The Time Before

Norral : A battle plan

Chapter 4: A battle plan

As I stood there, thinking furiously what option to choose, the Leader repeated the question.

"What do you choose Eraser Squadleader Norral?"

Curiosity won over my safety concerns.

"I choose to recapture the bridge Sir."

The tension in the room gathered like black clouds before a storm. The Leader's face however remained placid.

"You understand that this will be an extremely dangerous mission?"

"I do."

"You will command under the same restrictions as other Squadleaders. Don't allow any member to be killed or visibly harmed."

"Yes Sir."

"However this situation is a special case. You don't need to leave anyone alive. Kill them all."

The Leader's eyes burned with such power that it seemed like he could do the job himself with just a thought. I found myself grinning at such a convenient lessening of the restrictions.

"However, this bridge is vital to our plans and it must not be damaged. Kill but don't destroy. Do you understand?"

My smile died as fast as it had arrived. There would be no quick finish like Frenquath. I swallowed hard.

"Yes Sir."

The Leader seemed satisfied and his eyes quietened slightly.

"This bridge is guarded by several hundred entrenched soldiers under the command of a Captain named Hunt. They are well equipped, well fortified and well provisioned. A siege isn't an option."

He paused for a moment, his eyes studying me. As I waited for him to continue I wondered what was so hard about this mission. Soldiers, no matter how well armed, were little more than annoying ants waiting to be squashed.

"You are probably wondering why this has prevented us taking control before now. Since he captured the bridge Captain Hunt hasn't been idle. He acted on knowledge gleaned from the great library of Kubrent that we couldn't know.

He learnt that the bridge was built long ago with the aid of mages with far more power than we have now. The bridge was imbued with a powerful magical shield and he has managed to reactivate it. This circular shield is impervious to any magical forces we have yet conceived and stretches over a wide area."

With force of will alone I managed to stop my jaw from gaping as I tried to grasp what I'd let myself in for. But to my horror the Leader hadn't finished.

"There is some we have learnt of the shield, and I have had the research gathered for you to look over as you make your plans. As you know, a newly appointed Squadleader would normally start his command with a squad of six, but as you have chosen such a difficult task you are granted a full squad of twelve. A list of those to choose from is included in the research."

My face stayed blank as the sheer quantity of different thoughts and emotions rendered me incapable of sorting out how I felt. A squad of twelve on a first command was extraordinary. It had taken Darak over a year to qualify for a full squad. The shield sounded insurmountable but I tried to hold off judgement until I had read the research.

"You are dismissed Eraser Squadleader Norral."

I came to attention and saluted with a fist to the heart. With no further comment, and much relief, I turned around and left. Immediately outside the Council doors a young mage scurried up to me, arms laden with scrolls.

"Squadleader Norral, the research you requested."

"I didn't request anything," I blurted out, too lost in my thoughts to think clearly or even notice the use of my new title.

"It's all we know about Grenton Bridge. I was told you requested it."

He sounded nervous, and I noticed a touch of fear in his eyes. With some pride I snapped out of my confusion and started thinking straight.

"Very good..er..."

"Mavnor Sir," he supplied.

"Very good Mavnor. See that you are more specific what you are delivering next time. Give them to me and be on your way."

He tried to push the armful of scrolls at me but there was no way the transfer would work. Irritated I flicked a wrist at the whelp and he flew backwards, landing hard on the floor surrounded by the scrolls. I gestured again and obediently the scrolls rose up and hovered in the air in front of me. Ignoring Mavnor as he tried to climb to his feet I stalked out with the scrolls following.

~

Some hours later in my own quarters I sat staring at the limited research with little hope. I'd thrown much of it away as it wasn't useful and I didn't want it distracting me. The remainder I'd read many times but I couldn't see a plan that would keep everyone alive. I hadn't even managed to decide whom to have on the team. Without a plan how could I know which specialists to choose?

In frustration I threw down the quill I'd been making notes with. The ink in the tip splotched over a map and I screamed my annoyance. As I cleared the spillage with a gesture, noting the smudge of ink by the south bank of the river, I closed my eyes and try to calm myself down. Focusing inward I allowed my mind to go blank and slowly I gained control.

My eyes opened with renewed clarity and I picked up the first report again.


~
Extract from a recent Grenton Bridge Field Report:

We arrived at the site ready to complete a full evaluation of the shield. Out of sight in a small copse of trees we set about pummeling the shield with every type of magic we could think of. Fire, Spirit, Sonic discharge, lightning; none of it got through.

As soon as a force hit the shield it glowed red highlighting the direction of attack. Within minutes our postion was bombarded with a hail of arrows. We had two squadmembers shielding so nobody was hurt but we had to retreat before the tests were complete.

If something could penetrate the shield we haven't found it yet.

~

Exerpt from : A Bridge Apart by Rende T'yulic

Grenton Bridge truly is a bridge apart. Every stone of the bridge and the connecting keep is imbued with protective magics that some of the best minds have contributed to. This creates a barrier to all magics around the structure preventing assault by the arcane.

Be warned though. The shield offers no physical protection. Man and Beast may pass through it without even noticing it. As can anything that isn't magical in nature. That is why the keep was added almost immediately after the bridge was complete. It can comfortably accomodate over 500 soldiers along with training rooms, a clean water source and storage cellars for many years food. Truly it is a mighty keep in it's own right.

~

Exerpt from a diary written by someone trying to survive an attacking force over 1000 years ago. Much has been lost through age.

"We're holding them off. Our line of pike soldiers at the boundary is doing well, and our archers pepper their shields with arrows..."

"...No, they are through the boundary. How did they do it? Their magic rips through us like wheat before the scythe..."

"They hunt us through the keep now. Oh Gods I hope they don't find me...Nooooooooooo..."

~

The final research scroll was a map of the bridge, keep and surrounding area, drawn by the scout team. Placing the map down I winced at the smudge I'd caused earlier. It looked like it had been something important but I couldn't make it out, nor remember what had been there.

I sighed and picked up the last scroll. It was the list of potential squad members and contained many unfamiliar names.

The Elders really wanted to test me!

Two of them were highlighted as being the authors of the first report. They had been to the bridge before and been part of the testing squad. It made sense to include them in my team.

The remaining ten would be a guess but what else could I do? I saw one that specialised in fireballs and another that specialised with water magics. Would either of those stand above the others?

A plan suddenly came to mind and I hastily started scrawling it over a piece of paper. Yes, that was worth a try!