The Hungering Saga Complete

by Heath Pfaff

  If Lheec had used such a method of message conveyance, it meant that he had anticipated not only my retreat from the capital, but also the direction of my retreat. That did not bode well. What else might Lheec have set up in my path if he knew what I intended to do? I couldn't know, for my mind was not as devious as the old politicians.

  "I have never spoken with Lheec, but I assure you that when I left for this inspection, I was still the ruler of these lands, and indeed, until Lord Lheec is willing to face me and offer challenge, I am still your king. Open up these gates, and allow me entrance." I called up the wall, keeping my voice loud, but firm and controlled. I wanted to meet the confrontation with as little violence as possible. It was obvious to me that Lheec and the men of Risthis had conspired openly around me. There was no other reason they would have one of Lheec's bird, and no other reason they would so quickly take a random message as fact, without checking the details of such a message for themselves.

  A new man stepped to the front of the gate. He was dressed in finery, and wore a distasteful smile on his face that let me know immediately that he was of the noble aristocracy. There was no way of ignoring their particular variety of smugness. Politicians and aristocrats, both were equally as vapid.

  "These gates will not open to the enemies of the kingdom, Noble, and I have it on the King Lheec's good authority that your band of mercenaries are guilty of treason. I have been ordered to defend this city from your ravages, and I have 10,000 men with which I plan to do just that." The smug noble said. A wave of cheers swept across the wall, followed by the sound of shield banging against sword. My army was deathly quiet. They did not fear, and they were not worried. They were black cloaks, and I was their king. They simply awaited my orders.

  "I want my ships. Let me pass and give me my ships and this doesn't need to come to bloodshed." I demanded in a cool tone. My anger was building, but I was trying to stay my own hand. They numbered 10,000, and were fighting from a fortified position. If it came to a fight, many would die, and I couldn't be certain that I would win. Unfortified, my men would destroy the 10,000 humans, but walls could make all the difference in the world.

  "We're not afraid of shedding your blood, traitor." The noble called down, and another round of cheering came from atop the wall.

  "Where is Telistera, I wish to speak with her." I called, remembering that she should still be within the walls. If I could speak with her, I hoped to at least find out the condition of my ships. She might also be able to give me some indication of the situation within Risthis.

  "The witch has been imprisoned." The pompous man smiled down at me, bolstered by his seemingly superior position. "I've been instructed to offer you the same hospitality. Come rest in my prison, and King Lheec has promised that he will allow all of your men to return to their former places of honor in his service. He holds no grudges against them." The nobleman turned his eyes on the others in my party.

  "King Lheec knows how hard it is to avoid the trappings of a charismatic leader, even when he is evil, and he extends his warm welcome to any who wish to defect and come back to the side of justice. All you need to do is turn over the rebel, Noble. We'll imprison him and you can return to Kreo as heroes." His voice was sickly sweet, and heavy with temptation.

  I looked to the men around me, at the Knights of Ethan, all of whom now stood just behind me. None of them moved. I met the eyes of each of them, and each held my gaze firmly. I could see the anger behind the eyes of my fellows, a reflection of my own rage. They were not going to betray me. The Black Patch Brigade I knew could not betray me, even if they wanted to. My men would stand firm, but I had to decide what we would do. I looked to the sky.

  It was four or five hours until nightfall. In darkness, we would have all the advantage. The black cloaks were enhanced magically to see well in the dark, and the Knights had excellent night vision. We would be difficult to see, and far more lethal under the cloak of darkness. I closed my eyes for a moment and gathered my thoughts. When I opened them again, my conviction was set in stone.

  "You have six hours to open the gate, make my ships ready for sailing, and to release Telistera. If you have not done all of those things at the end of those six hours, then under the true king's authority, I will declare you enemies of the country, and my men will destroy you mercilessly. So speaks King Noble, Drake Slayer." I called out to the castle walls. I snapped around, letting my cloak twist with me. As one my entire army followed suit and we marched back the way we'd come, until we'd fallen under the cover of the trees again. No word of reply came from Risthis, and no more cheers sounded from the walls. If they had hoped for me to bow to their pressures, they had just been surprised.

  I had a plan, and it was probably not what the army of Risthis expected. We were 1000 strong, and if we could clear the gates, we would be unstoppable. I did not want to spill more blood, but I would pursue my course through any obstacle. I had come too far to be turned back.

  "We should send someone over the wall to let us in." I heard Ethaniel's voice, and turned to see that he was just behind me.

  I nodded. "That's exactly what we're going to do. Two Knights should be able to go over the wall, dispatch the guards at the gate, and open the doors for the rest of the army. Once we're inside, I don't think Risthis will be as eager to resist."

  The other Knights were gathering around, all looking ready for whatever might come next. Even Malice was grim faced and silent, looking every bit her old self in the shifting cloak and padded leather armor the Knights of Ethan generally wore.

  "We can't afford the men or the time it would take to siege the entire city. We don't have enough men to cover the perimeter by any means." I added. "They've underestimated our abilities, and that's a mistake that no one should make with the Knights of Ethan." I steeled myself for what I had to do next.

  "I need two volunteers who believe they can sneak over the wall, and get that gate open. It will not be an easy task." I left it unspoken that I would have done it myself, if I'd been able to. With only one arm the climb would be difficult, and more so if I was trying to make the climb without being heard or seen. If I tried to force myself into the situation, I would only be a detriment to the success of the mission. I knew it, and though it pained me, I would not risk doing the task myself merely to appease my own pride, when doing so might put all the others at risk.

  For the briefest moment I wished that I had taken the replacement Fell Beast limb Ethaniel had offered me on many occasions. That moment passed quickly. I had enough demons within me without inviting another. While a second arm would make me more capable, the nightmare of what it brought with it -- the constant mental struggle between myself and the creature to which I was joined -- terrified me. I could wish that I was more like the others, without the dark voices and terrible power that flowed through me, but that wouldn't be true either. For all that I hated the darkness, I needed it to do what must be done. I was not a brilliant swordsman. I survived on the sheer magnitude of my strength and speed. That was a bitter brew to swallow, but it did not make it any less true.

  As one, the Knights around me stepped forward and drew their swords. They had all volunteered, even Malice. I took a deep breath. It would be up to me to decide who went, and who stayed. If one of them died, it would be because I had ordered them into a fatal situation. I had cast aside my crown, yet still I was the one leading. It was not what I wanted, but I didn't see it changing any time soon. I could vocally denounce my leadership, but that would not change the fact the others had grown accustomed to looking to me for direction. Such a denunciation would only serve to make the others hesitant to follow my directions in the future. The worse thing a leader could do was show uncertainty.

  "Ethaniel, Snow, you two will go." I made the decision quickly. They were my most capable and battle trained fighters. If any two could manage the task at hand, it would be them. I could ill afford to lose either of them, but at the same time I could trust such a dangerous task to no others.<
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  All swords were returned to scabbards. If there were any hard feelings about my choice, the Knights did not show them openly. It was as though they were a different set of people from the ones I'd initially set out with. They had once looked broken and dishonored, but they wore their pride again. Perhaps the event a few days before had been for the better. Whatever else, I had reestablished their faith in me as a leader, and if I was to be forced into that roll, it was better to have that faith, than not.

  "What will we do once the army is inside?" It was Fen who spoke up. He looked steadfast, but I could see the fear behind his eyes. He had not seen combat in a long time, and had probably never had to fight other men, only the Hungering.

  "We will demand a surrender, and then we will recover Telistera, get to our ships, and leave this place behind." I answered quickly and confidently.

  "Who will sail the ships for us? I certainly have no experience with sea vessels." It was Silver who spoke this time. Her question was a good one. I had thought to hire on a captain, and a crew large enough to manage each ship until my own men could be trained to handle the tasks of running the ships. I wasn't sure how difficult it would be to train the black cloaks. They were stubborn, and would have to be dealt with individually.

  "We will hire a small crew for each ship. They will teach our men how to handle the ships as well. That should be sufficient to get us going." I didn't bother to address the hidden question of whether or not we would be able to hire a crew on such short notice, under the current situation, and if we could, how reliable that crew might be. I'd brought enough gold to give many men a long and wealthy life. Each black cloak carried a sack of gold, and the total sum should have been enough to hire a twenty man crew for each ship, with enough money for each to retire with their families, and never have to work again. Whether I would have the opportunity to make use of that wealth or not, was another matter entirely.

  "What if they don't surrender?" Fen asked another question. Silence fell upon us. With the exception of Fen, we all knew the answer to that, and none of us wished to give it voice. Though it was likely Fen knew the answer as well and simply didn't wish to believe it. I could not disillusion him.

  Night fell too quickly. There was a general sense of tension amidst the Knights of Ethan as we waited for the time to strike. Waiting to fight could be more difficult than the actual combat that might follow. Once metal met metal on the field of battle, everything became a blur of motion and action. Then, there wasn't time to worry. Sitting in the tree line, watching the still city of Risthis, I almost wished we were able to fight them sword to sword. Almost. That wish was quelled by my lack of desire to kill more people that were only fighting for what they believed was right. There was no real victory in such a slaughter. I hoped that a minimum of blood would need to be shed.

  As soon as full dark fell upon us, I ordered Snow and Ethaniel to depart. They were to scale the wall, dispatch any guards that stood between them and the gates, and open our way forward, at which time we would charge into the city before the forces of Risthis could reorganize and rally around the breech. It was a simple plan, but one that should be effective, assuming that Risthis really didn't anticipate that we were capable of scaling their walls with ease. Obviously no one had informed the guards of my own scaling of the walls at the border fortress many years before. Walls sometimes gave a false sense of protection.

  I watched the two cloaked figures slip across the open expanse between the tree line and the city, all but invisible if not for my eyes ability to track their motion, a streak of light moving through the black. Even though I was taking no part in that raid, and perhaps more so because of it, I felt a sense of worry that I could not shake. What if one of them died? What would I do without Ethaniel or Snow? Snow had betrayed me, but she was still valuable to my army as long as she was fighting for me. My trust in her might be daunted, but that didn't meant I wished to lose her.

  Ethaniel, for all that he was frightening and unpredictable, was also an asset. He always had an answer, and his second set of eyes, when they worked, could provide valuable insight. Of course, it seemed to me that it had been a long time since we'd last relied upon them for anything. I'd been told, "I can't see that." so many times, that I had not even asked the old Knight to look in a long while. It was more reliable to depend upon traditional scouts. Still, his experience, and ability to fight through any situation, made him a valuable addition to those who still followed me.

  "I'm nervous." It was Malice, she spoke quietly behind me.

  "We all are. It's always like this before a battle. Things will go smoothly. Just stay close to me, and don't fight unless you have to." I told her, trying to sound as confident as possible. I still held a notion of protecting her from the horrors of battle for as long as possible. I wondered how much longer that would be. Would I be able to measure the time in years, or would I have to measure it minutes?

  "What if some of us die?" Laouna's question startled me. Her voice was little more than a whisper.

  "If some of us die, the rest of us will have to go on, and try to remember those who have fallen. That's all we can do." I could hear the bitterness in my own voice. There were too many people to remember, and no one could ever keep them all in their mind. I didn't like to think about it. Uin Delmor's face came abruptly to the forefront of my memory. I remembered him because I had an uncanny recollection, and because I had formed a personal bond with him on the battlefield to which I'd lost my arm, but how many others had died that no one would recall?

  Silence fell upon us for a while, though I couldn't say how long. Time seemed to stretch out indefinitely, until every second seemed a day, and I wondered if the moment would ever come for us to move.

  "They're taking their sweet time." Fen said, his voice a little higher than normal. I could hear the agitation and nervousness in his wavering words. I looked at him. He had one of his hands wrapped around his sword hilt, and his eyes were fixed on the gates. From our position, we could clearly see the walls, though from the walls we would be invisible, hidden away in the tree line.

  "It's still too soon, relax." I replied. I too was eager for things to get moving, even more so to see the gate begin to open, a sign that at least one of the people sent over the wall was still alive, but I didn't want to let my agitation spread. Everyone needed to be calm and prepared. For the Black Patch Brigade, that wasn't a problem. For the Knights, the waiting was far more difficult. Tower, Fen, Silver, Malice and I, all had to maintain our calm while we waited for the gates to go up. Failure was a possibility, though I hoped it was an unlikely one. Reduced by two of our best, the situation before us would be hopeless.

  "They're opening." Silver whispered urgently. All eyes snapped forward. Indeed, the portcullis was rising, and the gates were swinging open.

  "Forward!" I called the order, and as one my men moved to obey. We charged down the hill towards the city, as silently as possible while making a good pace. In the darkness we would be nearly invisible from the city walls, poor targets for archers, though I doubted that would stop them from taking a few shots into our numbers.

  I saw the arrows fly, streaks of light passing through the sky, but they were all poorly aimed. If any of my men was to fall, it would be by sheer bad luck. Ahead of me, through the gates looming up before my men, I could hear the sound of metal striking metal. Ethaniel and Snow had engaged the enemy already. Once the gate started to come up, there would have been no way for them to maintain stealth any longer. I charged ahead, running as fast as I could without forcing my body into that state of unreal super speed which would send me too far out in front of my men. In moments I was passing through the arched gate, and the black cloaks and other Knights were only steps behind me.

  Ethaniel and Snow, I could see, were fighting off a growing horde of human soldiers, slowly losing ground to sheer numbers. They blurred from target to target, leaving death in their wake, but there were too many of the enemy. My men came up behind them like
an impenetrable wall, forming a line, and joining their blades to the surging wave of defense. Suddenly the men of Risthis were pressed, collapsing back. The gate was lost, and my army was inside. I surged to a high point, looking for a place from which I could be heard. I stepped onto an interior outcropping of the wall, clawing my way through the mass of black cloaks eager to rip into the enemy army. I climbed until I could see over the heads of all the men and women waging war on one another. It was as terrible a site as war ever is.

  "Your wall is breeched!" I cried into the darkness, though it was quickly becoming brighter as torches were brought, to aid the human fighters. "Stand down and no more men need fall this day." I called out. "My men, strike at no man that does not strike at you first." I commanded my own army. Slowly the fighting abated, until the two forces stood toe to toe, eyeing each other, and waiting for orders on what should be done next. Risthis, it seemed, was not eager to fight any longer.

  "Bring your leader here. Let us talk. The sooner this business is passed, the better for both of us." I called out. There was a stirring amidst the enemy army, and I saw a man dispatched, presumably to get the nobleman I'd spoken to before. We waited in silence, the men of Risthis slowly backing away from the dangerous-eyed black cloaks they faced. Every minute of delay was another minute in my favor. The mere presence of the black cloaks was enough to incite fear, and fear made my army stronger, and theirs weaker. When combined with being inside their walls, we were no longer at a disadvantage. We had fewer men, but ours were better trained, more powerful, and far more dangerous.