Siege of Stone

CHAPTER 34

In the hours before the surprise attack, the Ildakaran fighters gathered in the lower levels near the supply buildings, storehouses, granaries, and the yaxen slaughter yards. High Captain Stuart brought five hundred of his city guard, all wearing chest armor and carrying short swords. Stuart wore a red pauldron on his shoulder to show his rank, just as his predecessor had done. Hundreds of the earnest arena fighters had no interest in ranks, and there were also countless volunteers from the lower classes who had scrounged up weapons and were ready to join the unexpected strike against the siege army.

From across Ildakar, families pulled swords out of storage, heirlooms that had never seen battle, while others carried new-forged weapons produced by the overworked smithies. Blacksmiths turned out hundreds of iron-headed clubs, hard wooden handles topped with metal spheres and spikes, and the ragtag fighters adopted them quickly. Such blunt, deadly weapons might do better than sharp blades against an enemy with hardened skin, and they required far less training, needing only anger, energy, and an arm to wield them.

Nathan joined Nicci near the gates as night began to fall. The dashing wizard wore black travel pants and boots beneath his white robes, as if he couldn’t decide which identity he preferred, adventurer or wizard. They watched the new Ildakaran army congregate.

“Dear spirits, it is going to be a fight.” Nathan cocked his eyebrows. “I hope the duma’s confidence is warranted. It will be a surprise all right, but I’m not certain about this idea of attacking such a huge army.”

“We are only attacking a defined portion of the camp, the large companies closest to the walls and against the hills,” Nicci said. “As long as we keep to our goal with a focused strike, cause as much damage as possible, and return behind the walls before the rest of the ancient army can rally, we might succeed.” She hardened her voice. “I plan to cause plenty of damage of my own.”

As they stood together, Nathan responded with a skeptical smile, noting her raggedly shorn hair. “Are you not just doing this out of anger because the sorceresses attacked you?”

“I never do anything merely out of anger,” she said. “But anger is a useful motivator. I have an enemy. All of Ildakar has an enemy. If General Utros defeats this city, then I’m convinced he will move on and threaten the rest of the Old World and then D’Hara. Therefore, we have to stop them here. Our goals align with the duma’s.”

“Indeed they do.” Nathan chuckled. “When dear Richard turned us loose in the Old World, I’m not sure this is what he expected.”

“The rest is going to depend on General Utros,” Nicci said.

Elsa worked her way through the crowd to join them. She wore a distracted, worried look. “I set up several transference runes here in the city, anchor spell-forms that I can use once we get out on the battlefield.” She smiled. “It should be quite a surprise.”

Hundreds of arena warriors joined the congregating army, well muscled and scantily armored because they liked the freedom of movement. They carried whatever weapons they had preferred during their exhibition battles. A group of fierce-looking morazeth walked among them, and Nicci was glad they fought on the same side now. The branded runes would protect the women against magical attacks, but their main fight would be against Utros’s thousands of hardened warriors.

Lila followed as Bannon came toward them. He carried one of the iron-tipped cudgels, but his sword also hung at his side. “We’re ready to fight.” He looked at the ever-growing crowd of armed defenders. “We all are.”

Nathan clucked his tongue. “Dear boy, this is not a game. It’s going to be hard, very hard.”

“But, we will do it,” Bannon said.

“Yes, we will. Let’s go out and fight!” said Timothy, who held a short sword in one hand and an iron-tipped cudgel in the other. “Nobody beat me during training, and no one will beat me during the attack.”

A far less enthusiastic Jed and Brock also joined the group, each wearing one of the colorful new silk cloaks provided by Lady Olgya. Neither of the brash young men seemed like much of a warrior to Nicci.

As the darkness deepened, the thousands of troops gathered, restless. From outside the walls, the enemy army could not see any of the preparations. After days of tense silence, Nicci doubted Utros would suspect this surprise move late at night. They would march out at midnight.

As the fighters organized into ranks, they received water and food. They talked among themselves, bragging about their prowess, shoring up their own bravery, while some were justifiably nervous. Most had never faced a real battle before. Nicci watched their excitement build as the duma members made their own preparations, spoke with High Captain Stuart, surveyed the large numbers of angry troops. The wizards and sorceresses of Ildakar would unleash the greatest destructive powers as part of this sortie.

She remembered other nights before Jagang’s army would launch full attacks. He would let his soldiers get drunk, gamble, go into the pleasure tents and abuse the slave women. Jagang didn’t care what his soldiers did, so long as they won the following day.

Nicci preferred more discipline. These people were fighting for Ildakar, and she had advised the duma to carefully time the charge for when their enthusiasm was at its peak but before impatience and doubts could set in.

At midnight, without pounding drums or sounding horns, the wizards removed the locking spells from the towering main gate. It took four men working together to roll back the enormous crossbar. The duma members gathered, swollen with their own magic, anger, and maybe too much confidence.

Nicci mounted the bay charger that had been provided for her, and she turned in the saddle, holding the reins. She looked impressive in front of the troops. The other powerful duma members also rode sturdy horses from Ildakar’s stables, but the long-isolated city did not have enough mounts for an entire cavalry, only for the commanders of the city guard and wealthy, gifted nobles.

The duma members were focused on one another, staring toward the enormous gate, but the aloof council was not good at rallying its people. Nicci knew how vital that was, and after a restless moment, she raised her voice. A hush fell over the thousands of fighters. “We will charge out and attack our enemies. We must strike hard, cause as much damage as possible, and ransack their camp. This blow will send them reeling.”

Although she didn’t want to alert the enemy army, she couldn’t stop the troops from responding with a resounding cheer. Quentin, Damon, and Oron turned toward her, giving an appreciative nod. Lani and Olgya were also mounted, ready to fight. Only Elsa remained on foot, near Nathan.

She drew a deep breath and continued, “Tonight Ildakar fights together, slaves, arena warriors, city guards, gifted nobles. Everyone has a stake in this.” Nicci didn’t explain her own reasons or Nathan’s, but she would do her best to lead by example. The Ildakaran defenders could rebuild their city once they were free. First, General Utros had to be defeated.

“Follow us,” Quentin shouted to all of them. “We’ve waited fifteen hundred years to fight this enemy.”

The soldiers roared their readiness to do battle, “For Ildakar!”

The huge gates swung open on titanic hinges, and the army surged like a storm out onto the moonlit battlefield.