by Jamie Davis
Otto and Rune had rallied a small group and were engaged with two of the wagons. Hal and Kay’s troops had managed to secure two others on their own, but that left five wagons full of imperial troops to deal with.
“Get Junica to pour some fire in on those remaining wagons, Kay. See if she can keep their heads down while I organize a counterattack. We don’t have much time.”
Kay ran off to find the archer and her command to pass along the order.
Hal took a single breath and focused his energy inward, accessing his healing chakra power as he moved between the wagons. He could feel some of his wounds knitting closed and he felt a little better.
18 health points healed.
It had not been enough to fully heal him but it would help in light of what he planned to do.
Hal called to a knot of recruits milling nearby. They were trying to tend to the wounds of their fallen comrades. Ordinarily Hal would have let them continue but he needed them to keep attacking or they’d all end up dead.
“You recruits, gather your weapons and follow me. Your friends will have to wait for medical care until this fight is done.”
They stopped what they were doing but didn’t immediately comply with his order.
“What are you waiting for? Those imperial guards aren’t going to kill themselves. Follow me!”
The spinning slots in his head continued rattling louder and louder as his luck pressed onward while he ran back to the rearmost wagons still occupied by imperial guards. Pounding boots behind him told Hal his recruits had decided to join him in the attack. He hoped they were enough to do the job and swing the battle his way.
By his hasty estimates, nearly half his force had been cut down by the sudden volley of crossbow bolts that stalled his initial attack. The fight was roughly an even one now, though his green recruits might break and run at any moment if he didn’t keep them from thinking about what they were doing.
Yelling at the top of his lungs, Hal charged forward waving his sword in front of him and holding his shield close to his still injured side. A few of those who followed him shouted their defiant war cries as well. The sound of them filled him with pride. Weeks before these men and women had been slaves. Now they were free and fighting against their oppressors.
The imperials at the rear of the column had climbed down from the wagons and formed a thin line to either side of the wagons. With all their crossbow ammunition used up, they faced forward with their short sword swords and small buckler shields waiting for the charging troops Hal led against them.
On the opposite side, Otto and Rune led their own counterattack. With even numbers, the odds were against the green recruits Hal and the others led.
Hal had to try something to move the needle in their favor. He made up his mind and the slots in his head chimed their approval.
As he neared the imperial line, Hal swerved to the side at the last instant and slammed his shield into the man just to his left, taking the guard by surprise.
The guard toppled into the man behind him and a hole opened in the imperial line.
It wasn’t much of a hole but it was enough for Hal’s following troops to exploit. They surged into the gap and pressed outward breaking open the line of imperial troops even more.
Hal somehow remained on his feet after his lunging shield bash and began hacking at the back of the imperial trooper on the ground beneath him. Four quick blows finished off both the trooper and the second man he’d knocked over.
1,000 experience points awarded.
1,000 experience points awarded.
A series of blows to his back, partially absorbed by his armor, knocked Hal to his knees.
Health damage: Health -10
Health damage: Health -6
Twisting and bringing up his shield, Hal caught the remainder of the attacks. An imperial soldier, armed with a spiked mace hammered down on him with vicious two-handed blows.
Hal leaned into the attacks and swiped out with his sword, catching the soldier behind his knees and sweeping the man from his feet. Hal continued the arc of his swing, bringing the sword around and down across the man’s head, caving in his helmet.
1,000 experience points awarded.
By this time the rest of Hal and Kay’s force had filled the breach in the imperial line and forced the soldiers backward giving Hal time to regain his feet. He was about to rejoin the fighting when the sound of trumpets to the south drew his attention.
Down the forest trail, Hal saw a fresh line of imperial troops advancing. There had to be at least two hundred that he could see and there were others behind them.
“Kay,” Hal shouted. “Go tell the others to break off and retreat. This trap is about to close on us if we don’t get away. We’ll rendezvous back at the site of our first night’s camp.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to rally the men and women we have here and try and hold this position long enough for you to get the others pulled back. Don’t worry, I plan on running away once you’ve got the others moving.”
“Don’t be a hero, Hal.”
“Not part of my plan. Now go!”
Kay hurried off calling to Otto and Rune on the opposite side of the caravan as she ran towards them. Hal turned his attention back to the job at hand.
“Hold this line,” he called out to the slave recruits nearby. “Keep at them and don’t let them break through.”
His men and women rallied to him and they continued to attack the ragged group of imperial caravan guards still left by the wagons.
Hal had to plan his withdraw perfectly. He wanted to buy enough time for Kay, Otto, Rune and Junica to all pull their remaining troops back to the cover of the forest and start making their escape. Once they were clear, he could try and disengage from the fighting around the wagons and follow them.
That was the plan.
A second set of trumpets sounded to the east told him the plan wasn’t going to pan out.
A squadron of imperial cavalry burst from the trees behind his line of troops and charged at their rear.
“Circle around me,” Hal called, jumping up into the back of a nearby wagon.
His remaining fifteen recruits pulled back and put their backs to the wagon, weapons and shields facing outward as the cavalry surged around them.
A few of his people fell under the cavalry sabers but then the horsemen pulled back and formed a ring around the trapped group of ex-slaves.
Hal was confused for a moment until he saw a black-armored figure on a midnight black horse push forward between the ring of mounted imperials. Baron Norak was here.
Sparing a final glance north and west, Hal caught a glimpse of Kay and Junica standing at the forest’s edge staring back at him. He shook his head once signaling “no,” then he turned back to face the approaching imperial general.
The armored figure stopped thirty feet away from the circle of Hal’s troops and raised his visor. For long seconds, the two stared each other down, sizing up the other.
Baron Norak finally broke the uneasy silence.
“Tell your troops to lay down their arms and I’ll spare you. I’ll only offer once.”
Hal looked around and tried to invoke his luck. Maybe there was something he could do. When he tried to get the slot machine in his head to start its spinning, nothing happened. It appeared his luck had run out for once.
He nodded. “Do as the general says. Lay down your arms.”
Quest failed — Break the imperial surprise attack.
A few of the recruits looked up at him over their shoulders before complying, trying to read his grim face. Hal could only continue nodding, encouraging them to surrender and perhaps live to fight another day.
Hal dropped his own sword to clatter to the wagon’s floor along with his shield. He heard the others dropping their weapons and shields as well.
“Take him into custody,” Norak ordered, pointing to Hal.
A group of four imperial troope
rs dismounted and pushed through the ring of horses and pulled him from the back of the wagon. Throwing Hal to the ground, they bound his hands and elbows behind him, pulling painfully at his shoulder joints as they tightened the ropes holding his elbows back. Lifting him back to his feet, the four imperials marched him over to where Norak sat on his horse.
“I should kill you where you stand, Hal Dix, but the Emperor has commanded me to take you alive. He is intrigued by who or what you might be.”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He flicked his hand and turned his horse around, heading back through the ring of surrounding cavalry.
“Bring him with me. Kill the others.”
“No,” Hal shouted, tugging at his captors. The last thing he remembered before the blow to the back of his head knocked him unconscious was the screams of his recruits as the cavalry charged at them with lance and saber. Then it all went black.
30
The buzz of voices filtered through the haze in Hal’s mind bringing him back to consciousness. His head throbbed and he was pretty sure he had a concussion. He was about to ask where he was when it all came crashing back to him in a rush of memory punctuated by the shrieks of his dying troops.
Hal found himself lyin on a hard surface. His bare back pressed against a smooth surface and his hands, bound together, were stretched out over his head causing his shoulders to ache at the tension. He could feel similar bindings around his bare ankles. He was stretched tight as a rubber band.
“How long will he remain unconscious. I want information from this man before I send him along to the Emperor as ordered.”
The first voice contained all the qualities of gravel grinding over broken glass. Hal could guess who it was.
“My Lord Norak, it is hard to say,” the second voice said. “You asked that I not cast a general healing spell on him so I did not. I tried to delve him and awaken only his mind but his other injuries may be taxing his body in a way that inhibits the focused healing of his mind.”
“Bah,” Norak shouted in exasperation. “What good is having tame mages around if you cannot offer assistance when needed.”
“As I said before, my lord, if you wish him to be awakened, a general healing spell will mend all his wounds and wake him quite rapidly.”
“I don’t want him healed. I want him in pain. The Emperor has forbidden me to kill him. He wants to meet this man in person. I was not ordered to spare him pain. I want to hear his screams.”
Hal felt rather than saw Norak approach. He didn’t know how, but he sensed the man’s presence hovering over him.
“Perhaps some additional pain will wake him up.”
Hal heard the rattle of metal on metal to his right and then felt radiant heat from something very hot pass from his face, along his neck and chest until it reached his abdomen.
“I think a white-hot iron might be just the thing to jolt Mr. Dix from his slumber.”
Hal decided enough was enough.
“I’m awake. I’m awake.”
Forcing his eyes open, Hal looked down to see a long metal rod suspended over his stomach by a black gauntleted hand. Following the arm up to its owner, his eyes met those of Baron Norak, sneering down at him.
“How long have you been listening to our conversation?”
“Long enough to know you don’t plan on healing me any more than you have to. I also know you need me alive. Your Emperor wishes to meet me it seems.”
“Do not be fooled by his Imperial Highness’ desire to see you in person. He also likes to have exotic and dangerous creatures brought to him from the far reaches of the Empire. He still eventually has them skinned and mounted on his wall of conquest to mark his power and authority.”
Norak turned and placed the iron rod back into the glowing brazier of coals that sat on a metal stand nearby. Hal took the opportunity to take in his surroundings. He was inside a large tent or pavilion lit by four oil lamps set on pedestals standing in the four corners of the rectangular pavilion. Hal was on a wooden table with several black metal rings set in each end. The ropes binding his arms and legs were secured to two of those rings.
Looking around the room, Hal saw three other people. The man in the blue robes must be the healing mage he heard talking to Norak earlier. The other two were likely officers in Norak’s army. They wore armor of decent quality and had crests embroidered on their tabards.
“We have not been formally introduced, Hal Dix. I am Baron Norak, right hand of the Emperor himself and tasked with finding the leader of the rebellion that overthrew the wardens in Tandon and bringing him to justice. Imagine my surprise when I discovered your name in my reports from Flemming Ginty. It seems the Wardens of Hyroth had captured you without even trying.”
Norak turned and smiled down at Hal.
“Is it true you walked right into his trap without any struggle at all?”
“It was all part of my clever plan,” Hal lied.
Norak threw back his head and laughed.
“You have all of the bravado I had come to expect from the man who called himself the Hood as he freed the slaves and killed the Emperor’s Wardens in Tandon. We’ll see if we can’t take some of that away from you. There is no escape for you now that I have you in my clutches.”
The baron started walking around the table past Hal’s head, circling to the other side.
“Do you know there are some who say you are the Opponent of myth and prophecy, Hal?”
“I’ve heard something to that effect. I’m not sure I believe it, though. I’m nothing special. I’m just a man who doesn’t like to see people in slaver’s chains or kept under the rule of tyrants like the Emperor and his pet wardens. Where I come from, the people rule themselves and no one is above the law.”
“And where is that, Hal? Where is this strange place you speak of where the people rule themselves? I find it hard to believe giving the peasants the option of ruling the land would yield anything but failure. Some people need to be ruled over, Hal. It’s the natural order of things.”
“It may not be the perfect system, but it works for us,” Hal explained. He needed to keep Norak talking and learn everything he could about the man’s plans for him. It might be important if he ever found a way to escape.
“You must tell me more of this place, Hal. It is unfamiliar to me and I know of all the lands of Fantasma. The Emperor has conquered most of them and has plans for the few remaining freeholds left in this world.”
Norak stopped his pacing and turned to face Hal.
“Unless your home is not in Fantasma at all. My pet mages have twice sensed great power in use, greater than they ever sensed before. Both times preceded the events you set in motion.”
The black-clad baron shook his head.
“I don’t believe in coincidences, Hal. I believe things happen for a reason and that there are connections between all events, no matter how small. The mages surmised a portal between worlds was opened somehow.”
Norak turned and looked down at Hal.
“Perhaps one leading to a world where a hero might be found.”
Norak leaned over Hal until he was staring directly down into Hal’s eyes.
“Which of the free mages brought you here, Hal? One of them is meddling in things they should have left alone.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Norak stood up and began pacing around his prisoner. Hal tried to follow him with his eyes as the baron thought aloud.
“Was it Theran, or the elf mistress, Bronwynn? No, I think not. Theran is too self-centered and Bronwynn’s earth magic, while strong, is too tied to this world to break out of it.”
Norak stared at Hal, holding his gaze while he continued his line of thought.
“Ragnar, for all his power in the north, doesn’t possess the imagination for something like this. So that leaves that bitch, Tildi.”
Hal tried not to let any change show in his eyes but he must have failed. Norak slammed his closed fist down on
the table.
“I knew it. This has her meddlesome fingerprints all over it. I didn’t think she had the raw power needed to accomplish something so taxing.”
Hal tried to pull off a shrug from his bound position. There was no sense in denying anything. Norak had puzzled it out. Besides what danger could there be in confirming his premise.
“I can’t speak to how she brought me here. She did manage it, though.”
“That woman and her damned belief in prophecies. Of all of the mages who’ve eluded capture, she is the one who’s caused me the most grief. You know, if someone was to let her slip into my grasp, I might be convinced to let that person go free, no matter what the Emperor desires. It would be worth it to capture Tildi the Elder once and for all. What do you say, Hal? Give me Tildi’s location and I’ll let you go for the time being. It seems fair enough. With enough of a head start, you might even elude capture for years.”
Hal didn’t even give the offer a second thought. Tildi was his ticket home if he could manage to get out of this mess. Even if he knew where she was, turning her over to Norak was as good as slamming the door on his way back to Mona and Cari. Hal looked up at his captor and shook his head.
“I’m sorry to say I have no idea where Tildi is. She tends to show up and disappear on her own schedule.”
“Yes, that sounds like her. She’s very careful about how she exposes herself these days.” Norak waved a dismissive hand in the air. “It doesn’t matter. No harm in asking. Just between you and me, I wouldn’t have let you go anyway. There is too much I need to know from you and then there’s the Emperor’s orders to bring you to him.”
“I have nothing more to tell you, Norak. As you have discovered, I’m not even from Fantasma. That means I’m not a very good source of information, I’m afraid.”
“Ah, but you’re wrong my poor man. You have exactly the information I want. I want to know where the rest of your rabble of a slave army is located. We know it is somewhere to the west. We’d find it eventually, but I tire of these endless days in the wilderness. I want to find and destroy the rebels and return to the city where I may rest for a time before I resume my hunt for the remaining free mages like your friend Tildi.”