by Garry Spoor
-About time you got your ass out of bed.-
Grim shouted as he came stomping across the baily toward her. He must have been standing at the foot of the stairs all night, as he was completely drenched. It didn’t seem to improve his disposition, but then, nothing ever did.
“And a good morning to you too,” Kile replied.
-Try afternoon, and I wouldn’t say good until you looked out over the wall.-
She looked up, toward the high wall where there appeared to be a lot of activity on the allure. Soldiers had gathered along the parapet and were observing something on the road leading to Moran.
“Somehow I think breakfast is going to have to wait,” she told Tullner.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“I’m not really sure, but it’s probably not going to be anything good,” she replied.
The outpost of Moran was built into the side of a mountain and was divided into two levels, one inside, and above, the other. The first level was known as the mainway, named after the road which ran between the two gates. It was surrounded by a thirty foot stone wall on three sides, and the mountain to the north. The mainway ran under the second level, known as the kastelya. There were only two ways to reach the kastelya, and both of these routes could be cut off, should the mainway be taken. The kastelya was also surrounded by a thirty foot wall, which was commonly referred to as the high wall, since it overlooked the gatehouse and the main bailey sixty feet below.
Kile took the steps, which led up to the high wall, and found Captain Bartholomew Jax among the other men. He didn’t notice her at first, since he was a bit preoccupied with what he saw below. A young soldier stood beside him looking equally nervous. He couldn’t be more than fifteen years old, Kile thought as she watched the boy stare wide eyed over the parapet. He reminded her so much of Toby, the young boy who worked at the Bird and Bay back in Coopervill. Toby had a bit of a crush on her, or so she’d like to think, but it didn’t matter anymore. He was gone now, along with so many of the others. When she stepped onto the allure, she cast her gaze west, where the province of Denal stretched out before her, and saw what had captured the attention of so many soldiers. The Uhyre had come in the night.
They covered the lands before the gatehouse, and she would guess their numbers to be in the thousands, but it wasn’t the main force. During her time in the wastelands, she saw the Uhyre armies, and this was only a fraction of their number. A single grain of sand on a vast beach, or so the old saying goes. Where were the rest of them, she wondered. If this was truly going to be the force which crossed into Callor to take the Azintar Province, it was only a vanguard, but it was still impressive. She might have been two walls away, and sixty feet up, but she was still worried.
Jax handed a note to the young boy who quickly ran off with it. When he turned back to the parapet, he noticed Kile. “Well Commander. Come to see our guests?” he said.
“I thought there’d be more,” she commented.
“There’s enough.” He replied, leaning on the parapet wall. “These are probably the ones who were garrisoned in Coopervill.”
“They don’t appear to be very aggressive,” Tullner added.
“Not yet.” Jax replied. “We have about three days at best, before they decided to come in, whether we invite them or not.”
“How do you figure?” Kile asked.
“We just received a message from Vadokk. He has requested we hand over his prisoners, and open the mainway for his armies to pass into Callor.”
“And you refused… I hope,” she replied.
“Not quite. I don’t want to start a war, not just yet. I have just sent a message, informing our dear valrik, we can only open the gate and hand over the prisoners on the orders of Lord Rimes of Callor. Since we have not received any orders yet, the gates must remain closed.”
“And that will take three days?” she asked.
“No. As I said, these are the forces that were garrisoned in Coopervill. We have reason to believe, since the valrik now hold Denal, more of the Uhyre forces will be coming over the border preparing to march into Azintar. Vadokk will not try anything, until he is at his full strength.”
“Surely they could just go around us,” Tullner added.
“They could try,” Jax replied. “But, if they head south, they will have to go as far as Fennel to pass the southern point. And if they did that, it would put them on serious ground, well within the midst of the King’s Command. If they try to go north…”
“Marcin’s Pass,” Kile added.
“You know of this place,” Jax grinned.
“That’s the way I first came to Denal,” She replied.
Marcin’s Pass was a natural bridge which spanned a river some distance below it. The bridge was strong enough to support the armies to pass, but it was too narrow. The Uhyre could only walk two abreast.
“So, that’s why the outpost is here, to protect the western border of Callor, but from what?” Kile asked. It was common knowledge, the Denal province was never known for its military might.
“Moran was placed long before Denal was settled,” Jax explained. “This outpost was established during the Mudd Wars. At one time, this was all wild land, still is, if you ask me.”
“So what do we do know, sir?” Tullner asked. “Do we just… wait?”
“Nothing we can do. Not unless you wish to go down there and tell them they’re not welcome,” Jax laughed.
Tullner looked a little green as he stared down at the sea of valrik. He was a simple farm boy. Sieges and battles were not his thing. Captain Jax, on the other hand, was a seasoned veteran who had seen more than his share of conflicts.
“Don’t think too much about it, son,” Jax said, placing his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “It won’t be long before they get a message to Callor, one way or another, and then the time we have now won’t seem very long at all.”
“Then we should probably start preparing, while we still have time,” Kile said.
“What did you have in mind?” Jax asked.
“For starters, we should move as much of the food and supplies to the kastelya while we have the time, as well as all civilians. We’ll have a better chance of protecting them there. While we still have the rain, we should fill as many barrels with water as we can, and have them placed in easily accessible areas, especially around the warehouses and stables. The men should be in full gear at all times and we should double the guard on the walls at night. I wouldn’t put it past the valrik to try a bit of sabotage, if they could pull it off. But first, I’m going to find something to eat.”
“It seems you’re an old hand at this,” Jax laughed “I’ll have it seen to… Commander.” He said, giving her a mock salute, before heading down the allure and barking out orders to his men. His calm demeanor worried her. There were only two types of people, whom she could think of, who would be so calm in a situation such as this. Those who have already accepted death, and, of course, the insane. Which of these was Captain Jax, she wondered.
She headed back down the stairs with Tullner close behind. It was hard to believe that a dreadfully boring book, she read over the summer at the Academy entitled siege tactics, would actually come in handy. She could only image what Master Adams would say. That is, if she ever gets a chance to tell him.
Tullner was abnormally quiet when they descended the stairs to the main bailey. Seeing the enemy so close, affected the young soldier. As far as Kile knew, he never saw any real action, aside from a quick battle with a few gulrik and the ambush at the crags. Neither one of which he fared very well. Now he was perched on the edge of a battle which did look too promising.
“The mess hall is on the far side, near the east gatehouse.” He said, breaking his silence.
“Then I’ll treat you to a cup of tea, to settle your nerves,” she replied.
“I could do with something stronger.”
“We’ll see what they have.”
The mainway passed undern
eath the kastelya, through a long dark tunnel, although it wasn’t that long and it wasn’t that dark. Lamp posts, lining the road on either side, provided a light in the gloom of a damp afternoon. The rain didn’t fall on the streets here, but it did run down the sides into the storm drains creating two fast moving streams. The sides of the tunnel were marked with closed doors and bordered windows, signs of storefronts long abandoned, most likely due to the war.
When they reached the far end of the tunnel, and stepped back out into the rain, they were met by a hub of activity. Doors were open, lights were lit, and laugher was spilling out into the rain soaked streets. It was as if she had stepped into another world, one the war hadn’t touched yet. Did they know what was just beyond the western gate, she wondered.
“Perha Squad is held up here, waiting for orders,” Tullner said, heading toward a large, two-story, wooden building.
Sure enough, she could see the men of Perha Squad sitting around two of the large tables. They appeared to have recovered from their ordeal of the last few days, as they were laughing, drinking and eating. They were also not the only ones having a good time. There were soldiers of Moran, as well as quite a few civilians, enjoying themselves.
When Kile entered, Sandson jumped to his feet and stood at attention. The rest of the squad quickly followed suit. At first, she thought someone entered behind her, and she even turned around to look, but there was no one there. They were standing at attention for her, which had the effect of making her feel very uncomfortable.
“What’s going on here, Tullner?” she asked.
“They’re waiting for your command, ma’am,” he replied.
Command? What command? She didn’t know any commands.
“At ease,” she finally said, hoping it sounded more forceful than it did in her head. It was the only command she could remember from her time at the Academy, and she was grateful to see it actually worked. The men seemed a little more relaxed, although they were still standing.
“Make them sit down,” she whispered to Tullner. She was not amused to see the young soldier grin.
“Stand down,” Tullner commanded in a voice which had a bit more authority. The men returned to their seats, although, they were still waiting for her to say something.
“So, what’s the word Commander?” Sandson asked, turning toward her. “Are we prisoners, or what?”
“Is it true, Callor has turned against the crown?” Tinny asked.
“I heard we’re to be handed over to the valrik.” Nasom remarked.
The question did raise a few concerns, and the men started to talk all at once.
“Now, please, calm down.” Kile said, standing at the head of the table. “Nobody is being handed over to the valrik.”
“That’s not what I heard,” Duffy said, leaning back in his chair. “I heard the head valrik, something by the name of Vadokk, has demanded we be handed over to them without delay.”
He folded his arms across his chest and looked at her with a smug expression, one that he often presented to her, one which she never liked. He was Sergeant Wargner’s right hand man, and it was obvious, he believed the mantle of command should have come to him.
“If that was true,” she said calmly. “Wouldn’t we already be on the way out the gate?”
“So what is the deal? What’s going to happen to us now?” Sandson asked.
“As of last night, we... sort of… took control of the outpost,” Kile said quickly. Even after hearing it spoken out loud, it still didn’t sound right.
“We did what?” Tinny asked.
“How did we do that?” Lesh asked.
“It’s not official,” Kile replied, holding both hands up to silence the squad. “It’s a little complex, but for now, Captain Bartholomew Jax is still in command of the outpost, and we will help him in any way we can.”
“He is a trader to the crown, and I will not give aid to the enemy.” Duffy shouted, jumping to his feet. This had the effect of silencing the entire room, and now the civilians were taking a keen interest in the squad’s conversation, as well as a few of the outpost soldiers.
It was probably not a good idea to accuse their commanding officer of treason.
“It would depend on who you think he’s betraying,” Kile replied. “Captain Jax and most of the men under his command, have families in Callor. They cannot openly oppose Lord Rimes, but, if we seize command of the outpost, then technically, by opposing Vadokk and the valrik, he cannot be branded a traitor by either side.”
“This is ridiculous. This isn’t the way things are done,” Duffy continued to shout. He was waving his hands for a more dramatic effect. It was almost like watching some pantomime. “If we are truly in command of this outpost, then we must imprison the Callor forces.”
“Then what, the remaining thirteen of us defend the outpost against the valrik?” Tullner asked. “We need Captain Jax and his men if we want to survive this.”
“You are more than free to leave if you want, Corporal Duffy,” Kile added. “But, there are only two ways out of this outpost. If you go east, you’ll be entering Callor, where you will probably be imprisoned before nightfall. If you head west, you’ll probably be dead before you take your third step, since there is at least two thousand valrik sitting on our front door step.”
“Seriously?” Nasom asked.
Maybe she should have broken that to them a little easier.
“I’m afraid so,” she replied. “Tullner and I have just returned from the high wall. Captain Jax estimates, we have about three days before the valrik will try to take the outpost. They may, or may not, be assisted by Callor forces. If that happens, I don’t have to tell you what our odds of coming out of this alive are.”
“So what do we do?” Tinny asked.
“Today, we prepare with what little time we have, we’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes. For now, you might as well enjoy yourself a little longer until I can find out how we can best fit in.”
Kile left the men to talk among themselves and took a seat at a deserted table in the far corner of the room. She ordered a warm cup of tea, which was brought to her by an eager young waitress. Everything was moving so fast and she feared it would speed up before it slowed down. She was well out of her element here, and felt as if she had no control over anything, including herself. The feral episodes were becoming more and more frequent, and she was beginning to wonder if she was losing her sanity. She had planned to contact Morgan, but no messages were going in or coming out of the Tower. Mystics don’t get involved in wars, and it would appear they have isolated themselves from everything, at the moment.
Where was that simple farm girl, she wondered? How did she come so far and why did she make the journey? This was as far away from the Veller farm as she could have imagined. The only thing she could do now was to survive, although that was easier said than done. The code book she received when she graduated never even came close to covering this.
Fall back on the basics. That was what she needed to do, but what were the basics? For a Hunter, that was easy, information. She needed to gather as much information as she could about everything, and everyone.
She took a sip of her tea, which was actually quite soothing, something of a local herb found only in the mountainous regions of Callor. She made a mental note to ask the cook if he had some dried leaves available.
“You know, I wouldn’t have believed it, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. But this has to be your worst outfit yet.”
Kile slowly looked up from her cup of tea at a slender young woman with long blond hair. She was dressed in a filly, blue blouse and slacks. In her hand was a bowl of salad.
“Alisa?”
“Even traveling with a dozen hansom young men, you still have spinster written all over you,” the young girl laughed, taking a seat at Kile’s table.
Alisa set the bowl down and pulled out a single leaf of lettuce. She handed it to Vesper who eagerly accepted it. The yarrow made short work
of the leaf, then helped himself to another when the girl pushed the bowl toward him.
“I see Vesper hasn’t lost his appetite,” she laughed.
Alisa Reaba, owner and operator of the Apple Blossom Livery in Coopervill, and the first person Kile met when she arrived in the mining town. That was so long ago now, almost another age. She hadn’t dared think about Alisa, probably because, in the back of her mind, she had already written her off as being deceased.
“What are you doing here?” Kile asked.
“At the moment, just helping out where I can, but what happen to you, where have you been and did I hear right. Are you commanding a squad of able bodied young men?”
“Please, don’t even go there,” Kile laughed. “But seriously, it’s great to see you. I thought you were…”
“What? Dead?” Alisa replied, and even though she was still smiling a heavy darkness covered her eyes.
“What happened in Coopervill?” Kile asked.
“I don’t really know,” Alisa replied, staring down at the table. “It happened so fast. The last thing I can remember was Carl, waking me up in the dead of night, which I thought was strange since he seldom came into the farmhouse, let alone in my room. He told me I had to go, that the town was under attack. At first I didn’t believe him, but Carl wasn’t one for making jokes. I remember grabbing some clothes as he led me down the stairs into the courtyard. He had a horse saddled, waiting for me. The sky in the west was this bright orange color, and I remember thinking, it was the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen, but it wasn’t the sun setting. The town was burning.”
“How many made it out?” Kile asked.
“Not many,” Alisa replied, taking a deep breath. “As I said, it happened so fast, there was no warning or anything. Only those of us on the eastern side of town had any chance of getting away. They never perused us. It was almost like they just wanted the town. Steele met us on the road. I think he was returning from one of his assignments. He went back to check on the town, to get as many out as he could, but I think by then it was too late. He was the one who led us here, to this outpost. He said we would be safe. We’ve been here for a couple of months now. Obviously we can’t go back to Denal and Callor doesn’t want us, so, here we wait. Have you… seen him lately?”