* * *
On the way to the catapult crew, they were able to smash another two ladders, stopping any more orcs gaining this section of wall. The orc numbers started to lessen, and they were able to meet up with other pockets of men. The catapults were set up on inverted bastions along the wall, and were protected by the highest concentration of men, so the catapult they came to was not only functional but still well protected.
"Do you have any of the flame oil missiles left?" asked Major Isak as he approached the catapult crew.
"A couple, major," answered one of the men.
"I need you to drain all the oil out of them and fill them with water, can you do that?"
"I can, major, but it will take some time. We'll need to get the water sent over in buckets by the swing ropes."
"Then stop wasting time talking to me and get it done, and once it's done, start aiming at that fire bird. I hope you're an accurate shot with this thing, corporal."
"Yes, major, right away, major," replied the corporal.
"A crazy idea, major, do you think it's even possible?" asked Captain Riyad.
"We will find out, won't we? In the meantime, we have orcs to kill and ladders to smash."
* * *
They were running out of ladders, and the humans seemed to be re-gaining dominance on the wall. Chief Fa'rasha realised for the first time that taking this fort by noon was somewhat optimistic, the fighting had already been going for a couple of hours. They may have to pull back and build some more ladders. He was hoping that the ram would be through the gate by now, but it had proven more solid than he believed possible. And archers from behind the wall kept firing on them. The only thing going well at the moment was that phoenix.
The shamans were quickly tiring and unable to keep up their spell casting. The chief realised that he didn't even know what lay beyond that wall. What other nasty surprises will those humans have for them when they did break through? If any of those orcs now on the wall made it back alive, he would have to ask them what they saw on the other side. He was just about to ask where his reinforcements were when he heard the noise of an approaching army from behind him; well, it was about time, he thought — it was indeed an army, but not the one he was expecting. Things just got a lot worse. It took him a moment to realise that he, and the rest of the Blood Council, now stood in between this new human force and their own army. He looked at the other chiefs and saw that same look of recognition on their faces. They all began to run within seconds of each other towards the rear of their army, shouting at the orcs as they ran to turn around and prepare to attack.
* * *
Major Sarkis rounded the hill and at once came in sight of the besieged fort. At least, he thought, the walls are still standing, the gate remained closed, and there appeared to be many men still fighting along the top of the wall. But Major Sarkis's problem now was how he was going to help if the entire army turned around and swarmed upon him and his men. His ally here was surprise. He needed to attack quickly and decisively and hope he got through the enemy ranks before they could organise themselves. He had no doubt, that if he reached the gate, Major Isak would take the risk and open it up for him. Of course, that's if he made the gate.
He quickly organised the cavalry into two V shapes, followed by the pole infantry inside the V's, with the heavy infantry following behind.
"Follow in our wake," he instructed the heavy infantry, "and try to keep up. We'll be more use to Major Isak behind those walls. Master Pilk, I wish you well." With that, Major Sarkis kicked his horse into motion and set off at a comfortable jogging pace for the trailing infantry.
* * *
Master Pilk watched the departing Major Sarkis's back in admiration. In front of them was an army of thousands of orcs, and yet without hesitation, Major Sarkis headed his troops and charged right for them. He didn't stay there motionless for too long though. He had his own, no less perilous, mission to complete. So he spotted a point atop the wall which was free of orcs and created a magical gate. Once formed, he beckoned to the other wizards and they all followed him through.
He wasn't totally surprised that the area with the least amount of orcs was also the area where Major Isak was. The man was famous for leading front and centre, and was seldom outdone with the number of kills. Standing next to the major was another man famous for his fighting prowess, Captain Riyad. No wonder few orcs were left on this section of wall.
"Well met, Major Isak," said Master Pilk, somewhat cheerily.
"I could think of better places to meet, Master Pilk, although I must say, you are most welcome here. We have a bird problem, don't s'pose you could fix it for us," said Major Isak, pointing toward the phoenix. Master Pilk looked at the bird and was instantly divided. The flaming bird was wreaking havoc on the men, but if he spent his mana on dealing with that problem it would leave him less to evacuate the women and children.
"My orders are to evacuate the women and children, major, I fear that'll take more strength than I have. It is a summoned creature, however, and will eventually tire and be sent back to its own realm," replied Master Pilk.
"I have never known you to be one to follow orders, Master Pilk. Please, any help you can offer."
"Major, how many women and children are here?"
"About two fifty, why?"
"Hmmm, major, I'm assuming you don't have all day to chat about this, no? In short, I can summon a gate to transport the women out of here. My gate can transport about ten through each time, and I can possibly summon about ten gates. With these able wizards adding there power to each gate, one gate can possibly transport sixty, maybe more since most are children, but to be safe, let's say sixty. Each gate I need line of sight, meaning I can transport all the women and children, plus us wizards, the distance of line of sight by two. If I use some of my power to take down the phoenix, because that is what that bird is, yes, I risk having to leave some of those women behind at the first exit. I'm already concerned that I won't be able to get them far enough away to be totally safe," explained Master Pilk as quickly as he could.
"All right, wizard," said Major Isak reluctantly. "I don't want that on my conscience, dead though I might be. Take the women and children quickly, I'm not sure how much longer we can hold out."
"A bit longer hopefully, if you help those men in," said Master Pilk, pointing toward Major Sarkis and his men. It was obvious to Master Pilk that Major Isak hadn't even noticed the approaching reinforcements until just now. The orcs were scrambling to get away from the large war horses, and those that didn't were mown down. Once the horses had passed, they found themselves being poked by pikes. Any orcs still alive or courageous enough to chase the fast moving battalion were quickly killed by the heavy infantry wearing full plate armour and wielding heavy two edged swords. A few orcs got lucky hits, or threw their weapons at the men as they passed, killing or severely wounding some, but most were too interested in getting away from this vicious army. Orc archers eventually focused their attention on them with a bit more success, but the men were making swift progress through the orc ranks.
"Man the gates," shouted Major Isak suddenly. "Prepare to open them on my command." Master Pilk saw renewed light in the Major's eyes.
"One problem, major," started out Master Pilk.
"Only one wizard? When did all the others go away?" said Major Isak playfully. Master Pilk gave a brief chuckle that could have been mistaken for a snort.
"I need line of sight for my gate, and this wall is the best vantage point for that, which means I need all the women and children brought here."
"Are you crazy, wizard? Bring women and children into a major battlefield?"
"I'm afraid it's the only way, major."
The major thought about it for a second. "Very well, we need a mes-senger — Quinby!" Major Isak shouted for his best messenger.
"Yes, major," came a voice from the inner wall.
"Get over here," shouted the major. Just then another group of orcs charged their
position.
"We'll handle this, major," said Captain Riyad. "Get those women outta here." And with that he charged off, with the other men struggling to keep up.
The major waited while Quinby swung across to him, having to wait for a spare rope as the buckets of water kept coming. When he arrived, Major Isak instructed him to arrange for all the women and children to be brought to this position. Quinby briefly gave him an expression of disbelief, followed by a quick, "Yes major," as he turned and ran off back to the ropes. Master Pilk stood next to the major as they both watched the approaching reinforcements. As they neared the gate Master Pilk heard the catapult behind him launch. He quickly turned and watched its course and noticed it had targeted the phoenix. It looked to be on line too, but as it neared, the phoenix dodged to one side. Still, the missile clipped the bird's wing, which, combined with the immense heat of the creature, burst the sphere open and splashed some water onto the bird. Those parts of the bird darkened and the phoenix lost altitude for a moment, before it regained its rhythm and flew away briefly. It appeared to take a lot of life out of the bird.
"Seems you have the bird under control, major." Master Pilk put his hand on the major's shoulder.
"Yeah, I figured it worth a try, and I guess it was. A direct hit would've been better though — Open the gates." Major Isak shouted the last command at the top of his lungs, and his words were headed instantly. He had timed it just right, despite the distractions. The cavalry had just taken care of the orcs on the battering ram. The battlefield seemed a lot quieter all of a sudden without the constant pounding of that cursed ram. Once all the men were behind the outer walls, the gates were closed, with any pursuing orc being quickly cut down by either infantry or archers from the inner wall.
When it was closed, the smaller, inner gates were opened, and the surviving reinforcements made their way into the fort. Then the inner gates were closed behind them. Suddenly the catapult launched again, and Master Pilk once again found himself watching its trajectory. This time, a direct hit was scored and the sphere of water exploded all over the phoenix. The bird lost most of its flame and swiftly fell to the earth, fading out of view soon after. Major Isak turned to the corporal of the catapult crew and said, "Good shootin', corporal."
"Thanks, major," came the reply followed by a huge cheer as the men realised the infernal bird was gone.
* * *
As the gates opened up, Chief Fa'rasha got a good look at what was behind the wall, and nearly fell to the ground in hopelessness as he realised there was a second wall. He felt even more hopelessness as he noticed the phoenix get shot out of the sky by the catapult moments later. He took a quick survey of the walls and realised only four ladders remained, and any orcs reaching the top were swiftly cut down. The first round was lost. He barely heard himself order the retreat, but his words were quickly heeded as the orcs were almost relieved to be given that order.
* * *
General Krak'too had sent Great Shaman O'tukka ahead to observe the battle. He found a hill with a superb view of the battlefield, while he was able to remain unseen. The little orcs had fought relatively well, better than he thought they would anyway. But the humans had fought superbly. They seemed to be able to structure every part of the battle to their advantage and were obviously good at improvising, as was shown with the destruction of the flaming bird. The human reinforcements had been able to fight their way through the battlefield with little loss and gain entrance to the fort without weakening the integrity of the defence. Yes, he was impressed with the way the humans fought, but they had never been attacked by the Black Skull before.
* * *
Major Isak was once again battling with the orcs remaining on the wall when he noticed the orcs retreating. The orc he was fighting obviously realised that too as he quickly looked around for a quick way to escape. He never found one as Major Isak took advantage of the lost concentration and ran his sword through the orc's belly. The rest of the orcs remaining on the wall were also swiftly cut down and the men were able to at last rest and take stock on what they had lost.
A few moments later, Major Isak noticed the women and children being led up onto the inner wall and across to the swing ropes nearest him.
"Lower the bridge," yelled the major. A single drawbridge connected the two walls together but had been pulled up to prevent any orcs crossing it to the inner wall. With the orcs fast retreating, the major was willing to lower it for a time, at least long enough for the women to come across and hopefully long enough for them to carry back their dead and wounded soldiers.
While the uninjured men assisted the injured to the lowering bridge, Major Isak noticed Master Pilk uttering some silent words and pointing to the hill in the distance. Suddenly an arch shaped magical energy field appeared before him, and the other wizards started casting spells and pointing toward it.
"I assume this is the escape route for the women, Master Pilk," said the major as he walked over to the wizard.
"Yes, yes," replied the wizard quickly. "Now is a good time to leave."
"I agree, wizard," said the major abruptly. "And what of the men?"
"Hmmm, you have a very big job ahead of you, major, yes? When I return to Arthea, I will attempt to persuade the duke for more help, and, whether or not he sends it, I will return once I have rested and restored my magical energy to aide where I may."
"I hope we are still here to see that, wizard."
"Yes, yes. No more than I, major," replied Master Pilk, offering the major his hand.
"Perhaps a little more, my friend," said Major Isak, smiling and shaking the wizard's hand. By that stage the bridge had been lowered and the women and children streamed across it.
"Excuse me, major, while I create a few more gates," said Master Pilk. The major nodded and watched the wizard work his magic.
* * *
On top of a hill within view of the fort, Great Shaman O'tukka watched the magical gate form only metres from him. He had ducked behind a nearby tree when he first noticed it forming. He continued to watch after it had fully formed, seeing if an opportunity may arise for him to kill himself a magic user or perhaps even capture some humans. A few moments after the first one formed, another stitched together next to it, followed soon after by another. Great Shaman O'tukka noticed that after the formation of each gate, the pale blue coloured gates became a deeper blue. Obviously, other magic users were adding their power to each gate to bring as many through as they could.
Moments passed, but eventually a lone human stepped through the first gate and looked around. This human was obviously a magic user; a tall male in long flowing red and yellow robes and a floppy wide brimmed hat. Great Shaman O'tukka was just about to jump out from the tree and slay this obviously dangerous human, but a second figure came through the gate, followed soon after by a third, all obvious magic users also. He could no doubt kill one of them or even two, but without knowing the strength of their powers, he would not risk attacking three. He was glad for the choice, as soon after, another two magic users came through. Then humans started pouring forth from all three gates, all women and young ones. So this was a rescue effort, thought Great Shaman O'tukka. He decided to just watch and observe.
* * *
Once Master Pilk had formed all three gates and his wizard companions had added their strength to them, he said, "One of us should go through first to make sure it's safe. I can't as I need to stay here in case another gate needs to be created."
"I'll go through," said Master Tayer, stepping forward.
Master Tayer was a lot older than Master Pilk and substantially more powerful, but lacked the knowledge in creating gates. He said that he has never had the need for it as he can instantly transport himself to locations he knows well. Once he had stepped through, Master Pilk said to the other wizards, "You'd best go through too and make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble." Two more went through the gate and as the third one was about to step into the gate, Master Pilk stopped her, as i
t was Mistress Cali, the only female wizard in Arthea. "I probably should have said that if you run into trouble, come back through the gate and let us know," said Master Pilk.
"An unnecessary order I assure you, Master Pilk. It would be my first choice of action," she replied with a smile, and then she stepped through followed soon after by the fifth wizard. The women and children had arrived by then, and so Master Pilk ordered them all through the four gates, telling them to count to three before following the person in front. He was surprised to see that the three gates were easily enough for all of them.
"Hmmm, very good, I'll have to investigate this later. Major, do you want to send any of the men through with us?"
"Maybe only some of the more seriously wounded ones, if you think they won't hold you up too much, but otherwise we need all the fighters here possible. Either we all go or none go."
"Yes, yes, I understand. I think we can manage some of the worst of the wounded, now that we'll be able to travel line of sight by three, that is, or possibly more as my power seems to be increasing, for which I am glad and befuddled all at once."
"You ramble too much, wizard. Captain Riyad, get the most seriously injured men to this gate right away."
"Yes, Major Isak," replied Captain Riyad who was dressing the wound of an injured soldier nearby. In the following minutes, ten seriously injured men were brought to the gate, one by one. Some had been deemed too seriously injured to make the journey. They had to be able enough to at least take one step through the gate. Once they had all gone through, Master Pilk finally stepped through and closed the gate behind him.
* * *
Once his army had retreated back to the encampment, Chief Fa'rasha looked back at the carnage. He knew he had lost hundreds of orcs, but they had gained the wall and killed a good few humans too. If they only had more ladders, the result could have been quite different. He wouldn't make that mistake again. He instantly ordered his army to fell as many trees as they needed and make as many ladders as they could. He knew next time they would gain the wall easier. They now knew where all the traps were and so could easily avoid them; in fact, he planned to make portable bridges for those as well. The next attack might have to wait until the evening, but he was hoping that the next attack would prove to be the final attack. He turned back to his army and started ordering bridges to be made. There was so much to do, but taking this fort will be well worth the effort. It could be the beginning of an orc kingdom.
The Gate - A New Breed of Orc (The Gate Series Book 1) Page 13
