Chapter 17: Ch 17 – Hold the Line

Horns sounded in the settlement as the Fekan warriors saw the coming Shadowalker army. The bells rang again, alerting the humans to return to the slave bunkers. No one was in the fields since the workforce was put to use inside the settlement. "Wait!" I yelled up. "I need those dock workers! Don't let them go back to the bunker!" I wasn't sure if anyone heard me.

The sun was setting on Dunbar, and the winds were picking up. I felt a few splashes of rain on my face as I reached the base of the ramp. It appeared a storm was brewing in the jungle, the waves beyond the settlement gaining in height. It hadn't rained as much during my few weeks here as I figured it would, being a jungle and all. The heat was manageable too. I wondered if it was some season where the temperature fell, and the rain subsided.

"Human, faster! We need to get this ramp up!" one of the warriors yelled. I sped up the incline as fast as my legs could, shaking the whole thing now that it was hanging on the chains. I blasted out onto the ramp landing, looking around at the once again chaotic scene unfolding. With the missing archers, there was no one in the towers. But that gave me an idea.

"Typh! Where is Typh?" I yelled to a few of the Feka, who shook their heads and ignored me. I scrambled around, looking for familiar faces but finding none.

"Noah! Noah over here!" I heard my name from the crowd. It was Dee. She pushed her way through and walked over to me.

"Not now, Dee. We need to get this ramp up before the army gets here."

"I heard you shouting for Typh. What do you need? I saw him on the upper levels gathering some merchants to help fight."

I tossed my hair out of my eyes, the rain starting to come down harder. "I wanted to see if the hunter class could use bows." I looked to the woods, seeing the first few canine troops coming through. I spoke faster. "If this ramp works, we will have free shots at the Shadowalkers before they can retreat out of range. They shouldn't have a way to get up here. Not yet anyway."

Dee nodded. "Well, we aren't going to be as good as the fallen archers. But we can certainly shoot pointy arrows at these disgusting beasts," she said with a grin.

"Great. Thanks, Dee!" She bounded off toward the hunter towers. I sucked in a deep breath, yelling, "Everyone to the winch! Now!"

The three dock workers, who were held back from the bunkers as I asked, took up their position at one of the winches, me and three of the warrior Feka at the others. The whole army had broken through the treeline, way more dogs than before. The troop types varied as well. Last to come through the trees were the ten or so Stalkers, flanked by their alpha. I had never met the beast, but I could instantly tell who he was.

"Push!" I yelled, straining to get the wheel to move. We put our backs into the wheel, the rope getting taunt on the upper pulleys. Then, after a few of the longest few seconds I have ever experienced, the ramp came off the ground. "Let's go! Keep the momentum!" I yelled at the pulley team.

The pulleys strained on their mounts, the total weight of the ramp on two metal connections. I had no idea how the Feka connected those pulleys, but I hoped magic was involved somehow. Their settlement architecture had physics that I didn't understand, so I knew they could make some strong structures.

I hear howling in the distance, the frenzied barking starting and getting closer. "Hurry!" It was Romas. They must have seen the dogs almost at the ramp. Behind me, two other giant Fekan warriors joined in. On the other side, I saw a similar situation.

The wheels started turning smoothly, the rope coiling into the pulleys. "It's working!" a Feka cried behind me.

"Ok, hold there for a second!" I yelled. I stepped away from the winch, checking out the ramp's position. We had moved it about ten feet off the ground, one-third of the way up. I peered over the wall of the building's level, seeing what the army was doing.

As expected, the pit bulls ran back and forth under the ramp, barking madly. If I only had my dog crushers, I thought to myself. Behind the front-line troops, the Stalkers talked amongst themselves, pointing to the ramp and walls. The alpha sat back, observing the situation, a neutral expression on his face. He saw me, his eyes narrowing, his teeth barred. That wasn't a good sign.

Suddenly, the seven-foot-tall werewolves took off toward the settlement. If they could jump even slightly on their two legs, they could reach the ramp and pull it back down. The pit bull and hyena troops were no concern at the moment due to the height of the ramp off the ground, but they would swarm the walkway as soon as it was on the dirt. If that happened...well, we would all get torn to shreds.

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"Keep going! The Stalkers are coming!" I yelled, fear in everyone's eyes. It took a brief, terrifying moment to get the momentum again. But the ramp rose, slowly but surely. "Romas, tell me when we're there!"

Sweat poured down my face, mixing with the rain coming down harder now. The wind was whipping, the smell of the musty jungle taking over the air. I heard the twang of bows as the hunters started raining down on the troops below. A few yelps sounded, but not as many as I would have liked.

Finally, Romas stopped us. "You're there! Stop! Any higher, and you will hit the pulleys!" A ragged cheer went out from the human and Feka.

"What now?" A straining Feka asked behind me, holding the winch in place.

I looked between the two pulleys. "Ok, there is a spot that needs to be locked with a locking pin. Romas, where did you put it?" I glanced at the panther. He looked back at me with the I don't know what you're talking about look.

Below, the howling and barking were at a fever pitch. The frustrated dogs tried everything they could to access the cat tower without getting shot with arrows. "Romas! Damn it, I thought I told you! No matter." Oops, maybe I didn't tell him.

I activated my 'THINK' skill, knowing I had enough mana for this, but that mana poisoning would prevent me from gaining anything back. I would be useless after I made these rods. I thought about the long metal T-shaped pieces and what materials I needed. It ended up being two simple pieces of iron, but now I had the plans. I flew toward the blacksmith and yelled, "Hold the winch there! Don't let it go, or the ramp will drop!"

I didn't get a chance to glance back but heard the strain of the group holding a ton of ramp. I sprinted through the city, finally getting to my destination. I blasted through the door, and panic set in. Romas' collection of iron, steel, brass, and every other non-magic metal type was in the corner.

I dug through the bin, tossing metal everywhere. In the darkness, all the metal looked the same. Slag cut my hand and arm as I continued my frantic search. I finally found two pieces of iron, stopped my search, and combined them in my mind. After a moment, a long rod sat in my hand with a large cross piece at the top so it wouldn't slide through the teeth.

I repeated my search, finding two more pieces and creating the other winch pin. Turning and running out of the blacksmith, I returned to the winch.

New Feka were replacing the exhausted warriors who were holding it in place. I shimmied around them, getting to the spot between the two teeth where I could slide in the locking pin. It went in with no problem. "Ok, let go!" The warriors looked at each other, unsure. "Guys, it's ok. Let go!" I shimmied back out from the winch and ran to the other, performing the same task.

I stepped back, looking at my handiwork. The Feka and dockworkers looked on in astonishment. The winch held the pulley in place without anyone touching it, the drawbridge fully up. It had worked.

Baron Gilbert came over, putting his paw on my shoulder. "That was great work, human. You say your world doesn't have magic? Well, I don't know what else you would call this. You've saved us all today." He had a fatherly smile on his face, beaming down at me, fur matted and drenched from the downpour.

The dogs had already been called back, retreating to the woods. Fangs and pelts littered the dirt below, seven or eight dogs meeting their end at the hunter's hands. The pack of stalkers went in next, a few turning back one last time to look at the settlement, then disappearing. Finally, the alpha, who had been watching the whole time, turned and started walking into the jungle. Before he did, he let out a long, slow howl. It prickled my skin and made my hair stand up. I covered my ears from the sound.

The warrior Feka jumped onto the tower's edge, roaring victoriously at the alpha. With that, the werewolf turned and left the settlement.

 

END OF ACT II

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