The Fall of Cadoria: After War Comes Betrayal

Chapter 5

Heldwr Fort was an imposing, grey-walled fortification about ten leagues from the Thargoẑan border. It was a three-walled fort with each wall being ten meters in height, the stones taken from the heart of Heldwr itself. The original small keep was situated at the back of the fort. At some point, a wall was built around the fort's perimeter, and a strong wooden gate guarded the entrance, making it larger and possible to station a larger garrison. Inside the walls, barracks for the soldiers, stables and a blacksmith created a basic but comfortable environment for any soldiers stationed there. Behind it was a gorge with a thirty-metre cliff through which the River Dwr ran, a wide and slow-moving river. In ancient Cadorian Heldwr meant Slow Farm. Hel translated as farm and Dwr as slow. A more meaningful translation was Slow River Farm essentially referring to the slowness of the river and the number of farms in the region benefitting from the fertile nature of the soil.

The reason for the fort's location was that there was a bridge that crossed the steep gorge, which was part of a major trade route. A rudimentary dock was built next to the cliff under the fort where a tunnel in the cliff was dug to supply the fort if ever the fort was under siege. The fort was built when Thargoẑa began its expansion a few centuries prior. It was part of a line of forts, permanently garrisoned with five hundred men each, at strategic positions along the border with the empire as a deterrent to any Thargoẑan incursions.

Although the fort was built so that several thousand men could man the walls, ten thousand men excluding the garrison made it quite cramped. Tents filled the fort's ground where in normal times, the soldiers would train.

Tyrran was delighted with the speed the Cadorian army took to reach the fort. He allowed his men two days' rest, as a reward and to recover before preparations for its and Cadoria's defence began in earnest. The soldiers garrisoned at the fort performed all the duties required and to keep watch. Once the two days were over, Tyrran ordered scouts to be sent out to find out where the invading Thargoẑan army was.

A secure room was found in the keep for Braganẑa and the children. It was rudimentary to what they were used to, but it was comfortable, with camp beds and a dining table. Tyrran was surprised at his children's lack of complaints.

Tyrran called a council of war with his generals to tell them how he planned to defend the fort. They all stood around a table in a chamber in the keep in the centre of the fort. A map of the fort, and the surrounding area on it, lay on the table. The chamber was not large and had bare stone walls but it more than served its purpose. They were all used to having these discussions in far worse places, so they were more than happy to have the war council somewhere dry for a change. Tyrran had fought with his generals since his first battle at Mosfell Bridge when they were all no more than boys and he trusted them without question and they of him. Every single man in the room was an aggressive leader. Although Tyrran led them in major battles, they all had won victories in skirmishes or successfully defended villages against Thargoẑan raiding parties. On their own they were good but together they were terrifying.

"The chances are that the rest of the Cadorian army won't arrive before the Thargoẑans do," Tyrran told his generals, his face grim, "and we are heavily outnumbered five to one, so we aren't in a great situation. However, the fort is strong, morale is high, we have time to prepare, and we are well stocked with supplies. Fortunately, time is something the Thargoẑans don't have. With us here it will force them to take the fort before they head to Cadora. I say we stop them here, no quarter given. We will give them two choices, retreat to their empire with their tail between their legs or be buried here. While I breathe, I will not see Cadoria become a mere province. We are a proud and glorious nation. I will never allow it to be crushed under the boot of a foreign empire," Tyrran was almost snarling as he spoke yet there was a passionate fire in his eye leaving in doubt that he meant what he said.