DRUSUS

  Reports always happened like this. Good news was invariably tinged with bad. A small mistake here, some losses there, but overall some gains. Bad news was always softened by good, and current losses were packaged with the promise of new opportunities.

  Last night, I received a report stating the worst that could have happened, along with the best that I could have imagined. I drummed my fingers on the table, wondering what this report ultimately meant for me.

  On one hand, my plans were unraveling. A group of soldiers had returned, reporting that they had been attacked, resulting in casualties. Worse still, they’d lost the Dwarves, and my uncle had already made the trade for them. If we couldn’t uphold our end of the bargain, we’d lose the collateral. The problem, I had been told, was that someone had tamed a Rokus and made it attack the soldiers.

  On the other hand, what I heard next was the most incredible opportunity that could change my fate forever. It turned out that the Dwarves were living in the long-lost Labyrinth City of this continent. If they truly lived in that city, it would be my greatest opportunity to seize power. If I could take it, I would etch my name in history as King Drusus, ruler of the Labyrinth City.

  To validate the report, I questioned every soldier who had reached the city, and each one affirmed it. From that moment, the matter became critical. I needed to control the information as tightly as possible. I recalled every scout and placed the base on lockdown. No one was allowed to leave with knowledge of the city. Not a scout, a soldier, nor even a captain. I couldn’t risk the King or my family learning about the city before I conquered it myself. Once I did, the King would have to shower me with praise, rewards, and bestow upon me the title of ruler of the city.

  I took a quill and paper, writing orders that would help strengthen the lockdown. The soldiers who had made it to the city would be richly rewarded, but not because they deserved it, but to make sure others kept the secret as well, in hopes of a reward for themselves. Those soldiers knew that they couldn’t hold the city themselves, so it was smart of them to get any type of compensation. And I made sure to let them know that if word of the city leaked directly to the King, no reward would follow, as it was their duty to report such findings.

  I had to maintain these policies until I conquered the city, at which point I could use my Uncle to bring in reinforcements. While he was the King and had always been the family favorite, I would be elevated to a position almost as high. With the King and me holding so much power over a vast combined territory, we could finally pressure the Loyalists to submit to us. If we played this right, our family might be able to subjugate this whole continent in time.

  Handing over the documents containing my orders to my servant, I said, “Read it to the soldiers who reported to me. Let them know I will give them more rewards after we conquer the city.”

  “Yes, Commander Drusus,” the soldier replied as he took the document.

  “And also, tell everyone at camp that if they try sneaking out or speak about the city, the punishment is death.”

  “Of course.” He bowed, then hurried out of my tent.

  After he left, I turned to my prisoner, who had been bound to a post by steel wire ropes. He had been brought to me as a mighty warrior, but in the end… he was another pitiful prisoner. To his credit, he resisted my interrogation longer than most, but he would eventually break under enough pain. At that time, all he gave was tears and blood, but no man could last forever.

  There were unknown actors, and I needed the details. Knowledge was always the difference between success and failure, and at that moment, I was lacking.

  Why would this Black Rock Islander have freed these Dwarves? Why would an Elf have had a trained Rokus and teamed up with an Islander? Could the Elf have been from Elos and in a joint partnership? Had the Islanders wanted to keep the collateral, or had they been aware of the city?

  My head hurt from all the unknown. It was time to get back to work on digging for the answers.

  As I cupped his cheek, I felt it was slick with fresh tears. He wouldn’t talk or beg, but I knew I was getting to him from his screams. “Was this an opportunistic attack or was it planned? Should I expect your allies to attack us again soon?” I repeated those questions for the tenth time. Every time I asked, I did not get the answers I sought. An attack of opportunity would be the best possible scenario. If the Islanders were trying to catch some slaves and had no clue about the city, then I had little to worry about.

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  However, if the attack had been planned, I may need to deploy additional soldiers to deter any potential future attacks. Either way, our timeline would need to be adjusted. Once they got back to their island, the Dwarves would undoubtedly tell them everything, and the Black Rock Islanders would then be vying for the city. I would need to conquer and fortify the city before then, and hopefully hold it until reinforcements arrived.

  When there was no response, the soldier resumed his duties. He cut the prisoner meticulously, focusing more and more on the open wounds as the shouts of pain grew louder. The screams didn’t stop until I put my hand up once again.

  “Where are the Dwarves?” I said, pronouncing each word loud and clear. “Where are your allies? If you confess now, I will release you.”

  Silence met me in response.

  This brute had been here all day, and we had cut him again and again only to heal him back. He hadn’t said anything this whole time. I didn’t even know if he spoke our language, except for the fact that he didn’t say anything in any other language as well. It must have meant he was silent on purpose. I put my hand down, and the cutting restarted along with the screaming.

  Would my headache never end?

  “Is this to ruin our deal with the Islanders?” I whispered in his ear.

  A captain burst into the tent uninvited, skipping protocol, and rushed to address me, “Commander Drusus, something is happening outside. It requires your immediate attention.”

  I held up my hand to silence him, then called one of the soldiers stationed outside my tent. He gave me a low bow.

  “Heal him. Make sure he is fresh when I come back,” I ordered the soldier. “Also, prepare the breaking wheel and a hammer.”

  The prisoner appeared stoic as usual. But when I cupped his cheek, I felt him profusely trembling and breathing heavily. He couldn’t hide his fear from me.

  “I prefer not to use the breaking wheel. Usually, the prisoners end up telling me everything I want to hear rather than the truth. So save me the trouble. When I return, you’d better tell me everything.” I petted his head and took my leave.

  I stepped outside the tent, following the captain. We didn’t get far when he pointed up at the edge of the hilltop. I wasn’t sure what he pointed to since all I could see was the glare of the sun behind it. But as my eyes focused, I saw something from above.

  Was it dust? Wait, were there people up there?

  I had pulled out most of the guards patrolling the mountain so they couldn’t escape and tell anyone, but what would have caused this to happen?

  Right then, a ball of flame glowed. The people farther back couldn’t have seen it because the sun would have obscured it, but from my exact location, I saw it, although I didn’t understand what it was for.

  Then faster than I could blink, dozens—no—hundreds of arrows sprung up in the air and plummeted toward the camp. The projectiles were passing through the ball of flame, igniting before raining down.

  The captain beside me stepped back in alarm. “Commander, your orders?” Though he tried to hide it, his tone was clearly concerned.

  For a moment, my mind reeled with thoughts. I did not expect that the camp would be attacked, not when we were far from the territories of the Union’s known enemies. Then what was the motive of this attack? My vision sharpened upon seeing a volley of arrows landing before our feet.

  “Commander!” The captain raised his voice. “Your orders?!”

  Bells in the background began blaring. This was meant to prepare our people for battle, but how could we fight back from here? Before anything, we needed to withdraw from our disadvantageous position.

  “Sound the retreat!” I yelled at the top of my lungs at the nearest bell station. This one changed the rhythm from a dig, dig to a feverous clang, clang, clang. Immediately, the other bell stations rang up the same pattern. They knew to listen to the one closest to me, and quickly, the people changed direction. I expected several people to be hit, but surprisingly, not a single arrow found its mark.

  Some arrows were landing on the tents, the watchtowers, and even some outside of the campsite. Something felt amiss. From their high vantage point, I would assume their arrows would at least get close to hitting their targets. However, it seemed the enemy was less skilled than I anticipated. They were clearly using a fire mage mixed with flammable arrows, which was never accurate.

  But why?

  The flammables.

  Of course, that was it. They must have known we had fuel here. That was the only reason they’d be shooting fire arrows so wildly. But how could they know we had it yet not know where it was?

  The soldier in my tent came out and asked, “Should I get some reinforcements to help evacuate the prisoner?”

  An idiotic question. This attack had nothing to do with the captured enemy. An attack of this scale must have been coordinated for at least days in advance. The enemy must have been waiting outside of our scouts’ range, somewhere hidden. When they noticed I had withdrawn most of my forces into the camp, that must have been when the enemy sneaked to the hilltop and launched their offensive. They only came in this close because there was an opportunity.

  The question was, what did they hope to achieve by driving us out of the camp? At that moment, it clicked. The enemy would be waiting to flank us in the forest while we were disoriented and scattered.

  I yelled, “Ignore him!”

  The soldier saluted me, then joined the retreat.

  Then I turned to the captain and shouted, “Assemble the scouts forward and prepare to engage the enemy. If they are competent, they’ll try ambushing us in the forest to cut off our retreat.”

  I may have been outplayed in this fortified position, but only because they caught me off guard. Once I knew they were at the hilltop and the forest, there would be nowhere left for them to hide. I would be vigilant and crush my enemies.