Common Worlds

Oshun's zebra-riding Faithful Lancers continued to press the center of the Marble Phalanx Line, bravely standing and hacking among the stalwart and unflinching spearmen. Slowly they pushed their way into the ranks.

Will forced his way into the far left edge of the Dara Happan shield line, chain spinning and his spear driving the hoplites back with a series of feints and jabs. At one time or another, he faced as many as four of the infantrymen at once.

Betira skillfully led the Unicorn riders against the shield line again and again, taking the brunt of the losses to her Yelornans. They grew bolder with Oshun's success in the center, but paid heavily for their bravery with their blood and the blood of their mounts.

Meanwhile, Garusharp continued to rain arrows on the rear of the Marble Phalanx, receiving fire in return from the javalin throwers. Keeping an eye on the broo ritual at the same time, he heard it come to some climax. A sick, viscous spirit fog rolled out a broken window and started rolling slowly toward the Dara Happan position.

The Teshnan worked down from his sniping point and infiltrated his way behind the broo position. Stepping out from his cover with surprise on his side, he let fly a flurry of arrows as a broo with gigantic bronze-shod hooves leapt 20 yards at him. The shaman scratched his head at the archer, freeing some evil spirit from his pelt like a dog scratching a flea. The broo crashed down dead, filled with arrows and the rest of the broos fled, leaving the shaman's spirit behind, which lurched with smoking tendrils toward Garusharp's head.

Oshun redoubled his efforts, leading his riders through the front lines of the phalanx and coming at a charge onto the elites surrounding the company vexillum. These senior men stood with their armor shining as if in daylight, though it was night, and their skin had taken on a stony look. Their eyes were like marble, unmoved and unmoving. Hard and fast Oshun came on, charging Skimmer directly at the spearman in front of him. But the glowing, gold-chased spear point never moved from the Khan-Seeker's breast, and Oshun was brought up at a dead stop just before the point would have pierced him

The spirit fog reached the glowing line of the Marble Phalanx, rose up, and fell with a sickening sound onto the company's Vexillum standard. The company priest collapsed, and only the company commander's quick grab kept the vexillum from falling to the ground. Even so, two in ten of the company fell instantly to the ground, shaking and shivering. The rest of the unit wavered as some horrible sickness affected almost everyone in the unit.

Organized resistance from the infantry stopped instantly, and all the attackers left as fast as they could to avoid the sickening spirit fog. Nevertheless, all of the Faithful Lancers and their mounts were infected, grievously hindering them. Will I Am, on the other hand, used Pavis' magic to drive the spirit away from him, and the power of the magic made the grass and the very air turn green for a moment.

Garusharp's faith in the Lord of Edges helped him prevail over the sickness that tried to attack him, but by the time he had done so all the broo escaped. Much to his surprise, they escaped on the backs of a half-dozen gigantic chaos snails that had been hidden in a nearby ruin.

With combat over, the Heroes and Unicorn Riders saw to their wounded and sick, while the Marble Phalanx did their best to gather up the wounded and dead and drag themselves toward the new city.