The Line of Illeniel

Chapter 37

By late afternoon the last of our patrols were forced to retreat to Cameron Castle. The enemy had reached us and begun digging in for what might be a long siege. I considered sending men out to harass them as they prepared their camps but Cyhan convinced me it was an ill-advised plan. They had at least five thousand able men and a large portion of them were holding ready to repel us should we attempt to sally.

Their numbers were enough for concern, since they outnumbered us almost ten to one, but what truly had me worried were the siege engines. I could see a variety of devices at the rear of their lines; machines I had seen in books but never imagined would someday be arrayed against me. There were small onagers and ballista, mounted on wheels and drawn by teams of horses. The onagers were simple affairs, with a throwing arm and a small bucket that could be loaded with various types of ammunition, such as rocks or firebrands. The ballistae were essentially giant crossbows and appeared to be loaded with large spear type bolts.

More frightening was the taller construction near the back. Unless I missed my guess it would be a large trebuchet when completed. The trebuchet had a much longer throwing arm with a sling like cup at one end to hold a projectile. The short end near the axle would have a heavy counterweight when it was finished. It was too large to be moved easily so they had brought the parts and were assembling it as we watched. Given its large size it would probably be able to throw rocks weighing several hundred pounds over a distance of hundreds of yards. The walls would never be able to withstand the assault once they had their range.

Dorian and Marc stood with me on the wall watching their progress. “I’m starting to feel under-dressed for this party,” Marc commented.

Dorian laughed, “It’s looking more and more like we are going to be on the receiving end of a lot of nasty siege weaponry. Can’t you do something about those things Mort?”

“Not while they’re that far out. How far do you think they can shoot?” I asked.

Dorian thought for a moment. “The ballista and the trebuchet will be able to fire from five hundred yards or so, perhaps further if they don’t mind missing more often. The onagers will need to get within three hundred yards at least.”

I didn’t like his assessment. Since Penny and I had formed the bond my best range for destructive magic was close to five hundred yards. The onagers probably wouldn’t be a problem for me but I doubted I would be able to do anything to disable the trebuchet at that distance. I would have to adjust my plans. “How long before they attack?” I asked.

Dorian’s answer was immediate, “Tomorrow.”

“You’re sure?”

“They won’t advance until their position has firmed up and the siege weapons are ready. They also have to worry that the king may be sending a relief force so they won’t waste time. If I was their commander I would start as soon as possible, and that would be tomorrow at dawn.” There was little doubt in my friend’s voice.

“Marc… tonight I want you to take the women and children back to Lancaster. You remember how to use the circles right?” I asked him.

He sighed, “You’ve asked me that about a dozen times. Yes I can remember, and even if I couldn’t my Lady would provide the necessary knowledge. It’s her power I am using after all. But why me?”

“It will take a lot of trips back and forth,” I told him. “I don’t want to exhaust myself the night before the assault begins. By the way, I’m sending your father with a small force to eliminate the small group they left behind to watch your home. Your mother requests that you not bring him back with you.”

“I can see I’m about to become more popular with him,” he laughed. “You certainly picked an unpleasant task for me.”

I grimaced. “I’m afraid there are no pleasant tasks,” I said sourly.

That night things went as smoothly as could be hoped. Marc took his father and a group of about fifty men back to Lancaster. I didn’t go with them but apparently they were able to eliminate the enemy scouts without too much trouble. Five of the men were injured but Marc’s goddess healed them almost before the battle was done.

After that they sealed the gates and Marc began transporting the women and children back as quickly as he could manage. Despite the fact that his goddess provided all the energy it still exhausted him. He explained to me later that although his Lady’s energy was limitless (according to him) his body limited what she could do. The more he channeled her power the more it cost him in terms of fatigue and exhaustion. I filed the information away as being of possible future use. After all I had already faced two channelers working for Mal’goroth and there might be more.

Penny and I retired early. Neither of us was tired but I figured the more time we gave ourselves to ‘attempt’ to sleep the better our chances were of succeeding. As it was we slept fitfully but we did manage to get five or six hours of good rest. I was sure we would need it come morning.

By the time dawn arrived we had already been up for several hours. I watched the sun lighting the horizon to the east with Penny. We were standing on top of the curtain wall trying to make out the enemy’s arrangements as they became steadily more visible. Most of our warriors were positioned behind the wooden palisade which stood a full hundred yards beyond the outer curtain wall. We planned to hold the enemy there as long as we could before retreating within the more defensible stone walls. At least that is what I had told them. I hadn’t shared my true plan with anyone yet.

Penny’s eyes grew wide as the dawn sun brought greater clarity to the field laid out before us. Her eyes darted back and forth, from our earthworks to the enemy lines and their siege weapons beyond that. A gasp escaped her lips almost inaudibly. I turned to look at her face but she put her back to me to hide her expression.

“It’s today isn’t it?” I said calmly. Some inner intuition had told me what caused her to react like this.

She didn’t answer immediately. She kept her back to me and hugged herself. I didn’t press, waiting instead for her to find the words. After several long minutes she looked back at me. “Yes,” she answered simply. Her eyes were wet.

“How do you know?”

“I’ve had a feeling of deja vu since we walked out here this morning, but I wasn’t sure until I saw that,” she gestured toward the enemy encampment. “It looks almost exactly like what I saw in my vision. It can’t be more than… more than… a few hours…,” her voice broke as she spoke forcing her to leave the sentence unfinished. I gently drew her to me and she shook as I held her, crying softly into my shoulder.

I felt strangely calm as she wept. The events of the past few weeks had been a wild jumble of emotions but now I felt numb. There was nothing left for me but to finish what I had started. When she finished I held her at arm’s length gazing solemnly into her eyes. “If it is today, then I have several things to tell you. Things you will have to finish for me,” I said slowly.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment, “You’ve been keeping secrets again.”

“Just a few… Nothing dire, but you will have to play my part if I die before the time is right,” I told her.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Not yet, we have something else to take care of first,” I said meaningfully.

“We don’t have to do that yet,” she protested. “There are at least several hours still.”

“Yes we do. I don’t know what will happen from here on out. There may not be a chance once things get chaotic. We do it now, and then I’ll tell you what you need to know,” I said firmly.

“You kept those secrets just to have a bargaining chip didn’t you?” she said sharply.

In fact I had, there had been no reason to hide my final plans, other than to make sure she would cooperate near the end. “Not intentionally,” I lied, “but now that the time is here I’m glad I did.”

“You really are a bastard sometimes,” she replied sweetly. “Fine, how do we do this exactly?”

That was the one part of the bond I had paid close attention to back when Cyhan had been instructing her. “First you take out your sword and we hold it between us, then you simply ask, formally and in all seriousness for me to release you. You have to mean it. I will respond formally as well and then we have to let go of one another… in here,” I pointed to my chest. Her eyes started watering again when I gestured to my heart.

“Alright,” she replied, letting her head droop downward. She drew out her sword and held it across her palms facing me. When I had placed my hands over hers she spoke, “I, Penelope Illeniel, would break my oath and I ask you to release me from this bond we share.” Her hair had fallen, blocking my view of her face, but I could see wet spots appearing on the stone between her feet.

I took a deep breath and answered her, “I, Mordecai Ardeth’Illeniel, do release you from your bond.” I invested the words with power and inwardly I felt our spirits separating. A part of myself that I hadn’t realized had been her, slipped away from me. For a moment I was left with a feeling of incredible emptiness as for the first time in months I was just myself, alone. The sword we held glowed brighter for a moment and then shattered, as if it had been made of glass.

We stood quietly for a minute, neither of us daring to speak. We both knew the distance between us had become much greater than the scant inches separating us physically. Finally I broke the silence. “How do you feel?” I asked.

“Much weaker,” she said ruefully. “I had forgotten what it was like to be normal. How about you?”

“I feel empty. Like a man living alone in a house that has become much too large for him,” I replied honestly.

She gave me a serious look, gazing steadily into my eyes. Despite what we had just done I could see incredible strength of spirit within her. Every time I looked at her it was as if I had fallen in love all over again. “Your eyes are blue again,” she said wistfully.

“I think you look better with your natural brown,” I told her in return.

“So what secrets do you have to share?” she said, changing the subject.

I opened the heavy leather pouch I wore at my belt. As I looked inside I saw the gem that had been used when we created our bond. It was no longer glowing. I ignored it and brought out two cloth sacks that had been marked with ink. “This pouch holds the stones that will destroy the dam,” I told her. “When the time comes, destroy them. I had hoped to drive the enemy back into the valley first, but you’ll have to use your own judgment since I won’t be here.”

“What about the other pouch?” she asked.

“I’ll hold onto this one for now, but if I die before using it you need to claim it quickly. It holds the keys to the bombs beneath the field out there,” I pointed to the ground before us, between the curtain wall and the palisade.

“But that’s inside our line, why?” she said, confusion in her eyes.

“The palisade is a trap. I didn’t have iron but I had the men bury large stones beneath the earth, both inside and outside the palisade. I didn’t tell them what they were for though. They extend out to about a hundred yards from our earthworks. The closest ones are about sixty yards from the walls here. I was afraid if they were any closer they might destroy our walls,” I told her.

She shook her head, “I still don’t understand. Why not put them further out?”

“We had run out of iron. The stones are much larger and heavier. I didn’t have enough time to have the men dig great holes everywhere, and haul stones to them. The further out you go the more area there is to be covered. The only place I could be sure the enemy would be is here,” I pointed down to the area below us again.

“Then why bother building the palisade at all?”

“All part of the deception. The enemy probably won’t commit his men to a head on assault until they have breached our walls. The earthworks give them the impression that we are serious about defending the castle. Once they breach them they may assault us right away. However, if they wait until they have brought down the gate or one of the walls we have to hold them before they enter the castle yard itself,” I stated carefully.

“Why?” she asked.

“I don’t want to use our trump card until they’ve committed most of their men to the attack. We have to wait until most of them are at the walls here before we use it, otherwise we waste our only advantage. So if they breach the curtain wall before that point we have to hold the line here until they commit all their men,” I said.

“You should just let me have that pouch now,” she suggested.

“I’d like the chance to spit in their faces and blow them to hell myself. If I have to die I want to go with a bang,” I smiled wickedly. “You can take them from my cold dead hands if I don’t get to use them.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t talk like that,” she complained.

My heart felt lighter than it had in months. Despite the empty place it felt as if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. “If I can’t joke about my impending death what can I joke about? Would you rather I go moping about?”

She laughed a bit, till her tears started again and then she held me. I felt a twinge of pain for her; it was easier to be the one dying. My journey was almost over, but she still had a long lonely road ahead… without me. For the first time since Marc had first given me the idea of lying to her about her ‘condition’ I felt guilty. I hoped she would forgive me someday when the truth finally came out.

They began the bombardment once the sun was fully in the sky. Now that I was free of the bond I found I could sense things at a much greater distance again. When the first stones came hurtling toward us I sensed them long before they arrived. On a whim I spoke a word and swept my hand sideways, striking one of the large boulders from the sky before it reached us. I was amazed at the clarity of my senses. After months being half blind my power seemed easier than ever to use.

“Did you see that?” Marc elbowed me. “One of the stones just went flying sideways. Was that you?”

I smiled. “We’ll see how they like facing me now that I’ve got my kid gloves off,” I replied smugly.

“Your eyes are blue again… does that mean what I think?” he asked.

“Your idea worked beautifully. No matter what else, you have my thanks for that,” I told him.

“I thought so,” he said. “Did she tell you what I told her?”

“Yes, and I appreciate it. I know it must have cost you dearly to say it.”

He frowned. “It didn’t cost me a thing, anyway, congratulations.”

It struck me as odd that he would congratulate me on the day of my impending demise, but I dismissed it as another of his odd jokes. “Just promise me you will make sure she’s alright, once I’m gone.”

His face tightened, “You didn’t have to ask me, Mort. Dorian and I will do everything we can for her, you know that.”

More rocks began falling, striking the palisade and bouncing across the ground behind it. So far none of our men had been struck, but I knew our luck couldn’t hold forever. The enemy troops were advancing now, approaching to within two hundred yards. The onagers were brought up behind them, allowing them to strike the palisade more easily. Some of our archers fired, though they had been told to save their arrows. Most of their shots fell short, and those that didn’t missed their marks.

I raised my staff and with a word I focused energy through it, a line of fire lanced outward and struck one of the onagers. It went up in flames. Repeating the process I began systematically destroying them until none were left. I considered doing the same to the men on the field but I knew I would exhaust myself long before I had made a dent in their numbers. I thought of the other pouch on my belt, the one I hadn’t told Penny about, but I quickly dismissed the idea. It wasn’t time for that yet.

The enemy withdrew to four hundred yards once the onagers were gone. I could still reach them at that range but I didn’t feel the need to tip my hand yet. Things settled into a dull rhythm as both sides waited. I had hoped they might try a premature rush but they seemed content to wait while trebuchet did its work. The only other activity in the interim was the occasional ballista shot. Their crews were disturbingly accurate. Once they had gotten used to the range they began picking their targets carefully. At five hundred yards they missed as often as they hit their mark but when they were successful the result was gruesome. Several of our men were impaled before they learned to stay out of sight.

A deadly stalemate ensued, punctuated only by the thrumming sound of their trebuchet every few minutes. Each time it fired a rock weighing several hundred pounds would come hurtling overhead. The first shots fell short, but they methodically adjusted the machine until the stones were consistently striking the stone curtain wall that surrounded Castle Cameron.

Dorian found me watching the steady destruction from the ground outside wall but within our palisade. “Can’t you do something about that damn machine?” he said.

“It’s too far away,” I answered calmly. “I might be able to misdirect the stones it throws but that would defeat my purpose.”

“You want them to knock the wall down?” he asked incredulously.

“Actually yes, they won’t try a full assault until they have a clear way in,” I replied.

He gave me a suspicious look, “What are you planning?”

“Something big,” I said. “Make sure the men are ready to withdraw after a token resistance at the palisade. Also… is there any way to stop them getting through the gap in the wall if they knock part of it down?”

He grunted, “Yeah, but it involves a lot of dying. I’ve already got them preparing a temporary barricade behind the section that infernal machine is pounding on.”

Another giant boulder struck the wall, sending chips of stone flying. “When they finally charge, I want the archers to keep firing until they’re almost to the earthworks. Once they’re within fifty yards or so they should run for the gate,” I told him.

“The palisade will hold longer than that,” he argued. “We should make them pay for it. Once we’re inside we won’t be able to hold that gap in the wall more than a few hours.”

I gave him a serious look, “Would it seem suspicious if we ran for the gate sooner?” I had wanted to preserve as many lives as possible but now I was rethinking my plan.

“Suspicious?” he said, “Well of course! If we just surrender our outer defense and let them head straight to the breach it would be strange. If it were me commanding them I’d think we had either a fool for a leader or a trap planned.”

I drew a deep breath and replied, “Very well. Do as you see best, just try to keep as many men alive as possible.” It didn’t sit well with me that men would die defending ground I had no intention of holding.

Dorian gave me a strange look, “What is it that you haven’t told me?”

“Trust me,” I said smiling.

“Oh no! Absolutely not, you’ve said that before. If you expect me to defend this castle I need to know what the hell you are planning to do.” Dorian set his hands on his hips in a stance that told me he was feeling stubborn.

“We need to concentrate as many of the enemy outside the walls as possible. I think I can eliminate most of them if we can get them to commit to a full assault,” I replied.

“How?”

“Something similar to what we did to them on the road,” I answered.

“You’re telling me that my men are standing on top of more of your bombs?” he yelled.

I tried to quiet him down, “Yes, keep your voice down. If you spook the men we’re done for.”

He closed his mouth suddenly as he realized how loud he had been. After a moment he spoke again, “I’m going out there Mort. If anyone gets blown up I’ll be among them. Understand?”

I nodded. “Just make it look real. Everything is riding on this Dorian. If they don’t fall for this we’ve lost. I don’t have any other tricks up my sleeve.”

“Don’t you worry; it will be so damn real you might think we’re dying out there. The blood that flows won’t just be theirs,” and so saying he turned and left.