Test their defences, check the height of the walls, see how long it would take us to clear from here to there, count the seconds until they react and fight back. Those would be the orders Skye would hear from Elli if they were about to try and take a fort like this.
This was the decision of a leader, not the action of a young pup who jumped the gun.
A man now laid unconscious on the ground and all they were trying to do was collect data about the upcoming fight. Skye sucked in the cold air and channeled his focus into the roots he was connected to. This fort was built on the ground in which he laid his first roots. He spent days spreading them as far as they could go. Every step that was taken here was sent to his subconscious mind.
At first it felt like his mind was being torn apart when Claire got here, he knew every step she would take and it was in the forefront of his mind as he tried to walk himself. He would find himself stumbling more often than not.
Eventually he was able to push it to the back of his brain, and when everyone else arrived, he had to do it again. Only this time he was more prepared. He focused on his own body and movements until all the information was swallowed up by his unconscious mind. If you asked him where someone was, he would be able to pull that strand and bring it to his frontal lobe, knowing by the way that person walks or speaks where they would be.
He was actually very impressed with himself and his ability to adapt like that, even if sometimes he still slipped up and it overwhelmed him.
He sent his nerves outwards and into the woods all around the fort, shooting the roots up from the ground and wrapping around the legs of the creatures. Using the mana stored in the ground and the oldest root system he had access to, he created as many Seeds of Engulfing as he could. They were going to be weak and not energy effective at all, but he had to try.
They were about to be overrun and he had to hold them back, even if it was only for a second.
They exploded out from the tips of the roots crawling up the legs of the monsters and anchored them to each other and the ground. Instantly he could feel their massive bodies pulling against the vines, threatening to tear them apart.
Skye couldn't tell how many he captured, but he knew he didn't have time to make a Seed of Engulfing for every single one of them, maybe one out of five if that, and there were hundreds.
Elli didn't let the second of confusion go to waste, letting loose as many arrows as she could. Some disappeared though portals that opened up, others blinked out of existence and reappeared right in front of one of their faces. The warriors and her Branded followed suit.
Arrows fell from the night sky like a swarm of locusts descending on a farmer's crop. From the time it took the arrows to be shot to just before they hit, most of the monsters that were caught were already free and sprinting towards the base, only a few steps behind the rest of the pack.
The arrows landed scattering across the open space between the fort and the forest, most of the creatures able to dodge them easily, others catching a few to the back but not letting it slow them down.
"Spears up!"
A voice rang out from the other side of the wall, Skye recognised the voice, it was his Dryad that was training the others. He heard yells from all around him as the rest of his Branded followed orders without thinking.
"Kill!" Rang out from around the fort, fortifying their resolve.
Damn, maybe I shouldn't have tried to stop whatever they were doing. I'm just going to join in next time.
Skye thought as he looked around to the warriors that he didn't train, who were still looking outwards at the approaching monsters with horror.
"He said get those spears up!"
The voice came from Skye, who spoke before thinking. Raising Thorn upwards he readied himself.
The first of the creatures had cleared the open space and dodged the arrows on their way, reaching the base of the wall. The Flower Boys did their best to blast away but the energy balls were even slower than the arrows. They used their mighty hind legs to push the ground in their attempt to clear the wall. Some were more successful than others.
Skye could see a few of the creatures reaching the top of the wall and trying to hold on while taking swipes at the soldiers, others cleared the wall easily and were now on the cat walk fighting tooth and claw. He felt the wall shake as others who didn't get enough height would hit the wall and scramble to dig their claws in to climb, finding it impossible to tear though the rune leather.
Screams erupted from the cat walk and below. Skye didn't have time to see where they were coming from, he had a high jumper right in front of him. As soon as its body appeared in the night sky Skye thrusted Thorn out of instinct, tearing into its soft underbelly, under what would be its rib cage. Using the force of the jump and his own strength, Skye threw the body of the creature behind him in a wide arch, sending it tumbling down inside the fort, crushing a wooden roof.
He had just enough time to rebalance himself before another one appeared, hanging on to the side of the wall and swiping at the archer next to him. He brought the axe side of Thorn down hard on its arm, almost chopping it clean off like a log for the fire.
"Use your swords if they get close!"
"Help me! Help me!"
"They took Rory over the edge!"
Skye always thought the fog of war would be just that, a haze of dirt and dust blown into the air making it hard to see. He had no idea that even on a clear cool night like this, he still felt blind. Orders were being yelled and it was hard to hear, people were moving and yet he had no idea what he was meant to do.
His heart beating in his head silenced any thoughts he had, even his breathing felt too loud to think. He was torn with indecisiveness and the inability to help.
Screams and yells came from all around, orders being dealt but no one able to carry them out. What's the point of yelling for me to hold them back? As if it was that easy. Oh you want me to just fight on? Wow thanks really great advice.
The soldier next to him was grabbed and dragged over the wall. He thrusted his spear, and a monster died. He turned to see another tackled to the ground with the creature sinking its teeth into his neck. He swung his spear, and a monster died.
He didn't know what he should do. All around him, people were being slashed and pulled over the wall, dying right in front of him and all around. All he could do was thrust his spear. They were fighting back, but it was easy to see it was a losing battle.
His Dryaids were holding their own, stopping many from making it over the wall with their skill with the spear and enhanced strenght, but there just weren't enough of them. The archers were left almost useless other than Elli's Sagittarius, who were rolling out of the way of swipes and firing back, even in close range.
All he could do was stab and swipe. How useless he was.
It was over.
They should just have given up at the start.
Skye felt his grip on Thorn loosen, ready to drop it and let the creatures take the fort.
A sharp pain tore through his side, throwing him down and rolling along the cat walk. It was slick with blood as he placed his hands down to push himself up. Should he even push himself up? This was what he wanted right?
He felt his warm blood run down his stomach and join the mixture on the cat walk, staining the brown wood with a reddish hue. The blow took the air out of his lungs and caught him by surprise. The fact that he was even able to get hit meant the people next to him were either dead or wounded.
He looked up to see the creature looming over him, catching details in the moonlight. The black bristle of its fur didn't have the smokey effect of the other creatures, and its face looked sharp like skin pulled over bone tightly. But most importantly, it wasn't flat. It was shaped in a feline way with a sharp bone-like blade that ran along its front legs and past the hight of its back.
He could only see it now because the creature was close enough to strike him, and intended to do so. It raised its front paw, inch long claws and all.
"I can't believe I made it this far."
He wasn't scared of dying, he had lived more in this last month than a guy like him could even dream of. Friends, powers, real food and clean air. Today he would die like the people he led, a caption going down with the ship.