warmth, and humor made her irresistible.
If they both survived the battle, Kelemvor wondered, would it be different between them, or would there always be some excuse for them not to be together?
Kelemvor heard a shout, and he turned just in time to see Mawser running down the road to his battle station. Kelemvor smiled as he imagined what the Zhentilar would see as they approached from the northeast: As had been the case for the last few miles of their trek, trees would line the right side of the road — with the exception of the small path to Castle Krag. The trees stretched for a little way down the road, then the forest opened onto the town. On the Zhentilar's left, Krag Pool bordered the road for a while. One hundred yards past the pool, also on the left of the road, they would see what appeared to be a clearing. Covering the entire road right in front of the pool was a large barricade, the last major obstacle on the road before Shadowdale.
At least, that's the way it seemed.
Kelemvor could barely contain his excitement as the first Zhentilar appeared on the road.
XV
As the Zhentilar approached the barricade blocking the road at Krag Pool, Bane's archers were sent forward in the ranks. Before the army even tried to cross the ten-foot-tall, twenty-foot-wide wall of stone, dirt, debris, and overturned wagons, the dalesmen would have to be routed from the trees, from where they had harassed the Zhentilar all along the road east of Shadowdale. However, Kelemvor had most of his men positioned far back in the woods, so that the Zhentish archers couldn't strike at them effectively. Only when Bane's troops tried to cross the barricade, when the Zhentilar would be disorganized, would the fighter order a full-scale attack. For now, striking at the enemy with arrows from the trees across from Krag Pool would have to do.
Bane, who was riding in the rear of the line, was furious when the army ground to a halt at the wall. 'Why aren't we simply going over that pile of rock?' Bane screamed as a young officer reported on the situation. 'I want my troops to be in Shadowdale within the hour, so you'd best order them to breach that wall or climb over it.'
The officer was shaking as he said, 'But-but, Lord Bane, the dalesmen are waiting for us to try to cross the barricade before they attack. Our troops will be easy targets for them as we climb over the wall.'
'Then why not go around it?' another officer said.
The Black Lord frowned. 'If we go around it, our forces will have to scatter to make it through the woods. That would be fighting the dalesmen on their own terms.'
The young officer from the front lines stammered for a moment. 'We will lose a large number of men — '
'That's enough!' Bane screamed and lashed out with his gauntleted hand. He struck the officer in the face, knocking him from his horse. As the man staggered to his feet. Bane looked down at him, a cruel grin etched on his face. 'I am your god. My word is law. We will cross the barricade now, in force.'
The officer mounted his horse. 'Yes, Lord Bane.'
'And you will lead the first group over the top,' the Black Lord added. 'Now, you may go.'
The officer turned and headed back to the barricade. At the wall, the archers were showering the trees with arrows, but the dalesmen still refused to show themselves. 'I want a work detail to start breaking up our supply wagons and begin building a ramp so we can cross this damn thing,' the young man screamed when he reached his troops.
Within thirty minutes, the Zhentilar were ready to charge over the barricade. Bane waited anxiously for his men to storm the wall and the killing to begin again. The power of the hundreds of souls Myrkul had channeled to him coursed through his veins, but the God of Strife wanted more. He wanted the power to crush Shadowdale with his own hands, as he could have done before Ao's wrath robbed him of his godhood. He wanted to kill the sage, Elminster, for his meddling ways and because he fought for justice and peace.
But most of all. Bane wanted the Planes.
The Black Lord heard the shouts of his troops as they prepared to charge over the wall, and a chill ran up his spine. Soon, Bane thought. Soon I will have the power of a god again.
At the front, Kelemvor saw that the Zhentilar were ready to cross, so he readied the dalesmen for the attack. If everything went according to Hawksguard's plan, as the first of Bane's troops reached the top of the wall, the archers from Shadowdale would hit as many of the soldiers as possible. The bodies of the men and horses killed by the archers would then slow the troops behind them down, making them even easier targets for the bowmen from the Dales.
Kelemvor and his men would take care of any Zhentish that made it over the wall. The fighter had organized the defenders into small groups, so that as more and more of Bane's troops stormed over the barricade, the dalesmen could fall back in small units and retreat through the woods back toward town.
And as soon as any Zhentilar crossed the wall and were on their way to Shadowdale, Kelemvor would signal the foot soldiers and cavalry that waited to cut the Zhentish troops down. The fighter had no illusions that the dalesmen could hold the Zhentilar back for long, as they were outnumbered by at least three-to-one, but he knew that they could cut those odds down considerably, even before Mawser sprung the trap in the clearing.
Only one hundred yards away, the young Zhentish officer mounted his horse and led his troops onto the barricade. A thick rain of arrows fell from the trees on the north side of the road, killing most of the soldiers before they'd even taken three steps on the wall. The officer made it across with only an arrow shot through his leg and into his horse's flank.
As soon as his horse jumped to the ground on the side of the wall closest to Shadowdale, however, a squad of dalesmen dispatched the Zhentish officer with little trouble. The young man died cursing Lord Bane for his stupidity and arrogance.
The battle at the barricade raged for almost an hour before the Zhentilar got enough troops to the western side of the wall to drive the dalesmen back down the road. Kelemvor ordered a retreat, and the archers and soldiers ran through the forest to their final positions in the woods, just west of the clearing next to Krag Pool.
By this time, Bane was himself at the barricade. As he looked out on the retreating dalesmen and the hundreds of corpses that littered the wall, he smiled. Victory was his; he could feel the stolen power writhing within the frail form of his avatar.
The Black Lord turned and addressed his troops. 'We have passed through the gauntlet our enemies prepared for us and faced the worst they have to offer. I must leave you for a time, to go to the other front. The wizard Sememmon will lead you on to Shadowdale. Your god has spoken.'
A shimmering vortex of light enveloped the Black Lord, then the God of Strife vanished.
Safely hidden in the woods to the west of the clearing, Kelemvor could hardly believe his eyes. He watched as Bane's army moved right into their trap. As the soldiers massed before the clearing, the fighter gave the signal and Mawser set off the trap.
Almost fifty trees suddenly appeared in the clearing next to Krag Pool. Then all of them started to fall toward the road and the Zhentish army.
The city planners had pointed out that the best kind of trap was one you couldn't see, at least until it was too late, so Mourngrym had a work detail cut the trees west of Krag Pool so that they could easily be toppled on troops using the road. Then the trees were linked by strong ropes so that, once a single tree was knocked over, the entire road would be covered by falling timber.
The most difficult task was convincing Elminster to complete the plan. The dalelord pleaded with Elminster to throw one spell, a powerful mass invisibility spell on the trees, so they would be hidden from Bane's troops. The old sage was not happy about being dragged away from his experiments, but he agreed to help after the plan had been explained to him.
'I just hope one of the oaks knocks Bane's avatar on the skull,' Elminster said. Then he threw the spell and headed back to his work.
But after the trap was set, someone had to be found that was brave enough — or foolish enough, depending
