The Gate - An Ancient Connection

by B. N. Crandell

  “We’re sending everything, Master Pilk. King Buster is going to all but empty Corwyn. I’ll let him know now that we need to march at noon. You had better go talk to the wizards. You’ll find them at the barracks in the Griffin Wing.”

  Pilk nodded, stood up and shuffled out of the duke’s office.

  * * *

  Gilkan watched the last of Gnash’s citizen’s leave the city and had the massive city gates closed and sealed. He simply couldn’t fathom why it was that the Ta’zu had come at them so suddenly and so aggressively. When Ken’thor had been attacked he had ordered every warrior from the surrounding towns and cities to Gnash. He had sent word to abandon Namolak with all warriors reporting to Gnash and all citizens making for the Gate. He had also sent instructions to all the northern cities. His tribe was all but in full retreat.

  With how fast the Ta’zu had captured Izlalek and most of Ken’thor, his tribe could not hold out. If Gnash should fall then all were to make for the Gate as best they could and then perhaps they could carve out a place for themselves on the world of Ka’ton. That was a last resort for him, as he’d likely lose control of the tribe should it happen.

  Once back inside the Palace, he dismissed his escort and hurried off to his office. Before he had even taken his seat, he noticed the note on his desk. There was no name on the note to identify the writer but the message was clear enough. It simply read, ‘Great Shaman O’tukka plans to close the Gate.’ Gilkan scrunched up the piece of paper and threw it at his closed door in fury.

  * * *

  Pilk had gathered all the wizards together in a large conference hall to discuss in detail how they planned to close the Gate. He had already informed them that they would be heading there this very afternoon as tomorrow could be too late. Startled faces filled the room and the confidence of some waned.

  “We will have the support of a very large army and we’ll be remaining on this side of the Gate, so the chance of us seeing any combat at all is slim,” said Master Pilk in attempt to put them all at ease. While Lertia had many wizards, most practised magic for their own gain and a relatively small percentage of them had anything to do with the army. Master Pilk had himself been instrumental in the introduction of wizards in the army. The majority of them though, shrunk away from any major conflict.

  “And what if this hostile army starts coming through?” asked one wizard.

  “If that happens it’ll mean we are sorely pressed indeed and likely a full retreat will be sounded soon after. I assure you that Master Tayer and I will be quick to get you all safely away in that event.” He noticed a few of them visibly relax at his words.

  Pilk was sure that they all thought he was some crazy wizard that’d expect them all to fight to the death. If a hostile army came through and these inexperienced wizards started hurling spells around, it’d likely do more harm than good. Even his mentor, Grand Master Reibeck, had very little experience in full scale battle.

  He was about to go into more detail about what would be expected of them when there was a knock at the door. Pilk bid the visitor to enter and a moment later the door opened and a very concerned looking wizard walked in.

  “Master Pilk, my name is Master Farrah and I’m afraid I have some very ill news for you,” said the wizard as he walked toward Master Pilk.

  “What is it?” asked Pilk.

  “Grand Master Rotager has convinced many remaining wizards that closing the Gate is a mistake. He said that it has allowed the power of the gods to reunite which is why we have all experienced such dramatic increase in power.”

  Pilk lifted his hat off his head and ruffled his scruffy hair in frustration. He had suspected the very same thing of course, but had kept it to himself for this very reason. Wizards were always seeking greater and would do almost anything to attain it.

  “So we can expect no more wizards?” asked Pilk after a time.

  “There may still be some on the road here or making their way here by magical means, but certainly not as many as you expected,” replied Master Farrah.

  “Thank you for informing me, Master Farrah. We can still do this. It’ll just take a lot longer than I had hoped,” said Master Pilk. “Take a seat, Master Farrah. I had just finished explaining to everyone that we need to start closing the Gate today and with your latest news, the sooner we get there the better.”

  * * *

  Decker hadn’t dared approach the fort with the looks he was getting from the orcs, so he had turned around at once and started speeding off toward Arthea. He was able to enjoy the ride more, now that he knew his horse was magical. Looking at the countryside rushing by, Decker guessed that they were travelling close to twice the speed of a normal horse and yet the ride was quite smooth and he found it easy to hold on.

  The northern walls of Arthea were in sight in no time but he still had to travel around to the western gates. Not wanting to attract too much attention to his new horse, he slowed her down to an easy trot and steered her to the right — or at least tried to. Ciara fought against his efforts and without the aid of any reins, easily won out. She stubbornly kept her head straight and erect and began picking up speed again.

  Decker put his head down once more and held on for all he was worth. His heart was pounding hard in his chest even though he had faith that his horse knew what she was doing. All too soon they reached the edge of Victory Gorge with dwarves hurrying to get out of their way. With a mighty leap, Ciara took them high into the air. Decker took a chance look around him and noticed the many stunned looks on the faces of dwarf and human alike as they stopped what they were doing to watch him and his horse. He also braved a quick look straight down and wished that he hadn’t. The bottom of the gorge was many feet below.

  Ciara touched down on the other side as light as a feather and immediately slowed to a walk, catching Decker off his guard and almost throwing him over her head. So much for not attracting any attention to myself. He leant over Ciara’s head and whispered into her ear, “We need to work a little on our communication.”

  A short while later he arrived at the stairs to the Castle after being recognised immediately at the gate and waved on through. He dismounted and a stable hand stepped forward to lead his horse away.

  “I don’t think she’ll let you lead her away, lad,” said Decker. “She has a mind of her own. You can perhaps try to brush her down here, but if she shies away, don’t push it.”

  The boy looked at him curiously but eventually nodded in understanding.

  Decker found Duke Angus walking down a corridor with King Buster at his side.

  “Orcs are streaming through the Gate, my lord,” he said after a bowing his head.

  “Females and children?” asked Duke Angus.

  “Yes, my lord. You were aware of this?” Decker took up stride beside the duke who was obviously in too much of a hurry to stop and talk.

  “Master Pilk reported it a little while ago. The original plan was for all the females and children of the orc soldiers stationed on this world to come and visit their husbands and fathers. General Krak’too planned on us closing the Gate while they were visiting in Heperi, leaving them stranded on this world, and enabling him to breed up a new clan. However, the Ta’zu is fighting their way towards the Gate and his tribe’s leader is evacuating the entire city except for the soldiers. We’re on our way to mobilise our combined army, march for the Gate and close it. You’re welcome to accompany us if you want,” said Duke Angus as he navigated his way through the corridors with practised ease.

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” replied Decker. “I’d better drop by and check on Vik and Trent first though.”

  “Just don’t tell those lads too much. They’re just as likely to come along,” said Duke Angus with a chuckle.

  “I think they have learnt their lesson,” said Decker. “But I’ll keep it brief.”

  * * *

  Sylestra was happy to see her army three quarters of the way to Gnash as she flew over them. Reinforcements
and additional supplies were also well on the way and would likely arrive at Gnash before any fighting began. She had an entirely human force guarding Izlalek, but didn’t expect it would be attacked anyway; by all reports the Black Skull were in full retreat. She hoped that Gilkan was not retreating through the Gate right now with a view to closing it behind him, but she figured he would be too proud for that.

  She flew on ahead and over the great city, making sure that she stayed out of bowshot range. The city was immense and was built on the edge of the great labyrinth known as Ki’rak Arkish Goul’kir or Black Rock Canyon. The Palace was located not too far from the eastern gate and was almost as large as her Palace.

  Orcs crowded the massive walls and down behind it as well. She only noticed warriors in the city. She had a hunch where the females and children were so she flew off in search of them.

  It didn’t take her long to see the long stream of orcs carrying whatever meagre possessions they could. She followed the line until she discovered the Gate and made a mental note of its location and how to get there before flying back to join her army.

  “I’m taking three thousand with me, General Jak’ho,” said Sylestra as she landed near him and dismounted. “I know how to get to the Gate and I want to get there before O’tukka has a chance to close it. I’ll take five hundred worg riders, a thousand archers and fifteen hundred warriors along with ten necromancers. Just surround Gnash, don’t attack until I have secured the Gate.”

  General Jak’ho nodded his understanding and Sylestra set about collecting her force. A short time later she marched her army into the canyon.

  Battle of the Gate

  General O’hark, at the request of the fierce one, had his most powerful shaman set up a magical gate to Gnash. He had left his best captain in charge to lead the troops to Kacktomim while he, his shaman and a group of his strongest warriors went through. The fierce one had told him about the note and had put him in charge of two thousand warriors to go and stop Great Shaman O’tukka.

  The eastern gates of Gnash opened wide and he briskly marched his troops from the capital. O’hark knew all too well that the Ta’zu were bearing down on Gnash and had no desire to be locked out of the city. There was a secret way into Gnash hidden in the canyon, but he’d prefer to not have to take that route as it would be very slow going with such a large force.

  Halfway to the Gate he sent one of his worg riders to scout ahead. The scout returned a short while later and reported that it was totally deserted on both sides. The refugees from Gnash had obviously been led away from the fort and no warriors had been left to guard it. O’Hark picked up his pace realising that whatever Great Shaman O’tukka was planning, it had already begun.

  * * *

  The fort was deserted and the gates left wide open for them. Decker was sent on ahead to check the other side of the Gate and make sure it wasn’t a trap. He rode his horse into the fort but it shied away from the Gate and so he dismounted and walked over to it, keeping a keen eye out for any trouble.

  He pulled his bow from his back, nocked an arrow and stepped through. Coming out the other side, he hastily held his bow up in readiness and looked around the camp, seeking out any potential enemy; the camp was as deserted as the fort.

  Decker returned and reported this to Duke Angus and King Buster who then ordered the army forward. Pilk took the wizards to the top of the rear wall where they could remain out of the way while still casting their magic. Meanwhile the large combined army of humans and dwarves was lined up in front of the Gate standing four abreast. Within moments they started filing through it.

  Decker positioned himself in the line and shuffled slowly forwards as the army progressed through. Step by slow step he shuffled forward and found himself agreeing with Master Pilk’s concern of it taking far too long. The wizards soon started throwing their magic at the Gate and Decker watched on, admiring the different coloured magical streams as they hurtled toward their target and were subsequently consumed by it.

  Watching the spectacle helped the time pass by and before long he was only a few short strides away. His attention was averted to the soldier next to the Gate who was counting to three before waving the next row through. The three rows ahead of him soon vanished and he followed the soldiers count in his mind before accompanying his row through.

  He was immediately alerted to the sound of battle and readied his bow in an instant as he ran forward. The soldiers next to him were a little slower in reacting but they soon followed. Decker hurried through the camp, overtaking some of the slower soldiers. Once he was clear of the camp he had a better view of what was happening and his heart sank.

  Worg riders were causing havoc, tearing apart limbs of men and dwarves while the riders hacked away at others. No archers had come through yet so they had to face the ferocious beasts in hand to hand combat. Meanwhile the orcs had plenty of archers and were launching their arrows into the more densely covered formations. One group of dwarves was faring quite well, Decker noticed, as they had a shield wall up and were forcing their way skilfully through the orc ranks. After shooting down the closest worg rider, Decker noticed with despair that King Buster was among the group.

  He shot down another three riders before running back to the Gate. If they were to have any chance here, they needed to come through quicker and they needed more archers. Decker had to let them know what was going on.

  Stopping briefly by the Gate, Decker waited for the next group to come through. He pushed in behind them while shouting for them to run and help. Coming out of the other side, he deftly stepped to one side to avoid the next row. He shouted out at the top of his lungs that they were being attacked on the other side and ran over to Duke Angus.

  “We need the archers and quickly,” said Decker. “And we need to move through in all haste.” Duke Angus nodded and hurried over to the soldier at the Gate.

  “Keep moving them through, but reduce the gap to one second,” said the duke before shouting out for the first archer formation to step forward. While they obeyed, he walked a few paces along the queue and stopped the soldiers moving ahead. When the archers arrived, he sent them right on through.

  “I need to get back there, my lord,” said Decker.

  Duke Angus nodded and held back the next row and waved Decker forward.

  He wasted no time and didn’t even break stride as he ran through. By the time he reached the fighting again, he had passed all the other archers.

  He was relieved to see that the defenders were looking a little more organised. Major Hillsworth had been able to rally many men to him and support the charging dwarves. Decker didn’t stand idle though, he picked out targets that looked to be causing the most damage and shot them down one by one, never missing.

  Other archers joined him and their captain ordered them to shoot at the worgs and their riders whenever they had a clear shot. Failing that they were to volley their shots into the orc masses. The worg riders soon discovered that they were being targeted and so they pulled back, allowing the ever growing number of archers to rain down death upon the tightly packed orc formation.

  Even with the help of the archers though, the humans and dwarves were being heavily pressed. An orc charge forced Decker to switch to hand-to-hand combat in an attempt to protect the archers. A tight group of dwarves came in from the side and after many minutes of bloody fighting, they were able to push the orcs back enough for the archers to resume firing.

  With no side gaining dominance, Decker was very surprised when the orcs went into full retreat. One moment he was surrounded on three sides by enemies and the next they were running for all they were worth. His elation soon faded when he realised what had caused the retreat.

  * * *

  Sylestra had heard the sounds of battle before coming in sight of it. She led the charge of the worg riders and collided into their ranks with a fury. The canyon echoed the screams of the wounded and dying along with steel clashing against steel. After cutting down an orc on either
side of her, she produced a wand from her belt and pointed it at the most densely populated area. She uttered the release word while her worg tore apart some unfortunate orc, spraying her with blood.

  A black bolt shot out from her wand and after colliding with an orc warrior, it exploded and formed a dark cloud so dense that Sylestra couldn’t see the orcs within. Screams of horror told her that the cloud of decay was doing its job. Orcs staggered out from the cloud holding their rapidly decaying faces, falling to the ground soon after and eventually dying.

  An orc warrior managed to grab hold of her ankle as he was being trampled by her worg which almost dismounted her. She threw her discarded wand away, pulled out her dagger and stabbed the orc’s lower arm. He let go immediately and his screams were soon silenced as her worg trampled him.

  The delay had allowed an enemy worg rider to close in on her and the two beasts collided heavily. Knowing that it was impossible to stay mounted on a worg engaged ferociously with another worg, Sylestra dextrously backflipped off her mount and readied her scimitar and dagger in an instant.

  The rider of the other mount had also jumped off, although not as fluidly as she had. All were giving the fighting worgs a wide berth and so Sylestra found herself confronted by the large orc. She immediately noticed the decorations on his breastplate and knew she faced a general. With a grin, she stalked toward him.

  Seeing a lightly armoured human female obviously gave the general a great deal of confidence as he came at her aggressively. Sylestra could have taken advantage of a number of openings, but she wanted to enjoy this fight; she wanted to watch his face transform from one of confidence to one of absolute fear.

  He swung his long sword horizontally at her hips and she blocked it at the last minute and turned side on to dodge the expected kick. She stuck her dagger into his extended leg and extracted it instantly to punish him for such a foolish manoeuvre. He uttered no cry of pain for which she was glad as it showed he had some strength about him.