The Powterosian War (Book 5) (33 page)

“Ride to Memlatec; tell him now is the time to break the dam.”

The messenger, already on his horse, rode up the slippery mountainside. His horse stumbled and the rider nearly fell off. Saxthor rushed to his horse, but the rider righted himself in the saddle and rode on. Saxthor’s heart beat faster. He looked back to see half the invading army now down on the plain.

Hurry, thought the king. There’s no time for delay. If the lake doesn’t empty quickly, the army will reach the other side of the valley and escape the flood. He looked up the mountainside and still the water didn’t increase in the stream. What’s taking them so long? He wondered.

A sudden snap of a twig caught Saxthor’s attention. He ducked behind a tree and rubbed his horse’s forehead to keep him from making any noise. A scout from the imperial army was creeping up the mountainside, following the disturbed leaf litter the men had trampled coming up the ridge.

The man was intently studying the trail signs and didn’t look up to see the king. Saxthor carefully slid an arrow from his quiver and loaded it into his bow. He slowly drew back the arrow.

The startled man grabbed his sword as he looked up toward the sound of the king’s horse whinnying. Before he could focus on Saxthor and draw the sword, the arrow slammed into his chest and he fell over, dying before he could sound an alarm.

*

At the dam, Memlatec repeated the incantation and thrust his staff’s glowing crystal at the base of the rocky dam. A great blue bolt of wizard-fire shot from the staff and shattered the largest boulder. Rocks and debris flew out everywhere. The high dam rocked but resettled resulting in more leaking. The dam held. It took the wizard several more attempts to break the barrier. He was sweating when he finally wiped his brow and heard the dam rumble through and through. The rocks shifted once more, but just as Memlatec thought it was settling back into a locked obstruction, water shot out from the center near the bottom. In a moment, the rocks blew out ahead of a blast of spray. Then a wall of water surged out from the dam, sweeping away all the remaining obstruction. The flood swept past the men, the foamy water lapping just below where they stood high on the mountainside. The mass of boulders swept before the water slammed into trees along the mountainside. Jolted first, they shook and flew forward. Then the surge swept them along in the turbulent water.

“Let’s return to the king and see if this cascade is sufficient to flood the valley and drown the imperial army,” Memlatec said. The men mounted their horses and rode carefully down the slopes beside the current’s swirling eddies racing down the mountainside.

*

Saxthor heard the thunder of the surging water approaching before he saw it. He led his horse higher on the slope. It sounded as if the whole mountain was rushing toward him. He saw the trees jerking and toppling over just before the white water came into view. The torrent pushed vegetation and boulders ahead of it down the mountainside. He looked up and saw Memlatec and his men coming down the highland. Then he looked down below. Through the tree branches, he saw the soldiers in the legions look up, hearing the roar of the surging water.

For a moment, the legions froze, staring up at the mountainside. A ripple of shaking then toppling trees flung forward toward them, preceding the roar of the oncoming flood. When they saw the foaming muddy water, mixed with boulders and splintered limbs, rumbling down the mountainside, it broke their trance. Panic spread through the army. The legions broke ranks and fled in every direction. They trampled each other, stampeding to reach higher ground. Heavily laden with equipment, they knew if the water’s surge overtook them they would sink and drown.

The deluge reached the valley floor and began to spread out across the plain, swallowing the soldiers. The inundation rose fast as more water continued to pour down the mountainside. Screams were everywhere. Soldiers tried to cast off their weapons and what gear they could before the swirling current pulled them under water. Heads bobbed, then sank in the silted eddies. A third of the army disappeared and still the water rose engulfing more men, scrambling to outrun the boiling surge.

“Saxthor, look there,” Memlatec said, pointing to the distant rise where the emperor hopped up and down in his carriage shouting something to the troops. He smacked one of his generals with his imperial baton, breaking the emblem of power in the process. Chaos ran rampant across the plain between king and emperor. As the flood waters calmed, bodies began to appear all over the valley in the new lake created by the flood.

“It was a total surprise,” Memlatec said to Saxthor, patting him on the shoulder.

“Where is the farmer that led us here?” Saxthor asked, not taking time for the adulation.

“We found a small flock of sheep on the imperial side of the valley,” a member of the company said. “The farmer has been keeping herd on them while he waited for your orders.”

“Send for him.”

When the farmer came into Saxthor’s presence, he was trembling.

“Why are you shaking?” Saxthor asked.

“Your Majesty has defeated the Grand Imperial Army with but a handful of men.”

“You have no need to fear me. You will be well rewarded at the conclusion of this war for all your excellent services to crown and kingdom. But I need one more favor. It’s a dangerous one; one that you must play perfectly or we’re all dead men.”

“How can I help you?”

“You must herd your sheep by the emperor’s camp, getting as close as possible without appearing involved. Show total subservience to the imperial commanders. Let slip there is another pass through the mountains. If you are convincing and can lead the emperor through the mountains to Castilyernov Helgenstat, you will earn our eternal gratitude and endless rewards.”

“I can do that, Majesty, but the Helgenstat, we’ve always feared to approach it.”

“We will handle the Helgenstat. You need only to tell about it. Do not appear eager to tell your secret. Hint at it. Encourage the enemy to bribe you by dropping little hints. If they think you are a spy or traitor, they’ll kill you. Will you do it? Your brother may have already reached the imperial camp and alluded to the pass. That should reinforce your information.”

“I will, Your Majesty. I led you this far, I’ll do my part to defeat these invaders. But I won’t go near the Helgenstat. That is forbidden among all the people of the mountains. We’ve always been told it’s haunted by the most terrible of beasts.”

“Just let them know of the pass there and lead them to it. Do not mention such a possible danger. We’ll take care of the rest.”

The farmer left to herd his sheep close by the imperial camp, where soon the survivors would be reassembling. Saxthor, Memlatec, and his men left to find their way through the forest and up through the mountains to join the Neuyokkasinian army that should have reached Castilyernov Helgenstat by then.

“Even if you can achieve the impossible and defeat the imperial army at Helgenstat, Dreaddrac may be crossing the Nhy as we battle the empire. You can’t be everywhere at once,” Memlatec said.

“I’m gambling that the Dark Lord will wait until the empire wears us down or defeats us, and then they’ll swarm in to grab the spoils.”

“What if the Dark Lord crosses the river first to snatch the kingdom from beneath the emperor’s nose?” The wizard asked.

“Well then, does it really matter who the new masters will be? I have to take the gamble.”

* * *

General Socockensmek stood on the tower battlements of the massive new castilyernov at Heedra. His mustache and wisps of hair at the edges of his helmet blew in the breeze off the river. The city’s new walls and fortifications dwarfed the city below. The sheer impressive strength hovered over the river like a sitting lion over a stream. On closer inspection, the stonework was visibly rushed. Its facing was roughly chiseled, but within its skirt of walls, the imposing castilyernov rose high above the river, warning that none should pass against the will of its garrison.

The late season swelled the great river that crested at the top of its banks. Eddies swirled in the water, suggesting conflicting and treacherous currents. The sun shone on the restless surface, reflecting gleaming gold on the overhanging tree branches across the river. Nothing stirred but a single, hesitant stag that stepped out of the forest. He glanced left and right, then up and down the river, stamping his feet. At the river’s edge, he finally dipped his head down for a drink. Some sudden sound surprised him; he bolted up the bank and disappeared into the forest.

What has frightened the stag? Socockensmek wondered. Searching for the source of the sound that startled the deer, his eyes squinted, looking into the forest.

“Sentry, do you see anything across the river?” Socockensmek asked.

The trooper came closer, following the general’s point to where the stag had been. The man leaned forward searching the swaying branches and behind at the forest’s edge.

“I see nothing, general.”

“There was a deer there; something startled it. Keep your eyes on the opposite river bank.” Socockensmek stormed down the tower stairs, frustrated that his sight wasn’t what it used to be. At a lower level of the fortress, he ordered the commander to post additional sentries all around the battlements. The old general went through the city and around the outer walls to question the sentinels. As he was about to return to the fortress, he noted several small trees floating down the river.

There has been no logging across the river nor on this side, he thought. Though the river is swollen from seasonal rains, there’s been no surge to rip out young trees. He looked closer at one mostly submerged tree bobbing down the river.

“You there,” he called to a lookout closer to the drifting sapling. “Does that tree in the river have its roots or was it cut down? Can you see it well enough to tell?”

The sentry followed the tree in the current as it flowed along in the channel. Just as it was about to pass beyond their sight, it caught on something submerged. The trunk was flipped upward for a moment, revealing new chipped white wood to the men.

“It’s been cut down,” the man yelled back to Socockensmek. The general immediately summoned all his commanders to a meeting in the castilyernov’s command post.

“Gentlemen, the enemy are approaching the river. They are now building rafts or boats to cross it. They must not make it across the river. Have the armory send full complements of ammunition for the catapults and issue arrows and other weapons to the men. Cancel all leaves; have the troops stand ready for an attack. I would expect it within days to a week.”

“But we don’t know when, do we general?” A commander asked.

“I know the enemy is building means to cross the river.”

“Allow me to send two pairs of scouts to reconnoiter across the river and see what specifics we can discover.”

“Do so under cover of darkness,” the general said. “Have them travel up river two miles and cross then. They’re not to engage the enemy. We don’t want General Tarquak to learn we are aware he is there and preparing to attack, not just yet.” The commander left to arrange the sorties.

*

The first of the two man scouting teams secured a log on the riverbank and, with branches for paddles, drifted and paddled silently across the river upstream. They pulled the log up on the opposite bank and laid the branches haphazardly so they would appear natural, not wanting someone to note they’d crossed there. The experienced woodsmen slipped silently south through the forest but found no sign of activity between where they had crossed the river and the bank opposite Heedra. They headed back north and were about to return, having found no sign of activity, when they heard the distant sound of chopping. They worked their way through the forests, slipping past an abandoned farm in the shadows and moved inland. When the chopping sound indicated the activity was near, they stopped.

“Who do you think?” one scout whispered.

“Has to be the enemy; no farmers cuts timber at night and there’re way too many chopping,” the other replied. “Go up that tree and see if you can see anything.” The man climbed his comrade’s shoulders in the slight moonlight amid the cool chill of the night. He grasped the lowest branch of the old oak tree and scrambled up the mossy outstretched limbs with youthful dexterity. High in the canopy, he pulled back a branch to look out over a stripped landscape. He rushed back down the tree in a panic.

“It’s orcs all right, an army of them chopping down the forest with a vengeance. They are hauling the logs and stacking them by a creek that empties into the river. I never saw so many logs except once at a saw mill I visited with my father.”

“How many? How many orcs are at work there?”

“Must be hundreds! And we gotta be careful. They have saber wolves prowling around the perimeter, making sure no one sees them and lives to tell about it.”

The two men looked at each other in silence, digesting the implications. They crept quietly and cautiously back through the forest to the hidden log, crossed the river, and returned to Heedra. They reported to their commander, who took them immediately to General Socockensmek.

“What have you found?” Socockensmek asked, his eyes alert and focused within his wrinkled face.

“The orcs, must be a legion of them, they’re chopping the forest to a tree,” the lead scout said. “They’re stacking the logs just out of sight of the river, the best this man here could see from the tree top.”