The new Captain moved off quickly. The only good thing to come of this raid was that they had managed to gain some very important information from the two prisoners when they were tortured.
So now they knew there was a deep-water port four days south of here. Should he risk a foray down there to see what shape it was in? He did have to salvage something from this trip and right now they had nothing. Thanos came to a decision. Turning to an aid he ordered a crew to use one of the ocean going fishing boats and take a southern tack along the coast until they found signs of another port. Then they were to return directly up the coast to him. With that taken care of he decided to have a second fishing boat return to Port Cholandra with the intelligence they had gathered. The Overlord would be very interested to hear of a new port further south.
The enemy ships set sail moving off down the coast leaving behind an empty and burnt out town to be of no more use to the Kingdom. Looking back Thanos’ eyes glanced over the blackened hull of the burnt out Man O War settled in the water and its sister ship partly burnt and beached near the shore, both total losses.
Back inland Burkhard was riding along on his horse passing information back and forth between his corporals. There were many wounded and the going was to be slow. He didn’t expect they would make the northern edge of Port Volarus for at least nine days. He knew some would die. They had lost eighty men in the town and by what he could tell another ten would probably die on the trail. He just hoped that when the boat he had sent south the day before arrived in Port Volarus, Raz would know to send a ship to the northern beach to pick them up at about the right time. He really didn’t fancy the idea of sitting in the wilderness until someone realized they were there. Just over two hundred armed men traveling south, probably not of any real consequence to anyone he thought to himself.
Three days later the fishing boat returned to Underlord Thanos with news and it was disturbing indeed. A major deep water port was under construction and many cargo ships were moving in and out but only three Man O Wars could be seen. By their description Thanos quickly worked out that many of them were once Isogorrean. If that was true, had the crews mutinied and joined forces with Kingdom people? Normally he would have rejected the idea out of hand but he remembered that epic six-month journey without a thing in sight for all that time. It had taken all their will and authority to make it this far, right now he couldn’t say no.
They had no choice but to go down there and see just how strong they were. Maybe if the conditions were right he could inflict some major damage. He was sure that Sealord Gacek would react swiftly and send down a large flotilla of his own anyway. This way any damage Thanos did could be finished off by the second fleet he knew would be sent and he would be able to give them invaluable information regarding their defenses. He was right in heading south. It had turned out to be a very important find. Thanos ordered the fishing boat to go back to spying on the harbor. That way he would have up to date information when he got there. It quickly pulled away and within two hours was on the horizon ahead of them. He expected to be there tomorrow afternoon at this rate.
Late the next day, the six ships had dropped sail and were idle in the water. The scouting boat had returned and Underlord Thanos was being briefed on what had been seen. It was sounding very positive indeed. Of the multitude of ships in the harbor only four large cargo ships were anchored there with three Man O Wars. There was nothing else of significance in the bay at all. To the north a sheer cliff face, some of his men might be able to scale it. To the south of the bay nothing but swamp, well that would be of no use.
Thanos decided to go in, dispatch the three Man O Wars and capture what cargo ships he could. Then he would burn what else of the town he could with minimal casualties. They would wait another hour before setting sail and when they approached in darkness he would have men disembark at the cliff face and scale it. They would make good use of having a few men on shore to wreak havoc from there as well.
He looked up at the sky. It was cloudy but not overcast and it would be doubtful if the moon played a part tonight. It was a good thing though. Without a moon they would be able to get very close before opening fire. It wasn’t long before the order rang out.
“
Make sail!”
As the sun set casting an orange glow across the unfurling canvas on the ships, they slowly moved off to what would be a major and final confrontation for many on both sides.
A couple of hours later ten long boats that had disembarked from the shadowing Isogorrean flotilla were approaching the cliff face and as it was low tide they were lucky to have sandy beach at the base of it. The surf was a bit tricky but the seasoned sailors were able to negotiate their way to the shore without incident. Once the boats spilled their men onto the beach they quickly made their way to the rock face and began pulling themselves up with swords or crossbows strapped to their backs. It was two hundred feet straight up and only the hardiest and fittest were picked for this mission. It was slow going and it would take them over an hour to work their way to the top.
Back on board the ships Thanos was taking his time. He wouldn’t enter the harbor for another half hour so that their timing was just right. He wanted the element of surprise to be complete from both attacks, the land and sea attacks to happen together. The clouds were doing their job. The moon had not shown at all in the past hour and it didn’t look like that would change. A light drizzle had begun to fall. That would probably complicate and slow things for the rock climbers but he didn’t envisage any real problems with it.
He considered his tactics once more. They had to stick to the port side of the bay when entering. The scouting boat had noticed all the larger ships had done so. Once in they would separate and move to individual targets with the Kingdom’s boats well spread out on the bay. He knew they wouldn’t be able to organize a proper defense anyway in the short time after the attack started. He had made sure of their moored positions too.
The scouting boat had provided its last report to him at dusk. Each cruiser would deal with the Kingdom's Man O Wars in harbor with a surprise attack. His ship would fire first and when the other cruisers saw him start firing it would be the signal for them to do so too. It was a simple tactic but had proved effective many times. The cargo ships would be easy targets after that and if complications arose they were under instructions to beat a hasty retreat after firing at least a single salvo. Thanos was not going to make the mistake of sailing in without being ready this time. All men and all catapults were at the ready from the word go. The added advantage was they wouldn’t be seen in the almost pitch black of this night.
The time came for them to enter the harbor and the ships moved forward slowly making their way line astern into the port. There were no alarms, no sounds out of the ordinary coming from the harbor or the town.
On the cliff the men were making slow progress but it was steady. The drizzle proved to be a pain as the rock face had become rather slippery. They were only a third of the way up and a little behind but they couldn’t rush this, if one man fell, the others directly below him would be in real danger too. A few of the men still on the beach looked out over the ocean but there was only blackness. They knew the ships would be entering the harbor. For the next hour or so they would be on their own.
The cruisers separated and made their way slowly to their designated spots. It was organized so they would all arrive at their respective targets at about the same time. So with that in mind each of them was traveling at a different speed. The Man O Wars hung back to add support if needed. The crucial part of this opening exchange was the destruction of the three opposing warships. Once that was accomplished they would have a free hand to do as they pleased.
Back at the cliff face the men were about twenty feet from the top now, almost there. The face of the cliff was covered with over a hundred men slowly making their way up, most of them were in the upper third of the cliff and were looking forward to getting on top to take a quick rest. Then it happened, a shout rang out on top of the cliff.
“
Now!”
Over the edge came boiling oil pouring out of huge pots tipping their contents directly down the cliff. Men screamed as it hit them and they fell off the cliff face, collecting their comrades on the way down. At almost 200 feet to fall they hit the beach below with sickening thuds. Justin peeked over the ledge where there was a rocky outcrop behind his head, it was a perfect viewpoint that stopped anyone below from seeing a person’s outline against the sky when they looked up. He took stock of their handiwork and whispered back at Keera behind him.
“
About a dozen left, they copped some oil but they didn’t let go.” Now Keera shouted,
“
Light em up!”
A couple of lit branches stuck out over the edge and the oil was set alight, the flames raced down the cliff face faster than anyone could move. Some of the soldiers let go before the flames got to them, preferring a quick death below. The others were frozen to the cliff face in fear. As the flames enveloped their bodies the last of them screaming madly let go of their handholds. They cut a fiery path directly to the beach below where the fire engulfed the other oil covered bodies sending up huge sheets of flame. The cliff face was like a beacon facing the ocean with an eerie flickering glow cast over the beach and crashing waves.
Justin continued his surveillance looking for anyone that might be left. He didn’t see the solitary figure far off to one side. The soldier was aiming his crossbow directly up the cliff face. He saw Justin illuminated against the rocky outcrop a split second before Justin saw him. He let fly and Justin didn’t move in time. The bolt entering his chest and went straight through him, pinning him to the rock behind. All he could do was croak in response. Two men behind him pulled on his legs snapping the bolt off. Another soldier leaned over the edge with a bow and picked off the remaining soldier on the cliff but for Justin it was too little too late. He lay there gasping as they turned him over, blood spreading on his tunic.
“
Get a stretcher here now!”
Keera screamed while leaning over him, cupping his face. With tears welling in her eyes Keera beseeched Justin to stay alive.
“
Don’t you die, don’t do this, you need to live, I’m so sorry I’m so sorry.”
The stretcher arrived, they lifted him on and started off along the ridge back to Port, Keera beside him all the way holding his hand.
Out in the bay they were unaware of the events on the cliff. If they had looked a little harder they may have seen a bit of a glow. Raz was on board one of the large cargo ships, he had work done to convert it to combat status, catapults, ballistas and 300 troops apiece were stationed on those three ships.
He sat there patiently waiting to spring the trap. They knew there was a very real possibility of an enemy fleet showing up when they saw one of their fishing boats from Port Valderus arrive and leave again the day before. He also knew of Burkhard making his way down the inland road too, they would have to pick him up in a few days.
There were over three-dozen fishing vessels stationed off to the sides of his Man O Wars. Raz knew the Isogorreans would try to take his warships out first. He had them placed days before well apart to split the enemy fleet.
So much relied on timing now, timing of the enemy arriving, timing of their boats splitting up, timing of their warships approaching the Man O Wars. The tough part was the enemy would have to open fire first. It meant Raz’s ships would have to take the first hit. In preparation for that he had the decks of the Man O Wars covered in buckets of water, it would help them to douse the flames of any successful hits very quickly. He was sure his ships would take casualties but it was necessary to have a chance of winning this battle and saving the port.
As Raz stood there he saw the first of the flaming pots begin arcing through the night sky. It had begun. Far off on the southern part of the bay an Isogorrean ship had started firing. Then all of a sudden two more opened up too. They were going after the Man O Wars just as he had thought they would. Right about now his fleet of fishing vessels would be moving forward under cover of darkness to get alongside those ships. They were filled with as many soldiers as he could fit on each of them. Most carried bows and when they got close enough they would open up on the decks of the enemy vessels throwing grappling hooks on board and attacking. His Man O Wars were also given orders not to use their catapults either, only ballistas and archers. Raz knew it was a risky business and it would be costly in men. He not only wanted to defeat the enemy but he needed ships too and this was the best way he could think of to accomplish this.
On board one fishing vessel near the second Man O War, Dark was waiting at the bow. Night and Loranda were behind her, there was no way they were going to miss out on any of the action. As a few flaming pots flew overhead towards their Man O War, Dark called out to the helmsman.
“
Let’s move now!”
Their little flotilla of boats moved forward to where the source of the pots was coming from. In the darkness they were able to get to within twenty yards of the ship. Then a guard on board shouted and was cut down by a bolt from a crossbow. All of a sudden there were bolts and arrows flying into the men on that ship crying out and falling. The last twenty yards took only a few seconds to cover and grappling hooks were thrown up onto the railing with men immediately pulling themselves up. Dark was in the front with her crossbow out, others stood in the fishing boats continuing to lay cover fire as they pulled themselves over the railing. She fired off a shot at the oncoming enemy sailors and immediately dropped the spent weapon drawing her sword at the same time. Now she began screaming and swinging at anything near her. Men from behind came charging in too. It was a melee of swinging swords and raised shields, screams and yells filled the night air. Who would win was just a matter of who fought hardest.