“I love it when you take charge like that,” Aiden observed dryly. “I do so hate to sit around resting after a week of travel.” She flashed him an wry grin as they made their way back toward the stables. On the way, he overheard Robert and Sayana talking nearby. He probably shouldn’t have been listening to a private conversation, but he still hadn’t learned to fully trust the mercenary just yet.
“You’re a lot different than I thought you’d be,” Sayana told Robert quietly. “I wasn’t looking forward to working with you at all — for obvious reasons.”
“Life can be surprising sometimes,” Robert grunted laconically. “Here I was, thinking you were a savage, axe-wielding maniac who enjoyed cutting people’s eyes out of their sockets. Turns out you’re actually less of a barbarian than you seemed.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Sayana replied with a slight hint of a smile on her lips.
“As it was intended,” Robert assured her. Aiden was almost beside himself with curiosity, for the last thing he would have expected was to see these two get along. It was quite possible that spending a week together on horseback had restuled in some interesting and unforeseen effects on their relationship.
Setting aside such trivial concerns for now, the group took to their horses and set out from Culdeny. Despite his reluctance to press on so soon, Aiden relished the feeling of the warmer air rushing past him as they cantered along the highway. This feeling of peace ended abruptly when Salinder voiced some concerns in Aiden’s mind.
This journey is taking too long, the sword informed him. Even now, I feel my strength beginning to ebb.
“The horses are going as fast as they can,” Aiden responded, garnering a curious glance from Pacian, who rode alongside him.
At this rate, I will be all but gone by the time you face the Ironlord. Do you relish that prospect?
“I don’t see that I have a lot of choice in the matter,” Aiden muttered, unsure what the dragon spirit wanted him to do about it.
I will have to expedite matters, Salinder stated. Remain calm.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aiden asked, feeling decidedly un-calm at the statement. His answer came in the form of a violet mist that encompassed the entire group, followed by a flash of light and the feeling of riding through absolute darkness for a fraction of time. The strange experience disappeared almost as soon as it began, but the horses, skittish beasts at the best of times, sensed something odd had occurred and skidded to a halt, screaming and kicking at the air.
Aiden was overcome with a sense of twisting nausea, and he struggled to control his mount without falling from the saddle. When he finally calmed his horse down, he checked on the others to make sure they were still in one piece. Pacian appeared a little green around the edges, and Nellise’s horse staggered around as if drunk.
“What did you do?” he demanded of Salinder, his companions glaring in his direction as they realised who was responsible for the strange effect.
I moved us forty miles to the south, Salinder explained in its deep, clear voice. It was as far as I could take you without risking your lives in the Aether. Astonished at this news, Aiden looked around him and saw the same towering pines lining the highway.
“Did you all hear that?” Aiden asked the others.
“If you’re talking to your sword again, I didn’t hear anything,” Pacian replied with a weak voice. “What happened?”
“It claims we’ve been moved forty miles south, which would put us just north of Bracksford,” Aiden explained.
“One way to find out,” Robert grunted, turning his horse south once more and heading off at a gallop.
“He’s proactive, I’ll give him that,” Nellise sighed before reluctantly following along, with the rest of them hurrying to catch up. Aiden knew that if they were close to Bracksford, they’d be able to see the town somewhere nearby. After a few minutes at full speed, the forest around them began to thin out, and up ahead, the familiar sight of Bracksford’s northern wall could be seen in the distance, just beyond the bridge over the Stormflow River.
“I’ll be damned,” Robert muttered as he looked out over the scene. “If that sword-dragon thing of yours can just transport us around like this, why not take us straight to the fort?”
“For safety reasons, I imagine,” Criosa remarked. “I have come across such an incantation in my studies of magic. My understanding is the further one wishes to travel, the greater the chance of becoming lost. There is also the risk of never arriving at all. That was quite a risk you took, actually,” she murmured, glancing at the sword on Aiden’s hip.
It was necessary, the voice said, apparently heard by everyone.
“So, we’re a day further ahead in our journey,” Nellise observed. “We should make good use of the additional time and continue onward.”
“Or we could stay at the inn for the evening,” Pacian said, clearly wishing to recover from the jarring experience. “Why sleep on the ground when we don’t have to?” During all this discussion, Robert had been gazing towards the distant town intently, uninterested in the conversation around him.
“Something’s wrong,” he remarked quietly, silencing the rest of them instantly.
“What is it?” Criosa asked perplexedly.
“The gates are closed in the middle of the afternoon,” the mercenary replied.
“Is that so strange?” the princess asked, unsure if this was normal procedure.
“There’s no sign of movement,” Sayana observed shrewdly from the back of Robert’s horse. “I remember seeing guards on duty at all times, even with the gate open.”
“I don’t like it,” Robert growled. “It’s just too damn quiet over there.”
“I’m not convinced, but perhaps somebody should go in for a closer look,” Aiden answered with a meaningful glance at Pacian.
“Me?” he balked. “If you’re right about this, there could be anything in that town. There might even be another dragon in there.”
No, I would sense it if this were the case, Salinder said, ending that line of thought. I can tell you that there are hundreds of people still in that town, yet their exact nature is beyond my ability to determine.
“See? No dragons or other monsters,” Robert assured Pacian as his voice dropped to a low growl. “Now get in there.”
Without further protest, Pacian dismounted and threw the reins to Nellise. He shot Robert a dangerous look and began walking down the road towards the town.
“You needn’t be so callous toward him,” Nellise chastised the mercenary. “I understand the two of you don’t get along, but you need to remember your place.”
“So does he,” Robert replied absently, his focus entirely on the town before them. There were many small trees and bushes along the road leading towards Bracksford, which Pacian made full use of as he closed in. Although lazy for the most part, he was an expert at avoiding detection when he put his mind to it.
He vanished for a long while, with minutes passing by before he emerged on the other side of the river. There had been no sign of any movement along the wall, which was starting to worry Aiden.
Aiden wondered how Pacian was going to get past the tall wooden gate, when he saw the faint shadow that was his old friend clamber up the outside of the wall. Wedging his feet and hands in the cracks between the logs, he gradually ascended and poked his head tentatively over the top.
Without warning, Pacian suddenly dropped back to the ground and scampered back towards the river. He managed to disappear under the bridge at the same moment that half a dozen helmeted heads appeared over the wall — men armed with crossbows, aimed and ready to shoot. Aiden realised the town was occupied, but by whom, he had no idea.
“I knew it,” Robert growled, his armour clanking as he shifted in his saddle.
“Bracksford has been raided?” Criosa breathed in astonishment. “Who would have the audacity to take an entire town in the middle of our Kingdom?”
“A few ideas spring
to mind, but we should hear from Pacian before I say any more,” Robert finished. The discussion ended when a crossbow bolt shot past them, missing Criosa by several feet.
“Get to cover, we’ve been spotted,” Robert barked, turning his horse around and quickly guiding it into the nearby trees. Although they took time to reload, crossbows were accurate over long distances — particularly with no wind — and Aiden had no wish to stand in the open. They stopped their horses in a dense copse of bushes and saplings. Aiden was concerned for Pacian, who was still out there somewhere.
A few tense minutes later, the branches of a nearby tree shifted and Pacian stumbled into view, sopping wet but very much alive.
“I guess you got your answer, then,” he croaked.
“Were you followed?” Sayana asked cautiously, to which Pacian shook his head.
“How many are there?” Robert asked without prevarication.
“Over a hundred, easily,” Pacian replied. “They look like proper military, but I guess they’re not ours.”
“Were any of them wearing tunics emblazoned with heraldic devices?” Criosa asked.
“Most of them, yeah. Looked like a big cat of some kind, but with wings.”
“A griffon,” Criosa breathed, glancing at Nellise meaningfully.
“The Tulsonites have invaded Aielund,” the cleric stated in reply.
“Sounds like two full companies, assuming they have support,” Robert mused thoughtfully. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, the town is already lost. We’ll have to go around, unless Salinder wants to teleport us past the town.”
I do not wish to waste energy unnecessarily, it replied. Travel around the area if you must.
“There’s more,” Pacian added. “I saw a group of people being herded into a building by some soldiers, and they’re also trying to break into another house near the main road. There’s some sort of commotion going on in there, but I couldn’t stay around any longer to find out what.”
“They took captives,” Criosa noted, slumping visibly in her saddle at this news.
“They’ll be interrogated, at the very least,” Robert grunted without emotion. “I’d hate to be them right now — the Tulsonites aren’t subtle.”
Aiden thought about the people he had met in Bracksford months ago, during the lockdown that had nearly starved the town. Mostly farmers, traders and shop-owners populated the town, good people who didn’t deserve this.
“We can’t just sit around while innocent people are being held captive,” Nellise said.
“We could wait for the rangers to arrive,” Criosa suggested, but then seemed crestfallen as she came to a realisation. “No wait… they’re days behind us.”
“If we want to save those people, it’s just going to be us,” Aiden explained grimly. Everyone remained silent, unsure of how to take on more than twenty times their number and survive. Robert glanced around at everyone, his piercing blue eye settling on each of them individually, as if weighing their worth.
“You, sword,” he grunted. “Is your friend Spartan still around, or did you leave him behind when you teleported us here?”
I never left you, came Spartan’s voice in their minds. To Aiden’s surprise, the winged form of the small dragon appeared only ten yards away, startling everyone except the mercenary commander.
“Were you going to keep hidden while our countrymen and women suffered?” Nellise scolded Spartan, who gazed back at her with cold reptilian eyes.
I was curious to see what you would do in this situation, the dragon explained. Will you leave your fellow humans to their fate, or risk everything to save them?
“I have an idea, if you’re willing to listen,” Robert offered. “We don’t have much time, but if we all pull together, I think we can do this.” Aiden stared dubiously back at the mercenary, disturbed at the gleam of confidence that had appeared in his eye.
* * *
Aiden sat amongst the thick bushes near the edge of the bridge, peering at the town wall across the Stormflow River nearly a hundred yards away. Beside him was Criosa, her bright blue eyes following Aiden’s, keenly observing the movements of their enemies as they stood guard over the north gate of Bracksford.
“Any moment now,” Aiden whispered absently, waiting for the pre-arranged signal. His heart thudded in his chest, yet he was still surprisingly calm, despite what they were about to attempt. The sound was mimicked over the landscape as the sound of pounding hooves could be heard approaching along the road.
Aiden turned and saw the armoured form of Robert Black, astride his warhorse, thundering towards the main gate, his sword and shield held ready as he closed in. Behind him, almost invisible was Sayana, holding tightly onto the mercenary, his shield protecting them both on their deadly approach.
Riding just behind him was Nellise, the two of them riding the only combat trained mounts in the group, forcing the rest of them to move into the fight on foot. As if on cue, the archers on the wall spotted the approaching horses and loosed their bolts.
Bolts bounced off Robert’s shield and armour as he pressed forward, and Aiden hoped the incantation Criosa had bestowed upon the horse would protect it as well as she promised, for it was unarmoured and vulnerable to attack. His hopes were confirmed as a flash spectral armour intercepted a bolt that would have taken the horse in its chest.
As soon as Robert reached the bridge, Aiden knew it was finally time to act. He stood up from amongst the bushes and pointed his ancient sword towards the distant gate. A crackle of energy appeared along the edge of the blade, growing in brilliance until it shot out towards the wooden structure with a blinding flash of light.
The bolt of energy struck the solid oaken logs of the gate and blasted it to pieces, sending a rolling clap of thunder echoing across the landscape. Shards of the gate whirled through the air, leaving the path clear for Robert, Sayana and Nellise to charge straight into the unsuspecting defenders.
“Time to move,” Aiden advised, as he and Criosa emerged from the bushes and headed across the bridge as quickly as they could. He summoned his magical force shield to protect him from stray arrows, and then pressed the glyphs on his gauntlet to activate its power. Somewhere around here was Pacian, though he was nowhere to be seen as they moved quickly across the bridge towards the sounds of battle. Looking ahead, Aiden saw Sayana vault high into the air from the back of Robert’s horse, using her talents to soar fifty feet above the fight and hover.
Her next move was predictable and as effective as always. She brought her hands together and sent a ball of fire through the air into the ranks of the surprised defenders below, with the explosion hurling burnt and smoldering bodies through the air.
Robert and Nellise were almost as effective, charging through the scattered ranks of Tulsonite infantry, leaving a growing pile of fallen enemies in their wake. The initial strike had proven successful, surprising the enemy with explosive force and giving them little time to respond. It now fell to Aiden, Criosa and Pacian to make the best use of the diversion to free the captives.
As expected, the tide of soldiers followed Robert and Nellise as they rode full-tilt towards the eastern side of town. The soldiers were rapidly overcoming their shock at the sudden attack, and the officers were restoring order. Sayana sent another ball of fire into the greatest congregation of enemy soldiers, charring nearly a dozen men, but those remaining were quickly learning to spread out and seek cover.
A flurry of crossbow bolts shot up towards Sayana, but the combination of her protective magics and armour protected her from harm. Aiden and Criosa reached the sundered gate and carefully made their way inside. Three soldiers, recovering from the initial assault, spied them entering the town and moved to intercept.
Criosa raised her short bow and loosed an arrow, taking the first one in the chest, while Aiden held Salinder before him to engage the other two. He hadn’t tested his repaired gauntlet before the battle, but wasn’t disappointed with the results.
It seemed to be working pe
rfectly as he strode in, cutting down one of the chainmail armoured men in a single bloody stroke, and punching the other in the face so hard Aiden felt the man’s skull crack underneath his conical helmet. Pacian appeared from around the corner of the nearby house and gestured for them to follow.
“About time you showed up,” Aiden growled, keeping an eye on their surroundings for any soldiers not following the diversion.
“I don’t do frontal assaults,” Pacian replied with a tight voice. “It’s the third building on the left.”
“That’s the barracks,” Aiden voiced with mild concern. “If they’ve got it locked up tight, we may have trouble getting in there.”
“Can’t you just punch the door?” Criosa asked, her bow held at the ready.
“I can at that,” Aiden agreed, flinching reflexively as another distant explosion reminded them of the battle taking place only a few hundred yards away. The three of them hurried along the main road, stopping short of rounding the corner to where the barracks stood. Pacian leaned against the wall and peered around the edge, then pulled back quickly.
“There are ten of them guarding the place,” he whispered, hefting his repeating crossbow. “You head in and fight, while Criosa and I shoot from back here.”
“Just aim carefully,” Aiden advised as he gripped the hilt of his sword and charged around the corner. The barracks guards, alert for any sign of their enemies, reacted instantly to his appearance. Shields were raised as they formed a phalanx in front of the door, yet they had no way of being prepared for what was about to hit them.
Aiden pointed Salinder at the middle of their ranks and a blast of sound engulfed the enemy soldiers, forcing them to clutch their ears in distress and drop their weapons. Their defence shattered, Aiden swept in and began hacking away at them, the strength of his arm and sharpness of his blade more than enough to defeat their chain armour.
He paused at the end of the fight to catch his breath, and then turned his attention to the door beyond the pile of broken bodies. Aiden had become accustomed to shutting down his emotions during a fight, lest the sight of so many dead by his hand fray at his resolve.
Soldiers of Legend Page 11