The Sword of Retribution

The Underworld - Part 2

     General Poll stood on a high ridge amongst the towering, snowcapped peaks of the Copper Mountains and looked out over the narrow, steep sided valley guarded by Fort Dirk.

     The mighty fortress had been carved out of the living rock by the Agglemonians two thousand years before. Its topmost ramparts were just visible further down the valley between the peaks of an intervening ridge, the mighty redoubt standing high on another ridge separating a smaller side valley from Bula Pass itself. It was approachable only by one narrow road that switchbacked its way up the cliffs below.

     The offensive that had been timed to coincide with the attack on the Shadowlord in Lexandria Valley had been only moderately successful. The enemy had been pushed back with great loss of life, and there had indeed been some indication of confusion within the enemy command, but not enough. The enemy had regrouped and retaliated, and they were now back to where they'd been before as if nothing had happened. Considering the losses the wizards had suffered in their part of the joint operation, nothing like it was likely to be tried again and consequently each of the small wars being fought around the perimeter of the Shadow would have to be won, or lost, independently of the others. There would never again be any need for coordinated attacks, and the distances between the various battlefronts were simply too great for reinforcements to be moved from one to another in time for them to be of any use. Which certainly simplifies things, he thought as he looked out over the valley. He could focus all his attention on what was going on here and let his counterparts in the other war zones worry about what was going on there.

     He looked down at the last stretch of valley floor he could see before it disappeared from sight around the first ridge. It appeared to be covered by a light sprinkling of snow, the first touch of the bad weather that was expected any day now, but the General, looking through his high powered binoculars, saw what it really was. A vast Shadowarmy, one hundred thousand strong, the sun gleaming on their white painted bone armour and skull helmets.

     This was the first time the enemy had ever made it this far along the valley, having breached the wall that blocked the valley and that had previously trapped invaders under the weapons of fort Dirk. They'd been filtering in ever since the failed offensive, gathering in dribs and drabs, and the Beltharans had been letting them, allowing them to all gather in one place. Three days ago, though, the influx had stopped. There were still hundreds of thousands left in the Shadow, but the enemy had sent all they were going to send for the time being. They knew, as well as Poll himself, what was going to happen next, and the General was surprised, and a little worried, that they were showing such intelligent self restraint. The enemy wasn't worried. In his mind, the war was already as good as won. All he had to do was play it cool and not make any stupid mistakes.

     They had resumed their assault against the Fort Dirk several days ago, and had had it all their own way so far, assailing the fortress with wizards and dragons while their seemingly endless ranks of zombies and humanoids launched one attack on its walls after another. With impunity. The defenders had exhausted the weaponry with which they had devastated the enemy in the first few weeks and had not yet been resupplied. The fortress was strong, but no structure of mere stone could long withstand the forces now turned against it. Poll had completed his preparations just in time.

     Behind the General waited the fifth, sixth, seventh and tenth battalions of the Imperial Beltharan Army, pulled back into the mountains following the offensive. Hidden until the enemy believed they had been withdrawn either into the fortress or back into Belthar itself but instead poised to sweep down on the enemy. Relieving the beleaguered fortress and driving the enemy out onto the Endless Plains where they would be met by the twelfth, fourteenth and fifteenth battalions and crushed. That, at least, was the plan, and it had better work because Fort Dirk was the most powerful of the four fortresses guarding Bula Pass, and if it fell the enemy would have little trouble taking the other three. If that happened, then the Shadowarmies would have unrestricted access through the Copper Mountains and would be able to pour through into the very heartland of the Beltharan Empire. The war would then be over within six months, and Tharia would be a completely undead world just a few years after that.