As he was thinking about that, he noticed in the distance the arrival of an orc army. Finally, he thought, a bit late, but certainly a welcome sight. The orcs from the Ki'hara Mountains had never got along too well with the ones from the Aleppo Ranges, even less so than from orc tribe to orc tribe. But a couple of the smaller tribes had agreed to join the alliance for the chance of a greater glory. They were due to arrive late yesterday, but failed to do so. A runner had contacted them and they said they would arrive by mid-morning today. It was now nearing noon and they had just arrived. Obviously being punctual was not one of their strengths. Chief Fa'rasha could only hope that they fought well on the battlefield — or would they be slow to do that too?
* * *
General Krak'too noticed the orcs on the horizon. He ordered his army into the forest and out of view. He wanted a chance to survey the situation before he made his presence known. Once the little orcs were well out of sight, his army continued the march. He kept his eye out on the hilltops as they passed, at least the ones he could see through the trees, trying to spot Great Shaman O'tukka. He knew the shaman would be high up in the hills looking over the battle. A little further on he spotted something happening on one of the hilltops; a few magical glows could be seen and an amassing number of humans. He ordered his orcs into a charge. He wanted to capture these humans, but they were still a long way away, on top of a rocky hill.
* * *
Major Isak watched as Master Pilk went through his gate, disappearing soon after.
"There goes our escape route," said the major quietly to himself, but then he quickly shrugged himself out of that line of thought and set about his business. No point dwelling on the negatives. He joined the Arthean Army many years ago, knowing full well it would likely get him killed someday. But he lived for the thrill and the adventure of it. He had already lived longer than he imagined he would. He bordered on reckless in battle, but always managed to find a way out. His head was spinning trying to think of a way out of this mess, though. They had won round one, but had possibly lost over a hundred men doing so. They had killed about seven times that number of orcs, which was good, but that ratio wouldn't hold up. His men would eventually tire, while most of the orcs had not even joined the fight yet, and he knew that the orcs had around three thousand reinforcements coming in. He had lost one hundred but had gained about two hundred and seventy of his own reinforcements. On the positive side, he was one hundred and seventy men in front. If they could hold out long enough, the duke may send more help, and they may actually get out of this alive — at least some may, a good many wouldn't. He set off toward the inner wall to meet up with Major Sarkis. His arrival was very timely.
* * *
Master Pilk looked toward the next spot he wanted to send his gate and began casting. Once the gate was formed he started on the next one, while the other wizards strengthened his first; then the same for the third. Once all the gates were formed they repeated the order they used the first time. The wizards went through to make sure the other side was safe, followed by the women and children. The only difference this time is that the wounded men were helped through the gates by the women. When they were half way through, Master Pilk noticed the large orcs charging up the hill. It was a large hill and would take them some time to get here but would it take long enough?
"Go straight through the gate, don't count, go, go, go!" shouted Master Pilk. The orcs were approaching fast, but all of a sudden that was the least of Master Pilk's troubles. Master Pilk sensed the build-up of power nearby before he even noticed a large orc, although admittedly not as large as most of these new orcs, stepped out from behind a tree. So Master Pilk hurriedly cast a dome of protection over him and the women and children still hurrying through the gate. He was just in time as a huge fireball hit the dome and engulfed it. Even inside the dome of protection, Master Pilk could feel the heat. He had never seen or felt a fireball so powerful.
"Why do they always start out with a fireball?" muttered Master Pilk to himself. He knew his dome wouldn't have the strength to withstand another attack like that, so he enacted a spell he had only read about and never actually tested. He dissipated the shield, but in so doing he drained the remaining energy from it, plus the energy it absorbed from the fireball and directed it straight back at this powerful orc. A burst of white lightning bolts streamed from his hands toward his target. This forced the orc to put up a defensive field and bought Master Pilk and the remaining women enough time to jump through the gate. Master Pilk caught sight of the charging orcs reaching the top of the hill a split second before he jumped through. As soon as he was on the other side he closed the three gates and collapsed to the ground.
* * *
General Krak'too was the first to the hilltop, where moments before had stood a mass of humans. He had seen the last of them run through the gates, along with the spell battle. Upon seeing him, Great Shaman O'tukka approached.
"What was all that about?" asked General Krak'too.
"The humans are evacuating all the females and little ones. Six magic users are creating gates for their escape," replied Great Shaman O'tukka. "Look over there," he continued, pointing to a spot on the distant horizon. General Krak'too looked to where the shaman was pointing and noticed the humans they had just missed.
"Should we turn back and try to catch them?" asked General Krak'too.
"No point. They will be well and truly gone before we can get there. I could create a gate and go after them, but I think it best that I save my magical energies for more important targets. They are merely females, with the exception of the magic users, who combined, could no doubt overpower me." General Krak'too was surprised that the great shaman would admit to anyone being able to overpower him, he was always so sure of himself. But he decided it was better not to comment on that. The general looked in the opposite direction and noticed the army of 'little orcs' and the fort beyond. This was a perfect location to observe the battle.
"We set up camp here," ordered the general.
* * *
"Took you long enough to get here, Major Sarkis," commented Major Isak, as he approached him.
"Nice to see you again too, Major Isak," replied Major Sarkis. "I see you have a bit of a pest problem here."
"That's the understatement of the year. Think you can help us hold out until Master Pilk returns?" Major Isak put out his hand to greet his fellow major.
"I certainly didn't come here to admire the view, major. We'll do what we can."
"Come and rest for a bit and I'll tell you all that's transpired so far, and maybe you can think of some things I've missed for the next assault."
"You're not known for oversights, my friend. I'm sure you have taken care of everything plus more," said Major Sarkis, as the two men started walking towards the keep.
The two men retreated to a private room in the barracks section of the keep and had a bite to eat and some refreshments, which were delivered to them by a soldier. Major Isak told him what had happened so far and expressed concerns that now the traps had been revealed, and the orc reinforcements had come, the orcs would simply return with more ladders and will swamp the outer wall in no time at all. He told him about the effective use of dropping rocks onto the ladders, but feared the orcs would not let that happen again. Just in case, Major Isak had the captains working on gathering as many rocks as possible and lining them up along the top of the wall.
"Do you have any more burning oil in storage?" asked Major Sarkis.
"Yeah, we have barrels of it in the storage rooms, why?" asked Major Isak. But before Major Sarkis even responded, a look of understanding came over Major Isak's face. "We burn the ladders! Now why didn't I think of that?" he berated himself.
"You've had a lot on your mind, major, and by the sounds of it you have done quite well with your tactics anyway, but sometimes a fresh set of eyes can notice things those deeply involved do not."
"It's so obvious. They only have wood out there to make the ladders, so
even if they come up with a way to protect the ladders from rocks, they will still be vulnerable to fire. I'll have the captains see to that at once, and while I'm at it, I'll have them bring the abandoned ram inside the gate so that the orcs can't use it again." Major Isak hurried out of the room with renewed vigour.
* * *
Master Pilk sat up after five minutes and caught his breath. Mistress Cali was there helping him to sit up.
"What just happened?" she asked
"The big orcs have come. They were charging up the hill, trying to catch us before we went through the gates. An orc shaman must have already been on the hill with us, hiding behind a tree undoubtedly. I sensed the presence of magic and so brought forth a dome of protection as quickly as I could. The fireball that hit it was the most intense fireball I have ever seen or felt. This orc obviously had some power, I could tell just by looking at him. He had the blackest eyes I have ever seen, and I sensed magic in them. I had to buy us a bit more time, so I dissipated what was left of my dome and re used that energy along with the energy it consumed, a complicated spell I read about recently, and then I threw that energy back at him in the form of lightning bolts. The energy that flowed through me was immense. I have never felt that much power in me before. By the time I jumped through the gate and collapsed them all, I couldn't even stand up. But now ... now I feel stronger than ever. It's strange. It's like that spell and the magical energy it used increased my magical powers. I must explore that. We have some time; the next gate I create, I don't want you to empower it. I want to see how many it will allow through."
"Okay, if you insist. Can you stand now?" asked Mistress Cali.
"Most definitely," replied Master Pilk. So he stood up and picked out the next location to send a gate. He felt the magical energy flowing through him more intensely. He was excited by the possibilities of this. When the gate was formed, it was obviously more powerful than the ones he previously created. It could still be described as a pale blue, but substantially deeper blue than it had been. In fact, it was almost as deep a blue as the empowered gates they had been using. He didn't create another gate for he was curious to evaluate the strength of this one.
Sixty women and children went through his gate before it finally lost its power and collapsed. He couldn't comprehend why he all of a sudden had this extra power. He knew he had been studying a lot lately and reading books no wizard had read for over a hundred years, and he would often push his powers to their limits and exhaust them before he went to sleep each night. But his gate spell appeared to be ten times stronger than it was a week ago. Although, his demonstration to the duke indicated that it had grown even at that stage. But this latest event just baffled him. It was like he drank some of the power that flowed through him, and it enhanced not only the amount of mana he could store, but also a more intense and powerful magical energy. The next gate he created he got the other wizards to empower and that proved to be enough to get the rest of them through. At this rate, he would get them all back to Arthea in no time at all.
* * *
By the time Vik and Trent had woken up, Master Pilk was long gone. He had left a note on the dining table for them; had some business to take care of. I know I promised new beds today but that will have to wait. Help yourself to the food. Keep Mezz company. See you on my return. Master Pilk. The boys were a bit miserable anyway, and didn't much feel like company. Having the run of the house and playing with Mezz all day would suit them fine, and so that's exactly what they did.
Chapter 7
A Second Charge
It was late in the afternoon when Major Isak noticed the orcs gather-ing again. Another attack would come soon. They had thrown all the orc bodies over the outer wall, which would hopefully hamper the orcs a little bit as they set up their ladders. They had carried their own dead back to the centre of the compound and constructed a basic funeral pyre. Their names had been recorded, and a brief speech about their bravery was made from Major Isak with notable mentions to the thirty who had died outside the walls trying to come to their aid. The pyre was lit and a silence was heeded as all thought about the sacrifice these men had made. Then it was back to defending the walls.
The men looked a bit more nervous this time. It was obvious that more orcs were out there now than before and there were no more traps to hamper them. All knew that eventually, the orcs would be upon this wall. Not one normally for many words, Major Isak shouted as loudly as he could, "You can all see what I see. It is daunting and even looks hopeless. Their numbers have increased, but so have ours. And I would back the fighting spirit of any one of you against that of ten orcs. They came at us once and we fought them off. We can and will do it again.
"So they have more ladders," he started off again more quietly. "We have burning oil and flame arrows. We will roast these orcs. This fort is ours! We won't let them have it!" A loud cheer rose up around the walls and the men held their weapons high. Major Isak looked back at Major Sarkis who was on the inner wall and got a small nod and a smile from him. Major Sarkis had wanted to be on the outer wall, but Major Isak was adamant that, should he fall, leadership would still be needed, plus Major Isak was the commanding officer of this fort.
* * *
Chief Fa'rasha looked around at the progress his army had made. Ladders were piling up by the hundreds, and not just any ladders, but ladders with a sloping turtle back at the top, to deflect any rocks dropped on them. A hatch was in place so the orc at the top could fling it open and reach out for the wall. In addition to the ladders were bridges for the traps. Long, roughly cut wooden planks that they could throw over the pits and safely traverse them. Chief Fa'rasha planned on reaching the walls with an overwhelming number. A bigger, stronger ram had been quickly put together as well, and he intended on sending the ogres in to operate it for some extra strength, since the ogres wouldn't be needed to push and load the catapults. Chief Fa'rasha had decided the catapults were too ineffective. They could only launch relatively small missiles, which did very little damage to the wall and were too easy for the humans to dodge. It would take far too long to make bigger, stronger catapults. He was content that they had done all they possibly could to make the next assault more effective.
The ladders and bridges were distributed among the orc ranks, and the ram was front and centre, surrounded by the ogres. The sun was lowering toward the tops of the mountains to the west. Chief Fa'rasha estimated they had maybe a little over two hours left of sunlight, but he was confident the outer wall would be his in that time. Even if the sun were to go down, they could see better in the dark than the humans anyway. It may even give them the advantage in taking the inner wall. He was about to find out. No intimidation tactic this time. Chief Fa'rasha gave the signal for the battle horn, and the orcs began to charge.
* * *
Major Isak made the signal to ready the catapults and the bows. They were out of the explosive missiles for the catapults, so they would have to make do with rocks, which they had in abundance. The orcs were charging in again, and looked to be a lot more prepared. The ladders were built to protect the climber and the integrity of the ladder at the same time. Let's see if they can climb through flames, thought Major Isak. They reached the pits and began to throw out planks and run across. They were coming in numbers this time.
"Fire at will," ordered the major. The catapults launched their missiles and the archers let fly with arrows. Orcs fell to the ground wherever the projectiles landed, but more and more kept coming. A rock from one of the catapults hit one of the orc bridges and smashed it in half, sending all the orcs crossing it down onto the spikes, but more orcs came on.
Major Isak knew that lots of orcs were dying, but it seemed to have little impact on this horde. He noticed the new ram being pushed in fast by the ogres and once again ordered the centre archers to focus on taking down the ogres pushing it along. But the ram was well designed, with large wooden shields built to protect the ogres. A few ogres got hit and eventually went down, but more
were there instantly to replace them. Major Isak realised it was only a matter of time before that ram reached the gates, and at the speed they were approaching, that would be very soon, and they would hit with such force he doubted even the newly reinforced gate would hold up to it. But if they held the wall, all the orcs would manage by doing so is running into a slaughter zone. He actually had a bit of a surprise planned for the orcs when they did break through the front gates.
Ladders began to rise up against the fort wall, but Major Isak ordered his men on the oil barrels to hold. Orcs began to hastily climb the dozens of ladders, but still the major ordered the men to hold; more firmly this time. As the leading orcs were a couple of rungs from the tops of the ladders, the major finally ordered the oil to be poured and the flaming torches to be dropped on them straight after.
The major noticed an orc pop his head through the trap door on a ladder near him. The orc had a wicked grin, thinking he was about to jump on top of the wall so easily. That grin changed first to a confused expression as he was covered in oil, then to an expression of sheer agony as the ladder burst into flames moments after. The orc fell back through the trapdoor, taking most of the orcs below with him. The flames continued down the length of the ladder, forcing any orc that did manage to hold on to either scurry back down or chance jumping to the ground. Eventually the integrity of the ladder was compromised and it collapsed.
This scene was repeated all along the length of the wall. It killed few orcs in comparison to the approaching masses, but it did leave small fires down the bottom of the wall and forced the other orcs with ladders to hesitate in putting up theirs. Then there was a huge crash as the ram hit the gate for the first time. It hit with such force it shook the wall. Major Isak knew the impact had seriously weakened the gate, and then there was another bang and another as the ogres continued ramming the gates.
The Gate - A New Breed of Orc (The Gate Series Book 1) Page 14