The Godlost Land

by Curtis, Greg

  And the arrangement seemed to be working.

  Today they had taken a major step towards eventual victory. Cut Valley Holding was the most strategically valuable target they'd captured. It was the gateway to Midland Heights, the only city in the Rainbow Mountains and its capitol. But more than that, Cut Valley Holding was the only passage through to the city. Through this town all the supplies in and out of Midland Heights ran.

  It sat at the lower end of a ten league long rift valley with mountain ranges on both sides. Midland heights sat at the upper end. And there was no other route from the city of Midland Heights to the rest of the world save through Cut Valley Holding. So when they'd taken the town, they'd effectively cut the city off from the rest of the Rainbow Mountains. They'd begun the blockade. In time of course they would march up the rift valley and lay siege to the city. And then finally they would capture it. And when Midland Heights was theirs, the Rainbow Mountains would be theirs. The first of the five kingdoms would have fallen.

  Of course that day was still a long way off, despite what the bards kept proclaiming to the people. It would be months before the blockade forced the people in the city into starvation and surrender. Before the war machines were built to take down the city walls. Before they had enough soldiers to launch the attack. But at least that day was coming. Always provided that the false temple didn't finally strike back.

  That was one of the worries that kept her from sleep most nights. The worry about where they were and when they'd strike. Because she knew they had to be coming. They all did.

  Theris had patrols out in the land hunting for them. Searching to the east and west and north for the first sign of an army heading their way. But thus far they'd found nothing and he seemed to think that was as it should be. It took time to raise an army. And more time when you then had to march them hundreds of leagues. Especially when you already had two of your armies busy invading other realms. And more so when it seemed that your forces everywhere else were stretched thin.

  Theris seemed to think that that was why they were winning so easily. The false temple had stolen soldiers and beasts from every town and city in the five kingdoms to create his two armies attacking the dryads in Pariton and Inel Ison. They didn't have any spare troops. And so now they were busy trying to draw troops back from those two front lines, probably slowing their advance or stopping it completely, as they had to send them back to the Rainbow Mountains. He seemed to think they might still have as much as another month or two before they had to face the full fury of the false temple. And that for all that time they could simply continue emptying out the towns and villages of the enemy and building their own forces.

  She hoped he was right.

  “I have the counts High Priestess.”

  A soldier came up to her and handed her a small scrap of parchment with some numbers on it. Why they did that she didn't know. But it had become the routine after every battle. She thanked him as she accepted the parchment from his hands, and then studied it, perhaps hoping for some wisdom in it. All there were though were numbers.

  Five hundred and thirty enemy soldiers had been killed, six to seven hundred chimera, and fifty three priests. Against that they'd lost seventeen soldiers, thirty eight more had been injured and four griffins had been killed. A unicorn had also been wounded. Save for the size of the numbers it was fairly much the same as she had seen many times before. For the moment they were winning the war comfortably thanks to the allies the Goddess had sent them and having the advantage of numbers on their side. But that wouldn't continue forever.

  Midland Heights would be different. As well as being a huge walled city with up to a hundred and fifty thousand people inside it, along with the heavens only knew how many soldiers and chimera, it was protected by a pair of Circle wizards. The first they would face.

  The first, though he was reputed to be crazy she doubted would be easily overcome. Maynard the Irrepressible was said to be a powerful summoner. And the second Alenda Goldeneyes, was a wizard of fire and might well be much worse. Midland Heights would be the first true battle of the war. But if they were lucky and won through, it would be the last one before the Rainbow Mountains were free.

  Before they got to Midland Heights however, there were still many more towns and villages out there that were occupied and which they would have to free first. They were mostly scattered and small but each one would bring them more soldiers and break the enemy's spirit a little more. In any event they would have the time to free a fair few more towns while they waited for the war machines to arrive. The huge trebuchets were slow to move along even good roads and there were a great many more needing to be built. So many more that Theris was talking about using the other forts they were reclaiming to help build them.

  Still she decided, this had been a good day and there was no point in not letting the world know what they'd done. And letting the army know that the end of this part of the campaign was in sight.

  “Let the war masters send word soldier, to start sending the war machines forward to us here. And tell the troops to fortify our position here as we wait for them. Send the wizards out to start preparing the land for attack from the city.” Though months away, Erislee thought that it would be good for morale to know that the first part of the campaign to reclaim Midland Heights was about to start. And they had to fortify.

  The greatest danger they faced for the moment was that the commanders in Midland Heights would realise they were weak, leave the city and march down the rift valley with an army to meet them. But it was unlikely – so her war masters claimed. To leave the safety of their walls was a risk and not one to be taken before desperation took hold. And it was more of a risk when the enemy didn't know how many of them there were. The chances were that they'd send scouts first. Scouts that she intended would not return. The enemy didn't need to know that for the time he had numbers on his side.

  “The blockade of Midland Heights begins today!”

  Her words brought a smile to the soldier's face and he saluted her quickly before running off to pass on her instructions. By the time night fell she guessed the army would be in a very merry mood. And this was just the blockade. They hadn't even begun the siege.

  But of course there could be no good news without bad. That was one lesson she had already learned during the opening months of the campaign. It was just a matter of waiting to find out what the bad news would be.

  Which was why as she watched the scout running off, a huge smile all over his face as he hurried to give her orders, a frown appeared on her own. Deep in her marrow she knew there were tough times ahead.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “By the gods, not again!”

  Harl felt an incredible urge to swear long and loud as he heard the sound of hoof beats in the forest and realised he was to be visited again. Why so soon? Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He didn't even know who it was but he wanted them gone.

  Life had been peaceful for the previous few weeks since he had spoken with the woman Marni Holdgood in town. No one had bothered him. The weather had been warm as summer finally settled in to the mountains. And he had started to let the peace settle over him. He had even been doing more of the chores that he should have done years ago. The major ones. The ones that should probably have been done decades before he had moved in.

  And top of that list was patching the walls properly – not just nailing in makeshift shingles he'd cut with his axe, and then applying the linseed oil to the wood shingle walls. He had traded a good charmed knife for several jugs of the oil from the general goods store in town, and started work five days ago. Presently the walls were solid once more, the wind didn't whistle through them, and he was on his third coat. Enough to make the old wood sparkle a little in the sunshine and protect it from rot when the rain returned. Enough to make it look as though someone had cared for this place.

  For once, at least in his mind, the house looked a little less like the hovel it truly was and more like a cotta
ge. He had even been idly thinking about adding on to it. Nothing extravagant. Just an extra room that he could use for a bedchamber since the one it had was currently filled with his wares forcing him to sleep in the main room. In time – though it would probably be a long time – he had even considered beating down the old path from the smithy to the main track. It would make his journey into Whitebrook a little easier. But that would have to wait until he was finally certain that no more priests of Artemis, real or false, would be wandering the lands with their foul creatures, hunting down and killing people.

  There was even a dream he had sometimes, though he doubted it would ever happen, that one day he would be able to return to his old home in Lion's Crest – or whatever remained of it – where he might find his family's remains and give them a proper burial. Perhaps find a priest of Hera to intone a few prayers for them.

  But before any of that could happen there needed to be peace. Peace in the world – and the word from the bards in town was that even though Midland Heights had been cut off, the battle for it was still a long way off. He understood that the blockade had been set up, but that the siege hadn't yet begun, though the difference between the two seemed uncertain to him. There was still a full scale war being fought across the entire kingdom between the followers of Artemis and the false followers of Artemis, and a dozen or more nearby towns were yet to be liberated. Some days it seemed to him that the war was growing larger by the week. That they weren't so much defeating the enemy as they were finding more of them to fight on more fronts. Of course he lived in a small cottage several leagues from a small town, and only heard what was happening from the bards, many of whom had different tales to tell. Things could be very different to what he knew.

  Meanwhile he just needed to find some peace in his life. Ever since he had learned of the wizards' betrayal he had needed that desperately. The news of their treachery had shaken his entire world apart. Undone almost everything he had believed in. And left him wondering what was true any more. It had broken him in a way he had never imagined possible. And every day that went by he found himself wondering about the same terrible question. Which of his friends had betrayed him? Had betrayed, maybe even killed those he loved? There were no answers.

  He also ached, literally ached, to go out and kill those who had destroyed his world. Who had killed his family. He wanted their blood to drip from his blade and pool around his feet. He wanted to wade through their bodies. But he also feared finding out who they were. That he would find himself trying to take the heads of those he had once thought his friends. Maybe even his old master. He feared that more than he could admit.

  Could he kill Master Gallowgood? Too often he had found himself asking that same question. If he was with the false temple it would be his duty. It would be justice. But at the same time Master Gallowgood was family. He was almost a second father to him. He had known and loved him nearly his entire life. The thought of seeing his face on the other end of a battlefield was a true terror.

  That was truly what had stopped him joining the war. He wanted to fight. But he couldn't be certain who he would end up fighting. And there might be some he would have to face who he could never harm, even though he had to. Even though they had killed his own family. Besides, if even he couldn't trust himself to know what to do if and when that moment came, how could anyone else? He was a wizard after all. And wizards couldn't be trusted. No one would want to stand beside him in battle.

  So instead he would stay out of the war. He would keep his sword in its scabbard like a coward. He would pray for guidance from Hera. And he would try to live a normal life, and find a little peace. That meant at least another year or two of not being bothered. But being bothered seemed to be his lot in life lately.

  Reluctantly Harl put down his horse hair brush covered in oil and turned to face the forest and his visitors when they arrived. His hope was that they wouldn't stay long. But he doubted he would be that lucky. But neither did he think that they were there to hunt him so that was something at least. The land had been quiet and the nearest of the false temples were gone, the priests and their creatures dead. He'd even heard rumours that unicorns were being seen across the land again. If they were around then he couldn't imagine that any of the chimera would be nearby. Still, if the worst happened he could quickly duck inside and grab his sword.

  He didn't have to wait long before they emerged through the trees, but when they did he sighed in relief – and maybe a little disappointment. He'd expected that it would be Nyma visiting, since she was the one who continued to visit. Partly it was because his home was conveniently located on the road to Glass River. But partly he suspected it was because he was a wizard of a sort and people wanted to make sure he wasn't up to any mischief. They didn't trust him and he couldn't blame them for that.

  Secretly he had half hoped it would be Nyma. He'd also half feared that it would be the High Priestess since he was certain that if she ever found out he was the mysterious soldier she would be less than pleased with him despite what Marni had said. But it was neither. Instead he saw Marni Holdgood. The woman he'd shocked by showing her his immunity to fire. He didn't know anything more about her than her name, but he couldn't imagine that she was very pleased with him. No one was pleased with him these days. She wasn't smiling he noticed.

  Following Marni was an older man with a heavily wrinkled face burnt deep mahogany brown from years spent in the sun and a forest of long white whiskers hanging down almost to his belt. Harl didn't know him, but he had the look of a soldier about him. A wizened soldier who had seen too much. He also looked like someone who carried a fair bit of knowledge. But if he was a soldier, why was he dressed as he was in forest leathers and leggings? Where was his uniform?

  Harl didn't get up to greet them. He didn't even raise his hand. He just waited quietly until they rode into his yard.

  “Again Marni Holdgood?”

  “Again Harl of the Elder Fire Forge.” Her words instantly told him that she had been doing some checking, and in all likelihood she'd had someone pull apart a little of the bonds of truth to see his mark in the chain. He hoped she hadn't destroyed it. Not because he wanted to use it on anyone. Simply because it had been a very difficult piece to craft and he had worked hard on it. He had enjoyed the challenge of fastening the special links and casting the spells.

  “Did I not say I wanted to be left alone?”

  “You did. However there is a war on. The false followers of Artemis are being driven from the realm. And the peoples' help is required. All of the people. You are no different to anyone else in that. So stop sulking like a two year old.” She snapped out the last as would a nanny to an awkward child, or perhaps as would a soldier to a recruit.

  She had a point he supposed. He'd been to town only a few days before and seen the wagon loads of grain being sent to the front lines. Not many men from the town had joined up, but then Whitebrook was only a very small town these days and they didn't have a lot of people who could swing a sword. But still, maybe a dozen young men had enlisted. And now no doubt their mothers fretted. Such was the way of things.

  “You require some help from me?”

  “Of course. As an arcane smith you have a skill we need. We need weapons. As the High Priestess' army grows we need lots of weapons. And armour. But we will pay for them.”

  “By the gods!”

  Pay for his wares! The words almost knocked Harl over with their power. The very idea shocked him as little else could. But for once it was in a way he welcomed, and not because of the coin. He didn't care about that. She thought she was offering to buy his wares. She wasn't. What she was really offering was the chance for him to practice his trade again – and that was far more precious to him than any mere coin she could offer. It was something he hadn't even dared to dream possible. For five long, bitter years he had been running and hiding. He had practised his skills mostly to defend himself and to keep his link to his past alive. Because once he had been proud to be
an arcane smith.

  His family had been proud too. None of them had had magic, and to have a son who did was a blessing to them. A gift from the Goddess Hera, Mistress of Home and Hearth. It was because of them that he had been apprenticed at an early age to Master Gallowgood. They had beseeched the aged arcane smith to take him on at just six years of age. And they had pushed him hard to learn his lessons and work diligently. He had done that and had served eighteen years as an apprentice before he was finally well versed enough in his craft to open his own smithy. The day that he had, that he had first hung out his shingle as an arcane smith in front of the old smithy he'd purchased had been one of the proudest of his life. It had been everything. For him and his family.

  Scarcely a year later, everything had been taken from him. His family, his home, his smithy and even his trade. He had become nothing but a refugee, occasionally practising his craft in secret because it was the link back to happier times that his soul craved. It was all that he had left. And now she was offering him the chance to claim back a little more of it. He could never refuse that.