by C. E. Swain
"Yes, Falendor had that completed when I arrived." Javen replied. "According to Meni's instructions."
"Meni planned it well, and if he is right, the enemy may throw all its forces at the castle on the first attack."
"If they do, they will all be in the open at the same time." Javen said.
"While we are not."
"I am staying in one of the rooms in the back." Javen informed his friend. "You should do the same."
"Yes, it will be nice to stay in the inn again, and it will be easier to find us if we are needed.
Over the next two days, the patrols were increased around the castle, and the scouts were sent farther to the north and west. All of the commanders were given a room at the Red Falcon, and a cook from the castle came to the inn to cook for them while they were there, as a show of thanks from the regent.
On the third day after his arrival, Feran arraigned for runners to be placed in all of the camps around Argnon, and ordered the men to be trained while they could do so, without being observed by the enemy. The runners Feran placed in each camp, linked them to the headquarters as well as each other, but the scouts linked the different armies. When the battle started, the scouts would relay the orders from the headquarters to the commanders, and from commander to commander.
Commander Fracher had his men wait until the first patrol had returned each morning, before his men were drilled in the open field. It did not take them long to learn the weapons of the empire, and the way in which they would be used in the coming battle. Many of the veterans were impressed with the training, and the way the king would fight the battle. None of the veterans from the wars in the southeast, who had joined the dragon guard, had ever seen the kind of warfare the dragon rider was about to unleash on the enemy. With the special attachment to the saddle, which held the spears while the rider used the bow from a distance, the warriors of the empire would be able to fight the enemy regardless of the formation they used.
Commander Rayden and the Lost Cavalry were the only warriors who would not be using the bow and spears in the fight for Argnon. They were the only true cavalry in the empire, and Menimeth intended to use them in that way. They could move faster than the other warriors of the empire, and they had been together far longer than the armies Menimeth commanded.
Within a week of Feran's arrival, he was pleased with the progress that the men were making, and decided to allow them to rest until the enemy was sighted. All of the camps were supplied with fresh meat daily, and it came from the patrols to the north and west. Feran wanted the enemy to have very little game to hunt, as they made their way to the castle, so he only hunted the game in that direction. It did not take long for the hunters to drive the deer and antelope from the path the enemy was expected to use.
On the tenth day, and two weeks after Javen and the first of the warriors arrived at the castle, the first reports of the enemy reached Feran at the headquarters. The reports put the enemy about three weeks from the town, and moving at a steady pace. The siege weapons were using more horses than they needed, but they were having no trouble keeping up with the main army. Feran ordered the patrols to stay closer to the castle, and to keep prying eyes from the trees around it.
Early the next morning, with just a faint glow in the east to announce the dawn to come, the solders around Argnon began to rise for the morning. As the light steadily grew, the great bronze dragon became visible sitting on the tower of the castle, and the news soon spread throughout the camps. All of the men believed that with the dragon rider to lead them, they could not be defeated in battle, regardless of the army they faced. For that reason the men did all they were asked by their commanders, and followed every order that was given to them.
The sun looked as if it was following the king, to announce his arrival to the realm as he made his way along the road. The banners of the empire appeared to glow in the morning light, as the sun behind them bathed the edges in a fiery light. The warriors around Argnon watched as he rode into the town, and turned in the direction of the castle. When he reached the gates of the garrison, he had the men set up their camp on the opposite side of the castle from Javen's army, and went inside to speak with Falendor.
Litlorn, Darik, and Kyler, went to the Red Falcon when they found out it was the headquarters.
"Do you two ever do anything?" Kyler asked his friends when he walked into the tavern.
"Not if we can get you to do it." Javen replied smiling.
"I was wondering when you would arrive." Feran said as he looked up from the table. "We thought we would have to fight this battle without you."
"And let you have all the fun, not likely." Kyler replied. "Besides, you two would not know what to do without me."
"We barely know what to do with you." Feran replied. "But it is good to see you did not get lost along the way."
"How could I get lost?" Kyler asked. "It is a straight line from Glansford to Argnon."
"Exactly why we were worried." Javen added. "You always want to turn."
"You were the one who wanted to go north that day at the great crossroads." Kyler reminded his friend. "Not me."
"But you went." Javen said smiling.
"And it almost got us killed if I remember right." Feran said.
"Yes, but look at the fun we had." Javen replied.
"Fun! You call getting blasted by a fireball, fun?" Kyler exclaimed.
"Well, no, that did hurt some." Javen said. "But we lived."
Litlorn and Darik could hold their laughter no longer, and soon all of the men in the tavern began laughing as well. The morning passed slowly as the friends talked, and the conversation soon turned to the coming battle. Not long after, Commanders Rayden and Fracher walked into the tavern, followed by Captain Dorben and Captain Brannor.
"The king will soon arrive." Captain Brannor informed them. "We are to wait for him here."
"Then wait is what we will do." Javen replied.
"What news do you have of the enemy?" Darik asked. "We have heard nothing since we rode from Glansford."
"They were first seen by the scouts yesterday morning." Feran replied. "But they are still three week's away at their current pace."
"Do you think they will keep that pace?" Kyler asked.
"No, not really. "Feran replied. " But they are still at least two week's away, even if they do decide to move faster."
"So we have at least two weeks until the battle begins." Darik said. "And possibly more."
"I expect them to move faster once they get closer to the castle." Javen said. "And try to surprise us."
"The leader will not speed up." Darik informed them. "He does not believe the castle can hold out against his forces, or that the empire can send enough men to do them any good."
"How can you be so sure he thinks that way?" Commander Fracher asked. "Do you use some kind of magic that allows you to read his mind?"
"No, I was in their camp for several months." Darik replied. "And heard them speak of how weak they believed the empire to be, many times."
"You were in their camp?" Commander Fracher asked. "Were you their prisoner?"
"No, I was conscripted into the mage king's army as a mid level mage." Darik informed him. "Until we were sent to ambush Menimeth."
"You tried to kill the king?" Commander Fracher asked the mage, with a look of horror on his face.
"No, if I remember it correctly, Darik killed more of Arnoran's solders that day then we did." Commander Rayden said.
"Yes, I believe he did." Litlorn agreed. "Or at least five of them anyway."
"No, he killed more than five I think." Javen said. "But I was a little busy at the time, to keep count."
"It was more than five, if you do not count the one Donderan killed." Kyler added.
"He killed five or six at one time." Captain Dorben said. "Which actually saved Menimeth in the end."
"You said you were a mid level mage." Commander Fracher said. "I was under the impression you were more than that."
"He is." Menimeth said as he walked through the door, and into the tavern where the men waited. "He is a Supreme Master Dragon Mage, and only a dragon knows more than he does."
"Except you." Darik said. "But then, you are half dragon, are you not?"
"He is right, you do have the magic of the dragon in you."
"Yes, and he knows it too."
"That is because he is very smart, and studies the ways of the dragon."
"He does appear to fight like one." Litlorn said. "Captain Brandt was right about that."
"I wish Captain Brandt was here now." Menimeth said. "He was always very good at planning things."
"Why is he not here then?" Commander Fracher asked. "Do we not need all the advantage we can get?"
"He is very far to the west." Litlorn said. "It would take two years to go there and back by horse."
"Why is he so far away?" The Commander asked. "Is he on some secret mission?"
"No, he lives there." Menimeth replied. "He is the commander of the forces of the kingdoms far to the west, and across the Wilderlands from the empire. There are no people or villages for hundreds of miles between us, and the land is unforgiving in that vast wilderness."
"It sounds like you have been there." The commander said.
"I was born in the kingdoms in the west, and crossed that wilderness no more than two years ago." Menimeth told the commander. "But that was before I found my dragon."
"Or before your dragon found you." Litlorn said.
"Before we found each other."
"As my dragon says, before we found each other." Menimeth said. "But we are together now, and that is all that matters."
"You are the king, but you are not from this land?" Commander Fracher asked. "How is that possible?"
"Because he is the dragon rider." Captain Brannor replied. "And this is the Great Dragon Empire."
"But if he is not from the empire, then why did you choose him as the dragon rider?"
"The rider is not chosen by the empire." Litlorn said. "The rider belongs to his dragon, and the dragon belongs to his rider, that is the way of dragons."
"This is a strange land, but I will get used to it someday I guess." The commander said. "There are many wonders here we never dreamed of in the lands where I came from."
"It was once common place for elves, dwarves, and dragon riders, to roam the lands of magic." Litlorn said. "But with the rise of Arnoran, all of that changed."
"But these wonders still exist here in the empire." Commander Fracher said. "And that gives hope to the men."
"That it does." Commander Rayden agreed. "And the will to fight the mage king to protect it."
"The men are ready for the coming battle." Feran said. "Our biggest problem will not be getting the men to attack the enemy, but to keep them from attacking until the time is right."
"That is true." Javen added. "The men under my command speak of nothing else."
"We cannot afford to lose men in this battle." Menimeth said. "So we will try to overwhelm the enemy quickly when the time is right."
"Then we need to familiarize the men with the plan of attack." Commander Fracher said. "If we are to receive the fewest causalities."
"You are right." Menimeth said. "Have all of your captains meet us here tomorrow morning and we will go over the plans."
"As you command." Commander Fracher said. "I will see to it right away."
"As will I." Javen said.
"I will see to it commander." Dorben said to Commander Rayden. "I will go to each camp and relay the orders."
"Thank you Captain Dorben." Commander Rayden said to his friend. "I will see you when you return."
"I will inform the captains of each realm." Kyler told Menimeth. "Including Hobie."
"When you find Hobie, tell him there is a room in the inn for him." Menimeth said. "I would like him to stay with the rest of us."
"Yes Sir Meni. " Kyler said, as he followed the others out the door.
Menimeth looked at the map on the table, and asked Feran about the changes made to the land around Argnon. He asked about the hills, and the stream that flowed into the castle, as well as the placement of the patrols and scouts.
Menimeth did not want Chidren to receive any information, which would cause him to change his plans for the attack. He wanted him to believe he had the superior force, and that the solders of the west would try to hold them off from inside the castle. With that in mind, he formed a plan to surround the forces of the enemy, so his new type of warfare would be the most effective.
It would not be long now Menimeth thought, as he looked at the map. The time was coming when he would face his old enemy, and he was looking forward to the fight. He had chased the killer for many years, and across many miles, and now it would come to an end at last. The first battle of the second Great War was about to begin, and when it was over, the face of the western realm would change forever.
Chapter Thirty-One
The ground began to rise as the siege weapons moved farther from the fords, and into the wild land of the western realm. Gaston was forced to add more horses to the ones that pulled the siege weapons already, which depleted the amount of cavalry he would have available if the army was attacked. He tried to change the teams as often as he could, so all of the horses would be able to be used when they reached Argnon, but at the pace Chidren had them at, it made it almost impossible.
Chidren did not believe the cavalry was necessary to defeat the solders at the castle, but he did believe they would be needed to capture any of the solders of the empire that tried to flee to the east. Gaston on the other hand, remembered the defeats they had suffered in the south and east, and thought the empire was not as weak as Chidren would have them believe.
For several days the ground steadily rose as the solders of the mage king put the fords behind them. The horses were getting tired much faster now, and the army was forced to slow down once more, which made Chidren angry all over again. The men were getting tired as well, and Mareston could see the affect it was having on them, but he could do nothing about it. When the grade became too steep for the horses, and the siege weapons were forced to slow down until more horses could be attached to them, it gave the men the break they needed.
Gaston added more horses to get the siege weapons moving faster, but they were still having a hard time pulling the weight. Soon he had riders with ropes pulling the weapons, as well as the ones that were attached to the weapons, and they began to make better time.
Gaston went to Mareston that night when the camp was set up, and voiced his concerns about the coming battle. The men who rode with the cavalry that were placed there by Chidren, were not as important as the twenty men that had ridden with him for the last several years, and he feared Chidren would sacrifice them for no reason.
"At the pace we are moving, the horses will not be useable when we reach the castle." Gaston said. "To be without a cavalry could cost us men needlessly in the battle."
"I believe the land will level off soon." Mareston said. "But I will try to keep the pace a little slower if I can, until it does."
"That will help, but you know Chidren does not care about the men." Gaston said. "He wants to reach the castle as fast as he can, regardless of the condition of his solders."
"Yes, But he believes that the castle will fall quickly once we arrive." Mareston replied. "And then he can return to Kath."
"I am concerned with the plans for the attack." Gaston admitted. "We are rushing into the fight without proper information on the forces that will face us."
"From all we have learned since we arrived in the western realm of the empire, it is in total disarray and cannot defend itself against a large army. However, from the losses we have sustained since the warrior in the dragon armor arrived, I would have to reevaluate that assessment."
"Do you think he has united the empire?" Gaston asked.
"I don't know, but clearly the solders of the empire are not as weak as Chidren believ
es." Mareston replied. "We have lost close to one thousand men since the warrior appeared, and every attempt to kill him has failed."
"What about the stories of the dragon?" Gaston asked. "Do you think they are true?"
"Chidren says that Arnoran killed them all, back in the Great War." Mareston replied. "Just before he was caught by the spell which caused him to sleep for five hundred years."
"But the stories are all the same, regardless of the source." Gaston said. "Can they all be just a ploy to scare our men?"
"When I was in the south, we were attacked by the western regents men." Mareston said. "The sound that I heard as I was riding from the chapel was like nothing I have ever heard before. Yes I think the stories are true."