I’m often asked how we survived our journey to rescue the Crystal Blood when we were often outnumbered by our enemies. Most of the time, it was Hero Volker who noticed we were about to walk into an ambush. There would be some tiny clue that anyone else would miss. A leaf on the trail. A scent that didn’t belong. A sound that wasn’t native to the land. Ela was our tactician when we were laying ambushes, but Kurt was the one who found those laid for us. I asked him many times why he was so proficient. He never answered me. His silence made more sense upon our return to Lisandra, and I stumbled onto the rumors of his younger years. I could never confirm his involvement with dwarven independence, and I would never jeopardize my friendship with rude questions. – Colonel Pallus Parn, lecture at Imperial War Academy
KURT
Kurt crouched behind some rubble as the Purists fired another volley. Musket balls whipped around him. From the screams of pain, some of the deadly little metal balls found Capitol Army soldiers. Major Agnelli stood up and fired at the Purists. The senior ranger was nowhere near as fast as Rin, but his aim was just as deadly. The street filled with the gray, foul-smelling smoke as the Capitol Army soldiers unleashed their own volley at the Purists. As the smoke cleared, Kurt saw the Purists retreating. The Capitol Army soldiers advanced up another street.
“What’s wrong Hero Volker?” Major Agnelli asked.
“Is it just me, or are the Purists a bit too organized in their retreat? Especially doing so in the face of the sudden return of the army?” Kurt asked. The major pondered while the pair jogged behind a Capitol Army platoon.
“That could be training. After all, the Edess Kul is supposed to be very good,” Major Agnelli answered as he crouched down. The Purists and Capitol Army soldiers were forming lines for another skirmish. He waited as Agnelli took aim and fired. A Purist slumped to the ground. If the elves learn anything from this battle, Kurt hoped it was how even more deadly the humans were since they fought during the Reclamation War. From everything Kurt gleaned from the previous day’s fighting, the rangers killed many times their own number.
“The way this battle is going is bothering me. Like we’re missing something.”
“You think they’re laying a trap?” the major asked as he reloaded his rifle.
“They gave up their forward positions too easily,” Kurt answered, “They could have turned those building into gristmills for the army. Instead, they pulled back with very little fighting.”
“Your Capitol Army raked those buildings with several volleys of canister before sending in their own troops,” Agnelli pointed out, “That does tend to take the fight out of most men.”
“Soldiers, yes. Levies, definitely. Fanatics? From my own experience, they are rarely so easily dislodged,” Kurt said. The major mulled over the dwarf’s words.
“You may have a point,” Agnelli said as he fed another cartridge into the rifle. “You need to tell Colonel Parn your suspicions. Maybe he’s seeing something from his vantage point that we can’t from down here. I will go forward and investigate on my own.” The two men shook hands before separating.
Dwarves, despite their stocky builds, were fast runners. They didn’t have the long gaits of elves or humans, but they could pump their legs like the pistons of a human steam engine – fast and unstoppable. It was a trait the dwarves used to great advantage when the elves invaded their homelands. If the dwarves weren’t outnumbered by an order of magnitude, they might have thrown the elves out instead of just fighting them to a standstill. One of the legacies from the War of Annexation was elven soldiers learned to get out of the way of a running dwarf. Cries to clear a path echoed as Kurt sprinted up the street to the Aponte Wall. It was at the immense crystal structure where Kurt was brought to a halt by Selene.
“What in the Goddess’s Grace are you doing here Kurt?” Selene asked.
“I need to talk with Pallus. I think the army is walking into a trap.” Selene led him to a wooden gate arch. It looked remarkably like the one Selene used to bring them to Lisandra. From the pulsing crackles under the gate, it was active.
“When did this arch go up?”
“Robar and I put it up this morning. This will take you to Eldar Court,” Selene explained. “It’s too far for messengers to run between the Crystal Palace and the Aponte Wall. Be careful when coming out so you don’t knock down any of the army’s runners.” Kurt nodded and trotted through the gate. He swallowed hard as his stomach twisted from the rough gate magic. Getting his bearings, Kurt screamed at the army personnel around him to get out of his way. Even after years of being in the elven lowlands, Kurt still had the muscle memory for furious climbing. The guards at the top of the Gold Spire leapt out of the way as he charged into the Observatory. Nearly a dozen frowning faces turned to look at him as Kurt skidded to a stop.
“Why are you here, Kurt?” Pallus asked, pulling the dwarf off to the side. “You’re supposed to be assisting the army down there.”
“Pallus, the Purists are leading the army into a trap. I can feel it,” Kurt said. Pallus pressed his mouth into a thin line.
“I need your opinion,” Pallus said. He pulled Kurt over to a viewing crystal. Pallus pointed at the Purists’ camp east of the city. The Purists were building a wooden tower. Kurt swept the crystal to the other camps. Similar structures were also under construction.
“Pulling back so they can grind the army against those?” Kurt asked.
“They look too fragile to be fortifications. I doubt they would be able to stand up to cannon fire. Maybe the Purists have some new weapon requiring those structures.”
“If that was the case, why wait until now?” Kurt asked.
“I don’t know,” Pallus answered, “I advised the general we need a closer look at them. The general doesn’t think they’re important enough to waste resources investigating them.”
“So, what do you need?” Kurt asked.
“Could you take a closer look at one of those?” Pallus asked. “I have a similar suspicion that the Purists are about to spring a trap, but I need more to take to General Lopanes.”
“I wish Rin was here. He would be better for that,” Kurt said under his breath as he looked out at the city.
“As much as it pains me to admit it, I wish he was here as well,” Pallus said. “Unfortunately, we must work with what we have, not what we wish we had. Excuse me.” Pallus walked over to the group of staff officers. Kurt walked over to the map of Lisandra spread out over a large table. Red and green wood blocks marked the Purist and Capitol Army positions. He studied the map for several minutes trying to decide the best route to one of the Purist constructions.
“May I offer a suggestion, Hero Volker?” Kurt looked up to see one of the Republican officers standing next to him. The man was older with more white in his hair than black. For all the wrinkles, the man’s brown eyes were sharp.
“Of course,” Kurt answered. “You are?”
“Colonel Umbretti, formerly of the Twelfth Legion. I overheard your discussion with the colonel. If I was asked to investigate those towers, I would go to the docks. From there, I could take a ship across Lisandra Bay to this tower.” The colonel tapped the main Purist encampment. Kurt pondered the suggestion.
“What about these cliffs?” Kurt asked, pointing at the maps. “Climbing those would be difficult.”
“Why would you need to climb those cliffs?” Umbretti asked. “Whatever those structures are, they can’t be good. I would just confirm they aren’t some kind of hospital and then ask the ship’s captain to destroy them with cannon fire.” Kurt’s eyes went wide as he fully understood what the human was offering.
“Those aren’t just merchant ships, are they?” Kurt asked.
“Per the Treaty of Friendship and Trade, the Mareian Republic cannot bring commissioned warships into Lisandra Bay without the express permission of the Diet,” Umbretti answered with a sly smile. It reminded Kurt of the smiles Rin used as a child when he was up to no good.
“Of course, those merchantmen in your harbor may also be naval auxiliaries. Just in case there’s a repeat of the Night of Fire and Blood.” Umbretti’s eyes twinkled dangerously. Umbretti slid a slip of paper to Kurt.
“This is very generous,” Kurt said, reading the note.
“The Republic has always considered itself a friend to the dwarven people. Even if we couldn’t always provide tangible proof,” the colonel said. The human officer walked back over to the elven staff officers as Kurt hurried back down the stairs.
