The fate of a kingdom rests in the hands of three unlikely heroes: a garrulous half-human mercenary, a meek mage who hasn't finished his training, and an ill-tempered archeress who loathes her two companions. What could possibly go wrong?
Author's Note: For more than two years, I have been keeping this project among my files, hoping that one day I might turn it into a 100k-word novel. But since that day doesn't seem to be coming any time soon, I see no good in keeping this short piece unpublished :)
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From behind the red bushes, Omar knelt on the dry grass, contemplating the majestic fortress looming side by side with the Dragon Mountains, black towers touching the grey clouds, trebuchets sprawled over the wide bulwark of the great stone wall. Two squads of cavalry patrolled the perimeter of the fortress, and not less than a hundred archers guarded its walls, he estimated. To summarize the situation, breaking into this stronghold was impossible, especially with the pathetic army he had brought all the way from home.
"Let me see." Malanda was so close to him when she pushed his shoulder to take his spot that her silk, black hair touched his cheek. Her sharp brown eyes made her the most deadly human archer Omar had ever seen, and almost as skillful as elves. Her place was home, atop one of the keep towers, to defend the walls of Lanox, the last human city. But she was the one who had volunteered to join him in this suicide mission, to be one-third of his army.
Omar turned on his haunches, facing Andy, the apprentice mage, and the second third of his force. "I'll be happy to listen to any brilliant suggestions." Omar shrugged.
"Don't look at me." Andy rubbed his brown hair, a shy smile on his round face. "I was...err...kicked out of the Mages' Guild for a reason."
"And you came with me and Malanda for a reason, right?"
"I only wanted to help."
Omar glared at him.
"I know I'm neither a good swordsman like you," Andy continued, "or a skillful bowman...err...a bowgirl like her. But one more sword might help anyway."
Well, the mage's swordplay wasn't too bad, Omar had to admit. At least, he knew how to swing his blade and how to stab. But Omar had hoped he would see the mage doing anything related to sorcery.
"Alright." Malanda turned, pushing her hair back away from her neck. "I can't spot any blind spots in their guard. The archers are covering all the angles around the wall."
"You mean the hundred archers atop the bulwark?" Omar grinned, bragging about his spotting skills. See? You're not the only one who can do this, peacock!
"No." She arched one fine eyebrow. "I mean the hundred and seven archers, Mongrel."
Wow! The girl's really unbeatable. Shame those fools at Lanox hadn't accepted her among the Eagle Guard only because of her gender. The same fools who had expelled him from the Panther Guard after they had realized he was not a pure human.
