The Ravens of Carrid Tower

by David c Black

  "This is bad, Yarrian." The Emperor eventually replied.

  "Yes it is, sir. Very. We are no longer the dominant force in Drorea."

  Seeing that the reality of their situation had calmed the Emperor's temper he tried again, "Do you want me to keep Dokra there to secure his lines as much as possible before winter falls? Harass Citalley’s winter activities?"

  "No, Ji’ath and Callon can do that. I'll send reinforcements in the morning over the Wirrow and they can filter up to the front lines. There will be no more engagements until we sort this mess out. The capital is secure, we must be content with that for the mean time. Dokra and I need to talk."

  "Yes sir. What about the rest of them?"

  "Them?"

  "The drakes, sir."

  "Oh." He said considering something, "Yes, get the warlocks in. The handlers obviously need more training."

  "I didn't mean that, Imperator. I wouldn't be doing my duty if I didn't tell you that it is my personal opinion that they are too dangerous and we can't control them."

  "You're suggesting?"

  "We put them down."

  "Put them… Put them down…” Galtus almost scoffed. “Gods, no Yarrian. No, I will not!" He said, firing up again.

  "But, sir..."

  "I said, no!" He shouted. "Now more than ever, we need them. Carrid could get them. They already have their damned monks and mages, this... this is our edge, Yarrian. Finally."

  "Sir, this is not about who catches them. They could burn the world down. Carriddean power is answerable at least to some degree to reason. The drakes are not. Nine of them destroyed the best of your army. Imagine a hundred. A thousand. They are a complete unknown."

  "I will give it some thought."

  I will do no such thing. Look what a handful of them did here. We can learn to control them, don't you see that, Yarrian? When the Assembly hears what we have they will be forced to sit out the war in Drorea. All will see the Republic's veil of power disintegrate, leaving nothing but a tower of lawyers, bankers and bureaucrats. Promises of mutual defence broken. The Empire of peace shatters.

  "Yes, sir." He bowed, hearing the unsaid words to leave the room. As Yarrian departed, Galtus was still standing in front of the board staring down at the tiles. He loosened his shirt's collar, feeling the heat radiate out the gap moistening his lower chin. He remembered what D’vidius had said to him about over-confidence and fought the urge to flip the gaming table in a fit of rage. An act of course, he would never do, considering such an outburst pathetic beyond measure. Instead he slowly picked up one piece after another and depositing each in its own velvet upholstered slot within the ornate, hand carved box. He had been overconfident he considered as he carefully handled the precious objects. Cycles in the planning had gone into war with Carrid and still he baulked at the idea of initiating engagements.

  And yet, I invade Drorea on little more than a whim. Because I knew the capital could fall without blood. Well Citalley, it is time to pay more attention to you because despite this embarrassing turn, things are what they are. I hold the capital and you are out in the woods, nothing more than a rebel now. Worse, a partisan King. I wonder what your Father would think, had Nathalian not poisoned him? His life’s work gone, just weeks after being laid to rest.

  But Galtus did not really care. He wasn't the vindictive or sadistic type of man that unfortunately surrounded him in the upper levels of government. He took no pleasure in the suffering of others, though it did not trouble him either.

  Not one bit.

  To the Emperor the world was simply a vast Lenso board.

  I own those who do what I say. Some pieces are in my way and must me moved. Where they can't be moved they must be broken and cast away.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  Ja Deist

  Like Rill's men in the east, Kellick's forces had control of the situation on his side the battlements. The Shaa's men were too lightly armed and couldn't get up in enough numbers. Any that did were cut down almost immediately.

  The rams are here now. Could take them hours to smash the gates though. We can do this.

  But the Shaa had no intention of ramming the gate, his men had already begun digging the earth under the protective canopy of the two rams. The ground was soft and their spades quickly made cavities beneath the walls, large enough to place their charges.

  "Should we destroy the rams sir."

  I'm tempted to leave them to it down there. But no...

  "Yes, do it. Light it up."

  "I'll tell them."

  The Ravens on the tower closest to the gate started lifting barrels and hauling them over the ledge. Kellick watched each plummet to the ground smashing open. Refined, transparent liquid with a slight pinkish hue spilled out over the rams and the ground around them.

  "Fire arrows." Kellick said to the Ravens beside him and a volley of flaming projectiles struck the first and second ram. Fire spread over the bone and hide canopy, leaping down to the ground. Men ran out from beneath in all directions, followed by everyone near the gate fleeing in panic.

  Why the panic? Oh…

  “Everyone get away from the gate…”

  Oh no…

  But it was too late. The charges, most still within the ram, exploded.

  Kellick and everyone on the arrow tower were flung back, one man striking his head hard on the stone work knocking himself unconscious. Kellick recovered first, racing to the ledge, but could see nothing. White smoke and dust completely covered the gate and most of the wall around it. He saw the horde recoil back in the distance, then start to sink like sand, slowly falling through an hour glass.

  They've breached. Shit.

  "Retreat!" Kellick shouted as loud as he could. "To the inner rings!!"

  Dust covered soldiers filed down the stairs either sides of the gates and ran through the gap partially blocking main street’s entrance. Figures appeared through the breach walking out of the smoke. They seemed disorientated. The fleeing city defenders slashed out at them as they ran past towards main street, bolting through the gap to avoid being trapped outside. Kellick took a rope ladder up to the roof of the first building and made his way deeper into the city to his second observation point. He looked back as the dust clouds started to clear around the gate. It was gone. The portcullis had been completely destroyed and a huge rent in the wall where the gate had been. Fanatics poured through the space and he saw not everyone could make it safely to main street.

  "You men!" He shouted from the roof to the trapped soldiers. "It's too late, run that way. Get everyone on the wall there back here as fast as they can. Find Lieutenant Rill, but any officer will do. Tell them to stop them from spreading"

  There must have been five hundred men above the gate. A lot of them Ravens.

  The assorted group of two hundred or so ran north east. The Shaa's men couldn't get through Kellicks hole in the Mainstreet barricade fast enough and seeing the group of soldiers flee, many of the fanatics broke away and followed them up the road.

  "Fire there." Kellick said pointing to the pursuers, but there were too many and hundreds passed out of range.

  "Captain." Locke said.

  "Where have you been? They had ore! I'll kill him."

  "Who?"

  "Never mind. I need you to do something about that." He pointed to the countless men running through the destroyed wall, most pushing through into main street while others fanned out, banging on doors and windows, using blades as levers looking for weakness. Any way through.

  "Captain that explosion, it damaged the buildings. There are breaches in your ring."

  "What? Where?"

  "Behind that street, the wall's down. Half of the houses have collapsed."

  "Shit." He said looking down at the fanatics being pushed down Main street, showered from above by the Ravens, Carriddean bowmen and citizens hurling rocks and bricks.

  "One of you, go and support Rill up there. I'll see if we can plug those holes."

  "I'll go
north." Harlon said first.

  Kellick looked at the man, then nodded. "Good." To his brother he turned and said, "and you slow them down here, we need more time."

  “Will do. Sir, take these." Locke handed a bag to the officer.

  As the Captain and Harlon separated from him, Locke opened his bag, reaching in for the first vial he could grab.

  Fire, gas, it doesn't matter at this point.

  "Everyone back, don't breathe the smoke." The mage threw his first grenade to the left of him. A gas bomb smashing silently on the floor. Then another as far as he could to the right. Fire exploding with a whoosh as it sucked air out of the street. Two more were quickly launched overhand into the mass of men pushing forward.

  Locke got one more through the breached southern wall, before stopping. The smoke was too thick for him to see. He put the last vial in his hand back in the bag, closed it and ran. Feeling the heat on his sweat drenched back as he withdrew, the mage looked back to see the devastation his grenades had in the narrow high walled street.

  Everyone on the roof had already withdrawn, taken new positions a few houses back, resuming their fire on those coming even faster down the road, escaping the raging flames and poisonous fumes. Locke still couldn't see anything near the gate and was reluctant to throw his precious grenades blind. Instead he waited for enough of the Shaa's horde to fill the thoroughfare before throwing another at their rear. The fireball blocked the road and gave the men on the roof time to deal with one group of attackers at a time.

  Until they run out of arrows and bricks.

  Which on this stretch of the road at least was not far from happening.

  Kellick had run over eleven buildings without stopping, heading directly north up Main Street. He outpaced the head of the horde’s surge coming behind him in the road below, being annihilated by his men on the roofs either side of the road. The initial thousand through the half-blockaded entrance to the street were cut down before a single fanatic could reach, much less climb the first set of iron spikes which had been set in concrete across the highway. The second thousand didn't fair that much better.

  But they just keep damned coming.

  He reached the twelfth roof, sprinting past the waiting men, all turning to look at their red- faced leader. Few had seen him pace quickly, let alone run before. He slowed, without acknowledgement, before reaching the corner of the structure and dropping down to the largest hastily constructed final wall blocking the route out to Market Square. He dashed across to the house on the other side of the road and then looped back down towards the chaos.

  This is not going to plan. Kellick thought as he saw the half-collapsed building. The first fanatics had made it through the house and were now looking for a way out of the garden.

  He picked up a stone and turned, about to throw it underhand to get the attention of the Ravens on an adjacent building before realising three sergeants and at least twenty scouts were watching him, bows already drawn and ready to provide counter fire. Their Captain was out on his own. Kellick signalled and all of them made their way to join him.

  "They’re coming through there. Quiet."

  The ravens loosed arrows down, killing everyone in the grounds, but more followed. Seeing only a few scouts on the roof and garden network undefended a few fanatics screeched loudly from inside the building to their comrades pushing to enter the main breach. The horde had found another way to push into the city.

  "Sir this is bad."

  "Yes."

  The fanatics were pouring out of the building’s broken door and climbing through the ground floor’s smashed windows. Those in the garden started climbing over the low walls into adjacent properties. The ravens continued their arrow fire, but it wasn’t even close to being enough to hold them back.

  Bad.

  Kellick threw one of the grenades Locke had given him into the building which started smoking immediately after impact.

  "Kill those escaping, leave the house to me."

  "Yes, sir." A sergeant said.

  Kellick was about to throw another vial before putting it back in the bag. He could hardly believe how effective the weapon was. They all watched while retreating slowly back, covering their noses with gloved hands as the toxic fumes rose above the roof line. The garden was filled with men and women on their knees or the floor. Coughing. Gasping. Then they died. Seeing the smoke billow out of the house Kellick assumed the fanatics still inside were dead too. The breach, at least for a few minutes was secure.

  Incredible.

  "How long does it last."

  "Not sure." The Captain said, examining the bag of bombs.

  This stuff changes everything.

  Kellick would never know how true those thoughts would come to be.

  “Stay here and make sure no one comes through when the gas clears.

  Take these.” He said handing two more gas bombs to the raven.

  “Yes, sir.” The sergeant said, taking both reluctantly and staring at the vials with a slight grimace.

  Rill ran down the street, occasionally looking back over his shoulder to make sure everyone was following. He had a thousand with him, maybe more. Running a little behind him, he could see Canno up on the battlement’s wall. The soldier was waiting for the last man to pass before he threw off the two doors which had been fixed together and laid flat over the areas Kellick had ordered smashed. The gap was too wide to jump over preventing any circumnavigation of the walls once the boards and doors had been removed.

  Rill heard the pounding of boots in front him where the ring road curved out of sight and lifted his hand in signal for the men to stop.

  "Pikes up front! Shield wall! Swords hold back. Move!" Then he looked at the hundreds of citizens plainly unsure what to do as the professional soldiers rushed past them moving into formation.

  "You lot! We’re going on the roof."

  Shit there's nothing to climb.

  He grabbed a few men and called over others. Using the man next to him he motioned for him to cup his hands and then lift him up with his foot. Rill reached out for the edge of the roof and then turned to help others get up. They learned quickly and twenty or so of the larger citizens helped the others up first.

  The pounding of feet was closer now. "It's friendlies." One pike shouted nearest the wall

  Good.

  "But they're running fast, sir."

  "Let them through and close the shield wall behind them. They're running from something." Then looking around to the hundreds of citizens waiting for their next order. "Get these tiles up, as many as you can."

  The defenders running north as fast as they could slowed slightly seeing the lines of spikes bristling across the street. Then in perfect unison, the pike men stepped aside leaving gaps through their ranks. They rushed though.

  "Who's in charge of you men." Rill shouted.

  "No one sir, the Shaa blew up the gate. They came in too fast and we were trapped."

  The Shaa blew it up?

  "How many were chasing you."

  But Rill could hear the sound of racing feet pounding again on the ground, only this time much louder.

  "Too many."

  "Organise yourself, archers get up here, the rest of you support the pikes."

  A long haired, tattooed fanatic ran around the corner, stopping at the sight of organised defenders blocking his way. He looked back waiting for allies moments behind him to arrive. The bristling wall of spikes seemed of no consequence to the rest of the blood drunk men and they charged headlong into the waiting pikes. Before the first few were close enough to spit at the defenders, spears shot out, killing their target and being withdrawn quickly back into position for the next strike. As more fanatics filled the street, they pushed in closer, rushing over the fallen.

  The pikes had made piles of dead in front of them, but the nearer the enemy came, the less effective the long weapons were. Rill could see the officer with them knew his business though, the phalanx back stepped slowly, litteri
ng the ground in front of them with bodies of the Shaa’s men. Then in parade ground fashion, the banks of republican soldiers suddenly smashed forward sending a shockwave through the unarmoured fanatics. The officer was building up an obstacle of dead bodies between his men and the main body of attackers. It was almost shoulder height now and as more figures climbed the mound, spears cut them down and it grew taller. Fanatics ran over the pile of mangled fanatics without care for those still breathing. Many tripped on the dead and wounded, being crushed themselves under foot by those behind.

  "C’mon forward!" Rill called to the men on roof. "Bring the tiles." They were ahead of the shield wall looking down onto the flank of the fanatics, filling the street. He took a tile from the nearest man beside him and flicked it savagely down, like a throwing knife, into the crowd. It bounced off one man’s head, ricocheting into the next taking two down. They copied and hundreds of large fired clay tiles span down into the packed street. Each wave killing scores.

  "Canno, get your men behind them, we can trap them here" Rill shouted to his friend on the far wall, running south.

  "Can't do that, Rill."

  "Why?!" He called back over the street to the far wall, the din of battle almost drowning out his voice.

  "The roads full of them, all the way to the gate. Far as I can see anyway. There’s no way down."

  Shit.

  "Looks like their heavies are coming too."

  Fuck.

  Canno was stuck on the wall, he had already removed Kellick’s covered traps so the only way off was back to the destroyed southern gate.

  Held now by the Shaa.

  "Your friend is in danger of being trapped."

  Rill turned suddenly to see the mage Harlon crossing a roof cautiously.