Velma rushed out of the shrine with Athena and Beatrix close behind. The three of them moved with the sharp focus of people who already knew the day had turned against them.
From the northwest, where the low hills pressed against the edge of Gulchtown, more than a hundred Orcs poured down the slopes in a green tide. The Fondel forces—elves and human soldiers mixed—were already locked in the fight.
Steel rang against crude iron. Shouts and wet grunts rose over the morning air. Dust and blood already stained the ground. The smell of open wounds and Orc sweat carried on the damp breeze. Somewhere a horse neighed horribly and went silent.
Velma found Captain Joan near the front lines, tightening the straps of her armor with quick, practiced hands. "How did they come from the hills?" she asked.
