The King's Ring (The Netherworld Gate Book 2) (17 page)

Redbeard jumped up and slapped his brother in the face. “Pinhead, can you hear me?”

Pinhead didn’t move.

The longboat pitched to the side as Garrett pulled himself into the boat. The big man reached out with one bear-like paw and pulled Redbeard out of his way. He flipped Pinhead onto his back and moved his head in close, tilting his ear down to Pinhead’s mouth.

“Don’t just sit there, row you blasted curs!” Sorbiy hollered.

The others set to the oars, propelling the longboat out from the middle of the battle. Kelden didn’t row. He let the oar slip from his fingers and he stumbled over to watch as Garret pressed his hands on Pinhead’s chest and pushed. The little dwarf jolted and a bit of water gushed out. Garret pushed again and again. Redbeard stepped forward, but Sorbiy held him back.

“Give him space,” Sorbiy said. “He knows what he is doing.”

The large man continued to work fervently, but the dwarf showed no response. Pinhead lay still and his skin lost its color. Soon, Garret sat back on his haunches and shook his head. “It’s no use,” he whispered. “He swallowed too much water.” He turned and placed a hand on Redbeard’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. There is nothing more to be done for him.”

Redbeard started shouting unintelligibly and he balled up his fist and decked the large human square in the jaw. Garret took the blow and shook his head. Redbeard lunged in, punching and kicking Garret in the chest. Garret made no move to block him, he let the dwarf work out his fury until the sopping wet, black-haired dwarf fell on his brother’s body, sobbing and wailing.

“Garret is the best there is,” Sorbiy told Kelden. “If anyone could have revived the dwarf, it would be him.” Kelden nodded and watched helplessly. “Go back to your seat and help the others row,” Sorbiy said softly.

Redbeard shoved Garrett aside and yelled something in Peish, the language of the dwarves. He raised his fist high into the air and came down hard on Pinhead’s chest. The dwarf convulsed and then made a gurgling sound as a rush of water erupted from his throat and splashed across Redbeard’s face.

“Do that again!” Garrett ordered.

Redbeard punched his brother in the same spot. More water came flooding out.

Pinhead opened his eyes and rolled to his side, vomiting up copious amounts of sea water and gasping for air.

“Pinhead! Can you hear me?” Redbeard shouted.

Pinhead nodded and turned slowly to look up at Redbeard. “I don’t much like the sea,” he said.

Everyone shared a quick, light hearted laugh of relief as Redbeard scolded his brother saying, “Well, ya ain’t supposed to drink it ya dumb oaf!”

Kelden moved back and set himself to the oar. The cover of the rain and smoke helped them row out from the middle of the battle. All around them ships collided together. The Zinferth vessels broke apart with great force, sending wood and men out into the water as the deafening thunder above masked the screams and shouts of the battle. Arrows flew in all directions, but none of the ships seemed concerned with the longboat that Kelden and the others were using.

A flash of lightning struck the sea water, illuminating the massive waves driven in by the winds. The longboat rose up over the crest of a giant wave and then crashed down into the trough between waves, throwing all on the boat to the floor between the benches.

“We need to make for the coast,” someone shouted.

“The winds might help drive us there, but we’ll have to put our backs into it!” Sorbiy shouted. “Oars in!”

It was late afternoon when Queen Dalynn heard the alarm bells ringing throughout her city. She went to the window in the tower she was in and looked out, spotting the ships as she looked out over the sea. She looked down to see her soldiers rushing to get into place. A moment later, a porter burst into the room.

“We are under attack!”

Queen Dalynn turned and waved him away. “The officers know what to do,” she said.

The man bowed respectfully and rushed from the small chamber.

Within a few minutes she could hear the shouts of the catapult crews as they began firing once the enemy ships came into range. Thunderous booms erupted as the stones struck their targets, exploding the wood and kicking sailors up into the air. Five of the enemy ships now had large holes, crippling them and halving their speed. The other ships sailed past and toward the docks, but Dalynn smiled with confidence. Even if the ships reached the docks, she had a surprise waiting for them. She had had her men set ten large wooden barrels on each of the thirteen docks, and each wooden barrel was large enough to conceal one soldier, armed with a deadly crossbow. The enemy would not be ready for such a surprise.

More booms erupted as the second volley of stones was loosed from the catapults, hitting three more of the enemy ships. This time, each of the struck vessels broke into pieces and sank into the sea. Queen Dalynn smiled, but it was tempered by her knowledge that her men would not be able to fire a third volley. Even from her tower she spotted the long, solid missiles fired from the ships. Two of the great catapults were struck directly and crumpled to the ground in a pile of rubble and dust. She could hear the shouts and orders of her men as they scrambled for cover to shield them from the large missiles of the enemy ballistae. A minute later a large cloud of arrows rained down on the remaining catapult crews, killing nearly all of them. The soldiers on the wall stood ready, far out of range of the invading armada’s arrows. They watched carefully, waiting for the right moment to give the signal to their hiding counterparts.

The Shausmatian ships pulled into the docks and men jumped over the railing and down to the wooden docks. They rushed on, ignoring the many barrels nearby, ready to crush their foe. A bugle sounded from the wall and all of the hidden crossbowmen opened their barrels and fired into the opposing forces. Queen Dalynn heard the call of “charge” from her soldiers. Thousands of Zinferth men rushed down to the docks to join their struggling comrades.

Cries rang out as soldiers fell left and right. The queen turned her head to avoid watching the utter carnage that had started, but she could still hear the clamor. She had seen just enough to know that the barrel strategy had worked extremely well. Each crossbowman was able to fire twice, and some of them managed to fire three times before having to abandon the crossbow and engage their enemy with the sword. It had devastated the morale of the enemy. Some of them had refused to leave their ships, and some were too surprised to react quickly enough to escape death.

She could hear the thunderous hooves of her knights riding fast and hard to join the fight. Dalynn raised her eyes and surveyed the docks and warehouse district below, searching for Sir Alexander’s banner. She saw him, along with his knights, tearing into the southern flank and trampling over the Shausmatians with ease. She breathed easy when she saw the enemy soldiers turn and flee from before him. The invaders had not even made it more than twenty yards into the warehouse district before being turned back. Dalynn’s soldiers fought fervently to protect their beloved homeland, and with the knights entering the battle it was beginning to look like an easy victory.

The scene of blood continued for the space of an hour, and then the Shausmatian troops were defeated. The invading army had been utterly destroyed, although not without heavy losses on the Zinferth side. Nearly an hour passed before the queen received the official report. Of her ten thousand valiant warriors, four thousand were slain, another fifteen hundred were wounded, and forty seven were unaccounted four. Of the enemy they had taken thirteen prisoners. During the battle, most of the enemy ships were damaged and would require heavy repairs in order to use, but the soldiers were able to salvage three of the larger ships and bring them safely into the docks. The damaged ships were unloaded of their provisions and any usable equipment that could be found. Then, the bodies of all of the dead were put onto the damaged ships and set adrift with a steady wind at their backs, driving them to the south. A flurry of flaming arrows were then shot at the departing vessels to ensure they would not crash onto the shore nearby. It was not the funeral service Queen Dalynn would have normally arranged for her fallen warriors, but it saved a tremendous amount of time that would have otherwise been spent trying to dig graves for thousands of bodies.

Victory had been a blessing that day, yet she felt sorrowful instead of joyous.

Karmt looked at her with sober eyes and spoke softly. “The ships came in from the north,” he said. “If that is the case, then it is almost certain that Admiral Crillion has been defeated at sea.”

Queen Dalynn’s head hung low as she let the parchment slip from her hand and fall to the floor. It seemed as if her heart fell with that parchment, for she understood that if the enemy had made it to her city by sea, then Kelden was dead and lying at the bottom of the sea, and her letter for Governor Pixier along with him. “So it would seem,” she replied.

“Furthermore, I can only assume that they first stopped in Khatthun,” Karmt added.

“Perhaps they sailed by the city, without …” Dalynn’s words trailed off and she left her thought hanging in the air.

“My queen, I don’t mean to pry, but can I know what your task was for Kelden in Khatthun?”

Queen Dalynn turned slowly and met the old man with teary eyes. “I have a son.”

“What of the prince?”

Dalynn shook her head and wiped a tear from her eye. “No, not the crown prince. I am talking of another.”

Karmt stammered, “Queen Dalynn, what are you talking about?”

“I was young, but old enough that I grew tired of my husband’s treatment. I found comfort in the arms of another, one who served in the court.”

“Sir Alexander,” Karmt surmised. “That is why he was sent away?”

“My husband could never prove that I had been involved with another, but he noticed the stolen glances between me and Sir Alexander. He sent him away from Kobhir for some time – transferred him to the southern border.. During the pregnancy, my husband wasn’t the least interested in the idea of a child, for he never believed it to be his. He was so busy drinking himself into a stupor the night I was in labor, it was easy to purchase the silence of the midwife, and he never knew that I gave birth to twins. I sent one of the newborns away that very night to prevent my husband from corrupting both of them. I secreted the younger away to Khatthun, where Sir Alexander’s cousin raised the boy. The crown prince is the older of the two, and has been raised as an only child since the day of his birth.” Queen Dalynn frowned and shook her head as a tear slipped down her left cheek. “But the crown prince he has been tainted by his father, just as I feared. He holds the same greed and callous spirit that my husband did.”

Dalynn walked to the opposite side of the chamber to look out the other window. She hoped that the view of the calm, serene desert sands would console her aching heart, but she was not so lucky. As she looked out to the desert, a large, yellow cloud of dust covered the road and advanced toward her western gates. She could not accurately ascertain the size of the army en route to her city, but she could tell from the size of the dust cloud that there were at least several thousand. They were riding fast, eager to test their mettle against the capitol of Zinferth. The queen let a tear slip down her cheek.

Within a moment she steeled her resolve and rang a small, brass bell.

“What is it?” Karmt asked.

Queen Dalynn turned and held a finger in the air to silence him.

A young servant entered the room and bowed low. “You rang, milady,” his voice called from the doorway.

“We are being assaulted from the west,” she started. “Get down to the men and signal for defenses to be prepared along the western wall.”

“It shall be done immediately.”

Karmt quickly stepped to the window and leaned out. “Gods be merciful,” he whispered.

*****

“More enemies have been sighted coming in from the west,” the young page announced as he gasped for breath.

“How many?” Sir Alexander barked as he wiped his sword clean on an enemy corpse before sheathing it and climbing atop his steed.

“At least three thousand, according to the queen’s servant,” the boy replied.

“Very well,” Alexander replied. “Jaidor, you alert the militia. I want them to carry the scorpion launchers to the western wall. You will stay with them and fire upon the enemy as soon as they are in range.”

“Yes sir,” Jaidor complied. Then he rode off with all haste to carry out his assignment.

“Ret, I want you to take control of the foot-soldiers. Take every soldier who can fight to the western gate. After Jaidor has fired three volleys I want you to open the gates and march the company out to the enemy.”

“Sir, wouldn’t it be better to hold our positions here? If we keep the gate closed, then Jaidor can continue to fire upon the enemy as the Shausmatian forces build their siege gear.”

“Lieutenant, if I wanted your advice, I would ask for it,” Alexander snapped.

“If we open the gate the enemy will decide to charge,” Ret protested.

“I am counting on it,” Alexander said confidently. I will take the knights around the city, along the southern wall. As soon as the enemy is within fifty yards of your company I want you to sound your bugle three times. On your signal I will charge the knights straight into the enemy’s flank. I want to end this fight decisively and quickly.”

“As you command,” Ret said with a bowed head. He felt foolish for questioning his commander’s judgment. “All of you footmen follow me,” Ret shouted to the group. The orders disseminated throughout the thousands of men on the shoreline and the company was quick to make their way to the western wall.

“Let’s move out,” Alexander shouted to the knights. “We have some hunting to do.”

A chorus of cheers erupted from the heavily armored riders as they fell into formation and followed their commander around the southern wall. The group rode slowly enough so as not to churn up a large cloud of dust. This plan depended on catching the enemy by surprise.

*****

A large, black haired Shausmatian officer surveyed the battlefield before him. He could see a path to the gates of Kobhir, but there were already so many men felled by Zinferth arrows that it seemed a lost cause. The screams of dying men filled Horatt’s ears as large missiles pounded his men from the walls of Kobhir. Still, Horatt had an objective to accomplish.

“Keep moving forward men,” Horatt shouted over the din. “Bring the rams to the front!”

“We’ll never make it to the walls, they have scorpion launchers sir,” Getl, Horatt’s lieutenant cried out.

“Mind your tongue, lieutenant,” Horatt scolded. “We number seven thousand strong.” Horatt turned around in his horse and surveyed the men. “Simon, King Sarito’s chief advisor, gave me command of the seven thousand men because of my successful assault on Blundfish.”

“Yes, sir,” Getl replied quickly.

“I should think I know how to conquer this city as well. It will take more than a few oversized spears to push me away from victory.”

“I wish I had stayed with Captain Joreg back in Blundfish,” Getl muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Horatt asked.

“Nothing, sir, just said I couldn’t wait to take Kobhir.”

Horatt snorted. He knew what Getl had said. Truth was he mostly agreed with his lieutenant. Still, as the commanding officer, he had to put on a show of complete and utter conviction. Anything less would sap the morale of his men. “The orders are clear. Move forward and take Kobhir at all costs!” Horatt shouted.

Soon he spied the rams emerging from the ranks. The two machines had been built the night before, but they were solid. The head of each ram was fitted with metal plating to protect the striking end. Normally, battering rams would be fashioned so that the striking heads resembled that of a mountain goat, but this mission required speed, not fancy artistry and metalwork. A crude roof had been fashioned to protect the rams and their operators from arrows and other missiles from the walls. The large, heavy wheels creaked and groaned as they rolled across the harsh, hard-packed desert sand.

“On to the gates, we stop for nothing,” Horatt yelled. The thundering horde broke into a chorus of yells and cheers. Eventually the cheers broke into a battle song, dedicated to Basei.

Out in the fields of war,

Our sword we draw for thee,

Basei our God of War,

Let your rage dwell in me.

The blood of foes we spill,

To conquer lands unknown,