CHAPTER FOUR

Kogan Keep, Koga

11th Month, 23rd Day, 24th Year, The Quiet Age

The snow had been falling all night long. The few of us who had been stationed on gate duty were doing our best to huddle around a fire and stay warm. The two hundred or so soldiers who had drawn night duty were in small groups along the top of the wall, and were quietly chatting amongst themselves. It was in one of those small groups that I currently found myself, trying to warm my hands and eat something warm on a brief break.

“Hey Rhodin, can you pass me the coffee pot?” a cat beast-man soldier named Harston asked.

“Sure thing buddy,” Rhodin Schwartz replied before handing him the pot that was hanging over the fire. Harston and Rhodin had grown up together in the merchant quarter, and Harston’s family ran the local tannery in the city. Rhodin’s father had been a blacksmith who had purchased a shop a few doors down from their store, and after moving in the two of us had been friends ever since. Over the years they had gotten into trouble frequently together, and the two of them had an inseparable bond.

After the two of them had been caught breaking into the stables one night, The Lord of Kogan Keep had judged them and decided that their punishment would be three years of service in the army. Considering the punishment for horse thieving was death, they we’re pretty lucky to even be in their current situation. This is why on a cold night in the middle of winter the two men had found themselves placed on lookout duty on top of the main gate.

They may have been forcibly conscripted, but the two young men had both shown an aptitude for leadership. The two of them had fought in the Kogan Subjugation War and had seen some intense action on the front lines. Once they returned from the front, the two of them were promoted to Sergeant and put in charge of their own squads of fifty men by the Captain who they had served under during the fighting. Rhodin liked to joke that this was due to the lack of capable warriors, but even he had to admit that he had some charisma. He wouldn’t tell you if you asked, but he had definitely been enjoying his punishment. He was even considering the merits of a full-time position in the Kogan Military.

Rhodin could feel the breeze intensify and tightened his cloak over the standard red and black armor of the Kogan Military so he wouldn’t get frostbite. Harston leaned his heavy mace against the wall next to him, then lightly brushed the snow from his whiskers and stirred the coffee with one of his claws. The two of them sat there drinking their coffee in silence for a moment while the rest of the soldiers around the fire continued their various conversations. Eventually Elgar; who was Rhodin’s second in command, came by the fire to warm his hands.

“How are the men doing?” Rhodin asked him as he approached.

“The bastards are frozen stiff, but otherwise seem to be in high spirits. Nobody has lost any fingers or toes yet.”

“Good. Keep an eye on them for me, and make sure they’re warming up by a fire every so often. If anyone looks like they’ve gotten frostbite or worse, pull them from their post.”

“Yes sir.”

A big snowflake suddenly caught Rhodin’s attention, and he watched it slowly drift down from the sky into his cup. Beck, who was the Captain that had promoted the two men slowly sauntered up to the group of soldiers. Besides Harston and Rhodin, Beck commanded two other Squad Sergeants named Filks and Reuben. He also led his own squad for a total of 250 guards under his command. Beck had drawn night duty that night when the different Watch Captain’s where assigned their daily tasks for the week. That was why his squads where currently spread out on top of the wall, trying to keep a vigilant watch in the bitter cold.

Ever since the incident with the lord’s son Aelan in The Great Forest, the Keep had been kept on high alert constantly. Minister Pellan was in charge of the city’s defenses and had decided to double the amount of guards on duty. The men around the fire stood at attention with a salute to their captain, and after provided the formal response back, Beck stopped to pour himself a mug of coffee. He placed the pot back on its hook over the fire and made his way over to Harston, Elgar and me.

“Having a good night so far, Schwartz?” Beck asked.

“Colder than usual sir, but its light enough out with all of this snow.” Rhodin briskly replied.

“Yes, the moon seems to reflect off of the snow in the same way it would a river.” Harston added solemnly.

“Glad to see the two of you are the same as ever,” Beck snickered. Right then, some movement caught Rhodin’s eye and he stood to take a better look. A small troop of soldiers on horseback had appeared way out in the distance. Beck seemed to notice Rhodin staring out into the distance, and quickly put his mug down. “Something the matter?”

“I don’t think so, sir. It looks like the scouts have returned earlier than expected.” Rhodin stated as he turned to look at Beck.

“I believe that to be the case as well Schwartz,” Beck replied as he approached the wall next to me.

All of the scouts on horseback Lord Ilan had sent out earlier in the week had suddenly shown up on the horizon, galloping at top speed towards the keep. At first the guards at the main gate didn’t react, but we all knew that the scouts were all supposed to return the day after next. Rhodin quietly asked Beck if we should send an alert to command, but he briskly denied it.

“Not until we know more about what’s going on. It’s possible that the scouts had discovered something and have probably returned to deliver a report. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” Said Beck, but that only caused Rhodin’s anxiety and anticipation to grow.

There wasn’t any cause for concern amongst the rest of the men until a one of the younger guards named Niko had pointed out an important detail that they all had somehow missed.

“Doesn’t it seem like the scouts are riding as fast as they possibly can? Why would they be pushing that kind of a pace if it’s just to make a report?”

A cold sweat ran down Rhodin’s spine and Beck’s face went pale. ‘The boy’s right,’ Beck muttered just loud enough for Harston and Rhodin to hear. Rhodin called another one of his soldiers over named Elgar, and asked him for the telescope that he had hanging on his waist belt. Rhodin uncapped the lens, and quickly unfurled the telescope before looking in the direction of the approaching scouting party. The lead scout’s face was flush with fear, and he was waving a flag frantically through the air desperately trying to get the city’s attention.

At first Rhodin didn’t understand what the scout was attempting to do, but then he saw the man get lifted right off of his horse by something incredibly large and hairy right behind him. A curse word left Rhodin’s lips when he realized what was happening. A group of extremely fast creatures that looked like dog monsters had been trying to catch up to the horses and had pounced on the scouts right at that moment. Rhodin didn’t need to see the rest of the carnage to know that the scouting regiment had been completely and utterly ripped apart. I ran over to the nearby alarm bell and swung the knot as hard as I possibly could.

“Monsters!” Rhodin screamed as loud as his voice would let him. Harston and Beck sprang into action nearby, issuing orders to the men. The soldiers around me burst into action, running all over the place to set up defenses. Niko didn’t move at first and seemed frozen in place, so Rhodin gave him a swift knock on the back of the head to bring him back to reality. “Pull yourself together”, he confidently said to the boy. “Yes Sir, I’m sorry. It’s just…..there’s so many,” Niko replied softly to him. Once he was sure Niko had gathered his senses, Rhodin sent him running to the bell tower to ring the city bell and get our unit’s orders from Sir Ferris. After making sure the boy had everything he needed, Rhodin told him to come right back as fast as he could. A few seconds passed, but in time the bells began to ring out through the night.

Trying to compose himself, Rhodin scanned the surrounding area and saw what he was looking for about three kilometers from where they had initially seen the scouts get murdered. A large force of about 30,000 monsters was heading this way.

∞

Standing on a massive rock overlooking Kogan Keep a large monster with four yellow horns protruding from his skull watched his army make their advance. He wore a terrifying set of ebony armour that had dark runes carved into the steel for magical protection and was designed to look like a skeleton. The armour had a haunting effect on all who looked at him, and a massive great sword was attached to his hip. The monster’s name was Kharzin, and he was a demon lord.

Kharzin looked down at the six creatures who had assembled before him. From left to right; there was a scantily-clad blue-haired Imp sorceress, a Gnoll rogue, a Grogg king, an undead Minotauren, and an extremely old elder Gargoyle. An androgynous Manticore in a double-breasted suit stood on the outside of the circle of creatures. Each of the monster’s knelt in a show of submission, and none of them were stupid enough in that moment to lift their heads. Kharzin looked at the six subordinate commanders that had been granted to him, and opened his lips to speak for the first time.

“Which of you is responsible for letting the human scouts warn the city?” Kharzin calmly stated, and the monsters assembled could be seen visibly quivered at his words. A silence passed, and none of the monsters were brave enough to speak up. Finally the Gnoll raised his head and opened his mouth, “It was my duty to lead our scouts and keep our forces hidden after what happened to the last scout captain, my lord.”

The last scout captain was a fiend who had been tricked into falling into a river during the raid on some small village and a human had escaped as a result. Kharzin saved the fiend from the river, only to have the monster publicly humiliated and brutally executed in front of the entire army. Kharzin had made it clear then and there that failure would not be tolerated. After that, the scout captain job was not exactly highly coveted and the Gnoll had been unwillingly promoted.

The Gnoll continued, “We were prepared for the humans to send a scouting party and waited to ambush them as you had ordered. A small brush fire was all that was needed to flush them out. The enemy scouts came to find the source of the blaze and we attacked. About fifty men of the initial two hundred scouts tried to escape our opening encirclement. We sent our own speed units after them, but these monsters had not seen the humans split what remained of their force. A few men had managed to slip through while the rest acted as decoys for their commander. Once we had discovered what had happened, I chased down the remaining soldiers personally with the Gnoll Cavalry Unit. If I had just been more careful then our army would not have been discovered. This is my fault completely. Please take my life as punishment for my inexperience.”

The Gnoll lowered his head humbly, and dared not look up at Kharzin. Even with the job pushed on to him, this Gnoll seemed like he could be relied upon. He clearly holds himself to a certain standard, and Kharzin liked the fact that he had been brave enough to explain his mistake. The Gnoll’s words and actions had been truthful and remorseful, and that modicum of respect he had just shown Kharzin was about to save his life.

The demon lord said nothing, and just stood there staring at the Gnoll. “It sounds like you learned from this situation, so we can skip your punishment this time for now. I wouldn’t fail me again though, if I was you anyway.” Kharzin playfully said, while adding in an evil smile. “What was your name again?”

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“Corgar, Lord Kharzin sir.” The Gnoll stated, with his eyes still downwards.

“Well Corgar, you will continue to serve under me. Try not to disappoint.” “I will not, my lord. I shall strive to make you proud.” Kharzin let out a maniacal laugh, then looked at the remaining commanders and judged the one he believed to be the least useful. He turned towards the imp and she bowed respectfully to him.

“I have to say the Intel you collected is top notch, Imp. Between that and the information we have from the traitor, this battle is going to be an absolute bloodbath.” Kharzin said with a wicked smile.

“Thank you, my lord.” The imp said while keeping her head lowered.

He turned to the Grogg King next and paced around him slowly, in the same way a predator circles its prey. To anyone watching, you couldn’t tell if Kharzin was trying to judge the Grogg or if he had just found his next bite to eat. Kharzin suddenly stopped mid-step and lay his hand softly on the monster’s shoulder. The Grogg King was clearly so scared it was practically petrified, and was visibly quivering from the presence of the demon lord. “Lift your head, Grogg. I believe your name is Oggrin, correct?”

“Yes my lord, Oggrin is your humble servant.” The Grogg responded with a bow and his poorly made crown of sticks dangled from the top of his head.

“Well Oggrin,” Kharzin started, “I think you’ll be in charge of sieging the front gate. Do you think that’s something you can handle?”

“Yes my lord. Oggrin will crush the tiny human’s bones into dust for you. The gate will fall before mighty lord Kharzin’s might.”

“Good. I would like Einstan to watch the city from the air and alert the scouts whenever someone tries to flee. I don’t want to see the same sort of mistake that happened in Kerrigan again.”

“I will do as you bid, my lord.” The gargoyle respectively stated, also bowing to the Demon Lord while talking.

“Excellent. Zhangul will set up a position at the back gate and shoot down the citizens who try to run.” The Manticore nodded when his name was heard before adding, “I can always count on you, boss! Somehow I knew that you’d give me the best job.” He said with a devilish smile.

“It’s a good thing you’re here. I am grateful that the master granted me one of his more capable vassals, and for it to be one of the demon knights at that is a true blessing.”

“Your making me blush! There’s no need for such flattery, Kharzin.” Zhangul screeched excitedly while blowing the demon lord a kiss.

“Pretending to be modest now, huh? Besides; I know how you can get if I leave you on the side, Zhangul.”

“Ouch! That’s not fair Kharzin, honey. I don’t know anyone who actually likes being left out of all the fun.”

“The rest of you shall stay on standby until I give any further orders. Is that understood?”

“Yes, lord.” The monsters all said in perfect unison.

“Now, it’s time for the fun to begin!” Kharzin shouted while flashing a smile.

∞

I flew out of bed as fast as I could, throwing books and clothing into a small drawstring bag I used as a knapsack. Judging by the bells, I knew I didn’t have long to act. The last thing I grabbed was a small dwarven dagger Sir Ferris had given me, and I was ready to leave. Just before I ran back down the stairs, a small whimper caught my attention. The sound was coming from my bed. I quickly looked underneath and was greeted by warm breath and a furry face. I pulled Shadow out from underneath the bed and carefully put him in my pack with his head out the top hole.

I hustled down the stairs and stopped briefly to look out the window. From the view of my vantage point, I could see different townspeople fleeing for their lives out the back gate. It was a sight that took my breath away, and at that moment a dark feeling of foreboding overtook me. Shaking it off, I continued onward to the main hall.

A few servants ran about trying to get things ready, and I spotted my two brother’s waiting by my father’s throne. I made my way over to them, and the three of us sat in silence. I looked over at Olan and could tell that he was visibly terrified by what was happening. Ulan looked bored, like he couldn’t wait for the battle to end so he could go back to sword practice. He had his favorite sword with him, a gift my father had given him for his last birthday. I was thinking about the vast difference in their attitudes when we were approached by a man in full plate armor.

Even with his face covered, it was obvious from the slim shape and size of the warrior that the man in front of them was Steward Ribvan. In case of emergencies, my father had made it Ribvan’s job to protect or evacuate his family if necessary. Minister Pellan had suggested it but was too instrumental in the planning and strategy of the defense of Kogan Keep to do the job himself. It wasn’t exactly a job for Sir Ferris either, who was needed along the walls and argued all the time with Ulan.

In this moment however, Ribvan opted to choose the latter. He had only briefly heard from Minister Pellan about the size of the enemy’s force, but that brief exchange had cemented his decision in trying to take the royal family and escape.

Ribvan began to bark orders at the remaining soldiers, and then called for a roll call. After the six other soldiers stated their numbers out loud they surrounded the Kogan siblings, forming a protective barrier around them with Ribvan in front. I looked at the men who stood around me. Three of the guards were knight-class warriors that I had seen around the castle before. Another two of the guards were heavy-troopers, so they wore hulking plate armor sets and had large kite shields strapped to their backs. The last man was an archer and would serve as their scout. I could feel Shadow moving anxiously around on my back and I quickly gave him a scratch as I tried to recall the evacuation drills we had completed.

At Pellan’s behest, my brothers and I had practiced the evacuation plan several times over the years so we knew what was expected of us. The soldiers would risk their lives to protect and escort us to the back gate. Once we had arrived, an armored carriage was waiting to take us deeper into the Empire. Ribvan and the soldiers would then load us into the waiting carriage and escort us out of the county. If everything went as planned, we would be on our way to safety in the next twenty minutes. Before we left, Ribvan knelt down to our level and lifted up the visor on his full helm. He gave us a brief smile and reminded us to always stay behind him. With that, the group of guards and the lords of Koga began to depart. At the time, I thought the plan was full-proof. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

∞

The army of monsters seemed to stretch out for miles. The alarm system had sent the soldiers from the barracks scrambling, and there was now 3,000 soldiers scattered along top of the front gates. Being a squad sergeant, Rhodin knew what the plan would be for the defenders.

While they tried to get this position ready for combat, another 2,000 soldiers would be split down the middle and sent to the side walls. The lord and his 1,000 personal troops would act as reserves and would go where needed. Another 500 men would guard the back gate, while the last 500 men operated the siege defenses and performed their duties as runners. Command and all decision making was left to the hand of the lord, Minister Pellan. In total, the 7,000 soldiers of Koga where left to stand against an army more than four times their size. Rhodin’s own squad consisted of fifteen heavy troopers, fifteen spear men, and twenty bowman.

A cold wind howled and the two opposing sides seemed to be frozen in place, unflinching. The silence in that second made all of the men extremely nervous, and Rhodin couldn’t help but tighten his grip on his hammer. Then, a group of war horns let out a horrible screeching sound and the monster army flew into a charge. As they approached, Rhodin could see different types of creatures scattered throughout the enemy force.

“Archers, notch arrows!” Beck shouted to all the men on the wall who could hear him. Around him, Rhodin could see several men pull the drawstrings on their bow’s back and waited for the command. He grabbed the bow on his back and slowly did the same.

As the monsters approached; Rhodin could make out the bone-white horns of Groggs, the spotted fur of the howlers, the rotting flesh of ghouls, the toxic clouds that surrounded the Pestil-Ants and the bumpy red wart-covered skin of the Slaads. He could see shapes in the distance that looked like siege equipment, and various winged blobs flew about the sky unnaturally. Rhodin thought he could see a crowned Grogg sitting on a make-shift thrown in the middle of the enemy’s headquarters where you would find an opposing general. ‘So many varying types and a leader too,’ Rhodin thought as he turned to look at Harston.

Even a few hundred feet away, Rhodin could feel Harston staring back at him. They both exchanged a glance, and Rhodin knew Harston must have been thinking something similar. What the two of them were seeing in front of them went against everything they had been previously told about monsters. These creatures were working in unison. The army of monsters increased their pace. They quickly came within range of the wall and Beck could be heard screaming at the top of his lungs, “Archers, loose!”

Rhodin released the drawstring of his bow, and watches as a wall of arrows blackened the night sky before crashing into the group of approaching monsters. Rhodin could hear the massive weights of the trebuchets fall lose, and the catapults sent large rocks tumbling through the sky. As the arrows or rocks found their targets, many monsters screamed in agony and some collapsed to the ground. They lay there un-moving while the other creatures who weren’t struck continued onward, crushing the dead and the injured under foot as they quickened their advance to the wall.

“Fire at will!” Beck loudly commanded and the archers complied, shooting wave after wave of arrows into the crowd. Even with the Kogan forces shooting all of the projectiles they could muster, many of the monsters managed to approach the front gate easily. The ghouls were the first of the monsters to reach the wall, and sprang into action the minute they arrived.

The ghouls sunk their claws into the solid stone, and began to climb up the wall in different spots at frightening speeds. Rhodin watched as different soldiers threw rocks down onto the monster’s heads and dumped burning oil cauldrons on them. The smell of burnt flesh wafted through the air, and it took most of Rhodin’s inner strength to not retch on the spot.

“Front lines, switch weapons! The monsters will be on us momentarily!” Rhodin heard Beck shout out from somewhere close by. He carefully placed his bow back on his shoulder and equipped his hammer. Many of the men around him did the same, while the back lines continued to shoot arrows into the approaching army. Rhodin looked to his left and his right quickly and could see the fear in his soldier’s faces. He tried to swallow his own emotions temporarily, and stepped in front of his troops.

“You heard the Captain men, those things have finally come. Will we let them in to Kogan Keep?” Rhodin asked loudly.

“No!!!” The men in his command shouted back.

He smiled wryly before adding, “Monsters or not, no one on this continent is stronger than the army of Koga! We have the honor of serving under one of the twelve heroes of The Second Offensive! Ilan Koga has defeated a demon lord! Does that nigh make you feel unstoppable? Do men who fight under a legend believe in surrendering? How could we face our lord if we can’t even defeat some pathetic creatures like this?” The men shouted and shook their heads in agreement. Rhodin could tell that their demeanor was noticeably changing.

Rhodin continued, “THEY will not enter this city. WE will not let them. The men of Koga will show these creatures what it means to be proud in the face of death. Humanity will always fight evil back. The Kogan’s will never surrender! Not now, and not ever! Get ready men!” Rhodin concluded his speech, and the men let out a war cry that could be heard across the entire wall.

He turned back towards the front of the parapet, and his heart froze. A ghoul had just managed to reach the wall’s summit, and its clawed hand flew at Rhodin’s head. Before he could react in time to block the blow, a sword interrupted the monster’s swing and the ghoul’s arm fell harmlessly to the ground. The ghoul tried to let out a cry of pain but as it opened its mouth, but Beck jammed his now bloody sword down the ghoul’s throat silencing it. The ghoul didn’t have the time to make a sound as it slumped harmlessly to the ground.

“Thanks.” Rhodin quickly muttered to Beck.

“Don’t mention it.” Beck stated, and gave Rhodin another one of his patented knowing smiles before spinning to face front. More ghouls had just finished their ascent and were pulling themselves over the top of the wall. The monsters stared at them and snarled, and Rhodin finally got a good look at the creature’s faces. The ghouls had horrible sunken eyes; and the flesh in different places on their bodies had begun to or had completely decomposed, making for quite the horrifying sight. They were incredibly thin, to the point where the monsters looked more like a moving bag of bones than a living thing. They almost looked human, but they stood around seven feet tall and had large knife-like claws attached to each bony finger on their hands. Slobber fell from their mouths as they patiently watched the guards.

Immediately, one thing became clear to Rhodin. The ghouls were clearly starving. Their appearance reminded Rhodin of the starving beggars that could be seen around the city, and he remembered an old adverb his father had told him once. Rhodin had one time witnessed a beggar try to hold a woman hostage in an attempt to trade her life for food. Luckily, the guard’s at the time had seen what had been happening and swiftly put the beggar down before something terrible occurred.

Seeing the beggar’s choices unfold in such a horrendous way had really bothered Rhodin as a child, and he didn’t understand how someone could try to do something so awful. Then one day his father gave him a piece of advice that then didn’t make much sense to him. “Hunger and morality are too large to fit in the same room.” He had told the young boy. Rhodin obviously didn’t understand at the time, but seeing the ghoul in this state brought his father’s saying back to him in this moment. The words bounced around and echoed through his mind as he looked at the creature.

Rhodin didn’t want to think about what the monster would do to satisfy its hunger. He shook the thought out of his mind and refocused on the situation. Rhodin looked at the four corporals who served under him, and the faces of the men who stood at his side.

He mustered up his courage and shouted, “Are we going to rely on our Captain to bail us out every time we are in trouble? Or do the soldiers of Koga have more to prove on this night?” Rhodin said to the guards who were within earshot. The men cheered, and Rhodin could feel the morale of the troops growing.

“You heard your Squad Sergeant men, let’s give them hell! Charge!” Beck shouted before leaping head first into the fray.

¤ ¤ ¤