Chương 107: Chapter 106- One Day Until the Breach

A soft whistling sound filled the air as the steel of Elias's poleaxe whirled around him, as he gave a heavy thrust forward the steel rang out a quiet hum, and Eli smiled as he ran his new weapon through the forms Mira taught him by himself in a meadow by the road. The assault force had left Whittenburg in a rush, riding through the rest of the night and well into the dawn, but the Viscount's Estate had been at least a half day's ride away and the mounts needed rest.

The night before Eli had tried to repair his old poleaxe, but after a few minutes of grinding at the nicked and pitted blade with a whetstone he gave it up as a lost cause, and after showing it to the Garrison's smith he had been laughed out of the forge and told to throw it in the slag pile.

Realizing that without something better he was going to be going through weapons like tissues, and since he was not one to miss an opportunity for some free equipment after him and Vivian had to practically raise themselves, Elias set to raiding the armory. When he came back to the formation carrying an armload of poleaxes and began strapping them to the back of his Ridgeback, Eli heard a deep laugh belt out behind him as a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

Cooper leaned over to study his collection with a grin, " What's all this lad? Are you opening your own shop, or do you have some extra arms I don't know about?" Elias hunched defensively ever so slightly as he continued strapping them in, " Hey the last one damn near fell apart on me alright? It's just a few." Cooper boomed out another laugh as he left to tend to his own mount, " Last I checked seven wasn't 'a few'." Elias laughed as he gave an embarrassed shrug, " Fair, who knows when one might blow up on me?

Can't show up to battle empty handed right?" Eli grinned again, Cooper had been ribbing him relentlessly all morning, but the good natured verbal jousting seemed to settle the nerves of the soldiers. I remember a similar old lesson when I first made it to the non commissioned officer ranks, if your leadership is relaxed they must have everything in hand. Really goes to show that Cooper's a crafty one, and smarter than a lot of people give him credit for. A booming voice cut across the meadow, " Oi, Spiderarms!

Which one are you working with today, number three or number seven?" Eli sighed, This is going to become a thing isn't it? He turned towards Cooper, with a laugh, " Number three was feeling lonely, had to show her some love, what's up?" Cooper hooked a thumb over his shoulder, " Brewer's almost done, about time for the meeting."

Elias jogged over to follow the big man as he led the way to where the smaller leadership group stood over a folding table near the line of resting drakes, as a small group of soldiers wandered up and down watering and feeding the beasts. Astra stood shoulder to shoulder with Corporals Mason and Brewer, Captain Winterbrook, and the three Lieutenants and Sergeants that were the platoon leaders and senior enlisted of the Emerald Grove Garrison that had accompanied them on this excursion.

Some light planning had been made on the way, but the only map that Brewer could find of the estate and the surrounding area had been fairly simple, and not enough to really use for detailed planning. Since he had made a few supply runs for the Garrison, primarily to pick up their share of the surplus produce after each harvest, Brewer had a passing familiarity with the estate grounds and the general layout of the buildings.

While he was hindered by the missing fingers on his left hand, ambidextrous writing and a sharp mind came hand in hand with an administrative non-combat class, and he offered to draw a rough mockup of the layout once they stopped to rest the formation. Elias took a moment to study the map and look over Brewer's drawing, letting out a low whistle at the quality of the work. He must have an art Skill, this is really good for something drawn by hand so quickly.

Brewer's map wouldn't win any awards, but it was quick, precise, and detailed even if it only showed a general layout of the manor, which is the best they could ask for given their situation. The estate itself was surrounded by a wide swath of farmland, primarily grape vines. The fruit were actually a much brighter red than a standard wine grape, closer to a cherry, but they were small, round, sweet, and were fermented for booze so Eli wasn't going to question the translation magic on this one.

The estate as a whole was nestled in a large section of piedmont terrain, rolling grassy hills interspersed with the occasional small forests. While the mounted formation could travel over land easily, they were pressed for time, and traveling over all the hilly forested terrain would slow them down too much.

Winterbrook had been decidedly unhappy about their choice of sticking to the trade route but, after what they had found in the chamber beneath the Yard, Astra was unwilling to brook any more delays, no matter the additional risk this incurred. Elias gave a slight grimace as his eyes caught sight of the grounds of the estate itself.

In his mind, when he heard the term 'country estate' he was picturing some sprawling vineyard in the south of France, with a manor house or a large villa surrounded by gardens for entertaining friends of the owners. Instead the 'estate' was closer to a small fortified castle that sat atop a granite protrusion topping a hill, one that had a commanding view of the surrounding area.

The steep rise to the gates only had a single road and sturdy walls, low due to the already sizable height of the hill, which surrounded the perimeter with a tower at each corner. The difference between his expectations and reality was jarring, I really don't know why I would expect anything different, this world is dangerous. Also going off of Mira's lessons, this area was the frontier of the empire a few hundred years ago, which would be about the time this area was settled.

Elias's eyes roamed the depiction on the map. Damn, this is going to be a lot harder than I thought, we would have struggled with all 200 men, I don't know if we can do this? Assaulting a fortified position with only a single company and no reinforcements? We can't even lay in a siege to soften them up. Elias glanced over at Astra as she was absorbed in studying the same map, the same undercurrent of worry traveling through the tether from her, but overlaid with a heavy and stern resolve.

Eli hardened his heart as he turned back to look down at the map again. It doesn't matter, we don't have a choice. Too many lives hang in the balance. Winterbrook looked up, and after catching sight of Coop and Eli, he glanced around before nodding, " Very well, we're all here. Let's begin. We shall start with what we know."

He traced a finger over the depiction of the castle's gate, " Corporal Brewer here tells me that the standard guard for the gate is approximately eight men per shift, four on the ground and four in the gatehouse above. I would expect the gate to be closed with all eight inside and, once they catch sight of us at least, the off duty shifts will be called, although I would expect only double the numbers with the third shift in reserve."

He tapped each tower, one for each corner of the rectangular wall that encircled the grounds, " The standard guard is two per shift per tower, with another pair roving the ramparts, albeit in normal times this is cut in half. The chance of the estate being assaulted from the rear up a steep embankment is fairly minimal, but this might have changed."

Winterbrook gestured towards the buildings inside, " There is additional little fortification past the walls, just the usual Imperial standard construction which is sturdy enough, but there are a score or two additional staff, groundskeepers, stableboys, maids, scullions, etc."

"They are unlikely to be wielding combat classes, but" he nodded in the direction of Corporal Brewer " that does not mean you can disregard them. A pitchfork to the back by a stable boy will kill a soldier as easily as a blade, and we don't know how far the cult's influence has spread." Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

He nodded in Eli and Astra's direction, " Do not forget that the men and women who assaulted our Lady included farriers, cobblers, and the like." Winterbrook stood back up and sighed, " Now what can we expect?"" We know for sure the Watch is missing, nigh on one hundred men and women, and the armed complement of the estate would be a minimum of 48, but we should assume a little more."

He glanced around the gathering, " This is before we include any mercenaries hired or levies drafted from the citizenry, and even this is before we consider whatever strange magic they have in their employ." He paused for a moment before continuing, " I've known Magnus for a couple years now, he is a steady man, knows a lot about fractures, and we have even taken a few delves together since it's expected for the Garrison and the League to work together. If this magic scares him it terrifies me."

Winterbrook gave them a hard look, " We should assume we know nothing about what they may be able to accomplish, just that it looks like they need blood, fresh from their victims in order to enact their fell arts." He turned towards Astra, " Did your source give any more details that could tell us what to look for?" Astra glanced over at Eli briefly, before turning back after a slight shake to his head, Winterbrook's eyebrow arching slightly at the exchange but smoothing out before she turned back.

She shook her head, " No, only that fresh blood was needed so they would need to wait until the last minute before they could get started, giving us time to interrupt them. What they did say, as was remarked before, that this ritual would be intended to open a breach, and a massive one at that. Given the size of the one under Whittenburg, and also that this one would be a whole order of magnitude more powerful, I would expect that they would need a lot of open space."

Eli tugged on the collar of his armor to ensure his mark was covered before channeling a stream of mana into it and silently asking, Are you watching? Anything you can add? A breeze drifted across the meadow and tousled his hair slightly as a voice spoke in his mind, Of course! Your little wyvern friend is delightful by the way, but she probably shouldn't eat that.

Elias glanced over to catch Sasha wrestling something out of Tia's mouth, what looked like a small bug, before rolling his eyes and turning back to the table. I meant about the devastating catastrophe looming over us, not Tia's snacking habits. An amused voice returned, Well the little creature is more entertaining, but very well. Eli heard a sound like someone clearing their throat, No I have nothing to add, as I said before there are rules my boy.

While some can be bent, others exist for very good reasons, and I can not interfere at this time. Besides, you're doing just fine… You and your little ember are exactly where you need to be. Eli grimaced, Outnumbered and outgunned with no intel is not exactly a great situation. A droll voice came back in return, Well it looks you have things well in hand, you can handle this, I believe in you, take care now! Eli gritted his teeth before shaking his head, par for the course I guess…

Astra leaned over the drawing of the estate's interior, " Maybe this large warehouse by the stables?" Corporal Brewer shifted for a moment before speaking up, " Sorry my Lady, but not likely. While I am sure they can effect changes, the last time I was here for a delivery there were quite a few internal walls in that warehouse. If they will need the kind of floor space you suggest they would need to demolish them and that might cave in the roof."

Astra nodded, " Well if he is not going to need the building anymore the Viscount may not care, we should still check but call it an auxiliary target." She glanced over the layout tapping an open space at the back of the keep, " There should be a garden here with a large lawn, I remember them laying out a floor for dancing, should be enough space, and I do not see anywhere else that would apply. Unless there are other suggestions, let us call that our primary target."

She received a round of " Aye"'s as she turned back to Winterbrook, " Very well, you have your orders Captain. Recommendations for the assault?" He blew out a heavy sigh before leaning forward once more, " Alright, they would have to be daft to not add artillery to the towers, and we should expect some kind of forward elements as either a scouting or screening force could be concealed somewhere along the route to delay us. If I was planning the defense I would place them here, here, or here…"

Astra groaned, " We have been going back and forth on this for almost an hour at this point." Winterbrook grimaced before responding with a grunt, " That's because there are no good choices here my Lady. If I was going to plan this operation the correct way, we would bring far more men and lay in a siege." Astra shook her head, " We do not have time for that."

Elias shrugged, " I still think you should let me take a few scouts and sneak in the rear, we could hunt the Viscount while the rest of the company lays in some long distance fire on the gate to pull the guards forward. It would avoid a direct confrontation and be the safest course for the majority of our forces." Astra gave Eli a stern glare, " That plan would not be safe course of action for you or those you took with you, taking on such a force solo would be suicide.

I might as well take you all into that field behind us and execute you myself, it would be far quicker with the same result." Winterbrook leaned forward to speak again, and Astra interrupted him as she slammed a palm on the table, " Enough!" She swept her gaze across the gathered men and women, " Need I remind you all of the stakes here?"" We simply do not have any more time to waste like this, according to our source we have little more than a single day left before the breach."

Everyone stiffened, and more than a few eyes darted towards the sky to track the position of the sun. Astra jabbed a finger at the gates, " We charge for the gates, we break them down, and we kill them all, no quarter."" We do not have a choice, we will either succeed, or we will spend our lives trying. Our duty demands nothing less." Eli snorted in amusement, " Best plan I've heard all day."

Winterbrook cleared his throat, " My Lady we would likely be stalled at the gates, we simply do not have enough men to batter them down before the force on the wall would cut us down." Astra swept her hand through air, cutting off his retort, " Best you leave the gates to me Captain. Buy me sixty seconds in range, and they will no longer be a problem." Winterbrook arched a brow at Astra before giving her a slow nod, " Aye, as you say my Lady."

With a plan in place, the briefing broke up and within minutes the assault force was mounted and back on the move. The company kept at a breakneck pace until it began to approach the valley, dropping to a more sustainable heavy trot as they entered through the last stretch of trees. The combination of the pace of their movement and their proximity to the enemy's location meant that Winterbrook had to pull the scouts back, and knowing that there were less eyes ahead of their travel path made Eli distinctly uneasy.

It's probably just pre-battle jitters, but damn if it doesn't feel like someone is staring at me. The skin on his back was crawling, and he could feel a subtle tickle in the back of his mind, almost like an itch he couldn't scratch, ever so slightly drawing his gaze off into the woods on their right. Frowning, Eli gripped his Ridgeback tighter with his knees as he tried to peer deeper in the slanted shadows of the forest cast by the mid morning light.

He caught a faint glint of something deep in the gloom, triggering [Eagle's Eye] his sight zoomed closer as he caught the faint glint of metal hidden deep inside a shadow cut into the edge of a small berm of dirt, the angle of the morning sun shimmering off a bared blade the only the only hint of the trap they were walking into. Eli pulled the focus back catching many more regular shadows scattered across the earth and a sense of horror filled him as he sucked in a huge breath and bellowed out." CONTACT RIGHT!

THEY'RE IN THE TREES!" Whistling filled the air as a storm of arrows descending on the formation.