Magical Hearts: Chapter 15

During our last chapter, the allies had victory over the dark men and drow from Izmira and their allies. The three races had gathered and combined their strength for their first victory. Now time is against them, they have nearly a month to ready themselves against a far worse onslaught. The Army of the orcs is far larger. We know that they are controlled by drow both fighter and mages. If our battle plan fails, the victory may be hard-won, but at a cost so high, it may be beyond the allies reach.

Word of our victory against Izmira and their allies quickly spreads, many who witness the destruction of the fleet returned to their homes amongst the three kingdoms. There is a great celebration at last a week.

Magical Hearts: Chapter 15
The Battle at Dead Man’s Pass

We have begun fortifying the passes. Dead man’s pass leads into a high Valley system named Dwarves Heart, and the source of the Camarillo River. Many openings to the dwarves’ underground kingdom within the valleys’ walls. Many of those entrants we close, and hide now. Once the orc Army has breached Dead Man’s Pass, we will be unable to stop them from attacking in mass. Their great numbers will assure the great destruction they will bring about on the allies. This army is far larger than any of the allies have faced in history. A careful search of our records shows the armies of the dark ones have been growing larger with each campaign, but this army is double what the allies faced with their last campaign.

These orcs are unlike all the orcs I have faced before; they stand a foot taller than the drow they serve. They seem stronger, and possess greater cunning. If we do not stop them at Dead Man’s pass, it will be all that we can do to survive.

I realize what my father was up against in their last campaign. The orcs arrival was unnoticed until they attacked the most eastern of our citadels along with the dwarf’s tunnels. The dark ones had effectively cut off the allies from each other. The dark ones divided their forces, the drow attacking the dwarves; the orcs moved west and attacked the human lands. As a result, we lost three dukedoms, their citadels and citizens, only father’s tactic and the high walls of New Cowan stopped their invasion of the human lands. With the lessons taught by history, we prepare for the new battle to come.

The dwarf artisans had taken on the task of creating numerous new jars needed. The dwarves produce the jars and chemicals, while humans and elves complete the making of the winged jars. A group of dwarves also manages the process, as each step they carefully record. Each step in the process carefully monitored, if only a single jar manufactured incorrectly, the nightmare of losing our mages and most likely, our campaign would result.

We use many of the wine jugs and we fill them with the explosives. We create two of the explosive wagons, and plan to leave them where their discovery will see them taken into the largest of the orcs’ encampments.

Where the orc encampment are, the worst of the winter storms will soon begin to subside, and by the first part of the third month of the year, spring will be there. However, the orcs will probably move long before that, the frozen earth allowing them to move quicker than the mud of spring.

For that reason, we have begun to prepare our battlefield. Against trees, rocks or even within thick bushes we concealed the explosive in the wine jars. We would drop other jars to set off the ones upon the ground. The Elfin Rangers have proven priceless at this task of hiding the jars. Carrying a backpack that holds a jar, they move silently among the Woodlands just north of dead man’s pass.

Even the fields are stealthily covered. They choose snowstorms to hide their tracks in the open. We use the carpets and the small mirrors, silently deploying the Rangers. The Rangers recall the carpet with their mirrors.

The passing days seem to bring more patrols, but the Rangers mission is nearly complete. We have had several narrow escapes, although Rangers know that they are not to give away our preparation or prematurely explode the jars. When the orcs are among the trees marching to the pass, we have several areas rigged the pushed them into the main killing field, within that field at least half the orcs will perish. Both from the explosives, we had hidden and what we would drop.

We have decided that the carpets must be so high above these fields that they will remain unseen, our lesson from the gate showed is that the more jars you explode the greater the explosion. One would think one jar equal to so much of an explosion; two jars would be twice as much. What we now believe to be true is two jars together are greater than twice what one is.

We will use twenty carpets each dropping up to five of the shark fins jars do in that first moment. With the jars placed upon the ground, hundreds of the explosions will cover the field. The resulting explosions possibly will slay half the dark ones we now face. The rest hopefully will break and run, possibly even killing each other in the confusion.

We hope even if we do not slay that many. That the vision of destruction that they will witness. The fear and deafness from the explosion’s noise the orcs will suffer. All those factors may make the rest run, only the ones in the very rear unaffected.

The pass itself has a problem, one we may use to our advantage. The mountains have a great deal of snow on them. The noise from that explosion will cause an avalanche. Their advance guard should just be entering the pass and the avalanche will bury them. If not we will quickly send down jars to limit the number, or begin the avalanche. Then our carpets will bring our fighters to hold the narrowest part of the pass.

We have added two catapults to the enchanted fortress. We have not yet set it on Dead Man’s Camp but all is ready for that. Once the avalanche occurs, or we trigger it, the placement will be a simple matter.

We watched their encampments with the map, each day they show a little more activity. We decide it is time for the wagons. The rumors about Dartmoor agitate their ranks. Dartmoor was the name of the ruins that held the gate. Using spells to spy upon their ranks, we learn many of them fear that an angry God now seeks their death. Even some of the drow speak of that. They believe no mortal having power that vast.

Our plan is a simple deception. We will ensure a drow is commanding the patrol, we watch as each patrol leaves when one is as we wish moving in the general direction we would like. We will use freshly cooked venison as the bait for the wagon, it will look as an unwary merchantman has killed a deer and started roasting it over a fire. The breeze should ensure that the drow and orcs catch the scent. Having noticed the orcs approach the merchants ran, we allowed one of the patrols to find the camp as the meat cooks. I hope that they will bring it back to their encampment.

If the wagon works, as we believe, none from the first encampment will survive to spread the word. We should be able to repeat the trap with the second wagon.

Other than the jars, there is no magic on the wagon. We altered the wine jars enchantment slightly. Once you open the lid it is the same as breaking the jar, those lids held securely, you may have to break the jar to remove it. Either way, as soon as a lid removed or jar breaks boom.

If drow mages detect the magic, it will only be on the jars. If they removed the few jars that hold the explosives, we will drop a few shark fin jars from a great height. Once the jars begin the fall we will move away at the carpets top speed.

We made the wagon so the only hold equal to twenty of the jars that should take care of any encampment, and possibly a little more. What we wish to do is to promote the angry God rumor. Fear can be a very effective weapon.

With four Rangers help, Gabriel, Isabel and I placed the first wagon. Where we make the fire, the breeze should bring the smell of the roasting meat into one of the camps we wish to destroy. It should take some time. We are nearly two miles away from their eastern edge. A trail runs to a coastal city that lays and ruin. Even if they send some of their group that way, it would only divide their forces making their defeat easier for us.

As the four Rangers return, there is a patrol five minutes behind them. We begin by running into the night, back down the trail we supposedly came from. After a mile, we unfurl the carpet and lift into the air. High in the air and not visible from the ground the drow and orcs search for us once they have lost our trail. We slowly drift south, back to Dwarves Heart.

We are high in the air, and use a scribing mirror to watch what occurs around the wagon. The patrol returns, the meat is still raw just beginning to cook as the orcs tear into it. The drow looks on and discuss, until boredom makes and check the wagon. He opens one of the wine jugs. We used a very good wine for our trap hoping that the drow would take it back to his superiors. The wagon, actually pull cart that we have constructed does not require horses to move it. After the orcs have fed themselves, the drow begins to kick them back to their feet. He orders one to bring the cart as they return to their encampment.

The open wine jug the drow drinks from was enough to get the orcs attention. The drow keeps them from it until they have reached the camp, as he goes to fetch his superiors. The orcs began to open more jars, and more orcs gather around quickly.

The last of the true wine jars taken by the orcs the drow return with shouts of orders. One of the orcs grabs one of the rigged jars, unable to pull the lid open easily he uses a rock to crack the top.

We stop using the mirror just in time. We watch as the angry red fireball decimates the camp, and then begins to rise in the air. It takes seconds before we feel the shockwave, the noise comes a moment later. Sounds orcs screams heard from many of the camps. They are terrified witnessing the event. We were shook from the explosion and we are more than ten miles away. When all was quiet again, as we continue moving I say, “Perhaps we used too many of the jars. We should check tomorrow to find out what damage we did.”

Gabriel says, “We should use the map. I imagine the drow and their mages will be looking at the scorch mark where the camp was most of the morning.”

The elfin Rangers are silent as we look onto the area where the encampment had been, now that the fireball has faded, other fires burn, not the ones the orcs have set, more like tents or provisions burn ignited by the fireball from the explosion.

With a deep breath I say, “Once we have no more need of it I think we are going to have to seal that formula. It is a power too great.”

Gabriel realizes what I mean. “True, if it was in the hands of our enemy. I wonder even the dwarves’ strongholds would be safe from it.”

Isabel with a deep breath says, “I doubt they would be, or the trees of the elves, or the citadels of the humans. It is a power we should hide away as soon as we can.”

Now far out of range from the drow, I open a teleport spell and we arrive at the Palace of Aphrodite. The sun still shines here although low in the sky. The Rangers take their leave. They are staying in the nearby trees. Isabel Gabriel and I walk up to the sixth floor. We are met by a grim faced King Sky, Father has the same expression and so does Granite.

We look at the map, the entire encampment was gone, the encampments nearby have fires were tents torn from their place, collapsed by the shockwave. Over a thousand orcs must be dead, none moves near the center of the explosion.

I repeat myself and say, “As soon as this battle is over we should seal the formula for the jars. It is too great of a power.” The three Kings nod their head yes.

I say, “We must ensure that all of the jars are destroyed once we finished with them. Even the ones we do not use in battle must be destroyed.” Again the three Kings nod their head yes. With that, we decide, the formula needs sealed away, only unsealed in times of great need. We hope that no time will come when the need is so great again.

When Isabel and I turn, the Goddess is there, we immediately go to our knee and she smiles at us as she says, “You have shown wisdom. Many would not wish to give up such power. Once you have no more need of it, I will seal it away for you. All the jars not consumed in your battle I will remove for you. Even those who have knowledge of the formula will forget.”

Isabel and I say, “Thank you Goddess.” She smiles and fades away.

Sparrow, Justin and Selena from across the room begin to chuckle. Sparrow says, “Six right?”

The head priestess is of Aphrodite rush into the room and they ask in unison, “Was the goddess here?”

Father in his voice that sounds of authority says, “Yes, she came to give us word that wants the jars are no longer needed, all will forget how they were created. All that we have not used will disappear. She said we were wise to decide to hide the formula away. I think her for doing it for us. I know secrets like that are hard to keep. I truly think it would take the power of a God to do so.”

Jewel smiles and says, “Isabel kiss your husband for me this time.