Firebrand

A Captain's Choice

Another day was spent in the same camp west of the conquered bridge, allowing the Twentieth Legion to catch up after being sent north as a diversion. It also gave the legionaries time to handle tasks that could not be done during days marching, quartermasters distributed new equipment to replace old or destroyed, and the commanders of the legions gathered for another council to discuss their next move.

Besides the legion prefects, a stonemage in green robes sat in the tent, inviting questioning looks from the mageknights. As Martel arrived as the last, they rose to greet him. "Be seated. I've asked Henry to join us – we might need a stonemage's opinion considering we are to besiege a walled city."

"Sensible, captain," Lara assented. "If I may?" After a confirming gesture from Martel, she continued, "We have about ten days of marching before we reach Morcaster. While the city has formidable fortifications, they are also extensive. Multiple assaults will force the garrison to spread out, increasing our chances of a breakthrough. With our superior numbers, we should have no issue taking the city once we make it past the walls."

"We need to capture a gate," Eleanor added. "There are four choices. Two to the north, the bridge to the east, and the merchants' gate to the west. I suggest the latter."

"Why is that?" Martel asked.

"We are approaching from the north. And just inside are the Imperial palace and nobles' quarter. They will defend those walls more than anywhere else. The river hems in our troops if we try for the bridge. The merchants' gate is the best option," she explained.

Martel knew immediately this to be true; she was her father's daughter. "So we move one legion to the east, feigning an attack on the bridge gate. Two legions spread across the northern fortifications with minor assaults. The remaining two seize the western entrance."

"This has another advantage, though we must be mindful to capitalise on this," Godwin declared. The others all looked at the legion prefect of the Thirteenth. "If the Praetorian Guard fears the city to be lost, they will take the emperor and his family to the harbour and escape. As we have no fleet, we cannot pursue them at sea."

"They'll sail to Aquila and continue fighting us there, bringing the northern legions home," Martel mumbled.

"And this war drags on for another year. Or two. Or three," Godwin continued. "But the merchants' quarter is between the Imperial palace and the docks. At least three or four cohorts must be sent immediately to seize the harbour and lock it down. We should not underestimate the Praetorian Guard – they have scores of mageknights."

"I agree with Sir Godwin," Eleanor said. "After the harbour, our next target should be the bridge gate. It will be lightly defended due to how difficult it is to assault. Attacking from within, we can seize it with ease, allowing the legion outside to enter. After that, we will have more than enough troops in the city to ensure victory."

Martel saw no better plan. "Very well. That still leaves the manner of our main assault upon the merchants' gate."

"Captain, with your permission, I should like for the Twentieth to have that position," Arianna declared. "In the last battle, we were used as a feint. My men must be given the chance to prove themselves."

Martel wondered if her soldiers were as eager to take the most dangerous role in the attack as she claimed, but someone had to do it, after all. "It is yours." The legion prefect bowed her head, and Martel looked at Henry. "What can you tell us of the defences? Any weaknesses, anything we can exploit?"

The stonemage cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable with all the attention on him. "Nothing obvious. The walls are older than the Empire itself, built by the Archeans back when Morcaster was still a city-state. They don't require the enchantments to be renewed – not that we'd know how. I don't even think cannons could dent them. Certainly nothing your engineers can build."

"What about undermining them? Enchanted or not, any wall requires earth to stand on," Arianna said.

"They do, but I don't think tunnelling would work," Henry began to say, looking more uneasy than ever. "I'm not the commander of the garrison, of course, but I'd expect this, since it's the only way to bring the walls down. And Morcaster must have a number of stonemages living in the city. I'd conscript them and have them use their magic to detect movement underground and simply collapse any tunnels coming close to the city."

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"The gate itself is the weak point of any wall. Rams against the northern gates along with siege ladders to make them concentrate their defence in that location," Eleanor suggested. "Meanwhile, the captain uses his powers to destroy the merchants' gate and we charge in."

"Assuming the gates of Morcaster are susceptible to magic," Godwin warned. "The walls are enchanted, but what about the doors?"

The prefects looked at Henry, who cleared his throat more than once. "They are strengthened, yes, but by Asterian magic, not Archean. I know less about this, unfortunately. It would depend on whether the captain's spells are stronger than the enchantments placed upon the wood, and who can tell?"

"Of course his spells are stronger," Arianna scoffed. "The man is fire-touched. He is a Stars-damned legion of his own."

"You can sense the earth with your magic?" Martel exclaimed, and everyone looked at him bewildered while he in turn stared at Henry.

Looking bemused, the stonemage coughed. "Uh, yes, captain."

Martel leaned forward. "So if you stood on a field, you could tell if a cave lay beneath."

Henry looked even more confused. "There aren't usually caves underneath anywhere you'd have good soil for a field."

"Just imagine there could be. Say, a burial hill with grave chambers below."

"Oh, sure. Yes. It depends. How deep is it before reaching the chambers, what kind of soil is it, and so on."

"How far? How deep can you reach?" Martel kept his eyes locked on the stonemage while his officers looked back and forth at them. They all seemed perplexed, but nobody dared to interrupt.

"I'm not sure," Henry mumbled. "Maybe fifty or sixty feet?"

Martel leaned back in his seat. "I know what we'll do." Everyone stared at him intently. "Beneath Morcaster, to the northeast, lie the old catacombs. They stretch on for miles, and I'll bet they reach beyond where the walls are placed above. If Henry can locate them and dig us a path down to them, we enter the catacombs and pass through them underneath the walls until we reach the sewers. We emerge from the depths and attack the merchants' gate from within, opening it to the awaiting legion outside."

Nobody spoke as everyone wrestled with his stream of words. "The catacombs?" Lara finally said. "The cursed burial site of our ancestors?"

"Yes. Your ancestors, anyway. It's a tunnel into Morcaster, already made, and nobody will suspect it," Martel pointed out. He had expected his prefects to be thrilled at his idea; instead, they all seemed hesitant. "Why? What's wrong with this?"

"That place is a labyrinth that kills everyone who enters," Godwin claimed.

"Not everyone." Although she had spoken with a quiet voice, the others nonetheless looked at Eleanor. "The captain and I have been there. It is dangerous, but not for skilled wizards. Finding our way is another question, though. The place is indeed labyrinthine."

"Of course. Is there anything our captain has never done?" Arianna exclaimed, sounding almost offended.

"While that is heartening to hear," Lara interjected, "it seems an irresponsible risk to base our entire strategy on sending a handful of mageknights into that place."

"I agree," Martel admitted, "which is why it obviously must be me."

Various outbursts of disbelief and refusal came from his officers. "Sir, that would be reckless!"

"I will go in your place, captain."

"We do not even know if the catacombs extend as far north as you hope," Eleanor spoke.

"If they do, Henry will find them. If not, nothing is lost. We can still do a full assault as you want," Martel replied.

"Sir, we cannot allow this," Lara said firmly. "You are our leader and best mage. It is madness to risk you on an endeavour like this."

Martel raised his eyebrows. "Allow me?"

"We follow you willingly, sir," the legion prefect continued. "It is our duty to tell you when you are acting in a reckless manner."

"If I gave an order that needlessly risked the lives of your soldiers, I would expect you to do what you all did to your previous legates," Martel retorted. "This is the best plan. Opening the gate from within will reduce our casualties and speed our victory along significantly. Furthermore, as a battlemage and with previous experience of that place, I am by far the best suited for this task. If I commanded others to go in my stead, you wouldn't have chosen me as your leader in the first place."

The mageknights exchanged looks; nobody seemed eager to speak. "Nobody doubts your ability to survive such a wretched place," Godwin said after a moment. "But Sir Fontaine admitted the difficulty in navigating it. And we cannot hide moving a legion to the western plain in anticipation of the assault, not for long. If the garrison discovers this before you can act, they will fortify those defences heavily. You may end up simply trapped in the city, unable to carry out the plan."

"I will have to hurry."

"Sir, do you intend to go alone?" Lara asked hesitantly.

"I'm not going to order anyone to follow me."

"Spare us," Eleanor sighed. "As if I would let you go alone."

Lara bit her lip. "This seems a monumental mistake. Risking our captain and his second-in-command on the same mission, leaving us leaderless."

"Until my return, Sir Lara has command," Martel declared. "You are right," he added, looking at her. "The catacombs are dangerous in ways you can't imagine. Which is why the only two mages with experience of that place are going. This is how we win, achieving the surprise and speed needed to capture the emperor. This is how we take Morcaster."