Even Gods Must Fall - Christian Warren Freed Page 0,93
the Dae’shan,” Nothol finally said.
“Right.” Dorl drained his mug and handed it back. “What do you think they’re talking about? How to get us killed no doubt.”
“Probably but what’s it matter? We know our jobs. Live or die it will all be finished tomorrow,” Nothol told him.
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Rekka came over, the look on her face dour but pleasant. Dorl was immediately drawn to the way her clothes hugged her in all the right places. Her long, black hair hung down past her shoulders. The light brown of her skin blended with the dark blacks and blues of her fighting clothes. Her swords were tied to her hips in a nonthreatening way that could easily change in the blink of an eye. She was as dangerous as she was beautiful. Dorl counted himself fortunate to have the love of such a lady.
“We attack before dawn. Even now the Dwarves are rolling their cannon batteries into firing positions. King Thord is positive they can break the enemy lines enough to allow us passage into the ruins,” she told them as she hopped onto the knee-high rock wall they watched the meeting from.
Nothol swirled his mug around, gently sloshing golden liquid over the lip. “I think I’ll go see to my kit and leave you two for the night.”
There was a time when Nothol and Dorl had been inseparable. Rekka’s arrival convoluted their working relationship, leaving Nothol the odd one out. He didn’t mind as long as she took care of him. Dorl Theed was a good person and a better friend. Nothol had been lucky to have worked alongside him for so long. They had enough stories to last a lifetime. Unfortunately those lifetimes were about to be cut short come the dawn. He didn’t suffer from the illusion of survival. Nothol, ever pragmatic, recognized death staring back at him. The Goblin army was simply too strong to defeat, even with the unexpected addition of the Dwarves and Minotaurs. He briefly wondered if anyone would ever remember his name, his deeds.
The sell sword drifted towards the command meeting in the hopes of catching useful bits of information that might help him live longer. Smart enough to stay out of sight, Nothol leaned against a thick, white birch tree and listened.
“…enemy lines are too thick,” Orlek complained. This was the rebellion’s final hour. One he hoped they might escape. The longer the meeting dragged on the more he began to realize how futile that hope was.
“They won’t be once my cannons get done,” Thord assured. The Dwarf exuded confidence. “We’ll rip them apart to the point the rest break and run.”
Bahr added, “He may be right. We’ve seen these cannons in action. There is no other power on Malweir capable of causing such destruction.”
“Enough to kill fifty thousand Goblins?” Orlek asked. Exasperation bled through his words. “How many of us have to die in the process? We never signed on to fight this kind of war.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Ingrid replied. “We’re here now and can’t escape if we wanted to. The Goblins are entrenched in the middle of our kingdom. Even if we left they’d still be here. I don’t think I need to remind you that they pose a far greater threat than King Badron ever did.”
“So this is our fight now?”
“As much as I don’t like to admit it, yes.” Tears clung to the corners of her rich, blue eyes. She too saw the end of all they’d suffered for, only it wasn’t the end they imagined. Ingrid rightly feared that Delranan as they knew it was coming to an end. Whatever happened tomorrow, their kingdom was going to be fundamentally changed forever.
Bahr said, “She’s right. I didn’t come here to fight Goblins either but they are in the way and too large of a force to ignore. King Thord and his cannons will do the trick, at least I hope so. We don’t have much time left.”
Frustrated, Orlek threw his hands up. “Time! Time for what? All of you speak in riddles and half-truths. I don’t believe your quest to save the world. Nor the reasons for these damned Goblins in my kingdom. Do any of you have an idea just how much blood we’ve shed fighting Harnin’s army? How close we’ve come to breaking? Now you expect us to go into battle with a massive army who happen to be well rested and in defendable positions? You’re going to get all of our people killed.”