by Peter Last
“Things change quickly on the battlefield, sir,” Josiah answered.
“Indeed they do,” Wellter said in a more serious tone. “I also recall that you had many more soldiers when you set out than you do now. Exactly how many men are under your command?”
“I don’t know exactly, sir, but I think there are around five hundred humans and five hundred ogres. I haven't seen any orcs, but that's not surprising considering how few of them there were when we left Saddun.”
“I don’t see how you survived at all,” Wellter said, shaking his head.
“Only by the bravery of my men and the help of Elohim,” Josiah answered.
“Indeed…” Wellter began, but was cut off by a cry of warning. Seconds later, a boulder flew over the makeshift battlements and hit a massive rock, turning it into fragments and flinging these into the army of Magessa.
“Get under cover!” Josiah shouted uselessly. Already the soldiers were scrambling for the nearest and safest places they could find. Josiah followed Wellter and his entourage to a position behind two massive boulders.
"Where the hell did the siege machines come from?" Josiah yelled.
"They took it with them when they left Saddun," Wellter yelled back. "We didn't think anything of it because we assumed they were going to siege Belmoth with it."
“We have to attack the dwarves and take out that siege equipment or they will pelt us to death with it!” an elf shouted.
“We can't," Josiah countered. "They have it set up on the far side of the river. Besides that, we’d never get past the dwarf crossbowmen. My guess is that they already have them in position and ready to take out any living thing in this area that provides a target. You're more than welcome to take a peek if you want to test the theory.”
“We’ll just have to weather the attack then,” Wellter commanded. “If we stay behind cover, we might be able to survive until they cease their fire. They have to run out of ammunition eventually."
“That’s true, but we’d better bunker down good,” Josiah said. “Those boulders they are flinging at us are no joke.”
“Of course,” Wellter agreed. “That’s why I’m staying with you. Because you think of important things like that.”
Josiah didn’t acknowledge the humor in the statement and the look of concentration never left his face.
“So, how did you end up in this mess?” Wellter tried again. “At the academy, I mean.”
“Do you really think this is the time for that?” Josiah asked with a puzzled look at Wellter.
“If you think about the battle too much, you’re going to fry your brain,” Wellter explained. “You have to take time to relax.”
“Well, you’ve been doing this a lot longer than I have, so if you say so, I’ll believe you,” Josiah conceded.
“I say so,” Wellter said. “Now tell me how you ended up at the academy.”
“I’m afraid to say it isn’t a very interesting story,” Josiah said. “I grew up in a small village that is set off the beaten path. There wasn’t much of a future for anyone who stayed there so most of the young men left to join the army. I happened to be smarter than most, I guess, because before long I was sent to the academy. I’ve been there ever since.”
“You were correct, that wasn’t very interesting,” Wellter quipped.
“So, what about you?” Josiah turned the question back on the elf. “What’s your story? I bet it’s a lot more interesting than mine.”
“It is,” Wellter agreed. “I would tell you, but it is a very long story. I wouldn’t have time to finish and then you’d be wondering about it when you have to fight. That’s how people die.”
“Very funny,” Josiah said. Clearly he wasn’t going to get anything else out of the elf on that subject, but the talking was calming his nerves. “Well, if you don’t want to tell me about you, do you have any good jokes?”
******
Vladimir opened his eyes and wondered sleepily where he was. As his consciousness deepened, he took in his surroundings—the walls that surrounded him, the ceiling over him, and the bed beneath him. He recognized this place, but its name was eluding him. Then the memory of the past few days broke over him like a spray of cold water, and he sat up in the bed. He knew where he was: the infirmary at the academy, which could only mean one thing—Timothy had succeeded in his mission and had told those at the academy where he had left Vladimir.
The door to the room opened and Timothy strode in. He did not look particularly happy, and Vladimir suddenly wondered if the mission had actually failed. He held his tongue until Timothy sat down in a chair by his bed.
“So what’s happening?” he asked. He was so eager to hear the answer that he was actually leaning toward Timothy.
“Some dragons found me just before I passed out, and they brought me here,” Timothy said. “When I regained consciousness, we had just reached the academy, and I wasted no time in telling the grand admiral about the dwarf army. He immediately sent messengers throughout the country to warn about the attack. He also sent a force of seventy dragons to assist in the battle against the dwarves.”
“So what’s wrong?” Vladimir asked. “It looks like you aren’t entirely satisfied with the results of our mission.”
“I only wonder whether or not we arrived in time for our dragons to be of assistance. I can’t remember how many days it took to get here from Saddun, but I can only hope that it was fast enough.”
“We did all that we could, and that is all that anyone can ask of us,” Vladimir said. “We will have to leave the rest in the hands of Elohim. All we can do now is pray that He will sustain our armies until the dragons reach them.”
“Can we do that now?” Timothy asked.
Vladimir had always looked up to the older cadet as a wiser and more mature person, but right now he had the look of a lost puppy. Vladimir nodded, and together they knelt on the floor and prayed silently. For half an hour not a word was spoken between the two cadets as they prayed. Finally they rose to their feet and without breaking the silence Timothy left the room while Vladimir climbed back into bed to rest.
******
Senndra and Lydia stood in the library of Saddun and gazed up at massive shelves that contained hundreds of books, scrolls, maps, and other pieces of written material. All Senndra could do was stare and wonder how in the world she was going to find what she wanted from this huge compilation of volumes. Lydia, however, went straight to work, running her finger along the spines of the books. She passed several shelves altogether and resumed her search again, moving up the bookcase until she was forced to use a ladder to reach the higher shelves. She finally discovered the section that she was looking for and began to pull out various volumes and browse through them. Whenever she found one that she liked, she handed it down to Senndra. By the time Lydia came down from the ladder, the stack of books in Senndra’s hands had grown to perhaps a dozen volumes.
“These are some of the most informative books on dwarves that can be found anywhere in the country,” Lydia said as she led Senndra from the shelf and into the main hall of the library. This hall was lined with numerous others which housed even more shelves of books. The number of volumes was staggering, and Senndra wondered again how Lydia was able to find exactly what she wanted. At the front of the building, Lydia led Senndra to a counter where an older lady made a note of each book that was in the pile.
“So you’re back into dwarves now, Lydia?” the woman asked.
“No, these are for my friend,” Lydia answered.
“Well, I hope she enjoys them,” the woman said as she finished putting the book names into her log.
“I’m sure she will,” Lydia said.
Senndra followed Lydia out of the library and down the street outside. The sun had sunk behind the mountains, and the sound of people returning from their work was no longer in the air. Since the battle, a great deal of progress had been made toward restoring the city. The debris was being cleared away and many of the b
uildings as well as the northern wall were being repaired. The wall had obviously been the first priority, and the breaches in it had been barricaded by wooden palisades. Stone was now being brought from a quarry in the mountains to restore the wall to its original strength. During the day everyone helped with the repair efforts, so it was only in the late afternoon, after the work was finished for the day, that Senndra and Lydia were able to visit the library.
The two girls entered the building where the servants slept and climbed the stairs to the second floor. A hall stretched the entire length of the building, and halfway down, they entered a room. Due to a lack of sleeping quarters, they shared this small room with three other girls who were not there at the moment. Five cots covered the majority of the floor, leaving room for only a small path along one wall. Senndra sat on one of the end cots and wedged her books into a small gap between the cot and the wall. She kept one back with the title Dwarves and Their Habitat and immediately opened it and began to read. She became engrossed in her reading, only looking up when Lydia tapped her on the shoulder.
“It’s dinner time” she said. Senndra put her book aside and followed her friend out of the room. They left the building and headed toward the mess hall. A group of people had gathered in front of the hall, and as the girls were about to pass them, Senndra spotted Lemin standing in the middle. She grabbed Lydia’s arm and pulled her into the group until she was close enough that she could hear what was being said.
“The army that left this city had a very small chance of returning, much less defeating the dwarves,” Lemin said. “They knew that when they set out, and yet they still went in order to protect their country. They put together a plan that had a chance of defeating the dwarves. But even the best laid plans go amiss, and I fear that their strategy has been brought to naught. Therefore, I have asked you to gather here so that we might pray for our comrades that Elohim will give them strength and uphold them in their trials.”
Lemin got on his knees and bowed his head. One by one, the members of the crowd followed suit. Senndra did the same, but as she closed her eyes, an image of Josiah, Cirro and a few other soldiers, both elf and human, crouching behind a boulder, jumped into her mind. The enemy soldiers surrounding them outnumbered them heavily. Senndra snapped her eyes open and found herself in a circle of praying people, so she slowly shut her eyes again. This time she saw nothing but darkness, and she began to pray. If the vision that she just had was anything like reality, the army needed all the prayer they could get.
******
The sun had set by the time the dwarves stopped flinging boulders from their catapults, and torches now lit the ranks of their army. Somehow the darkness made the dwarf army seem more ominous than before, and the remains of the army of Magessa huddled in their natural fortress. Their numbers had been cut greatly by the pounding of the dwarves’ catapults, but Josiah knew that their losses could have been much greater. At the onset of the barrage, he had figured that at most a fourth of the army would survive and was therefore greatly encouraged by the number of warriors that were left. He watched as the ranks of the dwarf army moved toward him, but he did not stir or make a sound. He and Wellter had already decided that the best plan of action would be to remain silent and motionless until the dwarves moved in to make sure that they were dead. Then they would kill as many as they could without presenting themselves; however, when they were forced out into the open, they would attack ferociously and stay among the dwarf lines so that their crossbows would be useless. This was why the entire army stood motionless on the hill, hiding among the boulders and waiting.
A group of one hundred dwarves slowly made its way up the hill. They were clearly not expecting to find any survivors, and they held their shields and weapons in a careless manner. As they neared the defenders, the soldiers tensed, ready for the first strike. The dwarves passed the first line of defenders, searching among the boulders. The soldiers caught the unsuspecting dwarves as they came through, covering their mouths and slashing their throats. Neither the muffled cries nor the thud of falling corpses could be heard above the sound of the advancing army, and the dwarves continued their advance until there was no more ground left to take.
Josiah turned to Cirro, who stood beside him, and punched his outstretched fist in triumph. Then he peered around the boulder he stood behind and observed the dwarf army. They had no idea what had just occurred and were waiting for the search party to return. Minutes passed, and after half an hour, it became obvious that they were not coming back. So another party, with twice the number of soldiers, was sent to find the first. Josiah motioned to Cirro that there were two hundred dwarves this time, and the two friends readied themselves for the attack. This time the dwarves carried their weapons and shields at the ready, prepared for anything. Josiah heard a soft moaning to his left and recognized it as a signal. Wellter had decided that the dwarves were well-prepared and that a concentrated attack would be the best course of action. The dwarves were within feet of the first soldiers when the signal to attack came. Humans and elves burst from their hiding places and smashed into the dwarf contingent. The dwarves were heavily outnumbered and didn’t stand a chance. The army of Magessa trampled them and continued the frenzied charge down the hill toward the main dwarf army. The dwarves were stunned by the attack, and the crossbowmen barely had time to fire before the humans and elves hit them. With swords flashing, the small army pushed its way through the dwarf lines, killing and trampling anyone who stood before them; however, as they progressed, their momentum steadily diminished until the sheer number of dwarves forced them to a halt. The soldiers formed a circle, but even this did not work. The dwarves crushed in on them, forcing soldiers from the circle and killing them. The crossbowmen began their attack, their first barrage devastating the army.
As Josiah stood with the few remaining defenders, he knew that the end was near. The dwarves were closing in to finish off the last remnants of the army. But just then, they were interrupted by a harsh sound that was music to Josiah's ears. A dragon’s roar washed across the armies and distracted the dwarves. Josiah and his small army seized the opportunity and attacked the dwarves, cutting a path through them and out into the plain. Quickly they put as much distance as possible between themselves and the dwarves. Finally they turned and saw one of the most stunning sights in the world. Seventy dragons circled over the dwarves, blasting the army with fire. The dwarves were running in all directions, clearly panicked by this new development. Crossbows were discharged at the beasts, but a flying target is hard to hit. The bolts that did reach the dragons bounced off of their scales, doing nothing but aggravating the beasts. A few of the enemy were manning ballistae, siege equipment that fired large javelins. Three dragons swooped in on a concentration of the machines, spiraling as the weapons discharged their missiles. Two javelins ripped through the wing of one dragon, and the beast hit the ground at full speed, sliding through several of the ballistae. Each of the other two dragons hit one of the machines with its tail and reduced it to matchwood.
The fallen dragon regained its feet and did not appear to be seriously damaged by the fall. The dwarves swarmed the beast, but soon discovered that even a fallen dragon can be extremely dangerous. It torched the dwarves in front of it and cleared out those behind it with its tail. The rider astride it fired arrows into the dwarves, but all of this was to no avail. Finding the blind spots on the dragon's sides, the dwarves fell upon the beast with weapons drawn. The first wave of them was trampled beneath the beast's feet, but not even the mighty beast could hold off thousands of dwarves. In no time, they had pulled the rider from his saddle and killed him. Then they swarmed the dragon, hacking and stabbing at his scales, trying to find a weak spot. The dragon roared and thrashed, but the dwarves continued to pile on top of it. It was only a matter of time before they found a weakness to exploit. The dragon gave one last roar, thrashing his tail and head wildly. His movements became weaker until he collapsed, unmoving, to the ground.
The dwarves gave shouts of triumph, but their elation was short lived. Hearing the calls of the dying dragon, the other riders had come to the rescue, albeit too late. All that remained was for his death to be avenged, and this was easily accomplished. Waves of fire rolled across the ground and over the fallen dragon's body, igniting anyone in its path. The dragon riders shot arrows into the dwarves, killing those who escaped the fire and claws of their mounts.
As Josiah watched, the dragons annihilated the army that had once appeared impossible to defeat. The battle lasted for half an hour, after which time all that could be seen was smoke rising from the battlefield as the dragons circled overhead and gradually began to land. Josiah sank to his knees and raised his hands in victory. Then he bowed his head to give thanks to Elohim who gives all victories.
Nine
The army that marched into Saddun had a very different feel than the one that had left the city only a few days ago. The soldiers were tired, but the feelings of victory in their hearts showed on their faces and obscured their exhaustion. The group was small, containing only a fraction of the soldiers that had left, but above them circled a battalion of dragons. The soldiers also appeared sure of themselves and more formidable than they had been only days ago.
The makeshift gates of the city were thrown open wide for the army, and all of its inhabitants hurried out to meet the victorious soldiers. The army made its way slowly through the city in a triumphant procession, which ended in the parade fields of the city. The dragons landed and let their riders slide off before leaping into the sky again and flying toward the mountains where they would spend the night. The wounded soldiers were spirited off to the hospital while the rest of the army was led to the mess hall where everyone in the entire city, it seemed, had gathered. Everyone sat down at the tables and settled in to wait for the cooks to throw a meal together. The noise in the hall was deafening as everyone talked at once, the soldiers telling about their experiences and the rest listening and asking questions. Josiah sat at a table beside Cirro and only partially listened to the stories being told.
