Chapter 49: Preparations

James thanked Gadwin for the tour. “I need to see to my own defenses and craft weapons. Can you assign someone to assist me? I may need supplies and will need to have someone keep me from being bothered while I am working.”

“Certainly, I will have my aide, Ned help you.”

“Excellent, I want to start at the blockhouse closest to the bridge. Have him join me there.”

James walked to the blockhouse and examined it in detail. The two-story building was made of closely assembled stone that was fitted without mortar. The first floor had a single entrance at the back, away from the bridge. The entrance was sealed by an iron-wrapped wooden door. There was a basement that provided storage for weapons and food.

The second story jutted out on all sides with a three-foot overhang. Above the door were murder holes where arrows or other projectiles could be rained down on attacking troops. On all sides of the floor were slits that the archers could use to strike the enemies.

The tiled roof was peaked to deflect any objects, such as firebombs. A trap door allowed access to the attic formed by the roof and could be used by observers.

He was impressed by the thought given to the design and the quality of the construction. But that made sense as the blockhouses were to last for generations.

While he was making his inspection, the soldiers gave him a respectable distance. They knew that the outcome of a battle depended more on the battlemage’s abilities than anything they could contribute.

When James left the blockhouse, he found Gadwin’s aide waiting for him. “I am Ned. General Gadwin has assigned me to assist you, Battlemage James.”

“Good. I have questions about this structure. Can we place an observer underneath the peaked roof?”

“Only for a limited time. There is a great heat buildup and no ventilation. The room gets stuffy very fast, and heat stroke is a real possibility.”

“Pity, stationing watchers there to look for the dragon would have been great. I have noticed that the trees are kept back at least ten feet from the house. Is that the standard?”

“Yes,” Ned replied. “We do not want to risk a tree being set on fire and having the fire jump to the building.”

“I intend to erect stone pillars by each blockhouse. Tell the men not to disturb them.”

“I will do so. May I ask what their purpose is?”

“I will use them to strike the dragon. They will be my spears. I am going to the hills behind the stockade and start constructing the spears. In four hours, I will want lunch to be brought to me.”

James used Lift to fly to the foothills behind the settlement. He used his magic to peel away the topsoil and expose the bedrock. Using Grab, he split the rocks into six-foot lengths. At one end, he sharpened the end into a point and at the other end, crafted fins by removing material. When he finished the first one, he tested it by using Force to push the spear at a tall tree. The spear flew with only a minor wobble before hitting the tree. When it did, the tree exploded from the impact. ‘That worked!’

Encouraged, James turned with a will to his task. He carved a long chunk of bedrock and then split it into even, three-foot-wide spears. He then stopped and started topping off his reservoirs with the local magic. ‘I need to be careful not to deplete my storage. The dragon could appear at any time.’

While James rested, his lunch was brought by Ned. “Thank you,” James said. “This is good timing.”

Ned looked at the rock spears, “These are what you will use against the dragon?”

“Yes. Look at the tree over there. It is in splinters from my initial test.”

“Impressive.”

“I still have a lot of work left. Please bring me dinner here in another four hours. I want to pace myself in case the war starts before we expect.”

After Ned left, James returned to the shaping of the rock spears. Once he completed six, he used his magic to move them to the first blockhouse. He planted each two around each side of the house, leaving the back door unblocked. Stepping back, he looked at each set of spears, standing vertically, waiting to be used.

James worked through the night, stopping only after completing spears for four houses. Before he collapsed, he returned the soil to cover the excavation. A careful analysis would show the digging, but hopefully, the enemy would not connect the digging with weapons.

At dawn, he dragged himself from bed and was met by Aaron. “I looked at the spears you created. From a distance, they do not look dangerous. That was clever.” Aaron noted.

“I intend to scatter potential weapons throughout the field so they will be readily available. For this engagement, we will have the element of surprise. Unfortunately, this will only work once. I will have to come up with a different deception for the next battle.”

“Perhaps, but they can only be used by a battlemage. So the number of potential users is small. What are your plans for today?”

“I want to create a large number of small rock darts that can be thrown at the enemy army. I can throw them farther than the archers and with a much higher number of projectiles. With a few moments of focus, I can decimate a large number of their soldiers, which might turn the battle.”

“How can I help?” Aaron asked.

“I have a basic design, nothing more than a smaller version of the large spears. I want a rock spear about a foot long and a few inches in diameter. They will be under control the entire time, so they will not need stabilizing fins.”

“I have time to make the darts. Where will you emplace them once they are ready?”

“I intend to bind them to the overhang underneath the second floor of each blockhouse. They will hang down like stalactites, appearing to be part of the construction. A simple command and they will shear off the building and can be directed by Force to the desired target. I will also bury them in the ground at the approach to the bridge. I may gain an element of surprise when they shoot straight up.”

Together they flew up to the hill that James used yesterday and started in a new area. Soon, Aaron was stacking the darts in long rows. Over the morning, James and Aaron were able to craft over a thousand darts. After lunch, they affixed the two hundred darts to each blockhouse.

“I will update Conrad on these new devices. They may prove useful. But now I have other duties. The observers are to arrive later today, and we need to be ready.” Aaron said before flying off.

James turned to Ned, “Tell everyone not to bother any of the new additions.”

“I will tell them immediately. Should I then come back?”