THE TELMARINE CONQUEST IN NARNIA
Caspian strode out to look down on his City of Telmar. The city had been suffering for the past year. King Caspian had built more farms, but the soil was cracked and dry. It was a barren land everywhere, from under his feet to the horizon. There was no running water within 10 miles, and the neighbouring Calormenes had even tried to assault the city once. Caspian sighed. He knew what he must do. Telmar must go on the move. The King descended the stairs and walked into Great Hall. His 5 lords were there, as always, trying to solve the city's problems. "Lord Marc, I want to speak with you for a moment." "Of course, Your Majesty." Caspian pulled him over to the balcony. "We must go on the move, Marc. We have run out of options. Telmar must move. I am entrusting you with the people. Make sure they have ample time to recover from the shock from such a sudden order. Go now." Lord Marc nodded and called out for the other lords. The King smiled and went off to call the soldiers. When he got down to the Captain's Quarters, all of them were asleep and snoring loudly. The meager remains of a meal were on the table, and the three-legged dog was limping about trying to find a bone to chew on. Caspian l shook his head. He had to tell them another day. Meanwhile, Lord Marc was getting quite frustrated with his fellow lords. "Listen for once, Julius. King Caspian gave me a order and I intend to carry it out." "Well, what did he say?" Julius asked him. "Now maybe if you would keep your stupid mouth closed you would find out! Now, where was I... Oh, I remember. He said to make sure the people have time to recover. I want you to go to the prison and get those miserable Calormenes executed. We won't have time for them on the march." Marc explained. "So, uh, you want me to kill them?" "Just do it, Lord Julius. Just do it." Marc finally saw Julius walking away muttering what sounded like, "Let them kill me or do I kill them..." Lord Marc rolled his eyes and thought, "Next stop... the villages." He rode his horse at a trot down the busy streets of Telmar. "Out of my way, out of my way." He called. "King Caspian has declared that we are going on the move. I will give you time to prepare. " Then he rode away. The women cried in panic and the starving children followed their parents lead. "Do not panic. If you panic it shall make it worse. My name is Rapayer, son of Marc. Pack your favorite things, and all of your clothing. You must hurry." Rapayer said. Back in the castle, Lord Julius was trying to remember what he had to do. Oh yes, execute the Calormene prisoners. He hurried down to the dungeon, the stairs were dark and slimy. The cells were no better, filthy and infested with rats. He wrinkled his nose at the smelly prisoners. He had forgotten again. It flashed into his brain. Find them. But they found him first. The captives had broken out of their cell and armed themselves with pieces of wood. The Calormenes were sneaky, and they had a plan. For if they could make it to the window at the dungeon entrance, there would be 20 Calormene warriors armed with scimitars. They crawled faster. And when they jumped out the broken window they realized it. Below them were no Calormenes. They were Telmarine soldiers. Even before they hit the ground they were pincushions of Telmarine arrows. Once Lord Marc found out that Julius was lying unconscious in the dungeon, he ran straight there. Finally they found him in a corner with a sizable lump on his head. Meanwhile, the villagers were scurrying about the city. All of them had a grim intensity that you didn't want to mess with. Rapayer was pleased with his work, so naturally he went to tell his father. But he couldn't find Marc anywhere. Finally he asked a prison guard and he pointed down into the dungeon. Rapayer nervously descended the stairs into the underground jail. It was dark and gloomy. When he was almost all the way down he ran into his father. They fell down into a cell. The cell where they kept it. Lord Marc drew his knife as Rapayer screamed. The giant scorpion crept about the cage, clicking loudly. Marc only needed one chance. But when he got it, the stinger was in Rapayer's arm. The prison guards came running. It was killed eventually, but only Marc survived the encounter. His son was dead. The funeral was a long and a sad one, according to Telmarine standards. Marc just sat in the back, stone-faced. His son was buried in the last remaining tomb outside the castle. King Caspian called a meeting in Telmar Square. "Are the people ready to move?" Caspian asked Marc. "They should be." The grievous Marc replied. The Telmarine Army was mounted and in the south-west corner of the Square. "Let the Gates of Telmar be opened!" The King shouted. The lone 4 guards pulled open the great silver doors. "Let us march!" The people gave a weary cheer. Slowly the mounted Army peeled off and surrounded the great procession. The horses and pack donkeys went off at a walk. The move had begun. After about 2 hours the King stopped. "Let us rest here for lunch." He said. The people quite happily sat down and pulled out rations. Caspian talked to Marc. "How much food do we have?" Caspian asked. "Right now the rations are a piece of bread, an apple, and an orange." Lord Marc answered. The procession was about 4 days from the southern-most border of Narnia.