by R A Oakes
“Ready?” Lord Pensgraft asked General Tark.
“Ready, my lord.”
“Then fire!”
Four large ceramic pots of flammable liquid flew through the air, each with a cloth “scarf” wrapped around it that had been soaked in oil and was now on fire. As the pots crashed against the fortification’s front wall, the flaming “scarves” ignited the oil releasing huge bursts of fire quickly accompanied by dark, dense, billowing smoke.
General Tark’s men rapidly reloaded the catapults, signaling to Lord Pensgraft that they were ready once again.
“Fire!” the giant warrior shouted.
Four more oil-filled ceramic pots were launched at the high wall, several landing atop the walkway sending a stream of oil, flames and smoke along it. Gargoyles by the dozens were abandoning the walkway leaping to the ground below where, unbeknownst to them, they wouldn’t be safe for long.
After a few more salvos from the catapults, the fortification was completely engulfed in flames allowing Captain Jeriana and her warrior women to proceed unobserved by the enemy. Left of the trail was a cliff with a sheer drop into a deep ravine, but, carrying sledgehammers, the women raced to a boulder marking a spot along the rocky mountainside on the right.
Shattering a six-foot-high stone slab covering a hidden doorway, a wide tunnel opened up before them leading the warriors past where the fortification’s front wall outside was located and continued channeling them along to another stone slab, this one covering the exit doorway. Shattering this rock door with sledgehammers as well, it fell away bringing them out far behind the front wall, once again enabling them to surprise the gargoyles by attacking from the rear.
That they’d used this strategy at the first fortification did little to diminish the gargoyles’ present confusion, given that most of the winged apes who’d actually seen Captain Jeriana’s warriors exiting from the previous tunnel were dead. And the gargoyles here at the second fortification, already driven into a desperate frenzy by the fire engulfing the entire front wall, put up little resistance seeking only to save their own skins. With dense smoke billowing all around the tunnel’s exit doorway, few gargoyles took notice of it, many suffering the effects of smoke inhalation and gasping for breath.
Further goading the gargoyles into making a hasty retreat was an interesting addition to this second tunnel that hadn’t been present at the first. Inside, right before the exit, was a flight of stairs leading to a row of windows on an upper landing that were hidden from outside view by thin rock walls. Quickly crumbling when beaten upon by sledgehammers, the opened windows provided a great staging platform for Captain Jeriana’s archers. Taking up bows that had been stored there, two-dozen warrior women began firing on the gargoyles below.
As the archers were raining damnation down upon the stunned winged apes, the remaining warrior women began pouring through the doorway, spilling out into the fray with swords flailing.
Close behind Captain Jeriana’s 100 warrior women were Lt. Nantaric and 100 members of the king’s personal guard. The men’s ferocity was so passionate that it touched the hearts of Jeriana’s battle-hardened women who had a weakness for men fighting on behalf of a noble goal, especially if it seemed nearly hopeless and totally audacious. It was like wildcats being romanced by mountain lions, possibly a bit of a self-destructive fantasy but a potent one nonetheless.
Caught up in and devastated by this spree of sensuously gratuitous mayhem, the gargoyles never knew what hit them. Soon droves of winged apes were high-tailing it up the mountain trail hoping to find safety behind the third fortification’s walls, though those who’d survived the first two battles doubted its ability to protect them. However, it quickly became evident that their fears regarding this matter proved unnecessary for, upon reaching the entrance, they discovered the winged apes inside were under orders not to even open the doors.
“Go back and fight, you cowards!” a leader perched on the wall shouted to the retreating warriors congregating out front.
But after looking over their shoulders at Lord Pensgraft, Captain Jeriana, Lt. Nantaric, and General Tark and over 3,000 warriors proceeding up the mountain trail, the retreating winged apes had no desire to engage an enemy carting what seemed to be a limitless number of ceramic pots of flammable oil. Also, the gargoyles realized that a superior enemy displaying incredible generalship was outmaneuvering them.
Still, many gargoyles felt that General Takanar would rectify this problem if they could only reach him. Swarenth, a sadistic ruler, did not enjoy his warriors’ trust, but they were eager to rally ‘round their general. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to them, Takanar was dead, murdered by a warlord they feared but to whom they felt no loyalty. The leadership structure of the winged apes was going down in flames as intense and all consuming as the ones decimating the fortifications. But word of such calamity had not reached their ears, though it wouldn’t be long until it did. Even among gargoyles, especially among gargoyles, bad news traveled fast.
Yet here and now, adding to their current woes, the gargoyles in front of the third fortification watched in dismay as one of Lord Pensgraft’s catapults launched a clay pot with a flaming “scarf,” sending it hurtling through the air in their direction.
Desperate to avoid being burned alive, the winged apes nearest the walls began shoving the ones in back of them, inadvertently pushing some towards the side of the trail dropping off into the deep ravine. As panic took hold, more and more winged apes were shoved off the cliff falling far below, their bodies being dashed upon the rocks. Even before the clay pot struck, only 100 of the 350 gargoyles originally gathered outside the gate were still alive, and they’d retreated again, this time to a safe distance from the entrance.
When the ceramic pot struck the far right side of the fortification, never having been intended to make a direct hit in the middle where most of the gargoyles outside had been standing, an explosion of fire and smoke enveloped the wall where it butted up against the steep mountainside. Quickly, though belatedly, the fortification doors opened, and the surviving gargoyles raced inside.
“Get all the catapults into position,” Lord Pensgraft said, thankful his own warriors had suffered so few losses getting this far and hoping their luck would hold.
When all was ready, Lord Pensgraft looked at the winged apes spread out along the top of the front wall and shouted, “Get off the wall, otherwise you’ll be roasted alive!”
He waved his arms indicating for them to clear out. At least half of them heeded his advice and disappeared. Looking at those gargoyles who were either too stubborn or too stupid to vacate the premises, Lord Pensgraft shook his head at the madness of war.
“One last chance to get away with your lives!” he shouted, but none of the remaining gargoyles moved.
Lord Pensgraft turned to General Tark and said, “As a last warning, launch just one pot of oil again. Try for a direct hit above the entrance.”
One lone container of smudge-pot oil with its flaming “scarf” made a graceful arc through the nighttime sky before slamming down upon the fortification drenching it in oil that ignited instantly. Flames shot high into the darkness lighting up the fortification, this time revealing a now almost totally vacant front wall.
“Fire at will,” Lord Pensgraft said.
As more ceramic pots of flammable oil arced towards their intended target, Aerylln’s father thought, It’ll soon be three fortifications down with three more to go. Then, looking off into the distance, he felt a sense of reassurance seeing Jewel and Flame shooting through the sky and tried to get his fears for his daughter’s safety under control.
Riding up alongside Lord Pensgraft, Captain Jeriana read his thoughts and said, “Your daughter will survive. After all, she’s White Angel.”
“But she’s so small.”
“Yes, ordinarily, but as White Angel, you know she’s 15-feet-tall. Aerylln’s not so little at the moment.”
“Get me up this mountain quickly, Jeriana. I n
eed to be with her.”
“We’ll get there, my lord,” she said as she rested a comforting hand on his massive shoulder.
As far as Lord Pensgraft knew, very few people, if any, were aware of how much he feared being abandoned and alone. His mother had been killed right in front of him. Some years later, his wife had died. Shortly after that, while Aerylln was very young, he had to leave his daughter with Mistress Xan, a powerful sorceress, to keep her safe. Even then, dark forces had suspected that Aerylln was heir to Baelfire and were looking for her.
All his life, everyone Lord Pensgraft loved had either ended up dead or had been taken from him. As Captain Jeriana patted him on his back reassuringly, she wondered if Lord Pensgraft realized that his fear of abandonment was well-known by those around him.
He has the body of a giant but the heart of a boy, Captain Jeriana thought while looking at the tormented face of the man she served.
“We’ll get there, my lord,” she said once more. “We’ll get you back to your family where you belong.”
Chapter 27
Dominion Castle. A short while ago.
“In the name of the king, I reclaim this entrance!” White Angel 19 shouted with her wings spread wide, holding Baelfire high over her head as Zorya reared up on her hind legs.
The other White Angels were hovering in the nighttime sky just above their young master brandishing Swords of Fire and creating quite a spectacle. Gargoyles on the castle walls couldn’t tell how many human warriors were actually accompanying these blond avengers but quickly concluded there must be a great number. After all, these stunningly beautiful, gloriously powerful warrior angels would command a giant army, wouldn’t they?
The White Angels were giving Swarenth’s troops a lesson in warfare. If you act like you’re in control, many will believe that you are.
It made a deep impression on White Angel 19 when she saw the looks of apprehension on the faces of the gargoyles nearest the entrance. You can undermine an opponent’s confidence by feeling good about yourself, she thought. Just believe in yourself strongly enough, and others won’t be sure what to think. Then, in that moment of confusion, you must strike and strike hard, which is precisely my stepmother’s specialty.
Proving White Angel 19 right, Chen and her warrior women were racing to implement King Ulray’s strategy for getting gargoyles off the castle’s outer walls. Using sledgehammers, as Lord Pensgraft’s warrior women were doing on the mountain trail, they broke through a long, rectangular, vertical slab of rock located on an inside section of the wall and, upon doing so, uncovered a giant metal lever. At its top, a long chain was attached which hung down to the ground with more being coiled at the base.
“Put your backs into it,” Chen shouted tossing the heavy chain to Gwendylln, Andrina and Corson.
Gripping the metal links tightly, the warrior women yanked the lever down hard, and razor-sharp spears hidden within the wall were instantly forced upward through the walkway floor above them. Terrible screams filled the night air as gargoyles were impaled, some through an arm or a leg, others through their torsos and actually lifted off their feet. The fortunate few who hadn’t been skewered were nevertheless forced off the walkway, falling to their deaths on the hard stone pavement far below. Any gargoyles miraculously surviving such a drop were helped into the next world with a quick swipe of a warrior woman’s sword.
Running to the location of the second hidden lever, Chen and her warrior women shattered the rectangular slab of rock covering it. Then, as before, they pulled down hard on the attached chain driving dozens of razor-sharp spears right through the floor of the next section of the walkway high above them. New screams of excruciating pain began filling the night as more gargoyles felt the bite of cold, hard metal cutting through flesh.
King Tarlen sprinted ahead to the third hidden lever, followed closely by Captain Polaris and the 20 members of the king’s personal guard who were here in the castle with him. Chaktar also accompanied them, refusing to be separated from his tiger-brother.
After breaking through the rock slab covering the lever, King Tarlen grabbed the attached chain, wrapped it around Chaktar’s massive shoulders and shouted, “Rip it off the wall.”
With a powerful surge of his enormous muscles, the giant tiger leapt forward pulling down the lever and shooting spears through the walkway so forcefully that almost all the gargoyles directly above were lifted off their feet, legs kicking, arms flailing, some dying instantly, others adding their strained voices to the pitiful screams filling the darkness.
Not wanting to be outdone, King Ulray and Lord Grenitar made for the next spot along the base of the wall where a lever was hidden. Unwilling to wait for someone to bring a sledgehammer, the enormous tiger shattered the rock slab with one swipe of his huge paw. Quickly grabbing the long chain, King Ulray wrapped it around Grenitar’s massive neck and said, “Show ‘em how it’s done.”
On the walkway above, the winged apes had already been unnerved by the agonizing screams of the gargoyle warriors impaled along previous sections of the wall. When Lord Grenitar pulled the lever down, spears shot up through the walkway floor, but they cut into little gargoyle flesh since most had abandoned their posts.
“Humans have captured the front entrance!” one retreating gargoyle shouted to others stationed on a fifth section of the wall. However, they had their own discouraging news to report with one of the gruesome apes shouting back, “Swarenth has murdered General Takanar.”
“Our general is dead?” the retreating ape asked stunned knowing that General Takanar was the army’s only buffer between itself and a warlord whose frequent fits of rage caused everyone in the castle to cower in abject submission, everyone except for General Takanar. Sickened by the news, the retreating gargoyle asked, “How did it happen?”
“Swarenth rammed a spear through General Takanar’s back.”
Interrupting them, a panic-stricken gargoyle hightailing it down a flight of stairs began shrieking, “We’re all doomed! Doomed! Humans are everywhere! They’re overrunning the castle!”
But those who’d already deserted their posts along the walkway above King Ulray and Lord Grenitar didn’t hear him. Having reached the courtyard below, the retreating gargoyles were concentrating on one thing and one thing only, running for their lives.
Seizing the initiative, Chen moved quickly to keep up the pressure. Breaking through yet another stone slab, her warrior women pulled down on the attached chain with all their might.
Having observed the fate of their neighbors, the gargoyles on this section of walkway ran for the stairs as soon as they saw Chen. Most made it, but others were too slow and were impaled, their shrill screams adding to the psychological onslaught terrorizing all gargoyles within earshot.
“What’s happening?” one winged ape on a section of walkway farther away from the action shouted to the fleeing gargoyles.
“We’re being overrun,” a grotesque ape shouted back.
“What should we do?”
“With General Takanar dead, I don’t know.”
“The general’s dead? Are you sure?”
“Yes, the guards in the throne room say he was murdered,” the fleeing ape replied.
“Murdered? Murdered by whom?”
“Swarenth!” the gargoyle replied, surprised that anyone in the castle could still be unaware of such a catastrophic loss.
If the warlord’s willing to kill his own general, then what hope can any of us have of surviving Swarenth’s wrath? the gargoyle on the walkway asked himself.
Feeling depressed and defeated, he was about to yell the information to winged apes stationed along the walkway up ahead when another gargoyle, seeking to justify his own hasty retreat, started a rumor by shouting, “Balzekior is dying! Not only is the general dead, but the old crone’s life is hanging by a thread!”
Like most rumors that spread quickly, it wasn’t so far- fetched. After all, hadn’t Balzekior recently collapsed onto the throne room floor
screaming about losing much of her strength and power?
“The general’s been murdered, and the old hag’s fading fast?” the gargoyle on the walkway asked feeling even more despondent.
“Yes,” the rumor-maker lied, suddenly feeling better about abandoning his post.
“But can we survive such losses?”
“No way, get down off that walkway and run!”
“Run where?” the gargoyle stationed at his post asked, but he received no reply, the rumor-maker having sprinted away.
Dazed and reeling from what he’d just heard, the winged ape looked on in utter shock when a set of spears shot up through the walkway closest to him, three cutting through the air directly in front of him, one nicking him on his cheek.
With shattered nerves, he began screaming, “General Takanar’s been murdered! Balzekior’s dying! Run for you lives!”
“They’re both dead or dying?” an incredulous gargoyle asked shouting his question from much farther ahead on the walkway.
“Yes!” the broken gargoyle wailed.
The incredulous gargoyle turned toward those even farther ahead on the walkway, modifying the truth a little more shouting, “General Takanar and Balzekior are both dead!”
“We must get to the great hall, to the throne room. Swarenth will know what to do,” another winged ape told those around him as an excuse for leaving his post. But they all knew the throne room was the last place a retreating gargoyle should go. A warrior guilty of deserting his post would face certain death. The warlord had killed for less, much less.
However, one bold warrior woman, the fearless black leather panther, felt only contempt for Swarenth. And with her flair for the dramatic, Chen was orchestrating an attack designed to unnerve even the likes of him.
Sprinting towards one of Lord Grenitar’s largest tigers, the black leather panther leapt onto its back, grabbing hold of its fur with one hand while drawing her sword with the other and shouting, “Death to all enemies of the Kardimont kingdom!”
