The Tin Soldiers March Out

Duke Vielle’s Former Palace, Now the command Headquarters for the Dragon Slayer Legion:

The office was very ornate and filled with rich looking artifacts. The mahogany desk had several stacks of papers and scrolls spread out over it. Behind the desk stood Lord Commander General Gabriel Tallough looking down at the most recent reports. To Tallough’s right was his son, Lieutenant General Gabriel Tallough II. To his left was his daughter, Lady Rissa Tallough III.

The Lord Commander General said, “Son, I want you to assume command of the city. There are too many reports of attacks within the city by who knows what that we cannot ignore. I’ll leave you your 500 and the Red Guard battalion that His Majesty was gracious enough to loan us.”

He turned to his daughter and said, “Daughter, you WILL obey your brother’s orders.” His words had the sound of iron to them.

“As you wish father.” She said flatly.

“Very well children. I will be preparing to move the rest of the legion out. So, if you have any questions or objections, say them now.” He said looking at his daughter.

“Father, you already know my objections. I shouldn’t have to reiterate them.”

He looked at her with a look of disappointment in his eyes. He then said, “Very well, dismissed!”

After they left his office, Lady Rissa said to the throngs of adjutants and other officers waiting in the outer office, “He’ll see you now.” As she and her brother strode on out to the corridor.

Gabriel II strode with an air of arrogance as he turned into the corridor towards his own command.

Lady Rissa said, “Brother, I’ll warn you again. A heavy hand will only earn you rebellion.”

“Sister, I know that your jealousy for my being chosen as heir over you is obvious. Just because you’re five years older than me, you’re a woman and too much like your mother for father to trust.”

“You know that I do not care about that!” she stopped and grabbed his shoulder and went on, “I only care about our family name and how it will be remembered in history. I fear that you’ve already have earned our infamy as the butchers of Stiarra Nor. I only hope that our actions forward would lend enough doubt that we’re responsible for the Church’s orders to cleanse the demi-humans from the land.”

“Oh sister, you are courting heresy. Good thing the Lord Paladin isn’t here to hear you say that.”

She shrugged, “I believe that the Lord Paladin is now dead. There has been no word of him for over two months now. He should have returned by now from his hunt for riches.”

“Sister, why do you so love the demi-humans?”

“I have neither love nor animus towards them. They are people just like any other. Just so happens that in this time, they have fallen on the wrong side of the Church’s love. The future may say differently. My love is for my family. Believe it or not that includes you. My mother taught me that if our name is stripped of honor, it would be twice as hard to get it back.”

“Your mother was a self-righteous bitch who deserved her execution.”

“And your mother was a self-serving gutter Trollip who just happened to catch father’s eye when he was in his cups. But she has served the family well and for that I love her.

“Brother , I beseech you, do not continue to butcher the demi-humans. It will only go bad for you in the end.”

He shrugged and said, “I leave you to worry about the future. I have command of the present and I WILL command it.” He pulled his shoulder away from her grip and stormed down the hallway away from her.

She had a look of sadness in her eyes, “I foresee only death and blood from the actions of your present, brother.” Her voice the barest of whispers.

Though meant to be kept secret, the whole city knew that the bulk of the legion, some 3000 legionnaires, were going to move out in the morning. From words slipped by Legionnaires in their cups to seizure of supplies such as dry goods and other field ration materials a blind man could tell that something was up.

Jade was delivering milk to the First Century’s HQ when the Billet Signifer said, “We will only be needing two cans of milk starting tomorrow until further notice.”

She nodded and said, “I shall inform my master.” She then held out her hand and said, “Signifer, are you going to pay the bill for up to now?”

He reached into the chest on his desk and took out a bag of coins and handed it to her, “You know, I’ll pay you that much myself if you’ll give a night of your time.” His leer obvious.

“My master wouldn’t approve.” She said as a gentle dismissal.

“Your master needn’t know.” And he put his hand on her perfect butt.

She only answered with a hard glint in her eyes.

The Signifer got obviously uncomfortable and said, “Well anyway, I’ll let you know when to return to the full order when I get back…I mean later.”

She bowed her head and went back to the milk wagon and led the mule pulling it to her next order.

Rowen, his wives, Chief Hann, Mayor Cam, the Leo Marek, and War Chief Arkeer stood around the table in his cabin looking at the maps.

Rowen had his hand on a particular landmark annotated on the map saying, “Even though I hate to do this, we’ll place the freed members of the caravan on top of Griever’s Down as bate. We’ll then array the cannon and Gatling Guns around the base in order to draw the legion out on the plain here below.”

Marek said, “My lord, won’t that give the legion an advantage? They can easily maneuver and develop their forces here on the Plain of Sorrows.”

“That’s what I want them to think.”

War Chief Arkeer said, “Marek, you haven’t seen what those cannon can do to an Woague on open plains. The human legionnaires won’t have a chance against the 12-pound balls being fired into their ranks. Let alone if they get close enough for cannister shot.”

Marek looked at Arkeer and said, “I never thought that I’d see the day that you’d take a human’s side over me.”

This statement earned him a glare from all at the table except Rowen.

He just held up his hand and looked around at the others and said, “Now, now, I told all of you to speak openly. Marek is just saying his piece as I told him too. That being said, Marek, I want you to take charge of the volunteers. Your mission will be to cover the flanks and rear. Just in case the enemy is able to free up their calvary regiment and try to outflank us.” He reached over to the couch behind him and took up a long thin bundle and handed it to Marek, “You’ll probably put good use of this if you have to fight.”

Marek unwrapped the bundle to find the claymore that Rowen had found on the Woague commander the day he rescued his first beloved wives.

Marek looked at the sword with wonder on his face and said, “My lord, this is the Claymore of the Beast! Do you know how powerful a weapon this is?!”

Xyarra said, “Yes he does. I told him the true tale of it some time ago.” With a tone of a teacher instructing a particularly obstinate student.

Rowen smiled and said, “It is yours, Marek. I reward those who follow me. As long as I can, I’ll make sure that you’ll need for nothing.”

Marek nodded looking like a child who just unwrapped the present he most wanted for Christmas.

Rowen then motioned back at the map, “Now that we’ve discussed what will be obvious, here’s where we’ll surprise them…”

After the meeting broke up and his officers when to their particular commands, Rowen stood looking at the map with only his wives around him.

Xyarra put her hand on his shoulder and said, “Row dear, you know that you’ve planned for everything foreseeable. Now is not the time to worry.”

He reached up and put his hand on hers and said, “Now IS the time to worry. It’s the unforeseeable that I have to plan for now!”

She shrugged, “If I play my part, anything that they do, won’t matter.”

Rowen nodded, then gave a reluctant smile, “I am happy that I can trust you four, unconditionally.” He then reached into his pocket and took out four small boxes. Each one leather cased and a different color.

He set the boxes out in front of himself and said, “I know that it’s a bit late for my giving you your wedding rings but…” and he opened the red box and took the ring out of it with a large ruby on it and placed it on Kit’s left ring finger, “This is a token of my love for all of you.”

He placed an emerald ring on Eliarra’s finger, a diamond ring on Dana’s finger and finally an obsidian ring on Xyarra.

Xyarra’s eyes flashed as she examined the ring on her finger and said, “This runic enchantment is quite elegant. You have learned your craft well.”

“Yes, I had a great teacher.” He said smiling lovingly at Xyarra.

He looked at his other wives and said, “Not only are these rings a token of my undying love for you four, but it also will allow us to converse with each other through tele, I mean mind bridge. I can talk to one or all of you and you can do the same.”

Kit, Dana and Eliarra looked on their rings with love and appreciation in their eyes.

Xyarra had a cunning look on her face when she said, “And here I was going to say about your gift to Marek, ‘Beads for the natives’, but that hardly seems appropriate to say in light of this.”

“Well, in the case of Marek and his claymore, you’d be right about beads for the natives. I have to have him on my side, even if I have to take a page from the colonialist’s playbook. But for you four, it is truly heartfelt.”

They all nodded back to him still staring at their rings.

The small city they had built up over the last couple months was still kept mobile, them knowing that they will be moving on at any given moment.

Eliarra kept overall command of moving the noncombatants along and she really shined in her efforts. She had the respect of all her subordinates as she directed them to their individual tasks.

Even those who, at any time, questioned her orders were rebuked in such a loving way by her that they hardly felt rebuked and even questioned themselves for confusing the order to begin with.

Rowen watched her working and was reminded of something Winston Churchill said, “Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell and have them looking forward to the trip.”

He was walking around the temporary city watching everyone packing up their belongings and putting them in a large pile for him to “Pack” later.

Mobility is the key to their survival this time. So, he had to prevent his people from being overloaded with their belongings in order to protect them, yet not be so sorrowed by losing what is precious to them.

He did provide each and every one of them a talon of gold in a nugget just in case they got separated and needed to live on something until they could be reunited with everyone else and him.

He turned to Domonique who was walking along with him with a clipboard in her hands, tallying every detail and number as they went along and said, “You were able to obtain a full list of names, were you not?”

“Yes, my Lord!” she said confidently.

“Good, I want you to know that I appreciate you and all that you do. You have pretty much become our historian you know?”

“You honor me my lord. I do only what I can.”

“That’s all I ask of anybody. Do what you can.”

His course through the bustling crowds took him to a wagon that already had several young boys loaded on it. Aralia was walking towards the wagon using a pair of crutches that Rowen made for her. She had taken on herself to take in the abused boys from the “harem” of the fat slob Lord Titty, Rowen couldn’t remember his real name, and through her own struggles to regain her strength, she had instilled life to these boys.

He smiled at her and asked, “Do you need any help?”

She smiled back and said, “No, my Lord. Any help now would be a hinderance to my recovery my Lord. Besides, I have these little lambs to help me if I really need it.” Pointing down to the smallest of the boys, a Wolfen who was now clinging to her skirt.

He smiled back and said, “Fine, fine. I’ll leave you to it then.”

“Thank you, my Lord!”

He felt warmed and inspired by Aralia’s spirit.

After he finished his rounds he said to Domonique, “See that those items are distributed to those who need them.”

“Yes, my Lord!” she bowed and left.

He looked at the column that, despite the previous apparent chaos, seemed to be forming up nicely.

His responsibility had grown to almost 2200 people. All of which were precious to him. He was almost overwhelmed by the thought of it.

He saw over by the remnants of the fortifications, Kit talking to her group of Rangers as she was giving them their last-minute brief before they moved out.

He thought, “I wish Jade was here to go out with her and look after her.”

He remembered a week before when he walked in on a planning session of Kitarra’s Rangers.

Darren, the Cam village ranger had leaned up close to her as she was showing them something on the map and put his hand on her shoulder then said, “I’ll take charge of this area…”

Kit growled, “Move your hand or loose it Darren!”

In front of everybody there and Rowen, she said, “You touch me like that again and my husband won’t have to kill you. I’ll leave you begging him for death.”

He backed away with his ears down and tail parallel to the ground in an obvious sign of obedience.

Darren then caught sight of Rowen standing there in the doorway then looked away in obvious embarrassment.

This was the last time that Rowen had any jealousy towards the handsome ranger.

He walked over to them as she was finishing up her briefing, “…And remember, if any of you don’t return safely, you bring sorrow to Lord Rowen and myself.”

They all nodded understanding.

She turned to Rowen and asked, “Anything else, my Husband?” her adoration obvious in her eyes.

“No, just that I second that, you are all precious to me. Be safe!”

The Rangers chorused, “Yes, my Lord!”

Kit then said, “Very good, it’s time for us to leave now. Fox Cunning, Fox Strong!” the last part was in the tongue of Foxia.

The rest bowed and echoed, “Fox Cunning, Fox Strong.” Then left with purpose in their eyes.

Before Kit could leave herself, Rowen grabbed her and pulled her close for a hug, “That goes double for you. No one is more precious to me than you.” And he kissed her.

She gave herself to the embrace and kiss then said, “Thank you, husband for not trying to tame me.”

He couldn’t find the words to express his feelings, so he just nodded and hugged her closer.

In front of the main gates of Stiarra Nor there was a rather large courtyard or parade ground designed for soldiers to form up before leaving the city.

Sitting upon his horse, the Lord Commander General looked out at the legion formed up and ready. They all wore the dark red cloaks and carried the dark red rectangular shields that bore the depiction of a dragon being lanced on it.

To the Lord Commander’s right and left were his children also astride horses.

The Lord Commander mumbled the spell, “Amplify” then said in an amplified voice, “Legionnaires, we are to set forth to find out where the property that we sent out to the north went to. Plus, we may also have to rescue the Lord Paladin from whatever trouble he might have found himself in. For once, the Church is going to owe us.”

That elicited a laugh from the legion.

Like in the time of Rome on Rowen’s Earth, Legions got smaller as they became more and more battle tested.

A new legion was around 5000 Legionnaires strong whereas the battle tested Dragon Slayer Legion or the Tenth by founding nomenclature, had been whittled down to a little more than 3500 battle-hardened soldiers.

Lord Commander General Gabriel Tallough continued, “You are the best of the best legion of the Five Kingdoms. You were able to take the fortress city of Stiarra Nor with only a few casualties. This next mission is a mere walk in the country compared to your previous accomplishments. For the Creator’s sake, we’re the only legion to have brought down a dragon!”

This elicited a cheer from the ranks.

“Now on for the glory of the Legion!”

The legionnaires echoed, “For the glory of the Legion!”

He then saluted and turned his horse and led the legion out.

From the North Tower, two pairs of hungry eyes watch the Legion as they marched away from the city.

“Now, it’s time for us to instill true terror.” Said Karas.

Belyanna just smiled a wicked smile.

Ten miles away on Griever’s Down:

Rowen was helping his infantry golems to dig out a gun placement for one of his cannons. He straightened his back and wiped his forehead as he looked how the other placements were falling into place.

He had arrayed the infantry along the base of the down while he had the cavalry hidden in the woods that surrounded the Plain of Sorrows below.

The two companies of volunteers were stationed to the right and left sides of the down and were digging in order to not be in the line of fire. His first company of basic infantry were stationed to the rear of the down.

Marek had assumed command of those three companies and was digging in higher up on the down to the rear. He could, from his position, see both flanks and the rear and the slope, which would facilitate him being able to run down to wherever he was needed.

Marek, being a Leo Felinean stood about six foot six inches and was very muscular. Rowen guessed that he was twice as strong as him.

Marek had the claymore strapped across his back and ready for use.

Rowen was thinking about the layout as the cannon crew made the finishing touches on their gun’s placement.

He looked into the sky and marveled at the unseasonably warm weather they were having. This made it easier on the noncombatants as they set up camp on the top of the down where the wind was not impeded by the surrounding woods.

He heard Kit in his head say, “The legion has moved out and are heading north towards you. You can expect the see their scouts within the hour.”

He thought back, “That’s great sweetie. Just keep an eye on them and out of sight.”

“What did you call the suit you made me wear?”

“It’s called a ghillie suit. It should cover your blazing red hair my dearest.”

“Right, well it’s not very stylish.”

“It’s not for you to be scene in but rather the opposite, darling.”

“Right, well it’s also very uncomfortable, probably hot too if you didn’t enchant my armor to be cozy temperature.”

“You’re welcome my dearest.”

Xyarra chimed in, “Will you two ever stop flirting? Anyway, I’m in position myself Row dearest.”

“That’s great X! Remember to wait until I tell you to attack.”

“Row sweetie, haven’t you learned that you cannot tell a dragon what to do yet?”

“Well, I can try.”

Eliarra chimed in, “We’re settled in up here my Lord Husband. We’re quite visible to the surrounding countryside as you directed beloved.”

“Thanks, my Lady Wife.” He then said in his mind, “Dana, that leaves you.”

“I have the left flank cavalry in place, hon.”

“Great, now remember, you’re to have the cavalry captain lead the charge if need be. I want you to stay safe as well. That goes for all of you. None of you share my gift of immortality. I hope to see you all have children and grandchildren with me.”

All four wives chorused back, “Yes dear.”

Xyarra said, “Jade has counted approximately three thousand legionnaires moving out and something like 800 left behind in the city.”

“Good. Tell her that she is to get into place to execute phase two of the plan when we give the order.”

Rowen saw the legion scouts through his binoculars and then put his coat back on. He checked his new revolver pistol, a duplicate of the Schofield 45 caliber Pistol from the late 1800’s. This was thanks to Xyarra’s gun craze. He re holstered the pistol and went back to Baldy and mounted him.

About half an hour later the front elements of the legion came into view.

Rowen sat astride Baldy waiting patiently as the legion completed its evolutions of placement to be ready for battle.

Then a small group of mounted soldiers with a color guard behind them rode out a little ways from the legion. Rowen watched as what looked like the commander with is bearing and armor, directed a junior officer of some kind to fly a white flag and ride forward.

Rowen thought, “Looks like they are following the script to the T. I suppose I’ll go out and meet them. My wives know the battle plan and can win this battle if they happen to kill me.”

Rowen said to himself, “Onward unto oblivion.” He took out the white flag he had already prepared and rode out to meet the junior officer.