Legends of Marithia: Book 2 - Darkness Rising

by Peter Koevari

  Chapter 24 : A Haven Besieged

  “It is not uncommon in war to walk on well-trodden ground and it will bring me great pleasure to return to Greenhaven, but even more pleasure to reclaim it.

  I look forward to crushing anyone who stands in our way of what is rightfully ours.”

  (Sir Dryden – Knight of the Elves)

  Blood rain pounded heavily on the walls of Greenhaven and the smell of it from the growing puddles was overwhelming to the senses. Wumvarn retreated inside the castle and made her way to the former king’s bedroom. She stared out the dusty window and watched as the moon’s red glow along with flashes of thunder lit up the clouds. She breathed deeply and stretched out her long body; every cell of her being felt electrified and alive since her power was replenished.

  “Damn those boned freaks! I should have never trusted those simpletons to realise that I am who is worthy of being followed, not Shindar.”

  Wumvarn’s dark reflection spoke to her from a nearby vertical mirror. “They could have proved useful. I told you time and time again to lower the gate and raise the bridge. You have become careless.”

  Her anger toward the soul in her reflection subsided as she realised that the floor was rumbling. What concerned her was that it rumbled in a rhythmic beat. She forced open her window and the rhythmic sound and beating of drums flooded into the room. “What is that? It surely can’t be the storm… it can only be… No!”

  Her face paled and she kicked off her heels to descend the stairs as fast as she could run, slipping on some of the wet stairs and balancing against the wall to stop her from falling over. “It can’t be… I watched as Kassina and her forces lost in the battle of the Elven Woods. What would they want with Greenhaven now?”

  Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she rushed to the main gates… only to see that the army had already begun to march over the lowered bridge. Cursing to herself, she hid behind the wall and her heart pounded in her panic.

  I could never defeat that many, she thought.

  The sounds were getting closer and she heard Lord Aryun’s order. “Forward! Destroy this demon and anyone who follows her. In the name of Lord Shindar!”

  The ground shook with the charge of the vampire army and her face turned serious when she devised her cunning plan.

  Good thing I had all the prisoners separated before those useless warriors escaped, she thought, laughing wildly.

  She fled to the dungeons and arrived at the many cells containing hysterical prisoners, begging to be saved. She quickly cast a spell. “Caligo cella quod incidere sicco totus lux lucis pro obscurum vadum comitatus nos!”

  The room was filled with a shadow as if it were completely underground. She fumbled her keys until she yanked open one of the cell doors. The sickening sound of a woman loudly choking silenced the prisoners momentarily. It was followed by the heavy thump of a body falling to the dungeon floor and odd noises of watery flesh. The last sound they heard was the sound of a key turning in a cell door.

  The prisoners screamed in fear and rattled their cages wildly. They heard a vampire shout, “Down here!” The stairs echoed loudly with the noises of their descent.

  Heavy breathing was heard all around them as they arrived and knocked into each other in the pitch black darkness. The spell’s power began to fade as the red moonlight filtered light into the dungeons. Vampires came face to face with a long line of prison cells. The floor was filthy and lined with blood and rotting bits of flesh. Tusdar arrived in the dungeons holding a lit torch and a large scroll with a picture drawn from Kassina’s description.

  “Archers, take aim!” growled Tusdar.

  A handful of vampires assembled in front of each cell, pointing their drawn arrows at the prisoner’s hearts. Walking from cell to cell, he studied their faces closely, ignoring their cries and pleas, looking for the face of the demon. “If you don’t want to die an immediate death, then all of you are to stand in front of your cell immediately.”

  The prisoners approached as ordered and after every cell had been checked, Lord Aryun arrived with Mestal in the dungeons.

  “Greenhaven is secured?” asked Tusdar.

  Lord Aryun nodded, holding his own scroll with the demon’s image. “We are preparing our defences and have not sighted the demon anywhere. Kassina wanted a special death for this one… she will be most displeased if we cannot locate her.”

  They walked the cells together and asked the prisoners to take various standing positions to compare against the drawings. “If any of you know the whereabouts of this demon, I urge you to speak up now. Anyone who helps us find her will be allowed to walk out of Greenhaven unharmed.”

  One woman pointed to her right and said, “I heard that cell being opened before you came. She fled down here and went in there, I am sure of it.”

  The prisoner to her right pointed to her right. “No, that is not true. The demon did come down here… like she always does to feed. But it was not my cell she entered, it was hers!”

  All of the women began to cry out accusations toward each other and room was filled with incomprehensible yelling.

  Mestal drew her sword and smashed its blade against the iron of the cell doors. “Silence! All of you!”

  Aryun was staring at a vampire that now stood at the bottom of the stairs and was holding what looked to be an empty shell of a woman that was oozing blood.

  “My lord, we found this discarded at the grounds below the cell windows along with a skinless body that appears to have been strangled.”

  Aryun paced beside the cells. “Wumvarn… we know that you are hiding amongst the prisoners. Show some courage and identify yourself.”

  Again, all of the women erupted with accusations and all claimed that they were not Wumvarn.

  “There is only one way we can handle this situation… which is to kill them all…” began Aryun, pausing in his steps and staring at the window. “What in Shindar’s name is that?”

  Wumvarn heard the familiar sound and vibrations under her feet of an army approaching. The sound of a horn escaped Greenhaven and they heard the gate pound into the ground along with the rattling of the bridge being raised.

  A vampire that carried the horn arrived quickly at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Report!” snapped Aryun.

  “My Lord, it’s the elves! Their forces are assembled across the river, we recognise their flags.”

  Aryun grimaced as he relayed his orders. “This is going to have to wait. We must prepare to defend Greenhaven against a siege. Tusdar, Mestal… follow me.”

  He led the charge up the stairs and they marched past vampires pulling the giant crossbows up to the castle walls with heavy ropes.

  “Heave! Heave!” they cried.

  The army cupped their hands to drink the rain of blood and regain their strength before manning the castle’s battlements.

  “Tusdar, you are in charge of finding Greenhaven’s armoury and assisting our men with the preparation of oil to defend the castle walls.”

  Tusdar nodded and smiled. “That will not be a problem; I know where they store Greenhaven’s defences. Will Kassina be joining us?”

  Aryun shook his head. “I cannot be sure if she will accompany us in this battle as the choice is not for either of us to make. Her presence would certainly boost the morale of our men, but we need to work with what we’ve got.”

  Kassina’s voice filled their minds. The great lord has allowed me to join you when the blood red moon is at its highest. The brighter the moon, the closer the Underworld is to merging with Marithia. Until I arrive, fight with valour and without mercy.

  Tusdar looked as if he was about to speak when Aryun cut off his words. “I already know. What… did you not expect that I have also been blessed? Now, follow my orders, quickly.”

  Aryun ascended to the battlements and looked over the lands surrounding Greenhaven with Mestal close by his side. The forest edge was close to the cliff face opposite the river separating them from the elve
n army. Fires were lit deep inside the forest and they could only see the three giant poles with their flags attached, flapping in the wind.

  Stretching out a looking glass from his coat, he took a closer look at the flags. One was representing humans and was white with a red border and cross. The second represented the elves and was solid green with a brown tree in its centre. The last flag represented the dragons and was white with a blue border and blue stylised icon of a dragon.

  He shifted his gaze further and watched as trees were lopped and fell hard to the ground. He saw the faint outlines of men and elves chopping off branches and dragging the tree trunks further into the forest.

  “It is not the elven army we face; we are defending against the entire Marithian army, including the dragons. They are already working on building a bridge.” said Aryun, his face grown pale.

  The skies began to dissipate and rain ceased falling.

  “Can we fire at them from here?” asked Mestal.

  “Our crossbows could make the distance, but would unlikely be of any use while they are inside that forest. If we had catapults…”

  “My word… Do you think that they knew that this was what they were sending us into? What will we do if the blood rain ceases to fall?” asked Mestal.

  So, they have all come out to meet us at Greenhaven? So be it! I have told you all countless times that Shindar will provide! Have faith in your lord and remember that every soul you send to the underworld brings us closer to victory. Take no chances with those dragons. I have faced them once before and they should never be underestimated, said Kassina.

  Aryun turned to his crossbow crews and shouted, “Arm the crossbows and keep your eyes on the skies! There are dragons about. If I see any of you resting, I will kill you myself!”

  He was about to turn away from the battlement when the flames caught his eye. The starry night was filled with a wall of fiery dots that quickly enlarged and crossed over the gorge, reflecting off the water.

  “Take cover!” yelled Aryun.

  They scurried to whatever shelter they could find as the rain of flaming rocks descended upon them. Many of them hammered loudly into Greenhaven’s walls and resulting in minimal damage, but many made it inside the castle walls. Some vampires were crushed under the giant oiled rocks and turned to dust beneath them, while the rest of the rocks set buildings and structures alight.

  “Put out those fires!” ordered Aryun.

  Mestal stared at her father with deep concern. “How long will it be until the blood red moon is at its highest?”

  Aryun sighed and growled, “Too long, we need to buy some time.”

  Tusdar waved from below and a long line of heavy cauldrons full of oil were carried into the open. “We have oil and I found the carpenter tools. We can cut down houses to make more bolts. By the gods, are we under attack already?”

  Lord Aryun’s voice boomed over Greenhaven, “Move the cauldrons to the crossbow crews. Take aim at their positions and use the oil to light the bolts!”

  Aryun smiled at Tusdar and shouted, “Nice work! I knew there must have been a good reason that Mestal took a liking to you. Let’s show them the same courtesy they have shown us.”

  The crews dipped the bolts in oil and worked to turn the crossbows, turning the wheels on their sides to take aim. They lit up the bolts with torches and the bolts burst into flames.

  They watched as the next group of projectiles were launched from the forest and headed directly toward the castle.

  “Fire!” shouted Aryun, watching their heavy enflamed bolts launch into the sky. The river reflected the spectacle of war as their projectiles crossed paths high above Marithia, a few bolts sending some catapulted rocks to plummet into the water below.

  Chapter 25 : The Art Of War

  “I want to spread my wings and fulfil my long awaited purpose; to save them all.

  The secret of my location remains safe and I long for our destiny to become one.”

  (Talonsphere – Weapon of the ancients)

  The fiery bolts crashed into the forest, turning them into giant wicks. The flames began to spread quickly to the forest floor and cries of panic were heard all around them. The roaring fire’s intense heat forced the allies to retreat further into the forest.

  Dryden marched along the long line of siege catapults deep within the forest, where a large area of trees had been cleared for the building of a makeshift bridge. His voice became hoarse with the relentless relaying of orders. “Continue firing our catapults on Greenhaven and do not stop. Aim over the walls and for the windows. Those walls were built to withstand a siege!”

  “We need to put out the fires or risk moving out into the open. The bridge will take days to build! Is there anything the dragons can do?” shouted Vartan.

  Karven, hearing Vartan’s plea, walked away from the catapults, where many dragons were busy setting the rocks alight. He carefully lowered his head. “Young prince, as you know… we dragons breathe fire, not water. If there was a way for us to retrieve the water and bring it up from the river below or the ocean past Greenhaven, we would do that but there is no other water source on our side of the gorge.”

  Vartan’s face turned serious and as he ran toward the wall of fire, he screamed out, “Karven, you are a genius!”

  Andrielle paced angrily in the battle tent before pounding her fist into the table between them. “We need a plan, and we need one fast!”

  The queen had gathered the greatest minds at her disposal in a tent behind their line of catapults, within a thick area of the forest that had a singular path cut out of the forest to allow them, including dragons, to approach. Two Knights of Veldrenn guarded the entrance.

  She chose Makya and Karven for their strategic knowledge and experience in battle, and naturally Helenia sat in to gain experience in battle planning. Vartan was in charge of protecting their armies and providing leadership to their people.

  Karven stuck his head back through the tent’s opening. “Queen Andrielle, our forces have retreated from the forest’s edge as we are heavily under attack. The fire continues to grow and Vartan is working on putting out the fire. As instructed, we continue our assault on Greenhaven and the bridge will be days from completion.”

  “Thank you King Karven, are you confident that Vartan will be able to put out the flames?”

  “I have no doubt. He walks with the soul of Mazu inside him,” replied the dragon king.

  Helenia’s mouth gaped as she asked, “The god, Mazu… lives inside Vartan?!?”

  “Indeed and it will prove a great advantage in battle, but we are no closer to being inside the walls of Greenhaven,” said Karven.

  “This is what concerns me the most. I lived inside that city for years and I know that it is easily defendable in the event of a siege. The blood red moon continues to create fresh clouds of blood which keep their forces replenished and strong. We do not know if Shindar has returned to Marithia, but at the very least, we do know that we managed to dispatch Kassina at the elven woods. Our heavy losses were not in vain. Great king, were you able to gather any information?”

  “As the balance of souls tips further in the underworld’s favour we will feel the bite of Shindar’s direct involvement. The blood clouds and red moon are only the beginning. I am sure all of you have noticed that nights have become longer and this will continue to worsen until we no longer see the sun. Sadly, I have seen this world covered in darkness before. If the vampires secure Greenhaven and open a portal for Shindar to step directly into the castle… there is a great chance that he will find Talonsphere, destroy it and all will be lost. Reclaiming Greenhaven is vital.”

  “Evidently, time is of the essence. If you have defeated Shindar once, we can defeat him again,” said Andrielle resolutely.

  Makya drew deeply on his pipe and blew out smoky images of swords and shields into the air before speaking. “I do not know this, Shindar, but I have known many evils in my own world. It sounds as if we need to take back castle G
reenhaven before they have the opportunity to gain the upper hand. When your enemies expect you to strike them with your right fist, why not sweep the legs out from under them?”

  “I do not follow…” said Helenia, staring at the trader with a firebird perched on his shoulder.

  Makya stood and approached the table, pointing to a hastily drawn map of Greenhaven and picked up an inked feather. “King Karven, you were saying that you gathered information… may I ask what you have discovered regarding their defences?”

  “I could not get close enough to the castle to see deep within the walls. Their crossbow crews appear to be wearing enchanted masks which reveal dragons even when we are hidden in the sky. I narrowly avoided a volley of bolts to discover this fact. I lost count of the crossbows in their attack, but I noticed that the crew manning them were wearing full body armour with shaded glass covering their masks, as were many of their warriors. An attack in daylight would not be possible as they would be unaffected by it. The only good news is that they obviously could not produce enough masks for their entire army. There are crossbows in every corner and lined along the walls, including crews on the ground. An attack from the air will mean the death of dragons.”

  Makya was busy drawing crosses to mark the crossbows. “Blast, I was hoping for a daylight attack, but it matters not. Is it possible to scale the walls of Greenhaven?”

  Andrielle spoke up. “I know our city’s defences well, and they would pour burning oil over our people. Not to mention that we do not have ladders tall enough to scale them. If we were to make them, it would take many days preparation.”

  Shanka squawked in Makya’s ear. “I know, I am getting to that,” whispered the trader.

  He drew an image of the ground surrounding the castle, the river flowing through the gorge, and the sea. “Where is the shortest section of the gorge?”

  Helenia approached the map and pointed to a section near the edge of the gorge, leading out to sea. “The two river banks almost merge here. But it is the most visible and exposed of locations.”