NOVEL SIMPLE Intermission 3 (Will Larze)
“Sir. They’ve fallen back from the main gate. Looks like the burning oil did its job.” Will’s second in command announced with tired pride.
Will stood atop the highest battlement of Fort Steel as he overlooked the battlefield around him. The night air burned with fumes of combat as small fires illuminated the arrow filled field around them. Bodies lay amongst the spent ammunition. A testament to the fierce heart and well trained men under his command. Unfortunately, the bravery of his soldiers may not be enough to stem this tide. Combat doctrine said that attackers wishing to take a fortified position had to outnumber their opponents three to one. The demon army surrounding his fort had at least ten times those odds.
Will acknowledged George’s announcement with a nod of his head. “Excellent news. Let's hope that makes them think twice about a frontal assault on the gate house.”
Neither of them said it but they both knew they had used up the entire oil reserve on the first day. The demons were relentless and the burning oil had a much lesser effect on their infernal skin compared to what other races could endure.
“At least it did something.” Will murmured to himself.
How many years had he advocated for their oil reserves to be replaced with holy water? But no, his superiors argued that holy water was only good for some attackers while oil could be used across the board. No one had said it aloud but the real reason was it was far cheaper to store oil for a few years rather than holy water for a few months.
“Glad we saved a few hundred gold pieces instead of that holy water right George.” Will gave his second in command a weary smile.
The corner of George’s mouth curled slightly, but he simply shook his head and pointedly did not answer. Will pushed himself off of the battlement and turned towards the stairs.
“Rest who we can spare.” Will instructed as he jogged down the stairs into the interior of the fortress. “There’s no telling when the assault will start again, but we should take advantage of this brief moment of respite.”
“Yes commander.” George gave him a smart salute and took off down the opposite hallway once they reached the main floor.
The central space that had up until this morning been filled with refugees was now full of injured and dying men. Healers worked tirelessly against a growing number of bodies as the siege continued. Though their defenses had held thus far, their victory had come at a high cost. As Will noted the sad condition of his men he spotted a commotion by the door down to the food storage. A squad of soldiers were arguing with each other with hushed voices. Will increased his pace and approached them.
“Corporal.” Will called out once he recognized the soldier with the highest rank within the squad. “What’s going on here?”
The soldiers jumped to attention and each exchanged a concerning look between them.
“Commander Larze, sir. Private Vincent was refusing an order sir.” The corporal shot the private in question a dirty look.
Will raised an eyebrow and looked at private Vincent. “This true soldier?”
“N-no sir. Corporal Finderson requested I stand guard within the store room and I requested at least two others and proper torch light to accomplish-”
“And I’m telling ya we don’t have the manpower or torches to waste on it.” Finderson growled angrily at his subordinate. “There’s one in the hallway that will provide enough light for you to do your job.”
Will raised a hand to silence the bickering men. “Private, why do you feel the backup and extra light is needed?”
Vincent paused and shifted his weight from one foot to another. “There’s… something off about the darkness around here lately.”
The other men in the squad avoided looking at Will directly. They all felt the same but were embarrassed to hear it said aloud. Will turned to Finderson.
“You and your men will accompany me down to the store room.” Will ordered before turning on his heel and stomping down the staircase.
He wanted to put on a strong face for the men, but Will’s thoughts had turned to Brynville and what his scouts had found there. If whatever had been in that town made its way into the fortress he needed to know about it.
It didn’t take long to descend the spiral steps down to the small hallway. This was one of the lowest points in the entire fortress, deep underground to take advantage of the natural insulation of the stone and soil above them to better store their goods. One simple torch flickered against the wall as Will approached the broad door leading into the store room. He peeked through the upper window but couldn’t see anything other than crates, bags, and barrels within the dark space.
“Right. We’re going in.” Will announced to the squad behind him as he opened the creaky door.
Corporal Finderson lifted the torch off of its ring but Will held up a hand.
“No torches. If soldiers are worried about something in the dark then we need to verify it in the dark.”
Despite being the one that had been angry at his men for their silly beliefs, Finderson’s face paled slightly at the idea of going in without a light source. Will steeled his own nerves and entered the large dark store room with his soldiers following tentatively behind him. The cool air inside felt strangely thin as Will ventured deeper into the space. It was quiet apart from the heavy breathing of six men slowly creeping in the dark. Cold sweat ran down the length of Will’s back, but he pressed on until he reached the far side of the room.
“Anyone see anything out of the ordinary?” He asked the men behind him.
The five soldiers sheepishly shook their heads and muttered. “No commander.”
Will nodded, but didn’t say anything else. He wanted to ease their fears. To laugh it off as shock after a day of defending the walls. Yet he immediately knew why the men felt as they did. There was something here. Lurking in the dark.
Will was still puzzling out these feelings in his mind when the torch just outside of the room flickered and died.
Will heard the men all turned on a dime. Steel slid against steel as they clumsily drew their swords. Something clicked in the dark. Something inhuman. It sounded from the right. Then the left. Each click creeping closer to the group of soldiers with every pass.
One of the men panicked and tried to run for the door. There was a rapid series of clicks followed by a horrifying scream and then chilling silence.
“Hold your ground!” Will hissed as he fumbled with his belt to remove the flint and steel he kept there.
With his other hand he pried open the closest crate and fished around inside for the wood fibers they used to pad the goods with. Will fluffed up the wood fibers near the top and struck his flint and steel causing a spark. The flash of illumination caused a new wave of clicks to echo around the darkness, though, this set of clicks sounded agitated and aggressive compared to the last round.
A clang sounded ahead of Will as one of the men took a wild swing in the dark and bounced his sword off of the stone floor. Sparks flew from the violent contact and the clicks turned into a ear piercing shriek as whatever lay in the dark launched itself at the man who swung. Another scream that ended too suddenly.
Will cursed and struck his flint and steel again. This time the spark caught the fluffy wood fibers and started a fire. Will gently blew on the flames, encouraging them to grow rapidly, not caring about the box of goods that would surely be destroyed by their spread. Light from the fire caused the darkness around the remaining soldiers to retreat. Pretty soon the box was fully ablaze, illuminating the storeroom with intense firelight. Will pulled the box away from other flammable material, determined to only lose this crate of goods.
It was then that Will spotted them. Two shadows burned into the stone floor. One from the man that had tried to run in the dark and the other from the man that had tried to swing his sword at their unseen attackers. Whatever lurked in the shadows had burned their last moment of existence into the unyielding stone beneath their feet.
“Gods help us.” Will muttered aloud.
