In Port Cholandra Warlord Aristeides was a very worried man. Not only had they failed to find the insurgents since the burning of the warehouses, but also he now knew that the kingdom had awoken to their presence finally. There had been contact with their navy and while they had laid a trap baiting them with some Man O Wars it had amounted to nothing. Also there was a convoy of supply ships that were overdue and without that load of materials his plans for conquest of Kassandrea before the winter were looking even more shaky than before.
He had managed to station his troops at their places of encampment as was planned and the firebase was coming to a finish too. Another week and it would be ready. He had instructed the resident General to send 500 horsemen north and see how far they could get before either Kingdom scouts were tipped off or they made contact with a south moving army. If it was to be the latter, he had instructed that they hightail it back to the firebase and hopefully the Kingdom's army contingent would be in hot pursuit. He felt it necessary now to goad them on.
Time was of the essence and while he had been happy for the Kingdom to react as slow as they had, he really needed to set his plan in motion if it was to succeed and have the capitol in their hands by winter.
There were another 15,000 troops arriving within the month and while he would be able to put them to good use he was starting to be concerned about the ability to feed them all. He had managed to take a fair lot of land in the south here but hadn’t kept any of the farms running or even the fishing boats of the port either. He had been counting on regular ship supplies to supplement the local food, but already one full convoy was overdue and it was becoming a major factor in planning.
There was nothing for it but to press some of his own troops into fishing duties on some of the boats they had confiscated. If he wanted a good supply of food, it meant having to take a few thousand men out of their current duties and get some of the farms going again. That of course had a flow on affect to every other facet of their preparations. He had already ordered that all meat needed for the firebase would have to be caught in the local woodlands as they could. He was in effect cutting them off immediately.
Sealord Gacek of Isogorr was busy looking after the perimeter of the seas off the coast of Port Cholandra, but personally Aristeides didn’t see any use at present. There had been no clashes outside of that one incident which in the end cost a number Man O Wars with no results. Maybe he could ask Gacek to organize a raid? A search and pillage mission, if they turned up any valuable information that was a bonus.
Aristeides bent over his maps looking north and south of his position. There wasn’t much short of the northern deep-water port of Oceania and he wasn’t going there. Being the home port of the Kingdoms navy, it would not be prudent to stir up a hornet’s nest. There were more ports even further north, but they were simply too far away and the risks involved in trying to run past a major naval base at Oceania was too extreme. Due south there were very lean pickings. Port Valderus wasn’t even a deep-water port, but it did have a large fishing fleet. Mostly small boats but they certainly would have a reasonable catch. It wasn’t really a military target as such but right now with their pressing needs for food, it was quickly shaping up as a target of opportunity.
“
Adjutant Cresus,” He called out.
Aristeides decided it was time to put the navy to good use.
“
Have Sealord Gacek come here as I wish to discuss with him some plans of mine.”
Cresus bowed and nodded, turned on his heel and left immediately. Yes, a raiding party to strip Valderus of its foodstuffs and anything else they could use. Destroy any resistance then confiscate the fishing fleet and press it into use for his own army. Simple and effective with no drawbacks, Gacek will be pleased being able to get in on some action for a change. He sat down and began the writing of orders. There wasn’t much to it other than capture the stores and return them as soon as possible. Outside of that, the Sealord had free reign. Aristeides liked things simple. In five days he would have extra provisions and be able to focus on the bigger plans at hand.
Dark watched as they sailed close to the shore nearing Port Volarus. The captain had been pointing to the features and what to look out for. One thing he did say was she wouldn’t miss the northern edge of the bay and he was right. There was a sheer cliff facing the ocean and it ran for over a mile to the bay entrance. What really made it spectacular was that the cliff face at the beginning ran directly inland at its northernmost point, it was like the land had been sheered and stood up two hundred feet into the air. She could see now why this place would be so much easier to defend than Valderus. There just wasn’t any way you could attack it from the north via the land without a big army. What was also interesting too was that south of the port it was nothing more than swamp and mangroves, impenetrable to any invaders. The mangroves continued down the coast for twenty miles before woodlands became prevalent.
The only way in or out of here was through the bay. She had been told there were a few tricks to that too but as far as she could see, it looked like a nice wide-open expanse of water that you could sail right into. That’s exactly what they did. Their boat turned once clearing the cliffs and made for the large jetty she could see jutting out into the bay.
As they approached she could see the place was a hive of activity. There were wharves and a further two jetties being built parallel to the first. She could see many a large warehouse going up too. Most of them had roofs on and she could see they already held stores while the walls were still being built. Men were everywhere moving back and forth or laboring over some part of this bustling town that was taking on the burden of becoming a city.
There were numerous ships in harbor too. Some of them she recognized as having been part of the enemy fleet, but some she knew to be Kingdom navy vessels. Were they already here? Was the kingdom already operating out of this port? The more she looked the more questions she had.
Upon approached the jetty, she also noticed the catapult and ballista emplacements staged strategically along it. Where was all this equipment coming from? As the boat moored she called to Vaughn and they disembarked thanking the captain before moving towards the town.
Nearing it they could hear the sounds of a sawmill at work slicing up trees into lumber. She could see a very big cargo ship being unloaded, it was the biggest ship she had ever seen. Dark was agog at just how much was going on and what was being achieved. They had no idea Lord Raz had the resources at his disposal to achieve all this. Maybe the Kingdom ships were a clue to that.
They came up to the end of the jetty and a soldier stood forward and called ‘Halt’.
“
May I ask what business you have here and to whom you wish to see?”
Vaughn stepped in and spoke,
“
This is Darkling Bruadar and I am Vaughn. We have just returned from a three week mission ordered by Lord Raz and are on our way to see him, could you be so kind as to point the way for us?”
The guard reacted quickly and efficiently.
“
We have been expecting your return. Lord Raz made it known that you would eventually be arriving. Would you please allow one of my men to show you the way? It is rather difficult to navigate these streets.”
The guard motioned to one of his men and they moved off. The entire city/town was a bustle of activity with troops moving back and forth as well as numerous wagons carrying supplies of all descriptions moving through. It was quite a job dodging all the mess. No paths as yet had been cordoned on the streets and it was every man for himself, or so it seemed.
They approached a large building out of which men came and went in a continuous stream. A voice could be heard shouting from within those walls. It was Raz berating some forlorn figure standing before him. Looking up he saw Dark and Vaughn watching on with a smile, he shooed his hand at the man who left quickly.
“
Dark and Vaughn! Come in! I am so glad to see you have made it.” He beamed.
Dark and Vaughn couldn’t return the enthusiasm and Raz immediately cottoned on to what that meant.
“
I take it the mission didn’t go as planned?” Dark shook her head.
“
I’m afraid not, Wollfen made it clear he didn’t want to be rescued, he is on a mission of his own design.”
Raz looked on, thinking.
“
You talked to him?”
“
We managed to mind touch for awhile and he explained that he would be back, but then he cut me off.”
Raz knew how that must feel to her, but he also knew there wasn’t much to do but get her into some sort of work quickly so she wouldn’t brood. Raz thought quickly.
“
I am sorry to hear that you won’t be able to get him back for now. I am sorry also that I haven’t much to offer you at present to do that either. As you can see, my little outpost is growing faster than anyone could have imagined a few weeks ago. In fact, I could use some real help with all this.”
]Dark looked at him sensing what he was trying to do and not sure whether she really wanted a part of it.
Dark paused in thought a moment, then let out a sigh,
“
Tell me what it is you wish of me and then I’ll tell you if I can help.”
Lord Raz carefully explained his position.
“
Well right now I have every able bodied man working away to establish the city and its ability to take care of itself with the building of defensive positions. But I haven’t any spare personnel to scout the top of the cliff inland to see if there are any weak points that the enemy may be able to exploit. I do know of your skills when it comes to tracking and trailblazing as you would have developed them rather well in your past life yes?”
Dark nodded, maybe it would be well to get away for a week or so on the land. She felt more at home there anyway.
“
I think that would be most welcome, I don’t really feel at home amongst so many people and they are all so busy too. I agree to the task you are offering, but I would like to meet up with Keera and Justin before I go too.”
Raz had a little surprise for her.
“
You will be able to catch up with Nightwing and Loranda too then.”
“
Night and Loranda are here?”
Dark couldn’t help but feel her spirits lift.
“
Tell me where they are. I would love to see them.”
Raz immediately surmised this was a very close group.
“
You will find all four overseeing the placement of catapults and other defenses at the top of the cliff along the ocean’s edge. If you see the guard outside, he will organize a guide to take you up the path that leads to the top from here.”
Dark smiled and bowed immediately leaving. She was excited to see her friends. Again Vaughn was left in her wake trying to catch up. He seemed to be doing a lot of that.
It took the guide almost an hour to show them up the steep hill to the top of the ridge but once up there it was easy going to the edge facing the ocean. As they approached, Dark and Vaughn could see a lot of stonework was going into place with evenly placed catapults placed a bit back from the edge being maneuvered into position. Vaughn calculated that with a half mile to be covered there would have to be 40 catapults up here not including ballistas.
They started moving along but it was quickly obvious that catapults or even ballistas were not going to be placed along the entire cliff face. In fact there were only ten of each. Dark wasn’t looking. She was walking along looking for familiar faces and it didn’t take long before they spotted one.
“
Loranda!”
She looked up and a beaming grin immediately crossed her face,
“
Dark!”
Loranda sprung up and ran to Dark, the two embracing and kissing.
“
Oh my dear I have missed you so.”
Dark nodded in appreciation.
“
And I have missed you, it is very good to see you. Where are the others? I want to see them.”
Loranda grinned and took Dark’s hand.
“
Come with me, I’ll show you the way.”
Off they went back into the trees. A tent quickly revealed itself as they approached, Loranda swung the flap back and they entered. From outside Vaughn could hear the cheers of surprise and happiness even before he got in there. Upon entering he saw Dark in the middle of a hug between another woman and Keera all three locked together, Justin was watching on smiling and after they managed to separate he got a hug too. Everyone was delighted to see Dark back. Vaughn even got a hug from Keera which was nice.
Dark and the other two women that he didn’t know were exchanging questions and excited answers, Vaughn cleared his throat and Dark looked up.
“
Oh I’m sorry my dear, please let me introduce you two to Vaughn. We picked up this scallywag in Port Cholandra and I haven’t been able to get rid of him since.” Dark winked at Vaughn, “And Vaughn this is, Nightwing and Loranda, two of our companions.”