[coronatiger]

I retrieved my flight potion from my backpack, as well as my customary potions of speed, battle and invulnerability. As the potions were quite expensive, I only drank the flight potion. I put the others in my pouch. If the bandits managed to pin us down in the tower, I would quaff them, but if everything went according to the plan, I shouldn’t need them.

Va’lyndra grabbed hold of Leopold and then we rose into the air. His weight slowed her down, so I put on a show of aerobatics while we flew. We rose a couple hundred meters, then headed over to the encampment before starting to descend towards the tower roof.

When we were around eighty meters above the tower, one bandit decided to poke his head out and look up. I had no idea how he detected us, but I didn’t stop to think. I drew an arrow and shot the bandit in the face, making him slump over the battlement, but he didn’t fall all the way out. Ilzo began a free fall to accelerate faster than the potion would allow, but Va’lyndra and Leopold descended carefully. That was probably a good idea, as the only thing that prevented Leopold from falling was Va’lyndra’s arms.

Having stopped for a second to get off a steady shot, I was lagging behind Ilzo, so I dropped into a free fall, too. I shot past Va’lyndra and Leopold, and saw Ilzo starting to slow down under me. I used the potion to keep from accelerating further, but enjoyed the increased speed immensely. Someone in the tower banged on metal, shouting “Alarm!” when I was about ten meters above the roof.

Two bandits were sleeping on the ground, so I shot one of them while descending. Ilzo swooped inside the tower and I heard someone fire a crossbow, shouting “Arrg, they’re here!” I descended to outside the battlements and shot the man who had been clanging away, who was now backing off towards me from where Ilzo entered. The arrow penetrated completely and continued past Ilzo.

Ilzo stabbed at the last man standing, the crossbowman, with Surkalpi, but he missed. The crossbowman dropped his ranged weapon and drew a longsword instead, while shouting that we had entered the tower. I drew another arrow and shot the bandit, entering the tower, but the arrow plonked off his metal armor. Ilzo stabbed again, and while the bandit showed skill with the sword, Surkalpi slipped past his guard and skewered him. The bandit remained standing and took a step towards Ilzo, slicing the air with his sword.

I knew Ilzo would win this duel, so I drew another arrow and looked outside. I saw two bandits come out of a tent, and more were on the way. These hadn’t had time to put on armor, but they were armed with swords and shields. As I predicted, Ilzo’s next attack felled his opponent.

I shot one of the bandits emerging from their tents, and noticed a flash of light in the corner of my eye; Leopold had entered battle with his lightning wand. The bandits kept yelling that we were in the tower. Perhaps I should move, I thought. I drew another arrow and fired at the only bowman I could see, but I forgot to use the advanced technique I had learned to draw and shoot rapidly and precisely, so the arrow whizzed past the bandit and struck the ground.

I withdrew to the center of the tower, so the enemy archer couldn’t see me. Ilzo jumped down a hatch in the floor and told the bandit below, “You’re my shield today!” Leopold was on my level and saw that there were no opponents remaining, so he told Va’lyndra to descend another floor. A bandit shouted “Are we in control of the tower?” and Ilzo replied “Yes!”

Looking out the south side of the tower, I saw a bandit on the ground, just getting up, so I put him down again. Under me, I heard Ilzo destroy a shield, as well as the arm that held it. One of the bandits yelled that they had to chop down the tower.

From where I was standing, I could see chained prisoners, but no bandits, so I flew down the hatch, preparing yet another arrow. Ilzo, Va’lyndra and Leopold were there, as was a huge steam cannon. I took position between the cannon and one of the four columns that supported the tower. Ilzo was bending over a bandit on the floor and grabbing him. Leopold looked down the eastern ladder. Va’lyndra flew out towards the north-west just as chopping began under us.

I flew over to Leopold and grabbed him with my legs. “Ilzo! We’re leaving! Throw him out!” Ilzo flew out over the southern battlements and dropped the bandit. Leopold shot a lightning bolt down the exterior ladder. From the west, a voice ordered, “Flee up the tower!”

I followed Ilzo, carrying Leopold between my legs. The added weight made me lose more than half my speed. Ilzo dropped to the ground, landing on the bandit. “Hello, there!” he said to the bandits under the tower. Leopold asked if we should let Ilzo deal with them and head over to a side tower. On the other side of the central tower, I could hear Va’lyndra had engaged the enemy, for they cursed, calling her elf swine.

In the east, an armored bandit appeared from behind a tent and ran towards the ladder at the eastern palisade tower. Under Leopold and me, several bandits stopped chopping up the tower supports and charged Ilzo. I fired at the armored one to the east, but twisted my legs so Leopold could assist Ilzo. Leopold tried to twist back and asked me to fly towards the tower, so I assumed Ilzo was doing all right. In fact, he had done a whirlwind attack that felled three of the four bandits, and severely wounded the fourth.

The armored bandit began to climb, so I shot him in the back, making him fall off the ladder. Leopold took aim at him, in case he wasn’t dead. The voice from the west ordered, “Kill them!” This made two scantily clad women charge Ilzo. They were unarmed. I hoped Ilzo wouldn’t kill them, as they were obviously under the same spell as the villager we had met before. I flew back inside the tower and put Leopold down. I apologized quickly for not being able to do as he wanted. Leopold ran over to the eastern ladder and looked down.

To the north-west, Va’lyndra screamed in terror and took flight. Something had really spooked her. The armored bandit was getting up, so I put another arrow in him and he dragged himself behind a tent. Leopold ran past the cannon and looked out to the west. To the north, two bandits were climbing up to the palisade. The first jumped off and whimpered loudly when he landed. I shot the other one in the back.

Leopold told me to help him down, so I flew over and grabbed him with my legs again while he put away his wand. We flew down to the ground on the western side of the tower. To our right, a small rain of ice daggers was pummeling two lifeless bodies. Va’lyndra had managed to do some good before fleeing, at least.

Leopold pointed to the tent in front of us and said we had to take out the one hiding there. It had to be the mage, so I whispered to Leopold to get fire bombs from Ilzo and throw them at the tent. Ilzo was just a few meters away, pinning one rabid hostage to the ground with each hand. Leopold ignored me, though, and drew his knife before moving towards the tent determinedly. I flew up in the air to cover him from above as he skirted the tent, but there was nobody behind it. Leopold looked up and asked me to search for a man in a fancy night gown.

I ascended while Leopold cut a hole in the tent. The mage inside cast a spell, so I fired an arrow through the roof, hoping to get lucky. Leopold ran around to the front of the tent and I shot again. I missed again. At least I heard no yelps of pain. I shot one last time just as Leopold entered the tent, but then I had to stop, for I didn’t want to risk hitting Leopold. Instead, I moved towards the center of the camp, to a better position.

Leopold came out of the tent a couple of seconds later with blood on his knife. He called over to Ilzo, reminding him that he could fly away from the girls. He should find the armored bandit instead of bothering the hostages. Since I was closer, and knew where he had been not many seconds ago, I flew past his tent and looked down. He was still there, but he was not down. He saw me, just as I saw him, and interposed his shield, but my arrow pierced it completely. Aside from the two mind-controlled hostages, I didn’t think there were any more enemies inside the palisade, so I continued shooting at the bandit until he stopped moving. Then I flew out to check on the one that had jumped off the northern palisade. He had made it almost to the forest. I put an arrow in his back.