Michael Chatfield
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Four Horsemen: Chapter: 16
🕑 Added 2023-10-25 11:00:04 +0000 UTC“Now give us a great big push,” Mya said.
“Are you sure about this?” Petor was holding onto the axle that connected to the front wheels, that was supposed to be connected to horses. Instead he was holding it up right in front of him like a ship’s wheel.
The main road ahead of them was filled with signs of fighting, groups were still actively fighting as horns blew across the city.
Fighters were clashing with one another and undead, water from the fountains pilled from their broken banks. Debris from buildings, from catapults broke up the road.
“Ain’t no horses, running through this is gonna take forever and even if we come of we shouldbe alright. Heave, mighty Valter!” Mya withdrew her pistols, striking a pose with her foot on the back of Petor’s bench seat.
Valter sighed and pushed against the back of the cart, his feet thudded, gaining in speed going as fast as a horse at a gallop when he gave one last stomp and jumped into the cart.
The front came up and slammed back down.
Desari let out a note of alarm, her arm wrapped around the back of the bench seat as she looked over it, kneeling in the back of the vegetable cart.
“Shit!” Petor jerked the axle to the side, turning them around broken rubble in the street, pulling one wheel from the ground as he tilted back around it to bring it back down as their speed continued to climb.
“Fighters!” Desari yelled.
Twin bolts of fire struck the fighters in the chest, throwing them back. A dozen others rushed out of the street.
“Who said that riding a cart was the slowest way to go to hell! WOOOHOOOO!”
Mya laughed, one foot braced on the back of the bench, pistols a whirlin’ and a firin’. Petor hooked his feet under the footrest as they hit a ock the whole cart going airborne. He grabbed Desari’s cloak, pulling her back to cart.
“Thanks,” She kept casting her spell.
Valter’s bolts threw the fighters back as they came level with them. Behind them were dozens of undead rushing the rear ranks.
“Good work yah fiends!” Mya cackled.
Light became jagged lines, spreading from Desari’s hands, arcing up and then down, lightning split and split, striking the fighters.
Then they were past the smoking group.
A house had spilled into the street, blocking their way.
Petor grit his teeth, tensing his legs, leaning to the right and then turning the axle and leaning hard to the left.
The cart bounced up on two wheels, riding over some of the debris. The road was broken up on the left side, a boulder having smashed through it.
“Lean to the right!” Petor threw his weight, the others adding theirs as he balanced the wheels. The wheels slammed into the ground and then the opposite side came up.
The back end of the cart swung out wide on scree and went cobblestones.
“Shit!” Valter yelled.
“Man overboard!”
Petor reached for the brake.
“Keep going!” Valter yelled as Petor’s back end started to bring itself into alignment.
He glanced back, Valter was holding onto the back of the cart, ‘running’ against the ground to counter the cart’s motion.
Petor skirted around a broken cart in the middle of the road, Valter controlling the back end from slipping too far and coming sideways.
The damn wheels weren’t supposed to be making the whirring noise they were. Each bump he clenched, ready for the wheels to come apart.
“Going right!” Petor yelled.
“Got it!”
Petor turned the axle slowly, angling for the road, Valter working with him as they came screaming around the corner.
Undead in the hundreds looked at them with blank eyes.
“Oh fuck.”
Petor’s teeth and brain rattled as he went over a half dozen.
“Shit fucking fuck!” Valterr was having fun.
“Move! Ah shit! Move you roadblocks!” Mya yelled.
The undead, like bored pigeons or an unamused toddler shuffled out of the way, parting.
Petor looked back at the dozens he’d run over, some of them were pulling themselves to their feet.
“Spread out, go down to the walls and get the bastards attacking the city!” Mya yelled at them. “I swear, they’re hard workers, but nothing much going on upstairs.” Mya sighed. “Then you know how you kill them? Shot right to the cranium. Some things make no sense I swear.”
“You okay back there?” Desari asked.
Valter’s bulk fell into the cart. “Took a zombies head to the nuts. Be a minute.”
Petor winced and angled the cart to use the slope of the road to keep up some of their speed.
“I see the next road coming up. Got a few minutes then I’ll kick out the back again.
“Alright.” Valter sighed.
Petor shifted in his seat, his asses bruises had bruises. Though it felt cruel to mention it when Valter’s plums had polished someone’s cranium at cart speed.
Valter jumped out and set his feet to scrambling, increasing their speed.
“Halfway there,” Petor said. “Turning!”
He worked the axle and Valter worked like a man on an ice pond trying to hold himself upright by sheer maddening running.
They came around the corner into a group fighting with the undead and another fighting against them.
Mya fired her pistol with the revolving middle, six shots dropped eight fighters as they skidded around the fight. A broken fountain covered their right side.
“Keep going to the right!” Petor skidded them around the group, and the fountain, crashing through small rubble and picking up speed as they continued down towards the wall once again.
“Don’t like the noise or feeling coming from the wheels,” Petor said, they were creaking and the axle was getting a bit soft at turning.
“Is that a stone golem down by the gate?” Desari asked.
“Yeah, looked like it. Big one too.”
It was taller than the wall, with each swing it pulped undead. Fighters were on the broken wall behind it, firing around it. A few godly spells illuminated the fight.
A building’s roof was sliced off by a razor shar shadow, crumbling and falling into the street.
“Shit!” Petor pulled on the axle and aimed them for the fountain stream running through the street. The cart hit the other side and bounced Petor clamped onto the axle with his legs, Desari held herself tight to the bench.
Mya slid backwards.
“Come back here!”
The bounce had thrown Valter free. Mya slid to the back of the cart, a boat hook appearing in her hands as she braced herself with a wide stance in the back of the cart and hooked Valter, hauling him to the back of the cart.
He landed with a grunt and crash of metal.
Petor fought to keep them from running into the buildings.
“No man overboard on the rickety shit bucket express!”
“Fucking sailors,” Desari muttered.
A small pothole jarred the front right wheel, cracking it. The other wheel agreed with its fellow, coming apart as they bounced over a bump. The cart scraped forward, gaining speed from the decline as it raced down the street.
Petor pulled the brakes, nothing happened.
“Well, get ready to abandon cart!” The cart jumped and bounced.
Mya reached out with her hook and shoved it into the street. The cart evened out, and aimed at the stone golem.
Valter had a hand on her belt his feet jammed into the sides of the cart bed, his other hand wrapped around the side.
Petor got out of his seat and held onto the bench like Desari.
She gave him a pure look of ‘why the fuck did we do this’. All he could do was shrug.
“Get ready!”
Spells landed around them. Petor looked over, the stone golem was giving them cover from the fighters, a few arrows and spells hit the ground around them.
“Hey fugly!” Mya yelled.
Petor jumped clear of the cart, aiming for the shoulders of the undead around the golem’s ankles.
He crashed into them, hearing the cart break apart at the base of the golem.
There was a shudder as he rolled himself out of limbs, the ground shook as the golem hit the ground.
Petor withdrew his sling, spinning as he got out of the undead, one staggered from an arrow aimed at him. He aimed in the direction it came from, lined up the archer.
A holy blast hit him in the side, sending him crashing to the ground.
He rolled away, hissing at the pain as he drove mana through his body, speeding the healing.
Valter’s arbalest was going full power, Desari fired her arrows.
Mya ran onto the back of the golem and shoved one of the explosive candles between two rocks and leapt away, sliding down the side of the golem, holding her ears.
The back of the golem fountained in stone and dirt.
“Petor!” Mya yelled, drawing two of her revolver pistols and tilting her head at the golem.
She stood and fired at the top of the wall. Desari used the cover, running at the wall and drawing her blade, she jumped, catching the broken wall with her foot and leaping up to the ramparts.
Petor drew his spear and ran forward an arrow barely missed him, hitting rock and spraying him with shards, he heard another arrow whistle past his head, he swerved his movements and jumped up the back of the golem that was shifting around.
A ray of green light stabbed through his ribs and into his guts. His breath was stolen from him in the pain as he crashed into the golem, his spear tumbling away as he painted it with his blood.
He coughed, his breathing was all messed up, lung must be fucked.
Nothing more came from the wall as Valter reached the top, the fighting hidden away on the ramparts.
Mya fired at fighters that were along the wall.
Petor focused on the broken back of the golem that was trying to rise.
He reached forward, grabbed the stone and heaved he cried out in his head, teeth gritted tight as his open side was pulled against the creature. He kicked his leg trying to get him leverage, pushing his side off the golem and throw himself forward.
He did it again, his head light as he threw up, the nausea and lack of blood clamming him up.
Petor dragged himself on his waist on the broken edge of the golem as he half fell into the hole, yelling as he slapped his hand on the golem’s core.
He pulled.
His wounds healed in painful reversal, the golem shuddered and stone shifted, coming away in chunks, unable to support itself.
Essence flowed from the golem. The animating core turned to dust in his hand.
Getting strong now. Essence was getting harder and harder to earn from his opponents. Need to fight things stronger to keep increasing my core strength.
“No sleeping on the job lad!” Mya yelled.
Petor nodded and slipped down the side of the golem, looking for his spear.
“All clear up here!” Desari yelled.
“We’d best get moving.” There are people running back from all over,” Valter said.
Petor kicked up his spear and caught it. He ran a hand over what had been his armor, touching the half palm sized skin visible.
He let out his breath and jogged towards the wall.
The undead were already shambling away from the wall in either direction, paying them no heed.
Mya climbed up through the breach, Desari and Valter breaking the wall as they climbed down.
Valter had stripped down his armor and was wearing armor from one of the fighters. Desari had pulled off her wrap and was wearing fighter armor as well.
Petor followed them out to the other side, dropping down into the burnt grass, weeds, and fighters.
He spat to the side at the old and terrible smell.
“Lets get moving,” Desari started at a jog. Petor followed, pulling his cloak over his armor. Mya pulled a cloak over her bandoliers.
“Don’t worry you’ll be just fine,” Mya patted her hat and stored it.
“We’ll run as if we’re headed for the fort on the right, then we’ll cut away when we get to that farmers stone wall there,” Valter pointed to the wall that ran towards the forest.
“Sounds good,” Petor said, he stored from his spear and took out his canteen. Valter set a good pace as he offered it to the others, Desari took it, then Valter.
Mya reloaded her pistols.
“What are the names of your weapons?”
“Well I have flintlocks which are one shooters, there are pistols and the longer versions are rifles. Then there are the revolvers, the ones with the cylinders that rotate. Then I got the blunderbuss that’s sure to clear out everything in my path and then the cannon. I’m working on a few more ideas. Might have aproject for our esteemed smith in the future!” She raised her voice a bit.
Valter finished drinking from the canteen and handed [mc1] it back. Mya took it and a swig.
“Be happy to work on it. They look rather fine and interesting. Different from what I’m used to.”
“I’ll take you up on that,” Mya said and passed the canteen back to Petor.
He stoppered and stored it. They kept jogging, keeping the pace steady, Valter slowed them down to a half-march. Random groups were leaving the city, headed for fighting camps.
“The battle’s broken, they’re trying to bring back as much of their force as possible,” Valter said. Horns bayed across the battlefield, trying to communicate the different situations.
“Alright lets go,” Valter diverted down into a ditch, jumping over the short stone wall, he pulled off the armor, bent over and running, hidden by the wall. Desari, Mya and Petor followed.
They ran bent over along the wall for several minutes.
“I think I hear something,” Desari said.
“I’ll take a peek.” Mya unbent and then stood upright, increasing her pace. “Good news! We don’t have to bend over. Bad news, they know where we are and sent the cavalry after us!”
“Ah shit.” Petor stood, yep, some three dozen fresh looking riders picked up their pace and headed right for them.
Desari rose, pulling out her bow. She drew, turned and released on the run. It hit a man in the chest, smacking him back into his saddle but he pulled himself back up as their pace increased.
Petor was flyingover the ground, their pace well beyond what a normal human could attempt to do.
Valter let loose with his Arbalest, firing a half dozen bolts, more to slow than to kill, two hit targets, throwing them clear of their mounts.
Petor spun his sling and released it at the cavalry. Thankfully they only had melee weapons and nothing ranged.
The edge of the field came up Petor leapt, planting a foot on the top of the short stone wall he came down on the other side, loading his sling again.
The trees were just twenty meters away.
“Over there!” Petor pointed down the trees.
“Why there, there’s trees here!” Mya yelled.
“This is hard packed, that’s in a dip, the ground there will be softer and muddier, horses will break their legs in it.”
“Trust the lad from the forest,” Valter changed direction.
“Fuck,” Desari loosed another arrow, there was no spell with it as it threw s rider back in his stirrups-dead.
Petor grimaced as he threw his stones at the armored horses. They shifted suddenly, unsettling their riders and nearly crashing into others, causing chaos in the group, bunching up to get the first kills.
A horse went down, tripping two others, still more jumped over, one landing with a cry that ran through his soul.
Valter and Mya thinned their numbers as they reached the shade of the trees.
Petor loaded and stored his sling.
“Run where I run!”
His eyes darted across the ground, picking out the dryer more packed patches of ground. He heard Mya jump from Valter’s shoulders, adding her feet to their own.
The brush was thick here, roots weaving through the soil. Dark patches promised rich wet mud.
Horses cried out as they were suddenly pulled back from their run, several riders weren’t so fast. Their horses letting out screams as their hoofs found the spaces between roots, breaking legs and spilling their riders into the forest.
“Get on foot! After them!”
Petor’s nose was burning as his head darted around, finding a path only he could see.
The sounds of the god’s fighters fell away to the heavy breathing of three others.
They must be at least two stages weaker than us. Beating them would be easy. Then there would be a dozen others swarming them with numbers.
More than the thought of numbers, it was the lack of essence that drove him on.
He shook his head. It had been a long time since he gained a single stage. In a week he’d gained nearly six. It was a well worn path he’d done before and seen others undertake.
Now he was as eager as a new recruit to take on some beast in the woods to get just a bit more essence. Focusing on just the essence one could earn from a fight was a quick way to get into a fight you couldn’t win.
Berox was A whole color higher than us and we were able to defeat him with planning and preparation.
“I think we’ve lost them for a bit now,” Mya huffed.
Petor slowed his pace, stopping on a boulder. “Been trying to keep to the rocks and roots, so they can’t follow our trail.”
“The forest is eager to change our trail,” Desari said. Behind her, broken tree limbs reattached and re-grew, footsteps rose back out of the ground, erased.
“Good work.”
Mya’s eyes darted through the tree tops. “Okay, let me get a heading and we’ll be on our way to Limos and our mounts.” She checked her map.
“Never thought I’d be so terrified in a vegetable cart of all things,” Valter said.
Petor fought the laughter, but it escaped his lips in a low chuckle. Desari shook her head with a grin and Mya was smiling wide as she folded her map back up.
“Alright mister Petor, we’ll be headed that way, and do try to not hit any stone golems along the way.”
Petor followed her arm to where she was pointing. “No promises.”
