Shades of the Past: The Morcyth Saga Book Six (17 page)

“Looks like we’ll have our hands full
tomorrow,” she says.

“I’m going to see if we can’t have support
from Madoc’s forces,” he tells her.

“It would be in their best interest,” she
says.

“We’ll see,” he says.

At the plaza where their camp is set up, Lord
Pytherian and his party take their leave. A meeting with Illan and
James is scheduled to begin in an hour to work out the plans for
the following morning. The others set about getting a bite to eat
and then turning in, everyone that is but the leaders. They gather
for an impromptu meeting before James and Illan leave for their
meeting at the castle.

They meet in James’ tent. Ceadric, Delia, and
Jiron make sure their people are settled in before they join James,
Illan, and Miko in his tent. Before the last three join them, Illan
turns to Miko and asks, “Just what happened out there?”

“What do you mean?” he replies.

“I mean, the Star shone bright and you were
speaking in a language I didn’t understand,” he clarifies.

Shrugging, Miko says, “I don’t know. When the
gate opened and I saw Jiron by the gate battling those creatures,
the Star was in my hand and the words were coming out.” He glances
to the others there before adding, “I didn’t know what I was
saying.”

“Whatever it was,” Illan says, “it
worked.”

James gazes at Miko for a moment, can see the
concern in his eyes. “I don’t think it’s anything to worry about,”
he says, allaying his fears. “It must have come from Morcyth in
some way.” He sits for a moment thinking before continuing. “My
guess would be that the warrior priest summoned them from somewhere
that is in direct opposition to Morcyth and that’s why it had the
effect upon them that it did.”

“Warrior priest?” asks Illan.

James nods his head gravely then turns his
attention back to Miko.

“Sort of like your medallion back in that
underground complex in the swamp?” Miko asks.

“Precisely,” he replies with a nod. “Seems
Dmon-Li’s priests not only have the ability to control beings from
the plane of fire but also to summon demons, for lack of a better
term.”

“How is it that it works for me?” he
asks.

“I don’t know. Perhaps because it has no
choice if it is to spread its influence upon this world.”

Just then the tent flap opens and the other
three come inside. As the tent flap closes, James sees Devin there
taking his position outside his tent. Once everyone is settled in,
he says, “Illan and I will meet with Lord Pytherian shortly. With
any luck we’ll be able to count on their support in the coming
battle.”

“If they want to keep Madoc free they
better,” Ceadric interjects.

“There is a sizable presence here in
Lythylla,” adds Illan, “not only of Madoc’s forces but those of the
Alliance.” Around the group, a few heads nod in agreement.

“Whatever they decide to do, we still have a
battle to fight on the morrow.” James glances around the assembled
faces and adds, “We have a warrior priest to deal with.”

Delia gasps and Jiron nods his head, “Thought
so. When I saw those creatures at the gate, I knew something had to
be up.”

Gesturing to Miko he says, “The Star can deal
with those creatures readily enough if they should make another
appearance. What I’m concerned with is the sheer numbers we’ll be
facing. If we can’t get help from Madoc, the items I brought along
for this campaign may be completely consumed before we’re through
here.”

“You can make more can’t you?” Illan
asks.

“Sure, if I have a supply of crystals and
time,” he explains. “But keep in mind it took me all winter to
ready what we have. Anything I do on the run will not be as
effective.”

“So what are we to do?” Jiron asks. “After
this, we are going to have many more battles before we’re
through.”

“I know,” he says. “I’m not figuring on
facing any army head on after this.” He looks around at the
reaction his words may cause. Illan and Jiron know pretty much what
he plans to do so they fail to show any reaction. Ceadric though,
he looks confused.

“How can we possibly drive them out if we
don’t destroy their armies?” he asks.

“By making it difficult for them to keep
their troops in Madoc,” he explains. “Where I come from, war has
been going on for a long time. There are two main things which have
to be in place for a nation to send troops into the field.”

“The first thing is internal security. If
their kingdom has turmoil, then they’ll need their troops to
maintain order. Also if the people feel the war is harmful that can
add to the general unrest. But with the way the Empire’s run, the
will of the people will probably have minimal effect.”

Ceadric nods his head as he begins to
understand where this is leading.

“Secondly, you need to be able to support and
supply your army. A hungry army, or one whose basic needs are not
being met, will be ineffective in combat. Our band isn’t big so we
can forage for what we need for the most part. As we head into the
Empire, we take from the towns we pass.”

“What I plan is simply this,” he says and
then pauses for effect. “When the battle here is over, we
immediately head for the Empire. Destroy any and all forces we come
across, providing they are no larger than our own. Those we meet as
we move into the Empire should be those coming to reinforce the men
on the border. With any luck, they’ll be smaller bands of a
thousand men or less.”

Ceadric chuckles at that. When James glances
to him he grins and says, “A thousand men being a small band. You
sure are confident of yourself.”

“With what we have already with us,” he
replies, “a thousand men shouldn’t be too much for us to
handle.”

“We took out that many earlier this evening,”
Jiron states.

“Anyway,” continues James, “as we progress
into the Empire we destroy bridges, war factories, caravans, and
anything that may be used to take supplies to the men in Madoc. At
some point, they’re going to begin pulling forces from elsewhere to
come after us. They’ll not let us wander at will within their
borders.”

“Just like the old days,” Ceadric says to
Illan.

“Only this time, we’re not killing
civilians,” he explains.

“Good,” Ceadric states. “Never cared much for
that part.”

“But they could bring forces from the south
to hunt us down,” suggests Delia. “They wouldn’t necessarily take
the soldiers out of Madoc to do that.”

“True,” agrees James. “But if they do, that
leaves them open to rebellion from their less than complacent
subject territories not to mention the time it will take for them
to travel that far. From what we’ve gathered, many are itching for
the chance to throw off the shackles of the Empire. I’m counting on
the Empire not willing to take that risk.”

“In short, we make it extremely difficult for
them to keep their forces in Madoc by whatever means available.”
The others nod and Ceadric is actually wearing a grin.

“I like your plan,” he states.

“Our key to success is to stay mobile,” James
continues. “Keep their armies on the move while we take out their
infrastructure.”

Delia is staring at him in an odd way. “Yes?”
he asks.

“You’re doing all this simply to have a
temple built in the City of Light?” she asks.

“For the most part, yes,” he replies. “Also
to free Madoc from a fate it doesn’t deserve.” He nods at Miko and
says, “Not to mention payback for what they’ve already done to us
and others. I’d take down the entire place if I could. Slavery is
an abomination and I would like nothing better than to see every
slaver put to the sword.”

“I’m with you on that one,” says Jiron.

James glances to Miko, expecting some
reaction to that as he was only one present to be subjected to the
hell of being a slave, but he remains quiet.

“What I’ve said here remains just between us.
Agreed?” he asks. When everyone gives their agreement, he says,
“We’ve got a hard day ahead of us. I suggest you get what rest you
can before morning.” To Illan he says, “We better get the meeting
with Lord Pytherian over with so we can get a few hours of
sleep.”

Standing up, Illan nods his head. To Ceadric
he says, “Get the men bedded down. We’re up with the dawn.”

“Yes, sir,” he says and then leaves the tent.
From outside they can hear his voice shouting orders as he does
Illan’s bidding.

“We’ll be back soon,” James says as he gets
to his feet. To Delia he says, “Have Devin hit the sack too. I
won’t need him when I return.”

“Okay,” she tells him.

He glances over to Jiron and says, “Get
everyone to sleep. I want everyone up by dawn.”

“You got it,” he says.

Illan moves to leave his tent and James
follows. Outside they find an exhausted Devin and James nods to him
as he and Illan head for the castle.

Despite the lateness of the hour, the streets
are still full of people. All are simply agog with the latest
rumors about the events that transpired earlier in the evening. Few
recognize them as they move through the dark streets and they
arrive at the castle in short order.

At the gate, a page is waiting for them and
takes them to the same conference room they met in earlier.
Surprisingly, only Lord Pytherian is there, the other leaders are
absent.

“Where’s everyone else?” James asks as the
page closes the door behind him. Moving to the table, he sits down
in a chair across from Lord Pytherian, Illan takes a seat the chair
next to his.

“Thought it would be best to meet here in
private,” he explains.

“There’s no trouble is there?” Illan
asks.

“I don’t know,” he replies. “There’s been
rumors going around of an agent for the Empire within the walls,
but so far nothing definite has been uncovered.”

“Could just be rumors,” says Illan. “Such
always happens during a siege.”

“Possibly,” Lord Pytherian replies, though
his expression tells he doesn’t believe that.

James then begins to relate the layout of the
enemy forces as had been seen by himself and Delia’s group. He also
tells him of the warrior priest he encountered during his parley.
When he tells of the subsequent battle and the killing of the mage,
Lord Pytherian strikes the table and with a grin exclaims,
“Good!”

“But the warrior priest is still out there,”
he explains. “Not sure how that will affect tomorrow’s battle.”

“What do you plan to do?” he asks.

James then gives a brief rundown on what he
plans. When he’s done, he asks, “Will you and your men be willing
to back us up?”

“Plans are already being set in motion to do
just that,” he answers.

“Excellent,” says Illan.

“Once the battle is over,” James tells him,
“we’re going to push into Madoc.”

“With any luck we’ll draw elements of the
various armies currently occupying Madoc into following,” Illan
says. “If they do, you must be prepared to take advantage of that
and press those that remain hard.” James and Illan then begin to
give him a rundown of their plan once they begin moving into the
Empire.

Throughout their narration Lord Pytherian
sits and listens occasionally nodding his head at one point or
another. When they’re finished laying it down, he says, “I may be
able to help you with what you plan.”

“How?” James asks.

“By the time you’re ready to leave, I’ll give
you a map detailing where various weapon storehouses and other
vital complexes to their war effort are located.”

“That would prove most beneficial milord,”
Illan says.

“Any mines located in their northern
territory would be helpful too,” adds James. When Lord Pytherian
glances at him questioningly, he explains. “May be able to collapse
them and render them useless for years.”

“I’ll see what we can do,” he says.

“Whatever happened with Councilman Rillian?”
asks James.

“He stepped down from the council,” Lord
Pytherian replies. “Seems those he represents felt that with all
the controversy surrounding him it would be best for another to
lead.” He gives them a grin, “He wasn’t too happy about the
situation let me tell you. The man who replaced him has so far
conducted himself properly. We do have agents on him just in case
though.”

“That would be a reasonable precaution,”
agrees James.

“You needn’t worry about the former
Councilman Rillian,” he tells them. “He left when most of the
population fled Lythylla some time ago, as did the Council. It
would be bad enough to lose Lythylla, but to lose the Council would
be disastrous. The people need something to rally around in times
such as these.”

“So the civilians who are left…?” prompts
James.

“Are here to take care of the military,” he
explains. “Or those just too stubborn to leave despite what may
happen. Others are family members of the soldiers who chose to stay
rather than be separated.”

“I see,” James says.

For the next hour they work out the finer
points of the battle plan for the morning. Once all is in
readiness, Illan and James take their leave. With only a few hours
before dawn, they’re not going to get much sleep.

On the way back, they find the streets much
more deserted than they were before, the people having finally
returned to their homes. At the plaza which currently houses their
people, James and Illan say their goodnights and each head to their
tents. There are a couple of Ceadric’s men on guard duty stationed
about the area and they nod or salute when they take notice of
James or Illan.

His tent stands dark and lonely, Devin having
long since turned in as he told Delia to have him do. Opening the
tent flap, he enters and lets the flap swing closed behind him.
Exhausted beyond measure, he doesn’t even undress just collapses on
his cot. No sooner does his head hit the pillow than he falls
asleep.