"Are you serious, Love?" Talana asked after putting Terma down. "You're set on joining?"
She was speaking to her husband, who was currently rummaging through the storage space attached to their house. The extra room wasn't part of the original building, it was an extension made poorly using wooden boards and nails. Talana sat on a chair as she looked towards the room, she couldn't see her husband but she knew he was there due to the constant clanging of metals and scratching of woods.
"Yes! It is our duty to serve our liege, dear wife!" Yondaril exclaimed as he came out of the room with a dirty dual-blade in his hand, as well as a worn set of armor.
Talana stared confused while her husband sat all the items on the large table they had. "When did you get that?"
Yondaril stared amusedly at his wife's reaction. "It's my grandfather's, the old man was one of his late Majesty's soldiers during the heresy"
"You never told me that!" She said.
"Well…" Yondaril scratched his head. "There's no need to brag about an old piece of armor…, not during peace at least…"
Talana sighed. "We could've sold those for a fortune!"
"No! I'm not selling these!" Yondaril shouted back at her.
He might have shouted louder than he had initially thought, it stemmed from his emotions and anger. He realized it too late when his wife backed down, folding her hands and looking away. Her eyes were slightly watered, glistening due to the pouring sunlight in the room. He followed her suit, calming down and sat opposite of her.
"Look wife…, I'm sorry…"
"No..no.. it's fine…I'm too quick to say that" she said, looking at him while wiping the liquid in her eyes. "I should probably realized how important these things are for you, since it was something you inherited from your grandpop"
"Yes…, it's my fault too for not telling you about this, and I didn't even ask for your opinion about joining"
They were silent for a couple of moments.
"When will you go?" Talana asked as she broke the silence.
"Tomorrow, if things progress fast enough"
She made a bitter face. "That quick?"
"It can't be helped, the chief had already summoned recruiters in the village. All our neighbors had sent one of their members as was required"
"Can't at least delay it until market day? Two more days?" Talana asked again.
"I'm afraid they would already wanted us to march to Calenon by that point"
Talana sighed again. "At least say goodbye to Terma first, He wouldn't know when you'll be back"
"I will," Yondaril smiled. "And I will clean the fields today before dusk. Revin, Hanz's second son, would take care of them while I'm gone"
"You're leaving our field to a human?"
"He had already helped me multiple times dear, I paid him my portion of the harvest since I won't be present to eat them anyways."
"Alright dear, just…be safe and come home after this is over"
"Don't worry, I'll always come home" He promised.
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"The Keepers of Qaraka, Tyrfll, Tearelis had already begun marching with their respective armies a week ago. We projected that their rallying point will be here at Catelis" Zani pointed at a small dot on top of a crossroad on our map. "At this point, we can either believe they are closing on Calenon or camping in the village itself, scouring for supplies and provisions for a siege"
"They are besieging a city this far in the seasons? In two weeks time it will be winter" I folded my hand while taking a far look on the map.
"They must believe we are weak!" Zani exclaimed loudly.
"We should prepare, had all levies been raised?"
"The city has been militarized, my lady and so has my domain of Silveril. We should expect at most fifteen hundred men from there marching to Calenon as we speak. However, the outer villages outside those two had yet reported the total amount we had predicted"
"That's unfortunate. We had already surpassed the deadline that I had set for them" I said, that deadline was 4 days ago.
As we continued discussing the strategic situation, a runner came up to us. His mud-infested sandals stained the white marble floor of the castle.
"Your majesty! Commander!" It was Hinthor again, he was with the scouts who patrolled the countryside.
"Speak, Hinthor"
"The enemy's advanced guard could be seen from the walls!"
We both stood up from our seats. "Say again?"
"Enemies, commander! They are here!"
Alarms rang in my head, the enemy was already here, faster than I had anticipated. We stormed out of the planning room and out of the castle towards the stable. In a haste we mounted our horses and immediately traveled to the walls to get a better view.
As we rode out from the inner castle, I could see the entire atmosphere around Calenon was different. In the distance a loud horn followed by bells ringing could be heard. Civilians were closing their doors as countless levies marched towards the city walls. Barricades were being erected everywhere on the streets, they served as a stop-gap solution that would block any incoming men. Small alleys all across the city blocks were blocked to prevent any breaches.
As we reached the gate, the situation was chaotic. Thousands of people were scrambling past us as the bells atop the walls were ringing loudly. They were trying to get into the city.
"Out of the way!"
"Run! Flee for your lives!"
"Traitors! Traitors incoming!"
They didn't even know who they were passing through.
"Without the magic shield, arrows could bypass our walls and hit anyone near it" Zani said.
"Their archers had to reach our walls first for them to volley over them. While there, they are vulnerable to our own. Tell them to start manning the walls, Hinthor!"
"Yes, your majesty!" Hinthor reigned on his horse and trotted away.
My horse was getting agitated when all the noises and screams were surrounding us. He refused to move forward even as I told him, flicking his head and tapping his front legs.
"Woah!" I caressed his neck multiple times, trying to calm it down.
Zani came up to me. "It's an old Gelding my Lady. Had been with us for 20 years, but his age had caught up to him"
I grunted as I continued to caress him. After a moment, he was finally calm, but only when cantering. Anymore than that then he would agitate again.
We reach a small opening on the base of the inner wall. There was a small stair that led to the top. Quickly, we dashed there, although Zani had to take longer to climb due her old legs. I decided to not wait for her.
"Her majesty is here!" One of the men shouted.
Walking up the stairs, the men had already prepared a small opening for me to stand up on their level. As I walk towards the edge of the walls, they also move out of the way.
Out far in the horizon, I could see multiple banners being held atop a squadron of cavalry. They were light, not wearing more than a layer of leather and linen on top of their skin. Each mounted man was holding a long two handed spear, thus preventing them from holding shields in their off hand.
As they were about one thousand paces from the unprotected outer city, I held my hand higher than my head. The archers around me took it as a sign to be ready. Each took out an arrow from their quiver and drew their bow.
I looked below and that was when I saw there were still people trying to get inside. The gates were still flooding with men, women and children trying to get inside. They were already rowdy and desperate as they were before the enemy had gotten inside the slums, but now they were panicking. I saw several people who had themselves trampled below the feet of the masses. I gritted my teeth as I looked at their desperate faces.
The sounds of the enemy's galloping cavalry could be heard in my ears. Their spears were down, facing forward at our opened gate. They were serious about pushing their way through the massive wall of men.
"Archers! Loose!" My voice rang on every man near me.
In an instant they complied. They who could see the enemies below loosed the arrows at them directly while those who were at the back fired on an arch. The number of archers we had across the entire wall were no more than two thousand men; however, they were confined near the main gatehouse where the cavalry was charging. The overlapping line of sight from all archers managed to create a killing zone where the cavalrymen we're heading.
Arrows came from all directions for them as they hit their horses and bodies. The lack of sufficient armor or even shield had made the volleys more than successful. After escaping the first volley, the enemy numbered less than forty. They realized this soon after and waver, before turning back, abandoning their futile and foolish attempt.
"Look! In the trees!"
Coming out from the forest miles away from Calenon were men numbered in the thousands. Their banners and clothes were diverse in color, some were green, blue, orange, yellow and red. Most of them wore no more than linen and wool clothes and carried short spears as they marched roughly in formation. Their collective steps rocked the ground below and sent a thunderous sound of thumps reaching even to us, several miles from them.
"By the moon" Zani said next to me.
In the front were three men surrounded by squadrons of armored cavalry.
"Qaraka, Tyrfll, and Tearelis"
They wore fancy and shining sets of armor that made them stand out from most, even to their personal cavalry bodyguard. Qaraka looked young, his stature looked thin and his armor weighed heavily on him. In comparison, Tyrfll was muscular than most of his bodyguards, his scar-infested old face was framed by his white beard and mustache. Tearelis was somewhere between the two and conformed neatly among his men.
I quickly darted my eyes in search of Runford, but I couldn't find him. If he wanted to show his legitimacy and skill then it would be ideal for him to lead the army himself, but that wasn't the case. Instead, I suspect these three keepers might be mere opportunists, exploiting the post succession instability to gain power.
Some men behind me were trembling as they looked at an army roughly four times our size. Others stared at them blankly, unable to process the massive legions of enemies in front of them.
The last leg of the peasants had finally passed the gates, which made it possible for my troops to close and lock the gates. It was then reinforced with a mesh of steel strapped onto the walls themselves. The ground before the gate was glowing with runic symbols, it was Rana's trap. when she willed it, a magical fire would erupt.
"My men didn't make it…" Zani squirmed her hands tightly.
Our reinforcements of one thousand and five hundred men from Silveril were probably intercepted or killed by the enemy. That was the only logical prediction Zani and I had come up with. It was unfortunate to lose such number of men.
"Brace yourself, they're heading here" I said calmly.
"No, they're stopping. Look!" Zani beside me said.
Although the enemy had masked their rear ranks with rows upon rows of men in formation. From the vantage point in my walls, I could see them unpacking massive supplies from horse carts that were following the army. The carts were filled to the brim with clothes, foods, planks of wood and other equipment.
"They're preparing for a siege," Zani said.
"As expected"
"At this time? The air is already spiking through my skin. The first snow had already appeared two days prior, my lady. The trees had discarded their leaves, there won't be any chance to forage for food" Zani braced herself with her two hands hugging her body, we hadn't prepared winter clothes for her.
Then I remembered that my men had also not received Winter clothing. Such insufficient clothing in winter had been known to cause massive casualties for all parties, many examples in Earth's history had made that clear.
I turned to look at my men as well as messengers that would send my message to the rest of the wall section.
"Maintain a steady number of three full banners on the walls. For the first three banners, they shall fetch their sheepskin and leather attire and come back to let others rest. They shall be replaced at a constant pace of one third of a day"
Three banners should mount the walls at all times for 8 hours, with that, about one thousand men would be on guard at all times. It should be sufficient enough to guard the entire wall section. While they were severely outnumbered if the enemy launched a full assault, they could alert the other six banners who would stand idle near the walls.
"At haste men!" Zani said after I was finished. "Heraclic's first and second banners shall be the first one to garrison alongside Riana's archer's first"
The messengers nodded and the men quickly moved as Zani finished. Over the next few minutes, the walls were busy with troops shouting and moving through the narrow platform. After waiting, Heraclic's and Riana's men now were the ones only on top of the walls. It looked less cramped now with most of the men had left.
Zani looked at me after we finished. "We should get you your winter clothes, your majesty"
It dawned on me that I had been wearing my regular clothes this whole time just like Zani. Despite that, I wasn't feeling the slight bit of cold. In fact, I had never felt external chills this entire time.
Zani led me before I could protest and we stepped down from the walls.
As we were about to fetch our horses, a couple of peasants escorted by a guard came our way.
"Your majesty" said the guard. "They had something they want to discuss with you"
"Your majesty!" The old man who led the group said promptly. "We were from the lower city, we had escaped just on time. But now, we had nowhere to shelter against the night and the winter!"
"Please, your majesty! Help us!"
Their subsequent begging made me startled.
"Hold on!" I said as they shut their mouths after. "Had the temple not provided sufficient shelter for all of you?"
The old man shook his head. "There's no way we could live without trampling over other's living space, your majesty! I would be suffocating if I were inside that place! It was very crowded!!" His tone and face could win him an acting award if it was modern day.
"Then ask the citizens in the upper if they could provide shelter" I said while looking at the guard. "Made it clear to the scribes that all who provided shelter for those who were displaced shall be compensated once the siege has been lifted"
He nodded. "Yes, your majesty"
With that, he led all the peasants back to their quarters and let us go to our own matters.
As Zani and I led our horses through the streets, I realized how chaotic the situations were. There were men left in the streets, judging by how they dressed, all were from the lower city, now being forced to leave their homes. While I had decreed the order, it was most likely they hadn't heard the announcement yet.
Some of them we passed while riding our horses.
"Majesty…"
"Commander…"
They hobbled their way across the street, caring no more than necessary for us.
"With respect, Eli" Zani began whispering to me. "I don't think most of the rich folks are keen on providing beds to the poor. We should've let them inside the castle ground. Even just the garden would be enough to house three or even five thousand of them by their sheer size"
"It's not that we can't let them in, Master Zani. But I'm afraid not all of them only seek shelter"
"Are you this paranoid, Eli? To suspect that a spy would hide amongst the peasants?" Zani blurted.
"It is necessary, Master Zani! Last time I was in that place I was almost hit by an arrow! Have you forgotten?"
Zan I didn't answer, just looking away. "It's your wish then, your majesty"
===============================
We arrived back at the castle. It was quieter now, with most of the guards and the troops on the walls. Going inside, most of the servants were on leave to spend the rest of winters with their families. Father's servants were all discharged and mother's were with her in her palace. There, in the planning room, I met with Yohan and Sera covered head to toe with their black outfit and we're about to jump out of a window, when they noticed me.
"Your majesty" Yohan said, bowing with Sera following suit.
"Where are you both going?"
"Dad and I are going to infiltrate the enemy camp! Can you believe that Eli? My first mission! Well…if being with you for 6 years doesn't count as one" Sera said with her cheerful tone.
Shifting my gaze to Yohan, I saw him nodding his head.
He looked old behind his mask and hood, older than even Zani, who was more than four hundred years old. I guess humans in the middle ages also aged fast like him. His skin was loose and some of his white hair was visible. His entire body was also bending forward a little bit, a far sight from his straight and powerful stature when I first saw him.
"We are going to disguise ourselves as villagers and bring them some food in order to get in. Then, we shall decide which method of sabotage was preferable."
"Did father always let you loose like this?"
Yohan straightened up. "I'm sorry, your highness?"
"Did my father always let you do as you wish, Master Yohan?" I repeated my question.
After some silence with him staring at me, he finally answered. "mostly…yes"
I sighed. "If so then, do as you wish"
"Thank you for your blessings you majesty" he bowed again. "We shall also operate autonomously behind the enemy camp, misguiding foraging parties and maybe alerting your troops if there were moveme-."
"Yohan" I stopped him.
"Yes?"
"I have only one directive if you managed to get inside the camp" I said, firmly. "find and kill Runford" I looked at his sword, which was neatly sheltered and encased in the sheath.
"Alright your majesty"
With that, they are gone. Sera waved her hand at me after she jumped from the window. They both landed and swam across the ditch that was encasing the castle walls of Calenon. They didn't say what their routes were, and I don't feel like they wanted to tell me either.
I heard Zani snorting behind me. "Didn't even bother to greet me, how heartless men can be"
I didn't answer her, as I focused my eyes on the horizon where the enemy was currently trying to set up their camps. Countless legions trying stand against me and my dream, they shall fall
"Prepare warms clothes, Master Zani, this will be a long winter"