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[[FrivYeti/CalinPg27/Calin | Table of Contents ]]
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An arrow dropped the hobgoblin advancing, and Brewan laughed. "One more! That makes eight for me, boys."

"Bah, you're just lucky." Patrick chuckled softly, nocking an arrow and aiming down the road. "Doesn't look like he had friends this time. We got lucky." He sighed, shaking his head. "Almost back to town, which is good, and no sign of pursuit aside from a few of these guys on their own. What's keeping them?"

"Orders." Captain Garamond spoke with utter authority, and the others turned to look at him. "We killed their commander, and they didn't have a chain of command. Most of them are probably waiting for whatever the next order will be. That gives us a breather, time to prepare, but not much more. Eventually, they will bore and move south - or, someone else will arrive to order them. Either way, we'll probably be in trouble."

"Sir!" Silas spun to see Armsman Tydar pointing down the road where they had come from. Looking, his face broke into a smile. It was Bryce, jogging towards them. As his son approached, however, Silas's smile faded away. Bryce's suit was torn and bloodied, and black blood stuck to the point and haft of his spear. A moment later, Bryce arrived, and saluted, swaying slightly.

"Sir! I'm here to report."

For a fraction of a second, Silas paused, and then swept his son into a hug. Bryce was startled for a moment, but then returned the embrace with equal fierceness. After a few seconds, the two broke apart, and Silas nodded. "Report, Armsman Garamond. I take it there's no good news in the south?" He paused for a moment, and then continued. "Any sigh of the Realm troops?"

"There aren't any, sir." The gathered troops fell silent at Bryce's pronouncement, and Silas stared in shock. Bryce fought back a choke in his voice as he continued. "Lieutenant Theron was murdered and impersonated by a Fair Folk spy. Two Dragon-Blooded and twenty-five soldiers will be arriving within a couple of days, and they have no idea what they're facing here. They think it's just one Wyld beast." He shook his head. "We can't get messangers south, because there's a Fair Folk army camped out where our fort used to be."

"I see." Silas crumpled slightly. Only an effort of will kept him on his feet, and he nodded. "Survivors."

"There I have better news. I don't have exact numbers, but I'm guessing about twenty-five combat-ready soldiers, and a few more too badly wounded to fight. We've taken out maybe four hundred fae, and most of the remaining enemy aren't advancing. The serpent that we previously sighted has also been destroyed." He paused, looking over Silas's troops. "And the north?"

"This is it." Silas shook his head. "We have to evacuate the town, and fast. There's no way that forty-odd soldiers can hold off a thousand fae." He nodded to the troops. "Back to town. We'll see how fast we can get people out of here."

"Right." As the soldiers started southwards, Bryce paused, then hurried to match pace with his father. "A friend's gone for help, but I don't know that it'll be enough." He opened his mouth to continue speaking and then stopped, fingering his spear and looking down. "And, Father... there's something I should tell. Something I probably should have told you days ago."

Silas raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like a death sentance."

"Um... well, from certain angles, it's good news." Bryce put on a forced smile, and let a fragment of Essence burn through his caste mark. Silas stopped dead, and the soldiers around him paused, looking backwards, and then froze.

For a few moments, the road was completely silent. Finally, Silas found his voice. "When did this happen?"

"When Brewan and I were fighting the hobgoblins, weeks ago." Bryce sighed. "I was afraid to tell you - I didn't want to lose the town. But now the enemy's everywhere, and I can't hold back out of fear. So I thought I should, well, tell you."

Silas thought, and then shook his head. "I don't know what to say. You're my son, I trust that, but this... Is there anything else that I should know about?"

Bryce started to open his mouth, but stopped, looking up. The others followed his expression, as a sparrow dropped from the sky towards the ground. In midair, it shifted and changed, growing, and the soldiers took a step back with shouts and cries that dissolved into confusion as Lani landed on her knees, gasping for breath. Silas stared for a moment, as she looked towards Bryce. "Three armies. There are three armies, Bryce. The Fair Folk in charge of all of this is coming from the west with over five hundred hobgoblins. He's going to link with the other two and attack the city, and he's doing it now."

After a moment, Bryce managed to speak. "Uh, Father, I think you know Lani."

"Mm-hm." Silas frowned, looking at Lani. "Quite the entrance, young lady."

"We don't have time to play around." Lani gestured to where Bryce's caste mark was still glowing. "I made a choice. And before you ask - one year."

"I see." After a moment, Silas chuckled. "Well, it's been a peaceful year up to now. I suppose that counts in your favour. Besides, it's not like we have a choice. What do we do?"

"That depends on Lani." Bryce looked westwards, where the last traces of sunlight glimmered on the horizon. "Did you find any fae who aren't completely psycopathic?"

"One." She paused. "But he's dead now. Juriakar - that's the Fair Folk that's leading the invasion - killed him for opposing him." She fought back tears, shaking her head. "He took hundreds of hobgoblins with him, but..." She broke off.

"Lovely." Silas sagged. "So, to summarize. There are over 1500 fae heading towards Calin, with a Fair Folk lord at their head. We have forty soldiers and two Anathema, and the fae will be here... when? An hour?"

"Maybe less." Lani sighed. "They were moving fast."

"We can't evacuate, we can't fight any further, and we don't have a chance." Silas shook his head, and looked over his guardsmen. All were looking shocked or horrified, and he swallowed heavily. "We can't do anything."

"We have a few things we have to deal with, but you aren't going to like the first one." Lani took a deep breath, looking to Bryce. "None of you are. Hell, I don't." When everyone turned to look at her, she paused, looking towards Calin. "The first step to defeating Juriakar is for the Fair Folk to capture Calin. We have to get to a safe distance."

"WHAT??" Bryce surged forwards. "What kind of plan is that?!"

"Bryce!" Lani's voice was hard. "It's simple. We have to break Juriakar to break the army. To do that, we have to let him put his power in place and then shatter it. And he's putting something big in place. We don't want to be within the borders of Calin when he does." Her voice softened. "It'll be okay. Calin won't be his for more than a day or two, and he won't start his plans moving full-tilt for a while. Please, Bryce."

Bryce gritted his teeth, feeling rage boiling inside, but forced it down. "Fine. We retreat." He turned, looking southwards. "We'll move east, as fast as possible, and then curve south. If we're going to pull off something crazy like taking a city BACK from the fae, we'll need help. We might be able to convince those Dynasts of the threat, when they arrive." He looked to Silas. "But we're getting everyone we can out. Lani, take the soldiers and get to safety. I'm going back to town and trying to get everyone I can to safety." After a moment, Lani nodded, and Silas sighed.

"Alright, Bryce. I'll trust you on this. But I'm coming with you. Not everyone is going to listen to a pup." He chuckled, and nodded to his men. "Catch you on the other side."

The Garamonds turned, jogging towards town, and Lani watched them go for a moment before turning. "Right. Let's get moving."

"You're the boss. I guess." Brewan shrugged, and nodded to the troops. "You heard the little lady. Move out!"

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