Chapter 21
Slowly, the horses made their way through the dense forest. King Domren led the way, followed closely by General Luca. The scouts had reported that they were only minutes away from the Mulberry Clan’s village. With luck, they would catch the elves unprepared.
High in the treetops, the king saw movement. An elven scout, perhaps, but it was too late. The elves had little chance of readying themselves for battle in such a short amount of time. If they were truly ready for battle, archers would have filled these trees and began firing as soon as the king’s men were in sight. Domren smiled to himself, knowing that the battle was already won.
Drawing his sword, General Luca commanded his troops to do the same. The mages were positioned near the rear of the company, surrounded by highly skilled soldiers. The king would be furious to lose so many mages in battle again.
As they entered the village, they spurred their horses for the charge. Elves were already running frantically, desperately trying to arm themselves or flee. Many of their archers were running for cover in the trees, but Domren was prepared. He led his troops straight toward the archers as they ran. If he could prevent them from reaching the trees, they would be useless in battle. Thundering in their direction, his men trampled several of the elves as they scrambled to get out of their path. Some survived to climb the trees, but the mages had already locked onto their positions.
Two mages provided a magical shield for the other six. Focusing all of their concentration on defense left the other mages free to fire energy blasts at the elves. Coordinating their attacks perfectly, the shielding mages would drop the barrier only long enough for the others to fire and immediately replace the shield afterwards. Arrows flew toward the mages but glanced off as they hit the shining magical wall.
Three archers had taken to a very large tree at the farthest end of the village. Finding it impossible to take down the mages, they concentrated on the king’s men instead. Their arrows flew faster and faster, each one mortally wounding a Na’zoran soldier. King Domren stayed well out of their range, chasing down the elves who tried to flee.
In one coordinated attack, the six mages fired a concentrated energy blast which uprooted the large tree where the three archers stood. Two of them jumped for their lives, while the third was crushed beneath the massive tree. The force of the blast knocked four of the mages from their mounts and left the remaining four dazed in their saddles.
Seeing that the mages had spent all of their resources on one attack, General Luca ordered them to retreat. Mages had their uses, but none of them were properly trained in battle. He made a mental note to discuss the matter with the king. If he was going to waste men protecting the mages, they needed to be worth protecting.
The soldiers began lighting fire to the huts to flush out any remaining elves. A nursemaid with an infant in her arms emerged from a damaged hut. She ran desperately with all the speed she could muster, all the while clutching the child to her breast. King Domren spotted the woman and gave chase. She looked back with terror filling her eyes as the king’s horse advanced. With a single swing of his sword, he severed her head from her body. She fell lifelessly to the ground, suffocating the baby beneath her.
Spinning his horse around, the king surveyed the village. His losses had been heavier than he expected. Several of his own troops lay dead with arrows sticking out of their heads and necks. The casualties among the elves had been much greater, but there were not enough bodies around to account for the entire village. No sword maidens had been encountered. The village had been filled with older clansmen and small children. Domren began to fear that the warriors would return and find his army unprepared. They were no longer in formation, and many of his men were pillaging the ruined huts.
From the tree line came a second group of soldiers led by Prince Aelryk. Domren’s anger began to build at the sight of his son who trotted casually in his direction.
“Forgive me, Father,” Aelryk said. “We lost our way in the dense forest. It would seem you did not need our help after all.” He looked around at the desecrated village.
“Their warriors were not here,” Domren said angrily. “We could have all been slaughtered, thanks to you.” He signaled to General Luca to gather the men. “You can take your men and find the warriors,” he told Aelryk. “Let us know how it turns out.”
The king led his men back out of the forest while Aelryk and Mi’tal dismounted to inspect the village. All of the elven bodies belonged to those who were either too young or too old to fight effectively. Only a few archers appeared to be in good health and still in fighting condition. Aelryk hung his head.