Reborn: War's Nightmare (4 page)

For three hours loud voices could be heard throughout the camp. It was considered rude for soldiers too listen in on the command tent and in some cases could even be considered treason so even though the soldiers continued to look toward the large tent that had been surrounded by a clear magical barrier, they didn’t approach so the voices were muffled and inaudible. Outside the tent, three of Ash’s wives stood patiently while one of the kept moving toward the tent with a pensive look on her face only to be stopped by one of the others.

Half an hour after the shouting calmed down, Tolarea looked even more worried but her fears were soon alleviated when Ash walked out of the tent with his face slightly flushed red. From one perspective it looked as if he was angry but once someone drew closer they would notice his lax face.

“My lord, is everything ok?” Tolarea said her face laced with worry.

“Ev-everything is fine,” Ash said his words slightly slurred. “General Anderson has agreed to our terms.” Ash stumbled on a small stone then looked down at it as if he was looking at evil incarnate then kicked the stone as hard as he could almost causing himself to fall on the ground.

Celina quickly grasped the situation and wrapped her right arm around Ash’s waist and kept him from falling. “My lord, why don’t we return to the tent so that you may speak with the officers,” Celina quickly said as she gracefully moved Ash so that no one could tell that his body was swaying. His other wives quickly followed suite surrounding Ash so that without straining their eyes, no one could get a clear look at him. Once they were inside the tent, Celina lowered Ash onto his bed and let out a deep sigh as she looked upon Ash’s sleeping face.

“I wonder what happened.” Li asked with a light chuckle.

“If our lord wishes us to know, then he will tell us,” Tolarea said though her face still looked slightly pensive. “Inform Calen that Urie has agreed to out terms and to keep an eye on them. We march when they do.”

It wasn’t until the morning after the settlement of terms that the combined armies of Urie and the demon kingdom marched. Due to the increase in size, the speed of the march was slow as a long train of supplies flowed back toward Urie to help sustain the massive army. Ash didn’t mind the slowed pace as it allowed his weary muscles a break. No matter how used to riding one was, doing it constantly day after day would cause pain and currently Ash’s thighs and back felt as if someone had set them on fire.

Not only had the slowed pace allowed Ash to regain a bit of his strength and stamina, it had also allowed his troops to do the same. With the leisurely pace, Ash spent most of his time with his wives moving among the troops talking with them. He didn’t just talk with his demon soldiers, but also the Urie soldiers.

Ash was not mingling with the soldiers just to get acquainted, but because he wanted to know more about how the Urie army was structured. It was much the same way that Ash had figured but he felt that he was learning a lot as each day passed. The largest lesson Ash learned was how disciplined the Urie army was. It was worlds away from how the Hawkwing soldiers acted and much stricter than what he had seen of the Heluria army. Also while there were demi-humans within the army that wore slave collars, they didn’t seem to be treated any different than the other soldiers. When Ash asked Anderson about this he was told, “Though they have to follow orders, there are still many ways for slaves to make trouble during a battle. It is best that they fight their best and on their own terms.”

Ash watched the slaves, but was relieved to see that Anderson’s words didn’t seem to be false though the slave collars still bothered him.

12-5

With the reduced speed, it was eight days before they reached the next large city. If it had just been Ash and the demons there might have been some resistance from the locals and there would even be a chance of them losing more than a few soldiers during the attack. However, with the addition of the Urie army, the city folded without as much as a word. The real problem was that Anderson didn’t want to give the town even a chance and wanted to burn it to the ground. Ash was only able to get Anderson under control when he mentioned they were currently in what would be part of his lands in the future and Ash didn’t want to start sowing bad blood with the common people.

The time passed quickly and Ash continued to receive information from Lath. With the addition of the Urie forces, it seemed that the Heluria King was in a fit and had started to call in every able bodied man and woman that he could find. At the same time he had also called for every township to triple the amount of food they supplied as a tax. Ash knew that the people were going to face a hard year and that many would die on and off the battlefield but he tried not to let it get to him.

As the King tried to raise his forces in the west they were already nearing the main force. It seemed that the army had taken root in a large town while trying to build an impromptu fort. Ash had learned of this only a few days after he had joined up with the Urie forces and Ash assumed that it was their response to such an action as he could see no other reason for them to stop their advance. This meant that Ash’s forces would reach the Heluria army days before the main demon army was in position. Ash sent a letter to have them quicken their pace, but even then it would be some time before they could arrive.

Right now Ash was looking over a large open expanse from a small forest, the reason that they had stopped was because this was the closest forested land near the town where the enemy army has decided to make their stand. From where they were at, it would take slightly more than half a day of hard riding to reach the town but with the speed of the wagons it would take just over a day. This was the reason they had decided to split the army. Ash would move forward with an advanced portion of the army making up a fifth of the total forces.

They would arrive first while the others started building and moving siege weapons into place. If there had been a closer forested area, it would had been much easier but they could only work with what they had. The forces that were going with Ash constituted all of the demon forces and a large portion of the Urie mounted soldiers.

As Ash sat on the armored mounted warhorse that Anderson had given him and looked at the soldiers arrayed behind him, he couldn’t help but feel slightly in awe of himself. With a slight nudge of his heels, the warhorse jumped forward and the soldiers behind him quickly followed him.

Though few of the demons were on horseback, Ash didn’t have to slow much to allow them to keep up and they came into view of the town long before the sun had set. Ash picked a spot where the terrain was raised to make their camp. It was a little farther away from the city than he wanted, but it did give him a great view of his surroundings and limited the avenues that an enemy could attack from without being easily noticed. Since it was already late in the day, there was little they could do, so Ash only ordered them to set up camp.

The camp was not tightly packed. In truth, the tents were spread far enough apart that four or five more tents could easily be placed in-between them. The reason for this was so that Ash could start preparing outer defenses without having to worry about space once the rest of the forces arrived. The only downside to the large camp was that the number of troops that would have to be put on guard would be much larger. Even with the extra guards there was still risks due to the camps size, but there was only so much they could do with the troops they had.

The morning after they had set up the camp, Ash started the defensive preparations. Since the chance of a head on attack was minuscule, Ash didn’t plan to expand too much energy on defenses. However, it seemed that the Urie forces had it ingrained in them. Before Ash could even make an order, the Urie forces started digging pits and using what stakes they had. Ash was amazed at how quickly and effectively the Urie forces worked and he quickly ordered his demon forces to help.

In two days what had once just looked like an open hilltop, now was starting to look like an army camp. They even had one completed siege weapon. Now a large arbalest sat at the edge of the camp pointed toward the city. Though the arbalest was in position, there was no way that it could reach the opponents from its current location. So far the enemy forces had stayed within the town and had yet to make a single move.

On the third day, the camp was mostly finished but the other troops were only moving in slowly. Ash expected that it would take another three days before the last of the soldiers would arrived. Still with most of the camp finished, Ash figured that it was time that he met with the enemy. Leaving Calen in charge of the soldiers, Ash took Tolarea, Eun, Celina, and Li toward the enemy encampment.

Before Ash was even close to the town that the enemy was using as a base, he could see soldiers lining up on top of the buildings and makeshift walls, their bows trained at them.

“Stop,” A loud voice boomed once Ash and the others were no more than a hundred feet from the gate to the town. “State your name and business.”

“Maoh Ash Hawkwing of the demon army,” Ash replied loudly. “I have come to discuss terms.”

A few moments after he spoke the two large wooden gates swung open but Ash didn’t enter. “If you leaders wish to speak, this is as far as we will come. Send them out; otherwise, we will head back to our own forces.” Ash didn’t fear death, but he was no so stupid as to walk into the enemy’s fortress. Though he rode in under the banner of a white flag, he had seen enough of what the Heluria army and kingdom considered honorable.

Ash waited for a quarter of an hour before he turned his horse and started to head back to his own camp when the call to wait rang across the field. Turning his head, Ash saw six men wearing bright silver armor ride out from the city gates toward where Ash and his wives waited.

“Lord Ash, I am Knight General Hamman of the Heluria army. It would be much more comfortable for us to talk under the cover of one of the buildings within the town then under the hot sun. We also have a number of drinks and food prepared for your pleasure.”

“I will have to refuse your kind offer,” Ash said with a wry smile. “I don’t feel like having a dagger stuck in my back today.”

“How dare you insult the Knight General,” one of the other nights said his face turning red in anger.

Ash couldn’t help but laugh at the man’s outburst. “You expect me to trust the knight commander of a shameless king. The same king who used so called honorable knight as assassins dressed as rogues. The same king who tried to falsely arrest a peaceful diplomat.”

“How dare you,” a female knight roared half drawing her sword.

“Silla stop,” Hamman ordered in a commanding tone. “Lord Hawkwing has come under the white flag. Do you dare dishonor our men by drawing arms?”

“Knight General how can you allow him to slander our lord in such a way?” Silla asked her sword still half drawn.

Ash could tell form the look in the Knight General’s eyes that he looked upon the female knight with a mix of pity and respect. From her looks, Ash expected that she was still young and from her actions truly believe that Ash’s words were nothing but lies. Ash himself couldn’t help but slightly admire the young woman. It was rare for there to be people with such pure hearts. It was also sad that she was serving such an undeserving king and that most likely she would die over the course of the next few days. As Ash thought about that, his heart felt heavy but he quickly pushed it away. He had learned long ago that it was not only the evil and wicked that died on the battlefield.

“I ask that you forgive Silla, she is skilled but young and impulsive,” the knight commander said kindly. “If we cannot go inside then where do you wish to talk?”

“Here will be fine,” Ash said indicating the small open area in front of the city gates. Ash pulled a large table and enough chairs for each person out of his inventory. Ash also pulled two bottles of wine and glasses and placed them on the table.

Sitting down, Ash poured himself a glass of wine and took a small sip. The knight general gave off a roaring laugh and picked up his own glass and quickly filled it. Soon all of them were sitting around drinking in silence. After the first glass was finished, Ash sat down his glass and looked at the knight general. “If you surrender peacefully then I will allow all of your men to live. Otherwise this will be your grave.”

“The wine was so good, but now all I can taste is the sourness of your words,” the knight general said with a lamentable sigh. “We cannot surrender and I think you will find that we are harder to kill than you think. My advice is that you and the Urie army return to your own lands. If you promise to do that then I promise none of my men will follow you.”

“It is too late for that,” Ash said with a disappointed look on his face.

“I thought so,” The knight general replied with the same look of disappointment as he looked down at his glass of wine. “It seems that the wine has turned a bit sour in my mouth. I hope you the best on the battlefield.”

Ash watched as the soldiers left the field and returned to the city as a slight pain rose in his chest. “We should head back my lord,” Li said in a comforting voice. Ash looked to her and gave a sad smile and nodded his head.

12-6

Two days after the talk with the enemy, the main force of the demon army arrived. Ash could almost hear the sound of despair coming from within the city as he rode toward his army. Even without the main army, they had more than enough of a force to take the city though it would have been a hard campaign with a large number of losses. Now with the added forces, there was only one outcome of the coming battle, a complete slaughter.

“My lord,” a large demon belonging to the same family as Tolarea said in greeting. Ash remembered seeing the demon before but couldn’t put a name to the man’s face.

“Are you the commander of the main force?” Ash asked without delay.

“No my lord, I am just a sub commander,” the demon replied with a slight bow. “I am sub-commander Herse. The army commander is currently conversing with the other sub-commanders inside the temporary command tent. If you wish to speak with commander Jalr then I will be more than happy to lead you to his current location.”

“Please do,” Ash said without a second thought.

Herse lead Ash through the demon troops. As they passed through the army, many people looked at him and Ash could hear their hushed whispers. Ash had been the Maoh for a good amount of time now, but he had still not spent that much time getting to know his own people so it was no surprise that many of them did not know what he looked like. For a human, Ash would be considered of average size and looks. He was in no way impressive so Ash was not surprised that many of the comments that his ears picked up were those of surprise. For some reason they had thought that the new demon king was some sort of monster. Ash didn’t know if he should laugh or cry as the comments reached his ears. A part of him felt slightly annoyed as he thought that the demons would be slightly more forgiving of his looks since their own looks varied greatly depending on the clan they were from but that seemed to make their comments even harsher as each person seemed to measure him to the people of their own clan.

“Isn’t he a little small?”

“He looks weak?”

“His wings are a bit small. Can he even fly?”

“He has a cute face.”

When Ash head the last statement he couldn’t help but look in the direction of the words expecting to see a young lady but instead he noticed a large demon about twice his size looking toward him with a fevered look on his face. His heart racing slightly from the unexpected shock, Ash quickened his pace.

The temporary command center was nothing more than an open tent with a few hastily made chairs and a rough wooden table. Around the table stood more than twenty demons looking over a number of maps that had been pinned to the table with daggers that looked more like thick needles with a hilt.

When Ash and Herse entered the tent, no one paid much attention to the two. Ash thought about calling out to the commander and sub-commanders but decided against it and instead silently listened to the commander’s discussion.

The commanders were currently discussing the small city fort that the enemy forces had barricaded themselves behind. Ash knew that he was still inexperienced when it came to warfare. He was not one of those young lords who only viewed the world like a frog at the bottom of a well. He knew he was lacking but he still found himself shocked at some of the words that were coming from the commander’s mouths.

Ash had thought that the battle would be an easy one given their overwhelming forces but the commanders didn’t seem to think it would be as straight forward.

“The scouts noticed that the base near the east wall has been dug out using collapsible beams. Since it is the section facing the Lord and his forces, I expect that they plan to wait until the soldiers are completely engaged before causing the near mile long section of wall to collapse. There is no telling what they have planned after that, but there are any number of things they could do that could devastate a large number of our men. It would be best if we simply blocked the east wall and attacked from the north.”

“The north is dangerous as well. The enemy has put it a large number of crossbows. They have been arranged where it only takes one person to fire more than two dozen. Even if our mages can reduce the number of troops, it would only take a few to kill hundreds of our men. The south side is much better even though it is narrow and bordered by the steep slope on the west.”

“The enemy had been stacking rocks and other debris along the road to the south gate. It just seems too suspicious to me. They have made great effort to detour our attacks from every other angle but for the south they only seemed to have made a minimal defense. I think that they have something planned, but I just cannot see though it at this time.”

It was at this time that one of the sub-commanders looked in Ash’s direction noticing him for the first time. “Can you have our dinners brought to the command tent? I do not think that we will be able to join the troops for the evening meal.”

Ash felt like he should say something, but before he could voice a word, the sub-commander had already turned around and returned his attention back to the discussion at hand. Shaking his head, Ash looked for Herse but found that the sub-commander was currently trying to get near one of the officers who Ash believed was the main army commander. Shrugging his shoulders and seeing no harm in allowing the experienced men to continue he took a step back and exited the tent and went to look for those in charge of the meals.

The camp was easily five times the size of the one he had been in, but it was set up with the same pattern, so it didn’t take Ash long to find where the cooks were stationed. The cooks were made of over a hundred demons, each looked incredibly busy. After trying to get someone’s attention for a while, one of the older demons stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Ash with a slightly annoyed glint in his eyes. “What do you want?” The old demon asked curtly.

“The commanders want their meals taken to their tent,” Ash said, his voice strong though it was close to faltering.

“Like we don’t have enough work to do,” the old demon spit as he turned his head to the side and yelled. “Yarne!”

A young demon looking no more than thirteen ran forward with a fearful look in his eyes. “Yes master Kell?” Yarne asked with a bowed head.

“Gather a few of the other boys and have meals taken to the commander’s tent,” Kell said with an air of authority. The boy looked at Ash, his jaw dropping slightly and his eyes wide. Ash tilted his head to the side then remembered seeing the child before when he had been in the capital. He had never talked to the child, but he had been one of the many runners that had worked in the castle. Holding back his smile Ash gave the boy a sly wink.

“Don’t just stand there like some slack jawed fool unless you want me to strip the hide off your backside. Get a move on,” the old demon roared his eyes nearly spitting fire.

The young boy’s body began to shake as he regained his bearings. Turning on his heels, Kell ran off as if his feet were afire. Laughing, Ash turned around and headed back to the command tent with a slight smile still on his face.

When he returned to the tent, Ash found that it was slightly louder than when he left. Stepping inside, he found that the smallest of the demons currently was pulling commander Herse by his ear forcing the much taller demon to bend down. Seeing the scene Ash couldn’t help but be reminded of thinking of a small child being yelled at by his mother.

“Why in the nine hells didn’t you say something? If the Maoh was here you don’t just politely try to get my attention. What are you going to do if the Maoh got annoyed and went back to his own camp? Do you fools ever think?”

“My lord,” Herse called out when he noticed Ash had reentered the tent.

Twisting her hand, making Herse grimace again, the small woman let go of her hold on his ear and turned bowing deeply toward Ash. “Lord Ash, I must apologize. We were unaware that you had graced us with your presence earlier. I had feared that you left in anger. If there is anything I can do to alleviate this disgrace you only have to speak it.”

Ash floated a warm smile while looking around the room until he noticed the sub-commander who had asked him to have the food sent over. The demon’s face had lost most of its color and looked almost as white as a sheet. Giving the demon commander a light smile before turning his attention back to the woman who was still bowing. “You can rise,” Ash said, his voice filled with warmth. “I just thought that you might wish to have your dinner within the tent since it did not seem like you would be able to finish your discussion before the sun fell.”

“That is most gracious of you my lord,” the woman said, giving Ash a motherly smile. Looking at her, Ash would think that she was only in her mid-twenties, but Ash had long learned that it was almost impossible to judge the age of a demon merely from a look. There were demons that aged like humans, but for them it took a hundred years for them to age a year. At the same time there were demons that never age once they reached a certain maturity. Ash didn’t know if he would consider such a thing a curse or a blessing. Eternal youth sounded nice, but some of those demons never seemed to get past the age of what most would consider adolescence. Ash wouldn’t mind to be stuck in the body of a twenty year old, but being stuck in the body of a teenager didn’t sound that pleasant.

“I always believed that no matter what status one holds that they should limit themselves to doing only what they can while trying to learn what they do not,” Ash said lightly. “It was easy for me to see that all of you are much more knowledgeable about war then I am so there was no sense in me interrupting and made much more sense to do what little I could to help.”

The seemingly young female demon commander let out a loud laugh but it quickly came to a halt and her face took on an ice cold look that seemed like it could pierce though a person’s soul. “Did you hear that? The Maoh even with his status, who could stand above all of us, has instead lowered himself to a position of a servant. If any of you had half the brains and forethought of the young Lord then this old lady could die in peace. Instead most of you take your position for granted. Maybe I should follow the Lord’s example and make all of you work as servants for a few hundred years to train you in humility a bit more?”

“General Fay, I think you are being a bit harsh. We are not nearly as bad as that,” one of the sub-commanders said, his shoulders dropping slightly.

“Is that so Little Wren,” the general said with a heavy glare. “Was it not you just two days ago who had a fit because one of the soldiers brought his tent too close to your own so you couldn’t put up your prided canopy and hammock?”

Seeing the much smaller demon lecturing the others who were all much larger, Ash couldn’t help but break into a fit of laughter. Holding his stomach, Ash looked up to find everyone looking at him. Even general Fay looked slightly stunned at Ash’s outbreak of laughter. “Sorry…Sorry you just reminded me of a woman scolding her wayward children. It just seemed so out of place I couldn’t help but laugh,” Ash said trying to explain himself.

Fay let out a short barking laugh that didn’t seem to fit her small frame. “You wouldn’t be too far off. Almost all of the sub-commanders are my students and many of them have been groomed by me since they were still in swaddling. I can’t help but treat the little brats like my own children. Now that we got this little fit over with, why don’t we get back to the problem at hand? Otherwise we will be stuck here until the enemy gets reinforcements.”

“Reinforcements?” Ash asked puzzled. “I thought that this was the main force. There shouldn’t be much more that the King can bring to field.”

“Foolish child,” Fay said shaking her head. “I guess that I can’t blame you. Instead I need to remember to slap that old sage a few times next time I see him. He should have sent you to me ages ago so that I could at least teach you the basics. As you are now, I don’t think you could fight your way out of a wet blanket.” Ash was dumbfounded at her words. Growing up Ash was used to being insulted but never in such a warm manner. Fay’s words might have been harsh, but the look on her face radiated warmth making Ash feel slightly odd when he looked at her. “Boy for now on you will be sticking with me so that I can teach you enough so that you don’t bring the entire demon kingdom down around your ears.”

“Yes ma’am,” Ash said feeling like a small child under the small demon’s gaze.

“Good,” Fay said nodding. “Looks like you have a good head on your shoulders. I just hope you can keep it there long enough for the next Maoh to be born and brought up, otherwise we might not be so lucky next time around. For now take a seat and listen. If you get bored just let grandma Fay know and she will slap you a few times to wake you up,” the general said with a smirk before turning her attention back to the other commanders and the maps laid upon the table.

Ash did as he had been told and took a seat on an uncomfortable chair made of soft wood and reeds. He listened as the commander’s once again talked about the best way to attack the city fort. Ash listened attentively though he could only understand the basics of what was being said. The discussion continued on and the sun was quickly replaced by darkness as it dropped below the horizon.

Shortly after the sun disappeared from the sky, a loud noise came from outside the camp quickly followed by a number of screams. Raising her head from the map, General Fay’s face twisted as she spat. “It’s a night raid…Fools I told you that we should set up a good guard just for this reason. Hopefully you listened to my suggestions, otherwise this is going to be a long night.” Ash noticed that none of the sub-commanders spoke and instead looked down like children who had gotten caught stealing candy.