But the riders did not come.
"Come on!" Edilus rasped, trying to lift Horial once more and cross the few remaining paces to the ruins. The sergeant looked around and saw that the cavalry had retreated under a hail of bolts and missiles from the group at the base of the ruins. They were reforming, though, and the infantry was moving in, coming straight at the tiny band of defenders with bows and swords brandished.
Horial limped beside the druid, who had the sergeant's good arm wrapped around his shoulders. Dizzy with pain, Horial could barely tell how close they were to the safety of the crumbling walls, and he expected at any moment to feel the sharp pain of more arrows piercing his flesh from behind.
After what seemed like an eternity, the pair reached the wall. Adyan took Horial's other arm and helped Edilus bear him into the structure while the remaining defenders continued to fire their weapons at the onrushing foes.
"Where's the portal?" Horial asked, fumbling in his pocket for the shard of quartz. He drew the fractured stone out and tried to hand it to Adyan. "Lead the way," he told his companion. "Go without me," he added.
Adyan shook his head. "We're all going back together," the man drawled, the scar along his chin shining faintly in the light of Selune. "Not leaving you here for those bastards to tear apart."
A cry of pain arose just on the other side of the wall, and when Horial turned to look, Grolo came dashing in through the gap in the stonework amidst a shower of projectiles. The dwarf looked Edilus squarely in the eye and said, "One of your mates is down, and the other, the wee fellow, went scampering through the grass in a blood fury. I don't think we'll see him again."
Edilus nodded but said nothing.
"Where's the thrice-damned portal?" Horial asked again. "We're out of time!"
"This way," Edilus said, turning and guiding Horial toward a partially collapsed flight of stairs. "The archway at the top," the druid said, pointing as they moved.
Horial eyed the top of the steps, for it looked as though the stairway was hanging by will alone and would fall over at the slightest push. "You're crazed," the sergeant breathed. "That will never hold us," he told the druid.
"It will," Edilus replied, "if you go one at a time."
"That doesn't help me," Horial said wryly, still leaning against the druid. "I don't think I can climb fast enough." He grabbed hold of Adyan's hand and slipped the shard of quartz into the man's palm. "Get up there," he said. "Get through the portal." Adyan started to protest, but Horial talked right over him. "If I make it, I make it, and if I don't… Vambran is counting on us."
Adyan gave his friend one measured look, then he nodded and spun around. "Let's go," he said to Grolo.
The dwarf turned and followed Adyan at a distance, waiting until the sergeant was at the top before proceeding.
Beside Horial, Edilus had drawn forth a totem, a bundle of twigs, leaves, and beads all tied together with strands of vine, and was chanting something indecipherable, his face turned heavenward and his eyes closed. Horial snuck a quick look toward the gap in the stone. The first shadows of moving figures were there, risking glances into the ruins, wary of attack from the defenders within. A lone swordsman stepped inside and rushed to the base of another crumbling wall, using it for cover. The figure gave a whistle and motioned for others to follow.
When Horial turned back to see what Edilus had planned, he saw that the druid had opened his eyes and was surveying the new arrivals. "Wait here," the woodsman said, then sprang up and launched himself forward, sprinting straight toward the wall behind which their enemies crouched.
If Horial hadn't heard the druid's command, he would have assumed that Edilus meant to throw himself among his enemies, going down fighting and buying the mercenaries the time they needed to escape. But the sergeant knew he would never reach the top of the stairs in time. Already, he was feeling light-headed from the wounds he bore. He watched, stunned, as Edilus rushed straight at the wall.
With a primal grunt of exertion, the druid slammed into the wall full on, driving his shoulder against it and making it shiver. The wall, already canted from time and neglect, shuddered. Edilus continued to push, snorting with the strain, even as the first of the enemy soldiers came around the end of the cover to confront him.
Horial managed to draw the line tight on his crossbow and cock it in place with his good hand. He pulled his last bolt from the quiver at his hip, slotted it, and took aim, balancing the weapon on his knee and holding it with one arm. The enemy soldier stepped closer to Edilus, drawing back his blade. The druid, involved in his own efforts, hadn't yet seen the man. Horial steadied the crossbow as best as he could and squeezed the trigger lever, sending the bolt flying.
The sergeant's aim was not true, but the shot managed to graze the soldier across the buttock. He yelped in pain and staggered as his intended strike was ruined. The blade slammed down against the stone wall with a clamor, inches from Edilus's head. The druid jerked away in surprise, and the resulting extra force seemed to overbalance the wall just enough. It began to sag away from the druid, rumbling as it teetered over.
The soldier standing next to Edilus gave a warning shout to his men, but the wall was already on its way down, crashing to the earth with a bone-jarring roar. Horial had no idea how many soldiers were caught beneath that deadfall, but he knew they had little chance to survive. Those who were lucky enough not to be inside the ruin yet would have to find a new entrance, for Edilus's efforts had sealed off the opening with rubble and dust.
The enemy soldier, limping, tried to retreat from Edilus, but he was not quick enough to jump out of the way of a ferocious kick from the druid. The man's head snapped sideways and he dropped like a stone. Edilus wasted no time checking whether his enemy had fallen unconscious or not. He raced back to Horial, who was trying to drag himself up the stairs.
"At the top," Edilus said as he bent and scooped Horial up like a bundle of laundry, "you must go through the portal on your own. I cannot touch you to help you through."
Horial grunted as the druid began to ascend the leaning, groaning staircase, taking the steps two at a time even with the burden of the wounded sergeant. "You're coming, too," the wounded man said, spying Grolo just beginning to step through the archway. "If you stay behind, you'll die."
"Then so be it," Edilus replied, not even breathing hard as he climbed. The staircase was beginning to twist and lean more, and Horial could feel the druid shifting his weight, trying to maintain his balance and reach the top before the whole thing gave way. "This is where I belong. I will stay."
"Don't be a fool!" Horial said. "If the fall from up here doesn't kill you, the soldiers will! Come through with us, and return to fight them another day!"
Edilus didn't say anything, for all of his energy, all of his concentration seemed to be devoted to making the last few steps. The stairs were dissolving, bits and pieces crumbling away as the main part of the staircase began leaning, falling. At the top, on a tiny ledge that had remained intact, Edilus set Horial down so the man could put his weight on his good leg. He tried to step back, give the sergeant some room, but Horial shook his head.
"Come on!" he shouted, just as a swarm of Silver Ravens poured into the open space below. Edilus shook his head in denial, but Horial wasn't having any of it. Grabbing the druid, he jerked the man toward him. At the same time, he reached out to fall through the portal, intending to drag Edilus with him.