All Chapters of Prisoners of the wilds: Chapter 91
- Chapter 100
174 chapters
The Council of War
"I will not throw away the last blood of my hunters for a city of human brick and iron!" Chief Kaelen roared, slamming his bone studded fist onto the wooden map table.The heavy parchment map of the capital city rattled, sending two brass inkwells sliding across the oak surface. Around the grand council tent, dozens of tribal leaders, naval deserters, and rebel captains shouted back at him, their voices turning into a chaotic roar that echoed out across the dusty desert plains."Your hunters will starve in these sands if General Vane's ironclad legion marches south!" Silas shouted back, his heavy hand resting on the pommel of his broadsword. "You think the rogue generals will respect your northern borders once they harvest every ironwood tree on the plain?""We survived in the high snows for five hundred years before your court generals ever built their palace!" Kaelen spat, turning his back on the table. "My people go north tonight!""If you march north now, Kaelen, your people will
The Ironwood Trap
"Get your back against the table before the ceiling beams snap down on us!" Silas roared, drawing his heavy broadsword with a harsh metallic scrape.The massive ironwood roots groaned loudly as they twisted tighter around the canvas tent, their thick, dark bark squeezing the wooden frame into splintered scraps. The heavy timbers bowed inward under the crushing weight, closing off every window and door until the council leaders were trapped in pitch darkness."Out of the way!" Jax screamed from the outside perimeter.Through the narrow cracks in the wooden bars, the bright orange glare of burning torches flickered in the dusty air. Outside, dozens of camp guards and naval deserters rushed forward with iron axes, picks, and heavy sledgehammers."Swing together on my mark!" Jax yelled to the men behind him. "One! Two! Strike!"THWACK.Three heavy iron axes slammed directly into the thick trunk of the lead root. But instead of chopping through the dense wood, the iron blades bounced off t
The Chief’s Debt
"Down!" Marcus screamed, grabbing the wheels of his ironwood chair and driving himself forward with all his strength.The heavy chair slammed straight into Chief Kaelen's hips, knocking the tall northern leader sideways into the dirt. A split second later, a dozen razor sharp ironwood spikes whistled through the air where Kaelen's head had been, embedding themselves deep into the oak table legs with a terrifying thud.One flying wooden shard grazed Marcus's right arm, tearing clean through his coat sleeve and slicing a deep, three inch gash across his frozen skin."Marcus!" Lyra yelled, scrambling through the dust to reach his side."I am fine!" Marcus grunted, leaning back in his chair as the dust cleared."Look at your arm, lad!" Silas called out, stepping through the shattered opening of the cage with his broadsword lowered.Marcus pulled back his torn sleeve. Instead of red human blood dripping from the open cut, a thick, glowing violet sap trickled out from the wound. The violet
The Sister’s Ghost
"Out of my way, Jax, or I will throw you off this launch platform myself!" Silas roared, his eyes bloodshot as he shoved the young mechanic back into a stack of empty crates.Silas marched toward the smallest scout airship sitting on the wooden launch pad, his heavy boots shaking the planks. His face was twisted with pure desperation, a thick rope coil slung over his broad shoulder and a pair of brass pistols shoved messily into his belt."Silas, stop!" Jax yelled, scrambling up from the sand. "The engines are not even warmed up! You will crash in the open desert!""I do not care about the engines!" Silas bellowed, grabbing the iron ladder that led up to the scout ship's deck. "My sister is sitting in a wet stone cell while those butchers prepare their execution block! I am not waiting forty eight hours for a grand strategy meeting!""You will not make it past the border towers alone, Silas," a cold, steady voice called out from the hangar shadow.Marcus rolled his ironwood chair into
The Desert Dreadnought
"Fire the portside cannons before that metal monster crushes the main medical tent!" Marcus shouted, his voice ringing over the screech of tearing canvas and roaring engines.From the high bridge of the alliance flagship, Marcus watched the horizon split open. A massive, four story dreadnought made of thick iron plates and reinforced dark timber surged across the desert sand. Its six giant, steam driven iron wheels turned with terrifying force, flattening supply wagons and watchtowers like dry twigs. At the front of the war machine sat a massive ramming prow carved from solid, unyielding ironwood, shaped like a snarling wolf head."The cannonballs are bouncing right off its front plates!" Silas yelled, leaning over the wooden bridge rail with his brass spyglass raised. "That ironwood prow is too dense! It is plowing straight through our barricades!"A terrifying, rhythmic chatter echoed across the open sand as the dreadnought unleashed its weapon systems. Multiple rows of multi barrel
The Cable Cutters
"Climb down that cable right now or this ship will crash into the mud in three minutes!" Silas bellowed over the deafening scream of the straining timber.The flagship tilted at a sharp forty five degree angle, its wooden hull groaning violently as the sinking fifty ton dreadnought pulled it down. High above the salt flats, the airship's side propellers spun in a useless frenzy, blowing clouds of black smoke while the heavy iron cable yanked the vessel lower and lower into the toxic purple haze."I have the alchemical flasks ready!" Lyra shouted back, securing a leather belt across her waist and clipping two heavy copper sprayers to her chest armor."Take my iron bar and do not stop until you reach that winch drum!" Marcus yelled from the high bridge, holding tight to the brass steering frame with his frozen, clawed hand while Jax fought the altitude controls."Keep your head down, Marcus!" Lyra called out, grabbing the thick, braided steel line with her leather gloves and sliding ove
The Winch Rescue
"Hold still, Silas!" Lyra screamed, unslinging her steel crossbow in one fluid motion as the heavy cable dragged the big man across the iron deck.Silas dug his elbows frantically into the slick metal floor, but the recoiling wire pulled him backward with unstoppable force. The crushing teeth of the rotating iron drum were inches from his boot, ready to chew through bone and flesh alike."Shoot the drum, Lyra!" Silas yelled, his voice cracking with desperation as his heel hit the first spinning gear. "Shoot it now!"Lyra loaded a stubby, brass tipped explosive bolt into the groove, brought the stock up to her shoulder, and pulled the trigger.THWACK.The bolt flew straight through the thick purple haze, embedding itself deep inside the primary drive shaft behind the iron drum.BOOM.A bright flash of orange fire and flying iron teeth exploded from the winch housing. The primary drive shaft shattered into jagged metal scrap, freezing the rotating drum in place just as the steel wire be
Out of the Ashes
"Lower the heavy cargo crane before the smoke smothers every man on this deck!" Marcus yelled, his voice cutting through the roar of the burning salt flats.The flagship hovered thirty feet above the blackened crater where the dreadnought had exploded. Thick, suffocating clouds of violet smoke rolled off the glowing wreckage, making it nearly impossible to see the twisted iron plates below."The winch cables are locked, Marcus!" Jax screamed from the lower deck, hauling on the iron chains with all his weight. "The heat down there is melting the crane hooks!""Use the cold steel chains!" Marcus commanded, leaning over his ironwood wheelchair as his solid black left eye scanned the burning rubble. "Val, drop the grapple hooks right into the center of that main deck collapse!""I see a reinforced metal plate under the main timbers!" Val called out from the bow, swinging a heavy three pronged iron hook out into the open air. "It did not shatter in the blast!"The heavy iron grapple slamme
The Black Box Intel
"Tell me how to open this box before I let Silas drop you into the ocean below!" Marcus shouted, his voice echoing across the metallic walls of the flagship's medical deck.The alliance flagship surged through the night sky, its side boilers roaring at maximum capacity as the entire air fleet accelerated toward the distant capital. Inside the narrow medical room, General Vane sat tied to a heavy oak chair, his crimson military coat stained with soot, but his expression remained cold and smirking."You can threaten me all night, young Vance," General Vane sneered, tilting his head back to look up at Marcus. "That black box was forged in the deepest vault under the royal palace. No simple blade, fire, or crude magic can break its lock."On the wooden surgeon table beside them, the small, polished black iron box sat silent and cold. It vibrated with a faint, steady hum, throwing sharp lines of violet light across the leather straps binding Vane's wrists."We do not have time for his game
The Vanguard Approach
"Hard to port or those floating mines will detonate right against our gas bag!" Marcus shouted, his voice cutting through the deafening roar of the side engines.The flagship lurched violently to the left as Jax slammed his weight against the primary steering wheel. Outside the bridge windows, the familiar skyline of the capital city was completely gone.In its place stood a terrifying, five hundred foot wall of dark, polished ironwood timber, reinforced with massive copper plates and glowing blue defense runes. The ancient stone ramparts had been completely encased in living, mutated bark that bristled with hundreds of heavy flame cannons and steam turrets."Look at the sky grid!" Val yelled from the forward lookout perch, pointing his bow toward the clouds.Hovering over the entire perimeter of the city were thousands of spiked, metal spheres anchored by iron chains. The automated floating mines drifted through the air, their brass sensors spinning rapidly as they searched for the u