Chester, Buxton and Zacharias were the last of the agents left on the ground, the others having now successfully scaled the wall. This was good, as the three of them were quickly reaching exhaustion under the constant waves of infected. The earth beneath their feet had already turned to into a slippery foul mixture of mud, blood and guts, and now each of them had to take extra care not to slip over. 

[b]“Everyone’s up but us. Mind if we get moving ourselves?”[/b] Zacharias panted as he slashed at yet another corpse, his rapier slicing through the creature’s face like butter. The cut was only superficial though and Zacharias was forced to follow up the attack by smashing his buckler against the existing wound. 

[b]“I think that would be a good idea!”[/b] Buxton replied, tapping Chester on the shoulder in case he didn’t realise they were moving back. The trio fell back towards the section of wall where the others had climbed up, making a small defensive circle. At this range those above the wall were really able to relieve the pressure, with some using ranged attacks and some having even found spears. 

[b]“After you, my Lady.”[/b] Zacharias offered with a slight smile. Even with the chaos he still seemed able to keep an air of cockiness, although it was almost whipped away from his as a large armour clad man tried to grab him by the neck. Fortunately Zacharias was able to shove the tip of his rapier up through the bottom of the man’s jaw and into his skull, before Sir Chester lent a hand by throwing the corpse into a few more of the zombies.

[b]“As soon as I’m up you both follow!”[/b] Buxton ordered, ignoring the Dawnish man’s charm. Not bothering to use the rope or knives, she turned and ran up the wall, catching the hand of Gewain. Within seconds she was lifted up to the same platform as the others. She wanted to stop for a moment to rest and catch her breath, but she couldn’t afford such luxury. [b]“Gewain! Drusus! Sarah! Help the last two up! Everyone else give them cover!”[/b] she shouted her orders as loudly and clearly as she could, hoping that her agents had a calm enough mind-set to still follow orders.

Meanwhile Chester and Zacharias had found themselves getting closer and closer until they were practically shoulder to shoulder. Heavy streams of sweat flowed down each of their faces, their muscles burned and felt tight under the continued stress of battle, and their throats had become coarse through shouting. They were both veteran soldiers though and their stamina held strong. Chester continued to thrust his sword out from behind his shield in an almost mechanical and robotic motion, with each extension of his blade felling yet another foe. 

[b]“Go!”[/b] Chester roared, shunting his shoulder backwards into Zacharias to get his attention. The Dawnish man didn’t need to be told twice, quickly climbing the rope until he was up high enough for the others to grab at him and pull him up. That left Chester alone with his back against the wall, now having to frantically fight off the undead from all directions. The infected kept managing to clasp their jaws around his arms and legs, but failed to bite through his armour. He found himself using every moveable limb to shake free and smack the infected away. 

[b]“Stand back!”[/b] commanded Drusus, stepping forward and taking position atop of where Chester stood. He had yet to demonstrate his magical abilities in front of the others, wanting to keep it discreet. But in the end he knew it was inevitable, and by acting now he might gain the trust of those around him. He took a long drawn and deep breath, trying to remember his teachings. He focussed on the truths of magic (as he knew them) and the energy flowing throughout him and his stave. Then, thrusting forward his free hand, projected a blast of air at the enemies below. Chester himself struggled to stay upright as the blast from behind sent his attackers tumbling over. Drusus followed this up immediately with a blast of fire, scorching those that were already beginning to scramble up towards Chester again. This display did not turn the tide of battle, but it was enough to give Chester a chance of escaping. The knight quickly turned and swung his large shield over the wall before climbing up the robe as quickly as his weight would let him.

[b]“Fuck me, that was a close one.”[/b] exhaled Buxton, glad to see her comrade in one piece. 

Chester did not respond to her though, and rather shot a glare at Drusus. It was not a thankful look or even one of surprise, but rather one of condemnation. He did not care that the mage had saved his life – he was a mage, and all mages were capable of great evil. [b]“This isn’t over yet. These walls might hold for a while, but the gate will be the first thing to go. We need to secure it.”[/b] He said with a cold voice as he rose to his feet, his attention now turned back to their leader. 

[b]“Agreed; if it goes we’ll need to keep the infected in the bottleneck. Mathis and Gwenyfar, with me. The rest go with Sir Chester to the gate. Do whatever you can to stop them getting in!”[/b]