Eastern Expansion

by Randi Darren

  The Duke bowed his head to Vince in acknowledgment of the unspoken command.

  Take care of it.

  Turning on his heel, Vince left the room.

  Behind him, no few number of people began to sob brokenly.

  Let’s hope this is the last example I’m forced to make.

  Chapter 31

  The report that contained confirmation of the Tri-lliance army came the next day.

  It listed out what they already knew. It was roughly three thousand strong, it was a mixed army with light infantry, heavy infantry, cavalry, archers, and magicians.

  Vince and his people could only watch as that army spread out around Vegas and began encircling the walls. Siege tactics would work, but they had to be worried that reinforcements of a relief force would come from the north. Or so Vince would be if he was the enemy commander.

  In his mind, the Tri-lliance would end up being forced to charge the walls. That they would come to the conclusion that their time was limited. They probably didn’t have the resources for a full siege. The land around Vegas wasn’t a bustling bread basket either. Foraging and plundering the surrounding areas would only do so much and go so far.

  That really only left a window of about a week. A week to train up citizens into a militia to add to the defenders if the walls fell. A week to plan drills and exercises and movement orders.

  A week of charging every Elf who came with him from his grove. Then every Elf who was willing to sign up to the military of Yosemite as a mage.

  Heint worked to foster a relationship with Yosemite immediately. Stoking and firing up the people of Vegas to throw off those who did nothing for them.

  Saying that Yosemite, in the long term, would provide them with much more. That Vince truly cared about a city founded and made for all peoples.

  Gerard, on the other hand, happily converted his new recruits to undead. Then promptly snuck himself and them out of the city.

  Vince could only imagine the man running around the Wastes looking for corpses to raise. This battle would provide him with quite a few available corpses.

  Three thousand of them possibly.

  Fes was the commander, and Vince deferred to her on all things regarding the defense of Vegas. He had no experience in this field. Only the battle for Yosemite came close.

  And that was more of a slog than a siege. Almost got my ass killed, too.

  And Daphne’s ass.

  Momentarily blinded by the thought of Daphne’s ass, Vince started to zone out.

  “It’ll be today,” Fes said, breaking Vince out of his thoughts.

  “Oh, uh. Really?” Vince asked, looking out across the field at the pitched army.

  “Yes. They’re prepping their gear. Everyone is moving into positions that they didn’t occupy. You can’t really hide when your army goes into motion. It’s just not possible,” Fes explained. Closing a fist she hit it gently atop the stone wall they stood on.

  “How can I help?” Vince asked. So far, she hadn’t given him a task or a chore to complete.

  “Stand atop the south gate, right here. Do your best to remain safe. If they breach anywhere, it’ll be there. You’ll be able to rally the troops more than anyone else. Your squad will be with you, of course,” Fes said. Nodding her head, she left him there.

  That’ll help. Then again, she really means my bodyguards, rather than squad.

  Drumming his fingers along the stone, there wasn’t much to do but wait.

  Vince watched as they moved about. It felt like it was in slow motion. After thirty minutes of watching though, he could see they were actually moving quickly. Having so many people getting together into formation, prepping their gear, and doing so orderly, was a feat in and of itself.

  This was no unruly mob they were kicking out. This was a trained army that had discipline, ranks, and order.

  “They move as an army should,” Ramona said from beside him.

  He hadn’t realized she’d joined him. Looking around he found everyone there from his inner circle. Even Mouth and Sam.

  “Yeah. Definitely not a rookie element,” Vince said in agreement. “Leila, can you have the mages get ready?”

  “Yes. Yes, of course,” came the reply from behind him.

  “Red doesn’t like this. Red thinks we should be out there, attacking their flank,” muttered the Cursed One.

  “Not our job this time. Gerard has that honor,” Vince reminded her. “Besides, using Undead makes it twice as horrible. It’ll take so much to drop them, only to have your own dead rise up. If he manages it well, it’ll end up growing faster than they drop.”

  “Ready,” Leila said, forcing her way in next to him. She looked at the top of the wall disdainfully.

  Smirking, Vince reached down and scooped up the Gnome. Sliding his forearm under her rear end, he held her tight to his side and angled her outward so she could see.

  “Ah! What are you— Stop, stop it. Put me down, put me down,” growled Leila, hitting him in the chest with her small fists.

  “Take a look,” Vince said pointing. Leila frowned at him angrily, but turned to look where he’d indicated. “That looks like where they’re putting their mages to me. They don’t seem to have that many.”

  “Not everyone has a rude perverted horse’s ass who can charge magic,” Leila spat out angrily.

  “Come on, is it that bad? It’s not like I’m running my hand up your robe or something. Anyways, if they’re focusing all their power there, that means they’re aiming at this gate, right?” Vince asked.

  Leila’s cheeks were flushed as she glared at him. “Probably. N-no guarantee.”

  “Nothing in life ever is. Alright,” Vince said. Falling silent, everyone watched as the army of the Tri-lliance actually entered the field in front of their camps.

  Then several individuals on horses rode out. Crossing perhaps half the distance to the walls, they stopped.

  “You will relinquish Vegas, and return it to its rightful owners. There will be no negotiations. You have one minute,” came a magically amplified voice.

  Turning, the trio left as quickly as they came.

  “Hmph. Can I fly over them and give them a response?” Ramona asked archly. Her left hand came up and she began playing with the tip of one of her horns.

  Nervous habit much?

  “No, best not. It would put you at risk,” Vince said, declining her request. “We’ll just wait for the attack. Do what we can.”

  Looking over to the left he found Mouth hovering nearby, nervously looking out at the army.

  “Mouth,” Vince said, spooking the Dryad. She looked at him and gave him a warm, shy smile. “Keep Sam with you for protection.

  “On top of that, I need you to play medic. Stay back and work to get people out of harm’s way when they’re injured. Stabilize, and move on. Got it?”

  “Yes, of course, grove husband,” Mouth said softly, nodding her head.

  Sam fluttered and gave him a cold look, but didn’t argue the job he’d assigned her

  Before Vince could look back to the field, the army of the Tri-lliance trumpeted a charge, and moved forward.

  Ladders were rushed to the front, and several siege towers began lumbering forward.

  “We never saw any pre-Waste weapons, did we?” Vince asked nervously.

  “No,” Leila said, her right hand resting on his shoulder as she watched the oncoming horde. “We didn’t.”

  Giving his head a shake, he set Leila down and then drew his saber. “Go ahead and give the order for the mages to start lobbing, Leila.”

  “Yes!” said the Gnome.

  Several seconds later, fireballs launched out all across the walls of Vegas. Arcing through the air, the sputtering balls of death glowed.

  The enemy was prepared though, and as suddenly as they appeared, they all winked out.

  Then the second round came, and the third, then the fourth.

  On the fifth fireball wave, they started to slip through the defense
s. It was few and far between, but the enemy started to take losses.

  The sixth wave passed through completely. An entire rank of the enemy line was decimated.

  Another wave of fireballs blasted through the enemy line.

  The soldiers’ response was admirable, and the officers’ intelligent. They sprinted forward. By the time the tenth wave of fireballs came down, they were clear of the zone the magicians were blindly firing into.

  “Kill it, have them prepare for single target shots,” Vince said. He’d hoped they’d get more out of the magic attacks than that.

  The enemy adapts well.

  Archers and gunmen along the walls began firing down into the soldiers as they worked to bring their ladders up.

  Arrows and magical crossfire started to arc up at the defenders on the wall. Soon it was too much and they were forced to back away from the edge or be killed.

  Even Vince had to move away as arrows buzzed by overhead.

  Now came the ugly blade work that everyone was expecting.

  Beside him, Ramona and Red waited. Leila had already retreated back with Mouth.

  A Dwarven head popped up over the wall in front of Vince. Gliding forward, he skewered the man in the throat with his saber and drew back.

  Gurgling, the Dwarf clutched at his ruined flesh and fell backwards, disappearing.

  Then a Lizardman came up and over the wall in a leap. Ramona took him to the ground, as Red dashed in to claw the face off an Elf who was next on the ladder.

  Ramona finished the Lizardman and threw the corpse back over the wall. The tail of the corpse smacked into the face of the helmeted warrior who appeared next on the ladder. Screaming, the female soldier fell off the wall.

  On each side of them though, the defenders weren’t so lucky. The wall had been cleared and his soldiers were being pushed back.

  “Damn, Red, Ramona, hold here,” Vince ordered. Speeding off to one side, he approached the closest siege ladder.

  Thrusting forward, his saber caught the unprotected neck of an unsuspected attacker. Screeching, the soldier dropped to the ground, both hands pressed to their throat.

  Moving on, Vince swiped out rapidly twice in succession, forcing another foe back to the wall.

  Smashing out with a wild kick, he connected with the soldier’s kneecap. With a crunch they fell to one side, screaming into their helmet. Wading in close Vince popped them twice in the face with the pommel of his sword.

  Paying no more attention to that one, he struggled to get closer to the ladder.

  A dagger flashed out from his side, an Elven woman he hadn’t noticed had gotten close. The blade skimmed off his leather covered side, but he felt the edge part his flesh regardless.

  Grabbing the wrist of the woman, he broke it, then jammed the dagger up under her chin. The bloody inch of steel was visible in her mouth as blood flowed down over her hand.

  Whipping his left elbow around he cracked her in the cheek and sent her tumbling into the interior of Vegas.

  With only a second to think about it, Vince dodged to the right as a sword struck him in the left shoulder. The tip lodged itself in what he thought was the bone, but the force had been blunted by his armor.

  I seriously need to get chainmail. Cow skin won’t help me in these melees.

  Punching with his right hand, he broke the blade in half. Taking another step forward he meant to attack the person with the broken weapon, but they were lost in the press of bodies in front of him.

  Before he had a chance to recover and launch another attack, the sound of a thunder crack, then the wall shuddering, rolled over him.

  Another booming crack, and then several more. A grinding rumble could be heard, and Vince saw far ahead of him an entire section of wall crumbling away. The defenders scrambled to get out of the avalanche of broken and shattered stone.

  Even before the rubble settled, the Tri-lliance army was pressing into the shattered remains.

  Vince watched as the bloodstained and battered defenders were cut down or sent retreating. There wasn’t a thing he could do other than watch from where he was.

  Making a decision, Vince took several steps to the side and then leapt down from the wall. Landing with a clatter he lost his momentum completely.

  He stumbled forward, grunting, and slowly got up. Three paces later and he was up to a sprint, heading straight towards the cleft in the wall.

  Fes had trusted him to hold the gate. While this wasn’t the gate, he figured it counted as the same thing.

  He just had to rally the troops and defend long enough for reinforcements to arrive. That’s all he had to do.

  Behind him, he heard Red and Ramona call out. They couldn’t leave though. He knew they’d both stay to defend the ladder.

  Then it didn’t matter anymore. Because he was at the gap.

  A number of soldiers in heavy armor, from head to toe, were creating a defensive line. They were clearly well equipped and prepared for this role.

  Large interlocking shields covered the soldiers. Their weapons were spears that slid out over the top of the shields.

  For all the world it looked as if there’d be little chance of breaking through and pushing them back out.

  Aligning himself with the wall, Vince began to close in on the enemy.

  The distance became nothing, and suddenly Vince was thrusting his sword out into the space above the shields.

  The tip of the saber clanged off something and halted. Drawing his blade back, Vince pressed in close to the fractured wall.

  A spear tip whistled past the point he’d just left, and Vince snatched the weapon out of the soldier’s hand. Flipping it around in his hand, he sheathed his saber and grabbed the spear with both hands.

  Deprived of their weapon, the soldier grabbed their shield with both hands and drew it higher up. Pulling it in closer to themselves.

  Clearly they’d lost their resolve after Vince’s strike and theft.

  And in their cowardice, they exposed their shield-mate. The person to the left lost an inch or two of cover. Aiming carefully for a moment Vince adjusted his body posture. Then he flashed forward, thrusting the spear out.

  It penetrated the soldier’s side, slipping into the gap of the unarmored armpit. Groaning, the wounded soldier fell backwards, then forwards as the person behind them gave them a shove.

  Wrenching the spear free, Vince pulled it back and then drove it forward again.

  This time he managed to wedge it into the lip of the helmet and hopefully into the person’s throat.

  Cringing away, the struck soldier snapped the spear tip off with his helmet. Then they fell to the ground and became more rubble to be walked upon.

  Showing their training, the ranks filled in, and two new soldiers replaced the dead.

  Darting in close to the one who hid behind their shield, Vince attacked again. He shoved the shield to one side and drove his hunting knife into their abdomen.

  The screech of metal failing, and the soldier doubling over, was the sound of Vince’s success. Yanking his blade free, Vince tried to press forward.

  Only to have a spear dart out and jab into his guts. Grabbing the shaft he took it with him as he was forced back.

  Flipping the spear over to bring the point to bear, he set to repeat the process.

  The enemy line began moving forward one step at a time. Forcing their way into Vegas.

  Growling, Vince stabbed futilely into any gap he could. Though clearly wounding some, no more were so clearly put out of action.

  As they left the press of the wall, more spears were able to be brought to bear to try and pin Vince down.

  Slowly, he was made to give way. Step by step, they took ground from the defenders of Vegas.

  Vince almost missed the distinctive “whump” of a spell, but he saw the purple ball of terror drop into the middle of the heavy infantry formation.

  There was no explosion, but the spell detonated all the same. Spreading lavender terror and death. Anyone
that filthy substance touched turned into a screaming, plum-colored torch.

  Breaking apart, the heavy infantry line charged forward. Following close behind them were normal foot soldiers with swords and shields.

  Fighting resumed hot and heavy all around the gap. Vince lost himself in the dance of the blade as he drew on his grove to help power himself.

  Feeding off his personal magic to allow him to keep on killing.

  After what felt like an hour, but was probably more like ten minutes, Vince realized he’d been surrounded. While he held his position, his comrades were slain or driven back.

  Whirling around, Vince tried to keep himself focused.

  He could see Leila off to one side, tossing in small deadly projectiles where she could. Vince was truly alone. An outcropping of rock in an ocean.

  Working his saber as quickly as he could, he strove to deflect or parry every sword blow or spear strike that came his way. For every three he blocked though, one slipped through.

  His armor slowly became the color of blood, and had multiple rents and holes.

  Panting, he began to slowly feel his life ebb away. Working to restore his flagging energy and fatigued muscles Vince drew on the grove continuously. He only barely managed to keep himself in the fight.

  A spear got close enough for Vince to yank it clear. Only to have a different spear catch him in the lower back.

  Howling in pain, Vince spun and threw the spear at the person who had just stuck him.

  Before he was able to see what damage he caused, he was forced to defend from an entirely different position.

  Then a sword tip burst out from Vince’s midsection. It angled up and outward, the tip bright red and shiny.

  Groaning Vince spun and cleaved off the hand holding the sword.

  Stumbling backward two steps, Vince fell to one knee. Glaring at the soldiers surrounding him, he reached back and pulled the sword out of his body.

  Instantly he felt light headed, and pushed on the grove to help him staunch the wound. Unfortunately it taxed him too much and he felt the exhaustion smash him.

  A soldier in front of him lashed out with a sword. Vince deflected it to one side clumsily, and stabbed the man in the groin.