The Prophesy: Book 2 - The Right Hand of Destiny

 

"So, Enron, given the size of the army, we cannot possibly stay in Ur for long. Are we going to do the trick again?"

"Are you referring to teleporting the whole city, dad?"

"Yes, son."

"I would suggest teleporting only the part dating to Atlantis, and using the new city as an obstacle to the river separating Edom and Ur," suggested Sitar.

"That is an interesting proposition, son, but what would that achieve?"

"Well, orcs are the most numerous of our foes, for one. Second, they swim like rocks. Third, by blocking the flow of the river, we would create an artificial lake between the garbage pile and the dam upriver. Fourth, this would slow the progress of the crocodiles downriver, due to the lack of water, and help the orcs."

"Wait! Wait! Help the orcs? Are you out of your mind, Sitar? Who wants to help them?" exclaimed Harp.

"Help is a big misnomer in this case. I would hope they would use the dried-up riverbed to move their troops up north to fight the crocodile priests. And here comes point five: when they have taken the bait, we blow the bridge and dam, releasing the water and debris down on them, in a repeat of what happened on the Kwai. Hopefully, the crocodiles' hunters will also take the bait and see it as an occasion to fight the orcs. If we are lucky, when the new dam blows up, we will be drowning orcs and hunters!"

"Wouldn't the riverbed be strewn with boulders and stuff like that?" worried Harold.

"That would be perfect hunting ground for the hunters, and perfect travel ground for the orcs. You know how agile they are. They consider cliffs run of the mill roads."

"Yes, sometimes, I wonder. Their long arms, and very muscular bodies give me the impression they are more adequate to live somewhere else than on the ground. I wonder what process the crocodile priests used to create them," wondered Francesca, the Royal Healer.

"Maybe, one day, we will figure it out. For now, we have other issues, like solving the problem of evacuating Ur without losing too many of us in the process."

"Well, what do you suggest, Harp?"

"First, let's reach the bridge into Ur and occupy it as quickly as possible. Then the forefront of the army, with Yamato, will occupy the upper grounds leading to the narrow road to Babylon. Less than five miles separate us from it. By moving quickly, the news of the last disaster will not reach the orc forces up on the Nile or the Jordan until we have done our deal. Remember Babylon is very small compared to Sodom, something of the order of three magnitudes less."

"I have to rejoin the leading units, gentlemen, please excuse me," replied Yamato as he took his leave from the royals and headed rapidly forward on his warhorse.

"I think I'll go join him and his units, dad. We have another mass teleportation to undertake. Who is coming with me?" asked Enron.

"I think I'll help you again, Enron; will you be joining us Harp?"

"Yes, Sitar, I plan to be there. We need to figure out what piece of the puzzle Babylon is."

"Puzzle? What puzzle are you talking about, Harp?" wondered Samson.

"Well, dad, it seems that the components of Ma's city, Thebes, could be joined perfectly with those of Sodom. We may be building a three-dimensional puzzle of sorts, made up of bits and pieces of cities."

"That is interesting, Enron, but how come we haven't figured out the puzzle in all those years?"

"There, dad, I have many ideas. We found the pattern by matching magic fields, then, when we destroyed the adjuct cities built around the Atlantean cities, we found the match. I doubt the ancients or, for that matter, any recent builder ever did a comparative city map analysis to figure out these matches. It was pure luck I noticed the similarity of the magic field structures between Thebes and Sodom. I have a feeling we will find more of these pieces as we progress. I am quite sure that Kantar is a part of that puzzle as well."

"Harp, stop being modest, and say things the way they are, you noticed the pattern, I only confirmed it, remember?" Sitar intervened.

"I wonder why we did that?"

"Probably for a similar reason that led to the dispersion of our people, Samson."

"And what was that?"

"A lack of time, and the need to rescue as much as we could in the imparted time left. We are again tied up by time, and we must regroup. I feel in my bones the urge to rush forward."

"We all do, dad, we all do. Yet, so much must be recovered," commented Harp.

«We have reached the overhang above Babylon, gentlemen. The read ahead seems clear. Should I send in forward units? »

«Thank you for the progress update, Yamato; please hold position while the four terrors join you! »

Harold had barely finished replying that the four boys popped with their warhorses right beside Yamato, who almost fell off his horse from fright.

"Come on, by now you should have learned your lesson, Yamato!"

"And what lesson is that, prince Harp?"

"Expect the unexpected!"

"You flew in Babylon, Enron, what did you observe?"

"As we know the city is very small, more a village. The biggest part is that towering fortress you see there. The outer walls are not of origin, but the castle is. It is built with quarried rocks weighing over sixty tons each. I have not been able to see the entire structure, since there were additions done after the initial construction that hides the original masonry."

"This means we will have to dispose of the outer city as we did in Sodom. More work for us. I hate work."

"Stop complaining, Sitar. We all know you love blowing things up!"

"That's the problem, Harp. You had all the fun in Sodom!"

***

The evacuation of Babylon progressed quickly, with a minimum of fanfare. The duke and his units joined the royal army at the eastern door, while those to be moved behind the lines were quickly teleported by centurie. By nones, the inner city was empty, and what could be recovered from the outer city was relocated further south, in Astor. A village was created from scratch for weapon smiths, and their orders were clear: arrows bows and crossbows were to be made in unlimited quantities from the supply of wood offered by the forest. Metalworkers were to be supplied with charcoal for their smelters by forest men. Food supplies would come from the farms further south, and, as the forest got cleared to supply the smiths, farmers would join the community and supplement the imports. Every scrap of metal was to be recovered, even rusty nails. The usual contingents of conscripts were added as well as equines and canines. The progress from Babylon to their next objectives, Tyre and its sister village, Byblos, began shortly.

The duke of Ur, Nebuchadnezzar, stayed with his units a bit furious at the breach of protocol since he hadn't even met with the regent yet, and there he was, with his capital all but destroyed, or left to his enemies to the best of his knowledge. And what was all that about conscripts? Someone was certainly playing with his frayed nerves with all those unbelievable rumours about the army being commanded by a gigantic wolf! Rumour had it that he had bitten off the head of archduke Franz of Sophia for breakfast or something like that! There were huge dogs that seemed to be patrolling along the army's flanks, and some horrendous cries could be heard at random intervals coming from the forests and rocky ledges along the road. Some scenes of carnage could be seen as orcs were strewn along the roadside, their guts spewed, or their neck showing the markings of ferocious bites. Sometimes, it was the marking of horseshoes that could be seen, as if a horse had danced a jig on the orc. At some point, the duke's units happened on a cleanup crew. It was busy removing the armour, recovering arrows, bows, knives, swords, and other fighting implements from the orcs' corpses. As he was running with his unit, he did not have time to inquire as to what this meant. He also noticed piles of weapons along the road, at regular intervals, and even spotted one of the huge dogs carrying a sword in his mouth and depositing it in one of these piles.

Later that day, a train of horses led by a stallion caught up with his units. The horses were loaded with weapons and moving forward at a good pace, four to a side, with a lead horse in front, but no elves were visible. He lost count of the number of horses that passed his unit but estimated their numbers at around a hundred, each loaded with weapons of all sorts. It didn't take long for the duke to conclude that these horses were carrying a part of the weapon lot he had seen during the day. Just to confirm his suspicions, another group of horses came storming down the road a few minutes after the first one, but this time they were carrying what seemed to be bits and pieces of armour.

The duke was thinking his legs would go on strike when the army stopped for what he thought was a sext break of at least a couple of hours. The duke decided to try locating the royal party, as he wanted further explanations about what he was seeing or hearing. After asking around, he was told the party was ahead of him, that he was located about two-third of the way down the line, with the rear units and cleanup units following them some distance back. What distance, he asked, but couldn't get a clear answer from anyone. He was informed that the sext break would be short, less than an hour for sure, and that he had better eat and get ready for the afternoon, which, according to the rumours would bring the army to bear on Tyre and Nineveh. The comment from one of the elves he talked to sent shivers down his spine: he had been running day in day out from Sophia, been in countless skirmishes, and was a conscript. And yes, the army was commanded by a wolf, and a giant war horse, and there were all sorts of strange animals, mages, witches and other creepy things in that army, and he had better get his act together if he didn't want to feed the wolf! Did he know of the provenance of other units? Oh yes, there were units from all over the kingdom, elite units, but the most feared were the humans! These were bloody killing machines that made mountains tremble in fear. There were mages that threw fire, called lighting to their services, walked on water, blew up bridges, and vaporized their enemies! The crocodile priests had better number their innards! Crocodile priests? Yet another description followed: these were huge crocodiles that could walk on two feet, wore armour and were almost indestructible. Had he seen one? Yes, numerous ones, all dead, thank the Gods! The more the duke heard, the more he thought he was being led on a fool's ride. As the conversation was becoming more and more difficult for the duke to swallow, the blow of the horn indicating the resumption of the race towards Tyre was heard and the elf stood up quickly, said goodbye to the duke, and took his place in his centurie, as big dogs framed it. The duke then moved to the side and watched the centurie moving away. The duke thought furiously as he waited for his front units to catch up with him. So many questions, so few answers.

***

The forty or so miles separating Tyre and Babylon were covered before vespers. As the first units came into view of Tyre, a column of orcs was spotted heading towards Byblos across the Nile. Could Nineveh have fallen? All was possible, but the situation became ever more urgent to immediately occupy the terrain and vacate both Tyre and Byblos. A night battle was looming, conditions that would definitely be to the advantage the orcs.

"Dad?"

"Yes Enron?"

"My brothers and I need to evacuate the villages and teleport whatever is of Atlantean origin to our fallback position. Do you think you can keep the orcs away from the cities long enough for us to do that piece of work?"

"Hey there, son, you may be the regent, and believe I'm rotting away, I still can command an army!"

"I wasn't so sure, dad, since you seem to decline the crown with your obstinate refusal to take it back!"

"Anyway, Samson, I'll be there to help!" commented Harold, adding insult to injury.

"What day is this? Pick on Samson day? I'll show you spring flowers some tricks of the trade!"

"Anyway, dad, here is the plan. We cannot possibly all go to Nineveh and come back. So, we run down take Tyre, cross the Nile, take Byblos, and turn south. As soon as we reach Tyre, I want you to turn north with about a thousand centuries and follow the road to Nineveh. Harold, once we cross the Nile, we need to keep the bridge at all costs for the rest of the army to cross. Once the units are through we pull back the units under Samson's command across the bridge and blow it up. Meanwhile, we will evacuate the population in Tyre and Byblos south."

"What about the road on the western side of the Nile coming from Nineveh?"

"That will be under the watch of Yamato. Harold, once you have crossed Byblos and exited its western door, continue to the junction five miles west and send units to occupy the northern branch. They should be able to merge with Yamato's units. Hold position, we will be busy vacating Byblos and Tyre. Harp, try contacting dogs in Nineveh and enquire about the situation. If all is lost, no use risking troops to interrupt the orcs' feast."

"There, Enron, I disagree. We may need some part of the city, if it is a component of the puzzle!"

"Oh shit! I forgot that! You are right, Sitar. Well, as soon as we are done we try to find a way to go to Nineveh. Dad, we will be very tight on timetable. The orcs are still four miles away from Byblos, and we must reach it before them. Let's get moving. We will have to fight on empty stomachs. Run! Run! Run!"

"Meanwhile, I'm moving forward to Tyre to begin evacuating those who must, and sending to our frame-box units the recruits."

"Fine Harp, I'll do the same with Byblos," replied Sitar. "Don't be late for your appointment, Enron!"

"Don't worry, I'm going to Tyre first with Harp, so the baron doesn't flip a finger to him and end up in particles, then I will join you to resolve any issues."

«Mom, we need you to anchor teleportation of the civilians to your current position. I am also sending you the grand master of the Road to help you organize things.»

«How many should I expect, Paschal?"

«Let's plan for the worse, I would say about eighteen thousand elves, and three times as much dogs and equines.»

«That is a lot, son, it will severely stress the social fabric and infrastructure of Eloise!»

«Tell the assholes that complain about it they have a choice of being crowded in a city or being crowded in an orc belly!»

«Right. You have a point! I just jumped to the grand plaza. I am ready for your first evacuees. One question, before we begin. What about the wounded?»

«Francesca will be accompanying the first wounded. The goal is to put them in stasis until we can treat them, as we have done with the others.»

«I wonder how many have been placed in suspended animation already by that war.»

«There are too many to count. You know how it is: for each dead, ten wounded.»

«Yes, do not remind me of that astronomical number!»

"Paschal, as soon as practical, I want you to look at Tyre and Byblos to see what must be recovered! Then we will all go to Nineveh to do what we can."

"Fine, Enron. I could go forward and try to slow down the orcs some. I'm sure there are some fine dirty tricks I could put in their way."

"Good idea. Just be safe! Be ready to pull out on command. No hanky-panky with orcs!"

"Buerk!"

«Francesca, Dunbar, get ready for immediate teleportation to Eloise! Theresa, take only your essentials, Eloise should have all necessities for your profession!»

«I am ready, Enron!» replied Dunbar.

«I am ready too!» replied Francesca.

«Teleporting now!»

***

Emmaus, The baron of Tyre, had been busy getting his people ready for the evacuation announced by the royal decree. He had no idea how long he had, so he had been working almost non-stop and pushing his people to get everything ready. His reports on orc movements from observation posts up north gave him little hope he would be able to resist an assault. The numbers were staggering, and he had problems figuring out how the king could ever manage to get to his fortress, much less evacuate anybody, but a royal decree is a royal decree, and he conformed to it religiously. Some aspects escaped him. The most embarrassing was the list of 'conscripts' which included every single soul in his dungeon, but also quite a few people which had shoddy reputations, and also some nobles whose reputation, albeit intact insofar as the law was concerned, had some persisting rumours on their behaviours in the public eye.

Even more troubling was the inventory of every single piece of paper, treasure, and even some stuff he didn't even know he had in his library. Where in the world did the king find his information? He might as well have been sharing his bed!

The sun had been down since an hour before vespers and the baron was beginning to feel the chill of winter enter his multiple layers of fur coats, even if he was sweating profusely under his steel chainmail. Sweat dripped down his back only to freeze along the upper ridge of his ass bums and give him the impression of being cooked above the belt and frozen below it.

Emmaus was ready to return to his castle and take a well-deserved break and was groggily watching over the eastern wall in the direction he had been told to expect the royal army, he saw the most incredible sight he had ever seen. Coming along the eastern road was a snake of fire, bright, blindingly bright! It seemed to be endless, and take the entire width of the road!

"Ring the tocsin! The orcs are coming! The orcs are coming!" thundered the baron, as he watched, appalled, the approaching monstrosity. Emmaus kept his stance and prepared mentally to sell his life to protect his family. He thought hard about his young son, barely thirteen summers, and his young wife. He had no hope of ever seeing them alive after that battle.

Emmaus was so focused on watching the progression of the fiery snake towards his walls he did not even notice the arrival of two boys right beside him. Enron and Harp had materialized silently beside him, and watched, amused, the worried face of the baron.

«I wonder how long it will take for him to realize we are here?»

«No idea, but we should signal our presence gently, Enron. I think if we do not, we could assist to what the Ancients called jumping out of his skin if we did it too fast! It would be messy!»

«Let me handle this, then.»

«If you think you are more of a diplomat than I, go ahead!»

«Harp, I've seen your sense of diplomacy with some individuals of un-regretted memory. A bull in rut visiting a porcelain shop is more diplomatic than you are in your best days!»

«Well, they were irritating me!» replied Harp, pouting.

«Aren't we bad! Let's get this show on the road.» With that, Enron tried to attract the attention of the baron.

"Baron Emmaus? Is everything ready for the evacuation as required by my royal decree?"

"Uh?"

"Baron Emmaus? Has the royal decree been implemented?"

"Yes, yes."

"Fine. Prince Harp is here to implement the evacuation plan."

"Uh?'

"Prince Harp is here, baron!"

"Prince who?" replied baron Emmaus, keeping an eye on the ever approaching menace.

"Prince Harp of the Wolf Throne!"

"I don't think you are getting to him, Enron."

"It doesn't seem so, Harp. Let me see if this will help!"

With a whisk of his hand, Enron doused the baron in cold water.

"Shit! As if I needed it to rain tonight!"

"It doesn't seem to work either, Enron! He only smells worse than before. Even a wet dog has a more inviting odour!"

"Laugh all you want, Harp, I wonder what you would do?"

"This!"

With that, Harp had a giant spark fly from the corner of the wall and hit the baron, who literally jumped ten feet high before falling on his ass in a thunderous noise.

"Told you thunder came after lightning, Enron!"

"Harp, one of these days!"

"What will you do? Tickle me to death?"

"What happened?" came out of the pile of human-shaped steel.

"You were hit by lightning, baron."

"Am I dead?"

"You wish! No, I can control the intensity of my lightning, baron. It can shock, it can roast, and it can vaporize."

"I am feeling tiny pricks all over my body!"

"Ah, gay paradise! I hope you are gay, baron, I heard they like pricks! Don't worry, everything will be back to normal shortly."

"Help me stand up. From your voices, you must be quite young."

"I think I overdid the wakeup light show; he seems blind!"

"No, no, I'm just having problems focusing, and the flash of light I had was so bright I feel like I'm in the backroom of an oven with the doors closed. I still see light, but I have problems discerning anything that doesn't emit any. I figure I'll see again shortly."

"Ah that would explain things. We'll let you adjust. Harp, you have finer control of bodily motions by magic. Would you mind helping the baron on his feet? I doubt our physical strength, even combined, would be of much help."

"Sure Enron."

The baron felt himself gently get straightened out, and turn on himself into a vertical position. Strangely, he was sure he felt no pressure point whatsoever indicating someone was handling him from the outside.

"Baron, you peed yourself!" exclaimed Enron.

"Try not to, when you get so rudely shaken out of your bubble!"

"It sure wasn't a soap bubble, from the smell!" replied Harp.

"Have you ever tried taking a bath in armour?"

"No, usually I strip nude. Ah the hot water of the royal baths! I miss those!"

"I am sure the bath attendant doesn't miss us, Harp. Remember how pissed he was after finding Blackie Wolf's hair floating on top of the water!"

"And in every crack of the tiles as well! I thought he was going to die!"

"And to complicate things, Samson got on his ass for yelling at Blackie Wolf and us. Annabelle told him to make himself a sweater from all the hair. It was hilarious!"

"Aren't you two impolite to talk of our king that way? Next, you are going to say you eat at his table?"

"Ah, but we do!"

"You boys have had your fun, now. You should be with your parents! Count yourself lucky I don't add up your name to the conscripts!"

"That would be difficult, since I sign those lists as prince regent!"

"He really didn't listen when you introduced us, I think, Enron."

"Yes, I get that now. May I reintroduce us to your vagabond attention, baron? I am Prince Regent Enron of the Elvin throne, and here with me stands Prince Harp of the Wolf Throne. We are here to handle the evacuation I ordered two, no, three days ago."

"Right! I'll believe that fable when I get dipped in the Nile to get baptized!"

"I thought it was in the Jordan?"

"The Nile, the Jordan, what does it matter, Enron. Since he needs to be baptized to be a believer, so be it!"

With that Emmaus got teleported to the Nile and dunked ten feet below its surface before rematerializing, wet as a rat out of a flooding sewer, sputtering.

"How is our new believer?" asked Harp, smiling.

"Wet, Harp. I hope the Nile washed his scepticism along with his carcass!"

"So, Emmaus, do you believe now, or do you need another bath?"

"No, No!"

"No to what, that you don't believe us, or that you don't want another bath?"

"No! Yes! No! What am I saying?"

"I wish we knew!"

"Oh damn! I don't want another bath! The Nile is icy this period of the year and there was a lot of decomposing bodies floating around or trapped on the rocks at the bottom! I don't want to ever see that again!"

"So, if logic stands, the yes was a declaration of faith?"

"Oh yes! You two made your point!"

"Fine. Ah, I never thought my army was so beautiful to watch at night!"

"Your army? Where?"

"What do you think that stream of light is? There are thousands upon thousands of foot soldiers, cavalry, wolves, and packhorses. The rear guard of the army must barely be out of the valley of Babylon. Order the gates opened, and your units ready to join the royal army! We are crossing through Tyre to reach Byblos as fast as possible. There is a huge column of orcs coming down from the north on the western shore of the Nile! Harp?"

"I am ready, Enron. As soon as the baron has notified his people of the start of evacuation, I will proceed!"

"How?"

"That's my job, baron. Yours is to keep discipline within your people while we proceed. I will evacuate the weak, the sick, the mothers, and the elderly, the children too young to fight, and the members of the guilds we need to keep the war machine on a firm footing. The rest will be part of the army."

"Do not worry, Harp is a powerful mage, and he has done a lot of this before. I must go now, Prince Sitar is telling me he has located the duke."

"I'll see you later tonight for the evacuation of Nineveh, if anything is left to vacate that is."

"OK, Harp. Good speed in your work."

Enron appeared besides Sitar, who was keeping an eye on the events in Byblos. His sudden disappearance baffled the baron, who was brought back to reality by Harp.

"You wonder how I plan to evacuate your population? This is how, baron. By moving them to our backlines by means of teleportation. Queen Annabelle is waiting. Let's proceed."

The baron, stunned beyond words, followed Harp down the battlements to the central place and ordered the gates be ready to open at the last minute, in case orcs might be lurking nearby.

«Mom, I am at the campaign hospital, I will evacuate it rapidly. Francesca? Each room contains about twenty beds. I will evacuate everything, bed and patients in a room. Expect thirty seconds between each batch! Can you handle that many?»

«Yes, Harp. We have four hundred orderlies waiting, and Paschal passed through ten minutes ago to build, or better stated, materialize a huge building he calls a hospital ward. There must be room for at least twenty thousand beds in that maze.»

«OK. How is transport organized from the incoming point to the triage at the hospital?»

«I have set a stream of waypoints from the incoming point where Annabelle is located to the triage point where Francesca is. I am at the midpoint, which happens to also be the trickiest passage. I will lift the packets as they arrive and move them by telekinesis from Annabelle to Francesca. There the orderlies will distribute the wounded to the different wings according to severity of wound or type of disease.»

"OK, baron. Let's start. To prevent panic, I plan to teleport everyone found in a room, including staff. We do not have the time for hysterical behaviours. I have less than two hours to get everyone out of this place."

Harp entered the campaign hospital and teleported everyone in sight. Turning left, he rapidly walked from room to room, counting to 30 each time, before teleporting everyone in sight. Ten minutes later the first floor was empty, more silent than a cemetery the night before New Year. He walked quickly to the second floor and proceeded at the same pace. The third floor was a lot more crowded than the lower floors since it contained trauma cases. There had been numerous cases of trauma from battles with orcs and construction of additional fortifications. But it did not slow down Harp. Things went roundly there too. He quickly moved to the basement, were the contagious were kept and teleported them as well, tagging them with a red flag to indicate their condition; then the morgue was emptied and the corpses sent in the high atmosphere to burn down as they rained on Earth.

The evacuation proceeded apace and half an hour before the deadline, Harp had completed his job.

***

Meanwhile, Enron had joined Sitar and managed to convince baron Elsear of Byblos that things were progressing quickly and that Sitar had the royal mandate to proceed to the evacuation of Byblos. Baron Elsear was a bit less stiff-necked than baron Emmaus and did not, fortunately, require a bath in the Nile. The gates of both towns were opened and the royal army ran across, splitting in three branches according to Enron's plans.

As the night progressed, Paschal hopped from one city to the next, sensing their Atlantean origins, and figured the only parts worth teleporting were the keeps and castles. Since most constructions in both cities were freestanding rather than amalgamated, he decided to teleport them as well, to supply further housing in Eloise. No use giving orcs homes to stay in when they were done. As he waited on his brothers to finish the evacuation, Paschal moved the abandoned homes one by one, occasionally whole streets at a time. Some buildings, mostly in the lower riverside, were so decrepit he decided to dispose of them rather than move them to Eloise. Rodents suddenly found themselves caught by a flood of sorts as the buildings materialized above the Nile and sank into it, progressively damming it.

Meanwhile Enron incorporated the new recruits, woken up in the middle of the night by the royal bailiffs, and the baronial units, into the royal army. To say that some were found in compromising positions would be an understatement. It seems that the imminence of war and death removes inhibitions in many!

«Progress report, everyone. It is an hour before matins, we need to check on our timetable.»

«Teleport of Tyre's population to Eloise completed half an hour ago. Now helping Paschal in cleaning up the city of its buildings and crass,» reported Harp to Enron.

«Byblos just evacuated. Ready to move the buildings marked by Paschal for recovery.» reported Sitar.

«We are in sight of Yamato's units, barely a mile ahead of us,» reported Harold.

«I got to the southern road and I have put in a defence line», informed Samson.

«Bridge over Nile is being held,» Theresa completed. «But I would like you guys to start damming above the bridge rather than below. Continue like that and we will have wet feet!»

«I got that, Theresa. We will begin damming about a mile upriver.»

«We are meeting the first orc units. They are currently dispersed, but this should not last,» Yamato informed them.

«First Wolf infiltration units reporting advanced orc units moving on the eastern road of the Nile, Sire, they are late and running like mad. We kill the laggards. Expect them to reach the place named Tyre in three hours.»

«We are ready to teleport what is left of Tyre to our fallback position, Enron. Please join us, as we will proceed like we did for Babylon. This goes for you as well, Sitar. I need a triangle.»

«I'm moving to the beacon, waiting on you guys,» replied Paschal.

«All right. By the way, how long before Byblos is ready for the same process, Paschal?»

«It will be by matins. It is somewhat bigger than Tyre, and had more crap and more important buildings to keep.»

«OK. We will help you speed the displacement of Byblos. That should cut time by half or so.»

The transportation of Tyre and Byblos went on schedule; by matins, the two fortified places were replaced by a thick layer of lava, and no trace of the old cities were to be found except in the Nile.

«Advanced wolf units! Fall back on Tyre. You have an hour to reach the bridge and cross it before we destroy it! All units on the Eastern banks of the Nile have an hour to evacuate the area!» ordered Enron. «Theresa, what is the situation?»

«The water level has stabilized under the bridge, Prince Enron. The last units, composed of Elsear's ducal units have left the bridgehead, I am seeing the first units of elves on horseback coming back from the Eastern road, headed towards us at full gallop. They should be through the bridge in thirty minutes. I am also seeing the first wolf, dog, and fox units come out of the woods and join the crossing slightly ahead of the horses.»

«Harp, Paschal, Sitar?»

«I am currently under the bridge, looking at its structure. It is recent, dating from the Ancients, not Atlantean origin. I will have no regrets destroying it. At least I didn't build it!» replied Paschal.

«We must be nuts if we consider a six thousand year old bridge recent!»

«Well it's baby stuff compared to the Rainbow Bridge. Anyway, Harp and I are with Yamato. The orcs are getting more numerous. And they realized we are here. It seems they didn't expect any resistance until some time later, further south. The front covers from the river to about three miles in the forest. They seem to consider frontal attacks only, because they could easily outflank us. The legionnaires hold the lower parts of the line, and the forest elves offer a continuous wall of arrows up in the gullies. Holy shit! I knew Harp would go feral, but that far!»

«What are you seeing?»

«He is using Bata as a light sabre! He is cutting everything in his path, in huge swaths well over thirty feet wide. Rocks explode making every tiny bit white hot and setting things on fire on contact. Trees fly off and fall on the orcs like he was cutting grass! Even water is put to contribution! I just saw a whole stream convert to water vapour and burn everything in sight. Enron, I just spotted a giant orc! I think he is the commanding general of this column! I'll be busy dispensing some lessons in the art of sabre fighting to this gentleman! I'll talk to you later.»

***

Sitar moved towards the orc, using Excalibur effortlessly to dig his way through the elite orc guards that were protecting the huge orc general. The commotion attracted the general's attention from what Harp was doing and he watched, amazed, the diminutive human mincing his best unit!

"Let the puny human meet his fate!" thundered the general, as he took out a broad sword and readied himself for battle, his prehensile feet gripping the rock he was standing on, and using his advantageous uphill position to dominate Sitar by well over five feet. The orc had all the advantages to him and he knew it: prehensile feet, armoured chess, long reach, longer sword, vastly superior physical strength, and, he thought, a longer experience of battle than Sitar.

Sitar was no fool. He decided to tackle the problem by sliding under the blade. A frontal attack of that giant was suicidal, even for the God of War of Atlantis. As he moved resolutely towards the giant orc, he decided to taunt him. Enraged foes made more mistakes.

"Finally, I meet one that fits my size!" he uttered calmly using magic to amplify his voice and drown the cacophony Harp was creating with Bata. "I wish I knew the name of the fool that stands in front of me!"

The orc general was taken aback by the power of the voice, and took insult at the reference to size, thinking Sitar was calling him a dwarf. After a roar of defiance, he answered:

"I am Azrael, Grand Lord of the Black Hand Horde. I will eat you like I have eaten many of your kind!"

"I think we met some advanced units of yours on the other side of the eastern mountains! If you are as good as they were, I have no fear of your baby teeth!"

"It was you that destroyed the orc advanced army units there? I can thank you for my promotion to Lord commander! My predecessor was eaten alive by the Grand Council of Orcs for losing so many for no gain!"

"Do not worry, they won't be eating you any time soon, Azrael! It is more the worms that will. Even the bears turn their back on your carcasses!"

Figure 1: Azrael, Orc general commander of the Black Hand Horde

"So puny human without any teeth, you plan to feed on me? Good luck ever placing a bite mark on my tough leather!"

"Nah, I am not interested. I eat fresh meat, not some that has been rotting around in armour for who knows how long! I am quite sure the fleas find it quite comfortable in your armpits and thighs' fur! That is, unless they are digging in to hide from the invasion of mites!"

"Are you saying I'm infested with mites and other varmints? I'll let you know my subordinates find their sustenance from picking them off my body! I am proud to feed them my blood and thus remind them of their blood vow to obedience!"

"We noticed. The Red Hand Horde we destroyed seemed to eat even rotten carcasses. We thought they were starving the poor devils! We relieved them of their misery! Now they are feeding the fishes!"

"What! You killed my brother? I will skin you alive for this!"

"Oh well, my hide may be less tough than yours, but it is still firmly attached to my meat! You have yet to do anything to get it! You have a big mouth, probably an even bigger asshole, to serve as sheath to your men's virile stick!"

"I will dice you slowly, little human! Starting with that sharp tongue of yours!"

Sitar pulled a tongue at the general, the ultimate insult in the orc society, and answered, "First, you must be able to reach it. For now, your virility is sticking out from the fur! Is it not cold for the head, outside in the snow? I knew you were all muscles and nothing else. My little brother has a bigger joystick than you and he is barely six months old!"

The general roared again and jumped down from his perch, charging Sitar in the wobbled gait typical of orcs. This was what Sitar had been waiting for. As the general charged down, jumping from rock to rock, Sitar did not move. At the last moment, as the general slammed his sword down to slice his foe in half from top to bottom, Sitar moved forward quickly under the blade and stuck Excalibur upward between the armour and the belly, effectively gutting the general, who let out a roar of pain and surprise.

"You should have asked who I was, fool!"

"And who are you?" spat the giant, now fallen as the snow turned red from his bleeding innards, that seemed to slide out from under the armour, smoking from body heat.

"I am Sitar, Montue, God of War of Atlantis! I am seventeen thousand years old; more likely add a few thousand. You are a babe at handling a broadside sword. You used it like a needle, whereas it should be used to cut and slice. It is sad you will not have the occasion to really learn how to use that cutlass. It is a fine blade, and from its hue, I would say its make must be from over the seas, dating to the Ancients. Do you want me to shorten your suffering? Nothing can be done to save you."

"What will you do? Not that I am asking, for it is fair payment for my failure to serve the hordes!"

"I would cut your head off. It is the ritual of supuku for the braves, according to Yamato, although I do not know if he would approve of this sacred ritual applied to an enemy. You were foolish, but brave. I respect that."

"You know you stand no chance in the face of the horde, why are you offering me this?"

"You are mistaken, Azrael, it is the horde that stands no chance. Harp, better known as Merlin the Mage, is mincing your horde like it was made up of flies on a carcass. I myself will be joining him in the battle shortly. Paschal and Enron will too. And Harold, pharaoh Horus, is coming to join us with the Wolf Hordes; Samson, king of elves is spanking the ass of your horde as we speak. We are more numerous than stars in the sky!"

"Why should I believe you?"

"Turn your head and look, before death removes your sight. See for yourself! Listen to Bata thunder! Listen to Excalibur sing the charge of victory! Hear the howl of the wolves hunting! Hear the song of bows raining death on your troops! Hear the iron hoofs of the war horses as they stampede your units! Hear the march of the legions! See the light of Mitsuko, the blade of Truth as it destroys the horde in the hands of Horus! For this light is not the light of dawn, it is the light of Mitsuko, brighter than a rising sun that is creating a false dawn! No dawn is gold! No sun rises from the North! The birds themselves are fooled by the brilliance as Mitsuko burns its way to the core of your horde!"

"The disaster is complete! I will join my brother in the hall of shame! Thank you for your kind offer, Montue, but I must expiate my sins. Leave me die of my own end. Take the sword I dishonoured with my shame. It is now yours, Montue, God of War of Atlantis, wherever that was. You have earned the spoils of war."

Azrael shuddered, huffed, and blood began to leak from his ears, mouth and nose. A few shallow breaths, and then he spewed blood profusely drowning in his own liquids. Spasms followed, and shortly thereafter his breathing stopped completely.

Sitar recovered the blade, which had fallen from the right hand of the giant, and planted it in a rock crevice. He then proceeded to involve himself in the battle more in depth. Harp was still busy but the orcs had witnessed with awe the battle between Sitar and Azrael. The fall of their general had demoralized them considerably. The resurgence of Sitar in the battle completely turned their attention to escaping their impending fate rather than winning an illusory victory. The sudden appearance of Enron, Paschal, and Harold welding Mitsuko, whose blinding light seemed to match the ones produced by Bata and Excalibur, finished removing any hope from the infantry, and they turned around running to escape the advancing units, only to fall prey to the wolves which had infiltrated their rear lines.

As the recovery units roamed the battlefield, Sitar returned to the orc general and recovered the sword. He forbade the recovery of the armour, and ordered that the general be buried with a cairn. The general had deserved to enter the realm of the dead wearing his uniform.

***

«It is now an hour before prime! Meet me where I am! We must decide what to do with Nineveh.» ordered Sitar.

A few minutes later, the royals were grouped around Sitar, looking at the cairn.

"Who is buried there?" asked Harold.

"Azrael, an orc general, one giant of an orc. He was brave but foolish. He deserved a decent burial. Since this place is all rocks, I opted for a cairn."

"This is all in your honour, Sitar. To be able to recognize quality in an enemy takes a lot of quality as well," commented Harold, hugging the bloody boy to his chest. "But you need to clean up, you are stickier than a fly trap!"

"Later dad, after we find out what has happened to Nineveh. Harp, you are better than I at canine telepathy. Can you enquire with them what is the situation in the city and the alluvial plans that encircle the town?"

"Yes, give me some time to catch my breath, Sitar."

"What will we do with the orcs? I hate littering!"

"Well, Paschal, since the weather is unpredictable in the mountains, let's add another type of rain. I suggest we drop them on their camp up north, near the dam, located a few miles west of Nineveh. It should demoralize them to see a few hundred thousand of their own fall from clouds, stripped of any weapon or cloth."

"Enron, you are as bad as Harp!"

"Trying, trying, but I am having problems catching up with the master!"

"OK, boys, let's proceed. Paschal, Sitar, you have orc clean up duty. Enron and Samson, send our wounded by teleportation to Eloise. I will incinerate our losses in the high atmosphere. Keep us informed of what you learn from the dog population in Nineveh, Harp."

"Do we have an idea of our losses?"

"Ten centuries of elves. We lost about five centuries of wolves. No losses in the fox units or legionnaires; a centurie in the horses units. All told, around one thousand six hundred. Not bad given we inflicted a defeat to a force that was well over twenty times our size, and butchered over a hundred thousand orcs."

"How many escaped?"

"That, Samson, is difficult to estimate. Probably ten times that many."

"That means we will have a million orcs on our back as we move south. That is not a pleasant perspective."

"No, it isn't. But we will booby-trap every square inch of the terrain as we pull back. Hopefully it will gain us time."

"I have the news from Nineveh. It seems the orcs just bypassed it in a drive to reach the westernmost dam and assail the crocodile priests. The place holds. But we must hurry, because the news of the defeat will probably enrage the orcs around Nineveh."

"Thank you, Harp. This gives us some breathing space. There is a bit over eighty miles of very rough terrain between this battle and the dam. Let's speed the cleaning up while I think things over."

"OK, Sitar. I hope you have a bright idea. I am short on them tonight!"

"I'll try, Enron."

"It doesn't make sense, you know. Why was that group of orcs moving south? And what about the other group that seems to be moving along the eastern road along the Nile?" asked Dunbar.

"I have no idea," replied Enron. "Strategy seems to be short on the orcs' side. We should not complain, given their numbers. They seem to be multiplying like rabbits."

"I wonder if it was not a question of being between the hammer and the anvil. Maybe they were rivals. Who knows?" Sitar commented.

"Rival groups? That would be a boost, you know. If we found a way to exacerbate their inner fighting, it would be good for us."

"Harold, you are dreaming. To influence orcs, we must be able to get near them without being converted into food. I've never heard of any predator accepting counsel from its prey."

"You have a point, Samson. Let's get to work. We must be ready to move by prime."

"Short, that. We are an hour away from prime."

***

As prime came to pass, Sitar called upon Enron, Paschal, Harp, Harold and Samson.

"I have been thinking. Since we cannot ever consider catching up on the orcs now an hour ahead of us, I have considered another option. Let me ask you what we want to do here: evacuate or engage in battle? What is our priority?"

"I think the priority is first to evacuate the people cornered in Nineveh; then move as much as we can of the city to either Eloise, or our fallback position deep south. Let the orcs and crocodile priests fight for nothing. We could in fact leave the outer walls of Nineveh intact, I think, giving them the impression there is something to fight for, whereas it would be an empty shell."

"I think Harold stated the problem succinctly, Sitar," Samson commented.

"I also agree with the analysis. What did you come up with?" asked Enron, interested by the gleam he saw in the eyes of Sitar.

"Let's move everything found within the outer walls of Nineveh, leaving the walls in place. We need split the transport stream in two. First, move the outer city, leaving only the inner, Atlantean part for the second stream to our fallback position."

"Where would you move the outer city?"

"Let's move it on the western edge of Eloise. The casualties of the battle in Nineveh would be well treated in Paschal's new hospital. I believe in grouping our wounded and our medical staff into a single place so we can transport the entire population in a single move if ever the need arises, which, given the current situation, is likely to be sooner rather than later."

"I like the idea, but what about the people in them?" asked Yamato.

"The beauty of this is that we know who is conscripted, and the rest is moved with the buildings, while still inside. We do it at midnight. Had we been able to finish this battle before prime we could have moved them before they woke up. Given the delay, we have to wait for the town to go to bed."

"That's too long, Sitar. By vespers, today, the orcs will know what happened. We must move out before they do learn the result."

"Do you have a suggestion, Dunbar?"

"You can deliver a decree of curfew for noon today, Enron. You need not explain the ins and outs. Remember you are regent. Deliver it right now to the baron, and you have everyone confined to buildings by noon, except the baronial units. They will enforce the curfew. The dogs and horses are a lot easier to keep in check, and will be in the stables and kernels anyway."

"You have a point. Harp, I need an anchor to teleport."

"You should use a horse, Enron. At least you won't risk banging your head on the ceiling of a kernel build for dogs and pups."

"True. I need the royal seal, some parchment, and some ink, and a bit of red wax, a lit candle, and a table to write on, and a pen." As Enron enumerated each requirement, they materialized and were held in midair, until the table showed up, that is.

"Show off!" commented Harp.

"Look who is talking?" replied Enron.

Ten minutes later the royal decree was written, and a satchel was created from thin air to contain the decree.

"We should go with you, Enron," suggested Harp. No need to wait until the full implementation of the curfew to start moving the conscripts back here. Dad, Samson, Dunbar and Williams will act as receiving points for conscripts, the equine and canine units. I have already broadcasted the mobilization order to the canines and equines; they stand ready. The stallion in charge of the baronial stud farm is waiting for us."

"Meanwhile Dad, have the army move south as quickly as you can. Leave the rear guard to wolves and forest elves. Their short bows are better fitted for this kind of work.

«What about the bridge?»

«What bridge, Theresa?»

«The one which should have been blown up quite a few hours ago, Sitar, the one over the Nile between Tyre and Byblos!»

«Oh shit, with all that battle, I forgot it completely. Has the eastern shore been completely vacated?»

«The last wolf units are holding position at the western edge, along with Elvin archers. Their last report indicates the orcs should reach us any minute now.»

«I'm going there with Harp!»

The two popped right beside Theresa.

«Evacuate the bridge! Now. Two minutes to destruction! Move west!»

«I am collapsing the eastern buttress now. I see orcs coming out of the woods less than two hundred yards away!» stated Sitar, as the concrete began to crumble and buckle under tremendous pressure.

«One minute!» Harp informed everyone.

«All clear!» Theresa replied, thirty seconds later.

«Collapsing western buttress!» informed Harp, as the bridge fell majestically in the gorge separating the two shores of the Nile.

"Damn it! The bridge is still usable; it is not deep enough for it to go under water! Orcs only need put some tree trunks and they have a passable bridge for them!"

"Let's dismantle it completely. Nothing stops us from throwing bridge parts at the incoming orc column, is there?"

"You are right. In fact it is a very good idea. Let's also collapse the two dams we made on the Nile. Or better still, rain the debris on them."

"Theresa, while we are doing that, move across what is left of Byblos and join the rest of the army in its southward move. You will be helping Williams and Dunbar in traffic management, while Harold and Samson lead the advance south. Greywolf is in his element in the forest and is doing the lateral surveillance so we are not caught by surprise. Yamato, for once, is in the rear, booby trapping everything as we move."

"At your command, Prince Sitar."

The last units moved quickly as Harp and Sitar began pelting the advancing orc with first, bridge parts, then with dam elements downriver from the bridge. Orcs were held back, as they tried to figure out where all that falling timber, masonry, and rocks could come from.

"OK, Harp. Let's lift the entire dam upriver from the bridge up and throw it at the orcs. That should demoralize them, I hope, and free the flow of the Nile. The backlog of water will then rush downriver, effectively stalling any attempt at crossing it for a while."

The two combined forces and also drained the magic core of the orc army, thus effectively disabling them for a while, and the dam lifted majestically up to a height of three hundred feet before crashing down on the stunned orcs, crushing thousands upon thousands while enveloping them in a cloud of dust that made the air unbreathable for miles around!

"Off we go. I think Enron and Paschal are waiting for us."

"Yes, it was a well used ten minute break, don't you think! I love destroying dams!"

"Yes, so I heard from the Kwai crossing!"

The two boys teleported to Enron and Paschal's position, ready to move to Nineveh.

"Was it your handiwork we heard and saw?"

"Yes, Paschal. We converted the bridge and the two temporary dams on the Nile into projectiles that must have flattened the orcs over ten miles. Not to mention the dust it lifted as the different parts fell on earth from three hundred feet. I doubt that column will bug us any time soon."

"You are as bad as Harp!"

"Are you sure you aren't turning the table? I trained Harp, not the other way around!"

"Yes, I keep forgetting. Ready to move to Nineveh?"

"Any time."

"Let's go!"

The four princes moved quickly to Nineveh's stud farm, and proceeded to walk rapidly towards the baron's keep.

"I see him over the battlement, there. While I go deliver the curfew decree, start teleporting the horses, heavy mares and canine bitches first. Sitar, check on the outer walls, Harp, with me, I may need to demonstrate who I am again, and you have a flair into how to cool off hot heads; Paschal, start teleporting the conscripts to the royal army."