Back at camp the scouting party was then able to give their report to the officers. Entering their command tent, I saw them standing around a long map table with a geographical landscape laid out before them. Two braziers were active with a low flame crackling inside them, keeping the occupants of this space warm. Other than the officers, there was one more familiar face that I had not seen amongst them earlier, and that was Dart who seemed to have been in conversation with them before our arrival. Evidently, he deemed that now was an appropriate time to reveal himself once more.
With everyone’s attention now resting squarely on us, the information that we had gathered was delivered to the leaders. The gravity of the situation was properly conveyed to them all and the general status of Yol’vastume and the Thrainian army, at least as far as we could see, was passed along. The town still stood, and the siege was still active, so we weren’t too late at least, but the longer we waited the more damage would be done, both to Durdan’s forces, and our own as we had limited supplies for a protracted battle.
Now that they were caught up on the situation, a conversation started about the best course of action going forwards. It was mostly a debate about attacking in the dead of night or waiting until the morning to avoid any confusing situations. This went on for several minutes before I saw Dart step forward and attempt to gain everyone’s attention.
“Might I make a suggestion?” he asked loud enough to cut through the noise.
One of the officers responded, and I was surprised to see that I was familiar with this Droln as it was Captain Caldern who I had tried to convince to help me back in Sor’Balvas. “If you have anything to add, master spy, we are open to considering it.”
With a nod of his head Dart began his pitch. “I believe that I may be able to probe the defenses of the Thrainian camp and perhaps conduct some manner of sabotage upon them. If their reports are accurate, the Thrainians haven’t prepared any serious defensive measures around their camp. While our presence here is largely unknown at this time, I doubt it will remain as such for long as any random patrol might find us. Before they do and raise their guard, we have an opportunity.”
That made sense to me, but it was mostly up to the officers whether they would go along with this and allow Dart to do his job throughout the night. Another, slightly quieter conversation emerged. As it progressed, I followed it as much as I could and was pleased to hear that many of them liked the idea. In the end they agreed that Dart should have time to work and try to give us a greater advantage in the battle to come.
When they offered the assistance of the scouts to aid in his sabotage attempt, he declined their offer, at least as far as having people enter the Thrainian territory with him. He could not trust their skills when he did not know what they were capable of. Instead, he organized a plan for rapid retreat if he was discovered by having the scouts guard a specific path away from the camp.
As the meeting came to a close, the plan was set in motion and all those present separated to fulfill their roles. I managed to catch Dart before he disappeared again to have a quick word with him. Even as I talked to him, he continued to walk.
“Do you really think you can do damage to the army? It’s a risky move, and I would prefer that you didn’t get yourself killed for this.”
“You do not trust my skills?”
“It’s not that. I know you are good at what you do, but you are going to be sneaking around an army. That’s thousands of people who will be on the lookout for anyone from the coalition and there’s hardly anywhere that you can hide out there. At least tell me you have a plan for handling that.”
“Wearing dark clothes and utilizing the slim moon that will be out tonight.” That answer wasn’t exactly satisfying, and he must have seen that I thought as much with the look I had on my face. He decided to elaborate a bit more. “So long as they haven’t realized that we are here yet, their focus should be mostly on Yol’vastume. While I haven’t yet seen the camp for myself, the information that you and the other scouts came back with was detailed enough that I have a general sense of the layout and structure of the camp when I compare it to others that I have seen throughout the years. I am quite familiar with the Thrainian’s military habits, so all that would need be done is to watch the patrol patterns for a while before starting my mission. Is that a satisfactory enough answer for you?”
I did realize that I was being a little bit paranoid, or perhaps overly worried about the wellbeing of those around me. Even if Dart was at best distant with any relationships between himself and other people, he had helped me and my friends in several instances, so I felt that I at least owed him the benefit of my concern.
“Well, it seems that you have everything under control. If you ever need help from me or my friends, you just need to ask. You’ve been there for us, so I think it’s only fair to return the favor from time to time.”
“I will be sure to keep that in mind, but I doubt there will be much that you can assist with when it comes to the task at hand. Also, I...” He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Your concern for me is not unnoticed and it is gratifying to know that you hold me in such esteem.” That was a very professional way to say it, but for Dart that was quite a show of emotion from the otherwise reserved man.
A small grin made its way onto my face. “Maybe the next time we’re out for a drink you can stop by. We’ll pull up a chair for you. It wouldn’t hurt to socialize every now and then, right?”
His face took on a visage of contemplation for a moment. “I’ll consider your offer,” he finally said.
That was about as much as I could hope to get from him in terms of a commitment to a social hour. There was little else for us to discuss at this point, so we both had a silent agreement to simply go our separate ways for now with me simply wishing him good luck. I had no idea what he planned to do once he reached the Thrainian camp, but I just hoped that he wouldn’t get caught in the process.
Walking in the fading light of the afternoon I couldn’t help but feel a weight in the air. It pressed in on me from all angles, unrelenting and constant like a lingering threat. I realized that feeling was the eminent slaughter that was upon us. It all seemingly came crashing down on me all at once with the realization that we were only a single night away from the madness that is active combat between tens of thousands of people.
That thought had me suddenly feeling like I wasn’t getting enough air. I needed to take a deep breath just to get back my feeling of equilibrium. This was only the second time I had been in a battle of this scale before, and the first time I was hardly even a participant, more of an unwitting victim trying to survive. This time around my situation was different, but no less harrowing.
Wandering through the camp, I eventually made my way back towards where my personal tent was set up. Kala and the others were there, waiting for me to return from the scouting mission. None of them were particularly happy that I volunteered to go on that little excursion, but with thirty armed scouts along with me, they couldn’t argue that I wouldn’t be safe so long as we didn’t try to storm the camp by ourselves. Still, they looked relieved when they saw me approach.
I sat around the crackling fire, taking the open spot right next to Kala that looked like it was set aside specifically for me. As soon as I was in position, Kala leaned on me with a relieved sigh.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she said.
“Glad to be back.” There were a few seconds of silence with nothing but the snap of burning logs.
“So, how’s it looking out there?” Jorn finally broke the silence with a question.
“Pretty bleak if I'm being honest. The landscape is basically destroyed, the walls of Yol’vastume are near collapse and the terrain is very open. Any way you look at it, it will likely be a head on battle, which might not be such a bad thing as that will increase the effectiveness of my crystal.”
“So good and bad news then?” Hargon commented. “At least we weren’t too late.”
“Yeah, I would have owed ten silver to the barkeep.”
Everyone looked at Ulthises with a bit of confusion. “Wait, you mean you made a bet with the Thrainian bar keeper about whether or not we could bring reinforcements?” Velian asked.
“Ehh, more like whether we could hold the town in general really. Smart ass was saying that our victory would be short lived, I begged to differ.”
“How did you plan on paying that if you lost the bet?”
Ulthises had a sly smile on his face. “That’s the beauty of it. If we lost the town then I probably would never see him again, or be dead, and winning means that I get to claim my prize and rub it in his face. It’s a no-loss bet!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle a little while shaking my head. It was so on character for him that everyone else had a similar reaction as I did as we all turned into bobble-heads for a few seconds. Ulthises never ceased to be a source of entertainment, despite it coming at the risk of his monetary health.
“You’re a lost cause man,” I said with a touch of humor in my voice. “There’s no saving any amount of money around you.”
“Hey! Believe it or not, I actually win many of my bets.”
“Isn’t that because you cheat?” Otar accused with a smirk.
Ulthises raised his pointer finger to better accent his next statement. “I use my full skill set to better improve my odds.”
There were many rolled eyes as he tried to mask his bad habit with some flowery words. This was a conversation that had happened many times before, and we were all aware of just how pointless it was to try and argue with him on this. No matter how many times he was thrown out into the street, started a brawl, or had to make a hasty retreat from a gambling den, he would always try and pull one over on whoever he was playing with. The rush of getting away with it was, evidently, quite addicting. You’d think that being a soldier in an active war would be thrill enough.
A realization hit me once I caught myself smiling. The pressure that I had been feeling on my walk over had all but evaporated over the resulting conversation. Maybe it was just their experience in these situations rubbing off on me, but the way they seemed to ignore the impending fight and speak as if everything was normal set my mind at ease.
I hated to put a damper on the mood around the fire, but there were some things that just needed to be said before you lost the opportunity to do so. Adopting a more reserved expression, I began speaking with a somber attitude.
“Hey, I just wanted you all to know that I'm glad that you extended that invitation to join your group. You’ve helped me through many situations and troubling times. I value your friendship and want you to know that my life has been vastly improved by knowing you all. Thank you.”
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They appeared to be a little stunned by my sudden declaration of gratitude. Jorn broke the silence with a scoff. “Wow, just dropping a whole boulder on us out of nowhere?”
“Hehe, yeah, I know, but I figure that I should say something while I still have the chance. I... I don’t want to regret anything.” That had officially squashed what was left of the lighthearted atmosphere, yet I still saw the small smiles they all had.
Hargon spoke up next. “Well, I can safely say that I am glad that I extended that invitation to you. It was an act that at first, I was unsure of, but later found it to be correct. I’ve seen, and done, more than I could have possibly imagined. You’ve made history, and we had the good fortune to be with you for every step of the way. One can only guess what you may come up with after this unpleasant war has ended. I imagine it is only the start of a bright future for all Valthrain.”
Everyone seemed to mirror his feelings with nods of the head or general sounds of agreement. This little group was everything that I had in this world. It may not seem like much to some, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.
“Come what may tomorrow, I want you all to stay together, watch each other’s backs, and don’t anything I would.” That last bit was said with some humor, and they responded with reserved chuckles.
“That’s a pretty big list of things we aren’t allowed to do then.” Jorn said with a playful grin. “We might just have to sit on our hands to prevent upsetting James here.”
“Come on, I know I do some crazy things, but I'm not as bad as you make me out to be.” My attempts to defend my character were met with snickering.
“You mean like jumping off of a fortress wall?”
“Or creating a whole forest using the power of the goddess?” Otar added. I could see where this was going, but I didn’t expect a betrayal from Kala.
“How about trying to burn down Alathos’ castle?” That declaration was met with some looks of surprise.
“Wait, that was you!?” Jorn exclaimed with shock. “News about that spread through the coalition as spies reported about a manhunt for an arsonist launched by the Thrianians. But that was you!? Why didn’t you say anything before?”
“Well, it wasn’t exactly a good time in my life, and the subject just never came up in conversation. It certainly was satisfying in hindsight though.”
“Damn,” Hargon inserted himself into the conversation again. “If I knew that you were responsible for that I would have invited you to our group a lot earlier.”
I gave him a very skeptical look that was tempered by a smile. “If I had claimed that I'd done that earlier, would you have believed me?”
He opened his mouth to reply but froze in that half agape pose as he truly started to consider it. Eventually his face became slightly abashed before he replied honestly. “Probably not, unfortunately.”
“Yeah, I figured as much. Back then everybody was in a kind of throw rocks at me sort of mood.” There were a few nervous laughs around the fire pit which immediately made me suspicious. I squinted at them, and sure enough, they started to squirm under my gaze. “Did you guys throw rocks at me?” I deadpanned.
The intensity of their squirming increased, especially since Kala was now looking at them with clear disappointment, and Hargon even began to rub the back of his head the way you do when you’re guilty. That told me all I needed to know about their crimes. Keeping my face perfectly neutral, I reached down to the ground and started to gather a collection of pebbles that fit neatly into my hand. Once I had a decent sized collection, I gingerly plucked a singular stone from the pile and looked at the available targets before me.
Deciding to go for the one that looked the guiltiest, I cocked my arm back and threw the pebble with a good amount of force, striking a bullseye as it bounced off the skull of Jorn, doing little more than surprising him and giving him a short bit of stinging pain. Down the line I went, taking individual pebbles and throwing them around the fire at a new target each time. They accepted their punishment without complaint, as they should, and I ended the whole ordeal with a satisfying sounding ‘dink’ off Hargon’s horn.
With a sigh I relaxed with a smirk on my face. “There, I'm happy now.” My retribution had come and gone swiftly, and the only sign of it was the light rubbing of a few stings that lingered on the skin of those with a fleshier disposition. Hargon was largely unphased due to all that fur protecting him from the small projectiles, and Ulthises could probably shrug off rocks of a much larger size with his scales. Still, I could see the relief on their faces that I was not angry at their previous behavior.
The night was winding down, and we all came to an agreement that we should get some rest. Tomorrow was likely to start early as I imagined that giving the Thrainians time to wake up and prepare themselves would be a poor idea. Retreating to our tents in pairs, Kala and I bunked down with each other, staying as close as our separate cots could possibly allow.
In the dead of night my worries returned. Holding Kala close just reminded me of everything that I had to lose. This attack had to work, my weapon had to be effective, if not, then I didn’t know what to do. Eventually, I managed to fall into a light sleep, getting a few scant hours of rest before the next wakeup call came.
It was before dawn when the clamor of a camp freshly awakened roused me from my sleep before anyone could even do it themselves. The sun hadn’t even risen on the new day, and from the looks of things it was still an hour or two away. It was quite icy outside, with a fresh layer of frost on just about everything. I could tell that Kala was not happy with the current temperature outside, but she didn’t complain as there were more concerning matters at hand.
Pushing aside any discomfort, we prepared ourselves with grim resignation. My preparations were admittedly lesser than most. As the designated user of my suicidally dangerous crystal, wearing any armor would be pointless, not to mention potentially painful as the metal would most likely melt and stick to my body if it got hot enough. So, I was doomed to walk into a warzone essentially naked for all the good the bits of clothing would do for me.
Kala was wearing a chain shirt over gambeson that she had been granted alongside a simple spear. She would not be fighting on the front lines, though. She was part of my ‘recovery team’ who would be in charge of rushing forward to secure both my body and the crystal after the effects had come to an end. I would have preferred her to remain uninvolved with this whole ordeal, but that was a request that I was sure she would not heed. The rest of the team consisted of my normal escort of friends and the additional support that Larvell had sent along with me.
Otar showed up at our tent only to find us finishing the last few steps of our dressing. “Oh, good, you’re already basically ready. The troops are assembling to march on Yol’vastume, and the captain wants us to be ready to use the weapon at a moment's notice.”
“Right, we’ll be there in just a minute. Any news about Dart and his mission?”
“Yes. Apparently, he was able to sabotage some of their supplies, meaning they will have less conventional ammunition like arrows and bolts to use. Other than that, he claimed to have put something unpleasant in the Thrianians’ food, so some of them might be too ill to participate in the coming fight.”
I was glad that nothing bad happened to him, but knowing his skills I suppose that was an unfounded concern. “Every little bit counts, and even if only one person got sick that’s still one less blade to worry about.”
“My thoughts exactly. Now let’s hurry up before they come to collect us themselves.”
At that prompting we then gathered what little we had need of and stepped out into the frosty air of early morning. The weather was overcast this morning as grey clouds obscured the sky. Soldiers moved between tents in a similar direction. It was easy to deduce where we were needed from that information. I found that Hargon and Jorn were already in possession of the chest with the crystals in it, with the other waiting alongside them, so that saved us some time. My friends were also in slightly different attire than our political outings, wearing a few extra pieces of armor to cover their chest as well as holding some preferred weapons like Hargon’s peaked war hammer, Otar and Jorn’s shields, or Ulthises’ long spear. With nothing delaying us any longer, we followed the stream of soldiers towards the edge of the camp.
It was there that we found the army, thousands of armed individuals all wearing a loose assortment of whatever they could strap to their bodies to add to their protection. It was far from a uniform army, and from an outsider perspective it might seem like a collection of different mercenary groups with no singular origin. Very few had any solid plates in their ownership, and of those it was likely that most belonged to only the wealthiest of nobles who would be participating in this war.
We quickly found the captain at the head of a column of soldiers, and he was equally as quick to gesture for us to join him. Captain Caldern was waiting patiently, and I figured I should greet him properly this time. “Good morning, Captain. It’s a pleasure to see you again and I hope everything is going to plan so far.”
“Lord James,” he said with a slight dip of his head. “Yes, things are progressing apace. What I need to speak to you about now is your role in what is to come. Yours is to be the opening move in this battle, and to facilitate that we have come up with a plan to get you close enough to the Thrainians for your weapon to be of maximum use. You will be positioned near the front for the initial charge, then, just before we reach their battle lines, we shall halt and have our mages erect a stone barrier while you close the remaining distance and activate the weapon. Once you have finished your grim task, the battle will begin in earnest. Do you have any complaints?”
I only gave it a few seconds of thought before answering, “it seems like a good plan to me.”
Caldern nodded in affirmation. “Very well, then let us at last begin.”
That was all the warning I got before he made a hand signal to a distant person who then blew a horn. This signaled the army to start its march towards Yol’vastume. The rumble of thousands of synchronized marching feet likely carried for some distance, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if this alone would tip off the Thrainian army to our presence.
We marched for well over an hour, and by the time we arrived at the outskirts of Yol’vastume, the sun was just barely starting to approach the horizon and illuminate the sky. With that light came the sight of the town, and an army of Thrainians organized outside of it. It seemed we did not catch them as off guard as we hoped.
The first phase of the battle seemed to be posturing. Battlelines were formed, troops all lined up and ready to charge headfirst into possible death. The sun just barely started to peak out from behind the landscape and bounced off the armor and weapons of our opposition, highlighting the disparity in armaments. That was always a concern when facing a better equipped force, but today it would be used against them.
Taking one of the crystals from the chest, I held it close to me while keeping it partially wrapped in the cloth to hide it from our enemies. The spare was taken by two of the Ulgor knights back to a safe location while I moved to a spot near the center of our forces just behind the front row. They would conceal my presence until the last moment where I would break free from their ranks.
I felt my heart start to beat faster as the adrenaline began to build in my system. This was a completely different feeling from my first experience with warfare. I was scared for my life back then, running from every possible danger. Now, it wasn’t my life I was scared for anymore, and I was going to be running headlong into a guaranteed death. That tightness in my chest was not the same sense of dread, but that of my resolve steeling itself to burst forth in a moment of courage.
My gaze shifted to my sides, where Kala and my friends were waiting with me for the signal to be given. We all shared a similar look of concentrated resolve, but when our eyes met, there was a brief flash of a reassuring smile between us. I took a deep breath before returning my focus to the army opposite us, though I did share a few words.
“Remember, stay close to each other.” The only response I got was a few grunts and head nods.
The silence that followed was unnerving, and I could only hear the heavy breaths of those around me, their foggy breath drifting upwards before fading away. Everyone waited for the signal, and our eyes were drawn to movement near the front as a singular individual raised a horn to their lips before blowing fiercely into it. The constant deep note resonated across the muddied field that separated the two sides of this conflict.
That was the start of it, as the formations began to walk forward at a steady pace that kept the ranks in formation. Soon after we started moving, a warning was shouted out about incoming fire, and I looked up to see a rain of arrows. Huh, déjà vu.
My thoughts were nonchalant, but my actions were anything but as I quickly covered Kala with my body while others raised their shields or armored bodies to block the arrows. Jorn, Otar, and the rest of my escort huddled close in a defensive formation as arrows bounced off armor or embedded themselves in shields. After a few concerning seconds, the last of the arrows stopped falling and another horn was sounded, signaling for us to pick up the pace.
We were moving at a jog now. No new arrows were falling on our position, and I assumed that was because their ammo was limited thanks to Dart’s intervention. We were rapidly closing in on the Thrainians, our speed unconsciously increased to near sprint as a roar overtook the coalition forces as they sold their intent to clash. Then, just a few dozen yards away from the army, the horn sounded a third time.
The breaks were slammed on, so to speak, as the coalition came to a grinding halt. All, that is, except for me. A path was opened in the ranks for me to slip through as I continued sprinting alone towards the enemy lines. As soon as I was clear, I heard the earth rumble behind me as walls of stone were erected to safeguard our troops from the coming storm.
My face was twisted in a gritted sneer of determination. My legs pumped furiously as I drove myself forward. I could see the uncertainty in the Thrainian ranks as they looked at me, but even if they realized what was about to happen, it was already too late.
I yanked the cloth free from the crystal and readied myself as I entered the final few yards between us. Those directly in front of me lowered spears in my direction, sensing that something was wrong. A blood curdling shout somewhere between a show of bravado and madness escaped my lips as I threw myself into their lines. And then, the world lit up with the catastrophic force of nature itself, harnessed by man, as I activated the crystal.