Chapter 76: Renewed Hope
On the parapet of the sixth wall, Captain Dunn stayed where she was and watched through the darkness as the advance of the horde stopped.
It was difficult to see anything out there. But the disturbance in the night was so evident that it was impossible not to notice that someone was there, one patch of the dark churning while the rest of it stood still.
And then certain figures with dirty silvery armor moved within the horde, and the light from the wall caught them and came back dulled. Then there was the large scale destruction that made it evident someone was fighting something.
The sound was the worst of it. The loud sound of the bell. The sound of a building coming down on itself, floor into floor. It tormented her more than silence ever had, more than the thunderous step of the horde.
She clenched her hand on the parapet, the old stone cold and gritty under her palm, studying the darkness, and there were a few soldiers behind her who stood with horror on their faces and guilt underneath it.
"Have you confirmed that he is not in the wall."
The soldier by her right stepped forward.
"Yes, Captain. The old man smith testified that he left two nights ago after he helped sharpen his sword."
Captain Dunn glanced back at the soldier now.
"Marrick? That stubborn man who wouldn’t even forge swords for us, helped him?"
The soldier nodded frantically, while the others added.
"We saw him too, we witnessed it captain."
She stared at the distance, managing to see that the commanders of the horde were gathering, those people had been her commanders once, and staring at them filled her with so much grief that her hand went tight enough on the parapet to shake.
’Yemoraj, Oyke, Jim...’
She then glanced at the side of the street where a long sound of crash happened, there was a frown on her face. Like she was insanely angry at herself.
’If one man can halt the entire horde, by himself, what then in the world have we been doing? How have we been approaching this? We have lost all hope, sitting around and waiting silently for our death. I expected him to give up or be dead after two days, but he is really dealing significant damage to the tide. Even far more than we ever have.’
Her expression twisted with contempt towards herself, and anger came in behind it. She lowered her face for a moment, her hair falling over her face. The armor she wore was quite old, dried with blood too, the plates at the shoulder scoured pale where the straps had ridden them for years.
And the equipment of her soldiers was not in such a great state.
’Excuses... dead hordes don’t have a smith too.’
She inhaled... and then exhaled.
Then she raised her head and turned to her soldiers.
"Rally every man and woman that can work, leave the kids. For every others, we are going to assist that Climber, and take back our city."
The soldiers looked both elated and horrified, but didn’t question their captain, their voices were the only thing that rose and they shouted.
"Yes Captain!"
Before she turned back, she added.
"And someone call me Marrick. I can’t continue to condone his indifference in this situation."
The soldiers bowed and walked out, and the sound of them going down the stair steps carried a long way in a city that had stopped making any other noise.
Meanwhile Captain Dunn continued to study the night. The bell was still going somewhere below, ringing badly, like whoever had it was pulling with both arms and no rhythm. A few moments later, a voice, thick and old, came from behind her.
"You called for me captain."
Captain Dunn turned back to the man.
"You helped the Climber sharpen his sword."
He shrugged.
"It was the least I could do to someone who considered us humans. The rest of the Climbers saw us as disposable pawns, for them this is just a test to go higher in the Tower, you do know how they can get."
Captain Dunn responded with a frown.
"Yes, I do know how they can get Marrick. But you have been non-responsive in my request to have weapons made, to support us, clean and polish our armory."
The man chuckled.
"And still die at the end of the day."
He glanced at the horde and gestured at them.
"In this city, I am the finest blacksmith and look at what you have made of my works. You think, I will be willing to feed the dead more swords to take my life?"
Hearing that, the frown on Captain Dunn’s face simmered down.
The Smith stood tall, his chest heaving. He turned to the parapet and leaned on it, both forearms flat on the stone, the burn scars on the backs of his hands catching the wall light.
"That young man, looks to be far more in touch with reality than you all are. I like him... I think he will make a fine man to follow."
Captain Dunn saw the look in his eyes, and it upset her. Marrick was someone she wanted in her cahoots for the longest of time because of his skill as a Blacksmith.
The only Blacksmith in the city who was capable of enhancing an item and increasing its effects, and durability. It was said that he could even give items additional attributes but that was something he had never shown to anyone. Not for the council, not for her, not for the coin she had put on his counter and carried home again.
To watch him admire someone like that made her feel inadequate. But this time, she couldn’t fault him.
The man fighting there, certainly, was smarter, stronger and more courageous than she could ever be. And even though it was the most shameless thing to do.
She must survive, even if it came at the man’s stupidity, she and her people must survive, and that was why she would grasp onto the straws he had offered.
She stared deeply at the man and said:
"Then if not for me... for him... help us. He is going to die out there alone. But if we can back someone like that... maybe we have a chance of success, our equipment is dull from usage. Just a little touch from you will do... perhaps you could consider giving us a little enhancement too."
Marrick still gazed into the distance of the night even as Captain Dunn spoke. Out where the dark was churning, the bell stopped, and something out there kept happening without it. After a few moments, he leaned away from the wall and responded.
"Fine. Don’t expect so much though, my skills have gotten quite rusty."