68
Despite their lack of training, the militiamen fight with great tenacity. They slash and cleave the bone-ridged heads of the Skarada the instant they appear above the parapet and none of the enemy makes it onto the walkway alive. As the first wave of attackers retreat from the base of the wall to lick their wounds and regroup, a messenger boy appears in the watchtower’s upper doorway. His face is flushed after having run several hundred yards as fast as he can.
‘Come quickly, my Lord,’ he gasps, ‘the East wall is breached!’
You hand back command of the militia company to the sergeant and hurry after the boy, following him down the watchtower steps and out onto the paved street beyond. When you reach the junction in the middle of the town, you see another messenger boy running towards you. Close behind him are Lieutenant Quang and the three Watchers.
‘East Wall?’ shouts Quang.
‘Yes!’ you shout back.
The messengers both turn and run along Nuoshi Street which leads directly to the East Watchtower. You and Lieutenant Quang are fearful that the enemy may have circled around the town and found the weakest point in its defences. But when you reach the East watchtower, the breach in the adjoining wall and the enemy threat do not appear to be so great. A ragged smouldering hole has been blown through the lower part of the palisade, and four Skarada have gained entry to the town by this way. The bodies of the five militiamen who were posted at the tower now lie crumpled and lifeless around the feet of these snarling furry beasts. The Skarada raise their bloodstained axes and slowly stalk towards you and your companions. Quang orders the Watchers to choose their enemy and engage them in close combat. As they advance to meet the Skarada head on, you see something climbing through the charred breach in the wall. At first glance it looks like one of the townsfolk; a man clad in simple peasant’s clothes and wearing a conical straw hat. But the moment he steps away from hole and straightens up, your throat tightens and your pulse races with shock and revulsion.