Return of
Dark Dragon
by PJ
Chapter 3
Rodger's
band stopped within sight of the black market camp, which sprawled
like a
wilting flower upon the grassy plain.
To the west of the camp was the
Chasm, a
great rift that separated the fertile lands of the East from the
desolate,
mountainous regions of the West. With a
flick of his reins, Rodger
led the
mounted raiders and the stumbling Elf women into the boisterous tent
city. The smells of cooking meat, unwashed bodies,
and various addictive drugs
assaulted
the party as they traveled deeper into the camp. Whores and drug
pushers vied
for the attentions of the bandits until Rodger reached an
intersection
of roads and turned his horse to the southern street. After
passing
several brothels and shops, the raiders entered another market square,
this time
with a wooden dais in its center. A
lean, heavily scarred man
dressed in
leather armor emerged from a nearby tent and strode up to Rodger.
"Looks
like you hit it lucky," said the man as he gazed coolly at the Elven
women
chained together.
"Yes, I
was very fortunate," replied Rodger with a smile. "I was hoping that
the two of
us could make a deal."
"I
think that an exchange could be arranged," agreed the slaver. "How much
are ya
asking?"
"Ten
thousand gold crowns," replied Rodger.
"Ten
thousand? That's a pretty big hunk of
change. I'll have to think about
that
one," said the slaver hesitantly.
"Don't
think too long. I'm sure there are
plenty of other slavers here that
would jump
at the chance to buy some high-quality Elven slave girls. They're
very hard to
get, you know," remarked Rodger casually.
"Yeah,
yeah, I know. Give me twelve hours, and
I'll get the money for ya,"
replied the
slaver with a scowl.
"Thank
you. As always, it's a pleasure doing
business with you," said Rodger
with a smile
as he directed four of his men to escort the Elven women to the
slave
pens. The grizzled slaver spat on the
ground, then returned to his
soiled
tent. Rodger dismissed the remainder of
his band, then directed his
horse to a
nearby tavern, with Victoria trailing behind him.
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Governor
Nightmane stood upon the battlements of Sentinel Keep that faced the
evil lands
of the West. The leader of Sentinel's
garrison was in her
mid-thirties,
with long, black hair that hung to her waist.
She wore a shining
suit of
silver platemail, and carried a jeweled long sword on her shapely hip.
Tonight, the
warrior woman wore her raven hair in an intricate braid that ran
down her
back. As she gazed at the dark horizon,
and the tall mountains beyond
the Chasm,
small lights began to appear in the distance.
With dawning horror,
Nightmane
watched as the Army of Night spilled across the plain in front of the
fortress and
began to encircle it. Alarm horns
sounded across the battlements
of the
mighty keep as soldiers rushed to fill their posts and prepare
Sentinel's
defenses.
"What
are you orders, my lady?" asked a panting guard who stumbled to a stop
next to the
governor.
"Arm
the ballistas and move the archers into position. Send a flock of
messenger
birds to the east in order to inform King Flannar that the West has
invaded. Quickly now!" ordered Nightmane
tersely. The guard saluted briefly,
then rushed
to carry out his orders. Nightmane
turned to watch as the army
began
setting up catapults, ladders, and rams for the eventual assault.
"Those
stupid bastards never learn," muttered Nightmane with a shake of her
head.
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"The
troops are in position and the siege engines are being assembled,"
reported a
captain.
"Good. Tell the artillery commanders that I want
them to begin launching
flame loads
as soon as the catapults are ready," ordered General Dyth.
"Yessir!"
replied the officer before he ran into the night.
"Shouldn't
we wait till dawn?" asked General Jordan.
"The spotters won't be
able to see
a thing in this darkness."
"I'm
not trying to do any damage right now," replied Dyth calmly as he sat
upon a stool
and examined a map of the area.
"Right now, surprise is on our
side. The defenders are still in shock over seeing
our army, and I want to
heighten
their tension. If we're lucky, the
leader of the garrison will
overreact
and do something foolish, like lead an attack out of the fortress."
"I
doubt that she will do that. Everything
I hear says that Nightmane is a
level-headed
and intelligent commander," said Jordan.
"Maybe. You never know what someone will do unless
you test them," replied
Dyth.
"Isn't
ten companies a little light when attacking a fortified position like
this?"
asked Jordan as he sat down on a nearby stool.
"I mean, after all,
during the
Succession War, we had over a hundred thousand troops, and we still
couldn't
take the Sentinel or keep control of the surrounding countryside. How
can we
succeed with one thousand now where we couldn't with ten times that
amount
before?" asked Jordan.
"For
one thing, the garrison in Sentinel right now isn't as large as it used
to be. Our spies reported that the fortress only
has about four hundred
defenders in
it," replied Dyth as a servant girl arrived and poured the two
generals
some wine from a silver flagon.
"Good King Flannar has had trouble
justifying a
large standing army since we haven't attacked in the last seven
years. The Royal Army is only a third of its prior
strength, which means it
will take
longer for them to respond to our invasion.
If we can take Sentinel
quickly, we
can use it against the King's own army and open the way for total
conquest. We have to take this fortress first,
however."
"I
see," said Jordan before he sipped his wine. "What do you want me to do?"
"Maintain
your position on the left flank for now.
After the siege has drawn
on for
awhile, I'll want you to patrol the region and keep an eye out for the
Royal
Army. If Flannar becomes rash, he may
send the army in piecemeal, which
will allow
us the perfect opportunity to destroy it."
"I'll
return to my troops then," replied Jordan as he set down his cup then
walked away
from Dyth's large, black tent. The
older general set his map of
the fortress
on a nearby table, then began to make notes on the parchment with
a quill pen.
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Men screamed
in fear as the first fiery projectiles slammed into the walls of
Sentinel
Keep. Governor Nightmane held tightly
onto the stone crenallations as
the entire
length of the western wall shook under the impact. Five fireballs
hurled from
the Army of Night's position and smashed into the aging rock,
knocking men
helplessly into the main courtyard.
"Shall
we send out a sortie to knock out the catapults?" asked a nearby
officer.
"No. We stay here in the keep where we have the
advantage. Order the gunners
to get the
range of those artillery positions and open fire with the ballista,"
ordered
Nightmane.
"The
catapults are probably out of range," remarked the officer.
"Yes,
but we might get lucky. Go,"
replied the governor. The nervous
officer
quickly
saluted before rushing to obey his leader.
Nightmane turned to observe
the enemy as
it continued to assault the walls with flame bolts.
"Good
ploy, but I'm not falling for it," whispered Nightmane with a grin.
The Army of
Night continued the barrage all night.
The men guarding the
battlements
grew increasingly tense and short-tempered as the fiery missiles
slammed into
the thick walls of the keep. Nightmane
did her best to maintain
morale, and
hoped that King Flannar would respond quickly.
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Although
many of the messenger birds had been shot down by enemy arrows, two
managed to
escape the siege and fly swiftly to River Towers, the capital of the
Eastern
Lands. The shining city sat near a
branching point of the White Water
river. Just south of the capital, the mighty river
split into two smaller
rivers that
emptied into the surging ocean of the south.
Many elegant towers
rose from
the capital, standing like proud guardians over the jewel of the
East. At the center of the city was the Royal
Palace, center of government and
home to King
Flannar, his wife, and his daughter, Princess Hophena.
Two days
after the siege of Sentinel had begun, a nervous aide rushed into the
audience
hall of the King and kneeled before the white, marble throne.
"Your
highness, an urgent message from Sentinel Keep," declared the aide
loudly.
"Give
it to me," commanded the King wearily.
The aide
gave the King a wrapped parchment scroll, then knelt awaiting the
ruler's
pleasure. The aging monarch untied the
silk cord, then quickly scanned
through the
scroll's contents.
"Summon
my generals here immediately," ordered the King tersely.
"Yes,
my liege," replied the aide before he practically ran out of the hall.
"What
is it, father?" asked Princess Hophena who sat in the Queen's Chair to
the left of
the throne.
"Sentinel
Keep is under attack. That fool
Blackheart wants to start another
war,"
replied Flannar bitterly.
"You'll
beat him, father. You always do,"
said the Princess confidently.
"I wish
I was as certain as you, my dear," remarked the King as he glanced at
his daughter
affectionately.
"Perhaps
we could reach a settlement with Emperor Blackheart," suggested Lord
Mordran with
a sly grin.
"I very
much doubt it," replied the King with a withering glance towards
Mordran. "I told you that if we reduced the size
of the army, Darkblade would
make a grab
for more territory."
"At the
time, the Emperor seemed quite content with the size of his realm.
Besides, the
money we saved has proven quite useful in improving trade and
strengthening
the economy," said Mordran smugly.
"Not to
mention filling your own coffers," muttered Flannar. The white-haired
ruler
continued to scowl at his nobles until the double doors of the hall
opened and a
group of the generals from the Royal Army strode boldly to the
throne.
"You
sent for us, your majesty?" asked General Sath with a bow.
"Yes, I
did. How much time do you need to
mobilize the Royal Army?" inquired
the King.
"That's
a difficult question to answer, your majesty," replied Sath. "The
Army is
scattered throughout the Realm, guarding Anvil, Rapids, and both port
cities. At a guess, I say that it would take about a
month to gather any kind
of sizable
force. Do you want me to issue a recall
to the capital?"
"No. I want you to send all units to Sentinel
directly. We can't afford the
time it
would take to mobilize here, then march all the way to the Keep. Send
those
movement orders immediately."
"Your
majesty, if Emperor Blackheart has the number of men he possessed in the
last war,
they'll grind our reinforcements into the dirt. We should gather our
troops into
one effective force, then attack Darkblade's army," suggested Sath
reasonably.
"If you
can coordinate a link-up near Sentinel, then do so. It's imperative
that we send
reinforcements to Nightmane before the Keep falls, otherwise the
way will be
open for the Army of Night to invade the whole of the East.
Implement my
wishes, general," commanded Flannar.
"As you
command, your majesty," acknowledged General Sath as he bowed at the
waist, then
led the lesser generals from the audience hall.
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