Tarquin stumbled on through the thick snow. He couldn’t understand where all the noise was coming from, until he realized that likely every one of the castle guards and half the city watch were rattling toward him, sending the poor spooked animals into a frenzy.
The fastest watchwoman had her sword up, and she hollered something that Tarquin didn’t catch as she swung it into the golem’s neck. The blow would have decapitated a human, but the watchwoman’s sword barely dented the metal before the blade snapped in half. Faladir scythed his hand into her throat. She dropped, as broken as her sword.
The other soldiers hesitated, hanging back with their swords drawn.
“Use your bows!” That was Elora, leading them. “Careful of the mage!”
A guardswoman lifted her bow, nocked an arrow, and fired
