Trouble

[jamiemacgregor]

The greatest dangers do not appear full blown at a single moment, but rather creep upon the scene as small, almost insignificant incidents. So did it happen in the Barony of Bengal. It was a rather lazy morning for both the Baron and Baroness. The remained late abed. It had been a both a long and pleasurable night for both of them. Once, finally up, they bathed and dressed quickly. Jamie and Star lingered over a breakfast in their own quarters. Later they went down to the Great Hall to handle their separate duties; Jamie to oversee the military and to see that taxes and fees are being paid, Star to properly oversee the running of the Caste and to see about any of their people being in need of assistance.
Jamie inquired of one of his officers about the return of his mounted patrols. He had made a point of send out parties of his Bengal Lancers to every corne of the realm. Their duties were to keep the roads free of bandits and to see that the Barons's rule was observed. The officer did know that one patrol had not returned; it had the longest trip to make; out to the hill country and back again, and the roads did not run into those hills either. Jamie is not too concerned, but they were due back a full day before. A few whispered commands and carrier pigeons were winging their way to several of his numerous guardposts, seeking news of his lost patrol. Within a few hours the answers had returned. All the posts contacted had seen the patrol go out, but none had seen them return from the hills. Also, ominously the guard post nearest to those hills had not reported back. Now the Baron was most concerned. There was indeed trouble in the Barony.

[stardancer]

Star was making her own rounds, checking on things, and was hearing disturbing rumors. Stories of people not making it over the hills, entire caravans disappearing. One lady, whose husband was in the lost patrol was almost hysterical. She said she felt her husband die. Star did her best to comfort the woman, quite thankful there were no children in the house. She stated she would speak with Jamie and try to discover what was happening. She would have to extend her magical watch it seemed. She finished her rounds and made her way back to the castle quickly to speak with her husband.

[jamiemacgregor]

Star found her husband in the small study, the place where he could work and think without being disturbed. She knew well to leave him be there. Today was different; she recognized it was an emergency. Jamie's eye only half cocked as she entered his inner sanctum. She was surprised that he was not. "I know why you're here love. It is the same problem that gnaws at me; the hills. You're going to tell me about missing people and caravans, and our lost patrol. I can give you one more. There has been no word at all from our guard post at the very edge of those hills. Two pigeons have remained unanswered, and that means another squad had been killed." It is obvious he is under a strain. "Those guard posts are miniature fortresses and are designed to be defended. They have pigeons to communicate. They could even stand a siege while we come to rescue them. Instead they are wiped out without a sound, just like our patrol. This tells me that each of them ran into overwhelming forces. But I have no idea how overwhelming. I can't send troops. To few would be wiped out. And knowing that country; I would wager too many would simply see nothing. Something is going on back there, but whoever or whatever is behind it is not ready to show their hand. We must have knowledge, before we strike. I would ask you to use your magic if possible to give me some kind of answer." He slams his fist down on his chair "I hate these cat and mouse games, and I hate whoever started this for all the death and destruction he has already caused and what he will cause in the future." Jamie lets out a long deep breath. Now I have another unwelcome task; one of my lancers has quite disgraced himself with a maiden. He forced himself on her. I'm having him flogged and thrown out of the castle in full view of the populace tomorrow morning. He was a good warrior; one I felt I could trust. That's all that's keeping me from hanging him. That will be for the next one. At least our people know that I will not put up with my soldiers abusing our people." Jamie just looked at his wife, knowing she disliked rapists as much as he did. Without another word both of them went back to other tasks.

[jamiemacgregor]

Jamie remained troubled, even after his encouraging words to Star. Both of them had to be encouraging around their barony; it was a matter of the people's morale. He had not lied to his wife, but by the same token, he had not told her the whole truth. Rumors of strange happenings in the hills had been coming to him for some weeks before the patrol's disappearance. He had sent in a spy. Long before Jamie had realized that a merchant or peddler would simply not do; he would just disappear or at the very least he could never be taken into the enemy's counsels. It would have to be a trained warrior. And he would need an excellent excuse to show up there. Jamie gave him one. With the assistance of a young woman, who had been quietly moved into Argentia with a new name and history, a charge of rape had been laid against one of his men. He even took a severe flogging for it. Jamie had him thrown out of the keep and the barony, never to return on pain of death.
But the Baron was concerned. It had been several weeks and no word from his man. If he had been given carrier pigeons, it would have been the same as announcing from the castle that he was the baron's spy; so no pigeons. The man Jamie sent on this mission was a resourceful warrior; no novice looking for quick glory. He'd done this sort of thing before. He should be all right. Still, the baron, the man who way have sent him to his death, worried about him.
Jamie decided to take a ride. A good fast gallop would clear his head. Without guards or servants, he took his charger down the long road from the castle. He always liked the forest track; the air was clean and pure. He had his mount trotting; so he could take in lung fulls of the fresh air. He had been cooped up in the keep for far too long.
Out from behind a tree jumped a figure, right in front of him. At first the baron did not recognize him with his hooded face, but the stance of the man seemed most familiar. "Excellency, I have returned to report." Jamie nodded. "So I see. Well best report quickly then." His man continued, "It all went as you expected. My brutally scarred back convinced them I have no love for you. In fact, I'm back to spy out the land for them; to see if you have taken any new defensive measures. I see none." Jamie smiled. "I have been waiting for your report. I've ringed the hills but sent no troops in." "Good, Excellency. It's a mage of some sort, masquerading as a holy man. His tricks are like miracles to those simple folk. And he's got them all worked up against the people of the plain, the rest of the barony for a start. He's also been speaking about sinful queen. After Bengal, he plans to swallow up the rest of the Golden Horn." "That shall never be as long as there is breath in me," retorted the Baron. "Very well, what does this "holy man" plan?" "His intention is to attack all the posts at once and then march straight on the castle. They are all fired up and are willing to die for him and get sent straight to paradise. They will simply keep coming until your men run out of arrows, and there are enough of them to do it; men, women, and children as well. He has them in the palm of his hand and will use them. Once the barony falls, he expects to pick up even more recruits from any disaffected folks and your own people who will have observed his power." Jamie looked thoughtful. "I'm not worried about his magical skills; Star is more then a match for him there. Still I recall a narrow pass on the most direct route from the hills to Castle MacGregor." The spy nodded. "Indeed M'lord, a good place to ambush the lot. "Oh and did I inform you Excellency that all of the carrier pigeons in the destroyed post were captured. I only need to send one unobserved." "Just give me time to move out most of the troops. We shall be waiting. Now off you good to friends in the hills with the good news." A nodded farewell, and the hooded man disappeared back among the trees. Jamie was feeling much more encouraged now.

[jamiemacgregor]

It had been almost a full month since his man had contacted him. But Jamie had been anything but idle. The castle was now fully completed and provisioned for a siege. He needed only a message from his man to set his plan in motion. Each night a few more troops were silently sent down the covered road and into the forest below. All rations delivered to the castle were for the full compliment; so none would be the wiser. And none were allowed to enter or leave. The world would believe him worried and fearful; even better it would get back to the false "holy man in the hills". He would expect a clear march straight up to the castle. Jamie had the place in mind and all the equipment ready to finish off his rag tag host in short order. But he needed to know when to move. Finally, the pigeon arrived. It's message was only two words, but they were enough. "We march". He did not want to endanger Star, but he knew his wife well enough not to even attempt to dissuade her from coming. He had fully explained his plan to her. It was simple but brutal. It would be a fiery holocaust with no survivors; as if the very hand of God had smote them down. The lesson would have to grim, and one every power in the area would understand and remember. He also explained that he owed it the guards who had died in defense of their posts, or the massacred patrols. Jamie had no qualms about it. But he admitted that he would need a good mage there to see that the "holy man" did not get his people out of the ambush. And he, himself had to die. He told his beloved wife every detail. They would join his troops and engineers in the forest soon.

[stardancer]

She nodded as her husband told her of the plan. She had, of course, been around almost the entirety of the barony and knew where all the ley lines and nodes were. She was glad Jamie had picked that location for the ambush, for there was a node quite nearby. She would need that if she were going to face the mage in a mage duel.

She gathered as much information as he had to give her on this 'holy man' and gathered the things she would need. She spoke with her husband as they prepared to leave.

"Love... I know you and your men will handle the hillsmen. I will handle the mage. However, when I am done, I will be very weak and probably not much able to travel. I have not told you how to care for a mage who is overextended. Warmth and food is essential, it would be much like you marched 50 miles, fought a full all out battle for an entire day, and had nothing to eat or drink all the while. Just get me to a warm dry place... "

She kissed his cheek and ran her fingers along his jawline. "I am sure we will be victorious in this. I trust you. I am ready to leave whenever you are."

[jamiemacgregor]

Jamie led Star out of the keep and down the covered road past the defended gatehouse, to where his troops and wagons were waiting in the forest. Already the column had begun to move and they moved with it. It was a hard night's march, and the dawn brought them to the long narrow pass of Plena as it was called. It was not only long but twisted and it sat astride the most direct route to Castle MacGregor from the hill country. Jamie well knew that if they passed this obstacle there was no where else to stand till they reached the castle itself. He was not one to cower inside a keep and wait for a siege. True, the hillmen cold not hope to take his castle, mage or not. He had Star beside him. Jamie wanted to administer a lesson to them and other; attack the Barony of Bengal and you will be wiped off the face of the earth. Dark rumors of what had truly befallen the Frisians had begun to sprout up. This action, as he planned it, would add to his fearsome reputation. The barrels of oil were already being unloaded and used to saturate the ground. At various points piles of brush were laid out, similarly soaked. More barrels were hauled up to the cliff tops, there awaiting the signal to be poured down upon the foes below. Small, portable catapults were also hauled up with them; so that flaming fagots of wood could be sent down up the hillmen. All day the troops labor. By nightfall, the job is done. A small guard post is set up at the near end of the pass; so the enemy scouts can find it. The rest of the troops are dispersed spend the next night in the forests. The next morning would see the enemy scouts and then their main body. Jamie now put together a special squad to protect Star. As soon as the mage was defeated, she was to put into the palanquin and taken to the small manor house nearby. It had been deserted, but another squad was making it read to received the weakened baroness with a a soft bed, heavy covers, and hot food. Now they had only to await the foe.

[stardancer]

She made sure to position herself high... so she could watch the pass... Surely the mage would be at the back of the group. She wanted the soldiers, the hillsmen, caught in Jamie's firetrap. She *didnt* want to get herself trapped in that. Her duel with the mage would be farther back along the trail. She waited... watching the scouts, then the troops file down into the pass where the ambush would be sprung. Her Mage Sight was looking, the mage would appear to glow to her..

Finally, she spotted him, at first a malicious red glow upon the horizon. Still she held her attack. She wanted him closer, and wanted the others fully within the scope of Jamie's men. This had to go without a hitch for it to work. She could not afford for any of the enemy fighters to be able to reach her. Those delegated to care for her would have to come the same way she did, overhead.. over the rough hills to her location. Closer... closer... watching the main body of troops in their self assurance. They thought they had the way clear. They would learn very differently.

Finally.. she clearly saw the 'holy man' bedecked in a crimson robe and a large golden symbol around his neck. Perhaps the hillmen thought it a holy symbol, she knew better.. a rune of protection. This fight would not be easy. She slowly gathered power, drawing from the node not far away. When she had formed it as she wanted... she hurled it forward, aiming to strike the medallian.. to destroy his protection that would give him an advantage. As the medal melted and the mage screamed with the pain of the molten metal, the end of the line of troops would turn... Now was Jamie's cue to start his own assualt....

She turned to the mage and faced him fully. He grinned evilly at her, he knew what she was. They stared at each other over the expanse of the path and both began to prepare for the battle of Star's lifetime.

[jamiemacgregor]

Jamie as well as Star saw that the moment to strike now upon them. He gave the signal from high on the ridge where they both stood, apart from each other. He knew that his wife would need her room in order to combat the "holy man" of the hillmen. And his standing next to her would only make him a target as well. Star had her own protections, but they would be stretched thin to cover them both. Here he could concentrate on battling the hillmen while his wife disposed of their mage cum leader. At his signal troops stormed forward from concealed positions to block both ends of the pass. High on both ridges archers deployed and began to loft fire arrows down into the mass of people struggling through the pass. The arrows were not aimed at the hapless hill people, but rather to ignite the oil soaked ground beneath their feet. And they did just that; transforming the pass into a belching holocaust of flame and smoke. And still the arrows rained down igniting more and more of the oil. The heat of the inferno reach even up the ridges high above them. Jamie stood at his post silently, watching the horror which he had created. He was not a squeamish man; no warrior could afford to be that. Yet this horror did not leave him unmoved. Still, he would not let up until every last one of the hill people had been consumed by the flames. And so the burning continued, accompanied by the screams of the dying. Some threw themselves against the wall of spears at either end of the pass, but to no avail. They too received the gift of fire arrows, which only added to their torment. And the hill people continued to die.

[stardancer]

It was as if the mage heard nothing of the screams of his men... perhaps he didnt. He had to have his concentration strictly on his opponant, Star. He sized her up with his Mage Sight and gave an evil grin. He had saved his power.. and he was an Adept.. she was merely a master. His hands lifted to hurl an arcane blast towards her.

Star, however, was prepared for that, and the blast shattered upon a shield she had erected. This would not be easy, but a wise use of energies was just as good, if not better, than a strong use. She flung a small bolt towards him, keeping him concentrating on her... however, more subtly she was maneuvering the earth beneath the mage, putting magics into it, but not triggering them.. not yet.

A strong bolt knocked her back a step, harsh even against the sheilds she had created. One of the bolts managed to penetrate, lashing into her right shoulder. She bit her lip and continued her work, leeching energy from the node to the earth under the mage's feet.

The mage, thinking he had her cowed, continued to pour energy into his attacks, with her keeping only enough shielding to stay safe. Finally, she finished her layering of earth magics, and released them, turning the earth beneath the man to molten rock, hot as a lava flow.

The mage screamed as the ground began to swallow him, the heat literally burning the flesh from him. He could not hold his concentration and the lava finally flowed over the dying screams. She then turned the energies, cooling them to reform the rock. The result was a glasslike black area of about 20 feet in diameter.

Sweat was pouring from her brow and she collapsed where she stood, her work done. Her channels were not burned, but sore, she had expended her energies..and was totally depleated. She lapsed into unconciousness, totally trusting Jamie's men to do as they had been ordered.

[stardancer]

And those men had been trained well. Star was taken to a manor nearby and tended by her loving husband himself who sat at her side, feeding her and making sure she had everything she needed to recover. It would only take a few days before the baroness was back on her feet, and able to travel back home. The pass was closed, never to be reopened and the barony was safe from the depridations of a coveteous mage.