The Unknown Man: Book 1 in The Keepers of the Orbs Series (13 page)

Tirene gave her a solemn look and led the group, digging his heels into his horse and trotting off down the road. He needed time to process the information, and what it meant for them going forward. They continued riding for the rest of the afternoon in relative silence.

A soldier stood above the gates of Korloth and surveyed the dry and arid desert below. The gates to the city had been open all morning, and many people scurried in and out, taking advantage of the cooler morning air. The soldier appeared bored with his morning assignment. He rotated in his lookout and shifted his gaze to watch the city. While most people appeared to be enjoying their morning activities, those who needed to be outside—like the soldiers and grooms—went about their business.

There were four streets running away from the main gate. This far north, the climate was so extreme that normal buildings wouldn’t suffice. Most of the city's buildings were built into the ground, which provided natural insulation and kept the heat out. The soldier was stationed above one such building. When the soldier could find nothing else to look at, he slumped back and slid down the brick lining of the lookout, finding what little shade the walls provided. He turned to the other soldier sitting with him.

“Roagen, have you heard the rumors?” He took a sip of water and watched as Roagen shook his head, giving him his answer. “I heard a scout mention the other day there are Minotaurs banding together east of here, in the abandoned town of Dupeth. No one has inhabited Dupeth in well over a century. Why now?”

Roagen stared off into the distance, paying little attention to the dribble coming out of his friend’s mouth. Roagen couldn’t take it any longer and had to respond. “Don’t you see the larger picture here, Drommen. Think about it. Minotaurs are never this organized. Generally, they stick to small bands and go about pillaging. It’s startling to know they are becoming structured.” He looked over at his companion before pressing on, “Rumors are rumors though, and is all they can be until someone has more concrete information.”

Drommen lapsed into silence as he took in Roagen’s words. Sweat trickled down every orifice of his body creating an itch. He stood to try to reach it when he spotted a disturbing image off in the distance. He squinted his eyes to get a better view and noticed a large cloud of dust over the first set of hills to the north. He stared at the large cloud, scratching his head while he tried to determine if the heat of the sun created a mirage.

Roagen noticed Drommen’s attention shift, and stood beside him. The cloud moved and they thought they could see dark shadows in the shape of men, mixed in with the dust. Drommen noted he still couldn’t make anything out, and turned to Roagen. “Hand me the glass. I think I see something off in the distance.” The soldier handed him a looking glass.

He placed it to his eye and nearly dropped it when the images he saw came into focus. The cloud of dust still churned in the background, but several cloaked figures on horseback could be seen in front, just over the horizon. He squinted into the looking glass to try to get a better picture, but he couldn’t make out their faces. They were all spread out with about fifty to a hundred paces in between each one, with the exception of the two in the middle. Three of them bore red flags with black coiled serpents. He dropped the glass down, and turned to the other soldier.

Roagen stared at his companion, a look of fear invading his features when he noticed Drommen’s sudden change in demeanor. “What is it?! What did you see?!”

“Take a look for yourself.”

Roagen raised the looking glass and his face turned white almost instantly. No one had attacked Korloth in generations, and this appeared to be a well-organized formation. He continued looking through the glass while Drommen ran to find the captain, taking him to the battlement extending over the city gate. He leaned over the side of the wall facing the city, spotted a guard at the bottom, and yelled to him, “Lower the gates and sound the alarm! NOW!” He made his way over the wall and reached the guard shack on the other side. He threw open the door, startling the officers inside.

They jumped up with the intrusion and stared at him wide eyed. The captain glared, unamused at the intrusion. “What is the meaning of this?”

Drommen tried to regain his breath from his run over the wall. “Sir, I spotted nine cloaked figures on horseback approaching from across the desert.” The captain looked uneasy with this discovery, but listened on. “Three are carrying banners, bearing a sigil I’ve never seen before. They are spread out in formation across the desert, spanning a few hundred paces. I already ordered the gate to be closed.” He regained his composure, and his breathing returned to an almost normal pattern.

He ran outside to look for himself. Scanning the desert, he tried to discern the image, but the task remained difficult without a looking glass. He waited for it; squinting off into the distance. Finally, a soldier ran up carrying one and gave it to him. He brought it up to his eye and spotted the nine cloaked figures. The figures following them made him even more uneasy. Rows of Minotaurs spread out behind them, filling the horizon. There had to be thousands of them, only counting the ones who had crested the rise in the land. A number of ballista and trebuchets rolled in behind the first rows of Minotaurs. Several more followed, carrying ladders of varying sizes. This was an attack force.

The captain turned and started barking orders. “We need to reinforce the gate! Someone sound the alarm to assemble the legions!” When no one sprang into action, he shouted “NOW! What are you waiting for?” Soldiers scattered about, following the orders of the captain, while the trumpeting of bugles filled the air. “Send a messenger to inform the lord. We need to be ready—they will be here within the hour!”

Preparations were made as soldiers filled the towers and the battlements. Buckets of hot tar were raised along the wall and inside the towers. Archers lined the walls, ready to loose their arrows when given notice. The force they faced numbered in the thousands—maybe closer to ten thousand—marching forth to attack the city. This numbered almost twice that of the force protecting Korloth. General Rhovick joined the soldiers; the lord had yet to be seen.

The general was an older man, hardened by his years of service. He knew what he faced and ordered his troops to make ready for the onslaught. They had the upper hand with the wall as a defense, but he knew the casualties would still be numerous—that is if anyone survived at all. One of the lookouts spotted a messenger riding toward the gates and notified the general.

Rhovick ordered the gates opened, and five officers accompanied him to meet with the messenger.

The sun's rays burned hot and beat down on all of them, shining in the general’s face as he rode out with his party. The messenger stopped about twenty paces short of the castle gates. With the party in talking distance, they too stopped their advance.

No one spoke for a moment, waiting for the other to speak first. Finally, the messenger began. “I came to tell you Master Lutheras has no need for useless death. Open the city gates, bend your knee to Lutheras, and only the lord will be killed. These are our terms. If you refuse, we shall attack and you will all die. Surrender to the lord and your lives will be spared.”

Rhovick stroked his bare chin for a few moments, before he tilted his head and stared into the eyes of the messenger. “Tell this,
Lutheras
, there will be no surrender today. I’m sworn to protect the lord, not hand him over to sudden death.” He paused and looked up at the sun before returning his gaze to the outsider. “Your numbers may be greater than ours, but we have plenty of defenses to thwart your attempt. The day won’t end until I see Lutheras' head on a pike outside Korloth, to serve as a message to any future would-be attackers.” He turned his horse and so did the officers. They proceeded back to the city gates.

The messenger eyed them for a moment; a grin crossed his face with the excitement of the massacre he knew would follow. Still grinning, he turned to deliver the message to Lutheras.

After the general rode through the gates of the city, twenty-inch thick timber doors were closed and fortified. They had lowered the iron portcullis into place behind the door. The general watched, ensuring everything moved into place, before he made his way to the top of the battlements. He didn’t need a glass now with the force well within visual range. The general watched as the messenger returned to the main force and rode to the two cloaked figures in the middle of the line. He spoke to the figure whose face remained shrouded by the cloak. Rhovick considered this the man in charge, Lutheras. He burned the image into his brain so he would know whom to kill later.

He stared across the field, eying the dozen or so trebuchets positioned throughout, well within range to do a lot of damage to the wall. About the same number of ballista were in the front of the line, ready to be rolled into position. In front of the ballistas, a couple hundred Minotaurs carried ladders. The cloaked figure dismissed the messenger and rode up and down the line of troops. The general presumed he gave words of encouragement to his soldiers, and the onslaught would begin soon.

The general turned and walked down the wall. He handed out last minute instructions and orders, but a horn cut him off mid-sentence. He spun around and looked out to see the bands of Minotaurs storming across the sand. He looked to his own towers and saw Tankah standing in one of them. This gave him relief and he was glad the mage had received word and positioned the others of his order in the towers.

He shifted his focus to the archers and ordered them to ready their bows and let loose. The bright light of the sun disappeared as hundreds of arrows filled the sky. He watched their path and saw a number of Minotaurs crumple to the ground, but for every one that fell, two more took their place. In retaliation, large boulders hurled toward the wall and connected with their targets, sending chunks of stone and rock flying through the air. A couple of soldiers were hit and they screamed as they fell over the wall, plummeting to their deaths below. The archers fired arrows as fast as they could have them knocked, but the Minotaurs with ladders had already made it to the wall. They raised them into position and started their climb. The general ordered tar to be dropped on the Minotaurs as they made their way up the ladders, and fireballs flew toward the creatures as the mages joined the battle. The fireballs ignited the hot tar, and many of the Minotaurs became live torches. Some fell with the pain, but others continued to climb on. For those approaching the top, soldiers stood ready with large axes to chop down the encroaching force.

Boulders the size of horses filled the sky after being launched from the trebuchets. The ballistas fired one-hundred year old tree-sized bolts and they careened toward the city’s walls. The general peered over, satisfied that most of the ladders had been pushed back and lay in ruins on the ground, or they burned and became a pile of fire-engulfed timber. He thought to himself,
so far so good. If they don’t breach the wall, we might have a chance at this.

At least a thousand of the Minotaurs still sat back, waiting for their time to act. It seemed strange to the general that the cloaked figures still sat back as well, surveying the fight. They were well out of range of the archers, and his mages seemed to ignore them all together because they weren’t an immediate threat. At one point, he thought he caught a glimpse of a red glow coming from beneath the cloak of the leader, but he shook it off as part of his imagination.

As the sun set to the east, the nine figures finally dismounted their horses. Bodies and blood filled the ground beneath the wall. The cloaked figures organized themselves, still out of range. They all seemed to focus on Lutheras, as he issued commands. They spread back out and Rhovick heard thunder and saw a crackle in the distance, drawing his eyes from the cloaked figures to the sky. He stepped back, startled by the sudden image of dark gray storm clouds laced with lightning. Icy raindrops fell all around the city, lightning illuminated the sky in all directions. No one had ever seen the amount of lightning crashing down around Korloth before. It made contact with various points of the battlement, electrocuting the soldiers that happened to be in its path. Rhovick looked around astonished while the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He realized the nine cloaked figures were wizards, and he gazed around to locate his own mages. He would need their efforts if they were going to stand a chance at defeating Lutheras. He looked to the tower where Tankah should’ve been coordinating the attack, but he couldn’t see him. He searched the other towers, but they were all devoid of people, that is, any that stood at all. His throat filled with bile, realizing Lutheras now had the advantage.

His eyes swung back over the field, while fireballs erupted all around him. Several soldiers were caught in the flames and most of the archers dropped their bows and fled in panic. His well-coordinated plan had turned to utter chaos right before his eyes.
The Minotaurs were a diversion, a ploy, to weaken the defenses of the city!
Throughout the afternoon, he lost half of his force. While the Minotaurs died just as quickly, it wasn’t enough of a gain though, and they were in no position to battle nine wizards when he had none of his own to counter. He ordered the soldiers that fled, back to the wall so they could rejoin the battle. He intended to take out as many of the Minotaurs as he could before the end of the day, and time waned.

Lightning exploded throughout the battlement, cracking the thick stone wall in various places. Chunks fell off in both directions, taking soldiers with them on their descent. Screams pierced the air in Korloth and the soldiers with any sense at all, fled in all directions. Rhovick knew he needed to drop back and regroup if they were to have any chance at all of cutting their losses. He ordered all of the soldiers off the wall and tried to retain those that wanted to flee, but many were struck with pure panic. He gathered what he could in the courtyard facing the main gate of the city, filing the soldiers into rank as they awaited the barrage. The rain became torrential, unheard of in these parts, and it now pooled on the ground creating thick mud. Lightning continued to crack down, taking casualties wherever it landed.