The Kingdom of Liticea: The Sorcerer Prince

Chapter Forty-One: Castle Talonwood

Four hours after Julius and Nakbar Nazeen agreed to a rematch, nearly ten thousand soldiers left Rainguard and the surrounding country. Five thousand under the command of Helg Velrock marched southwest to reinforce the area surrounding Rydstone Castle. Riding with Sir Helg as an aide was his younger brother. Gor was the only one of the young knights that would not be fighting with the Fallaner Soldiers at Talonwood. All of these men would be serving under Archbaron Clayton Blackwell. Even though Helg was to be his future Duke, Clayton was given the command by Prince Tauron for his experiences in the Corasian War.

There were two companies marching West. Nakbar Nazeen's band of two thousand sellswords woull heckle the Morcar advance when it comes. The remaining three thousand would occupy the keeps and forts that were taken by the Morcars, but abandoned once the army was routed by Parendir Davey's night attack. The first in this line of strongholds was Talenwood, where it would be occupied by Rengle 'Ironwall' Fallaner, the Ruskamen and about six hundred Westlanders. Rengle's own son Jergan would also face the Morcars once they come as well as Lady Eliza Eleanor, Sir Locke Horcaster, and Sir Bartheyis Brunowil. This band would be Prince Tauron's first line of defense against the coming Morcar attack.

Talenwood Castle stood at the summit of a sloping hill. It consisted of a single tower with a gate on the east and west end. This tower was on the end of a wall constructed in a oval shape that went north and curved back around. The castle was about two hundred feet long and seventy feet wide. The walls reached to heights of thirty feet and the tower itself stood over a hundred. However, Talonwood's best defense was the hill itself. It was not only steep, but it was long enough and tall enough to make it a tiring climb up from the valley where it began. This valley stretched all the way to the outskirts of Sarabath and has never seen major settlements. The biggest Red Titans now grew here along with dense forests that make it very difficult to move large numbers through once they get off the road. There were other paths that would lead around Talonwood, but there was no practical way one could get a large army through in a short amount of time. Through this valley was where the Morcars would have to pass in order to attack Rainguard again. It was also where Nakbar and his warriors would harass them as they approached the other end. Even further down the road, Rolrik Frog and the Bastard Brigade were dispatched days ago to pillage and raid their camps.

Rengle was satisfied with this location. Just to get to it the Morcars would have to climb nearly a quarter mile with rocks and arrows raining down on them. The only thing that concerned him was that the Morcars were rumored to have an army as large as all the armies of Liticea put together. But Rengle and his men had strong fortifications and Rydstone and others were not far away. If he called for it, Clayton Blackwell could reinforce him in a matter of hours. But they also had to keep an eye on the other roads. Even a few hundred Morcars could cause a lot of grief in the countryside should they get through. But to take this position would take a lot of energy and men from the Morcars, men that they could not use to assault Rainguard again.

Outside was a huge pile of burnt corpses. All that remained of the original defenders. Rengle and his army could smell it as they approached. As soon as they arrived, he ordered a mass grave to be dug so they could be rid of the sight and stench, but he told his men to look at them before they were buried. To look at the savagery that the Morcars would bring on all of their homes.

The interior was a mess. The Morcars left little standing when they last sacked the castle. Tables were overturned, windows were smashed, the halls still reeked of death. Carpets and tapestries lay on the floor in tatters. Dried blood was everywhere. As well as ordering the burial, Rengle commanded that the keep be cleaned and sanitized.

"I will not have my army living in filth," he spoke after he gave the order.

Before the army got a chance to rest after they set out from Rainguard they spent hours washing the floors and walls and putting things back where they belonged. And that was done after they dung a seven- foot deep, pit to store the bodies. Fortunately, Rengle had a thousand men and therefore the job was able to get done quickly. Afterward, a nice hot meal awaited the troops which was a relief from the cold, frigid weather that was still prevalent inside the castle.