VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, [2], 3 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 19:00:02 02/28/00 Mon
Author: Belamore
Subject: The Cliffs of Cree: Day One

The Cliffs of Cree...Day one

Troyellen watched as Jax lowered the last of his archers on top of Mount
Cree. The twenty men scrambled from the fish net rigging as Jax,
tirelessly pranced over to the rainwater pool and drank. He had worked
through the night transporting Troyellens archers and meager supplies
and tools.

"You must rest now-"

"There is no time." Jax ruffled his feathers. "I must return to
Benardo's cabin to pick up Janora; then go on a second errand for the
'king'," he spit the word, king, out in contempt.

"But...but you must remain here to bring down the east and western cliff
sections to close the trap. What is it that Belamore would have you do
that is more urgent?" Troyellen was alarmed.

Jax looked at his mighty talons. "First he has me as a beast of burden
to transport your soldiers. Then I shall be a vehicle to ferry Janora
to retrieve a dragon head." Jax glared at Troyellen. His eyes blazed
with disgust.
"I am a warrior and the 'king' squanders me. The loyalty of a griffin
is beyond reproach. I do as he commands. I shall return in time to do
my duty here as well." With one flap of his mighty wings the griffin
was airborne, flying southwest to the cabin of Benardo.

Troyellen paced, then signaled his captains to his side. "Send ten
runners to the eastern cliff to watch for the approach of the Tancan.
You three, have your men fell yonder trees and cut them into 4 and 5ft
sections, then roll them to the edge of the northern cliffs and space
them at intervals. Captain Swall, take your men and gather rocks about
the size of your head and pile them between the logs along the cliff.
The rest of you prepare positions for all the archers in lots of
twenty-five men and then make more arrows while we wait. Make certain
that we have covered the entire passage from east to wet from vantage
points. We have 20,000 to kill with but 600 archers. Go! Quickly all
of you." Troyellen and his aids walked to the northern cliff
overlooking the five-mile beach-passage below.

Three hundred yards below was the only northern passage from east to
west; the five miles of beach was one mile wide at its widest point
between the face of Mount Cree and the Talorone Sea. The eastern
passage was only 50ft wide from cliff to sea. Troyellen could see that
bringing down the overhanging cliff would indeed seal the entrance. The
western exit was 75ft wide and it too could be sealed by bringing down
the boulders and cliff section there. It was a good plan but not if Jax
couldn't get back before the army passed through. He wondered with
concern that Belamore had perhaps over-estimated the power of the
griffin. The logs and pumpkin sized boulders and hail of arrows would
kill many but too many would get through. We have but to hold the horde
until nightfall. Then the tide would rise to twenty feet and the sea
and the sharks would do the rest. This is the only place to stop them
and it all swings in the balance on the griffin coming back in time,
Troyellen thought and paced some more.

continued...(first of ten installments in the battle of Cree.)

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.