Night Watch I: Eliza, Ward of Andrew

*Andrew’s POV*

Though I was thrilled that my antlers had finally firmed up, I was not happy about the necessary evil that inevitably followed. All Day and Night long, I had to carry around a damned satchel to collect the velvet for the Healers! And it itched like crazy!

Just the idea that my fellow tribesmen were going to eat something that I had shed off made my skin crawl. Though I knew velvet antler had medicinal properties, aiding sore joints, I hated it that the Healers felt the need to expand their intake from actual hoofstock to include me. Still, there was just nothing for it. I’d lost the argument every time, my entire life.

Blasko was sympathetic to the fact that gross shit was peeling off of my head, and that it looked like a bloody massacre, so he let Eliza and I stand guard at the Soul’s shrine, away from most foot traffic. Eliza didn’t seem put off by the velvet peeling, yet another reason she was a truly exceptional woman. Most of the Village ladies would wrinkle their nose whenever they saw me in my current state.

It had been a long while since I’d actually stood guard at the shrine of the Soul of the Forest. I stared into its soft, multicolored glow and thought about how great the task was ahead of us. Well, in between scratching at my antlers with my dagger.

Eliza gently nudged me. “You’re fretting. So tell me again, if you’re going to obsess about it anyway; why will this time be different? Why do you know it will be different?”

I scowled. “They must know that we know they’re coming. To not back off, the force must be formidable. Perhaps the mind behind it is the same as last time, perhaps they will have learned-“

Eliza interrupted me, “-You’re dwelling on the negative. I asked you to tell me why this time will be different.”

I sighed. “The key to their near-success three years ago was their ability to overcome the Wall in stealth and silence the Watchmen in the Tower from raising the alarm. From there, they somehow opened the Gates. The whole attack had some kind of auditory shielding in place that kept the rest of the Village from hearing the conflict at all, only the howlers got through. Parts of the Walls were still made of wood back then, and they were set alight.”

Eliza motioned at me to go on. “The Walls themselves have been reinforced, and are now composed entirely of stone, excepting the Gates themselves. The weakest points are 4 meters thick, with the area surrounding the Soul a solid 6 meters. It should stand up a lot better to trebuchet or catapult fire. The Gates have been strengthened with iron bands, and the studs that hold the wood of the Gates together are now pointed, which should blunt the weapons of any who try to break through.

“On the offensive side, we’ve had several dozen ballistae made to take our range out even further than archery would otherwise allow. The pomery surrounding the Wall has been kept stripped and widened to give a better field of shot and a clearer view of any approaching forces. Now, at even points across the Wall, five additional archer towers have been built and manned. They’re not as fortified as-“

Eliza made a protesting noise. “-Forget that, keep going.”

I sighed. “We’re working on training the Tower howlers to raise an alarm in the presence of trolls, just by their scent. At present, it’s about fifty-fifty if it would work or not.”

I thought a moment. “The crenellation topping the Walls is new and should help offer some protection to any Watchmen defending them from siegecraft. There are several areas of machicolation that would serve as spots to throw stones and boiling liquids on any enemy forces, and we’ve got access to large cauldrons for boiling water or oil. As you’ve noticed before, the stairs have been modified to have stumble steps.” Eliza chuckled. “It’s not due to poor craftsmanship or to be annoying, they’re designed to slow any enemies attempting to run up them”

Eliza snorted. “Well I hope they bloody work, they’re a pain in the arse!”

I thought further on all the work that had been done in the last three years. “We’ve constructed basic abatis at key points around the Walls, especially by the Gates… I argued against the use of tiger pits, I was afraid traders might get hurt whilst passing through, but now I’m starting to doubt my conviction.”

Eliza opened her mouth like she was going to protest my negativity again, so I cut her off. “And in a siege situation, the lake inside the Walls can serve to provide water and fish. Our crops and livestock are all kept inside the Walls now, where it’s safer. All four Watches have managed to regain the membership lost in the last raid, in terms of numbers. Though they’re merely Initiates-“

“-Andy…” She raised her eyebrows at me.

I cleared my throat. “The Conjurers have better organized their plans for a counterstrike if there’s magical aggression, Papa and his Ghouls are in on it. We also have Cedra, who vows the loyalty of her sons, and I believe her. She says she thinks Mairsil may join the battle, perhaps even other creatures if the word spreads. I know we’ve been working on relations with the dryads and meliai for early warning, if not outright assistance in a fight. There are a few diawata that have agreed to aid us in open warfare.

“Lemmy says he can’t call on the aid of other Tribes until we have sight of an enemy army, that an ominous threat isn’t enough. I think that’s hogswash, given that there’s only one Soul, everyone will die without it, but apparently that hardly matters if that’s the way things must be done.”

I paused for a breath. “Umm… we have your Uncle, who’s damned near the size of an ogre. The Berserkers have met and done, uh, whatever it is they do…” I shrugged. “Maybe the pixies will help out? Oh, and Doyle managed to get every male a codpiece!”I demonstrated by grabbing mine, getting a laugh.

Eliza was grinning confidently. “So by the power of our schlongs, any enemy will surely fall!”

I chortled. “Absolutely!”

Eliza spoke thoughtfully, “So, if the enemy is powerful, and has the aid of magicks, what do you think is coming? A siege? Or some kind of raid, like before?”

I chewed my lip as I thought about it. “I dunno. We don’t know what the enemy is capable of. Papa says it’s not possible to ensorcel an entire army inside the Walls, that it’s beyond the capability of any being. But that doesn’t mean wizardry can’t be used to either damage the Walls, or send maybe a few enemy soldiers inside. Perhaps cause some kind of panic in the Village, trying to draw people out? Or use mind control to get to one of us, from the inside? It’s all speculation beyond my understanding.”

Eliza nodded. “Sounds to me like all of this is hardly beyond your understanding, Second Officer.”

I smiled proudly. “Hey, it’s what I do.”

Notes