Guardians of Magessa (The Birthright Chronicles Book 1) (29 page)

After the meeting ended, Senndra followed
Lemin out of the headquarters and toward the south gate of the city. Senndra
had so much on her mind that she did not say a word, and Lemin seemed content
to keep his peace. When they reached the gate, they entered the gatehouse and
ascended the staircase to the top of the wall. Lemin went off to speak to the
newly appointed watchmen of the city, and Senndra found herself alone. A hand
touched her shoulder, and she turned to find Rita standing there.

“Let’s go someplace,” she said. “Our shift
doesn’t start until sundown, and I’m really bored.”

“I suppose we could go back to our tent,”
Senndra said, “though I can’t think of anything to stave off your boredom.”

“Even if it’s just talking to someone, I
need to do something,” Rita said. “If I don’t do anything, I have too much time
to think, and these days that's a dangerous and depressing prospect.”

******

The sun had sunk below the horizon more
than two hours earlier. Josiah slowed his horse to a near halt as he cast a
watchful gaze over his soldiers. He desperately wished that he could give the
command to halt, but knew that the army would have to be pushed to their limit
in order to overtake the dwarves. The scouts sent to locate the dwarves had not
yet returned, so he figured that the enemy was more than a day’s march ahead.
So far, the march had gone relatively well, covering smooth terrain on a beaten
path, but Josiah knew that eventually the path would end. Still, he figured
that if they spent long days traveling, they could overtake the dwarves before
they reached Belmoth.

For the remainder of the march, Josiah
forced himself to search the road before him for enemies. This task became
increasingly more difficult as his mind began to wander. He looked back at his
men and saw that they were practically dead on their feet and wished, for his
men’s sake, that the order to halt would be given. It was another half hour
before the order came. The soldiers wasted no time in unrolling their blankets
and falling asleep as those unfortunate enough to be chosen for the first shift
of sentry duty took their posts.

Josiah unsaddled and unbridled his horse,
hobbled it, and turned it out to feed. He unrolled his blankets and tried to
sleep, but was unable to do so, even though he had been working hard since
daybreak. The soldiers envied the officers for having horses and other
amenities, unaware of the other concerns that taxed them. Josiah's mind kept
wandering back to the inevitable battle with the dwarves. Even if the army was
pressed hard enough to overtake them, he didn’t know what chance they stood
against the massive army of the enemy. With ogres to bolster their ranks and
elves attacking the army head-on, their odds would be better, but he still did
not know how good their likelihood of survival was, much less of victory. Their
only hope was for dragon support to arrive in time, but that seemed more
unlikely than ever before. For Timothy and Vladimir to carry the message for
help more than two hundred miles in five days seemed like an impossible feat.

“I know that I shouldn’t despair,” Josiah
prayed aloud to Elohim, “but when I consider the enemy that has pitted himself
against us, I cannot help but think that we are doomed. The vastness of the
enemy’s army is as the sand of the seashore; to hold them back would be like
holding the sea back. But with Your power, I know that all things are possible.
Please strengthen my men and give them the courage to face their enemy with
honor. Help us to gain the victory when the time comes.”

His nerves settled by the prayer, Josiah
drifted off to sleep. He woke only a few hours later to see the sun peaking
over the horizon. He stretched and stood to his feet, not ready for another
hard day’s march, yet feeling the need to set an example for his men. He had
slept with his armor on, and the unnatural position that the suit had caused
him to lay in had given him cramps in his neck and back. He tried his best to
stretch these out, but failed. With a simple word, he condemned his troops to
another day of marching, and in half an hour, they were moving down the road
again. They marched west for almost three hours before the path turned to the
south and disappeared at the base of a mountain. Josiah received the order to
call a halt, and he allowed his men to rest briefly before they began to march
again. Following the dwarf trail was simple; the passage of seventy-five
thousand warriors had left a great impact on the ground, so the army had only
to follow this beaten path. They made excellent time for the next few hours,
yet Josiah knew that it would still be difficult to overtake their quarry.

Noon came and went. Men sweated, but the
march continued unabated. At about two hours to sunset, the ogre army came in
sight, but the army’s pace did not slow. The ogres covered the distance between
the armies quickly, and by nightfall, they had almost caught up with Josiah’s
army. As they came within a bow’s shot of the army, their scent finally reached
the horses that were scattered throughout the column, causing them to prance
about nervously. Josiah saw that if they did not stop moving, the horses would
end up hurting someone. He called his men to a halt, and the other commanders
followed his example. He reined his horse to a stop and slid off of it, not
wanting to take it any nearer to the ogres than he had to since the sight of
them might spook the beast. Quickly he strode through the ranks of soldiers
toward the approaching crowd of ogres. When he reached the rearguard, he
stopped. He stood with the soldiers and various officers as the ogres ceased
running and came to a stop with their front line only a dozen steps from the
humans. One of them stepped out from the rest and crossed the distance to the
humans in three giant strides.

“Where can I find General Uriah?” the ogre
asked. His voice did not sound thickheaded and stupid as Josiah had expected it
to. In fact, if Josiah were going by voice alone, he would guess that this
particular ogre was very bright.

“I am Uriah,” the general answered and
stepped forward out of the crowd to meet the ogre. “And you are?”

“I am Looran, commander of the ogre army,”
the ogre answered. “My army is here to reinforce you in your attack against the
dwarves.”

“Your help is greatly appreciated,” Uriah
said. “When we stop next, I will sit down with you and thoroughly go over the
battle plan.”

“It is already getting dark,” Looran said.
“When do you plan on stopping for the night?”

“We need to keep moving or we will never
catch the dwarves,” Uriah answered. “We will continue to march until the moon
is directly overhead. I would be obliged if you would take your men to our
flank so as to not upset our horses.”

“As you wish,” Looran said. “I will speak
with you when we stop.”

Without another word, the commander turned
and walked back to his army. Josiah watched as the ranks of ogres quickly
formed again before he hurried back through his soldiers to his horse. He
considered climbing into the saddle, but decided against it. Instead he wearily
gripped the halter of the stead and, motioning to one of his officers, gave the
order for his men to form ranks and march. Slowly the column of soldiers moved
out again. By simply looking back, Josiah could tell that his men were
exhausted, and he wondered exactly how they were going to be able to engage the
dwarves when they caught up with them. The battle was going to be very hard to
win, and even if victory was ultimately theirs, they would suffer many losses.
After the first half hour of marching, he stopped thinking; it was simply too
depressing.

******

Timothy and Vladimir ran full tilt across
the open countryside. This second day of their journey was much easier than the
first, and since they had covered roughly twenty-five miles on the first day,
they planned on covering at least fifty on the second. The ground sloped gently
downward, so they increased their speed as they pressed forward. They slowed to
a jog when they reached the bottom, hopped a small stream, and continued on
their way. Ahead they could see the river blocking their path, so they made an
adjustment in order to intercept the bridge that spanned the water. They began
to encounter more densely populated country. Now that they had paved roads to
follow, their pace increased once again. They alternated regularly between
running and jogging and reached the bridge long before midday.

The bridge was crowded, so their pace
slackened as they forced their way through the mass of people. Vladimir stayed
close behind Timothy the entire way as they weaved a path around carts and
through throngs of customers and merchants who were doing business on the
bridge. In all the congestion, it took them close to half an hour to cross the
river. They stopped on the far side of the bridge, rested for five minutes, and
drank some water. After that they were off again running down the road, dodging
farmers and merchants. Soon they were out of the heaviest of the crowds and
were able to make good time again. The well-built road allowed them to maintain
a brisk pace without fear of stumbling and injuring themselves.

They pressed on until an hour past midday,
when they rested for ten minutes, ate a quick lunch, and drank some more water.
They were off running again soon after they had finished eating, but this time
their pace was slower due to their full stomachs. The exercise soon drove the
boys too far, and they vomited the contents of their stomachs on the roadside.
They didn’t let that stop them, however, and they continued running.

******

Josiah relayed the order to halt from the
general to his troops. He led his horse to a spot that was a short distance
from the main army and turned it loose, allowing it to find what food it could.
Josiah sat down to watch the beast, but sleep slowly overcame him. As he
drifted between consciousness and sleep, he inadvertently began to speak to
Elohim.

“I don’t see how we can emerge from this
encounter victorious,” he said. He looked up and was mildly surprised to see
that he was not in the field with his army anymore. Instead, as he rose to his
feet and looked around, he saw that he was in a large hall. Golden furniture
lined the walls, and light was provided from some strange stones that were
embedded in the ceiling. The beauty of the place was almost too much for Josiah
to take in, and he sank slowly to the floor. He gazed at his surroundings and,
for the first time, noticed that there was the faint sound of music. It seemed
to be coming from the far end of the hall where Josiah noticed that a brightly
colored curtain was hung over a doorway. Slowly, almost as if he were in a
trance, he rose to his feet again and began to walk down the hall. As he moved,
the music gradually grew louder until he had reached the curtain-covered
doorway. He lifted a hand to draw back the barrier between him and the music
but froze, his hand still on the fabric. He knew this was something that he
must not do. He let his hand fall back to his side and stood for a long time
simply staring at the cloth. He felt a presence behind him, but he did not turn
around.

“You would like to go inside?” the person
behind him asked eventually. Josiah turned his head to look at the man. He was
about Josiah’s height, but much more muscular. His closely cropped hair was
sandy blond, and when Josiah looked closely, he could not tell if he was a
human, elf, dwarf, orc, or ogre. His face bore a resemblance to each of the
races, so he didn’t look completely like any of them. More amazing, though,
were the eyes of the man. When Josiah looked into them, he saw incredible love.

“Do you want to go inside?” the man asked
again.

“Yes, I do,” Josiah answered, “and yet I
know it is something that I am not supposed to do.”

“Your feelings serve you well,” the man
responded. “I would not stop you from going in, yet it is something that would
end in grief for you.”

“If I am not supposed to enter, why am I
here?” Josiah asked.

“You are here because I wish to speak to
you,” the man answered. “You are a staunch supporter of Elohim, and I know that
you would give your life to protect His people. Very soon your courage and
commitment will be put to the test. The army of dwarves has turned and, even as
we speak, is making its way toward your army.”

“What?” Josiah said in astonishment. “But
aren’t they marching all the way to Belmoth to break through the gap there?
Lemin said that was what he figured they were planning on doing.”

“The elves are not all-knowing; it was
never the intention of the dwarves to attack Belmoth,” the man explained. “They
knew that the elves were coming and that with their help you would be able to
hold Saddun indefinitely. That is why they staged a secret retreat of their
forces. They knew that there were magicians among your ranks and expected them
to detect the retreat. They knew that the token force they left in the city
would almost certainly be defeated, but their original purpose was fulfilled:
to draw the bulk of the army out of Saddun. On the plain, it is very unlikely
that you will defeat them.”

“Then all is lost,” Josiah said, shaking
his head. “The dwarves may have as many as seventy-five thousand men, and our
army has less than fifteen thousand. The only way we had any chance of victory
was with dragon support. But if we are to be attacked soon, the dragons will
never get here in time.”