There was an unusual coldness that came with the night, the frost moving over the forest slowly and the crisp air laying thick over the fort like a blanket. They had no idea how long they had truly been here for, guessing the best they could and trying to keep count. By Elli's calculations, she assumed somewhere close to a month.
She looked up to the sky, and the three bright planets that orbited the world they were standing on shined back, illuminating everything.
"I guess that solves that mystery. Nothing like a simple Lunar calendar to keep track of the dates. Happy one month everyone."
She looked over to Skye, Kai, and Claire who were standing nearby with an uneasy atmosphere. Humans learned to fear the unknown many generations ago, it was baked into their DNA.
"What's the chance this will be a night just like any other?"
Skye replied, his breath starting to become visible.
"With our luck, I'd say we double up on the guards. Tonight feels like a good night to have everyone man their station."
Kai replied while shivering, crossing his arms across his chest and holding himself tight. He looked off into the distance, towards the gate. Skye was sure he was thinking about Nora who was the only one out there with her shadows, he was always worrying about those who weren't there.
"I'll make sure everyone knows to load up the fires tonight and keep the tents closed to keep warm. You guys make sure everyone on duty has a monster skin or is near a fire too please."
Claire said while she turned and walked away. She was shaking, mainly due to the cold, but something else was resonating in her. She has spent most days here fighting and her senses have become sharper because of that. There was something gnawing on the back of her neck and she didn't know what. She summoned her weapon and slung it over her shoulder, just in case.
Elli gave the order and her Branded, which were the last to pick their nicknames, going with the Sagittarii, man the walls tonight with the warriors. Skye had no idea what it meant but Elli assured him that it was both nerdy and cool.
Most nights they couldn't see too far past their own walls, meaning the Shadows had to run the monsters close to the base for a few laps so they could fire arrows into the crowd. But tonight, tonight they could see all the way into the treeline, and then some.
"Keep the Shadows inside tonight."
Elli said as she put on her gear. It was nothing more than a leather chest protector and forearm guards. She kept the shield strapped to her arm as well, but she didn't need much else. With her ability to always get away she didn't see the use for it. She continued:
"We'll focus on shooting from the walls and staying safe inside. Keep a spearman next to the archers as well, just in case they find a way to climb it."
Skye couldn't figure out how they would do that, with the skins lining the walls they weren't able to dig their claws into the wood and get a footing. The few flying monsters they have come into contact with here were slow moving and predictable, offering better practice than a threat. Even a spearman would be able to kill it by just letting it run into the pointy end.
Skye's thoughts were forced to come to a screeching halt with a howl that felt like it vibrated his body. They all looked around to each other, locking eyes. Elli tightened her last strap with a forceful tug.
"I think we'll be needed on these walls too."
She rushed away from the village tree and towards the ladder to scale the wall. The fort was buzzing with life as everyone rushed around to try and get up onto the catwalk. Some wanted up because they were meant to be there, others just wanted to see what made that sound. No one wanted to be taken by surprise.
Skye reached the wall himself and summoned 4 Flower Boys that lined the wall next to him and faced the forest. They sprung to life with a little dance but instantly shrunk down and shivered in the frosty air. Skye patted one on the petals.
"I know buddy, it's too chilly for anything to want to grow tonight."
The nearest soldier looked over to Skye from the side of his eye, not wanting to ask him what he meant.
Frost covered the grass in the empty clearing and gave the ground a blue tint in the moonlight. By now a few monsters would have rushed at the fort even if the Shadows weren't rounding them up, but it remained desolate. The lack of action started to become more scary than anything they had faced before.
They all stood on the catwalk looking over the wall into the nothingness, too afraid to make a sound. Their breaths filling the air with frost being carried away by the slight breeze. From time to time Skye would feel eyes on the back of his head and would turn around to see Elli or Kai asking if he's seen anything with their gestures.
Claire stayed on the ground with the remaining Wardens at the gate, ready to push out if needed. Her vision stayed locked on her men making sure they were ready. Skye could tell she felt uneasy with their forces divided between here and Tombstone.
Skye's eyes scanned through the trees, by now it had been an hour since night fell and still nothing. There should be so much going on and yet, nothing.
The men around him started to ease up and chat amongst themselves, but he stayed focused, yet he still missed what he was looking for.
The vibration traveled through the roots into the ground and reached him and the Flower Boys at the same time, yet their reaction was faster. It was so faint that he almost thought it was the grass brushing against the ground.
Claws dug into the soil and propelled its huge body forward as swiftly as the wind, feet hardly touching the ground. The petals of the Flower Boys lit up with a blue hue as they gathered mana and shot forward balls of energy, streaking through the glow of the night. The explosions of them hitting the ground alerted everyone again.
Four shots, and four misses. The agile body of the monster ducked and dogged as it rocketed itself forward. In what seemed like three long strides it cleared the empty ground from the forest to the fort and launched itself into the air.
At that time, all Skye could do was turn his head to see. The beast almost cleared the height of the wall, just almost. Its front legs digging onto the top of the wall and its powerful hindlegs trying to kick itself upwards, but unable to get a grip with the runed carved monster skin stopping it.
It roared as it swiped at the archer in front of it who was not fast enough to notch an arrow, but fast enough to dodge backwards. He fell from the top of the wall and crashed with a sickly thud on the hard ground, screaming all the way down.
The monster tried to pull itself with just its front legs but wasn't able to, and decided to take a few more swipes at people around instead. One of Skye's dryads was nearby and frozen with fear as he watched the man he was just talking to now laying on the ground like a police outline. As it reached for him, he finally snapped out of it and remembered his training.
"Die!"
He yelled as he thrusted his spear forward, scraping off the hard exposed bone of the monster's head. Unlike the other creatures here this head wasn't flat and held feline features. With a mixture of a hiss and a scream it disengaged and sprung backwards, giving up on trying to get over. It landed on the ground with a thud and bolted towards the forest.
"Shoot it!"
Someone yelled, prompting everyone who could see it to start firing arrows. They rained down from the sky and the creature would just turn its body and dodge as it ran back to the woods.
"What was that thing?"
"Did you see the giant hindclaw? It was bigger than its body and shot straight up!"
"I thought that was a wolf or something, but its back legs were too short and front legs too long!"
The soldiers erupted with chatter, the workers below tending to the one who fell. He was still alive, but would not be waking up anything soon. Elli nodded at Kai to go help and he climbed off the wall to do just that.
"We sure showed it who's boss!"
Another voice ran out, people cheering along with him.
"That was it? I was expecting a real fight."
"We're just too good man, what did you expect?"
Skye's face stayed glued to the forest, the colour draining from his face. If he was right, either they were all about to die or a horde of tumbleweeds just blew into town. His delusion was ruined by the movements of his Flower Boys, all locking into one spot and beginning to glow once more.
He felt his throat tighten up and struggled to swallow his fear. The next words out of his mouth came out like a baby's scream.
"Get ready! Here they come!"
The soldiers stopped their chatter and looked back at the forest. Rows of red glowing eyes encircled them from all directions.
That wasn't the boss. That was just the scout… wasn't it?
If dubs was here, he would most likely tell him to jump from the wall too. Quicker that way.