Lore of Eternal Shadow: The Fugitive King

Chapter Nine

Jannick was astounded by how efficiently the Sussurri had gathered every fighting man and woman in the city. There had to be almost ten thousand though Jannick wasn't about to do a head count. The Sussurri themselves only numbered a hundred, however. Their black uniforms and fine curved swords made them easy to spot out of the army. Ironic considering their nominal strength was stealth. As officers in the impromptu army they seemed to be working a minor miracle in getting the rag-tag group into shape.

The majority of the remaining troops were Cuivra. They weren't so uniformly identifiable by appearance. Some had brownish hair, others had jet black. Most were darker skinned than the average Narbonese but there were lighter skinned Cuivra as well. Their clothing, armor, and armament all were a mixed bag of things. They seemed to like copper a lot; their blades were usually at least garden variety iron, but hilts and handles had some copper tucked in here and there. This was hardly a way to distinguish a Cuivra, though. Jannick identified them by their language, it was lyrical and flowed off their tongues at a much quicker pace than Jannick could gauge. The Cuivra separated themselves from the Narbonese in small clumps as they prepared.

The remaining forces came from the city guard. Their armor was plate and chainmail, their swords short and meant for one hand. They had small shields with the crest of Narbon upon them. Their armor was the color of seldom-polished steel. They were good in a street fight, but out in the open countryside outside the city Jannick questioned their ability. Mercenaries like Alyssa would've been handier but there weren't many mercenaries who weren't Cuivra in Narbon. Mercenary Guilds had little place here with a proper City Guard Corps keeping the law. What little mercenary work left was taken by the considerable Cuivra residents who had been employed by the Council.

Aside from the Sussurri, there were less than fifty Zey^Rey. They were either teachers from the Zey^Rey Academy or decked in armor that looked more ceremonial than practical. There were a few thousand Zey^Rey in the city, but most were being organized by the Sussurri to conjure magical defenses over the city... in case the small army failed.

Despite the small number, the Zey^Rey that they had would do the work of a hundred humans, give or take a few dozen. There weren't nearly as many warhorses as soldiers ready for combat in Narbon at the moment and even so most of the guards weren't trained at least in the basics of fighting on horseback. Mounted tactics would be a luxury the defenders would have to do without.

Salgan was busy organizing troops and passing information every which way. Jannick, Runa, and Alyssa waited in patient agony. Logistics were difficult to focus on with the threat of an impending attack. "Hey guys," called Zicone, "sorry I'm late." He rushed up to the party with Lauren flanking him. He quickly surveyed the assembled force now crowding a usually massive cobblestone plaza just inside the main gates to the city.

"Where were you just now?" asked Runa.

"Cleaning up the Council," replied Lauren, "We also met Caligo."

"What?!" cried Jannick.

"It's a long story," said Zicone and Jannick fought the urge to groan at this. It was a bit preposterous of Zicone to say that.

Salgan ran up to Zicone, who nodded in greeting, "I think we're ready." Salgan said grimly. His tone was hardly reassuring.

"Excellent," beamed Zicone, "What's the situation out there?"

"Latest intelligence suggests the enemy isn't advancing. They could still be mopping up the village three miles west, but that task would be done by now. I think they're waiting for something."

Zicone nodded sagely, "They aren't going to wait forever," he said, "if we have any chance of catching them before they organize, I'd suggest we move immediately."