Can't Look Back (War for Dominance Book 1) (16 page)

“Farmers walking their dogs?” asked one of the men. “At midday? That’s odd. I grew up on a farm, and all farmers do is work the farm. They don’t take afternoons off to walk their dogs.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling,” said Ghorza. “Sergeant, I have a spell that will help me see farther. May I go up on the wall to look?”

“Yes, but don’t be thinkin’ of doing anythin’ tricky,” said the sergeant. “If you do, your friends here will pay for it with their lives.”

“I understand.” Ghorza left for the stairs at a run.

The soldier met her at the top of the stairs and pointed to where he was looking. “See, they’re farmers,” he said. “Now that they’re a little closer, I can tell for sure. They both have big straw hats on, like farmers wear. The woman is wearing a red dress and the man is wearing a brown tunic. They’ve each got two dogs that they’ve got on leashes. They must be coming into town for supplies or something.”

Ghorza looked and saw that it was pretty much as the sentry described. Still, something was wrong. The soldier down below was right. Farmers didn’t take afternoons off during the harvest. Ever. Especially with an army coming that was going to eat them out of house and home. If anything, they gathered their crops faster so that they could hide them away for their own use.

“
Focus!
” Ghorza cast the far-seeing spell, and the two farmers seemed to jump closer as the air magnified the light rays. The two people approaching the town were dressed very much like the two farmers that had been working in their bean field. She couldn’t see their faces because of the big straw hats, so she couldn’t tell for sure. The only difference was that the woman had been wearing a white dress, not a red one. Looking closer, she could see that the dress had white spots on it; it wasn’t uniformly red. Something seemed odd, but she couldn’t place it.

The couple stopped and bent down to pet their dogs, and Ghorza’s focus was drawn to the dogs, which seemed to be a little bigger than usual. Still, on the frontier, some people owned deer hounds or other big dogs for protection or to help them hunt. Deer hounds were big dogs, too, but these dogs were shaggier, almost wolf-like. And they had red eyes. And the farmers’ hands that were holding the leashes, the only skin she could see, was green.

Realization hit her as the ‘farmers’ loosed their ‘dogs’ and began running after them toward the gate. “
Orcs and worgs!
” she cried. “Get inside and close the gates!”

“What’s it going to be, sergeant,” asked Dantes as the other members of his group started readying their weapons. “Want to let us in, or do you want to die out here?”

“Umm...umm...umm...” the sergeant stalled, unable to make up his mind.

“Sarge, I don’t like this,” said one of the soldiers. “I think they’re right. We need to get inside.” All 14 of the soldiers started edging toward the gates.

“
Globus Incendi!
” shouted Dantes, casting a fireball. The bead of flame streaked toward the four worgs and burst, enveloping all of them. Only two of the worgs emerged from the fireball, and both were injured.

“
Missilis Magici!
” John cast. Two missiles jumped from his finger and hit the worg in the lead, killing it. It rolled to a stop, and the last one vaulted over it.

“
Flagra!
” commanded Father Telenor, calling down a flame strike on the last worg. A vertical column of divine flames roared down from the heavens to strike the last worg. It was overkill for the already wounded worg, but served its purpose. When the flames cleared, there wasn’t much left beyond the smell of burnt hair.

Suddenly outnumbered, the two orcs skidded to a stop. In their haste to charge the gate, their hats had come off, exposing them for what they were. They turned and began running back the way they had come. By now everyone could see that the dress was red with blood; it was the farmer’s wife’s dress.

“Umm...I think we should get inside and close the gates,” said the sergeant, making up his mind. “Call out the alarm! Ring the bell! To arms! To arms!”

The companions rushed inside the gates and helped shut and bar them.

Ghorza, still on the wall, glanced up from watching the gates shut. She didn’t need a spell to see the next creatures coming out of the woods. “Ready the fires!” she yelled. “
Trolls!
”

“You there!” shouted Lady Ellyn. “Take that vat of acid to the wall.” A natural leader, she easily slipped into the vacant leadership position and started organizing the defense. With mere minutes until the trolls arrived, she already knew there wouldn’t be enough time. If the orcs and worgs had taken the guards unaware and been able to keep the gates open...she shuddered at the thought. Now at least they had a chance. She laughed. The only chance they had was to kill a few of the enemy before the walls fell and they were overrun. And they
were
going to be overrun, she knew. Of that, she had no doubt.

“You five with halberds, get to the left side of the gate,” she yelled. She started to go redirect a load of crossbow bolts, but Dantes grabbed her.

“We’ve got to go!” he urged. “We’ve got to get to the port.”

“Without me, they are going to lose the wall,” Lady Ellyn replied.

“They’re going to lose the wall even with you,” said Dantes. “If there were 50 of you, even 100 of you, they’d still lose it. They’re not ready, and
the wall is going to fall!
”

“He’s right,” said Father Telenor, “and you know it.”

“I know...,” said Lady Ellyn, “just as I know they’re all going to die. Everyone here is going to die. I just want to give them a chance.”

“All you’re doing is ensuring that our quest will fail,” said Dantes. “Even with your aid, the wall may hold for 10 minutes, but no more. At that time, the enemy will be inside the city, and everyone is going to go to the port to try to flee. It will be a madhouse, and no one is going to make it out of here alive.”

Lady Ellyn sighed again. “You’re right,” she said. “Let’s go.”

“You’re not leaving, are you?” asked the Sergeant of the Watch. “We need you here!”

“We have to go meet the last member of our group,” said Dantes. “Hold the walls until we get back. You can do this.”

“I can?”

“Yes, you can,” said Dantes. “There are a lot of people counting on you. Do your best.”

As the companions jogged off, Dantes shook his head. It was obvious that the soldiers had never trained to defend the wall. They were running everywhere, and nothing was prepared. It was going to be a slaughter, whether they stayed or not. Everyone in the city was going to die.

“Who said to close the gates?” asked a loud voice.

The group turned to find that the dark knight had arrived. Without a word being spoken, all of them charged him. Seeing the group coming at him, the dark knight turned and ran off the other way. He reached the corner of a building and was quickly lost from sight. “Stop,” said Dantes. “Let him go. There’ll be another time to kill him. He’s a distraction. Let’s get to the port.”

Lady Ellyn was the last to turn back to the port, watching where the knight had fled in the hopes that he would return. The knight was evil and needed to be dealt with. When he didn’t return, she sighed once more and turned to follow her companions. She knew she would meet him again.

“I was wondering when you’d turn up,” said Fitzber, materializing next to Dantes, causing him to jump. He looked like a turtle with a giant shield strapped to his back, and he had several large items in his arms.

“Even now you have to do that?” asked Dantes, resisting the urge to strike down the little gnome as his heart rate returned to normal. “Can’t you ever stop?”

“Stop what?” asked Fitzber with a smile. “Showing up with presents?” He gave the load he was carrying to John. There was a wrapped package, as well as a short sword and a dagger. “I guess I could, but I thought it would be better if John were armed and armored, at least a little. And I also knew I owed the good Father a new shield for the one he lost coming to my defense, sure’n that’s the truth.” He climbed out of the shield and handed it to Father Telenor.

“We need to be going,” said Fitzber, sobering. “If there’s one thing I noticed, it’s that this city is ill-prepared for its defense. I do not believe the walls will hold for more than 30 seconds, maybe not even that.”

“You’re right,” said Dantes. “They’ve probably already fallen, and we need to get going. I’ve been here before. The port is just over this hill; hopefully, we can find transportation there.”

As the noise of the city diminished behind them, the group could hear shouting and screaming coming from the other side of the hill, in male voices as well as female, and in young as well as old. The group hurried to the top of the hill. Reaching the crest, John saw a winged creature headed away from them. It was enormous and colored a dark red that tended to brown in spots. As they watched, something fell from its claws and cartwheeled down almost 500 feet to impact the surface of the bay. John realized with horror that it was a man. He hit with an enormous splash and didn’t resurface.

“
Dragon!
” Fitzber yelled, the first to recognize it, and the group ran down the hill to the port. If the dragon heard him over the screaming, it gave no indication as it made a lazy turn over the harbor to survey the results of its attack. Apparently it was pleased, as it continued its turn and headed out to sea, winging off quickly to the south. The devastation in the harbor was nearly complete, the group saw. Most of the ships had been sunk at anchor and now rested at the bottom of the bay, with only the tops of their masts above water. Only one ship was still afloat.

On a good day, that ship would have been beautiful. A three-masted xebec, its foremast leaned slightly forward, while its main and mizzen masts leaned slightly back. Each of the masts was built to carry a large triangular sail on a yard that was at a 45 degree angle to the mast. A long prow projected from its bow, giving it a look that implied speed.

Today wasn’t a good day, however, and the look was greatly diminished by the fact that more than half of its main mast was broken and leaning overboard, causing the ship to list to starboard at a large angle. A number of crew members were working on the mast.

“I think our choice of ship has been made for us,” said Dantes.

“Were it whole,” said Father Telenor, “that looks like it would be a fast trading ship.”

“Or a fast smuggler,” said Dantes, catching sight of the vessel’s name. “Ghorza, does that ship say what I think it says?”

Ghorza shook her head in disgust. “Yeah, it does,” she said. “It’s the
Pole Dancer
.”

“Ghorza and I have had dealings with its captain in the past,” said Dantes. “He styles himself to be a merchant while in port, but at sea he is also known as a pirate and a smuggler. That ship suits his life style; its speed and design help him to outrun what he can’t outfight.”

“A pirate?” asked Lady Ellyn. “Surely there is someone else more respectable that we can get to take us to Salidar.”

“Look around,” said Dantes. “Do you see any other ships available? We would have to go through the elven lands to the Commonwealth of Forgol to find another ship that could take us. That would take weeks, even if we could get safe passage from the elves. Then, we would start out further north, and the journey would take even longer. Who knows what the enemy forces would do with the extra month? They would certainly make it to the Mountain of Frost before us. Not only that, but finding someone that will take us to Salidar, especially now, is going to be extremely difficult. With the forces of Salidar already moving, no respectable captain in his right mind will want to go anywhere near there. I suspect that we will need someone that is a little more...notorious...if we hope to reach our destination.”

“I would like to accomplish this as quickly as possible,” said Lady Ellyn, “so I can get back to the defense of Norlon. If doing so means using
that
ship and
that
captain, then that is what we shall do.” Although she agreed, her face looked like she had swallowed something sour. “Who is the captain?”

“The man’s name is Philip Meyer,” said Dantes. “Captain Meyer is a professional scoundrel. He only participates in things that make him money. He is successful at what he does, and he always pays his crew well, so his crew is one of the best around. Ghorza and I had to interview him as part of a case we investigated. Captain Meyer wasn’t guilty of the crime, but he did transport goods that he probably knew were stolen and shouldn’t have accepted.”

The group jogged down the hill and through the port toward the pier that the
Pole Dancer
was tied up to. Mayhem reigned throughout the port, with fires burning in several places. People shouted throughout the port as they coordinated rescue efforts to pull people from burning buildings or the bay. In many cases they were already too late; rescue often became recovery as people that couldn’t swim drowned.

“Shouldn’t we be doing something to help?” puffed an out-of-breath John.

“Ordinarily, yes,” replied Dantes, “we would stop and help.” He could see in the eyes of Father Telenor and Lady Ellyn how much it pained them to keep going when every fiber of their being wanted to stop and help, to ease the misery of the people they were passing. “In this case, no,” he added lowering his voice. “Not only are we on an urgent mission, but the forces of Salidar are right behind us. It won’t be long before refugees come streaming over the hill, looking for a way to get out of here. With only one ship left, there will be a panic, and the ship will likely be overrun and swamped. As much as it hurts, we must not stop and help, or we will be trapped here, and our quest will be unfulfilled.”

Dantes led the way onto the pier, stopping at the
Pole Dancer’s
gangplank. The activity onboard the ship was as chaotic as the port in general. “Ahoy, the
Dancer
,” Dantes called. “Permission to come aboard?”

A harried sailor looked down at them from the ship’s railing. “Permission denied,” he said, seeing the official looking party. “We’re too busy at the moment for inspection.”

“We’re not inspectors,” said Dantes. “We have an offer of employment for your captain that we’d like to discuss.”

“He’s not taking visitors at the moment,” replied the sailor. “Come back later.”

Dantes snapped his claw, and a flame sprang up on his palm. He looked at the flame to focus the sailor’s attention on it for a couple of seconds and then said, “Your captain will be even busier if I set the ship on fire. It is urgent that we speak to him, and that we speak to him
now.
”

The sailor looked back over his shoulder as if looking for someone of a higher rank to take responsibility for the visitors, so that the decision wouldn’t be his. “Stay there,” he ordered, seeing no one. “I’ll go get him.”

The sailor left the rail.

“
Pole Dancer?
” asked Father Telenor.

“Yeah, he named it after his last wife,” said Dantes. “Don’t mention it; he’s very sensitive.”

 No more than a minute later, another head appeared over the railing. The new person had long curly hair, which poured out from under a swashbuckler hat. Where the first sailor had been missing teeth and generally looked somewhat rundown, this person appeared to be a man of some wealth. At almost six and a half feet tall and nearly 250 pounds, he was a big man who had an equally large air of authority. “Who is it that’s threatening my ship?” he roared. He rested a crossbow on the railing. Although it wasn’t pointed at the group on the pier, it wouldn’t have taken much effort to aim it down at them.

“Good to see you again, Captain Meyer,” said Dantes. He nodded to Ghorza. “I’m sure you remember Ghorza and me. It looks like you’re having some problems at the moment that you need to attend to, so I will come straight to the point. We are not here in an official capacity, but we would like to make you an offer of employment.”

“You’re not here in an official capacity? Wonderful, then you can piss off because I’ve got nothing to say to you. You couldn’t pay me enough to do business with you.” He turned to leave.

“Before you go,” Dantes called, “I think it important to tell you that even though I don’t intend to destroy your ship, it will be destroyed within the next half hour if you don’t hear me out.”

Captain Meyer turned around. “Oh? In what manner will it be destroyed?”

“Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want me to yell it out,” Dantes replied. “Come down here, and I will tell you all about it.”

Captain Meyer raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he asked. “Come down
there
where there are six of you and only one of me? I don’t think so. Why don’t you just go ahead and tell me.”

Dantes turned to Lady Ellyn. “Can you promise on your word that he won’t be hurt? We’re wasting time we don’t have.”

Lady Ellyn nodded and stepped forward. “Captain Meyer,” she said, allowing all of her goodness to shine through. John was once again reminded of the sun shining. “Surely you recognize me as a paladin, whose word is bond. I give you my solemn vow that if you come down, I will do everything within my power to protect you and restore you to your ship unharmed. I will not allow anyone to hurt you or take you captive while you are under my protection.”

“Paladin, eh?” Captain Meyer asked, trying to fight the effects of her aura. “If you’re giving me your word, I guess I can spare a minute or two.” He came to the gangplank and walked down. “Now, what is all of this talk about my ship being destroyed? I take it you mean something else beyond what has already befallen the shipping in this port?”

“Aye, indeed I do,” said Dantes. “The city of Harbortown is about to fall; the army of Salidar is at its gates.”

“The gates are strong,” replied Meyer. “How do you know they will fall? Are you a military expert now, too, as well as a policeman?”

“I am an expert,” interrupted Lady Ellyn, “and I tell you that the city
will
fall. The mayor has already switched sides and has a dark knight as his counselor. The gate was open as the army of Salidar approached. We got it closed, but the army here is criminally unprepared to fight. They have neither the equipment nor the training required to turn back an army of this size. If the combined might of the Silver Swords couldn’t stop them, there’s no way that the Harbortown rabble is going to. I don’t know what the enemy’s plan is, but I know that the assault will not be a straightforward one. When they captured Norlon they purchased the contracts of several mercenary units, which switched sides in the middle of the attack and opened the gates for the enemy to enter. Once the hill giants and trolls were inside the gates, it was a slaughter.”

“And you think they will do something similar here,” said Meyer, chewing on his lower lip.

“Think? No,” said Lady Ellyn, “I
know
they will do something sneaky. It is how they think and how they fight. They might have more people on the inside, they might have tunnels already dug under the walls; I don’t know. All I know is that they’ve been planning this for a long time, and they have a plan that will work to capture the town.” She paused, looking him in the eye. “When the town falls and the rout starts, where do you think the citizens are going to go?”

Captain Meyer looked nervously in the direction of the town. Several pillars of smoke could already be seen. The attack had commenced. “They’re going to come here,” he said. “And when they do, they will swamp the only ship they still see afloat.” He nodded, as if accepting the logic, even if he didn’t like it. “Okay, that answers the question of my ship being destroyed. You mentioned employment. You can’t seriously want to employ the
Dancer
. You see the condition she’s in, right?”

“Yes, we can see it,” replied Dantes, taking back the conversational lead. “You’re going to have to cut loose the main mast and put to sea. We are on a quest from the queen and need transportation. Let’s focus on getting underway before the mobs get here. We can discuss our destination and your terms once we’re at sea.”

“No businessman I know ever made a profit by discussing terms once he allowed armed soldiers aboard his ship,” replied Captain Meyer. “In my experience, that is a good way to find yourself held hostage on your own ship.”

“We. Don’t. Have. Time. To. Argue,” said Dantes. In counterpoint, a woman screamed from the shore where she was gathering goods that were floating in from the ships that had been sunk. The group looked and saw her pointing at the crest of the hill where a dark knight holding a large saber sat astride a large, black horse. It was the same knight from the mayor’s audience hall. The first group of Harbortown’s civilians crested the hill at the same time, giving the knight a wide berth. As they looked down into the harbor, all of them turned to head straight for the
Pole Dancer
.