Chapter 26
The next few days were strange. The initial battles were now only a memory. The land adopted a quiet calm about it; almost as if it was taking in a few deep breaths before the next big event. The refugees had been escorted safely across the kingdom. A warm welcome was extended to them upon their arrival at the Temple of the Sacred Hills. The Priestesses were very accommodating; helping the tired and weary women and children to their bedchambers. Many people had to share rooms with up to three strangers. This meant that a dramatic change in lifestyle was needed by some. To each and every person who took refuge in the temple, it did not feel as though they had lost their homes; such was the hospitality of the Temple. The way the priestesses worked tirelessly to help them, made the settling in process more than bearable. Anna was amongst the priestesses who were helping room the families. The sheer volume of people made the task very difficult. The heat was building within the temple and in the accommodation wings. The once tranquil gardens were now overrun with people. Anna could not help but feel deeply sad. These folk had worked hard all their lives only to have everything the hold dear snatched away in an instant. Worst of all though, was the fact that they had not only lost all their material possessions but many had lost the love of their lives’. Husbands and suitors had been slaughtered like cattle only with more brutality. Each and every refugee who lost someone would have to reflect and deal with this fact in the weeks to come. The Temple would not be a happy place. Upon rooming the last family, almost twelve hours after she had begun, Anna strolled out into the now slightly quieter gardens. She sat on a small bench that looked eastward across the Kingdom. The sun had dropped many hours ago. The stars were shining brightly in the sky. She began to think about happier times when she was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.
Anna looked around to see a young and most welcome face, “James”. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around him. After an embrace that lasted several minutes, they pulled away from each other.
“Look….I….Uh” They both began, followed by a nervous chuckle.
“Go on” Anna said quickly.
“I have been so worried.” James began. “It seems like a lifetime since we made our plans to meet up and get to know each other a little better. I was looking forward to it so much; I barely slept the night before. However, the events of that night brought pressing matters to the fore and alas; I forgot about our meeting. Can you forgive me?”
The smile that crossed Anna’s face reassured him.
“My dear James, I fear a terrible mix up has occurred. On that fateful night when that creature appeared in the street, I was in my room contemplating and anticipating our meeting. The commotion below my window distracted me from my thoughts. When I looked out, I recognised the demon at once. Part of my study here at the temple covered the different gods. Anyway, I wrote you a message and asked that a messenger boy deliver it to you at the place we were due to meet. If you were not there, he was to take it to your room. I had to go back to the temple to inform my people of the danger and to prepare. I guess my message never reached you.”
James breathed a deep sigh of relief; a relaxed look appeared on his face, “You do not know how heavy a burden you have lifted from my heart and mind.” He said. “I thought that I must have destroyed any chance we had at having a relationship.”
“That night stirred up the entire kingdom in some way or another. The events of that night were far more important than just you or I.” Anna said reassuringly. “It is good to finally get our worries and doubts aired. However, now I fear that I shall only get to spend but a few short hours with you before you have to go again.” She looked away from James and stared out across the land in thoughtful gaze.
“It is a sad fact, unfortunately. As the first rays of light shine in the east, our armies move to make what is likely to be our last stand. We will gather at Bowton and mount the last defence of Thorntonvale. If we should fail, our land will fall.” James said his words with confidence but his eyes told a different story. He was afraid. Not in his wildest dreams could he imagine a victory against such odds.
“If I am truly honest, I am scared. I have never been so fearful of anything in my life. That is why I came to you tonight. By rights, I should still be in Bowton preparing. I have left good men to complete what I started. Tonight though, I want to forget everything except you. Come; let us take a stroll under the stars.” James stood up and offered his hand. Anna duly grasped it with a firm grip. They walked and talked for hours. That night, the Sacred Hills took on a totally magical quality. For one night, everything was perfect. For the young couple, it was a night of total innocence that would be remembered for a lot longer than a night of passion could ever be. The next day saw James depart for battle. Anna did not let him leave without a final embrace.
“I pray that you come back to me. I knew from the moment I met you that we were destined to be together. Last night was the greatest of my life but if I should never set eyes upon your face again, I will relive that night in my mind every night until I die.” Anna squeezed her man tighter.
James whispered back in her ear.
“A man could never have a greater reason to live than to come home to his woman; except to come home to his wife. If I return; no, when I return, I will marry you.”
“I will hold you to that promise.” Anna said with an overwhelming feeling of both joy and loss. In her heart, she did not think that she would ever see James again.
“I will come back to you.” James said as his parting word. He gave her a wink and walked away. Then he was gone. Anna returned to her duties. The priestesses were now busy preparing the spells needed to collapse part of the mountain if the need arose.
Rhyll had sent James and his men to take a couple of days rest at the Sacred Hills. However, the refugees had been spotted and the rest period turned into escort duty. Rhyll had seen how worried James was about his lady friend and had persuaded him to go. The barbarians continued James’ work whilst he was away. All around the small town of Bowton, where once open farmland stood, only dangerous looking traps could be seen. Massive lines of wooden stakes had been lined up to make sure that the progress of an attacking army was slow. This was made more dangerous by using a type of barb wire. The blacksmiths couldn’t produce anything so fine but they could produce small strips of metal with jagged edges that could easily slice an unsuspecting foe. These had been attached between the wooden stakes at strategic intervals. Small manholes had been dug to take out many enemies before they even arrived at the defence. Finally, once an army had ploughed through that, all the forces of Thorntonvale, over fifty thousand men, would await them. If further defensive structures were needed, the town of Bowton had a small wall around it. The town itself had been completely transformed. The wooden buildings had been knocked down to allow for more people to be able to take refuge inside; should the need arise. Rhyll had been drilling his men and trying to formulate sound strategies for winning the battle. News of the slaughter at Thorvale had reached his ears a few days ago. This information Rhyll received was very detailed. Strategies had been formulated to take out the spiders and the skeletons; the most difficult creatures to physically kill. Large nets with sharp daggers attached had been created to throw over the spiders. The theory was that the net may not stop the spider but if it tried to move, the daggers would cut and slice it. Hopefully, this would render the spiders useless. The barbarians were charged with handling the skeletons. Their mighty war hammers would crush the bones of the skeletons with ease. Swords tended to do only minor damage to such creatures. The rest of the plans were all based on movement patterns. The plan was to try to outflank the army of chaos when their numbers were depleted. Perhaps it was a human trait but nobody had thought much about the possibility of losing. The only plan for retreat was to get to the Sacred Hills as quickly as possible. Rhyll had spent nearly four days preparing his men when he caught sight of a vision so awesome, he nearly wet his pants with excitement
. Nearly fifty thousand soldiers were converging on to the battlefield. From a distance it was hard to distinguish individuals. The entire army was a blur of motion and dust clouds.
“This sight would be enough to instil fear into anyone or anything.” Rhyll said aloud to one of his commanders.
“It truly is a sight to behold.” The commander agreed.
“This must be all the forces in the land, well all bar James’ force. I never believed I would witness such a large fighting force on these lands.” Rhyll was awestruck for perhaps the first time in his life. He had seen a larger force assembled on the Orc fields of the Cursed Isle but they did not look as majestic as these. In the early morning sun, armour, shields and swords all glinted and gleaned causing Rhyll to squint. Finally he came to his senses.
“Commander, order your men to escort the different legions to their posts. Then make sure that they all understand the role they will play in the upcoming battle.”
“Shall I order the generals to meet in the town for further instructions?”
“Yes, tell them to gather within the town walls at midday. We will discuss our plans then.”
With that, the commander turned and began shouting instructions to his men.
It took a couple of hours for all the legions to adopt their appointed positions on the battlefield. As soon as the armies were settled it was time for the generals to meet within the town.
As the generals converged, it reunited four friends. King Henried, John, Conrad, and Rhyll had not been together as a group for nearly two months.
“It looks like we are all here.” The King said to his friends.
“I think if we were all here, we wouldn’t be here at all.” Conrad said being ever sarcastic.
“We may be mad; Conrad, but we do not have a choice. On this spot we either take a stand for the liberty of our kingdom or fall victim of the worst evil of our time.” The King replied. The tone of the conversation was already serious; there was little time for anything else.
The King then addressed all the generals, “Gather round, we shall begin.”
The Generals all sat around a long square table that had been positioned in the centre of the town. There were no more buildings standing only scattered piles of rubble that had not been fully cleared. The wood from the buildings had been used to create the defensive steaks. When they were all settled The King began.
“Friends, as you are all aware by now, the city of Thorvale has fallen. I know that there will be a lot of questions about what happened but the only things that need to be said are these. Firstly; the enemy number in the hundreds of thousands, I received word from a scout the other day saying a further two forces has landed ferrying creatures of every type. We have approximately fifty thousand men gathered and ready to fight. We are outnumbered by this attack force by at least 3 to 1. The second point I shall make is that they are an organised fighting unit. Within ten minutes of attacking Thorvale, the city had fallen. The enemy were too strong and used tactics to spread thin what little army we had defending the city. Finally, I have been pondering on something that disturbs me greatly. We have yet to encounter Bhryll. This either means that he is not willing to engage in the battle or that he is leading one of the other forces. It the latter is the case, we should be very worried indeed.”
There was an eerie silence at the table as the generals contemplated what had been said.
It was Rhyll who tried to inject some optimism into the proceedings.
“We are as well prepared as any army could ever be. If we fall here, it will be down to bad luck not bad planning.” He said confidently.
“Your optimism is commendable but misguided.” The King said abruptly. “I thought that whilst I was behind the walls of my city, I was invincible. The city fell in minutes. Here we have only a makeshift defence.”
“But we have numbers on this occasion.” John proclaimed.
“Even with all our men gathered in one place, we still only have one third the number they have.” The King said. “Our only hope is that the traps laid at Beskholme will reduce their numbers to even the battle out a little.”
John fixed a stern look upon the King, “I feel that you are being very negative about our chances.” He began. “You make it sound like there is no hope of victory. If their king is not optimistic, the men will not make a spirited defence; they will fight with no heart, thanks to you.”
The King looked quite shocked at being spoken to in such a way. He retorted in an angry tone of voice.
“You have not seen what I have seen. You did not experience first hand the sheer brutality of a force with only one intention, to kill humankind. If you had been there, if you had experienced it, then you have the right to comment and judge.”
John stood up and slammed his fists on the table, “We cannot plan an effective strategy with such a negative attitude. Your troops outside these walls need hope; we need hope.”
“But there is no hope.” The King said in a more sympathetic tone. “This is a desperate situation, one that we will be lucky to escape with our lives intact. In the war council chambers, all of us sat at a table not unlike this one and we made plans for victory. That was our downfall. We now need to make plans for defeat. We may be able to hold this army at bay for a while but as soon as Bhryll joins the battle and raises our dead to fight against us, what hope will we have of achieving victory?”
John sat down again slowly, his icy stare never leaving the King.
In the absence of James, Rhyll addressed the table.
“It seems that my words have caused some friction but nevertheless, James and I have devised a suitable plan of action to hold this defence as long as possible.”
Rhyll spent the next hour explaining how the defences had been positioned, where each general should position their troops and what role each legion would lead. Many questions were asked but each time Rhyll had a suitable answer. When Rhyll finally took to his seat again, The King addressed the table.
“Your plan sounds as good as any.” He said directly to Rhyll. “Before we return to our troops, I have but one order for you all. Be optimistic in front of your men. John was correct in what he said to me. The men need hope and they need to see that their leaders are confident of victory. It is each mans’ responsibility, whom sits at this table today, to show no fear or doubt; even when you see the enemy and your courage fails. Good luck to you all and may the gods favour us in our time of need.”
With that King Henried left the table. The rest of the group disbanded and went back to their duties.
The Watcher arrived at Beskholme only to find the city deserted. The traps set in the field outside the gate had claimed many of his soldiers. He had not yet taken a head count but he guessed that at least three to four thousand of his soldiers had fallen. Another blow came with the fact that many of the fallen were the skeletons. They had been used successfully to mount the attack on Thorvale as the humans had not managed to work out a method to defeat them. Now, The Watcher would have to rely more on what he perceived as the weaker races of Cursed Isle. The Watcher called over one of his lieutenants.
“Organise a search of the city. Kill any survivors.”
The Lieutenant duly obeyed. He gathered together the goblins. There were roughly ten thousand of them. With that many creatures searching the city, coupled with the fact that they could see body heat, the search would be quick. As they marched into the city they were under the watchful eye of Arianna. She had her hand firmly on the fuse. It was a fast burning fuse that would level the entire city within two minutes of it being lit. Arianna waited and as the goblins began their search. It seemed to take an age for the ten thousand goblins to enter through the gates. On a normal day, the gates to the city would seem huge. Today, they seemed as though they were forcing the enemy to walk in single file. Half an hour passed. Arianna was waiting to see if anyone else would enter the city. They did not. Then, from behind, footsteps could be heard approaching. Arianna was positio
ned on the flat roof of the library building. It formed part of what the thieves of the city called the sneaks’ passageway; the collective name for a number of rooftops that were not easy to access but gave great panoramic views of the city. The limited access points to these rooftops allowed the thieves of the city, Conrad included, to evade capture by the law. Now, Arianna could wait no longer. She chose not to turn around to face her attacker. She scrapped the fuse hard along the stone floor. Sparks flew and the flame shot down the line. She heard the metallic ring of a sword being drawn. Arianna closed her eyes. When she opened them again, there, stood in the beautifully manicured garden of her former house, stood her husband and two children all looking just the way they had the last time she saw them. Smiling, Arianna ran to them and wrapped them all in an emotional embrace. She looked up to the sky, tears running down her cheeks and said “Thank You”.
The first explosion went off only ten seconds after the fuse was lit. The Library was the first building to collapse. At least forty goblins had been inside or around it when it collapsed. All died instantly, either caught in the explosion or crushed under the falling rubble. Explosions were echoing all across the city. These were followed by loud crashing noises like boulders rolling down over each other. Panic spread through the goblins that were within the city walls They were running in all directions, trying to escape. The levelling of the city took longer than anticipated at nearly six minutes and some of the dynamite failed to blow. However, the overall goal was achieved. The trap had wiped out over nine thousand of the ten thousand goblins that entered. The rest were very shaken up. The Lieutenant who led the search left the city via the front gate. He was greeted by menacing figure of The Watcher.
“What happened in there, Lieutenant?” The Watcher asked coldly.
“I….I don’t know, master. I guess it was a trap.”
“You guess?” The Watcher said coldly. “YOU GUESS.” He screamed. “It is damn well obvious that this was a trap. This entire area is a trap. Did you not see the explosives?” The Watcher was livid. Before the Lieutenant could reply, The Watcher drew his sword and cleaved the Lieutenant’s head off. The Watcher grabbed one of the fleeing goblins as they exited the city.
“You are the new lieutenant of the goblins. Congratulations.” He said dryly. The goblin looked shocked and scared. He bowed down to acknowledge his role.
“Gather your men, we march west.”
With that, the now depleted army of The Watcher set off in the direction of Bowton.
Bhryll had arrived with his army on the shores of the mainland. The first thing he did was travel to the now deserted city of Thorvale and claimed it as his own. He would spend a few days here to make the place look presentable. A pack of wolves he had come across near where his ship landed made the perfect spies. He enchanted them to search the land for the humans. Using a spell of seeing, Bhryll could periodically look through the eyes of the wolves to see what they were seeing. This would allow him to effectively plan his attack. All these events happened three days ago. One of the wolves had found the humans at Bowton. Bhryll had decided to play things safe. He did not split up the two armies that he had brought across. Those from the second and third boat landings had been amalgamated into one army. It was very volatile. Bugbears and spiders tended to be the most aggressive. Fear of their new master kept them in check for the most part. It wasn’t until the fifth day on the mainland that Bhryll decided to take his army and march on the humans. He would attack from the south at the head of nearly two hundred thousand troops.
*****