Chapter 15
Outside the Stormwarden’s Palace
Calum MacDonald leapt from the back of the horse having returned to the secondary defensive position. The forward positions had bought them a precious few extra minutes of preparation time and disabled some of the enemy vehicles.
Everywhere people were readying the defences in front of the palace. Earth mages dug out trenches, collared forest goblins ran to and fro setting up reinforced pointed stakes to make life difficult for the attackers. Civilians with extended inventories deposited blocks of stone or any other debris large enough to act as a blocking material.
The mercenary army could not be allowed to get past the palace and gain access to the Plexus Gate. Their general intentions were unknown, but the damage that could be done should they seize the controls was incalculable. If they dropped the cloaking features and pinged the gate’s location to the wider network who knew what might come through and whether they could stop it?
The grounds of Stormwarden’s palace dominated this stretch of land. To the west of the palace was Font Lake, an inland body of water that created a natural barrier.
The enemy had ships, but transitioning between land and water was not a simple procedure. If they were to simply roll into the lake water, then the wheeled attachments would bog down in the silty lakebed and get stuck. Once lodged, to move forward the attachments would have to be detached and abandoned. Then the vessels wouldn’t be able to return to land once they sailed past the obstruction the palace posed.
To make getting onto the lake more difficult rows of ‘teeth’ had been arrayed around it comprised mostly of abandoned cars. Grand Rapids had plenty of those, and civvies capable of carrying that kind of weight were something Claudia could spare. The Gattosi woman had also sent every soldier she could spare but with an army still fifty-thousand strong bearing down on the city most of her troops had been deployed elsewhere and couldn’t be recalled in time.
Nevertheless, the additional warriors were a godsend. Stormblade Harbour’s forces had been stretched thin of late. They had perhaps been too dependent on the city’s isolation for safety. But when you have the terror of Lake Michigan sailing these waters it was an understandable oversight.
Further west of the lake, there was more land. While it was inside the shield, the going remained heavily wooded and overgrown. The mercenaries would either need to burn it down or abandon their greatest advantage. The heavily armoured ships. Either option would take time. Time they didn’t have, not with Carter outside the shield sinking the blockaders.
Access to the plexus gate was to the east of the palace at the northern end of the grounds, the point farthest away from where the enemy broke through. If the mercs bypassed the palace, they would have to cross a half-mile stretch of land with the palace walls overlooking them the whole way. It created a natural killing ground that any sensible commander would seek to avoid.
That meant penetrating the palace walls and killing the defenders was the soundest strategy. They would hit them here; MacDonald was sure of it, and that was why he’d concentrated his defensive measures in this position.
The fate of Stormblade Harbour would be decided outside the palace’s walls.
Commander MacDonald caught sight of one of his deputies and called out to him. “Fredericks! What’s the sit rep?”
Fredericks dropped what he was doing, stood to attention and saluted sharply. “Sir! Captain Carter is making steady progress depleting the naval blockade but won’t break through before they reach our lines.”
The news was disappointing but expected.
“I am just waiting for word from the alchemist corps that they are ready.”
“Ye need not wait any longer,” an all too jolly voice broke into the conversation.
Sheamus, the fey-touched pyromaniac engineer scampered into view on his slightly too-short legs. “With the help of yer mage engineers, me boys have mined the approach from bay’s edge to here.”
“We’ve still got some of our people retreating,” MacDonald pointed out with a bit of worry.
Sheamus threw a trigger mechanism in his direction which he caught adeptly.
“Nay need to worry fella. We didn’t arm the contact triggers. It’s all set for remote detonation. Should be a good display, I put a bit of strontium, magnesium, and copper salts in the mix to give it a bit of red, white, and blue. Just like yer Independence Day.”
“This is not the fourth of July.”
Sheamus shrugged his shoulders. “Close enough. Now if you don’t mind me, I’ll be getting behind the big fecking walls. I’ve had one big, stupid horse thing clobber me noggin’ already. I don’t fancy a repeat experience.” The Bombardier pulled out a large blunderbuss contraption and waved it under MacDonald’s nose. “Don’t worry, none. I’ll still be in the fight. This baby has got some serious range on her.”
“Dismissed,” Commander MacDonald snapped to the back of the waddling figure as he scampered away not waiting for permission to leave. Working with non-military personnel could be trying but they were lucky Carter had left the bombardier in the city. Nobody knew alchemical explosives the way Sheamus did.
“Sir,” Fredericks said. “Did you want to oversee the battle from inside the palace? It’s a better vantage point.”
“No, if I need to give orders, I don’t want there to be a delay.”
“We have a command position established over by the gate. There is a reinforced viewing platform you can use.”
Commander MacDonald nodded and allowed Fredericks to get back on with positioning his unit.
He climbed the vertical metal ladder up onto a platform twenty feet above the ground. It was made from scaffolding materials that the goblins had worked their particular brand of magic on to drastically increase the durability. The frame could probably weather a couple of direct hits before losing its structural integrity.
The back of the platform was clamped to the wall with a special adhesive. Something else the alchemists had come up with. Each clamping mechanism had a quick-release catch that would disperse the necessary solvent to dissolve the chemical mix should they need to abandon the position and pull the scaffolding down.
There were several scouts up here and one of them made way for the commander to make use of an affixed binocular device. Calum hardly needed the magnification to see the enemy. The first wave of land-adjusted ships had trundled up the road and encountered the first heavy objects put in their path to slow them down.
The seemingly haphazard array of rubble and wreckage would slow their advance but also had a secondary purpose. It would encourage the enemy to take the paths of least resistance, and it was along those lanes that Sheamus and his fellow alchemists had planted their explosives.
The first wave started to weave or bulldoze their way through, and the delay meant that the second wave of ships caught up with them and entered the killing field.
Their defensive positions started to come under fire, but Commander MacDonald held off activating the explosives. He needed to wait until as many of the enemy vessels had entered the kill zone. But he couldn’t wait too long. The closer they got, the easier it was for them to launch their ordnance at the palace walls and the defender’s embedded positions.
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“Here we go,” he whispered to himself and flicked the guards off the trigger buttons and pressed them in sequence.
Sheamus and his people didn’t let him down, a split second after the signal was sent, the buried explosives in the fields went off in a wild pyrotechnic display. A series of thunderous cracks almost deafened all those watching on. As promised, vibrant colours accompanied the detonations.
Soil, ship parts, and various parts of the ‘teeth’ impediments were thrown high into the air and thudded back down to the ground. Thick smoke plumed up from the line of explosions and obscured the battlefield. After the series of deafening cracks, a hush fell across those present as everyone waited with bated breath.
A swirl of wind came in from the East, a sign that the shield had been dropped in that direction, albeit briefly, and helped clear away some of the smog blocking their view. The sight of mercenary ships overturned and aflame was greeted with a ragged cheer from the wary defenders.
The cheering soon faded when a barrage of missile fire screeched through the air and rained down on their emplacements. Shots that no doubt came from crews further back who hadn’t been caught up in the trap.
There was worse yet to come.
Calum grabbed the viewer and focused in on the smoking hulks of the vessels that had been stopped in their tracks. Pouring forth from them like insects from an overturned anthill were well-equipped and dangerous-looking warriors. Thousands to replace the few hundred over-eager fools who’d run alongside the ships and were torn apart by the explosions.
The vehicles had been halted and disabled, but the soldiers within appeared to be mostly unharmed and very motivated to exact a measure of vengeance. The armour of the enemy vehicles had been too strong. They’d been overturned and the ‘land-legs’ had been ruined but most of them were otherwise intact.
“All units, get ready!” he barked loudly from the top of the platform. “The ground assault is on its way.”
It was time.
“Sentinel's attack!” he called out using a megaphone.
Springing from shallow trenches amid the ‘teeth’ defences on the palace side of the unmined area rose the city’s complement of sentinel warriors. The magically animated suits of black, iron armour usually patrolled the palace, but Commander MacDonald had been permitted to use them on the front line. Better they took the risks than people who could be killed. Even if they were smashed to pieces, there was a chance a sentinel could be repaired by a skilled craftsman. Or if Carter ponied up the funds for the Framework to do it.
Without fear, the thirty automatons clanked their battle axes together and made for the nearest enemy combatants. The sentinels clashed with enemy soldiers and methodically went to work. Axes bit deep, cutting through armour and leaving gaping wounds. Mercenary after mercenary went down under the onslaught and Calum allowed himself a small smile.
It was not meant to last. A great trumpeted honk went up from within the packed ranks of mercenaries that was reminiscent of an elephant.
“What the fuck?” One of the scouts exclaimed beside his commander. “Do they have a fucking elephant back there?”
Calum recalled that the figurehead of one of the lead vessels had indeed resembled an elephant’s head. It was also one of those that seemed to be in the best condition. It had been quickly righted and had resumed grinding its way through the teeth obstructions.
As he watched, the mercenary ranks parted and a humanoid beast larger than Danny the Ogre came barrelling out from within. It had thick brown hair that covered its enormous head and two long, almost black trunks. The creamy white tusks had been decorated with a series of intricate designs that had been stained blue. The mammoth man wore a suit of full plate armour that had seen more than a few battles but looked undiminished in quality. In his hands, he wielded a gigantic, spiked mace as big as Calum himself.
The mammoth creature trumpeted again and charged into combat with the sentinels. Its mace spun with such unnatural speed and deadly accuracy the automatons had no chance to avoid the blows had they been inclined to try. Wherever the mace made contact, the armoured body of a sentinel crumpled and was thrown aside as if it were a near-weightless ragdoll.
In mere seconds, the tide of battle had turned in the mercenary’s favour.
“Is this it!” The mammoth man roared. “Is this all you have to offer? Automations!” he spat the word in disgust. “Pure fakery! Face me you cowards or I swear your women and children will learn why they call me Scargiver before being sold to a mine so deep they will never see the light of day ever again. Face me and die like warriors!”
A few surviving sentinels were drawn to the presence of the Scargiver and he despatched them with ruthless efficiency. When the last of them was crushed under his mace, he motioned forward with the mighty weapon and the screaming horde of mercs who had gathered behind him charged forward.
“Commander,” one of the scouts gulped. “What do we do?”
“We hold,” he grunted back and signalled the troops to unleash everything they had.
***
Shana hustled through the corridors, her feet making almost no sound on the thickly carpeted hallways. She had just left the Command Hub, and it didn’t take long to get back to Torin’s quarters.
Mia and Madame Silk’s trio were huddled by Dash’s crib.
“What’s going on?” Mia asked, concern writ large on her face. The palace was abuzz with activity and the boom of magic and explosives reverberated from the city’s surroundings.
“The land-based forces have breached the shield to the south and have reached the southern walls of the palace,” Shana answered, quickly crossing the room.
Once at the crib’s edge, she lifted her swaddled son from his sleep and kissed his forehead tenderly. Dash remained asleep which was something of a blessing. How was a complete mystery. Glennarch trotted over from the corner where he’d been sleeping and nuzzled at Shana’s hip. Dash gurgled happily in his sleep at the young beast’s presence. Perhaps it wasn’t such a mystery, after all. It was undeniable that the foal had a calming effect on her son.
“Here,” she said and passed the sleeping baby to Mia. “Take Dash and Glennarch to the temple. They will be expecting you. If it looks like the city is about to fall, then Claudia will reverse the direction of the Pandaemonium entrance, and you can smuggle them safely to Grand Rapids.”
Mia accepted the child with some confusion. “Why can’t you do it? Are you not coming with us?”
“No, I’m needed on the walls. The best way to keep him safe is to push them back and make all these precautions simply that, precautions. There isn’t a better sniper in the faction and it’s time I started to contribute again.” Shana turned to the trio. “You three, keep watch over them. Do not leave their side under any circumstances”
“You can rely on us,” Lindsay swore.
Lindsay, Calie, and Keisha had undergone some combat tutelage as part of their training with Madame Silk. They didn’t have the equivalent skills of an experienced soldier, but it would be enough to aid Mia in escaping if everything else went wrong today.
It didn’t take long for the four women and their precious package to gather a few things and soon they were escorted from the palace grounds. Shana’s heart ached at sending her child away and not being there to watch over him, but what she’d said to Mia had been true or close to true. She was one of, if not the best archer in the faction and the best thing she could do was rain down death from the palace walls.
With one last look at their departing backs, Shana turned away and marched through the emptying corridors for the south wall. When she arrived, the battle was already underway, and she wasted no time raising her bow and sending out the first mana-infused arrow arcing across the battlefield. It thudded into the eye of a gunner manning one of the weapon emplacements on an enemy vehicle that hadn’t been disabled and continued to grind its way closer.
Only six were still mobile, but they pounded the walls and would eventually bring them down if they weren’t stopped.
A second arrow swiftly followed the first, and a third was in the air before the second found its mark.
Smoke and the cries of the dying filled the scene down below. Comprehending the ebb and flow was difficult as mercenaries and Shattered Storm soldiers clashed and fought. The dead and mortally wounded littered the field.
A pattern started to emerge, and it wasn’t good news.
The defenders were inexorably being pushed back against the walls. It wouldn’t be long before they had nowhere else to go and then they would be slaughtered unless Calum ordered the gates opened and allowed them to retreat inside.
Shana caught sight of him down on the battlefield. He hadn’t ranged far from the viewing platform. They were desperately defending the position and had set up a pulley system. They used that to haul the wounded up to safety.
Well, to somewhere marginally safer than the active battlefield. The incoming bombardment meant it remained perilous no matter where you were.
Miraculously, there was a slight lull down below and Calum happened to glance up at the battlements, likely to assess the damage and his eyes met Shana’s.
“The gate,” she called out and pointed to it. “You have to open the gate and retreat.”
It was hard to tell if he heard what she shouted over the din of combat, but he seemed to understand what Shana was suggesting.
He smiled up at her wanly and shook his head in the negative.
Calum MacDonald would not order the gate opened.
Shana knew why, it was far too great a risk. The gate had been reinforced from the inside to prevent it from being breached easily. They would need to remove some of those protections and weaken the defensive measure to open it, not to mention the possibility that the mercs could get through before they managed to close it after the general retreat.
The commander had accepted the grim reality. If Torin didn’t reach them in time, they would all be dead.
Shana redoubled her arrow fire and provided as much cover support as was possible.
They had to hold on for just a little bit longer.