The Invasion Page 4
As Emperor, I can’t ignore those facts. It is undeniable that Worldsend is failing to deliver its sought culinary specialty, and it’s been proven that the Bailiff of Karabia has so far been unable to solve the situation.
This is absolutely unacceptable, and the Imperial Palace has decided to take the matter in its own hands.
The Imperial Army will send a battalion to the Karabia Peninsula, numbering two thousand riders from the Western Cavalry and five thousand men from the Second Regiment of Infantry. Those soldiers will be stationed near the village of Worldsend, at a good distance from the shore. They will not leave until the mystery is solved and fishermen are back in the settlement.
The entire force will be under the commandment of Colonel Laval. He fought many wars and brought countless victories to the Empire, most notably against the dwarves of the Karpi mountains. He will have total power on the Karabia peninsula, from the limit of the desert in the North to the hamlet of Worldsend in the South.
I expect full cooperation from the Bailiff of Karabia. He will do his best to ensure supplies to the men of Colonel Laval, and will build a suitable path through The Marsh for an easier access. However, the citizens of Karabia do not have to bear the financial burden of this mission with additional taxes. All costs will be supported directly by the Imperial Palace.
My decision has been taken,
Emperor Niklas
Letter 7
To our Emperor Niklas,
I would like to inform Your Majesty that the battalion under the commandment of Colonel Laval arrived to the city of Karabia last week, and departed on the newly paved road through The Marsh this very morning.
The path is narrow, and no more than two horses or three armed men can walk side by side. Observing the seemingly never-ending line of soldiers heading South is something that will remain in the memory of every single inhabitant. This incredible display of Imperial Power has left a heavy impression on our citizens, and questions are being asked.
Fortunately, some newsmonger began to spread the word that a special force was being trained in the harshness of the desert to increase their resistance to difficult climatic conditions.
Tomorrow, chatterbox will most likely start to talk about the benefits of having so many armed men stationed in the Karabia Peninsula. People will understand that they will need to purchase food produced on our lands, bringing some very welcome additional money.
I do not expect the matter to be more than an occasional subject of discussion by the end of the month. As such, I have no reason to believe that some curious minds would ask too inquisitive questions, or even try to cross the desert to see what is happening in Worldsend.
***
I spent most of the past week discussing with Colonel Laval. The man showed a considerable interest in learning about our previous expedition. Together, we interviewed all one hundred and twenty-eight survivors, who openly shared their experience with him.
He listened attentively, and took great care not to make any combatant of the Imperial Army feels like his tales are taken lightly.
All the known maps of the Karabia peninsula have been given to him, only one copy remaining in my possession, as a safe guard. My suggestion to accompany them as a guide has been rejected. Neither did Colonel Laval accept the candidacy of the soldiers from the previous expedition who offered their services.
However, it’s been decided that two cavalrymen stationed at Worldsend would be sent back weekly to Karabia, in order to inform about the actual situation and report any development. They will also pick up a supply of food delivered exactly where the road through The Marsh meets the desert.
Everything is being implemented according to Your Majesty’s wish, and I can only hope to have soon some good news to convey to the Imperial Palace.
***
After a long reflection on the subject, I believe that Colonel Laval is the man needed to handle the situation. His experience of warfare with hidden enemies in difficult terrain is unmatched, and he clearly demonstrated aplenty that he is not the kind to underestimate a threat.
The presence of invisible demons in Worldsend is utterly impossible, as Colonel Laval reminded me many times. I now understand this fact and I apologize for making such wild suggestions in my previous letter, causing political damages in the Imperial Palace.
I withdraw the words from my last message, and would like to make a new official statement.
I believe that the heat and powerful sun of the Karabia Desert deeply affected my perception, as it did to another one hundred and twenty-eight soldiers. Blinded by the light of the full moon, and tricked by the reflections on the waters, we didn’t see the fleet of Valkyan warriors who successfully managed to sail through the non-existing rock formations protecting the bay. After landing on the beach, they started to slaughter our comrades who were simply too dumbfounded to react.
There is no doubt that Colonel Laval will put an end to this threat. Your counselors can rest assured that the issues at the tip of the Karabia Peninsula, where the Great Ocean meets the Valkyan Sea, will soon be a problem of the past.
Furthermore, I can guarantee that dried, smoked and salted Karabia Fish will be back on the tables of the Empire before the new year is upon us.
Reverentially,
Kahid, Bailiff of Karabia
Letter 8
To our Emperor Niklas
I am glad to announce that, together with this letter, the first shipment in months of the famous Salted Karabia Fish has been delivered to the Imperial Palace. This is a gift from the city of Karabia to the Imperial Court, as a way of apologizing for the troubles caused lately. I hope this will settle the matter.
I am sure our War Minister and your counselors will be able to go back to their normal activities, forgetting about the Valkyan raids, which were obviously a unique event and will not happen anymore.
The sailors of Igereiger gladly started to salt their fish, and are presently building a smoking shack that is more than double the size of the old one. This will soon enable them to flood the market with delicious Smoked Karabia Fish, for the delight of merchants and gourmets alike.
I’ve been told by Igereiger’s alderman that climate there does not allow for drying food in good conditions, but he reassures me that they will soon come with a solution.
“Do not worry Kahid. If they want Dried Karabia Fish, we will give them Dried Karabia Fish. Just make sure they have the money to pay us, and trust me, they will have Dried Karabia Fish” was how he put it.
I have no doubt that the fishermen of Igereiger will be motivated enough to find a way to supply Otezalp and its inhabitants with all the delicacies they so deeply appreciate. The fact that the alderman’s son-in-law just opened a company trading Smoked, Salted and Dried Karabia fish is a happy coincidence that can only comfort the Imperial Palace in this matter.
***
Concerning a matter of less importance, soldiers training presently in the Karabia Desert, in the vicinity of the beach where no human settlement has ever existed, report no sign of activity in the last two weeks.
It seems nevertheless that some men are sleeping bad lately, having agitated nights full of frightful visions they do not remember in the morning, or do not wish to tell.
Colonel Laval informs that he is preparing for an eventual Valkyan invasion, even if there is absolutely no reason to believe this would ever happen.
Reverentially,
Kahid, Bailiff of Karabia
Letter 9
To our Emperor Niklas
Once again, I must communicate sad news to the Imperial Palace.
Yesterday evening, I received a message from Colonel Laval, sent from his camp close to the tip of the Karabia Peninsula. It came to me through the usual channel, the weekly rider leaving this letter to the soldiers bringing the new load of supply to the limit between The Marsh and the Karabia Desert.
As always, I opened it as soon as it arrived in my hands.
I must say
that I anticipated bad news. I think we all did. For sure Colonel Laval didn’t seem as surprised as he should have been, after facing his first unexpected raid from the Valkyan warriors.
Here is the excerpt where he recalls the terrible night. I do not forward you his complete letter, as I imagine Your Majesty has no interest in his requests for supplies.
***
“More soldiers had been suffering from nightmares in the last days. Most of them didn’t remember their dream, and they were left only with a lingering feeling of approaching doom, without being able to explain where it came from.
Some other didn’t forget everything on waking up, and they were talking about death arriving from the beach, saying they witnessed our comrades being murdered without having the opportunity to defend themselves. Nobody even tried to mock them, as soldiers do between them when one of them shows a sign of weakness.
Everybody was tensed, even those who could sleep peacefully.
I was not among the lucky individuals able to enjoy a full night of rest. I did not have nightmares, not a single one, but I had been discussing with one of our men. He was a simple skirmisher from the infantry who had decided to talk to me. He claimed he could perfectly recall his dreams. He considered I had to know what they were about. Good thing he didn’t tell them to anyone else.
He said that during his sleep he was seeing demons (this is the exact word he used) coming from the sea to eat the soldiers stationed in the village of Worldsend. He couldn’t describe them precisely, talking about ‘horrible flying snake fish with huge jaws,’ but the fear in his eyes was more than I needed.
I paid great attention to your stories, Kahid, and I acknowledged more than you could imagine.
Even if I had thought you totally mad, the wording used by this young combatant would have made me react. I do not believe in coincidences, and when two soldiers from the Imperial Army have the same dream about demons attacking, there must be some kind of truth somewhere.
Our camp is at a safe distance from the shore and the ill-fated settlement of Worldsend, even if we can clearly see it by day. It had become obvious to me that this was where the invader would strike, whoever this enemy might be. I posted two hundred pikemen, another two hundred halberdiers, and a hundred crossbowmen in the village. They were to be on guard all night long. No turns to be taken, they would be able to rest during the day, once back at the camp on the following morning.
I was not sleeping when the unmistakable hints of conflict started to reach our ears. First, the shouting of combatants organizing themselves to face an offensive, and the occasional scream of a warrior meeting his fate on the battlefield.
Then, things got increasingly uncoordinated while panic seemed to spread among those issuing commands. Their voices sounded far too high-pitched for a man, a soldier, in control of himself. The words were indistinguishable from where we were, but there was no doubt that the enemy was upon them.
Everybody was awake at that time, and many of the lieutenants were looking at me, waiting for me to give the order to go to the village and fight. They expected me to send backup, as would have been normal in case of Valkyan invasion. But I knew better than this.
I listened to crossbows hissing, and I felt reassured that we were finally striking back at the enemy. So far, I had been worried by the lack of metallic noise. I hadn’t heard a single sword hitting shield, or a pike piercing an armor, or a halberd smashing a helmet.
Bolts being shot were a good sign.
It didn’t take long until the sounds of the battle diminished, and then disappeared altogether. The night had become silent once again, but for the waves dying on the shoreline.
As you know, this was almost the new moon, and the feeble crescent of light was not sufficient for us to observe anything. That’s why I decided not to go to the village until the morning. This was clear to me that a disaster had happened there, and I didn’t see the point in sending more soldiers marching blindly towards it.
I waited for the sun to rise, listening to the sea, trying to catch any different sound. There was nothing but the waves. By morning, when I started to distinguish the outlines of the houses, I gathered a group of twelve skirmishers, and we went to Worldsend.
It was empty. No corpses, no traces of blood, no abandoned weapons… Nothing but the buildings standing where they were the day before.
During the previous night, I had heard at least fifty bolts being shot by our crossbowmen. Knowing they were a hundred, and each of them carried twenty-five shafts, I was convinced the place would be littered with arrows. Some hours after the fight, when I came to the settlement and checked everywhere with my men, I could find only one bolt. It was stuck in the thatched roof of a shack. Incredibly, it seemed to have been fired from the beach, and towards the village, even if it was indubitably one of ours.
The following night was peaceful. Nobody dreamt of anything. I hope it will be the same tonight.”
***
As Your Majesty already understood, we lost another two hundred soldiers at the tip of the Karabia Peninsula, at the hands of an enemy that is not an invisible demon but manages to make our men believe so.
I can’t help but noticing, though, that they turned back after wiping out the combatants stationed inside the village, and didn’t head for the camp. I can see only two explanations.
The first one is that, for some mysterious reason, the invader is showing interest only in the settlement of Worldsend, claiming it as his. However, I do not believe in this possibility, as the attack I personally witnessed took place at a certain distance from the shore.
The second explanation, which seems more likely to me, is that the unknown force challenging us felt confident enough to confront one thousand cavalrymen, but didn’t dare to face more than six thousand of our best soldiers.
This is why I decided to send an additional troop of one thousand five hundred warriors from the Karabian guard to Worldsend, where they will battle under the command of Colonel Laval. I would like to think that eight thousand fighters from the Imperial Army will manage to scare the invader away.
Reverentially,
Kahid, Bailiff of Karabia
Letter 10
To our Emperor Niklas
After almost a month of respite, things once more turned ugly in Worldsend. When I read in a letter from Colonel Laval that some soldiers were starting to have nightmares, I realized the enemy was coming again. Just like him, I do not believe in coincidence and, even if I have no idea how it could be possible, it is now obvious that those nightmares are an unmistakable sign of an upcoming attack.
I knew there would be another long period of waiting before I received a new update, and I almost thought of riding myself to the tip of the Karabia Peninsula to get firsthand information. The only reason I didn’t is that I understood it was too late anyway.
It is easy to forget how far from us Worldsend is, even by horse. It had been a full week since Colonel Laval had written his missive, and I had no doubt that the feared events had already happened. I had no choice but to wait for the following letter. Hoping there would be one.
It arrived seven days later, carrying awful news, despite the colonel’s casual tone.
Your Majesty, we’ve been attacked again. And this time more than two thousand men have died. Riders from the Western Cavalry, soldiers from the Imperial Infantry, fighters from the Karabian Guards… They all perished!
The threat on us is far greater than we all imagined. The enemy is clearly superior to us, and we are being steadily destroyed without any pity. What will happen when the men of Colonel Laval are all killed?
I can’t afford to send more guards there, and I request the combatants of the Imperial Army still present in Karabia to remain stationed within our walls and to defend the town at any cost.
There is little doubt that the invader will sooner or later conquer Worldsend, and then march through the desert and The Marsh to the city of Karabia. If even our trained soldiers pe
rish in front of those demons, what will happen to our residents? They are farmers, blacksmith, merchants, shoemakers… They do not know how to defend themselves.
There are women and children living here, tens of thousands of them.
We can’t leave Karabia under such a threat, this would be bringing a sure death to more than sixty thousand citizens of the Empire. And, if the enemy spreads through the province after taking its capital, this number will rise dramatically. When this happens, salted fish will not be a main concern for your counselors!
I strongly request to have more soldiers send both to the city of Karabia and to the camp at the end of the peninsula, where Colonel Laval will need more men to defend us, and the whole Empire.
Reverentially,
Kahid, Bailiff of Karabia
Letter 11
To Emperor Niklas
If my messenger carried out his instructions in a proper way, as I am sure he did, you should receive this letter sealed.
I trust entirely Kahid. He is a man loyal to the Empire, with strong moral values and a deep sense of responsibility towards his people. He also proved in many occasions that he doesn’t dismiss facts that he would rather ignore for his own peace of mind, and he is a reliable professional when it comes to organizing our logistics.
However, some pieces of information shouldn’t reach the ears of certain individuals.
***
My Emperor knows me well. We fought many battles together. I am convinced you realize I am not the kind of man to cower when facing danger. Neither is it my style to exaggerate things in order to flatter my ego.
I pride myself with an objectivity and a logic allowing me not to underestimate our opponents, and neither to yield to fear in front of an enemy seemingly invincible.