The Eternal Darkness (15 page)

“Give me a few minutes,” Marcus said as he hurried to the door.

Keria stood and smoothed her dress.  “What can you tell me, Commander?” she asked.

“War, Your Majesty,” he said bluntly.  “A large army of raiders has invaded from the Inland Sea.  That was the extent of the message I received before I came for you.”

Keria felt a chill run up her spine at those words.  She nodded slowly, her stomach turning.  War.  The word itself made her feel ill.

After several minutes, Marcus reappeared, dressed in a green doublet over his shirt and his sword belted on.  The gold circlet rested in his curly hair.  He took a moment to catch his breath, as he had sprinted to his room and back.  Once he was composed, he offered his arm to Keria.  She took it, her hand shaking slightly.

As they walked to the throne room, surrounded by Guardsmen that Helgrant had brought, she quietly told Marcus what Helgrant had said to her.  He nodded grimly, his face showing no outward sign of his thoughts.

As they were announced and entered the hall, the nobles on either side of carpet the led to her throne bowed and curtsied as they passed.  Near the dais, she saw a soldier, his face and clothes dirty, looking uncomfortable, standing next to Genela.  Marcus stopped at the foot of the dais, turning to face the crowd.  Keria continued to the throne and sat down.  She took a moment, trying to calm her nerves before she spoke.

“I have been informed that there is news that concerns us all,” she finally said.  “Let the messenger come forth.”

The soldier near Genela, a young man not much older than Keria, approached the throne.  He knelt and announced, “Majesty, I have been sent to give you grave news from the west.”

“Rise and tell us,” she replied, gesturing for him to stand.

The soldier stood, his back straight, and looked up at her.  He had a message scroll in his hands, which Marcus took.  “My queen, several days ago, a very large army of raiders swept in from the sea, near the holdings of Prince Marcus.  The closest border fort was quickly overrun and all there killed.  A single messenger was able to escape and report to Sir Alleon.  Based on that report, Sir Alleon sent riders with orders for the people to flee to the capital.  This order was heeded and a large group of refugees should arrive in the next few days.  Sir Alleon took the liberty to send messages to the southern garrisons to alert them of the threat.  Once that was done, he took as many fighting men as he could muster and rode out to evaluate the size of this army and its direction of march.  He told me to inform you that once he has that information, he would return to the capital.”

The throne room erupted in noise when he finished.  Everyone began talking at once, their voices echoing and magnifying off the stone walls.  Keria looked over at her herald and motioned.

The herald cried out, “Silence!”  His deep voice seemed to cut through the babble and, slowly, order and quiet descended on the hall.

“This is a matter of supreme concern to the realm,” she said as she rose.  “My council will meet in chambers now.  The rest of you shall go and prepare your men-at-arms to defend the city, if needed.”  She looked down at the soldier.  “Thank you for your report, soldier.  Report to the city garrison to eat and rest.  I may have need of your services shortly.”  The man bowed and turned to stride out of the hall.

She descended the steps and took Marcus’ proffered arm, as the hall grew loud again.  Quickly surrounded by Guardsmen, they led the council members to the council chambers.

The chambers were located past the royal waiting room.  A heavy ironbound door led to a large windowless room with high ceilings.  Great metal braziers built into the stone walls lit the room and a fireplace added warmth.  There was a massive square wooden table in the middle of the room, surrounded by fine wooden chairs with cloth-covered cushions.  At the head of that table were two chairs, larger and more ornate, for Keria and Marcus.

As the council took their seats, Brother Trence and Commander Reiden came in, heads together.  Helgrant ordered the Guardsmen that escorted them to secure the door and placed two directly behind Keria.  He joined the rest of the council at the table, taking his seat next to Reiden.

Marcus took the message from the scroll and read it quickly.  He passed it to Keria, who set it down in front of her.  “Please inform the council of the message contents, Prince Marcus,” she said.

He cleared his throat.  “It says much of the same that the soldier already reported.  However, it did contain two pieces of information that was not reported.  One is that the raider army is well equipped, better than any previous incursion.  Apparently, siege weapons were sighted before the fort fell.”

“That seems to indicate that they are prepared to march against the city,” Genela interrupted.  “Why else bring such weapons?”

“I suggest we wait for Sir Alleon’s report, Lord Genela,” Reiden stated calmly.  “We cannot assume that those weapons are for us until we know where they march.”

Genela grimaced, looking irritated at Reiden’s statement, but fell silent.

“What is the other item, my prince?” Reiden asked respectfully.

“The messenger from the fort was clear,” Marcus said slowly.  “He saw the dark fire of demons. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of them.  They either control or are cooperating with this army.”

Silence fell over the room as everyone contemplated what that meant.  Many began to look in Trence’s direction.

Trence sat quietly for a few moments, and then straightened.  “This is troubling news.  If there truly are hundreds of demons, then I will need to mobilize more clerics and apprentices strong enough in their power to augment the clerics in the army.  We will have to face the demons’ power, as well as retain enough strength to heal the soldiers.”  He paused for a moment.  “If Alleon’s report confirms this, I will send messages to the clerics in Beragan, Aletonia and Morisan.”

“For what purpose?” Genela demanded.  “To do so will send the message that we are too weak to defend ourselves.  They may take advantage.”

“Demons are a threat against all men and women, regardless of their allegiance, Lord Genela,” Trence said directly and firmly.  “I have a responsibility to the One to ensure that they are warned of the danger, so they can prepare to defend their people.”

“You must do what you must, Brother.  It is a Temple matter,” Keria said, looking hard at Genela, who sat back, his face twisted with irritation.

She looked at the rest of her council.  “What must we do now?”

“We must begin the mobilization of our forces,” Reiden said.  “With your permission, I will send orders to all of the nearby garrisons to make ready for battle.  Even though Alleon sent word, I also want to mobilize the southern garrisons.  If this army is as large as we think, we will need every soldier that we can muster.”

Keria looked around the table and asked, “Are there any objections to this?”  Seeing none, she turned back to Reiden.  “You may proceed, Commander.”

“I do not believe we can make any further military decisions until we have Alleon’s report,” she stated.  “So, let us turn to the matter of these refugees who will arrive shortly.  We will need to find room within the walls and prepare for the potential of more coming in as the enemy moves.”  With that, she settled in for a long night.

…

Several days later, Keria was staring out of the windows, looking out across the plaza, watching the arrival of more refugees.  They had begun arriving the day before, first in small groups, and then in ever larger parties.  Most carried only the clothes on their backs, some coin, and small personal items.

With the influx of people, she had ordered the inns in the city to make all of their rooms available, with the crown paying a fair rate, to prevent any profiteering off of the refugees.  That had been Norlan’s idea, a way to find room in the city without the refugees losing what little they had left.

She had asked Norlan to take charge of the housing of the refugees.  He seemed a good choice, a commoner who was well respected and known by many of the tradesmen and merchants.  He used his connections to find spaces within people’s homes and businesses to help relieve the overflow when the inns were filled.

He took a methodical approach to the task, finding rooms first, then space for the refugees’ horses and belongings, and then arraigning for food to be allocated to feed the newcomers.  When she had asked about it, he had laughed.  “You cannot make good steel haphazardly, Majesty,” he told her.  “You need to make sure you have everything ready before you begin to heat the metal.  Finding out that you are missing something after you have begun would mean all of that time was wasted and wasted time costs gold.  In this, it was simple, these people needed shelter first, then food.”

“Excuse me, Majesty,” Helgrant said from behind her, interrupting her thoughts.

She turned to face him.  “What is it, Commander?”

“Sir Alleon had just arrived, my queen,” he said quietly.  “Your council is being summoned.”

“Please have someone find Mastersmith Norlan and ask him to join us,” she said as she started toward the council chambers.  “I would like to have him present.”

“At once, Majesty,” he replied.  He called over one of the nearby guards and sent him running off.  Once the solider was away, Helgrant fell in behind her.

She arrived at the council chambers first and sat in her chair, her stomach churning with dread.  Over the next ten minutes or so, the other members came in, each bowing to her before taking their seats.  The room stayed fairly quiet, all conversations kept at a whisper.  She saw that everyone was there except for Marcus.

The door opened again as Sir Alleon came in the room, his armor bearing scratches and small dents.  Marcus and Norlan, who looked as if he had just run there, came in behind him.  She heard some grumbling about Norlan’s presence, but she ignored it.  She gestured for Norlan to take one of the chairs against the wall as Marcus came over to his chair.

“Sir Alleon,” she said in greeting.  “Forgive the haste of this meeting, as I know that you have been riding for days and need rest.  But we received your message days ago and know that your information cannot wait.”

“You are kind, Majesty,” Alleon replied with a bow.  “I personally scouted this invading army.  It is large, as least sixty thousand strong.”

“Sixty thousand?” Reiden asked, taken back by that number.  “Are you sure?  Without the southern garrisons, we can only muster twenty thousand soldiers and Guardsmen, plus another five thousand men-at-arms.”

“I believe that number is correct,” Alleon replied.  “I saw large numbers of infantry and bowmen, several small cavalry units and multiple siege weapons.  There were also many demons in this army.  It was difficult to get a good count, as we could not get very close, but I estimate between three to four hundred, at the minimum, some of which I have never seen their like before.”

There was some muttering around the room at that.  Keria held up her hand and the room went quiet again.  She gestured for Alleon to continue.

He looked sympathetically at Marcus.  “While this army did not stop, your holdings were destroyed as it passed.”

“As long as most of the people were able to escape, it can be rebuilt,” Marcus replied.  “Where was the army when you last saw it?”

“It had passed through the coastal hills and was moving in an easterly direction.  We followed it close enough to have some skirmishes with its outriders, but were able to fight our way clear.  I did leave some scouts behind to continue to track its movements.” 

“Do you believe that this army is coming here?” Keria asked.

“I cannot say with certainty, Majesty, but its current path of march indicates another target,” Alleon replied.  “A map may help us decide.”

Reiden went over to a wooden shelf on the other side of the fireplace.  He rummaged through the parchments and pulled a large rolled up map out.  He placed it in the center of the table, holding down the edges with cups and his dagger.  Everyone stood and look down at it.  The map represented Sanduas, as well as the border areas of Beragan, Aletonia and Morisan.

“I would estimate that the enemy is here,” Alleon said, pointing to an area to the northwest of Sanduas, near the border with Beragan.  “It does not seem that they have made the city their priority, as it would have been easier to land farther south and take advantage of the Royal Highway.  That does not mean that they will not turn south, but it seems a strange strategy to move that many men and equipment that far out of the way.”

“That would indicate that they seek to move into Beragan,” Reiden stated, studying the map.  He traced the outline of the Gray Ridges.  His finger stopped at an icon on the map.  “Or they are moving against the Keep of Tomaris.”

“We will know that answer soon,” Helgrant said as he pointed to the area near the northern border, tracing the blue line that represented the river.  “The Blue River travels into Beragan, ending in the Great Lake.  The river is not easily forded, so they would need to turn north soon to pass around the lake.  If they do not turn north, then we can assume that they are driving for the Keep.  If so, I believe that they must make for the bridge near the crossroads.”

Reiden nodded in agreement.  “I will dispatch more scouts to follow the river north and intercept the enemy.”  He frowned as he continued to study the map.  “The hills to the west close with the river north of the city, making an attack from that direction difficult.”  He pointed to icon for the bridge.  “We should dispatch engineers to the bridge and prepare to destroy it.  If this army crosses the river, they could easily turn south and be at our gates within three days.  As Helgrant said, there are no places along the river to ford an army of this size.  If we can keep them on the west side of the river and they turn south towards the city, we can use the narrow area along the hills to trap them against the river, offsetting their superior numbers.”

“However, we would need to delay them to give the engineers time.”  He pointed to an area near the northern end of the hills.  “There is a place that would suit our needs.  The hills split in a large arch, forming a bowl.  If we can draw them in, it would give us the advantage of elevation and the ability to place soldiers on their flanks.  We could build hasty fortifications that would slow any charge and give us the ability to concentrate our forces.  We will send the cavalry to engage them and draw them to us.  But to have a chance of success, we must gather all of the soldiers and depart quickly.”