Knowing those riding the horses, himself included, would reach Surmont first, it would mean a much weakened force making the initial attack. However, with the element of surprise he hoped to catch the Caldronians unprepared, and with any luck force a break through before they had chance to assemble. Whether his plan would work or not, Oribe actually felt quite excited at the thought of battle; something he mentioned to his generals, although it appeared they did not share his feelings.
After hours in the saddle and with his horse looking as tired as he felt, Oribe could see the silhouetted outline of Surmont in the early half-light of morning. Fortunately, the battle ahead would not need the poor creatures to be used, especially once they broke through into the streets. If and when that actually happened, the fighting would then be carried out at close quarters. If all went well that fighting would lead them all the way up to the palace and more importantly the guild, where Oribe hoped to find a treasure trove of information on sorcery.
With barely a third of his force having yet made it thus far, he had thought of splitting them further to enable them to attack from all sides. This part of his plan though would have to be downsized a little if he wanted to utilise the element of surprise. Firstly, he was shocked by the silence. On appearing he would have thought that his coming would have had the church bells ringing out in alarm, yet all remained quiet. This of course meant he had either caught them by surprise, or they the enemy, knew he was coming and were lying in wait already prepared.
The small groups that he had sent out to raid Caldronia congregated on his left flank, and thinking on his feet he decided to use these as a decoy. Although small in number he sent half to attack the east gate, and the remainder the north; an area he was led to believe would be the least defended. After distributing a modicum of his black exploding powder and dividing his remaining imps up to aid these two groups he sat back and waited.
Very soon the sun would rise and reveal to the guards atop the walls of the force that awaited them. Before that happened Oribe wanted to set the defenders into a panic by attacking in the other areas first. He Hoped the two small groups would make as much noise and chaos as possible, before he ordered the bulk of his force to smash the south gate, and breaking through into the city.
Oribe smiled as he heard the first explosion off in the distance. Although not particularly loud or damaging the noise reverberated across the sky, as another quickly followed. The city bells took much longer to sound out than Oribe had thought, but he knew behind those large imposing walls panic would soon be rife. Hoping that his two decoy forces were drawing the bulk of the defenders to them, Oribe took a deep breath before giving the order for his own force to move.
Leo was one of the first to dress, as the noise of the bells ringing out across the city, were almost drowned out by the panicky voices in the dorm. Chad however, remained relatively calm and quiet and as soon as he was ready, Leo gestured for him to follow. “Stay close to me,” he said as he hurried out through the common room, along the corridor already bustling with people, and down the main staircase.
“What’s happening?” Chad asked as he quickened his pace a little to move alongside his mentor. For the first time he heard the unmistakeable sound of an explosion, as the first of what would likely be many screams sounded out from somewhere further back up the stairs. “By the sound of things I would say we are under attack,” Leo answered as he had to swerve someone else running up the stairs. He cursed under his breath as those in the guild chaotically started preparing.
No sooner had Leo reached the main doors, when Kian spotted him. “The east and north gates are under attack,” the Master shouted out, although struggling to be heard over the din. On sighting Leo, the master grabbed his sleeve, “You are to go to the palace!” Leo looked a little surprised by the request and opened his mouth to ask why, but Kian had already moved away shouting instructions to others.
Knowing there would be a perfectly good reason for him being sent to the palace as opposed to the walls, Leo did as was asked. Chad enquired whether he should go and help, “You stay with me,” Leo found himself replying even though he was unsure he had the authority to make such a call. The youngster shrugged and hurried alongside Leo towards the palace.
Already the city guards were pouring out onto the streets and heading for the wall, as Leo realised for the first time the sound of explosions were actually coming from two directions. He recalled from the previous battle the enemy had utilised some kind of exploding powder that had eventually accounted for much of the newly replaced southern gate. He did not have time to listen to the shouts of the soldiers, although they were clearly panicked and he was already fearing the worst.
After an annoying stop trying to explain to the guards at the palace gates just who he and Chad were, they were eventually granted access. Not because the two men on duty believed him, but down to the fact another more senior man recognised his face.
Leo and Chad had just reached the palace entrance doors when everything appeared to stop. An explosion so loud and ferocious it shook the very ground beneath their feet and made their ears ring. Such was the force of the blast which sounded like it come from the southern gate, several of the windows in the palace shattered.
Without delay Leo grabbed Chad’s sleeve and dragged him in through the doors and into the main foyer of the palace. He was greeted by an unexpected sight. The king was duly dressed for battle, with a warrior guard and Daron stood either side of him. Leo was about to ask what was going on, but had no chance to speak as Daron quickly stepped over to him.
“Don’t speak, just listen!” the man told him. Leo nodded, understanding the urgency in what was happening. “The enemy is already through the eastern gate and by the sound of that last explosion I can only assume our southern gates have been breached.” Leo looked and turned his head back, as if doing so would enable him to see, only to realise he was an idiot for doing so. Daron gave him a small bundle and a package, “Go to the library Leo, a few others will be waiting. Use the passageway. Alec knows what to do!”
Before Leo could ask any questions, the King and his small entourage of bodyguards marched out of the doorway. Leo sighed, and although he was certain his skills would be better suited to helping fight off the attack, it seemed Daron and the King had already made plans for him. Once more he gestured for Chad to follow, although rather than going back outside, Leo headed for the stairs that led down to the secret link with the guild.
Although Chad had never been in the palace before, there was no time to stop and look. The pictures on the walls were mere blurs of colour as he rushed past them, following his mentor, heading further downwards. The walls suddenly became a lot plainer as the corridor eventually levelled off, and despite him having a multitude of questions to ask, he kept his breathing steady as they both ran.
Their boots clattered, echoing on the stone floor beneath them as they started climbing once more. Despite Chad feeling his legs cramping a little he knew he needed to keep going, and gritted his teeth as the pain hit. After several flights of steps, they turned into a corridor and through a door, and he realised they were once more in the guild buildings. Leo stopped just briefly to get his bearings before gesturing once more for them to move.
Just as predicted, Alec was stood waiting with a few others. Two immediately were familiar to him. The face of the young prince dressed in what he could only describe as very plain ordinary clothing. Beside him was the rather diminutive figure of Jon, the young ranger apprentice selected by Sasha. The other members of the group he did not recognise, but from their ages he thought they must all be newly recruited.
“Everybody follow me,” Alec said as soon as Leo and Chad had taken a moment to catch their breath. “Where are we going Alec?” Leo asked as he struggled to keep up. No answer was forthcoming as the literary apprentice gestured towards a large pile of back packs stacked against the wall. “We need to carry all this,” Alec announced to the group. “I’m sorry your
highness but you will have to carry some as well,” he added turning to the young prince.
Kellan just nodded and after watching the others pick up a pack, he did likewise. “Leo can you carry two?” Alec asked already doing just that. Leo nodded as he grabbed a second, “Bloody hell, what’s in this one?” he complained feeling it far heavier than the other he had selected. “Ah that might be the one with my books in,” Alec grinned. “Come on back into the library,” he said not giving time for further complaint.
“Why are we hiding in the library Alec? I should be out there helping,” Leo said feeling increasingly frustrated at what was going on. Alec stopped suddenly and exhaled loudly, “The king wants you to take the prince to safety…I’m the one that knows the way out. Please Leo I promise I will explain everything, just not now!” Leo stared at his friend a few moments before nodding just once and gesturing for him to lead the way.
Alec led them through the library into what appeared to be nothing more than a small store room. However, Leo watched with some amazement as Alec pulled on a sconce upon the wall. There was a slight clicking sound and he turned to see one of the wooden panels in the wall open just a little. “Leo, Chad, can we have some light please,” Alec asked as he pulled on the panel revealing a tunnel of some description behind it.
Despite their being two other black robed sorcery apprentices, both wore the belts indicating them as novices. Leo was uncertain as to whether the pair had even started their magic training yet as both looked in awe as he mustered a small globe of light. Leo ducked down into the tunnel, quickly followed by Alec and the prince. Chad brought up the rear and was asked to pull the panel closed shut behind him.
“Let’s move,” Alec said. Leo was unsure as to why his friend had been given the command of the group, but he supposed with it being such an inexperienced bunch he was probably best to do so. Despite his mind filling with more questions by the minute, Leo kept his concentration on the small globe of light in his palm.
The tunnel, which had started out so very narrow and low to start with, thankfully opened out a little as they progressed, meaning at least they could stand upright. The walls were just plain stonework, and seemed to slope forever downwards. “We can thank Mia for this,” Leo heard Alec say from somewhere behind him. “Well not this particular tunnel, but bringing the guild’s attention to the fact they existed,” he added.
Leo listened with renewed interest as Mia’s name was mentioned again. Apparently it was by utilising a similar tunnel to the one they were in, she had escaped the city. Since her capture and subsequent demise, the guild, Alec and his small team of researchers in particular, had spent days going through old plans and tomes to discover the locations of the tunnels. “They were built as a means of escape hundreds of years ago. This one will lead us out to the west side of the city,” he added.
Chapter 3.
As the southern gates and surrounding wall were blown away Oribe pushed his army through the breach. One of the smaller decoy armies he had sent to attack the east and northern gates had already surpassed his expectations. The one at the eastern gate had broken through, and were already fighting the Caldronians in the city streets.
Those Belarians hiding in amongst the city residents had congregated at the first signs of fighting, and had duly started attacking the eastern defenders from the inside. Ultimately it had taken just a few men to remove the bars off the gates and the Belarians were in.
Despite their early success in gaining entry into Surmont, those attacking at the east gate had encountered strong resistance from the city guard. As a result, this attack force had been decimated, although still held several key positions inside the city. Oribe, knowing this smaller force would need to be reinforced had already sent a number of sorcerers to aid them, despite it weakening his main army.
As he slowly trotted his horse amongst the rubble, he looked down at the dismembered bodies of the guards that had been unfortunate to have been on the wall at the time. He was surprised that some of the faces looked so young, little more than children in truth, and he realised the Caldronians must have been struggling if that was all they had to defend with.
Haldar received the news that the enemy, as expected, had gained entry via two of his gates. He was no fool, and knew that having his much smaller forces trying to fight in two areas at once made them weaker. As a result, he had ordered all forces to retreat back to the wall of the guild and palace buildings. Daron however was not so happy with the decision, and although he had made his opinion heard, obeyed his king nonetheless.
Daron was of the belief that Leo should have been better utilised in defending the city, although the prince did need protecting by somebody powerful. With the reports coming back from the walls of the enemy utilising shielding techniques that all but nullified the sorcerer’s attacks, Daron also knew that much was now depending on him. He and the guild had learned of the Belarian’s techniques from Leo, and although they had researched them, they had not yet come up with a plan or method to overcome them.
Daron knew that Leo had managed to do so, only by utilising his greater power, and even that had taken a second attempt before proving successful. As he stood beside the king watching the soldiers and sorcerers from both the city guard and the guild, now lining up in numbers around the smaller walls of the two finest buildings in Caldronia, he tried to think of ways to counter the enemy.
Daron may not have been familiar with the whole process the Belarians used in producing their shields, but he did know it was not without risk. As Leo had already proved, that once the shield was depleted, all the sorcerers who had been responsible for powering it succumbed to exhaustion. The problem Daron had was breaking through in the first place.
He looked on in the distance as guild rangers positioned up on the roofs of the surrounding buildings picked off a number of attackers heading from the easterly direction, although he noticed the sorcerers moving much more slowly, taking deliberate steps as they covered themselves and a few around them with an impenetrable barrier of magic that shimmered just enough to make it visible to the naked eye.
Despite all the shouting and bustling about the palace walls, as scores of retreating soldiers, rangers and sorcerers made their way to the last line of defence, Daron remained quite composed and pensive. He watched as a number of city guard started forming what would appear to most as a good solid shield wall. He however, was quite sure that as soon as the magical barrier being held by the sorcerers pushed on, it would merely be brushed aside.
Daron felt a hand grab his robe and pull him to one side almost setting him off balance. He was just about to curse at the perpetrator when he realised it was the king who had done so. “Bloody Hell Daron look out will you, that arrow would have hit you had I not dragged you out of the way.” In all honesty the sorcerer had not even seen an arrow heading his direction, but nodded his thanks to the king nonetheless. “We should move back a little so we are out of their range Sire,” he stated suddenly concerned for his king’s welfare as opposed to his own.
After rather gingerly peering back up over the wall he caught sight of something that surprised him. The enemy sorcerers who had been ever so carefully walking with their shield around them had come to a faltering halt. The soldiers of the city guard were holding them firm with their shield wall. He scratched at his chin as he wondered why that should be even possible. Daron was quite aware that the shields used by both the guard and those soldiers in the guild were imbued with magic making them somewhat more resilient. However, if his eyes were not deceiving him the soldiers were standing firm against the magical barrier being forced upon. Moreover, not only where they holding firm, but the sorcerers manifesting the shield appeared to be struggling to make any headway. Despite Haldar beckoning him to move, he found the situation too important not to stay a little longer, even if that meant him being in harm’s way.
With the enemy clearly as shocked as to the resilience being shown by the soldiers as Daron was, he felt a
rush of excitement as the flickering light of the magical barrier then dissipated away. Not wanting to pass up the chance to drive home their small victory, he immediately sent several blasts of energy down against the now unguarded enemy. The Belarian sorcerers seemed bemused as to what was happening as the city guard broke their ranks and surged forward,
The sight of Caldronian soldiers slaying enemy sorcerers was brutal, but this victory was short-lived. Once the Caldronians had broken their shield wall their effectiveness as a fighting unit had gone; a situation not overlooked by the enemy still pouring in behind in even greater numbers. Belarian archers and sorcerers soon inflicted revenge on their fallen comrades as they opened fire, mercilessly despatching the Caldronian soldiers. Realising what was happening Daron tried his best to assist, but they were now at the limit of even his range. He attempted to fire off several blasts but the enemy was too far off, so instead decided to assist the few he could by throwing up a shield allowing at least a few to retreat back towards the palace.
“Daron come on!” he heard his king once more iterate from somewhere behind him. He turned to look where Haldar had gotten to before feeling a searing pain thump into his back. Feeling his body failing and his legs giving way, the King’s sorcerer dropped to his knees looking almost apologetically up at the man he served. His limp body then slumped forward revealing the arrow protruding from the middle of his back.
The King's Sorcerer (The Caldronian Guild Book 3) Page 2