The Banished Lands- The Complete Series

by Benjamin Mester

  “You don't care about helping people. You only hunger for power.”

  “I already have the power. Until now, I haven't been able to use my abilities in physical form. But thanks to your Builder's blood and skill, I finally have a vessel worthy of my abilities. You will watch as I crush the opposition before me. After that, I may grant your wish and let you die.”

  Baron's mind spun. Until now, he hadn't considered the possibility that his mind and Corcoran's could be linked for the rest of his life. What if Corcoran didn't leave Baron after winning the war? What if Baron was forced to watch himself commit horrible acts of tyranny for the rest of his days?

  Baron struggled hard against the mind of Corcoran, which seemed to gain more and more control each moment. And as their minds warred for control of his body, their thoughts became a blend. Baron felt Corcoran probing him, coming at length to memories he'd had with Ariadra. It caused a wave of rage and Baron pushed him away. But feeling Baron's emotion for her caused Corcoran to think of the days when he would cease his endless wandering to go and visit the simple farm girl, Sheyla.

  Baron felt the rush of excitement Corcoran experienced at the prospect of seeing her again in the flesh, and the rage at those who would stand in his way. Baron was struck then at the similarity to the struggle that had taken place in his own heart. How desperate he had been to see Ariadra again, willing to give almost anything to have her back by his side.

  But Baron had realized the tragic truth that nothing he could have done would bring Ariadra's smiling face back to his side. The harder he fought for it, the more it would slip away.

  “You feel sorry for me, blacksmith?” Corcoran said. “Her one failing was that Sheyla was taken with men of power. She will soon stand before the most powerful man this world has ever seen.”

  “You just can't see the truth, can you?” Baron asked. “If you really loved her, you'd let her go.”

  “You're more pathetic than I ever imagined.”

  Baron could feel himself losing more and more control of his body. Corcoran had done this before, overtaken another, pushing their spirit to one side. Baron did his best to hold on to what he could, but in the end, it was a losing battle.

  Corcoran left the room and traveled the hallways until arriving at the armory. Entering, he found Melfon busily at work repairing what Baron had done to the armor. In Baron's mind, Corcoran had seen what techniques and methods he'd used to sabotage his own work.

  “What progress have you made?” Corcoran asked.

  “Only a little,” Melfon replied. “I can fix the damage, but it's more like a bandage than a true repair.”

  “Then let me help you.”

  And in the person of Baron, Corcoran blended his own Builder ability with Melfon's and together the cracks and fractures Baron had so delicately wrought into the armor were completely undone. Corcoran had used him brilliantly and there was nothing he could do to stop him.

  “We ride immediately.”

  Melfon bowed low. It was now a race against time. Baron could only hope that Sheabor and the others were somehow ready. For the war was coming to their doorstep.

  The Battle for Cormak

  Estrien and the coalition forces waited on horseback outside the walls of Cormak Castle, the enemy less than a league away. Estrien could almost see a light plume of dust in the distance. They waited in silence for over an hour until she saw it – four wooden peaks on the horizon, rising steadily.

  Seeing the towering forms of the siege works slowly rolling through the valley, Estrien cursed herself for being so narrow minded. All her thoughts had been on taking down the three forts in the Westward Wilds, never considering that those might be a distraction for something bigger. Corcoran had planned for this war for twelve hundred years, having considered each move and counter move.

  But what about Pallin? Surely that had altered Corcoran's plans. Had Estrien and the coalition given him the time he needed to complete his quest? Nothing made sense in her mind. Why was Corcoran throwing so much against Kester? What did he gain by it unless it was all a distraction to keep them from Eulsiphion?

  Estrien marveled as the weapons of the enemy came fully into view. Whatever the general had believed before, now, having seen with his own eyes, perhaps he would come to his senses. The sound of armored feet marching grew louder and louder. The enemy had assembled thousands of troops. The siege works finally came to a stop in the middle of the field, many hundreds of paces from the forward wall of the castle.

  But instead of falling into rank to march against the castle, the enemy mobilized behind the siege works. Huge pieces of metal hoisted by ropes began to rise with creatures following who pounded the metal into place with spikes. They were armoring their siege works!

  Estrien's heart beat quickly. They should ride on them now before they were fully prepared. But a hundred soldiers against thousands? The walls of Cormak Castle were over five feet thick – two layers of thick stone with sand and small rock sandwiched between them, making the wall flex when struck by large rocks. The wall would take bombardment for a time, just as the general predicted. But if they began firing over the wall, as Estrien predicted, it wouldn't matter.

  Their own siege works sat on raised platforms within the city, giving them an extra range against the enemy's weapons. But that was under normal circumstances, with weapons of equal construction. This was entirely different.

  Suddenly, four large stones hurdled through the air toward them, flying over Estrien and her hundred horsemen and striking the base of the wall, exploding in dust and bits of rock. The forces of Corcoran roared. The battle had begun. When the dust cleared, Estrien saw that the forward wall was little damaged by the impacts. It would take a lot more than that to bring Cormak down.

  “Don't return fire,” Estrien said to herself.

  The castle was deathly silent, as though already desolate. The general wasn't foolish. He knew the enemy couldn't gauge the range of his catapults until he fired. He needed to lure them in closer. Estrien could hear the grinding of wood and metal as Corcoran's forces pulled the siege works forward inch by inch, bringing them to optimal range. After a few minutes, they rolled to a slow stop. Estrien could hear the clanking of metal gears as the counterweights of each catapult raised into the air.

  The counterweights hovered a moment and then dropped as each of the four siege works hurled another large stone through the air, striking the wall of Cormak Castle midway up with a mighty blast. The forces of Corcoran roared again. But the castle withstood the bombardment – divots showing in the wall where it gave a little to keep from breaking.

  “Don't return fire,” Estrien whispered again to herself.

  The enemy loaded another volley and let it loose over the heads of Estrien's horsemen. Again the rocks smashed into Cormak with the same effect. The wall gave but didn't break. It would take a dozen blows to the same spot on the wall to smash it completely. They'd run out of rock before then.

  She could sense the enemy's hesitance. Cormak's catapults had been built on raised platforms, fifty feet or so above Corcoran's siege works. They could obliterate normal siege works far before they became a threat to the inner structures of the castle.

  At length, the siege works of Corcoran went on the move again, minutes passing as they inched forward. But then the counterweights raised again and dropped, sending four more large stones sailing through the air.

  Estrien held her breath as she watched. The stones struck the top of the wall, sending out frightened yells from the archers stationed there. But none of the rocks cleared the wall.

  “Don't return fire,” Estrien whispered, as though willing it to happen.

  The siege works fired again and again, obliterating the top of the wall. But the general had quickly withdrawn his archers. The catapults were all that mattered. They waited and watched in silence. Whatever stone had been available in the field, it had been used to construct the castle. Now, the only new source of rock lay in the mountain
the castle was built against. Corcoran could use all the rock he wanted trying to lure the general to fire.

  Pieces of the upper wall broke and fell into the field as the siege works of the enemy fired without reprieve. But the wall stayed intact. And then, with a sudden rush of quiet, the firing stopped and for a minute that seemed to stretch on into eternity, nothing happened.

  Then the siege works moved forward again but only a short distance. They quickly fired, but it wasn't stone that hurled toward the castle. It was something round and partially on fire. The objects sailed just over the wall, landing and breaking apart, hot oil catching fire and burning, setting a hot blaze aflame inside the castle.

  Estrien could hear the frantic yells of the soldiers who sought to put the fire out. Another round of hot oil came in. But still no response from Cormak Castle. Estrien was impressed by the general's patience. Perhaps he was better at warfare than she gave him credit for.

  In the chaos of the fires, the siege works of Corcoran moved forward, seemingly quicker than before. Estrien's grip tensed on her reins. If the general thought they were within range, he'd be firing on them already. But Corcoran's catapults had long since come into range of the battlements beyond the wall.

  Then suddenly, Estrien heard the loud snap of half a dozen catapults firing from behind. The signal had finally been given. All held their breath as the chunks of stone sailed toward the invader. The first two stones fell short in the field, smashing toward the enemy and coming to a stop just shy. The other four rocks had better success, one landing just at the forward line of the infantry and the others crashing and rolling into the siege works with a loud clang of stone on metal.

  Two of the four siege works were struck, one's base cracking a bit and bending over. The soldiers in Cormak Castle let out a roar. But the counterweights began to rise and soon, four more stones were sailing through the air and high over the wall. The rocks slammed into the structures of the city, smashing buildings to bits amid the yells of the soldiers within. With so many packed inside the castle, they were sure to experience casualties.

  The enemy's infantry had already fallen back, leaving only the siege works exposed. But within the castle, there was nowhere to retreat. They were abutted right against the mountainside. Cormak fired another volley of stone at the aggressor, the stones landing shy of Corcoran's weapons and bouncing forward. Another rock struck the already leaning tower, crippling its base even further and threatening to send it toppling over.

  A round of three stones came from the enemy, hitting near the bases of the platforms upon which Cormak's catapults sat. The inner walls of the city weren't nearly as fortified as the outer and one of the platforms began to crumble on the impact, the catapult sliding toward the edge and falling to the ground far below. They needed to do something now!

  The war of siege works continued as Estrien rode in front of the coalition troops.

  “Make ready to attack!” she yelled. “We form a spearhead straight at the enemy weapons.”

  “Even if we could get to them, we have no way of destroying them,” Gwaren said.

  “But if we surround them, we can keep their soldiers from firing them.”

  “We'd never hold them,” Gwaren argued.

  But Estrien unsheathed her sword and turned her horse toward the enemy. Then, as one, the coalition forces galloped forward. On their approach, the enemy's archers came forward, taking aim. But as they entered range, the riders at the fringes began to slow, falling into line behind to form a column. They were now a wedge that would split the enemy in two. More importantly, their formation still allowed for Cormak to fire, minimizing the risk of friendly fire.

  A volley of arrows came forward but just as it did, three rocks from Cormak Castle landed in the midst of the archers, felling many of them. Arrows came down around them, one of them glancing from Estrien's shoulder. A few of the horses were struck, sending their riders flying into the field.

  The riders continued advancing and falling into formation, forming a long line with a mass of riders at the front, like a spearhead. The archers fell back and pikemen replaced them. But Estrien had a surprise for them. For the chestpieces Blair had constructed could be converted into breastplates for their horses. The comrades they'd lost in their escape hadn't given their lives in vain.

  Estrien and the riders bore down on the line of pikemen, another round of arrows sailing toward them. Estrien was at the head of the spear, Straiah and Gwaren beside her. With a yell, the riders smashed into the line of pikemen, the pikes striking the horses and glancing off to either side. Estrien dodged a pike aimed for her helmet and galloped into the line of the enemy.

  The horses were now their weapon, churning the enemy underfoot as they moved toward the siege works, only paces away. Estrien swung left and right as she went, cleaving the wooden pikes that came against her. The horses were losing momentum, but they were now well within the ranks of the enemy.

  Just then, rocks from the castle crashed down on either side of their column, crushing dozens of enemy soldiers but missing the coalition forces. Chaos ensued as the spearhead slowed to a grinding halt amid the enemy ranks, the column spreading throughout the enemy lines.

  Estrien fought off blow after blow from enemy pikemen, Straiah and Gwaren beside her similarly engaged. The siege works of Corcoran let off another volley, the coalition forces still buffered from them by dozens of enemy warriors. But then, without warning, more chunks of stone from Cormak Castle landed in the jumble of coalition and enemy forces.

  Estrien shot an angry glance back at the castle. The general was taking the opportunity the coalition had afforded of pulling the enemy out into the open front. But in the process, her own warriors were dying. She had to do something. They were in the middle of a death trap.

  But she noticed that fewer and fewer chunks of stone were flying from the ramparts of Cormak. Corcoran's siege towers were picking them apart one by one. It was only a matter of time before the general ordered a full scale advancement on the enemy's position. Why not issue the order now while the coalition could still fight beside them!

  Just then, Estrien took a spear tip to the chestpiece, knocking her from her horse with a crash. The wind flew from her lungs and for many moments, she lay on the ground fighting to reclaim her breath while avoiding the myriad of hooves and boots. She vaguely heard the sound of Straiah shouting her name.

  More chunks of stone from Cormak landed in their midst, flinging mud and dust high into the air. Everything seemed a blur. Estrien was still in a haze. But a warrior charged her and she raised her sword, blocking the blow and slamming the hilt of her sword into the warrior's jaw.

  She glanced around. None of the coalition warriors were in view but the slain lay all around her. She would soon be among them. They had failed to reach the siege works and were taking fire from both enemy and ally.

  A pair of stones flew overhead from the castle. One landed to her right, while the second sailed far, striking the armored base of one of siege works with a loud clang of metal and stone. But the catapult was seemingly undamaged.

  Estrien glanced behind to Cormak Castle, surprised to see that much of the inner city had already been turned to rubble. Only the two catapult platforms remained and both had sustained damage. How could he expect to out shoot the enemy?

  Estrien wished they hadn't charged in. The only reason the general hadn't charged out with his troops was that his catapults were killing many of the enemy who fought with the coalition forces in front of the siege works. But they were killing the coalition forces also!

  A pair of Dungeon Core warriors rushed at her, one swinging high, the other, low. She blocked both blows and a third high strike, then swung downward, killing the first warrior and blocking another downward strike from the second.

  But a pikeman flanked her to her right, thrusting his spear and catching her in the shoulder, sending her to the ground. The armor protected her but the force of the impact send a bruising pain into the mus
cle. Both warriors soon stood over her, the pikeman thrusting down at her throat.

  Estrien shot to one side, the tip sinking into the earth just beside her. Then she rolled her body into the spear, breaking it. The other warrior swung down. Estrien blocked the blow and kicked him behind the leg, just as the other warrior drew a sword. But as the first warrior fell backward, she lunged upward with her sword at the second, piercing him before he could defend himself.

  Just then, another pair of stones sailed through the air toward her. She watched as the first struck nearby amid a group of battling warriors, surely killing one of the coalition forces. Estrien clenched her sword tightly in anger. They needed to reach those siege towers or they'd all be dead in minutes.

  Waiting

  Ariadra had locked herself in her room, refusing to leave or take visitors. Sheabor still worked to make sense of what had happened. Corcoran had somehow captured Baron on his way to Thay Iphilus Forest and had brought him to a secret fort deep within Thob Forest. Then, instead of helping Corcoran, Baron had decided to end his own life.

  If it was really true, then any hope they once had of trapping Corcoran had vanished. Their only chance now was to explore the option of either using the Soul Stone to break his tie with the Banished Lands, or else tie his spirit to a region far away from any influence.

  Sheabor felt paralyzed. Things had happened so differently than he'd expected. He felt like any choice he could make now would be the wrong one. But if they just sat and waited, Corcoran would continue to work out his own malevolent ends.

  Sheabor paced the confines of the empty palace hall in the midnight watches. Time stretched on and still he was no closer to a solution. But a door opened, revealing Aravas, who approached him.

  “Do we have a plan?” Aravas asked.

  Sheabor shook his head.

  “If Faigean is right, then Corcoran has a hidden fort somewhere in Thob Forest. Straiah went to search Thob Forest to see if Corcoran was continuing what Malfur had begun. But he said the fort Malfur had constructed against the Estees Mountains had been abandoned, This must be something else.”