Chancellor's chamber he reported the latest news of the war. "Two hundred men from Vil Mawe have arrived. I have set them to the task with helping shore up the wall. The two ships that the shipwrights were fixing are finished. We have put Mauric to the task of getting the refugees to the swampland using the ships."
Kolis turned to look at Istuin . "So you wanted to guarantee failure of the projects so you could divert the ships back to Elvenshore?"
"Something like that. Verian is about to kill him anyway, so getting Mauric out of town serves a dual purpose."
Kolis turned back toward the window, "Those that Verian sent from Vil Mawe must be thinking that this is a death sentence."
"They drew lots to see who had to go ; we got those who lost."
Kolis smiled despite his dark mood then asked, "How much longer will the wall last?"
"Not long, today, maybe tomorrow, between the chipping away by the Trolls and the fires, there isn't much left of the wall. We are bracing it, but it's like putting a small cork in a large bottle of wine; it isn't going to hold."
"Wine ; funny you should use that analogy," Kolis said.
"We will drink a toast of good Elvenshore wine when this is all over."
Kolis turned to look at Istuin, "You r optimism is misplaced, neither one of us are going to survive this. I am planning on dying right here in this chamber. I think it's up to you decided where you will die before the Trolls decide it for you."
"You can have your fatalistic attitude between the two of us, but in front of the men I want you to keep everything light. Their moralee is low enough. It does them no good for them to hear how bad it is from their leaders. They already know how bad it is."
"Are you daring to instruct your Chancellor?" Kolis said with a red face.
" Yes, Sir," Istuin said and then turned around and walked out of the room.
As Istuin went about preparing for the night's attack, he kept expecting Chancellor Kolis to come down and relieve him of command, maybe even send him packing. It didn't happen. Istuin just thought that the worst thing you could do to an officer you didn't like was to leave him in the Capital at this point and time. It was akin to a death sentence.
The enemy had their timing precise. They came at nearly th e exact same time every night, and left at nearly the exact same time. Surviving was making it through the hours that they were there. They didn't disappoint this time either; at the expected time, Istuin and his soldiers watched as the Trolls’ torches appeared over the hill.
Archers took pot shots at them, again to no avail. It just seemed to make the creatures angrier. They started smashing the wall with their clubs again. The sound was near deafening. There was a new cracking sound this time. The black oak of the wall was starting to crack and splinter. Troops with timbers shored up the wall even more, but when the Trolls put their torches to it the dry timbers burst into flame. Pa ils of water were brought forward from every nearby well, but the fire was starting to get out of control. The Trolls started smashing the now fire damaged wood and it splintered even more.
To the horror of all, one of the Trolls smashed through the wall and grabbed one of the archers then threw him fifty feet. The mad died instantly upon hitting the ground. Other Trolls started to come through the breach, but it was time to head back to the mountain, so they all turned and abruptly left.
Still having a fire to fight , the troops spent most of the morning putting it out. Istuin examined the smoking ruins of that section of the wall and determined that it there was no way to repair it. He gathered his men together. "We are leaving for the coast. The Trolls will be happy to stay and destroy the city each night for the next week. They will have a lot of houses to burn and it will take them awhile to do it. Staying here will only mean death to us. I want four or five men to go and get the
Kolis turned to look at Istuin . "So you wanted to guarantee failure of the projects so you could divert the ships back to Elvenshore?"
"Something like that. Verian is about to kill him anyway, so getting Mauric out of town serves a dual purpose."
Kolis turned back toward the window, "Those that Verian sent from Vil Mawe must be thinking that this is a death sentence."
"They drew lots to see who had to go ; we got those who lost."
Kolis smiled despite his dark mood then asked, "How much longer will the wall last?"
"Not long, today, maybe tomorrow, between the chipping away by the Trolls and the fires, there isn't much left of the wall. We are bracing it, but it's like putting a small cork in a large bottle of wine; it isn't going to hold."
"Wine ; funny you should use that analogy," Kolis said.
"We will drink a toast of good Elvenshore wine when this is all over."
Kolis turned to look at Istuin, "You r optimism is misplaced, neither one of us are going to survive this. I am planning on dying right here in this chamber. I think it's up to you decided where you will die before the Trolls decide it for you."
"You can have your fatalistic attitude between the two of us, but in front of the men I want you to keep everything light. Their moralee is low enough. It does them no good for them to hear how bad it is from their leaders. They already know how bad it is."
"Are you daring to instruct your Chancellor?" Kolis said with a red face.
" Yes, Sir," Istuin said and then turned around and walked out of the room.
As Istuin went about preparing for the night's attack, he kept expecting Chancellor Kolis to come down and relieve him of command, maybe even send him packing. It didn't happen. Istuin just thought that the worst thing you could do to an officer you didn't like was to leave him in the Capital at this point and time. It was akin to a death sentence.
The enemy had their timing precise. They came at nearly th e exact same time every night, and left at nearly the exact same time. Surviving was making it through the hours that they were there. They didn't disappoint this time either; at the expected time, Istuin and his soldiers watched as the Trolls’ torches appeared over the hill.
Archers took pot shots at them, again to no avail. It just seemed to make the creatures angrier. They started smashing the wall with their clubs again. The sound was near deafening. There was a new cracking sound this time. The black oak of the wall was starting to crack and splinter. Troops with timbers shored up the wall even more, but when the Trolls put their torches to it the dry timbers burst into flame. Pa ils of water were brought forward from every nearby well, but the fire was starting to get out of control. The Trolls started smashing the now fire damaged wood and it splintered even more.
To the horror of all, one of the Trolls smashed through the wall and grabbed one of the archers then threw him fifty feet. The mad died instantly upon hitting the ground. Other Trolls started to come through the breach, but it was time to head back to the mountain, so they all turned and abruptly left.
Still having a fire to fight , the troops spent most of the morning putting it out. Istuin examined the smoking ruins of that section of the wall and determined that it there was no way to repair it. He gathered his men together. "We are leaving for the coast. The Trolls will be happy to stay and destroy the city each night for the next week. They will have a lot of houses to burn and it will take them awhile to do it. Staying here will only mean death to us. I want four or five men to go and get the
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