Snagaras, now alone on his horse, is holding back. He blows a horn and then begins to shout for help from the warriors who are making their way downhill towards the bridge. They’re close now. I am close too, far above the gorge, and it’s unlikely that any of those on the road are paying any attention to me. Too much is going on down there. But the larger group of mercs have heard Snagaras’s summons and are running. I won’t reach the rocks in time to stop them.
Coruff is now in position, however, and begins her part of the plan, conjuring her lattice of energy to block the bridge; it forms a ball between her left hand and her staff as it grows.
But looking on from further down the road, Snagaras pulls out a bow from near his saddle and shoots an arrow in her direction. Just in time, she raises the magical energy towards her face and blocks the shot.
Now the lizard clan leaders move out from their position among the trees. The yellow-scaled lizard chief steps in front of Coruff and raises a shield to protect her from any further bow fire. Ta’rox does not stop at the bridge, but instead begins to run towards the lone figure of Snagaras. As he charges past the dying mercenaries on the road, Snagaras lowers his bow, pulls out his sword, and prepares to face the warrior, still on horseback.
Coruff’s spell is now blocking the bridge just as the first mercenaries arrive – and moments later, we are in position too. Thwarted from crossing, one of the mercs begins to clamber down into the gully below the bridge, presumably aiming to get under the blockage. This is a worry, but it will take some time for all of them to make their way across like that.
The plan is working.
Drawing out my dagger, I slash at a sturdy lower branch from a pine – it will be bendier than I would like, but soft enough to cut through the wood without a saw. I slash again, then hand the dagger to Lugg to finish the job. My skills will be needed to select the right rock, and perhaps to loosen it from its position.
Soon the lever is prepared and in position. We both strain against it, but the rock is resisting; I move away and use my dagger to dig around its base and loosen it. My hunch was right – it isn’t deep, and although there is some compacted earth, it comes away easily. We should be able to do this.
We put our hands on the makeshift lever again. “One, two, three,” I say, looking intently at Lugg.
And with another collective heave, the rock starts to topple, then roll, then fall directly towards the warriors on the bridge.
Increase in skill level: Brute force level 19 (Strength +1)
Meanwhile, as the larger group of mercenaries line up near the edge of the bridge, Coruff’s barrier has been holding up against numerous crossbow shots. But as I look down, I see that one of the downed mercenaries on the other side has got to his feet again and is staggering towards her despite his wound. He has drawn a short sword. The yellow lizard chief has now turned his back towards this threat, unaware of it; he is holding his shield up to block any bow fire that might come from across the gully.
The rock crashes into the northern edge of the bridge – a direct hit, just as we planned. Several mercenaries are bowled over, some are catapulted into the ravine as the bridge buckles and its timbers go flying.
The rock rolls forward and comes to a halt just before Coruff’s barrier, which fizzles slightly as the huge missile makes contact.
There is no time to reflect on this success. Lugg and I are already charging down the hillside away from the cliffs, and I pull my bow as I go. But I know that it will be some time before I can get back to the road and circle around towards the combat scene; for now, all I can do is watch on. And it does not look good. Snagaras is holding his own against Ta’rox, metal clashing on metal. The three ordinary lizard warriors at the river didn’t stick around in the melee; they have instead slunk away into the river and are now fleeing, pursued by the three mercs that they were fighting. This means that those foes are now moving in my direction, and are likely to be very close to us when we get back to the road.
I have a poor view of events through the trees as I descend, but as I glance round to my left – disaster. The wounded merc who was approaching the bridge dispatches the clan chief, thrusting his sword into him from behind, and then turns to face Coruff. She notices him at the last minute, pulling back to dodge a sword blow. She ducks down and raises her staff to block a follow up strike, and the energy lattice wavers as she does so, allowing several crossbow bolts to fly through.
“Hurry, Lugg!” I shout.
I fear the worst for Coruff, but the witch is tough and wily. She blocks another blow from the mercenary with her staff – and then allows the lattice barrier to shrink down so that it protects only the area where she is standing. Several crossbow bolts whistle through, and two of them hit the wounded mercenary. The ‘friendly fire’ sends him collapsing to the ground – this time, surely dead.
I skid to a halt as I reach the road with Lugg at my side. I draw an arrow, aim, and then fire, hitting one of the three mercenaries who were following the line of the river and coming towards us. As I do so, the three lizard warriors emerge from the river. I was wrong to think that they had fled! They surround one of the remaining mercenaries, as Lugg charges forward and takes on the other. Soon we have overcome them; one falls to a spear wound, while the last of the three throws down his weapons and surrenders.
With that, it seems like Snagaras has had enough. Further up the dwarven road, he turns his horse and begins to gallop away towards the city.
“Lugg – can you strip that surviving merc of his weapons and belongings?” I say. “After that, he can be released to flee back westwards along the dwarven road.”
“No problem.”
I hurry on as Lugg gets to work while the three lizard warriors melt away towards the river. Ta’rox runs back towards us, and we gather together where Coruff is still blocking the bridge.
“Are you unharmed?” I call to Ta’rox.
“That elf on the horse is hard to kill,” he responds, “but so am I.”
Despite the damage caused by the boulder, there remains enough of the structure for mercenaries to cross, though probably only in single file, and their numbers have been badly depleted. Around ten have now clustered on the path on the opposite side, regrouping around thirty yards from the bridge.
“Now is your moment, human,” said Ta’rox. “Head for the city – just look out for the mercenary general as you go.”
“What about those remaining troops?” says Lugg, who is just arriving a minute behind us.
“I will hold them here,” replies Ta’rox, holding up his shield. “You have kept up your side of the bargain, and fought bravely, just as you promised.”
Coruff, I can see, is struggling; there would be no maintaining her enchantment for long anyway.
“Are you sure, Ta’rox?” I ask.
He points to the boulder. “That provides cover from their fire. If they come through in single file, they will fall to my blade in single file. But more likely they will retreat when they see that it is futile.”
We look at one another and nod. “More of these human mercenaries will come, I am sure, but my warriors will travel now to alert the clans.” He looks down towards the body of the slain lizard chief nearby. “One will also inform our allies of the Rufna Clan about the sad loss of their chieftain,” he adds.
“And after?” I prompt.
“When my people make it here in greater numbers, we will do our best to harry the mercenaries, leading them away from the road and into the Forest of Zargh and the swamp beyond. Revenge will be ours. But now, I will remain here until it is safe to leave. I promise to defend the way with my life. Seize the moment, Daria, and hurry onwards.”
“Thank you. You are brave and honorable.”
Ta’rox doesn’t reply to this compliment, but is now looking directly at the bridge. “If the Imperial soldiers are indeed camped near Katresburg, then be wary, human woman,” he calls out as we begin to walk away, “for those soldiers are as numerous as
scum on the swamp, and no more principled.”
I glance round one more time as the big lizard chieftain stands alone at the bridge, and then we hurry on.
* * *
We pause; a body lies upon the ground, and Coruff crouches to look for signs of life. “A local man – perhaps a scout,” she says. “It is hard to say whether he was slain by Snagaras.”
“Impossible to know,” I respond, “but there are recent hoof prints on the road.”
There has been no further sign of the retreating elven general. The way has descended now, and the tree cover is thinning considerably. The plains and pasture around Katresburg are very close now.
To our right, unmistakably, is the Great Swamp. It is not – as I had perhaps imagined – entirely swamp land. Instead, for as far as the eye can see, small lakes and bogland is interspersed with tangles of trees and small hillocks. On some of these hillocks I see signs of settlements – round wooden houses, and even the occasional stone tower.
Katresburg itself lies ahead, perhaps a further half hour’s march from here. Although the road has left the hills, we are still looking downwards towards it from where we stand. It’s a little gem of a city, I can see, ringed by a magnificent granite wall with colorful frescoes all around its outside, and enormous stone towers every hundred yards along its length. There are also glittering buildings rising high within. A small city, but built up, that’s for sure. I notice with concern that there is some kind of encampment nearby. But then my attention focuses back on the slain scout at our feet.
“This man has been left here for a reason,” Coruff says, standing up with a slight grunt. “And there is no saving him – he is gone. My guess is that the body was left as a warning.”
“It could be that Snagaras struck him down and then hurried on,” I say, “but the death might also be connected with the rebellion against the Empire that I was told about.”
I look at Lugg, who is now wearing a shirt of ringmail and a short sword which he stripped from the surviving merc before sending him off westwards on the dwarven road, and has also replaced his cloak with a dark grey one taken from one of the fallen. The mercs had some coin and a couple of emerald-colored gems, all of which we gave to Coruff. Hopefully it will help with the replacement of her magical supplies.
“Local people have begun a struggle for freedom,” I say to nobody in particular.
Staring down at the body, Lugg says, “This man could be a rebel, yes. But it will take too long to find his comrades.”
“You’re right,” I say. “And nor can we bury him.”
“I agree,” says Coruff. “But I’d like to do something.”
“Yes.” I nod.
Together, we agree to pull the body over to the side of the road, where he will lie in the long grass for now. Coruff then covers up his shoulders and face. To do so, she once again uses the natural materials around us, growing a dock leaf from the side of the road until it is as large as a shroud.
“That will have to do,” she says, sprinkling a powder from a vial onto the corpse. “And this infusion will keep foxes and wolves away, at least for a while. At the city, perhaps we can alert the man’s family.”
But as we move on and walk closer to the city gates, it becomes increasingly clear that we will struggle to get to Katresburg.
The city is nestled between cliffs to the north and another river, a smaller and fast-flowing stretch of rocky whitewater which leads directly to a very large lake to the south of the town. The road which we are on continues east, crossing the river by way of a large stone bridge, wide enough for two wagons to pass, around half a mile further on.
But now, as we proceed to the edge of the thinning trees and stop, I can see that that the encampment that I spotted earlier is directly in front of the city. It begins upon a slight rise just a few dozen yards from the gates, and rows of tents and wagons stretch from there back towards the bridge over the river beyond. It appears to be made up of Imperial troops, too, though there could easily be mercenaries among their number.
And as I look to the walls, I can see that there is a standoff in progress. The nearside of the city walls are lined with city troops, spears and bows in their hands, and also with people who are not in uniform – civilian volunteers, perhaps – but who are likewise armed.
And the Imperial force, I now realize, are camped just beyond the range of the city defenders’ weapons, a bowshot away from the town walls.
“Do you see that?” says Lugg, pointing. At first I assume he is referring to the defenders on the wall, but then I notice that there is a raised area of rock near the centre of the Imperial camp, with a couple of tents just visible beyond the top of it, among the hostile troops. A red tent. I narrow my eyes.
“Do you see…” I begin, my heart starting to sink.
“A red knight?” responds Lugg. “And the mercenary with the white hair? Yes. Both of them stand among the force. Our enemies”
There will be no entering the city today, it appears.
Chapter 34: The Village
We cannot go east, for the Imperial forces block the road and the bridge beyond, and the city is closed to us, too. The lake covers the land immediately to the south, leaving only one way for us to go – back.
“You saw the knight?” I say to Lugg, as we cautiously proceed back the way we came. “I wondered if it was one of the Knights of Dawn, though it was hard for me to tell from that distance.”
I have come to rely on Lugg’s acute senses, and sure enough, he nods emphatically. “The same, Miss. Daria. Not the one with the crown, though. Could have been the guy that was on the streets of Nimroth. Difficult for Lugg to say for sure.”
“And just one?”
“One that I saw. He was standing with the white-headed mercenary general.”
“All right. Well, if one is here, then the others could be nearby, too. Or on their way.”
The way back up the road is harder than the way down; the afternoon is getting late, and I am feeling tired and hungry. I have privately resolved to find somewhere quiet off the road to rest up and eat, with Lugg and Coruff at least.
Soon we are standing at the same long straight stretch of road where we stopped before, near the fringes of the trees. But something is notably different – there is no sign of the slain scout who we moved to the side of the road less than an hour before.
“Where did…” begins Lugg, but Coruff holds her fingers up to her mouth, indicating the need for quiet, her eyes flicking from one side to the other.
I scan the trees. Do I sense movement? I am about to speak out to my companions when a tall figure steps out from among the trees, and we all reach for our weapons. But my hands stall on the handle of my morning star as I recognize the figure who appears. It’s Garner.
I hurry over, a broad smile crossing my face. “Garner! Are you well? What happened with the slavers?”
“Well met, Daria,” he says with a broad grin, shouldering his longbow as he speaks and putting one hand on my shoulder. “I thought it would be you.”
“You did?”
“You’re dealing with a tracker, remember.” He nods at the others and then gestures back the way he came, indicating a way between two trees at the edge of the road. Stepping closer, I can make out a very basic path leading off in that direction, so narrow we had previously failed to notice it.
“This way,” he says. “I haven’t been here long, but I have met with several scouts from Katresburg, and they can help us to enter the city, I think. They are friendly, at least for now.” He lowers his voice, looking at Coruff. “Some of the coven arrived here a day ago, too. Mati is here. They are at a nearby village, a place named Lorn. But others have not made it here. We are more divided than ever – it’s a mess.”
It’s a lot of information to take in. “Who are these scouts?” I say. “Can they be trusted? And what happened to P’oytox?”
“And the rest of the coven, do you know if they are safe?” asks Coruff from behin
d me.
“Come, quickly,” he says, “and I will tell you everything I know.”
And we begin to follow him along the tiny trail and into the trees.
Soon we are surrounded by lush, mature forest. Fortunately, we are no longer moving away from the city. Instead we are travelling northwards, staying at roughly the same distance from Katresburg but moving deeper into the Forest of Zargh and towards the mountainous foothills and cliffs.
The village that Garner spoke about is not yet visible, however.
“We made it out of the forest, but no further,” I say, walking just behind Garner with the others behind me. “The city is a no-go right now. There are many enemy troops there, besieging the gates.”
“Yes, I know,” he replies grimly, glancing over his shoulder. “We cannot enter Katresburg. And yet we must.”
“You said that Maleki is here?”
“Indeed. My mother is a mile up this trail, at the village,” he says. “Josa is with us too. We have gathered there with some scouts and exiles from the city. Yes, they are on our side, and loyal. The unfortunate man that you saw in the road was one of them.”
We arrive in the village. It is a small place, but larger than the mountain settlement where we overnighted. I can count around twenty dwellings, perhaps, including what looks like a large inn formed of multiple buildings joined together and surrounded by trees and grassy areas. It has a sign saying ‘The Black Swan’, and this is the way that Garner now leads, pointing to the entrance of the inn.
“Come on. We have a safe place here,” he says. “The innkeeper is an old friend of Josa’s, and a supporter of our cause. Besides – the locals all hate the Empire.”
“What is the cause exactly?” I say. “The knights? The treatment of magic users? Or aiding the lizard folk?”
“All are connected,” he replies. “The lizards are potential allies. At least we hope so, though there has not always been peace between them and the locals, and likewise it’s hard for the lizards to trust outsiders. But the Knights of Dawn are a common enemy. And as the Imperial forces are the ones who are persecuting the magic using community, they are our principal foes right now.”
The Call of the Coven: A LitRPG novel (Shadow Kingdoms Book 2) Page 23