Chapter 4.16

Chapter 4.16
Chapter 4.15 L	Chapter 4.17
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Chapter 4.16 is the 17th chapter of Volume 4 and Book 5, The Last Light.

tl;dr[edit | edit source]

The Drake armies are close to killing the Goblin Lord, but then the Necromancer takes control and defeats the armies. Only survivor is Osthia Blackwing which is taken prisoner by the Goblin Lord.

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

Day 59 - The two armies sent to stop the Goblin Lord, one led by the Drake Thrissiam Blackwing from Pallass and the other from the Trisstral Alliance (or Esdras Coalition/Earthwatchers) led by the Gnoll Garusa Weatherfur meet to discuss a plan of action. Thrissiam had expected to have overall command as their army is from a Walled City but Garusa is probably higher level. Garusa offers Thrissiam leadership of the joint army due to his speciality as a [Lineholder General] with Garusa heading the offensive. Garusa prepares runners and messengers in case of emergency after receiving a message of caution from Zel. Thrissiam thinks the precautions are unnecessary despite Garusa's reminder of what happened during the second Antinium War. Captain Osthia Blackwing of the Ancestor Guard, an Oldblood with wings and distant relative of Thrissiam had always liked Thrissiam ever since they'd met. Osthia and her company fly out to scout, they don't see much but Garusa eventually has a feeling of alarm and dives down, but there's notthing that she can see.
Day 60 - Still nothing. The two Generals continue to converse about Lords and Wall Lords.
Day 61 - Twelve soldiers had disappeared the prior day and while Thrissiam suspected it was the Goblins no signs of a struggle were found. Osthia is flying above a group of scouts that enter under the canopy who don't return after a period of waiting. Osthia and her squad dive down but find no trace of the scouts or a skirmish.
Day 62 - Thrissiam and Garusa are worried now, they know that there are Goblins but they find no traces and keep losing soldiers. Garusa smells Goblins everywhere but can't find them and wonders why the Goblin Lord would be here and not raiding settlements. Suddenly the horns sounds and the army is attacked on all sides. Osthia realises that some of the Goblins were waiting under the snow, alongside the undead. The Drakes manage to hold for a bit before the Hobs hit the lines, far too many Hobs than there should be for a single tribe. Osthia manages to kill a strange gray Goblin, which then explodes. She orders her Sergeant to focus on the gray Goblins as she flies back to warn the Generals. Thrissiam orders the archers to prioritise the Gray ones. As the fighting continues Osthia spots the Goblin Lord, with black eyes rather than the typical red of a goblin he manages to strike down a group of mages before retreating.
Day 64 - The fighting continues from morning until dusk but the Goblins had yet to shift the Drakes from their position. None of the mages can cast [Message] and Garusa is concerned by how specialized that is for a Goblin Lord's army. The two had been sharing a bed and now that Garusa suggests the necessity of riding out to hunt down the Goblin Lord himself Thrissiam disapproves of her taking the risk and both of them realise that the Goblin Lord might not be alone. Garusa fights whilst heartbroken over the Generals' now-widely known affair with each other. When she spots the Goblin Lord she flies out alone to get him, but her wings get hit and she falls into the enemy lines. Garusa Weatherfur charges in on horseback and manages to cut a path so save Osthia. Thrissiam disciplines Osthia but Garusa defends her mistake. Thrissiam reminds Osthia of her importance to their family and Osthia returns to her tent to cry for a bit.
Day 65 - Thrissiam realises that the undead would be the downfall of their army and Garusa agrees, the pair decide an ambush led by Garusa the following day.
Day 66 - The ambush is successful. The army manages to feint two assaults on the Goblins before the Goblin Lord reveals himself and Garusa charges him with her soldiers. Her mount dies but she manages to close in on him, but before the final blow is struck a voice echoes across the battlefield. "Fool." A bone wall is erected between the two and the Goblin Lord hears the voice of his master, the Necromancer who is disappointed in his apprentice and declares that he will rectify the mistake. The Goblin Lord points at Garusa and kills her with a bolt of energy, then he kills every Goblin and Drake near him and reanimates their bodies. Osthia manages to find Thrissiam during the fighting and he tells her and the other Runners to run and warn the cities to the south. He orders Osthia to leave as well, to ensure word got out that the Goblin Lord has a master, the Necromancer. Thrissiam dies after killing the Draugr that was Garusa.
Day 67 - Osthia is captured before she can escape, she awakens inside Thrissiam's tent and watches and the Goblin Lord seemingly talks to himself. She then hears the voice of the Necromancer scolding the Goblin Lord for not hiding his exploding Goblins amongst the living Goblins. The Necromancer's presence recedes and the Goblin Lord approaches Osthia as she breathes her acid in his face. The Goblin Lord speaks in the common tongue easily and asks Osthia to tell him everything that she knows about the Necromancer, because the Necromancer is his enemy too.