by Andrew Wood
They had made some progress away from the cave, but in which direction they were not sure. One thing was for certain, and that was it was unlikely they would ever be found by the Zulani whilst in the woods. They decided to rest for a while, and through the very slight gaps in the tree cover over head, Jamal could tell it was getting late in the day. "Perhaps we should make a camp here for the night Fabian, and try again in the morning." The young royal nodded, and was just glad not to be walking, as he slumped to the forest floor.
Jamal decided they were probably safe enough to light a small fire. They could at least boil some water, and have a hot drink to go with their dried rations. Making camp would also give them chance to set their snares, and hope that maybe they could catch a rabbit. After setting a small circle of stones, Jamal cleared away the debris within. After slicing a pile of wood shavings, he used the flint and tinder from the bag to light a small flame. Within a few minutes, he added larger sticks and pieces of wood that they had collected lying about the area. All the time he was watched by Fabian as he worked.
The gloominess of their enclosed space was lit up by the flames of the fire. Jamal once more removed the blanket from the bag and laid it out for Fabian to sleep on. To his surprise, the young royal refused the offer, saying that he had used it the previous night, and that it would only be fair for Jamal to use it tonight. Jamal, although was not overly bothered whether he had the use of the blanket or not, took it as he could tell how much of a gesture Fabian had meant by it. After drinking their cups of strong black tea, made with the small amount in their bag, they chewed on the dried meat that had been the mainstay of their diet for the past day.
After Jamal had restocked the fire with fresh wood, he lay down ready for sleep. Fabian did likewise, and although he started on the other side of the fire to Jamal, moved himself around so he lay nearer. "Jamal," he asked as lay down, "Do you think we will ever get out of this place?" Jamal reassured Fabian that they would, and by tomorrow night probably be tucked up in a nice warm bed. Fabian left it at that, and after wishing Jamal a good night, went silent.
In Forwich, Darak was stood at the window looking out at the evening sky. He noticed that there was barely a slither of a moon, when his eye was caught by something fly right by the glass. He jumped back a little in surprise as it flew past again. Darak stepped forward and opened the casement on the window, letting the cool night breeze blow in. He peered through, looking to see if he could identify what had caught his gaze, when he jumped backwards. A great big falcon emerged from the darkness, and flew straight through the opening and into the room.
Sarena who had been sat quietly sewing on an easy chair, jumped up as the bird landed just in front of her. "Look," she cried, "It is carrying a tube of some kind." Darak quickly darted over to where the bird stood, but it just dropped its tube and darted back out of the window, out into the night sky. After watching the bird depart, Darak picked up the tube and examined it. "It is a message," he said pulling out a rolled piece of parchment.
Sarena stood by patiently, as her husband opened the Royal seal on the note and read the contents. He passed the paper over letting his shoulders drop as he did so. Sarena could tell from his posture that the letter did not contain good news, but she read for herself nonetheless. "Darak," she said, "It is happening again isn't it?" Her husband nodded to the affirmative, although it seemed it was not the Darekian force that they thought, that might be coming.
Darak slipped on his boots, and gave his wife a peck on the cheek. "I shall give the order to the garrison commander my dear. I shall be back shortly," he added before slipping out of the door. He walked down the dark pathway of his luxurious home to the gates. After being let through by two of his house guards, one of whom fell in behind as he passed, he made his way down the main street in Forwich.
The garrison here was not a large one by any means, but it was closest to where they thought the trouble might come. The king had told in his scribbled letter that the site of the old capital city would most likely be the Zulani landing site. Barely two hundred soldiers were housed in the barracks in Forwich, and now he had orders, to send each and every one of them to fight an enemy they knew nothing about.
As Darak passed through the garrison gate, the guard on duty saluted. After acknowledging the gesture with a nod of his head, he walked straight for the building where he knew the commander was housed. He could see there was a light on, and knocked loudly on the door. The commander came to the door, and greeted Lord Darak gesturing for him to enter. The commander's home was very simple compared to that of Darak's, but suited the soldier fine enough. Darak explained the situation to the commander, who remained silent, listening to the Kings orders being passed on. "I shall have the men ready to move out within the hour my Lord," the man said bowing his head. Darak nodded and left. He had done his small part. If the town needed any defence now, it would have to rely on the walls and the small number of house guards at his disposal.
As the commander had promised, barely an hour had passed by when the northern gates opened up. Despite it being dark, the force of over two hundred soldiers, fifty of whom were mounted, moved out. A long train of men, pack horses, and wagons left through the gate and out into the darkness beyond the town. Once the last was through, the order was given for the gates to be closed. With no army of note left within the walls to defend it, a little more care would have to be taken.
In Sefton, a similar thing was taking place, although here the garrison was much larger. Nearly five hundred men and the retinue moved slowly out of the gates, heading to the old capital of Hamalin. The man leading them had seen combat before in the previous war with the Darekians. His name was Dane, and back then had been nothing more than a raw recruit. Now he held command over an entire battalion. At his side rode his long time friend and Captain, Camden. Their group was to meet with another force from Forwich and take up positions along the River Deet. Their job was to stop an invading army of unknown numbers or type from gaining a foothold. The message had also mentioned a force of significant power would be along to assist them in a day or two. Dane interpreted this as the king sending most of his forces north to aid them; he just needed to hold the enemy long enough for the help to arrive.
Chapter 12.
Fabian shook Jamal by the shoulder, "Psst, Jamal I think you need to see this," he whispered. Jamal stirred, struggling to get his bearings as he woke. Wiping a few dried leaves from his face, he sat up. "Look," he heard Fabian say. Jamal looked up and sat there, his jaw gaping in shock. Stood around him, amongst the trees were dozens and dozens of soldiers.
One man stepped forward and bowed his head to Fabian. "Your highness," he said, "It is with great regret I must inform you that your father has fallen." Jamal looked over to Fabian knowing the young royal would not take the news well. He watched as Fabian kept a brave face, "Thank you for letting me know Captain," he said. Jamal was surprised by Fabian's reaction, or lack of it.
Over the next hour, Jamal stayed close to Fabian as dozens of other soldiers made an appearance. Jamal had enquired how the Captain had managed to find them, only to be told that the fire they had lit could be seen from the entrance of the cave a few miles back. By the time the first light of day was breaking through the treetops, there seemed to be as many soldiers as trees surrounding them.
The Captain suggested they wait just a little longer to see if any others managed to make it out of Onay. Fabian had taken to busying himself, needlessly packing away the camp, or collecting firewood they no longer needed. Jamal waited for him to pass and grabbed his arm. "Fabian," he said, stopping the young royal in his tracks. "Are you okay?" he asked showing concern for the youngster. He felt the body of Fabian fight against his grip, before suddenly giving up.
Fabians shoulders dropped and he turned to face Jamal. The youngsters eyes started welling up and Jamal felt nothing but pity. Here was a troubled young man, who had gone through so much lately, and now the father he had tried so hard to please w
as dead. Jamal held his arms open, and Fabian took the offer, sobbing heavily into Jamal's shoulder. He comforted the young royal for several minutes, letting him have the time to shed the tears he needed to release. The Captain had obviously seen them, and made sure they were left undisturbed.
By what Jamal thought must be mid-morning the now very large group, continued moving through the trees. Spread out over a wide area, Jamal let others take the lead. As he walked, he thought how the appearance of the soldiers would likely mean a change for him. Fabian would no longer need looking after, and he would once more be just another young soldier in the ranks. The Captain, a man named Keir, had already attached himself to Fabian, and declared his and his men's loyalty to his command. Jamal had felt a hint of anger, and even a touch of jealousy towards the man, but remained quiet and said nothing.
As they moved between the trees, Jamal slowly dropped back, joining the other recruits that had made the escape from Onay. Now Fabian had the Captain at his side he felt the need to loiter beside him no longer necessary. Now he could revert to being just a normal soldier, back to being just one of the men. He was not even sure the direction the Captain was leading them, but it did appear they were no longer walking around in circles, as he and Fabian had done the day before.
In Onay, the gates were opened, and the few soldiers and armed civilians walked sombrely out. Three lines of Zulani infantry watched on, as each Murati man threw down his sword or bow, onto an ever-growing pile of weapons. The Councillor who had taken command of the city stood off to one side of the street, overseeing the surrender went smoothly and without incident. It was clear many of those being disarmed, were not pleased at being ordered to surrender to the Zulani.
In a command tent a short way from the city, the Zulani priest stood with his military officers, listening to the reports. The attack on the palace by the ape like beasts had proved successful, killing the cities leaders. Even as they spoke, the people within were surrendering to the glorious empire. With the main southern city in their grasp, the smaller surrounding towns and villages would fall under their rule. Within just a short space of time, the entire southern part of Murati had been taken. Now they would re-access their position before moving forward again. The priest told his men that they should soon be hearing news of the other Zulani raids, something that was needed before they could progress much further. The conflicts in Murati had been swift and decisive, but not without casualties. The using of his beasts to kill the leader in the city had seen most of them killed in the process, a gamble and cost that had proved worth it.
In Besemia, Lord Willem had spent the past day writing and sending messages. Two of the lesser lords of the country also supported him in the action he was about to undertake. His raising of an army was in direct opposition to those that governed, yet he felt it the right thing to do. Even adding to the fact that he would be dragging his country into a war they could ill afford. He was however, smart enough to know that it was only a matter of time before Besemia would be attacked, just like its neighbours.
Already, supplies were rolling in on wagons and soldiers called to arms were making camp on his lands. When enough of both had amassed, he planned to ride headlong into Murati. He had already heard several reports of a massive army, with all manner of strange creatures, sweeping across the land defeating anything it encountered.
In situations such as this, Lord Willem was always dubious about the accuracy of such reports. If what he had been told was true, then the enemy numbered several thousand. Amongst their number apparently were giants. If these reports were anything to go by, these ranged from between ten to twenty feet tall, depending on what you believed. He had also heard rumours of an entire Murati army being massacred in an attempt to halt the enemy. If indeed this was true, then it was clear his neighbours and old friends, needed every bit of help they could get.
In Corlan, Luca and Oliver had made good progress. The previous day had seen them travel much further than they had both thought possible. Taking regular stops to rest the horses, had meant they had been able to ride until dusk the previous evening. A similar day today would see them reach their objective sooner than anticipated.
The weather remained fine as they resumed their ride, having taken a short respite. The column moved swiftly along the well-maintained roads, passing through countryside and villages. When they rode through or nearby areas of civilization, they naturally became something of a talking point. This was something Luca could tell Oliver was lapping up. With the Elite Royal Guard banners fluttering as they rode, it was clear for those looking on, to know the two young riders at the centre, must be people of great importance.
Dane held a hand aloft to bring a halt to his men behind. As he sat atop his horse, looking over the brow of the hill he could see the ruins of the old capital. Quite a strange sight it was. From his slightly elevated position, he could see the outline of the destruction that had taken place there. He could see an almost perfect circle several miles in diameter, that was now nothing but dust and rubble. He thought how strange it was that nothing had ever grown there. The only movement within, were the small dust clouds that lifted occasionally as the breeze blew.
His gaze moved from the ruined city, to the area beside. The dock area had been mostly unaffected by the destruction, but years of neglect had ultimately seen them fall into disrepair. He could see movement a little further in the distance, and for a moment, thought he had turned up too late to stop the landings. On second glance, he could see the banners of Corlan fluttering amongst them, and he realised it must be the soldiers from Forwich awaiting his arrival.
He waved his hand once more, and the long line of soldiers and supply wagons started moving forward. "At least we made it before the enemy Sir," Camden said using Dane's proper title in the presence of others. "Pity we don't know who or what we are going to be fighting against though," Dane replied. Camden shrugged and twisted his muscular frame to peer back along the lines. "Looks like a problem with one of the wagons Sir," he said noticing a group of people a few hundred yards behind them. "I'll sort it," he added before turning his horse and trotting it away, without waiting for any order to do so.
As they moved nearer the ruined city, down from their elevated position, the scale of the destruction appeared much larger. He had been just a youth during the previous war, and had fought as a recruit against the Orlacs. He had also been privileged enough to have known Prince Luken, something he would always remember and hold in high esteem for the rest of his life. The prince was actually younger than Dane was during the last war, but many held the young Royal with the upmost respect, despite his youthful years.
Camden trotted his horse back to the front of the line to ride alongside Dane. "Just a loose wheel on one of the wagons," he said as his commander looked over to him. Dane just nodded, he had more important things on his mind, like how to defeat an unknown enemy for one.
As they approached the other soldiers, two men came out to greet them. Dane trotted just a few paces ahead before stopping his horse. He introduced himself, and then Camden to both men. As the highest-ranking officer amongst them, Dane would ultimately take command over the soldiers from both garrisons. "Give me and my Captain half an hour to get the men in order, then we shall meet to discuss our options," Dane said looking down from his horse. The two men saluted, before turning about and returning to their own ranks.
Dane ordered Camden to have the men make camp beside the River Deet, just a few hundred yards away from what was once the capital city. Dane decided to scout around to check the lay of the land. He trotted his horse right up to the desert like wasteland of rubble and dust. Even his horse seemed unsure about taking the step forward that would see him enter what would have once been the main southern gate. It was if the creature could sense the evil magic that had been used to destroy the place, as if some existence of it still lingered on, despite the years that had passed.
Dane even felt a chill down his spine, at the thought of
the thousands of people that had perished here. He then thought better of it, and turned his horse away and followed around what once would have been the outer wall. As he headed to what was once the busy river port, he tried to judge where a landing might be made. The docking area still stood, but even without walking his horse across it, he could tell it was severely rotten. A good number of the posts had collapsed and as a result, many of the planks leaned into the water. Anybody hoping to use the dock, would be risking falling into the river through the gaps and decaying timbers.
He looked across the other side of the river and along the higher bank there. He attempted to judge where a large ship's own deck would come up to. He tilted his head first one way then the other trying to picture in his mind. He decided to take a closer look, and headed for the bridge that still stood firm. Made from stone it would take many years before this would succumb to the same fate as the docks.
Once across he trotted a few hundred yards up stream where he thought the level of the bank would suit a ship pulling alongside. He then looked around for any cover that may allow him to ambush any such ship. He tried to judge, if it were he, who was attacking and trying to gain a foothold, where would he try to disembark? It was quite apparent the invaders could go no further downstream than the stone bridge that crossed it. Only smaller craft would fit beneath its stone arches. The dock beside what was Hamalin was all but useless. He concluded that if anybody were going to land here, it would have to be where he was now. He needed to move his men across the bridge, and into position.
He quickly cantered his horse across the stone bridge towards his men making camp. He caught sight of Camden and waved him over. "I've changed my mind. I want the men to set camp over the other side of the bridge...Now," he added with a little authority. The tall stocky man did not argue. The two had been friends since training camp as recruits, and trusted each other explicitly. Without so much as a second glance, Camden turned and started relaying the orders. There were several audible groans at the news, but to a man, they obeyed.
