Legends of Arkn

Ch. 5 - A New Divide

When Duke Robert said the roads untraveled, he meant it, Phan thought as they made their way to the loyalist enclave. They had cut down across the fields to a small goat path into the forests to the south of the King's Road. The path they followed wasn't so much a road as it was a trail through the dense brush and trees.

As they reached the edge of the woods, they were forced to dismount and lead their horses on foot. A scout from each party had set off to break trail and scout any possible threats. The Bourdoners took point, with the Duke, the General, and Phan in the middle. The Shinodans brought up the rear, cautiously watching the slowly retreating ridge line for any sign of trouble.

"Robert, what happened?" asked the General after they lost view of the road.

"When we left you, we sailed to Fort Delson to seek refuge with Baron Bradd, as we had agreed," said the Duke. "We arrived and were greeted by the leader of that lot, a man by the name of Ikzib. It seems he managed an overthrow of sorts. I don't know the location of the Baron, but I do know we can't leave an enemy army occupying the most defensible southern fortress in Arkn. And while these fools may lack experience on the battlefield, even they could hold off any army we could muster."

"But not enough to hold off the Empire," Phan said.

Duke Robert cocked an eyebrow at the General, who smiled and nodded.

"He's a sharp one, Kenji," said the Duke. Then to Phan, "Precisely. Which is why I was waiting for you to rendez-vous and bring more men. Sadly, I don't think this will be enough."

"Maybe we don't need an army," mused the General. "If we can create enough of a disturbance, we may be able to get into the keep. The one benefit of the Fort Delson is that it has just one main door. The drawback is that there are dozens of bolt holes. And I know where at least one is. If we can draw their attention from the exit, we can sneak a few men in."

"How do we draw their attention?" Phan asked.

The Duke chuckled and asked, "Have you ever seen horses or cattle react to a viper?"

"They panic," said Phan. "Stampede if they are surprised enough."

"Then we'll be the snakes in the grass," said the Duke.

"We'll supply the venom," said the General with a savage smile as he nodded to Phan.

Further conversation was interrupted but a sharp whistle from ahead. The Duke let out a breath, then replied with tree hoots that sounded remarkably like a forest owl.

The trees suddenly thinned into a thicket. An earthen berm Wall had been erected, a square outline with a shallow moat and a single draw bridge that was being lowered for the approaching party. Wooden stakes taller than a man bristled outward from the wall. To Phan, it looked like a camp fort designed to look like a porcupine; small, yes, but painful to take by force.

Two men walked across the drawbridge to greet them. They were virtual opposites to one another. The soldier on the left was average height and had ebony skin, with a short goatee. His short dreadlocks were ticked up inside a stocking cap that he wore over his head. The soldier beside him was six inches taller than his comrade and was pale where the other was dark. Crystal clear blue eyes studied the newcomers intensely. His shaved head was slightly red under the midday sun. Both men were dressed in light battle gear; chain mail shirts with the sleeves shortened to mid-arm, tunics and trousers beneath and short mail skirts that ended at mid-thigh. Nothing heavy enough to be really uncomfortable, but protective enough to save a life in the event of a surprise attack.

Not that Phan thought the men they had fought on the road could take even this small camp without suffering severe losses.

The Duke walked past the two scouts. He clasped arms with the two soldiers in the drawbridge, then waved the rest of the party into the camp.

"General, this is my Swordmaster, Tak, and my Gunmaster, Rhyu," he said, introducing the two soldiers. They both saluted, slapping their closed fists over their hearts.

"It's an honor to serve with you, General Shinoda," they said in unison. The nodded silently to Phan, who felt uncomfortable at even that amount of deference from men who were clearly more experienced than him.

"Any enemy activity to report?" asked the Duke to Swordmaster Tak.

"Negative, my lord," he said. "We've seen no signs that they know we are here."

"Rhyu, any progress on supply recovery?" Robert asked.

"There, we do have something, your Grace," said Rhyu. "We recovered the cache of quieters you indicated on the map."

"Good, because the General here has a plan and we are going to need those to do it," said the Duke with a satisfied nod.

The General raised an eyebrow in question at the Duke. Phan was impressed; the General seemed to know everything. That someone had something that was a mystery to even him gave Phan a little more hope that his crazy plan of the Duke's might work.

"Care to explain what these 'quieters' are?" the General asked.

"Better that we show you," Robert said with a wry grin.

Rhyu the Gunmaster led the group of the Duke, the General, Phan, and Swordmaster Tak across the camp toward a practice range that had been set up in one corner. Phan studied the camp and decided he was impressed with its order and discipline. Mercenary camps varied in their style and order. Daze's had been about as lax as Phan had experienced, but some of the other companies were run by ex-military types and relied on that experience to govern their bases of operations. All around them, soldiers worked on weapons, cleaning rifles and oiling swords, or busied themselves with other preparations. A large bed of hot coals was being used to cook meat, low and slow, to prevent too much smoke from giving away their position.

They reached the target range and Rhyu departed briefly to retrieve a chest from a supply shed that had been erected a short distance away. Several men were practicing their aim with modified crossbows. Though they couldn't totally mimic the power and accuracy of a rifle, they weighed nearly the same amount and were modified with long rods to mimic the distribution of weight of holding a rifle. Good enough for keeping up strength handling of a rifle and quiet enough to still practice. The practicing soldiers saluted their lord, then hurried off when he nodded for them to leave.

Rhyu set the cheat down on a table and opened it. Metal cylinders lined the box, a dozen of them in total. They were nearly a foot long, the same gunmetal grey color as Phan's rifle. Rhyu picked one up and drove out his own rifle. He placed the cylinder at the top of the rifle and the. Screwed it on to the front with a few hard twists. He handed the weapon to the General.

"Like to give it a try, sir?" he asked.

"I'll let our marksman take the shot," replied the General. He grabbed the rifle and tossed it to Phan, who caught it automatically despite his surprise. He checked the action of the rifle; a single round was chambered. Satisfied, he slapped the action closed and took aim at the furthest target.

"Maybe aim for a closer one," suggested Rhyu.

"No point trying for an easy shot when one like this might save your life," Phan replied, a little annoyed. "Sir."

Rhyu chuckled despite his face straining a bit at the retort. He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest to watch with the others.

Phan drew the rifle up, squinting down the iron sights at the target. It was about 150 yards away, nothing difficult, but the weapon was unfamiliar to him and he had no idea what to expect from the attachment.

Bap!

The rifle kicked to his shoulder, but instead of a loud bark associated with firing a weapon of that caliber, the sound was a more subdued one, not even as loud as the wuunng the crossbows had been making a few moments before.

"Gentlemen," said the General, his face openly showing the impression the test had made. "Here is the plan."