The Conqueror's Leader

Chapter 12 :THE SIEGE

The first wave broke against the palisade.

Kain felt the wall tremble beneath his boots where his forces and that of the enemy had engaged against the gate. Two-hundred fighting men surged towards the wooden doors, pressing back the reinforced iron gates with all of their might.

"Hold!"Kain bellowed, "Hold the line!"

His men took up his cry. Gareth the blacksmith drove a soldier back with a hammer strike to the face, Ryna let out a string of arrows from her perch above the fray, and Linden held his spear high against a soldier in black despite his bad leg and the pain in his knee.

The enemy pressed the attack, the gate groaning under the pressure.

Kain glanced at the System panel that floated in his line of vision.

What good was this going to do him in battle? It had provided him with Basic Tactics and Basic Fortification but those were for building and not for fighting.

He needed to think of another way. Kain turned to Ryna who stood guardedly by the eastern wall.

"Ryna!"A shout from the east. "Fire the hay!"

Understanding his intent, the hunter-girl grabbed a torch from the wall and tossed it onto the carefully-kept stack of dry hay that had been prepared along the eastern edge. A thick plume of fire erupted along the base of the wall, sending enemy soldiers reeling away from the heat. It had bought them precious moments. Moments that Kain intended to use.

"Second wave!"Linden's cry rang out across the stockade, "From the west!"

Kain turned, eyes narrowing as he saw the second wave forming up against the western wall. Armed with a battering ram, the soldiers were driving in on the weak spot at the far edge of the palisade. The ram made contact against the wooden stockade and the wall gave way with a great lurch.

"Get Gareth and three others to the west wall, now!"Kain shouted.

Gareth ran, grabbing a spear and two other farmers, to meet a widening gap at the foot of the wall where enemy soldiers began to pour in with surprising ease. Now the enemy had two entrances into the fort - one was a choke-point, the other was a open door.

Kain ran, mind racing through his options at the available forces. He could barely hold the western wall long enough to deal with the second wave at the east. He couldn't afford to hold them off for much more than three minutes.

He needed something to break their morale.

His eyes flicked to the back of the enemy formation where a lone rider waited atop a black steed, watching the struggle unfold with mild disinterest. No doubt their commander.

Kain made his decision almost instantly, climbing down off the wall's upper levels so that he could meet the man face to face. Linden's eyes went wide at his sudden reversal of priorities.

"What are you?" His shout was drowned out by Kain who was already making his way to the gate.

"Open the gate!"Kain shouted as he neared the entrance to the stockade.

Linden stared at him as if he had gone mad, but he nodded and heaved the bar off the doors.

Kain stepped out into the open battlefield, the enemy soldiers momentarily confused by the sudden opening of the passage.

"I want to speak to your commander!"Kain called to them.

The soldiers hesitated, unsure of what to do, and "Bring me your commander!" Kain shouted, "Or are you afraid to meet a traitor with no blade?!"

With that, the black steed moved forward, the commander dismounting in slow, steady strides until he was ten paces away from Kain. He was an older-looking man with a grey streak in his greying hair and a scar crawling up from his cheek, eyes of calculating steel staring Kain into his very soul.

"You are Kain,"His voice was rough, rougher than Kain had expected. As if he had never opened his mouth in years,"You are a traitor and a murderer. I have orders to bring you to Commander Veyr dead or alive."

"I am,"Kain countered,"But Veyr is aand you are wasting your time. He fled and left us at the mercy of the rebels. Everyone knows it and I think you know it too."

"You mean nothing to me,"The commander replied,"It doesn't matter what you say, I have orders!"

"Then follow your orders!"Kain snapped back, "How many will have to die at my gate before you take him back? You've seen these walls and you've seen my soldiers. We slew fifty in the pass alone, for what good it did us."

The commander took a deep breath, regarding the smoke and fire that had built up at the easterly wall as well as the wounded soldiers from either side lying groaning on the battlefield. He turned his gaze back to Kain.

"I offer you something better than Veyr's bargain,"Kain said.

"And what would that be,"The commander asked.

"Live,"The rebel said simply.

"Live?"A pause, "You would trade the lives of your friends for--"

"Just listen to what I say," Kain interjected, "If you take me back, fifty of your soldiers will be dead before the end of this day. You may as well live and leave, before your commander decides whether or not he wishes to kill you."

The commander narrowed his eyes at him. This was either a very clever tactic or he was very brave.

"You have courage, kid," He said at last and turned his horse's reign around, "For that, I'll give you something more."

He turned back to the mass of soldiers behind him and called over his shoulder, "Fall back, we're leaving!"

The enemy army backed away from the fort's walls with Kain watching them go. Once out of sight of his people, Ryna appeared at his side.

"You just lied to an army,"She told him in shock.

"I know,"Kain replied.

"If he'd called you on it-"

"He didn't."

Kain turned and walked away back into the fort, his people looking on. Most of his troops were crying, some laughing, but as always, Linden just shook his head.

"You really are the luckiest bastard I've met," He muttered.

A soft ping sound in his head heralded the next message to appear before his eyes:

[QUEST COMPLETE: DEFEND THE VALLEY.

REWARD: 300 Gold, Skill Unlock -- Basic Negotiation.]

The feeling of warmth filled Kain's heart, expanding outward in great waves of newfound knowledge and skill unlocked inside his mind

Another indicator then appeared in the corner of his vision, however, as his men busied themselves fixing the damaged areas of the fort. Linden, however, was still watching the distant forest. The enemy had withdrawn under pressure, but it would only be a matter of time before-

[WARNING: ENEMY COMMANDER HAS WITHDRAWN BUT VEYR IS AWARE OF YOUR POSITION.

A new quest was offered to him now, one far more daunting than the last.

[NEW QUEST: BUILD A PERMANENT BASE OF OPERATIONS.

REWARD: Unknown.]

Kain turned back to his men as another loud ping echoed inside his skull.

He looked past them to the horizon where the enemy still mustered their wounded forces, and he looked once more at the grim expressions worn by his own fighters. He had saved them from the initial assault, but how long before the next one came?

Sound of more boots on stone made Kain turn. Ryna stood in the entrance to the fort, expression grim. Behind her, a messenger made his slow way past the wounded and into the main hall of the fort where Kain stood waiting. Cloaked in black, the man pulled his hood back to reveal a face that, despite his efforts to conceal it, Kain knew.

"You're Kain,"The man said, "You don't know me, but I knew your father."