Chains of a Dark Goddess (35 page)

“No,” said Harmulkot. “Esha absolutely
cannot
carry my qavra. Not under
any
circumstances. The city will be fine, Aleui. And we must take this risk. We have little choice.”

“I’m just worried,” Aleui said. “And I’ve never even been out of Mûlkra before.”

“Never?” Esha asked.

“A priestess stays busy. And I am the youngest high priestess in many, many years. I have never had a chance to roam the land as you have.”

“Sounds boring.”

“I have never thought it so. I have always been devoted to this city and its people, to helping them and to serving Lady Harmulkot.”

“Go swiftly and unseen,” said Breskaro. “Bring back what you can.”

Aleui and Esha climbed into a giant saddle they had rigged onto Mot’s back. 

“I will send a message to you,” said Harmulkot, “when we are a day’s ride away from returning.”

Chapter 51

Kedimius walked beside Breskaro as he surveyed the operation of the trebuchets.

“The crews are good,” said Kedimius.

“We’re lucky to have them, and they’ve been training hard since I arrived. I just wish we had more machines. The city never prepared for the crusade, even though they knew it was coming. The people fought amongst themselves and simply accepted their eventual defeat.”

On their side of the rockslide, Breskaro had tireless undead crews digging a deep trench which would prevent a cavalry charge anywhere except for a bottleneck straight through the middle. Infantry could climb the trench, but it would slow them considerably and leave them vulnerable to attack from above. It would give the Mûlkrans less territory to defend and their archers more time to work. If the Mûlkrans were good at one thing, it was archery. Without their archers and their highly defensible position, the city would have fallen to invaders long ago.

“What do you think of the ballistas?”

Kedimius nodded his approval. “The Mûlkrans have the finest machines in the land, but again, they are too few. Did you rip these from the walls?”

“Only four are field pieces. The other twelve were on the walls. We converted them.”

“So you decided from the first to fight them in the pass?”

“I knew what this city’s capabilities were before I took up Harmulkot’s offer. I ordered scouting reports of the city before we began the Second Crusade. At the time, I thought Mûlkra should be our first priority.”

“But it was the weakest of our neighbors.”

“Also, the one hardest to take if all our enemies should rally or if the city should have a resurgence.”

“The Matriarch should have listened to you.”

“She will regret it now. When I am done here, I will take this war to her.”

Kedimius frowned. “You would wage war all across the land? Who would be in the wrong then?”

“I meant that personally. I don’t expect the Mûlkrans to help me. Just my Valiants and a few hundred raised warriors. Once Orisala is saved, you may see her to safety and I will take care of the Seshallans. I will see the Matriarch cast down. If I perish in the process, so be it.”

“Can anything truly kill you?”

Breskaro looked at him with a malevolent spark in his eyes. “Without the qavra that is my heart, this body would perish. Whether that would send me into death, or whether I would ghost the earth as a wraith, I cannot say. I think the latter, based on what the Keeper of Death told me. I think my will alone can keep me here. Only magic could destroy or banish me.”

“The power of the priestesses—”

“Is strong, but I am stronger. I am prepared now. What Ilsimia did to me was unexpected.”

“Do you have any spells that will aid the battle?”

“Obscuring mists and spells that will aid me directly. I can only use so much magic at once. I have my limitations.”

Two more shots from the trebuchets went over, followed by another volley of arrows. The trebuchets had gone all through the night.

“Will you run out of arrows?”

“We have plenty enough for this, and enough stones for the trebuchet as well.”

“Where will you be when the battle starts?”

“In the tunnels again, with my Valiants.”

“You don’t think they’ll block the passage?”

“I expect them to. And I expect that will make them overconfident.”

“What about Harmulkot and Esha? Where will they be? Why haven’t I seen them these last few days?”

Breskaro said nothing.

“I hate that damn mask,” Kedimius said. “I can’t tell what you’re thinking.”

“I’m currently smiling. I am always smiling beneath it.”

“You don’t trust me, do you?”

“I trust you, Kedimius, but there are some things you will simply have to discover as they unfold.”

“So what would you have me do in battle? I can’t lead any of the Mûlkran units.”

Breskaro placed a hand on Kedimius’ shoulder. “I would have you ride beside me once again.”

“That, I will do gladly.”

“Until that time comes, I would have your assistance in looking over all the defenses I have arrayed here. If you see anything amiss, let me know.”

“Yes, master.”

“I am not your master anymore. I am your friend.”

~~~

Breskaro met with Whum and Councilor Arkiss. Kedimius went with him.

“Gentlemen, I need to increase the size of my undead army.”

“You can’t use the cemetery,” Arkiss said. “It would destroy morale.”

“Not my plan. Most of the bodies would be too decayed to be effective. No, I have something better in mind.”

“Another trap?” Whum asked.

“Prisoners. We will execute every prisoner held within the city.”

“That’s maybe a thousand men,” Arkiss replied, “now that Whum has released his pick back into the city.”

“See that they’re gathered in the Colosseum. I will send in some of my undead warriors to kill them.”

“Easy enough,” Arkiss said. “Anything else?”

“Round up all the infirm, the diseased, the dying. Send them to the Colosseum as well. Best for you to do this, Whum. Keep it quiet.”

Whum and Arkiss stared at him, aghast.

“
You can’t
!” Kedimius shouted.

“Why not?” Breskaro replied coldly. It seemed fair and logical to him.

“It’s despicable.”

“To ask the dying and helpless to be of some use in defending their city? To give their lives
meaning
?”

Kedimius grabbed Breskaro by the collar and pulled him close enough that his nose brushed against the bronze mask. Breskaro’s hand fell upon the hilt of a dagger he kept in his belt.

“If I see a single woman or child among the dead, I
will
kill you, Breskaro Varenni. Bad enough that you allow a child to be your shield-maiden, but you will
not
kill sick children and animate their corpses. And you will slay no sick or dying man who doesn’t volunteer. Have I made myself
clear
?”

The two stared at one another for several long moments before Breskaro released the dagger’s hilt and said, “Arkiss, the prisoners.”

Arkiss nodded and departed quickly. 

“Whum, the sick and dying. Do it like the boy wants.”

“What about those who can’t speak for themselves?”

“Ask their closest kin,” Kedimius replied.

Whum departed with a wry grin on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. As soon as he was gone, Breskaro broke away from Kedimius, grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him from the ground.

Breskaro’s eyes flared and his voice seethed with anger. “Who’s in charge here?”

“You ... are...” Kedimius choked out.

Breskaro dropped him. “You’re playing with death, confronting me like that. My temper is short, my connection to my humanity frail. What you did was dangerous. I nearly killed you when you grabbed me. It was foolish.”

Rubbing his throat, Kedimius responded hoarsely, “Someone has to be your conscience. Thought I’d give it a try.”

~~~

The Issalian host gathered before a three-story platform at the top of which stood General Togisi and High Priestess Blasidia. A cold wind howled through the pass whipping a drizzle of snow across the army. The slaughter within Kerokar Pass had decimated morale. That the bodies that weren’t mangled nearly beyond recognition had disappeared had sown fear. Now rumors were spreading that they would soon be battling their dead comrades.

“We have come here for the final crusade of our generation!” General Togisi shouted. “Four crusades have spread our faith far and wide. We expanded Issalia’s borders, stamped out heathen ways, and made the world a better place for our children. Now we must do so once again. 

“We have come here to rid the world of the most vile city ever known to mankind. We will burn away its corruption and renew this land. 

“Yes, we will face here a seeming of our former comrade, Breskaro Varenni, a man we all admire. But what we face is nothing more than a husk animated by demonic spirits. They want to demoralize us by desecrating his body. But we won’t let them ruin his memory. We will avenge him! 

“The Goddess is with us. No matter what you see, stand strong. The enemy would have us flee in fear, but courage and faith in Seshalla are greater weapons than sorcery. We far outnumber them. We have more skill and better equipment. Most importantly, we have divine justice on our side.

“Lastly, my friends, I am happy to do battle alongside you again. I see so many familiar faces. It warms my heart. But I must tell you: After this crusade, I’m retiring.”

Boos and murmurs spread throughout the army.

“I know, I know. You would see me fight until my skin is shredded parchment, my bones brittle and arthritic, my voice silent, but my eyes still alight with passion.”

The men cheered.

“But my days as a warrior have come to an end. After this, I am done. So fight with me my friends, one last time. Fight with me in Seshalla’s name! Let us conquer Mûlkra! Let us avenge the memory of Sir Varenni and honor our Goddess! 

“We claim this land for Seshalla!”

An outpouring of cheers followed and after several minutes, Togisi stepped back and let Blasidia step forward. She quieted them all and said:

“Gathered host, you are all blessed in the name of Seshalla and charged to execute her will on this land, to purify that which is corrupt. Spare all women and children who submit to the Goddess. And spare any man who lays down his arms and swears to follow Seshalla and gives up his possessions. All else you should purify by blade and fire.

“In battle for the Goddess, your sins are forgiven, even the worst transgressions are forgiven a man who gives up his life in her service. Fear not death, for Paradise awaits all who bravely fight in the name of Seshalla.”

Priestess Blasidia lifted a large crystal matrix in one hand and a crystal-tipped staff in the other. She recited a blessing over the army, and when the soldiers repeated the prayer in unison, they did so with vigor. Even those among them who had come for riches found themselves inspired. They forgot, for the moment, about the slaughter that had taken place within Kerokar Pass. They forgot, for the moment, about the missing bodies and the rumors that they would have to battle the dead.

~~~

General Togisi directed the assault from the rear of the army at the back of the pass. He would hold his First Lancers and the Second and Third Lancers back in reserve along with his top infantry units. He knew Breskaro would have some trick in mind, so he held back his best to respond to it.

The day before, a few scouts had survived long enough to get a glimpse at what awaited them: the entire Mûlkran army beyond a set of trenches designed to block and channel cavalry. Now the two armies could see one another over the last of the rubble.

Covered by fellow soldiers with shields aloft, crews rushed forward grabbing stones. Arrows streamed across at them, but for the first time, the Issalian army returned fire, sending their own volleys over. Most of their arrows fell short, their bows lacking the range of the Mûlkran recurves. Those that found their mark stuck into the flesh of the undead. The Mûlkran trebuchets, and now ballistas as well, continued to bombard the Issalians. The Issalian army was losing hundreds of men as they cleared the rubble, but there was nothing to be done for it.

“What are our prospects?” Blasidia asked Togisi. She had stayed beside General Togisi, along with all of her fellow battle priestesses.

“According to my scouts, the entire Mûlkran army awaits us beyond the rubble, along with Breskaro leading their pitifully small contingent of cavalry. The fight will be tough, but we will prevail. And if we win here, the city will be guarded by no more than a small militia of women and children and old men. It is likely they would surrender immediately.”

“I see their undead warriors in the front. I don’t understand how the people of Mûlkra can tolerate such evil.”

“They’re wicked heathens following a wicked goddess.” Togisi shrugged. “It’s going to be difficult for our men to fight men they knew who are now animated back to life. But if we can get to Breskaro and kill him, perhaps these terrible creatures will fade away.”