Eventually, Stiger turned his horse back in the direction of the road. Feeling the need to be diverted by conversation, he motioned for Lan to join him.
“What are your thoughts, Lieutenant?” Stiger asked as they passed by a burned-out farm. Two rotting corpses lay in the farmyard. Animals had gotten at the remains and spread them out a little. The stench was awful, as was the sight. Stiger was suddenly reminded of Sarai’s burned body at their farm. He felt a sudden heat within his breast and, with it, his free hand found the pommel of his sword. The tingle raced up his arm. Stiger almost jumped in the saddle, for he’d not felt the sensation for some time, years even. Had he imagined it?
“If they would do this here, sir,” Lan said, “then they will do it to Vrell and home. No one will be safe...until they are stopped.”
Stiger thought on Lan’s new wife back in Vrell. He was sure the lieutenant feared for her safety, especially after all they had seen.
“Agreed,” Stiger said and touched the sword hilt again, at first almost tentatively. There was no tingle, no sensation. Stiger felt himself scowl. It seemed he’d imagined it. “It’s one of the reasons why we must do everything within our power to stop them, to bring this to an end.”
Stiger’s thoughts shifted away from the sword. He was tired of reacting to the enemy. Ever since he’d been sent to Vrell, he’d been in reaction mode…whether it was Castor or Valoor through the Cyphan. When he’d made the decision to bring the Thirteenth back with him to the present, he’d decided to change the dynamic and break the cycle.
He was now pursuing the enemy’s advance into imperial territory, and in a way, it felt like he was once again playing to their tune. That bothered him immensely. But at the same time, he understood the dynamic had already been changed. The cycle had been broken. He was no longer playing by their rules. Though they did not know it yet, they were playing by his.
At some point, the enemy would need to break the siege at Lorium and turn to face him. That was when he’d give them an education. He looked over at Lan.
“Doing this…” Stiger gestured at another farm they were approaching. It too had been burned. “Our enemy made a fateful mistake. They don’t know the anger that they’ve awoken amongst the men, nor what’s coming for them.”
“No, sir,” Lan said, “they most certainly do not.”
It was later in the same day. Cresting a rise, Stiger could see for miles in almost any direction. The column of march, as far as the eye could see, snaked out to the front and behind. The army, from the van to the rearguard, stretched for over a hundred miles. Stiger knew that from the daily reports he received.
He was walking with Taha’Leeth and Dog. Ruga and his century were spread out around him protectively. Aver’Mons was walking with Ruga a handful of yards behind them. Both were engaged in conversation and had been talking in an animated manner for over an hour. To their front was a dwarven company composed of heavy infantry. To their rear was the vanguard of the legion. Today, the honor of leading the legion’s march had gone to Tenth Cohort. Eli was with his father and the elven infantry.
The gods only knew what Therik was up to. Stiger had not seen the orc all day. Therik and Braddock had dined together. He supposed both had spent their time drinking late into the night, so it was possible Therik was still with Braddock.
Stiger glanced over at Taha’Leeth, marveling once again at her stunning beauty. She’d tied her hair back into a single braid. Under the sunlight, she looked radiant, strong, confident. Her bow was slung over her back, along with a tightly bound bundle of arrows. She carried a pack on her back as well.
“You need to be less obvious,” she said, catching his look. She leaned in close. “What will your men think if they see you staring all the time?”
“They already know.”
“You do not say!” Taha’Leeth shot him a scandalized look. Of course, she was aware the men knew of their relationship. Salt had told him it was the talk of the legion. Apparently, many of the men were quite happy for him. Stiger was abruptly reminded of Eli’s counsel. He glanced back at Ruga and saw Aver’Mons’s gaze on him. The elf quickly looked away when their eyes met.
“I don’t think Aver’Mons approves,” Stiger said.
“He might not,” Taha’Leeth said, without glancing back. “He is loyal, and we have spoken. We have nothing to fear from him. There will be no trouble from that quarter.”
“So, you agree we have something to fear?” Stiger asked. “People who will disapprove and try to take some action?”
“I do,” Taha’Leeth said. “Most will simply make their displeasure known in other ways.”
“It’s not enough that we have to worry about the enemy and dark gods, but now our own people.”
“Yes,” Taha’Leeth said. “It is sad. Most people do not like change, especially elves. My people go out of their way to resist the change in things. It, sadly, is a failing of our race.”
“This is more than simply disliking change,” Stiger said, becoming heated. What with Aeda, it had been an emotional day. He’d been the target of assassination attempts in the past. It was a fact of life in imperial politics. But he still was having difficulty with the possibility that one of his people would seek to harm the woman he had come to love and hold dear. “So much is at stake.”
“People don’t all think the same way,” Taha’Leeth said. “Some have trouble seeing what is right or even understanding the stakes you speak of. Fewer even are those who can comprehend what we really face or the consequences of their own actions.”
Stiger knew truth when he heard it. In fact, he understood exactly what she was talking about. He’d experienced it himself. He was frustrated because he did not know how to defuse the problem. Once again, his happiness, along with the success of everything he was working toward, was at risk, and added with all his other headaches, it made him downright angry. She reached over and laid a hand upon his forearm.
“It will all work out fine in the end,” Taha’Leeth said. “You will see. Have faith.”
“I do,” Stiger said.
“As do I. Between us, my god and yours, we have great faith.”
She appeared quite earnest and he considered that she had a very good point. There was much more at work, and sometimes it was easy to forget.
“You are correct,” Stiger said.
“I am,” Taha’Leeth said and punched him lightly on the arm. “And don’t you forget it.”
Stiger let out a laugh.
She shot him a grin, and for a time, they walked in silence.
“I would have expected your people to begin arriving,” Stiger said. “We have yet to see any.”
She gave a slight scowl. It clearly had been on her mind too. “I do not know what holds them up. I am beginning to worry.”
“Me too,” Stiger said and then, having regretted bringing it up, he sought to divert her attention. “How many years will we have together?”
“Assuming we survive the coming days?” Taha’Leeth asked.
Stiger gave a nod.
“Too many to count with all your fingers and toes,” she said, “presuming you can count that high.”
He gave another laugh, feeling his mood lighten. “I pray that throughout the years, you continue to make me laugh.”
“I do too.”
“I’ll settle for happiness.”
“Good,” Taha’Leeth said. “How about I begin in earnest now, giving you the happiness you desire. After such a depressing day, would you like some good news?”
He looked over at her. She was looking back at him intently. Her eyes were nearly shining with intensity.
He gave a nod. “I could use some good news.”
“I am carrying our baby.”
Stiger almost stumbled and came to a complete stop. He wasn’t quite sure he’d heard correctly.
“What?” Stiger asked. “What did you just say?”
She gave him a confirming nod and rested her hand upon her be
lly, which showed no bulge whatsoever.
“What? How? Are you sure?”
Taha’Leeth gave him a funny look. “Your father did explain how these things work, did he not?”
“We were never really that close,” Stiger said as he stared at her in disbelief. “Really? We’re gonna have a baby?”
She gave another nod, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. Stiger was suddenly overcome with emotion. He reached out to her and pulled her close, hugging her tight.
“Sir,” Ruga said, stepping up to them, along with Aver’Mons. There was concern in the centurion’s eyes. “Is everything all right? We’re beginning to hold up the march.”
Stiger looked over at the centurion, confused, then beyond him to see Tenth Cohort stopped. The senior centurion was looking at him curiously.
“Sir?”
“It seems,” Stiger said, turning his gaze back to Taha’Leeth, “I am to be a father.”
Stiger noticed that Aver’Mons seemed stunned. The elf took a step back, his gaze going to Taha’Leeth.
“Well,” Ruga said, “isn’t that something. I guess you will have to make an honest girl out of her now, sir.”
“I guess so.”
Ruga turned to his men. “The legate is going to be a father.”
The century gave a cheer.
“I love you,” Stiger said to Taha’Leeth.
“And I you,” Taha’Leeth said. “Together we will make a new beginning.”
Tenth Cohort cheered as word was passed back to them. It was a hearty cheer.
“The entire legion will know about it soon enough, sir,” Ruga said with a grin. “After all that we saw this day, some good news will be more than welcome. Congratulations, sir.”
Stiger turned his gaze back to Taha’Leeth.
“I am going to be a father.”
“And a good one you will make too,” she said.
NINETEEN
Braddock, Cragg, Eli, Salt, Tenya’Far, and Taha’Leeth were in Stiger’s command tent. It was late into the night, with Tenya’Far and Braddock having traveled hours forward for this meeting. They were gathered around a large table and had been studying a map. Lamps lit the tent in a yellowish glow. The legion had already bedded down for the night, and for the most part, the camp beyond was silent.
“It looks like keeping up this grueling pace has worked, sir,” Salt said, glancing up from the map. “We’ve gotten real close, and without them budging too. It’s been a grind for the men, but they’re up for a fight.”
“I cannot help but agree,” Stiger said. “I did not think we would make it this far without them turning to face us.”
It pleased Stiger greatly, especially considering they were just two days from Lorium. The enemy army engaged with besieging the city had not moved, at least not yet.
The map had been drawn by one of Hux’s men and detailed the siege of the city, laying out the enemy’s dispositions and defensive works. It even went so far as to mark their supply depots and animal pens. The map and accompanying report had arrived the day before.
To keep those within from attempting a breakout, the enemy had completely ringed the city with an earthen wall. The notation on the map indicated this wall was capped by a stout barricade and protected with a series of trenches. The map also marked the enemy’s artillery positions.
The note Hux had written that accompanied the report indicated the enemy had seven large stone throwers and at least thirty smaller machines. The larger machines were concentrated in two specific areas, facing the south and east walls. The artillery was actively hammering at the city’s walls, working to reduce them. It appeared they had successfully holed and then collapsed a portion of the south wall. Hux reported that, with the amount of enemy dead both before and inside the breach, they had failed in an attempt to storm the city.
The enemy had shifted their focus and were now actively engaged in working to open multiple gaps in the wall. Hux felt that the work on the walls would be completed within the next two weeks. The more breaches the enemy created, the greater the chance of successfully storming the city.
Curiously, two wyrms had been taken down and somehow killed. The positions of their corpses were also marked on the map. Stiger found it incredible that the legions had found a way to down the dragons.
Had they done it with bolt throwers? It gave him hope that Cragg’s machines would work. He also considered that it was possible it had been the work of the wizard the emperor had mentioned in his letter.
Stiger turned his attention to Braddock, who was stroking his braided beard and looking down at the map. The thane wore a well-cut tunic, though he was dusty from the road and looked weary.
“Your thoughts?” Stiger asked the thane.
The thane looked up briefly and then back down at the map.
“Our cavalry patrols have pushed more than seventy miles to the east, in the direction of Asti,” Braddock said, gesturing down at the map, “and are actively watching the road. We’ve seen no sign or even a hint that there are any other enemy forces within easy marching distance. I believe it is as Salt has said, we’ve succeeded beyond our imaginings. At this point, should the enemy break off the siege and move to face us, it will be done with haste, which will be to our advantage. And we know for a fact that we will outnumber them.”
“Not by very much,” Eli cautioned. “Any sort of battle will still be hard fought. We should not take our numerical superiority for granted.”
“You are right,” Stiger said. “This will likely prove to be a real test for us.”
Braddock gave a slow nod. “One, I am certain, we will pass.”
“We must not forget the enemy is aware of our presence,” Tenya’Far said. “Ever since Aeda, their cavalry scouts have been spotted directly observing our column of march.”
“True,” Stiger said. “Our cavalry screen has seen several sharp engagements.”
“That is a clear sign,” Braddock said, “that they seek more information on our strength. By now they should have a good picture of our numbers.”
“And yet”—Tenya’Far, in a mannerism very much like his son, cocked his head to the side—“I find it strange they’ve not broken the siege and either marched against us or away.”
“Agreed,” Taha’Leeth breathed quietly. “The enemy should have made some move. I wonder what they are waiting for.”
“I hate to say it, sir, and tempt Fortuna,” Salt said, “but things are going well, sir.”
Stiger gave a nod. He thought so too, and that worried him. It was almost as if the enemy thought they had nothing to fear from them. And perhaps they had a right to think that way.
Earlier in the day, the army had marched past a battlefield that was weeks old. It had clearly been the spot where the emperor’s army had been broken. Stiger figured at least forty thousand men had been killed, perhaps more.
Though the scouts had described the battlefield in detail… Stiger found when he arrived, it had not prepared him for the horrific nature of the battle’s aftermath. And he wasn’t even sure it could be rightly called a battle, for what had occurred had clearly been very one-sided.
What had been truly shocking were the neat, almost orderly lines of charred bodies. Formed up and ready to face the enemy, men by the thousands had been burned down where they’d stood in line. The fire had been so intense, it had melted and fused armor with bone. In some places, the fires had burned so hot, the bodies had been turned to ash and the men’s armor had run like water. None of those poor bastards had stood a chance.
While in the past, Stiger had seen such things before. But that experience with just one wyrm could not compare to the scale of the slaughter he’d seen on this battlefield. It told Stiger that multiple dragons had been used in the breaking of the army. He could imagine nothing less would be able to shatter, and rout a force led by General Treim in such a manner.
The legions would have been unprepared for any such attack, and he was sure the appearance of th
e dragons had come as a complete surprise. Nowhere in Hux’s report had he mentioned the enemy having any live dragons at Lorium, only the two that had fallen. Where there were two, Stiger knew, there were likely more.
He rubbed his jaw and glanced at Cragg. The little gnome seemed to fidget constantly, as if, like a small child after getting a treat, he had too much energy to contain. Unlike the emperor’s broken army, at least, theirs now had some protection, even if it was limited.
From the battle site, they had found a continual trail of rotting bodies alongside the road to Lorium. Though there was no telling how many men had simply run off, there had clearly been some sort of organized retreat and pursuit. He had not enjoyed anything he’d seen and neither had the men.
“I don’t like it,” Stiger said. “I just don’t like it. Now that they are aware of our presence, there is just no good reason to remain at Lorium and continue the siege. They risk being trapped between the city and our army. We also know they have no fortifications facing outward, so there’s no good reason to continue to sit there and do nothing.”
“Perhaps,” Eli said, “they are setting us up for a trap, or they just don’t consider us a threat.”
“I think a trap is likely,” Braddock said, “with a dragon or two. They will intend to do to us what they did to your emperor’s legions.”
“We give dragon surprise,” Cragg said, speaking up. The gnome gave a nasty little laugh. “Good surprise. We poison bolts. Yes, yes…dragons be very surprised.”
“You poisoned the bolts?” Braddock asked Cragg in Dwarven. “What poison did you use? Tell me, what works against a dragon?”
“I no tell,” Cragg replied in Dwarven. “It is our secret. Just know poison is strong enough to take down wyrm. We’ve done it before.”
“You what?” Braddock asked. “When?”
Cragg did not reply.
“You and I will be speaking of this later,” Braddock said, “kluge.”
Cragg gave a tiny shrug of his shoulders.
“It could be as Braddock says, or they might be having difficulty deciding what to do,” Salt said. “On one hand, they have an army boxed up in the city, and on the other, a second army is closing in on them. The enemy general might not know what to do exactly.”
The Tiger’s Wrath (Chronicles of An Imperial Legionary Officer Book 5) Page 33