Jackal Among Snakes

Though Anneliese knew that Argrave had not explicitly given her permission to show her hand… she felt it was necessary, and she knew that he would agree. It was not so drastic a measure, of course. Indeed, exposing her druidic magic was quite a simple thing, and she had kept hidden only because Argrave was overcautious. Nonetheless, she was sure it’d be very effective. Though she had considered simply commanding everyone to hide in the buildings… that relied too much on chance. Instead, she’d be controlling things from beginning to end.

As Anneliese had commanded, she’d had the bodies of the jongleur and the bard displayed over the gate. The giant jongleur’s ridiculously long ape arms were staked between two of the golden statues on the front gate, and it hung with its head and part of its chest missing. The Barefaced Bard’s body was too badly charred to be displayed effectively, yet its face was still intact—they cut it free of the wood and hung it from a rope. It dangled like a necklace from the body of the jongleur.

Anneliese watched the approach of the disorganized horde with her Starsparrow, getting an accurate evaluation of the foe they faced. Argrave had not told her of all the entertainers in the Plague Jester’s list, but she found it nonetheless—it stayed aback the centaur, taking the place of the troubadour. It was a grotesque mass of muddy roots that wound together like a ball of eels, and did not look mobile.

When the enemy arrived at the gates… four of the Waxknights stood in front of it, just below the massive marble archway. They confronted a host numbering probably half a thousand, yet the knights stood fearlessly. Anneliese watched from a distant place, using the last of her remaining magic to control her Starsparrow to oversee the situation.

Between the jongleur and bard hanging from the gate and the obviously exposed knights before them… anyone capable of reasoning, especially an inexperienced strategist, would suspect a trap. And that was what she wanted.

Even an inexperienced commander would know a little of how to deal with a trap when there was no option but to proceed. They would not proceed blindly. They would probe, sending less important detachments to sus out what might lie ahead.

When she saw the tangled mass of roots on the centaur’s back call out with a strange, clicking howl, she feared what was going to happen. When the horde of enemies behind the centaur pushed back the two of them as they waited, Anneliese very nearly smiled. She directed her Starsparrow in front of the Waxknights, giving them their signal. There was no better utility at her disposal to command them from a safe distance.

The plan remained as simple as ever. Anneliese was going to stall.

The palace of the Archduke was a complicated complex, filled with pavilions, buildings serving many different purposes, and elaborate structures that stood as grandiose displays of wealth. Though there was a straightforward central path that led to the main building where the throne waited… the rest of the place was not so straightforward. There were winding paths that looped in on themselves, some of which looked near identical. Better yet, they were thin, hindering the coordination of large crowds.

The four Waxknights divided up and took different paths. With their gleaming golden armor, it was easy to keep an eye on each of the four from the sky, and Anneliese’s Starsparrow could maneuver quickly enough that it did not often matter if she lost track of one or more of them at a time—she could find them if only a few seconds.

The creatures sent out as probes, largely dumb animals or Sentinels, pursued in a disorganized if ruthless manner. Nevertheless, they were divided. Though much faster than the Waxknights, Anneliese had them deliberately move into thin, tight spaces like alleyways between buildings.

in secluded places, picking off isolated pockets of enemies when she directed them to. Gibbons armed with divinely blessed weapons would wander into an overgrown pavilion, and Silvic would swarm up from hiding, ensnaring and ending foes with her wetland magic. Rockhide hippos would barrel through crowded alleyways, only to be stabbed repeatedly from

second duty—she guided the four knights through places that had no enemies ahead of them, like an overseer directing mice through a maze. She used her bird’s tremendous speed to its fullest extent, keeping each of the four winding through the place in perfect harmony. They never confronted friend

of enemies so that none managed to get near where she hid, this task of

enchanted items Argrave had given her to help with her concentration, or simply her own personality… but she found she was very good at this. Commanding people and predicting the response of the enemy was something she had a strange, almost unnatural confidence in, even despite the fact her foes were animals whose emotions she could

gate, hoofs clattering against the stone walkway leading to

the whole palace complex. Anneliese took her Starsparrow to the sky to see the vast building that Orion and the Plague Jester fought within collapse completely. The dust was so intense she could see nothing beyond, even with the bird’s fantastic eyesight. Yet when

both beautiful and horrifying. This continued for near half a minute… then, all of the plants ceased, straining as though stretched to their limits. She could not place exactly what changed, but

though he could not believe the sight before him. He stuck his arm through his strung bow and wore it over his shoulder, then broke into an intense gallop towards the main square. He stopped in the center, while

seeing as how devastated his body and armor were, perhaps he merely brought the devastation with him. One hand dragged along a massive white stag’s body, holding it by its elaborate antler crown. The other held a badly dismembered corpse by the foot, the body wearing a bloodstained motley outfit of two distinct shades of

voice loud and smooth. “I cannot be stopped by any heretics. I will carve through your numbers piece by piece until none of you remain. My body will never tire. My mind will never waver. I’ll come for you step after step, day after day, night

and threw the great stag’s body forth. It hurtled through the air with tremendous speed, and the centaur tried to rush aside. He was not quick enough—instead, he dropped his bow and caught its antlers, sliding back from the tremendous power from the throw, hooves cracking against the uneven granite pathway. The stag’s massive crown of antlers poked at his armor and flesh, leaving cuts

so awestruck by Orion’s appearance and tremendous strength she nearly forgot

that Orion is here… guide everyone to him, have

wetland spirit on the back of the centaur let out its clicking howl once again, and all of

The centaur retrieved his bow, and then

back to her person and broke the direct connection between her and the bird. It was strange to be viewing things from her own eyes again, and she took a moment to gather herself before she pushed out of the building she’d hid within to the palace, still cautious of any and all

had been, the

was that?”

coldly. “But I will come

can interpret it,” Silvic interjected. “They intend to marshal their forces yet

will defeat all challengers.” He looked around. “Where