Chapter 4 - A Battle
"The fungus and muck they depend on has a very short lifespan without
light, and it is likely they know that a no light means no food," Graeme
said. "We need to return to town and speak to the mayor, and we should,
thankfully, have time enough to do that. The orb will help us get
through to her, despite how busy she is.""I'll go by air," said Sparrow. "No point dawdling. I'll wait for you both at the inn, though, since you'll be able to handle the formalities better, Graeme."
Graeme nodded. Sparrow took off, and Graeme and Annette mounted their horses. "This will be valuable rough riding experience for you, Annette!" said Graeme as they got their horses moving, "Good luck!"
Despite the somewhat risky pace the pair set through the forest, Sparrow reached the inn long before them. She even had time for a meal, a quick clean, and to stash away most of the loot (she kept the orb with her, however) in their room. Graeme and Annette eventually arrived, their tired horses taken by the inn's overworked stable boy.
The party headed to the mayor's home, a large house near the centre of town - in fact, it was directly opposite the town hall. They approached the guard out front, who looked at them inquisitively.
"If you're new in town, no need to pay your respects to the mayor, even if you're famous," he said. "She's got too much to do with organising various logistical needs for the town already! Unless your merchants hawking food or tents or other useful things, though from the look of it you're not."
Graeme smiled. "We're not famous, but I am a knight. Annette here is my squire, and Sparrow is a mercenary who is working with us," Graeme said. The guard was looking at Sparrow's wings in interest.
"It's rare to see a winged one around here, and far rarer to meet one," he said. "I hope you don't have some long story of adventure or dispute to be settled; her ladyship the mayor instructed that such matters be put off no matter how serious for at least two days."
"We bring this," said Graeme, indicating to Sparrow. She pulled out the orb, and it lit the entire square brightly. A few people - passing through the square - turned and stared.
The guard had thrown up his arms when the orb lit itself, and through them he mumbled, "I see. Or, rather, I would if it were not so damn bright! Can you turn the bloody thing off for a minute?"
Sparrow obliged, tossing and catching the orb, causing it to extinguish. "Thank you," said the guard. "Where'd that come from?"
"From a lair of the creatures accessible only through an entrance high up a cliff," said Sparrow. "In a ruin of long gone visitors to this world."
The guard's demeanour changed slightly, as he realised the good news. "So the creatures will now starve? Wait," he said, pausing as he realised the bad news. "They will be defeated finally when we kill them this time, or at least, there will be far fewer. This is good news, but perhaps also a worry. Please, follow. I'll see you in."
The guard unlocked and opened the door, letting the group in. He locked the door behind him, and said, "This way."
He led them up a stair case - and past a couple of servants - and knocked upon a door on the second floor. "Ma'am, I bring adventurers with very important tidings about the creatures!" he called out.
A faint sigh came through the door, followed by, "Alright, let them in."
The party was let in, and the guard closed the door and marched off, back to his post. The mayor sat at a desk, scribbled numbers covering a piece of paper in front of her. She was the second cousin of the baron - her grandfather had been given the town to run by his brother - and there was a surprisingly strong family resemblance. She shared the baron's hooked nose and large, broad stature, and his brown hair (though she wore it long and over her shoulders, rather than short).
"Please tell me you have done something that ends this - or will end it soon," she said. "Organising food for so many people - not only knights and adventurers, but many of the surrounding farmsteads are currently abandoned - is becoming a nightmare. And shelter, that too is becoming... uncertain."
The party approached the desk, and Sparrow carefully rolled the orb out of her sack onto the mayor's desk. "This orb lit a cave deep in the moutains, accessible only by air," said Graeme.
The mayor reached out and touched the orb. She shrieked when it lit, but Sparrow (expecting such a move) had been ready to tap it out. "It lights when it is touched," Sparrow said.
The mayor stared at the orb thoughtfully, and said, "Alright. Introduce yourselves, and describe what you found."
After Sparrow finished retelling her adventure, and Graeme his concerns, the mayor - Lady Rhiona Laudian, which Graeme had unfortunately forgotten prior to the introductions - sat back in her chair, and hmm'd deeply. "It seems a simple matter to resolve this," she said, "Although forgive me for suspecting that there might be other caves, or other ways for the creatures to survive and continue to plague us. The good baron will keep his reward in hold for you until we are sure they are all - or mostly - dead."
"I suppose that is wise," said Graeme. Annette quickly hid her annoyance, and Sparrow chuckled softly.
"Thank you for this report, however. There are two more matters: please leave the orb here, to be passed on to the baron, who will pass it on to the duke. Secondly, please attend the muster I shall call tomorrow morning, as I will find something to reward you with, in exchange for this orb and your efforts. And feel free to keep the other things you found in the ruin, whatever they may be; this is quite likely the reason the creatures have for so long plagued this town, not those." The mayor smiled pleasantly. "Is there anything particular you would like? I can easily provide coin - the treasury here is only slowly depleting (though I suspect tomorrow will be another matter)."
"Coin, or the aid of a good blacksmith in fixing up our gear," said Graeme.
"Expensive booze for me," said Sparrow. "Do you have a bottle of aged Souduchy whiskey, by any chance?"
The party sat at the inn, eating. They were surrounded by interested folks - Rassette and Evan included - who were occasionall asking questions, and listening as the tale was retold. Sparrow was carefully drinking in moderation (unusual, for her) to ensure she was able to help in the next day's effort. She had, however, been unable to resist sampling a little from one of the three bottles of Souduchy's finest fifteen or so year old whiskey she had been given.
Lady Rhiona had called a muster the next morning, and was organising for everyone in town - knight, adventurer, guard, and as many villagers as were willing - to sweep through the forest and wipe out the creatures as the emerged. It was well known that the creatures were mostly inactive at night, with dark everywhere (and not just in their tunnels). All were to assemble by half an hour before dawn, so most were planning an early night.
This did not, however, stop them from pestering the party with questions for hours on end. Rassette was overly pleased that he had helped, however slightly, in the adventure, and seemed exceptionally enthusiastic about a larger scale expedition. Time past quickly, and soon the party - with excuses - made their way to bed.
The muster was done just outside of town, in an abandoned field. In all, there were about a hundred and fifty knights, with roughly an equal number of squires; about a hundred mercenaries and adventurers (mostly the latter) wielding a variety of weapons; a hundred local guards and soldiers sent by the baron; and eighty odd villagers (mostly wielding bows).
Rhiona stood in front of the crowd, on a table that had been brought out from the town. "Everyone, please split into groups of about fifteen; and people of Two Crags, please spread yourselves out between the groups and do as the knights say!" she said.
The party joined up with Rassette and Evan, Paul, Nelson and his remaining squire Lily, a pair of villagers (cousins who were local hunters), and a trio of knights who were in the employ of the barony, along with their three squires (shared between them). Other groups quickly formed. A few knights who had heard of the party's adventure seemed disappointed they could not join with them, but quickly formed a second group of their own.
Lady Rhiona waited until the groups had all formed, and then spoke. "Today, we are going to fight a never before seen number of the beasts that have plagued this town for years. We do this because, thanks to the actions of a brave trio of heroes, the device that sustained the creatures deep in the caves has been removed. Now, they will emerge in large numbers - hundreds, maybe thousands. But they will not come as an army; and they will be spread over the forest. Take care, and no-one need die today, as we wipe out this scourge once and for all!"
Applause, and a few cheers, came from the muster; and also from the crowd of villagers that had gathered nearby to see them off. Rhiona waited for them to calm, and then said, "Good luck to you all. Can someone from each group please come up for area assignments so we cover all entrances and the entire forest? Thank you."
The party's group was assigned to a section of a small, but deep, river that ran from underground. On occasion, a few of the creatures were known to emerge from it; many suspected the river was accessible from somewhere inside the caves. No-one had ever managed to find it, despite several attempts (including swimming against the current where the river emerged).
As the river's depth provided an easy means for the creatures to hide and sneak along the river, it was necessary to guard it all the way until it flowed into a small nearby lake (which was, in turn, also under watch). The group split in two, with a few standing guard on either side of the river (the current was, at this time, not particularly strong as the lake was nigh overflowing).
Dawn had passed about half an hour for the party arrived, and it was an entire hour before they saw anything of note. At first, it was just one of the creatures, unusually high in the river as it swam past speedily. The first was followed a little later by another; and then several more at once. Soon the river was full of them, often just barely below the surface, rushing along.
"Why aren't they getting out?" wondered one of the knights, aloud, as the group watched them.
"The rain has stopped for now," said one of the hunters, "and this river washes them clean long before it emerges. Without their muck, they're not able to get out without the rain. We should've brought spears - I've never seen so many, and the lake crew will not fare well when the rain picks up again."
"Perhaps some of us should head down there?" said Paul. "Surely there can't be many more to come this way."
"I agree," said Graeme. "Although... Sparrow, could you fly up and check the rest of the river, and the lake, quickly?"
Sparrow nodded, and took to the air.
When she returned, the entire group looked at her expectantly. "The creatures are starting to come down in smaller numbers," she said, "but the lake has a couple of hundred in it already. They've killed a couple but it looks like, despite their hissing anger, they're not willing to leap out and try to kill someone before they die. It's not surprising, considering it would basically be suicide."
"Aye, it's one of the only ways to stop them blindly charging," said one of the hunters.
"I also have some really bad news: the rain has started up again to the west, and seems to be advancing this way with some moving clouds," Sparrow said.
"Then we should head down to help by the lake," said Rassette, "but who will stay?"
Nelson, Lily, the two hunters and the three squires of the baron's knights stayed behind, with Nelson taking charge. The rest headed down the river, adding a more to their group as they passed the others tasked with guarding sections of the river. The group swelled in size to thirty-two before they reached the lake, which had two groups assigned. They were relieved to see the help; they had sent off a runner to ask for some of the reserve groups but he had yet to return.
In total, nearly sixty people stood together, watching the creatures hiss, and spit, and screech. They paddled around the lake's deeper parts, ducking underwater whenever an arrow was sent at them. The group stuck together, knowing that the creatures would come at them without even a thought of sneaking off into the woods, their hatred driving them to stupidity.
After a tense fifteen minutes, the rain started. At first, it was a fine mist - almost, but not quite, enough for the creatures. Then it began to rain lightly, and the creatures started to swim speedily towards them. As Sparrow sent her first arrow arching towards the creatures (as they were no longer interested in ducking) the rain began to pelt down, drenching everyone before the creatures even reached the shore.
Battlecries rang out, variously "For Two Crags!" and "For the barony!", with Graeme adding his preferred "For those who cannot save themselves!". Sparrow remained silent, picking off a couple of the creatures before flying up a nearby tree, and continuing her barrage.
Graeme was in the front of two lines the group had drawn up in, which consisted primarily of knights and their squires. From behind, some villagers with spears, and less well-trained squires assisted, with the archers (excluding Sparrow) standing on a rock to gain a vantage from which to pick off stragglers.
As the creatures came out of the water, they lost much of their charging speed and a few stumbled. Those that stumbled were used by the rest as launching platforms - the creatures leapt forwards, ramming into the shields of the knights. Graeme set his sword against his shield as one leapt towards him, impaling it when it struck.
He kept his shield up as he pulled his sword out, and cut the creature's throat. A second creature smashed into his shield, and a third landed on the one he had just slain. Swearing and cajoling was coming from all around, the line backing up slowly as its members attempted to gain some small range to fight the creatures adequately.
Graeme quickly beheaded the creature on the ground (one of smaller than usual size), and realised that the creature that had hit his shield had gripped it. He shook his shield, barely able to keep his arm up. The creature, distracted, tried to gain a better hold, giving Graeme the time he needed to stick it like a stuck pig with his sword. The creature died instantly, and fell from his shield. Graeme looked up in time to see yet another of the creatures hurtling towards him, and barely got his shield up in time to block it.
Annette watched Graeme get bowled over by the creature, his footing not well placed enough to withstand the impact. She had been doing alright, herself, having only needed to dispatch one of the creatures so far - most had gone for Graeme on her left. She slashed the creature's spine with her sword, killing it. "Rassette!" she called out, ensuring he would keep an eye out for her as she helped Graeme to his feet.
Graeme rolled the dead creature of quickly, and took Annette's offered hand. "Thanks," he said, quickly readying his shield so he could face the rest of the creatures. Annette turned back as well, her eyes darting about to get an idea of how things were going.
The creatures were, of course, fairly outmatched by a large group of heavily armoured knights; and many of them had died already. As they had bunched up while charging mindlessly, they had not encroached around the edges of the line much, although most of the second line had moved to form a semi-circle around the creatures that had emerged. It appeared as if the vast majority had been dispatched soon after jumping at the line, with only a few actively engaged in dodging and attempting to attack back.
Annette gracefully stepped back as one of the creatures leapt at her, shattering its skull and killing it with a strong blow to the head. She stepped back forwards afterwards, in time to spot one of the creatures still emerging from the water tumble over, several arrows sticking out from it.
She suddenly noticed a pair of the creatures scrabbling towards her, they had gotten close without leaping while she had been distracted. The further one leapt over the other at her, while the closer one starting scrambling as fast as it could on the ground. Annette dropped to one knee and placed her shield between her and the running creature, and let the airborne one impale itself neatly on her upraised sword.
The running creature attemped to jump her shield, but Annette had begun standing up, letting the slain creature drop off her sword and raising her shield up with her. It slammed into her shield with minimal force (it seemed the creature's legs were damaged), and Annette quickly dispatched it.
Sparrow had been picking off stragglers and latecomers for most of the battle, and had nearly exhausted her arrows. At least I know mine are fletched with my feathers, she thought to herself. She sent an arrow flying, piercing the heart of a creature that had paused, as if picking a target to attack. It's pretty easy to kill them this close.
She looked down at the defenders, only eight metres away from the tree she had flown up. They seemed to be doing well, to her - only four seemed to have any serious injuries, and most no injuries at all. This is certainly better than the caravan in Molefield, she thought.
A few arrows later, and the battle was more or less over. The bulk of the creatures were slain, and although they still seemed to be constantly emerging from the water, they were emerging in far lesser numbers.
There was only one death - a hunting dog brought by one of the locals. Two knights and a squire that had been bowled over by the creatures had serious injuries, but would likely survive (their armour having prevented most real damage). Quite a few of the knights had some kind of scrape or cut of varying severity, but nothing that was dangerous.
Most of the group backed off from the water, leaving picking off the remaining creatures to a few of the more vigorous knights.
"A good battle!" said Rassette. "I did not expect one of any real size."
Graeme grinned, and said, "Though not much of a challenge. Many of the creatures seemed undersized or slow; likely their old and young that normall had no need of leaving."
"I'm going to start recovering my arrows," said Sparrow. "I don't particularly want one of the villagers making off with one as a souvenir."
"We should mostly head back up to our assigned areas," said one of the barony knights, "to ensure that the rest of the groups are alright."
"Agreed," said most of the knights, after looking at each other.
Annette and Graeme headed back up the river, but Sparrow stayed behind to pull her arrows out of the dead creatures. There were still a few of the creatures around, but she was completely ignored as they rushed hissing and screaming at their preferred targets. She had to cut a few of the arrows free with her knife, and many had broken, leaving her digging out arrow heads from the creatures. Some of the arrow heads were of local make and thus not hers, she kept these seperate.
After collecting all she could find, she handed the local arrows over to the other archers, and took off. A short while later she had reached the area the group had been assigned, and dropped down behind them.
The rest of the day was mostly uneventful. Four of the creatures emerged from the river over the course of the day, but by early afternoon the creatures seemed completely absent from the river. The rain was still pouring down at dusk, when the group headed back to Two Crags.
Upon arrival, they joined in the celebrations - between all the groups, thousands of the creatures had been killed, and most were convince the scourge had ended (or at least been nearly wiped out). Of those who went out, nine had died and sixty-two had serious injuries; with many scrapes, cuts and bites amongst the rest. But the mood was good, the food plentiful, and the alcohol free.
Sparrow, strangely, avoided the alcohol and soon left to spend the evening fixing her arrows, and fletching new ones. Graeme and Annette drank heavily, but managed to make it back to the room safely (though in such a state that Sparrow made sure Graeme took one of the beds). Sparrow took a final sip from her glass (that had been filled to the brim with expensive whiskey) and thought, This is the best way to celebrate: not having to share the best whiskey in the Duchies.
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