Chapter 51 - Never Again

"How are we going to climb?" Bjorn asked as they reached the end of the alley that led to the walls.

 Pan was mentally exhausted, so he opted to see the area with his own eyes rather than using absolute clarity. Sticking his head out of the alley and low to the ground, he could see to his left and in the distance civilians trying to run through the gates, while the guards fought the Siaks. But only one out of dozens barely made it to the other side in one piece, and more and more Siaks appeared every moment, while the number of soldiers only dwindled.

 "Let's climb by the roots," informed Pan after determining that most of the Siaks would head towards the carnage that was taking place at the gate.

 After Pan explained to Bjorn how they were going to climb, they both took a breath and then started to run towards the wall as fast as they could. Upon reaching it, Mavis made her appearance. Freeing herself from Pan's body, the little one threw a root that stuck into the wall and then another, before starting to climb.

 "Jump," said Pan before jumping up and grabbing one of Mavis's roots.

 'A mandrake? How is this possible?' Bjorn thought. Pan had told him the plan, but he thought he had made a mistake due to the stress of the situation and accidentally spoke mandrake, and even now that he was seeing it with his own eyes, he could hardly believe it. 

 "Go imbecile!" roared Pan to snap Bjorn out of his reverie.

 Pan's rage coupled with the fear that followed when he noticed the grass behind him being crushed took Bjorn out of shock. He immediately leapt onto the other branch along with his ax and held on tight, an action that almost caused Mavis to let go of the root of the wall. But in the end, she endured.

 As they climbed, holes started forming in the wall and heading towards them.

 "It will catch up with us!" Bjorn shouted in despair, even though Pan was beside him. He had no essence and Pan was clearly on his last legs, if Siak caught them it would be the end of him.

 "No… will not" whispered Pan in a weak voice. Supporting one's body with one arm after two days of dehydration and starvation was an arduous task. 

 With a low roar, Pan lifted his legs to the root, held it and held himself upside down before pulling a tube out of his pocket and opening it. Glittering gray dust began to fall towards the rising Siak.

 The fallen one began to become lethargic from the effect of the sleeping powder substance, but kept rising. Seeing this, Pan frowned, normally he would just ask Mavis to handle it. But she could barely climb the wall in her current state.

  'Fuck, If it reaches us it's over. Think Pan, think.' Pan desperately searched for a solution.

 But Siak didn't seem to want to give him time to think. The same was already five meters away and approaching them, even if slowly. Making both despair with each new hole that appeared.

 'I must return the life given to me.' Thought Bjorn with resolve to sacrifice himself as he prepared his spirit to throw himself at the fallen. But Pan stopped him before he could do something stupid. "The hammer. Throw it with the shaft down… Rod down, don't miss", said Pan, thinking about something, while pointing to the place where Siak was. 

 "Understood!" Answered Bjorn full of bravery. He didn't know what Pan hoped to achieve, but if it went wrong, he would sacrifice himself.

 'Why is he yelling? I'm on his side.' Pan thought. Oblivious to Bjorn's troubled thoughts.

 "Wait…" 

 "Wait…"

 "Now" indicated Pan when the fallen one was ten feet away.

 At Pan's command, the young blacksmith held the hammer, shaft down at the angle Pan indicated, and threw it with all the essenceless force he could muster. A moment later, what sounded like a "gasp" could be heard and after that a "boom" of something falling to the ground below sounded.

 "It worked out!" Shouted Bjorn full of joy, the Siak had fallen and they were a few meters from the top of the wall.

 Pan had noticed that Siaks had a habit of opening their mouths every few minutes. Relying on this, Pan activated the state of absolute clarity and maintained it until the fallen one opened his mouth only to receive a rod coming down his throat. That together with the sleeping powder ended up bringing down the evil.

 "Yes… We did" replied Pan with his voice getting tired and low at the end.

 'Never again…' Thought Pan upside down, as he watched his left leg showing over the fallen robe. This leg that didn't have a foot. 

 That was the price paid for saving the aspirants. 

 'Never again…' He repeated Pan before losing consciousness from the continued exertion and starting to slide. But the young blacksmith acted quickly and caught him before he fell.

…

 "I will keep us alive," Bjorn declared to himself, as he reached the end of the wall and looked out at the snow-filled world that stretched out beyond him.