Brian's Adventures Ch. 17

Chapter 17: Empty Victory

The sun moved ever so slowly that day as it inched its way across the sky, slower than usual it seemed. It fought and clawed, reluctantly giving up each and every inch of sky as it followed its ancient path across the heavens. It would loose its battle that day, as it would every day only to fight again the next morning.

I only hoped that tomorrow morning would bring a brighter mood to everyone and better times for Tania. We were on the eve of battle, I could feel it; I knew it was coming but I did not know precisely when. I could not get Felleona's last words out of my head, the demand that I leave before dusk. I sat and wondered what she might be planning to do and tried to think of ways to counteract her suspected plans. I still clung to the thin hope that she would heed my words and surrender before dawn. If I gave up that hope, I would order the attack immediately and not wait a moment longer. I only wanted this over and done with one way or another, preferably a bloodless solution but a solution nonetheless.

I spent a great deal of time talking with Yeoline, Chezeleste and some other Guards discussing battle plans. It passed the time but did little to ease the tension we felt. We were all wound up and ready to pounce, but had nowhere to pounce just yet. Some were used to this kind of tension and took it in stride, or somehow did not show it at all. I however was not used to this kind of tension and my nerves started to fray. More than once that day did I get into a senseless argument over nothing at all with people I knew and trusted.

Finally though, the day passed and the sun set below the horizon, giving us a dazzling display of colour that on any other day I would have greatly appreciated. My mind was elsewhere it seemed, for the day had ended and so began the night of wondering or second-guessing. Felleona's deadline had passed, dusk had settled and we were still here, as immovable as we were before light left the land. The question was what would she do, for that matter what would I do; did I really have any business leading the Guards into battle?

That night was the first time I would see battle, leading or participating and I hoped that it would not be a disaster. My greatest fear was not my death or even my loss in this battle; my greatest fear was wholesale slaughter of the innocent. I didn't want to see the ground of what was to be my home stained with the blood of so many young and unwilling participants. I didn't want to have to explain to the families of the dead why I thought their daughter deserved to die.

I guess I was a little worked up over this point, but every time I looked at one of those Disciples I saw Susan, my younger sister looking at me. She was as innocent as the day she was born and I couldn't bear the thought of her under the sway of The Mistress. I could stand the thought of her dead on a battlefield as a result of what I had done even less! So in a way I saw each and every one of those Disciples as a wayward sister, someone who should be saved from themselves and not killed.

It was pitch black and night by a few hours before anything happened. Everyone was tense and a little weary due to the hour and being on edge most of the day but stood their post, no less vigil. A few were catching a short nap while others took their turn watching for trouble. I was out for a short walk along the lines, trying to ease my troubled spirit and clear my head. I remember hearing the twang of an arrow being shot and seeing an odd light out of the corner of my eye. I looked up just in time to see an arrow that was on fire land in amidst the crops, near the outer edge of one of the nearby fields.

"FIRE" Shouted someone down near where the arrow landed as the crops caught fire.

Something else caught my eye in the black night sky. I looked up just in time to see another 'fire-arrow' flying through the night sky. Then another and yet another fire-arrow was shot from high on the walls of Kincaid. Now the arrows were landing here and there, seemingly everywhere, lighting spot-fires both in the crops and in amongst our lines. Small bushes and brushes were burning as the fire-arrows rained down from Kincaid all around us. Most of the fires were stamped out quickly, but our focus was not at the walls of Kincaid anymore. Our focus was amongst our lines as we tried to avoid the arrows and bring the spot-fires under control. There seemed to be no end to the fire arrows and it was after a few minutes that I noticed that we had not as yet retaliated in anyway.

"Return fire!" I shouted as loud as I could as I looked at a group of Guards cowering behind the defenses.

"Captain?" Asked a scared Guard who looked at me with wide eyes of fear and a tone of voice like I was insane.

"Fire at will!" I shouted down the line in one direction with my best commanding voice. "Shoot those bitches!" I shouted down the line in the other direction trying to inspire my Guards as I pointed my sword to top of the walls of Kincaid.

"Yes Captain!" The Guard who had been scared a moment responded with gritted teeth of both glee and determination.

In short order our archers were shooting back at Kincaid, however as you can imagine, our targets were much harder to hit. With the Disciple archers, all they had to do was hit a piece of ground here and there with no exact target. We were shooting at their positions of protection high on the walls of Kincaid. Still I hoped to let them know we would answer their challenge and hoped to keep them ducking for cover rather than shooting at us.

It was just then when one of my Guards were hit with an arrow and screamed as her clothes went up in flames. Shortly thereafter the Guards around her had the flames out and a Healer was tending her to her wounds, but the incident boiled my blood. I realized the obvious, that we were on the defensive and you don't win battles being on the defensive.

"Get the ram, we're entering Kincaid!" I said with a gleam in my eye with my blood still pumping from seeing on of my Guards fall.

"Yes Captain!" A sergeant gleefully shouted in reply. "You heard the Captain, lets move!" She said to a group of Guards standing near her.

In short order her and two-dozen of my Guards were charging toward Kincaid as fast as they could. They had with them a large battering ram fashioned from the trunk of a tree. Our archers intensified their shots to the walls of Kincaid, hoping to keep the Disciple archers from attacking the charging Guards. I wanted to be one of the Guards charging to Kincaid with the battering ram, but none of my Guards would let me. I didn't want to send anyone else into danger while hiding safely behind the lines, it didn't seem right.

"Lieutenant!" I said getting Chezeleste's attention and motioning for her to come near me.

"Yes Captain?" Chezeleste asked as she approached.

"Circle around to the other side and see what you can do from there. I'll meet you in the middle of the Courtyard." I said pointing to Kincaid with a smirk on my face.

"Yes Captain, I won't let you down." Chezeleste said with a determined look and a smirk of her own as she got on her horse and rode off in a rush.

It was then that I looked back to see the ram crash against the door of Kincaid with a loud bang. The great door shook but didn't yield, holding firm and doing its job of keeping out invaders. The noise was so great that it echoed off the mountain, and I was not the only one to notice the Guards at the doors of the Quad. The Disciple archers then shifted their focus from our lines to the ram at the door.

I could see the Disciples gather on the walls high above the door, the repeated ramming at the door below understandably agitated them. A few of them tried to shoot arrows at the group of Guards below them, while others would toss rocks. Occasionally one would get a lucky shot in and hit a Guard and they would fall aside, wounded or worse. I grew more and more angry as more of my Guards got hit and fell.

When I saw some Disciples toss what looked like small rocks that exploded into a small cloud on impact, I got worried. I saw a number of Guards fall to the ground, some of whom had not been hit but rather only covered by the cloud. I got a strangely reminiscent feeling from this; it was like watching something that I had seen before, something that I should know. Again I saw a cloudburst at the battering ram and more Guards fell and some Guards panicked. First one Guard turned and ran back toward our lines and then another joined her. I saw the terror on their faces and I knew that the rest would follow suit in short order if something was not done quick. What I did next might not have been the brightest thing I could have done, but I knew that I had to do something and quick.

"Follow me into Kincaid!" I shouted as I charged boldly toward the battering ram.

A great cheer erupted from behind me and I heard the thunder of feet charging in to follow me. The few Guards that had started to run back to lines now stopped in their tracks looking at the now charging horde. It took but a moment before they were overrun but their fellow screaming Guards. Like it or not, they were pushed back toward the ram that they had just fled. They were in fighting spirit along with the rest of us by the time we reached the ram. We drew back the ram and rushed forward crashing it into the door with such force as to make the great door tremble with fear. When an arrow whisked by my ear landing not far behind me, it reminded me that all were not pleased with our resurgence of spirit.

"Will somebody shoot those damn archers!" I shouted as I tossed an angry finger in the direction of the Disciples at the wall overhead.

Our archers shot back and had better luck as they took up positions at our rear, about half way down the road between the fields. I could see a number of Disciples ducking for cover as some arrows got dangerously close to them. Panic ensued on the walls of Kincaid when our archers finally started using some fire-arrows of our own. I don't know exactly what we hit but I saw a great burst of flame erupt from high on the walls of Kincaid. A cheer erupted from our lines when the fireball lit up the sky. I could see their numbers dwindle at that point and only a handful of Disciples remained to harass us.

Again and again we rammed against that door with all we had, again and again it shuddered giving up a little of its strength with each blow. I don't know how long we had hammered away at those doors but I remember the last time we charged at it well. We had drawn back the ram like always and rushed it toward the door with all our weary bodies had. As we neared the door I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me as I saw the doors open up before us. More of the courtyard was revealed as two Guards opened up the doors and hurriedly pushed them all the way open. We had built up enough momentum that we could not stop until we were a good way into the middle of the courtyard.

"What's this?" I shouted to one of the many Guards that I saw inside the Kincaid Quad. "What's going on?" I demanded to know how so many Guards had entered the Quad before us.

"We got in through the far door Captain." The Guard shouted as she pointed to the far set of doors that appeared to be undamaged and yet wide open.

"How?" I asked still confused about a great many things about the situation.

"After they left they didn't bother to close the door behind them." She replied sheepishly, looking unsettled over this point.

"WHAT!" I shouted in anger at the poor Guard. "They escaped!" I snarled at the woman who didn't deserve my wrath yet got it anyways. "Would you mind telling me how we let them get away when we had them surrounded and vastly outnumbered?" I growled with the seething anger and outrage that I felt at the moment.

"I . . . I . . . I'm sorry Captain. I happened so fast." She started to stammer out and tried to continue but began to babble incoherently as tears welled up in her eyes. I was too hard on her it seemed and she could tell me no more as she ran off into the crowd whilst being comforted by another Guard.

"Bloody hell!" I cursed under my breath.

"You! Get up that tower and get that damn flag down!" Chezeleste shouted while pointing at the flag of The Mistress as she crossed the courtyard on her way toward me. "Round up those archers." She said pointing to the few Disciples that remained high on the walls some of them were still shooting at us. "I want all prisoners right here where I can see them!" She finished while pointing to a patch of ground near the watchtower. "Go easy on her Captain, it wasn't her fault!" She said as she neared me, I guessed that the crying Guard running away from me did not escape her attention.

"Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on here?" I snarled at Chezeleste a little gruffer than I should have but I was less abrasive than I was with the Guard that I had I brought to tears.

"Whoa, easy there Captain." Chezeleste said with her hands raised in a soothing manner as she stopped near me.

"Sorry" I said in a growling apology.

"It happened fast, I had just barely arrived and was coming up with a plan when they charged." Chezeleste said and paused for a breath but I cut her off before she could speak again.

"Your Guards?" I asked curiously.

"No, the Rebels." Chezeleste said accentuating the point with a slightly raised voice. "They just threw open the doors and ran out of there. When we rushed to engage them they tossed what looked like small balls at us. When they hit anything they exploded into a small cloud that put anyone to sleep when they breathed it." She finished, shaking her head with a slightly dejected look.

"Then what?" I asked, curious to know what happened next though having an idea.

"When it was clear that hand to hand combat was out of the question I ordered our archers to lay into them." Chezeleste paused for a moment. "We took a few of them down but most of the ones we hit were dragged along by the others."

"How many got out?" I asked, dreading the answer that I suspected.

"It looks like most of them." Chezeleste said with a saddened sigh.

"And Felleona?" I asked with a cautiously hopeful look.

"Gone." She sighed and we both fell silent.

"Bloody hell!" I cursed at our bad luck.

"On the bright side we took Kincaid with very few casualties." Chezeleste said in an effort to pick up my spirits and see the lighter side of things.

"That's one blessing at least." I said with a nod as I walked toward the center of the Quad and surveyed the place. "Search the Quad and report what you find to me." I said as I walked away from Chezeleste.

"Yes Captain." She said with a nod and she walked off in the other direction.

"You won!" Yeoline said with exuberant joy as she rushed up to me putting her arms around me and hugging me as tight as she could through our sets of armor. I must admit that it brought a smile to my face but it was only a fleeting smile.

"She got away with most of her troops." I said with a twinge of stinging pain in my voice.

"Yes but you took Kincaid!" Yeoline said with the same excitement as before. "She's on the run now and scurrying for cover, we will catch her soon enough, you took her home." Yeoline said with a smile that was contagious and soon enough I was smiling along with her.

"I hope you're right." I said with the barest of smiles. "It all seems too easy if you ask me. I don't think she's beaten, not by a long shot." I said as I looked into Yeoline's eyes and for a silent moment she shared the same serious look.

"Neither are you." Yeoline said with a genuine look of support. "Did you really think you could beat her in one battle? Did you think that she would just roll over and die?" She asked with a questioning look and waited for my reply.

"No, of course not." I said with a sigh as I gave in to that point.

"Well then, take your victory like a man and celebrate it, if not for you than for your Guards who have earned it!" Yeoline said with an expectant look and impatient tone as she stared me down until I broke into a smile and then to laughter.

"You're right, it is the first step on a long road." I said with a smile and for the moment I felt better.

"C'mon, lets go home." Yeoline said as she directed me toward one of the Estates in the Quad.

"Home?" I asked with a queer look, it had been so long since I had heard that phrase.

"Yes, home." Yeoline said as she pointed in the direction that we were walking in.

I looked up and when I saw it I smiled, I had to smile; just the sight of it lifted my mood. For carved in the stone archway over the large double door of one of the buildings in the Quad was the word 'Kincaid'. It felt odd walking toward those doors; I was nervous and excited at the same time. For on this strange island that I knew so little about, I finally had arrived at the place I was to call home. As we crossed the courtyard of the Quad my spirits brightened and I while I was nervous I was mostly excited. We opened up the great doors to the Estate that I was awarded back in Teroncia, and yet had fought for and won only moments before.

We took our time to explore the many rooms of the three floors plus basement Estate and I was impressed to put it mildly. It was quite possibly the largest house that I had ever seen! My home back in England was about the size of the kitchen and the room in London was no bigger than the smallest of bedrooms. At first glance the 62 bedrooms seemed excessive and ostentatious and I wondered if it was a show of wealth and position. However when you remember the size of the average Tanian family it seems practical, in a strangely Tanian sense.

The Estate was laid out nicely and had a plan to each of the floors. The basement had a few storerooms along with a large room that housed winemaking equipment complete with large Kegs that lined the walls. The main floor had all of the common rooms for the Estate: Kitchen, Dining Room, Library, Study and so forth. The second and third floors were laid out in similar fashion with bedrooms along the outside walls. The center group of bedrooms opened up to a tiny courtyard that only they could access. The courtyard was open through the second and third floors to the sky and had some small greenery growing there.

The sides that faced the courtyard were where the Estate Master and his wives slept. Somewhere over the main doors was where the Master's chambers were and they opened up to a balcony. Four rooms on either side of the Master's chambers also opened up to the balcony. I presumed these were the rooms for his wives to sleep. Each of the rooms that opened up to the balcony had glass doors. I could tell that the second floor Master's chambers were for the eldest son and the Third floor chambers were for the Estate Master himself.

The roof was flat and plain, although there were fortifications around the outside of the walls with large notches cut out. That was for you to attack but yet you could easily hide behind the stone fortifications. Apart from the opening going down to the tiny courtyard on the second floor there was no other features to note. You could see two bridges over the great doors of the Quad, one to each nearby Estate. You could walk in a circle around the whole top wall of the Quad from one Estate to each of the other three and back again.

We were on the top of the Kincaid Estate enjoying the view when Chezeleste caught up with us. It was starting to get light now and we were looking out to the south over the river and on to the Sea in the distance. I was still adjusting to the thought that the grand place I had just toured was now my home. However I could not settle into it just yet, other matters needed to be dealt with first, namely Felleona and The Mistress.