Forging the Half-Goblin Sorcerer

by J. Craig Argyle

  The battle for the castle is over. Only Neafon’s makeshift barricade against the back door of the broch stands between the castle defenders and three hundred attackers. The defenders can’t even take up a position in the courtyard without being shot at from above. The goblins are left with a poor choice—perish fighting a last ditch effort that has no chance of success or surrendering. Neafon waves a surrender flag and orders the gate opened. The baron locks his prisoners in the keep’s cellar. He wants to question them; he still has to locate the iron weapons.

  Neafon is stood before the baron, who declares, “You are alive because I need to know where the duke has stashed his raw iron and weapons.”

  Neafon is surprised by the question and doesn’t see how telling the truth will hurt the duke, so he replies, “Your Grace, the duke only began making iron about six months ago. As far as I know, every scrap of iron went into making the swords that his army took with them when they left for the mainland.”

  Baron Teiber heard the same story from the other soldiers he questioned; one of the servants added, “The swords were made in the village by the duke’s metal smith. The smith used most of the iron he smelted but he did bury a small amount in the forest.” The servant took the baron to Baelock’s hut to view the forge and to a place at edge of the forest where a small amount of iron was unearthed. The soldiers seemed to be telling the truth. The baron dispatched another ship informing King Red that the castle had fallen and a stash of iron seized.

  ***

  Duke Amin and the greater part of his force travel hastily to the port of Halban and camped outside the city. They find the town’s inhabitants prepared to evacuate at the first indication of an invasion from the sea. He and his son Farg go to the harbor to gather information. There is not much to be learned. Sailors arriving at the port the previous week reported seeing King Red’s warships headed north. Their destination was unknown until the crew of a fishing boat spotted five warships anchored near the Isle of Uisgebeatha’s only dock. They spotted a large force of men guarding the harbor. That was three days ago, and there has been no word from the island since.

  “Do you think the castle has fallen?” Farg asks his father.

  “If it hasn’t, it soon will. We didn’t leave a force strong enough to protect the castle against a large number of attackers.” Our course of action will be the same in either case. First, we recapture the island. If the castle has fallen, our second task is to lay siege,” replies the duke.

  An invasion plan begins to form in the duke’s mind. “Assuming that the entire force of invaders was transported in five warships, we will be fighting about two hundred and fifty men. My entire force will be needed to regain the island. I need transport ships. By the Stones! The king will help me. I’ll send a messenger requesting transport.

  Duke Amin realizes that a direct assault on the dock from the sea is foolish; it would be heavily guarded. Although the island has no beaches where a warship can land, it is possible to launch small boats from transport ships and at low tide reach one of the exposed rocky points. “My forces could then scale the cliffs and take the invaders by surprise.”

  ***

  Trak accompanied Krage and King Giforing back to the Neu Ardonbrae. Word of the invasion of the island came the day after they returned. It was now obvious that the attack on the border had been a diversion; the island was King Red’s real objective. Trak accompanied Krage to the palace where the king was meeting with his advisors to discuss options. A few advisors thought the king should wait until the duke’s niece could be exchanged for ransom. Others said to do nothing. Perhaps the invaders had no intention of permanently occupying the island. It would be hard when winter comes to keep the island supplied from the mainland. Most felt an obligation to assist the duke since he had just aided the king in his recent border campaign and recommended sending troops. Krage pointed out that Amin had a force strong enough to retake the island, but saw a need for haste; if the invaders were reinforced from the mainland, retaking the island would become more difficult.

  After spending the previous brief month in the field, Trak was sick of war but he was bound by law to serve the duke. He was prepared to take part in whatever course of action was selected. He sat thinking how the duke would weigh his options when the king turned to him and said, “Lord Dragonfire, you have been quiet. What do you have to offer?”

  Trak responded cautiously as the king’s seasoned counselors waited for the inexperienced cross-breed to make a mistake. “I believe the duke has already formulated a plan to retake the island. His first objective will be to retake the dock. He knows that the enemy’s warships blockade the harbor; therefore, he cannot attack the dock from the sea. He will secretly transport his force to the far side of the island and use small boats to bring his raiding party ashore. His raiders will hide, perhaps in the forest, until the moment is right to strike. With the dock under his control, he need not fear that the enemy will reinforce its position. He can then lay siege to the castle and starve the defenders into submission. But the duke has a problem. To carry out his plan, he needs sea-worthy vessels to transport his troops. Your Majesty can expect to receive his request for naval support at any moment. If My Liege wishes to aid the duke, I recommend you offer ships.”

  Trak looked into the faces of the king’s advisors and was satisfied that no one was going to find a major fault in his analysis. The suggestion seemed rational and could be accomplished with a minimum cost to the royal treasury and without the commitment of troops. The king thought for a minute and said, “Very well, I will discuss your plan with my naval commander and come to a decision.”

  The next day the king dispatched a messenger to Halban by the Sea, informing the duke that three ships were coming to transport his raiding force to the island and would arrive at the end of the week. The duke was impressed with the quickness of the king’s support. He had only sent a messenger to the king two days before, and he didn’t understand how the king was able to respond so quickly.

  Trak sought out Krage and informed him of his desire to sail to Halban. Krage looked up from the book he was reading and said he had no objection. “I would come myself, but the king forbids my leaving. Have you thought about how you might improve the duke’s chance of success?”

  “Yes, I intend to bring a supply of black powder and digging tools.

  “Do you plan to breach the castle’s wall with black powder?” Krage asked.

  “No. I will worry about the castle after the dock has been seized. I have another use for the powder.”

  Krage cautioned, “Transporting black powder is dangerous; it is known to detonate spontaneously. I recommend you transport the basic ingredients and mix them after you arrive on the island. Find Meg and Baelock. They will aid you.”

  Trak winced at the thought that either might have been harmed in the invasion. He replied with a question, “How it is that you know the old goblin?”

  “For the last forty-seven years she has been my mother,” was the only response that Krage gave. He returned to reading his book.

  Trak supervised the loading of niter and brimstone onto the largest of the transporters. He could obtain charcoal, the third ingredient of black powder in Halban. The ship was a galley equipped with two masts and banks for thirty oars. It differed from the warships used by King Red in that two rowers instead of one manned each oar. The commander of the small fleet was Lord Ellot Fishbeater, an experienced seaman who had earned his rank after defeating a warship of King Red’s in the previous war. He welcomed Trak aboard. “It is an honor to have the inventor of iron aboard my ship. Your quarters are small, but that is the nature of sailing life.”

  Trak had expected to sleep on the deck and was pleased to be so well received. He enjoyed passing the two-day journey exchanging stories with the commander, who seemed interested in Trak’s recent adventures. Trak learned what he could about sailing.

  ***

  Farg meets the ships when they dock in Halban’s harb
or. “My father is anxious to begin,” he announces. “The sooner we retake the island the less chance King Red will have to strengthen his position.” Farg escorts Trak and the naval commander to a nearby inn where the duke greets them. The party retires to a back room where the duke presents his plan.

  Trak is pleased the plan mirrors the one he described to the king. The duke reveals the location where he wants the fleet commander to deposit his men. The landing site is far from the castle yet close to the forest. The commander considers the tides and recommends he begin transporting the force in two nights. Since it is necessary to make two trips, the first group would hide until the second group arrives. It is settled. Trak has a day to obtain charcoal, and the duke to gather small boats to serve as landing crafts. Farg begins assigning the duke’s troops to the transporters such that if one ship is captured or sunk no functional component of the army will be completely lost.

  On the first night, the commander transports three hundred of the duke’s army to the back of the island. The moon provides sufficient light to navigate. The ships anchor along a remote stretch where the cliffs are steep, but according to the duke, scalable. The seas are relatively calm. All three hundred make shore safely, but two small boats are badly damaged when the swells throw the crafts against jagged rocks. The soldiers get soaked, but Trak’s pyrotechnic powders stay dry. Trak has sealed his ingredients in watertight, oiled leather bags.

  The soldiers shelter in a sea cave where they can safely hide during the day. A villager might climb down the cliff to look for bird eggs or fish in the cave’s pools, but it is unlikely that any of King Red’s scouts would even know of the cave’s existence. The naval commander departs for deep waters well before dawn with the promise of returning with the remaining soldiers on the next night’s low tide. Lord Farg dispatches scouts to gauge the climb up the cliff and survey the cliff top for presence of the enemy. One scout remains above while the others return to report that the cliff top is disserted. The day goes slowly for the soldiers gathered in the cave; they eat their rations and wait until night.

  ***

  That afternoon a small fishing boat from the mainland sails to the island, and men guarding the dock escort the two goblins aboard to the castle. The goblins are shoved before the baron. One guard speaks, “These two bring word of a goblin counterattack.”

  The red-bearded baron stares at the two and demands, “Speak!”

  “We have information about a plot to retake the island, but it will cost ye,” says the older of the two goblins.

  “If your information is useful to me, you will be rewarded,” replies the baron as he tries not to show his distaste for informants.

  “Two days ago, three royal naval vessels entered Halban’s harbor. The commander of the fleet went to an inn and met with Duke Amin for several hours. Then yesterday evening, several hundred of the duke’s men boarded the ships and sailed away. This morning, the ships returned empty. That’s it My Lord. We think the duke is back on the island and preparing to attack. We thought ye would reward us generously for the telling.”

  The baron asks some questions, about the size of the ships and how many of the duke’s army remain on the mainland. Then he directs a captain to take them away and reward them. The captain leads the goblins out of the keep and into the courtyard. When the goblins step into the yard, they barely have time to see the steel blades thrust at them. This is how the baron rewards traitors.

  “What do you make of their story, My Lord,” one of the captains asks the baron.

  “I see no reason to think they were lying,” said the baron. “The duke is probably hiding on the island. He could be almost anywhere, but he has probably joined with the rabble hiding in the forest. Something concerns me; the informants said that only half of the duke’s force was on board the ships. I’m thinking the duke intends to ship the second half tonight and then attack with his full strength.”

  A captain of one of the warships speaks up, “Your Grace, our ships could ambush the transport ships tonight when they sail out of Halban. If we cripple their ships, and keep them from reinforcing the island, you will have a smaller goblin force to deal with. With Your Grace’s approval, I will begin preparations immediately. We must arrive at Halban before the enemy sails if we are to stop them.”

  Baron Teiber alerts his forces to the goblin threat. He reinforces the dock area and places scouts in key areas to warn of any attack. The baron assigns one hundred bowmen to the four remaining warships that set sail in the early afternoon. The tides and winds are favorable. They reach the mainland coast before dusk. The fleet commander fears that the goblin ships would slip past him in the night, so he positions one ship near the harbor entrance and holds the other three farther out at sea. They don’t have long to wait. Three goblin ships silhouetted by the city lights are spotted leaving the port in the early evening. The warship stationed at the harbor’s entrance signals the ships farther out that the goblins are coming.

  ***

  The duke is in the lead ship, standing on the deck with Commander Fishbeater when the enemy ship is spotted coming at them under full sail. The naval commander turns the bow of the transporter toward the attacker, to avoid being rammed in the side by the warship’s heavily reinforced bow. The duke orders “Shields to the ready” to protect his goblins from the anticipated shower of arrows. When the volley comes, the shields block most of the missiles, but Duke Amin takes a shaft in his right calf. When the warship scrapes the side of the transporter, the impact snaps oars and shatters the ship’s starboard railing, ripping loose the sheets that secured the mainsail. Commander Fishbeater orders the crippled transport back to the safety of the harbor while the two remaining goblin ships take on the enemy galley.

  The goblin vessels come along opposite sides of King Red’s warship, sending volleys across the ship’s deck. The warship is caught in crossfire and in trouble when Baron Teiber’s three remaining ships arrive. Their approach goes unnoticed until seconds before one of the goblin transport ships is struck by the bow of the lead warship. Its side cracks. The ship takes on water immediately. The floundering goblin ship is sinking fast, and the captain has no choice but to surrender. A hundred soldiers and fifty sailors are taken aboard the baron’s warships. The last goblin transporter breaks off and sails back into the harbor. At dawn three of King Red’s warships return to the Isle of Uisgebeatha with their prisoners. The fourth ship is left to block the Halban harbor and keep the remaining transport ship from escaping.

  On the mainland, the naval commander storms into the inn. Duke Amin hobbles behind. Lord Ellot rages. “How did they know we were coming?”

  “Look around you,” the duke gestures with his arm. “Any number of wharf rats could have observed our preparations and warned the enemy of our intentions.” The Duke regrets the loss of a hundred soldiers. He doesn’t think much of their chances of surviving captivity. “Let us retire to a back room and discuss our options.”

  “How long will it take to repair the railing and sails on your transport?” the duke asks.

  A day to repair the railing, but it will take several days to repair the damage to the hull.”

  The duke looks desperate. “Can your undamaged transporter outrun an enemy warship?”

  “In the open sea, no, but perhaps if we had a head start, we could outrace a warship between here and your island,” replies the commander. “However, when the warship does catch up, it will have the advantage of greater maneuverability. Its ram is deadly.”

  The duke knows his son and three hundred men are trapped on the island. If Farg shows restraint and stealth, they might survive for weeks, but he knows his son is not patient and will attack the first chance he gets. The duke doubts Farg can win a decisive battle without reinforcements. He is also concerned about his niece and the soldiers he left to guard the castle. It is urgent he reach the island quickly. He explains his plan to the commander who reluctantly agrees.

  ***

  On the island, Fa
rg and his men wait for the arrival of Duke Amin and the remainder of his army. When they don’t arrive, the attack is postponed. But when a second night passes and the duke doesn’t show, Farg decides to send out a few scouts to discover what has happened. The scouts proceed to assigned locations in the cover of darkness, find a place to hide and spend the day observing. At night they are to follow a complicated route back to the sea cave and report. Trak volunteers to enter the forest and watch the castle from the trees.

  Trak and five scouts climb the cliff together and then separate. Trak is left alone. It is a black night; clouds obscure the moon. Trak moves quickly into the forest. In the dark it is hard to navigate the trails. He initially passes the fork that leads to the old goblin’s cave, and is forced to backtrack. He approaches the cave warily and observes for several minutes before moving to the window and softly calling out. “Mother are you there?”

  “Heck hinnie, of course I’m here, where else would I be? Is that ye, Trak?” She unties the rope that holds her door shut, and they sit together in the dark while Trak explains what is happening. She can’t provide much information regarding the enemy’s activities on the island, but she leads Trak to a forest encampment where they wake Baelock.

  “Good to see ye, Lad. How came ye here?” the metal smith asks.

  Trak explains quickly; he wants to hear what Baelock can tell him. Baelock begins with the night of the invasion. He describes how the villagers fled into the forest and the castle fell two days later. “So far, they have left us alone,” Baelock says. “We keep an eye on the castle so we’ll have warning if they decide to attack us. Yesterday morning, a lookout reported seeing a hundred goblin prisoners being escorted from the dock to the castle. The lookout swore they were Duke Amin’s soldiers; he knew some of them personally.”