With the temple temporarily secure, Kleyman races into the keep followed by ten of his guards. He runs past the bodies of five goblins and two of his men sprawled in blood at the base of the staircase leading to the throne room. The captain hears fighting in the chamber above. He enters the throne room to find Lord Ran, Terrin Samraet and King Red standing on the throne’s platform, holding off seven determined wraiths. Kleyman shouts to distract the goblins away from the king. The goblins, outnumbered two to one and surrounded, don’t last long.
It is then that Kleyman realizes the King has taken a stab wound to his right side. Blood is spreading across the front of his tunic. The king collapses in Lord Ran’s arms. The captain shouts for the alchemist who knows something of the healing arts, only to realize Beedle has been evacuated with the noncombatants. Lord Ran tells the captain to return to the battle. He would stay with the king. Ran cuts away the king’s tunic to see blood pumping from the wound. He informs the king, “Your wound is grievous, Your Majesty.”. To a guard he orders, “Fetch a priest.”
“You can spare me the antics of a priest,” the king replies. “I am ready to die, although I would have picked a better moment. It gives me joy to know I leave an heir. Your father, Baron Teiber, will govern the kingdom until my son comes of age. Tell Queen Meriem I thank her for returning home. I know I am not the one she loves, but her sacrifice gave me back my honor and brought peace to the kingdom.” The king lowers his voice, “Thank Lord Dragonfire for keeping the queen’s secret. Even in my death, he must never reveal his true mother’s identity.” The king grows silent and closes his eyes never to open them again.
Ran and Terrin leave the king’s body to the care of his soldiers. They seek out Captain Kleyman and inform him of the king’s death. “It is a sad day,” says the captain, “but at least we saved the fortress.”
“You have led a heroic defense,” Ran acknowledges, “but, in truth, the fortress cannot hold. It is obsolete. You must move your fighting forces into the open fields and shift your camp every few days until we build a fortress that is not vulnerable to attack from below.”
“Is it possible to build such a structure?” Kleyman asks.
“I’m sure Terrin can tell us how,” Ran replies.
The next morning wraiths break through a dungeon wall and race unopposed into the courtyard. They find King Red’s great fortress abandoned.
Chapter 41
“The greatest naval officer the realm has ever seen does not murder babies.”
Admiral Ellot Fishbeater
Isle of Uisgebeatha: Assassins
On the Isle of Uisgebeatha, the warship’s First Officer, a veteran named Juelic Seadragon, seeks out Admiral Ellot Fishbeater. “Admiral, we must strike tonight. Lord Lizardthroat instructed us not to hesitate once we have word of the king’s death.”
Admiral Fishbeater hoped it wouldn’t come to this. Murdering the king’s heir doesn’t agree with his sense of honor. He wants to be remembered as the great naval officer who defeated an enemy armada and not as an assassin. Yet, Lizardthroat’s orders are clear. He was instructed to trick Myrel into thinking he had joined her side and take her to the Isle of Uisgebeatha for her safety. He was to wait until the king was dead and then murder the heir and Queen Dorla. “You, I and ten men will enter the queen’s chambers tonight while the rest of the crew prepares for immediate departure,” the admiral orders.
Beneath the Isle of Uisgebeatha, Hogarth and two of Ghad’s soldiers emerge from the tunnel and climb to the top of the cliff. Traveling without sleep, they reach the isle in only three days. By taking the underground tunnel, they avoid the channel sailing. Hopefully, they will reach the heir before the assassins.
Hogarth leaves Ghad’s soldiers in hiding and approaches the castle’s gate. He pounds on the yett until the guard responds. “Am I in time?” he asks the guard. “Is the king’s son safe? Assassins have been sent to murder him.”
“As far as I know,” replies the guard who recognizes Hogarth as the one who escorted Meg to the isle a few months back. “We have heard that the king was murdered by white wraiths, but the son is safe here under the duke’s protection.” The guard adds, “The only strangers on the island are Admiral Fishbeater and the crew that rescued the Priestesses Meg and Myrel from Lord Lizardthroat.”
Hogarth doesn’t like hearing that a crew from the capital is in the castle. “Take me to the duke. I must warn him,”
The admiral delays until after midnight to synchronize his attack with the tide. He leads his First Officer and ten crewmen up the steps of the tower to the queen’s chamber. Sweat pours off his face. He doesn’t know how to stop what is about to happen. As they approach the door to the chamber, one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting emerges. Before she can raise the alarm, Seadragon silences her with his dagger.
Admiral Fishbeater says to Seadragon, “You and I will enter the chamber and carry out Lizardthroat’s order. The rest of you stand guard and prepare to fight your way out of the castle.” The admiral draws his dagger and follows Seadragon into the chamber. He shuts the door behind him. The crew hears a female scream and then all is quiet. They wait anxiously for the captain and the admiral to reappear. Others in the castle must have heard the scream and will soon come to investigate.
Even before the scream stops echoing through the castle, Farg is leading the charge up the stairs to the queen’s chambers. The assassins are caught in the tower with no route of escape. Farg and Hogarth set upon the sailors and kill the first two crewmen they encounter. The other sailors drop their weapons and surrender. Farg tries the door and finds it locked. “Who is inside,” he demands to know.
“Admiral Fishbeater and Captain Seadragon,” the frightened sailors confess.
Farg orders the door smashed. When the door’s hinges finally give way, he discovers the queen clinging to the royal heir. Seadragon lies in a pool of blood at the side of the bed Against the wall Admiral Fishbeater sits with a dagger protruding from his gut. Fishbeater is still alive. Before he dies, he speaks, “Tell Lord Lizardthroat that the greatest naval officer the kingdom has ever seen does not murder babies.”
Chapter 42
City of Neu Ardonbrae: Battle for Neu Ardonbrae
The lava flow that bisects the city of Neu Ardonbrae works to Ghad’s advantage. It creates a physical barrier between the fleeing white goblins and Lord Lizardthroat’s army. By the time word reaches Melkerei that thousands of subterranean goblins are migrating toward the mountains, it is too late to catch them in the open. Upon reaching the mountains, Ghad’s people enter a large cave and begin tunneling a new hive. Surrounding the cave are valleys that can support husbandry. The Queen Mothers intend for the hive to raise sheep and trade sheep products with the outside world. They envision a wool industry. Using the tools they brought with them, including some that Trak gave them eight years before, the white goblins tunnel a new hive at a furious pace.
To the delight of the subterraneans, the diggers discover a salt deposit beneath the mountain. Salt has economic potential. It is also easy to excavate. As they mine the salt they create a huge cavern that will serve as a plantation. It is decided, for the present, not to connect the new hive to existing tunnels. It is reasoned that without a subterranean passage Tironock will find it more difficult to reach them.
Ghad remains vigilant. He sends daily patrols to detect any hostile threats in the vicinity. The subterranean goblins find the surface world both beautiful and inhospitable. They are accustomed to living in dry tunnels where the temperature is constant. To keep the immigrants dry and warm, Trak shows them how to build wattle and daub huts and to roof them with thatch and sod. He teaches them how to construct defensive ramparts using the rock they remove from the mountain. By the time Hogarth and Myrel arrive at the encampment, the immigrants have achieved a modicum of comfort and are making progress on the new hive.
***
Myrel finds Trak sitting on a rock outcrop overlooking the encampment. He is deep in thou
ght and doesn’t realize Myrel is there until Dungoth licks his chin and Myrel sits beside him and asks, “What are you thinking about husband?”
Trak smiles and takes her hand in his. “It is good to have you here.”
The couple shares all that has transpired since they separated. Trak is relieved to hear that Lizardthroat’s plot against the king’s heir failed. Myrel repeats what Queen Dorla told her. “Captain Seadragon and Admiral Fishbeater entered the bedchamber with daggers drawn. As they approached the Queen’s bed, the admiral turned on the captain. In the struggle each stabbed the other.” Hogarth arrived moments later, but Queen Dorla and the heir would have been killed if the Admiral hadn’t defied Lord Lizardthroat’s order.”
That night, scouts report a large goblin force marching toward the capital. Ghad shifts two thousand workers from hive construction to military duties and marches to intercept. From a cliff, he and Trak watch five thousand wraiths, equipped with bronze weapons, kick up a dust cloud. To the north, they spot Lord Lizardthroat’s forces coming to meet the threat.
Ghad has a quandary. Which side should he support He is no friend of Lord Lizardthroat, but is the approaching subterranean army under Tironock’s control? Ghad fears Tironock more than Lizardthroat. From their vantage point, Ghad and Trak watch the two forces assume their battle formations. The white goblins hold a third of their force in reserve and commit two thirds to a direct frontal assault on the high ground held by Lizardthroat. Melkerei also divides his forces. Two thirds hold the hill and another third circles west to strike the enemy’s flank. Although outnumbered, Lord Lizardthroat’s forces are armed with iron weapons, including the thrusting spears Trak designed many years before.
The white goblins advance methodically until they are within a quarter of a league and then charge the center of Lizardthroat’s position. The defenders in Melkerei’s center fall back to allow the Blue Daggers on the flanks to encircle the attacking vanguard. The tactic works. Along the line where the two armies meet, a higher percentage of Lizardthroat’s soldiers are engaged in active fighting, compensating for their disadvantage in strength. Early in the battle, the iron weapons and spears of Lizardthroat’s army are decisive. “It will not be long now before Lizardthroat will have his enemy on the run,” Ghad observes.
Trak comments, “Maybe not. The white goblin reserves are moving.” A moment later the half naked wraiths charge Lizardthroat’s thinly defended eastern flank. Lizardthroat recognizes the threat immediately. He orders his trinagi buglers to signal the eastern flank to fall back and merge with the center before they are overrun by the attacking white goblins. Slowly the battle line rotates. Lizardthroat commits his reserves in an assault against the enemy’s western flank. “That should do it,” Ghad concludes. “Lizardthroat has the upper hand.”
Trak mutters, “What do the white goblins hope to accomplish by this battle? Are they trying to capture and occupy the capital or are they just mindless pawns in Tironock’s schemes?” The answer soon becomes clear.
Lizardthroat is pleased the battle is going in his favor. He enjoys the spectacle of his Blue Daggers systematically cutting down the poorly equipped enemy.
As the white goblins fall back a cloud of dust swirls in the middle of the battlefield. Flames shoot from a cyclonic cloud. Within the cloud, Tironock takes form. He towers ten-goblins high, even larger than when he appeared in the temple. Burning brimstone belches from his maw. Blood-red scales covering his thick limbs and torso reflect the sunlight with the intensity of a thousand mirrors. His phallus stands erect and his snake-like horns twist above his head. The demon mocks his enemy with laughter.
Lord Melkerei Lizardthroat remembers how in the temple, Ghad’s soldiers successfully attacked the demon. He orders his bolters to fire. Most of the arrows bounce off the monster’s thick scales. Blue Daggers thrust their iron spears into Tironock’s legs. The demon howls in pain and comes lumbering straight toward Commander Lizardthroat. At that moment, Tironock projects his will into the wraiths. He commands the wraiths to slaughter Lord Lizardthroat’s army.
Lizardthroat’s soldiers feel the intensity of Tironock’s rage. A wave of fear sweeps through their ranks. Those who retain the courage to stand and fight are trampled beneath the demigod’s feet or swarmed over by naked, screaming wraiths. Melkerei turns and runs. The Blue Daggers break and flee with their commander. Some even abandon their weapons. Tironock vanishes, leaving only his laughter echoing through the valley.
Trak is still considering the implications of what he has witnessed when Ghad bolts from the cliff. An hour later Ghad’s forces are hiding in readiness. They wait for the wraiths to straggle back to the battlefield and set up camp. When most have returned, exhausted from pursing Lord Lizardthroat’s army, Ghad attacks. He is on the unsuspecting white goblins before most of them can react. When Ghad seizes the wraith commander, the subterraneans surrender.
The commander, Leant Silverworm, seems relieved to be a prisoner. Trak catches up with Ghad and listens as the commander relates his tale. “Tironock moved into our hive a year ago. He monitored our every action. Whenever he discovered signs of treachery, real or imagined, he was unmerciful. He would demand the guilty and their families be brought before him. He tormented them for a day or two in front of the assembled hive before trampling them to death. He executed our Queen Mothers. A few months ago, he began projecting his thoughts into our minds. We were forced to obey. The consequences of disobedience were too grisly.”
“A fortnight ago, Tironock returned after a short absence in the foulest mood imaginable. He ordered us to prepare for war, and then four days ago we were ordered to leave our hive and march on the capital of the surface goblins. We have no quarrel with our surface brothers. Today, when the capital’s army broke and ran, we pursued at a distance but allowed the survivors to escape unharmed. Once out of Tironock’s sight, we still have the strength to resist his twisted will.”
Ghad, in turn, relates the tale of his people. He concludes by saying, “A fortnight ago, we thwarted Tironock when he appeared in the temple. I am sorry Tironock vented his anger on your people.”
Commander Silverworm replies, “My soldiers are brave, but their hearts were not in today’s fighting. We faced warriors equipped with weapons made of the new metal for the first time. We were at a great disadvantage. We would have been happy to lose the battle and gracefully retreat, but Tironock wouldn’t allow it.” Commander Silverworm pleads, “What are we to do?”
Ghad replies “Join us. We have built a new hive under the channel that separates the Isle of Uisgebeatha from the mainland. Your people can take refuge there. The hive has some food stores. We hope that Tironock will not pursue us under the sea, since water weakens his power.”
Ghad points to Trak, “Commander Silverworm, I would like you to meet Lord Dragonfire, the inventor of the new metal weapons you faced today.”
Silverworm turns toward Trak and studies the cross-breed for the first time. “We have heard of you, Lord Dragonfire. You are the son of the Thaumaturgist and an ally of the men in the south. Commander Samraet is fortunate to have you.”
Trak nods his head at the commander, but his thoughts are on Tironock. “As Ghad Samraet’s sorcerer, it I must find a way to defeat Tironock. The demon has weaknesses. He feels pain and is powerless when standing in water. He has strengths. He transports himself as a pure essence and assumes corporal form as needed. People fear him because he speaks directly into their minds and tortures and kills those who don’t obey.” Trak considers the source of Tironock’s power. “Like the Thaumaturgist and his family, he appears to draw energy from the earth’s magma.”
Trak recalls how Tironock shattered a column and sent thousands of rock fragments flying through the temple. How does Tironock control inanimate objects? Trak remembers how Tironock grasped the temple column in his hand before it shattered. Perhaps that is the trick.
Trak leaves Ghad and Leant to their conversation and finds a secluded spot where he can
test his incite. He summons the Earth’s power. When the blue light engulfs his hand, he rests a stone in his palm and wills it to fly. He is amazed how easily the rock flies off his palm and disappears into the darkness. He practices until he gains some control over the rock’s trajectory. Next, he selects a rock that is too heavy to lift and places his hand on its side. Instead of sailing off, the rock explodes in a cloud of dust. A thousand stinging fragments pelt his unprotected skin and deliver numerous superficial cuts. Fortunately, his eyes are uninjured. Trak laughs and mutters sarcastically, “What a great sorcerer I am! I nearly blew myself up.”
In the morning, Leant’s soldiers break into small bands to head for Ghad’s hive under the sea. Ghad admonishes Commander Silverworm, “It is your fear that keeps you bound to Tironock. If you control your fear, he cannot control you.”
Chapter 43
Bretwalda: Queen Fae Flees to Bretwalda
In the Kingdom of Bretwalda, Baron Teiber assumed the position of Regent. He appointed his son, Lord Ran, Commander of the King’s Army. Samraet’s soldiers guarded the tunnels beneath Dragonton and provided a measure of security for Queen Meriem and her twins who sought refuge in the castle. Enemy wraiths continued to occupy both King Red’s Fortress and the stronghold Trak’s goblins built on the eastern border. The wraiths were content for the moment to remain inside the captured fortresses.
Lord Ran’s his first order of business was to construct a stronghold that could withstand an attack by tunneling wraiths. In an abandoned rock quarry, he began building a fortress on water. Ran intended to construct a grid of twenty-foot-high stone columns across the floor of the quarry’s pit. Each column would measure five feet in diameter, wide enough to support a heavy weight but too narrow to contain a tunnel. The columns would be interconnected with vaulted arches. On top of the arches he would lay a stone floor to support his fortification. Finally, he would flood the pit with water diverted from a nearby stream. The finished stronghold would resemble a small island floating in a lake. Any wraith attempting to tunnel into the floating fortress would surely drown.
Forging the Half-Goblin Sorcerer Page 39
