Siege of Banua Day 4

 It was easy to follow the fresh tracks of the refugees. And it was also easy to note the fresher tracks of a huge number of beastmen; these tracks stayed with those of the refugees, an ominous confirmation of Bojing’s theory that Naransetseng was still alive and still being pursued.  Based on this, and seeing know other way to reach the Nergui refugees before the beastmen did, Bangqiu took the form of a falcon and soared into the sky.

Bangiqu, in falcon form, pulled away from his companions and before long had reached the horde of beastmen, half-encircling the Nergui encampment.  There was no fighting.  Instead, a group of wizened men wearing red caps and wielding long, barbed swords were parlaying with a number of Nergui warriors. Narnuteng was clearly the chief point of negotiation.  She stood alone on a small mound, eyes darting and hands twitching, at once terrified and terrifying, like a small animal ready to fight for its life..  The Nergui spearmen surrounding her – at a distance, were guarding her in both senses of the word, protecting her while preventing her escape.

Bangqiu soared higher into the sky directly above Naransetseng, and then resumed human form, using his magic boots to ease his freefall descent as he reached the earth. Using his magic understanding, he same Naransetseng a secret sign to persuade her that he meant no harm. Then he took hold of her, cloaked them both in a thick cloud and reascended into the gloomy sky. Enraged, the beastmen attacked the Nergui refugees . . .

 That evening and night, Bangqiu summoned all his natural human strength to hold onto Naransetseng, while his boots carried them higher into thin air and away from the terrible sounds of battle and slaughter below.  Naransetseng clung tightly to Bangqiu with arms and legs; her tears mixed with the stinging rain on both their faces. A steady wind from the east blew them into the mountains guardin the valley of the five fires.  When he was certain they were far from the battle and marauding beastmen, Bangqiu lowered them toward a grassy mountain slope.  Reaching the solid ground, they collapsed into exhausted slumber. 

By the time Bo-Jing and the war band reached the remains of the Nergui camp, the few survivors encountered were too traumatized to explain much of what happened.  The “deaf witch” had disappeared, and the beast men took vengeance by killing everyone they could before scattering to the four winds.  Bo-Jing thanked the survivors and convinced them to return with him to Banua, promising them his personal protection

As Bo-Jing would learn later, one of the four winds brought a group of beastmen, yeti, and fanged flying stags north to Banua. They attacked in a series of poorly-organized desperate raids.  Ganbaatar invited all non-combatants the take refuge within the inner walls.  Archers lined the outer walls and targeted the beastmen as they charged through the broken gate.  The beastman destroyed property and killed animals, but found no human victims in the outer town.  Nor could they reach the inner town.  Although the gates had been destroyed by the giant demon-badger, the pit it created was nearly impassable.  A line of brave warriors armed with spears on the other side of the pit made it a death trap for the attacking beastmen and yetis.  Most dangerous to Banua were the flying stags.  But, happily for Banua, the mercurial magician Hyamsam emerged from the shadows to protect his adopted home.  He blasted the flying monsters with magic missiles, a ball of fire, and a cloud of steam, killing several of them and driving the rest away.