Skylands Legends

18.2 An Execution

The fleet of sky ships came to a halt over the Icy Fields. The edge of the continental island of Frostfest visible from where they were. King Pen stepped past the Frost Knight, Jaidien, telling him to stabilize the ship before barking orders to the army. They all got to work and began tossing ladder rungs overboard and descending to the ground below.

Short dock ships were loaded with weapons, armors, and materials for palisades. They then departed from the great ships and settled down on the ground where they would be quickly unloaded and sent back up for more.

A thousand men and women got to work, clearing the tall frost tipped grasses from the field and planting spiked palisades in Windsor formation, a famed strategy put forth by Eternity's first God King Auric, some four hundred years ago.

Within an hour, the army had cleared a patch a mile wide and a mile long. Fortifications were set and the frost elves stood ready at their positions.

King Pen waited at the island's edge, staring down into the oblivion of thick clouds that surrounded the Frostfest. Their enemy was down there, ever so slowly approaching for battle. The things Stealth Elf had told him about this beast had him anxious. She had been scared of what it could do, and she had never been a fearful one.

"Sir!" He heard a voice call out behind him. King Pen sighed and pushed the doubts to the back of his mind. You can't doubt yourself in battle.

He turned around to see his first lieutenant, Jory, approaching. The frost elf stopped short and saluted him by raising a fist to his chest and bowing his head.

Jory was one of his most trustworthy lieutenants. A very loyal lad with plenty of fight in him. It always felt good to have him at his side during a battle. A loyal soldier with a good sense of honor.

Beyond Jory were two officers approaching him. Ned and Baelin had both been trained by King Pen. He had taught them everything they knew and saw them in the same way he saw Jory — Now that he thought about it, the same could be said for every lieutenant and officer that had been sent with him, a rare occurrence. The Empress typically avoided assigning his most loyal and trusted men to him. An odd occurrence indeed.

"Lieutenant Jory," King Pen acknowledged with a slight inclination of his head. "Officers Ned and Baelin."

The two officers did the same salute as the lieutenant.

"The palisades are set." Jory reported. "The men are all in position."

"Good," King Pen nodded, scanning the battleground they had chosen. He noticed no sign of Jaidien or any of the other fourteen knights of winter. "Where are the Frost Knights?"

Baelin nervously shifted in place. "They are on the ships, sir."

King Pen frowned. "Why?"

Baelin shared a glance with Jory before answering. "They claim it is on the Empress's orders."

His frown deepened. "I'll have a word with them."

He started past the frost elves and back towards the ships when a deep, guttural roar broke the silence of the Icy Plains. King Pen glanced back into the cloudy abyss. "Go, ready the others." He commanded. "The beast approaches."

*******

Jet Vac came to on the ground covered in shards of traptanium. He still held Splat in his arms after diving onto her when the cell had exploded. Shifting around her, he slowly rose to a sitting position. Glancing about, he found the area had been completely obliterated, debris littered everywhere he looked. The King of Chaos was nowhere in sight.