Chronicles of Ilandri - Volume 1

Black Dawn (Pt.2)

Nathaniel could do nothing but watch and wait as the fire raged on, signalling the impending arrival of the colossal army which brought their doom. A shadow moved slowly across the land, stemming from fire and slowly creeping toward the edge of the forest. He had seen the enormous army all those days ago in the Harbald mountains but it had been growing since then, with more evil beasts called to swell its ranks. Nathaniel could only imagine how much larger and more fearsome it would be when it finally arrived at their gates.

There were several miles of open pasture and arable land between the walls of the city and the forest. People still worked the fields and would not have been warned, unless somehow Ogwyn convinced them to retreat to the safety of the city. The shadow continued to spread toward the city and as it reached the edge of the forest, Nathaniel held his breath. Slowly the dark mass pushed beyond the tree line and like a dark, thick, slurry oozing over the land, it moved toward the city. Nathaniel's view from the window was poor, but he knew this was the goblin army, marching as one toward them.

The army poured from the trees, still slowly moving, spreading out to surround the city, as if the slurry was filling around the base of a mound. As it drew closer it became easier to make out the outlines of individual goblins and, as foretold by Torstein, the mountain trolls. They were like large, stony goblins swelled up to the size of giants, some even bigger. These creatures, whilst witless and unintelligent, were fearless and formidable to fight. Often goblins would shelter near a troll cave for protection and it took a good many rangers to bring one down.

If Nathaniel could see this huge army spreading out from the forest toward the city, from his tiny window, then others would see it too. It was too late now to prepare the city and the best they could hope to do was shut the gates and delay the inevitable breach. He had tried to warn them and now they would all see that he was right. They had been blinded by their ignorance and would now feel quite foolish. There was no satisfaction to be had in being proved right. It had cost him the friendship of his oldest and closest companion and moreover it would cost him the city.

Through the window the city looked peaceful below him, but he knew that behind doors people would be panicking. Bells rang out across the city bringing the tidings of war and death. Nathaniel dropped down to sit on the floor and rest his tired, stiff legs. He had stood throughout the entire night looking through the window. Along the corridor the door rumbled open again and he could hear muffled voices. They were probably calling all available guards to defend the city. Suddenly there was a thud, followed by the sound of a man falling. Curiosity drew him over to the door, to try and see what was happening. It was too dark to see and his field of vision was too narrow to make out anything. A dark figure approached his door and the keys scraped against the wood as they looked for the lock. As the door was pushed open the dark figure stepped out of the gloom and Nathaniel could see his face clearly.
"Martyn, what are you doing here?" he exclaimed in astonishment.
"I am sorry, my dear friend. I should not have doubted you and will never again," he remarked, locking Nathaniel into a tight embrace. They did not linger in the prison long and Martyn led him out into the gloom outside. He had brought a horse with him and one for Nathaniel to ride. His long ordeal in the prison cell had left him feeling hunchbacked and weak, but as his hand grasped his medallion the strength started to return and the aches faded. "We must get to the walls," shouted Martyn as they mounted up. The streets were in disarray as people fled their homes for safety. There was no safety to be found in the city anymore, this would be their last stand, he mused as they galloped toward the walls.

By the time Nathaniel had donned his armour and reached the battlements the army had fully emerged from the forest and encircled the city. The number had grown by at least half again since he had seen it last in the mountains. It fanned out around the city spreading almost as far as the river on each side, leaving ships as the only means of escape. As he looked at the huge army he knew that escape was probably the best chance the citizens had. Nothing would stop the city becoming overrun, it could only be delayed. "You see there," said Martyn, pointing down to the ground a hundred metres or so from the foot of the walls. "They will not pass the line of stones," he remarked as Nathaniel realised what he was pointing at.