The Fallen Guardian (The Guardian Chronicles 2) (18 page)

Generals
Tadok K’K and G’Dang approached Mount Adem with trepidation in their wretched
hearts. Though many considered the orcs to be brainless, bloodthirsty beasts,
they were actually among the more intelligent races of Tuwa. They did not have
scholars or artisans, but they had some of the finest battle strategists. These
two generals were among the most adept at planning tactics that would ensure
them victory in almost any confrontation. However, King Kasim’s mountain
kingdom provided several obstacles that were not easily overcome. The two
massive armies made camp some ten miles northeast of the northern entrance to
the dwarven fortress. They were still in the eaves of the forest, which
afforded them protection from prying eyes. A patrol sent by the dwarves would
be hard pressed to find the orcs because of their location. They were situated
just south of the Seda’s domain, so that meant that none of the allies would be
caught near their camp.

“G’Dang,
we are going to have to make our move soon or else we will lose the element of
surprise. If the Seda keep pestering us day in and day out, we will begin to
have deserters,” boomed General Tadok K’K. He did not care for the spirit
creatures, but he also knew that they did afford them a measure of protection
from those that they were on their way to kill.

“Tadok
K’K, you make a very good point. I think we should analyze the defenses of the
dwarves and prepare the best possible strategy from what we do know about this
mountain fortress. Of course, we will need several escape roots if the need
should arise. General Magnar is the greatest warrior the dwarves have had in
centuries. He has caused us much pain and loss during his regime. We cannot
allow ourselves to underestimate the temerity of this little fellow,” replied
General G’Dang.

“The
first thing we need to account for is the hidden archers along that massive
wall that surrounds the entire mountain. It is impossible to see them even in
the daylight, so it would probably be better for us to attack during the night.
This will not mitigate the damage they will inflict upon us, but we will have a
better chance of gaining the tops of the walls with minimal losses. Once on
top, we can systematically remove the long range threats.”

“Are
you proposing to use the siege ladders only?  What about constructing some
siege towers? What about providing cover for our troops with our ballista’s?”

“The
point of just using the siege ladders would be to make an approach that will
give us a measure of stealth. We do not need to announce to the entire kingdom
that we are on their doorstep. Plus, I do not believe that we should attack
during the middle of the night. We should choreograph the attack so that it
coincides with the sunrise. They would never suspect that from us. They think
that we cannot stand the sunlight, but we will prove that they are wrong about
that. Dead wrong.”  Tadok K’K gave a short harsh laugh as he said this.

“What
about their legendary secondary defense?”  G’Dang asked this cautiously because
of Tadok K’K notoriously short temperament.

“I
do not believe they even exist, but if they do, we will be ready.”

“How
will we do that?  They say those creatures are impervious to pain?”

“Simple.
We will remove their heads from their bodies like any other beast. We will not
waste any arrows on those guard dogs because it would only irritate them. I am
more concerned about the real defenses that lie behind the wall.”

They
continued to discuss their plans for several hours into the night. They
understood that it was crucial to attack at the right moment in order to gain
the upper hand. Even though G’Dang’s army had nearly one hundred fifty thousand
soldiers, he did not feel that numbers would win this confrontation. Ultimately
it was decided that it was best to wait them out. They would surround the
mountain to ensure that no one escaped and would remain out of reach while they
would attack periodically from multiple directions at the same time. They hoped
that this would not only confuse their enemy, but that it would also enrage
them enough so that they would make a fatal mistake. General Tadok K’K would
take his one hundred twenty five thousand troops to the east and south while
G’Dang would guard the north and west.

After
another couple of hours, they had determined exactly what methods of attack
that would work best in various scenarios. Once they actually did make their
move––that is, if they were forced into being proactive––then they would
implement the tactics they had just devised. Their plan for fending off a rush
from the mountain fortress was quite simple: they outnumbered the dwarves
significantly. After hitting them with catapults, trebuchets, ballistae, and
arrows, they would engage what was left in hand-to-hand combat. They were far
superior in stature and strength, or so they believed, so they felt they could
easily overpower the little folk.

“Do
you think the bearded runts have any secret passageways or any traps set around
the mountain?” queried General G’Dang seriously. He did not want to get caught off
guard while surrounding the dwarves.

“I
would venture to guess that they do have several traps in place and that there
are probably several escape tunnels. I would be willing to bet that these
underground passageways do not go farther than a couple of miles in each
direction. This would put them entering the plains around the mountain and
would make their appearance clearly visible. All we need to do is place
sentries at the rears of each formation, and we should be warned of any
trickery from behind,” replied General Tadok K’K seriously.

“What
about the traps?  I would think that we should ferret out any possible dangers
before moving our large forces into possible harm. It would not do at all to
have our soldiers maimed or killed by unforeseen dangers. We could send in the
berserkers.”  This thought came to him suddenly and it burst out with a little
too much enthusiasm.

“You
would send those brutes in, would you…that’s not a bad idea at all!  They can
do their special brand of demolition and remove any possible threats. The
dwarves probably know that we are here, so a few explosions would not give
anything away. If anything, they might be afraid of what we were doing!”

“General
Akuji, I believe we have a good plan. We should implement it during the night
so that we maximize the amount of confusion we cause for our little, bearded
neighbors.”

“Maurizio,
you’re right!  Let’s do it tomorrow night. Then, right before dawn, we will
have the berserkers set off a series of explosions that should rattle old white
beard himself!”  He laughed raucously at his own slight of the guardian. They
continued to laugh loudly for quite some time at their own perceived
brilliance.

A
group of one hundred berserkers gathered together the following morning to
receive their instructions from Generals Akuji and Maurizio. The berserker was
a special breed of orc that was used for almost anything life threatening
because of their unique physical strength and lethal prowess. They stood nearly
two feet taller than the tallest orc, which made the shortest berserker stand
at nine feet tall. There were some that reached a legendary height of twelve
feet!  They were simply gigantic in every way, including their intellect. Their
name was a misnomer that belied their intelligence and capabilities. Many of
the orcs’ enemies had made the fatal mistake of assuming that these rare brutes
were expendables.

“You
maggots are here to carry out a dangerous but vital task. We require your
expertise with explosives to clear the plains around Mount Adem of any possible
traps. The difficult part to this job is that you will be required to do your
work beginning at nightfall tonight,” explained General Akuji in his gruff,
deep voice.

“I
don’t see a problem with your request General Tadok K’K. My soldiers will
perform this task flawlessly as usual. The question is, good general, what is
in it for us?” asked Commander Gar’Dak. He was the leader of the small orc giants
and stood at an impressive eleven feet six inches tall. He had a long, silver
mane of hair that ran the length of his broad, muscular back. There was not an
ounce of fat on his rippled body anywhere. He wore dull armor that was two
inches thick at its weakest spots. The dull look was the purposeful tarnishing
of the thick armor so that light would not give the wearer away from a
distance.

“After
you successfully completed your mission, you will have another assignment
waiting for you. You and your troops will be our rear guard. We expect the
little bearded ones to try to surprise us from behind through secret tunnels,”
replied General Maurizio. He simply ignored the question about what was in it
for them.

“You
will receive whatever you ask in return for performing these two services,”
interjected General Akuji. He could tell that the berserker commander was about
to lose his temper if his question was not answered. He knew that if he
interceded quickly that their displeasure would be sated.

“You
always were the intelligent one,” replied the giant commander in his low,
booming voice. It was clear that he was very serious and that he actually
respected the General Akuji. “We get to take what we want from the dwarves
after we have beaten them. That should be sufficient repayment.”  He smiled
toothily after he had said this, which was a frightening sight. His yellow
teeth had a reddish hue to them that could not be mistaken for anything else
than blood from his most recent meal. They had a tendency to eat the smaller
orcs when food was not easily found.  They preferred the taste of goblins, but
traveling that far for a meal was a waste.  That is if you were only able to
get your hands on one or two.

“You
are too kind, Commander Gar’Dak,” General Maurizio replied thickly.

The
two generals went over the plan with the berserker commander in greater detail
and even altered some of the plans based on suggestions from Gar’Dak. After
about an hour of discussion, they separated so that the berserkers could make
preparations for their nighttime demolition. Their skills for using various
forms of explosive materials were second only to the dwarves. The difference
between the two was that the berserkers used their talent for destroying things
while the dwarves used their abilities to create structures out of stones and
precious metals. Commander Gar’Dak did not like killing the dwarves because he
respected their unsurpassed craftsmanship, but he knew that if he did not
assist the orcs in subverting the little folk that the generals would most
certainly destroy them. It was a matter of survival of the fittest, which meant
that they would do everything in their power to preserve as many dwarves as
possible.

***

“King
Kasim, it appears that the orc host that is camped in the forest is nearly
three hundred thousand strong. They look like they are preparing to remove our
traps with the help of berserkers,” reported Commander Giles Bobrilir
dutifully. The king had always liked the commander because of his thorough
nature and detailed reports. He also happened to be responsible for the
impregnable defenses of Kasim’s Fortress.

“Commander
Giles…you always amaze me with what you know. I won’t even ask you how you
know. General Magnar…what do you make of this report?” asked King Kasim.

“I
think that it would be wise to mobilize the army now and prepare them for
battle. I do not recommend sending the troops into the field, but I do believe
that we could lure them into our tunnels which would make it easier to deal
with those berserkers.”

“I
agree whole heartedly with the general on this Your Majesty. While he is
preparing the army, I will position my troops for the defense of Brazen Ûrben
against external and internal attacks. General, what exactly do you think we
should do to trick the berserkers?”

“I
believe that all we need to do is to position some of our archers behind their
rear guard where they can take some well-aimed shots to get their attention. We
will use the tunnels that lead to plains to do that part of the plan. The
second part of my idea would be to have a larger group of soldiers appear along
the edge of the forest. After they had been irritated by our archers, they will
want to do whatever it takes to capture and kill our irksome soldiers. They
would not be able to resist charging a significant group and would be more
likely to pursue them into the tunnels. Once inside, we will spring our trap.” 
General Magnar gave the other a confident look that made it clear that his plan
could not fail.

“In
all my years of working with you general, I have never known you to be wrong. I
will back your plan. What do you think commander?”

“I
am humbled that you ask my opinion Your Majesty” replied Commander Giles with a
bow. “I believe that General Magnar and I are on the same page in this matter.
Not that we have never had any major differences before. The question I have is
what you would have me do in order to ensure the tunnels are secure.”

“Have
your troops ready to kill anything that is not a dwarf at the entrance within
our walls” replied Magnar simply. He gave his old friends a wry smile as he
said this.

“So
be it. I trust you to carry out your separate tasks. Please keep me informed of
your progress. I have a feeling they will attack during the night, so you have
today to prepare. Good luck to us all” said the king with a look of supreme
confidence.  There was a slight bounce in his step as he strolled away.