“And I wish my father was still alive.” Wolfric didn’t have to fake the emotion that made his voice shake. He really did wish he hadn’t had to remove his father from the throne. “But he isn’t and we must both deal with the world as it is and not how we’d like it.”
Kelten bowed deeply. “If I caused you any additional hurt, it wasn’t my intention. Rest assured I will continue to serve to the best of my ability.”
He sounded contrite, but Wolfric heard an undercurrent of dissatisfaction. Maybe Otto was right and they should have arranged an accident for Captain Kelten. It wasn’t too late to do so, but for now he’d settle for watching and waiting.
Kelten strode out of the throne room calmly and with his head held high. Inside he seethed. He was so close to a breakthrough, he knew it, but if he continued his investigations, it would be directly against the king’s wishes. It was one thing to work at it on his free days, especially when he had the king’s blessing, even if it was reluctantly given. But now…
In all his years of service, he’d never disobeyed the king, never even felt tempted, but here he was, barely dismissed from King Wolfric’s presence, and already he was considering how best to work around the command he’d just received. He served the throne more than the man, yet he found he didn’t respect Wolfric the way he had his father. Was it just the new king’s youth that brought out his disobedient side?
He liked to think there was more to it, some gut instinct that made him so certain there was more to learn. But deep down maybe he thought he knew more than a barely twenty-year-old boy who now sat on the throne and was advised by another boy two years his junior.
Kelten nearly laughed at his arrogance. Wolfric and to a lesser extent Otto had been trained their entire lives to lead men and make decisions. The nobility might be lax in some ways, but when it came to training their heirs, they were careful to make sure they knew what they needed to from a young age. Kelten was a commoner that was good with a sword and loyal. That’s how he rose through the ranks to his current position. If he lost half his qualifications, maybe he had no business serving as the captain of the guard.
If he couldn’t follow his king’s command, the honorable thing to do would be to quit and continue on his own. But without his position, he’d have no sway with the rich and powerful and his instincts screamed that someone powerful was behind this murder, maybe even the king’s advisor, assuming he wasn’t reading too much in to Annamaria’s letter.
He rounded the bend that carried him from the throne room and slammed his fist into the wall. What was he supposed to do?
Kelten blew out a long sigh. Right now, he had no more leads to follow anyway. He’d bide his time and keep his eyes open. If something came up, fine, if not, he’d have to be satisfied with what he’d accomplished.
Chapter 36
Immediately after a bland breakfast of oatmeal and biscuits, Otto, Hans, and the rest of the squad gathered at the wagons to begin the first test of the enchanted armor. Axel and General Varchi were the only audience for this first effort which suited Otto fine. If there was a problem, the fewer people who saw them falling all over themselves the better. That said, there was no way five suits of ten-foot-tall armor stomping around wasn’t going to attract attention.
The tarps were pulled back, revealing the armor to their guests. General Varchi drew in a sharp breath. “Who on earth made those things?”
“I believe they were made by Lord Karonin, at least I stole them from one of her armories.” Technically Otto had permission to take them, but he wasn’t about to point out that he was in regular contact with the spirit of a long-dead Arcane Lord. “Ready to begin, Hans?”
“Ready as we’ll ever be, Lord Shenk.”
Otto grinned and retrieved one of the glowing purple crystals from the storage chest. There was a slot in the chest plate that accepted the crystal. He slid it in and a moment later the thin lines of mithril running from the slot to the arms and legs of the armor began to glow the same color as the crystal. That was the sign that it was ready to use.
Reaching through the ether, Otto seized control of the armor and had it gently climb down out of the wagon. Guiding it with the crystal in place took far less of his energy. Once it was out, Otto had the chest plate slide up, revealing the space where the operator stood. There were places for the arms and legs to slip in as well as padding to protect from impact.
“Climb aboard, Hans. Show everyone how it’s done.”
Hans shot Otto a dubious look. “I wish someone would tell me how it’s done.”
“Just strap yourself in and the magic will do the rest. These were designed to be used by soldiers not wizards so it should be simple enough to control them.”
Hans didn’t look convinced, but he climbed up the right leg and backed into the armor. His legs went easily into the correct openings then his arms and hands found homes. When he leaned back, the front plate clanked down into position, hiding him from view. The armor’s visor glowed with purple light.
“Lord Shenk!” Hans sounded both awed and terrified. “This is… This is…”
“Take a breath and tell me what you see,” Otto said.
“I can see out the visor, but I can’t see the chest plate in front of me.”
“That’s good. The magic has integrated your senses into the armor. My voice should sound like it’s coming from the helmet as well.”
“It does. This is very… odd.”
“You’ll get used to it. Now try raising your arms one at a time.”
It wasn’t smooth or steady, but both arms went up then back down. So far so good. Now for the big test.
“Take a step, slowly.”
Han’s foot rose, wobbled, and came slamming down. The left foot followed and then he started walking in a slow circle. After two circuits Hans said, “It feels as natural as walking on my own if I were dressed in heavy armor. I can’t believe it. It’s like the armor and I are one.”
Otto grinned. This was going better than he’d ever dared hope. “That’s exactly how it’s supposed to work. Keep practicing your movement while I get the others operational.”
“An impressive display.” General Varchi’s voice startled Otto. He’d been so focused on his work he’d forgotten the older man was there. “Though they’re so slow I can’t imagine they’d be much use on the battlefield.”
“Just wait until we get going, General. You’ll see how useful they can be.”
Twenty minutes later, all five suits were up and stomping around. Soldiers had gathered at a safe distance. When it was clear that Hans and his men had the units under control Otto said, “Let’s take a walk down to the forest and I’ll show you just what they can do.”
The general nodded and the group strolled to the edge of the woods.
“Hans.” Otto pointed at a pine tree about ten inches around. “Rip that tree out by the roots.”
Hans stomped over, wrapped his arms around the trunk, and heaved.
The tree resisted for a second, then the mithril lines glowed brighter and snapped it off at the base. That wasn’t exactly what Otto was hoping for, but you couldn’t say it wasn’t impressive.
Hans tossed the shattered tree aside.
Otto pointed at a boulder jutting out of the earth. “Cord, pick that rock up and throw it as far as you can.”
Another suit bent and heaved. The rock came loose and went flying a moment later, only crashing into the earth a hundred-plus yards away.
“You see, General, with this armor, no enemy fortification will last an hour. Did you notice the swords on their backs? Imagine a cavalry charge running into those weapons swung about four feet above the ground. I’ll grant you the armor might be less than effective in melee combat, but in the right place, they’ll be absolutely devastating.”
“An impressive display, certainly,” the general said with considerably less enthusiasm than Otto expected. “I suppose we could use them as mobile siege equipment. Now if you’ll excuse me, I
need to plan our next move.”
“The general’s old fashioned,” Axel said. “Anything new will take time to win him over. Frankly, I can imagine winning a battle just by letting the enemy see those things. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to go up against them.”
“Once he sees them fight, old fashioned or not, he’ll come around. The real fun will come when I show him the wizards’ magic.”
“Having seen what you can do on your own, I’m sure it will be impressive. I need to catch up. He’ll want me to go out scouting soon enough.”
“How would you like to know right where to look? I can show you if you can spare me ten minutes.”
Chapter 37
Axel had to hand it to his little brother, the enemy position was exactly where he said it would be. Unfortunately, that was the only good thing about their situation. On the plains ahead of him, the Straken army had built a massive fortification that stretched from tree line to tree line.
There were trenches filled with spikes, walls topped with more spikes behind which lurked hundreds of archers. Catapults and ballistae were just visible, the tops of their frames barely jutting above the wall. It reminded Axel of the earthen fort they took weeks ago only on a huge scale. There was absolutely no way past it unless they retreated and marched hundreds of miles out of their way and even then they’d have a huge army at their backs as they approached the capital.
General Varchi had said that when they finally met the enemy in battle, it would be decisive. Axel figured he was right. Getting past their position was going to be next to impossible. They lost hundreds of soldiers taking the small fort; this one could easily break the army, leaving them with no choice but to retreat. He hoped whatever tricks Otto and his wizards had in store were good ones. They were going to need every advantage they could get.
“How many men you reckon in there, my lord?” Cobb asked.
“A lot. Three legions at least, maybe four. Say twenty thousand plus.”
“So they’ve got us outnumbered and a strong defensive location. Think your brother’s toys can get us through that?”
“No, I don’t. Impressive as they are, five suits of giant armor wouldn’t stand a chance against a force that size.”
“And what are we going to do?”
Axel shook his head. “I’m going to be grateful I’m not General Varchi and you’re going to follow whatever orders come down.”
Cobb snorted and they slipped back to join the rest of the scouts. The main force was two hours behind. For all his indifference to the armor, General Varchi had taken Otto’s word about the enemy’s location.
Axel didn’t pause as he retreated, just waving his men to fall in behind him. They reached the army an hour later. The general rode in the lead with Otto nearby.
“You found them?” General Varchi asked.
“Yes, sir. There’s a sprawling fortification exactly where Otto said it would be. The walls are high enough that I can’t see the entire force, but given the size, I’d guess at least twenty thousand.”
The general nodded and said, “Fall in and we’ll have a look.”
Axel and his men guided their horses into line and the army set out again. Nothing troubled them as they approached the plains and around noon they stopped at the edge of the grass.
General Varchi didn’t speak for long minutes then at last he said, “Isn’t this something. All forces deploy. Defensive positions. Get settled in for the night. There isn’t time for an attack today.”
Axel, Otto, General Varchi, and the command staff stayed mounted while the rest of the soldiers got to work setting up the camp. They were well out of catapult range so there was no danger of getting crushed by a stray boulder. They still had five hours of daylight, so Axel was surprised they weren’t making at least one run at the enemy. Not that it was his place to say. The men could certainly do with a rest before the first strike, though how any of them would sleep Axel didn’t know.
He was just considering getting down to help the men set up when the drawbridge on the fort lowered across their spike trench. “General, company.”
“Finally. I was wondering how long their commander was going to keep us waiting.” General Varchi nudged his horse and rode a hundred yards or so into the prairie.
Axel and Otto shared a look before going to join him. A small force of ten mounted soldiers emerged from the fort, a white flag flying over their heads. At the front of the group rode a mountain of a man on the back of a horse that had to measure twenty hands tall. He wore furs and dark armor as seemed to be the style in Straken.
“Do you know the enemy general, sir?” Axel asked.
“No, though I suspected whoever was in charge would come out to parley, exchange a few threats, that sort of thing. From what I’ve read this sort of preseige ritual was common back before the Portal Compact ended our wars. I assume whoever he is has read those books as well.”
“Other than a desire not to be rude, is there some reason we don’t just kill them all right now?” Otto asked.
“We’re not savages,” General Varchi said. “Besides, if he’s smart, he’s got a second who’s talented enough to take over should we break protocol. Now keep quiet and let me do the talking.”
Otto bristled and given his current rank and status Axel understood why. Fortunately, Otto had more self-control than Father and after a glare at the general’s back settled in to watch.
“Greetings,” General Varchi said. “I assume you wish to discuss terms.”
“Terms?” the Straken commander said. “No, I’m here to offer you one chance to withdraw from Straken. You can’t possibly defeat my force. We have the stronger position and greater numbers. Don’t throw your men’s lives away needlessly. Retreating before a superior force isn’t cowardly.”
“I assume you’re authorized to speak for King Uther and that you’ll be promising not to return to Garenland? Anything less than that and we’ll be forced to continue on our way to Marduke.”
“Even if I did, would you trust my word?”
“No.” General Varchi shrugged. “I suppose my men will see yours on the walls in the morning.”
“They’ll be cut down long before they reach the walls. You should never have come to Straken.” The enemy contingent turned their mounts and rode back to the fort.
“That was a waste of time,” Axel said.
“Yes, as most formalities are.” General Varchi nodded. “Staff meeting in the command tent as soon as it’s up. You’ll both be joining us of course.”
Otto nodded as the general rode off.
“You were staring awfully hard at the Straken general,” Axel said.
“I was memorizing his features. That way I’ll be sure to kill the right person tonight. Your General Varchi might be content to swallow the arrogant fool’s insults, but I’m not. Assuming he’s right, there’s someone else ready to take over anyway.”
Axel watched his little brother ride toward where the wizards had begun setting up their tents. Every time Axel saw him, Otto reminded him more and more of Father. Considering how powerful he was now, that couldn’t be good for anyone.
Chapter 38
The sun had risen an hour ago and now Otto found himself standing at the front of the Northern Army with his wizards on either side of him. Fifteen thousand men were watching and counting on them to soften a seemingly unbeatable enemy. Yesterday at the staff meeting Otto had argued that they should be allowed to strike first, that was why they’d come after all. Once the melee began, their spells would be far less effective. Or at least more difficult to target.
General Varchi had agreed though with a considerable lack of enthusiasm. The old fool still didn’t appreciate what they brought to the battlefield. In fact, like most people, he probably still thought wizards should be little better than slaves, their rights constrained and controlled by idiots who didn’t understand what they were capable of. Today, at last, he would learn exactly how wrong he was.
Otto dr
ew his mithril sword and leveled it at the fort. “Fireballs ready! Squad leaders, don’t forget to channel through your rings. We want maximum damage. Target their siege equipment with the first volley.”
With the order given, Otto channeled twenty threads’ worth of ether through the blade of his sword. The sphere he formed soon filled with orange energy. All around him he felt the others building up their spells. Otto charged the sphere until he felt the wall begin to vibrate. The result was a blue-white sphere as large as his head.
“Fire when ready!” Otto sent a targeting thread to the battlements directly above the gate where a pair of ballistae sat ready to slaughter anyone getting close.
The moment his thread was in place, the fireball streaked along it.
His spell detonated with more force than he’d anticipated. Hot wind caressed his face as the roar savaged his ears. Through the smoke and debris he couldn’t see how much damage the spell did.
As he peered ahead, more, smaller explosions sounded up and down the line.
They waited to assess the damage.
They didn’t have long to wait. When the smoke cleared it was apparent that the first volley had been effective. Where Otto’s spell had struck, little remained beyond a few charred bits of wood and chunks of flesh that had once been men. He’d destroyed a section of wall about thirty feet long making a gap plenty wide for the infantry to enter.
To his left and right, catapults burned and enemy soldiers screamed as their comrades tried to put them out. The others hadn’t done as much damage as Otto, but the results were still impressive.
Nevertheless, there were still many thousand soldiers unharmed as well as scores of siege weapons. Their work had only begun.
“Pick your targets and fire at will. Should you feel fatigued, fall back to the aid station.”
The Great Northern War (The Portal Wars Saga Book 2) Page 18
