The Emperor's Shadow War (Tales of Alus Book 2)

by Donald Wigboldy

  The attackers seemed to notice and drew in on their leaders as Dante's sword cut a path straight toward the armored commanders. He would not be denied even though his blade started to become slick with the creatures' blood and his arm began to ache. Even passion could take a man only so far. Dante was starting to tire, but he forced himself to fight on hoping for a second wind.

  A scream from behind him sent chills down his spine. A frantic swing of his blade bought him a second's breath to check on Valenia. The woman had gone down onto her knees. Like a wolf, Dante snarled and leaped to save the woman. In the back of his mind, the words of Gannon proclaiming her immortal tried to return him to defeating the leaders. The soldier would not be denied and Dante refused to risk the Seer's infallible word.

  “Valenia!" he shouted frantically.

  Several of the goblins leaped forward to finish the woman. Dante's blade interceded and sent several of the green heads flying from their bodies. One hand pulled the captain to her feet. Valenia swung her sword to defend against one side as he fought desperately against any dark creature that threatened them. "Can you still walk?" the lieutenant questioned as he continued to support her with one hand.

  As a goblin’s blade painfully cut through his leg afforded by the attack of so many, Dante feared for both their lives despite the seer’s assurances. Valenia's voice replied, but it was too weak to be heard over the din of battle. Dante released his hold and she slid down his side to her knees beside him to weak to stand. The soldier was getting desperate.

  Turning all around, Dante fought off creatures from every side. Bodies piled up around him and Valenia.

  Then suddenly, the creatures withdrew.

  Dante looked around him and saw that there were far fewer orcs and goblins left to fight. The dark creatures had apparently expended most of their forces on the two of them. Either their military rank or the casualties that Valenia and he had been able to inflict had apparently drawn the dark masses like a moth to a flame.

  He noticed several of his soldiers coming towards him as the beasts disappeared into the forest once more. Sergeants Lane and Calla led half a dozen of their soldiers towards Dante.

  "Are you all right, lieutenant?" Lane asked as they arrived. Calla and a pair of women were already bent down to check on Valenia.

  He ignored Sergeant Lane's attentions as he worried over the woman, "Calla?"

  A small cry from Calla let him know that he had failed to save her despite all he could do. "She's dead," the sergeant whimpered and declared the result officially.

  Turning to Sergeant Lane, he asked wearily, "How many others are still alive?"

  The sergeant pointed to two small groups. Between the two were another twelve soldiers. Counting Lane, six of his command had still survived. He had lost four more men. He supposed that with such odds against them, the lieutenant should have been glad that any of them had survived.

  "What happened?" Dante asked his sergeant and started to move towards the others.

  "Don't you care that the captain is dead?!" Calla screamed and jumped up to hammer on his chest. The woman had tears in her eyes as she mourned for her captain. "Do you think that now that she's dead this leaves you to take her command? I would fight you for it first!"

  Dante held the woman at arms’ length and looked at her sternly. "Of course, I care! Though, if the Seer's words are correct, she may not be dead yet. We'll just have to give her the chance to fight her way back. If Valenia is dead, however, we still need to guard the living, sergeant. Lane post sentries in pairs at all four corners of the camp. If they do return, we can at least try and be ready for them.

  He released Calla and turned his own sergeant who had sent the sentries to their positions. "How many do you estimate attacked, Lane? Tell me just what happened?"

  "Not much to tell, sir. They attacked us with almost no warning. If the sentry hadn't spotted them just before they attacked, we would probably have been overwhelmed. I had time to warn them of the type of attack to expect and formed several small units to work together.

  "I think that only about half escaped us alive. We hurt them a lot better than they did us thanks to the captain's and your brilliant fighting." The man winced expecting a response to the woman's unfortunate demise. Lane continued unharmed as he added, "When the two of you tore through them, they started to pull more and more fighters to protect their commanders. Nearly half of our kills probably lay at your feet, sir."

  "Along with the captain," Calla sniffed as tears continued to streak her cheeks.

  Dante bent down and picked up the fallen woman and started for one of the still standing tents. He gently put Valenia inside on a bedroll and had the others begin tending each others' wounds. Lane tried to get him to leave her several times and tend to his own injuries, but Dante waved him off as he took some meat and bread to restore what he had lost. His armor was covered in blood and much of it was his own, he knew, which made him look that much worse to the others. The immortal’s body was starving and, as Dante ate, he kept a constant vigil over Valenia.

  Continuing to check the woman's pulse from time to time, Valenia showed no new signs of life to prove the seer’s prediction correct. Dante didn't know how long he needed to wait. Thinking that after his first death, it may have taken hours to recover from at Turo. The man was beginning to think perhaps Gannon was mistaken about her when a sudden harsh gasp startled Dante. Rushing back into the tent from his vigil at the entry, Dante found Valenia with her eyes open and blinking slowly.

  Her eyes were still glassy with the shock. The woman took several more seconds before she could sit up shakily. "How do you feel?" Dante asked in concern.

  The woman looked at him as if she were half asleep. "I'm very hungry."

  Dante offered Valenia a sandwich that he had constructed for her and brought forth the canteen that the man already knew from experience she would also need quickly as well. The man looked outside the open doorway to see if anyone had noticed her recovery yet. He found no one looking, so Dante took a moment to kiss her warmly.

  Valenia returned the kiss’s warmth briefly before smiling, "I love you too, but I'm starving. Let me eat first, all right?"

  He smiled. "I'll be glad to wait. For awhile there, I thought that you would never awake."

  "What happened?" the woman asked through a full mouth of fish.

  "Those creatures confirmed that you're also undying," Dante replied trying not to show how much he had been afraid for her. "I thought that maybe Gannon was going to be wrong. It took so long for you to breathe again. It must have been the same for my first death, but it was much harder to watch it on you. Just when I had found you, I was afraid that I would lose you."

  Hearing the hurt in his voice, Valenia pulled him closer and kissed him again.

  Moments later, a cry came from Calla as she saw her captain alive once more, which heralded a rush of soldiers to see. The women rejoiced and cheered. Dante's men, though glad enough, continued to watch out for the enemy.

  Dante sent several scouting parties out to search for the escaped survivors of their battle. It was quickly deduced that the enemy had circled round the camp and were heading westward. This alarmed Valenia, who feared for the town of Darkwood at the edge of the forest. They decided quickly that they would follow the attackers.

  "What about Gannon?" Valenia asked as the camp was struck. "He said that he would come back after we had the time to settle things between our troops."

  Dante shrugged. "He's a Visionary. If he's as good as they are supposed to be at reading the future, he'll catch up sooner or later."

  With such a theory in mind, the remaining members of the two commands mounted fifteen horses that were all that was left to them after the battle. They were all at least riding double. A few troopers were forced to take shifts walking and tracking the trail.

  The dark ones did little to mask their trail, which helped in their pursuit. Perhaps they figured that the humans would not bother to follow. If so,
they had misjudged this command's leaders.

  They followed quickly, but their forces were slowed by those who walked. Several members were wounded and so some of the company was forced to walk longer than others. Dante found that he wasn't tiring easily and went a double shift. Valenia joined him on the second and they talked quietly as they continued to follow the trail.

  The afternoon had almost ended when they cleared the forest near Darkwood. A gasp from Valenia in the saddle behind him as they rode together echoed his own at the sight awaiting them. A large cloud of smoke arose nearly two miles away. It was thick and black from the treated woods of what undoubtedly had been the town of Darkwood.

  "Dante, all those people, how could such a small force destroy a town like Darkwood. It has walls to protect it and there was a small garrison of the Valosian army stationed there along with its city guard," Valenia whispered into his ear.

  He felt the warmth of her breath on his skin, even her fears didn’t fail to miss his attention. The man let his hand stray to her leg where he patted the outside of her thigh trying to comfort her. "They must have met up with a larger force to attack the city. If your troops came from here, then those we fought may have actually been looking for you instead of my men. We'll go to the town and see if there are any survivors left to help. If any of the enemy still remains behind, we'll make them pay for what they've done."

  He motioned the soldiers onward. The company was edgy and those who rode continually scanned the nearest edges of the forest for a trap. It took dozens of minutes to go the last miles to the town and the sun was nearing its last rays as they came to the burning walls of Darkwood.

  "Lane, Calla, take a half dozen riders to the north and make a circuit. The rest of us will walk and meet you at the far gate," Dante ordered. Calla looked to her captain, who nodded her agreement. The riders headed away as Dante dropped to the ground leaving his horse to Valenia. He motioned for one rider to dismount from each riding pair and led the others through the burning streets.

  Bodies lay everywhere. Horses, pigs, steercows, and their masters lay in the slaughter indiscriminately. The creatures had spared no woman or child, no human or animal. It was like the villages south of Turo. The smells of burnt flesh and blood made him sick.

  They searched until it turned quite dark, but their searches proved useless and eventually both halves of the company were united at the west gate. "Everyone is dead, sir," Lane reported. "We didn't find a single soul left alive. The enemy left at least an hour ago before we got here. I don't think that our attackers could have possibly done this."

  A nod from Dante was all the answer that he gave to the sergeant. He turned instead to Valenia, "It's your country. Is there anywhere any of the survivors may have gone to hide? Any place that we should go that would need our help or give it?"

  The captain thought a moment. "Just to the southeast of here are some homes of local farmers. They might have hidden some of the people, but if the enemy wanted to, they would die even easier there than here."

  They had found dozens of the enemy lying near the walls half consumed by the fire as well as the defenders. The west gate had dozens of bodies of both friend and foe lying within it. It was only a matter of deduction to realize that this gate had been closed too slowly to save the city. Dante also considered that the eastern gate might have been left open as well. He wondered if some of the townspeople had indeed made a break for the small shelter that Valenia had thought of earlier.

  "Let's check for a path going south from the east gate. I also think that we should make sure which way the enemy was going. What do you think, Valenia?" the lieutenant asked making sure to let everyone know that he was only supplying the ideas, but not taking full command.

  "Let's do it," the captain responded faithfully.

  The paths of the enemy and the townsfolk were nearly the same they quickly noticed. The command hurried at best possible speeds. Dante looked at both the soldiers and the mounts as they marched southward. The animals appeared to be in need of rest almost as much as their riders. He would have to watch closely to make sure that neither resource was overtaxed, if possible.

  "Lieutenant," Warik returned back from his turn at pathfinder. He saluted and Dante returned the motion with one of his own.

  "What is it, Warik?"

  "The enemy's path had changed. They're moving west away from the townspeople."

  Dante turned to look at Valenia, "What do you make of this?" he asked for her advice.

  She shook her head uncertainly, "Maybe they decided that they weren't worth the trouble. There weren't really that many people that escaped, after all."

  "Should we continue south after the villagers or go west after the dark army?"

  Valenia looked at the faces surrounding them. They were tired and Dante had seen that as well, but he would go with her on whatever decision the captain decided. The woman noticed his look and must have gleaned his thoughts as Valenia answered, "Let's find the survivors. We can rest at a farm and maybe receive fresh mounts to chase the army. If we were to find the enemy now, I'm afraid that we would be too tired to fight them."

  "My thoughts exactly," he confirmed. "South it is."

  Only half an hour later, the band found a settlement of homes in a small vale. There they found the survivors of Darkwood and the residents of the settlement of Shallowvale. The farmers looked in surprise at the unexpected new visitors. Many cried out in fear thinking the enemy had found them before they made out the armored soldiers on their horses.

  An old man, with white hair where he was not bald, came to greet them with no smile or even the pretext of gladness at their possible protection. "Who are you?" he asked gruffly. Several of the villagers stepped forward to back the man up.

  Valenia dismounted and approached the man, "I am Valenia, of the Valosian Guard, the Golden Wolf platoon. I came with Lieutenant Dante of Certe to pursue the slayers of Darkwood."

  "They are not here, girl. More than likely you will bring doom down upon us by bringing them here as they found Darkwood," the old man replied unhappily. "Why are you here, woman? The enemy has gone west after bigger game. If you wanted to fight them, you have gone the wrong way."

  Dante saw anger building up in Valenia's eyes. She was losing all her patience with this man in her weariness. "Perhaps I can explain, sir."

  "Name's Unger, boy, not sir. Why are Certe troops here anyway? You bring these demons into our midst? Has your country sunk so low to defeat us?"

  "Hardly," Dante replied as he dismounted. "Our lands have been attacked similarly. The city of Peleth fell to the dark creatures only a few days ago. My command came to your lands at the behest of the Seers only. Since then we have fought the enemy with these brave warriors. Earlier today we fought a smaller contingent and trailed the survivors to Darkwood. We were too late to find the slayers of the town unfortunately. As the captain said, we came following these who fled Darkwood. It is now dark and we are exhausted. We will be glad to go try and exact revenge in the morning, but first we need rest. Our mounts are in desperate need of feed and rest as well I fear."

  The old man scrunched up his face and looked deep into the faces of the nearest of them. "Fine," he finally stated. "My barn is open to you. If we survive the night, I'll see about getting some horses for you. We had better tend to your animals first before you drive them into the ground."

  Letting the old man lead them, the weary soldiers found the barn and most of them collapsed exhaustedly onto the straw spread inside. Unger and his men saw to the treatment of the horses. Dante helped them along with Valenia before finding a pallet of hay to lay their cloaks on as well.

  Chapter 19- Darius

  Darius rode through the trees of Hameyl at the head of the contingent bound for the far off lands of Tolmona. He looked beside him to Janus and Electra. He had hoped that perhaps Janus would leave the woman behind with the other elves. The wizard had a much harder time trying to lead in the presence of such a distraction and besi
des Darius was worried that something bad could happen to her on this quest. The Seer had made it sound like there would be danger ahead of them, or perhaps it was just the trick of an overactive imagination. He tended to doubt that the feeling was wrong which made him worry of the pretty elven woman even more.

  Tate and Wizard Fioren were on his other side. Fioren was now the second youngest wizard of the school, he thought with pride, and was still close enough in age that Darius could relate to him well. Wizard Matalchus was kind enough to help him also of course and Darius had studied under the man several times in his schooling, but there was still that air of age and the untouchable about him. He wondered what such a man felt about being led by the youngest of their council when he could just as easily have made it a point to lead instead.

  Perhaps that was the true reason that Darius felt a distance between them. Matalchus would simply lead in his place, if he failed. The elder wizard was one of the middle aged men on the council, but still he would be the one that would be his closest competition here.

  Competition.

  Again he looked to Janus. Darius had let his senses play at the aura of the elf for the past few days of riding and still there was an air of mystery about him. The wizard sensed the magic and the strength, but still there was something about the elf that seemed different from those around him of his kind. Darius was sure that he would break down what it was before the end of their adventure, though it was more to satisfy his curiosity than because he feared the source. The wizard knew Janus seemed honorable despite the fact there were things that he hid from his allies as well. Darius also had his secrets, after all. All men did, he figured, so he would not worry too much over that yet.

  The days went by slowly as they rode. Darius attempted several conversations with Electra and received little back in return. The woman wouldn't comment on why she was acting so cold to him either. Tate noted his attempts with great amusement at his expense. "Well, you're doing well," he commented at one point. "I guess that you aren't much of a ladies’ man, after all. The cold shoulder that girl gives you could turn water to ice, my friend. What did you do?"