Three weeks and three days passed before the Crystal Syndicate arrived at Kalmor. The Malvarian troops had blocked off all escape routes, trapping the rebels in the fortress. The Azzellian forces arrived at the same time as the Crystal Syndicate and brought along materials to build siege weapons.
There were a lot of questions on what the plan was. Veldahar was meeting with the other military leaders to iron out the details. Trees were being cut down and everyone was put to work crafting weapons, preparing for the siege, or gathering supplies. Nobody was beyond this type of work—except the commanders and generals, of course.
The fortress itself was huge. The moat was enormous, at least twenty feet wide. The water was too dirty to see the bottom but Arturo heard someone say it was fifteen feet deep. The walls were thirty feet tall and the rebels were perched on top, watching them closely.
While he didn’t want to stay here for two years, Arturo didn’t know how Kalmor would be breached. The fortress looked impenetrable. However, if anyone could devise a plan, it would be Corvin.
It would be a few more weeks before the attack began. Morale around the camp had dropped on seeing the fortress. Many asked how they could breach such a defense. Some would desert, Arturo was positive. Loyalty only went so far, especially among mercenary bands. Nobody would leave until the plan was announced, but and it would have to be very persuasive to have nobody sneak out in the night.
Arturo wasn’t a strategist, but he was keen to hear what Corvin’s plan was. His determination to live through this battle was absolute and he couldn’t wait to slaughter the rebels.
Day turned into night and the next day arrived. Veldahar summoned all the captains in the Crystal Syndicate to a meeting at noon. Arturo entered the tent and saw dozens of other people. Most of the captains he recognized, though he could only remember some of their names.
Some asked Arturo how his recovery was going, but the conversations were sparse as Veldahar stood in front of a map fixed to the side of the tent. The atmosphere was tense. Regardless of how many battles these commanders fought, most were not excited about trying to storm Kalmor Fortress.
Once the last captain arrived, Veldahar began. “Thank you for coming. As you all know, we’re going to be retaking Kalmor. Before leaving, Corvin Malice presented me with a couple of plans for us to execute. First, for the next couple of weeks, we will be bombarding the fortress with trebuchets. While this is happening, our forces will be crafting boat siege towers.”
That got some murmurs. Arturo had never heard of using boats as siege towers. Some present openly doubted it was possible. Everyone quietened down when Veldahar cleared his throat.
“I know, I know, I was skeptical at first too,” Veldahar said. “Corvin had a builder showcase what he was talking about, along with instructions on how to build one. He also left me a hundred builders who are crafting the towers as we speak.” He pointed out areas on the map as he continued. “In three weeks, we will attack the fortress from all sides. The siege towers will float across the moat and battering rams will be crossing the bridge. If we execute our parts correctly, we should take Kalmor within the month.”
This would be interesting. Arturo wasn’t sure there had ever been an attempt like this before. No other fortress in Aidris had a moat like Kalmor’s. He hoped the plan worked because failure would destroy the morale of everyone. Some of the captains were whispering to one another and weren’t enthusiastic about the plan.
“Spread the word. Tell your men they’ll be helping craft the siege towers and boats. Trebuchets will be firing boulders shortly. Dismissed.”
Arturo was the first to dart out of the tent. Three weeks before the actual attack. That was good. He would be fully healed by then. As he walked around, Arturo noticed how busy the camp was. Men were running around, carrying wood or equipment. Some were grabbing food. One group of soldiers was replacing another to go on guard duty. Next to the moat were the trebuchets, which were getting the finishing touches and boulders were being moved next to the weapons. All Arturo could do now was wait.
The day finally arrived. The constant barrage of trebuchet attacks had taken chunks out of the walls and caused damage inside the fortress. A week after the siege began, a rebel came out to discuss possible terms. It didn’t take long for Veldahar and the other military leaders to realize this was just a ploy to buy time and the rebels had no intentions of surrendering.
That was the only time the rebels had left the fortress. The siege towers were crafted in the moat and were ready to go. One was tested and floated around the moat perfectly. Some of the rebels saw the boat and Arturo was sure they were asking themselves what they could do to stop this form of attack. Arturo and thousands of other soldiers were in the towers, awaiting the signal before they began their attack.
For the first time, Arturo saw how sickly Gosford looked. He had never before seen the man have any qualms when going into battle. This was one he had been dreading since Arturo told him about the plan. Even Cevelt looked more serious than usual. Kellan had downed a couple of ales and didn’t appear nervous, while Fenrir held an arrow in his hand, fingering the feathers repeatedly.
Some soldiers vomited and others looked sickly. In all the attacks Arturo had been part of, he had never seen so many vomit or look like they were about to. Then came the yells to begin the attack. About time. Arturo’s sword was in front of him, resting on his shoulder. Once the tower opened, he would skewer the first rebel he saw.
The boats floated toward the fortress. Arrows started raining down on the towers once they got within range. None would make it through the tower walls, but the soldiers directing the boats weren’t safe. Some of them yelled when an arrow hit them and someone else was forced to take over their post.
Smoke rose from somewhere toward the bottom of the siege tower. Fire arrows! Arturo felt the first tinges of fear bubbling up inside of him. He wouldn’t die by fire, he refused to! The smoke thickened rapidly and the heat rose as the flames spread.
Arturo couldn’t tell how close they were to the walls and the screaming below wasn’t helping. Chunks of the tower were falling into the water and burning men were rushing out, splashing into the water. Someone was yelling below, but he couldn’t understand what was being said.
Gosford was muttering to himself. All Arturo could hear were prayers to survive and not die in this tower. Cevelt was pale and he couldn’t look at the others as the tower stopped moving altogether. The flames were rising fast and sweat was pouring down his face. The black smoke was too much and it was getting difficult to breathe.
“Open the ramp!” Arturo yelled. He was not going to die in this siege tower.
One of the front men cut the rope and the ramp swung open. Arrows whistled in and killed a dozen or so soldiers. A couple fell through the open ramp and into the water below. The walls weren’t far—they could jump across and make it, if they could avoid the arrows being fired at them.
“Follow me!” Arturo roared and took the lead when no one else would. He deflected any arrow headed at him, jumped across the water and landed on the wall. A few of the rebels let out screams before his sword cleaved through them. Their blood splashed over him. More rebels went to attack and were struck by arrows as more soldiers jumped out of the siege tower.
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Gosford was the next to jump over. He nearly fell off but regained his composure just in time to block an attack. He struck one rebel across the throat and stabbed another in the chest. Rogoth and Kellan were the next to get across, along with a handful of troops. Some were shot by arrows and one didn’t jump far enough and plummeted into the moat.
A few siege towers unloaded their ramps and more soldiers charged the enemy. A couple of towers were burnt with the soldiers trapped inside them. They screamed in agony as flames enveloped them. One siege tower was split in half, spilling all the soldiers into the moat, with some smashing into the walls.
Half the soldiers in Arturo’s tower were dead. The other half had been able to make it onto the walls. Fenrir was loosing arrows from his bow, striking down rebel after rebel. The rebels were being pushed back and Arturo never slowed down, swinging his sword like a madman.
The battering ram on the bridge wasn’t working well. There were three destroyed rams, with two having burst into flames when oil and fire arrows connected. The last ram wasn’t making much progress as rocks and arrows picked off men all around it.
Arturo ducked around a spear and split the person holding it in half. He struck down each rebel who went against him. Tarmon was next to him, keeping the rebels from overwhelming him. Another round of rebels stormed the walls and pushed the Crystal Syndicate back, even with Arturo leading the charge.
Another group of siege towers landed and thousands of soldiers stormed the walls. Metal clashed against metal and Arturo struggled to swing his sword with so many people around him. He was forced into pushing some rebels and allies out of his way so that he could swing his mighty blade.
Two rebels were split apart and then Gosford rushed to Arturo. “We need to get the gates open. If we don’t, we’ll be overrun.”
An arrow nicked Gosford on the cheek, causing him to grunt with surprise. Arturo blocked an arrow that would have struck Gosford in the chest and slew a few more rebels. “Agreed. More are coming this way, follow me,” Arturo said.
Continuing the charge, Arturo repeated the order to follow him to any ally he could. Fenrir and a few archers were taking down enemy troops while Arturo and the others took care of any that got too close. They soon made headway toward the gates.
Dodging an axe swing, Arturo pushed the rebel over the edge and heard the man scream as he crashed to the ground below. Fenrir and the other archers shot down the last of the rebels near the gate.
“Cover me!” Arturo yelled and broke open the door. He motioned for Gosford to grab the other wheel and they began turning the wheel, hearing the main gates starting to creak open.
There was yelling all around them and Arturo heard a rebel shout that the gates were being opened. “We have a lot of rebels coming this way,” Fenrir warned and loosed another arrow from his bow. “I’d say they outnumber us four to one.”
Ignoring the comment, Arturo kept turning the wheel. The gate was almost open and he could see the Azzellian and other troops running across the bridge. There were too few archers on the wall and they were too focused on Arturo and his men to protect the bridge any longer.
“Com—” Fenrir stopped speaking. Arturo turned and saw an arrow jammed into his throat. Fenrir’s hand grasped the shaft and then he collapsed, gurgling, as blood seeped out of his throat and mouth.
“Tarmon!” Arturo shouted. He was the only one who could save Fenrir. Where was he? He looked around desperately, wondering where Tarmon could be.
It was too late. The large group of rebels pushed in and Tarmon was on the other side of the room, helping Rogoth and the other soldiers defend against the enemy. Arturo could only finish turning the wheel to open the gates.
Loud cheers erupted from outside the gates as soldiers ran through to meet the rebels. After some intense fighting, the rebels were forced to retreat further back.
Arturo knelt next to Fenrir and felt a pang of guilt. The man was dead, his eyes staring blankly up. He closed Fenrir’s eyes with a bloody hand. “Rest in peace, my friend,” he said softly. There was no time to mourn, so he got up and returned to the action.
Before long, the enemy had fully retreated inside the fortress. Hours of fighting had passed and many lives on both sides were lost, though the fighting was far from over. “Let’s move into the city,” Arturo said to Cevelt and the others in the room. He wanted to kill more rebels, especially after Fenrir’s death.
“We were ordered to open the gates and stay back,” Cevelt countered.
“I don’t care. You can stay here if you want.” Arturo didn’t wait for a response but charged toward the inner city. Someone called for him to wait but he ignored them. Rebels were running all over the city, along with women, children, and other civilians. It caused him to slow down as he realized the chaos of what was happening, bringing back a flood of bad memories.
Children were screaming while their mothers tried to get them moving. Some were struck down and rebels were killed without mercy, even the ones who threw down their weapons. This wasn’t what he expected to see upon entering the city.
Memories flashed through his mind as he recalled Arindall. It was happening all over again. An old man was on his knees, blood dripping down his face, when a mercenary beheaded him. Babies were wailing next to their parents’ dead bodies. Men were grabbing women and dragging them into houses, their pleas for help ignored.
Two rebels charged Arturo and he instinctively cut them down before realizing what he had done. He couldn’t blame the rebels for trying to jump him: they were seeing what he was. Death.
He heard a woman screaming in a building nearby and opened the door to a horrifying sight. Two members of the Crystal Syndicate were holding a woman down. Her blonde hair shook as her head twisted from side to side. She was trying to kick out but they were pinning her down. One of the men was putting his hand down his pants.
“What are you doing?” Arturo grabbed the man and shoved him. He recognized them: Tairen and Icarus. Tairen stumbled back, fury in his cold blue eyes, but Icarus remained where he was, holding the woman down and looking confused as to why Arturo would interrupt them.
“Find a woman elsewhere!” Tairen roared and tried to push past Arturo.
Arturo grabbed Tairen’s shoulder and pushed him back again. “What do you mean, find a woman? What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.
“Rewarding myself for a hard-fought battle!” Tairen replied angrily. “Go away and let me have my fun!”
“Fun? You think forcing yourself on a woman is fun?”
Icarus covered the woman’s mouth with his right hand to stifle her screams. “What are you? Stupid? We fight and reward ourselves once we’ve won. Now, leave!”
Tairen shoved past Arturo and went to resume where he left off. Arturo stood in shock, his vision reddening. He had never known. In all his battles, Veldahar made him avoid going into cities, lying to him about the true reason. He had thought the Crystal Syndicate were good people, but this was against everything he fought for.
The entire room went red. Then, Arturo’s vision recovered and he split Tairen apart from his right shoulder down to his left hip. He sliced off Icarus’s head, then his sword slipped through his fingers and clattered to the floor, while his body slumped to the ground. The woman was no longer screaming and stared at Arturo. She was splattered with blood, but none of it was hers.
What have I done? Arturo struggled to comprehend it. My rage. I didn’t even know what I was doing. The thought should have scared him. Instead, he was relieved. How many women were being raped right now? Could he save anymore?
A door slamming caused him to turn to see a mercenary running. Arturo knew the consequences of his actions; whoever ran out would tell Veldahar what he had done. One of the rules of joining the Crystal Syndicate was to never kill another member, no matter what. He had broken that rule.
He walked slowly toward the woman, who scuttled away from him. “I’m not going to hurt you,” Arturo assured her. “You need to find a good hiding spot.”
“There is no hiding spot,” the woman stammered. Her green eyes were darting all over and she had a knife in her hand. “Stay away from me!”
Arturo knelt and reached out his hand. “Let me help you. I can get you out of here,” he said. He didn’t move any closer. He could take her with him and get her out of this mess.
“Why? You want to save me so I’ll sleep with you willingly?”
“No.” Arturo hadn’t thought about that at all. She was beautiful and he had never slept with a woman, but that wasn’t a distraction he needed. He had other priorities, like the invaders. “I can help you. Please, come with me.”
“Tell me your name.”
“Arturo Pentori. You?”
“Lily.” She gave no last name.
“I will get you out of here. No one will hurt you, I promise.” Arturo’s hand was still outstretched, though his arm was tiring. Hesitantly, Lily reached out her left hand and he pulled her up when he stood. “Stay as close to me as you can. I’ll get you to a horse and get you out of here.”
Lily didn’t say anything, but followed him. What a mess. Arturo would do everything he could to get Lily out of here alive. He had other concerns as well. Would Veldahar execute him? That was the penalty for killing someone in the Crystal Syndicate. He could only hope the commander would understand, or he would be in for the fight of his life.