Chronicles of Espiria Season 2
Episode 1 – Battle at the Monastery
Written by the Dude
Hogan was locked in combat with a Hypogean ogre, Ulric at his back trying to fend off a Hypogean imp. Most of Hogan's men were in the same predicament; the army was assailed by Hypogean monsters from all sides, in what should have been a minor skirmish outside a Path of Ascension monastery. Ulric finally managed to throw off his opponent and finished it with his spear, then did the same to Hogan's ogre.
"Are you alright, sir?"
"I just remember a time when I thought Maulers were tough." Hogan said, a little winded. He quickly surveyed the battlefield as best he could. Many of the men were on loan from Lord Lanward, there to prove themselves capable warriors; while most had proven their courage beyond any doubt, they were woefully undertrained, a defect which put the entire army at risk. They were lucky to be so close to a Path of Ascension monastery; the monks living there were trained as living weapons to be used against heretics of the Light, and proved to be ideal defenders against the Hypogean Hoard. Still, Hogan noticed that the rain of arrows from his archers was not falling as it should, and this concerned him.
"That ogre was heading toward the archers, Ulric. Quickly, the archers need support."
Ulric nodded and started running toward the archers. Nearby, Hogan caught sight of Lucius cutting down a Hypogean mage. He was surprised when Lucius followed this victory by casting a single bolt of holy lightning at another mage.
"When did you learn to do that?" Hogan asked.
"Belinda taught me after the Battle of the Barred Gate."
Lucius abruptly turned and struck an ogre with the handle of his poleaxe, knocking the monster to the ground and allowing the abbot of the monastery, Father Godric, to finish the beast off.
"Isn't Ulric normally with you as well?" Lucius asked as he engaged an imp.
"I sent him to support the archers." Turning to Father Godric, Hogan continued, "They could use your help as well, if you can spare the men."
Father Godric turned to the monastery and made some hand motions; moments later, a series of church bells rang out, sending Hogan's order to support the archers. Moments later, monks began to move toward the line of archers. It was not long before arrows began once again to fall on the Hypogean forces.
After a time, Hogan found the commander of this force, a creature that, unexpectedly, looked like just another ogre. It was small compared to the other ogres it commanded, but was well armed with a sword and shield, and lightning seemed to radiate off it as heat from a bonfire. Hogan attempted to engage the monster, but as soon as his sword crossed with that of the ogre, lightning jumped from the creature through his sword into his arm, knocking him back with the force of the electricity. The creature began to slowly close in as Hogan struggled to recover from the shock.
As the creature readied to deliver the killing blow, a loud bang was heard. A split second later, a red mist erupted from the creature's head as it fell limp. Hogan breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled wide; the dwarven snipers had arrived. This first shot was soon followed by a volley of gunfire that decimated the Hypogean forces, forcing them to retreat.
As the surviving Lightbearer soldiers celebrated their victory with a cheer, Hogan found the small group of dwarven marksmen who had turned the tide of the battle, kneeling to greet their leader with a hearty pat on the shoulder.
"You're late, Morvus."
"You should be thankful I didn't have that second side of bacon for breakfast."
Hogan and Morvus laughed and joked in celebration of the victory until General Estrilda arrived later that day to receive Hogan's report on the battle.
"This should not have been a difficult battle, sir." Hogan said to Estrilda after he finished recounting the events of the battle. "The troops supplied to us by Lord Lanward were nearly useless; their abominable training nearly got us killed. Lucius was about the only Lanward on the field worth his weight. If Morvus hadn't arrived when he did, I might not be standing here."
"I will speak with Lord Lanward about your assessment of his troops." Estrilda said calmly as she finished writing her notes. "Perhaps he will agree to allow one of our drill sergeants to correct the errors in his training program. As for you," she continued, looking at Morvus, "you were supposed to be here three days ago. What was the delay?"
"You need to do something about your messaging system." Morvus said in his defense. "Your messenger sent me to the other side of the Dark Forest!"
"The Dark Forest?" Estrilda asked, surprised.
"Aye, as far from Hogan as you can get. I'd still be there waiting for instructions if those forest folk hadn't told me where you were!"
"Curious." Estrilda said as she stood and fetched a sealed envelope from her saddlebag hanging by the entrance to the tent. "These are your sealed orders to reinforce Commander Hogan and his men here. My messenger returned this to me, seal unbroken, after apologizing for failing to locate you."
Hogan was surprised. "If your messenger never delivered the orders, then who did Morvus receive his orders from?"
"A good question, Commander, one which I intend to find a good answer to. In the meantime, it seems we must take measures to ensure that such false orders are never received or followed again. The next time either of you are met by a messenger carrying orders from me, you must demand a token."
Estrilda next pulled out a small iron statuette of a horse head with two spears crossed behind it, which had previously been wrapped in a thick cloth for protection.
"This is the crest of the house of Rayne. Memorize it, both of you, for any messenger I send you will be able to show you this crest before he hands you your orders. If he fails to produce this crest on demand, take him alive and hold him for questioning."
Morvus took the statuette and examined it closely.
"This is fine craftsmanship for a human."
"I will pass your compliments on to the craftsman." Estrilda said as she retrieved the statuette. "That is all, Morvus. I have one further matter to discuss with Commander Hogan."
Morvus nodded and left the tent. Hogan remained at attention.
"General, you look more troubled than usual."
"I have much on my mind lately, Hogan. The Scorched Expanse and Bantus always seemed content to harass our borders; they never seemed interested in conquest. The Hypogeans, on the other hand, seem to want genocide. Wherever they go, the only humans they leave alive in their wake are those who they've mutilated beyond recognition with their experiments. Holding them at bay has taken all the King's resources, which is why we accepted Lord Lanward's offer of the use of his militia to begin with. What's more, if my sources are correct, the Scorched Expanse, the Dark Forest, and Bantus are all struggling with the Hypogeans as much as we are. And now I find that there may be a traitor in my spy network."
"A traitor?" Hogan asked, not quite certain of her logic. "A fault in communication, certainly, but..."
"Someone knew enough about my network and our troop placements to disrupt communications between me and Morvus. Only a handful of people across all of Espiria have the knowledge necessary to pull off this sort of disruption, and they are all part of my spy network. Requiring the token will help for a time, but I must find the disruptive agent before he does more harm. To this end, I must rely on you more than ever, Hogan. You are a clever leader and a brilliant tactician. It's likely you would be a general by now if not for your common blood, an injustice I intend to correct when I can."
Hogan appreciated the compliment, but was uncertain how best to respond to it.
"What is it you need of me?" he finally asked.
Meanwhile, Commander Kane stood before the swirling vortex of darkness marking the Barred Gate, the portal between Espiria and the forsaken realm of the Hypogeans; he was awaiting the arrival of the Hypogean known commonly as the "Seer", to inform him of the failure of the assault on the Lightbearer forces at the Path of Ascension monastery. As he waited, he considered the situation.
Through his experience with the Espirian forces, he felt he had determined their strengths and weaknesses quite well. The Lightbearers were not a strong race, but they were disciplined and enjoyed clever leaders who knew how to wield their meager strength. The Maulers showed little effective leadership outside of their Paragon and Grand Chieftain, but they were fearless and physically powerful; they also lived in a land hostile to all life, a greater deterrent than the Maulers themselves could ever be. The Wilders were especially troublesome for their unusual insight into magic that was corrosive to the Hypogeans; this trait was shared with the Lightbearers and Maulers, but in their cases, the magic was concentrated in their religious orders, while the Wilders all seemed familiar with this sort of magic. The Graveborn seemed to lack this corrosive power, but made up for it with brute strength enhanced by their dark magicks. And he could not forget about the Celestials; the surviving servants of his master's sister were an ever present danger to any plot he devised, moving unexpectedly to support the Espirians whenever they deemed necessary. He himself had not the power to oppose the Celestials yet, but he suspected that their power might make them arrogant, a weakness he could exploit if it were true.
Kane knew that there was a way to exploit the weaknesses of the realms, but he needed time to devise plans for them. Thankfully, the realms seemed to hate each other almost as much as they hated the Hypogeans; they would never dream of joining forces, making Kane's task of undermining them all the easier.
Finally, a shadowy figure emerged from the gate, coalescing into a twisted mockery of a man carrying a large hourglass.
"Zolrath, the attack failed, as I warned you it would." Kane said, demanding an explanation.
"I knew that it would fail from the beginning." Zolrath answered. "Those soldiers were never meant to capture the monastery; they were meant to sow discord among the Lightbearers. As you have no doubt observed, the great strength of the Lightbearers is their unity; give them reason to distrust one another, and they will crumble like dust."
"And how has this attack done this?"
"Not only the attack, but the efforts of our agent in their camp. Their leader now doubts her greatest asset. The troops meant to relieve their dwindling forces have proven inadequate. They now tremble with fear that their strength will not be enough."
"Would it not be better to keep these weaknesses from them?"
"Had we done so, their morale would have sustained them and rendered their weaknesses irrelevant. Now, they need only a few more nudges, and they will fall into your hand like a rotted fruit."
"Very well, Zolrath. What of the other races? The Maulers, Wilders, and Graveborn have also proven resilient, and we still must contend with the Celestials."
"They will fall in their own time, and I will guide you as I deem necessary. There is but one matter that I need you to concern yourself with for now. The Master has sensed the presence of a Wellspring in Espiria."
"A Wellspring?!" Kane's distaste melted in an instant at the thought of acquiring such an asset. "Where is it?"
"That is your task. Seek out the Wellspring and bring it to the appointed place. We were denied once by the Celestials; we will not be denied again."
Zolrath faded back into the gate. Kane allowed a slight smile to cross his lips.
"It shall be done!"