Chapter 25: "The Fall of Petraz: A Maze of Folly"

Pterosaurs led the morning chorus at dawn, followed soon after by the birds. With that as a cue, the forces of Enoménos also rose. There was no morning trumpet, no rallying cry. Soldiers, human and dinosaur alike, simply donned their armor, quietly ate their morning rations in a brisk fashion, and began marching down in column formation into the ravine.

The only ones left in the camp were Nannaya, Caseus, Cleo, and a contingent of 400 reserves.

The prince and his entourage of two stood at the rocky precipice over the descending trail, watching the march. The boy was watching with an obvious pout as they departed.

“Chin up, Caseus. With any luck, this will be a brief and bloodless surrender!” Cleo tried in vain to soothe his bruised ego. All three knew this was not going to be a simple situation. You did not build an intricate maze surrounding your entire city if you were just going to lay down and surrender.

“I still don't see how you could ask me to stay behind, when I should be down there punishing those heretics.”

“Oh enough, Caseus,” Nannaya sighed. “We all know this is to be a long day. Please, none of us wish to hear you complain for the duration.”

Caseus opened his mouth to respond, but stopped, as if he thought better of it, turning to look back at the ravine.

“You are right, Nannaya. My apologies.”

For a moment, Nannaya wasn't sure if he should be grateful for the reprieve and his master's self-reflection, or if it should concern him. He did not comment on the matter, however.

They continued to watch in silence for a few moments as the column proceeded, members of the reserve guard joining them.

No one spoke. This was the first uprising the country had faced in decades. This was to be a defining moment of the kingdom, etched into history.

Finally, the procession arrived at the outermost wall of the maze. The formation parted to allow the Long-Necks to move to the front: four towering Brachiosaurus; three smaller Camarosaurus, with their thicker necks and boxier faces; and a single, towering Dreadnoughtus, adorned in much less armor than the rest. Such was the protection afforded by being a colossus.

Caleus, mounted atop Sham, his devoted Nasutoceratops, was positioned at the front of the column and behind the line of Long-Necks. He raised his hand, motioning forward.

“ADVANCE! DOWN WITH IT!”

The sauropods, in a unified motion, all reared onto their hind legs. All eight inhaled a deep breath, and then came crashing back to earth. They let out a deep bass bellow as they did so, a sound that was more felt than heard, even atop the ravine. No sooner did their feet touch the ground then the earth literally rippled out in front of them, a wave of soil and stone rushing out in front of them to crash into the outer maze wall.

For a moment, the wall seemed to jiggle and wobble, as if the earth itself was made of water or some gelatinous substance. Then it collapsed, like a sheet of earthen rain falling. Some of the trees fell over, completely uprooted, while others were left jutting skyward at odd angles.

“So it begins,” Caseus breathed.

With the first wall down, the line of titans proceeded forward, carefully negotiating the trees and rubble. Then, they were repeating their spell, rearing back and slamming down with a bellow. The next array of walls fell, and the line advanced, a vanguard of soldiers flanking them for support. Another tremendous thud, and more of the maze fell.

“Well this seems to be progressing swimmingly,” Cleo remarked. “At this rate they will make it to the city within the hour!”

“Yes, the advance is going remarkably well,” Caseus mused, squinting down at the sight. “Almost too well, wouldn't you say, Nannaya?”

For a moment, there was no response. Nannaya might have brushed the comment off as simply Caseus looking for an excuse to get involved. But he couldn't deny it was odd that there seemed to be no response from the city at all. They surely would have spotted their camp atop the ridge days ago, and could surely feel and hear the destruction of the maze. Even some of the reserves around them were nodding in agreement.

“It is an unnerving silence,” he said at last. “Have a patrol monitoring all roads leading here, and make sure all weapons and steeds are prepared, lest we are being flanked.”

“You think we have been deceived? That this is a trap?” Cleo asked.

“It is certainly a possibility,” Caseus said, looking around the ravine below through the spyglass. “They surely should have issued some sort of response well before this point in time.”

There was another round of bellows from the ravine, and another tremendous thud. The fourth ring of the maze had collapsed. The line of sauropods marched forward, their vanguard not far behind.

They were making good progress through the maze. The Long-Necks again reared for another round of Terra Magicke, letting out another bellow. But when they came crashing to the ground, something unexpected happened. Rather than another shockwave that caused the earth to ripple like a pond, there was nothing. Instead, there were groans and roars of surprise from the sauropods as their front legs suddenly sank into the earth, accompanied by squelching and sucking sounds. The ground itself had liquefied, turning to quicksand. Cries of surprise quickly turned to panic, as both Beasts and humans began to sink into the mire, the sauropods and other Beasts to their knees or bellies, the men to their necks.

From their vantage point atop the ravine, Caseus and the rest could see the main column running forward to aid the front line. They had barely begun to scale the rubble of the second wall, when the entire ground began to tremble. The sound of sauropods bellowing rang out through the ravine, but not from the army's.

No, the sound seemed to come from Petraz. With a rush, the walls began to suddenly sprout back up, the maze reforming around the trapped group and what members of the column that had rushed to their aid.

“Damn it all!” Caseus cursed. “Quickly, we have to help them!”

This time, Nannaya agreed. He was equally as shocked as everyone else. “Very well!” He split the contingent in half: 200 to remain guarding the camp and protecting their flank, the other 200 to reinforce the front line. Caseus climbed atop Cleo; the two were so in sync he was fine riding barebacked.

“Well, this will be our first foray into battle,” he remarked as he tightened the straps on his khopesh sheath. “Are you prepared?”

Cleo gave the Sprinter approximation of a sigh. “My Prince, we have been charging into adventures fresh out of the nest. I am always prepared!”

“Well, let us not tarry then!”

For a few fleeting moments, the ride down the slope to the front felt exhilarating. Thoughts of the danger that awaited, as well as any possible discipline from his father, left Caseus's mind. Was this what it meant when he heard Bartimeus and the others speak of going from a boy to man? Whatever it was, he felt giddy with anticipation.

As they approached, the column parted, allowing Caseus and Cleo, along with Nannaya, atop his own Strider, Jori, to pass to the front. A line of Beasts and men had taken to creating a hole in the outer maze wall: the Stone Head pachycephalosaurs, and several Club Tails, the Ankylosaurus, while the men wielded hammers and clubs. Caleus was among them; he was not a king above getting his hands dirty.

“Father!” Caseus called. “We saw what happened! We have brought reinforcements!”

Caleus turned, his face briefly flashing with frustration, before softening.

“Boy, I thought I told you to stay behind,” he began. “But, in this case I commend taking the initiative.”

Caseus beamed for an instant, though no longer before the moment was interrupted.

“What happened, your Majesty?” Nannaya asked. “It sounded for a moment like sauropods from within the city-”

“Yes, it seems they were expecting this advance. They made the maze more than a mere deterrent by itself, they weaponized our own demolition against us!”

“What of the men trapped within?” Caseus asked, glancing at the hammering team. They were already halfway through the first wall.

“The vanguard directly following the Long-Necks were primarily greenhorn troops. Those separated when the walls rose again were predominantly spearmen and a few mounted lancers.” Caleus wiped the sweat from his brow. “Those were within ear shot of us. We instructed them to remain where they are until we can reach them. Gods forbid they were to get lost trying to find their way out.”

Suddenly, there was the sound of rocks crumbling. They had broken through the wall far faster than had seemed possible. The reason quickly became apparent: there had apparently been a pair of Stone Heads on the other side, working their own way back.

A few cheers went through the troops as the first of the spearmen and lancers began to make their way out.

“Alright men! Onto the next one!” Caleus called. Turning back to Caseus and Nannaya, “Have the most able bodied of the men in your group join-”

A cacophony of screams and wails, both human and saurian, cut him off. They came from further within the maze.

But mingled within the cries of agony was another sound, that of shouts. Battle cries. The voices of Men and Beast, shouting in unison: “Long live Petraz! Death to Enoménos!”