Free Spellscribed: Resurgence by Kristopher Cruz

warriors and I'll find you a way into that castle."
    Bridget took a step back as Wrach let out a howl that echoed over the city. When he finished, he turned to one of the messengers who stood nearby.
    "Go, ask each commander to get volunteers to go with Bridget and search the city." Wrach ordered.
    "Are you sure, sir?" the messenger asked, pointedly ignoring her presence. "There is no one living who would serve under the command of the dead."
    Wrach's lips pulled away from his fangs as he growled under his breath. "Just do it." he said, making an effort to speak softly. The man grunted and set out to deliver his message.
    Bridget was placed in charge of twelve wolfmen and four humans. The humans were the few that Wrach could get to volunteer, since it was considered taboo to interact with the Ghost-Women of Balator. The wolfmen were not imposed with such tradition, and those that were best suited to scouting the city offered to help.
    The way the wolfmen volunteered was something strange for Bridget. They seemed more than willing to volunteer to do things that would help the overall good of the army. Unlike humans, Balatoran warriors sometimes need to be badgered or forced to comply. Once they accepted, they would fully commit to their task. The wolfmen had never needed such urging for them to cooperate. Perhaps that was what Wrach was talking about with Kaie.
    "Okay, so the castle's locked up tight." Bridget started. "It's also got some pretty formidable defenses, but nothing we couldn't take care of with time, right?"
    The humans nodded, three of them women. The wolfmen looked to her quietly, either being respectful or just waiting for their orders.
    "But Balen doesn’t want to wait weeks or months for this siege to break on its own. He's eager to get more of Ironsoul under our control, and has left the capture of this castle to us. I personally don't like sitting around on my ass and waiting for us to knock the walls down, so what we're going to do is find another way to get in there and personally kick the doors open to let our men in."
    The wolfmen finally nodded. Bridget smiled. "Now, there's something else we need to do while we're out. There's at least one mage in their castle, and if we want to prevent our men from getting their heads set on fire, we need to kill that guy first."
    "How?" One of the women asked.
    Bridget turned and gestured to the city. "There's got to be a few hundred people who didn't evacuate when we showed up at their doorsteps. We find someone who knows the area, and get them to tell us how to get in there."
    The wolfmen nodded and one of them stepped forward; a female with a gray coat. She was armed with a mace and a light shield. "We would be best suited to sniffing out someone who could tell us what we need."
    Bridget nodded, "Go. Do it."
    The twelve wolves scattered, swiftly disappearing into the city. The four humans milled around, looking at her for direction.
    "You four, come with me." Bridget said, starting off after the wolves. "We're going to follow. Maybe you can learn something from them. Stick close to me, and keep an eye out for any more of those archers."
    The four moved into the city in the direction the wolfmen had gone. The human bulk of the army could probably sweep the entire city methodically within a few days, but with the wolfmen under Wrach's command helping, it could likely be done in one. Their especially keen wolf senses and hunter's instincts would make hunting down any defenders outside the castle a snap. They were powerful combatants too, ferocious and cunning when they lived long enough to learn. The younger pups would go through a rash, defiant stage where their animal instincts developed faster than their intelligent minds. Those youths were the ones most barbarians encountered, and they did the race no favors when it came to making good impressions with the local tribes. Now there was talk about building something similar to a berserker's refuge for the young