22:32

Although they are taken aback by the elf's sudden collapse, the troops near the first breach continue as Flash instructed them. A human (and dwarven and elven!) chain passes rubble from the ruins of the Gnomish Laboratories, and slabs of stone start to pile up in the breach. Keeping one elemental hidden in the ground beneath the breach, Owen instructs the other one to help move the rubble, greatly speeding up the process.

The twin priests of Egreera -- Domu and Domi -- stand on the wall, one each side of the breach. Grinning, they begin to chant and dance. Each of them points towards the ground between the breach and the approaching trolls...

The brown troll marched forward, its hands grasping its massive Trollsword tightly. It could see the fallen section of wall ahead -- not much further now. On the edges of the wall he could see two of the human figures moving about. The troll paused, bracing itself for another hail of fire. Nothing happened. With renewed vigour it raced forward, but on its next step, its clawed foot sank deep into the ground. Another stride and the troll's other leg was trapped knee deep in thick mud.

Behind the city walls, the archers scramble into their positions on the roof toops. On the walls themselves, the foot soldiers ready the containers of heated pitch and watch the ranks of approaching trolls warily.

In the gap between the archers' perches and the walls, four teams of gnomes and dwarves work feverishly to fortify areas of the wall weakened by the white trolls' rays. Thalakos sprints frantically from team to team, suggesting to one that they add more sideways supporting struts, and insisting that an extra iron girder be used at another location.

Outside the walls, the trolls continue to fend off the fire elementals and the shadows. Thirteen elementals now plague the tall humanoids, but the trolls are now fighting back fiercely, and as the onlookers watch, they manage to overcome the smallest of the fire creatures, which winks suddenly out of existence.

From within the ranks of the moving trolls comes a hail of crossbow fire. Close to two hundred of the brown trolls take aim at targets on the city walls, and let loose missiles. Although many of the city's defenders heard Tam's warning, the torrent of bolts still cuts down dozens of people. Indo the Quill estimates that the attack leaves over fifty dead, and dozens more wounded.

Damalanthas blinks and shakes his head, trying to clear an odd buzzing sound from his ears. He looks up at Ayak, and notices that the dragon's eyes are even narrower slits than usual.
"I have agreed to help you fight your foes, and I will stick to my word. But I warn you, bardling, I have no time for your games and trickery."
The bard is taken aback by the dragon's sudden hostility, but before he can reply, Ayak continues.
"You have asked me to slay the trolls outside the city walls, and that I will do. Stand clear."
Without giving Damalathas a chance to move away, the mighty dragon flaps its wings and takes to the air. Damus vainly throws his arms up over his face, but as Ayak soars eastwards towards the trolls, the bard is left choking on a faceful of dust.

Tekuna grabs her Message Tube and tries to contact the other Lords.
"Damus? Souriin? Euvgeni? Flash? ANYONE?"
King Anwell starts to run in the direction of the Palace but is caught short by the still active Cube of Force.
"Tekuna," he says, "please deactive the Cube, or come with me. We must get to the throne room. Rotan has spoken to me. She says that she will help me co-ordinate the defense of her city from there. She thinks that Eugveni and the others are still alive. They were not taken by the trolls. Whatever that thing was, she knows that it is desperately afraid of the trolls."

Only Damalanthas and Panagiotis hear Tekuna's voice through the Message Tubes. General Panagiotis hears the note of worry in Tekuna's voice and waits for his Commander to respond. Damus has to spit out a mouthful of dust before he can answer.

On roof-tops near the first breach wizards and archers stand ready to target any trolls entering the city. The druid Owen summons a Flaming Sphere into being and manoeuvres it into the gap, where it bobs from side to side, blocking the trolls' path into the city.

Just a few yards away, the advancing trolls have formed a living bridge over the softened earth, with the first few trolls lying flat on the ground so that the trolls behind them can walk over their bodies. But even as the trolls reach firm ground near the breach, four of Egreera's children -- Tirrian, Armed, Ofnoor and Ectley --  step forward and call shimmering clubs into being. As one, they slam these Spiritual Weapons into the trolls, causing the lead troll to lose its footing and stagger sideways into the muddy ground.

As the city's archers reach the new positions on roof tops inside the city, the lines of trolls continue their steady advance on the city walls. The mettle of the footsoldiers on the wall is put to the test as the gangly beasts get ever closer. Some of the junior priests from the Church of Artafor cast Random Action on the the trolls, but there are not enough of the priests for their efforts to slow the tide. Then, as those on the wall watch, the trolls pause and dozens of them produce small, ball-like objects from pouches strapped to their backs...

Further out across the battlefield, the elementals and the shadows continue to bring down trolls. And Tam's keen eyes spot something more... as he watches, a dark shape detaches itself from the body of one of the fallen trolls. In the flickering light from a patch of still-burning pitch, he sees this new shadow -- taller than the others, and troll-like in shape -- join the ranks of its kin and begin to attack the trolls.

Safe inside the Cube of Force, Tekuna puts down her Message Tube and begins sketching a map of the Throne Room in the Rotan Palace. King Anwell hears a faint voice coming from the Tube, and he picks it in time to hear Damalanthas, coughing, say:
"Help is on the way. Spread the word along the wall. The dragon is on our side. Repeat, the dragon is on our side! Don't piss it off by shooting at it! Do you understand, Flash? Is anyone there? Euvgeni? Souriin?"

An unfamiliar voice follows the bard's.
"It is Suwaya Illis here. I am standing hear Lord Euvgeni. He collapsed to the ground a few moments ago, and we have been unable to revive him. Freca heard the message about the dragon, and she..." Suwaya's words are cut short by yet another voice.
"Aster here, Souriin is also down. Who am I speaking to?"
"It is I, King Anwell," he responds, a firm tone of command in his voice. "Move Euvgeni and Souriin to safety, but do not let their absence stop you from doing what you need to do. Keep hold of the tubes and let me know what is happening on the walls."

22:33

At the first breach, one of Owen's elementals has blocked the path of the trolls, and a cheer goes up from the assembled defenders as a hail of flaming arrows descends on the trolls trapped behind it. From the fingers of a half dozen wizards leap forward magic missiles and several trolls fall. But more trolls leap forward to replace those that have fallen -- on one side of the first elemental, a troll is stuck by the flaming sphere and flailing wildly, it manages to set one of its companions alight too. On the other side, two trolls leap over the hastily piled rubble, and land inside the city. The dwarven pikemen raise their weapons and race forward. Even as the two trolls are pinned behind the wall of spikes, one of them manages to slash out with its greatsword and one of the dwarves goes down.

Inside the city, each of the the junior wizards from the University of Craft of Thought has fallen into place with three of the trained footsoldiers, as planned by Belimirar. Each of these quads stands ready to web trolls between buildings so that they can be burned with oil or pitch.

Out on the field, the shadows and elementals continue to thin the trolls' ranks. Yet another shadow-troll has risen to join its undead companions, but one more of the fire elementals has winked out, cut to shreds by the desperate trolls.

And then it happens... the trolls begin hurling their ball-shaped missiles. Not all of them clear the wall, but the effect of those that do is deadly. As each crystal orb smashes open, it releases a cloud of brown-coloured spores. Aster de Korbin has seen this substance once before and she screams a frantic warning into the tube she is holding... "The gods spare us... brown mold... the trolls are throwing brown mold at us..."

All along the wall, clouds of mold settle to the ground, drawing all of the heat from the the area around them as they do so. Goodman Dolhnam is unlucky enough to be hit on the chest by one of the deadly missiles. Instantly, his skin turns pale and he falls to the ground, an icy sheen covering his face and tunic. Although she is several feet away, Aster can feel the drop in temperature caused by the mold.

Not far from Tam the Archer, one of the crystal grenades lands in a bucket of heated pitch. With a whooshing sound, the bucket explodes outwards. Those nearby expect to be splattered with boiling liquid, but instead find themselves hit by icy shards. Where the bucket stood is now a large patch of the mold, and around it lie three motionless bodies, a white sheen apparent on their skin.

As if this onslaught were not enough, more beams of light shoot from the trolls and strike the walls. An immense chunk of wall, some thirty feet wide, is instantly vapourised. A half-score of defenders atop the vanished section plummet downwards even as the mass of trolls races towards the new hole...

Belimirar stands on the Rotan City walls, just a few yards away from the Command Centre. His heart is heavy. He has watched young Ten Quoril, one of the University's most promising abjurers, breathe his last breath as a troll-bolt smashed into his chest. He saw the expression on Jenny Murgats' face an instant before she fell to her death, the wall vanishing beneath her. He can see Kell Ursims' icy body, lying cold and still on the ground. He can still remember Kell's first day at the University, a nervous young man in awe at the famous magical institution.

Enough. Now is not the time for reminiscing. Bel pulls a scroll from his belt and reads the familiar script. A slight twinkle in the night air is the only sign that the spell has taken effect. That should protect this section of the wall and the Command Centre from any more of those missiles. Next, Belimirar raises the ceremonial staff of the Chancellor of the University. He waves his hand over the staff and speaks a few arcane words. Bright light bursts from the tip, and Belimirar holds the staff up high. He looks over his shoulder to the Command Centre where Freca is giving Euvgeni's crack teams some final instructions. And then, at the top of his lungs, Belimirar Wozacon-Ley shouts: "DEFEND THE CITY!"

High above the city walls, the bird-man Oorak circles. He has a unique view of the battle below. At the north end of the battlefield is the first breach in the wall. There, he can see fierce fighting, but the defenders' efforts are working. Only a few trolls have forced their way into the city -- the rest are still being held at bay. Oorak calls out to his friend Owen, and is worried when there is no reply. Then Owen stands clear and shouts back "one of the earth-men has fallen, but we are holding our own". Oorak gives him a supportive screech and then turns his attention elsewhere.

On the field outside the city walls, the brown trolls are still battling the fire elementals and the shadow creatures. Although the fire creatures are now dwindling in number, the ranks of the shadows are growing with every passing minute. The trolls seem powerless to fight back against the undead apparitions. Closer to the city, the trolls are firing more rounds of bolts at targets on the walls. Thankfully, however, they do not seem to have any more grenades.

As Oorak watches, he can see trolls begin to swarm into the city through the newest breach, not far from the Command Centre. It is clear that unless something is done to stem this tide, the defenders will be overrun with trolls in the next few minutes. The bird-man sends an urgent high-pitched signal to get Owen's attention. "Many trolls entering city," he communicates to the druid, "seven wingspans south of your position."

More than a dozen city blocks away, Tekuna Chand runs a practiced eye over her map. That should do the trick, she thinks to herself. She pulls out the black metal chain given to her by Nevril Leach, and for a moment she wonders where Nevril is now. "Probably somewhere a lot more comfortable than this...," she murmurs as she loops the chain into a figure-eight shape. She stretches the chain around King Anwell, herself and several of the Royal Guards and points at her hastily sketched map. There is a gentle popping sound, and the remaining guards find themselves standing alone on the streets of Rotan.

Panting, Lurik Mien stands at the edge of the second breach. The gap in the walls is some thirty feet wide and the trolls are swarming through the hole into the city. Lurik takes a deep breath, and focuses his energy. There is an angry bellow from the side and Lurik starts as a troll pulls itself up onto the wall next to him. A sharp whistling sound whizzes past Lurik's head and he sees an arrow embed itself in the troll's eye socket. As the troll topples backwards off the wall, Lurik sees Tam the Archer readying another arrow on the opposite side of the breach. Wasting no more time, Lurik begins to cast. Ignoring the chaos around him, he shouts the words of the spell. From each side of the breach, stone begins to flow. The two sides of the wall race towards each other as Lurik chants. Below him, trolls run headlong into the new walls. Lurik gasps and his vision is filled with red. There is a sharp pain in his lower torso. Drawing on his deepest reserves of strength, he finishes the last few syllables of the casting. The two sides of the wall meet in the middle, and the wall is sealed once more. Lurik looks down. He sees blood spurting from the wound. With an unusual detachment, he realises that one of the troll's bolts has passed right through him. He lets out a gentle sigh and collapses to the floor.

At the Command Centre, Suwaya kneels at Euvgeni's side, checking his pulse. Steady but weak. Nearby, Freca dispatches the three teams of crack troops and they race towards the trolls. Sir James Fortell leads the green group, Liam Grell leads the blue group and Ashfort Morn leads the red group. Each team contains at least one spellcaster, a handful of dwarves armed with nets and some of the city's best warriors. 

From above, Oorak watches as Ashfort's red group reaches the first troll. The dwarves hurl their nets over the creature even as Ashfort himself unleashes a violent flurry of blows on the troll. But their task is not easy... one of the warriors is felled by the troll's greatsword during the initial rush. The bird-man counts the trolls inside the walls, trying to estimate how many there are before they disperse deeper into the city. Four... eight... twelve... maybe two dozen in all. Not good...

Above the first breach, there is a 'whoosh' of air, and a massive form passes through the air above the battle. Reaching the walls, Ayak turns southwards and draws back his bony head. In a few more wingbeats he approaches the place where Lurik has just sealed the walls. Here, just outside the walls, is the densest grouping of trolls on the battlefield. As Ayak reaches the trolls, he lets loose a blistering stream of acid from his mouth. On the ground below, the trolls twitch and howl as the deadly acid eats into their bodies. A ragged cheer goes up from the City Walls, and the defenders race across the new section of wall to pour boiling oil and heated pitch on the ranks of the trolls below.

Thalakos stands on the city walls, silent. He scans the ranks of trolls, watching and waiting. And then he sees it -- beams of light arcing towards the walls once more. Not this time, he thinks. The plucky dwarven chanter picks out a delicate chord on the Lyre's strings and the sound of the notes echoes up and down the walls, much louder than it should be. The beams of light reach the walls, but instead of penetrating the stone, they zig-zag harmlessly across the surface of the walls. Thalakos smiles broadly as the defenders of the city let out another cheer.

Once in the Rotan Palace, King Anwell immediately climbs into his throne. The Royal Guards start as a blue haze envelops the King.
"Wait," says Percival Ellwold, leader of the Guards. "The King is unharmed."
Tekuna notices that Percival touches the signet ring on his right hand as he speaks, and with a start, she realises that her signet ring is also glowing very slightly. King Anwell speaks.
"Hello... can you hear me...?" His voice is unsteady, but clear.
Then Tekuna realises that the King's lips have not moved. Somehow, she is able to hear the King's voice in her head. And judging from Percival's surprised expression, she is not the only one...