Creation of the Basin, Part Four
Arliss Castillar's Refugee Column
She appeared before them in a flash of brilliant, white light which brought a surprised gasp from the refugees, and left Arliss Castillar with his mouth hung open in surprise. The moment she saw the head-man's Clerical Vestments, she knew she'd made a mistake appearing so, but time was short, so perhaps.... She strode forward with confidence and extended a hand. "I am the Lady Dierdranna, of Newburn....come by..." "I know how ye have come, Witch." Arliss said acidly. "Take this woman into custody at once!" He barked to some drovers near him. Her eyes narrowed and she held her staff high, and then brought it to the ground resolutely. Thunder boomed before her as she did so, and the men who were making toward her stopped, eyes wide with fear. "I am no pawn for you to mishandle, Priest. I come to give you warning about what lies south, and to gather information that might help save the band I lead." A tense moment of silence followed, and Arliss finally grimaced and cleared his throat. "If it were not for the troubles we currently faced, woman, this would be far from over." "Well then, Father, you can have me stoned to death if we survive the Nilroggi, but for now, what say you to the notion that we cooperate and pool our intelligences. It seems we have greater concerns than ideology at present, yes?" "True enough." Arliss conceded grudgingly. "What news of the south then?" "The way is blocked to us and our kind. No refugees are to be allowed anywhere near the coast. What remains of the Emperor's armies are massing there for one final stand. We were instructed to turn back at once, or face death." "Aye...." Arliss whispered. "And how many troops has the Emperor?" "Some fifteen thousand when we passed that way, with more streaming in each day....perhaps twenty thousand by now." The Priest shook his head sadly. "Not enough." He whispered. "This is so...for I have seen the host with my own eyes." He turned to the drovers at the head of the column. "Men....strike a new course eastward. The way south is blocked, and we can risk traveling no further in that direction.....we turn once more toward the lands of the Harradis." "That is where we are bound for as well." Lady Dierdranna told him. "I shall instruct my people to travel north easterly and link them up with your column if you'd not mind traveling in the company of a Witch for a while yet." "I mind greatly, if you must know the truth of it....but your witching ways may help us gain passage into the Lands of the Harradis, and I must see to the survival of my people above all else, so I accept your group into my own." The Lady was about to say something in reply when Arliss held up a hand. "But as for you....stay well clear of my flock....I'll not have them corrupted by the likes of you and your kind. Bad enough that we've eight others traveling with us as it is." Dierdranna nodded. "I sensed them....they wield a vast power, but they do so clumsily...in an almost child-like fashion. I should very much like to find out more about them, and inquire as to why the Nilrog seem unaware of your presence here." "Then as to the first, be off with you as soon as we're finished talking of matters of survival. One of my men will show you the way. And as to the second, if they do not pursue us direct it is because of the brave sacrifice that many of our men are making as we stand about talking." "A diversion?" "Aye....they buy us time with their blood." The Lady nodded in understanding. "Then let us make the most of that time, shall we?" Without waiting for a reply, she strode away from Arliss, and made unerringly toward the magic she felt emanating from one of the wagons in the column.~~Ж§Ж~~
Duncan Fury's Command - North and East of Thunder Hill
“How many men of the company remain, Lieutenant?" Duncan asked wearily. "Thirty-two, Sir." Fury nodded. "Our business here is finished for today, men. We ride now back to our base, and let others take up the battle standard." The men nodded as one. Not a soul still standing was left unmarked by the day's fighting. Some worse off than others, but all now had a battle-hardened edge about them. There was no doubt in his mind that every man present would be ready to ride forth again when the time came. With a practiced flick of his wrist, he turned his Roan and led the men away. It was time to rest.~~Ж§Ж~~
Thunder Hill
"Sir, the Free Contingent stands ready to take your place!" Armando said, executing his snappy salute as he readied his company. "Make it so, Master Armando. And may the HighFather be with you." The young Freeman nodded, not bothering to correct the commander in matters of religion. Duncan Fury didn't know enough about their ways to know that J'honsa was not their patron. Rather than split hairs, Armando simply smiled and nodded. "Aye....from the look of you and yours, we shall need every blessing we can get." "It is so." Duncan told him as the company of fresh troops began making their way down the hill and into the jaws of the beast. He wondered how many of them he would see on their return trip, eight long hours from now.~~Ж§Ж~~
Castillar's Refugee Column
Scholars. The voice in her head whispered as she groaned inwardly. Academians....it is no wonder that they wielded their powers like children. "What man leads you?" She asked them as she let herself into their tent unannounced. "I do." One of their number stood and bowed shyly. "Merwynnar of Gaslow." "And what drives that power I sensed from your group, Scholar? Surely you eight on your own do not possess such strength." They blanched, but said nothing, knowing she was right. Still, they were reluctant to tell her. "I will have my rank from you!" She spat angrily. "You learned men may be wise in the ways of the Arts, but by the Mother Goddess you know next to nothing about its practical applications! If there is a way that it might be used to save us all, then you will show me and you will do so now!" It was not a request, they knew at once, and she did hold rank over them. Merwynn cleared his throat, and then nodded for one of the other scholars to produce the tome. Her eyes widened when she saw the cover. "It cannot be...." "I assure you it is, M'lady." Merwynn said as he held it between them almost like a shield. She contemplated for a long moment. "Aye....and it will take many days to decipher the words it contains to find out what spell may serve us best in holding off this host....for we must....it is not enough now to simply make off with us all....the Emperor's men are gathering for a last stand at the coast....it falls to us to find a way to deal the Nilroggi a mighty blow such that what remains of the Legions have a chance against them....by the Goddess I wish there were more time." Merwynn cleared his throat again. "M'lady....we have already begun deciphering the tome as we have been traveling...." She waited a moment to see if he would continue unasked. When he did not, she said, "Well, out with it man! The Nilroggi approach with haste, in case you have forgotten!" "There is a spell, but we dare not wield it...." "You dare not wield it." He nodded. "Tell me." "It....it is known simply as "God's Teeth."" Her eyes narrowed. It was a common enough oath or curse, but a spell bearing that same name? "I have heard of this incantation not at all." "Nor we, until the reading of this tome....but it is...." "Yes yes....with a name like that, I would imagine it is not to be wielded lightly, but there is no time. Our doom awaits us not far from here....show me." She crouched in the wagon with them, and then huddled together as Merwynn opened the dreaded tome.~~Ж§Ж~~
Lightning flickered between the brooding, heavy clouds that hung overhead like a funeral shroud.
Lady Dierdranna took in both the sight, and the underlying meaning before shaking it off as best she could and moving toward the head of the column where she knew she could find Arliss.
~~Ж§Ж~~
A Short While Later
Arliss' eyes narrowed, and she knew what he was about to say. "I know you don't like it." She told him before he could speak. "I know it runs against the grain of everything you believe in, but Arliss....Father....what other choice have we? If we run, we may well elude the Nilroggi, but what of the Emperor's men? Their numbers have no chance against the Horde." The lines of pain and indecision were almost etched into his face, and he opened his mouth to speak, but could not find the words. She put a comforting hand on his arm. "You are a good man....a good leader, but it is clear that something must be done if the Horde is to be stopped. We have in our possession the power to make a stand....let us." "My...faith...." He said weakly. "Father, the very worst that could happen would be that my fellow Wizards and I die in the effort, and if we do, there may still be time to make your escape...and you'll not have to worry about us corrupting your flock." "You would....sacrifice yourself for those who hate you?...That's a surprisingly charitable virtue for a witch." She smiled at him. "I think if you would but study us and our ways you would find that we are not so different....and yes. The Nilroggi are a problem for us all. It is a sacrifice we stand ready to make if needs be, but Father...the need is immediate, if we are to do this...the need and the time, is now." He considered for a long moment, then cast his eyes to the ground and sighed heavily. "Yes." He whispered. "Though this is far too much for one old man to bear." Lady Dierdranna touched his weathered, balding head in a gentle, soothing caress. "Rest for a time, Father....if this does not work, then your people will need you at your very best if any are to survive." In a quiet flash that drew no reaction from the priest this time, she vanished.~~Ж§Ж~~
Thunder Hill
Before the golden light of the outline of her image had disappeared fully in one place, she reappeared in another, and less than a foot from McDougil who was leading his horse toward the crest of the rise. He gasped, stepped back clumsily to avoid colliding with her, lost his footing and fell with a loud gasp, which echoed and rumbled all through the place. "Wha...Who in the name of...." "Lady Dierdranna, at your service." She said with a smile as she extended a hand and helped him to his feet. "I have come to rally your forces and have them begin making for the refugees....I can sketch out the path that will lead you to them." "Has there been some change in plan then? We were initially to...." "Aye....a significant change....we now have the opportunity to deal the Horde a mighty blow. Should we succeed, we do not want to inadvertently kill our finest warriors, and should we fail...." She did not finish the thought, but McDougil nodded in understanding nonetheless. “And, thanks to the uncanny acoustics of this place, rallying the men back to here should be an easy task.” "Aye.....it shall be indeed." McDougil said with a grin as he took in a deep breath and bellowed out a return order to the Free Company. The sounds of it crashed almost forever through the valley surrounding the hill, fading with stubborn reluctance, and leaving no doubt that the message had been received. A slightly fainter answering cry was heard in the midst of the order's echo. With the sounds of men's hoarse voices crashing all around her, she surveyed the camp. "You have wounded." "Indeed....Duncan Fury's men were the first out....too many were lost, and many of those that returned are in no shape for further fighting." As if summoned by the sound of his name, the wily Cavalryman appeared seemingly out of nowhere, sword not drawn, but loosed in its scabbard as his eyes measured the Witching woman in their midst. "I mean you and yours no harm, Duncan Fury." She told him plainly, taking him in as well, and impressed that his approach had even eluded her Eldritch senses. A rare man indeed. She was about to smile approvingly when her eyes were drawn to the discoloration of his black cloak, and the way it clung to his left side. Blood. "You have been injured....how bad is it?" She motioned toward the covered wound and Duncan winced, an almost guilty look crossing over his face. A handsome face, in a rugged, no-nonsense way, she noted. "Many of my men did not return home at all...my wounds are of scant concern to me until this dark business is concluded." "You are a leader of men, Duncan Fury....let me help you, for it is within my power to do so....if your wounds do not receive attention, you will be too weak to do what you were born for." He shook his head and their eyes met. "First, to business. Tell me how you have come to our encampment, and why a recall order was just issued to the Free Company. Then...time permitting, I have men who need more medical attention than I." She smiled at his stubborn determination, drew in a breath, and began to speak of her plan.~~Ж§Ж~~
It was a hastily concocted plan, that much was true. Held together by fraying nerves and odd bits of magic.
Fear ran through the ragged human horde like a living current, and not far off, the scrabbling sounds of the approaching Nilroggi host (with such vast numbers that they dwarfed the humans by a factor of so many that it boggled the mind) were steadily growing louder.
For their part, the humans had arranged themselves in the best way they could, Arliss leading the refugees through what amounted to a ribbon-like valley that ran between two craggy, difficult-to-navigate hills. The tattered remains of Duncan Fury’s command, The Free Company, and McDougil’s men were lined up stoically at the mouth of the valley, determined to buy what time they could for the Wizards to do…whatever it was that they were planning.
And speaking of the Wizards….stationed behind the wall of human flesh by some forty yards, standing in a circle with Lady Dierdranna at its center, holding the large, strangely menacing-looking tome that seemed almost alive with power.
Above and behind her by a few feet were a pair of globes floating in the air. Perhaps a dozen feet off the ground and two feet in diameter, the globes were their “eyes” that let them see places normally hid from their view.
The first showed Lady Dierdranna’s own small band of refugees, still moving toward them, but still quite far away. The second was placed perhaps half a league east of the mouth of the valley the refugees were moving through, in an attempt to keep watch on the progress of the approaching Nilroggi.
Already, they were quite close, and would soon be passing directly under Dierdranna’s seeing-eye. It would not be long now.
“Are we ready?” Dierdranna asked the scholars surrounding her. They were, as a single body, too terrified to speak, but they nodded at her in turn.
She nodded back and smiled what she hoped was a confident smile, wondering vaguely how many of them would survive this spell. Then it occurred to her that if they failed, it wouldn’t matter, for surely none would survive the wave of Nilroggi.
She opened the Tome, took a moment to find the dreaded Incantation, and began to speak in the language of the Witching Folk.
~~Ж§Ж~~
At the Mouth of the Valley
Duncan strode up and down the line, inspecting the men. How long ago had it been when the men who came to him were simple villagers? Men with no fighting experience at all? God it seemed like forever, but surely it had only been hours….days at best. He couldn’t remember. But now, standing before him, shoulder to shoulder, blocking as much of the mouth of the valley as they could with their bodies, were soldiers. Brave, valiant soldiers….poorly armed, many injured, tired beyond reason. Yet standing. Defiant. He could not have been more proud of them. “We will probably all die today.” He told them simply. No point in sugar coating it. Not in the eleventh hour, outnumbered a thousand or more to one. No one spoke, but he also noted that no one flinched, either. “Yes….we will probably all die today, but…we will die on our feet, and as free men.” Nods from the line. “Our mission….the only thing that is important at this point, is that we keep the horde from breaching the line and reaching the Wizards until they have completed whatever magic they think can save us….we give them time to do what they do, by doing what we do….questions?” There were none, and after a lingering moment, Duncan nodded. “Fight well. Die well, my brothers.” He whispered, and then drew his own blade and stood with them in the line. It was all over but the waiting.~~Ж§Ж~~
From the moment that the Lady Dierdranna began reading from the Tome, invoking the dreaded spell known only as “God’s Teeth” things began to swirl and change.
The air around them filled up with crackling intensity and energy. So much so that the hair on everyone’s arms began standing on end.
You could smell the energy and power building up….almost hear the humming coming from the earth itself as the Witching Ones spoke words of power that had remained unspoken for centuries…and longer.
But through the mists of time, a huge, unseen beast marched closer…drawn by the sounds of those words.
It was vast.
So vast that it defied comprehension by mere human minds. But she could feel it.
They could all feel it. And even before the spell was a third complete, she knew there would be no controlling it.
Even now, so early into the incantation, it was all they could to do wrestle with it….clumsily guiding it with their feeble efforts, and hoping to for the best.
Still, she kept the circle intact, kept her aids focused on her as best she could, and wrestled with a power as old as time itself.
~~Ж§Ж~~
The Nilroggi burst over the low rise just east of them, and paused for a moment…made unsure by a pair of things.
First, was the fact that the wily humans had stopped running. For weeks they’d chased them across the plains, hunting down odd bands and rooting out scattered pockets of resistance, and always it was the same.
Outnumbered humans ran. They performed hit-and-run attacks to preserve what numbers they had.
These humans were…different.
Soldiers standing in a thin line at the mouth of a valley, defiant.
That would not do.
And behind that frail line of flesh, the ground and air swam with the magical energies, and the Nilroggi were wary.
They had no Witching Folk of their own, so Eldritch Powers were terrifying to them, and these…these were greater than anything they had ever sensed.
Still, their numbers were beyond counting, and they had bested the humans at every turn using that very advantage, so after a momentary pause, the assembled horde let out a series of strange chittering sounds and screeches that must have been the equivalent of a blood curdling Nilroggi battle cry.
Whatever it was, it was loud enough to threaten to crack heaven itself open, and before it had fully died away, the whole of the Horde surged forward.
It would not be long now.
~~Ж§Ж~~
McDougil, whose job it was to monitor Deirdranna’s refugees till the last minute and then take to the line the moment the Nilroggi drew near, cursed at the report.
“Freak storm, you say?” He shouted louder than he needed to into the mysterious floating globe. “Got the wagons bogged down?”
“Yes,” Dierdranna’s hand maiden informed him. “The menfolk have remained with the wagons to get them unstuck, and sent the women on ahead…I am leading them…I fear that the storm swept up on us was caused by the strange magicks contained in the Tome our Lady wields.”
“I fear you are right.” McDougil muttered. “Well…keep me informed…but know that if this doesn’t work, then you are all walking into a death camp.”
The HandMaiden answered back a sad, meaningful nod.
~~Ж§Ж~~
As the incantation neared its completion, a strange, hot wind with no source swirled around the Wizards….a vortex of power forming up directly over the head of the Lady Dierdranna.
Each word she spoke became harder to speak than the last, as though the whirlwind above her was leeching the life and magic from her…channeling it. Focusing it. Directing.
Beads of sweat popped out on her forehead, and the veins in her delicate neck bulged with the effort as she continued to march toward the end of the incantation, drawing so much strength from the Scholarly Wizards around her that three of them were doubled over in pain…barely standing at all, and all of them were pale and drawn as their essence fed into her.
Finally, the last word was uttered, and silence roared into the valley almost deafeningly.
Half a heartbeat later, a drum sounded. But…not a drum…something though.
From deep inside the earth.
Deep enough and loud enough to make the ground itself tremble slightly, as though some titan had awakened far off, and was making his way here.
After the second beat, a light began forming at Dierdranna’s feet, expanding and enveloping her with each succeeding beat.
“What have we unleashed….?” She whispered.
One thing she knew for certain…they would all find out soon enough.
~~Ж§Ж~~
Several of the men chanced glances back toward the wizards when the mysterious beating sound began.
“Eyes front!” Duncan hissed. “Keep your mind on your business, men!”
All eyes snapped back to the front, to take in the sight of the approaching horde.
“Sounds like the heartbeat of the earth itself.” Armando whispered as he leaned closer to Duncan.
“Aye.” Came the hoarse, whispered reply.
~~Ж§Ж~~
It took her the span of several heartbeats to decipher what the wizards around her were mouthing in unison.
“c….can’t….ho…ld….it….” Over and over again.
And they couldn’t.
She couldn’t.
This was folly, and they would all die here.
The light that surrounded her had coalesced into the most extraordinary shape.
A man, fine and proud and strong…with ancient eyes. She recognized him from legend.
“You.” She whispered.
If he heard, he ignored her, save for the fact that he floated above her now and connected himself to her and the others in a chain of unbroken magical energy.
The earth’s heartbeat sounded again…louder now, and the legendary Eldritch Master began channeling the life force of all those in their circle into himself, and then into the earth direct.
She felt herself dying. All the wizards felt themselves dying, but the Titan was being awakened.
Another heartbeat, this one loud enough to rattle them all where they stood and threaten to knock them off their feet.
Then another, even more powerful than the last. She felt as though her teeth were being rattled right out of her head.
Another, and she heard several hundred refugees cry out in terror.
It was almost upon them. And so were the Nilroggi. They would be too late.
She squinted and looked toward the frail line of human flesh and muscle and bone, watching to see how easily they were washed away. Shedding tears for the men who would die in mere seconds.
Another heartbeat, this one so powerful that it seemed to sway and stall the Nilroggi advance for half a second, and then….
….Impact. The crunch of body against body as Nilroggi and human met in battle and blood.
Amazingly, the line held.
With a mighty heave, and at the direction of Duncan Fury, the defenders threw the weight of the Horde off of their lances and the survivors braced for another charge.
Another heartbeat, and more cries of terror. She tried not to think about how many men had just died.
Vaguely, in a dream, she wondered if Duncan himself had survived, and then she saw a flash of flowing black as he hacked off the arm of a Nilrog who had tried to sweep around him.
She smiled, weakening further still…the life fading and gone from her…leeching into the demanding earth.
He was a good man. A fine, strong….
Blackness.
~~Ж§Ж~~
“Hold the line, damn your hides!” Duncan snarled. “Can you not hear the beast awakening behind us!?”
The Nilroggi charged.
The line braced for impact as a single, living thing. And held back a second charge.
Again, with a heave, Duncan’s men threw them back. And the Nilroggi were amazed.
Never had they faced such stubborn determination. The humans now numbered less than sixty, and yet they would not yield. In fact, the Horde simply could not brush them aside. It defied reason! Defied…everything.
Furious, they prepared another charge.
“Gods be with us.” Duncan whispered as they surged forward again.
~~Ж§Ж~~
by David Sobotka: God's Teeth
~~Ж§Ж~~
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