Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Exile's Road ❯ Chapter 19
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: shanejayell 
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.26.2010 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 383 | Status: Completed
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.26.2010 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 383 | Status: Completed
Exile's Road
The newly completed outer wall of the city rang with the sound of battle, a raiding force having been sent to test their willingness to fight. Men and women of the royal guard fought bravely, while volunteers assisted with pikes and fisherman's hooked poles. Blood splattered onto the wood and stone as cries of pain and death nearly drowned out their words.
The soldiers of Xiang had clearly been concerned when they saw the ongoing reinforcement of the old outer wall. The old, low stone wall was swiftly built up with stones stolen from roads and homes, supported by logs and held together by thick, mixed fine rock and river mud. IT would not hold against siege weapons, but it was a formidable barrier to men and horses.
“Back! Back, damn you!” Midori growled as she used her heavy oaken staff like a club to force a soldier to let go. The muscular black haired woman fought with cool efficiency, striking just hard enough to drive a foe away, not kill. Her chain mail armor gleamed as the section of the wall that they defended cleared, and she moved forward to scan for more attackers.
“Do you think the raiders have had enough?” Laur'ien asked, her light brown hair tied back neatly as she cleaned a bloody knife on a fallen enemy soldier. She looked oddly calm despite the danger they were in, a soldier who had seen enough not to let fear rule her.
“It looks like it,” Duchess Jantha said wryly, the slim blond dressed in a borrowed chain mail shirt and carrying a short bow so that she could attack slightly back from the front line. She looked over at Midori, “what do you think?”
“I think they've had enough,” Midori admitted as they watched the enemy forces churning out on the plain. The king of Xiang had driven his forces across the river yesterday, setting up a encampment nearer the outer edge of the city. Today he had made his first tentative move, only to be repulsed with losses.
“I see riders!” Laur'ien warned, pointing as a band of four riders emerged from the Xiang camp, riding out along the trade road towards the gate they stood on.
Midori narrowed her eyes as she tried to pick out details and muttered, “I wish we had the spyglass with us....”
The commander of the wall guards, a woman mercenary named Ayana, smiled wryly as she said, “I'll get that young scamp Hayate up. She has good eyes.” Hayate, a redheaded page, was brought up and quickly identified the formal armor and parley flags the men carried.
“Too bad, I'd like to take a shot at them,” Jantha muttered wryly, her golden hair blowing in the breeze like a flag. She, Midori and Laur'ien weren't even supposed to be here, having come out from the inner walls to inspect the outer defenses, but they couldn't retreat now that the battle had begun.
“They're safe under flag of parley,” little Hayate pointed out eagerly. She frowned, “Tho I suppose winging them might be okay....”
“No it's not,” Ayana told the girl forcefully as the men rode up to the date.
Midori hid a smile as she studied the figures in their plate armor, the metal segments overlapping to provide efficient if heavy protection. Knock one of those fools off his horse and he's be like a turtle on his back, helpless under the weight. They carried lances and swords, so weighted with decoration Midori wondered if they were useful at all, and their visored helms blocked off most vision.
“Who goes there!” a gate guard yelled as they rode up.
The leader raised his helm, revealing a familiar and slightly weaselly face. Shinka, the former ambassador from Xiang, gave them a haughty look as he declared, “I have come to offer you a chance to surrender!”
“I see you're as much of a idiot as ever,” Jantha called back.
“Duchess,” Shinka nodded to her with a slight sneer, “could I speak with the man who commands here? I suspect he might be more reasonable.”
There was a muttering from angry guards on the wall, most of them men who were displeased with his tome. “Speak to her with respect,” one guard with a crossbow muttered as he aimed the weapon, “or you'll be deader than yon king's plans.”
“Easy,” Ayana cautioned the young man. She looked down at Shinka with a cold smile, “I am the commander here, and I am quite happy having the Duchess speak for us, dog.”
Shinka visibly gritted his teeth, but continued on, “Very well. My lord and master has generously decided to grant the nobles of this city five days to leave with their forces. Furthermore he will also grant the Queen safe passage from these lands, in return for her surrender.”
“I will pass the message on to the Queen,” Jantha agreed politely, “and I will make a counter offer to your king.”
“Oh?” Shinka raised a eyebrow.
Jantha met his gaze with a unnerving degree of confidence as she told him, “Pull your forces back over the border, and we won't kill you all.”
Shinka paled as he heard the deadly promise in her voice. “I will pass that message on,” he said flatly as he and his guard turned, riding off back to their encampment.
The wall guards cheered as Shinka fled, several of them clapping Jantha on the back and patting her arms. Midori bristled at seeing her charge be touched like that but held back, simply keeping a wary eye on the men. Jantha rejoined her guards along the inner side of the wall, standing a little apart from the other guards.
“You sounded very confident there,” Laur'ien said wryly, casually leaning up against the wooden inner wall.
Jantha shrugged as she quietly answered, “A military commander has to sound confident, even if she's not.”
Laur'ien looked at the Duchess curiously, “You don't think we can hold the city?”
Jantha looked to the expert, “Midori?”
“The wall we've built is strong,” Midori conceded, “but the army isn't large enough to man it thickly enough to hold against a strong force.”
“But we have over a thousand men,” Jantha frowned slightly.
“But not all at the same time,” Midori pointed out, “they need to eat and sleep, too.” She sighed as she continued, “All it would take was a powerful attack to draw our forces to one area, then they could break through in another.”
Laur'ien nodded as she accepted that point then asked, “But if we can't hold the outer wall...?”
“We're here for two reasons,” Midori said as they waited for the carriage that would take Jantha back to the castle, “first, to bleed Xiang's forces.”
“Bleed?” Jantha hadn't heard it put in such terms earlier.
Midori shrugged, “In any battle a army attacking a fortified position takes greater losses. Against a professional force, those losses can be terrible. Unless we completely fail, each attack that Xiang launches against the wall will cost him more men than we will lose.”
Laur'ien nodded, thinking of the last attack and how they had lost two or three men, while the attackers lost much more. “And the other reason?” she asked.
“Morale,” Midori answered promptly.
Laur'ien blinked, “Morale?”
Jantha smiled wryly, “The people in the outer part of the city know we'll have to retreat to the inner walls eventually. But our putting in a effort to protect their homes and shops gives them hope, and when we do retreat they'll know we at least tried.”
“I'm getting a education every day,” Laur'ien noted as the carriage rolled up to the inner gate, stopping by the ladder down.
Jantha smiled as she shook Ayana's hand, “You're doing good work, commander. I'll pass it on to Lord Commander Hudson.”
“Thank you,” Ayana smiled wryly as she said, “we appreciate it. Be careful, the kingdom could ill afford to lose you.”
Laur'ien descended the ladder first, keeping a wary eye out as Jantha descended, then Midori followed last, her battle staff slung over her shoulders. The two checked over the carriage carefully before they allowed the Duchess to board, then they rattled off to the castle.
“Sometimes,” Jantha noted as she was sandwiched between the two women on the narrow seat, “this can get rather annoying.”
“Sorry,” Midori smiled slightly.
“If we were more... intimate, this would be kinda fun,” Laur'ien noted before blowing gently in Jantha's ear.
“Pervert,” Jantha sighed, mostly joking.
“Watch it,” Midori growled dangerously.
'Oh ho,' Jantha smiled. She looked over at Laur'ien, “And what's this I hear about you and Lieutenant Joanna Cain?”
Surprisingly Laur'ien blushed faintly. “She's just a friend,” she said firmly,. “besides, she's my superior officer.”
“In charge of Hudson's dirty works squad?” Midori guessed.
Laur'ien smiled wryly as she said, “He prefers to call us special agents.”
“Anyway,” Jantha smiled as she pointed out, “I don't think she'd smile that way at someone who was just a subordinate.”
“Yesh, well...,” Laur'ien shrugged awkwardly as they finished rattling through the city and reached the castle. They disembarked as warily as ever, then the three went into the castle, walking the halls until they reached the Queen's private meeting room.
“The guards are getting complacent again,” Midori grumbled as they were ushered in, “they didn't even try to disarm me before letting me in front of the queen.”
Jantha sighed, “Not now, Midori.”
Queen Gwen smiled warmly as her cousin appeared, waving her to a seat nearby her own as she said, “I understand we had a guest at the gates?”
“Shinka of Xiang,” Jantha agreed grimly, “his lord made us an offer: the nobles get five days to leave with their forces and the Queen gets safe passage from these lands, in return for her surrender.”
“Hell, no!” Queen Gwen snarled.
“That's about what I thought you'd say,” Jantha agreed.
To be continued....
The newly completed outer wall of the city rang with the sound of battle, a raiding force having been sent to test their willingness to fight. Men and women of the royal guard fought bravely, while volunteers assisted with pikes and fisherman's hooked poles. Blood splattered onto the wood and stone as cries of pain and death nearly drowned out their words.
The soldiers of Xiang had clearly been concerned when they saw the ongoing reinforcement of the old outer wall. The old, low stone wall was swiftly built up with stones stolen from roads and homes, supported by logs and held together by thick, mixed fine rock and river mud. IT would not hold against siege weapons, but it was a formidable barrier to men and horses.
“Back! Back, damn you!” Midori growled as she used her heavy oaken staff like a club to force a soldier to let go. The muscular black haired woman fought with cool efficiency, striking just hard enough to drive a foe away, not kill. Her chain mail armor gleamed as the section of the wall that they defended cleared, and she moved forward to scan for more attackers.
“Do you think the raiders have had enough?” Laur'ien asked, her light brown hair tied back neatly as she cleaned a bloody knife on a fallen enemy soldier. She looked oddly calm despite the danger they were in, a soldier who had seen enough not to let fear rule her.
“It looks like it,” Duchess Jantha said wryly, the slim blond dressed in a borrowed chain mail shirt and carrying a short bow so that she could attack slightly back from the front line. She looked over at Midori, “what do you think?”
“I think they've had enough,” Midori admitted as they watched the enemy forces churning out on the plain. The king of Xiang had driven his forces across the river yesterday, setting up a encampment nearer the outer edge of the city. Today he had made his first tentative move, only to be repulsed with losses.
“I see riders!” Laur'ien warned, pointing as a band of four riders emerged from the Xiang camp, riding out along the trade road towards the gate they stood on.
Midori narrowed her eyes as she tried to pick out details and muttered, “I wish we had the spyglass with us....”
The commander of the wall guards, a woman mercenary named Ayana, smiled wryly as she said, “I'll get that young scamp Hayate up. She has good eyes.” Hayate, a redheaded page, was brought up and quickly identified the formal armor and parley flags the men carried.
“Too bad, I'd like to take a shot at them,” Jantha muttered wryly, her golden hair blowing in the breeze like a flag. She, Midori and Laur'ien weren't even supposed to be here, having come out from the inner walls to inspect the outer defenses, but they couldn't retreat now that the battle had begun.
“They're safe under flag of parley,” little Hayate pointed out eagerly. She frowned, “Tho I suppose winging them might be okay....”
“No it's not,” Ayana told the girl forcefully as the men rode up to the date.
Midori hid a smile as she studied the figures in their plate armor, the metal segments overlapping to provide efficient if heavy protection. Knock one of those fools off his horse and he's be like a turtle on his back, helpless under the weight. They carried lances and swords, so weighted with decoration Midori wondered if they were useful at all, and their visored helms blocked off most vision.
“Who goes there!” a gate guard yelled as they rode up.
The leader raised his helm, revealing a familiar and slightly weaselly face. Shinka, the former ambassador from Xiang, gave them a haughty look as he declared, “I have come to offer you a chance to surrender!”
“I see you're as much of a idiot as ever,” Jantha called back.
“Duchess,” Shinka nodded to her with a slight sneer, “could I speak with the man who commands here? I suspect he might be more reasonable.”
There was a muttering from angry guards on the wall, most of them men who were displeased with his tome. “Speak to her with respect,” one guard with a crossbow muttered as he aimed the weapon, “or you'll be deader than yon king's plans.”
“Easy,” Ayana cautioned the young man. She looked down at Shinka with a cold smile, “I am the commander here, and I am quite happy having the Duchess speak for us, dog.”
Shinka visibly gritted his teeth, but continued on, “Very well. My lord and master has generously decided to grant the nobles of this city five days to leave with their forces. Furthermore he will also grant the Queen safe passage from these lands, in return for her surrender.”
“I will pass the message on to the Queen,” Jantha agreed politely, “and I will make a counter offer to your king.”
“Oh?” Shinka raised a eyebrow.
Jantha met his gaze with a unnerving degree of confidence as she told him, “Pull your forces back over the border, and we won't kill you all.”
Shinka paled as he heard the deadly promise in her voice. “I will pass that message on,” he said flatly as he and his guard turned, riding off back to their encampment.
The wall guards cheered as Shinka fled, several of them clapping Jantha on the back and patting her arms. Midori bristled at seeing her charge be touched like that but held back, simply keeping a wary eye on the men. Jantha rejoined her guards along the inner side of the wall, standing a little apart from the other guards.
“You sounded very confident there,” Laur'ien said wryly, casually leaning up against the wooden inner wall.
Jantha shrugged as she quietly answered, “A military commander has to sound confident, even if she's not.”
Laur'ien looked at the Duchess curiously, “You don't think we can hold the city?”
Jantha looked to the expert, “Midori?”
“The wall we've built is strong,” Midori conceded, “but the army isn't large enough to man it thickly enough to hold against a strong force.”
“But we have over a thousand men,” Jantha frowned slightly.
“But not all at the same time,” Midori pointed out, “they need to eat and sleep, too.” She sighed as she continued, “All it would take was a powerful attack to draw our forces to one area, then they could break through in another.”
Laur'ien nodded as she accepted that point then asked, “But if we can't hold the outer wall...?”
“We're here for two reasons,” Midori said as they waited for the carriage that would take Jantha back to the castle, “first, to bleed Xiang's forces.”
“Bleed?” Jantha hadn't heard it put in such terms earlier.
Midori shrugged, “In any battle a army attacking a fortified position takes greater losses. Against a professional force, those losses can be terrible. Unless we completely fail, each attack that Xiang launches against the wall will cost him more men than we will lose.”
Laur'ien nodded, thinking of the last attack and how they had lost two or three men, while the attackers lost much more. “And the other reason?” she asked.
“Morale,” Midori answered promptly.
Laur'ien blinked, “Morale?”
Jantha smiled wryly, “The people in the outer part of the city know we'll have to retreat to the inner walls eventually. But our putting in a effort to protect their homes and shops gives them hope, and when we do retreat they'll know we at least tried.”
“I'm getting a education every day,” Laur'ien noted as the carriage rolled up to the inner gate, stopping by the ladder down.
Jantha smiled as she shook Ayana's hand, “You're doing good work, commander. I'll pass it on to Lord Commander Hudson.”
“Thank you,” Ayana smiled wryly as she said, “we appreciate it. Be careful, the kingdom could ill afford to lose you.”
Laur'ien descended the ladder first, keeping a wary eye out as Jantha descended, then Midori followed last, her battle staff slung over her shoulders. The two checked over the carriage carefully before they allowed the Duchess to board, then they rattled off to the castle.
“Sometimes,” Jantha noted as she was sandwiched between the two women on the narrow seat, “this can get rather annoying.”
“Sorry,” Midori smiled slightly.
“If we were more... intimate, this would be kinda fun,” Laur'ien noted before blowing gently in Jantha's ear.
“Pervert,” Jantha sighed, mostly joking.
“Watch it,” Midori growled dangerously.
'Oh ho,' Jantha smiled. She looked over at Laur'ien, “And what's this I hear about you and Lieutenant Joanna Cain?”
Surprisingly Laur'ien blushed faintly. “She's just a friend,” she said firmly,. “besides, she's my superior officer.”
“In charge of Hudson's dirty works squad?” Midori guessed.
Laur'ien smiled wryly as she said, “He prefers to call us special agents.”
“Anyway,” Jantha smiled as she pointed out, “I don't think she'd smile that way at someone who was just a subordinate.”
“Yesh, well...,” Laur'ien shrugged awkwardly as they finished rattling through the city and reached the castle. They disembarked as warily as ever, then the three went into the castle, walking the halls until they reached the Queen's private meeting room.
“The guards are getting complacent again,” Midori grumbled as they were ushered in, “they didn't even try to disarm me before letting me in front of the queen.”
Jantha sighed, “Not now, Midori.”
Queen Gwen smiled warmly as her cousin appeared, waving her to a seat nearby her own as she said, “I understand we had a guest at the gates?”
“Shinka of Xiang,” Jantha agreed grimly, “his lord made us an offer: the nobles get five days to leave with their forces and the Queen gets safe passage from these lands, in return for her surrender.”
“Hell, no!” Queen Gwen snarled.
“That's about what I thought you'd say,” Jantha agreed.
To be continued....