Chapter XXXVIIII

“Scouts report an Arxian army ahead,” said Morowa. “Doesn't look like militia or your paladins.”

Malachi sighed, “Then they've taken the Domford bridge. They'll be able to surround the capital soon.”

“We'll just have to take back the Domford bridge,” Morowa said, her wide grin revealing her ivory teeth. “Do you know the terrain?”

“Yes, I grew up around here.”

“Then you will draw a map for us. Once we know what we're looking at we will plan our attack.”

Malachi wasn't great at drawing maps, but he did what he could with a slip of paper and a piece of charcoal. Most Saburans had no form of writing, so it was unusual for them to have pens or ink. He had to make due. In a short time he had a rough map of the Domford bridge.

“What is the bridge made of?” Morowa asked, looking over the map.

“Stone,” Malachi said.

“Do you think it's strong enough to hold our elephants?”

“Probably no more than one or two at a time, if that.”

“We'll make sure to be careful, then. Jibri, my love,” she said to one of her husbands, “You will lead half our horsemen to the southern approach to the Domford bridge. Guban, you will take the other half of our horsemen and strike them from the north side. They've likely fortified positions on both sides of the bridge, so I want you to do a quick ride-by attack and then ride away. While you are doing that the rest of our force will come in from the east approach, straight at the bridge, led by our elephant riders. As you said, Malachi, one elephant on the bridge at a time should be fine.”

. . .

The Arxian soldiers holding the bridge had gotten almost no sleep since the last battle. The whole night had been spent fortifying their position, mostly on the west side of the bridge, facing the capital. They expected that King Gianni and his soldiers might soon return to take the bridge back. Scouts had reported no movement yet from Marquise Nerissa in Muri, Queen Aryn's aunt and sole noble ally, the only threat they felt they had to worry about from that side of the river.

When they heard the sound of horses they looked to the hills both north and south. They expected to see more of their own approaching. A few of them did wonder why their own soldiers sounded like they were at a full gallop, but no one really questioned it or gave it serious thought. When the two cavalry units came over the hills, though, from both sides, they quickly realized that these were not their own allies. Arxians didn't have such dark skin, and Arxian soldiers certainly didn't dress like that or wield curved swords. When they realized that this was an attack they had only seconds to brace themselves, not enough time to form phalanxes or pike lines to take down the horsemen.

The Saburan horsemen plowed through them, embedded their spears into the Arxian soldiers' chests and sliced them apart with their swords as they rode by. The Arxians on the east side of the bridge barely put up a fight as the Saburan cavalry cut them down. Then, just as suddenly as they'd arrived, the Saburan horsemen rode off.

The Arxians on the bridge expected that the cavalry would come around again for another ride-by attack, and so they took positions on the east side of the bridge and raised their spears and pikes, ready for the next wave.

To their surprise, though, nothing came from either the north or the south, the horses simply galloped off until the Arxians could hear them no more.

Then the ground began to rumble. It was a low rumble, barely noticeable. In fact, the Arxians would not have noticed it at first if they had not already been listening for the sound of an approaching enemy. The sound got steadily louder. It was the sound of something large. It was as if the horses had grown to many times their original size and were now merely trotting towards them.

Then, over the horizon, they saw the source of the noise. It was some sort of gray-skinned monster, an enormous beast with white blades coming from its mouth. On its back sat what appeared to be a carriage with no roof, and in that carriage sat a man with reins in his hands and several other men with longbows, the bowstrings pulled back, arrows knocked. The archers on the back of this monster were of little consequence to the Arxians, it was the beast itself that was so terrifying.

The man holding the elephant's reins pulled on the reins and the beast slowed to a halt. The Arxians with pikes and spears all pointed their weapons at the monster. Each one trembled and silently prayed that they would be able to stop such a beast. The archers on the elephant's back aimed high and loosed their arrows on the Arxian soldiers at the bridge. Just as the arrows came down the man holding the elephant's reins blew a horn, and the elephant took off into a full charge at the Arxians defending the bridge. To their further horror, they saw another elephant charging up behind the first, then another. Each one looked like a house barreling towards them.

Just as the elephant drew close the Arxians threw their whole weight into their spears and pikes. While their weapons did pierce the elephant's skin, they did not pierce deeply, and the elephant charged through them. The Arxians were crushed under foot or impaled on the elephant's tusks. It swung its mighty trunk as it charged through. The soldiers were like tin toys to the elephants, easily tossed aside, and all of them hit the ground with a terrible crack. Those soldiers on the bridge began to run as the elephants got closer. Archers on the other side loosed their arrows, but the arrow-heads couldn't get past the elephant's thick hide. In fact, all the noise just seemed to make the elephant even angrier.

The Arxian cavalry on the other side of the bridge tried to prepare for a counter attack, but their horses were terrified at the very sight and smell of the elephants, and they panicked. The horses threw off their riders and took off. The first elephant's feet hit the bridge, and there was the sound of creaking and cracking as it charged across. It plowed Arxian soldiers out of the way or trampled them under foot.

The second elephant came to the bridge just a little too fast, and the rider pulled on the reins in hopes of slowing the beast down, but in a full charge an elephant cannot be stopped so easily. Its feet hit the bridge. The elephant trampled the soldiers who had survived the first charge but also, and more importantly, further cracked and shook the foundations of the bridge.

A minor miscalculation was about to cost the Saburans. The third elephant rider in line saw what was about to happen and pulled the elephant's reins to one side to redirect the creature, even if he could not stop its charge. Unfortunately, the third elephant stepped onto the bridge as well. Its great feet pounded the brick bridge. The mortar holding the stones together crumbled.

The bridge gave a few more loud snaps and pops as the weight of the elephants, plus the pounding of their feet, proved to be too much. The bridge collapsed under them, and both elephants toppled over into the rushing river below. Those riding on their backs fell out of the boxes and were quickly swept away by the current. The elephants themselves soon pushed themselves to their feet again, dazed. Their riders were being washed down river, pulled under as their own clothing soaked up the water. One of the two elephants reached its trunk into the water and pulled out its rider, lifting him up and placing him safely on the shore.

By then the Arxian soldiers had already fled. They'd been trained to fight people, not monsters. Many of them decided then and there that they had enough of this war, others knew that they at least needed to regroup, come up with a new plan to counter the beasts.

Morowa rode her chariot up to the broken bridge and looked over the mess. “Enemies everywhere! Even the spirits are against me, it seems!” Malachi gave Morowa a strange look. He hoped what she said was not true, and did not realize that declaring the spirits to be against one's self was simply a common expression of displeasure in Sabura. “We can't get to the capital!”

“True,” said Malachi, “But here's one less way the enemy can.”

“That's all well and good, but I wanted to plan our strategies out with your queen, work with someone who knew how Arxian soldiers fight.”

“Well, we could go to see Marquise Nerissa,” Malachi suggested. “She's the Queen's aunt, she'll help.”

Morowa sighed, “Fine, we shall go to see this Nerissa.”

. . .

Prince Eilert ran his fingers through the white fur of a frost bear. Even as large a man as he was, the bear was still many times larger than he, capable of tearing him to pieces in seconds. Yet because of the bear witches he was able to pet one, scratch behind its ears, and treat it like an enormous puppy. For all that the Agalmite priests and paladins had to offer him, nothing seemed to quite compare to what the bear witches promised.

“You'll be King of Shadia and Arx,” one of them promised. “You do not need to marry Queen Aryn, we will use our power to help you TAKE Arx!”

He'd seen the bear witches do many incredible things since then. Each bear witch could command as many as four bears at a time. With one-hundred such witches sworn to serve him he had an army of bears at his disposal. What's more, the bear witches could mix Svar paint to make his assassins invisible in the sunlight, cause his enemies to fall into a deep sleep, and even create fire out of thin air.

According to their legends, the sun was the god that created Erets, and the sun sent down the northern lights, which gave birth to the bears, sacred beasts assigned to watch over the faithful and punish infidels. Ever since then the bears would walk the earth during the summer, while the sun watched over them, and sleep during the winter, when the sun was barely to be seen.

When an Agalmite paladin single-handedly slew three grizzly bears Eilert was convinced, for a time, that the Agalmite God was the true God, and not the sun or the bears who were the sun's children. He'd managed even to convince his mother to explore the possibility that the Agalmite God was stronger. Now, though, he felt like such a fool for ever turning his back on these majestic, holy creatures.

“Prince Eilert!” one of the warriors the young prince had taken with him came running into the throne room where Eilert sat. “Someone calling herself 'Duchess Mahla' is here to see you.”

“Who?”

“She says she's the rightful ruler of Laherig, and the rightful Queen of Arx, and wants to make a deal with you,” the warrior said.

Prince Eilert played with his braided, blonde beard for a moment, considering this. “Rightful Queen of Arx? I suppose listening to some lunatic spout her delusions could be interesting. Send her in.”

When Mahla came into the room she was not dressed in her usual studded leather armor, but rather in an elegant and beautiful dress that accentuated her more feminine features. Her hair was done up in a single braid running down her back, and, since she had heard that Shadians compulsively bathed three or four times a day, she was freshly bathed, with the scent of lavender on her. Accompanying her were several young men, all dressed as servants. Each carried barrels of beer, bottles of wine, and jugs of ale.

“Your royal highness,” Mahla said, curtseying before Eilert on the throne that was supposed to be hers. “I present to you these gifts as peace offerings, and as tokens of my esteem.”

To say Eilert was not impressed would most certainly be untrue. He had expected some insane young woman to come in, ranting about how she was supposed to be the ruler of Arx, telling him to get out of her lands, and shaking a finger at him as drool spilled down her chin. Instead he saw this beautiful young blonde woman, elegantly dressed and accompanied by servants who carried expensive alcohol. Furthermore, while her dress was designed to accentuate her hips and breasts, he could also see that she had strong shoulders, strong arms, and a strong neck. This woman was both nobility and a warrior for sure. Had he been more well-versed on the customs of Arxian nobility he might have noticed the small mistakes in her manners, the sorts of mistakes that any count or marquis would have caught.

“What have I done to earn your esteem?” Eilert asked, now thoroughly intrigued by this stranger.

“In a short time, and without the other lords of Arx knowing, you took both Mt. Marwah and Laherig. You have proven your ability as a warrior and your competency as a military commander. Because of that I would like to offer you a deal.”

Eilert smiled, “Certainly, my lady. Have a seat.” He gestured to one of the leather-covered chairs nearby and Mahla picked up her dress and sat down in it.

“As I'm sure your man told you a short while ago I am Mahla, the rightful heir to the throne of Arx, as well as rightful Duchess of Laherig. As such, when I found out you and your warriors occupied Laherig I was presented with two options. The first one was to call upon my allies, have them aid me in driving you out, or even killing you. The second, however, is much more appealing to me. I understand you presented yourself as a suitor to Queen Aryn and she turned you down?”

“Yes,” Eilert said, remembering that day. “She chose a boy from the West over me, a damned boy!”

“You would have liked to have become King of Arx, wouldn't you? Then when your mother passed on you'd be king of two kingdoms, Shadia and Arx,” Mahla said. “Well, you see, the noble houses of Arx are currently fighting a war against Queen Aryn to make me the new Queen, since it is my true birthright. That being said, Queen Aryn has turned to foreign armies for her help, soldiers have come in from cities in the West to fight for her. Even my supporters could use more allies.” Mahla reached over and gently placed a hand on Eilert's thigh. “Strong warriors from Shadia could be a great help. In return I offer this; I promise that when the war is done and I am Queen that I will marry you. You will be King of Arx, and a beloved king you'll be, as you will have helped put the rightful Queen on the throne.”

“That's quite the offer,” said Eilert. “I'm not sure you truly understand what you offer. If I am to marry a queen now then it will be on Shadian terms, not on Arxian terms. We will follow my country's traditions.”

“I can understand that,” said Mahla. “An Arxian queen has scorned you already, why put up with our ways more than you have to?”

“In Shadian tradition there is only one form of marriage ceremony, and it is done as soon as the two have agreed to become man and wife,” Eilert smirked. “Do you understand?”

“I do,” said Mahla. “The...'ceremony' is purely physical, then?”

“Yes it is,” Eilert said. “We are not so promiscuous in Shadia as you are here in Arx. If a man has sexual relations with a woman she is his wife, and he is her husband. They do not take other lovers, from that moment on they belong only to each other.”

Mahla smiled and winked at Eilert. “So I get to accompany you to bed tonight and by morning I'll have the support of your army? That sounds like a win win to me.”

Eilert felt his heart flutter at this. It wasn't as if he hadn't had his fair share of offers over the years, so nothing about her coming onto him seemed out of the ordinary. Whenever he'd traveled to Arx before women had thrown themselves at him. He was very tall, had muscles like a beast, but also had a soft face, with a well-groomed beard and soft, long hair. He bathed far more often than the men of Arx, Nihilus, or the West did, so he was attractive and exotic to women all over the world. He had always turned them down, though. He waited for the day that he would take a queen, not just any wench, as his wife.

“Very well. Tonight I shall become your husband and you shall become my wife.”

“Good,” said Mahla, then turning to her servants. “Bring in the rest of the alcohol.”

“Yes, excellency,” the servants said, bowing and leaving the throne room.

“The rest?” Eilert questioned.

Mahla smiled at him and winked again. The servants soon came in with wagons full of beer, wine, ale, mead, and whiskey. “I thought you'd be likely to take me up on my offer, and if that was the case I thought it would be nice to celebrate.”

Eilert laughed, “You sure know how to treat a man, Mahla.”

Eilert had the bears all put away in their cages, just so that in case the bear witches became too drunk to control them they weren't likely to maul any of his friends, or his new bride. For the next several hours the Shadians, both warriors and Svar, in the castle reveled. They drank the alcohol and danced to the beat of the drums. Mahla danced with Eilert, all the while pretending to drink from her wine glass. The more inebriated Eilert got, the easier it was for her to pretend she was actually drinking.

“So,” Mahla asked, once Eilert was so inebriated he couldn't dance anymore, “What did you do with the soldiers who were defending this castle when you arrived? Did you make an example of them?”

“No! No, of courshe not!” Eilert said. “When people shurrender you want to treat them well, that way otherzh hear how you treated your prisonerzh and will shurrender much easier.”

“Oh? So you didn't have them executed?”

“Ha! No! The shurrendered are locked in the dungeonzh. Those cellzh are sho crowded! Ha ha!” Eilert slapped his knee and nearly fell over. Mahla caught him and helped him back up again.

“What do you say we go to bed?” Mahla whispered in his ear.

“You don't have to ashk me thrice!” Eilert said. He laughed as he staggered in the direction of the bedroom.

Mahla glanced around the room just before she left with Eilert, doing what she could to keep this giant of a man on his feet. Most of the warriors were so blindingly drunk they were asleep, and they drooled on the floor. Some had somehow lost their tunics and staggered around arguing with each other over who was the strongest or had the most adequate anatomy. This was going to be even easier than Mahla thought, once she dealt with Eilert.

Finally in the bedroom Mahla helped Eilert over to the bed. She walked him to it until his shins were right up against it, and then giving him a light push, just enough to make him trip over the edge of the bed and fall onto it. She could swear she heard the frame break when his heavy body hit the bed.

He was out, she could tell because he didn't move. For such a large man he was surprisingly easy to get disgustingly drunk. She turned him over on his back and looked at his face. His eyes were closed, and his mouth hung open, drunk asleep. She'd have all the opportunity in the world to do what she needed to do.

Taking some of the bed curtains in her hands she tied them into slip-knots around his wrists and ankles, then reinforced them with some of the sheets from the bed. She'd tied him to the bed frame, sure he wouldn't escape.

Once she was sure he was snug and secure, she picked up one of the pillows and pressed it down tightly over his mouth and nose. After a few seconds he began to flail and twitch. His strong arms pulled against the sheets and bed curtains tying him down, but the alcohol had sapped him of his strength and his coordination. Mahla had him, and she smiled to herself as his fingers twitched, curled, and finally went lip, along with the rest of his body. She held the pillow in place a few extra seconds for good measure. She wanted to make absolutely sure he wouldn't wake again, and then untied him. She moved his head up so that he was on the pillow and pulled the covers over him, just so that if anyone were to walk into the room while she was away they would assume he was sleeping, not that he had just been smothered.

With the door to the bedroom closed behind her, Mahla walked down the halls of the castle to the front gates. The men who were supposed to be guarding the gates were drunk asleep, but just in case they woke she took their swords and one of their belts, trying both swords to the belt.

Slowly and quietly she opened the gates of the castle, and the Dunn Banner knights, led by Lila, crept in with weapons drawn.

Mahla immediately left the area near the gate to head down to the dungeons. The dungeon guard had his fair share of drink as well, and was asleep on the table. She took the keys from his belt and walked over to the cells where all of the prisoners were held.

Eilert hadn't been lying, the cells were quite full. Castle Laherig's soldiers practically spilled through the bars of every cell. They'd each been stripped almost naked, and most had been beaten. So much for Eilert treating those who surrendered well.

“Who are you?” one of the soldiers in the cells whispered as Mahla started to unlock the cell.

“I'm Duchess Mahla. Queen Aryn appointed me to rule Laherig after Countess Yael was executed,” Mahla said. She heard the key click. “When I let you out of here I want you to be cautious. Don't make a lot of noise. The Shadians are almost all drunk asleep, but they're still dangerous. Move quietly, slay them with their own weapons, but don't make any noise!”

Thus without suffering a single casualty Mahla took back Castle Laherig. Her meager force slaughtered the Shadians in their sleep, and those few who did awake were far too inebriated to put up much of a fight. The bear witches were among the few to awaken and they scrambled to unlock the cages where their bear pets were kept, but the Dunn Banner knights moved in quickly and cut them down, and left the bears in the cages.

After the siege was done, Lila approached Mahla, “What do we do to liberate the rest of the towns in Laherig?”

“Now that we know about the bear witches we can use that information to our advantage. My guess is each town and village in Laherig has at least one bear witch watching over it,” Mahla said. “So, start off by assassinating each town's bear witch, and the bears should cause enough chaos for our people to rush in and liberate the town.”

Mahla had to marvel at just how easy it all was. A day ago she'd thought the task of liberating Laherig from Shadian control would have been impossible, but now it was all but done already. Truth be told, she was a little surprised just how easy it was. She would have thought Prince Eilert would have been far more on guard than he was, prepared for the possibility that someone might try to deceive him, use under-handed tactics to overthrow him. Perhaps she was just that convincing, or just that enticing? In any case, she was glad it was dealt with, and was anxious to get back to her war for the throne.