Soldiers of Legend

by Stephen L. Nowland

  “When we’re done here, perhaps you can fetch me a glass of water,” Pacian smirked.

  “Don’t push your luck,” Aiden replied with a meaningful look, before turning his attention to the beautiful young woman sitting next to him.

  “Sir Aiden,” Nellise greeted him, her golden eyes twinkling with humour.

  “Dame Nellise,” Aiden replied with equal mirth as she stood from the couch to embrace him.

  “It’s good to see you again,” Nellise breathed, giving Aiden the impression she had been in need of a hug for some time. His curiosity piqued, he gave her an inquiring look and received a slight shake of her head in reply. Aiden surmised they would discuss something in private soon.

  “So, how are you two faring?” he asked, pleased to see his friends after several weeks apart. “You’ve been keeping a low profile since the state funeral.”

  “I am still learning the intricacies of managing Highlorn,” Nellise explained, referring to the fiefdom the Crown had bestowed upon her. “Sir William’s old squire knows it all like the back of his hand, but there’s a lot to learn.”

  Aiden felt a small pang of regret at the mention of the old knight, who had fallen in battle during the dark days of recent times. He didn’t dwell upon this subject however, for he was certain Sir William would want them to move on with their lives.

  “I know I’ve said it before, but I wish I could have accompanied you back to the Isle of the Dead,” Aiden said in a quiet voice.

  “You could barely stand, let alone endure the journey,” she reminded him. “Besides, there was no longer any threat — the entire week was devoted to sanctifying the ancient ruins and bestowing a proper burial upon those that had died there long ago. And of course, to bring Sir William home again.”

  “I don’t like having him buried on your lands,” Pacian remarked dourly. “It’s… creepy.”

  “He is resting alongside his family in a small crypt on the far side of the property,” Nellise explained to Aiden. “They are only my lands because Sir William bequeathed them to me, so he can stay as long as he likes.”

  “You see what I mean? Creepy,” Pacian confided in exasperation.

  “Well, it’s good that you’ve got a place to yourselves at least,” Aiden continued with a dry smile. “My new title has only resulted in spending a ridiculous amount of time studying in the university.”

  “Do not discount the privilege bestowed upon you, sir,” Desmond reminded him. “Laboratory assistants typically work their way through the ranks of the student body for several years before being graced with the position.”

  “A fact that the faculty and student body are sure to remind me of in an assortment of subtle ways,” Aiden grumbled, noticing the castellan returning from the main hall.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, the duke will see you in the war room now,” she announced in a voice that rang with civic pride. “If you would care to follow me…” As one, they stood and followed the official through to the throne room, with Aiden having to spend a few moments gathering his materials once more before catching up.

  The throne room had been repaired after the terrible battle that had taken place here weeks ago, and Aiden felt a flash of pain at the memories. He glanced at the place Valennia Far-Eagle had fallen to their enemies, and Aiden almost tripped as unpleasant emotions boiled to the surface. Though she had started out as hired muscle, the Akoran warrior-maiden had proven to be a loyal ally and friend, right to the end. She deserved better.

  The entourage followed the castellan to another door leading into a large, well-lit chamber. Ancient shields and other heraldic devices hung from the walls, and the many tables in the room were covered in large maps. A small group of people were already talking amongst themselves in the chamber, each of whom Aiden recognised.

  The distinctive form of the man known only as Mister Kinsey leaned against one table. He leaned upon a cane in one hand as he quietly studied the map before him with gray, unflinching eyes. The king’s spymaster, Kinsey had been instrumental in hunting the remaining members of the conspiracy against the Crown, and now stood as aide de camp to the duke, replacing the late Sir Godfrey Davis.

  Charles Montague, Duke of Fairloch, stood next to his assistant and detailed the nuances of logistical information with the accuracy and patience of one who had an abiding love of numbers. His long white beard was neatly trimmed, yet he still showed the strain of a man barely coping with his duties. He had suffered a heart attack during the former castellan’s attempt to usurp power and was only now resuming the burdens of office.

  Finally, there was Princess Criosa Roebec, daughter to the king and sole heir to the throne of Aielund. She was of slight build, with flowing blond hair and eyes as blue as the northern sky. Her intervention during the fight in the throne room had ensured not only their victory, but the capture of the former castellan, her former fencing teacher. He had disclosed a wealth of information about his plans.

  Desmond commandeered one of the tables and bid Aiden to set the equipment upon it. The old wizard read through the large blue-bound tome, incanting magic using strange ingredients, and scratching a number of large symbols upon the floor. It was all very involved, but Aiden’s keen mind paid close attention to the ritual.

  “Sir Aiden, so good of you to join us,” Criosa greeted him warmly, interrupting his train of thought. There was a spark in her eye when she looked at him. Aiden had tried to dismiss her interest as a youthful infatuation, yet as he had learned in the past few weeks, she appeared to have genuine feelings for him. “I trust you have recovered after last night’s… experience?”

  “Yes, Your Highness,” Aiden replied with a quick bow. “It’s not the first vision I’ve witnessed in this manner, though it was certainly… unsettling to see a valuable ally cut down like that. Your father was equally disturbed, from what I could see.”

  “My father was there?” Criosa asked in surprise. “Dean Foster neglected to mention this small fact.”

  “It hardly seemed relevant at the time, Highness,” Desmond replied gruffly.

  “Let me be the judge of that in future, Dean,” Criosa advised with a measure of tightness to her voice.

  “You can speak with him yourself, in a few minutes,” Desmond said as an apology, something that was rare to hear from the grumpy old man.

  “Excellent. Since we have the pleasantries out of the way, perhaps we can get right to it?” Criosa asked, looking to Mister Kinsey. The spymaster had allowed his gray beard to grow out a little more, and it contrasted sharply against his olive complexion.

  “I’m not privy to how much you have heard about the war effort, ladies and gentlemen,” he began with a quiet voice, “so you’ll excuse me if I go over information you’ve already heard.” Aiden and his companions gathered around the large table on which was a map featuring the Kingdom of Tulsone in exquisite detail. Markers were placed in various locations, apparently denoting battles that had taken place over the past few months. Aiden was dismayed to note there were a lot of markers.

  “Sensing that his counterpart was stalling for time,” Kinsey went on, “His Majesty tired of negotitation and sent word to gather as many soldiers as we could, and send them to Culdeny. From there, they met with the royal fleet and sailed west, to fight through to the temple where the Ironlord was supposed to reappear at some point in the near future.”

  “Early this morning, I received a communiqué from His Majesty, indicating that the remnants of his force had finally arrived at the temple in question, an unremarkable place in a remarkable location. Scholars say it is a point where the planes of reality intersect — whatever that means — and it is there that the Ironlord appeared.” This information sent a ripple of concern through the assembly, with the exception of Aiden, who had already guessed this would have occurred.

  “Does that mean my father has already fought it?” Criosa asked, her voice filled with concern.

  “Yes, Highness,” Kinsey confirmed, “I have no further
information, so I have no idea what their situation is at this moment. I will add that Terinus, the king’s wizard, postulated the Ironlord would be weakened from its journey and vulnerable to attack. When Dean Foster has finished his preparations, we will be able to speak directly to him and learn of their fate.”

  “If this thing is as powerful as you say,” Pacian mused aloud, “what are the chances they’ve actually been able to stop it?”

  “Slim, at best,” Kinsey replied grimly. “There are too many unknown factors to make an accurate guess.”

  “I’m just about ready to proceed over here, Highness,” Desmond called. “With your permission..?”

  “Go ahead,” Criosa answered, somewhat impatiently. The wizard began incanting soft words in the strange language of magic while sprinkling a fine black powder across the floor. When he was done, he stepped away from the area and stood, watching it expectantly.

  “Any moment now…” Desmond murmured to himself, just before a brief flash of light flared in the centre of the arcane symbol and the visage of King Seamus Roebec appeared, translucent yet recognisable. In the half-day since Aiden had seen his image on the Aether, the king had undergone a a terrible transformation.

  His hair was matted with blood, and his magnificent plate armour was dented and cracked from a number of impacts. Dirt and blood were visible on his face, and his beard was charred as if from a fire. His shoulders were slumped in exhaustion, yet in spite of all this, he managed to retain his regal bearing for the sake of his daughter.

  “I take it you can see me clearly then?” King Seamus said in a voice weighed with fatigue. “I cannot see any of you, only hear you speak.”

  “I’m here, father,” Criosa told the spectral image, concealing her concern.

  “It is so good to hear you again, Criosa, alive and safe,” the king replied with a nostalgic smile on his face.

  “Yes, I am quite safe, now,” the princess replied carefully, keeping the truth of recent events from him. “What is the situation there?”

  “Things have not gone well for us, even before arriving at the temple itself,” the king explained with a heavy voice. “Excuse me, could you repeat that?” he asked, looking to something unseen off to his right. “Well can’t you just… I see. I shall expedite my speech then. Terinus was informing me this incantation will not last long, so I shall be blunt. My quest to eliminate the Ironlord upon its return to this realm has failed.”

  “Good heavens,” the elderly duke breathed. “Tell us what has happened, Majesty.”

  “Charles old friend, it’s good to hear you as well. Who else is there in the room with you?”

  “Aside from your daughter, I have Mister Kinsey here as my advisor, as well as Dean Foster of course. There are also four loyal subjects here who have recently acquitted themselves well in service to the Crown,” the duke explained. “Sir Aiden Wainwright, Dame Nellise Sannemann, Pacian Savidge and Sayana Arai.”

  “When I have the time, I want to hear about everthing that’s happened at home,” King Seamus said. “Who is this Sir Aiden you speak of? I have never heard of this knight, or any of the others you mentioned.”

  “They have recently offered exemplary service to the Crown,” Criosa explained. “I trust them, and so should you.”

  “Well and good,” the king muttered. “This information is extremely sensitive, so you are not to speak to anyone outside that room of what I am about to impart. I had my doubts the Ironlord would appear at this place, as the notion of a thin barrier between realities seemed to be far-fetched. Yet appear it did, and we fought it over the following few hours. Only when it became clear we did not have the power to stop it did I order the withdrawal, and we have spent the last hour tending to our wounded.”

  “It did not pursue you?” Kinsey asked curiously.

  “Thankfully no, or I would not be alive to send this message,” the king answered as Aiden and Kinsey exchanged a glance. “We simply lost too many fighting our way here. Damn that King Évariste, why did he have to be so intractable?”

  “Where is it now?” Kinsey pressed.

  “When we broke off the fight, it headed east, towards the desert,” Seamus explained, his voice cracking from bellowing orders all night. “I cannot explain why it wasn’t headed for any nearby city or town. It clearly has some measure of intelligence, but the logic of its course escapes me.”

  “Were you able to weaken it?” the duke asked.

  “In all the blood and dust, it was hard to say for certain. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say any damage was minimal,” Seamus explained, lowering his gaze to rub his eyes. “All of this… and we barely even scratch it.”

  “If it’s unstoppable, then why did it need an army of metal men to assail the Kingdom last time?” Aiden asked. There was no answer forthcoming, and a moment of silence descended upon the gathering.

  “He has a point,” Kinsey admitted. “It must have some sort of weakness to require aid like that.”

  “I don’t think any of us can conjecture as to the otherworldly intelligence of this relic,” Desmond huffed.

  “Terinus informs me my time with you is nearly up, so listen carefully,” the king interrupted. “I intend to pursue the damned thing and try to destroy it before it reaches Aielund, but my men are in need of rest and I do not foresee the size of my army being enough to stop it in any case.”

  “It is my belief it will attack Aielund again, as it did a century ago. It cannot get through the swamplands on the western border without sinking right to the bottom, so it will come at us through Fort Highmarch. That is where we will make our stand, as our forefathers did.”

  “Charles, I need you to mobilise any and all reserves you can muster — take them from the City Watch if you have to, but get them together and get them moving as soon as possible. Instruct whoever you put in charge of the force to swing through Stonegaard and get the dwarves to part with as many soldiers as they can. Make whatever promises you need to make it happen.”

  “Actually, we recently extracted an oath of service from King Sulinus,” the duke pointed out with a fond look towards Nellise. “I am certain we will have a sizeable force to bring south.”

  “I don’t know how you managed it, but that’s the best news I’ve heard in months,” the king breathed. “Get the remaining rangers to head to the fort as well. Hell, at this point, I’d consider asking the Akoran tribes for help.”

  “Of course, Majesty, I will make all the arrangements,” the duke assured his liege.

  “I will lead them personally,” Criosa added, drawing a concerned look from her father.

  “No Criosa, it’s far too dangerous,” he responded. “I didn’t send you back to Fairloch only to put you at further risk!”

  “But I’ve already been at—”

  “Blast, I’m nearly out of time,” King Seamus interrupted once more. “We’ll have to talk again in a few days. Charles — get those reinforcements moving, and for the love of God, keep my daughter safe. Promise me!”

  “You have my word, Majesty,” the duke replied solemnly, drawing an incredulous look from Criosa.

  “Excellent. I feel better already, just knowing you’ll be—” The visage promptly vanished mid-sentence, and the distinct odour of sulphur permeated the air as the spell dissipated. A profound silence echoed around the room as everyone present weighed the information they had just received.

  “Well, this is all bloody dramatic, isn’t it?” Pacian remarked. “Here’s a cheery thought — the king threw an army against that thing and it just walked away. What good is sending another ten thousand to their deaths going to achieve?”

  “Do you have a better idea?” Kinsey asked caustically.

  “What about those fiery ballista bolts the navy uses?” Nellise inquired. “What if we hit it with a dozen of those at once? It was enough to injure the dragon over Culdeny, after all.”

  “We’ll need an army to support siege engines,” Kinsey remarked dryly. “Regardless o
f what we do, we’ll need to organise as many men and women as possible to fortify the place. They’ll need supplies, equipment and—”

  “And a leader,” Criosa interrupted forcefully.

  “Your Highness?” Nellise asked curiously.

  “I will be heading to Fort Highmarch to personally oversee the preparations.”

  “Didn’t your father just tell you not to go?” Sayana asked. “I recall we went to a lot of effort to get you here in the first place.”

  “Fairloch has proven to be just as dangerous as any other place in the country,” Criosa retorted.

  “Out of the question,” the old duke bristled. “I have sworn an oath to your father to keep you safe.”

  “I’m not going to give you a choice, Uncle,” Criosa said with a smile that did not diminish her resolve. “Besides, if my father knew the full truth about what has been going on around here lately, he’d have a fit.”

  “She’s got a point, there,” Pacian added. “It’ll hardly be more dangerous on the road.”

  “I’ll have you to protect me, won’t I?” she pointed out, looking to Aiden.

  “I thought I was needed here to do further research,” he pointed out rather lamely.

  “I think we’re done with research, Aiden,” Desmond remarked. “You’ll be needed down at the fort as well, I should think.”

  “Lovely,” Aiden muttered.

  “You are putting me in a very difficult position, Highness,” the duke said with a shake of his head. “If your father finds out, he’ll be most put out with me.”

  “If you think I can just sit around here in a frilly dress, playing the part of the beloved princess while my father and his army fight for our country, then you don’t know me as well as you might think. Besides, who else can you send?”

  “The list of candidates has grown thin of late,” the duke muttered. “Very well Criosa, I submit to your authority. What do you need of me?”

  “Carry out my father’s instructions, and send every able-bodied man or woman capable of fighting to the fort,” Criosa ordered, her entire demeanour changing as she assumed command. “Tell the navy to sail the fleet to Culdeny, leave their ships and march south. We need soldiers, not sailors. And have them bring along all of their fire bolts as well, we’ll need them.”