It was morning. Swirling dust covered the formation, setting pennants aflutter and leaving them a spotty gray. The sound of battle never died down. There were always revenants in the deadlands, Viv remembered. It was the grave of an entire civilization, and then the kingdoms had bled their lost dead to it over the centuries. Over the mountains and through the forest they had walked, tireless and without thought. Now, the Harrakan army faced a wall of rotten bodies. So they fought.

The path leading up was taken step by step. Viv had ordered units to be rotated so only four squads of heavies fought at any time. The crossbowmen had limited ammunition and were tasked with gathering the bodies in great piles where they would be burnt. At least, the corpses were dry, though the smoke of three fires already added to the gloom and loaded the air with its acrid stench.

Viv stood near the head of the formation, watching soldiers drag fallen revenants with grim determination. She’d already killed some burrowing worm and two bears with thorns coming out of their ravaged backs. The constant vigilance was taking its toll, however, and this was just the beginning. Slowly, they progressed along the cliffside road. Puffs of fire from above showed when Arthur made sure the sky was theirs.

Viv looked up. The walls of Sinur’s Gate still felt far away. Far behind, Sidjin launched a spell that made the ground shake. Something crashed behind Viv. She turned and saw a revenant flattened on the ground. The crossbow woman it had missed gave Viv a frightened smile.

“Back up, back up from the wall,” Viv ordered.

And not a moment too soon. A rain of bodies splattered on the dusty road, missing soldiers by a hair. The superhuman reflexes of people here prevented casualties from occurring, thankfully, and the crossbowmen used their short sword to quickly dispatch those revenants that were still moving. Viv heard a rumble above. A column of gut spillers were moving down the narrow path, pushing revenants on their way. A body almost clipped the front of the formation where soldiers were too busy fighting to pay much attention. She moved up. Had to stop those before they could start spitting acid.

***

It was noon. The formation slowed down for half an hour to leave people time to eat. The food was cold but the support crew had boiled klod in covered cauldrons, delivering warm, tasty drinks to everyone. It was always cold in the deadlands, even when summer warmed the hills outside. Now, the weather was frigid and bleak. It was also quite dry.

Viv took a sip from her cup and watched the trail below. Where the expedition had gone, piles of burning bodies remained but a blanket of revenants was already slowly climbing the slope, lured by the enticing essence of so many living persons. She always found it strange that revenants thrived with black mana yet felt the need to attack those that possessed little. Perhaps they had a drive to spread. Looking at those swarming masses below, it was a possibility.

Shortly after, Ban called for the attack to resume.

***

It was late afternoon when they started the final approach. The road widened near the entrance and there was a small, secondary fort just before the main gate they had to clear before proceeding. Maybe a toll station. The number of fliers had grown so thick that even a furious Arthur could not contain them all, and Viv wondered where they had all come from. She suspected they may have roosted in the cliffs to either side of the city. In any case, the witchpact troops now had targets aplenty to test their marksmanship.

In order to take down revenants, the crossbow wielders had designed cheap, plentiful bolts with wooden heads that looked weirdly close to shaped charges. What the witchpact lacked in range and speed, they made up for in penetration and the ability to enchant their bolts with a variety of effects. Flat-headed bolts splattered lightly armored targets like revenant heads and slow undead birds with ease. Sometimes, they even went through multiple targets. Several squads moved from within the formation to disable small flying foes before they could descend on the expedition’s most vulnerable members. Some temple guards waited by the cornudons and medical wagon to make sure they were not disabled.

Viv was now constantly taking out the weird, multi-legged horrors crawling over the nearby walls. She could see the masonry emerging over the sheer stone to her left where the city started. Distant windows peered at the coming humans like so many blind eyes, their insides gouged since the disaster. Thicker waves of revenants crashed against the tiring rock of the heavies. Viv decided she had no choice.

“Alright, let’s get ready for tonight.”

She set up a mana-absorbing obelisk halfway between the small fort and the gate along with a charging station for Solfis. There were men fighting within a few paces of her while she worked, activating the last of the enchantments. As soon as the ambient mana lowered, she moved to the front.

“We need to clear this space and reach the gate, it will be a good chokepoint.”

//Agreed.

“Blight!”

A mass of black clouds expanded in front of the heavies, to their relief. The fighting squads walked back to a safer distance while another fresher one replaced it under the barking orders of a foul-mouthed sergeant. The new squad immediately moved forward, picking off stragglers.

Viv cast a mass yoink to fill her reserves then used another few blights in succession. The revenants’ numbers now played against them as they were mercilessly swallowed, leaving behind only pitted stone. Viv grit her teeth. Blight was no longer as taxing as it used to be, but this was only the first day and she was already tired. Thankfully, there were no more gut spillers or other elites. She could almost see the gate. Finally, it came into view.

Two tall statues lined a monumental entrance into Sinur’s Gates. The open ground fell abruptly a few steps beyond. Soldiers used this opportunity to toss revenants over the edge before Viv growled that it just meant they’d be fighting them again in a day. A new pyre rose.

Beyond the entrance, there was an enclosed space surrounded by high walls that looked suspiciously like a kill zone for invaders. Viv had also wondered how revenants could leave the city when she’d clearly seen a grate from below. The answer was simple. The large gut spillers had melted it almost entirely. It was gone.

“Do… undead normally do that?” she asked Lorn, the leader of the Temple Guard.

“Do what?” the bearded man replied.

He was cleaning gore off his greatsword and wasn’t really in a receptive mood.

//She means, do they create an opening for revenants to use.

//The answer is no.

That got Lorn’s attention immediately.

“Do you think they’re being controlled?”

//Yes.

//Those gut spillers moved to us in formation.

//Since they, the bears, and the large insects were easily disabled, assault by large monsters has almost entirely stopped.

//This is only one more clue.

//I believe the undead are being controlled by an entity of some intellect.

“Damn. What does it change?”

//We must expect strategy.

//Your Grace?

“I’d send revenants to us throughout the night, then ambush us inside of the city. Attack from all sides.”

//This is very likely.

//The probability of a night attack is… above 70%.

//Since a charging station is now available, please deploy me.

“Shouldn’t we keep a hidden ace?” Lorn asked.

//I am the hidden ace.

//Because revenants will never draw out my full potential.

“We camp here tonight, clear the city tomorrow,” Viv said. “And you cover me while I rest.”

“Sounds good to me.”

//It shall be done.

***

It was night. Marruk had volunteered to stand at the gate and stop anything coming from within. Viv had seen her block a siege tarantula’s charge and was fairly certain the stout Kark would outlast the walls. A few of her compatriots agreed to stand by her side. Meanwhile, a group of earth casters repaired the fort to protect their rear. It was much easier to defend than the road. The cooks had made warm food from within tents. Viv tried to queue with the rest of the soldiers but they insisted she goes first and then immediately to rest. Someone had made her cot in the command tent. She gulped down the congee, then went to sleep with Arthur’s head on her belly. She missed Sidjin but he was just as busy. There would be time to be together later.

***

A soldier barged in Viv’s tent after midnight. Viv knew what it meant as soon as she woke up and she jumped to her feet, followed by a grumpy Arthur. Something screeched an ear-splitting sound. She rushed out, fumbling with her shield. The world outside was pitch black with new piles of corpses and some lanterns providing a dusky illumination. Some of the corpses were puppet masters, tentacled undead that commanded revenants. Others were the ghastly, ghoulish shapes of crawlers with their long claws and thin bodies. There was combat near the gate. She searched the night for the screeching beast. Above. It came from above. Its next scream was cut half-way.

The skeletal form of Solfis emerged from the darkness, claws grasping a giant bat head.

//You should not be in the open without more escort, Your Grace.

“Squeeee!”

//As a general rule.

//Return to sleep, please.

“Not easy when there’s weird things violating my ears.”

//The creature was more cautious than I expected.

"Control?"

//If so, it is done by an experienced necromancer.

//Have you felt any presence while using yoink on your targets?

“No, not yet.”

//Inconclusive.

//In any case, return to sleep.

“What about those,” she said, pointing at the defunct controllers.

//They scaled the cliffs.

//But we were ready.

//Your Grace.

//Return. To. Sleep.

//Please.

“Fine!”

***

The second day found Viv bleary-eyed and tired, but she would not admit it to anyone and pretended to be the kind, morning kind of cheerful person she’d otherwise consider strangling. It didn’t appear to fool anyone. Perhaps because she was known as someone who’d never woken up before the militia training was over. Marruk looked much worse for wear, with pockets under her eyes and acid marks over her fortified shield. She also smelled a bit rancid. The Kark walked closer. Actually, she stank to high heavens.

“You look like shit,” Viv admitted.

“I feel like it too, yes. I want to bathe so badly.”

“So… how was it?”

“Revenants attacked often. Then, when those that scaled the cliff attacked us, a large gut spiller tried to melt me down. I had to protect my brethren while they ran. I managed to delay it long enough for the best marksmen we have to use some strange bolts on it. The gut spiller was set on fire and its girth blocked the path, so at least there was that. A bear smashed through it two hours ago though. Lorn is holding the gate right now.”

Viv looked out into the dark desert beyond. More specks were making their way to the city.

“Something’s calling them here,” she grumbled.

“I think so. Too coordinated,” Marruk said as well. “So… what now?”

“We keep going. Whatever it is, it’s probably inside the city. And I don’t see us having a good time getting back down.”

//It would be a safe choice.

//However, I believe it would make future operations riskier.

“What if it’s a necrarch?”

//It cannot be one.

//A necrarch lacks fine control.

//We are facing a necromancer of some form.

//A spellcaster.

“So you’d be able to take it down?”

//Yes.

//However, it may have traps, redundancies, and mighty servants.

//It would be preferable to learn more before sending me.

“We can do that. The city needs to be cleared anyway. Let’s get to it.”

***

First squad, led by Ban, made their way through the gate and the following barbican. They used a different formation with their shields above their head in case of sudden attack. None came. First there was an open space surrounded by walls and empty ramparts, then another gate, also open. Viv followed closely until she found herself in the city proper.

The interior of Sinur’s gate was a maze of stairs and high towers separated by surprisingly wide streets. A square nearby showed a dust-clogged fountain. Decrepit reliefs and frescos spoke of a time long past when this was a center of trade and culture. Viv’s fascination lasted for only a second before reality reasserted itself. Only a couple of revenants were moving around, effortlessly taken down by a few yoinks. That was not normal. There should have been many more threats around.

//The road to our right leads up and to the palace.

//And the vault.

//Whatever is facing us should be in that direction.

“How likely is that?”

//Close to 97%.

//Control-based undead and necromancers retain a sense of the grandiose.

//They will be either in a throne room, a desecrated place of worship within a palace, or in crypts.

//All can be found with Sinur’s Gate’s main palace.

//We have but to follow the road.

“Your Grace!”

Viv turned. It was one of the witchpact officers, an older woman with long gray hair and a lifetime of poaching in Enoria.

“Yes?”

“Captain Lorn requests a short war council.”

“Hmmm.”

//It might be best to formulate a new strategy.

“Fine. Let’s go. The squad will return to the Barbican.”

A group of elites was waiting by the gate. Viv exchanged a tired nod with Sidjin. Lorn was the first to acknowledge the elephant in the room. There were also various officers present, representing everyone but the Hadals.

“So. Sinur’s Gate is inhabited. Do we continue?” Lorn asked.

“We do unless we believe we will be overwhelmed,” Viv said.

She was not willing to withdraw at the first sign of difficulty. So far, all their preparation had paid off and it would feel wrong to withdraw without at least a good attempt. They were already inside the fortress for fuck sake. That was usually the hardest part.

Solfis didn’t interrupt her, so Viv continued.

“Solfis estimates that our foe will be in the palace. I say we go there, take a squad of elites and engage it. Kill it, and the city is ours. Even if it isn’t, its death will make withdrawing considerably easier.”

//It would also help the troops to stay in a less mana-saturated environment for a little while.

//We should install another obelisk inside.

“We’ll get right to it.”

“There will be a trap,” Lorn said.

“And ambushes, yes. We need to move in a way that prevents them from capitalizing on a moment of weakness.”

“Should we split the army?” the witchpact woman asked. “Leave the support teams outside and only take combatants in?”

“No. Splitting means we must fight on more fronts, which means we’ll tire faster and last less time. We’ll stay together and move slowly,” Viv replied.

“We could clear the buildings,” Lorn said, “move slow and steady.”

//I would advise against it.

//Save that for mop up operations.

“But then they can use that against us. Come from everywhere at once.”

“I agree with Solfis. We can’t spare the time. Then… I have an idea,” Viv said.

***

The army moved on. Hadal scouts moved around the army to spot threats from afar. The hybrid earth mages used to build fortifications went to every building entrance, sealing them with a basic wall. The saturated mana made their work more tiring, but there were three of them and they were used to raising entire buildings, so the surface of a door was not too much an effort.

Viv activated another obelisk on the second square they came upon. Sinur’s Gate was large enough to house ten thousand souls, living ones at that. There were a lot of nooks and crannies, yet they only found revenants. Something was afoot, and Viv thought she might know what. The necromancer would attack from everywhere at once. Sidjin was ready, and Viv too. The only question was, how much would they throw at the Harrakans.

The expedition moved at a quiet pace, like a well-oiled machine. Soldiers blocked streets then moved on when the rest of the army had gone on. It was slow going given the size of their forces, yet no one complained. In fact, no one talked at all. Warriors with guard experience used their vigilance skill to make sure nothing was amiss. The earth caster walked everywhere, checking for tunnels but finding none. Viv was at the head once again.

Sinur’s Gate was pretty in a ruin sort of way. Despite the grime, the bodies, despite the creeping grip of age, there remained a trace of its early inhabitants’ love for their city. It was far enough from the epicenter than most of its people should have survived the initial blast. She hoped they had survived. They’d be dead by now but maybe their children could return, one day, and see those delicate fountains flow again to provide a pleasant background to the terraces and hanging gardens.

Viv realized she’d been daydreaming and blamed two days of near constant stress. The first thing that was wrong was Arthur’s distant shape diving for something out of sight. Then, bird tweets sounded throughout the silent city from every direction.

There were no birds here, no living ones in any case. Those were the Hadal scouts.

“Halt! Brace!” Viv called.

Other commanders called the same order at the same time. The sounds of alarm got quickly drowned by the stomping of numerous feet, a rumble like no other.

Fire blasted through a nearby alley, then Arthur flew into view, smashing half of a giant bat into a nearby wall. She veered sharply and spat more magic napalm at a target out of sight. The plaza in front of Viv filled with a horde. Hundreds of revenants racing on all fours, charging forward guided by skeletal puppet masters. It was her time to shine.

“True mass yoink!”

“FOUND YOU,” a voice said from above.

Danger sense: Intermediate 5