by Randi Darren
There was no explosion, but the spell detonated all the same. Spreading lavender terror and death. Anyone that filthy substance touched turned into a screaming, plum-colored torch.
Breaking apart, the heavy infantry line charged forward. Following close behind them were normal foot soldiers with swords and shields.
Fighting resumed hot and heavy all around the gap. Vince lost himself in the dance of the blade as he drew on his grove to help power himself.
Feeding off his personal magic to allow him to keep on killing.
After what felt like an hour, but was probably more like ten minutes, Vince realized he’d been surrounded. While he held his position, his comrades were slain or driven back.
Whirling around, Vince tried to keep himself focused.
He could see Leila off to one side, tossing in small deadly projectiles where she could. Vince was truly alone. An outcropping of rock in an ocean.
Working his saber as quickly as he could, he strove to deflect or parry every sword blow or spear strike that came his way. For every three he blocked though, one slipped through.
His armor slowly became the color of blood, and had multiple rents and holes.
Panting, he began to slowly feel his life ebb away. Working to restore his flagging energy and fatigued muscles Vince drew on the grove continuously. He only barely managed to keep himself in the fight.
A spear got close enough for Vince to yank it clear. Only to have a different spear catch him in the lower back.
Howling in pain, Vince spun and threw the spear at the person who had just stuck him.
Before he was able to see what damage he caused, he was forced to defend from an entirely different position.
Then a sword tip burst out from Vince’s midsection. It angled up and outward, the tip bright red and shiny.
Groaning Vince spun and cleaved off the hand holding the sword.
Stumbling backward two steps, Vince fell to one knee. Glaring at the soldiers surrounding him, he reached back and pulled the sword out of his body.
Instantly he felt light headed, and pushed on the grove to help him staunch the wound. Unfortunately it taxed him too much and he felt the exhaustion smash him.
A soldier in front of him lashed out with a sword. Vince deflected it to one side clumsily, and stabbed the man in the groin.
Shuddering, Vince couldn’t keep himself upright, and slowly sunk to the ground. Laying there in the broken bits of stone and earth.
Vince could see the gap.
Coming into that gap was a never ending wave of enemy combatants. They all had the appearance of those who had already been in combat, but they seemed to be moving easily.
Damn. I have to get up. I have to… get up. I need to fight.
Watching without being able to act, Vince felt helpless.
As the new wave of soldiers hit the existing ones, they began to ferociously attack. Clawing, biting, stabbing, wrestling their comrades to the ground.
Vince watched as understanding flooded him.
Gerard had arrived. He wasn’t in the right place, but he sure was here at the right time.
Vince grimaced and focused on his own recovery, the will going out of him. In front of him, a woman missing half a face leapt on an Elven maiden and began devouring her lips as she screamed.
They landed feet away from his position, and the zombie started to eat the face of the screaming woman then and there.
Closing his eyes, Vince did his best to block it all out.
He’d held the line.
Chapter 32
Cleanup was quick, enemy corpses being turned over to Gerard, while friendlies were carried into the heart of Vegas.
The wall would take a while to be put back to rights, but it had held long enough.
Fes and Felicity had planned the battle as well as they could. But even then, the victory was hard to accept.
Losses had been high.
Very high.
It would take a year of a high profile recruitment drive to recoup the losses they suffered today.
But it was a victory.
Vince was on the mend under the demanding ministrations of Mouth. She never left his side, and always had one hand on him at all times.
Leaning back in his chair fractionally, Vince looked at the emissary of the Tri-lliance across from him.
They’d been seated for only a minute, before the Dwarven man started making demands.
Ranging from offering him tens of thousands of gold coins for the city and Heint’s head, to simply demanding its return.
The emissary clearly had no experience dealing with someone of equal rank or higher, and couldn’t seem to decide how to handle the situation.
Up to this point, Vince had listened quietly, even politely, but he was out of patience.
The Dwarf had been droning on continuously.
“—pay for each and every soldier slain. Then—”
“Stop,” Vince said, holding up his hand. “Let me tell you now what you’ll receive. Then you can leave, or I can have your head put on a pole.”
Vince shifted in his chair to lean forward, glowering at the bearded Dwarf.
Mouth’s hand followed Vince as he went, pressed to the middle of his back.
“You’ll get every single coin the Tri-lliance had in the bank to their name. Consider that as a gift and a wish for neutrality on my behalf. Then you can take yourself and get the fuck out of Vegas.
“Other than that, the only thing I’m willing to give you is a swift death. That is my offer. Take it and go, or just go.”
“Now, I th—” started the Dwarf again.
Instead of listening, Vince stood up, and walked out of the tent.
Mouth came up to his side and wrapped herself around his left arm. Squeezing it tight to herself, Vince could feel the constant flow of healing she was sending his way.
Just how close did I get?
Felicity was there in a flash, her dark eyes boring into him. Sam followed along behind her, having been pressganged into being her personal messenger.
“Was it anything beyond the expected, Lord?” she asked.
“No. Not at all. They’ll be leaving shortly, with or without the gold, I care not,” Vince hissed, shambling his way to the tower.
“Both Duke Heint and Duke Gerard wish to have a word when you’re able. Fes, Ramona, Red, and Leila are all out on duties I gave them,” Felicity said quickly.
“Alright. Schedule both of the Dukes. Heint first, then Gerard,” Vince said tiredly. “Just give me five minutes to catch my breath.”
Vince didn’t want to admit it, especially to himself, but he felt beat.
So much so that when they got to his room he collapsed in the chair. Sitting there with his eyes closed he focused on keeping his breathing even and waiting for the room to stop spinning.
“Grove husband, it’ll be alright. You were very close to death’s door. I’ll have you back to normal by the time we rejoin the army,” Mouth promised, clasping his hand in hers.
“Thanks, Mouth,” Vince said.
What felt like only seconds later, Mouth was gently shaking Vince.
“Your first meeting is soon. Forgive me for waking you, but Felicity will be leading him in, in about a minute,” Mouth said softly. She pulled one of her hands away from his and straightened his jacket and hair quickly with nimble fingers.
Vince blinked groggily and looked around himself.
Did I seriously fall asleep in the chair?
“Thanks. Uh, how long have—”
“Thirty minutes, or so. Long enough that your color looks better,” Mouth said, interrupting him.
A pair of solid knocks came from the door, then it smoothly opened. Felicity walked in and held the door open. “Duke Heint to see you, Lord,” Felicity said.
Standing to his feet, Vince smiled. Heint entered and came over immediately.
Vince could feel that his mind was shielded firmly. Simply because of the fact that he cou
ldn’t feel the Dragon in the room.
Felicity shut the door behind him and then joined them at the side table.
Vince took Heint’s outstretched hand in his own and gave it a firm shake.
“This might be our last meeting as I’ll need to head north to rejoin the army after this,” Vince said. Releasing Heint’s hand he took his seat and indicated the one across from himself.
Heint smiled politely and flicked a glance to Mouth then back to Vince.
“Have no fear, she’s one of my grove. She’ll not betray us,” Vince said with a smile.
Mouth bowed her head towards Heint from her position beside Vince.
“Ah. Splendid. First, I’d like to officially thank you in my capacity as your Duke for your assistance,” Heint said, taking a seat.
“Of course, that was my word to you.”
Heint grinned and nodded his head. “Though I must ask for your help. I’m afraid that without your military presence, the town could fall into a troubled time. We’d recover of course, but I think our momentum would be stalled.”
“Agreed. Felicity?” Vince asked, looking to the Dark Elf.
“Per your request, Lord, I’ve disseminated your offer to the soldiers. Nine in ten have agreed and will be transferring over to the garrison of Vegas. That’ll give them a starting force of about two hundred.
“Fes has already put together a structure for them to build off of. In addition to that, all the gear from the Undead horde has been stripped, cleaned, and put into the armory. This should be more than enough to offset costs of outfitting the garrison when it arrives,” Felicity said without having to look into her ledger.
Looking back to Heint, Vince held out his hand to the Duke, signaling for him to continue.
“Ah… hahaha, impressive, my king. I appreciate your compassion to the city of Vegas. I can guarantee the citizenry will appreciate it. Other than that matter, I have nothing to ask,” Heint said. He folded his hands in his lap, looking rather pleased. “I do have to admit. This all proceeded beyond my wildest expectations.”
Chuckling, Vince could only shrug. “I attribute my victory to my people. I have very good people. Now, for your part, Duke Heint,” Vince said, locking eyes with the Dragon. “Everything needed of you has been prepared by my lovely assistant.”
Felicity held out a large sealed packet towards Heint.
“The only thing to note is that we’ll have a formal meeting once every quarter. It’ll be for everyone at your peerage and myself. The packet also does contain what ranks you can hand out to those vassals you would choose to have. As well as your borders and suggested territories. Keep in mind, those territories really are just suggestions. You’re welcome to do as you please, but Elysia and Felicity spent considerable time trying to make sure it would balance your lands equally.”
Heint looked thoughtful as he took the packet in hand. Thumbing back the seal, he flipped it open. Glancing over a few pages he started to nod his head.
“Other than that, I can’t think of anything that would immediately be useful to you. I’d personally read it over once and pick out anything that you feel is important, and then come back later for a more in depth read. But that’s just me,” Vince said.
Heint grunted and then paused, holding up a finger. “Dryad allocations?” he asked.
“Yes. Every city will eventually house a compliment of Dryads proportionate to their population. They will serve as your eyes and ears to help ferret out any dissent. They’ll also be able to provide excellent healing, midwifery, and other abilities,” Vince explained.
“Oh? When do you think I’ll be getting them?” Heint asked, looking up.
“As soon as they start growing up. They’ll all be my children,” Vince said simply.
Heint’s face scrunched up for a second and then he gave his head a shake. Then he looked to Mouth and realization dawned there. “Ah. I understand. Will they be giving birth as well?”
“That is as of yet undetermined. Though I think it might be unlikely. Once the Dryads become a city-service, it’s unlikely that they’ll have any population loss. If we don’t set up safeguards now, their population could explode.”
Beside him Mouth froze, then nodded her head a fraction.
If she agrees, that means most of them will. Now all I have to do is convince Meliae. Otherwise we’ll be drowning in Dryads.
Heint grunted and looked to his papers, then back to Vince. “Thank you, my king. I’ll leave you for now. If you depart before I see you again, may your journey go well, and I wish for our swift victory.”
Standing, the Dragon bowed towards Vince, and then left before Vince could even stand. Felicity followed him out, and shut the door behind herself.
“He respects you deeply,” Mouth said, wrapping both hands around Vince’s again. “You surprised him. He earnestly believes that following you was the best choice he could have made.”
Frowning, Vince cast a look at Mouth.
And how do you know that, my little Dryad? His mind is shielded.
“We don’t read minds. We read emotions, and intent. I’m very talented at it,” Mouth said, looking at the ground bashfully. “Grove mistress Meliae chose me personally as her grove wife for my talent, and my… my appearance.”
“Before or after Red picked you,” Vince asked with a grin.
“Meliae went to Red and asked her to pick me. Then emphasized how I would be able to please you and get her more… more food,” Mouth said, her cheeks turning a dark red.
Two knocks came from the door, and then it swung open. Felicity walked in and held the door open once again. “Duke Gerard to see you, Lord,” Felicity said.
“Sit, sit, don’t get up for this old man. This’ll be quick, I promise,” Gerard said, shuffling past Felicity.
Vince grinned and raised an eyebrow, waiting.
“Yes, yes. My king, I have two thousand undead at your disposal. I’ve brought on a commander of my forces and already placed them under your Fes’ control.
“Strong Fes by the way. My compliments,” Gerard said conversationally. “I assume you’ll want to leave in the morning. The Duke of Denver will be ready and waiting.”
Bowing formally and respectfully, Gerard turned and made to leave before Felicity even had the chance to close the door.
“Thank you, miss,” Gerard said to Felicity as he passed.
“Of course, Duke,” Felicity said, closing the door with a frown.
Mouth snickered, wrinkling her nose. “He’s extremely happy. Happy and excited.”
“Necromancers get a modicum of respect in the Tri-lliance, but they’re also prone to receiving a good bit of fear and derision from what we’ve been able to find out,” Felicity added.
“Huh. In other words, I gave him exactly what he wanted, so he’s happy,” Vince summarized.
“Oh yes. You made your offer based on his own merits, offered him a city where he would reign completely, and did so not because you had to, but wanted to. He’s well aware that he could have held the floor for a day or two, but would have fallen eventually. I don’t think he’ll be a problem for you, but that’s only how he is today,” Mouth said.
“That’s… good, I suppose. If there’s nothing else, Felicity, I think we should prepare for travel. We’ll be moving with few soldiers, lots of Undead, and many miles to go.”
Nodding her head at his words, Felicity flipped open her ledger, pulled out her pen, and started writing.
The next morning, Yosemite’s King was on the move again with his forces. Their trip was slower than the one they’d made the previous week.
Stopping in every city, village, or town they passed, Vince made sure to let the citizens know of the change in Vegas.
Each and every stop revealed that Yosemite’s influence wasn’t being resisted. The leaders of each location had clearly assimilated the codex of Yosemite and were already adhering to its laws.
Having their new King visit them personally only added to the
prestige of their perceived reputation. After learning of the new Duke of Vegas, many stated they planned to travel south and swear their loyalty to their new liege lord.
Duke Gerard stayed with Vince and his inner circle, though the Undead horde marched far to the east or west of their northern advance.
The trip in general was made without incident or anything that would stand out. No one bothered them, and by and large it was a good time to recover.
As they were nearing the area where Vince expected to find Petra, things began to grow tense in the army.
For himself, Vince felt rather laconic.
Fes had recently rejoined him in his bed, after having stopped offering up Mouth as a replacement.
In the late morning, Vince and his band broke into a spot on the path that offered them a wide open view of the fields ahead.
On the west side were a series of earthworks and wooden walls. Defended and held by Yosemite soldiers.
To the east was an stone fort that had clearly been erected with magic.
Between those two defensive positions, a battle was taking place in the no man’s land. It was clearly only a skirmish, but losses were being inflicted on both sides.
Why doesn’t Petra just bottle up and let them sit out there?
Fes grunted and folded her arms across her breastplate.
“Petra hopes to win a war of attrition perhaps? Kitch holds the center. Her people don’t really take losses, they inflict them,” said the Orc warrior, gesturing to the middle of the field.
Sure enough, Kitch and her people were there, carving out a bloody chunk of the High Elf line.
Still doesn’t make sense. Unless we really aren’t taking as many losses as they are.
“Shame we couldn’t breed the Gryphons fast enough. She’d be unstoppable,” Vince said with a sigh. Turning to Sam he held out his arm to her.
The Fae glanced to his arm, and then back to the field. Without looking she settled down gently on his forearm.
“I need a favor, Sam. I need you to take a low to the ground route to Petra and let her know we’re here. Gerard’s horde is going to flank and cut down as many of those Elves as we can. Say… in ten minutes. Can you do it?” Vince asked, watching the Fae perched on his arm.
