by Rosie Scott
The rustling noise of the attendant grew closer. I could no longer delay in getting us out of here.
I turned toward the attendant, building up telekinesis in a palm. The spell was both silent and invisible. I thrust the magic toward the grave offerings on the surface behind us, and a ceremonial sword skidded toward the opposite side of the wall, before teetering over and crashing to the ground. The attendant yelped with surprise, and the dwarf before us turned with a look of bewilderment and mild annoyance.
“Excuse me,” the attendant offered to the man, lifting up his rag as if it were an excuse. “I am dusting.”
“Be gentle, will ya?” The civilian asked tersely. “These are gifts to our ancestors. My taxes pay for their safekeepin', and gods know they ain't nothin' to scoff at.”
“Of course, sir,” the attendant rambled, before hurrying to jog around the end of the aisle to tend to the fallen sword.
“Anyway...” the dwarf sighed and looked back toward the graves. “Where was I?”
I glanced back at the attendant. As soon as he bent over to pick up the sword, I built two spells in my palms. In one hand grew the emerald energy of paralyze, while the other became murky and gray with confuse.
I paralyzed the civilian, pushing Azazel past the man as Nyx followed on my heels. The dwarf stilled, but his sitting position kept him from falling over. Even still, he would be able to know and understand what was happening to him. Just when the hovering ball of gray magic in my hand was out of the man's peripheral vision, I directed it toward him. By the time the civilian broke out of his fog of confusion, he would no longer be paralyzed. I could only hope that the attendant's earlier perceived clumsiness would keep him from approaching the other man and noticing his stiffness.
My friends and I hurried into the next aisle, then the next. I listened for problems but heard none. I only breathed easier once we reached the golden doors which would lead us back out into the tunnels.
Crrrk! We came to an abrupt stop as one of the doors opened noisily on its own. An old dwarven couple slowly sauntered into the Hall of the Dead bearing a bouquet of flowers. As the man limped through the door, the woman helpfully held it for him. As the seconds ticked by, Azazel led us toward them. When the woman let the door go, Azazel took it, and we hurried through.
A ramped walkway greeted us on the other side, leading us farther up into the mountain. At the first intersection, we turned left. As planned, the tunnel was wide and smooth because it was meant for civilian traffic. It also reflected the light of late morning sunlight from the exit into Olympia which now was just minutes away. The closer we walked to the outer city of Olympia, the more I heard the ambient chatter of the waking city. It was the worst possible time for us to enter the town with the morning sunlight and foot traffic, but we couldn't dally in our mission.
I took solace in the fact that despite our late arrival and the thousands of Alderi assassins in the midst of Olympia working overnight, the city was unaware of our breach. The other armies hadn't made the decision to attack without my signal, and none of the assassins had been compromised. Our mission had a rough start, but all was going well.
...until it wasn't.
DING! DING! DING! DING!
I froze in place just outside of the tunnel exit of Olympia. I hadn't yet had a chance to take in my surroundings so I was jolted by the sudden alarm bells, frantically trying to ascertain their location. The shrill ringing came from the northeast. My eyes scanned over the gigantic city which unfolded beneath us in waves of stone and gold. The bright morning sunlight shimmered off of the gold of thousands of Hammerton troops in the streets below as they rushed toward the harbor.
My heart thudded in my chest. Calder. Cyrus. Uriel. Dax. Something was wrong. None of their ships were in view, but the continued alarms were directing our enemies to board their warships.
And then, I saw it. A single Hammerton galleon sailed toward the harbor from the northeastern ocean, its sails singed from seeing a battle with mages. From this distance, I could only vaguely see the message it was trying to send to the harbor, so I enhanced my vision with illusion magic.
One dwarven sailor was frantically waving a red flag over the railing of the galleon's bow, alerting the shore of an attack. On the quarterdeck, two large beast corpses were splayed in puddles of blood.
The gold-trimmed door of an elongated stone building just a block away bashed open, and a dwarven woman in heavy blue and gold armor hurried out, working her long copper hair back into a bun as she gazed down at the harbor.
“Somebody tell me somethin'! Anything!” She yelled in frustration before a man rushed up to her and grabbed her arm and attention.
“Renilde! Thank the gods!” The man jerked his head nervously back to the harbor. “The Eteri Navy is here! They have brought beasts and battleships!”
My heart pounded so hard I could hear it in my head. Our navy's position was compromised, but ours was not. I couldn't anticipate how Cyrus and Uriel would choose to handle this new development. I could only seek to aid them from here. There were long-ranged cannons set up at multiple intervals between us and the harbor that would devastate our navy's shields and ships within just a few hits, and as I'd surmised, most of them were untouched. The Alderi had started working on the other side of the city and hadn't yet had the time to get here.
Even if Cyrus and Uriel decided to stay back from the harbor until my call, they would still be massively outnumbered. We'd sent most of our galleons back to Eteri for reinforcements. Our navy could not hope to stand against the entirety of Hammerton's. Our greatest naval assets were the battleships, but most of their occupants were unable to fight at sea. If the warships sunk, they would be taking hundreds of giants down with them who would not be able to save themselves.
Our navy was meant to be just one arm of the attack, but because the ships were compromised first, they were receiving the entirety of Hammerton's defensive attention. The most vulnerable group of our army was the only one being targeted.
The gears in my mind started turning to find solutions. Nearby, I knew Azazel's did the same.
The dwarven woman named Renilde thanked the messenger with a terse nod. “It doesn't matter what they've brought, friend,” she told him, with a confident voice that was not the least pressured by the idea of battle. “We will meet them head-on and drive the bastards from our land. I will gather the men.”
As the messenger ran past, Renilde turned and grabbed his arm, stopping him. When the man glanced back, she added, “Warn the others. Find Bertold and tell him it is time.”
The messenger hesitated, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he blinked at the woman with confusion. “It is time? For what?”
Renilde laughed with gusto. “Don't ask questions, friend. He'll know exactly what it means.”
Eighteen
The messenger ran off, frantically rushing to deliver the general's directive. My friends and I hurried after him, desperate to stop it. We were still invisible, but our boot steps reverberated off of surrounding stone walls as we followed the man down a side street with crisscrossing bridges overhead. As civilians and soldiers alike rushed around in reaction to news of attack, any noises we made were drowned out amongst the rest. The only challenge was running through busy city streets while avoiding people who could not see us to begin with.
The top tier of Olympia was dedicated to mining, and the rich and luxurious stone mansions which sprawled over the heights in displays of gold and iron were proof it was a fruitful business. Just below these homes was a district of smithies, training grounds, and shops meant to supply Hammerton's army, and the messenger headed through it. Dwarven soldiers were blurs of blue and gold as we dodged them to follow our target. At the next intersection, a small army of soldiers jogged through, blocking the messenger's path.
The man stopped for a moment, breathing hard as he mentally chose a different route. He decided to dip between two buildings to the right, taking an alleyway as a shortcu
t.
It was our chance. I heard Azazel's boots rush ahead once we were in the relative safety of the alley, and the dwarf sprawled over the ground as he was tackled. The stout man struggled to get off of his hefty gut, and though Azazel was invisible, I could see the dwarf fighting against a weight on his back. Then, the dwarf groaned in pain, the noise followed by the trickle of blood emptying to the cobblestone from his throat. The body was tugged to the side of the alleyway, but there were few shadows here. It was likely the corpse would be discovered; all we could do was ensure we were far away when it was.
The upper streets of Olympia were emptying. Most of the Hammerton Army was marching down the slope of the city to the north to board the ships in its harbor. Thanks to the threat of attack, most of the civilians were locking themselves inside their homes. As much as I worried about our navy, I found a silver lining in our new circumstances. Traveling east through the city's streets to its coastal line of defenses was simpler than it would have been had we needed to avoid thousands of more people.
Olympia's third mountain on the coast had a border of defenses lined up like a column over its height. Whole stone platforms boasting gigantic long-range cannons and ammo were set up in tiers along the mountainside. The cannons faced north, where the land of the coast curved inward toward the harbor and the river which led into the city. Dozens of Hammerton warships were boarding there before slowly maneuvering northeast to wait for the others. So far, our own navies weren't in view or attacking the coast. Cyrus and Uriel had decided that even though they were compromised, they wouldn't jump forward in our plans. I mentally thanked them for that. Right now, Hammerton's navies were consolidating because they knew there was strength in numbers. Rather than meet our fleet on the sea by sending one ship at a time, they prepared to attack en masse. The dwarves were probably feeling lucky that they had the time with which to prepare. I had plans to turn their luck around.
I glanced around me. Though I felt the presence of Nyx and Azazel, I couldn't see them. The streets of Olympia surrounding us were eerily quiet, emptied of the soldiers who were now closer to the harbor. The only soldiers nearby were manning the long-range cannons, preparing to bombard the Eteri Navy as soon as they were within range.
“Azazel,” I murmured, risking the sound while we were alone.
“I'm here.” His low voice came from my left.
“Do you see any other assassins in the streets?” I questioned, my eyes traveling into the depths of the city.
“Here and there,” he replied.
“I need you to gather them and bring them here.”
“How many?”
My eyes traveled down the length of the mountain, catching on each outstretched platform of coastal defenses. “At least thirty.”
“I'll be back.” I heard a few boot steps go forth over the cobblestone before all went quiet.
“You know how to use a cannon?” Nyx questioned from my right.
“No,” I murmured. “But the dwarves do.”
I heard Nyx inhale sharply with excitement. “Oh, this'll be fun.”
It wasn't long until Azazel returned. “Thirty-four assassins await your orders,” he said softly.
“There are fifteen stations of cannons on this mountain,” I said, as low as I could. “I want two of you at each station. Each cannon is manned by two dwarves trained to use them. One aims and shoots the cannon, the other reloads it.” My eyes fell on the nearest platform. The cannon was made out of solid steel, its barrel stretching at least a dozen meters in length, making it the most magnificent cannon I'd ever seen. Each of the defenses sat on a fixed mounting which appeared to be able to turn three hundred and sixty degrees, and the barrels themselves were supported on two elevating mechanisms which allowed for vertical adjustment.
“My initial orders to you were to disable these defenses,” I continued. “But right now, all their ships are planning on disembarking from that harbor, and our navy is much too small to take them on. Luckily for us, that dwarven navy down there makes one hell of a target.”
“Fantastic plan, Kai,” Azazel murmured, catching my line of thought.
“Thank you. Your job, assassins, is to claim these stations at least two at a time. Pick a dwarf. Charm them. Keep them charmed. Stay invisible. We need these cannons to cause massive damage, but the confusion from being attacked by their own people will lower their morale. I can't be sure how they will react. They may return from the harbor to swarm us. There may be pandemonium. Either way, I promise you that when it comes time for us to go on the defensive, I will make myself a target and sound the horn for the others. Aid me if you can, invisible or not. Once your dwarves are compromised or out of ammo, treat them once more like the enemy. Questions?”
“When do we start?” An assassin whispered from somewhere ahead, her voice trembling with excitement.
“Mere minutes. Find a partner or two. Pick your positions. Leave the lowest cannon to us. My team will be most vulnerable to retaliation, and you will have a full view of it from up here. Wait to charm until our cannon is fired. That will be your signal. Then you'll be free to attack at will, but highest priority is to keep those dwarves on our side for as long as possible.” I hesitated for a moment, waiting for more questions. When none came, I said, “Now go. Let's sink us some ships and make Calder proud.”
I heard soft footsteps as the group of assassins broke apart into separate directions. I faced the harbor, hurrying briskly down the wide street at the easternmost edge of Olympia. The city sparkled from here, the late morning sun seeking out each adornment of gold and highlighting it to my eyes. The upper half of Olympia was still cast in shadow from the high mountains overhead, but enough of the lower city was open to the coast and the eastern sun. Though most of the dwarven army prepared for naval battle, our enemies were not daft. Many soldiers stayed in the city as well, guarding buildings, nervously talking amongst themselves about the current attack, or hurrying through the streets to one destination or another. Even if our plan went well, we would meet resistance from these soldiers fairly soon.
The lowest cannon station still overlooked the harbor from quite a height and was placed just outside of the corner of two intersecting main streets. The dwarves had installed excess stone over the rough natural mountain to ensure the station was flat, and the edge of the platform facing the ocean led to a drop beside it due to uneven landscape. This was as far as the city stretched to the east. The mountain we were currently on dipped toward the ocean, where it formed a coast made of a bipolar mix of green grasses and gray rock.
Even though we were close to Olympia's lowest tier, the natural slope leading ever downward still allowed us a magnificent view. The coast cut into the land before us as if the ocean took a bite out of Hammerton's eastern edge. The land curved inward to the west before stretching north. It allowed much of Olympia's gigantic harbor to remain relatively safe in a protective pocket of the ocean with the defensive cannons closer to any threats. I finally saw Olympia's river, kept safe within the city's towering stone walls. The water of the river was much clearer than the ocean and turquoise in hue, most likely due to its purity from the mountain runoff. On either side of the river was a food and service district evidenced by signs which advertised mugs of ale, clean laundry, and fresh produce and meat. Between that district and the wall were small farms and livestock pens. I noticed that the dwarves had many stables here as well, but in the pastures beside them, there were only giant boars.
The stone wall protecting Olympia stretched from where we'd started our journey weeks ago near the first mountain to the coast north of the river. The harbor was entirely contained by this border, cut in half only by the stream. Both sides were packed full of Hammerton soldiers as they boarded warships. The galleons and battleships had clearly been stocked with equipment and supplies in anticipation of an attack, for they were moving quickly. Only a dozen or so galleons were left secured to the dock. The rest were congregating in the cove just north. Galleons wer
e pulling into separate fleets behind various leaders, and iron-sided battleships floated heavily between navies. I counted at least ten battleships, and though the whipping blue sails of the galleons and the repetition of wood were hard to keep track of from this distance, I estimated there to be at least fifty ships. Hammerton's navy was immense, especially considering Hallmar had its own harbor and we'd already contended with dwarven vessels in the north.
“They're not attackin'.” The dwarf sitting behind the massive cannon we were nearing spoke up nervously. His partner leaned against a metal cart of cannonballs as if relaxing.
“Don't see why ya say it like that,” the other dwarf replied. “They're on their way. Give 'em time. Better to blast 'em all at once, I say.”
“I'm talkin' about the Vhiri, ya idiot,” the seated dwarf snapped. Azazel, Nyx, and I all slowed to a stop just on the edge of the platform. I'd already told Nyx on the way that I would charm the seated man if she would charm the other, so my eyes were on my target, switching back and forth from the harbor as I kept track of the boarding progress of the warships.
“Aye, and they've already attacked, ya idiot,” the other dwarf retorted irritably. “Ya saw the scout. Damn mages scorched the sails. Somebody yelled about them having these giant pet dogs with 'em, too.”
“They ain't dogs,” the seated dwarf replied, his chubby fingers grazing over the steel of the cannon before him in a nervous habit. “They're beasts.”
The other man scoffed. “Yeah, okay. And how'd they get beasts on their ships, genius? Just whistled and they came a'running, aye?” He laughed as if the thought were ridiculous.
“There are rumors about them crazy people in the west,” the seated dwarf continued, paying no attention to his partner's dismissive tone. “The ones who turn into beasts. What if they're against us, too?”
“Listen to yourself. Rumors, ya say. Aye, 'cause that's all they are. The wildlands are an uncivilized land. Ain't nothin' there. Ain't nothin' ever gonna be there. Get yer mind off it. If there are still men who can become beasts, they know better than to stick their greasy noses into refined culture. And ya really think the Vhiri would be workin' with such brutes?”
