Mythica, book 2, Chapter 7.

Chapter 7.

In the morning, after getting the troops fed, Sabine and Hamilcar led them back out for more training. The guardsmen and the mercenaries worked in groups, fighting mock battles in narrowly laid out sections of the field. Sabine wanted them to get used to fighting in close quarters, which was the likely scenario they were about to face.

It took the men some time to get used to the weapons they had been issued, but by noon, they were performing in a manner that Sabine would say was adequate. The six additional archers that had joined Hamilcar’s force, bringing them up to a total of twenty-six guardsmen, were good, if not great shots. All had some combat experience by this time and knew the dangers of the battlefield.

The archers had been equipped with light crossbows, and each man had twenty bolts in their quiver, and another twenty in their packs. The ammunition that was broken during their training would be replaced from the armory before they left. Sabine had Skrix and Orren jump into the training. Orren joined the archers, and Skrix kept to Sabine’s side.

While Skrix was small, he was fast and deadly now that he had decent equipment to fight with. Sabine’s training of both Skrix and Orren on the road had helped make them better fighters than most of the mercenaries and guardsmen that they were working with. Skrix, in particular, impressed his fellow Reforged members. Several wanted to spar with him, and they seemed to adopt him as a sort of pet for their band.

“Orren, come with me for a moment,” Sabine said when the group took a break for the evening meal.

“What is it, Sabine?”

“It’s about your role in the coming fight. You’re in good with Councilor Emmet. I’m sure he’d let you stay in camp during the fight, in fact, I’m willing to bet that he’ll insist on it. He sees you as his meal ticket, and he won’t want to risk you in a suicidal battle,” Sabine said.

“It doesn’t matter what he wants, I’m part of your team, and I’ll go with the attack force,” Orren said.

“But you don’t have to and I’m willing to let you stay behind if you’d like. I will not think any less of you if you decide to stay. We can join up after the battle’s over if you still want to join me to Golgotia,” Sabine said. She felt that she owed him a chance to escape if he wanted to. Orren had been a good companion as well as someone she now saw as a friend, and she didn’t want him to get hurt.

“You don’t want me around?” Orren said with a hurt look on his face.

“No, it’s not that, I’d love to have you at my side, but there’s no need for you to risk yourself in this fight. I have no fear that you’re going to spill my secret, and if you don’t want to continue, I’m offering you a way out,” Sabine offered.

“I’m not looking for a way out, Sabine. I’m telling you that I want to follow you through to the end of this. This is my job, documenting everything I can about the dangers of the world around us. It’s my family legacy and it’s one refuse to run away from,” Orren said. He looked like he was going to say more, so Sabine gave him a few moments.

“It’s not just my family legacy, Sabine. I feel that this journey is my personal legacy. I’m not just documenting entries in the compendium; I’m documenting our journey itself. There’s no way I’m quitting on you now. We survived the ghoul, the Dark Realm, and a tribe of orcs. Assaulting a city through the sewers and capturing a gate? That’s just a normal day for us, isn’t it?” Orren told her, handing over a partially filled journal.

The new journal was a depiction of their adventures. He had left out Sabine’s true nature, which she was thankful for. Anyone taking this journal would find her just a competent warrior, with some extraordinary skills and gear, not an undead revenant. Skimming through the pages, Sabine could see what Orren was saying. He didn’t want to be saved from danger, he wanted to join her and face the challenge head on.

“Thank you Orren,” she said, handing back the journal. “I’ll leave the offer open, you can leave at any time, but I won’t push you about it. You’re right, we’re a team now, even that little rat, Skrix I suppose. We’ll face what comes, together,” Sabine said, patting Orren on the shoulder as they walked back to the group which was even now finishing up their meals.

“All right, everyone, we’ll run through this one more time, then I want you to rest. We leave just before dark, and by morning, we’ll all be heroes with a big fat bonus filling our coin purses!” Sabine shouted to them. Their troops seemed in high spirits, and Sabine hoped that they could keep up that energy once the battle was met.

Their troops ran through the drills one more time. Sabine wouldn’t tell them the entire plan until they were about to board the ships. The risk was too big of someone making a run for it and selling the information to the other side. So far, the mercenaries had been behaving, but she was under no illusion that they felt all that much in the way of loyalty yet. Some were looking forward to the opportunity she was presenting them, others were just going to be looking to escape at the first opportunity that presented itself.

Back in camp, the men rested and tended to their gear. A runner approached just before sunset with Sabine’s final orders. Dretch and his son, an older teen named Milton, also arrived with the runner, and would accompany them from here on. Sabine’s orders were to march back along the main road that Sabine had arrived on. Once out of sight of the city, they would head toward the coast, where several boats would take them to their objective.

To prevent being spotted by the lookouts at the mouth of the sewer, the boats would wait to depart until darkness had fallen. The entrance that Dretch’s son had found was far enough away from the sewer exit that they should be able to sneak in without anyone noticing. What waited for them inside the sewer itself was another story.

“Hamilcar, Raff, Zeb, get them formed up,” Sabine ordered as the sun began to set. Their formation wasn’t pretty, but everyone was accounted for as they began to march out of the camp and onto the road. Once they were outside of the camp, Sabine halted the group and had them gather around her.

“It’s time you found out what our mission is. The city is being assaulted tonight, and we’re going to play a key part in it,” Sabine said, outlining the plan for their assault. There were a few questions, and more than a few mercenaries and town guardsmen that looked more worried about swimming into the sewers than the actual combat.

After they all knew the plan, Sabine marched them toward the coast. It was starting to get dark at this point, and the eastern sky gave off a faint orange light as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Ahead, along the shore, Sabine could make out half dozen ship’s boats pulled onto the beach. Each boat had four sets of oars as well as nine crew. They should each be able to carry about eight to ten passengers. Some grumbling started when the men finally got a look at the boats.

“What did you expect, a royal flotilla to escort us in? We’re just going up the coast a bit, not across the ocean,” Sabine chided them.

“Look out, we got some runners!” One of the guardsmen shouted, pointing behind their formation.

Two of her mercenaries were running, and Zeb was right on their heels. Sabine felt a bit betrayed by the man she had beaten and then promoted to squad leader. Their archers, including the pair of mercenaries with ranged weapons, loaded and prepared to fire.

Before they could load and fire, Zeb gained ground and was right behind one of the other runners. Instead of passing the man and using him for cover, Zeb raised his huge chopping blade and cleaved open the head of the man in front of him. He wasn’t deserting, Sabine realized, he was trying to stop the other two that were running.

“Check your fire, don’t hit Zeb!” Sabine shouted.

The first crossbows fired the sound a dull clack as the bolts released. Hearing her shout, Zeb had the presence of mind to hit the deck as the first volley fired. Several bolts missed, but three bolts slammed home into the final deserter’s back. The man took one more step before toppling over into the sand. Zeb walked over to confirm the man was dead and then jogged back to join the formation.

“I’m sorry, they almost got away from me,” Zeb said as he rejoined them. The big man was panting, running in armor with a heavy weapon took a toll on you.

“You did well,” Sabine replied, not voicing her concern over losing two men before they had even spotted the enemy.

She formed up the troops and marched the rest of the way to the beach. There were a few tense moments when some of the boat crews looked like they were going to cast off and flee. When she arrived, they explained that all they could see were Sabine’s troops firing on someone and had assumed the enemy had found them and were launching an assault.

Even with two fewer passengers, the boats proved to be a tight fit, and once they cast off, several of the group hurled their dinner over the side. Sabine had never been affected by sailing and being undead, nausea was no longer a thing for her. After a few minutes, the troops settled down as the crew did their jobs. Inside each boat were several lines, and large, wax covered sacks that were supposed to keep out most of the water for their gear and clothing.

Instead of rowing up the coast, the boats first headed further out to sea. Once satisfied it was dark enough, the sailors began rowing back toward the shore at an angle. The enemy was proving to be very helpful tonight, and several torches had been lit by the force watching the sewer exit. With that reference point, Dretch had no trouble guiding the boats right where they needed to be.

Their drop off point was a rocky spot just off the coast. The current wasn’t cooperating, and the sailors had to drop small anchors to keep the boats from drifting with the current. Dretch and Milton each grabbed a line and jumped into the frigid water. Sabine waited as the lines unspooled on the deck as their guides swam into the short tunnel. Sabine was starting to get anxious when the lines began to tug, telling them they were ready to go.

One boat would unload at a time, with Hamilcar’s boat going first and Sabine’s bringing up the rear. Each man stripped out of their armor and weapons, placing them in one of the waterproof sacks. The lead man for each boat, someone that was confident in their swimming ability, would pull a line that was tied off to their gear. Once the last man in that boat was through the tunnel, they would pull their gear in behind them.

According to Dretch, the tunnel had been worn smooth by the ocean current and there wasn’t much that could snag their gear. If it became a problem, they would jump back in and unsnag it. The water was too cold for anyone to be in it for long, so they would have to move quickly.

Hamilcar’s boat tied a line to the front and stern, allowing the men to unload two at a time. Leading the way, Hamilcar took a strong grip on one of the ropes and jumped into the frigid sea. Sabine activated her Eyes of Undeath, tracking the progress of her forces for as far as she could. Her range ran out right near the tunnel entrance, but so far, Hamilcar and seven others were on their way, pulling themselves as quickly as they could along the ropes.

The first boat finally emptied of passengers and the second maneuvered next to it as the lines were switched over to the new boat. With a loud plop, the bags of equipment for the first boat were dropped into the sea and the first group pulled it into the cavern. Things went smoothly for the second and third boats, but the fourth ran into a snag. One of the guardsmen started to panic and let go of the rope. Not knowing how to swim, the current pulled him out to sea and there was nothing they could do for him.

That was the only one they lost on the way over, though Sabine had to smack Skrix in the side of the head to get him out of the boat. Once in the icy water, he pulled himself inside the tunnel faster than the others, causing a sort of traffic jam when he ran into the man in front of him. Sabine was the last to go, jumping into the ocean with no fear.

Sabine found that the tunnel was short enough that nobody should have had to hold their breath for more than a thirty or forty seconds at most. She emerged inside a dark cavern that was only lit by a single torch. Dretch had stored one in a watertight sack so they would have something to guide their way. Any more light than that, and they would risk announcing their presence.

All along the cavern floor, men found dry spots to put on their gear. Everyone was shivering in the cold and while the bags for their gear were supposed to be waterproof, the results were varied. Inside the cavern, there was no wind, which helped keep the men from freezing to death. Sabine fetched her armor and weapons from the bag and began to equip herself. Her clothing was wet, but that didn’t bother her at all.

“Hamilcar, Zed, and Raff, get a count and see if we lost anyone,” Sabine ordered. She knew that they had lost one underwater, but that was something she had sensed with her Eyes of Undeath, so she played dumb.

“One guardsman missing and presumed lost, everyone else is accounted for,” Hamilcar reported.

“We need to get moving, this is my only torch and when it burns down, we’ll be stuck in the dark,” Dretch said.

“Let’s go,” Sabine ordered. Some of the passages they would have to move through only allowed one man to pass at a time so the varied the order of march to keep a mix of units spread throughout their ranks. Sabine positioned herself at the head of the column near Dretch and his son, pushing mana into her Eyes of Undeath to scan for any hidden threats. They hadn’t traveled far when the ocean smell of the cavern gave way to the stench of sewage. Dretch had led them to the sewers, it was time to see if he could get them to surface without being spotted.