Martin and Ginger glanced at one another as Ayax and Elizabeth entered the tent, holding hands.
Letting out a sigh, Ginger winced. “You’re both going in aren’t you.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Yes. I’ll speak to the other commanders, and Lady Mara. I’ve already spoken to the King and Queen.”
“They agreed. What did you say to convince them?” Martin asked, rubbing his hand.
Ayax gave the knight a wan smile. “We had to say quite a lot and mostly about how hard it would be to infiltrate Erisdale and carry out the mission without an Otherworlder.”
Elizabeth scratched the back of her head. “Your sister was the hardest to convince, not because she wasn’t against the idea in principal, but because she was wondering why she wasn’t in command.”
“Why are Ginger and I in command, though, Liz? I mean, we’re your friends and sub-commanders, but Mara isn’t a bad choice for a commander and she has experience leading the Erisdalian expeditionary force,” said Martin.
Ginger nodded, crossing her arms. “Not to mention having two head commanders for such a large army might create certain problems.”
The reaction Elizabeth had to the knight’s question wasn’t what he expected. Instead of answering immediately, she pursed her lips, and smiled thoughtfully.
“I think that you’re both underestimating yourselves. You did put the plan with the Erlenbergian ships together and that’s going to get us in. You’re also using that opportunity to get a better foothold into the city.”
“But how did you convince Mara of that? I mean, Martin’s the “Hero of Erisdale,” and her brother so I can guess how you convinced her, but I’m basically a no-name,” said Ginger.
“She wasn’t worried about your competency actually. She was…” Elizabeth made a face. “Well she kinda was, but it’s more complicated than that. You should ask her because I’m not sure if I should be the one to tell you, if that’s alright.”
Martin and Ginger glanced at one another. “That’s fine,” said Ginger. She took a breath and shook her head. “So, do you want to hear the plan in detail?”
Ayax nodded. “Yes. What time are we starting?”
“At dawn. Ophelia and the mages on the Erlenbergian warships will conjure a morning fog and have it blown to cover the city. At this point, we’ll launch an attack along the western walls toward the Water Tower. That’ll draw troops away from the other sectors and attention, at which point Ayax and Elizabeth can sneak into the city and infiltrate the keep on the east side of the city.”
Ginger took a sip of water and right in synch, Martin took over. “Meanwhile, while the attack is ongoing, the Erlenberg fleet will make a run at the Water Tower to bombard it.”
Elizabeth blinked. “Wait, you’re attacking the Water Tower itself? Would you even be able to reach that?”
“It’s a probing attack. We need to figure out what we’re up against and yes, we’ll be trading manpower.” Martin grimaced. “A not insignificant amount of manpower in fact, but right now we still don’t have a very good idea of what their defences look like. Additionally, we’re trying to get you into the keep. If we don’t distract them enough, you won’t have a chance.”
“Simple, but it could work. It’s kind of like a magician’s trick. Distract the enemy on one side and then hit them from the other,” said Ayax rubbing her chin.
“It’s not the first idea I had, but I think this will do nicely,” said Elizabeth, nodding. “Alright, let’s do it.
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Looking over the troops amassing behind the walls they’d taken, Ginger pulled out her hand mirror and flipped it open. “Ophelia, is the fog coming in?”
The brunette in Ginger’s mirror was wearing orange robes that seemed almost stylishly tattered. Cackling, Ophelia grinned. “It’s Lady Ophelia the Orange Oppressor, Lady Ginger, but yes, we have been getting that fog rolling in. We’re beginning our attack run at the tower. You should get started with your end of things.”
“Thank you. Be careful, and thanks,” said Ginger, smiling back. She turned to her aide-de-camp, Helen. “Signal the troops, follow me, let’s get this going.”
Helen saluted and Ginger started forward peerint through the gate and to the city.
As Ophelia promised, fog was rolling over the houses, masking the citadel from view and only the top of the Water Tower could be seen. It was still rolling across the city, but it wouldn’t last forever. It was now or never.
Rubbing her wedding ring, Ginger took a deep breath and with her troops marching behind her, stepped forward.
Ahead of her were the streets of Erisdale, a city she’d been to a few times, a city many of the troops had been. She knew that the street that led to the Water Tower was the “Harbour-way Walk,” and it was down this street that they advanced.
Yet in the foggy day, they didn’t see anybody. There were no guards, no soldiers. There was just the sound of boots on cobblestone, and the occasional opening of doors.
After an hour of advancing into the city and securing crossroads and houses. Jessica came up, her face hidden by her war mask. The Otherworlder had long ago painted her war mask with a stylized wolf face.
“The houses have all been emptied.”
“I know. I’ve ordered our engineering companies set up fallback points to secure the street crossings, but this is a little eerie.” Ginger pursed her lips. “It’s likely they pulled everybody back.”
“Why though, they have a good number of soldiers. We know that and the population should be on their side.”
“Maybe their loyalty isn’t as secure as we thought. Hm. Let’s continue cautiously and call up Lady Mara’s reinforcements. I don’t want to leave our rear sectors unguarded.”
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“How many sneaking missions have we done, Ayax?” Elizabeth whispered as the pair crept along the roofs of the Erisdalian buildings.
“Quite a few.” Ayax braced herself and leapt across an alleyway, landing with a bit of a crunch. Turning, she pointed her staff at Elizabeth and levitated her across. “You sure we should go by the roof? If there is anybody in these houses they’ll hear us.”
“I’m sure. As much as I’d like to walk in, I would prefer not to test our disguises. If we get caught, well, we can always disappear.” Elizabeth took Ayax’s hand and scrambled over the peak of a roof. “The lack of guards is a bit worrying, though.”
“Yeah, didn’t we immediately run into resistance on our first attack?” Ayax muttered as they continued to make their way across the rooftops.
Elizabeth frowned, squinting through the fog. “Darius must have changed his deployment, though I wonder why.”
“Maybe he had good reason to do so. I doubt he got wind of our attack, but he probably expected something.” Ayax narrowed her eyes and stopped. “Wait, nevermind. That was just a cloud.”
“No worries. It’s hard to see in the fog,” said Elizabeth.
The pair continued for a bit, jumping across roofs, listening for a response, and scanning the empty streets for signs of life. They saw noone.
All of a sudden, as Ayax and Elizabeth clambered over the ridge of another house, they saw guards pacing across the other rooftop. Immediately the pair ducked, but they heard no alarm.
Slowly, Ayax and Elizabeth peeked again over the ridge of the house. They’d arrived at a very wide street, which Elizabeth recalled was Castle Way. It was the informal boundary between the innermost district of Erisdale and the rest of the city.
All along the rooftops of Castle Way, were guards on patrol, walking across a makeshift walkway built along the top of the houses. Neither Ayax or Elizabeth could see far but they were close enough to spy a miniature fort that seemed to grow out of one of the houses. Several sentries were trying to peer through the fog.
Elizabeth ducked back behind the house’s ridge and pulled up her map, tracing a line across it. “So they withdrew and built up a defensive line along Castle Way. I’m going to guess it extends to the harbour and links up with the Water Tower.”
Studying the map, Ayax circled the emptied portion of the city. “That would make the most sense. But I thought they had a strong garrison. Why would they pull back so far and not fight us in the city?”
“I’m not sure. It definitely is a complication however. We anticipated our forces hitting the enemy an hour ago. This shouldn’t prevent us from infiltrating, but it’s going to make things harder without the distraction of a landward attack.” Elizabeth quickly pocketed her map. “We should get disguised and get to the ground. If we’re on schedule, the Erlenbergian ships should be making their attack run now.”
Right as Elizabeth expected the roar of cannons filled the air, making the two women flinch a little.
“Good guess, Liz,” Ayax chuckled.
Elizabeth giggled. “Before we go though, let’s find a spot to make a call to Martin.” The pair then quickly made their way toward an alleyway in order to get down.
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Within the castle, Leila was rolling out of bed, ripping herself from Janize’s hug. Grabbing her underclothes and armor from the mannequin standing in the room, Leila threw on her gear as quickly as she could.
Janize pressed the Otherworlder’s helmet into Leila’s hands, who set it on her head with practised ease. Another thunderous roar of cannons made Leila frown as she buckled on her mage’s belt.
“What’s wrong?” Janize asked, her voice quavering just a bit.
“That doesn’t sound like their landward cannons. There are too many of them firing at once.” Leila blinked and yelped as Janize threw her nightgown on top of her. “What—what are you doing Your Majesty?”
“Getting dressed. I want to know what the hell is going on. Now get me my gold dress. Yes, that one.”
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With how her dress and Leila trailed her, Janize seemed to sweep through the halls. It didn’t matter they shuddered every so often. The queen didn’t show a flicker of emotion.
Leila did notice that Janize did sometimes clench her hands into fists, though.
“Report!” Janize demanded as she neared Earl Darius, who looked like he hadn’t slept at all. He ignored the queen and gestured for the officer he was talking to continue. Janize grimaced, but waited, until Darius nodded.
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“Amass all of our reserve Guards Brigade and send them to the Water Tower. Get the Otherworlders ready for sortie. Go!” He shooed the officer away and turned to the pair. “We’re under attack from sea and land. We don’t know how many Erlenbergian ships, but they’re more than t and they’re bombarding the city, primarily targeting the Water Tower. As for the landward attack, several brigades of the rebel army are pushing directly for the Water Tower and securing sectors behind them.”
Janize grimaced. “Are they going to try landing troops from the water?”
Darius nodded. “That’s what I think they’re trying to do. It would be the same audacity that they displayed when they took the Bloody Wall.”
Leila shook her head. “It would be difficult, if not impossible to land troops at the Water Tower. I don’t think that’s what they’re trying to do.”
The Earl didn’t even glance at Leila.“They wouldn’t try forcing their way through the city after we repulsed them last time. Even then, we’ve created a powerful defensive line along Castle Way and stretching in front of the Water Tower. They’ll smash into that line and break—”
“Like how your daughter’s cavalry broke at the fight at Lehrbeck?” Leila mused looking at her nails.
Darius did turn his gaze on Leila and his glare was murderous. “Little foreign girls who have no understanding of strategy should shut up and let their betters make the decisions.”
“Peace dear husband.” Janize narrowed her eyes at Leila, who dipped her head, grimacing. “Leila, that was unbecoming of you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Pardon me, milord.” Leila stammered, bringing a smirk to Darius’s lips.
Her expression softening, Janize let her expression return to a somewhat pensive look. “That being said, why are you so convinced they won’t try a water landing?”
Leila glanced at a nearby window and ran over to push it open. Turning to the pair, she gestured outside where she could barely see fifty metres ahead of her. “How the hell are you supposed to navigate to the right beach or landing spot in this visibility?”
Darius scowled. “They are attacking the city even in this weather. What’s your point?”
Just managing to bite back a growl, Leila slammed the window shut. “They don’t need good visibility to randomly bombard a city with fortresses that big. Besides, the Lightning Battalion is primarily skilled in fighting on land. Why would they switch it up and try a sea assault? Send out Vulpina’s troops and the Guard Brigades out to fight the Lightning Battalion head on with the Otherworlders and we’ll bring you back Elizabeth’s head.”
“I’m not sending out our best troops on a hunch!”
“Then let’s compromise.” Janize glanced between the two, a serene smile on her features. “The Otherworlders, the newly raised regiments, some of the Guard Brigades counterattack. Darius holds the remainder of his elite personal forces in reserve in case they are landing.”
Leila briefly made a face, but nodded, a grim smile replacing the scowl. Darius nodded too, though, more slowly and he continued to scowl.
“Inform me if you run into heavier resistance than you expect,” said the Earl. “I’ll be ready to reinforce or cover your retreat.”
“Thank you. Your Majesty, I beg your leave.” Leila paused and suddenly came to one knee and kissed Janize’s proffered hand, before running off.
“Impudent wretch,” Darius growled.
“Indeed, but she does have a point,” said Janize, glancing at Darius. “Having lived in Erisdale all my life, I find it would be quite hard for anybody to try to land forces by the Water Tower. It’s even partly insulated against magic with runes and spells.”
The Earl turned his gaze on the queen and stepped forward so he loomed over the queen. Yet Janize merely tilted her head up to look Darius in the eye.
“You actually trust that alien intruder.”
“She’s not stupid when it comes to tactics and given your recent failures in this war, you can’t blame me for seeking alternate opinions.”
Darius waved his hand and the surrounding guards in the corridor made themselves scarce. “I have been loyal to you and the Traditionalist cause since you were a child.”
“And I appreciate that. I don’t appreciate your nighttime activities, and I do mean both the time you spend on your back, and the time you spend sitting whispering into ladies' ears.” Sneering, just a little bit of perfectly white teeth showing, Janize watched as Darius’s eyes widened. “I’m not stupid either, dear husband. You and I have agreed we can seek different bedtime partners, but I draw the line when you imply their children stand to inherit.”
Darius’s jaw worked up and down, until it decided to slam shut and grind his teeth together. “I entertain their flattery, nothing more.”
Janize crossed her arms, drumming her fingers on her elbow. “Then explain what you’ve been discussing with Master Scarlet’s daughter, Thalia, who as we both are aware has a distant royal connection through her father’s line.”
Clenching and unclenching his fingers, the Earl growled. “The silly girl just wanted to make sure that her mother won’t be replaced by your Otherworlder as head of the Red Order,”
“You better keep it that way, dear husband.” Janize turned away and walked away, her dress sweeping over the floor, leaving Darius glaring at the carpet.
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Martin grimaced from where he stood outside the Bloody Wall with the cavalry reserve and another four thousand soldiers. “Hm, you don’t see the enemy? Then Elizabeth and Ayax’s report was right.”
Surrounded with a brigade of Lightning Battalion troops, Ginger frowned. “What report?”
“They reported running into fortifications along Castle Way but while we guessed they extended to the Water Tower, we aren’t sure if they do. Darius must have pulled his troops and the citizens behind a defence line.”
Ginger frowned. “Why the hell would he do that? If he were smart he’d fight in the city street to street.”
“That’s something we would do, but perhaps that’s not how he likes to defend cities.” Martin pursed his lips. “I’m going to order the Erlenbergian fleet to begin pulling back. Advance slowly, fortifying behind you until you come into contact, at which point, you can decide whether to fight or withdraw.”
“Got it, dear. I’ll let you know if I need backup.” Closing her mirror, Ginger glanced back at the foggy street ahead. “Where are we about, Helen?”
The blonde woman pursed her lips. “We’re three city blocks from Castle Way and the Water Tower’s just beyond that.”
Ginger nodded and after a moment. “Vanguard halt ready! All musketeers check your weapons and mages prepare for combat. We’re likely going to make contact soon!”
“What are you thinking?” Jessic asked, glancing at Ginger..
“Either we’re going to run into the defences or they’re going to counter-attack.” Pointing at the nearby buildings, Ginger snapped, “Get some squads into there with muskets and pikes. I want us to set up a forward base—” Ginger froze. She could hear another sound in her ears and it wasn’t the march and chatter of her Lightning Battalion comrades.
There was a roaring, a bellowing in the distance and the thud of hundreds of feet on the stone street.
“Belay that! We’re under attack! Pikes to the front!”
Lines of pikes and spears, both of the Lightning Battalion and newly recruited Erisdalian troops formed up at the front. As they did so, Ginger could see forms moving in the mist, and growing darker and more distinct.
“Musketeers and mages, fire at will and suppress that charge!”
Bolts of magic and the crack of muskets filled the air. The houses that Ginger had ordered garrison spat out particularly fierce fire.
And yet when the wall of red-clad soldiers merged, it didn’t look like their numbers had been thinned. They crashed into the pike and spear line, wielding a motley variety of weaponry from billhooks, spears to flails and pitchforks. They weren’t well armed, and had even less armor.
“Conscripts? They sent conscripts to fight us?” Jessica muttered, briefly lifting her war mask to wipe the sweat with her red-sleeved robes.
Giving her sword a good flick, Ginger shook her head.“Maybe, but I’m not taking the risk. Helen, pull everybody back to the last fortified location! Make sure our light guns are set up!”
“More incoming!” yelled a private.
Ginger tore her eyes away from where Helen was yelling orders to the oncoming enemies. These new soldiers were armoured and had far better quality weapons, such as dual-handed swords.
Suddenly a fireball exploded in the ranks of the soldiers. Bodies flew, screams filled the air and Ginger felt her heart sink as the oncoming enemy charged, led by several figures.
“Otherworlders! Focus fire on them! Jessica?”
“I know! I know!” Jessica growled, firing spells at the youths.
Grabbing her hand-mirror, Ginger flipped it open and thought of her husband. “Martin! Get the cavalry reserve to cover our retreat! The Otherworlders are counter-attacking!”
Even as her husband yelled something back, Ginger was closing the mirror and leaping to her feet. The troops were running. It wasn’t a rout. Thankfully they were keeping formations, the pikemen protecting the musketeers.
“Jessica!”
Ginger’s heart sank as a mage in full plate armour strode forward, firing multiple fireballs at the red-robed Otherworlder. Jessica immediately put up a shield to block Leila’s spells but another Otherworlder with a sword charged her from the side and tackled her to the ground. He raised his sword for the killing strike.
Two muskets fired, knocking the Otherworlder sideways as they screeched across his armor. Noff reloaded frantically while his girlfriend Combine screamed, “Jess, move!”
Jessica slammed a spell into the Otherworlder, throwing him onto a roof and scrambled to her feet, but Ginger could see Leila aiming for another spell.
“Fuckfuckfuck!” Ginger charged across the melee and drew her spare dagger. Holding the tip, she slung it at Leila. It clanged off her armor, but it distracted the mage enough for Ginger to get in close.
Leila barely parried Ginger’s hack to her head and scrambled back, trying to sing something, but Ginger continued to run after her, swinging wildly.
“This isn’t your fucking business!” Leila blocked Ginger’s cut to her knee and finally cried out a World of Power. Ginger gasped as invisible hands seized her throat and lifted her into the air.
Suddenly rocks slammed into Leila’s side, knocking her askew and dropping Ginger to the ground.
“Leave her alone, Leila!” Jessica raised her wand and ripped more stones from the street, throwing them at Leila’s hastily raised purple shield. Noting that Leila was crouched behind her shield, Ginger quickly circled around to the side and yanked out her pistol. Aiming quickly, she fired it, catching Leila on the shoulder and staggering the woman.
Jessica didn’t waste that opportunity and slammed Leila to the ground with a spell, burying the mage’s arms with rocks.
“Just stop this already! What the hell are you even fighting for? To stay here? You don’t feel anybody for Janize and Darius’s cause anyway!” Jessica screamed.
Leila spat out blood and sneered at Jessica and Ginger. “Why do you care?”
“You were my best friend!”
“I have a better friend—a better lover now. And she’s a queen, so fuck you!” Leila screamed a note and blasted the rocks off of her. Ginger pulled out her spare pistol and fired, but missed as Jessica and Leila immediately started slinging spells at one another again.
Then in the distance, Ginger heard horns, and finally she felt things lighten.
“Continue withdrawing! Cavalry’s here!”
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“Brother slow down!” Mara bellowed.
“Fine fine! We’re almost there! Prepare charge!” Martin bellowed, pulling out his pistol.
The cavalry rounded the corner onto the chaotic melee before them. Some of the enemy infantry were turning to face them, but they were too disordered chasing after the allied forces.
Martin fired his pistol along with the rest of his force and smashed into the enemy formation, cutting down with his longsword. Behind him, cavalry thundered through the ranks of now fleeing Traditionalist soldiers much to the cheers of the Lightning Battalion and their allies.
Among the last of them to run was a familiar armoured mage. Leila shot Martin a finger before running to catch up with the retreating enemy forces, who had reformed and were pulling back.
Martin rolled his eyes and searched for his wife.
“Over here!” Ginger waved at her husband from where she was supporting an exhausted Jessica.
Dismounting, Martin ran over to kiss his fiance briefly before checking on Jessica. “You alright?”
Jessica shook her head. “Fuck no. Also my former best friend is fucking Queen Janize, which is weird.”
Martin blinked. “Huh, interesting.”
“We got her,” Noff said, running up to take Jessica’s free arm, while Ginger let Columbine have the other.
Ginger waved the trio away, before turning to Martin and grabbing onto him. “It was a stalemate, but we made some inroads. Did the fleet take any damage?”
“From last I heard no, but I don’t think we did much damage either. The fog prevented us from doing much to one another.” Ginger grimaced. “The problem is the troops. They threw conscripts at us and then what… the personal retinues of some nobles? We fought them off but we can’t keep being bled like this.”
Martin nodded. “I know. Let’s hope Ayax and Elizabeth have gotten in,” he said in a low tone.
“And let’s hope they don’t suspect anything,” muttered Ginger.
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Janize paced in her chambers, her hands clasped tightly together, her teeth clenched so tightly her jaw hurt.
There was a knock on her door and immediately, the queen took a deep breath, wrung out her hands and assumed a serene smile.
“Yes?”
“Just your servant, Leila, returning from the battlefield.”
Janize opened the door and let the dust-and-blood-covered woman in. “Prepare a bath immediately!” She narrowed her eyes at one of the servant girls. “And you, I haven’t seen you before. What happened to Lena?”
“She was wounded in the most recent attack, Your Majesty,” said the girl, bowing low. “I’m Amanda. I’m new here, though, so I ask for your forgiveness in advance.”
Janize narrowed her eyes and sighed. “Well at least you are properly deferent. Leila, what happened?”
As the servants scurried around to fill the marble bath, Leila stripped off her armor, wincing as she flexed her fingers.
“It seems Darius was wrong as usual. The main force headed down the Harbour Way Walk fortifying and setting up secondary bases. We ran right into their vanguard and while we checked them we couldn’t send them back before their cavalry arrived.”
“Why the slow advance, though? They had us distracted.” Janize murmured, helping Leila with a her breastplate.
“I don’t know. Maybe they expected more resistance in the outer city? In any case, we missed a golden opportunity to smash their best units—Ahh!” Leila fell against Janize as the queen yanked the plate off. A bullet clinked onto the ground, the force dispelled by the steel and the underlying gambeson.
“Oh dear, that must have hurt,” said Janize airily. “No broken bones?”
Leila blinked, wiping her eyes. “No. It just stings. I’m sorry. I ruined your dress.” Pulling herself, Leila winced. “I shouldn’t be bothering you. You need your rest.”
Janize smiled. “That’s fine dear. I’m pregnant, not helpless. Now we’ll just both need a bath. Is it ready yet?”
“Yes Your Majesty,” echoed the servants.
“Thank you, you’re dismissed.”
The servants bowed low and left the pair.
One of them however, the new girl, raced through the castle’s maze-like halls until she reached her small room, with but a bed and a small chest. She knocked three times short and then three times long before she entered.
There waited an Alavari troll mage with cat-like features.
“That was very nicely done, Liz,” said Ayax, grinning.
Elizabeth nodded. “Yes, but we have a complication. We’ll have to capture Janize. She’s pregnant.”