Day 13: Zombie Fireball

If Darill never saw another undead, it would be too soon. Never mind the fact that the undead had only been attacking Kadenfall for less than a week. The week had been without sun, and at this point their powers had grown weaker. They had to break the siege.

Folding her arms, Darill looked over at Tomir standing on the wall next to her. “I am open to suggestions.” So far, all he’d contributed to the conversation was pointing out flaws in other’s plans. Or at least potential flaws as he saw them no matter how far flung. Darill didn’t believe the rejected plans would be the end of them all as he insisted.

“Yes. As I’ve been saying, we need to break the siege.” Tomir waved a hand toward the armies holding the ground outside of the city.

Darill raised a hand to her head to knead her eyes. Light, give her patience. “Of course, we need to break the siege. Everyone has said as much day one. Where have you been?”

He blustered, taking a step back beneath her disapproval. “I’ve been busy. I’ve been–” He cut off and shook his head back and forth as if a loop had occurred inside of his mind preventing the thought’s completion. “I’ve been busy.”

Darill snorted. No doubt he’d been cowering inside his home. He wasn’t known for being busy.
“Did your activities include coming up with a brilliant plan to save us all?” She sniffed and turned back toward the field.

The council had been too lenient when Zairedel. Had begun consolidating powers to himself. Powers he used to turn himself into a litch. Hadn’t they learned the last time a litch lord had risen? No, they had allowed him to continue, claimed confrontation to vexing when he himself had not proven a threat. They’d pointed out many litch never caused issues for the council.

True enough. There had been several litches in time who kept their cloying power mostly to themselves. Those who only terrorized a village here or there. But the council always risked the next one not being content as a simple regional overlord.

Zairedel certainly hadn’t been.

He conquered his own region first, taking over his home city and then the one nearby. And then Zairdel had begun spreading.

Now he and his army rested at the council’s gates. Now that he was their problem. Darill’s problem. Just like Tomir.

“We should burn them away,” Tomir said next to her. Darill turned towards him, raising an eyebrow. “Undead or quite flammable. Are they not?”

“Yes.” Darill went back to needing her eyes. “However, we tried burning them on day one when our fire power was strongest. But after centuries of war, pestilence, and mortal lifespans. He’s more than enough graves to raise himself an army from.” She jabbed her finger toward the battlefield and the legions of zombies shambling about it.

Tomir nodded next to her. “We continue striking against them.”

“Our powers are weaker now after a week under this–” She waved her hand at the grey muck filling the sky above and hiding them from the sun. “Spell.” Darill turned towards him abruptly and held up a finger, silencing him before he could protest. “A spell we haven’t been able to dissipate, so don’t even suggest that idea.”

Tomir stepped back, swallowed, and nodded. Tomir, never brave, fled from beneath her gaze and turned back toward the battlefield. His cowardice was yet another of his charming qualities Darill despised. His attitude of if I can’t see you, you’re obviously not upset with me proved about as useful as his hiding in his house.

“But we still have enough power for a fireball?” Tomir asked and risked a hesitant look at Darill.

Darill managed to constrain her ire enough to nod tersely. “Yes, we’ve still enough for a fireball. But not a greater fireball.”

“But once the fire is going, it continues to burn,” Tomir stated the obvious. Darill nodded again. “So why don’t we use them as fuel?”

Darill opened her mouth to refute him, stopped, blinked. She turned from Tomir back to the battlefield. The undead were flammable. That fact had aided them greatly in the first days when they’d been able to cut wide swaths through the field by setting them ablaze.

But even if they didn’t have much strength anymore, not with being cut off from the sun, they bore enough to start a fire. Once the fire started, it would spread if pushed. The fire wizards didn’t have to do the pushing. The fire would have plenty of fuel out there. Spread by…

Darill sagged forward as the thought completed itself without words in her head. “Go and fetch the air wizards.” She would start the fire. They would spread it. Darill up a finger to him before he could speak. And not a word from you. I don’t want to hear about your brilliance.”

Tomir smirked at her, but he turned with a billowing of his cloak and left Darill’s side. They were going to save the city, but she’d never hear the end of his prattling about his saving the city. Maybe she could get herself consumed by the fireball. Scowling, she shook her head to banish that thought. She could deal with him later. First, Darill had a zombie fireball to make.