“Ready your gear. Collect your thoughts. Make your peace, and ask your blessings from the Primes.” I looked over the assembled faces one final time. “Join me at the entrance when you are ready, and we will cleanse this evil from the world once and for all.” I snapped to attention and banged my shield against the wooden platform beneath my feet. “Dismissed!”
The assembly burst into action as the men and women prepared for our imminent assault. Some formed teams to lift short segments of spiked barricades, which they carried towards the small, unassuming cave entrance at the base of the mountain beside us. Many dashed to various tents or supply crates to gather one final piece of equipment or to sharpen their weapons one final time. Others knelt down in the snow to offer silent prayers to the Primes and beg for protection.
You should not be here. I watched them from my place of elevation with a growing feeling of sadness in my heart. This is not your fight, and yet, you are here. Had I not been so blind, perhaps I could have prevented this entirely. I could have seen Virram’s scheming with his Council and put an end to it. And yet...I did not. My eyes turned from the camp before me towards the darkness to the west. Had I not been so blind, they would be here beside me. We could have finished this without spilling any more of Kaldan’s blood. Just the three of us.
A loud bang pulled me out of my introspection as two men carrying supply crates collided with one another. The time for regret has passed. Only action remains. I hopped down from the makeshift stage and followed the line of torches that led to the mine entrance. For the main thoroughfare of the most active mine in Kaldan, it was an unassuming thing: a roughhewn wooden frame that supported a tunnel only ten feet in diameter, with a parallel set of iron tracks leading into the darkness. Though it was no different from the darkness of the night around me, I felt a chill sense of foreboding emanating from the inky blackness of the mine.
I scratched again at the back of my neck as the bizarre prickling feeling continued to grow in strength. Do not let your nerves distract you, I thought to myself as I took in a measured breath. I will lead this army to success, or to failure. Their lives rest on my shoulders. Kaldan rests on my shoulders. The idea pressed down on me with a tangible weight, but at least it took my mind off the buzzing at the base of my skull. It ends tonight, one way or another.
“Commander,” a gruff voice called out from behind me. I turned to find an old man in mismatched plate and scale armor standing in a stiff salute. His thick white beard ballooned out from beneath a heavy half helm, covering the worn family crest on his cuirass. “Your support division is ready.”
“Thank you, Gerard,” I nodded, scanning past him to his assembled crew. A small group of soldiers stood around a hefty pile of supplies near the mine entrance. Spiked barricades, oil urns, and heavily reinforced lanterns made up a vast majority of the collected support materials, all packed on pallets and crates strung on improvised slings. “Gather the remainder of my captains and bring them here when they are ready.”
“No need!” a sprightly voice cried. “We are already here and ready to serve, Commander.” The voice belonged to a young man with a sharp, chiseled face, sparkling yellow eyes, and fiery orange hair that fell down past his shoulders. Bryce was no older than twenty, and despite never having participated in anything more than friendly sparring matches, his passion for combat was unmatched. His enthusiasm had brought him forward to volunteer as head of the vanguard for the Shadowmine operation, and although I had my misgivings, his charisma and ability to inspire other men were too invaluable to pass up. “Your vanguard is ready to receive orders.”
“Mining company ready to serve, ma’am, as is the defensive infantry,” said Rex, the former owner of a small mining outfit near the maw and the current leader of the mining division for our assault. He clapped a hand on the shoulder of a tall, spindly girl who stood beside him in heavily padded chainmail. His daughter, Challa, was a fresh-faced recruit to the city guard in Yoria, but she had abandoned her newly appointed post to join in our reclamation efforts.
“Ready to serve, ma’am,” she echoed her father, stamping her tower shield against the ground. A moment later, the noise repeated a dozen times over as her following of defensive infantrymen mimicked the gesture.
I eyed the full assembly one final time. We have come too far to turn back now. I strode towards the entrance of the mine, then turned sharply and raised my shield above my head. “Men and women of Kaldan, we stand upon the precipice of action. Once these fires are lit, there is no turning back. I ask you now, in sight of all the Primes: Will you stand with me tonight?” An impassioned chorus of cheers answered me. Satisfied, I motioned to Gerard at the front of the crowd, and he stepped forward with a flaming torch in each hand. He approached the cave entrance and lowered a torch to a large metal sconce
