Once through the defenses, we were greeted by a steady stream of activity happening all around us as our driver led our wagon down the main road that bisected the camp. As we moved, I caught glimpses of several other adventurers and NPCs all around us, all occupied in a variety of tasks. Glancing around, I could see a handful of workers busy at a pair of portable forges at the rear of the base, while another group nearby drilled relentlessly in a small training circle set aside for that purpose. Those that weren’t occupied in either of the two tasks were busily carting supplies and tools to various parts of the base around us. Blurring past us, well beyond the various moving shapes, were a pair of rough wooden buildings, surrounded by a collection of tents, all neatly clustered into a single portion of the base that served as a communal sleeping and eating area.
It’s only been a few days, and I hardly even recognize the place now, I thought as I took in the sight around us, comparing it to what I last remembered seeing. Moving quickly, it wasn’t long after that before our wagon reached a large open square that served as an unloading area and came to a stop, the other vehicles behind us following suit.
“And here we are,” I announced as we all moved to disembark, Amaranth, in particular, wasting no time at all in jumping off and back onto the ground, his mental voice filling my mind.
Amaranth replied, flashing me a brief glare with his azure eyes before turning to look back towards the base around us.
“All right!” I exclaimed with an eager clap of my hands as I finished my turn, glancing at the group. “Let’s see if we can’t get all of these wagons unloaded and the base ready for our coming guests.
“It’s time we showed them what it really means to have Aldford go to war.”
Chapter 23
Tuesday, April 16th, 2047 – 7:36 p.m.
Valor’s Point
“And there they are,” I announced in a soft voice as I looked out over the sprawling plains ahead, seeing the beginnings of a dark mass forming on the distant horizon. “Right on time, more or less.”
“So they are,” Aldwin’s voice replied from beside me, a brief silence falling before he continued to speak. “After the war ended, I thought I would never see such a sight again in my life. It seems that my hopes were too much for the world.”
“And mine too,” Veronia added in a whisper as the three of us watched the distant blot gradually grow larger in the distance, the setting sun to the west casting them all as a shadow on the plains’ edge. After four long days of anticipation, the orcs had finally arrived within eyesight of Valor’s Point, their unstoppable advance having finally taken them to the far edge of the plains.
But not any farther, I resolved silently as I shifted my attention away from the scene ahead, taking the opportunity to look towards the others around me.
Activity had all but stopped when the sentry’s call of the orc army appearing on the horizon had echoed out, causing everyone to rush to the nearest vantage point and look. As a result, the place had fallen almost completely silent as if the whole base had collectively decided to hold its breath in anticipation of what we all knew was coming. Scanning the expressions of those nearby as they stared out at the growing horde in the distance, I was greeted by signs of nervousness and fear written across their faces. Given the circumstances that had led us here and what we knew the future held for us, they were emotions I could full well understand.
Because I felt them too.
But as I looked past the surface of those around me, I also saw the determination and courage beneath their facial expressions, along with the hope and drive that had brought us here to this moment. From our first few days in Aldford dealing with the spiders in the Webwood followed by Graves and the goblins, to desperately trying to find a way to fix the ley line beneath the town before it destroyed everything around us, we had all faced long odds and had prevailed against them time and time again.
This time was going to be no different.
“Well, we see now what we’re dealing with,” I announced in a loud voice. “Now let’s make sure we’re ready to do something about it when they finally arrive.”
Just enough to break the brief spell that had fallen over everyone, sound began to return to the base, first faint as voices talking amongst themselves, then again once more in the form of movement as everyone returned to work. As it did, so did the three of us then resume walking, our tour of the base having been interrupted by the orcs’ distant appearance.
“Well done, Lyrian,” Aldwin said to me in a quiet voice as we walked. “That was exactly what everyone needed to see and hear from you in that moment. They draw strength from seeing their leaders calm and collected.”
“Even when we feel anything but,” Veronia added softly. “It is a polite fiction played between both parties, but it is a critical one for morale.”
“So you both told me,” I replied in a matching volume, despite turning to smile and nod at a group of passing adventurers.
Much like the days that preceded it, the last day and a half since my arrival at Valor’s Point had been a busy one. From the moment that I’d arrived, I’d made sure to hit the ground running, doing my best to ensure that the base was ready for the orcs’ arrival. From emplacing our siege weaponry to further fortifying our defenses through digging to crafting what items I could in the field, I’d made sure to keep myself as busy and useful as possible.
Apparently too useful and busy, to the point where I was starting to unnerve everyone around me—at least, according to Aldwin and Veronia.
Arriving around mid-afternoon today with another shipment of supplies and workers from Aldford, the pair had moved to find me almost immediately afterward, sitting me down for what they called an important lesson in leadership. Supposedly, on the eve of a large battle, such as the one looming ahead, the last thing that people liked to see was one of their leaders working at a breakneck pace as if they were fighting time itself. According to them, it tended to make people feel worried that they weren’t prepared for what was coming next—that worry often blooming into outright anxiety and even fear. As such, both Aldwin and Veronia told me in no uncertain terms to put my tools down and make myself scarce for a few hours before returning to walk the base as calmly as possible.
This was what we were doing now, trying to show everyone that while a vast army of orcs was bearing down on them, that their leaders, specifically me, were confident of their chances to prevail.
Walking at a steady, if almost leisurely pace, the three of us slowly made our rounds through Valor’s Point, making sure that we were seen by as many as possible, even stopping on occasion to talk with those we saw. As we did, we were able to see that all of the preparations around the base were proceeding perfectly with supplies ending up where they needed to be and everyone understanding what their responsibilities were. We even saw more familiar faces from Aldford along the way, with Shelia and her assistants assuming their traditional role as medical support throughout the base. Past her, we also briefly met up with both Jenkins and Ritt, the pair dividing the role of quartermaster between them and making sure that no one went without the supplies or equipment they needed.
Continuing onwards, our path led us back to the uppermost levels of the hillfort where we paused briefly to look over a row of ballistae and their crews while both Natasha and Bax ran them through
a series of drills to ensure their readiness. From the vantage point at the top of the hill, the weapons could theoretically hit targets as far away as half a kilometer, if not more, but at a great cost in accuracy. Instead, they would be most useful at roughly half that distance, laying down what we expected would be a withering line of fire for the orcs and their constructs to charge through.
Eventually, the tour came to an end as we finished our informal walkabout of the base, the three of us making our way back to a large tent that had been set up to serve as our command hub. Now that the orcs had finally arrived, it was time for us to finalize our plans for the inevitable battle ahead.
“All right, I think we can get this meeting going,” I announced as I glanced around the tent, seeing the core of Aldford’s leadership looking back at me from around a long table that had been brought into the place.
Standing on either side of me at one end of the table were both Freya and Drace, with the other side directly across from us being occupied by Halcyon, Donovan, and surprisingly enough, Stanton. Refusing to stay put and take shelter in Aldford while we all fought, the old spy had joined us of his own accord to aid in our defense against the orcs. Rounding out the other two sides were Aldwin, Veronia, and lastly Cassius, who was busily placing markers on a rough map of the plains that had been laid across the table’s surface.
“Which means that you’re up first here, Cassius,” I said. “What can you tell us about the orcs so far?”
“Not a lot yet, unfortunately,” the man replied as he laid a final pair of markers down and waved a hand towards the map which now outlined the orcs’ disposition. “At least not when it comes to detail. I’m adjusting this as I get reports in from the field, but we’re dealing with a lot of the same since we found them. They have an aggressive picket line set out a fair distance away from the bulk of their army, and it’s going to take a bit of time to crack it and get information back here. Of course, assuming that we can at all. We’ve already had a handful of scouts take the express route back here.”
“Ouch,” I replied as a collective wince passed over everyone gathered at the table. “Hopefully, they’ll at least be able to recover their soul fragments before things get really dicey.”
“Hopefully,” Cassius replied, though his tone held a hint of doubt in it. “Anyway, despite that, so far we haven’t seen any signs of the orcs moving forces towards either the Greenwood or the Hartwyld. At least not beyond a few token scouting parties on either side to ensure that we’re not trying to hide something there.”
“Judging by that, there’s little doubt in my mind that they know making any sort of approach through either of the forests to try and flank us would be a bad idea, given the rough terrain and roundabout route they’d need to take. Maybe if this war drags on, they’ll look to sneak people around us and harass us from behind, but right now, they seem content to hunker down first.”
“Which is more than fine with us,” Freya replied in a tired voice, giving the man a nod as she spoke. “We’ve spent the last fourteen hours, if not longer, skirmishing with them as they marched across the plains. If they didn’t need a break after a day like that, then we’d really be in trouble.”
“Without a doubt,” Cassius agreed, before going on to finish his report. “Anyway, past those general notes and what you see here, there isn’t much else to report on my end for the time being. Once the orcs are properly settled in for the night and the scouts can creep in a bit closer, we might be able to learn more, but until then, we’re playing the waiting game.”
“That’s fine,” Drace replied to the man. “And the longer the orcs want to play that game, the better it gets for us. So, I have no intention at all of rushing them if they want to sit pretty for the entire night.”
“Me either,” Freya agreed, turning to nod towards the half-giant. But before she could say anything else, it was Halcyon that spoke up, the mage sounding a little anxious as he did so.
“Uh, well, I think this would maybe be a good time to mention that the three of us don’t think that they’re exactly sitting pretty as you put it,” he said, his eyes shifting over towards me as he spoke. “At least not all of them.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, noticing that both Donovan and Stanton had also turned to look in my direction along with Halcyon.
“We believe that the orcs might be attempting to scry us,” Donovan said in a cautious tone. “Or…are perhaps attempting something else that is causing the wards that we have set up around the base to flicker. The magic they are using is…strange.”
“Well, that sounds exactly just what we need before a battle,” I replied, glancing between the three mages with an inquisitive look. “What exactly does ‘strange’ mean? Is it something that we need to be worrying about?”
“I am afraid we’re not certain,” Stanton answered, the man shaking his head as he spoke. “Whatever the orcs are attempting to do, it does not match anything we’ve seen them do before during the war. All that we are able to see through the ætherscopes are faint echoes of magic where something has touched our wards, yet we cannot trace it back to any source that might have caused it.”
“I see,” I replied, pausing to process the trio’s information. Unfortunately, while I knew little when it came to wardmaking, that particular line of spells being completely restricted to mages, I knew enough about the ætherscopes to know that what the three of them were describing was indeed unusual. To not be able to see what was touching the wards meant that whatever was doing it was either too faint to detect or entirely non-magical in nature. “Is it causing any problems with the wards for the moment?”
“No, not right now,” Halcyon said, shaking his head. “Whatever the orcs are doing, it’s gentle for the time being, though I imagine that could change at the drop of a hat.”
“Well, let us know if it does,” I replied, seeing a series of nods pass between the three mages. “And once we’re done here, I’ll come with you all and take a look at the wards with an ætherscope myself. Maybe my ætherwarping will come in handy, and I’ll be able to see something that’ll help.”
“It would be appreciated,” Donovan said, inclining his head towards me. “It seems that whatever collection of tribes that we’ve found arrayed against us have strayed quite far from what we’ve come to expect from orcs. First, in these abominable constructs that they now field, and then second in whatever magic they work against us. So I am afraid we will be at a disadvantage until we can fully gain a measure of understanding of what we face and devise ways of how best to combat it.”
“Is that something unusual?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at the mage’s statement. “I mean, for these orcs to be different from the ones that you all fought during the war. It’s been a year, if not longer, since it ended; they were bound to learn some new tricks in that time.”
“If it were just the magic itself, I would be tempted to agree with you, Lyrian,” Donovan replied, both he and Stanton shaking their heads at my question. “The orcs are far from unintelligent and constantly seek to improve their understanding of the various magical arts. But what is truly strange is their use of these constructs and this corrupting magic to augment their forces. Never before have they done such a thing in all the years that we warred against one another.”
“So you’ve all said before,” Freya commented, the point having indeed been raised shortly after our encounter with the corrupted guardians at the Dread Crew camp but falling by the wayside as the war resumed and we all went our separate ways. “But we never actually got an explanation of why that was unusual. It seems like the constructs alone would be a great way for the orcs to augment their forces. The Nafarr certainly did. They had that sentinel golem we had to fight trapped within their ruins.”
“When approached from the perspective of logic, it certainly would,” Aldwin agreed, the old knight reaching up to run his fingers through his beard as he spoke. “However, the orcs do not share that perspective, at least not on a cul
tural level. I know I have spoken about this to some of you over the last few days, but for those who I haven’t, the orcs’ entire way of life revolves around war and the personal glory gained through it. They revel in the chance to prove their individual strength and dominance over their enemies in battle and gain status both for and in their tribes for doing so.
“For them to resort to something exterior of themselves, such as these monstrous constructs or the debilitating magic they have crafted to aid them in battle, represents a great shift in their thinking and culture that we have not seen before.”
“Which could very well be because you broke their culture when you chased them out of Eberia,” Drace stated. “A defeat like that after nearly forty years of straight war would likely prompt changes in their society’s thinking.”
“But clearly not enough to have them think twice about attacking us here,” Halcyon added dryly, prompting a series of snorts to go around the table.
“Perhaps,” Aldwin allowed, his gaze dropping towards the map and the various markers placed on top of it. “It is also possible that after their defeat that a new tribe rose to power in this region, effectively dominating the others through their use of this new magic and their constructs. It may not be a traditional version of orc strength, yet it is a display of strength, nonetheless—one that the other tribes with reduced numbers and fewer warriors would be forced to recognize or likely see themselves destroyed if they did not.”
“Are things really that vicious between the orcs?” Freya asked, a touch of disbelief coloring her voice. “I don’t doubt what you’re saying, but we didn’t see any disarray or infighting in their ranks over the last few days. If anything, it was the opposite.”
“No, you wouldn’t see anything of the sort when the orcs are on a march such as this,” Aldwin replied, shaking his head as he spoke. “Right now, the orcs stand unified together by the dominant tribe’s war chief, and their morale is strong. It would take a substantial defeat of the entire horde itself or the chieftain’s death for fractures to begin to appear. And even then that would only last until a new warlord seized power.”
Glory to the Brave (Ascend Online Book 4) Page 30