Chương 69: Battle Plans

Lord Ceonwin summoned the remaining sergeants to the bottom floor of a nearby tavern. It was abandoned and empty, and far enough from the wall that the orcs wouldn't be able to see what we were doing. But we were close enough to respond to an attack if Mugreth called our bluff. We posted watchmen on all the nearest rooftops, ready to alert us if there was an attack, and for the moment, things were calming down. It didn't slow my heartrate.

"As best as we can tell, the majority of Oschester's civilians—those who survived the initial attack—have been gathered within the inner wall," Lord Ceonwin said.

"The entire operation has become one massive prisoner camp. But worse for us is that most of Mugreth's force is also inside that wall. We'll need the thegns' help to wipe them out."

"They're going to keep killing prisoners!" I exclaimed.

"We can't wait for too long." Everyone else turned to stare at me. Lieutenant Owl gave me a disapproving stare, and I winced.

"Yes, Levi is correct," Ceonwin said.

"They will kill those they deem the worst slaves first, which may be an immensely high number, and not a risk I'm willing to take at the moment. The longer we wait, the worse it gets. But if we attack now, we will fail to rescue any of them."

"So we retreat," a different Lieutenant said.

"And give them time to fortify the outer wall?" Lieutenant Owl asked.

"We could use the thegns to help retake the outer wall. You have four under your command, don't you?"

"Sir Fihail, Sir Theamund, Sir Sidal, and Sir Aldhelm. Yes. They will arrive by midday tomorrow with the main body of our forces." I grimaced. Sir Aldhelm was strong, but he was still only a Steel.

"We won't get another chance to surprise them," I said.

"If we give them more time to prepare, we won't have the numbers to retake even the outer wall."

"Lieutenant Owl, get your man under control," a different lieutenant scolded.

"Apologies," I muttered, biting my tongue.

"But once again, Levi is correct," said Lord Ceonwin.

"Even if his manners could use some work. The orcs are contained in the inner wall. Sir Aldhelm and Sir Theamund are sorcerers with powerful attacks, and they will be far more effective against the orcs if we keep them contained in a small area. Sir Fihail, Sir Sidal, and myself are wicca, and our abilities are best saved for isolating and facing the toughest of targets—we shall engage any shamans we find at close-quarters. Any plan will be far more effective if we can keep them within the inner wall."

"We need to get the gate open from the inside again," said Lieutenant Owl. A few murmurs rose up from the crowd. After requesting permission to speak, a sergeant from another squad said, "My lord, they have sentries watching every corner of the wall. We won't surprise them like before, and even if we get over the wall at a weak point, we won't make it far." The messenger who had brought Sir Egric's letter to Ceonwin cleared his throat and lifted a hand.

"My lord, permission to speak?" Although he was only a mortal messenger, he knew the city the best. He was a local.

"Permission granted, boy," Ceonwin said.

"The sewers, sir. They're old, but they lead into the inner wall, and you should be able to sneak in that way." I grinned. Of course, of course we could use the sewers to sneak into a city. I wasn't anxious to smell them, but at the same time, it would work.

"Why are you so giddy about sewers, Levi?" Owl demanded.

"Apologies, lieutenant," I said.

"I have…uh, seen too many plays and books where people snuck into cities through the sewers." The Drillmaster grimaced.

"Even if we snuck in through the sewers, we'd end up in the middle of a street. Exposed. Too far from the wall and the gatehouse. The orcs would kill us before long." The messenger shook his head.

"There's a culvert beneath the head at the gatehouse. It'll take you right to the passageways inside the wall without exposing you to the orcs."

"I'll need a team to delve into the sewers, then," Lord Ceonwin said.

"But we have to time this perfectly. Even if we open the gates, we don't have the numbers to deal with the orcs blade-to-blade." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Will we ever have the numbers to deal with them?" a lieutenant whose name I didn't know asked.

"Perhaps not," Lord Ceonwin said.

"Sir?" I raised my hand.

"Yes, Levi."

"We could open the gates long enough to get some of our forces in. We take the wall and convince them that once again, a much larger force is attacking—convince all of them to rush to the gate. Then we can use Sir Aldhelm and Sir Theamund to slay as many orcs as they can. As the orcs are trying to attack us, they'll bunch up. The thegns can kill more of them together, costing less Presence."

"They have shamans in the inner city," Lieutenant Owl warned.

"I can deal with them," said Sir Ceonwin.

"And Mugreth?"

"He's only a peak Titanium," said the Drillmaster.

"He likes to talk, but his strength comes from his ability to coordinate his forces, not as a powerful warrior. He'd pose a threat to a sapper and a regular, but if any of our thegns find him, he's done for."

"Very well," Lord Ceonwin said.

"We can't let Mugreth trick us into attacking too soon, no matter how much I hate to say it. We must wait until tomorrow at midday, when the regulars and the thegns will arrive. I'll send a few squads through the sewers earlier, and they must be ready to open the gates on my signal." That satisfied me. Yes, I wanted to attack now, to save as many of the prisoners as we could, but if we all died, we wouldn't be saving anyone. Maybe one day, I wouldn't have to make choices like that.

But if I refused right now, then I'd die before I was strong enough.

"You are all dismissed," Lord Ceonwin said.

"Have your squads rest in watches, and be ready in the morning." I was one of the last out of the tavern. I exited, looking around for threats, then stopped when I noticed Lord Ceonwin standing to the side of the door, speaking with a pair of Subtle Men. My stomach dropped. That wasn't good. Not at all. Was he reporting me for being annoying? Or did he know something? Maybe he was just trying to get rid of me and making a false report.

I walked around the corner, like I didn't notice or didn't care, then pressed my back against the wall and listened in. They weren't talking softly, but they didn't have to. They were Subtle Men and an Ealdorman. There wasn't anyone here who ranked higher. After a few seconds, though, my face flushed with heat. One of the Subtle Men said, "You need to come with us, sir. There's a disturbance near the southern outer gate that you need to see. A body we found."

Of course I'd made it about myself, thinking I was actually important enough for them to have a meeting out in the open like that? It was painfully self-centered.

"How bad is it?" Ceonwin asked.

"It requires your immediate attention."

"Does Frythlid know?"

"She's busy with other matters."

"Very well. Show me the way." Lord Ceonwin departed with the two, marching through the streets. I blinked. Whatever this was couldn't be good, and I wanted to know what they'd found. I was about to set off after them when a shadow jumped across the rooftops, gently chasing after them. Another Subtle Man—and across the street, there was a fourth. I cursed under my breath. Whatever this was about, it wasn't good. Lord Ceonwin shouldn't have been going alone.

I rushed back to my squad's hiding place—where Brawl, Anchor, and Sage had ducked down behind the stone foundations of an old house, sheltered from any orc attacks. I told them what I'd just seen, then said, "I'm going after them." Anchor grabbed my wrist.

"Levi, don't."

"If the Subtle Men are telling the truth, then I want to know what's going on. But they don't need four guys to investigate some monster's corpse." Anchor shook his head.

"They're all Silvers. And they're powerful Silvers. They're the special ones who could punch up above their weight. If they're going to do something to Ceonwin, they'll kill him, and you can't stand against four of them at once."

"If they kill Ceonwin, the chain of command is going to crumble, and our attack will fail. If we let him die, we're all going to die," I said. I shut my eyes, considering the terrified civilians who had joined us to retake their city. How they'd stood side-by-side, helping each other, freeing each other. Sure, there were some who fled and some who had complained, but it wasn't all of them. Their honour and spirit wasn't dead yet…just hibernating.

"We can't just sit around," I said.

"No one else knows. This is up to us." Anchor let go of my wrist and nodded. Sage and Brawl were already up—though in Sage's case, Morph had transformed into his golem shape and was carrying her. We rushed off in the direction I'd seen the Subtle Men leading Lord Ceonwin. At least I knew where they were supposed to be going, but I wanted to keep an eye on them. We stayed low, on the street level, darting between buildings and dodging debris leftover from the fighting.

I kept my eyes out, looking for any sign of our enemies—orcs or otherwise—until we returned to the main thoroughfare. There were no bodies. Lord Ceonwin faced the two Subtle Men, arms crossed. His back was toward them.

"Where is it?" he asked.

"If that's why you called me out here." The two who had been following him from the rooftops jumped down, their cloaks fluttering. They landed in a crouch behind him.

"Ah," the Lord Ceonwin said.

"I see." He took in the others with a grim expression "You don't need four men to investigate a body, do you? But I suppose there was no body." The Subtle Men all drew a short battle axe from their belts in their right hand, and a dagger in their left.

"What's the price of a Subtle Man these days?" he asked.

"I imagine it's quite steep." They said nothing. They just attacked, charging forward, weapons raised.