"An army on the march is a terrible sight to behold," Barrin said. He peered through the glass at the mass of Keldon barges slowly advancing toward Arsenal City. The Kashan blimp he rode was high and miles from the Keldons. The fire barges accompanying the enemy force provided an umbrella of protection that he dared not violate. He could see the huge transport barges, some of which must have been just constructed, judging from their simple decorations and the almost pristine superstructures.

"I see targets, not an army," Alexi said as she watched the forces snaking along the hills. "If it wasn't for those cursed fire barges, I'd be killing Keldons right now." She pointed, and Barrin focused his sight back through the glass. The barge was low slung and trailed smoke from secured braziers. The craft scuttled forward rapidly and then froze in a new position to provide cover to the column. Other fire barges could be seen dashing forward as the troop transports continued their advance.

"If we could, I'd have you fighting now, but the new bombs aren't ready and won't be for weeks," Barrin said as he looked for the Kipamu League scouts who lay in ambush. "The design was finalized last week, but we are only starting construction. I don't know how long till we can get you the ordnance you need." A blimp swung out of a cloud ahead of them high in the sky. "Maybe that Mushan will have some luck."

A dozen bombs began falling toward the ground. Every fire barge in the line cast flame upward in balls and streamers. The more distant vehicles sent skipping streamers as the Mushan dumped ballast to soar out of range. When Barrin reached out with his senses he could feel gas generators on full bore as the ship tried to generate extra lift.

"He has blowers on, and the fire suppression is off," Barrin said with disbelief.

Smoke clouds and particles of fire rose from the barges, and bombs fell into a space that cleared as the barges flowed away from the impact zone. One small barge was close to the drop site and shuddered to a halt before continuing after a few moments pause. Alexi turned back to Barrin.

"If you drop from that high the Keldon mages will simply push your bombs off target. He should have dropped from a lower altitude." Alexi didn't condemn the Mushan pilot for taking a chance; she only thought him too cautious.

"Alexi, you're not thinking of a low altitude run?" Barrin demanded.

The Jamuraan mage only laughed. "Things will have to get a lot worse before I can talk the rest of the crew into a suicide run," she said and then sobered and considered the forces converging on Arsenal City. "I believe that by next week I will be ordered to do so if the city falls."

A group of Tolarian runners and steel ants rushed from cover at a fire barge. The ants unleashed their rocket attacks en masse on the vehicle. The light loads that the ants carried didn't do much damage individually, but their collective damage shattered the vehicle's legs and smashed the catapult in the open interior. The secondary blast as the barge blew only knocked a few ants down as the League forces retreated at high speed.

"Not much of a return for the risks they took," Alexi said as their blimp began to turn and fly at maximum speed toward Arsenal City.

"No, but the fire barges are moving closer to the transports." Barrin was looking back at the Keldon forces. "If we can keep them bunched up so they can't dodge, maybe a high altitude attack will work before they reach the city. The other benefit is in making them angry. We need them to attack the army immediately."

Alexi only nodded sadly, accepting the fact that whatever the result of the coming battle, the flying navy would only deal with the aftermath. The army would have to fight on its own.

The city and its defensive works appeared before them, and Barrin got into a transport chair. The seat was a board on a sling and was attached to a rope dangling a few hundred feet under the blimp. Ground troops grabbed the rope to steady it as Barrin slid down. When he disconnected, the blimp jumped up, and its fans were shrill as it climbed. Mageta and Shalanda were among the ground crew.

"How does it look?" General Mageta demanded.

"The scouts are attacking the stragglers and going after the catapults," Barrin explained, waving Shalanda toward him as he saw her walking through the camp. "If the scouts obey orders and continue their hit and run tactics, the Keldons should perform as expected and attack immediately."

Armorers set additional reloads outside the perimeter to load returning scouts and the steel ants. The marines were loading mantises with the heavy war rockets that filled their main weapons module. Barrin planned for the machines to cripple the transport barges while they were unloading. The men servicing the war machines seemed confident, but the infantrymen were nervous. Crates of rockets were moved out of supply dumps as the battle approached.

"Shalanda, any sign of the contagion spreading from the eastern forests?" Barrin asked. If things went badly and there was a siege, illness could destroy the League army as brutally as a Keldon attack.

"There seem to be just a few small pockets of influenza but no mass kills of animals or infection in the fields," Shalanda replied. "I've isolated the flu carriers and those who may have been exposed. Hopefully there won't be any problems." Rayne's aide still looked troubled.

Barrin pressed further. "Can you do anything if there is a flare-up of disease?" the wizard asked.

"We've curbed outbreaks of disease before, but I'm still uncertain about this one's true nature, and I can't pinpoint its source," Shalanda said candidly. "The blight and death of wildlife could strip the League as surely as the Keldon army." Barrin waved for her to withdraw, focusing on the problems of fighting the immediate enemy and allowing others to deal with the blight and wildlife deaths. Mageta moved closer as Shalanda made for the runner depot.

"How many do you make the attackers?" Mageta asked. The general seemed filled with nervous energy, and Barrin wondered if it was fear or anticipation that fueled Mageta's emotions.

"I would estimate the numbers of Keldons and war manikins at between ten and twenty thousand." Mageta's face fell as Barrin stated the size of the attacking army. The wizard tried to curb the blow.

"We knew that we would be outnumbered. That's why we decided to dig in and engage the enemy here." He pointed out to the defenses that did not look quite so substantial now. "Make them assault fixed positions and prevent them from surrounding us piecemeal. And we've learned that the hollow warriors can be deployed for only a short time. We will win if we hold fast and force them to exhaust themselves." Mageta only nodded and ran to oversee the issuing of additional ammunition. The Kipamu League would be outnumbered at least four to one, and the infantry's lack of experience might be a blessing. Perhaps most of the men did not realize how truly desperate things had become.

Barrin went to talk to his wife. Following in Shalanda's footsteps, he neared the runner depot where Rayne readied her runner for the press of battle. The runner was being carefully reloaded, the normal complement of war-bolts replaced by enhanced models that would do more damage at the sacrifice of range.

Rayne was part of the regular army now. She had more experience than most of the current riders in using the machines. Jolreal and Shalanda still tracked the extent of the blight and the animal kills, but Rayne convinced Barrin that her skill at maintaining and managing the runners would be better employed in combat.

"I still wish that you could stay within the walls," Barrin said to his wife. She finished securing loads for her personal weapon, so they would be at hand during the coming fight. "The light runners and the steel ants that we use are speed machines. Fighting in fixed positions would limit the damage we can do. Besides, this city is a trap if you don't win the initial battle. Out there I can reform and retreat far faster than the enemy can follow. I know your plan is based on exhausting the Keldons, but I would rather have room to maneuver."