Chosen of the Endless One [Kingdom Building]

General Draves

As dawn broke, I looked around at the gathered men and boys in formation just inside the walls of Marsh Fort. Two groups of twenty-five soldiers were ready to move. Had the Rabiss arrived later, we would have had double this number. Additionally, we were short on working crossbows. Many of the metal ones had warped, the solid wood ones were only good at close range, and only a few of the composite ones had been made. Leaving with far fewer than we intended to have by the time these raiders arrived. We were also lacking enough shield, leaving some of our lines vulnerable. These men had been training with spears for the last few months, and we would be facing down professional killers. Despite that, their resolve was firm. They were fighting for their families and their freedom. I was confident in them.

"Soldiers of the North Cove Defense Force. As many of you are aware, Pine Grove is under attack. I have the utmost confidence in their ability to hold the fort. We march to cut off their retreat and any men or supplies that may be left on their ships. It will be a swift march followed by the building of temporary fortifications. Let us show the Rabiss that North Cove is untouchable. That to attack us is to seal their fate with their own death.

A spear hit the dirt, though soft, and many others followed it until my fifty soldiers were all pounding their spears on the ground in rhythm. I lifted the megaphone to my mouth and shouted. "March."

One after the other, the platoons left the Marsh Fort, and we traveled to the coast. We marched quickly, and along the way, messengers rode back and forth to the coast, providing us with updates. Apparently, there were more raiders on the ships than they had been expecting. The small force led by Griff had been pushed off the ships, three Rabiss soldiers had died in the skirmish for the ships, and one of our rangers had died. Griff's men had since positioned themselves where they could easily hit targets with crossbows if they came on deck. Which led to two more wounded or possibly dead Rabiss.

We arrived at the remains of Cove Fort a little after noon. All that remained was a smoldering hole in the ground. Lieutenant Griff was waiting for us. The ashes were still too hot to touch, but the devastation was unreal. We had to move quickly past the fetid smell of the decomposing remains of the Rabiss raiders.

Bringing my horse up alongside the lieutenant, I asked for a report.

"We now have the trail covered by six hidden scouts, so any communication between the enemies on shore and those on the ships has been temporarily cut off. I'm not sure if they'll find a way around, but at some point, those attacking Pine Grove will become suspicious and send a group back this way."

I nodded. "Have you started building fortifications?"

"Yes, sir, and with your men, we should be able to repel a good number of men coming back down the mountain if the enemy calls for a retreat."

"We need to take the ships. We need the advantage when the others return."

Griff nodded, "We were only waiting on you. They don't have enough men to push away from shore, nor can they stick their heads above deck. All we need is about ten men to climb up on deck, and they will be trapped.

"Any more to report?"

At this point, the lieutenant started to look uncomfortable, "Sir, we found one of the bodies of the men who were in charge of blowing up the fort."

My heart sank a little. "Just one."

"I sent a man into the tunnel, and partway down, he found the remains. The boy's legs had been burned off, and the rest was pretty mangled. We cannot confirm whether it was an accident or if they were discovered and had to light it early. You can tell by what remains of the fort that no one who was anywhere near the fort would be alive to tell their tale.

"Either way, for those of us who know of the black powder, they will be remembered as heroes."

"It is a shame that more people will never know of their sacrifice."

"It will be recorded, and I doubt Amos will be able to keep the secret of black powder forever. At that time, the story of how these men destroyed half of the raiders on their own will be fully revealed."

*******

There were shouts from one of the ships and a lot of commotion. Finally, two bedraggled men came into view and started talking to one of the soldiers.

After a few of my men escorted them off the ship, I waited for a while to see if anything else happened. It looked like a surrender. This amazed me because Rabiss were extremely focused on honor, and surrender was rarely done. However, upon closer inspection, the men were Falmoren. They were escorted to the camp. I was sitting with a few of the men discussing the latest message we had received from Marsh Fort when they came forward and bowed low.

"My Lord, we are escaped slaves of the Rabiss. We have come seeking your protection."

"First, I know it is uncommon, but despite my rank, I am not a noble. I am, however, interested in your story."

"The few remaining Rabiss said that you had recaptured the cove and they were trying to find a way past you to warn the others. They became more worried when more men kept showing up. There were only ten left. One of my fellow slaves suggested we try to escape. We rushed the guards. We took out two of the remaining soldiers while they weren't paying attention, but before we could make it to the stairs, more arrived. At that point, it all became chaotic, but with the two swords and knives we had obtained from the men we all attacked in mass. There were only twenty of us, but we killed the rest of the guards. We lost ten of us in the fight."

"Your story is impressive, even with the losses. Where are you from?"

I was taken from a small village on the coast of Herron Duchy." He pointed to his companion. A tall, well-built man who had the arms of someone who had rowed ships for a long time. "My friend is from Hitub. He was sold into slavery by our people when they captured his village."

The color drained from the other man's face. Probably thinking I would make him a slave again. I was not surprised that our nobles on the field were selling people into slavery. People will justify anything when it comes to crime, and the further from the city centers you are, the easier it is to break the law.

"Do not worry, there is no slavery here. Everyone but criminals and serfs is paid a wage, and our lord is trying to make it so that his serfs get a wage."

The look of shock on the man's face was much like that of everyone else who came to Lord Amos's lands.

One of my men spoke up. "General, if they do not have many people in the other ship, we could push our way down into the other ship and take it.

"The people will surrender once they realize that the men failed in their attempt to take Pine Ridge. Now, back to work. We cannot let this latest thing distract us. I suspect we may have trouble heading our way once Pine Grove deals with the rabble."

Headman Tarrence

I looked at the barrels and equipment in front of me and swallowed hard. Why had I let them talk me into this? I had heard the reports of the explosion on the beach.

"I can't believe I let you bring this stuff in here," I said.

"Relax," Preston said. He was a short, stocky boy who always had a mischievous look in his eyes. "Most of this stuff isn't even mixed yet, so you have nothing to worry about. Well, you do, but only if you aren't careful. Besides, we are going to need this if we want to defend this place."

"It's a last resort, Lord Bicman doesn't want the knowledge of black powder getting out."

"Which is exactly why we had to bring it here. It would have been bad if they had found the black powder camp with everything in it."

"And if we use it to defend the fort, then the enemy will know about it," I said.

"I mean no disrespect, but if I understand, the latest report estimates that the enemy's numbers have grown to around 150. If that is true, it will be hard not to be overrun even with our crossbows and defensive walls, but if we can scare them with the black powder, then we could force them to retreat."

It was true. Their numbers had grown. The order had been that if a large force came against us, we should grab what we could and flee. Our first estimate was that they had about 80 men. With the crossbows we had, we could handle that many. They would have to come at us in small groups with their ladders. By morning, however, the scouts came back with an estimate of almost double the number. They had closed the noose around us, and being able to defend all of the walls seemed unlikely. There was an air of despair among the men. Now I was left with this final unpleasant option.

"Well, let's see what you have got and we will talk about it." As soon as I said this, Preston's eyes lit up with excitement, and the men behind him started to grin.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Ok, let me show you our cannons."

"What is a cannon?"

"Actually, I don't really know. It is kind of an inside joke with me and the guys. You see, when we were demonstrating the black powder to Count Bicman, we shot rocks out of a tube. He later muttered something about him going to Hell for introducing cannons into the world. I don't know where Hell is, but he didn't seem happy about it. So now we just call them cannons," he said with a laugh.

"You're telling me you have continued to work on these even after Lord Bicman expressed concern," I said with narrowed eyes.

"Well, yeah, I mean, you should see them go off," he said with almost maniacal glee. "We have been testing them to see how far we can launch things. It scares me every time one of them goes off, so I have no doubt that it will make the enemy run."

"How many of them do you have?" I asked suspiciously.

"We only have five because they keep breaking. The best ones are metal, but we have drilled holes into logs as well, and we even got hold of some of the concrete and tried making it out of that. But no matter what we do, they all eventually crack or explode."

"And you want us to use these?"

"We know how to be safe. And if we do it right, even if it doesn't kill them. Their ears will start to ring so badly they won't be able to fight."

"Ears ring?"

"Yeah, if you are too close to it, your ears start to ring like there is a bell in your head. Weirdest dang experience you will ever have. So, yeah, even if the cannons don't kill anyone, they will think the Endless One is pouring out his justice upon them." Suddenly, Preston took a serious tone. "Headman, I know Lord Bicman doesn't want knowledge about the black powder to get out, and I get it. Of anyone, we understand how bad this stuff can be if the nobles got it, but I don't want to die. I don't think Lord Bicman wants us to either. With the limited men we have, I don't think we can defend against Rabiss. But if they capture us, they might find the gunpowder. If this doesn't work, we may have to blow up the rest of this if they get close to this shed. I won't let this fall into the enemy's hands. Don't worry, though, I have an idea."

"I'm listening."

Turning to the men surrounding the boxes, barrels, and other things these men had brought from their research area, Preston said, "See that, boys, another settlement needs your help. We have a noble quest like in Lord Bicman's stories. We're going to save Pine Grove."

I shuddered, "I hope he didn't try and save Pine Ridge the same way he saved Cove Fort."

************

I stood on the wall, watching as the waterwheel and smithy burned to the ground. It was heart-wrenching, but fortunately, we had had enough warning to clear everything out before the raiders made it here. It was only fifty meters from the palisade walls, but there was nothing we could do to prevent it. The Rabiss had swarmed it, and although a few arrows and crossbow bolts hit their mark, in the end, we just didn't have enough men to cover all areas of the wall. They had already surrounded us. If we had fled to that side of the palisade with more men to shoot them, I am sure they would have started an attack in another area.

If the automatic bellows and the trip hammer didn't need the wheel, our blacksmith shop would be inside the walls. Unfortunately, we had to stand there and watch it burn. Fortunately, ours did not have as much equipment as Melnons did yet, but it was horrible to see everything we had built outside the walls destroyed.

This was just a prelude of what was to come, though. They had spent the morning building ladders to scale our walls and a battering ram for the front. They had 150 men, and we needed to spread thin enough to cover all the walls. I realized this situation was my fault. We should have fled when we had the chance. The walls were only four meters high. Not nearly high enough to give us adequate protection.

Shaking my head, I walked towards the front gates. Every able-bodied man was already on the wall. We had put two groups of five on each wall. The center of each wall was where there was the biggest gap, which hopefully meant the raiders would rush that point. Then we would get a few rounds of crossbow fire to whittle down their numbers before they reach the trap. We had a large gate on the front of the palisade and a smaller gate leading to the forge on the back. We placed two of the cannons near the front gate and one on the back. Then the remaining to in the center of the other two walls.

We had drilled holes in the wall and filled oil-soaked ropes or strips of cloth leading from the half-buried cannons. They really were odd. They had varying lengths, anywhere from the length of an arm all the way up to a meter-long log with a hole drilled into it. Small bits of metal, glass scrap, and rocks were loaded into them, and then they were camouflaged to blend with the walls.

"Sir, there is a Rabiss bearing a white flag and demanding parley," One of my runners said.

With that news, I hurried my pace to the front of the palisade, where three Rabiss stood waiting for me. These men were not tall, but they were muscular. The center one wore metal armor, and the other two had leather armor, dyed black and red. As soon as I arrived on the wall, one of them called out in a thick accent.

"I am Nibilum of the Bloody Hand. I lead this war band. I have come to make an offer. I have a contract to disrupt this place and take prisoners. Due to your willingness to burn down the fort on the cove, I have lost much, but I am still honor-bound to do what I have promised to do. So if you surrender this fort to us and allow us to take you and your men prisoners, I will forgo pushing further into the lands and taking more people."

I was no hero. In fact, recently I had found that I was a much better headman than soldier, but the idea of surrendering without a fight was repugnant. I had been entrusted with this land, and I would protect it to my dying breath. "It is good that you understand the concept of honor. I admire you for it." I wanted to say that I found their sense of honor twisted since they were willing to rape, plunder, and capture slaves, but such talk would get us nowhere. "However, I am also a man of honor, and to forfeit that which has been entrusted to me would also be dishonorable. You say that you will move no further into the territory if we sacrifice ourselves. But if you attack here, you will lose much, if not all, of your men. If you do not retreat now, you may not have enough to leave our shores. The Chosen of the Endless One protects us. If you do not retreat now thunder and destruction will befall you."

"I believe not in your god, nor do I believe that your leader is a Hand of Malitouma. I respect your honor, but I swear this day that you will become a slave or your blood will be spilled."

The conversation had lasted less than a few fractions before they had retreated to their line of men, and yet the decision I made in that moment might cost the life of every member of Pine Ridge. Every gram of the remaining ingredients for the black powder had been mixed and spread in containers throughout the village. If we could not defend our walls, then we would make sure nothing important remained in Pine Grove.

They had four ladders and a battering ram on this side of the fort. The leader began to beat his spear against his shield, and his other warriors took up the beat. Soon, our fort was surrounded by the sound of spears thumping against wooden shields. And then, suddenly, a horn blew, and everything stopped, followed by shouts of a charge. Each ladder was carried by two men. Surrounding them were other men with shields and spears, as well as a few with staff slings.

Their feet pounded across the ground, matching the thunderous noise of my heart beating in my chest. I yelled for my men to begin firing the crossbows and prayed as they flew through the air that they would strike their targets. Only a couple of men fell to the first shots, and one looked to have been struck in the arm without stopping. One of the other men who was shot got back up and continued to charge. I watched impatiently as my men reloaded their crossbows. With every second, I realized we wouldn't get off more than one more shot with the crossbows, if we were lucky. Although every man here had shot a crossbow before, few of them had a lot of experience. Most of those who shot well were with General Draves.

The men started firing as soon as they finished pulling or cranking back their crossbows. These ones seemed to hit more. One man hit a forward ladder carrier in the leg, and as he went down one side of the ladder, it dug into the dirt and gave a sharp crack. The back ladder carrier was thrown onto his back at the sudden stop, and the other people surrounding the ladder quickly dispersed to other nearby units. One of the six men carrying the battering ram was hit, and without losing momentum, another man took his place.

A total of five people went down this time, and we might actually get off another round. But suddenly a stone flew past my head, and I realized the slingers were in range. One of my men, who had been pulling the string back on the crossbow, was struck in the arm. Stumbling back, he lost his footing and fell off the wall. I refused to look away from the wall to see if he survived.

"Watch the stones," I shouted. I was a moment too late, as another stone struck one of my men in the head. A few more shots were gotten off by my crossbow men before the ladders arrived. The heavy battering ram was just behind them.

"Now!" I shouted as the battering ram came into what Preston and his demolition crew called the optimal range. A burning stick was stuck through the wall and touched the oil-soaked cloth, igniting it and causing the flame to spread down the cloth to the two cannons. All of us on the wall froze, our eyes, unable to stop watching as the flame quickly spread down the cloth. Then time stood still as the flame reached the cannon, and a second later it started up again with a sound like thunder. The palisade shook as the cannon spewed out the ammunition loaded into it.

I had heard the explosions of black powder from a distance, but I had never been so close. The demolition crew warned us about the ringing, but nothing could quite prepare me for having the rest of the world go silent for twenty heartbeats. A plume of smoke rose from just outside the wall, obscuring my vision. My hearing started to return at the same time the smoke began to clear. The sounds of men screaming in pain as they bleed out on the field are something I will never forget. The men holding the battering ram and those surrounding them had been hit and were down. My mouth hung open as I stared at two men who had their legs torn off. One man had a chunk of his face completely missing. Other men were trying to put pressure on small wounds. I couldn't believe that those little tubes had killed at least five men and left others wounded.

Everybody on the field froze and looked at the dying men near our wall. And then two more thunderclaps happened on other walls. Nobody could move, and I am ashamed to admit I was not the first one to wake from the spell. A crossbow man who had his bolt already loaded fired his crossbow. I watched in amazement as it penetrated the Captain of the raiders' skull. The sound of his body hitting the ground woke me from the spell, and I shouted, "You have seen the power of the Endless One. Flee, or the thunder will continue until you all perish."

My words acted like the cry of a wolf among the mars. Suddenly, the Rabiss started to scatter in every direction. I looked at the three other walls, and only the eastern wall still had people shooting crossbows, and one group of Rabiss had even managed to get a few people up onto the palisade. However, after those men had been struck down, no more people came.

"It worked. It worked!" someone shouted. And the momentum of his shout was carried to the other parts of the wall.

"Praise the Endless One!"

"Praise the Chosen!"

"Praise the Chosen!"

"Praise the Chosen!"

Watching the men flee, I realized we needed to capitalize on this. "Daniel. I shouted to one of the scouts. You must run as fast as you can through the woods to the cove. "Tell General Draves to tell the Rabiss that if they do not surrender, he will call down the thunder of the Endless One."

Daniel's face lit up with a grin, and he lowered himself down over the wall and sprinted off into the forest. As I turned and looked around at the fort, I saw men lying on the walkways and some who had fallen off onto the ground. I could not see everywhere, but I counted five unmoving bodies. I sighed. It could have been worse, so much worse. And it was all thanks to the black powder that Amos was worried would be released on this world. As I looked at the dying men with shards of rock and metal piercing their bodies, I began to understand. The world would never be the same now. But I do not regret it. My men were safe, and that is all that matters. Now was a time to celebrate. But first, pigeons needed to be sent.