Chapter 58

“Greetings, agent of Lomarris and agent of Erren,” Syllar the Dryad greeted Darras and Balat when they entered the sacred grove/Greetings to you, Elf friends.”

“May the blessings of Lomarris continue to fill your days, Syllar,” Balat replied for all.

“Please rest; I have prepared refreshments for you.”

“What of the progress of the dark army?” Darras asked.

“They advance, though many desert it to return to Ventris, though there is a hard core of Vampires and Wendigos at its centre,” Syllar replied.

“Difficult foes,” Darras nodded.

“The Vampires are all younglings with no territory; they have nothing to lose in joining with the Drycha to seize Tornua,” Syllar informed the group. “The Wendigos are just out to catch easier prey.”

“And the Drycha?” Balat asked.

“I’m unsure. They have little to gain in leading an invasion of Tornua as they must return to their heart trees at some point.”

“And if the uncursed area of Ventris increases and claims a heart tree?” Darras asked.

“My goddess believes they will eventually return to becoming a Woodnymph, though I doubt it will be immediate or easy for them,” Syllar sighed. “The very uncursed nature of the centre of Ventris will be a difficult place for them to remain.”

“Yes, I understand,” Darras nodded.

“How many of the forest folk have gathered?” Firios asked.

“We have six Treants, ten Woodnymphs and several hundred Fauns,” Syllar replied. “Add to this the Elven archers, and we have enough to defend the woods. Adding the horse archers from Thenarron and Rachtelin will be enough to harry them back to Ventris, as my people will not willingly leave the woods.”

“I’m sure it will be enough,” Darras nodded.

“As am I,” Syllar replied.

The group relaxed and ate heartily of the refreshments provided. Demala, in particular, needed to as she recovered from using the firelance spell. A Woodnymph guided Darras and Firios through the forest to the Elven encampment, where they introduced themselves to the local commanders and updated them on the progress of the dark army.

“It’s good to know their numbers will be manageable,” Serumil, the commander of the Rossaris force, finally replied.

“The forest folk will attempt to deal with the Wendigos and Vampires; you will need to deal with the Fiends and the dire wolves,” Firios added.

“Not an easy task, though at least possible for our Elven bows,” Serumil nodded.

“The men of Rachtelin and Thenarron will be here tomorrow and hopefully back you up and act as pursuit troops,” Darras informed Serumil and the until now quiet Jovis of the Elves of Jizzard.

“Horse archers?” Jovis asked.

“Yes, and knights, over a thousand of them,” Darras replied.

“Good to know,” Jovis nodded. “They will make the harrying of them easy ... should we win.”

“Just remember, the forest folk will not leave the woods when the pursuit, should it happen, begins.”

“Understandable, we’ll bear it in mind,” Serumil replied.

The following morning, Darras and the group were led by a Woodnymph through the early morning mist to the forest edge where the Elven forces were now established. Darras also noticed movement in the trees around them, assuming correctly that this was the forest folk moving into place. Demala and Balat had remained with Syllar and a group of Woodnymphs and had drawn several magic circles to aid them in attack and defence.

‘They approach, ’ Erren warned, a message that Darras passed on as the Elves, due to the presence of Vampires, were not scouting.

Finally, as they approached the brow of a low hill, Darras spotted the advance of the dark army. The Fiends had some discipline as they formed serried ranks, though Darras suspected they were tribal groupings, not regiments. Also, shambling between them were the deadly forms of the Wendigos. At the distance they were at, Darras could not make out individual Drycha or Vampires but knew they had to be there. Of more pressing concern were the dire wolves who were racing ahead of the main body in an attempt to close with the Elves.

The Elves, however, did not hesitate and unleashed a barrage of arrows at the closing dire wolves. This storm landed perfectly amongst them, causing several to fall and the advance to stagger slightly as the dire wolves were forced to weave and dodge the now constant hail of arrows. Firios, Tinara, and Traskis also had their bows drawn but used mithril-tipped arrows. These proved lethal to the dire wolves, and the charge now faltered as the creatures began racing back to the advancing dark army.

There were a series of bright flashes as lightning stabbed down from the skies to hit a shield raised over the Elves by their magic users. No offensive spells were launched at the dark army as the Elves chose not to waste their time on what Darras presumed was an already shielded foe.

‘You’re within range now, ’ Erren informed Darras.

Darras drew his bow and aimed high, focussing on the mass of the dark army and not individuals. Loosing the arrow, Darras watched with satisfaction as it dropped into the mass of Fiends, with Erren confirming it was a hit. He then started a steady stream of arrows into the dark army, watched though not emulated by the Elves.

Demala then unleashed a firelance spell at one of the Wendigos, the mighty spear of flame breaching the dark army’s shield and killing the Wendigo, though not before it created chaos in the dark army’s ranks by running amok in distress.

The Elves then unleashed an arrow storm at the dark army, with Firios, Tinara, and Traskis targeting the Vampires with mithril-tipped arrows. Four collapsed, while another took to its heels in apparent fear of being singled out. An order was then shouted to the Elves, and as a group, they melted back into the woods as the dark army began a ragged charge towards the position they had been occupying.

The dark army seemed to presume that the Elves were retreating, so as a group, they picked up the pace, attempting to close with the Elves, with the Wendigos leading the way. All this did, though, was bring the dark army into direct contact with the forest folk. Three firelances speared into the leading Wendigos, and the full effect of the spell incinerated them on the spot, as they were no longer shielded. This enabled the Treants and Fauns to charge the other Wendigos as the Elves concentrated on the Fiends.

With the aid of Erren, Darras was targeting Drycha with his mithril-tipped arrows. The tips caused the Drycha great distress, preventing them from using their magic to enable the dark army to defend itself in the well-planned ambush the forest folk and Elves had crafted. Worse was to come for the dark army as a hail of arrows hit their disorganised flanks before horns sounded and a charge of mounted lancers drove into them.

‘The Thenarronians have arrived, ’ Erren confirmed. ‘The Rachtelinians are not far behind them.’

Darras observed the tactics used by the Thenarronians, which were deadly to the Fiends on their exposed flank. The lightly armoured lancers were not using the tactics of knights but were darting in to lance down their opponents and wheel away once momentum was lost. When they did so, the Fiends faced a hail of arrows from the mounted archers until another lancer charge was ready.

“Good use of tactics,” Darras murmured.

‘Drister adapted much of his former enemies’ tactics to reform his standing army, ’ Erren explained. ‘Thenarron no longer has a class of noble knights, just footmen, mounted archers and pursuit lancers.’

“Smart move; I hope Jertin picks up on it,” Darras replied.

‘He will; his mounted knights are usually half armoured these days.’

“He must have weeded out the old-school types,” Darras chuckled.

‘He did and continues to do so, ’ Erren confirmed. ‘The Royal Army is now a force equal to any upon this world and in much lower numbers.’

“So much has changed,” Darras smiled as the left flank of the Fiend advance collapsed and routed.

The dark army centre, where the forest folk fought, was also beginning to retreat as Syllar and her Woodnymphs, aided by Demala, ended the Wendigos and attacked the magic users within the dark army.

“This has all the signs of a badly thought-out diversion,” Darras commented to Firios as he caught up with the Elf at the boundary of the forest.

“It does,” Firios frowned. “They appear to have no plan at all.”

‘There are no signs of activity by shadows elsewhere, ’ Erren added. ‘Though this is some ploy by my brother and his supporters, I believe.’

A horn sounded, and a group of lightly armoured knights left the forest’s edge and swung around to face the dark army. Lances were lowered, and a horn sounded again as the knights picked up the pace and moved towards a block of Fiends who had maintained a formation of sorts. On hearing the horn and seeing the advance, the Fiends formed a shield wall to prepare to meet it, only to have it collapse as a beautifully timed hail of arrows arced over the knights to hit the Fiends seconds before the knights crashed into their formation causing it to shatter with the Fiends scattering in all directions.

This caused the dark army to take to its heels and begin to rout, as no amount of influence or magical powers from the Fiend leadership or the Drycha could steady the severely demoralised creatures. The Rachtelinian knights and the Thenarronian lancers used their momentum to continue to press their advantage as mounted archers loosed arrows at any formations in large enough numbers to pose a threat.

The human forces maintained a harrying pursuit, though not to extremes. The Fiends and Drycha were capable of offensive magic and, though in headlong retreat, could still use it if given the chance. Darras spotted his friend Jertin and waved, letting him know Darras was around.

“Well met, Darras,” Jertin greeted Darras when he was finally free.

“Brilliant job of mopping up,” Darras smiled.

“We performed well, but the Elves and the forest folk, along with the Thenarronians, had already broken them by the time we took to the field,” Jertin nodded.

“At least you came.”

“Rigilo wanted to test them, so he jumped at the chance.”

“You made good time getting here,” Darras replied.

“We had the help of the Elves of Rossaris, who rode alongside us, allowing us to farstride,” Jertin admitted.

“Good of them,” Darras nodded.

“It was. Otherwise, we’d have missed this.”

“How are Rienne and the children?”

“They are well; Rienne is with child again,” Jertin beamed.

“Congratulations,” Darras smiled.

“My thanks,” Jertin replied. “Now, I’d best see to my men and call them to order.”

‘I foresee a visit to Chislem, where Jertin resides, in your future, ’ Erren said.

“I’m glad my friend is doing well,” Darras nodded.

‘As am I.’

Before dusk, the Thenarronians and Rachtelians returned after calling off the pursuit and joined with The Elves at the forest’s edge. There was much discussion over the almost bloodless victory with Darras and Firios sitting with Jertin, Serumil, Jovis and Commander Brek of the Thenarronians.

“A good test for us,” Brek said. “Though I doubt future encounters would be so easy.”