B3 Chapter 73: Tremors

Haruto watched the emperor go with wide eyes, trembling where he sat on the ground. The junior priest hadn’t yet mustered the strength or courage to stand. Not in the wake of that.

The presence of divinity had been unmistakable. He’d felt slivers of it before, during his confirmation as a priest, and in moments of particularly deep prayer. But this… The unfathomable authority of not just his own god, but so many others had pressed upon all in the temple district. It was absolutely suffocating. And if someone as lowly as himself had felt it…

His gaze fell to the two high priests lying unconscious nearby. Mighty men blessed by the Arashim and Kyraz, men with powers beyond his wildest imaginings, laid low in an instant. For a fleeting moment, he felt grateful that his divine connection with Kona wasn’t at that level. A heretical thought, one that he squashed as soon as it manifested.

None of it seemed real. Even High Priest Clemmons looked as though he were in a daze, the tall conical hat emblazoned with Kona’s sigil sitting slightly askew atop his bald head.

Haruto watched as the High Priest tore his gaze away from the emperor. He reached up to straighten his hat, drawing himself up authoritatively. “Call for healers. Those who are able-bodied assist with transporting the unconscious and unwell back to their temples.”

The man’s words broke the silence that had settled over the area. All at once, priests began to rise and scramble to do as they were bidden. The two unconscious high priests were lifted up by the men and women who had accompanied them, as others darted off to find help. Haruto couldn’t help but notice it took quite a few more people to lift the high priest of Arashim than his more wizened and muscular counterpart.

Haruto also forced himself to his feet, already moving to check on the others. As a [Healer] himself, he definitely counted among those who could help his comrades. Yet as he knelt to tend to the first priest—an older man who had hit his head against the ground—he couldn’t help the slight shaking in his hands.

This was not how things were supposed to go. They were the servants of the gods, the most powerful beings in existence. And though he wasn’t naive enough to believe that his god was capable of crushing all others underfoot like mere bugs, he was indeed among the strongest. No other high priest would dare challenge High Priest Clemmons for that reason alone, even if there weren’t treaties in place.

And yet, despite his faith and the joint efforts of so many… had they been pushed back?

“This was unexpected.”

Haruto was tending to an older priest who’d hit his head when he heard the raspy voice. He barely had to look to know its source. The gaunt woman in an ethereal black robe—the high priest of Zabit, god of death. She had remained silent and still throughout everything.

Clemmons turned to scowl at the woman. “Unexpected? Is that all you have to say, old crow?”

Haruto tensed at the venom in the high priest’s voice. Yet if the woman was offended, she didn’t show it. “It seems these Roman gods are no mere hatchlings as I assumed. No matter. It changes nothing.”

“It changes everything. It changes all of our assumptions. I came into this believing that we'd simply been directed to stamp out some backwater cult that had insulted my lord. But now…”

“Yet it does not change our course of action.” Haruto caught a glimpse of a single milky eye beyond the woman's veil. “The preparations will continue. It is more important than ever that we are successful. Although events may require us to act more quickly than anticipated.”

Haruto saw his own distaste reflected on the High Priest’s face. He personally didn't know what “preparations” the woman was referring to. But he'd been called upon to sacrifice much of his stamina for some greater cause for weeks now. That in itself was nothing strange. But the sheer amount, as well as the stomach-turning sensation such sacrifices left him with… those were enough for him to understand the man's unease.

With that, the old crone slowly began tottering back toward the gothic temple in the distance. Her cloak billowed out like a pair of wings as she moved, her staff tapping a slow rhythm across the stones. Several of her priests moved to retrieve those who had fallen like carrion eaters picking over a battlefield. Haruto was fairly certain no one had died. But the imagery made him second-guess that.

The High Priest of Kona watched the woman go. It was only then that he noticed Haruto. The man shot a severe look in his direction, his meaning clear. He was not to speak of anything he'd just heard.

With a deep how, he scurried off to heal another patient. The work helped to take his mind off the feelings of unease.

***

Corwyn Pass hardly resembled the mess Quintus recalled when they’d left on this campaign. The collapsed mountainsides that had formerly clogged its narrow channels now stood clear once more, aside from a few leftover boulders scattered across the plains on their approach. The narrow pathways and chokepoints once more wound uphill toward the Novaran border, albeit up slightly shallower slopes than before—likely a holdover from the destruction of the cliffs above.

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It was a bit surprising. Quintus half expected the entire pass to be terraformed into a deathtrap of maze-like trails, like what they’d engineered for the orcs. Then again, even returning the pass to this kind of state was quite the feat, especially considering that most of the Legion’s earthshaping experts had been on campaign with him. And as he began to see the other improvements they’d made, any criticism he might have made quickly dried up.

Clusters of watchtowers loomed over the pass every quarter mile, standing guard over small clearings that had been intentionally added to the otherwise narrow pass. Normally, providing such a foothold for incoming enemies might be questionable, if not for the fact that each clearing was set behind a massive wall ten paces tall and four paces thick. These were clearly not meant for the enemy. If Quintus had to guess, he’d actually say that they were meant to allow Legionnaires to group together and make more effective use of their [Coordinated Bulwark] skill despite the usual terrain. A clever idea.

That wasn’t the only defense, either. The watchtowers themselves were fully manned with elves and Legionnaires alike. Quintus saw a group pacing along the top of the wall, its crenellations doubtless hiding some varieties of oil pots or stones that could be dropped on the enemy at will. Large, bridge-like structures that defied gravity connected the various watchtowers, allowing for easy retreat if a position were to be overrun. And judging by their wooden construction, the structures were made to be broken in the case of pursuit as well. All the while, the retreating men would enjoy a beautiful view of the path below and be able to continue their ranged assault on any forces that dared advance.

It was a rather terrifying setup. And that was without mentioning the siege weaponry. Because, of course, there was siege weaponry. Ballistae, trebuchets, catapults—it honestly seemed like all the siege weapons they’d brought to seize the capital had been dragged to these frigid mountains afterward.

Quintus took it all in as they meandered up the pass in a single file line, the Legionnaires above lifting gate after gate to allow them through. He couldn’t help but imagine how much of a nightmare taking this place by force would be. Before, the task would have been difficult, but now? It may well be the most well-defended location they had. It seemed that Tiberius really was taking the orc threat seriously.

As they finished the long march up the narrow pass, Quintus saw that the border itself did sport far steeper walls of earth on either side, with expansions down the rest of the pass clearly in progress. More work was clearly underway even now. But as things were, it was better than he had hoped for. Though they could still make quite a few contributions as well.

Gaius stepped toward the front of the formation as a group of centurions saluted. “Legatus Gaius. Welcome back.”

The young Legatus returned the salute before motioning for the men to relax. “Thank you. Quite the place you have here.”

One of the centurions nodded and stepped forward. “Thank you, sir. The emperor thought it wise to reinforce the place. And to clear it in case your return proved more… perilous than expected.”

Quintus saw no obvious change to Gaius’s smile, but somehow got the impression that he grimaced at the words. “A fear that proved unfounded—thankfully for me and my men. Come, let’s talk about what you’ve done around here. We’ll have visitors soon, and I think it would be best if they got to experience the full extent of your efforts.”

With that, Gaius, Quintus, and the officers began their brief tour of the newly furnished Corwyn Pass. Most of it was as Quintus had observed on the way up, although the place did boast a few surprises. The presence of a few half-mages who could conjure waterfalls of burning oil and the plethora of hidden rockfall traps were particular highlights.

Gaius also chimed in to supply information on his men’s abilities. The addition of so many archers and earthshapers was worth their weight in gold in a setting like this. The engineers also probed a point of interest, especially considering what they’d been working on during their travels. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Evidently, the sling tubes counted as “firearms” or at least benefited from the skill the engineers had earned. This simplified the task of creating more, meaning they actually had a half dozen or so of the things, even despite the pace of their march, and more effective ones at that. Though the engineers were already making plans for both larger and more compact versions to build once they had the time.

The centurions responsible for overseeing the pass were informed of this development and seemed quite interested in testing the weapons out. They managed to identify a few spots where the tubes would prove most useful—and the least catastrophic should they fail. Though after the rather thorough reaming Quintus had given them for nearly blowing up the camp, they’d taken the safety aspect of their designs a bit more seriously.

“And the reinforcements?” Gaius asked as they finished going over the erected defenses. “Do we have word on when they’ll arrive?”

“Tomorrow at the latest,” the centurion informed them. At Gaius’s frown, he explained. “The men were called away to deal with a monster incursion before heading this way. Hence the delay.”

“Hmmm.” Gaius turned to Quintus. “Thoughts?”

“Normally, I would be concerned,” Quintus began, crossing his arms. “But considering the fortifications we’ve seen… I don’t believe they will be necessary. Especially if the orcs are considerate enough to give us a few hours of rest.”

The officers chuckled as Gaius nodded. “My thoughts exactly. It would be nice, but we’re in a better situation than expected. I would assume that’s why they were called away in the first place, as well.”

From there, they launched straight into preparations. The men took what precious time they had to rest and eat, appreciating the brief reprieve from being pursued. Of course, Quintus could've personally done without the cold, but at this point, he'd take any change from the scenery they'd been getting.

Unfortunately, their break was all too short-lived. A few hours later, scouts reported the approach of their foes. An hour after that, the now familiar sounds of orcish chanting reached their ears and echoed across the mountains. What first sounded like a bare whisper on the wind soon developed into a thunderous cacophony that seemed to shake the rocks themselves.

An ocean of writhing green stretched out before them, quickly flooding over the terrain. It crashed toward their position without any regard for subtlety or deceit. Why would they need such things with their numbers?

The scouts had given estimates, but seeing the full extent of the enemy spreading out before them still had Quintus pause. For a moment, he thought they might simply swarm over the mountains themselves without any regard for what should have been impassable terrain and sheer cliffs. But he need not have worried. The tide broke against the base of the mountains and quickly began shoving itself through the pass in a narrow trickle.

The men and elves atop the first gate readied themselves. The second battle for Corwyn Pass had begun.