[Belac]

The three leaders of the Agarthan army sat at the mouth of the cave under Scraw Pointe. Inside the fortress, the Agarthan wounded were being tended to. Outside, human subjects sprinkled oil over high stacks of mangled horses, women, and a few badly burnt hydras, all piled between a huge array of lifelike statues of archers.

"I almost had her," said Usur'amassu. "She was on fire and I was ten feet away. If she hadn't come down in the middle of our archers--"

Melqart, towering just as high as his fellow despite his bandaged leg, interjected. "And be turned to stone like those archers, or have her slaughter the Earth Readers?"

"We had lead shields, we would have been fine," Usur'amassu replied. "Besides, it was the arrows that injured you."

At this, the immense Oracle sitting beside the two Ancient Lords rose slowly to his feet. "I am the commander of the army," Lugal’eudmelambi’nirgal declared, "and our victory was great. We have beaten their raiders, broken their siege, and our mages ever learn new ways to destroy their harvests. Each of you will have other chances to kill the Gorgon. But the army must march, and we need a new batch of human archers. More of the foe is surely marching from the south."

The three lords watched the sun set over the battlefield, the bloodiest yet of the four great battles of the war and the second Agarthan victory.