citadel, Vlad and Beldin conferred with the general.

“A great host, you say?” asked Muatma.

“It’s as if all of Ssethregore was emptied,” said Vlad.

“How many?”

“Ten thousand strong at least.”

“Ten-thousand!”

“It is an army bred for a single purpose: to destroy Semar.”

“Let them come.” Muatma walked outside. “I want every man and strong lad able to bear arms, to be ready for battle by nightfall. We will cover the causeway and the gate from above. No army has ever set foot inside the citadel.”

“This is not a rabble of mindless orcs,” said Beldin. “These are Ssethregorans. Their scales are thick and their tails broad.”

“I have fought many wars, Master Dwarf,” chastised Muatma. “I know how to defend my own citadel. They will break upon this fortress like water on rock. The Ssethregoran hordes will pillage and burn. We’ve seen it before. Crops can be resown. Homes rebuilt. Within these walls, we will outlast them.”

“They do not come to destroy Semar’s crops or villages. They come to destroy its people. Down to the last child!” [MORE]

Labels: arcanis

posted by talien at 7:34 AM

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