The Temporal Knights

by Richard D. Parker

  Moore signaled to his fellow sergeant and the two began to move slowly into the room. Sadao moved to the right and Moore to the left, but they’d only taken a few cautious steps forward when Dorn turned suddenly and spotted them. He was so surprised by their presence and obvious fearlessness that he froze for a several precious moments. Sadao used the time to leap forward and grab a long wooden spear from the wall. He tested its balance as he spun to face the guards, while Moore rushed to remove a wicked looking sickle from a rusty nail. He yanked it off the wall but before he could turn the Master of the Dungeon came to life. With an easy, practiced motion, he flicked his wrist and sent the rawhide whip slicing through the air toward Moore. It struck the Sergeant on the left shoulder with a loud crack and cut through his shirt and several layers of skin. The Sergeant gasped and Dorn smiled, but it immediately fell from his face as he watched Sadao wade into the two guards, spear twirling, completely unafraid. It was plenty obvious that these men were no strangers to the weapons they handled. Dorn cracked the whip at Moore again, keeping him at bay.

  Pepper quickly moved to his master’s side and eyed the intruders with unease. If the two guards would have worked together they could have challenged even Sadao, but foolishly only one guard moved forward to attack while the other hung back, undecided. The man thrust his weapon clumsily at the Sergeant’s face, but Sadao easily knocked it aside, crouched and with an effortless sweep of the spear, ripped open the man’s mid-section. The injured guard howled in pain and fell to the floor, desperately pressing his hands to his stomach in a vain attempt to hold his innards in place. He continued to scream as blood poured through his fingers.

  The sight of his dying friend completely unnerved the remaining guard, whose eyes twitched as he watched Sadao move forward. He lunged forward but only thrust his weapon at Sadao in short; choppy motions in order to better control the bladed tip. As it was, his attacks posed little danger to Sadao, who circled and waited for a mistake. Finally he managed to parry an ill-timed blow and with a sweeping move neatly slit the man’s throat. He went down next to his friend, clutching his neck and struggling for air, fetid though it was. Dorn’s entire attention switched to Sadao, who he now perceived to be the greater threat. He pulled back the whip, feeling real fear for the first time in a long while. Both of his guards were down, and writhing on the dungeon floor. The dungeon master ignored Moore and launched the whip at Sadao, but was surprised when the strange looking man turned his spear sideways and threw it up into the air. Dorn watched helplessly as his whip caught the flying spear and wrapped neatly around it several times before clattering to the floor.

  “Meatholes!” Dorn cursed. He flipped his wrist to yank back the whip but the spear bounced along with it. Sadao however, did not wait for Dorn to untangle his weapon and instead dove and deftly snatched up a pike carelessly discarded by one of the dying guards. He hit the ground, rolled and was on his feet once more in a single easy motion.

  ‘I canna die,’ Dorn thought wildly and frantically pulled on the whip, desperately trying to free it from the spear. He did so but not before Sergeant Moore waded in and buried his sickle in the back of the big man’s skull. Pepper whimpered but drew his long knife and moved on Sergeant Moore, whose sickle was still wedged tightly in the skull of the dungeon master. He quickly abandoned his attempt to free the weapon and leaped away as Pepper swiped at him, missing his ribs by inches but then Sadao rushed forward and skewered the pale man, pinning him neatly to the wall. The two soldiers spun about, searching for any hidden threats but all seemed clear. Moore smiled at his deadly friend and winked. All of Sir Eadwulf’s men died within seconds of each other.

  “You all right?” Sadao asked, his eyes still sweeping the room and the archway for more enemies. Sergeant Moore nodded but then as if by magic, the pain, which had been stored somewhere in his sub-conscious, rushed forward. He groaned and went to his knees, one hand reaching around to gingerly touch his wound.

  “I’m fine...” he answered, then gestured with his head to the man chained to the wall. “How’s he?”

  Sadao, sensing no danger, glanced back at the man hanging limply by his wrists and felt real pity. His back, bleeding freely, was a mass of ribboned flesh. Impossible that he was still among the living, but Sadao stepped forward and felt for a pulse at the man’s neck. He was unconscious, but somehow still alive.

  “He’s alive...barely,” he said and quickly stepped over to Dorn and searched for a set of keys to unlock the unfortunate man. He found nothing on the dungeon master, but found one large key on a single iron ring on Pepper. By the time he turned back to release Sir Ordmere, Moore was on his feet and using both arms to support the man’s weight. Sadao quickly slipped the key into the manacles, hoping that it would work the lock, it did and the two soldiers carefully lowered Sir Ordmere, face down to the floor. There was a bucket of water, with a ladle in one corner and Sadao removed his shirt then undershirt, which he immersed in the water and silently began to clean the nobleman’s wounds.

  “Go check on the General,” he said and handed Moore the single key. He was sure that it would open up any lock in the dungeon, and possibly any lock in the entire castle. “I can handle this.”

  Moore immediately moved off, and a few moments later the man on the floor began to regain consciousness. He groaned and tried to move, then screamed and passed out again just as the General and the rest of his men topped the stairs and moved through the archway.

  Peebles grimaced and knelt down by Sir Ordmere. He was followed quickly by Dr. Rice, who relieved Sadao of his task.

  “He’s alive,” Moore said with a grimace, “but I don’t envy him. My back is on fire. The pain he’s in must be incredible.”

  Rice made a quick assessment of the situation. “He may live. He may not. I’ll need my supplies, which are in the hummer, if I’m to truly treat the wounds,” he said and then moved to Sergeant Moore, who took the inspection and the cleansing of his own wound stoically.

  “You’ll need a few stitches,” the doctor announced, and then made a primitive sling out of his own undershirt to brace the Sergeant’s arm. “I know your arm doesn’t truly need this, but I want you to use it as little as possible. You pull the wound every time you do,” he explained.

  Sir Ordmere groaned and came around once more. This time he moved only his head and that very gingerly. He looked around and seeing Peebles mistakenly assumed he was back in his cell. “I’m afraid I’ve ruined the nice shirt ye gave me,” he said weakly to the General, and even managed a smile before dropping his head the full inch he’d managed to raise it.

  “We have more,” Peebles answered with his own smile, then took Rice off to the side. “Is he in immediate danger?”

  Rice shook his head. “No, I don’t think so, but he shouldn’t be moved, not at least until we can make some sort of stretcher for him. I can stop, or at least slow down the bleeding with what I have here. Frankly, I’m surprised he’s not in shock. He must be in agony.”

  “I want this man to live,” the General answered and there was no mistaking his tone. “If you think he’s in immediate danger we will wait here for a few hours before we attempt our escape...”

  “Escape...” Rice whispered. “If we move this man it could kill him.”

  “And staying here with Sir Eadwulf won’t?”

  Rice nodded and looked around disgustedly. “If we don’t get to my medical supplies within a day or so infection is sure to set in. This place is filthy, and I’m fairly positive no one around here went to any great lengths to keep the whip or anything else clean.”

  “Moore?”

  Rice frowned. “He’s in danger too...in fact; we all are every time we injure ourselves. We must make every effort to keep our wounds as clean as possible. Men often times died of infection from nothing more than a scratch in these times and I have a limited supply of antibiotics.”

  The General nodded, not really listening with his full attention. “Look after them,” he ordered
and went to discuss his plans with the other men.

  §

  To Colonel Lemay, any operation of war was analogous to a math problem; a math problem with variables. Of course a problem with just a few variables was relatively easy to solve, but those with many variables were much harder. The operation before them now contained a great number of variables, making it a very sticky problem, one that Colonel Lemay did not care for at all. But variables or not, this problem had to be solved quickly or the variables would likely grow. This operation was going to be a very, very risky proposition but at precisely 0430 his men began to move out. Everyone was a bit antsy because they were just a bit behind schedule.

  The plan called for the force to be split first into two and then three parts. Initially the bulk of the men would move on the town itself and take Lisette’s, which was situated on the southeast side of Rochester. At the same time, a smaller group would move through the hills west of the town and capture the tallest ridge, where they could keep an eye on the enemy forces camped on the west side of the castle. This smaller group contained most of the heavy firepower, including a half dozen portable M60’s and a like number of mortars. The hummers with their heavy weapons would be left behind in the grove until the operation was well underway, since the engine noises would undoubtedly alert Eadwulf’s men. Once the enemy was engaged the vehicles would move up through the town to support the attack on the fortress.

  Colonel Lemay, despite his high rank, led the two hundred and thirty-five man force into the outskirts of Rochester. The night was dark, very dark. There were no streetlights and the moon was just a sliver. In fact, they could not detect a single light anywhere in the town save for a flickering torch, placed outside the steps of Lisette’s, which was their first objective. Of course, the dark did not bother the soldiers; the dark was their friend, and they moved comfortably through it. In full battle gear with their TVD’s down, night became day. But for all the comfort the dark provided, they really did not need it because absolutely no one was up and about. They had not even happened across a stray dog, which surprised the Colonel greatly. The town dogs worried him the most. They could easily spot the group with their keen senses then unwittingly raise the alarm against the intruders. Corporal Garraty, who remained back in camp operating the UAV, flew it above the assault force in a wide circle, and kept a special lookout for the four-legged citizens. Colonel Lemay had given the order to kill any dogs on sight, not something he wanted to do, but something he deemed very necessary. Luckily, the dogs of the town were either horrible watchdogs or exceedingly intelligent, because they stayed hidden and raised no alarm.

  The main force entered Rochester and split up without additional orders and soon sealed off the main roads. They slinked through the dark until they’d silently covered all the intersections and alleyways. The town was secured without the inhabitants becoming aware that they were under attack.

  “All clear...no movement of any kind,” Garraty announced over the GBF just as Lemay stopped outside the front door of Lisette’s. He sent a small force around back to cover that exit then with a deep breath he ordered his main group forward. With silent grace the men began the dance of taking the building, moving smoothly from one room to another. They all had their weapons loaded and ready but thankfully they did not have to use them against the sleepy patrons. The ground floor was empty except for an old man and a boy who slept near the warmth of the fireplace.

  “Wassa…” the old man exclaimed but then fell silent, terrified by the dark, faceless men surrounding him. He clutched at the boy but the soldiers could not tell if it was to protect the lad or just out of fear. A group of six soldiers padded quietly upstairs and quickly gained control of a handful of scared, superstitious, and confused prisoners, including the infamous Madam Lisette herself, who remained stoic and quiet with the others.

  “Many pardons Ma’am, but we have need of your establishment,” the Colonel said and then led a group of officers directly to the roof of the building. Madame Lisette wisely made no protest. Even though Lisette’s was the tallest building in town, they were still well below the level of the outer walls of Rovescester, but under high magnification several sentries were visible.

  Sir Ceorl, Sir Oldalf and Sir Elid followed Corporal Hernandez to the roof, where the soldier sat them down in the corner. Each nobleman was wearing a set of night vision goggles, still shocked of their ability to see in utter darkness.

  “Stay here out of the way and enjoy the show,” Hernandez told them and immediately crouched down next to them and began to adjust the sight of his rifle. “Perhaps I can bag a few for you,” he added with a wink.

  “Ye be in for something special,” Sir Oldalf told Sir Ceorl with a grin. He remembered well the taking of the stronghold at Countisbury Hill.

  The group at Lisette’s had to wait several minutes before the other forces were in position, but Corporal Waldfogel reported in only a few minutes behind schedule.

  “We’re in position Sir,” he said of his mortar crews.

  Sergeant Isom,” Lemay asked over the GBF, “are the M60’s in position?”

  “Yes Sir, we’ll keep a close eye on the tent encampment and the north side of town. You won’t have any surprises from that direction.”

  Colonel Lemay nodded to the rest of his strike team, which included the ten men that would initially be moving against Rovescester itself. They were briefly joined by Captain Gardner and his team which would assault the extreme west side of the fortress.

  “Keep you men tight and under control,” Lemay instructed, knowing the warning was unnecessary, but gave it anyway out of habit.

  “Yes Sir,” Gardner answered and veered away with his men out over the dark countryside.

  Lemay edged his group to within about fifty yards of the main gate of the fortress. There was no moat, but a drawbridge spanned a shallow ditch. The gate itself was closed tight, though the iron portcullis, which provided additional protection, was still raised. Not that it mattered; they’d enter by scaling the walls, not by walking through the front door. There were no sentries visible from ground level.

  “Corporal Hernandez, have your team acquire all visible targets,” Lemay ordered.

  “Yes Sir, three targets acquired,” the Corporal replied back almost immediately.

  “Corporal Garraty, give me one more fly over.”

  “Yes Sir,” the Sergeant answered as Lemay and his men switched over to watch the view of the castle from above. They quickly spotted their own position and that of Captain Gardner, whose team was exactly where they were supposed to be. There were no immediate bogeys above them, and then the bug was whispering over the fortress walls. The UAV was gazing down at the Earth in microwaves, which could easily pick up the signatures of humans and in fact, could recognize mammals down to the size of a rat with relative ease. They readily identified the five guards high on the wooden walls; two were patrolling leisurely, while the third stood near the northwest corner not moving. There were also two guards directly above the main gate, though they appeared to be sitting, possibly sleeping. After a moment they spotted another pair walking along in the courtyard directly in front of the stone keep.

  Lemay cursed softly. “Corporal Hernandez I see five, repeat five targets near the forward section of the castle. How many targets have you acquired?”

  “Three, plus the two that are sleeping are out of our line of sight,” Hernandez reported back.

  “They’re sitting, Corporal. There’s no guarantee that they’re sleeping,” Lemay corrected. He was concerned but realized that this was probably the best situation they were likely to get.

  “Sergeant swing the UAV over the encampment and transmit the coordinates to Corporal Waldfogel...Corporal prepare to receive.”

  “Aye Sir.”

  “Sergeant Isom, how’s the town look?”

  “All clear.”

  Likewise the tent encampment was quiet, no sentries in sight.

  Lemay took a deep breath an
d shook his arms quickly to relax. “Corporal Hernandez, you may fire; take out all visible sentries,” he said. Everyone tensed. They all realized that this was a crucial part of the mission; any miss would undoubtedly result in the alarm being sounded, which could spell disaster for the mission. Lemay knew that if they were to find the General safe and sound they needed surprise on their side. In less time than Colonel could fully form this thought the targets went down.

  “Target one down....three down...target two down.”

  “All targets down,” Hernandez reported and Lemay sighed.

  “Confirmed,” Garraty reported intently studying the view from the “bug.”

  “Garraty keep a close eye on the final two forward targets...Gardner move out,” Lemay said and the two teams immediately sprang into action. Sir Ceorl, who’d had the misfortune of be involved in two sieges in his young life, watched the proceedings with wonder. The fact that these soldiers could talk with one another at any time, from any place was incredible, as was the fact that they could see in the dark, they could see over high walls, and they could kill quietly from very great distances. It was truly stunning, and he instantly realized that he was in the presence of the greatest fighting force the Anglish land had ever seen. The Lady Æthelflæd had been wise to send him with the Colonel, as she was wise to trust the confused ramblings of her youngest son. But despite her gender, the lady Flæd was always farsighted. He shook his head to clear these thoughts, and then glanced at Sir Oldalf who was smiling blissfully and staring at the goings on through his magic glasses. Sir Ceorl pulled the binoculars back to his eyes and cursed softly as he watched these highly trained, efficient soldiers scale the walls of one of the Land’s most secure fortresses. Even from a distance the knight was amazed. The soldiers somehow shot ropes up twenty feet to the parapets and then pulled themselves up very quickly using pure muscle.