by Tom Burton
“Stay strong everyone, stay strong!” Jaylen orders.
The orcs turn to the bridge. A large horde wildly charges the bridge.
“Nock…draw!” Laura screams.
The archers around her draw back the strings of their bows and hold their position.
“No matter what happens, this wall holds,” Jaylen shouts.
The horde of orcs storm onto the bridge and savagely charge at the wall of shields.
“Loose!” Laura orders.
The archers’ arrows pierce the frontline of orcs. The orcs behind the frontline charge ahead, leaping over their dead companions, rushing toward the wall of shields. As they reach the wall, the Red Riders’ spears pierce their throats. Several orcs try to jump over the shields, but the soldiers are able to push them into the river. The front of the wall holds the line. Seeing this, a contingent of orcs chooses to swim across the river.
“Target them!” Laura shouts.
As the battle at Rylom rages on, the arrows continue to fly over the river, shooting into the hordes of orcs. A half dozen orcs then simultaneously charge at one end of the wall. They push a Red Rider over the bridge: the soldier is swarmed by the orcs in the river. The attack creates a gap in the wall of shields, and the orcs exploit it by attacking the soldiers at that end. Suddenly, the soldiers at the front break formation and attack the orcs.
“Hold the Line!” Jaylen orders.
The Red Riders do not hear Jaylen, as they fight desperately to hold off the orcs. As the soldiers slowly break formation, the orcs continue to charge at them; soon, the formation breaks completely. Jaylen and the Red Riders then begin to attack the orcs freely on the bridge.
“Aim for the bridge!” Laura orders.
The archers turn to aim from the hordes of orcs in the river at the orcs now teeming onto the bridge. Arrows swarm the air. But despite Jaylen and the Red Riders showing their prowess in the fight, the teeming orcs continue to charge at them, slowly pushing the line of humans back to the base of the bridge.
“Fall back!” Jaylen finally orders.
Many of the soldiers break away on Jaylen’s order, rushing back to the military base; far fewer choose to stay and fight.
In the rush and roar of the melee, Jaylen then finds Laura.
“Ring the alarm—we need to get everyone south of Rylom! Civilians are the priority!”
Laura quickly follows the Red Riders back to the base to abide by Jaylen’s orders. Then, as Jaylen retreats with the last of the soldiers, he watches as the orcs swarm the bridge from all directions. “Captain, do we have a way out?” Jaylen asks once he has managed to safely return to the base.
“Yes, sir,” Mace tells him. We can get the civilians out from behind the base and into the stables. Then we can send the sick and the elderly through the south bridge on horseback—but they will need some time.”
“We can give you time, just get them out!” Jaylen orders Mace.
The captain nods and runs off to prepare the civilians.
As the Rylom soldiers move into the base and help the civilians move toward the stables, Jaylen, Laura, and a few other soldiers soon spot a few stray orc scouts approaching the edge of the base. As soon as the orcs see the humans, they charge at them wildly. But Jaylen leads the counterattack: he stabs an orc through the stomach, then twists his sword deliberately, killing the orc slowly. He turns to see Laura slicing her sword mercilessly through an orc.
Jaylen sees more stray orcs head for the stables. He charges at them; Laura swiftly follows him. The two then turn a corner to see the orcs attacking the barricaded stable door from the outside. Jaylen and Laura charge at the orcs, stabbing them both in the back. As the orcs fall to the stable floor, Jaylen bangs on the door.
“Clear!” Jaylen shouts.
The stable door opens. Captain Mace stands on the other side.
“Thank you, lord commander,” the captain commends. Inside the stables, the civilians are already mounted and ready to ride.
“Wait for us on the outskirts of Rylom,” Jaylen instructs the civilians, “we won’t be far behind.”
Captain Mace whistles. The first contingent of civilians starts to ride out toward the south bridge.
The fight continues sporadically throughout the base. Laura suddenly turns to Jaylen.
“Where is Kamara…?”
Jaylen looks at her in horror then draws his second sword. He turns to Captain Mace.
“Carry on with the retreat, Captain — get these people out!” Jaylen orders.
Captain Mace and Laura move away from the stables. They head toward the fight. They see thousands of orcs trying to swarm the base…but they also see the Rylom horses, continuing to ride south, out of the base.
Suddenly, Jaylen hears a woman screaming. He runs toward the noise; Laura follows close behind. As the two run down a burning street, they see Kamara, retreating from a dozen orcs.
“Kamara!” Jaylen shouts.
He rushes toward the orcs. Laura reaches into her quiver then fires three arrows in quick succession…three arrows…three orcs dead. . Jaylen throws one of his swords at one of the surviving orcs; the sword hits one of the orcs badly in the neck: the orc falls to the ground, choking and unable to breathe. Raylen, Laura, and Kamara then fight the remaining orcs. Jaylen successfully kills four of them by slicing his sword through two of them at a time. Kamara, despite showing her inexperience, manages to kill three of the orcs. Laura eventually kills the final orc by decapitating him viciously.
Kamara rushes over to Jaylen, and the two embrace. Jaylen closes his eyes and sighs.
“I feared the worst.”
Laura slowly approaches them.
“The orcs are beginning to flank us, lord commander.”
After Jaylen releases Kamara, he turns to Laura, “We need to get back to the stables.”
The three then move, but Kamara cries out in pain. Jaylen and Laura turn to see a small wound on her stomach: a cut inflicted by one of the orcs.
“Bring the horses here!” Jaylen shouts
Laura runs back to the stables. Jaylen presses his hand against Kamara’s wound.
“It’s nothing,” Kamara reassures him.
Jaylen remains unconvinced. They hear orcs approaching them.
Laura returns with two horses. Jaylen lifts Kamara onto the horse, then climbs up behind her.
“Rylom has been evacuated,” Laura tells Jaylen. “Most of them must have made it out by now.”
Jaylen gives an encouraging nod. Together, the three ride out of Rylom.
As they ride out, they see soldiers continuing to fight the orcs; the soldiers eventually get swarmed by the teeming hordes of orcs. Jaylen and Kamara see Captain Mace fighting amid the fray. More and more orcs charge at the captain. An orc stabs a dagger into the captain’s stomach and the captain falls on the ground. Even though he’s helpless—and long after his death—the orcs continue stabbing the captain’s ruined, bloodied body. Jaylen and Kamara can only watch as they ride away.
Jaylen, Kamara, and Laura make it out of Rylom. Up ahead, they see the survivors who escaped. Only a few thousand have made it out.
The riders gallop toward the group of survivors. Sitting on Jaylen’s horse, Kamara turns around to look at the base. She sees only fire and smoke in the distance; the cries of men and women grow quieter.
They eventually join up with the group. The Red Riders are relieved to see their lord commander has survived the attack. Kamara rests her head on Jaylen’s upper back and wraps her arms around his chest. She then begins to cry.
“The orc scout was right,” Laura tells Jaylen. “There are too many of them for us to handle.”
Jaylen keeps his eyes on the survivors.
“The king will need to know this,” he replies, as the sun begins to fall on them.
Up in the Nor
th of Neroman, an army of orcs follow Luke Snow back to Redlock. They march through the grey plains where trees once stood. Luke carries a bag in one hand and holds the hilt of his sword with the other. As they march across the plains, they see the orcs of Redlock ahead of them. The two armies merge seamlessly.
Luke makes his way through the large crowd. He raises his hand in front of the stronghold’s doors gesturing them to open the doors; they do as told. The orcs remain outside.
Luke continues walking toward the great hall. The smaller doors of the hall are already open. Entering, Luke finds Mutaro standing next to his throne. The wizard is facing away from Luke, with his hood up. Luke raises the bag in his hand.
“My master…please accept this gift as a token of goodwill to the future King of Neroman.”
He reaches smugly into the bag and pulls out the severed head of Lord Arthur Fuller. He tosses it across the floor.
Mutaro does not react.
“You attacked Rylom?” Mutaro asks. His quiet, deep voice echoes across the throne room.
Luke’s smugness slowly begins to fade.
“Did I order you to do so?!” Mutaro shouts.
He turns around and removes his hood. Luke sees the thick black scars, streaking across his reddened face.
Mutaro slowly begins to walk toward Luke.
“My orders were for you were to return to Redlock after you had dealt with the West…this would spark further divide between the two states, and we would have obtained more information on the Pioneer.”
Mutaro stands face-to-face with Luke.
“Did anyone escape Rylom?”
Luke refuses to look Mutaro in the eyes.
“I don’t know…I wasn’t there,” Luke reluctantly replies.
Mutaro snaps his fingers—and Luke gets thrown across the room. His body spins wildly as he lands on the floor.
Mutaro walks toward him again.
“Because of your rash actions, you have lost the element of surprise for me!” Mutaro shouts.
Luke groans in pain. He attempts to stand up on his feet..
Mutaro continues yelling: “If survivors report what they saw, they could unite and become a legitimate threat to our rule!”
Luke manages to get back on his feet. He returns Mutaro’s gaze.
“So then we finish them…before they unite.”
Mutaro’s anger slowly dissipates.
“It’s your duty now to redeem yourself,” Mutaro says, standing before Luke. Luke nods. “Evacuate Redlock, take everyone you have—and wipe off Dellmoor!”
Luke’s smile returns.
“We’re finally going to war?!”
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Mutaro tells Luke, “the sound of Azdus’ and Goras’ dying gasp, their Pioneers squalling in my grasp. But what I have been waiting for most is what I felt before, the pounding of the drums of war, the thrill of the orcs’ mighty roar against a blood red sky. The joy of vengeance will be mine,” Mutaro tells Luke. He smiles slightly as he recites his emotions.
“What about your beast?” Luke asks.
Mutaro’s subtle smile quickly fades away. He takes a moment before responding.
“If he does not return, neither do you,” Mutaro warns.
Luke bows his head. Then, he walks out of the throne room. Mutaro commands the doors to shut.
Early next morning, Dellmoor is awakened as the rays of the sun fall on the far stretches of the green fields, past the royal forest. But before the rays can seep into Aaron, Daniel, and Sam’s room, they are already up and dressed. Aaron and Daniel sit at the small table, while Sam leans back in his bed, his eyes staring at the wall.
“We can do it,” Aaron says, trying to persuade his two companions, “we can leave now and find the wizards.”
Daniel and Sam remain silent in reply to his suggestion.
“We need them to fight with us,” Aaron persists. “Otherwise we’ll be outmatched in all ways.”
Sam shifts his focus onto his friend. “If we leave now, the king will send his best men on his fastest horses to hunt us down.”
“You’re a Pioneer, Aaron,” Daniel says. “The king will not let you out of his sight; you are too important to him.”
Aaron rolls his eyes at Daniel’s assertion..
“I’m beginning to see why the people have lost faith in our king.”
Daniel and Sam look at Aaron almost disgustedly.
“Keep that to yourself,” Daniel warns. “The last thing we need is conflict inside Dellmoor as well as outside of here!”
The three hear a loud horn bellow across the capital. Aaron shoots up and grabs his sheathed sword. Sam then runs to the balcony of the room to look over the capital. Aaron and Daniel then head for the door.
“Wait!” Sam orders.
Aaron and Daniel turn to Sam. He is still looking out from the balcony. But he slowly turns toward the two.
“It’s not them…. It’s Jaylen and Laura; they’re back!”
Daniel breathes a sigh of relief. Aaron places his sword back against the wall where it had been hung. The three men then walk out to greet Jaylen.
Jaylen, Laura, and Kamara are walking in front of the crowded Rylom civilians, offering the sick and the elderly to ride on their horses. As Kamara gazes upon the capital, she stands awestruck, which Jaylen notices.
“I wish you could have seen it in different circumstances,” Jaylen tells her.
Nonetheless, Kamara continues to gaze. “The myths and legends of Dellmoor fail to convey its true size,” she mutters.
Jaylen smiles.
The two slowly continue walking into the city. With the orc’s blood having dried on Jaylen’s face, the lord commander turns to see Kamara struggling as she holds her wound.
“How are you feeling?”
Kamara lifts up her shirt to check the wound. She presses her hand against the old bandage and quietly groans in pain.
“I will need to seek the doctor once we get inside.”
“You fought bravely in Rylom,” Jaylen tells her proudly.
Kamara shakes her head.
“Not bravely enough…so many lives could have been saved!”
“Many lives were saved. If it wasn’t for you, some men you see here today may not have been able to make it out.”
Jaylen puts his arm around her and kisses her on the forehead. Kamara sighs gently, comforted by Jaylen’s comments.
As the few thousand survivors of Rylom make it to the gates, Jaylen and Laura see Aaron, Daniel, and Sam waiting for them. All three are relieved to see that their friends have returned from Rylom, alive. Laura rushes over to Daniel, and the two embrace. Aaron and Sam shake Jaylen’s hand.
“It’s good to have you back, lord commander,” Aaron says, expressing his relief.
“It’s good to be back,” Jaylen replies.
Kamara approaches the three men.
“Kamara, this is Aaron and Sam,” Jaylen says. “Aaron and Sam, this is my half-sister, Kamara Vance.”
Daniel and Laura then approach the four of them.
“Where is the king?” Jaylen asks them.
“We haven’t seen him since you left,” Daniel replies.
Jaylen looks at the three briefly; then, he storms toward the royal castle.
The others walk more slowly to the castle—except for Sam. He turns to watch the crowd walking in from Rylom. They walk past him, entering Dellmoor.
Jaylen walks through the corridors of the royal castle. He chooses not to knock on the double door of the king’s chambers, but instead barges straight in. He finds King Edmund by the balcony looking over the crowd below. He holds the railing firmly with one hand, and a mug of wine with the other. He turns suddenly, seeing Jaylen walk in.
“What news?” the king asks urgently.
/> Jaylen stands by the balcony, looking toward the king.
“Rylom is gone, your grace.”
The king drops his mug suddenly, and the wine drips over the stone balcony. The King then walks back into the chambers, as Jaylen follows.
“The orcs?” the king mutters.
“Thousands of them. They came so quickly, the army could not prepare for the assault in such little time….We managed to get the civilians out, but we lost many lives.”
The king walks back into his chambers, his hands trembling.
“The Red Riders?” the king asks.
“The majority of them stayed and cleared the path for everyone. The orcs won on their numbers alone; now there are only around a dozen of Red Riders left.”
“Kamara?” the king says.
“She is safe, we got her out just in time.”
King Edmund closes his eyes in relief. Then he goes out to the balcony to get his wine mug. He places the mug onto the table and sits on the chair. We are organizing The Dance of Crowns,” the king informs Jaylen.
Jaylen is confused. “The royal ball? Your grace, I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, considering what we have heading toward us. I think we should focus our efforts on the defences of this city.”
“Amongst all this,” King Edmund replies, remaining steadfast, “we need to act as human beings rather than exhaust ourselves in preparing for something that won’t happen for a while.”
Jaylen leans on the table, placing both his palms on the table.
“This attack could happen at any time,” he says, raising his voice. “We must prepare!”
The king understands this challenge and rises from his chair. The trembling of his hands suddenly stops, and he stands proudly across the table from Jaylen.
“That is my decision…and my decision is final!”
Jaylen slowly removes his hands from the table and resumes his military stance.
“May I leave, your grace?”
Jaylen asks the question formally, keeping his eyes fixed on King Edmund.
King Edmund nods. Jaylen storms out of the room. The king watches Jaylen as he slams the double doors behind him.