Chapter 48

Jertin led the pair to a corral where several horses were tethered and selected one that Darras presumed was a spare or had belonged to a fallen rider. Though observed out of curiosity by many in the encampment, none of those observing were particularly hostile. Nor did they appear to bother Klea in the way they bothered regular Elves. A saddle was procured and she was allowed to mount the horse, though Jertin held onto the reins until they left the environs of the encampment before letting go of them and sending Klea on her way.

“So, that was one of our foes?” he enquired of Darras as Klea galloped away.

“A living one, yes,” Darras nodded. “No doubt you’ve seen a few of their fallen.”

“Aye, that’s true,” Jertin shrugged.

“Thank you for the horse.”

“Seemed to me that a gesture of good faith might help, plus Ranely no longer has a need for it,” Jertin replied.

“My condolences for your losses,” Darras replied.

“They were not as high as they might have been, but several whom I’d known for years will no longer ride alongside us,” Jertin grimaced.

“Such is war,” Darras nodded.

“Indeed it is,” Jertin agreed as Rigilo came to join them.

“No issues?” the Prince asked.

“None. Some curiosity, though my men are disciplined enough to keep their thoughts in check, along with their swords,” Jertin replied.

“Aye, that’s why I had Darras bring her to you,” Rigilo nodded. “Hopefully it will enable future surrenders, assuming they can avoid them coming into contact with the Elves.”

“We have set up a camp for them away from the Elven forces and I’ve arranged for their transit along our supply route, away from the Elven one.”

“All we need do is keep them away from the ordinary Elves, admittedly a difficult proposition the nearer to Diriona they get,” Jertin nodded.

“Erren tells me they’ll be fine if you stick to your plan,” Darras added. “Her priests in Diriona have requested several Human priests to aid you and form a weave of protection over the dark kin as they move to the gateway.”

“They won’t try to escape?” Rigilo asked.

“Whilst they feel no obligation to honour any agreements with Elves, Viront will keep his word to you, Prince Rigilo,” Darras replied. “In reality, most of them simply want to find somewhere they will not be hunted down.”

“And the others?” Jertin asked.

“We mostly killed their fanatics.”

“I see,” Rigilo nodded. “Well, I’ll let you go to re-join your party. We’ll be resting and refitting for two days before continuing the advance.”

“By your leave, Highness,” Darras nodded and left while Rigilo and Jertin began discussing dispositions.

“So, you met the dark kin and lived?” Tinara enquired of Darras when he returned.

“As did Balat, though I see no sign of him,” Darras replied.

‘He speaks to Syllar, ’ Erren informed Darras.

“Are they so different from us?” Tinara asked.

“I saw little of them, though they are certainly more indifferent to being observed,” Darras replied. “I got the impression of a lot of anger held in check by one of them, though it might just have been him.”

“Interesting, I take it that they are being kept away from the forces of Iversirion?”

“They are,” Darras nodded. “I hope you behave yourselves.”

“We will. Keltranas asked for and got a binding oath from his forces, whereas we, your friends, would not shame our goddess with such a betrayal.”

“They will be escorted by the Humans of Rachtelin through the Dwarven lines and hence to a camp outside of Diriona,” Darras went on to explain. “Then transited to this island Erren has prepared for them.”

“How many?” Firios asked.

“About three hundred, both sexes.”

“Not enough to form a secure source of variety,” Sondrast observed.

“We may get more, that’s why Rigilo allowed the dark kin Klea through our ranks with a message for their leadership,” Darras explained.

“So we are to take prisoners?” Traskis asked.

“Only if you feel you can,” Darras replied thoughtfully. “I do know Firios and Tinara can show restraint if required.”

“We did,” Tinara nodded. “But only because we were asked. Had we met the dark Elf observing Remelle on our own, it would have gone differently.”

“I know,” Darras chuckled, understanding the bitterness of the Elves. He felt some of it at times when thinking of the people of Trenich ... or rather their armies.

“Our forces in Voxilla have capitulated,” the dark figure informed the enthroned one.

“Capitulated? They were supposed to resist to the last!” the enthroned one snarled, slamming its fist down upon the arm of its throne.

“Apparently they were surrounded and not keen on that order,” the dark figure replied sardonically, causing the enthroned one to give it a fixed stare full of malice.

“They follow the Dark Lord! How dare they disrespect him so!”

“Even the dark kin capitulated.”

“No! Impossible!” the enthroned one almost screamed out its disbelief.

“I’m afraid it is so,” the dark figure replied, hiding its glee at seeing the agent of the Dark Lord so discommoded.

“It seems I must rethink my plans due to the incompetence of those who are supposedly acting in our Lord’s name,” the enthroned one gritted out.

“Indeed so.”

Two days had passed since the victory at Voxilla and the healers and priests had done their work. The seriously injured had been transferred by wagon train to Diriona and the central Temples there, or rather, were still enroute along with the various POW’s. The dead had been buried, though in the case of the former Count Gravely, embalmed and transferred back to Rachtelin to be interred in his family crypt. Prince Rigilo had apparently sent a glowing report of the Count’s courage in the battle and hence allayed suspicions from some of relieving himself of a potential threat.

Darras’s party had naturally taken this time to scout out the road to Abramoch, noting potential ambush sites and terrain features, though mostly it was open land with now deserted farmsteads. The locals had apparently all run to the thought of safety of the town walls, not even burning their crops behind them. Balat had reported back to them of what was now a mass movement of the forest folk into the lands of Thenarron, now that the potential issues over the Gnome infestation were gone, particularly those of the timid types whom the Gnomes would prey upon.

Abramoch itself was a manufactory town of Thenarron, though the main reason the Allies wanted to seize it was the gateway portal it contained. The portal was not used, having been disconnected from the godly network by Erren. The Allies presumed that the gateway itself had not been destroyed, though the Dwarven army contained several artisans capable of rebuilding it, plus priests who could bless and reactivate one. The Dwarves were also sorting out the carriage of a newly arrived siege train. They intended, if necessary, to bring the walls of Abramoch down with it. Though, with the aid of Firios and his team, Amina and her band had already infiltrated Abramoch with the refugees and would be looking to find a way to cause the town to fall without any siege or attempts to breach the walls.

Two days later the main body of the army began investing Abramoch, surrounding it at a distance and making counter-vallations to ensure they in turn could not easily be attacked. Word soon came from their Elven spotters that they had detected a message being flashed out from one of the town buildings that was taller than the walls, confirming there were no dark kin within the town, merely Humans. The message also contained the location of a cache of information about the town, including its food and water supplies, as well as information on the gates and walls.

“The good news is they are short on defenders as we scooped up a large part of them here in the woods,” Linota informed the command group when Darras and Balat brought news of the cache to them.

“Any bad news?” Rigilo asked.

“The local Lord is demanding a hold at all costs defence from his troops and they may be inclined towards suicide squads if we do get inside, possibly a street-by-street defence.”

“Doubt it will do them much good, other than endangering the people,” Jertin replied with a frown. “Most of the buildings are wattle and daub over a wooden frame, not stone, unlike the keep and the gateway house.”

“Aye, true,” Linota nodded. “Won’t stop my people, that’s for sure.”

“Here,” Keltranas pointed with a finger. “A sally port that will enable a squad to get inside and drop the drawbridge and open the gates.”

“Ah, that should do it, though Amina notes that the gatehouse is well guarded,” Linota nodded.

“Against Dwarven infantry backed up by a squad of my archers?” Keltranas replied with a grim smile.

“Heh, probably not,” Linota chuckled with a rare for her smile. “Just make sure they don’t feel the need to vent their feelings, as will I with mine.”

“The moon won’t be rising till late tomorrow night,” Rigilo added thoughtfully. “We can see if our friends can open the port then, as I suspect they’ll be on their guard at the moment.”

“And likely then, too, but I believe it to be workable. They clearly have never faced a siege before,” Linota replied. “Send the message to our people, ensure they know when and where as well as the hour.”

“Done,” Keltranas replied, signalling his aide.

“I’ll have my people mounted and ready to charge,” Rigilo added.

“Aye, I expect it to be somewhat lively when they realise what we’ve done,” Linota nodded.

“My people will be ready too,” Keltranas replied. “They may not be as quick as the knights, but their eyes in the dark are far better and should enable the walls to be seized and used for support.”

“Very well, co-ordinate together for a quick seizure of the main gate and penetration into the town. Remind your people this is not a sack, tempted as they may be.”

“Still bound to be some sticky-fingered amongst my people,” Rigilo shrugged. “But I will warn them of the consequences of being caught.”

“Do that, please, Prince Rigilo,” Linota replied. “Last thing we want is a hostile town tying up our people as we march to their capital.”

“Indeed so,” Rigilo nodded.

‘Interesting. Linota is enforcing my laws of war, ’ Erren commented to Darras after the meeting.

“At the moment it’s fairly easy. The populace are used to doing as they are told,” Darras replied.

‘True enough. Though I’m still pleased with her.’

Other than a request for a parlay outside the gates to demand the town’s surrender, which was ignored by the local lord, very little happened other than the testing of the magical defences by the magic users of the Allies. This proved useless as the town clearly had a talented ... or several talented magic users of their own who countered every move made, as well as launching a few easily countered attempts themselves. The army continued with their investing of the town and Linota brought up her siege weapons, ensuring those in the town got a good look at them. The most impressive of these were the trebuchets that the Dwarves industriously began to set up, even as other squads of theirs looked around for projectiles to throw at the walls. All these Linota intended to use the following day, if only as a distraction from the hoped for sneak attack.

Darras observed these activities with a practiced eye, having read of similar actions in Ostari history. More impressive to him though was the camp hygiene which was enforced by the priest and healers of Hallis, backed up by the priest and acolytes of Erren. In essence the troops were ‘encouraged’ to dig proper latrines, keeping these away from the water supply. The encampments were also kept moderate in size and not overcrowded, with regular food supplies from Diriona as well as firewood being brought from Voxilla forest as supplied by Syllar’s folk.

Back at their own small encampment, Darras and Balat simply checked their own gear, though soon enough Balat was drawn into a conversation with Annos and Sondrast about magical technique as the Elves sought to learn ever more about the art. Firios, Tinara and Traskis were out visiting one of the Elven encampments and so Darras simply relaxed, sorting out the rations they’d been given, by way of preparing a meal.