CHAPTER 97: Devastated
We travelled directly into the forest, heading north for a couple of days, looking to intersect the Obon to Shimmerstal road and then travel back. Unfortunately, we couldn’t cross the main road because the territory belonged to the Hull Estate and was their mandate to protect. I didn’t want to get involved in the territory where I killed all those goblins and ogres after the Marsh Iron Quest when travelling with the Red Sparrows. Instead, when we eventually found the road, we would head towards Obon looking to rest our men there for a day or two and then head back through the forest.
Travelling with over two hundred people was a logistical challenge. One thing that levelled some of those challenges was that all my men received pocket dimension storage rings. They only measured a meter by a meter, but each man could store everything they needed in those and more. Wagons became superfluous as the troop supplies load was shared between the guards. It made for a very versatile and mobile force, able to quickly mobilise at a moment’s notice.
Being a military regiment, regular inspection of personal storages became mandatory, to check neatness and that basic survival items were there. I took the condition of those troops very seriously, taking part in regular inspections during that trip. As a result, no one lost limbs due to cold because each man had soft emergency warming packs to place into cold footgear and hands. Men’s faces were well covered with white woollen balaclavas and fur lines caps.
“Commander.”
Saluted one of the guards to Karato after we set up our camp for the first night. The rest of us watched the interaction as we sat in our deck chairs while waiting for the troops to finish preparations. Technically our guards didn’t have ranks because they weren’t knights anymore. I didn’t have the authority to create knights in the estate and although Karato could, he wouldn’t without the express approval of the king. The king would only allow the creation of knights if a lord of the estate were in place. So, to keep things simple, we ordered the guards into platoons of around nine men, each with a platoon leader and their deputy. The platoon leaders reported to a second in command who reported to Karato, the commander of the troops.
“Yes, Villenue.”
“The troops are ready for your inspection sir.”
“Ah, good. Come Hana & Shane, let’s give the guards a thorough inspection.”
I couldn’t complain. Those men looked up to Karato, Hana and myself and I didn’t want to disappoint them as much as they didn’t want to disappoint us. Later that evening as the men settled down, Hana and I set out rabbit traps in the forest surrounding us. I used that opportunity to release scolems that surrounded us through the night. They were extra eyes on top of the men that stood on watch during the evening. At least we could sleep well for the night because there were enough guards between shifts.
I didn’t sleep immediately as I enjoyed the forest sounds and the warmth of the fire. I sat watching the crackling embers against a background ensemble of forest noises. Ara read a book to me about fungi called Mouldy Bed Fillings written by I.P. Nightly. I didn’t realise just how many fungi there were in the world and made me wonder if bed springs might be something I would need in future.
Suddenly an idea plagued me that I needed her to answer.
I mentally nodded and carried on listening to the book. After I slept, I did wake up at some stage in the night to take a leak, but although the guards acknowledged my presence, none of them spoke with me in case we disturbed those sleeping. Sleep on outings like that tended to be a precious commodity and only emergencies and waking up were noisy. On that outing, Hana slept with Elle. It seemed the courteous thing to do seeing the others couldn’t take their partners with us. I ended up sleeping in the same tent as the snoring Karato.
The suns first rays started to lighten up the sky as the early sounds of men preparing to move out for scouting trips echoed through the small opening in the forest. Mingled smells of decayed leaves from the forest, fire smoke and breakfast aromas all announced the early start of the day. About thirty minutes later, scouting teams left the camp to explore the surrounding area, leaving the bulk of the guards in the camp, ready to leave at short notice should the scouts find something. Disappointingly, I didn’t find any white bunny rabbits in my traps, I guessed the nearby camp’s activity might have chased them away. To keep myself occupied I decided to do something I hadn’t done in a long time.
“Hey Hana, would you like to design some jewellery with me?”
Hana sat down next to me and watched me as I started to discuss my ideas. Seeing we were in the Blister Oak Forest we decided on a forest motif. One such item, a broach of overlapping copper-coloured leaves with silver metal edges and delicate veins we designed by sketching on a slate and discussing its makeup.
We had already got to our third design and were approaching the middle of the morning when a scout hastily arrived, dismounting, and reporting directly to Karato’s field office tent. We watched the situation from a small distance away as the guard saluted and entered the tent. Soon afterwards, Karato waved us to come over.
“We’ve picked up a large group of goblins and ogres heading in a south-eastern direction. Our scouts were not detected and managed to get a good count. We’re in luck that they’re moving during the day, shows how desperate they must be to move while the sun’s up.”
Karato was correct, monsters preferred darkness when they were mobile, resting under denser trees or in caves during the day. Karato turned to the scout and asked him a question.
“How many were there?”
“I counted just over one hundred goblins and eight ogres.”
It was a large raiding group. We were right to start scouting so early in the winter season. It wasn’t just the humans that realised winter was going to be a harsh one. No doubt whomever organised the monsters knew how to read the signs of the season.
Large groups of ogres and goblins tended to operate like a tour de force when it came to battle tactics. Allowing the guards to act on their own as a group against a large monster force wasn’t easy for me, I tended to be a bit possessive when it came to owning the battlefield. It felt strange to simply watch the proceedings while allowing Karato to manage the battle from a distance. I kept wanting to interfere, rush in there, biffing monsters left and right to spare lives. Granted, I could end the battle within minutes with my skills, but it would only hinder the men from learning from the experience and growing stronger.
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Since we knew where the army of monsters were headed, we waited for them in advance of their route. Of course, the ogres had noses like bloodhounds and despite our ambush the monster army were not too surprised by our sudden appearance and could rally a lot faster than we would have liked. Despite their wariness, the Goldcastle team watched the battle unfold in its initial stages as the guards spearheaded two cavalry charges, wiping out a sizable portion of the goblins before the ogres could fully rally themselves. The natural enemy of a goblin troop was cavalry, light or heavy. Goblins simply didn’t have enough troop momentum to resist a full charge of horses. Also, being smaller than humans, they didn’t have weapon reach to damage a cavalryman who carried longer spears.
“Let alpha group take their team and start harassing the ogres to keep them occupied.”
Karato instructed Villenue, his second in command.
“Yes sir.”
Drummers soon hammered out a set of beats that instructed the alpha group to intersect the ogres. One of the reasons we started active patrolling later than the guards would have liked, was because Karato and I wanted to drill the men on how to move under drum instructions. In the heat of battle, with monsters bellowing, horses and goblins screaming, men shouting instructions and the clash of steel swords, it became difficult to coordinate a fighting force in those situations. Drums and bugles could be better heard in the battle din, but since bugles were non-existent in that world - drums it was. I could have created trumpets, but I seriously doubted any guards could gain the skill to play them at short notice and even if we took a chance and winged it, the risk was higher for us to fail than for the monsters.
It wasn’t long before the men were almost done mopping up the goblin remnant and started focusing on eliminating the ogres. At that point the battle was practically ours.
Our return to camp was met with a chorus of cheers from all the men. They were high in spirit after such a successful battle, no one died with only a few minor injuries and one man that unfortunately lost his hand. We were planning to have a good feast that night, albeit without any alcohol; after all, we were still in active in the Blister Oak Forest.
A imposing sight awaited us at our arrival. In front of Karato’s field office tent stood an entourage of Shimmerstal knights all dollied up to the nines. They escorted a royal messenger, whose well-decorated and riderless horse stood tethered nearby. At first, I wondered wow that courier managed to find us in the middle of the forest. But after thinking about it, perhaps it wasn’t that difficult given over two hundred of our horses’ hooves ploughed a path through pristine forest. Following that corridor of ploughed land shouldn’t be too difficult come to think of it. My next logical question, was why? That answer waited for us in Karato’s tent. The courier didn’t wait for us to ask his reason for being there, but immediately spoke to us as if he already knew who we were.
“I have a message from His Majesty for one Shane Karosaki.”
“I’m Shane Karosaki.”
He handed me a sealed scroll, waiting for me to read it. A letter from the king wasn’t something someone normally received, and it wouldn’t likely be a pen pal chat, would it? As I read the scroll I realised the news was anything but good. I handed the letter to Karato who then silently passed it on to the others to read. Like everyone else, I was devastated with the letter’s contents.
“Shane Karosaki. What’s your response to His Majesty’s order?”
Demanded the courier. No doubt his instructions included a clear answer from me.
“Tell His Majesty that I will follow his instruction and leave Endeavour town in three days.”
I felt betrayed. I understood just how Julius Caesar must have felt after Brutus stabbed him in the back. It was the second time I was undermined by King Leopold, and I started to tire of it. It wasn’t as if I was actively trying to usurp his authority, it just seemed that I naturally bumped into political issues when simply trying to improve people’s lives. Satisfied with my answer, the royal courier then continued speaking.
“To confirm His Majesty’s instructions; in three days a representative of the crown will arrive to take governorship of Endeavour. You are to turn all authority over to him.”
“Very well.”
I nodded. Satisfied with my answer, the messenger left.
“I would like a moment alone with Karato.”
I said to everyone there.
“No.”
Came Elle’s curt answer. I wasn’t in the mood for semantics but out of respect for her, I let her speak her mind.
“We all shed blood, sweat and tears for Endeavour and I refuse to be left out of what is going to be said here.”
Judging by the nods of the others, I realised I didn’t have a say in this. I sighed in resignation.
“Very well. Karato, what’s going on here? Why is the king doing this to me?”
“Why are you all looking at me, I’m just as in the dark as you.”
Karato wasn’t any help. But he did offer some insight.
“I’ve known His Majesty for nearly all my life. Heck we’ve saved each other’s lives on the battlefield enough times for me to implicitly trust him. If he’s commanded you to leave Endeavour, if I were you, I would do it within a heartbeat.”
“You mean us. Even if the king didn’t mention our names, we are all the same team.”
Hana interjected.
“Yes, you all.”
“I can’t understand why now? Why when we started making strides in so many ways? I seriously doubt His Majesty is doing it in retaliation, which can only mean he’s in a situation where he can’t do otherwise.”
I couldn’t fathom his action. Why put so many people at risk? Karato then offered us an observation.
“His edict is very brief. I’ve seen longer messages saying far less. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want us to know more. However, by doing that, it does give us a bit of leeway.”
“In what way?”
Asked Elle.
“Well for starters, he didn’t ban us from staying or Shane returning at a later stage. In fact, the whole edict aims directly at Shane.”
“Argh!”
I shouted in frustration, surprising everyone.
“I put so much work into this. Some forewarning would’ve been great Karato!”
“Like I said Shane, I know as much as you do. I’m just as frustrated.”
“Okay. Okay. Let’s think a bit. The king only instructed me to leave Endeavour in three days. That’s more than enough time for us to put arrangements in place. We need to brainstorm about the implications of having a third-party governing Endeavour. I’m sorry if any of you had any plans for tonight, it’s going to be a long evening. Any questions?”
“Ah, yes. What’s a brainstorm? It sounds violent.”