by RG Long
The entire Council, save for Poc, jostled to the window.
Jerrick spoke over the commotion outside.
“How about that ship out of town?”
26: Ruin Come Down
Rayg smiled as he pulled his sword out of the chest of Androlion Fellgate. His aim had been true: straight at the heart.
The once esteemed leader of the Southern Republic and Merc army gave his last breath. His hands fell limply from around Rayg's wrists. He held him by the throat for a moment, looking into the now still face. Then he threw him against the wall of the ship.
What a fool, Rayg thought as he made his way into the light of day.
Without a second glance, he stepped over Androlion's body, as well as the fool who had been named the Head Elder of the Southern Republic, who lay just as still in his own pool of blood.
He walked from the ship and out onto the grassy plains below, not fearing retribution or accusations. All who saw his murder of the man he so loathed had fallen back, consumed with fear. Androlion had been followed out of respect for him as a leader and for the excitement of his vision of a world freed from destruction. Any who followed Rayg did so only because they did not desire to be on any side he was against.
The men who strode beside him kept their distance. He smiled. The very air around him reeked of dismay and terror. He could smell it. There was nothing quite as glorious as an army kept at bay by the very threat of him.
Only the three generals and their little scheme had stood in front of him and his plan. Cory had been a fool to think that he could rebel. Such a plan would surely have failed the moment they came to face him.
The morning fog was being cleared away by the gentle warmth of the suns. Winter would soon set across the land.
All the better to create suffering and pain, thought Rayg.
Several captains were now realizing that the general was making rounds and they began to shout at their men to come to attention. Shining armor and blade glinted in the light of the morning. Companies of soldiers were getting themselves into position, readying for the battle ahead.
The city of Beaton lay quiet. There had been no sign or word from them about their decision to slay dwarves and elves or not. Rayg didn't care. He planned to lay siege to the city regardless of their choice.
Androlion had been such a fool. He had truly believed that he could be the savior of men by destroying all others. The dreams he had been given had done their job. Now it was time for Rayg to complete the great work he had started.
Now it was time for war.
“General Rayg,” came a voice from behind him. A captain ran to him and saluted.
“We've made all the preparations Lord Androlion had commanded, sir,” he said. After a moment, he glanced around, obviously looking for someone.
“Uh, General Rayg, Sir...” he started. “Where is...?”
“Dead,” interrupted Rayg, annoyance filling him swiftly. "I will be your general now."
Rayg turned to the man, pleased to see him back up a pace.
"And..." he stammered, looking nervous but determined. "And General Cory?"
The blade flashed out and drove into the man's chest before he had a moment to blink.
"Traitor," Rayg whispered into the ear that belonged to the dying soldier.
He withdrew his blade and put it at his side, not bothering to clean it.
There would be more blood spilt today.
"Soldiers!" Rayg bellowed over the field, surveying the men who stood at attention, their captains and officers nearby. "Prepare for siege!"
Cheers erupted and the army sprang into motion. Towers of wood began to lurch forward. Catapults were loaded and weights were checked and measured. Thousands upon thousands of men began to march toward the walls of Beaton, ready to lay claim to the city-state for the great Southern Republic.
Rayg credited them for their enthusiasm.
But the smile upon his face was not pride in these troops. He cared little for them. His gaze was directed upward to the sky. For a moment he just stared, and then began to walk forward himself, ready to kill.
"March," he said under his breath so that those nearby wouldn't hear. "Bring about your undoing."
Rayg let his power flow down to his fingertips and back up again. Energy sparked all around him. His black armor began to glow an eerie purple along the edges. Anticipation of what was to come welled up within him.
"Chaos has come," he said as he let fly a bolt of energy at the top of the wall of Beaton, sending a chunk of it crashing to the ground. "The Bringer of Ruin is here."
27: Courage
“Retreat!” Teresa yelled as she cut down yet another goblin who had climbed over the walls and invaded the capital. “Retreat to the castle!”
Every soldier and citizen was obeying her command save for two she had no authority over and one too stubborn to listen.
Felicia and Urt had a sizable trail of goblin bodies following them as they traced Teresa's steps along the wall. Urt was a powerful warrior. His race was graceful and deadly. Each stroke of his blade appeared to be a calculated and well thought out maneuver. Leaping over debris and fallen soldiers, he slew goblin after goblin that had successfully found a footing on top of the defenses.
By contrast, Felicia hacked away at anything that moved until it stopped.
Teresa knew she had no right to tell them to flee for safety with the rest of the soldiers of Thoran. They claimed no country as their own, preferring the open sea to any patch of land. She had commanded them to retreat. They ignored her orders.
She wasn't exactly unhappy with their decision. Twice Urt had managed to slay a goblin that had only just gotten past a flurry of sword strikes from Teresa. While her skill was not as pronounced as Urt's, she had been taught the skill of wielding two blades well. Lote, being the young age of fifty at her induction into the Swords of the King, had taught Teresa the secrets to the art. The elf preferred the bow, but was still able to instill deadly skill into a willing student.
Teresa had been more than willing.
Two more goblins fell to her blades in the same moment.
Though she couldn't command Felicia and Urt to do as she wished, she was very close to demoting one of her sergeants.
“Benton!” she yelled over the falling bodies of the two gray skinned beasts. “For the fifth time, lead these troops back to the castle!”
The dwarf pretended not to hear her. He smashed into a line of three goblins who had run at him from the opposite end of the wall. All four bodies went flying through the air as he tackled them. Only he rose back up to fight again.
“Bah,” he grunted, and looked around to find more goblins to smash, holding his hammer over his shoulder. He looked at Teresa and shook his head. “And who's supposed to make sure you get back to the castle, eh? Not this lot. I'm more stubborn than you and I'm willing to prove it.”
Teresa didn't have time to argue. Five more goblins leapt onto the wall and charged her. One jumped from the rampart and died before he reached the ground. One of Teresa's blades relieved him of his head. Another drew an arrow on a crude bow. Teresa ducked and rolled as the arrow shot above her. The goblin's heart was pierced before he had time to draw another missile.
She stood upright again to take on the other three, but found that her other companions had already done so.
They stood a moment and looked out over the wall. A tide of monsters began climbing the wall in earnest now that the defenders had all but abandoned the structure.
Urt stood stoically, but his breathing was heavy. He had only recently been healed by the Speakers of Thoran. Felicia stuck her sword for a fourth time into her quarry.
“Curse this lot,” she spat.
Fifty more trees hit the wall as they stood there. Goblins were scrambling for the chance to get up.
Typical, thought Teresa. Wait until they're sure they're winning and then they start to fight.
“Care to test how stubborn I really am?” Ben
ton asked, hoisting up his hammer out of the chest of the goblin he had just dispatched. Teresa noted a grim smile on his face.
Looking back the other direction, she saw that most of the civilians and troops were already halfway to the castle's main gate.
“Not today,” she said. “To the inner wall, with all haste.”
No sooner had the five of them flung themselves down a set of stairs than the entire wall became a rolling wave of goblins, crashing and breaking over the defenses like water.
WHEN TERESA WAS YOUNGER, she used to race her brothers from the castle gate to the outer wall. The queen had told them it wasn't a very regal activity for them, which made Teresa challenge her brothers more often than she would have in the first place.
Most of the time, Folke was the easy winner, being the most athletic and well trained. The older they became, the more Alric would win. He loved to run and said it was a thrill to be able to run at full speed down the stoned path.
Teresa was more convinced that he worked with all his might to beat Folke at the race. She, on the other hand, hardly ever came in first place, though she easily came in second before Alric started beating her. When her official training with the Swords began, however, Teresa could win any foot race they put her up to.
That race between the three of them had always been a happy thing. Now she sprinted for her life, remembering the taunts and teasing they had given each other and wishing they were at her side now.
She looked over her shoulder to see Benton, Felicia, and Urt all running full tilt toward the inner wall. Behind them a sea of gray poured over the wall and into the city. Goblins had crossed the outer wall for the first time in the history of Thoran. Many of them chased Teresa and her companions up the stone path, brandishing swords and clubs. Teresa thanked the suns that very few of them stopped to fire their arrows.
Her feet pounded the stones frantically as she raced forward. Before her, the castle wall rose up. She could already see the gate closing shut, with several soldiers standing outside of it with arrows notched to bows. Missiles began to race past her and into the swelling ranks of goblins behind.
She didn't stop to see if any found their target.
Shops, houses, and side streets all blurred together as she ran for her life. Teresa was certain they were the very last soldiers to enter the gate.
Felicia and Urt now ran at her sides, with Benton bringing up the rear. The castle wall was only a stone's throw away. An arrow from behind her nicked her shoulder. It only grazed her armor and did no damage, but it heightened her senses and brought up a fear subdued within her she hadn't known.
Sweat dripped from her forehead and ran down her face. She was only ten paces from the gate. All of the soldiers had retreated inside. Teresa slowed just enough so that Felicia and Urt could hurtle themselves through the narrow slit left in the huge double doors before her. She turned her head to see, to her horror, that Benton hadn't come inside with them.
He stood at the entrance and was shouting.
"Close the gates!" he bellowed as he swung his hammer in huge arcs, attempting to keep the goblin hordes back. Arrows flew over Teresa's head and out the opening past Benton. The guards in front of her were following the command and shoving the doors shut.
"No!" Teresa shouted as she forced her way through them, grabbed Benton by the scruff of his collar and wrenched him back into the safety of the gates just as they closed.
Twenty guards threw themselves onto the portal while others heaved massive iron bars into place, securing them in.
Teresa and Benton lay panting on the ground.
"What were you thinking, you lunatic!" she was shouting at him. "Don't throw your life away so quickly!"
Benton was breathing heavily, but still managed to get to his feet and put out a hand for Teresa.
She took his arm and got up, looking down now at the stout dwarf. He wore a bitter smile on his face.
"Told ya I was stubborn," he said grimly.
SOLDIERS AND BATTLE Speakers alike fought the horde of goblins pressing in on the castle gates. The walls were just as thick as the ones that guarded the city. On top of the wall ran a walkway three-men wide with guard towers and archer windows so that missiles, both magic and arrow, could be fired down on any invader.
Teresa quietly mourned that they had to be put to use.
Never before had any army invaded past the outer wall. She knew that she was running out of time. These goblins weren't interested in a long siege, it seemed. They would rather end the fight quickly and enjoy the spoils of war.
Now was the time for more desperate measures.
Civilians, those who were too young or too old to fight, were taken further back into the castle. Teresa looked in one direction and saw what was left of Thoran's army guarding one giant door. In the other, men and women, boys and girls, were being ushered into the castle for their safety.
“A lot of good that'll do,” said Benton, resting on his hammer for a moment. “The minute those goblins break through, that castle will be a tomb.”
“Would you rather we start digging holes now?” Felicia asked the dwarf, not bothering to hide her annoyance.
Tombs. Holes. Caves!
The thought came to Teresa wildly and she knew that there was an answer to preserving her people.
“Quickly,” she said, grabbing Benton by the arm and getting eye level with him. “Tell everyone we can spare to head into the main hall of the castle. We're going to evacuate.”
“Evacuate?” Felicia repeated, obviously thinking that Teresa had gone mad.
“Just do it!” she said, tearing off into the castle, knowing that their time was limited and that, to save Thoran, she may have to abandon it.
EVERYONE COULDN'T FIT into the impressive main hall of the castle of Thoran, but that certainly didn't prevent them from trying. Huge stone columns rose up to a fifty-foot ceiling. Great timbers spanned the gap and from them hung the banners of Thoran: brilliantly gold decorations stood out proudly on the maroon canvas. Two swords crossed in front of a shield with a crown on top of it. The royal family crest and the symbol of Thoran.
Teresa had never thought seeing those banners would bring her such a sadness in her heart.
But she knew what needed to be done.
She hastily had spoken of her plan to the council now gathered with her. Crawford had been slain on top of the wall by no less than ten goblins who had jumped him. There was no time to mourn. Her only sergeants now were Benton and Vera. Vera got the quick version and then headed back out to lead the defenders. Mara, Felicia, Urt and Madam Wishter now all listened to the plan Teresa had made.
Teresa did her best to avoid the aged Speaker's gaze.
She had been right and Teresa's first plan failed. Instead of driving back the goblins, the Speakers' fires had only enraged them. Now the entire city was cramped in the castle walls, attempting to live beyond sunset. After she finished the last of her details, Teresa was not shocked to hear Madam Wishter's voice, thinking that some remark about being right was about to be made.
She was wrong.
“It's for the best,” she said simply. “We will preserve our people in this manner.”
Teresa breathed a sigh of relief. Those were not the words she had expected.
“There is only one flaw,” the Speaker continued, making Teresa's face turn red, fear of being humiliated by her previous poor leadership.
“You have not accounted for how long it will take to implement such a strategy,” she continued. “You need more time.”
Teresa knew this. She knew that ushering in thousands of people through one tiny cave opening in the back of the castle would be time consuming. It was simply her wish that as many as possible be ushered in until the goblins ultimately broke through.
"We can give you time," Madam Wishter said in a serious tone. "Get the people back to the tunnels. I and my fellow teachers will do what must be done."
Teresa nodded and turned to Mara, Felici
a and Urt.
"I need you to see to the evacuation," she told them. "I want a word with Madam Wishter."
As she left the hall, she could hear Mara's voice over the crowd, explaining to them that they were to follow her, carrying little and making haste. A great movement of people began, just as Teresa came to the entrance of the castle. Madam Wishter was crossing the lawn to the wall in great strides. Soldiers were doing their best to repel the goblin's attacking the walls. From this view, Teresa could see that none of the monsters had penetrated the walls, yet.
"You were right," she said as she came up even with Madam Wishter, matching her pace and marveling at her speed. The Speaker had already spent much of her energy today in trying to accomplish Teresa's failed plan.
"A lot of good it did," Madam Wishter replied. "Don't imagine that I'm proud or happy I guessed correctly."
Teresa had indeed thought both of those things.
"But if I hadn't..."
"Stop, child," Wishter interrupted.
The aged woman turned and faced Teresa and grabbed her hands in her own.
"War and battles are a terrible business," she said. "We have to do what we feel is best and pray that our efforts can match our hopes. That's what you did. There's no shame in failure if it makes us more determined to succeed."
Teresa felt her eyes water and her face go hot.
"I..."
"You will live to see another day," Wishter said. "Lead your people well and get them through that mountain. We'll hold off the horde as long as we can."
She squeezed her hands and continued towards the wall. Teresa walked beside her, swords drawn.
Three other Speakers came up to join them, as well as Benton. The dwarf looked serious.
"Bah. We can't hold them out much longer," he said, wiping his hammer on the lawn, cleaning the dark goblin blood off of it. "Too many crashing on our wall."
Teresa could hear them just behind the defenses. Soldiers braced the gates with their own bodies in an attempt to keep them closed. Archers fired until their quivers were spent and Speakers kept hurling down orbs of energy that exploded on the other side of the wall in brilliant flashes of light.
