‘Read it!’ I passed the report to the mage before turning to Ivar. ‘How are the preparations going?’
‘The reconnaissance unit is ready. They’re awaiting your command. The army is preparing to march in under fire. I moved the cavalry to the rear as this terrain isn’t suited for them. They’ll serve better as support and a defence against a flanking attack.’
I put my hand on his shoulder, pride and simple soldierly camaraderie warming me from the inside. ‘Once we’ve dealt with the worst of the threat, I’ll leave you in charge. Men like you make it easy to be king.’
He frowned, and then a suspicious redness crept over his cheeks. ‘It’s my duty to serve,’ he said, avoiding my gaze, but a covert smile appeared on his lips. ‘No praise required.’
‘My lord, the report. No wonder my men are as sick as dogs. It’s our magic activating those boxes. Portals to the void. What sick mind would invent that?’ Marius was shaking. His lips were bloodless from how hard he pressed them together. ‘No wonder your dwarf followed us like a bad omen. He knew… He bloody knew all of this.’
‘Yes, he knew, and despite your protests, he did what needed to be done,’ I said. Not without satisfaction, remembering how much the mages protested destroying the boxes. ‘Mlot hates magic. He wanted to eliminate anyone using it, and he found a way.’
The understanding in his gaze gave me a strange sense of satisfaction, and I wondered if Mlot knew his intricate mechanism was being destroyed by his own kin and in the simplest of ways.
‘That’s your proof that he was right all along.’ I pointed to the opinion written by the Head of the Dagome Artificer mages. ‘It wasn’t a spell that saved your colleagues, but a pissed-off dwarf with an axe.’ I smiled at the beautiful simplicity of this act, speaking to the depth of my berserker’s soul.
Ivar grabbed the paper and read it too. ‘Perun’s arse… yes. So, this thing inside the box is…’
‘Nebra cypher,’ Marius said.
‘This Nebra cypher needed to be smashed to smithereens, and that’s it?’ Ivar grinned like a madman, and I felt the urge to join him.
‘But we’ll have ice wraiths and the deadly fog to deal with if they become charged,’ Marius said, but I clicked my tongue at his pessimism.
‘I have a simple solution for that,’ I said, pointing out something he’d clearly missed. ‘Assign your most sensitive mage to Master Orenson. That way, he can destroy the void cube before it’s charged.’
Marius’s jaw hung open, and for a moment, he looked as if he’d received a divine revelation. ‘You want me to use a mage as bait?’ he asked, and I grinned again.
‘More like a weathervane to detect the flow of aether,’ I answered, and he sighed.
‘As you command, sire,’ Marius said, turning to my second-in-command. ‘Ivar, send two men to the mage’s camp; tell them to find Sorsha, the healer. She’s the most sensitive mage we have.’
He nodded. ‘And if they find one?’
‘Then Master Orenson will know what to do,’ Marius said with a sour expression. I knew he wasn’t happy with the plan, but that didn’t concern me in the slightest.
I looked up at the sky, the dawning sun painting the clouds with its warm light. ‘After that, get our men ready. The first unit marches in half an hour, and the rest will follow them at regular intervals until we get to those strange trenches.’
They left me to finish reading. I couldn’t help but smile at Riordan’s comments on how Sana dominated the council meeting after poisoning a quarter of its members.
‘Royal shadow – no, Viper – you are the queen-in-waiting,’ I whispered, lifting the other letter to my nose. Lilac and honey filled my senses, sending delicious tingles down my spine. The urge to read her words was overwhelming, but I had a duty to my men, and I didn’t trust myself not to delay the battle to read her words over and over.
‘This will be my sweet reward.’ I said, inhaling her scent. I exhaled slowly, my hand shaking a little when I placed the missive into a hidden pocket in my gambeson. I would take it to the mine with me and read it while sitting on Mlot’s gem-encrusted throne. Maybe there would even be parts I could read to him. I’m sure he’d love to hear the words of the woman he tried to kill.
My Sana would appreciate such poetic justice.
Chapter 24
Reynard
Wiosna Mountain stood before us in all its glory; a mountain peak surrounded by verdant vegetation, its slopes jauntily topped by a cap of blinding snow. Three of its sides were so steep that nothing grew there. However, the side we faced had a gentle incline that resembled a slow-flowing river frozen in time. The only road that climbed there led to a plateau on which the entrance to Wiosna’s city was located.
Perfect for defence, a nightmare to attack.
It looked peaceful, but considering the scout’s report yesterday, this stillness filled me with foreboding. A feeling that didn’t go away despite the beauty of our surroundings.
There were several terraces, created using impressive Dwarven engineering, where they grew produce, raised animals, and stored the lumber cut from the surrounding forest. Each level was well protected by high walls and guard towers, previously used to deter bandits and wild animals, now perfectly adequate to make our attack difficult.
Then came the city itself, built within a huge antechamber and protected by a set of iron-bound doors, the entrance to the capital of dwarven life, the underground halls of King Mlot.
