Darkness and Steel

by Martin Parece

  “The power that forces the dead to rise and do a master’s bidding is a simple form of enchantment. The corpse is still nothing more than that – a corpse. It has no thought, no senses, no abilities beyond what its master requires or demands. For that matter, the commands must be plain and obvious. If the corpse is sent into the next room to retrieve a basin and the basin is not precisely where the master envisions it, the corpse is useless. I assume it’ll likely do nothing at all.”

  “That’s all well and good,” Cor said, leaning on the table, “but how do we kill it?”

  “The bonds that force it to animate must be very fragile,” Thyss replied, the irritation returning to her voice. “I think a relatively small amount of damage to the corpse would break them. Less than a killing blow on a man should suffice. Of course, there’s a better way. Dahken Cor, I told you once that if the sorcerer creating the enchantment dies, the enchantment dissipates. If you want to take them out quickly, kill the necromancers themselves.”

  “Assuming we can reach them,” said Rory cynically.

  “I am no strategist,” Thyss replied, and she began to lean back in her chair again. “That is your problem.”

  Thom held up a hand to cut off Rory’s reply. “Thank you Lady Thyss,” he said. “Something for my Lieutenants to work on.

  “Lord Dahken, what of your,” Thom paused as he searched for the proper words, “young people?”

  “Geoff and I have them preparing to travel now,” Marya answered the question. “As soon as they are ready, we’ll need a few men to go with them.”

  “I hate to pull anyone away from the defense,” Cor said, “but I see no other choice.”

  “Where are they going? Byrverus?” asked Thom.

  “No,” Cor answered. “We’ll send them to Lord Paton’s lands with a request that he keep them as he would keep his own children. Celdon will go with them to keep them out of trouble. Should the Loszians take Fort Haldon, Byrverus will be their next target. It would be mine.”

  “If they take Fort Haldon, I can’t imagine they would have the strength left to challenge Byrverus,” Rory argued. “The capital would be the safest place for them.”

  “No,” Cor said with a tone of finality that did not beg more argument. The truth was that he did not think the Dahken would be safe from the Westerners in Byrverus, much less an oncoming Loszian horde. Then something occurred to him, and he spoke quietly. “No, Nadav has something else planned. He knows what Rory just said is true. He will break Fort Haldon, but he could never hope to defeat Byrverus, and the counterattack will push him back into Losz. Why would he do something so foolish?”

  Everyone except Thyss stared blankly at the Lord Dahken, and their stares turned to concerned thoughtfulness. No one had an answer.

  “I don’t know My Lord, but I know one thing,” Thom said, breaking the silence. “If we stop this army here, now, whatever the bastard has planned will never come to be.

  “Lady Thyss, dare I ask if you will join the other Dahken in riding for Lord Paton’s freehold?”

  Thyss spat to one side. “Absolutely not.”

  Cor had discussed it with her when the decision had been made earlier in the day. The mere suggestion that she run and hide amidst children in some castle to the south angered her terribly. She threatened to skewer him or burn him alive or both, and he of course dropped the entire subject. His worry for her in the coming battle fell on deaf ears, but he did not think that only bravery or adventure impacted her decision. He sometimes caught her looking at him in a peculiar, almost tearful way, though she would never admit to it.

  “Then we can count on your blade and your gods,” Thom said, nodding by way of apology. “We have about fourteen hundred good archers, which is more than can man the wall itself. About five hundred will have to stay below at ground level. Their effective range will be greatly reduced, as their arrows will have to clear the wall, but they will still range the Loszian crossbows. That leaves us with six hundred fighting men to hold the gate when it is breached, and it will be breached.”

  “The longbowmen on the ground should have less ammunition than those on the wall,” Cor reasoned, “and if at all possible, they should hold fire. When the gate comes down, they can unleash their arrows on the Loszians as they come through. We will not be able to hold off such a horde with arrows. As the Loszians gain ground, Marya, Keth and I will lead the soldiers into the fight. We’ll push them out.”

  “Lord Dahken, I would rather you not be so close to the fight,” Thom admonished.

  “I’d rather not fight at all, but when forced to, I will lay waste to our enemies,” he answered, and his words were matched by something he hadn’t heard in weeks – the joyful song of Soulmourn and Ebonwing.

  “Thom, couldn’t we take the fight to them?” Cor asked, and both Marya and Thyss suddenly seemed more interested. “If we could somehow divide their force and create a mass of confusion…”

  “Interesting,” Thom said as he leaned closer to the map laid upon the table. “Rockslides are not uncommon in the Spine, but I don’t know that we have the men or material to set a trap of that magnitude.”

  “But if we could…” Cor trailed off as he thought for a moment. “If we could manage to cut the host in two, we could hit them hard, give them a bloody nose so Nadav thinks twice about attacking Fort Haldon. In the confusion, our archers could rain arrows down from the sides of the pass, while I charge into them with our men at arms.”

  “And get slaughtered,” Thom finished. “Even if we could set such a trap, which we can’t if for no other reason than the Loszian scouts hold the pass, it would still be two thousand against twenty in open combat. Lord Dahken, I have no doubt that we would valiantly slay thousands upon thousands of Loszians, only to be butchered valiantly. Then Fort Haldon would fall without firing hardly an arrow from its new granite wall.

  “No, Lord Dahken, I beg you to trust in me on this matter. I have studied and planned for this possibility for years, and our best chance at holding Fort Haldon is that wall,” he said, pointing in its direction, though it could not be seen for the new walls of Dahken Hall. “I absolutely know that my men can hold off twenty thousand or even more fortified such as we are.”

  “Twenty thousand is a long way from fifty thousand,” Cor brooded.

  “Yes, Lord Dahken Cor, but I said my men,” Thom said, and Cor looked up to see Thom’s eyes on him intently. “My strategies and estimates have never counted on having gods alongside me. I’ve never been a man of faith, but I have faith in you Lord Dahken Cor.”

  “I hope that faith is not misplaced,” Cor said as he clapped Thom on one shoulder.

  They all looked up as a clattering of hurried footsteps sounded from the corridor outside of the hall, and a young man, a boy about Marya’s age sprinted through the open double doors. He came to skidding halt on one side of the table and knelt as he worked to slow his breathing.

  “What is it boy?” Thom asked.

  “My Lord, Commander, you must come to the wall quick. They’re coming.”

  “Keth and Marya, get to the other Dahken and make them ready to travel now. Rory, I need a half dozen good men to escort them,” Cor commanded. He lifted his helm from the table and placed it over his head. He and Thom then strode from the hall for the wall.

  Once atop the wall, they could see nothing, but they did not expect to. Calling for quiet, Cor could hear a low rumble echoing through the gap that led to Losz like the sound of rolling thunder. However, it was an insidious warning as it seemed to come from the very ground itself, and there was not a single cloud to be seen in the hot summer sky. A rope ladder, easily a hundred feet long, hung from the cliff face that adjoined the wall to the north, allowing easier access to the defensive position above than if they tried to climb from the pass itself. Cor had to remind his muscles of his seagoing days, of climbing ropes and nets to negotiate the unstable apparatus, but the ever agile Thom seemed to have no difficulty.

  When both
men had reached the top, Cor asked, “If these positions on our flanks fall, will we not lose the wall immediately? They’ll be able to fire their crossbows down or hurl rocks upon us easily.”

  “Not as easily as you may think, Lord Dahken,” Thom replied. Crossbows require a straight aim, and my bowmen will be able to pick them off if they peer over the edge. Certainly, they can fire blindly over the edge, but crossbow bolts lose their strength if fired in an arc. Besides, I promise you that the flanks will not fall easily.”

  It was over a hundred yards from the rope ladder to the two catapults and the men who held the position, and on the approach, Cor saw why Thom could make that promise. From the catapults to the bottom of the pass was a half mile of rough, rocky, sloping terrain. The Loszians would have to battle sprained ankles and falling comrades in addition to the Western arrows. Also, they had made the going even more difficult by planting sticks, sharpened to deadly points by flames and blades, into the ground. These were in staggered rows that would force the attackers to move around them, flowing in a certain path. The catapults could easily hit the pass from here, and if necessary, the defenders could even roll the large rocks down at the invaders.

  Cor smiled and nodded his approval until one of the men pointed into the pass. Following the outstretched finger, Cor’s confidence waned considerably. The northern flank had a clear view down the pass, and about one mile away came a horde of darkness. He could not make out details, but it was as if looking down upon an army of black ants that made the ground tremble even from this distance.

  “So it begins,” Thom whispered.

  8.

  The Loszian host had stopped their march some distance from Fort Haldon’s great wall, just beyond the range of their longbows. The catapults had been placed at ground level behind the wall, and as such, their range was reduced to that of the bows upon the wall. Those guarding the flanks had more height and could have shot upon the invaders with both bow and catapult, but they held their fire as they awaited orders. When the time came, they were to rain rock upon the flanks of the army, forcing the Loszians to deal with them. They would save their arrows to defend their position as the Loszians attempted to climb the slopes.

  Thom and Cor walked the wall’s battlements, attempting to reassure the men. They were anxious, and more than once, sweat soaked nerves nearly loosed an arrow at the Loszian horde. The men were ordered to lower their bows, lest a stray arrow start the bloodshed before absolutely necessary. The bowmen wore their leather armor, the best for maintaining their range of motion and ease of movement. However, all of them carried other weapons, as they knew that eventually the arrows would run out.

  Cor looked down and saw several hundred more bowmen standing at the ready. These did not carry dual quivers on their backs like those on the wall, but instead stabbed their arrows point down into the ground by the dozen. Hundreds of mailed soldiers stood directly behind the wall, ready to fight with sword, axe and mace should the gate be breached. His gaze drifted up, and he saw three Dahken headed for the wall.

  Cor quickly climbed down one of the sets of granite steps, passing Thyss as he did so. She simply sat and oiled her sword; her belly bulged out from under her black tunic, and Cor shook his head in asking himself why he’d allowed her to stay. Because no one allows Thyss to do anything, he told himself. He jumped off the stairs when still several feet off of the ground and met his Dahken just as they pushed their way through the archers.

  “The children are on their way, Lord Dahken,” Keth reported as if nothing were amiss.

  “Then why is Celdon with you and not them?”

  “Well, he…” Keth paused, and he looked suddenly uncomfortable.

  “I won’t let you three fight alone, Lord Dahken,” Celdon spoke up. He had changed quite a bit in the last few months, having shed a substantial amount of weight. The boy was still chubby in the face, but his body looked solid instead of soft. “I can fight, and you need every sword beside you.”

  “I commanded you to go with them. If we all fall, who will teach the others to be Dahken? Who will protect them?”

  “If you all fall, I’m unequal to that task anyway, Lord Dahken,” Celdon answered. “I can do nothing to help them, but I’ll die giving them time to get away if I have to.”

  Cor shook his head and sighed. “You won’t do as I say, will you? Very well. Keth, I’d make you go with them, but I need you here.”

  “Lord Dahken, Commander Thom assured me that his men would make certain they arrive safely,” Keth reassured him.

  “My Lord!” came a shout from above, and Cor turned to see Thom waving. “A rider approached from their ranks. He comes alone.”

  “Open the gates,” Cor shouted, and men set to the task.

  As soon as the rider passed the gates, they closed again behind him. He was obviously a Westerner by blood, mostly at least, and he was fairly unremarkable. He rode in on a bay mare, off which he dismounted to stand before Cor and his Dahken. He wore little in the way of protective armor, just a thickly quilted tunic and pants, and he seemed to be completely unarmed. Every warrior and archer of Fort Haldon was present, but they had all gone deathly silent. “I seek Lord Dahken Cor,” he said.

  “You have found him,” answered Cor, and the man knelt briefly.

  “Lord Dahken, Sovereign Nadav sends his greetings,” the man said as he stood. “He hopes that we can avoid any bloodshed here, for Fort Haldon is not of consequence except as the entry point into Aquis.”

  “Really!” Cor said with feigned incredulousness, “And what does your emperor suggest we do?”

  “If the entirety of your force surrenders, your men will be well treated,” the messenger answered, and there was much angry grumbling among the soldiers. Cor raised a hand, and the messenger waited for the noise to subside before he continued, “In fact, many of them will be offered the honor of fighting for the emperor as he reunites Losz and its rightful lands.

  “Lord Dahken,” he raised his voice to a shout to be heard over the mixture of disdainful laughter and furious threats, “you and your Dahken are offered positions of power should you swear fealty to My Emperor.”

  “So Nadav is here then,” Cor said absently.

  “Lord Dahken, don’t do it,” called Marya from behind him. Her voice dripped with sarcasm and humor. “I’ll have gotten all dressed up in my armor for nothing.”

  Keth rolled his eyes as he sighed, and a great number of Fort Haldon’s men laughed raucously. Distracted by the soldiers laughing behind him, the Loszian messenger did not react quickly enough to avoid Soulmourn plunging through his chest and out his back. The light faded from his eyes quickly, as his heart was cleaved in two, and dark blood poured from the wound. Cor kicked his body from the blade as he had done more than once before. Thom made his way from the wall above, and Keth came to stand next his Lord Dahken.

  “Was that wise?” he asked.

  “Would you have rather I taken his offer? Join the Loszians?”

  “Of course not,” Keth said with a furrowed brow, “but perhaps it would have bought us some time.”

  “Perhaps, but I don’t trust anyone on that side of the wall,” Cor replied, jerking his head toward the Loszian army outside. “Dahken Keth, a large Shet once told me that he who acts first often dies last, and I really would hate that Marya put on her armor for no reason.” He looked back at Marya who wore a broad, sneering smile.

  “Lord Dahken,” said Thom, “how should we send our answer?”

  “Thom, I promise you that Nadav knew the moment my sword pierced his servant’s body.” Cor laughed, and he vaguely noticed that he had not yet sheathed Soulmourn. “Nonetheless, have the Sovereign’s messenger launched from one of the catapults. That should make my intent plain.”

  Whether it was belief in their Lord, Commander or cause, the men cheered as the body was flung over the wall, tied to a large rock.

  It was not long, less than an hour, before the Loszian host began its slow march forward, an
d as they came, Cor began to see the details of their organization. He stood watching with Thom from the battlements, while his Dahken waited with the soldiers below. The army looked like a great snake, slithering its way to the sound of rolling thunder through the pass, and Cor had to wonder if he had made any number of wrong decisions that led him to be standing in that place at that time.

  “Hold, men!” Thom shouted.

  “Are they not yet in range?” Cor asked; he felt suddenly as if ants crawled all over his body, and he needed to do something. Anything.

  “They are for the bows up here and the catapults on the flanks, but the catapults down there are hampered for having to fire over the walls,” Thom explained. “We sighted them at two hundred, two hundred fifty yards.”

  “What about their crossbows?”

  “Fifty yards if they didn’t have to fire up at us,” Thom said with a smile.

  Cor wished it made him feel better.

  As the Loszians advanced, Thom ordered arrows loosed at will, and the invaders fell hundreds at a time. The catapults began to hurl two hundred pound stones over the wall to crush those upon whom they landed. The living learned to watch for the incoming missiles, but they also learned that they had nowhere to hide except behind their compatriots. Thyss was correct in that even a minor strike from an arrow caused the walking corpses to fall, but there were so many, thousands as far as Cor could see.

  A few crossbows twanged, only to have their bolts bounce harmlessly against the granite wall, far from striking flesh. The Loszians began moving their own siege engines to the front of their army, attempting to bring towers and ladders to bear on the wall, and Thom ordered these destroyed. Some were, but more often the arrows and stones of the Westerners killed those who brought them forward. They were then picked up by more soldiers or slaves to continue being moved to the front. The Loszian catapults began to fire back, using the stones that had been fired into the horde. Most overshot the wall or clattered against it with jarring impact, but some found their mark, knocking a half score defenders off the wall at once.