Fire and Frost (Seven Realms Book 1)

by Goodner, Allen

  Once everyone had joined him at the table, Alaric began speak, “If we’re going to ambush them, there are only a few places we can do that. Most of the area is simply too open for an ambush to be successful.” He spoke with purpose and determination. This was not the ever-optimistic, even innocent man who had spoken to them just days ago, but it was clear his mind was finally focused on the coming fight. He continued, “The other problem is that those few places where ambushes could be set are not necessarily in the path of the Frost Fiends. Since it appears that they can cross the realms at points other than the Gateways, and we haven’t discovered how, we don’t know where they can appear.”

  “So you’re still advising against a small force?” his father asked.

  “Not necessarily. I think we want to send scouts out to the border or spies, rather, since being undetected would be a major part of their duties. We could them in groups of three to these areas here, here, and here.” He indicated several locations on the map. “If we gave them coins of communication, they could tell us immediately if they spotted the Frost Fiends. If they didn’t, and the Frost Fiends appeared behind them, we would at least have some forces behind the enemy. That would count for something.”

  “We only have three pairs of the coins,” his father pointed out. “Each group would have half of one set.”

  “I know, and it would be very costly to lose them, but there simply isn’t another way to get word back and forth fast enough. If we can spot them at any of those locations, we can move in a force large enough to accomplish something here, here, or here” -again he pointed- “quickly enough that we might be able to ambush them. Even then, the ambushes would largely have to be harassment. We simply don’t have the manpower, even if the duke gets here first, to mount a major assault against their lines.”

  “Who would you recommend for the task?”

  “I think Sir Rodick and his scouts would be ideal for the task. They’ve proven their competence, especially Sir Rodick. Sending some of them as the scouts gives this plan the best chance of success.”

  “I agree, my lord,” the sergeant said. “I’ve worked with Sir Rodick more than my lord Alaric has. If anyone has a chance to make this succeed, it would be him and his scouts.”

  “Very well. I will assign them immediately,” the baron decided, then he turned to one of the pages and sent the boy to bring Sir Rodick.

  While they waited, Alaric pulled another map, this one focused on the castle and its surrounding area. He looked at it for a time, and then a smile crept across his lips. He drew a line with his finger to a small marking on the map.

  “Father, I think I know what to do with our heavy horse and the Igni.”

  Boores looked at where his son was pointing and also smiled, “I think you’re right. That would be perfect.”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand,” Kahji rumbled. “What are you pointing at?”

  “This outcropping of rock is called God’s Palm. It’s lined with caves which should keep you well hidden. Importantly, it’s defensively useless, since the paths up to it are so flat and even. The rock almost looks like it was laid as pavement. That gives a perfect surface for the heavy horse to start their charge. And it’s well within striking distance; you can see it from the walls quite easily. As long as they are undetected, a force starting there would be behind the enemy as soon as they crossed close enough to assault the castle. At the very least, they could strike any of those infernal siege engines the beasts so seem to love.”

  Alaric added, “The caves could easily hold forty Knights along with their horses and squires, and all of your warriors. That should be enough to stop whatever siege engines they bring, as well as savaging the rear of their formation fairly well.” Now that he had been brought somewhat to his senses, he began to become ever more optimistic. “The primary advantages the Frost Fiends had over us were manpower and initiative. We simply did not have the manpower to oppose them on the open field, and any reduction of our force here would have left us vulnerable. To some degree, they’ve actually given up both of those advantages by bringing such a large force against us.

  “Simply staying in the castle won’t save us; they’re just bringing too many warriors. On the other hand, we now have enough swords that we can split them some without negatively affecting the defense of the castle. Our situation is desperate, no doubt, but we still have a chance.”

  Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief at hearing something of the old Alaric return. They needed his hopeful, optimistic eyes, ready to see and take every opportunity. Even the baron had come to realize that Alaric was by far the best tactician in the barony, maybe even better than the duke. The room, previously tense and nervous, began to fill with the warmth of hope.

  Just then, Sir Rodick entered on the heels of the page, “You wanted to see me, my lord?”

  Boores waived him over to the table. “Sir Knight, I need you to select nine of your scouts, the best at being unnoticed, and send them to these locations. Each group of three will be given one of our coins of communication; we hope one of them will be able to spot the Frost Fiends as they march on the castle.”

  Sir Rodick looked at the designated locations for a moment. “Yes, my lord, I know just the men. Were there any other instructions?”

  “No, Sir Rodick, they are simply to observe and report.”

  “Very well, then, my lord, with your leave I will let the men know their assignment so they can leave as soon as possible.” Seeing their nods, the knight nodded a half-bow, and left the room.

  Alaric turned to his father. “Father, when do we expect the duke?”

  The baron shook his head. “I wouldn’t expect him for to arrive for five more days, at least. And that would be a forced march that left him and his men exhausted when they arrived. Figure nine days if he takes a slightly easier pace.”

  “Kahji, if the Frost Fiends come into the realm back here” -Alaric outlined a rough area- “how long would it take them to reach the castle, if we’re right about their numbers?”

  The giant Igni thought for a few moments. “Six or seven days, if they have siege engines with them. If they do not, then no more than four.”

  “Hmm… it’s a race then. I wish there were a way we could force them slow down.”

  “Maybe there is,” Kahji mused. “The monsignor was obviously looking for something at that site. If it is now abandoned, we might be able to find what he was looking for.”

  “But how would that slow them down?”

  “Well, the Frost Fiends apparently had some way to communicate, other than face-to-face, with the monsignor. Perhaps whatever they are looking for is somehow related to that. It’s possible that if we found it, they would come to us.”

  “How likely do you think that is?”

  “More likely than you might think. We know they don’t communicate verbally when they are attacking the castle; they haven’t so far. Yet the Silverbacks control them. Something gives them that power; there is certainly nothing like it among the Igni. If there are artifacts here on Mediatus that are linked to the Frost Fiends, and if one of those is at that Ancient ruin, then it seems at least possible that the link between whatever the artifact is and Frost Fiends would give them some ability to know if something is happening to it.”

  “And you think we might be able to do something to it that would make them divert to investigate?”

  “I do not know, but it is possible.”

  “Three days there…” Alaric pondered. “If we don’t find anything, that puts whoever is sent also in a race against the Frost Fiends.”

  Eventually, he shook his head, “There is simply too much we do not know. I cannot honestly say if that would be a wise gamble or not. My gut sides with Kahji, but my head disagrees.”

  Boores and Jehan also leaned back to consider. In truth, it seemed far-fetched. Nothing they had seen so far indicated that what Kahji was saying would be the case, yet he was correct that the Frost Fiends ob
viously had some kind of mental communication.

  They were not strangers to the idea of telepathy. Coins of communication allowed two people, as long as they both had one of the paired coins, to communicate even if they were hundreds of miles apart. Some of the human artificers had even managed to perfect a ritual that would, with much time and effort, duplicate the same effect without the tokens. But if the Frost Fiends had such a connection with whatever Manitoc had been seeking, why hadn’t they been able to find it, either?

  “The door!” Alaric blurted. “The Fueren were looking for the door. Whatever he’s looking for is inside the ruins of an Ancient building. What if it is the building somehow keeping them from finding the item, whatever it is? I’m sorry to be so fickle, but I must now agree with Kahji. I think there is a good chance we could find something at that site which would cause the Frost Fiends to divert.”

  The baron and sergeant considered that as well. Finally the baron said, “You may be right. That would help explain it. But then you would need to find the door. When you left, you said the door had not been exposed, and the Fueren were all dead. How do you propose to find the door?”

  “We dig. Quickly. Give me twenty of the Igni and shovels. We can be out there in two days instead of three.”

  “Give you? Why would you lead this mission?”

  “Mostly because I’m the only person I know who can even sort of keep up with the Igni when they move quickly. But also because I’m the person here, with the possible exception of Father Bayard, who knows the most about the tablet we found and the ward it was supposed to be part of. That makes it more likely that I’ll recognize whatever artifact is the object of our search than anyone else.”

  “Very well. Assuming Lord Kahji has no objections, you may take twenty of the Igni and see what you can find. But I need you back here in no more than six days. Two days there, two days of searching, and two days back.”

  Kahji nodded. “When do we leave?”

  CHAPTER 35

  Alaric nimbly leapt onto the back of his warhorse; it never even lost its stride. He and the twenty Igni would reach the Ancient ruin in a few hours. As had become his habit, he’d allowed the horse to keep a faster pace by running alongside for an hour or more at a stretch. The mount would still be winded when they arrived, but it should take no permanent harm. This allowed him to keep up better with the Igni.

  They’d left shortly after the decision was made to try this desperate gambit. The more lead they had on the invasion force, the better everyone would feel. If they could find whatever the object the monsignor had been seeking, they would be well positioned to lead the Frost Fiends on a merry chase. If they couldn’t, they wanted as much chance to beat the invasion force back as possible.

  When they arrived, they found the site just as they had left it. Apparently the monsignor had not returned. Alaric allowed himself to hope that he had been defeated at least until the threat of the Frost Fiends could be put to rest. He didn’t let himself get his hopes too high, the being that had possessed the respected scholar was obviously quite powerful, and they simply hadn’t been able to threaten it significantly. The pavilion still stood off to one side, and the buckets the Fueren had been using were still where they had been left.

  “We have no time to waste,” Alaric said after a brief moment to survey the site. “Let’s get to digging.”

  Alaric, Kahji, and the other Igni all fell to work. They replicated what the Fueren had been doing with some minor differences. Among other things, having opposable thumbs and tools made the job faster. Then there was desperation. The Fueren had been digging for their master; the Igni were digging for their lives. Within hours they had excavated about six more feet.

  As Alaric took a moment to rest, he tried to envision the site as it would have looked when the Ancients had inhabited it. The outer wall was huge. He could imagine the depths they had had to dig to make such a wall stable in the sandy dirt of this part of the Firemarch. Something about that bothered him, in fact.

  Then there was the direction everything was pointing. It seemed odd; the face of the building they were exposing ran almost perpendicular with the Border. He would have thought the door would be on the side facing directly toward or directly away from the Border. All human architecture faced the border, or directly away from it, because that was the direction danger came from. Even assuming the Ancients had been allies or even friends with the Igni, it made sense that they would face toward or away from the border. This orientation made it seem completely haphazard.

  Then it clicked. It was wrong. Somehow, the being of such incredible power and the incredible scholar it had possessed had gotten the layout of the building wrong. That, or they had misjudged the direction here. In either case, they’d been digging on the wrong side. The door was probably much higher up on the wall either to the right or left of the one they were currently clearing. He started laughing.

  “Kahji! Have your people find the edges of the building. We’re digging on the wrong side!”

  Kahji looked at him curiously for a moment, then took the time to take his bearings. Kahji began to chuckle as well, and then set his people on clearing the top excavation tiers further back until they could find the corners of the building.

  Before the sun began to set, the corners had been exposed. They had about a day and a half to find the door, get inside, and find whatever the Frost Fiends and the Monsignor Manitoc had been seeking. That night, Alaric and Kahji sat down to discuss the matter.

  “I don’t suppose any of those in the group we brought with us were Firesmiths?” Alaric asked.

  “No, but that probably wouldn’t help anyway. We simply don’t pay that much attention to the past. You probably know more about the Ancients than all but the eldest of the Igni.”

  “I guess the question is this: what was the purpose of this area? If it is defensive, the door is probably on the Mediatus side. If the purpose is not defensive, then the door is likely on the Infierno side. What would your guess be?”

  “I think you’re wrong. You think too much like a human. To you, the Igni are enemies, or at least rivals. The Ancients were our allies, at least. The legends say they were more than that to us. They would not have expected assault from the Infierno side of the Border. Based on the layout of what walls have survived, along with the distance between them and this structure, I think this was a defensive structure. It seems to be laid out quite similarly to your own castles.”

  “If that is the case, then the door is probably on the face which points into the courtyard,” Alaric paused as he looked around, “That would be the side toward Infierno. Very well, we’ll focus our efforts there in the morning.”

  The next day, they began before the sun rose. Once more they worked with frenetic effort. They took turns between guard duty, rest, and digging. Four would watch while the others either rested or dug. With the great strength of the Igni, the work was quick and efficient. Within only two hours they had cleared down nearly ten feet. Within four they had reached eighteen, and they had found what they were looking for.

  “The door! We’ve found the door!” the cry went up. Alaric and Kahji both rushed over. It was a bit lower than Alaric had expected; based on the top, it would probably take another two hours to clear it, and then they would have to see if it would open.

  They immediately got to work on the next phase. More slowly now, because they had to be careful, they dug around the door. It was a huge double-door, easily the size of a castle main gate. The doors themselves seemed to be made from stone. Alaric could not place the type, but he assumed they were basalt or granite. Whatever the substance, it had obviously started polished smooth. Even after all the centuries standing against the elements it showed only the slightest wear.

  As they continued to dig around it, Alaric began to grow worried. After three more hours they had only managed another ten feet. The doors were probably that tall again. Almost as worrisome, he saw no sign of hinges or handles. He saw tha
t the doors would have to swing inward, but he would have expected something on the front. There was no carving, no decoration; there was not even evidence that the doors had once been carved.

  Three more hours they worked before the door was fully cleared. When it was, Alaric was amazed. The doors stood fully twenty-five feet high. Just as he had observed originally, it appeared they had been as smooth as fine glass when they had been installed. Even now they showed only the barest traces of texture.

  After a brief period of rest, they all lined up at the door. Everyone wanted to see what it was that had thrown their worlds into havoc. It seemed the world stood still as Alaric moved forward to open that massive portal. He raised his hands and pushed on the door. He might as well have been pushing on a mountain. They would not budge.

  Kahji came to join him. Together they pushed against those colossal doors. Still the door would not open. They did not move in the slightest under that pressure. The other Igni began helping then. More and more of them began pressing against the door, and still it would not open.

  Alaric saw the sun nearing the horizon. It would be dark soon, “That’s enough. Let’s call a rest. We have about half a day tomorrow to open the doors and search the building. Perhaps tonight we can figure out how to open them.”

  That night, Alaric once more dreamed of darkness. A swirling emptiness consumed his vision. Down and down into that vortex of nothing he seemed to fall. All around him he heard dark and sinister laughter. He knew he had to get out of that maelstrom, but found himself powerless to resist.

  As he sank deeper into that whirling nothingness, the laughter became a voice. He recognized the voice, but was unable to remember from where. It promised him power, and revenge, and strength. Surrender, it seemed to say without words, and he would have power to extract revenge for his brother and his friends.