"Nothing fancy, no lighting," yelled Mumchance. "This roof won't protect us."

Gunderal nodded, and the cadence of her call changed. It began to rain. Heavy drops sizzled on the burning roof and formed enormous puddles on the walkway. Ivy watched with satisfaction as one of the orcs charging them with raised sword and spiked shield stepped in the water, slipped, skidded on the wet stones, and bounced over the edge of the wall. The creature tumbled into space, its weapons flying. Its mouth opened with a furious howl, then it disappeared into silence far below them.

The rain slowed to a dull pattering and then stopped. The roof smoldered above them, letting off damp puffs of black smoke.

"We won't be barbecued today," Ivy said.

"That's it," said Gunderal as the last drop fell gently on her blue-black curls. "And that is my last spell of the day. I need to rest before I can do any more." She paled and swayed.

"It's enough, little sister. It's more than enough," said Zuzzara as she hugged Gunderal, almost lifting her off her feet. Ivy eyed the smoke-smudged Siegebreakers. Sanval was fighting in shirt sleeves, but at least he had a sword, and it had already been bloodied on the wall. Zuzzara still had her shovel-it was a bit dented, but that iron was hard. Kid had grabbed a discarded goblin stick, and he had a wicked gleam in his eye. Mumchance was best protected-his sturdy summer armor had survived their day underground basically intact. For once he had remembered to draw his short sword instead of his hammer.

"You and you, flank me," said Ivy, pointing at Kid and Sanval. "Mumchance, stay with the sisters and keep anything you can off their backs."

"What are we going to do?" asked the dwarf, dropping back to the rear as she had commanded.

"Hit them hard," shouted Ivy as she picked up speed again.

Sanval and Kid kept a nice half stride behind her; they formed a perfect flying wedge heading toward the battling Archlis and Fottergrim.

"Hit them low," screamed Ivy, not bothering to look back over her shoulder. The Siegebreakers were tight on her heels, and she could hear thuds and screams as they overran any leftover orcs still littering the walkway. She raced along the top of the wall-head down, braid swinging, fists tight, forehead lined, and eyes narrowed-as she tried to turn herself into an one-woman battering ram. Nothing like flying into a fight with an empty scabbard, she thought.

Ivy barreled into the magelord and the orc, breaking the two apart. A joyously barking Wiggles dashed through her feet. Ivy teetered. Sanval grabbed her waist and steadied her upright as he twisted her out of danger and skewered one of Fottergrim's startled hobgoblin bodyguards. Ivy leaned around him and caught an answering slash of a sword on her forearm armor.

"Thank you," said Sanval, following her earlier advice and dropping low to slash at the knees of another bodyguard who was trying to scramble out of their way.

"It was nothing," panted Ivy, hoping that the blow had only bruised her arm and not broken anything. "Where did the dog go?"

Ahead of them, Wiggles zigzagged around a raging Fottergrim, heading straight for Archlis. The little white dog bit the magelord, hard, and her sharp white teeth cut through his suede boots. Like the dread before him, the magelord had obviously not placed a protection against small white dogs among his many clanking, clinking charms. Archlis screamed and tried to hop away, clinging to the Moaning Diamond, then doubled over to slap at the dog with his other hand. The edge of the Ankh hit the rock wall, and he lost his hold on it and dropped it. Wiggles dashed off, scampering toward Mumchance. Fottergrim picked up the magelord's Ankh and retreated up the walkway. The big orc shook it as if he expected it to launch a fireball directly at Archlis. Nothing happened, much to his surprise.

"You fool," screamed Archlis. "I could have made you a king!"

"Traitor! Human!" the orc screamed insults back at him.

With another cry of rage, Archlis glared at Fottergrim, raised his hand, and twisted a rusted iron ring on his finger. The bony magelord transformed into an enormous hairy demon, so unlike his narrow-shouldered, skeletal self that for the blink of a moment, no one understood what had happened. Then they all stopped whatever they were doing and stared. The transformed Archlis was so huge that his furry shoulders and giant boar-tusked head broke through the charred, soggy wooden roof above him. Bits of timber rained down on both sides of the wall. Orcs unfortunate enough to be standing near Archlis were pushed over the edge of the wall by his sheer bulk.

"What is it?" Ivy asked, staring up at monster.

"Huge and ugly," Zuzzara called. It was certainly that-a beast three times the height of the magelord, covered in fat, muscle and scruffy fur, with taloned fingers that hung on apelike arms, and hands that almost touched the ground. Its ears were wide and notched, its face a scrunched up horror, its body an expanded grotesque imitation of an ape. On its shoulders were black feathery wings, completely out of proportion, appearing much too small to lift that enormous weight.

Kid called softly, "It is a nalfeshnee, my dear, a demon from the Abyss."

"Thanks for the lesson," said Ivy. "How do we kill it?"

"We may not have to, my dear," said Kid, pulling her back from the crumbling edge of the wall. "Wait and watch."

"Hey, sister, why don't you have a ring like that?" shouted Zuzzara over the screams of crushed orcs, caught between the nalfeshnee's bulk and the stone walkway.

"And turn myself into something that hideous? Never!" yelled Gunderal.

Ivy stuck out her foot and tripped up a fleeing hobgoblin who tried to dash past her. It threw out its arms to maintain its balance, and its halberd-with its axelike head and long handle-cartwheeled into the air. Stretching out a long arm, Ivy caught the halberd, then spun away and let the hobgoblin rush past. The hobgoblin paused for half a step, glanced back at the giant demon, shook his shield at Ivy, but continued running.

"Look at the magelord," crowed Kid. "He went too large. The nalfeshnee cannot fight on top of this wobbling wall."

"Kid is right," Mumchance shouted. "Look at that wall. It is cracking."

Bits of the stone crenellations snapped off as Archlis tried to steady himself. The sheer size of his backside, in the beast's form, forced the stones off the wall, following the roof timbers and squashed bodies to the ground below.

"We need to get out of here now," commanded Ivy.

Sanval thrust with his sword at an attacking orc. With one swift move, he skewered the creature. It doubled up, its weapons flying out of its hands. Sanval pivoted, the orc still caught on his blade's point. When he twisted his wrists to free the blade, he managed to fling the orc off the wall. While he wiped the blade clean on a fallen orc, he said, "I knew following you would get us out of the ruins. I know you will find a way out now."

"Thanks," shouted Ivy, touched by his confidence in her abilities. She ducked under the blow of another pig-snouted fighter, using her stolen halberd to ram the surprised orc between the legs and send it sprawling. Stepping hard on the orc's stomach once it was prone, she retrieved the halberd and jumped to Sanval's side. "All part of the job, rescuing our friends!"

"I thought you did not believe in heroics." Sanval slicked his tumbled curls out of his eyes as he skewered another orc one-handed.

"I lied," Ivy admitted. "Heroics are fine." She grinned at Sanval as she reached around him to smack the backside of a startled archer who had wandered into this section of the wall seeking his friends. The barbarian fled with a yell for reinforcements.

"Watch out!" Sanval dived past Ivy, ramming another screaming orc over the wall before the trooper could brain Gunderal with his warhammer. The pretty wizard gave Sanval a sparkling smile as she ducked around her big sister to help trip up two orcs attacking Zuzzara.