Chapter Fourteen
Warriors . . .
Hudson stretched his arms as he surveyed castle Thorn, standing high atop a battlement.
"It'll soon be dawn. Should we not take a stance on the wall?" He asked Goron.
The elderly gargoyle shook his head, "Oh no. You see when they attack, they know to try to destroy our statues. They will sometimes give up an attempt to scale the wall if it means they can use their grappling hooks on one of our statues. Why, King Grund once woke up with ropes lassoed around his arms and wings, luckily Stone Skin cut them before he could be pulled over the wall. Bt order of the queen we now take our positions around the inner palace."
Hudson frowned, "A Gargoyle shouldn't be afraid of what might happen during the day, he should stand proud and look out, ready to face any threat that may come."
Goron shrugged, "I have no doubt that you have fought many wars cousin, but from what you've told me, your enemies often did not know you were living beings, and the surprise of turning to stone before their eyes may have been a factor in your victory."
"A factor?" Hudson chuckled, "Sometimes Goliath counted on it."
Goron nodded. "Yes. You see at first our stone hibernation allowed us not only to surprise the rat creatures but also allowed us to remain safe during the day, how easily we could disguise ourselves as boulders, or old statues. However as time wore on they figured out what we were and knew that the destruction of our statues would result in our deaths. They now now know that we cannot wake and defend ourselves in the day. That is when they like to strike at us."
Hudson shook his head, "Aye . . . tis a sad thing. But I suppose standing guard over the queen is not so different than standing on the walls . . ."
Goron nodded, and looked off into the horizon.
"What are ye looking for?" Hudson asked.
"They have rarely failed to attack us. I am surprised. I wonder how long this peace will last."
Hudson smiled and put his hand on his new friend's shoulder, "Don't ye worry about that. Rest well and when the evening comes see what awaits you."
"Indeed." Goron said softly, glancing out at the horizon one last time. "I do sometimes wonder if they grow as tired as we do. Of the killing I mean. Of the losses. They should know better than we how it feels to lose a loved one, if they are capable of loving each other." Goron shook his simian head, "Alas though . . . the pain of loss only leads them to anger and hatred. I fear that they may be emotionless monsters, I fear there will never be a peaceful resolution to this war."
"Fear'll lead ye to anger too." Hudson pointed out, borrowing the words from some complicated show he'd seen on television long ago.
"That it does." Goron said darkly.
Loki, appearing as a hooded one again stood before the rat creature king. He was a freak of nature, a grosesque deformity and for that the rats had made him king.
He was the opposite of a rat creature as far as proportions went, Rather than small legs and enormous arms he had absolutely enormous legs and tiny arms, he had no neck, his head and his torso just seemed to be one part of his body, and his mouth was nearly a third of that.
His eyes and ears, while bigger than those of a regular Rat Creature still seemed too small for the great king, actually Loki felt he looked sort of like a furry T-Rex without any tail or neck.
He was covered in blood and matted fur, for he had only barely escaped the last battle alive. He was missing half of an ear, and had a huge wound on his right leg which his people had dressed with some bizarre mixture of mud and leaves and some strange wrap.
"You want me to send two thousand warriors to the castle at dawn?" The king asked, growling.
"The half-dragons are stone during the daylight, it is the best course."
"Of course it is." The king growled, "But why so suddenly? I have suffered grievous wounds, I cannot lead the—"
"You needn't."
"My general—"
"Nor he.' Loki shook his head, "I understand that there are elements in your army who feel the war has run its course, that with the humans and half-dragons confined to the castle, peace ought to begin to spread?"
"How did you—"
"Know?" Loki laughed darkly, "I make it my business to know everything, and one needs only to listen to the hum of your camp. Round up as many of these as you can, send them to attack the castle."
"Why? Without me there to lead them they may refuse to attack, or even defect, some of them want to share the land with the flat landers!"
"I know. But what will you do with them if they continue to preach peace?"
"Kill them of course." The king said.
"Exactly. They become martyrs for their cause and it gains strength. Instead, let them face the flat landers in battle, let them die that way, stir the survivors up to hatred, let it spread to their friends and family, let them become the martyrs for your cause and those that survive will see the error of their ways, will return to the true and righteous path of conquest."
"But who will ensure that they go through with it?" The king groaned as servant attended his wounded leg. Loki wondered if he could convince the king to let him amputate it if for no other reason than to see what the rats would concoct to help their leader get around. A peg legged king would be quite the sight to see.
"I will lead the army," He said, looking away from the wound, "Let them dare defy me."
The king leaned back against the wall of his cave, "Yes . . . and when you fail they will cry for me to lead again . . ."
As if you've ever succeeded. Loki thought, but outwardly he smiled and nodded, "Indeed, strengthening your rule over your people."
"I like it."
"I knew you would, my king." Loki said, bowing.
The entire attack was designed by Loki to wound but not destroy Atheia. It was designed to press Hiromi hard enough that she might reconsider his offer, which she had refused. If it were necessary he would simply sack the castle and take what he wanted, then how much more interesting the game would be when the Atheians became a guerilla resistance instead of a crumbling kingdom?
Hudson took a perch near the top of the castle along with Goron.
The lads had caught up to him, Brooklyn said quietly to Hudson, as he pried himself free of the young female called Braids, "We've got to talk tomorrow night. There's something going on around here."
Hudson nodded. He spotted the long dagger that Lexington carried, and said "So they've armed ye, have they?"
"Well I hope I won't need it." He said, nodding.
Hudson nodded back, "This is a war, ye may be needing it more than ye like."
"We've fought in battles like these before." Brooklyn said, "And we never needed swords."
Braids said, "The Atheians cannot fight the rats without them. The swords are more than just weapons to the Atheians, they're an extension of the spirit. That we wield them shows their respect for us, besides the blades work better than claws."
"Claws that can cut through stone should have no problem cutting through a rat's hide." Brooklyn said.
"Yes . . . but when the rat's arms are half again the length of your ownyou have the disadvantage and the sword rather helps. If you're fast enough of course, you don't need them." Braids shrugged.
Suddeny there was a loud noise, like a painfully loud moan.
"Blast!" Braids scowled.
"What is it lass?" Hudson asked.
"The warning horns. They're here." Goron said darkly. "Just as I knew they would be."
Hudson looked out at the oncoming horde. They were nothing but a sea of dark brown, he managed to say, before the sunlight struck him, "Not even the Viking hordes were so—"
Horns. Horns blaring like the deep mournful cry of a dragon, Thor stood atop the wall of Atheia as he looked out at the horde of rat creatures. His count, done as quickly as only a dragon could, revealed slightly more than two thousand warriors. Enough to sweep over the castle Thorn, but not even a tenth of the Rat Creature's true strength.
A shame. Thor did not want to see the humans destroyed, it hurt him to even think of it. But father Odin had forbidden him from interfering.
"I can do nothing to help them." He said to himself, turning away from the walls. That act alone disgusted him, his ability to continue walking away amazed him.
Every step was difficult, but he had sworn an oath . . .
Refusing to so much as look over his shoulder, Thor told himself darkly that if the humans were annihilated, Atheia would be a much darker place. How could father Odin want that? Had the oath he'd sworn been one worthy of upholding?
"They're coming!" A soldier shouted.
Hiromi closed her eyes, she was the Taisho, the general now. Her father was gone, perhaps forever. She turned to her warriors, and shouted with authority and volume she had never before dared to use, "Archers! Take your positions! Pikemen, to the walls!" She drew her katana and stared out at the vast enemy army, "I will not let you destroy this place." She said, the smaller sword at her hip seemed to throb with excitement.
No. She told herself firmly. She would not draw that blade.
She looked to her soldiers, "Archers, aim high! Do not give them a ladder of corpses, let them drag their dead to the front!" Hiromi glared at the rats, the outer walls and the main city had fallen because the bowmen had fired at the rats at the base of the walls, giving them a large mound of dead which they had climbed to the tops of the walls, and to near victory.
Hiromi would not let them do it again.
The rats began to raise up wodden ladders, Hiromi's response was the shout, "Pikemen! Let them near the top but do not let them reach it!"
She stood atop the wall, and glared down the ladder before her at the dozen or so rat creatures scrambling up. Some of them were close enough to the ground to survive, the greater part would at least be injured, and some might not survive the fall.
Who were these monsters that came to battle? His words stuck in her mind, what was good to her was evil to him, were these creatures truly evil monsters, or were they simply trying to defend what they believed in?
It didn't matter. If they weren't willing to die for their beliefs, they should never have taken up arms against the Atheians, they were attacking, this was self defense. Still how many of them had not wished to come? How many of them, like her would rather live a peaceful life away from war and slaughter? She could not help but whisper to those individuals though they could not hear her, "I am sorry," before kicking the ladder down. She raised her katana into the air and shouted to the soldiers, to her soldiers, "Fire!"
With so many targets packed so closely together, few of the arrows missed.
To Be Continued . . .
Author's Note: The battle of castle Thorn, the climax of ACT I begins, will the Atheians and their Garoyle allies survive? Will Thor remain stubbornly neutral? And what will happen when Skadi gets wind of Loki's attack, and shows up with reinforcements? The chapters will be longer and more intense as the battle heats up! I even had to cut one in half!
This was planned originally as a minor skirmish, however as passion took control it became an epic battle, and while it does not overshadow the climax of ACT II (now also complete) I feel it, and the various events that transpire during it, quite fitting for the ending of first act.
If this were a television series and this were its season finale, I'd be very pleased with it, I hope you readers will be too. (Yes I know it never will be a tv series, I'm not that full of myself, that's just an example)
Goliath and co. are not forgotten, though I admit now their chapters got less love than the battle itself. I was distracted. That happens some times.