The River Follower
Chapter 6 – Embers of Reality
Mirrors were very common in her room. Their frames bore glowing runes of white that kept magic hidden in the reflections. These runes were mostly used for the durability of the mirror, making the beautiful piece of glass live as long as the life that of a dragon. It also gave the reflections of the mirror a power that could reflect perfectly any image placed in front of it, even that of a ghosts.
Sentara was looking at herself on the object. Sitting on a fashionable red stool, she talked as one of her clerics combed her hair with a brush.
Ara was quite honored given such a task. In fact, she felt comfortable having her mistress in front of her. She envied Sentara's hair as she worked it on with the comb. Her eyes would go up and down to marvel at the wonder craved in this woman's physique. It was an envy that came from a method of role modeling.
To Ara, her mistress was the epitome of all that was perfect for a woman. She had everything, beauty, power; a charisma that could drown out the hearts of the most powerful officials of the city, and wisdom on magic and the world that could make a wizard envious. In other words, she was blessed, blessed by her goddess itself, from the body to the mind. Sometimes she would pause once in a while to relish at the sight of her mistress's hair, her slender hand worked to comb those lines slowly.
Sentara placed her hand to her chin as she looked at her reflection on the mirror. She was thinking of many things for this night, most of them was about the issue on the orc hoard preparing for an invasion outside their city. The entire morning had been tedious enough to fatigue not only her magical and physical energies, but her fellow clerics and priests as well. She thought of them, fellow followers of Sune which were required to sleep in the temple commons for the time being due to the emergency at hand.
"Everybody seems to be busy today." Sentara made a comment as she looked forward to the mirror. "You should also get some rest too Ara, you'll soon need the strength tomorrow to prepare more potions and healing kits." Sentara turned her head to her back a bit to take a look at her lady-maid for the night which was also one of the clerics of Sune who had helped in the preparations that morning. Sentara had allowed fellow clerics to accompany her in the bedchambers to establish good rapport with them. Ara was her favorite. She was a hardworking cleric of Sune who never asked questions about her mistress's commands. It had been a year since the lady had become both her friend and her servant in the temple.
"The situation must be dire indeed mistress. For the temple to be preparing healing materials the entire morning really is tedious." Ara kept combing Sentrara's hair as she made the reply. Her tone was casual and modest enough to know her place in the bedchamber.
"Indeed it is. But Corylon has stood far greater foes than orcs; one was that invasion from the northmen. I hope the mages at the Twilight Tower can stop this huge shadow plaguing our future." Sentara was now placing both her fingers on the table, her face turning from bored to serious.
Ara noticed this and flinched for a while. She rolled her eyes down to look grave. "I'm also scared about the outcome. I was but a child at that battle against the northmen, the results of that battle had a huge effect on the once peaceful city of Corylon."
Sentara mustered up a smile to cheer the cleric up. "That is why we must be strong at all costs. We must be ready to help our beloved home against such beasts. Oh if only all of Faerun would follow Sune's path of love, we wouldn't have wars and battles which shake the planet's core that much."
Ara didn't know what to say from her mistress's comment so she continued on combing the high-priestess's hair.
Sentara could feel the disturbance welling in the cleric's mind. Ara's actions were getting a bit clumsy and slow. She could feel the cleric stopping once in a while in combing her hair. She paused for a moment, letting a few seconds slip by without any of them saying a word.
"Your sister seems to be a promising youth Ara." Sentara spoke to her as she placed her palm on her chin and looking at the mirror with a smile.
This statement surprised Ara, for she never thought of the fact about her sister coming into their topic. "I am honored to hear that from you mistress. I do hope she will become a good cleric of Sune soon." She gulped silently as if her mistress couldn't hear her nervousness.
Sentara was aware of it so she let the topic slide out of hand. "Oh, and by the way, did you hear anything coming from Gustav Gonghammer today?" She asked a pointless question to sway their talk to something else. It was all girl talk. As a matter of fact, this is one of the reasons why Sentara was so revered in the city. Not only was she a role model, but she was also very good at establishing rapport to the people no matter how lowly their class was. There were even gossips about Sentara walking on the streets of Corylon, teaching the beggars and their children about proper hygiene. Once in a while, she would visit the streets, probably escaping from her guards and converse with anybody she could find. Sentara found it as something that of an adventure, and an important aspect for the prosperity of Corylon.
"I heard he got tongue tied when you….errr.." Ara got too careless with her words she dilated her eyeballs and pouted to show to her mistress that she had acted out of control all of a sudden.
To her surprise, she found her mistress giggling. Sentara raised her head to stare at her subordinate with an amused look.
"I have to admit, it was pretty bold of him when he said about the two of us not being able to meet again." Sentara giggled.
"Well he is pretty afraid about the outcome after all Miss Sentara."
"More like desperate." Sentara turned to look at herself in the mirror once again and giggled. Ara giggled back.
They were both having a good time as Sentara talked on about Gustav's adventures and misadventures in Faerun. Even Ara could glance at the hint that Sentara, her mistress was actually falling for the man. These sent a shiver on her spine, the two were the best couple matched by Corylon itself. And even though she felt that little speck of envy, she was very well pleased from the fact that a rightful person was taking the heart of her mistress.
She blessed Sentara deep in her mind. She could no longer hear her mistress chattering and gibbering. She was deeply entranced from the imagination of the lovely pairing of the two greatest role models of Corylon.
It would've been the best night for the two if it wasn't for the loud ringing of the city's alarm bell heard.
Sentara quickly stood up from her stool. Her movement was so fast that it caught her subordinate by surprise. Ara quickly placed her hands away from her mistress' hair, releasing the comb from her lovely tangles.
"That was the alarm bell ringing!" Sentara stood up worriedly. There was something wrong. She felt it. Her heart began to pound fast that she could hear her own beating. She had now forgotten all about Gustav and the lovely talk she had with her subordinate. She ran to the terrace as fast as she could to take a look at the commotion happening at the city. Unraveling the smooth blue curtains that covered the terrace, Sentara stopped and stared at the horror found a few miles away from their temple. The Twilight Tower was on fire.
Black smoke rose from all edges of the tower. It was a hellish sight. Lighting and explosion blurted out of nowhere from the area, probably from the potions that had exploded on the catastrophe. Stones and support columns tumbled down and collapsed to the grounds, each contact sending forth booming frissons to her ears. There was only one guess. A magical battle had happened here. But how could somebody lay waste to such a powerful structure that was dwelled by the five most powerful mages in Corylon? Sentara turned her attention to the rest of the city. People on the streets were running, heading towards the inferno carrying buckets of water so that they could help with the extinguishing of the disaster. She could see the town patrol running in all corners, giving orders to their elements, carrying ladders and more buckets for the fire.
"Ready the clerics. We're going to have a busy night!" Sentara quickly ordered her subordinate with a wave of her right arm. Ara then hurried forth. She was already rushing towards the stairs before her mistress had given the order.
"Aye mistress!" Sentara replied fast.
Sentara turned to look at another glance of the Twilight Tower. It was hopeless. Even if a rain would appear, it would do so little as to extinguish the fire, for the Twilight Tower was already on ruin. She then turned back to put on her red robes of Sune and hurried forth towards the stairs.
--
Morak stood on the center of the bloody room. Bodies of the mages were splattered all over the place, some of them sprawled in the floor like ragged dolls, their remains scattered all around as they lie mutilated on the ruined room of the Twilight Tower. Some of the body parts were splattered on the ceiling of the room. And blood dripped down to the ground as gravity pulled the red liquid over.
Astral Kebleen, Archmage of the great tower lay in a supine position, traces of deep wounds and slices shown on his anatomy as he pointed a finger to the great leader of the Deathsong Hoard.
"You, what are you?" Astral's face filled with terror and shock as he asked the deadly creature in front of him with a dying expression. There were spasms of blood gurgling out of his mouth as he mustered his courage to look strong, at least for his last moment face to face with Morak.
Boragus silently stood at the back of Morak Deathsong. The tattered robes that covered his entire body made him look like death to the eyes of the dying archmage. Astral yelped like a squirrel as Boragus stood there waiting.
"Oh? And what's this? I thought the famed archmage of the Twilight Tower would be equipped with lore enough to reach the spelljammer's boundaries?" Morak gave a big grin, his arms dangling down to the ground since he did not want to wet himself more from all the bloodshed he had done previously. "A new day has come! And tomorrow my armada will relish itself as a homeland is secured for the Deathsong Hoard, here in your beloved city. And soon the world will know of Corylon's…or should I say….Deathsong Keep's power in military might."
Morak gave his final silent and confident gesture, boasting proudly of the dreams for his beloved armada. He closed his eyes and relished on the imagination itself, and as he continued to boast of his plans to the archmage in his feet, of tales of future goals and achievements he would do, of the rise of the Deathsong, of the creation of an empire. These were all dreams that Morak had longed for even before he had commandeered the spelljamming vessel SUCNA and crash landed in Faerun four years later, and Morak was happy that he was able to speak of his plans to a powerful person living in the realms.
But Astral was no longer listening. He had mustered his last energies to create a communication spell in delivering the warning to his fellow mages about the coming of the Deathsong Hoard. It would've been his one final act of justice for the good of goodly folks to deliver such an important message to the realms. But Astral forgot one thing; these were spelljammers he was facing. And for some unknown reason the communication spell never gave way. He died thinking he had made one final sacrifice. And as the archmage became obviously lifeless, the orc warlord spat on his ragged corpse.
Morak Deathsong turned his back on the body letting himself stare at Boragus, his minion face to face. There was a hint of annoyance on that visage of his, probably because he was disappointed when he realized that the archmage wasn't listening to him. And Boragus couldn't help but shiver a little bit in witnessing the fury of this warrior. "Muster the others, tell them to proceed with the plan. The assault will happen four hours from now."
Boragus gave a bow to his master and suddenly disappeared in the shadows, leaving Morak and the massacre in the room alone.
--
Gustav Gonghammer came out of the barracks to take a look at the huge commotion that had happened outside. The Twilight Tower had fallen, possibly had a relationship as to the orcs besieging their beloved city.
He took a look at the walls, which the barracks was built close to. The troops were all looking at the disaster. He could even see some of the patrols going down the stairs, trying their best to help. But the truth was that it was useless. The tower was located 10 kilometers away from their location. There was nothing these soldiers could do but endanger their beloved city Corylon by running away from their posts.
He never thought the orcs being this well organized before. Such an act was uncommon for a hoard to do. He'd heard about mysterious orc hoards powerful enough to raid a kingdom during the Orcgate Wars, but never as well organized as this one. Perhaps the orcs had planned the destruction of the Twilight Tower from the beginning? And after that, perhaps they planned to sack the city without its best mages to assist its defense. That would be a very dangerous assumption from him. Perhaps I am just overreacting to the situation? Gustav thought to himself.
His thinking was put to a stop when one of his lieutenants shouted for him.
"General! The assault is almost coming!" Gustav recognized the soldier as Lieutenant Davion. The soldier was well equipped for battle, resembling the discipline of Gustav's guidance to his troops. He wore a breast plate with a chain-mail beneath it. The lieutenant was equipped with a short sword and a tower shield on both his hands. "Sir, my men are now awaiting orders!"
"Close the gates, get your troops in line and put them behind the gate. Wait there and meet the enemy in case a breach occurs! Tell Captain Samuv to put his archers close to your formation, you're going to need assistance in taking up melee."
The lieutenant quickly went down the walls to call for his men without any further questions from his general. Gustav would've tried to call for two of his captains, but he noticed that the men were already placed in the behind the crenellations of the city walls. He took one last look at the field where a throng of orcs rushed in to the assault of the city's defenses. Their target was the gate. That was too predictable a move for the orcs. But nevertheless, despite the sudden advantage of tactics in his mind, he couldn't help but have second doubts in the number of the attacking force.
His heart beat fast as he saw the orc swarm close to the gates with stunning speed. Their archers and ballistae did good work at the attackers. 2 minutes passed, and the area close to the gate was filled with running or dead orcs and goblins. But the orc numbers were far too many, despite the corpses that lay on the field, more came in to take their place. One would fall, and two came back to reinforce their dead allies. Gustav breathed in deep as the orcs and goblins got themselves to the gate, their axes, spears and wooden rams carried by two to three orcs smashed at the wooden and metal bars with abandon.
"It's not gonna hold!!" Gustav heard one of his lieutenants on the walls scream.
Gustav also heard Captain Samuv scream a command. "Incoming!"
The gate could now be seen thumping back and forth from the ram's impact. Its motion was like the beating of the heart, the only difference was that it wouldn't hold, and it looked as if it would give way to the pressure soon.
Then all of a sudden a blinding flash was seen. A huge explosion erupted beside the gate as the fireball struck on the middle of the orc attackers close to the construct. Gustav saw the orcs run away from the area, their bodies aflame, their skin burned, their screams were of death, and soon they would topple down the ground dead. He turned to look at a tower on the east. A black-robed wizard came into his sight. Gustav gave a silent thanks to his god Tyr for the luck they had on the battle. There were wizards that didn't belong to the Twilight Tower Association, and gave their life for the welfare of Corylon….and gold.
His heart leaped with joy as he saw two more wizards riding fast with their horses, coming from the city streets to aid in the defense of their home. Their hands glowing with grey and blue light as they shot their magic to the city gate while riding.
The two wizards who were on horses conjured a spell to make the bars of the gate harder. Infusing it with hard clay made from magic. The gate's beating slowed, but it didn't stop, more were still coming for the attack, and it seemed as if the orcs were determined to break down the construct. Their determinations were put to waste as another fireball erupted beside the gate.
The orcs now broken from two consecutive fireball explosions began to waver. They hesitated to go near the gate, and looked for other means in breaching the city. Most of them circled the stone ramparts looking for a hole in that defense, but circling the walls was nothing but a waste of time for it only gave instance for the archers at the walkway to rain their deadly arrows at them.
Gustav gave his men a glorifying shout. "Come and do what you do best! For tonight Tyr is with us!" He then went down the walls and rushed to the command of his cavalry inside the city. These knights served as shock troops, in case a breach would occur, they would rush to the aid of the melee defenders inside city with their thundering charge from afar.
--
Grishnik coughed at the smoke that surrounded him. "Damn these mercenary wizards! I thought we've finished the magic threat in the Twilight Tower. But it seems some humans really live up to the service of gold!" He was talking to himself. The shock was too great for him when he witnessed the surprise of the fireball erupting close to him at the gate. It was a good thing that he had prepared a fire resistance mantle for this attack, else he would've been barbecue scro by now.
"Nevertheless, Corylon will still fall this night" Grishnik placed his right palm to the gate, and gave out a twenty second incantation. It suddenly glowed with red light. "Magic clay and hardened lead will not stop the Deathsong Hoard in the road to its glory" He didn't mind the burning orcs running to the fields behind him. They were pathetic anyway. Their purpose served as nothing more than fodder for the big plan to come into action. The archers and wizards obviously weren't paying any attention to him. They focused their attacks on the orc masses that served as easy targets behind him. After all, how could one unit member in the hoard make a difference in this assault?
The gate gave out a huge white light. For a second, the defenders risked a chance to stare at the wonder. Their wonder was turned into a nightmare, as ten tons of hardened city gate exploded into oblivion. Propelled by magic, the gate flew forward to the city, crushing the defenders that waited inside.
--
Gustav's eyes widened in horror and shock as he watched the great gate of Corylon explode all of a sudden. Then he regained his calm and began calculating moves for the defense. At least for a while, he had a hunch that things weren't going according to the defense plans. He noticed many officers bark out commands to the shaken troops beside the gate. Most of the soldiers were weary and dazed from the sudden explosion that occurred, but thanks to training and discipline many of them were able to fall into a line. The commanding officers beside the gate despite the dusts and splinters that messed their uniforms tried to look their best to boost the troop's morale.
Gustav steadied his horse, tightened the grip on his lance and took a look at the company of cavalry that he commanded. This was the trump card Corylon's defenders had. Serving as shock troops the cavalry was fast and destructive enough to rip a part in the enemy's defenses. Their sharp lances could split an entire line into two. Their full plated armor defended them well against incoming blows, not to mention their advantage in height due to their horses; this made them an almost invincible pride in Corylon's defenders. But the most destructive power they held was their charge, at almost unstoppable ramming speed Corylon's cavalry would be quick and destructive enough to surprise any unknowing enemy.
Gustav watched the onslaught occurring close to the gates. Orcs poured in outstanding numbers, they bore no formation, their discipline and finesse overcome by their savage nature.
Corylon's dazed defenders on the ground also fought. They came readied in defense position, preparing to intercept any incoming push from the orcs. They were mostly footmen, armed with large shields, swords, axes and spears. Most of them wore the regular issue given by the military of Corylon which consisted of light to medium plated armor with skull caps or full helms. They wore tabards of different colors beyond their breast plates, hiding their armor from the loose cotton cloth. These colors identified the company that they belonged to.
Right now, it seemed as if the foot-soldiers of Corylon were made of a disorganized lot. Their lines consisted of troops who wore tabards of different colors, their military discipline being a huge factor in getting along with their comrades from different groups.
Gustav noticed some of his officers giving commands to the archers that were stationed at the ground to fall back. After the bowmen were far from melee combat, they started loading their bows and began shooting at the orcs swarming at the gateway.
Hundreds of orcs in the process died, many of Corylon's defenders fell too, but their death ration was nothing compared to the casualties the attackers suffered.
To Gustav, it seemed as if the gateway could not hold for that long. He became aware of the fatigue welling up in the ranks of Corylon's defenders. The orcs were pouring in through endless numbers. Many of the brutes died, but more came to take their place.
The walls also weren't faring too well. Ladders had been raised up, and many orcs could now be seen in the walkways doing melee against human troops. Some of the archers had retreated to the towers. Many switched to melee and assisted the swordsmen to fend off the orc infestation.
Gustav realized that now was the best time to release Corylon's shock troops. He gave out a battle cry, raised his lance to the air, pointed it forward, then charged to the gateway. His knights followed the charge, their hooves of their horses making the earth rumble.
To the defenders, the cavalry charge was truly dramatic and heartening. It boosted up their courage, sending them into a fanatical zeal of pride and hope.
To the attackers, it was a nightmare. The thunderous booms vibrated their brains. This was what the orc hoard had feared off that much, the ace of the human's military strength, the bane of almost every army.
--
Grishnik stood there silently, black tattered robes covering his entire body. His presence ignored by the brutish orcs that came charging inside the city with bloodlust. He was at the gateway, close to melee battle that occurred inside the city, but far enough for him to even get a proper fight against a footman. He was well protected by the orc multitude that was swarming in his front.
He really didn't mind if he was unable to join the melee slaughter. He wasn't looking for a knight or a footman to fight against. His target was a special one. Scanning the towers and walls for someone suspicious, he took careful notice at his invisible prey.
A fireball erupted at the walls, cooking the orc invaders above. Grishnik saw many of the burning brutes jump off, making their death quick and painless. Or maybe they didn't know where their footing was. Grishnik couldn't help but chuckle at the idiocy these creatures had.
They looked pathetic like that, running off in circles as the red element burned them, screaming pathetically for help right now when they were screaming arrogantly for a battle before.
The black robed soldier brushed his thoughts of amusement away. His prey had been spotted. Noticing the mercenary mage that created the fireball at the walls Grishnik performed and incantation as he locked his eyes on the target. He raised his hands. Blue light glowed in his palms, finishing his spell at last.
An instant after that a lightning bolt came down from the skies, its deadly path headed towards the defender's mercenary mage. The huge electrical bolt connected, blowing the mages body away. Skin and bones flew as they were hacked apart by the powerful magic attack. It seemed as if the mages body had exploded from the inside.
The mercenary wizard wasn't the only target affected. The lightning bolt was strong enough to jut through its target and continue to the stone walkways of the wall, piercing stone and dazing soldiers that were close to the mage.
Grishnik closed his eyes and gave a deep breath to relish his kill. "Ayiyiyiyi!!" He gave out a fanatical war cry as he stood on the gateway with bliss. So consumed was he on the ecstasy of spell battle that he never noticed the orcs that were once fighting on his front run away from the gates.
When he learned of the incident it was already too late. "Where are you all going? Press on infidels! The fight is almost won. Their wizards will never be a match for me!" His gaze was directed outside the city. Disappointed at the number of orcs that had routed, he gritted his teeth in annoyance. Then he heard a familiar sound. He turned his head back only to notice Gustav's spear pointed several inches away from his eyes.
The charge came fast, skewering his head. Grishnik was dead in an instant.