Shades of the Past: The Morcyth Saga Book Six (18 page)

“Sir?” When no answer is forthcoming, Devin
pokes his head in the tent and finds James lying there on his cot
sound asleep. “Sir?” he says again, this time a little louder
hoping to wake him without startling him. It’s said that to startle
a mage out of sleep is fraught with perils.

When he still doesn’t respond, Devin moves
inside and comes over next to his cot. Placing his hand on James’
chest, he says softly while giving a small shake, “James, wake
up.”

James sits up abruptly and Devin jumps
backward in shock at the unexpected movement.

Bloodshot eyes opening, he glances around the
tent and sees Devin off to one side, staring at him. “What?” he
asks in a voice still sluggish from sleep.

“Illan says sunrise is approaching,” he tells
him.

Groaning, James lies back down on his cot and
places an arm across his face. “Go away,” he says. It feels like he
just closed his eyes after he returned from the meeting with Lord
Pytherian.

“Yes, sir,” Devin says and backs out of the
tent.

He lies there in silence for several minutes
and is about ready to slip back to sleep when the tent flap opens
again. “Go away Devin,” he says, arm still over his face.

When Devin doesn’t answer he turns his head
toward the tent flap and opens an eye just in time to see a
bucket’s worth of water come flying through the air toward him.
Eyes flying open, he freezes in startlement as the cold water hits
him.

“Ahhh!” he cries as he sits up, drenched with
water.

“Time to wake up sleepyhead,” Jiron says with
a chuckle.

James glances toward the flap and sees him
there with an empty bucket in his hand. “What did you do that for?”
he says accusingly.

“You did tell me to make sure everyone was up
by dawn,” he explains.

“I did not!” he replies.

“Yes, you did. Now get changed,” he insists
before leaving the tent.

Clothes soaked and beginning to shiver from
the cold water, he gets up and changes into a dry set of clothes.
Once he’s changed, he takes out his shaving kit and removes what
stubble has grown since the last time he shaved. Leaving the old
wet clothes on the floor of the tent, he makes his way outside.

The plaza is a flurry of activity as everyone
hurries to make ready for the upcoming battle. Food is being
prepared, swords sharpened and armor is mended as best it can.
Devin comes to him with a bowl of food and a mug of water.

“Thanks,” he says with a yawn as he takes
it.

“You’re welcome,” he replies. Off to one side
he sees Illan in his full Black Hawk regalia talking to Henri.
Eating his food while he walks, James makes his way over.

“…as if they’re fortifying their position,”
Henri is saying.

Illan turns at his approach and says, “The
enemy is digging in. Scouts report that more troops have arrived
during the night.”

“Possibly another couple thousand,” Henri
interjects. “Lord Pytherian thinks they may have already been on
the way before your attack last night and not a response to
it.”

He looks to Illan and asks, “Will this change
our plans any?”

Shaking his head, he replies, “I doubt it.
Just make things more interesting.”

Henri glances to James and says, “Hope you
can pull this off.”

“Me too,” he agrees. “How far away is
dawn?”

“An hour or so,” he replies.

“Have Delia meet me over by the baggage once
everyone’s done eating,” he says.

“Very well,” replies Illan. Then to Henri he
says, “Tell Lord Pytherian we’ll be ready at the appointed
time.”

“Yes, sir, Black Hawk,” Henri replies. Giving
Illan a salute, he turns and makes his way from the plaza back
toward the castle.

James runs through in his mind the various
preparations he’s done in anticipation of the upcoming battle. He
fervently hopes the items he brought from The Ranch will work the
way he anticipates.

After everyone’s finished eating, he meets
with the slingers by the tent where his ‘special’ baggage is being
stored during their stay. Usually there’s a guard standing out
front to keep everyone away, it wouldn’t do to have someone meddle
in an area that could kill everyone. Today Terrance has that
duty.

He steps inside and leaves with a large sack,
the contents bulging the sides. Reaching in, he pulls out a small
pouch and begins handing one to each. “Don’t open it now,” he tells
them. Each pouch is bound closed with a red twine, all the various
pouches and sacks containing his magically imbued crystals are
color coated in this manner for easy identification.

When each is holding their pouch, he says,
“This will be your initial ammunition. Inside each pouch are three
balls of hardened clay. Inside the clay is something, that once it
leaves the confines of the sack it is currently within, becomes
activated. Once it does, you haven’t much time before it goes
off.”

Caleb holds up his pouch and gives it an
apprehensive look. The others’ expressions range from worry to
excitement.

“So remove one at a time, get it launched
toward the enemy, then remove the next and so forth.” He returns
within the tent. When he exits again, he hands a long bundle to
Devin. “Hold onto this until we get out there. I’ll need you and
Moyil to give me a hand setting it up. It’s imperative we get this
in position before the enemy launches their attack.”

“I thought we were to attack them?” Terrance
asks.

James glances at him and replies, “When they
see us march out of the gates, I doubt if they’ll simply allow us
all the time in the world to get ready.”

“Yeah, Terry,” Jace says as he elbows him in
the ribs.

“Alright, sorry,” Terrance says.

Holding up her pouch to James Delia asks,
“Will these be enough to destroy the enemy?”

“Let’s hope so,” he says. “I have a few other
surprises as well, but I’ll be in charge of those.” He glances
around the assembled group. “When you’ve exhausted the contents of
your pouch, start using the slugs. I trust you’ve given each an
extra supply?”

Delia nods her head and says, “After this
they’ll each be given three score slugs.”

“Good.” He glances over to where Illan and
the men-at-arms are gathering and sees that they have already
mounted and are waiting for them. “Time to go. Get your slugs and
let’s be on our way.”

“Yes, sir,” Delia says and then takes her
slingers over to another area where the slugs are stored and gives
each their supply.

As they leave, James turns back to the tent
and goes inside. Many sacks are still contained within, both
magical and non. He removes a crystal from one of the sacks and
places it on the floor just inside the entrance. Stepping back out
of the tent, he says, “Shield.” A shimmering barrier springs up
around the tent, effectively preventing anyone from gaining access
to the items contained within. It will last half a day and unless
the battle rages longer than that, they should be back in time to
post a guard before it fails.

Satisfied, he turns toward where Devin is
waiting with his horse. On Devin’s belt, he sees the pouch he gave
him already secured there. Slung across his back is a pack, bulging
at the bottom from the weight of the slugs Delia gave him.

Taking the reins, James mounts and turns to
gaze over the assembled force. Illan’s Black Hawk Raiders all but
fill the courtyard. Jiron and his fighters are close, as are Delia
and her slingers. Errin and Aleya have been assigned to Hedry and
his archers for the duration of the battle.

Miko rides forward and comes to a stop next
to him.

“Stay close,” James tells him. Miko nods in
reply.

Glancing at his companion since the beginning
of this whole adventure, he can’t believe the changes he’s gone
through. First, losing his youth to the Fire, and now his demeanor
is changing yet again. The Star he carries appears to be mellowing
him, he’s become more serious and confident. His playfulness
resurfaces every now and then, but those occurrences are growing
less frequent.

“Ready?” he asks Miko.

He gives James a grin and says, “Like you
always say, ‘No, but I never will be for something like this.’”

James returns his grin and then nods to
Illan.

“Move out!” Illan hollers and with James next
to him, they leave the plaza. Just behind them comes the rider
bearing the flag with the Black Hawk insignia. The sight of the
flag gives the men a sense of pride and esprit de corps.

Word must have spread through the night
despite their best attempts at secrecy that something was planned
for this morning. The streets are lined with people, both soldiers
and civilians. Cheers follow them as they progress toward the
western gate.

They find the courtyard before the gate
crammed with men, the walls are packed tightly with archers. Lord
Pytherian stands in the only clear area among the sea of men. Next
to him are five men, all five are dressed in matching brown jerkins
and pants, each holding a wooden staff. Upon the breast of each is
a symbol of a plant encircled by a ring of interwoven leaves
superimposed over a gnarled staff.

“Priests of Asran,” Illan says.

James nods his head and remembers the slain
priests they came across in Asran’s temple during their foray into
Saragon. “Wonder what they are doing here?”

“We’ll soon see,” he says.

They bring their force to a stop before Lord
Pytherian who gestures to the priest next to him. “Black Hawk,
James, I’d like you to meet Brother Willim.”

The priest steps forward, nods and says,
“Glad to make your acquaintance.”

“He and his brothers have come to join the
fight against the Empire,” Lord Pytherian explains.

“Many of our brethren have died at the hands
of the Empire,” Brother Willim states. “Asran has sent us to aid in
whatever way we may.” He indicates his brothers and adds, “We are
the Hand of Asran.”

Illan clears his throat and then says, “I
thought the priests of Asran were nonviolent.”

“For the most part that is true,” replies
Brother Willim. “I and the others you see here are part of an order
that fights when necessary to preserve Asran’s name. Sometimes a
weed must be pulled or a diseased branch removed.”

James grins at the symbology he uses in
describing the Empire.
Druids, that’s what they are.
“We are
more than happy to have those of Asran beside us this day,” he
says. “A great battle lies before us, the first of many before we
see the lands of Madoc free again.”

The first rays of the morning sun crest the
horizon and strike the upper battlements. He dismounts and motions
for the other leaders to gather round. Taking out his mirror, he
says, “Let’s see the layout of their camp before we begin.”

They gather round, including Brother Willim,
as the image shifts and a bird’s eye view of the enemy’s camp
appears. Crossbowmen line the palisade and the area behind is
filled with men. Currently it doesn’t look as if they’re preparing
for battle, they must think none is forthcoming after the night’s
events.

“That’s a lot of men,” Jiron says from over
his shoulder.

“Yes,” agrees Brother Willim.

Once they have a good idea of the composition
of their troops, he scrolls the view further away from the camp. As
he moves it along the road leading south, they see another force of
foot soldiers marching to reinforce the men outside their
walls.

“How far away do you think they are?” James
asks.

Lord Pytherian says, “Couple hours at the
most. If they ran maybe an hour.”

After another brief scan in the other
directions, they find that the men coming from the south are the
only other force on the way. Putting away the mirror, James glances
around at the others and says, “We better get this over with before
they arrive.”

Mounting back upon his horse, he glances
around at the sea of faces surrounding him.
Hard to believe a
year ago all I was worried about was whether or not I studied hard
enough to pass the next test. Now I’m leading an army to battle.
Dave would have loved this.

To Brother Willim he says, “You and your
brothers stay near me.”

Brother Willim nods and falls in behind. Miko
comes to ride next to him as does Illan.

“Let’s go,” he says and they move to the
gates. A clattering of metal announces the locking mechanism has
been released and the gates begin to swing open. Off to the side
are four small catapults which a crew of Madoc soldiers will bring
forth and line up behind them on the far side of the river. During
the meeting last night, Lord Pytherian suggested using them to
batter down their palisade. Said it would save lives if James’
forces could gain the other side quickly.

“We need to quickly get the catapults within
range of the palisade and be ready should they launch an assault,”
he says as he rides through the gates. Moving fast, he breaks his
horse into a trot and is soon crossing over the bridge to the far
side of the river. The Hand of Asran runs with ease and keeps pace
with him.

They make it just past the bridge before the
enemy takes notice of them. A flurry of activity is seen on top of
the palisade as enemy crossbowmen move into position. The palisade
gate swings shut.

“I don’t think they’re planning on coming
forth,” Illan says as they reach the point where the catapult’s
volley will strike the palisade.

James glances to the enemy fortification,
shut tight and daunting. “Let’s get set up first,” he tells him as
he dismounts. “Then we’ll see what we can do to draw them out.”

Illan starts organizing their troops while
James takes Devin and Moyil, along with the package Devin’s
carrying, to an area a dozen yards further toward the palisade.
Glancing at the crossbowmen on the walls he hopes they stay put for
a few minutes until all is in readiness.