In War, There’s No Such Thing as Overkill

Rowen rode up to be about ten feet away from the junior officer and asked, “How may I help you?”

“I am Subaltern Ricard. You are commanded to relinquish the stolen slaves and surrender your forces.” He smiled a haughty smile and said, “As you see, you’re hopelessly outnumbered.”

“I’m sorry but there are no slaves here on Griever’s Down. Also, everyone on the down are under my protection.”

“Who are you to offer your protection to a bunch of runaway slaves?!”

“Someone who is able to protect them.” Rowen said firmly.

“You’re mad! You’ll be nothing but food for the crow before this day is out!” and he turned his horse and rode back to the honor guard.

Rowen said under his breath, “Sadly, I cannot help you from becoming food for crow yourself, Subaltern.” And he turned Baldy around and made his way back to his position.

He thought to his wives, “Everyone ready?”

Dana, “Yes sweetie.”

Kit, “Of course my dearest.”

Eliarra, “Yes, My Lord Husband.”

Xyarra, “Always ready Row.”

“Good, Let slip the dogs of war.”

He turned to War Chief Arkeer and said, “Teach them the meaning of fear, War Chief.”

The legion were marching up smartly in column formation, shields to the front. They were marching on the gentle upward slope that led to the large down at the far end of the Plain of Sorrows.

The forests lands to the sides of the plains were getting closer in as the down, their target, grew closer.

Subaltern Ricard thought to himself, “How can that fool believe that he can protect those escaped tainted.” Meanwhile his inner soldier was trying to get his attention about the terrain and how it was favoring his enemy.

He then was startled as the enemy’s ranks exploded in a wall of fire and smoke.

That was his last thought before a wave of canister shot tore through his body and head.

To the rear, atop a large knoll towards the middle of the plains, was the Lord Commander General looking through the spy glass, one of his most prized possessions.

He saw the bottom of the down seem to explode into fire and smoke. His cavalry were moving along his flanks to strike the enemy’s flank. The woods on either side suddenly erupted into smoke and fire and he saw his cavalry melt away, from what he didn’t know.

He was shocked as his front ranks caved away, yet he still couldn’t tell why.

He turned to the woman in crimson robes by his side demanding something, anything to explain this, “Is that some sort of spell, witch?”

She looked at him, trying to hide her irritation and said, “No, my lord. I do not detect the expenditure of mana.”

“Well, Witch, I pay you to use your powers on our behalf. So, do so!”

“Yes, my lord.” And she rode her horse a little closer towards the front and held up her staff, closed her eyes and mumbled her spell.

A fireball flew out from her staff towards the enemy lines to explode among them.

Three more fireballs erupted from different places to the rear of the legion.

Meanwhile there were staccato sounds that seemed to feed her basest fears coming from the enemy lines.

Out of the corner of her eye she got the briefest glance of a small black object moving towards her very fast. That was the last thing she ever saw.

Rowen looked through his binoculars and grimly nodded as he saw the enemy mages being taken out by the four snipers he dedicated to that mission. One of which was his wife, Dana.

About three weeks ago, she expressed a desire to learn how to shoot. Rowen didn’t know if it was her elven heritage or what, but she took to shooting like she were raised from a child doing it.

He gifted her with a replica Winchester rifle heavily enhanced with runes to augment her already capable shooting ability.

He thought to Dana, “Nice shooting my wife.”

She thought back, “Thank you, my destined one.”

So, now that Jade’s intelligence had paid off and the four, tier two, magic users were taken off the board, it was time for phase two.

He started to wave the cease fire signal.

The golems ceased fire simultaneously.

He then amplified his voice and said, “Members of the Dragon Slayer Legion, you have five minutes to surrender unconditionally or have your name of dragon slayers be put to the test!”

He already could see the panic in the eyes of the remaining troops. The soldiers stirring uncomfortably in their positions, the furtive looking from side to side as the front line of legionnaires knew that they were next to fall away like their brothers and sisters in front of them.

Rowen noted, as the five minutes passed, that even though the world had a five to one ratio of women to men, within the legion, there appeared to be a two to one ratio of men to women. He really wasn’t surprised. War was mostly a man’s business in the time of brute strength warfare.

He looked at his rune ran watch to see that the five minutes had expired, and he said, “Don’t say that I never gave you a chance to surrender or run. Duchess Xyarra Swarden, do your worst!”

The legionnaires felt her aura of dread before they saw her appear over the down and flew over their ranks.

They all heard in their heads, “You fools dare to call yourself dragon slayers! Ha, you only were able to best a mere whelp of a dragon who wasn’t very smart or strong to begin with! You have wronged me and my house for the last time!”

She began unleashing that most horrifying of sights. A broiling, rolling wave of bluish-black dragon fyre engulfed their ranks from the middle back, leaving in its wake charred flesh, powdered bone and very few screaming survivors.

She thought to Rowen, “Row sweetie, it’s your turn.”

He nodded and reached out his hand and a golf ball sized green ball appeared in front of his hand.

This ball was joined by two others. He launched them in rapid succession across the front lines.

Whatever shreds of discipline were left dissolved in that moment and the legionaries scattered.

The Lord Commander General gaped at the carnage as his command was obliterated, first as a fighting force, then even as an object. He heard people yelling at him, but his mind couldn’t process what they were saying because of the gibbering fear that had set as a rot in his soul overrode all his senses.

Finally, one of his Praefectuses grabbed him by his sleeve and yelled, “My Lord, you must flee! I’ll stay and try to cover your retreat!”

He looked back at his Praefectus and nodded, still outwardly numb. He felt his reigns taken away from him and continued to gape in the same direction as someone was leading his horse off in a full gallop.

Xyarra, “Their commander is fleeing! Do you want me to chase him down?”

“No, my fierce wife. Let him go. Let him rot in his disgrace. Oh, and X?”

“Yes, dearest Row?”

“Thanks for asking me first. I appreciate it.”

For an answer all he got were warm, loving feelings projected into his mind. He mentally caressed her back.

Meanwhile at Stiarra Nor:

Lieutenant General Gabriel Tallough II had been receiving disturbing reports throughout the day. Since his father left with the bulk of the legion, he had stepped up patrols throughout the city. With the stepped-up patrols there came an alarming number of patrols disappearing.

Halfway through the day he decided to augment the patrols with Red Guard platoons.

He was staring with disbelief at the report in his hands that said that the follow up patrols were finding eyeless heads still wearing the legendary plume of the red phoenix feathers that belonged to the Red Guard members.

He was alone in his office and he felt a deep ceded fear growing in his heart. “How can I face father with such a failure on my record?” he asked himself.

He caught motion out of the corner of his eye, and he turned to see the red phoenix plumed helmeted, eyeless head of the Centurion that commanded the Red Guard’s patrol sitting on a lounge chair in the corner of his office.

Lady Rissa ran to her brother’s office when she heard him scream. She burst through the doors along with his chief of staff to find him hunched down in the corner of his office gibbering in terror as he was pointing towards the offending head.

She gasped as she looked upon the eyeless head then took a moment to compose herself.

She then shook her brother’s shoulder and said, “Brother!”

He continued to gibber, trembling in terror.

She turned towards the chief of staff and crowd of officers that were gathering in the doorway and said, “Close that door. All of you must swear on your life that none of you saw this!” she gave them a cold look that would like to curdle their blood. They all nodded and quickly pulled the door shut behind them.

She then turned back to her brother and slapped him saying, “Pull yourself together or so help me, I’ll have to kill you!”

His terror was broken by a new fear. He knew his sister and knew that she never threatened death to someone unless she meant it.

He absently nodded to her then stood up and straightened himself and said, “Sorry. Thank you, sister.”

She said in a dismissive but cold tone, “You are welcome. Be thankful that I value our family’s reputation above all else or I would let you continue to show your cowardice.

“Now pull yourself together and see to your command. Or do you want me to take over?”

That last question got his hackles up and he said sharply, “The day I ask for you to take over, it’ll be a cold day in hell!” and then he yelled, “Praefectus Greely, come in here at once!”

The Tesserarius for the north gate detachment looked out onto the now brown grasslands that stretched out in front of the city as far as the eye can see.

He, being a grizzled veteran and probably, as far as he knew, the oldest veteran in the legion thought, “Not that my eyes can see all that far these days.”

As he thought that, he caught motion on the very edge of his range of sight. All he could make out at that time was several, probably a dozen horsemen riding at full gallop towards the city.

He said to the young drummer lounging against the wall next to him, “Beat stand to!”

The drummer looked at him a moment with surprise, but his training and discipline took over and he began to beat the steady rat a tat of “Stand to”.

The Tesserarius then yelled, “Close and bar the gates! All of you get off your lazy asses or I’ll have your balls for breakfast tomorrow!”

Once the riders came into range to be recognized the Tesserarius saw that they were members of the Legion’s Cavalry.

They were barely recognizable as such though because they discarded their weapons, outer gear and anything that could slow down their retreat.

He recognized the man leading the way, a Decurio that he had little use for.

The Decurio yelled up, “Open the gates Tesserarius! Allow us to pass through damnit!!!”

“Sir, considering your state, how do I know that you didn’t desert the legion?”

“Because there is no legion left to desert Tesserarius! They are all dead!”

The news rocked the Tesserarius to his core and he heard himself saying, “Open the gates. Officer of the Watch!”

Jade had “acquired” a maid’s uniform and was acting the part within the palace headquarters to the occupying force.

When the acting commander screamed, she was among the throng of officers that came in and gaped at their commander’s terror.

She took advantage of the confusion and chaos and slipped into the office and made herself, “Invisible” to all who would look without magical assistance.

She would continue to wait in the office in her hiding place until nightfall.

She heard, with inner satisfaction as the reports came in about the destruction of the legion and the loss of most of its members.

The office became very busy as the acting commander tried to make sense of the reports of slaughter and his father fleeing south to the city of Kent.

She was there to hear the interaction between the general and his sister. She knew from her intelligence gathering the months before that Lady Rissa was kinder to the demi-humans whereas her brother, the present general, was an obsequious ass who enjoyed watching the torture and slaughter of the innocent demi-humans.

Her next mission was to “transfer” command to the Lady Rissa.

She planned on waiting until night, when the general was alone.

Rowen walked along the battlefield remembering what Wellington said, “Next to a lost battle, nothing is so sad as a battle that has been won.” As he looked at the fallen.

His walk found himself up on the knoll that held the enemy’s command post not long before. Something red caught his eye on the ground and he bent over and picked up the cylindrical object and brushed the dirt off of it.

He read the inscription in the high language of the Five Kingdoms, “To Lord Commander General Gabriel Tallough from the Ruby King, Markus Aurelius Magna in appreciation of your long and exemplary service. You have never lost a battle and here’s to you never doing so.”

He pulled the telescope out to full length and looked through the sights. He was surprised by the quality and power of the scope.

He looked at the inscription again and said, “Such an empty promise.” And he pocketed the scope.

Kit embraced him from behind, startling him out of his funk. He immediately turned himself within her embraced and embraced her back saying, “You always know when I need comfort my wife.”

“That is because our souls are joined. Your pain is my pain.”

He nodded and said, “Thank you, Kit. What does your rangers say about the city?”

“From their observation points, they see that only a handful of the legion’s survivors have fled to the city. The rest, followed their Lord Commander south towards Kent.”

He nodded, continuing to embrace her, and said, “Who says you can’t cuddle with your subordinates?”

Xyarra said in his head, “Sorry to interrupt your flirting again but, I’m done interrogating the survivors. The remaining senior officer, a Praefectus Briggs or some such name wishes to speak to you.”

He thought back to her, “Are you though? Oh, very well, I’ll see him.”

But instead of breaking his embrace with Kit, they both walked along arms around each other’s waist.

He and Kit entered the tent being used for Xyarra’s interrogations and saw a rather large and buff looking Praefectus with white hair on both sides of his head but bald as an egg down the middle. He looked to be in his late fifties or early sixties.

Xyarra said, “May I introduce you to my husband, Lord Rowen.”

The Praefectus fell to his knees and prostrated himself before Rowen and said, “My Lord, I wish to offer you my head for the lives of my surviving legionnaires!”

Rowen looked down at the Praefectus and said, “Praefectus, stand up. You’re a warrior and begging doesn’t grace you. I promise that I will not outright slaughter innocent soldiers. That is not my way. However, I cannot promise that they won’t be tried for war crimes if appropriate. But I will promise that they will get a fair trial.”

“I cannot ask for nothing more, my Lord.”

He then looked to Kit and said, “Your Highness, you probably don’t remember me, but I met you three years ago during the attempted negotiated treaty between the Five Kingdoms and the Kingdom of Tier.”

“Oh, I remember you Praefectus, although we were never formally introduced.”

“Your highness, I wish to apologize for not restraining my men enough during the battle that took Stiarra Nor. Actually, it didn’t really qualify as a battle. Duke Vielle sold us the city…”