The Lion's Crypt (The Emberlyn Chronicles Book 2)

by Michael K. Rose

  “How many?”

  “Thirty thousand men.”

  Gralock’s eyes widened. “Then the Great Forest will be ours within a matter of months!”

  “Not quite so.” Dourok waved his hands, and a map materialized, superimposed on the stones between them. “The king of Gronstave must believe he will see some benefit from our alliance. Otherwise he will resist my influence. I would prevail in the end, but I do not wish to waste my time and energy keeping him in line.”

  “Why not kill him?”

  Dourok looked annoyed. “Because I would then need to spread my influence across his thirty thousand soldiers. It will of course happen naturally over time as they are exposed to my men, but that is time which I cannot spare. No, much better to leave the head attached, don’t you think?”

  Gralock nodded.

  “King Heinrich, therefore, believes that I will assist him in extending the border of Gronstave east.” He pointed at the map. “This border between Gronstave and Emberlyn has moved several times over the past few hundred years. The city of Eiswohld, here near the source of the Deerford River, was built by Gronstavers. Heinrich would very much like to reclaim it.”

  “If he marches his army on Eiswohld, Emberlyn will move to defend it.”

  “Of course. But before that happens, Heinrich will split his army. He will send half here, convinced that helping me conquer the Great Forest will place even more resources at his disposal—including some magical items that are kept in the palace of Lanion.”

  Gralock smiled. “And meanwhile you let the hornless who remain outside the forest kill one another by the thousands, making your eventual conquest of them that much easier.”

  Dourok waved, and the map vanished. “We think alike, General. Now, I estimate that we will be able to move within the week. The swamp is giving us some trouble, of course, but it’s nothing we can’t overcome given enough time. Once the black trees have been hacked down, I can look upon the land outside the Great Forest myself and determine the best course of action. For a while at least, we will encamp the army outside of the forest and let the hospitality of Gronstave sustain us. This city would not withstand a prolonged attack, and the whole thing could be burned to the ground in a matter of hours. Besides, I want my men to meet the soldiers of Gronstave so that they may get to know the people alongside whom they’ll be fighting.”

  “And help to spread your influence among the hornless, just in case the king somehow finds a way to resist you.”

  Dourok winked.

  “And the Lanosh?”

  “What they do now is irrelevant. Whether they stay ensconced in their city or come to fight us, they will not win. The Gronstavers will die in droves, of course, but their numbers will eventually prove too much for Queen Anneli and her army. But for now, General, take your much-deserved rest. When we march out from the Great Forest, I wish for you to lead it.”

  Gralock stood and bowed. He was among a handful of generals Dourok might have chosen, but it was clear his suffering over the winter was being rewarded. He also suspected his special gift—the ability to talk a man into nearly anything—played a part. Some Gronstavers might prove naturally resistant to Dourok’s influence. If any of Gronstave’s commanders showed such a resistance, Gralock could attempt to influence them his own way.

  “Is there anything else, My Lord?” he asked.

  Dourok looked off toward the ceiling, thinking. “Nothing urgent, no. I expect you’ll want to clean up. Go, General. The next few days are yours to do with as you please. When the time comes, I know you will be ready.”

  Gralock bowed a final time then turned to exit the throne room. The stench hit him as he stepped through the doorway, but he didn’t mind it as much this time. If he served Dourok well during this, his final push to defeat the Lanosh, he might be granted more than the privileges of a general. Perhaps he would be rewarded like the steward Hansik had been and be given a long life. Perhaps he could even replace the decrepit old schemer.

  Despite his fatigue, he walked briskly toward the building where he had his quarters, hoping they had been kept clean in his absence. A meal, a bath and a night of undisturbed sleep were waiting for him. Any thought of future rewards could wait.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The Battle at Dournion

  Penny’s pulse pounded in her ears as she marched, keeping one eye on the soldiers in front of her and another at the wooden structures farther ahead. The Lanosh army had emerged from the woods as orderly as possible, but when there was no immediate response from the newly built city in the clearing, they had taken the time to form proper ranks. They had, after all, nearly a mile of open ground to cross.

  Arrows sailed from the Dourosh settlement at the edge of the North Wood, but she was ready for them. She cast a temporary shield over the company of soldiers directly in front of her, and the arrows bounced harmlessly off of it. The archers on the flanks released a volley in response, quieting several of the Dourosh bowmen. She looked to her right and caught William’s gaze. Beyond him, Owen stoically kept his eyes forward.

  Another wave of arrows required her attention, and she made sure the shield was still holding as they sailed downward. As they clattered ineffectively against it then dropped harmlessly to the ground in front of the soldiers, the Dourosh in the city let out a battle cry and burst forth from the barricades they’d raised. A trumpet sounded, and the Lanosh army came to a halt. Far off to the right, Penny spotted the other half of their army as it emerged from the forest. Anneli and General Braedok were leading that contingent in the hopes of splitting the Dourosh. It worked. Some of the onrushing enemy veered off in that direction.

  Penny couldn’t see Anneli, Braedok, Faric or Sir Stephen—like her, they were behind the front lines—but she saw the effect of the queen’s magic as a wave of energy sent a dozen Dourosh hurtling to the ground.

  Penny turned her attention back to the nearer threat. She conjured the same spell Anneli had used, but she felt some resistance as she tried to release it. There was a powerful caster somewhere among the Dourosh.

  She probingly sent her magic out and located him. Even without seeing one another, they began a contest of wills. Destructive magic rushed toward her, but she swiped it away. She tried to paralyze his limbs long enough to keep him from casting again, but he pushed back against it, but only just.

  Penny set her jaw and spoke rapidly, sending spell after spell toward him, and finally he buckled. She felt the fight leave him as he spent whatever reserves of energy he’d had. One last spell knocked him unconscious; this was a battle he would miss.

  She did not have long to celebrate her triumph. The onrushing Dourosh impacted their line, around twenty of them dying upon the spears directly in front of her. Beside her, William had his sword drawn; he’d been protecting her during her magical battle. Owen, she saw, was throwing up defensive spells; he was under attack from another caster hidden among the Dourosh.

  She turned to aid him, but he suddenly stopped casting and stood still, looking confused. A moment later, they all knew why his attacker had stopped assailing him. Two dozen of the Lanosh soldiers in front of them screamed out as one. They dropped to the ground, and as some of them turned, Penny saw that the skin on their faces was bubbling and blistering as though it were burning.

  She had a thought to help them, to at the very least numb their pain, but she did not get a chance to act. The Dourosh burst through the gap in the line and charged straight toward their position. It seemed the enemy caster had decided to force Owen’s attention elsewhere. She drew the Lion’s Sword and readied herself for combat.

  As the protective blue glow spread from the sword and across her skin, she saw several of the Dourosh balk, but the momentum of the men behind them kept them from slowing. From the corner of her eye, she saw Owen pinch his face in pain.

  She slapped William on the arm. “Protect Owen! He needs to focus so he can resist the enemy caster!”

  William moved in front
of Penny’s brother, and she took a few steps to be at his side. To her left and right, the rear ranks of Lanosh squared their shields, lowered their spears and moved to fill the gap in the line, but the Dourosh were already spilling through and disrupting the formation. Within seconds, there would be no more lines, only chaos.

  Penny probed toward Owen for a second; he was beginning to resist the enemy caster again. A second after that, she raised her sword and brought it down against the blade of a Dourosh soldier. He screamed as he saw the glow across her skin flare up, but before he could understand what was happening, she had sliced the Lion’s Sword halfway through his neck.

  Another Dourosh lasted three seconds longer than his comrade before Penny rammed the blade through his eye. A third, a fourth and then a fifth enemy soldier fell to the Lion’s Sword before even a minute had passed.

  Penny felt the sword begin to take control. She let it. Swinging the blade in arc after deadly arc, she pressed forward, away from her comrades, and quickly found herself completely surrounded by Dourosh, their faces a mixture of rage and fear. Above the cacophony of battle she thought she heard William calling to her, but she was beyond his reach now. She felt the pressure of a few blows against her skin, but the aura emanating from the sword protected her from being cut. The merest touch from her blade, however, had devastating effect. It seemed to slice more deeply into their flesh than was possible. Even the slightest graze across a stomach would disembowel her enemies, and a glancing blow to a forearm would sever not only flesh but bone. Even nonlethal wounds, mere scrapes of her blade, had her enemies crying out in agony and crumpling to the ground, dead.

  Perceiving the action one second ahead of the Dourosh around her, she drove back three attempts to surround and attack from front, flanks and rear simultaneously. Her sword was poised to meet her enemies’ thrusts while their muscles were still twitching in anticipation. She hacked and stabbed and raged until every Dourosh around her was either dead or fleeing.

  As she stood among the bodies, she began to return to herself. She watched the retreating Dourosh and noticed that the force being led by Anneli was overrunning the host who’d gone to meet them. Dourok’s army was collapsing. This thought sent the sword humming with excitement, and it took all her willpower to resist its desire for more slaughter.

  She moved to wipe it clean, but there was no blood on the blade. Glancing down, she saw that she was also clean of gore. The protective aura had kept more than steel off of her skin.

  Feeling as though her arm were moving through mud, she forced the blade down and slid it into its scabbard. The influence of the sword began to wane, and she felt exhaustion spread through her limbs. She pulled off her helmet, wiped the sweat from her eyes and turned. She was over two hundred paces from where she’d started, and an untold number of dead Dourosh lay stretched out behind her. She could see William and Owen watching her. The Lanosh soldiers were likewise looking uncertainly in her direction, unsure of what to do next.

  Finally, a captain began shouting orders, and the line reformed then began marching forward, toward the city. As William and Owen reached her, she put her helmet back on and fell in beside them. No one said a word. They stopped within a stone’s throw of the barricades surrounding the city, but there were no Dourosh defending them.

  A cluster broke off from the other half of the army, and Penny could tell by their ornate armor that they were Anneli’s personal guards. She, William and Owen moved to meet them, and they came to a stop halfway between the two forces, their attention never leaving the windows and doorways of the wooden buildings for very long. Even so, there were no signs of life within.

  “Anyone hurt?” Anneli asked as they came within speaking distance.

  “Of us, no,” William said.

  Anneli looked toward the field where Penny had been fighting. Lanosh healers were already moving among the bodies, searching for wounded. She looked back toward the city. “There is something wrong here.”

  “The lack of resistance?” William asked.

  “Yes. We do not know the exact numbers of Dourosh who came here to the North Wood, but it had to have been more than what we just faced.”

  “Perhaps they’ve laid some trap farther in,” offered Sir Stephen. “This small resistance might have been intended only to slow us down so that they could prepare.”

  Anneli nodded. “There is only one way to find out.” She turned to General Braedok and pointed down what seemed to be the main thoroughfare through the city. “Recombine the forces, General. We’ll enter here and meet whatever awaits us at full strength.”

  Chapter Thirty

  The Breach

  They found no trap, no resistance and not a single Dourosh save those who’d been injured and had been left behind by their retreating comrades. The rest appeared to have continued their flight past the northern extent of the settlement. They reached the center of the city, and Anneli brought the army to a halt as she looked up at the stone tower rising three stories high.

  She held up a hand and swept from left to right. “This was Dourok’s keep.”

  “Is he inside?” William asked.

  “No. And he’s been absent for days, perhaps even a week.”

  Penny looked up at the dark windows. “You mean he left his people here alone?”

  General Braedok frowned. “Only some of them. Most of the buildings my soldiers have been searching show no signs of recent use: no food, no cooking pots, beds stripped of linens. Dourok left, all right, and he took most of his army with him.”

  “Took them where?” Sir Stephen asked.

  Anneli closed her eyes and shook her head. “No… it can’t be.”

  Penny placed her hand on Anneli’s arm. “What is it?”

  “The ward. It’s been breached just north of here.”

  “That’s impossible. You would have known about it before now.”

  Anneli looked back up at the tower. “Dourok left a powerful spell here. It blocked me from sensing the ward in this area, but it fell as soon as I probed this tower. He wanted me to realize the truth here, now, surrounded by the evidence of what he’s been doing over the course of the winter.”

  Penny took her hand off of Anneli’s arm and gripped the hilt of her sword. “So what can we do about it?”

  “Nothing, Penny. Nothing at all. Dourok and his army have moved beyond the Great Forest. They are now out there among your people—people who can little resist his corruption.”

  “And people whose armies number in the tens of thousands,” General Braedok muttered.

  The queen began walking, and Braedok ordered the army back into motion. They continued through the wooden city until they reached its northern edge. From there, they marched out into a forest that had been cleared of all large trees and then finally to the edge of where the ward had once been. As far as they could see, stretching off to the east and the west, the black trees had been cut down. Some of the stumps had even been dug out of the ground and hacked into splinters, and still others had been burned until there was nothing but charcoal remaining. Penny knew that cutting them down would have been enough to breach the ward. This further destruction had been done out of spite.

  Anneli closed her eyes and held her hands out in either direction. “Almost three miles. That’s how wide the gap is. Dourok exerted a great deal of energy indeed trying to keep me from sensing this.” She pointed. “Come. The edge of the swamp is ahead.”

  Penny looked forward. She hadn’t seen the Bleaklands since leaving her village almost a full year earlier. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed it.

  Anneli ordered the army to stay behind while she, accompanied by her friends and the queen’s guard, continued toward the bog. When they reached it, the queen sat heavily on the stump of one of the black trees that had been left in place and looked out at the wide wooden boardwalk directly in front of them. Half a dozen others, built from the wood of the black trees, ran parallel to it on both side
s.

  William picked up a stone and tossed it into the swamp. “The way I figure it,” he said, “men from outside built this boardwalk to bring in lumbermen. The disorienting magic of the Bleaklands wouldn’t do much to a man walking across on straight, dry planks. They then hacked down the black trees and built the other walkways from this side so Dourok’s army could quickly move across.”

  “Whose land is that out there?” Sir Stephen asked. “Does it belong to Emberlyn or to Gronstave?”

  Anneli blinked a few times and rubbed at her eyes. “Gronstave. The border lies a few miles to the east.”

  “Then we have a good idea which kingdom Dourok hopes to conquer first,” Stephen said.

  Anneli stood and embraced him. “No, not conquer. Control, yes, but not conquer. If he can get to Gronstave’s king and corrupt him, the entire country will be his to command.”

  Penny turned to look at William. “It was one of our friends,” she said. “Sir Harold, Sir Alfred or George. One of them survived. Dourok sent one of them out before corrupting him.”

  “And then began corrupting him from afar,” Faric said. He looked at Anneli. “This is the thing our people have feared for nearly two thousand years. What can we do?”

  Anneli released Sir Stephen and studied the bog in front of them. “We will hold the army here. The Dourosh can only reenter the forest at this spot. We’ll send scouts out to the edges of the forest to look for any sign the armies of Gronstave are building paths across the swamp and trying to breach the ward elsewhere.”

  “We don’t have the resources to keep the army here,” Faric said. “There is little clear land for agriculture, and I’m certain the Dourosh have nearly depleted the North Wood of game.”

  “Then we will cut a road between here and Lanion. We will cut through wood and earth and rock until the road is smooth and wide enough for horse and wagon. We will support this army here as long as we need to. Dourok cannot be allowed to reenter the Great Forest. Neither can the armies of Gronstave.”