‘We saw those captains on Andcardia,’ reminded his brother. ‘They were giving orders.’
‘It looked like they were herding livestock, directing the flow of a stampede, not directing a coordinated attack.’ He sighed. ‘But that camp…’ He shrugged in resignation. ‘I can’t explain it. I have no idea who is commanding them, but they are behaving unlike any group of demons I have ever heard of, let alone come in contact with.’
His brother said, ‘I understand. You feel like someone has changed the governing laws of your art, without bothering to tell you.’ Starting to rise, he said, ‘Let’s get something to drink and then decide if we want to watch the demons do nothing tonight.’ As he started to rise, the ground suddenly heaved beneath them as a loud explosion echoed outside.
Laromendis was knocked on his rump while his brother said, ‘What was that?’
Both looked up as dirt came showering down on them from the ceiling of the dark cave, barely illuminated by daylight coming through the entrance, fifty feet away. ‘Get out!’ shouted Gulamendis. ‘This thing is collapsing.’
As the ground under their feet shook, they staggered to the entrance amidst a shower of dusty and loose rocks. Once outside they looked around, as Laromendis said, ‘Earthquake?’
Another distant boom, followed by another lurch in the ground, and Gulamendis said, ‘I don’t think so.’
They quickly realized that the noise was coming from the other side of the ridge. Motioning for his brother to follow him, Gulamendis tried to half-climb, half-crawl up the shaking hillside. As they neared the crest they could hear the sounds of battle ringing in the distance, punctuated by more ground shaking explosions.
Peering over they could see only chaos.
Smoke and dust filled the air as thousands of demons were rolling out of their encampments to meet an onslaught of more demons.
‘What is this?’ asked Laromendis, not bothering to keep his voice down. Everywhere they looked demons were battling each other. The oddest aspect of this mad scene was the demons who were from the camp wore armour roughly uniform in fashion: dull silverfish breast armour and helms, some with spaulders or pauldrons, others without shoulder protection. Some possessed greaves or boots, while others—those with massive feet and claws—went barefoot. But it was easy to see that they fought under the same banner. That banner was raised high on top of a long pole in the centre of the camp, a massive black cloth with a red design upon it, impossible to see in detail at this distance.
The attackers were likewise attired in a haphazard fashion, but their armour was dark blue grey in colour and they flew no banner in the field. But they had clearly enjoyed the advantage in surprise and ferocity.
Even without arms, demons were lethally effective fighters; with weapons they were even more terrifying. The slaughter didn’t pause: on every side demons went down in screams of pain, fountains of smoking blood, and body parts sailing through the air. It was butchery in every sense of the word.
Gulamendis replied, ‘A demonic revolt, by the look of it.’
‘There,’ said the Conjurer, pointing across the valley to the ridge opposite the one they hid behind.
In the distance, Laromendis could see what had caught his brother’s attention. On top of the ridge stood a massive figure, dwarfing those around him. It was still impossible to make out details at this distance, but it was clear that group on top of the distant ridge was orchestrating the assault on the demon horde encamped in the valley below.
Flyers rose up to meet those already overhead, and the two elves suddenly understood the source of the massive quakes and explosions. The invading flying demons carried large objects which they released above the ground forces below; when they struck the ground, a massive amount of energy was released, throwing a tower of earth, smoke, flame, and bits of destroyed demons into the air. The early assault must have included attacks on positions closer to where the brother’s hid, for these impacts felt less severe.
From three gullies down, just outside the valley, a stream of attacking monstrosities flooded into the fray. They rolled into the encamped army, already caught up in the throes of panic, and the slaughter gained pace.
‘What is going on?’ asked Laromendis.
‘Can you conjure enough cover for us to remain unseen if we need it?’ asked his brother.
‘Not for long.’
‘If what I think is happening, is happening, we won’t need it for long. Come we must hurry.’
The Demon Master headed off at a trot, staying just below the ridge and following it around the rim of the valley. Occasionally the ground shook, but the air assault ceased as the two opposing forces became entwined in hand-to-hand combat. Every so often, Gulamendis would peer over the edge then motion for his brother to follow.