The most critically wounded were moved to the hospital at last. The extreme size and strength of the Blemmyae meant that any wounds against a human target would mean the complete removal of a limb. A life with such a crippling injury was a grim prospect. Unlike Bron, they didn’t know any orc mages who could grant them the use of a magical limb. As this grim task began behind them, the foreman introduced himself as Delmar. Rhun and Bron introduced themselves, asking what he wanted them to do.

He pointed to the half-destroyed house. “We’re demolishing this house and using it for repair materials.” 

“What happened to put such a large hole in the wall?” Bron asked. “The blacksmith said something about a giant warlock.”

“An explosion erupted this morning. Nearly immediately, a horde of blemmyae poured through the wall,” he explained, cryptically. 

“They have mages?” Rhunal asked with surprise. “Isn’t that something only humans know?”

“Oh no. That would be really bad for us. They are far too stupid for magic, even if they had gods to grant it.”

”So if they didn’t destroy the wall, then someone sabotaged it. That would be another big problem,” Bron observed.

”Is that why the mayor asked us about a party of orcs?” Rhun asked. “Who I don’t know anything about by the way.”

Delmar started moving his hands excitedly. “It was the damnest thing. The tall one leading the orcs did know magic. He raised his palm towards our guildmaster and cast a fireball at him. But Kyvril didn’t become the best scout on the frontier by letting himself get hit by a slow spell like that. Kyvril never let this wizard cast another spell. He brought the fight to the blemmyae to use them as cover. He’s the only one in town who could survive challenging those creatures in a close melee.” 

He gestured to the scattered parts of the house. “Anyway, I need to get you set up for something. You both seem strong, so I’ll task you with some demolition. The rest of this house needs to be collapsed. That rope you’ve got might even help.”

They began with the parts that weren’t still standing, piling them near the breach in the wall. And then Bron saw blood. “This place was occupied? I heard someone mention that this was the Guildmaster’s house.”

Delmar frowned, “He wasn’t in the house, of course. But his wife was standing in this half of the house and his children were inside as well. She was killed instantly and Kyvril found her in the opening stages of the attack. He became distraught. The blemmyae had already begun pouring through the wall. The pair of orcs were through next, and a couple people said they took the children with them. Not sure if that’s true, but they are gone. The Guildmaster dove into the midst of the creatures alone. We never saw him fall, but nobody could survive that.”

”He is the one we came to talk to.” The she-orc said gloomily. “And you haven’t found a body?”

”No sign of it. The man is a monster, but I wouldn’t expect to see him again,” he said with finality.

”Why would they take the Guildmaster’s children?” Bron asked.

”How should I know?” he said. “The Blemmyae are known them to be maneaters, but I doubt that would be enough of a reason to take them. We don’t even know if they were even alive when they were taken.”

Rhun gritted her teeth. “No wonder he left. Bron, what do we do if he doesn’t return?”

”We make other plans.” Bron shrugged.

Delmar pointed to his crew, further down the wall. ”I’ve gotta go help my people. When I get back, we’ll figure out a way to topple the rest.”

Once he was gone, Rhunal wandered over to the breach in the wall. The palisade was constructed of the thickest and tallest trees. It would have taken an incredible explosion to blast through. The logs were held together by a three thick metal bars that stretched horizontally on the inside. One bar had been blasted off the wall and bent by the explosion.

Using nails, the pair hammered a rough wall over the outside of the breach. But it wasn’t likely to stop even a single one of the creatures. Rhun glanced around, seeing Delmar and his crew were occupied. “Hey Bron. Keep an eye out for me. Pretend to work or something.”

“Pretend? What are you up to Rhunal?”

“Look, this ramshackle pile of wood won’t stop shit. But I’ve got this big long bent iron bar here. And I have a feeling I can reshape it into something more sturdy.”

“They’ve already got a mysterious explosion. If they discover that you’re a mage, this will all get worse.”

“Most of them are scouting the outside, making sure the blemmyae are gone. The rest are patrolling the top of the wall or seeing to the wounded.”

"Damn it Rhunal! You’re just curious if you can do it, aren’t you?"

She grinned impishly. "Well yes. But if it helps them too, all the better. Alright now, run interference.”

Rhun placed her hands on top of the bent iron bar, Bron lifted up a large flat piece of wood to block the view of the others. A dark, heavy smoke crept around the edges of the iron as it warped. Rhun considered straightening it, but got a better idea. The bar bent on its own, first one bend, then another; it hardened and stretched out. Eventually it was a longer and narrower bar than before, but shaped like a wide W. The metal smoke in the air fell quickly to the ground, hiding her magic.

Bron had found more boards that could be pulled away from the damaged house. He still kept watch for her and glanced back. “How does that shape help close the gap? And how can you nail it?”

”It becomes its own nails. But I need your help to keep pressure on it. Is anybody coming?”

He glanced around. “All clear, despite the metallic smell in the air.”

”Keep that big board standing somehow and help me.”

Bron dragged enough wood over to prop up the flat piece of wall. With a mighty heave, they lifted the thick metal W until it pressed against their rough wood barrier. Rhun placed both hands against it once more. She influenced the folded bar to extend metal thorns from itself, piercing into the wood. The bar was pushed away from the wood by the pressure, but Bron slammed a shoulder into it, sinking it in. 

Through magic, Rhun could feel the iron thorns as they extended further. She felt the strong points of the wood resisting her and directed the metal thorns to avoid them, following the grain of the wood. And then these thorns pierced through to the other side of the logs. Directing them to bend, she pinned them the back side of their wooden barricade tightly. On each side of the barricade, extra metal thorns pushed into the logs surrounding the breach, locking their barricade in place. 

She stepped back to admire her handiwork.

“Will it hold?” Bron asked.

“Will it hold?” she mocked, panting from her efforts. “The metal runs through the wood like the two are one. You wouldn’t be able to separate them without blowing the whole thing up again. If I had to guess, I’d say this part is even stronger than before.”

”By Inferno that is quite a fix. But, maybe we should cover it all up. I still think this idea is not in your best interests.”

Rhun stared at her handiwork for a moment, “Yeah, we might be showing our hand too early. But, it is pretty neat isn’t it?”

He reluctantly nodded. "It is, but the whole 'dark-smoke' aspect of this spell will not convince any of the townsfolk of your good intentions. Let's keep a lower profile from now on?"

"Alright. I've had my fun," she conceeded.

Together they covered up the big metal W with a series of other boards nailed around it. By the end it looked like nothing more than a crude wood barricade.