The whole party was at the table. Voekeer had insisted on seeing them off.  

“You held the wall by yourself for five hours. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of such a feat,” Voekeer said.  

“I’m not human, or mortal for that matter. I don’t think I count as far as feats go,” Anna replied.  

“True, but still, thank you,” he replied.  

“Please don’t thank me. They thank me. Just treat me like you always do,” Anna said, gesturing towards the townsfolk still at the inn.  

Voekeer looked shocked at first, but then understanding shown on his face. “Well, I hear you broke your club. Make sure you get another one. You make more of a mess barehanded,” he said in a stern voice, but with a smile on his face.  

“I will. Thokri is going to make me one.”  

“Aye, I’m going to make her a bar mace. It may hold up better,” he replied. Voekeer nodded at this.  

“Well, I’m going to thank you, whether you like it or not. You helped save him,” Lyreen said. She hugged Voekeer gently.  

“Can’t argue with that,” Anna replied and smiled at her.  

“I’m going to melt their fucking faces off today,” Elaine said.  

“Well, make sure you keep that outside the wall. I’ve got enough healing to do without diseases running rampant,” Barika added.  

“Yes, ma’am,” Elaine replied.  

They continued to talk, going over the plan for the day, before heading out.  

Anna and Thokri headed to the smithy.  

“All the metal here is shit, not fit to make a piss pot,” Thokri said.  

“You’d make me a metal piss pot?” Anna asked, knowing he was just complaining about the quality of the materials, but joking with the dwarf was fun.  

“Aye, lass. I’ll make you one from mithril, studded in gems. You’ll be pissing like the stone one’s wife,” he replied. They both started laughing.   

The bar mace looked exactly like the name implied: four flat bars of steel welded together with a wooden grip wrapped in leather. She swung it around, getting a feel for it.  

“Oh, this is going to be fun,” she said.  

“Aye, let’s see how far you can send their heads flying,” Thokri said.  

“They just splatter. I need to find something tougher to hit,” she replied. Thokri just shrugged in response.  

They met Elaine at the wall.  

“Oh, nice. Where did you get that?” Anna asked.  

Elaine was wearing a thin black dress that clung tightly to her body. “The seamstress made it for me. She thought I should look the part of a necromancer hero,” Elaine said as she spun around.  

“I can’t believe you went sleeveless,” Anna said.  

“I know, but it works. Anyway, I was there to get more dresses for you. She took the bloody one you had on the first day and was able to make three more using it as a pattern. I put them on your bed,” Elaine said.  

“Thanks,” Anna replied.  

They strode onto the wall, Elaine in the lead. Cheers erupted when she was spotted. She waved at the men, then looked over the bloody field to see the goblin army waiting just out of bow range.  

Anna took a stone from a large basket that had been placed on the wall for her and took aim at a goblin far in the rear. She threw the stone with such force that a loud cracking sound could be heard as it sailed away. A moment later, the goblin fell over without a head. This caused quite the commotion amongst their ranks.  

“You riled them up good with that one, lass,” Thokri said.  

“Wanted to make sure they know they aren’t safe anywhere. They are all going to die,” she said coldly.  

Thokri just patted her shoulder and turned to look at the goblins again. “It’s going to be a lot of killing,” he said.  

“Aye,” Anna replied.  

The fighting began soon after. The sight of the women seemed to incense the monsters.  

“I don’t think they like us, Elaine,” Anna said.  

“Not at all,” Elaine replied.  

The fighting was fierce with the zombies pushing the goblins back and then being cut down. The goblins would then surge forward only for more zombies to rise. Anna threw rocks at any goblin that Thokri pointed out. She also killed any archer that she saw.  

Elaine did indeed start to melt faces off the goblins when the battle turned into a stalemate. Other than some amusing screaming, it didn’t help much.  

“They make a fun gargling sound when you do that,” Anna said.  

“You’re being weird,” Elaine replied.  

“Sorry, and thanks,” Anna replied.  

The battle raged on. She ran out of rocks in the late afternoon. The largest man she had ever seen carried a full basket to her and placed it down. He was as tall as Voekeer with arms bigger around than her waist.  

“He’s huge,” she thought.  

“Here, you send them all to the black god for us,” he said in a deep voice.  

“I will,” Anna replied. The man smiled at Elaine who smiled back.  

The fighting lasted late into the night when they suddenly heard horns blowing and the goblins pulled back.  

“Gonna be a long night. Got to watch the bastards. They didn’t run this time,” Thokri said. Elaine looked like she was ready to pass out right there.  

“Take her back to the inn. I’ll keep watch,” Anna said. He looked at her for a moment before leading Elaine away.  

Anna stood at the edge of the wall watching. Her feet were slightly apart. Her hands clasped behind her back. She didn’t move, didn’t blink. Her breath slow and steady. She had given up imitating people for the moment and simply stood there like a statue. She had withdrawn the tentacles and was looking with an eye as well as her own.  

The goblins had settled in for the night at the edge of the forest. She was tempted to kill a few with stones just to keep them on edge but didn’t want to antagonize the beasts and cause a charge, so she just watched.  

A man was walking to her with a blanket in his hands.  

“Miss, are you cold?” he asked.  

“No, I don’t get cold,” she replied.  

He shivered as he approached the wall, a slight breeze blowing over the edge.  

“Put it on. You’ll get sick,” she said. She still hadn’t turned to look at him, just watching him with the eye. He looked around, then wrapped the blanket over his shoulders, walking to the edge to look over.  

“I doubt he can see anything,” Anna thought.  

“Are you scared?” he asked.  

“Am I? No, not really. They can’t hurt me. But I don’t want my friends to die, and I don’t want these people to either,” she thought.  

“Yes,” she replied. She was worried for everyone else.  

She turned to look at him. She was wrong. He wasn’t a man yet, just a teenager, and he had tears running down his face.  

“My father was on the wall. He didn’t make it,” he said. She hugged him. He was taller than her and put his head on top of hers for a moment and then backed away.  

“I’m sorry,” she replied, not knowing what else to say.  

“I don’t want to die,” he said.  

“I won’t let that happen,” she said.  

He turned to look out towards the goblins. His face twisted in sudden rage. “I hate them. They all deserve to die,” he said and turned to walked away.  

“I’m so confused,” she thought, not understanding the conversation at all. “Why was he so sad, then so angry?” she thought looking back to the goblin camp.  

Thokri and Elaine met her on the wall the next day.  

“Were you here all night?” Elaine asked.  

“Yes,” Anna replied.  

“You can head back for some rest. We can keep watch,” Elaine replied.  

“I’m not tired,” Anna replied. She wasn’t, and she wasn’t really that hungry or thirsty either. Thokri offered her his flask. She drank out of it and passed it back. She couldn’t get drunk and may not need to drink either, but the flavor was comforting in its familiarly.  

“They hid in the forest all night,” Anna said. Thokri spit in response. The battle that day was much the same, fighting into the night before the horns blew and her friends went back to the inn. She remained on the wall, ever watching, like some oddly shaped gargoyle.  

The days dragged on. The goblins repulsed each day, but on the fifth day, something changed. Not amongst the monsters, but with the townspeople.  

A general malice had descended upon the place. It was hard to tell anything was amiss, but the cheers at Elaine’s arrival had stopped. Soon after, the good-natured banter amongst the men had quieted down. Men had stopped visiting her to chat, merely asking the state of the enemy now. Everything was still getting done, but it was as if the people were just going through the motions of life without any feeling anymore.  

“Just like me when I first formed,” she thought. “What’s wrong with them?” she asked.  

Thokri looked around and came close to her. “They are losing heart, lass. Just stuck here seeing who runs out of people first, us, or them,” he told her, gesturing towards the town and then the army.  

They fought on. The days turned into weeks, each much like the last. The goblins seemed endless, swarming out of the forest by the thousands every day.  

“Where are they all coming from? I thought they were just pests!” Elaine yelled.  

“Lass, this place is only settled near the roads. Who knows what’s out there in the wilds?” Thokri yelled back.  

The goblins seemed different today. They fought more fiercely than in the previous weeks. It wasn’t the cold. They didn’t seem to mind, even though winter was in full swing and the first snows had fallen, covering the field. It was stained red immediately upon touching the ground. No, it was something else. She looked across the field, and the rear line seemed to sparkle.  

“MAGES!” she cried, but it was too late. It looked as if a wall of fire was headed their way. She wrapped herself and her friends in tentacles and lifted them off the wall.  

The explosion was terrible. She saw the fire wrap around her and her friends, but the tentacles protected them, seemingly just as immune to this world as her.  

She placed Thokri and Elaine down behind her in the forming lines next to the broken wall. They would have to repel them there. Elaine scurried behind the line, and Thokri began to shout in common and dwarven to get the line formed up faster. The men seemed to understand him, regardless of the language he spoked.  

She emptied the basket of rocks as quickly as she could, trying to kill of the mages. She heard screaming and looked at what remained of the walls. Men were on fire, desperately trying to put themselves out. Most failed, simply falling over dead. She just stared for a moment and then set herself down near Thokri.  

“All the zombies are gone, and so is the first line of goblins. I don’t think any of the men on the wall survived,” she said.  

“Aye,” he replied sadly.  

A thunderous cry carried over the remains of the wall. The goblins started to stream into the town, most being torn to shreds by tentacles, but their number were so many that hundreds still poured through.  

“Hold fast lads! Let them come to us!” Thokri yelled.  

Anna wasn’t in the line, so she dashed off to meet the oncoming hoard. She fought them with no regard for her own safety because she didn’t have to regard it. She killed them by the dozens, sending limbs and heads flying with each swing of her mace.  

She lost track of time. She saw an armored figured. It was a goblin. It pointed at her and started to sparkle. Before she knew it, she was surrounded in flames. The beast was laughing. She flung her glowing mace at it. It batted it away with a huge two-handed sword.  

She ran at the monster with a scream, stopping it’s blow dead, and then snapping the sword in half, tossing the pieces away. It backed away.  

“YOU DIE!” she yelled, wrapping tentacles around its limbs. Then she tore the breastplate open with ease and started to rip the screaming creature apart.  

After reducing its chest to shreds, she yanked its head off, helmet and all, and held it aloft, hoping to terrify the other goblins into fleeing. Upon looking around, she noticed the only goblins around were lurching unnaturally, obviously undead. She turned to see the whole line of men staring at her wide-eyed.  

“Um, I got it,” she said.  

The men erupted into cheers, rushing forward and lifted her off the ground, tossing her up in the air repeatedly.  

She began to giggle. It reminded her of the tentacles.  

“Put her down, you louts!” Elaine yelled.  

The men set her down and backed away, looking sheepish. Elaine just looked at her.  

“What?” Anna asked. Elaine looked down at her chest. Anna followed her gaze. “Oh, it burned off my dress. Damn, my belt is gone too,” she thought. She just shrugged at Elaine who rolled her eyes.  

“Can I get a bucket? I got goblin on me again,” Anna asked. Some of the men rushed off.  

“I’ll go get you some clothes,” Elaine said.  

“No need. I’ve been on that wall for weeks. I don’t care. Let’s go back to the inn,” Anna replied. Elaine looked at the carnage around her and just shrugged.  

“I sent the zombies after what was left. They will keep hunting the goblins till they rot away. We will stay here for a while longer to make sure they don’t come back,” Elaine said.  

Anna washed up using the bucket, then dried herself with a cloth before handing it back to a confused man. Elaine kept looking at her chest.  

“What?” Anna asked.  

“I thought you didn’t get cold?” Elaine said. Anna looked down.  

“Oh, those. They just do that sometimes. Usually when I jump in a river or the wind blows,” Anna answered.  

“Oh,” Elaine said. They continued to the Inn.  

The people were all cheering, but they had a thin look to them.  

“Must be running low on food. Wait, when did I eat last?” she thought, then shrugged.  

They had reached the Inn. Voekeer and Lyreen were at a table. When they spotted the women, they paused for a moment, and then looked like they decided on something. Elaine and she sat at the table.  

“Has anyone seen Thokri?” Anna asked.  

“He is searching the town with some men. He will be here later,” Elaine said. A small plate of food was brought out for each of them, and Anna wolfed it down. She felt bad about eating what little food these people had, but it had been weeks for her, and she was hungry.  

“When did you eat last?” Voekeer asked.  

“Breakfast the third day,” Anna replied.  

“WHAT?” Elaine gasped. She then reached over and pinched the skin on Anna ribs. Anna looked at her.  

“Why did you do that?” she asked.  

“You haven’t lost a pound,” Elaine said.  

“No. I can’t change, remember?” Anna replied. Elaine blinked a few times.  

“That’s right,” she said.  

Thokri came in next and sat down, still in his armor and covered in goblin blood. He took off his helmet and looked at Anna.  

“Heard you killed the leader,” he said.  

“Aye,” she replied.  

“Burned your gear?” he asked.  

“Yes, lost the belt and everything in the pouches. Didn’t have much though. I put my stuff in my pack like you said,” she answered.  

“Good lass,” he said and patted her on the arm.  

Barika was the last to return, looking truly exhausted. She plopped down and asked for food. It was quickly brought to her.  

They told each other of the weeks they had spent apart. Lyreen had been rushing from wall to wall to kill any that thought sneaking around the sides was a good idea. Voekeer joined her after he recovered. Barika had been healing and purifying water the whole time. She even delivered a few babies. The three of them on the main wall told their story last.  

“You got blown up?” Lyreen asked.  

“Yes, those tentacles saved us though,” Elaine replied. She had gotten used to them over the last few weeks.  

“That must have been a sight. Wish I could have seen it,” Voekeer said.  

“Which part, the men burning to death screaming or calling for their mothers, or the broken bodies strew around?” Anna replied.  

Voekeer paled. “I, I didn’t mean it that way,” he said.  

“It’s alright, lad. She was up on that wall for weeks, the whole time, with no break. She knew those men. Can’t fault her for being bitter about their end,” Thokri said.  

“He’s right. That’s what I’m feeling,” Anna thought.  

“Survivor’s remorse. It happens to many soldiers. It might be different for you, but it’s close. Just talk to us about it, ok?” Barika said.  

“One thing has been bothering me,” she said.  

“What’s that, child?”  

She took a deep breath and told them of the boy on the third night.  

“Grief. He was sad at the loss of his father, and the goblins were responsible. He thought that if they were gone, the sadness would leave him as well,” Barika said.  

“Will it?” Anna asked. “No, only time heals that,” Barika said.  

Elaine looked around the room and then smiled. She got up and walked over to a man. It was the huge one from the wall.  

She whispered something in his ear. He turned red and started to smile and nod. She took his hand and led him to her room.  

“If that’s not the definition of farm lad, I don’t know what is,” Voekeer said.  

“Farm lad...he’s the king of farm folk,” Thokri added.  

“He may survive the night then,” Barika added.  

“I wonder what she’s doing,” Anna thought.  

“OH, GODS, HARDER!” Elaine cried out in pleasure from her room. Everyone started to clap.  

“Oh, that,” Anna thought. Her cries went on for more than an hour.  

“I hope she has some potion,” Lyreen said.  

“I’ll make some up for her,” Barika replied.  

“No need,” Anna said.  

“Why?” Lyreen asked. Barika had a curious look as well.  

“Death magic. Can’t get with child unless she stops using it for months,” Anna answered.  

The women nodded in understanding. A few minutes later, the cries started up again.  

“How in the name of the Tree?” Lyreen asked.  

“Lass was pent up. Must have been a while,” Thokri said.  

“If that’s what she likes, she may need to get her fill here,” Voekeer said.  

“Sounds like she is,” Thokri answered. They all just shrugged, chatting before going to bed for the night.  

The tentacles were so happy that it was over, and the eyes twinkled down at her.