Fionn watched the six centaurs galloping towards the mist-shrouded city out of the side of his vision with grim satisfaction as he spun his war axe in a vicious circle, cutting a swathe through the nearby manikins. He hoped that he hadn't sent the young human on a suicide mission a second time, but the sheer number of enemies the Starchasers were currently fighting made it a slim hope at best. Even in his worst nightmares he did not expect this many enemies; where had they all come from? The city had been closed off by powerful wards for more than a decade, how had the Taig managed to amass an army this size? And how was it controlling all of them?
His musings were cut short by a series of loud, almost explosive WHUMPs among the legions of manikins pressing towards the centaur warband. Undead were sent flying from points all around the encircled centaurs, and at first he assumed it was the work of the magi above. Then he saw one of them: a nearly three and a half meter tall statue with ridged wings, like a bat, rose from the center of one of the impacts. It swung its fist in a casual backhanded slap and a manikin crumpled to the ground, its head caved in. A gargoyle! Here? Why? The Sapphire Sky Horde never left their territory or involved themselves with their neighbors, and their lands were on the other side of the Starchaser territory! Something deeper was going on here, and Fionn loathed being involved in a military campaign without knowing all the details.
Fortunately, it looked like some answers might be headed his way, as the gargoyle had spotted him and was marching through the teeming mass of zombie plant flesh like it were water. Hip-deep water, maybe, but still the manikins parted before the creature as it reached down and punched or threw them aside. They scrabbled and scratched and clawed and bit at the living statue, but to no apparent effect. Fionn readied his axe, just in case, but if the gargoyles had wanted to attack them, at least one would have landed among the centaurs, and besides, his axe was just plain steel; it would hardly be much more effective against a creature made of enchanted stone than the claws and teeth of the manikins.
When it drew close enough to be heard over the din of battle, the gargoyle called out to Fionn, "Know that I am called Alektryon, of the Sapphire Sky. Are you the Starchaser known as Fionn Ironhide?"
"I am!" He called back, dispatching another manikin.
"And is there a young, male human among your warband? His name is not known to us, but his presence was felt."
Maybe not answers, after all, then, but rather more questions. Fionn hesitated a moment before answering, "I know of whom you speak, but he is not present at this battle."
By now the gargoyle was close enough for Fionn to make out the strangely resonant quality of its voice as it replied, "But he is nearby. The city, then. Good, Sarpedon is already there. Be not concerned, Fionn Ironhide, we mean no harm to any of the Starchaser tribe nor to the human. For now, it appears that you are fighting a close battle. Please allow us to assist you in removing this filth from the Realms." So saying, the creature flapped its wings, knocking back several manikins which were attacking it from behind, and leaped into the air, then began to swoop down and through the swarm of undead before rising into the sky once more.
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