‘Everything’s ready, sire.’ Ivar drew up beside me. Both the horse and the rider were protected by heavy chain mail that slowed the horse’s steps. ‘I don’t think this mountain’s ever been conquered, but there’s always a first time.’
‘Only mages need srebrec, and only the dwarves can mine it. Why would you attack a mine if you can’t use it?’ I asked, wondering what I would do if we succeeded. The whole Tir ha Mor continent would turn against me if I cut off its richest source of srebrec – if there was any left after Mlot’s obsessive mining.
‘Let’s go. Send in the reconnaissance unit. Let’s see what those terraces and trenches are hiding.’ It didn’t matter how long I looked at the strange creation excavated by the dwarves; I couldn’t make sense of it. I studied the ditches, frowning. They weren’t in the places I’d expect for defence, neither breaking up the road to prevent a frontal attack, nor in front of weak points in their walls.
‘Any thoughts, Tova?’ I asked the dwarf, but he shrugged.
‘Fucked if I know. Maybe he’s hiding soldiers there.’
That had merit. Dwarves excelled in close combat; their axes, dense body mass and sheer bloody-mindedness meant they excelled at chopping the enemy down, winning them many a battle.
‘Do you think they have archers?’ I asked. Tova and Ivar looked at me like I’d swapped brains with my horse.
‘They’re half blind from mining in the dark and the fumes of smelting. The day I see a dwarven archer will be the day I hang my sword on a decorative rack,’ Ivar said, pretending he didn’t see Tova glaring at him.
‘The hammer-headed prick is right; there won’t be archers, but not because we’re blind. Longbows for someone of our height?’ Tova’s comment made Ivar frown.
I laughed, scratching my neck. The sensation of being watched began to bother me. ‘Well, let’s hope someone didn’t start making crossbows. I’m guessing the mages are incapacitated again?’
‘Yes. They set up camp deeper in the forest. We have a field infirmary there, but no combat mage to support the troops.’ Ivar’s knuckles tightened on the reins, and I shared his irritation.
‘We’ll fight with what we have,’ I said, watching the soldiers slide like ghosts from the forest. ‘I’m more concerned Mlot is setting the trap, and we are walking into it with our eyes closed.’
Ivar nodded, a forlorn grimace tightening his lips. ‘My thoughts exactly, sire. The troops we encountered… if not for the void cubes, fighting them would feel more like a winter exercise than a campaign.’
‘Well, we’re about to find out.’ I pointed to the unit spreading out as they darted forward. We watched in silence as the reconnaissance forces advanced up the slope, navigating boulders and treacherous terrain, almost reaching the first line of defence. Almost…
A roar broke the silence, the ground shaking in response. A warning shout from an Observer came too late to alert the warriors. A curse slipped from my lips, drowned out by the hum of blood in my ears. I watched, helpless, as flames erupted from the trenches and the earth buckled around them.How?
My horse reared, the explosion sending it into a frenzy. The cries of men filled the air as they fought to stand amid the chaos of the avalanche threatening to engulf them. To retreat from what I realised was a genius trap devised by cunning engineers.
My heart hammered as I watched. I counted them one by one, grief spearing through my chest. My soldiers, my men, disappeared beneath the foul tide, all because my strategy had failed them. I clenched my fists in frustration, praying to the gods above and below for their safe escape. The men were lightly armoured and fleet of foot, trained in hit-and-run tactics, but even then, few of them survived.
‘That fucking cocksucking, nasty swine. Where’s his honour? Gods, I will gut the bastard like a pig.’ Ivar spat curses, desperate and grieving, while I sat motionless on my dancing horse, shocked by this senseless loss, doing what I did best: planning the next move and calculating our chances.
‘Get yourself together,’ I told my second in command. ‘Send for the healers and organise people to rescue those who might be alive under all that.’ He looked at me, so angry I thought he’d attack. ‘Ivar, that’s an order.’ He saluted, turning his horse and leaving without a word.
I gestured to the guard at my back, pointing at the survivors. ‘Bring them here.’ I needed to know what we were facing. I had an overwhelming force, but Mlot had the advantage of position, shelter, and engineering skills that almost wiped an elite platoon from the surface of the earth. ‘Fuck,’ I said, watching an officer of the reconnaissance unit heading my direction. ‘Report!’
Something was wrong with him. The man was… sparkling? His skin and clothes glimmered as if he were covered in diamonds.
‘You have to remove that dust before it rots you from the inside,’ Tova said grimly, pointing to the man. I frowned. ‘He’s covered in srebrec powder. Some bigger shards are embedded in his skin. He needs it removed before the ore poisons his blood.’
‘Report,’ I repeated, tearing off a section of my surcoat and gesturing for him to wipe his face.
‘Barrels, right before the explosion… There were barrels surrounded by strange metallic rocks.’ He coughed, spitting out bloody saliva. ‘Fucking dwarves found a way to bring down the mountain on our heads,’ he said, wincing when he rubbed the dust off his skin.
Well, my carefully planned attack just royally fucked itself. I could stomach a dent to my pride, but not the thought that my men suffered because of my oversight. ‘Anything else you can tell me about those trenches?’ I asked before passing him my water skin.
‘He can’t tell you much, but I can. There are braces holding up the rear. The entire groundwork is like a dam construction ready to burst at the slightest rupture.’ Tova’s tone was full of anger and mourning.
The captain drank deeply, swallowing as if his life depended on it.
‘Go to the infirmary. I’ll call if I have more questions,’ I said, turning to Tova, who eyed the mountain like the rock itself was his enemy.
‘If you know what it is, tell me how to overcome it,’ I said, dismounting and passing my horse’s reins to the guard. ‘Then you can explain how in Svarog’s realm that paranoid twat learned how to explode metal.’
Tova closed his eyes, his hand tightening on the head of his axe. ‘He didn’t. It’s my invention. Those terraces, the ones we grow crops on, are fertilised using bat guano. There was an accident with a barrel one day, and… I did a little experimenting, but abandoned the research for something less…’ He swallowed hard before raising his chin and looking me in the eye. ‘I guess Mlot found my notes. I should have burned everything when I followed Sana.’
