The Song and the Serpent

Adan’s gut twisted as he saw the man move toward the mysterious casks that sat against the wall. Adan ran toward him, but the warrior made a wide, desperate slash, trying to keep Adan away from him.

As he held Adan at bay, he lowered the flame in his hand and lit a long rope that trailed out of the nearest barrel. The fuse ignited and began to burn slowly.

Adan lunged forward, throwing caution to the wind, and tackling the larger man.

The warrior grunted again and toppled backwards, unable to stop Adan with his injured leg.

The fuse burned closer to the barrel.

Adan dropped is scimitar and threw several punches at the warrior’s face mask. Adan’s left hand exploded in pain as the knuckle of his smallest finger hit the rim of the warrior’s helmet, but he kept striking.

The burning fuse was less than one pace away from the barrel.

The warrior dropped his blade and put his arms up to protect his face, but Adan struck the man in the upper ribs, where his armor didn’t protect him. The warrior repsonded by trying to shove Adan off of him, but Adan grabbed the spike on the Undelman’s helmet and yanked the headdress off as he was shoved backwards.

The burning fuse was now a handsbreadth away from the barrel.

Before the warrior could land a blow, Adan snatched his sword up and brought it down on the warrior’s exposed head. There was a loud crack, and the warrior collapsed on the ground.

Adan instantly spun around and sliced the burning section of the fuse away from the barrel when it was two inches from the lid of the explosive cask.

Adan looked out at the pits and saw the last two Undelmans laying on the ground next to the last barrel, with arrows protruding from their bodies. The moon had given the archers the light they needed. The two torches that had landed on the barricade had ignited as well, and the two small blazes of firelight revealed a small opening in the barricade where the Undelmans had carried the barrels through.

Adan sighed with relief, turning back toward the wall.

“Adan?” Laxander called from nearby.

Adan looked up to the see the apprentice bard perched on the low point in the crumbling wall. The young man had clambered down after Adan and now stood above him with a short sword in his hand.

“It’s alright,” Adan said, eyeing the warriors on the ground. “They’re dead. They were trying to take down the wall.”

Laxander nodded and Adan saw relief on his face. ”I know. I saw.”

Adan looked up at the young man. “Thank you for coming after me.”

Laxander looked away. “I didn’t help very much.”

Adan gave a half hearted chuckle. He was impressed by Laxander’s courage. He had climbed down after Adan and hadn’t tried to run away when he saw the fuse ignited.

“What should we do with these?” Laxander asked, gesturing at the barrels.

“Let’s start by getting them over the wall,” Adan replied. “We can’t leave them here.”

”Rope!” Laxander shouted at the archers above.

”Throw two lengths of rope over the wall!” Adan added.

There was some confusion amoung the archers and then Adan saw two strands of hemp rope drop down a few paces to his right.

“Help me,” he said to Laxander, and tipped the first barrel over onto its side. The wooden casks were about half the height of a man, each with their own fuse, and felt as if they were full of some kind of liquid.

Laxander climbed down the short part of the wall as Adan rolled the first barrel over to the ropes. Then they secured the ropes around the barrel and signaled for the archers to haul up.

In this manner, they managed to lift all six barrrels onto the wall before finally climbing back up the crumbling section with the help of the ropes.

Once Adan and Laxander had clambered over the battlements and stood atop the wall again, Adan eyed the six barrels.

“Where should we take these?” One of the archers asked.

Adan looked out at the burning barricade, and then back at the top of hill where Kian sat mounted on Arrow. His eye was drawn to Arfon’s trebuchet as it launched a heavy stone into the air.

The sight gave Adan a wild idea that made him grin.

“I know just where take these,” he said, patting one of the barrel lids. “We’re going to give them back to the Undelmans.”

“Release!” Arfon shouted.

With a loud creak, the wooden arm of the trebuchet dragged a barrel with a lit fuse along the ground before flipping it up into the air and flinging it toward the tree line.

In the silence that followed, Adan prayed that the fuse would stay lit, or that their timing was correct, or that the barrel would land in a good place.

Kian, Adan, Corthenu, Hammund, and Hurst, and Arfon, watched with bated breath as the cask of explosive liquid sailed out of their view into the dark of night.

Light exploded at the tree line, followed by a deafening boom that split the silence and rocked the foundations of the fortress. Blue and red fire burst outward from a single point in the trees, followed by a cloud of black, billowing smoke that rose above the forest, wreathing away in the night wind.

The horses on the hilltop reared back in surprise. A wave of heat washed over the hilltop before dispellling in an instant.

“Yes!” Shouted Arfon, raising his fist in the air. “Have a taste of your own medicine, Hugo!”

Cries of surprise and dismay from the Undelmans could be heard outside the wall, before shouts of triumph and joy from the Estan warriors drowned them out.

Once Adan had convinced Havoc to be calm again, he gazed out at the site of the explosion. The trees in the forest, dry as they were from the long, hot days without water, kindled easily as the fire began to spread among their limbs. Adan watched in disbelief as the flames leapt from tree to tree, kindling the pine needles and dropping burning embers to the forest floor.

“Pivot!” Arfon shouted to his men. “Let’s hit another spot!”

Smoke began to rise above the line of trees, smoke that they could easily see in the red glow beneath. By the time Arfon’s men had adjusted the trebuchet and reloaded another barrel, the westward edge of the forest was engulfed in angry tongues of flame.

The agonizing cries of dying men floated toward the fortress on the night wind. The Undelmans in the forest were burning, burning before they could escape the inferno meant for their enemies.

“Release!” Arfon shouted again. Another creak and a whir, and a second barrel launched into the air. A few breathless moments later, another explosion rocked the basin, this time a few hundred paces north of the first one. Once again, fire erupted, pine needles kindled, and smoke billowed.

Adan began to hear shouts of panic on the walls. The clash of weapon on shield had almost ceased, replaced by the desperate shouts of warriors on the walls.

“They’re afraid!” Kian shouted over the noise. “Maker be praised, they’re afraid!”

A horn blast sounded from somewhere in the blazing treeline.

“That’s not one of our horns,” Corthenu said.

“They’re giving some kind of signal,” Kian said.

“Dare we hope it’s the signal to retreat?” Hammund asked.

“We shall see.” Kian replied.

“Pivot and reload again!” Arfon shouted.

The sound of fighting had all but ceased, and after many moments of waiting, the Estans defending the wall gave a second shout of joy.

“They’re withdrawing!” Kian whooped, raising his new sword in the air and sitting up straight in the saddle.

“They will most likely try to maneuver to a safer place and reconnoiter,” Hurst said.

“By the time we’re done,” Arfon shouted back, “there won’t be any safe places for them to maneuver to. Release!”

Creak. Whirl. Silence BOOM!!!

The third barrel ignited even further north than the first one.

“Apologies Hammund,” Arfon said after ordering his men to reload and pivot again. “But some of your fields may be burned by this strategy.”

“No apology necessary,” Hammund replied. “Helena and I knew full well that we might never see our home again after tonight, not to mention the fields. Fire away.”

Arfon did fire away.

Within moments, he had shot the remaining three barrels east and south, filling the ranks of the Undelmans with terror. Adan could easily see the enemy warriors illuminated in the conflagration, and he could hear their cries of pain and panic. The air around New Esta filled with the smell of the inferno, and ash began to fall from the sky like burning flakes of snow.

Adan turned around in his saddle and watched as the fires continued to spread through the dry forest. Dark patches of woods disappeared as the flames licked the leaves and needles, hungrily consuming the forest tinder. The Undelmans desperately ran into the dark patches, trying to avoid being trapped between the fire and the enemy archers, who continued their barrage as the treeline ignited.

Finally, the last of the Undelmans disappeared into a sliver of darkness on the southern ridge before the ring of fire closed around New Esta, and the defenders were left with the sound of their terrified screams.

Soon, the hill on which they sat was engulfed in a cloud of smoke, carried by the wind across the high points of the fortress.

Adan’s eyes stung as the vapor washed over the hilltop.

Kian coughed. “I think we may want to rethink our current position,” he said.

“Agreed,” said Corthenu, urging his horse forward.

They followed his example, riding down the hill to where the last three reserve companies stood.

The Estans cheered as they reached the base of the hill, lifting their weapons in the air in triumphant shout.

“Hail Lord Kian! Hail, Son of Halthorn!”

Kian waited for the warriors to grow quieter, as Arfon and his men arrived behind them, walking down the hill on foot.

“Good men,” Kian shouted over the gathering, “I have not merited your praise. Adan has, for it was he who climbed down the wall and prevented our destruction. Arfon and his men should also be thanked for the good work they have done.”

More cheers and shouts of “Hail Adan! Hail Arfon!”

Adan allowed himself a small grin, satisfied in the part he had played to force the enemy’s retreat.

“Pull the reserves off the wall,” Kian ordered once the clamor had died down. “In fact, call everyone off the walls except those men needed to keep watch. We’ve driven them back for now, and killed a great number of their forces, but we don’t know how many yet, and they won’t give up that easily. Hugo may try to strike again once the fire has abated.”

Corthen raised a horn to his lips and gave three short blasts, summoning the men on the walls.

“I will take up my new position at the main gate,” Kian said to the others with him.

They nodded their acknowledgement and he turned to the gathered warriors.

“See to the wounded and dead on the walls. After that, everyone who can should try to get some rest,” Kian shouted. “We’re bought ourselves some time and we should use it wisely. We will need all of our strength for the morning.”

With that, he rode to the gate, followed by his rettineiu.

When they arrived at the gatehouse, another cheer from the waiting warriors greeted them, and Kian gave them the same instructions he gave the reserves.

”We will watch carefully,” came Calden’s raspy voice from the parapet above. “No Undelman will enter the basin without me hearing about it, milord.”

”Good,” Kian replied for all to hear, then in a more quiet tone, he leaned over in the saddle toward Corthenu and said, “Summon the village leaders and governors here to me. We must make a plan for when the fires die down.”

Corthenu nodded before riding away.

Once Corthenu was gone and the warriors began to disperse, Kian sighed and dismounted.

“With your permission,” Hurst said, “I would like to see who of my order still lives, and speak with them all.”

Kian nodded to the Chief Bard, who wheeled his mount and rode away.

“And I will go to my family,” Hammund said, before following Hurst.

Kian looked at Adan. “Well?”

Adan gave Kian a questioning glance, even though he knew what Kian meant. “Well what?”

”Do you want to go see Layla?”

Adan dismounted. “Of course,” he said, “but my place is by your side, until the battle is over.”

”I thought you’d say that,” Kian said.

He led Arrow to a small sapling that grew not far from the gatehouse and tethered him to the trunk of the small tree. Adan did likewise with Havoc.

“Follow me,” Kian said, leaving his horse and walking toward the citadel.

Adan followed, this time with a look of genuine confusion.

“Where to?”

”To find Layla,” Kian replied in a casual tone. “Far be it from me to allow your duty to prevent you from seeing your sweetheart, particularly after you single-handedly saved everyone in the city.”