To say those thirty minutes after I returned to the embrace of my army was hell would be an understatement. In the medics tent I had my armor pulled off my body. The metal plates on the outermost layer were easy enough, but when we got underneath that was where the real damage was. Many parts of my gambeson and tunic had been burned or melted down to my skin. The process to remove it had to involve cutting a lot of it off me in sections before it was peeled away.
It was ugly. My skin was blistered, raw, and in some places blackened. The removal of the gambeson sometimes came with the unfortunate loss of my flesh as well. I would like to say that I toughed it out, gritted my teeth and bared it, but I screamed. Having charred flesh flayed from your body was agonizing, and my wails of pain could be heard throughout half the camp.
By the time the last of the cloth was removed from me I was gasping for breath and bleeding out of several freshly opened wounds. I’ll say it as many times as I can, thank the gods Liliana was there. The moment I was free of the last of the torturous clothing she was on me with her magical healing.
The relief that came flooding over me was unlike anything you could possibly imagine. All that pain was numbed under the warmth of her magic, and I could breath easier as my flesh was repaired. Without her aid, at best I would have been horribly scarred, at worst, crippled. By the end of it, I only had some mild discoloration where the burns had been most severe.
“Words cannot express how much I appreciate you, Liliana.” I smiled at her while taking deep relieved breaths.
“I’m just glad I was here to help. I couldn’t even imagine how much pain you would have to go through without healing.” She placed a hand on my chest in a comforting, and pleading, gesture. “Please refrain from doing something like that again. I was extremely worried when you dived into those flames.”
I chuckled a little bit. “I promise I won’t jump into any more fire if I can avoid it.”
We shared a smile with one another for a moment before she looked down at her hand and realized she was touching my bare chest. Her hand shot off me as if my skin suddenly had become scalding hot. She stammered for a moment before finally being able to get a few words out.
“I... I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I’ll let you get dressed.” Her face was tinted red as she hurriedly made her way out of the tent, leaving me somewhat perplexed.
I’ll be honest, it took me a minute to figure out why she had reacted like that, and when it finally did strike me, I felt my face flush a little. I had to take some deep breaths to steady myself before changing into a spare set of clothes. Once I was presentable again, I stepped outside to oversee the aftermath of the duel.
True to his word, the orc army was packing up and preparing to return home. Darlou’s body had been removed from the field and returned to his army so he might be transported home to receive his funerary rights. Where one might have expected a more somber mood considering that their champion had just fallen in combat, there was instead a much livelier mood to them. From what little I could pick up as they started moving, they were talking about our fight, reliving their favorite moments, and wondering when the next champion would be chosen. It was strange to me, but then again, I was the one wandering the countryside with walking corpses, so I really couldn’t judge.
A question came to mind that seemed rather important to ask. Should we be concerned about the Father of Flames coming after us?
It is unlikely that he would seek us out again.
Even after I killed his champion?
It was a duel that invoked his name, he will honor its results and leave us be. Besides, as he is without a champion right now, I have an advantage over him.
What do you mean?
Not only is a champion our connection to the world, but you may also act as a haven in dire circumstances. Should he seek me out for some unlikely revenge, he would not be able to move against me by himself.
He can’t do anything to you?
I wouldn’t say that. Consider it like you are providing me with a sturdy shield, and because he no longer has one of his own, I may attack and defend at the same time while he is left open to me.
Not sure how I feel being compared to a shield, but I understand the idea. So, the gist is he will no longer be a problem for a while.
I doubt he will even in the future. So long as this war is brought to a close amicably enough with the orcs, he will simply bide his time until the next war comes about. He cares not who is fighting whom so long as there is a battle to be had. We very well could be allied the next time war is upon us. Still, I have some very stern words for him the next time we have a chance to speak.
I contemplated all that while we waited until the orcs were on the march back to their own territory. We moved on as soon as they were on the horizon. The last fortress in our way before the capital needed to fall. It was only about a day away at this point, so we decided not to waste any time and make it there before something else could delay us.
While we traveled, I repaired or replaced any damaged bones for my armor while our resident smiths fixed what they could on the metal portions that were dented. This ate up a lot of the time during our travels, which made it feel like it all passed by in the blink of an eye. Whether that was a blessing, or a curse was up for debate, but the fact of the matter is that we arrived at the fortress and prepared ourselves for another siege.
Due to past experiences, we were on guard for foul play, even more so when everyone noticed something odd about the fortress. As the siege engines were being constructed, there was a decidedly lacking response from the defenders. We didn’t see much activity upon the walls, and it seemed like they only ever appeared atop them just to check on us before vanishing inside again. To say I was nervous was an understatement.
The whole time we were outside that fortress I was concerned that some horrible trap was about to sprung which would result in massive loss of life. Two days later, though, nothing had happened. We had started bombarding the fortress, softening the walls and preparing to charge up that vertical surface.
With the bombardments came a decrease in the frequency of sightings of the defenders. This was probably because none of them wished to be crushed by a boulder or impaled by a ballista. Still, nothing was happening, and we continued the construction of the battering ram for our push.
Whatever they were doing in there remained a mystery for those several days, and it was only when our ram was near completion that they finally revealed what their goal was in the most unexpected way. It was on the fifth day, the day when we would have completed the last of the pieces of the ram, that a figure stood atop the gatehouse completely exposed. This would have made them an easy target for any of our ranged troops if not for one thing, they were holding a long pole with a white flag attached to the end.
The appearance of the signal for surrender caused quite a stir in our camp. Many murmurs went around the troops as there was discussion on whether this was a trick or not. Many of these theories were discounted as even I didn’t think they would stoop so low as to attempt a false surrender, it would set a horrible precedent for future interactions if they did. If they truly wished to commit to this, then a negotiator would emerge from the gate soon.
No sooner than thinking this did the gate start to creak open just enough for a single person to exit. This man was wearing a very well-made suit of armor and carrying his own flag in a smaller size. He was unarmed and stepped forward slowly as the gate closed behind him. If nothing else, he was incredibly brave.
Everyone watched as he made his way towards us, and I figured that I should meet him. I collected a trio of guards to escort me and then made my way out towards the courageous individual. His eye locked onto me the moment I broke free from the camp, and he adjusted his course to match my own.
The two of us finally met in the middle of our army positions. We kept a respectable distance from one another, enough that we could speak without shouting, but not so little that there would be any danger that could not be seen coming.
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He spoke first. “Can I assume that you are the leader of this army?”
“You would assume correctly. And might I assume that your flag means you wish to negotiate a surrender?”
The look on his face was reserved, though I could see a slightly sullen expression fighting to the surface. “Yes. I am hoping that you will consider mercy for my men.” I didn’t fail to notice that his eyes looked behind me at my army, probably eyeing up the monsters that were idly waiting in the camp.
“So long as you don’t request anything outlandish, I'm sure we can come to terms.”
“All I want is for the safety of the soldiers under my command to be guaranteed.”
There was something of note that I had to bring to attention. “You should be careful of your wording. If I agreed to that as stated, it would not offer you any protection.”
He looked rather surprised by what I said, before inexplicably bursting into chuckles. “You are a lot kinder than what I imagined. I am aware of the way I worded the terms, and I was willing to give myself up if it meant I saved the lives of those boys barely old enough to call themselves men.”
Well, it’s a good thing you are talking to me now instead of a week ago. I couldn’t help but think of the ways I might have exploited that willingness to sacrifice back then, and nothing that came to mind was pretty. That was then, this was now, and I was happy to negotiate for what I wanted instead of taking it.
“Well, the only thing I want from you is information, and if you are willing to give it, I can agree to the safety of you all. You will still be prisoners, but you will receive fair treatment.”
He gave an understanding nod with a small smile. “Those are terms that I can abide by.” A hand came out towards me to solidify the agreement.
I accepted the handshake, and the deal was struck in plain view of both sides. From there the commander excused himself to organize the surrender of his troops, making sure that nothing went wrong on his end. The same was done with my side as we prepared means of holding the soldiers as well as working out the logistics of transporting them.
As it turned out, we were overpreparing for this. The gate to the fortress opened once again, and elven soldiers started to march out. They carried no weapons, but still wore their armor, putting on a display of pride even in defeat. The real shock came when their marching line ended abruptly. I waited for a second, expecting another column of soldiers to exit, but nothing came from the wide-open gate.
Confused, I approached the commander to ask him about this. “Excuse me commander, where are the rest of your troops?”
“You’re looking at them.” My expression must have beggared further clarification, because he offered it a second later. “These are all the troops that I have left under my command. The fortress is now empty.”
I looked on, dumbfounded at the less than a hundred soldiers standing stoically in front of me. “You’re serious? Why is this fortress so underdefended? Surely, you’ve had time to prepare for our arrival and call for aid?”
“Well, I suppose our deal did involve me sharing information with you, so let's start with that. It’s true, we’ve known of your passage through our lands for a while now, and I did have an acceptable number of troops to mount a defense at one point, but orders came through and demanded that my men be recalled to the capital with only a pittance to remain behind in a suicidal delaying action. Such distasteful orders they were, commanding men to die for nothing but time, that I thought up a way to work around them without disobeying. I truly am glad that you are more reasonable than previously thought.”
As I sat there processing his words, all the realizations slowly began to organize themselves before me. We just spent several days besieging a mostly empty fortress, a grand waste of time when I could have taken it in less than an hour with control of the monsters. Not only that, but apparently, they are consolidating their forces at the capital, meaning their numbers will be significantly higher than what we’ve had to deal with in a siege previously if they are pulling troops from more than one fortress. I’d been had.
“Were you not at all concerned that I might be angry to find out about this and take it out on you?” My voice contained a bit of an edge to it as I did indeed find this situation quite annoying.
The fact that he chuckled at my question only served to grind it in even more. “I was always prepared to give my life. Don’t mistake courtesy as a sign of peace. We are still at war, and you are still my enemy. How long that may be the case has yet to be seen, but while you are, I will do whatever I can to hinder you. That is simply the nature of our relationship.”
There was nothing I could say to refute that, and in the end, I just let out a slow sigh of resignation. No point in dwelling on it, I just had to make the most of the situation that was presented to me. The commander submitted himself for questioning as his troops were relieved of their armor and placed under guard.
When the looting of the fortress began it was revealed that there wasn’t much left to take. Apparently with the recalling of the troops also came a transfer of supplies as well. At least it saved us some time collecting it, always look at the bright side.
According to the commander, about six hundred men were taken from his fort, and while he claimed not to know if such numbers were typical for all the others, I figured we could use that as a baseline to get an estimate. Looking at the map of the territory revealed six of the fortresses around the capital in key positions. That meant that approximately three thousand soldiers had been relocated, and that was added to whatever their standing force in the capital was. This already sounded like a nightmare, and we hadn’t even started.
When the news of this spread amongst the leadership of the army there was much discussion about what we could do to overcome this. Plans, theories, and experimental ideas were tossed around as everyone was thinking as hard as they could. The capital was an impressive piece of work, a culmination of all the races' greatest minds to create something that was both aesthetically pleasing and difficult to overcome. I wondered just how many of those inventions would come into play.
Once the questioning of the prisoners was completed, they were to be escorted back to friendly territory where they would await the end of this war in our custody. One last sweep was done through the fortress to ensure that nothing of value was left behind and then several fires were started to destroy the buildings. We moved on after the flames reached a roaring crescendo and our camp was finally packed up.
Perhaps the weight of the situation was finally reaching the point where it was too much, but there was a noticeably more restrained mood amongst the troops while we conducted this last march. Word had gotten around about the numbers we would be facing, and even though we had seen success in our campaign, it was sobering to imagine the kind of battle that would soon be taking place. There were probably many minds trying to prepare themselves.
Along the way we would pass by a village and smaller town, both of which I hoped would ignore us so we could ignore them. If they decided to attack or get involved in the war against us, then we would have to take measures that would be regrettable. What I didn’t account for was witnessing another atrocity.
When we approached the outlying village I was intending to just march on by, but I was stopped dead in my tracks by a grisly sight. A simple row of gallows was erected on the side of the road, each one currently suspending a lightly swaying body. The creaking of the rope and wood in the wind was a dreadful sound, and each of the bodies looked to have been there for quite some time as decay or scavengers had left their mark.
I couldn’t help the grimace on my face as we got closer, and that only deepened to an angry scowl as I saw a wooden sign dangled from each of their necks. On the signs was a simple word, ‘traitor’. Some of them were humans, probably those who lived and worked in the elven towns. Perhaps they simply voiced a disagreement or complaint about the war to the wrong person and were reported for it. The others were elves, and I even recognized a few of them.
Their bodies still wore the robes I had last seen them in, but they had been torn, muddied, desecrated. The few faces I could recall, that weren’t almost completely eaten away by the crows, made me realize that these were some of the priests that I had revealed the truth to. They must have gone back to the capital, maybe asked the wrong questions or started revealing things to others and were silenced for it.
That made me angry, but I already knew the length that these people were willing to go to. At the very least, none of these people deserved to be treated like this, left in such a state to be picked at by the birds. I gave the order to cut them down and give them a proper burial.
While the soldiers did this, I looked towards the village, seeing some nervous faces peeking out from the inside of their houses. They might have thought that we would blame them for the hangings and that our wrath would fall upon their homes. That would not be the case as I knew full well who was responsible for this. No more would people die to hide their evil. I was determined to put an end to it once and for all.
The diversion lasted around an hour to get them down from the gallows and buried. We moved on, but the closer we got to the capital, the more of these scenes we came upon. Dissent was apparently a growing problem as their tight-lipped approach to the information regarding their crimes wasn’t strong enough to keep everything quiet. They were buried as well, and I even raised a few humans whose souls were still in the area and looking for some payback.
We had nearly arrived, and I couldn’t quite figure out how I felt about that. There was the part of me that was eager to see the end of this, but there was also a side that knew just how that would come to pass. The difference in our numbers probably wasn’t as great as I would have liked it to be, and that wasn’t even taking into account the walls and defensive structures. No solid plan had yet to emerge, and many of the officers had simply decided to wait until we could see exactly what we were dealing with.
That would happen sooner rather than later, because a day later, the capital was in sight. It was as impressive as I remembered it, but that only served to increase its intimidation factor. There were a few things different around the outside. Instead of the calm landscape that had worked its way up to the walls themselves, there were ditches, spikes, barricades, all things that were designed to slow our advance. The walls were lined with flags and soldiers who were seen moving about and preparing for a fight.
We started to set up outside of their range of attacks as well. The siege was on. I sent out wisps to see if there was anything they could find that was of concern. While this was happening, I looked out at the walls that were three men high at least, trying to imagine everything that awaited us behind them. Nothing that came to mind was pleasant, and eventually I tore my gaze away and began to focus on the task at hand. Tearing them down.