Jackal Among Snakes

The oars on the longships churned the sea, pushing towards the shore. There were three of them. The skiffs, adrift on the tides, were pushed aside, some filling with water and sinking. Other got caught in the oars, and some were beached, but the effect was achieved—the leading longship slowed greatly, faltering just before the shore. The militiamen by the palisades launched a volley of arrows, and the snow elves aboard had to block them with their shields and duck low. Only a few were hit.

Argrave had planned to use a fire spell to catch the ship aflame, but Anneliese would quickly counter that with magic of her own. He could not see her now; she had likely moved to the back. He stood a little in front of the knights, watching the situation with a calm mind. The militiamen stood before them holding their spears out to the boat ahead like pikemen waiting for a horse’s charge.

He saw someone fly through the air, leaping like a grasshopper from the back of the boat. He saw a waving mass of white hair and recognized the person as Anneliese; she had used a C-rank wind spell to launch herself to the boat further from the shore. He watched her closely. She pointed to the archers behind the palisade and shouted at the oarsmen.

She’s recognized the archers as the largest threat, Argrave thought to himself. As the closest longship slowly started to push past the tide of fishing boats, the archers had prepared another round of arrows to fire. They were close enough that not many missed, but the Veidimen blocked them with their large shields very well. After, the elves stood and threw javelins and axes. Their accuracy was terrifying, and the few archers that did not duck received a grievous blow.

Ahead, the longship Anneliese had landed on veered off from the beach and headed straight towards the docks. She’s planning to ram it into the docks so that she can get at the archers quickly. She'd lose the boat, almost certainly, but the archers are defenseless. Argrave considered stepping away to protect them, but the bulk of the troops would still be at the beach, and so he stayed.

Ryles, though, was not idle. “Militiamen, three steps forward! Knight Gilbert, take the men beneath you and protect the docks!”

One knight broke off from the rest, and five men followed behind him. The gates opened for them and quickly shut. At the beaches, the first of the Veidimen jumped from the longship and into the shallow waters. Each bore a long axe and a round shield. The militiamen rushed forward, stabbing at a long range with their spears.

Argrave stepped forward. If Anneliese was absent, he could go back to the original plan. He held his hand out and conjured his only C-rank spell, [Wargfire]. He felt the magic within drain significantly, and a great wolf of fire lunged forward, catching one of the Veidimen aflame and setting the bow of the longship on fire. He had used a large spell so that the fire would not be extinguished easily, though he loathed spending so much of his magic so early.

The snow elf that had been caught on fire dropped into the water to extinguish the flames, and the militiamen seized the initiative to stab him as he lay there. Like this, their confidence was bolstered. Another of the Veidimen waded from the shallows onto the shore, receiving three spears on his shield. He swatted them aside and threw his axe right at Argrave.

Argrave did not retreat; he stepped forward and cast an E-rank wind spell. It was a common strategy to use wind magic against projectiles in ‘Heroes of Berendar,’ as wards were costly and restrictive. The axe bounced back, falling into the sand. The leading elf was stopped by the mound of militiamen, blocking with his shield as he pulled a spare axe strapped to his waist.

The flames did not spread too quickly, but they consumed the front of the ship, making it impossible to drop right into the shallow water immediately. Most of the Veidimen were jumping into the deep portion of the water now, swimming towards the shore. Some beached skiffs funneled them into a line, restricting their mobility.

Argrave waited until they were bunched closely for maximum efficiency and started casting [Writhing Lightning] sparingly. The electricity danced between the group, offering the militiamen time to attack in the spasms that followed. Some of them were unable to raise their shields in time to block spears, and they began to fall one after the other.

their spears and pushing forward. Another volley of arrows came from behind, and the Veidimen could not block. Many

at a fair distance to the left, giving the first a wide berth and attempting to land far away from where the troops were most concentrated. The third longship sped towards the docks with terrifying speed, well prepared

efficiency after with a blow to the head. He stepped over the corpse of one of his comrades, advancing forward into

a turn, nearly broke formation. Ryles

Veidimen aboard rocked, holding the railings tightly, and some few fell into the sea. Screams came from the village—some

Argrave!” Ryles shouted over the din. “I will leave you here with two

finish this group up quickly, and then move to

He was starting to feel his calm mind waver, and he

seeing a chance, the Veidimen before them pushed forward, bracing their shields and

numbers of the militiamen up the beach. Soon, they were near dry sand. One of the militiamen fell, grabbing a fellow by his side for support. The line collapsed in the center, and the

advancing further long enough for the line to recover. Though they bounced back, one stepped forward with a glimmering black axe of Ebonice, shattering the wind barrier before it could do much of anything. The snow

at the ground to avoid the Ebonice. The damage was diminished but the man spasmed, and Argrave stepped forward, pulling the axe from his loose grip. He held his other hand to the

me! Militiamen, retreat

Argrave, protecting him with their shields. Argrave’s magic was half-spent by his estimation. The tide of Veidimen rushing forth slowed and split as the dead body fell

with their shields. Despite the size difference, without much countering momentum the front few elves fell backwards like dominos, and their advance was stalled briefly. Seeing them so thoroughly bunched, Argrave cast another [Writhing Lightning] in the center. The knights stepped forward, stabbing at

The Veidimen, after gaining their bearings, rushed forward with great speed. Argrave cast another [Wind Wall], and they collided against it before moving around it.

drenched and they ran through sand, so their speed was not at full potential. Still, their formidable size and unified charge made it seem like confronting a charging

and laughed. “They’re coming

elves hung back, throwing axes and javelins through the air. Argrave countered what few came near him with low-ranking wind-magic. When their charge was close, Argrave held his hand

the shields, and some of the elves did genuinely impale themselves. Things became chaotic quickly. Argrave

his head. The archers had fallen, it seemed. The Veidimen came atop

gain some distance, holding his Ebonice axe in front. His eyes widened as he recognized one of them; Vorath, the original commander of the occupants in Barden. He was both a mage and a warrior,