Once more unto the breach

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more
Or close the wall up with our dead !
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility :
But, when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger.

We fight this night for Merrick, for the Free Kingdoms. Fortune has smiled on our little band, bringing us the aid of the bold and ferocious Durthen Morghen, who stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the weary and nervous troops of Merrick.

Our first mission took us above the northern wall section, under cover of invisibility, to eliminate four Hill Giants who were efficiently reducing that wall to rubble with an endless rain boulders. With four fighters in the fray, I stayed back and enhanced them with spells, reserving the greater part of my offensive might for a later battle. Our strategy worked better than I could have anticipated: Malakar, Ili, Borrow, and now Durthen are terribly effective, each in their own way, and I was left with time to amuse myself by wafting one of the fallen Giant's greatclubs around telekinetically.

Our next engagment, however, was no cakewalk. While we were trouncing the northern assault squad, the southern equivalent breached the wall, and the Nothrog army poured into the city. We were recalled to the central avenue to guard a wholly-inadequate barricade. Malakar and Ili took joint command of our forces (the four of us, Durthen, and four more rank-and-file soldiers armed with swords and bows), and wisely emplaced myself and the archers on the rooftops four stories above the street.

The attackers came in waves, first Nothrog, then mixed Nothrog and giants, and finally hobgoblins. Malakar yielded to his animal nature and became a fierce bear, Ili's fists were a constant blur, and Borrow darted in and out of the fight, striking the most vulnerable foes. Durthen displayed a spinning maelstrom of steel and mithral, staying up front in the thick of things.

Unfortunately, the barricade proved almost useless: the giants merely stepped over it, and the Nothrog and hobgoblins leapt past it with little difficulty. The true barrier was the wall of steel, sinew, and, uh, fur, that my companions formed. And while that wall held, things went well; again, I stayed back and prepared to assist should things get rough.

Half a minute into the pitched battle, a Nothrog spellcaster (a rude and rustic sorceror, I suspect) slunk out from behind a building and threw a Fireball past the barrier, scorching my friends. The archers and I responded with missiles mundane and magical, but didn't fell him, and he slipped back behind the wall. Knowing that he'd likely be back, we prepared to disrupt his next spell, and I dropped him decisively with a single lucky Scorching Ray when he poked his head around the wall.

Meanwhile, on the ground, things were slipping out of order. The giants were the worst of it -- they didn't hit often, but when they did the impact was almost overwhelming. First Malakar retreated, injured, and then hobgoblins swarmed in to fill the break. When Durthen fell unconscious, I feared that our defenses were about to fall apart.

Just then, Thaddeus informed us that the other positions were being overrun, and Merrick might be lost. As I was webbing the barricade to prevent a rout, he appeared on the roof next to me and let fly chain lightning with all his power, frying most of the hobgoblins and nothrog who had made it past the barrier. He explained that he was here to get us out of there, so I quickly ported us down to street level, where we collected Durthen and linked up for Thaddeus's teleport.

I do not know what to expect next. Fierce joy at our prowess in battle mixes with bitter regret that we could not better prepare Merrick against this foe. I can only laugh about the further foiling of our mercenary sensibilities -- we did not have time to salvage any of our foe's gear, so we are denied even that minor gain. I expect Malakar, with his determination to "leave no breastplate behind", is going to be terribly disappointed.