The Arrowstone

Chapter 22 - A City under Threat

CHAPTER 22

A CITY UNDER THREAT

As Gem and Gorthlob left the tomb of the fallen thief behind them, and the Gnomes set off from Lantimar, a vast menace made its way slowly and deliberately around the foothills of the Mountains of Banrak. Weaving its way through the vales it came, a mass of blackthe army of Kondahlrod. The River Nelad had been crossed using vessels of Cragrike, and now the two huge hosts were one, led by two dark Drathlords who strode at their head, taller than all the rest. To Endrach Antel they marched to wage war on Banrak.

At the Gates of Endrach Antel there arrived a small group of mounted men. The messengers that King Dergard had last sent out had returned, and to the King they went immediately with news.

'The Enemy is almost upon us!' said one. 'We have tonight, and maybe the morning before they reach us. They are making their way through the hills. We turned back like lightning, and did not stop until we reached the City.'

'And what of Rolgerd?' replied the haggard King. 'Have you seen or heard anything of him?'

'No sign, sire,' said another. 'The lands are empty but for the wind and rain. There is a great dread in the air. Even the birds feel it. There is little time.'

'Our armies are prepared for war,' said Dergard. 'Whether our numbers will cope with the might of Troch, we cannot say. But we will fight to the bitter end. I must go to my rest now, for I have not slept in days. I will not allow myself to weaken. We are on the brink of the greatest war Feliach has ever known, and possibly the final one. We must all be ready. I will send word to my generals to prepare. You have all done well.'

And so the messengers were dismissed, and the City was alerted to the peril that approached. Those that had not boarded up their houses did so now, telling their wives and children to stay inside. Fear swept through every street. All horses that were capable of bearing a rider were led to the Great Courtyards where the armies gathered. The sentinels keeping watch from atop the fortress towers were doubled, and all posts were heavily manned with the finest archers of the City. Heralds were sent to Dundrach where Huilon and Tanreth waited anxiously, though news would still not reach them for two or three days. There also waited Sharmor with what was left of the Company, and also Lord Anaroth who recently had arrived from Ellerol. Still there was hope that aid might come from the North, though the chances of any allies arriving in time seemed slim indeed. Yet hope was still held out for them.

Dawn broke drearily, and with it came a thin frost hardly touched by the distant sun. The sky lay still, heavy with foreboding blankets of cloud that stretched across Banrak to gather above the five towers of Endrach Antel. Looking grimly out over the fields, the sentries beheld a sight that filled them with fear and awe. As the pale light grew, it revealed a vast line of black that ran from north to south as far as the eye could see. Merely two miles from the City gates, it had settled in a wide curve with the City at its centre. Bristling with a terrible might, the forces of Troch blotted out the green of the pastures of Banrak, turning the lands black and threatening doom.

'They have arrived!' cried the watchmen. 'The Enemy are here on the threshold of our home! Alert the soldiers and the archers! Alert the Knights! Alert the King and the people of our City! Let all know that they are here!'

In his Hall, King Dergard was busy giving his generals their last orders.

'We know that the Enemy has finally arrived,' he said slowly and grimly. 'This will be the war that has been long-awaited by us, and for which Kondahlrod has spent many years preparing. There has been no other like it for close on a thousand years. We are to be tested like men have never been tested before, in all the history of Feliach. This time Kondahlrod will accept no stalemate. No cost in lives is too dear for Him. Now he can afford to throw troops into battle by the thousand, yet His forces will be hardly dented; His numbers are that great. I do not think that we should go to meet them. For if we do, then we will be rounded up like sheep and thwarted within a matter of days. We must remain here to defend our City. We have no choice but to let them make the first move.' Some nodded their heads at this plan, yet many remained silent. The King observed his generals' faces, and continued: