Sons of Ironstorm - Book 4: Griffon's Stand

Inside the Ranks of the Enemy

The tjor'riin officer watched supplies being offloaded from one of the massive Kaal Eran cargo vessels sitting at the massive, weathered stone docks that marked the command base's port, the view from the nearby guard tower unimpeded by buildings or warehouses close to the water. The cargo vessel was a low-slung torpedo that rode nearly submerged, materials and goods moved in and out of its holds via small, portable cranes that hoisted heavy nets through rectangular topside hatches in the sloping upper deck and over onto the docks.

The craft looked ungainly now, its half dozen hatches opened top to top and Tjor'riin and human slave labourers scurrying about, operating the cranes and stowing the contents of the holds securely on the docks. But, with hatches down and tapered both stern and aft, the cargo ship sliced silently through the water faster than any sailing vessel he had seen. Propelled and protected by dark magic, the heavy armoured craft were the only things that were managing to penetrate the Picean blockade with any success.

A veteran of the initial war against the elves west of the Giant's Teeth, the officer had seen more than his share of success. Hence his promotion out of the Torvus'sel to the companies directly under Master Bren's command. That found him crossing both land and sea to join the wiry human first on K'Tallus then here, the Uepolua forward command base.

In doing so, the officer had seen some of the action now currently boiling the Hammer Peninsula's heart in hot blood, where the human kingdoms of Kaph and Hernak fell before the Shadow's onslaught. Many of those kingdoms' citizenry were now slaves, working in mines and labour camps both in Shadow-held territory on Reutha and here, on the Uepoluan beach head. They did so to provide the growing Shadow force with raw materials, supplies and equipment as they continued to prepare for the invasion of Reutha.

Preparations aside, however, rumour suggested the invasion was delayed yet again, both because of the Picean blockage and the inability of their demonic allies to finish and activate the Earthforge portal. So scouts had been sent flitting over the waves in strange craft that looked like giant wings, skimming close to the water on silent cushions of dark magic and keeping well out of sight to make their reconnaissance of the southern shores of Uepolua yet again, and the northwestern continent of Hydrai. If they couldn't sate their appetite for blood on the mortals of Reutha, any they found on Uepolua and Hydrai would have to serve instead.

While only two thirds the size of Reutha, Ramnor's primary land mass, Hydrai easily dwarfed Uepolua and, according to Bren's memories, had been reached by elements of both the Empire and the Cadremoor Alliance. Since Uepolua, with its limited size and resources, managed to support over a dozen elven kingdoms, it stood to reason that Hydrai, as varied in climate and terrain as its larger cousin Reutha, would most likely support an even greater number of mortal kingdoms, elven and perhaps other races as well. The mountainous continent Master of the eastern seas, the Shadow would be tactically benefited by mastering Hydrai, allowing them to bracket Reutha to the east and south.

<<Sir, you are requested in the pits,>> a sub officer announced as she reached the top of the ladder leading to the guard tower's parapet.

Nodding in acknowledgement, the officer returned the sub officer's salute and descended the ladder she had just climbed, already moving his thoughts beyond musings of Hydrai to the breeding pits, set deep in the forward base's heart. They were the prime reason the Kaal Eran sent an expeditionary force under the tentative command of Master Bren through Picean-controlled waters. 

With the promise of creating an army of Tjor'riin so vast it would sweep the forces of Light before it, the demons couldn't afford to leave the pits inactive as their need to disrupt the affairs of the mortal races on Reutha continued to grow. With Tjor'riin, trolls, Wendigo and Nahkiwin serving to churn the mortal kingdoms into chaos, it would be simplicity itself for the demons to invade Ramnor's primary continent and begin their plan of destruction.