by C. E. Swain
They were ahead of schedule, and had arrived at their destination sooner than they expected because the solders worked together well, and followed orders without question. The realms dispatched their solders to Grimmen quickly, and all were in the city when Litlorn and the solders of the southern guard arrived.
The hill was the beginning of the marked path that the enemy used to reach the west, and Litlorn wanted to talk to the men before they started the assault. He made his way back through the trees to the solders that waited at the base of the hill, and mounted his horse. They were close to their destination now, and did not want to alert the enemy to their presents too soon. Litlorn split the group into four equal parts, to allow them to cover more ground when the counter spell had been cast. Litlorn gave each group their orders, and instructed them on how he wanted to attack the groups that would be exposed by the counter spell. He wanted prisoners to take back to Menimeth, but not at the cost of the lives of any of his men. The empire needed all of the solders they could get, and he did not want to lose any here. Litlorn gave the signal, and the solders rode out and to the locations they were assigned. Litlorn and ten of the solders of the east would stay with Darik while he cast the spell, and then they would work their way west from here.
When Darik was satisfied with the spell, and was sure it would last for several months, he returned to the opposite side of the hill. Litlorn and the solders were waiting there for him, and when he was mounted, they formed up in ranks and waited. Several minutes passed as they waited for the other groups to reach their destinations, before Darik began the counter spell. He raised his staff and said two words, "Vogadreth-Asavren" and a wave of magic spread across the land before them, following the path the brigands had marked.
Litlorn looked into the distance, and spotted several groups of solders dressed as bandits ahead of them. He gave the order, and the solders of the empire, slowly moved forward to capture or kill the forces of the mage king. The groups of outlaws were bigger than before. No longer did they travel in groups of two and three, but in groups of ten to twelve.
Litlorn and Darik led the way as they moved closer to their destination, and the solders of the combined force followed. The enemy was ahead of them, and they were looking forward to the coming attack with anticipation. The men rode with their heads held high, and were proud to be part of the new age. They had all heard the stories in their youth of the new age of the dragon, but never thought it would happen in their lifetime. Life was returning to the empire now that a king sat on the throne, and the men of the guard of each realm felt it.
The first group of outlaws were caught off guard by the advancing solders, but fought hard when they realized they could be seen. The fight lasted only a few minutes, but two of Litlorn's men were hurt in the skirmish. All of the brigands were killed, and not one of them would surrender. That turned out to be the easiest camp that they found, until they linked up with the first of the strike forces sent ahead.
Five men had been wounded, and two were killed in the first of the strike forces that they reached, and Litlorn was concerned for the other forces farther ahead. Only two men had died so far, but seven were wounded and two were hurt badly enough to be out of the fight, so Litlorn ordered a camp built. All of the wounded from the other strike forces would be sent to the camp to have their wounds treated, and anyone captured in the campaign would be sent here as well. Ten men were to remain in the camp to guard it and the wounded until their return, but Litlorn did not plan to let any of the brigands passed him that were not prisoners.
Riding from the camp, Litlorn led the small force from the open foothills, and into the tree-covered land that made up the northern part of Borlund's realm. He was limited in the distance that he could see ahead of them, because of the thickness of the trees, but the other strike forces were ahead of them somewhere to the west.
They did not encounter any more camps as they made their way west, and Litlorn found it odd. By his calculations, there should have been several more between them and the next strike force.
When they reached the second strike force it was intact, but had not covered very much ground. They had not found anyone along the way, but several of their men were hurt when they set off various traps built by the enemy. The men had found several more of the traps, and disarmed them, but could only clear an area wide enough for Litlorn and the other solders that accompanied him to pass. Litlorn wondered why traps had been set, if the outlaws only used the north as a way to reach the west. It was not what he expected to see as he led the men west, and he knew something was wrong.
It was not long before Litlorn and Darik reached the third strike force, which also had seen no one. They found no traps as they swept the area they were assigned to clear of enemies, but they had not looked for any along the way. Litlorn became even more concerned when it appeared they had missed most of the enemy, which sought to reach the camp in the west.
Two hours later, when the solders of the last strike force began to reach them, Litlorn realized a trap had been set for them. Many of the first to arrive were wounded, but not enough to keep them from the fight ahead. The last to arrive, were the solders that protected them from any enemies that may have been behind them, and the returning solders reported a large force of the enemy, and the wall of fire that saved them as well. They believed it to be Darik who cast the spell, and thanked him for their lives.
"Something is not right." Litlorn said to Darik, as he sent the badly wounded men on to the camp in the east. "How could there be a large force of the enemy, if they did not know we were coming?"
"Because they did know we were coming." Darik said, as he looked at the elf. "And they had the time to gather their forces in one place to fight us."
"They had the time for more than that." Litlorn said. "The camps that we found in the east, were designed to slow us down long enough to defeat one quarter of our forces, and possibly more."
"There is more than one mystery here." Darik said. "Who cast the spell that saved our men?"
Menimeth stepped from the trees in front of them, and startled, the men halted their advance. Litlorn had seen the dragon, but not his friend, until he was standing in front of them. The man was getting as good at that as his dragon he thought.
"We did not expect to see you here." Litlorn said to his friend. "But we did not expect to see as many outlaws as we did."
"There are more on the way." Menimeth informed them. "And there is a second and larger force behind the first, that is approaching from the west."
"How can that be?" Darik asked. "It is one thing to consolidate the solders that are here, but another all together to bring forces to the fight."
"The outlaws are passed the barrier, and the second group is less than half of an hour behind them." Danorathin informed his master.
"We will have to discuss it later." Menimeth said. "The outlaws are on the move again, and we must have a plan if we are to defeat them."
"How many of the enemies are in the forces arrayed against us?" Darik asked.
"Around two hundred in the first group, and twice as many in the second." Menimeth replied.
"Then we must defeat the first group quickly." Litlorn said. "To have a chance to defeat the second."
"That is what we must do." Menimeth said. "Place fifty men on each side of the hill, and the rest here, hidden in the trees. When the outlaws reach the bottom of the hill, attack them with your bows first."
"And when we have defeated them, do we advance, or hold our ground?" Litlorn asked.
"We will retreat to a better defensive position, and make our stand there." Menimeth said. "Any that are wounded in the battle should be sent east right away, in case we are forced to retreat from our next position."
"We will do as you command." Litlorn said, and gave the orders to his men.
Menimeth and his dragon leapt into the air, disappearing over the trees to the east seconds later. The solders of the empire scrambled into position, and the bowm
en readied their bows for the first assault. Darik and Litlorn stood in the center of the hill, and waited for the enemy to appear from behind the hill that sat between them.
They did not have to wait long for the enemy to reach the hill and start down the other side. The first of them reached the bottom of the hill where the men of the empire waited in ambush, before the last of them crested the opposite hill. Litlorn waited for the last of the enemy to appear, before he gave the signal to attack, to avoid alerting the enemy solders that were behind the ones they attacked. The enemy was half way up the hill in which they stood, when Litlorn fired the first arrow, and a hail of arrows followed from behind him.
Darik raised his staff, and a ball of fire tore through the ranks of the enemy, as the confused solders momentarily halted their advance. Another hail of arrows dropped many in the front ranks, before the outlaws attacked up the hill.
The solders of the empire drew their swords, and with a yell, raced down the hill to meet them. The two forces came together with a clash of swords, and the brigands were driven back after several minuets of hard fighting. Darik stood on the hill at the edge of the trees, and lightning shot from his staff, as well as balls of fire, that ripped through the enemy as they advanced.
Danorathin came in low over the trees, and dropped onto the startled solders of the enemy. Menimeth dropped from his dragon with both swords out, and they glowed with a bright white light as he attacked the solders that were closest to him. The solders of the empire came from both sides of the hill, and crashed into the forces of the Mage king on both flanks.
Several men were dead at the feet of the dragon rider, and two more were dispatched, before he raised the sword in his right hand. Pointing it at a group of the enemy solders that were about to attack him, and spoke the words that came to his mind.
"Kathasren-Varadin-Dreather." He said, and the brigands he cast the spell at screamed a death scream, and fell to the ground dead. Danorathin ripped through the outlaws with terrible speed and ferocity, as the frightened men tried to flee. Within minuets the fight was over, but not one of the brigands would surrender, and while solders of the mage king lay everywhere, some of the men of the empire were among them.
Menimeth leapt onto his dragon when the fight was over, and Danorathin vaulted into the air, disappearing over the trees from which he had come. The solders of the empire retreated up the hill and into the trees, carrying their dead with them as they did. They could not delay in putting ground between them and the battlefield, for the larger force of brigands was close behind them. The enemy dead were left were they had fallen, and if the remaining forces could be destroyed, would be burned later.
Thirty-six men were dead, while another twenty were wounded beyond the ability to help in the fight, and they were all taken to the camp Litlorn had set up in the east. The men that were able to fight were to return to Litlorn, and aid them in the battle to come. Menimeth watched as the larger force of enemy solders came over the hill, and discovered the battlefield. They stopped to investigate, and that gave Litlorn the time he needed to put the distance between them, and his solders.
Menimeth was waiting for them when they reached the first of several clearings in that part of the Northern realm. The trees were far thicker behind them, and in the direction of the camp, so Menimeth laid out an ambush that had several parts to it. If it worked out the way he planned, it would give them the advantage they needed to defeat the enemy without many losses.
The solders of the enemy were moving east again, and were more cautious as they advanced. Twenty bowmen on horses waited in the trees to the south, and watched as the enemy approached. When the outlaws were even with their position, they dropped twenty men with the first volley. They dropped another twenty with the second volley, before riding south to escape the perusing bandits.
Those brigands that chased the bowmen were caught in a hail of arrows several minuets later, that they could not escape. All of them perished in the barrage, and the forces of the empire melted away into the trees. They regrouped to the east of the remaining forces of the enemy, and set up the next ambush. They had killed more than one hundred of the enemy in the first ambush, and hoped to do the same in the next.
Danorathin came in low and attacked the rear of the enemy, disappearing as fast as he appeared. The next time, he came in from the south, and after that the north. The outlaws fled into the trees to escape the dragon, and that was when he cast the spell. Menimeth repeated the spell he had used to allow the solders of the empire to escape, "DrathinVoran-Cathantry-Adrada-Fathean." And a wall of fire sprang up from the trees, driving the outlaws out of them, and into the clearing beyond.
Darik stood at the tree line across the clearing from the enemy, and a ball of fire flew from his staff as the outlaws came from the burning trees. It hit the outlaws and drove a path through them two men wide, and into the burning trees behind them. Burning men dropped to the ground dead as it did, but before the brigands could react, another path of burning men lay dead on the ground. With a yell, the brigands raced across the clearing to attack the mage and end the threat he posed. When they were all within the open ground, the next volley of arrows from both sides tore into the outlaws, dropping many as they ran. The dragon rider landed in the middle of the startled bandits when the last volley of arrows had been fired, and the solders of the empire poured from the trees all around them, and the battle for the north had begun.
Menimeth was in the center of the enemy forces, and was cutting them down as fast as he could reach them. His swords flashed as they circled him in a deadly dance of death, and all that opposed him were cut down in that wall of steel. Danorathin grabbed several of the outlaws and leapt into the air, throwing them as far as he could before returning for more. Balls of fire were flying through the air, and swords were flashing in the sunlight, as the battle raged on. Men were screaming, and the sounds of battle were everywhere as the men of the empire fought for their land, and the enemy was being pushed in on themselves.
Several brigands rushed Menimeth, but Danorathin landed on them and most were killed outright. The claws of the massive dragon killed the others, and the dragon turned to face the new threat. The men of the empire surrounded them, so the brigands turned on the dragon and his rider. They hoped to kill them both, but never had the chance.
Menimeth raised his swords above his head, and the words flowed from him, smooth and clear.
"Drathin-Varadin-Dreather-Kathasren-Lanorda. Esecandri-FarthinDradam-Escovran" His swords began to glow brighter, and the wind picked up, as the outlaws rushed him. Within seconds, a bright flash of light flew from the swords in his hands, and burned a hole through all of the remaining outlaws. A look of surprise was on their faces as their souls were ripped from them, and absorbed into the swords of the dragon rider, before they dropped to the ground dead.
Menimeth became very weary, but he could feel the power of the ring he wore as it filled him with strength and stamina. It would not protect him from harm, but it would keep him from succumbing to the draining affects of using magic. He would still need rest to regain his strength, but it was not a pressing concern, since he had gained the power of the men he had killed.
The Brigands were defeated, but it cost the empire dearly. Another Sixty-two men were dead, and close to one hundred more were wounded. In the battle for the north, the empire may have won, but the enemy had done what Arnoran had intended. The empire could not afford these kinds of losses to its solders, but they had killed more than six hundred of the enemy. That would cut the forces Chidren would have to carry out his objective in the west, down some, but it would not be by much.
Menimeth and his dragon flew to Grimmen, to have wagons sent to retrieve the dead and wounded. Supply wagons were already in the north, and they had reached the camp Litlorn set up earlier that day. They were unloaded, and as many of the badly wounded as they could fit in them, were carried back to the city in the east.
Litlorn led a group of solder
s to the first battleground, and stripped the dead of all the armor and weapons they possessed, along with everything else of value they could find. The bodies of the enemy were tossed into a ravine and burned. The solders led the packhorses back to the camp, stopping at the second battleground to collect what they could from the dead brigands there as well. When the task had been completed, and the bodies were stacked into a large pile, they were also burned with the help of magic.
Menimeth was in the camp when Litlorn and Darik returned, and Litlorn limped from the arrow that had found its way into his leg. It was not a bad wound, but it kept him from walking very far. His horse was retrieved along with Darik's, and they traveled with the first of the solders to return south. Menimeth waited until all of the wounded were treated and in tents, waiting for the wagons to return them to the city of Grimmen. The wagons would take several days to reach the camp, but Menimeth needed to return to the south much sooner than that. The evil they had felt earlier was still on the great road north of the dragon rider capital, and it must be eradicated before he could return to the Dragon Tower.