Adykon, Vespion, and Eternion fought their way over to Eriol, where Adykon's worst suspicions were confirmed. He had indeed snapped and reverted back to that aggressive, wild, bloodthirsty creature that had threatened the party back in the lost city.
"Damn it" the warrior whispered to himself. "Alright, Vespion. Do you have anything that can cure-"
"No."
"What? Are you positive?"
"Adykon, magic, even divine magic, has its limits. While the most powerful clerics can raise the dead, there are some things that cannot be transgressed."
"Transgressed? What in blazes are you talking about?! You have wizardry and divinity on your side! How hard could it be to remove a curse from a panther?"
"It doesn't work like that! Magic isn't a sword you can swing, nor it is a universal key for unlocking all of life's problems. There are rules, weaknesses, limitations. You also need to understand that-"
"To hell with limitations!" Adykon shouted, clearly angry. Nothing was working. Everyone around him was either injured or dying, save for two of them not in their right mind. It could have all ended there; the prophecy never stated that Adykon WOULD succeed, or that he was even likely to. His final chapter could be in the writing as he spoke, as the world span around him, and as the defenders of the wall fell back.
Vespion put a clawed hand on Adykon's right shoulder, snapping him out of his rut.
"My friend, I know how you feel. I never intended for this to happen either. How I wish I was back in the temple, practicing the divine arts, healing the sick, studying the mysteries of magic. I never asked to be dragged into a war. But you need to understand that I'm not a miracle worker. Right now, there is only one way out of this mess, and that is to fight our way out!"
Adykon could relate to that. "Alright. We're gonna charge them. On three. One. TWO...!" FWOOSH!! "What in the nine infernal realms?!"
Toby had entered the fray, breathing a stream of fire in a line between the retreating wall guards and the advancing Dragonbloods. Although it stopped the tide of a moment, it did not real damage, save for a few burned toes; Toby was simply too young to turn the tide by himself. Taking to the sky, a squad of four dragonbloods pursued the young dragon, who quickly turned to fly away as fast as he could, hoping to draw them away from the wall defenders. A second group of four dragonbloods took off, hoping to catch the elusive little dragon.
Within a moment, each group of four was closing in on Toby, one group from behind, one group from his front. Thinking quickly, the young dragon climbed in altitude just in time to evade the eight dragonbloods, who crashed into each other. Weighed by by their heavy, only half of them were able to generate enough lift to keep flying after such a collision; the other half fell to their deaths. Toby made his way back to the lines, landing in front of Adykon and Vespion.
"Well Toby, you sure took your sweet time!" The cleric chided, however jokingly.
"I'm glad to see you too! I saw the situation from up there, and decided that I had to help. I would have been here sooner if not for Violet."
Vespion thought it best not to ask about that one right now. "I hate to tell you this, but we are going to have to fall back. The enemy still has over 4000 soldiers, and we are down to less than half that."
"No need to worry about that!" Toby replied while blowing a ring of smoke out of his mouth.
"No need to worry?! We are being overwhelmed by them. I was about to lead a charge into-" THUNK!! For the second time in five minutes, Adykon was cut off in mid-sentence as a crossbow bolt landed into the Dragonblood in front of him, piercing the armor. Where had it come from? All of the wall guards on this side had bows, not crossbows.
Turning his head for just a second, Adykon beheld a glorius sight; the 2500 soldiers left behind in the center of the city had come to reinforce the wall. A dangerous proposition to be sure, as it left the city with no reserves, but at this point, it was absolutely necessary. These were among the king's finest men, clad in heavy armor and wielding heavy swords and crossbows, evidently with more than enough power to pierce the enemy's defenses.
Now, they had a chance against these foes. The only flying force of the four armies could be pushed back.
