The Black Company in Equestria

Chapters

Chapter 1: Bonesinger
Chapter 2: Tarus
Chapter 3: Undergate
Chapter 4: Contact
Chapter 5: Flight
Chapter 6: Windsoar
Chapter 7: Calm
Chapter 8: Storm
Interlude: First Letter From Princess Celestia to Twilight Sparkle

Chapter 1: Bonesinger

In those days the Black Company was in the service of the Emir of Al-Tarish, one Ali Ahmad bin Tahmid. At least, that was whose picture was on the coins we were paid in. The man we really served was the Emir's Vizier, a round little brown man with no certain name and with all kinds of fun titles like “The Merciless”, “The Cruel”, “The Cunning”, and so forth. I gotta tell you, we all laughed when we found out. That's one of the most overused characters in fairy tales, right? The evil vizier, lurking and plotting to overthrow the good and just emperor, stopped just in time by the hero. I don't know about any heroes, but we've been working for the guy for about a year and a half now, and he's always paid on time and hasn't yet tried to double cross us, which is all you can really hope for from an employer. Our wizards all hate him, but in fairness, there's only a few people they can stand anyway. I think they're just jealous that this guy, without a lick of magical talent, managed to become the most powerful man in this part of the world, while they're stuck taking orders from him like the rest of us grunts.

Wizards, by the way, were what brought us here in the first place. You see, the Empire of Al-Tarish is absolutely lousy with wizards, fakirs, shamans, necromancers, warlocks, and sorcerers. Each one of them is absolutely convinced that with a few hundred soldiers and maybe a mystical whatsit or two, they could transform the Empire from the middling-to-large place it is now into a world-spanning dominion with them at the head. So instead of sitting in their towers and hoarding books like normal wizards, these guys are out digging for artifacts, raising mobs, setting their fellow wizards' towers on fire, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. The Vizier started getting worried, what with all the freelance empire builders running around. He needed someone not afraid of jumping into a wizard brawl and busting heads. Enter the Black Company. As always seems to be the case, we rolled up just in the nick of time. The Vizier plunked down some gold, signed everything we put in front of him, and just like that, he got himself the services of the Black Company: ass-kickers, name-takers, and all around badasses.

Fighting wizards isn't as exciting as it sounds. To a man, they're paranoid, suspicious little buggers. Some of them got out as soon as they heard who they'd be facing, which gave us a little extra swagger in our step but didn't actually help us considering they'd rather sit on the sidelines and watch than join our side. Most of the rest elected to bunker down in their towers and hope they were too hard for us to crack. Tough luck for them, seeing as the Company has eight centuries of siege experience to draw on. When you've cracked places like the Tower of Torments, the Jade Fortress, and the Gray Mountain, a few spells and ten feet of limestone are more of an intellectual exercise than an actual obstacle. Our wizards seemed to think so, seeing as they made us use a different technique on each place. My favorite has to be what we did to a little out of the way place whose local name is about ten syllables too long but translates to something like Running-Waters-Flow-Sweetly. We camped around it and put up standard defenses while our wizards went off a few miles and spend two days rerouting the aquifer running under the place. Then they hiked back and we all stood around and watched the place collapse into a sinkhole.

It was the ones that didn't give up or go to ground that really made us earn our pay. We brought them down one by one, but it cost us. They started getting desperate, which makes a wizard twice as dangerous. Things like 'common sense' and 'basic precautions' start getting thrown out, and things like 'demons' and 'stitched-together abominations' start coming in. We're the Black Company. They wouldn't have hired us if it was easy. They get mean and desperate, we get sneaky. Show me a desperate wizard and I'll show you a wizard who's making mistakes. Mistakes in tactics that we can take apart. Mistakes in spellcraft that our wizards can unravel and use against him. Matim ibn Bukkaresh self-immolated when a spell backfired on him, courtesy of our own wizards. The badly named Samthed the Blessed was gutted and crucified by his own starving men. Rides-With-Power died from handling his favorite staff, which we had lovingly coated in poison. Vaijbur was killed when his flying steed was shot down by Company ballistae. So it went. Finally we were down to the last stubborn holdout, a particularly talented and wary fellow who went by the name of Grayborn. Local intelligence placed his base of operations in the Tarus Mountains, a small but rugged range that backed right up to the Gulf of Hedjaz. Of course, anyone who trusts local intelligence deserves to be killed, stuffed, and mounted as a warning to fools, which is why the company wizards were dispatched to sniff things out. And of course such things need to be recorded, which is why I found myself packed onto a crowded ferry with eight other Company brothers, holding onto a rope like grim death and praying the ancient tub would make port before it capsized or just fell apart. A port, mind you, that was probably a major base of operations for the sneakiest, nastiest, most desperate wizard in the region.

Note to self: learn to delegate.

We made port just fine. It was a filthy, crowded, busy little place called Dewar, although that was just the name the Al-Tarish put down on their maps. The natives had their own unpronounceable name for it, but they didn't have maps or a written language to put on them. The eight of us eased in and set up shop in a big rambling tavern that backed up to a warehouse. The locals weren't exactly welcoming, but money has no provenance as they say. We stashed our gear and headed out to ask a few questions. What we found was plenty of people willing to spill what they knew for a few silver, but not much to tell. All we dug up was the name of Grayborn's number two: Bonesinger. Apparently he visited Dewar fairly regularly, mainly to enlist any mercenaries, thugs, or pirates willing to hire on. If the various accounts could be believed, Grayborn had himself quite the little army hidden away. As for Grayborn himself, there wasn't the slightest trace. Bonesinger showed up, bought some supplies, hired some thugs, and headed away north towards the mountains. He never stayed very long, and he never raised a fuss. Bonesinger didn't seem to operate on a set schedule, but he did show up every time there was a convoy from Phut, a rich little kingdom across the Gulf. And they did run on a set schedule. Combining our vast intellects, we decided that waiting a few weeks for the convoy to show would be the best time to lay hands on Bonesinger.

“Convoy's due in tomorrow.” Egg reported. He flopped down on his cot, wiping sweat from his great shiny head. I've seen a fair few men in my time with the Company, and Egg is the biggest, blackest one I've ever seen. The Annals say that there was a time when the Company was all men like Egg. Now there's only a few. Most of the Brothers are brown, like Jackal, Marsuf, and Flick, or pale, like Jacky Boy, Lamb, Priest, and myself.

The rest of us were sprawled around the low room. Flick, Priest, and Marsuf were playing Tonk. Jacky Boy and Lamb, under Jackal's direction, were putting the finishing touches on some tricky little devices that Jackal promised would incapacitate our prize without killing him. I was camped out by the window, watching the ebb and flow of traffic in the street beneath us. I liked doing that. If you watched long enough you started to see patterns in the traffic. Then you started seeing people standing out of the patterns because they were acting differently. It is a talent not entirely devoid of practical application. All but the most gifted assassins have tells that an observer can spot. Just because they're in the crowd doesn't mean they're part of it. Jackal backs me up on this. He says that when sneaking up on a dangerous target, its best to not even think about them. Let your thoughts drift or focus them elsewhere, he said, because people can sense focused intent.

“Marus!” Flick's voice jarred me out of my reverie. “You wanna go over the plan or just stare out the window all day?”

“Sorry.” I muttered, taking my place at the low, rickety table. The others were gathered around, watching Jackal lay out his thaumaturgic arsenal. I eyed the four metal cylinders neatly lined up in the center of the table. “Those are what's going to get us Bonesinger?”

“Correct.” Jackal said, preening like a strutting rooster. He loved showing off. “It is unknown whether Bonesinger possesses any Talent, thus we proceed assuming the worst. Once he is located, we deploy these, incapacitating Bonesinger and any guards he may have. We dispatch the guards, collect him and bring him back to the safehouse for interrogation.”

“Sounds easy.” Priest grunted. “How do they work?”

Jackal grinned his toothy grin. “Like so.” He whipped a fifth canister out of his sleeve like a conjuring trick, slammed his palm into the thing's convex top, and tossed it on the table. We stared at the thing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him cover his ears and duck down.

Marsuf saw it too. “Oh shi-”

Explosion. Blinding white light, like staring into a blast furnace. My ears rang with the concussion. I was disoriented and blinded for a few moments. When I came to, I was lying on the floor and Jackal was laughing his namesake's hysterical laugh.

“Damn you, Jackal.” I groaned, trying to sit up. My head felt like it was going to split open from the inside and my ears were ringing.

“How do you feel?” he choked out between laughs.

“Come over here, you bastard, and I'll show you what it feels like.”

Egg and Priest rushed Jackal, tried to pin him to the wall. He slipped and dodged, still giggling hysterically.

“They work! They work perfectly!” he cackled.

“Bloody fucking hell they work.” Jacky Boy was trying to blink the spots out of his eyes. “So why in blazes did you have to go and test them on us, you shit?”

“Had to experience the effect first haiieeeee-” Egg and Priest finally got their hands of Jackal and all three went down in a pile of flailing limbs.

“Enough!” Lamb dispassionately kicked Egg in the back of the head. “You've had your fun, Jackal. All of you get up. Now, how exactly are we going to do this?”

Jackal dusted himself off, re-seated himself. “As I was saying, we hit Bonesinger hard and fast, before he can react to defend himself. I should be able to negate any spells he has up. You see, the beauty of these little things-” Lamb slapped his hand away as he reached for another of the cylinders, “-is that they will not set off any of the normal defensive spells keyed to the protection of one's person, should I somehow miss one. They are not, strictly speaking, a threat to one's safety.”

“Could've fooled me.” Priest grumbled.

“Usually do.” Jackal smirked. “Now, as to the where.” He looked around the circle, his grin getting wider. I got an uneasy feeling in my gut. When Jackal improvises, things get messy.

“The original plan called for us to ambush Bonesinger in the bazaar. While it is a natural choke point, I felt that there were too many factors beyond our control. The crowds. Guards. Too many exits. So, we hit him at the gate.”

And there it was.

“How exactly is this better than the bazaar?” I objected. “This place may be a backwater shithole, but it has a wall, with guards on it and everything. I don't fancy nabbing Grayborn's number two while some yokels plink at us.”

Jackal's smirk got wider. “Well, as the resident master of all things arcane-”

“Only because Flint's not here.”

“As the wizard who's going to save your sorry asses, I've pulled some strings.”

That got Lamb's attention. “Do tell.”

“Well, the details aren't important, but I've managed to ensure that the guards at the gate tomorrow will be looking the other way while we snare our prize.”

“Jackal. Will this come back to bite us?”

“No no, we are under obligation to no one. I merely provided a few services in exchange for the guard's blindness.”

“Good. Let's go over the equipment before we turn in. I want everyone to know how these work in case the worst happens.”

“Tonk!” Flick triumphantly flipped his last card down on the table, raked in his winnings. The rest of us groaned. This was the third hand in a row he'd won. Flick took his time stacking his coins while Marsuf vengefully cut the cards.

“I swear, that happens again and I'm holding you down and beating that good luck right out of you.” Jacky Boy grumbled. He took pride in his reputation as a card shark. Losing was hard on his ego.

“Try it and I'll be recording your passing in the Annals.” I said as I gathered up my cards. Flick might get on your nerves, but he was hell with a knife. I studied my cards. Two tens, two eights, and a seven. I glanced around at the others. This hand was looking good. Jacky Boy snapped up the discard, dropped a jack. I pulled the top card, a three, and drop my seven. Flick grabbed my seven, laid a run down, seven-eight-nine. Marsuf laid down a run of his own, dropped a queen, was down to one card and a grin. Jacky Boy was staring hard at his cards when Egg's shadow fell across the table. “Sergeant says Bonesinger's coming. Get ready.”

We abandoned our game, hurried out of the tavern into the street. I fell in with Egg and Priest. We were the rearguard, the stopper in the bottle. I noticed Egg had his massive ironwood club strapped to his back. It is the only remnant of his former life before he joined the Company. He never talked about it, but I suspected that hunk of wood had all kinds of sentimental value to Egg.

Besides Egg's giant toothpick, we were all kitted out with assorted hardware. Egg was a walking armory, with his club, a sword hanging from one hip and a long knife stuck through his belt, plus a few short javelins. I had my sword and crossbow, plus one of Jackal's cylinders tucked safely away inside my shirt. Priest had his sword and crossbow, plus about five knives hidden away. Despite all the gear, we didn't draw many glances. Dewar was a rough place, the only people unarmed were fools and slaves.

We sauntered the short way to the gate, tucked ourselves into a niche beside the arch and tried to look inconspicuous. I spotted the others as they drifted into position a few dozen yards down the street. Flick, our best shot, was up on the porch of a tavern, seemingly deep in his cups. Lamb, Jacky Boy, and Marsuf were haggling with a street vendor. Jackal was out of sight, probably grinning ear to ear.

We waited. I got the rush like I always do before a fight, the cold shakiness that dried out my mouth and dampened my palms. I pushed it back like I always did, fell back on my training. Training won't desert you. Neither will your brothers. I looked over at Egg. He was as steady as a statue. He gave me a tiny nod, went back to watching the gate.

My back was to the gateway, so I didn't see Bonesinger ride in. Pros that we are, Egg and Priest didn't even glance over as he rode past. I did. Bonesinger and his men didn't look any different from a normal band of camel-riding nomads, with the exception of the big ol' skull that Bonesinger was wearing like a hat. Looked long and toothy. There was a clear ringing sound, like a bronze bell being tapped next to my ear. I yanked out my cylinder, slapped the top in, and tossed it into the cluster of targets. I was careful not to put too much arm into the throw, Jackal warned us about overshooting and hitting each other. I was just a hair quicker on the draw than Lamb and Marsuf: I caught a glimpse of their canisters arcing in as I ducked away and covered my ears. For two heartbeats there was nothing but a startled shout from someone in Bonesinger's group. Then the thunder hit me like a solid thing. Even behind my clenched eyelids I caught an edge of the flare behind me.

Flick had already shot down one man by the time I rushed in. Priest emptied another saddle with his own bow. Egg charged in with his club. I swear by the Annals I saw him shoulder check a camel. The others waded in from the other side. We had more trouble with the camels than the men. Lamb cut down Bonesinger's camel, Jacky Boy jumped him on the way down. Marsuf ripped the skull hat off and bopped him in the back of the head. The three of them hustled him off into an alleyway while the rest of us finished off Bonesinger's men. It only took a few moments. No one pursued us.

We regrouped in our new hideout, a ramshackle building on the edge of the city. Jackal was waiting when we marched in, dragging our prisoner with us.

“Thanks for the help, oh mighty wizard.” Jacky Boy grumbled as he and Marsuf unceremoniously deposited Bonesinger at Jackal's feet. “Gods forbid you help us out here.”

Jackal grinned. “Lest you forget, I made the canisters.” He squatted down, started searching the prisoner. “Besides, this man possesses not the slightest shred of Talent.” He sounded vaguely disappointed. “I did not see the need to reveal myself unnecessarily. Although, judging by the state of this man, I'm sure I could have done better alone.”

Victory rendered us immune to Jackal's carping. We hunkered down, tended to our duties while Jackal and Lamb went over Bonesinger. After being searched, he was bound, gagged, and tossed in a corner to wake up. Jackal tried teasing a few answers out while the man was still unconscious, but apparently had little success. He contented himself with firing off a message to the Captain to apprise him of our progress. Priest checked the men. Beyond a few scratches and bruises, everyone came out unharmed. I jotted some notes and kept watch on our prisoner. Jacky Boy, Marsuf, and Flick resumed their interrupted card game. Egg disappeared upstairs to keep watch.

Bonesinger finally woke up late in the evening. We stayed out of the way, let Jackal and Lamb work on him. Lamb asked the questions. Jackal provided the incentive to answer them. When they were finished, they tossed him back in the corner. I sidled over. “So? What'd you find out?”

“Everything.” Jackal looked smug. “I'll contact headquarters, let them know the good news.” He headed off to make contact with his mystical pals.

Lamb looked pissed, but then again he generally does. I started in with the questions.

“Good and bad,” he said. “Good because we know where Grayborn is. Bad because getting to him is going to be the mother of all bitches.”

The other guys perked up. “He's in the mountains, isn't he?” Priest asked.

“Looks like it.”

“Tunnels?” Priest was hopeful.

“Like an anthill.”

Priest grinned, held out a hand to Jacky Boy and Marsuf. “Pay up, you bastards.”

“I assume he's got an army in there?”

Lamb nodded. “That's the strange thing. Everyone we've asked tells us you can't grow crap in the mountains. Our boy Bonehead here hasn't been buying food, just weapons, equipment, and men when he can get 'em.”

I started to understand. “So how is he feeding his army?”

“Exactly. Now either he's got enough mojo to conjure up an army's worth of food every day-”

“Can't be done!” Jackal shouted from his pallet.

“-or he's sneaking in supplies some other way.”

“We checked that.” I objected. “The whole reason we're here is because Bonesinger's trips are the only contact between Grayborn and the outside world.”

Lamb had a weird look on his face. He put an arm around my shoulders, pulled me away from the others. “Here's where the 'other way' gets strange. Bonesinger kept going on about a door. Some kind of doorway to another place.”

Uh oh. Doorways to other places are mentioned in the Annals. When the Company encounters them, its because something bad is coming out or going in.

“What exactly. Do we know. About this door.” This was for my own peace of mind as much as it was for the Annals.

“Not a hell of a lot. Our boy here was under some kind of spell when it came to the door. He's been through and back, but he couldn't tell us what's on the other side or where the door is in the mountains.”

“Wait, he went through?”

“Several times. And not just him, seems like Grayborn keeps most of his army on the other side.”

“That's a new one.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Doorways are temporary. Wizards open them to summon demons and the like, they don't keep them open and then walk through.”

Lamb shrugged. “This one did. Sounds like he liked what he found on the other side too. I'd bet a month's pay that he's feeding his army from the other side.” He grinned at my expression. “Cheer up, Marus. We found something new for your Annals.” He moved off to stand over Jackal until the wizard came back from his trance.

I drifted back to the card game, got dealt in. My mind wasn't on the game though. I kept glancing over at Bonesinger lying against the wall. He looked ordinary. He didn't look like a man who'd been through a doorway to another place, maybe another world. I wished he could talk about what he saw. If Grayborn was feeding and housing his army there, it couldn't be too inhospitable or alien. Whatever it was, it was probably a regular land of milk and honey compared to where we were now. A year and a half in the desert could make a man long for something as simple as trees that actually give shade, water that wasn't bitter or sandy. Maybe the other place was a lush garden with fruit and grass and water everywhere.

Sure, and maybe it was a magical land of friendship and happiness and rainbows.

I shrugged fatalistically. One way or another, we'd know for ourselves soon enough.

Chapter 2: Tarus

Our marching orders came the next morning. We were ordered to regroup with the Company at Wadi-al-Suf, a scrubby little oasis just east of the mountains. We were ordered to be quick about it. Grayborn had started launching raids targeting wells and other water sources. Either he knew we were moving in, or he just decided to take out some frustration on the locals.

We rounded up our gear in record time. Jackal went over Bonesinger one last time, but got nothing new about Grayborn's forces or the mysterious doorway. Marsuf and Jacky Boy drew the short straws, so they got the privilege of disposing of him after the wizard was done. The last I saw of Bonesinger before I hustled out the door was his strangled corpse going into a sack as his two killers argued over dumping him in an alley versus lugging him down to the river.

“Move fast and keep off the main road.” Jackal relayed the Captain's orders as our camels jogged out of Dewar. “The Company has not met any resistance, but our scouts reported increasing numbers of Grayborn's men being sighted. Looks like he's falling back on scorched earth tactics.”

“Hard to scorch this place any harder.” Priest snarked.

“Try living here without three wizards and the Vizier's supplies keeping you alive.” I said. “Out here, water is the difference between life and death for these people.”

Priest sneered. “Don't look much like livin' to me. Farmin' sand just so some inbred idiot can take anything you grow.”

“They'll probably live longer than you.” I countered.

“There's a difference between just being alive and living.” Priest tapped the pommel of his sword and grinned. “This is living.”

“I'll be sure and record that jewel of an aphorism for the Annals.” I held up imaginary paper and pen, pantomimed writing. “Dear Annals, today Priest spoke words of wisdom too precious for our mortal ears. I record them here lest they be forgotten and our world be made—hey!”

Priest slung a feed bag at my face, kicked his camel into a clumsy trot to avoid return fire. I gave chase until Lamb sternly suggested we desist or walk.

Jacky Boy and Marsuf caught up with us a few miles out of town. We had reached the top of the low ridge that separated the lowlands near the ocean from the raw desert. Jackal was off his camel, sniffing around.

“Well?” Lamb asked impatiently. He had his orders.

“All taken care of, Sergeant.” Marsuf said. He looked down at Jackal, who was running his fingers through the road dust. “Did we lose something?”

“Some men passed this way not too long ago.” Jackal proclaimed, dusting himself off. “They were riding hard for the north.”

“Grayborn's?”

“Not an unwise assumption. I believe they may have been looking for Bonesinger.”

Jacky Boy giggled. Lamb ignored him. “Are they still in the area?”

“Can't say for sure.” Jackal adopted his 'Don't bother me, I'm communing with spirits' look.

“We ride on.” Lamb decided. “Jackal, would you kindly let us know if they try to jump our asses? Everyone else, bows where you can reach them.”

They ambushed us about ten miles down the road. We were riding across a wide, utterly flat expanse of hardpan that might have once been a lake. The road snaked across it, aiming for the mountains dimly seen along the horizon. As we neared the northern end of the flats, the road zigzagged up a steep incline, then vanished into a canyon between the crumbling cliff walls that marked the shoreline of the ancient lake. We were within fifty yards of the cliffs when Jackal yipped and flung out a hand. An orange cloud boiled up from the cliff top to one side of the canyon. Arrows arced out in response. “Back!” Lamb shouted. We yanked our camels' heads around, loped out of arrowshot.

“Found your riders, Jackal.” Jacky Boy stated the obvious.

“I spotted eight men, Sergeant.” Egg said.

“Probably more than that. Jackal?”

The wizard screwed up his face, concentrated for a few moments. “A dozen, maybe two. I can't be more accurate than that.”

Lamb stared at the reddish cliffs blocking our path. “So. They've got us outnumbered. And they have the high ground. He glanced up at the sky, back to the cliffs. “We can't do anything in the daylight. Let's bunker down.”

We set up camp just out of bowshot. With the sun baking the desert hardpan, we had little inclination to do anything besides sit in our makeshift tents and wait it out. Tonk occupied most of our time, except for Lamb and Jackal, who put their heads together to hash out a plan. Flick took bets over how many men were waiting for us on the cliffs. The odds settled on fifteen.

I played Tonk most of the day with Egg, Jacky Boy, and Marsuf. We played with a kind of grim intensity, trying to keep our minds off our own discomfort. The sun baked this place like a giant griddle, and the still air offered no respite from the suffocating heat. We drank sparingly from our water skins and consoled ourselves with the thought that our enemies were suffering even greater torment atop their cliff. Well, except for Priest, who wagered that Grayborn's men had already left.

The sun finally set. Lamb briefed us on the plan. We checked weapons, tested equipment, and waited. The darkness had deepened to a nice inky black before we finally set out. Jackal laid on a few spells to further hide us from the enemy. Another spell did something to our eyes. The night brightened to a sullen twilight. We pushed forward, reaching the cliff wall without incident. Everyone strained their ears for the slightest sound, but the cliff was as silent as the dead plain behind us. We entered the narrow, debris-strewn canyon. About thirty yards from the entrance, Egg spotted the path to the cliff top. Not much more than a tiny wash cut out by the rare rainstorm, but still better than trusting to a rope and a whole lot of luck. We squeezed up it single file and prayed Jackal's spells held. A minute or two of silent, frantic scrambling up the slot, and we reached the cliff top. Egg was on point. He flashed a hand signal, we froze in place while he ever so slowly eased up to peek over the top. Satisfied with what he saw, he waved us up. We silently filed up, spreading out and facing the cliff edge. Hand signals flashed back and forth as we began to spot men lying along the top of the cliff. When Lamb was satisfied that we're all in position, he waved us forward. We rolled them up from behind with no trouble or noise. Jackal's sound deadening spells rolled forward with us, blanketing the area. When it was over we regrouped. Jackal pointed to the opposite side of the canyon, held up six fingers. We moved across, repeated the trick. This time there was two of them watching the trail up to the top. It did them no good. Jackal's sorcerous fingers closed around their eyes before we shot them down. We took care of the rest, caught our breath, relaxed. Lamb sent Marsuf and Flick back for our camels and equipment. He and I searched the plateau for our enemies' camp while the others went over the bodies. We had to stop and scrounge up torches halfway through because Jackal let his spells drop. Lazy bastard. We finally uncovered their camp down in another gully when I spooked one of their camels tied there. We went over the hastily made camp. I found food and water, spare equipment, and a few personal odds and ends of the kind carried by men like us. Crudely made personal talismans, a ceremonial weapon, and a battle trophy or two. Nothing special caught my eye, but more importantly, there was nothing to say these men were Grayborn's. Lamb didn't find anything worth noting either. Five minutes later we were back in the saddle, headed north.

I was riding shoeless, trying to knock the last of the canyon grit out of my boots, when Jacky Boy pulled up alongside me.

“Hey Marus, the Annals have a lot of of information on different places, right? I mean, even places the Company's never been?”

“That would be fair to say, yes.”

“Well do you know of a place a coin like this could have come from?” He passed me the coin in question.

Ignoring his consideration of the Annals as no more than a pawnbroker's guide, I held the coin up to the moonlight. On one side was what appeared to be a crescent moon. The mark on the other side was a bit more stylized, but I hazarded a guess that it was supposed to be the sun. Beneath each image was stamped 'One Bit'. I frowned at it. I've handled the coinage of hundreds of nations in my time with the Company, but I'd never seen a coin like this.

I handed it back to Jacky Boy. “Where'd you find this?”

“On one of the guys we scragged back on the cliffs.”

I might have guessed.

“Did he have anything else unusual on him?”

“Nah, just this.”

“Hmm. Well it's obviously gold, but I've got no idea where it might have come from. Hang onto it in any case. With luck, we might find more like it.”

Jacky Boy grinned and kicked his camel into a trot. “Thanks, Marus.”

Two days of hard riding later, we rejoined the Company without further incident. Several times we saw bands of men in the distance that could have been Grayborn's, but as they always disappeared after we saw them, there was no way to be sure. We were picked up by Company outriders a mile or two out from Wadi-al-Suf. They swapped us fresh mounts and told us to hurry. The Captain had already been apprised of our success thanks to Jackal, but he wanted the details too.

“...we rolled up each side from behind under cover of the spells, killed everyone we found, and searched the area. We didn't find anything unusual, though. We headed out, rode hard, met our scouts two days later, and here we are.”

The Captain sat behind the table, pondering Lamb's summary. “You say there was no way to verify the allegiance of your attackers?” he asked quietly.

“Yes sir.”

The Captain nodded. “The men were likely his. Grayborn wields enormous power in this region.” He leaned forward, steepling his fingers together. “You men did well. Return to your unit and get some rest. Not you, Marus.” he caught me as I turned to leave. “I want you to check the Annals, find out everything you can about gates. I want to know what we're dealing with, and I want to know if Grayborn has overreached himself.”

He raised a hand, dismissing me. The Lieutenants waiting in the wings took it as their cue to swoop back in. Exercising my Annalistic privileges, I hung around and listened.

The Lieutenants were talking shop, using the map spread across the table to plot their strategies. Lieutenant Altan jabbed at the map, slashing his finger across and over the mountains. He wanted the Company moving now, smashing through Grayborn's forces, going straight for the throat. Altan is the Black Company's hothead. The years have tempered the rashness out of him, but he retained his enthusiasm for breaking the enemy here and now, damn the consequences and damn the cowards. Livius stepped in to argue his plan. His finger traced a semicircle around the mountains, tapped passes and likely choke points. Livius is Altan's tactical opposite. Meticulous and patient, he uses the Company to grind the enemy down with steady, relentless pressure. Now Viorel had the Captain's attention. He wanted the Company's siege engines brought up and tied into a series of forts along the mountain range. The Company could strike at will from their safety, while Grayborn would have to scramble to defend each point. I walked out when Albus took the floor. The oldest of the Lieutenants, he drew on a lifetime of experience to create traps which could destroy whole armies. He just liked taking his time laying them out.

So it went. For as long as I've been a brother of the Company, the four Lieutenants have argued, plotted, planned, and given their advice. The Captain passed judgment, picked and chose elements from one or another of their strategies to use. His word is final. Once the Captain gave his orders, the Lieutenants took their places in the battle plan like every other brother. This arrangement gave us a breadth of strategy from the Lieutenants while the Captain kept us focused on our goal. It hasn't always been this way with the Company leadership, and I doubt it will always be so. But it works for us.

I toured the camp before looking for my squad. Judging by the commotion outside the east gate, we'd gotten more reinforcements from the locals. Opportunistic raiders to a man, the Captain would feed them to Grayborn the first chance he got. Gets them out of our hair before they start stealing Company supplies. Who knows, they might even take a few enemies down with them.

Elsewhere, the camp was quiet. I found my own squad sitting around their fire – temperatures dropped fast around here once the sun set. I dug some rations out of my pack and made a meal of it. The others had already eaten and were bedding down. I tried to write down a few passages in the Annals, but didn't get too far. My last good night's sleep was two days ago, and I was asleep within minutes of crawling into my bedroll.

I was up bright and early the next morning, digging through the Annals for any clue as to the origin and abilities of the gate. The Annals were housed next to Company headquarters, so I caught some of the comings and goings as the Lieutenants and sergeants scurried around. Apparently Grayborn had launched more probing attacks out of the mountains. We were using the native auxiliaries to turn them back while the Company advanced. All strictly standard procedure. I spent most of the day going through the Annals, but apart from the Shadowgates documented in the Books of Sleepy and Croaker, I couldn't find any references to gates, let alone anything like what we had here. That was probably a bad thing. I hunted down Jackal at the armory to ask his opinion.

“I didn't have the slightest damn clue back in Dewar, Marus, what the hell makes you think I've had an epiphany since then?”

“Just trying to be thorough.” I tried playing to his pride. “I know you're kind of a genius when it comes to magic artifacts, so I-”

“I. Don't. Know.” he growled. “Go bother Chains or Flint, I've got work to do.” He went back to tapping the racked weapons with a little black cylinder, refreshing their enchantments. I left.

I presented my findings, or lack thereof, to the Captain. He nodded his thanks and suggested I find myself something to do.

“That,” said Flick with the judicious solemnity of a vintner sipping a rare year, “is a big damn pile of rocks.”

The big damn rock pile in question was a tall craggy spur that stood out a little ways from the main mountain range. Myself, my squad, and a bunch of Company brothers were hunkered down in a dry wash not a hundred yards from the nearest outcropping. Our orders were to take the peak for two reasons: first, to serve as an observation post and jumping off point to the next peak, and second, to test Grayborn's strength. With luck, Grayborn wouldn't be very attached to this particular big damn pile of rocks.

“Eighteen.”

“Ha, fifteen!”

“Damn it, you did that on purpose.”

“Hope you're luckier at fighting than at cards, Priest.”

“If I was any unluckier, I'd keel over dead right now.”

“I hope not, you owe me twenty dinar.”

“And you owe me eight, so what's your point?”

“Hey, fifty says I can sneak over there and grab a kill before anyone notices.”

“I will give you one hundred for a live prisoner.”

“Done!”

“Jacky Boy, sit down and stop being stupid. Egg, stop encouraging him.”

“Awww.”

“Heads up, there's the Lieutenant.”

“Alright, put the cards away. Everyone stand to.”

On the Lieutenant's signal we rushed the hill. We got a few dozen yards before we were spotted. Arrows zipped out and fell well short. Whatever strengths Grayborn's men may have had, fire discipline was not one of them.

“Heads up!” someone behind me shouted.

I spared a glance upward and almost tripped over my own feet in shock. Three huge boulders were levitating in midair over the hill's peak. I noticed a faint orange aura surrounding them. They accelerated out in short arcs to slam into our advancing lines.

“Grayborn!” Priest yelled.

Damn.

We pushed through the hail of arrows and boulders and reached the base of the hill. With some brothers providing covering fire from the base, we cut our way up the hill. Grayborn's aim got more erratic as we closed in on the summit. My squad was one of the first to reach the top. When we reached the rim, we discovered the top of the hill was carved into a shallow bowl, which was teeming with enemies. In the center I spotted the man himself, Grayborn. A gaunt looking man in gray robes, he held a long staff or spear of some kind. As I watched, the head glowed with an orange aura, lifting another boulder into the sky. It zipped away, narrowly missing the edge and vanishing over the side.

It's a long shot from where we were to Grayborn, but we're not going to stand by and watch him lob rocks at our brothers.

“Flick!”

“On it.” He took a knee, breathed in, out. The crossbow tunked as the bolt zipped away. It flew straight and true, catching Grayborn in the side. He staggered. There was an orange flash as a prepped spell went awry, scorching nearby defenders. We all had our bows out now, peppering the scrambling figures below us. Grayborn was down on one knee, clawing at the bolt. His bodyguard closed in around him, shields out. The roar of battle began to spill over all sides of the rim. Too late, the nearest group of enemies rushed us. We cut down some and drove the rest back the way they came. We shot down more as they fled. Lamb gave the order to hold position. The enemy had nowhere to run. Black-clad Company brothers were swarming over the lip of the basin on all sides. Just like that, their fortress had turned into a death trap. The mass of enemies surged back and forth, looking for a way to escape. I lost sight of Grayborn. A few of his lieutenants who distinguished themselves by attempting to restore order were shot down by Company snipers.

We thinned the enemy's ranks by a fair amount before discipline was restored. Grayborn's men turtled up, although they were hampered by a lack of shields. Some men used camp supplies, harnesses, or even the pincushioned bodies of comrades. We pounded away at them as they crept towards the far rim of the crater. The brothers on the far side locked shields and prepared to meet them. The Lieutenant appeared on the rim nearby. He signaled a general advance.

We were advancing through the remains of the enemy camp when there was a tremendous orange flash and pop from the middle of the enemy ranks. Just like that, the middle two-thirds of the enemy had vanished, leaving a ring of very confused warriors behind.

“Hold!” the Lieutenant bellowed. We grounded shields, weapons ready.

“The hell was that?” Jacky Boy hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

“Dangerous magic.” Egg whispered. “Grayborn is more powerful than we thought.”

Grayborn's losses from that battle were serious but not crippling, due to him teleporting most of his warriors to safety at the last moment. We suffered few casualties ourselves. Most of the men we lost were crushed by the levitating boulders or shot down by Greyborn's archers.

We took a few prisoners. Mostly for form's sake: no one expected to get anything useful out of them, but there was always that chance. Still, we got some information about the position and layout of Grayborn's tunnels in the area. Solid intelligence, but still no clue as to the nature of Grayborn's increasingly spectacular powers. Interestingly enough, the prisoners we interrogated all insisted that Greyborn had never displayed an ability to teleport before. Either he was playing things close to the chest, or such a spell strained the limits of his power. A few of the levitating boulders that landed intact were examined as well. We found no obvious arcane markings on them, but with our wizards deployed farther north with the main force, the stones could have been housed the spirits of dead gods for all we knew.

“Teleportation! He's just straight up teleporting like its nothing! I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that one of those things that's considered impossible? That and throwing giant rocks with your mind. But hey, its not like he could have any other tricks up his sleeve. Surprise, he's secretly a demon!”

“Priest is right.” Marsuf admitted. “The more we learn about this man, the more secrets he reveals.”

“Its serious, but not the end of the world,” I said. “Now that we know what he can do, we can guard against it. And even Grayborn's power has limits. Did you see the huge orange flash when he teleported? That would be a dead giveaway in the dark like this.”

It was the night after we took the hill. Most of our company occupied the crater on top, with the rest positioned along each flank, waiting to spring on any potential ambushers. We were lying in the dark, as any fires in the crater would have silhouetted our sentries for enemy snipers. The thought that, barring sorcerous teleportation, an enemy attack wouldn't include Grayborn was some consolation. Off to the north we could see the flash and glow of dueling magics. I hoped our wizards were giving him hell.

“Did you see his staff?” Flick was asking. “Right before I shot him, he levitated a rock. The rock had the weird orange glow, but the head of his staff did too.”

“Maybe that means we're dealing with an artifact.” Priest guessed.

“Don't see how that makes things better.” Jacky Boy grumbled. “He's still got the magic and we're still the ones he's using it on.”

“Yeah, but if its an artifact, then the object has the power. It means he's not some freakishly powerful wizard, he just got lucky and found the thing.”

“Speculation means nothing.” Egg pronounced. “It does not matter from where he draws his power. We will hunt him down and kill him all the same.”

“Hell yeah we will.” Jacky Boy agreed.

“I wonder,” Priest said slowly. “if Grayborn even knows where his power comes from.”

“Probably a demon. Or a child. Demon child.”

“Uhh, what?”

I chuckled. “Its just a joke. Try to get some sleep before Grayborn pops in and kills us all.”

As if on cue, one of the Lieutenant's aides materialized out of the darkness. “Sergeant Lamb, get your men to the perimeter. You'll be relieving Cragger's squad on the north wall.”

“Sir.” Lamb got to his feet as the man vanished into the night. “Alright boys, let's go.”

“Hey,” I yawned as we pick our way through the rocks. “at least we get to watch the light show.”

Chapter 3: Undergate

Grayborn never recovered from his twin defeats at the crater and farther north, under the shadow of the mountains proper. Whether it was the bolt Flick planted in his side or the strain of teleporting into a wizard's duel, we never knew. Perhaps it was a combination of both. Regardless, for the next three weeks the Company tightened its grip on the mountains, unchecked by any magical resistance. We methodically reduced one stronghold after another, gradually forcing Grayborn's forces deeper into the mountains. The extensive tunnels proved more of a deathtrap for them than us, especially after Jackal's gleeful discovery of a powder that would explode into burning clouds of poisonous gas when ignited. Squads of Company brothers armed with canisters of this substance could clear entire cave systems, as long as they were careful to not let the stuff blow back at them.

It was clear that Grayborn was no longer running things. He showed great skill early in the campaign as he parried our attacks, using his superior numbers and familiarity with the area to best advantage. Whatever luckless third-in-command took over after Bonesinger's death and Grayborn's incapacitation had none of his superior's talents. All the better for us. We were closing in.

“Marus!” Lamb pushed aside the tent flap and stuck his head inside. “Captain wants you for a briefing. Our squad's heading out again.”

“Coming.” I paused to shuffle a stack of papers into order, stacked them with the others. Besides recording the current Annals, I was transcribing the Book of Fermen, an older volume that was falling apart.

Outside, the camp was almost quiet. It was noon, which meant that anyone lucky enough to have some shade stayed in it. The sun beat down mercilessly, sucking away any trace of coolness. Ironically, most of our brothers were underground anyway, besieging a massive complex of caves and tunnels which the men had dubbed 'the Anthill'.

“Welcome, brothers.” The Captain faced us from his customary spot across the table. “I believe we are quickly reaching the end of this campaign. As far as we can tell, Grayborn's gate is inside the tunnel complex we are currently besieging. Grayborn's absence from the fight gives us a window of opportunity to break his power. You will infiltrate his lair and scout the gate. We need to know if it can be shut or broken before Grayborn recovers his strength. Your brothers are preparing a distraction for you now, I suggest you gather you strength and be ready by tonight. As before, Jackal will accompany you and provide magical assistance. Succeed, and we can cut Grayborn off from any help and end this campaign for good. Good hunting, brothers.”

We trudged down into the tunnels, the moonlight at at the entrance fading away behind us. We were all packing full kit, although most of that would be stashed away for the actual infiltration. A full pack is a noisy, clumsy thing, something that doesn't matter on the march, but matters very much when trying to sneak past enemy guards. Lamb and Jackal followed close behind our guide, who led the way with a torch in one hand and a crude field map of the tunnels in the other. The rest of us followed their light. Marsuf brought up the rear with another torch.

“I'd hate to live down here.” Priest observed.

“Do tell.” I grumbled, almost tripping over yet another hump in the floor.

“Livin' in the dark like this just isn't natural is all I'm saying.”

“You'd be surprised what people will do to survive. If I had the Company after me, I think I'd crawl into any hole I thought was deep enough.”

“Yeah well this hole still isn't deep enough.” Jacky Boy declared.

“Damn straight.” Flick agreed. “Hey, if we stayed down here long enough, do you think we'd all get pale and ugly like Jacky Boy?”

“Screw you, brown man, my skin is beautiful. Besides, around here it makes me exotic. And let me tell you, the ladies love exotic.”

“Sure, well down here it just makes you stand out, maggot boy. Try rubbing your face on the wall, maybe you'll pick up a more natural skin color.”

“Natural? Don't know if you've noticed, but down here, Egg's the only one with natural looking skin. I'd point him out to you except he's damn near invisible.”

Egg chuckled from behind them. “Only in the right light.”

“In the right light he's not scary.”

“Sure, in the right light Jacky Boy's a well adjusted individual.”

“In the right light Marsuf won't shut up.”

The shadow of a giant middle finger briefly obscured the torch behind us.

“In the right light Lamb doesn't yell at us.”

“Quiet!” Lamb growled. He and the brother acting as our guide were halted in front of a fork in the tunnel. The Company sigil was scrawled on the wall before them. The guide and Jackal had their heads together, discussing something in low voices. After a few minutes we set off down the right hand tunnel.

This tunnel was smaller and narrower than the ones before. We had to walk single file, while Egg had to duck protrusions and irregularities in the low ceiling. It twisted and turned downward in a random fashion, but was obviously artificial; the marks of picks and drills were visible on the walls and ceiling. As we went farther down, we started to pass other tunnels branching off from either side. We still hadn't met anyone, friendly or otherwise.

“So, this tunnel was cleared, right?” I voiced my concern.

“If by 'cleared', you mean scouted and bypassed, then yes.” Lamb's voice filtered back to me past Jackal, Flick, and Priest.

“Jackal, I'll let you field this one.” My voice was starting to rise. “Why are we walking down a tunnel that could charitably be described as 'ambush friendly', and which no one physically cleared?”

“I'm hurt, Marus.” Jackal's voice floated back to me on a thick layer of smug. “Surely you don't think that we threw this plan together at the last minute? This tunnel was carefully scouted and then avoided in order to encourage our enemy to forget about it. It also happens to lead behind the enemy lines, rather than ending in an antechamber like the others. Also,” he struck a dramatic pose which was ruined by Flick prodding him in the kidneys, “we are currently the only living things in the area.”

“That you can sense.”

He got indignant. “That are here. My skills-”

Our guide cut him off. “We're here.” he hissed, dousing his torch. Marsuf followed suit, plunging us into complete darkness.

“Jackal, eyes.” Lamb prompted.

“Give me a moment...ah.”

My eyes prickled for a second before the tunnel brightened into visibility. It now had a noticeably bluish cast, probably a side effect of Jackal compensating for the lack of natural light.

“Forward, no sounds.” Lamb breathed.

We crept forward. After a few dozen yards the tunnel made a hairpin turn back to the right, opening into a small chamber. Our guide slipped up to the opening, peered inside. Satisfied, he waved us forward.

The cavern proved to be quite small, with a jagged ceiling that sloped down to meet the floor about five yards from the entrance.

“Stow your packs and gear here.” our guide whispered. “The enemy doesn't know about this cave, but everything beyond here is their turf.” He pointed to the far corner of the room where the wall, floor, and ceiling all met. “Hole's over there. It's about a ten foot drop, puts you right in a corner of the main cavern. If you hug the wall, you can make it around to the back of the place, but that's as far as we've gotten. Did look like there was an entrance or two back there, but we couldn't stick around to find out.”

Lamb nodded, considering the information. “Thanks, we'll take it from here.”

“Good hunting to you.” The guide rose and vanished back into the tunnel.

“Alright boys,” Lamb whispered. “drop your packs and check your weapons. I want essential gear only going in and gods help you if I hear something jingle. Jacky Boy, get a rope down the hole. Jackal, what can you sense?”

My vision went streaky for a moment.

“We remain undetected for now.” Jackal reported, fingertips pressed dramatically to his temples. “The cavern is quite large and full of men, but they are otherwise occupied. Many of them appear to be in pain, perhaps their field hospital is down there. I sense no Talent among them, nor much vigilance at all. They believe themselves safe down here.”

“Let's keep it that way.” Lamb whispered. He slithered over to the edge of the hole while Jacky Boy finished tying off the rope around a nearby knob of rock.

“Set.”

“Go.”

Jacky Boy got a good hold on the rope and slid down out of sight. After a minute the rope went slack, then there were two sharp tugs on it.

“Alright.” Lamb lowered himself down. “One at at time, and move slow.”

The cavern was enormous. The entire Company could have camped inside with room to stretch out. The walls soared up in great arches towards a distant ceiling that not even my augmented vision could see. It was like someone had hollowed out a whole mountain. At the moment, though, I was less concerned with the scenery than with the contents. The cave was packed with Grayborn's men. Torches, braziers, and campfires stretched off into the distance like a carpet of flame. The place stank too. Not the usual dank, moldy cave smell but the overpowering stench of unwashed men, filth, and death. Jackal's guess about the field hospital was right, too. I could see it from where we crouched: rows of cots and tables filled with bandaged, bloody men. Clusters of doctors were working on a steady stream of new arrivals. Our brothers must have begun their attack. Whole companies of the enemy were in motion, streaming off into four large openings wreathed in torches. Also fortunately for us, the noise of their marching echoed and reverberated through the cavern like a constant roll of thunder. I doubted whether anyone could have heard us if we were shouting at the top of our voices. Best not to make the experiment, though.

Egg tapped me on the shoulder. We moved forward in single file, hugging the cavern wall to our left. The nearest enemies were maybe sixty feet away, ragged groups of robed warriors clumped together around their fires. Lucky to be tucked away in the corner, or maybe not trusted enough to be given a spot near an exit. We slid around them, kept going.

After about a hundred yards, the wall started curving more sharply to the right. As far as I could tell, we were nearly opposite the far entrances through which a two-way stream of enemies was still flowing. By now we were inside the enemy camp, although the vast unorganized sprawl hardly seemed worthy of the name. If our camp looked like this, Lamb would have a heart attack on the spot.

We wove our way through the empty camp for another fifty or sixty yards before we encountered our first major setback. Jackal doubled up mid-stride and went down, clutching his head and hissing in pain. Our magically augmented vision winked out, leaving us blinded except for the flickering light of a few nearby braziers. We went to ground, weapons ready, sure we'd just walked into the world's most elaborate ambush.

Lamb rolled the wizard over. “Jackal, what's wrong?”

Jackal coughed and tried to sit up, rubbing at his eyes. “I'm okay.” he managed. “Just...give me a minute here. Wow.” He shook his head like a man who just walked headfirst into a brick wall. “Good news guys, I found the gate. Damn, I think my ears just popped.”

He noticed the fiery semi-darkness that surrounded us. “Oh, right. One moment.” He made a few quick passes with his hands and our vision brightened again.

“So you found the gate?” Lamb prompted him.

“Right over there.” Lamb whispered, getting to his feet. He pointed to a large pillar jutting out of the wall about fifteen yards away. “There's a tunnel right on the other side of that column. The gate's a little way down the tunnel.”

“Right.” Lamb was back in charge of the situation. “Grayborn won't leave the gate unguarded. Flick, Marsuf, you're on point. Egg, Jacky Boy, rearguard. Jackal, cover us and try not to fall on your ass again.”

“I wasn't prepared for it. It will not happen again.” Jackal retorted with wounded pride.

We moved forward. The camp ran right up to the mouth of the tunnel, giving us ample cover from which to survey our goal. The tunnel was wide and low, running straight for about twenty yards before curving left. As far as Jackal could pinpoint it, the gate was just around the bend. Now all we had to do was get there.

The first line of defense was a low barricade just inside the mouth of the tunnel. We waited for Jackal's silencing spells to creep into place before we shot down the guards with a sudden flurry of bolts. Slipping past like shadows, we entered the tunnel itself. My eyes scanned the passage ahead of us as we crept down it. Surely Grayborn would have some last defense guarding his prize artifact. As we edged forward, I spotted some kind of structure just before the bend in the tunnel. It looked like a stone hut or guardhouse for a gate, but there was no gate attached to it. As I strained to make out further details, Jackal tensed up and raised a fist in the air. We halted, fingers on the triggers of our crossbows.

“Enemies?” Lamb whispered.

Jackal seemed confused. “There's...something in the hut. Not human though. I don't know what it is.”

“Shit.” Jacky Boy's whisper was nearly inaudible but heartfelt.

I grasped my crossbow a little tighter. 'Not human' was never a good thing. Ever.

Lamb flashed orders via hand signals. We fanned out and crept closer.

As we neared the structure, I heard something clink and scrape across the stone inside. There were footfalls, heavy but soft, like a giant cat.

We were almost to the hut now. My entire body was tense, straining to catch any movement inside.

Something huge and tawny shot out of the door at us.

Jackal cut loose.

My ears popped as his heaviest silence spell enveloped us.

The big furry whatever-it-was stopped dead in its tracks. Glowing amber threads had sprouted from the floor, wrapping themselves around its feet and legs. They writhed like vines, clambering up its body.

It let loose a deafening roar.

I vaguely realized I was halfway through reloading my crossbow. Most of my mind was off in another place, staring at the creature struggling with Jackal's spell. It looked like someone had crossed a lion with an elephant, then topped the whole thing off with an enormous pair of bat wings and a scorpion tail.

And it was pissed.

This was brought into sharp focus as it let loose with another bellowing roar, straining to break free from Jackal's entanglement. Its open maw was level with my head, and looked big enough to swallow it without chewing.

I emptied my crossbow down its throat.

It yowled and lashed out with its scorpion tail.

I narrowly dodged the barb, but the massive thing still grazed me, knocking me back.

I took the opportunity to drop my bow and draw my sword.

“Go for the damn eyes!” Jackal barked. He was visibly straining to hold the thing back.

We encircled it, hacking away. Marsuf and Lamb came in low from the sides, slashing at the monster's belly. Egg shattered one of its forelegs with a single blow from his club. Priest had his sword buried between the segments of the thing's tail, desperately trying to keep it pinned to the ground.

Even with all eight of us hacking at it, the thing still refused to die. Clawing and straining at the ground, it started to break free of Jackal's tendrils. Bracing itself on its good forepaw, it lunged for the wizard. Jackal was quicker. He dodged out of the way, flinging up a hand as he did so. Like a conjuring trick, an ebony serpent launched itself from his sleeve, burying its fangs in the monster's nose. Even that wasn't enough to stop it. It was only after Jacky Boy slipped in and buried his knives in the thing's throat that it finally died.

We stood around the thing, panting and clutching our weapons as we stared at it. Even in death, the massive beast still twitched and shuddered. Jacky Boy was giggling hysterically as Marsuf and Egg dragged him out from under the corpse.

“Biggest damn thing I ever saw.” Priest was staring at it in awe.

“What the hell is it?” Flick asked.

“It's a manticore.” The words felt unreal as I said them, like I was a spectator watching myself step into a mythical story. “I never thought they were real.”

“Real enough for me.” Marsuf poked at its side.

“Stories have to come from somewhere, hey Marus?” Priest forced a laugh.

My hands were shaking as I wiped off my sword. “Yeah, well from here on the stories can keep their monsters. I'll just take their word on it.”

“Everyone alright?” Lamb demanded. “Egg? Jackal?”

“I am unhurt, sergeant.” Egg said.

“I'm fine.” Jackal hurried past us, vanished into the thing's hut.

I stared after him. “Jackal, what the hell are you doing?”

“I got a trophy!” Jacky Boy announced triumphantly. He held up one of the manticore's massive canines, oblivious to the blood dripping from it.

“I'd leave that alone if I were you.” Priest advised. “Manticore blood could be poisonous for all we know.”

Jackal emerged, looking disappointed. “Only a chain. How prosaic.”

“Jacky Boy, wipe that off.” Lamb ordered. “Jackal, we still silent?”

“As a shadow.”

“Good. Let's get to this damn gate before something else jumps us. Fall in.”

We moved forward, still jumpy from the fight. We paused at the bend while Jackal felt things out. When he was satisfied there were no traps between us and the gate, we rounded the curve and found...nothing. An ordinary tunnel stretched before us.

“Uh, Jackal, the gate?”

“Here it is.” Jackal's voice was almost reverent. He strode forward five or ten paces, then knelt, one hand touching the floor in front of him. “Look, all of you.”

We gathered behind him, staring at the gate.

I have to admit, it wasn't what I was expecting. Just in front of Jackal's fingertips, a perfect groove about an inch deep was cut into the stone. The groove ran all the way around the tunnel and was, as near as I could tell, perfectly straight and exact. It was like a seam joining two pieces of stonework. Running off at right angles to the groove were countless smaller channels that branched and split like tree limbs, getting narrower and shallower as they got farther from the gate until they eventually blended into the surface of the tunnel. These smaller grooves split off from each side of the gate and covered the rock around it, with the exception of a wide path down the middle of the tunnel.

“So, this is it?” Lamb eyed the forest of branching lines that scored the walls and ceiling.

“Unquestionably.” Jackal was running his hands along the groove like he was feeling for something.

“I was expecting something a little flashier.” I said. “Is it on?”

“As far as I can ascertain, there is no on or off.” Jackal replied. “It simply is. Quite amazing.”

“And is knocked you on your ass?”

“When you are expecting a fountain, the pool is an abyss.” Jackal replied with injured pride.

“And if words were gold, beggars would ride.” I retorted. “So how old is this thing anyway?”

“There is no way to know.” Jackal said. “Centuries. Perhaps ages.”

“Wait, so Grayborn didn't put it here?” Priest asked.

Jackal snorted. “If Grayborn could build a thing like this, he could have beaten the Company ten times over. I'd wager we couldn't find a wizard anywhere in the world that could create a thing of beauty like this.”

“Well, I hate to break your heart, but we're here to smash this thing, not play with it.” Lamb said. “So, what do you say, can we stop Grayborn from using it?

Jackal was feeling his way up the wall, following the groove. “I don't know.”

“What do you mean?”

Jackal sighed and turned to face Lamb. “This is like nothing I've ever seen before. If I had a few decades to study it I might, and I stress the might, be able to find a way to render it inoperative. For now, know that I cannot turn it off, and unless I'm wrong, you'll find it quite impervious to physical damage.”

“So we go back and get some engineers.” I said.

“No way we could sneak a company of engineers down here.” Priest objected. “I say we go-”

“Everyone be quiet.” Lamb interrupted. “We've gotten this far, we're not going to fail now. Flick, head back down the tunnel and keep watch. Everyone else, huddle up. Now, what are our options?”

Our options, as it turned out, were few. True to Jackal's prediction, the grooves resisted our efforts to chip or even scratch them. With no way to deactivate it magically or destroy it physically, the best plan of attack seemed to be collapsing the tunnel around it. After a few tests, we determined that the stone walls a few feet away from the grooves could be chipped away with no more than ordinary difficulty. With this established, I suggested we return and report our findings to the Captain. After all, our mission was to scout the gate and determine if it was breakable, and we had done exactly that. Some of the others were starting to get different ideas, though. Priest suggested we sneak back into Grayborn's camp, steal some mining equipment, and collapse the tunnel ourselves. Jackal disagreed, but only because he wanted to lace the area with traps. Jacky Boy and Marsuf, in a temporary fit of solidarity, proposed going through the gate to see what was on the other side.

As fate would have it, none of our plans mattered anyway.

Jackal was winning Lamb over to his 'booby trap, then run' plan when Flick appeared up behind them and tapped Lamb on the shoulder.

“Sir, the relief shift for the tunnel guards arrived a minute ago. I killed most of them before they could raise the alarm, but I think one might have gotten away.”

“That tears it.” Lamb growled. “We're heading back now. No Jackal, you may not have a moment to set a few traps. Now move!”

We reached the bend in the tunnel about the same time as the enemy reinforcements reached the entrance.

“Well shit.” I said, staring at the torch-studded wall of enemies bearing down on us. “Any pithy last words you guys want recorded for the Annals?”

“Retreat!” Lamb bellowed. “Back to the gate!”

“I've heard better!” I shouted at him as we sprinted back towards the gate.

“We're going exploring!” I heard Priest yell from up ahead. “Hey Jacky Boy, five dinar says I'm the first one through the gate!”

“You're on!”

I didn't see who was first through the gate because Flick and I were facing the other way, trying to pick off a few especially fleet-footed enemies closing the gap between us. It's hard to accurately fire a crossbow and run backwards at the same time, but the threat of imminent death is an amazing motivator.

We made it to the gate. I didn't feel anything strange as I crossed the threshold into another world; it might have been just a crack in the stone for all I felt. It had a definite effect on our enemies, though. The front ranks skidded to a stop before the gate like the crack was a gaping chasm. I grinned even as I hauled ass out of there. I could reflect on the irony of Grayborn's paranoia saving our necks later.

We jogged up the tunnel as it twisted and turned, rising towards the surface. It was a long way to go, although I estimated it was only half as far as we had traveled going down. This tunnel was a much more direct route to the surface.

After a long, winding hike upwards, we finally sighted the exit. A pale archway of light beckoned to us from the top of a gentle slope. We approached it warily, although my muscles ached at the thought of another fight. Amazingly, it proved to be unguarded. We emerged into the pale cool light of a waning moon. I looked around. Jackal's seeing spell, augmented by the moonlight, allowed me to see almost as well as in the daylight. And from what I could see, this world was nothing like the place we had come from. Behind us was a low ridge of jagged hills, partially covered in scrubby conifers. The entrance to the tunnel was at the base of one of these hills, neatly hidden in a jumble of boulders. Before us, a dirt track wound down a gentle grassy slope, curving away to the left and disappearing into a thick stand of trees. Farther beyond that, the land sloped away to a great tangled forest. The stars shone overhead like gems set in strange and wonderful constellations. The moon hung low in the sky like a great arc of silver. A cool breeze stirred the air. I felt like an intruder in paradise, standing there in the cool green freshness with the dust and sweat and blood of the night's work upon me. I think the others felt the same way. Jacky Boy and Priest were side by side, identical expressions of awe on their faces. Jackal stared up at the stars, his face slowly turning from horizon to horizon. Egg was on his knees, his hands buried deep in the thick, sweet grass. Gods, I didn't even know grass could smell sweet.

It was a good five minutes before Lamb pulled himself together.

“Alright, enough gawking.” he finally said. “We've got enemies behind us, probably before us, and no idea where in the hells we are.”

Jackal was still entranced by the scenery. “This is incredible.” he murmured.

“Admire the scenery later.” Lamb advised. “Right now we need to find a place to hole up until morning. We'll rest up and get our bearings, then try to find a way back to the Company.”

“I advise we head along this ridge and try to find a safe spot there.” I pointed to our left, down the ridge line.

Lamb nodded, then suddenly chuckled. “Hells, that's as good a suggestion as any. We've got no idea what this place is like. Unless our wizard could-”

“In the morning, perhaps.” Jackal interrupted. “It will take me some time to get the lay of the land. And sleep would be nice.”

“Hear hear!” Priest quietly cheered from the back of the group.

After about half an hour's walk, we stumbled across a small stream flowing out of a narrow canyon in the hills. A minute's hike upstream brought us to a thick grove of evergreens, where we made camp for what was left of the night. Although deprived of our bedrolls, which were safely stowed back in the caves with the rest of our gear, the thick carpet of pine needles felt like a feather bed to our exhausted bodies. The last thing I saw before sleep took me was Jacky Boy shaking a somnolent Priest's shoulder.

“Here.” he said, passing him some coins. “That was worth it.”

Chapter 4: Contact

I awoke under a fir tree, a shaft of morning sunlight hitting me in the face. I rolled over and sat up, wincing. The previous night's fighting had left me with sore muscles and a general feeling of having been run through a mill. My stomach growled, as if to remind me of more pressing concerns. I set about rousing the others. No rest for the weary, even in paradise.

Our conference was brief and hurried. Lamb wanted to contact the Captain as soon as possible with the information we had gathered. Jackal assured him that he should be able to make contact with his sorcerous colleagues with little difficulty, with the caveat that Grayborn would be able to sense his location when he sent the message. It was decided that Lamb, Jackal, Egg, and Marsuf would hike back to the cave entrance to make contact with Company command and scout out enemy activity. Since Grayborn already knew we were on this side of the gate, Jackal would not give away our position if he sent his message from near the gate. Flick and Jacky Boy, our two best shots, were tasked with getting food. That left Priest and myself, whom Lamb ordered to follow the dirt road leading away from the cave and find Grayborn's camp. Finding the camp would give us some idea of his remaining strength. Before he left, Jacky Boy asked Lamb if he and Flick should hunt for eight or only six, given that Priest and myself were almost sure to encounter Grayborn's men on our expedition. I retaliated with wild speculation about the nature and quantity of supplies doubtless stored in Grayborn's encampment.

We accompanied Lamb and the others as far as the gate. Crouching in the trees above the cave's mouth, we saw that our escape had not gone unnoticed. Teams of men were constructing wooden barricades around the entrance to the cave, while others were erecting a watchtower nearby. Several carts of cut lumber were being unloaded. I watched as an empty cart set off back down the road, the driver idly flicking his whip at the teams of ponies pulling the cart. I squinted. I couldn't be sure from this distance, but some of the ponies appeared to have been painted in a variety of bright colors. It was difficult to tell for sure as the sunlight was still fairly horizontal.

Lamb poked me in the side. “Jackal's about to work his magic.” he whispered. “You and Priest move out.”

We backtracked along the ridge line until we were out of sight of the activity around the gate. From there, we headed towards the forest which hopefully concealed Grayborn's base of operations in this world. After a nerve-wracking dash across the open meadow, we reached the treeline. A few moments later, we sighted Grayborn's camp.

The belt of trees was only about thirty feet wide. From its concealing shadow, Priest and I looked across a wide shallow valley teeming with activity. Immediately before us, tilled fields lapped the edges of the forest that surrounded the valley. One of the fields near us was being plowed by several teams working in parallel. I frowned as I studied the scene more closely. The men working the plows didn't look like soldiers, but like ordinary peasants. Their attitude and dress was identical to the farmers I had seen back in Al-Tarish. Yoked to the plows were more teams of the strangely colorful ponies. Now I was curious. There didn't seem to be any pattern to the colors, as ponies in the same teams had different colored coats. Perhaps the farmers colored the ponies to denote ownership? I made a mental note to inform Jackal about them. Multicolored ponies were the kind of oddity that would interest a wizard. Matters were further confused when Priest spotted a cavalry patrol mounted on ordinary horses moving between fields. If Grayborn had horses, why use the ponies? Perhaps they were native to this world? Curious, but irrelevant to our current situation. We moved on.

Beyond the fields, a fair sized river flowed through the center of the valley. Situated on the near bank was Grayborn's camp. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a town, as it was surrounded by a timber wall and mostly composed of permanent structures. Many were under construction. The road leading from the gate wound through the middle of it, eventually dwindling away outside the south gate, where a few small piers jutted into the river. The town itself was a wide, sprawling thing mainly composed of wooden buildings, although I spotted a central stone fort under construction. Outside the wall, tents and other temporary shelters were clustered together. Apparently Grayborn's town was already outgrowing its wall. While I was appalled at the sheer size of it, I was also relieved at the place's lack of defenses. Once the Company got here, taking the place would be laughably easy. A few siege engines firing incendiaries from the valley rim would turn the place into an inferno. That was, of course, assuming I lived to see it.

Priest and I worked our way across the valley towards the river, staying within the belt of trees. As we neared the river, we spotted a small group of soldiers exiting the town. They were following the path along the river bank.

Priest nudged me. “Should we take a prisoner?”

“Not a bad idea.” I whispered, readying my bow. “Maybe he'll even have some food on him.”

We waited in the bushes as the soldiers drew nearer.

I was sighting down my crossbow at the closest soldier when there was a sudden uproar in the town. Out of the near gate dashed one of the strange ponies, followed closely by a young filly. A snapped chain trailed from the hind leg of the larger pony. A mob of soldiers and workers were chasing them but falling behind with every stride. The soldiers we were stalking spread out in a line, the nearest not ten feet from our hiding place. They uncoiled weighted ropes from their packs and waited on the ponies, who were still running desperately towards us. Apparently these men had trained for this situation.

I flashed Priest a hand signal. He nodded in return, shouldering his crossbow and picking his target. We waited while the two ponies drew closer. They were still running along the riverbank path, a rapidly approaching cavalry patrol keeping them from cutting across the fields. We waited until they were only a few dozen yards away, then sprang our ambush. The soldiers' focus on the approaching ponies bought us a few moments delay before they realized two of their comrades were down with bolts protruding from their backs. Even then, their response was confused. Two of them immediately dropped their ropes and charged us, drawing their swords. The other two, after a moment's hesitation, turned back to the ponies. Whirling their ropes around their heads, they launched them at the lead pony. I didn't see what happened immediately after that because I was busy ducking a wild sword swing and then shattering the swordsman's nose back into his skull with the butt of my crossbow. A short, wild fight later, I was standing over four dead warriors while Priest arced a long shot at the retreating horsemen.

I turned back towards the two ponies. The larger one was lying motionless on its side, the ropes tangled around its legs and head. The smaller one was standing beside it, tugging at a rope end. I approached it cautiously. It dropped the rope and stared up at me. As our gaze met, I realized I was staring into the eyes of a unicorn filly. Its small nub of a horn poked through a matted gray mane. I glanced over at the other pony. Sure enough, it too had a horn growing from its forehead. The filly noticed my shift of attention. Its eyes narrowed.

“Get away from my momma!” it shouted in a childish voice, launching itself at me.

Have you ever been headbutted in the balls by a unicorn? It hurts.

“Marus!” I dimly heard Priest shouting as I doubled over. “Hey, get away from him you crazy pony!”

“Don't you hurt momma!” the little thing shouted back.

“Holy gods! Marus, that pony's talking!”

“I know.” I groaned. “Help me up. Gotta get—ow—them out of here.

“What the hell for?”

“Because Grayborn wants them.” I wheezed through gritted teeth.

“Fine, but this is the craziest godsdamned thing I've ever—hey, easy little pony. We're not going to hurt you. Relax, we want to help you.”

“You're a human!” The unicorn was defiant. “Humans hurt ponies!”

“We're not with the others.” Priest said. “We want to help you.”

“You look like all the others!”

“We just killed the soldiers trying to catch you.” My voice was starting to settle back into its normal range. “If we wanted to hurt you, we'd have done it. We can help you escape if you trust us.”

It was clear the filly had not considered that possibility. “But-”

The mother unicorn stirred and moaned. “Bright-”

“Momma! Momma, are you okay?”

“I'll be...okay...sweetie.” The unicorn feebly tried to struggle to her feet, but the ropes wrapped around her legs kept her immobile.

Moving in what I hoped was a nonthreatening manner, I knelt beside the unicorn and started untangling the ropes.

“Marus.” Priest's voice rose in warning. “Cavalry's coming.”

I glanced back at the town. A large party of horsemen was charging out of the gate towards us.

Throwing caution to the winds, I grabbed the unicorn and hoisted her up over my shoulder. She was heavy, but not as heavy as some of the brothers I've had to carry to safety over the years.

“Come on!” I shouted. This was mostly directed at Priest, as the filly was already at my heels.

We sprinted back out of the valley towards the hills. We cleared the trees and were running across the meadow when the horsemen loomed into view behind us. I risked a backwards glance. They were gaining fast. Fast enough to catch us before we could reach the broken rocks that meant safety. As I ran, a half-conscious unicorn across my shoulders and sweat pouring down my face, I frantically looked for a way out. Keep running and we'd be cut down from behind. Stand and fight, and we might account for one or two before the rest circled around and speared us. While half my mind ran through the shrinking number of possibilities, the other half was helpfully recalling all the times I saw this exact thing happen to some other poor fools. Anastus' heavy cataphracts shattering the Pretender's line at Issus. Gracchus and his light cavalry massacring the Peltan tribesmen. Ashoka's elephants butchering the Kalls at the Penner River.

Call it the curse of being the Annalist. You know how this is going to end.

Thick black fog boiled up around us. I stepped up the pace, even though my heart felt like it was going to hammer right out of my chest. Something long and sinuous whipped past me at our pursuers. A sudden chorus of screams and shouts broke out behind us. Another minute of frantic running and we burst out of the fog. Lamb, Egg, Jackal, and Marsuf were crouched at the edge of the meadow, waiting for whoever came charging out of the fog first.

“Come on!” Jackal looked a little green around the gills.

“What the hell is that?” Lamb pointed at the unicorn I was carrying.

“Talk about it...later.” I gasped, staggering up to them. “Someone take...this thing.”

I surrendered my semi-conscious burden to Egg, who slung the creature over one massive shoulder. We headed uphill, Marsuf and Lamb covering the rear. The little filly hung back for a second, ears flattening at the sight of more humans, but Priest scooped her up and followed us without breaking stride. I caught one last glimpse of our pursuers as we crested the ridge line, they were doggedly following us but losing ground picking their way through the boulders. We covered our trail and headed south towards our hideout.

We smelled camp before we saw it. Jackal was guiding us through the canyon which he and Marsuf had hastily strewn with traps when the rich scent of roasting meat wafted over us.

“Praise the gods.” Jackal growled, shoving past us. “I won't have to resort to cannibalism after all.”

The rest of us were right behind him. I was famished. Spending a morning hiking, fighting, and running around while lugging a unicorn will do wonders for one's appetite. I was so hungry, in fact, that I missed the puzzled look on the face of the unicorn filly as she sniffed the air.

“Brothers! Come and feast on—what the hell is that?” Jacky Boy shot up from where he had been lounging beside the fire as we marched into camp.

“Egg, why do you have a pony?” Flick pointed with a leg of whatever was roasting over the fire.

“That's my momma!” The filly said, leaping down from Priest's arms. “She's a unicorn like me!”

Flick choked on his meat.

“Interesting...” Lamb managed.

“Must be the natives.” Jackal growled, tearing into a hunk of meat. “Were they Grayborn's captives or allies?”

The filly shivered at the mention of Grayborn's name.

“Captives, I'd guess.” I said. “Grayborn has whole teams of them working the fields.”

“Fields?” Lamb interrupted. “So you found his camp?”

“More like a whole settlement.” Priest replied. “Civilians and everything.”

“Umm, what's that?” The filly pointed a foreleg at the animal roasting over the fire.

I belatedly realized what a monumentally terrible first impression this was for us.

“Goat, I think.” Jacky Boy mumbled around a mouthful.

The filly's eyes went wide as her pupils seemed to shrink to pinpoints.

“Uhh, listen.” I desperately tried to salvage the situation. “We don't eat, you know, talking anim-er ponies. Just regular ones. I mean, we don't eat ponies. At all.”

“Didn't even know there were talking ponies until today.” Priest said.

“Right. You see, we come from a different world. We don't have talking ponies, or unicorns, or anything like that.”

Great. The filly had gone from just scared to confused and scared. My silver tongue saves the day again.

The mother unicorn chose that moment to announce her return to full consciousness by vomiting all over herself.

Priest and the filly reached her about the same time. Between the two of them, they got things under control. Priest helped clean her off and confirmed she had suffered nothing worse than a rather nasty concussion, while the filly kept her mother from panicking too badly when she woke up surrounded by strange humans. While they fussed over her, I got the others to hide the meat away for a less touchy time. After ten minutes and one magically aided escape attempt that got Jackal's full and undivided attention, everyone calmed down enough to make introductions. As Annalist, I took the lead in introducing us as brothers of the Black Company, stressing our animosity towards Grayborn and his men.

“My name is Marus. I am the Annalist, or historian, of the Company. To my left here is Lamb, the leader of our squad, Jackal, our resident wizard, Flick, Marsuf, and Jacky Boy. On my right here is Priest, our physician, and Egg.”

“You don't look like an egg.” The filly objected. “Eggs are supposed to be round and white.”

“An ironic nickname,” Egg replied. “referring to my color and height.”

“Oh.” The filly looked puzzled.

“My name's Crystal Glaze.” the mother unicorn said in a shaky voice. “This is my foal, Moonbright.”

“A pleasure to meet you both.” I decided a formal greeting couldn't hurt. “I'm happy we were able to rescue the pair of you.”

“So am I.” The unicorn hung her head. “It was...horrible in there.”

“As I said before, we're Grayborn's enemies. I know you probably don't want to relive it, but if you tell us what happened, we may be able to find a way to stop Grayborn.

The unicorn drew a deep breath. “A-alright. I was there for all of it, not like...some of the others.”

According to Crystal Glaze, it had all started about seven or eight months ago. She and her family were living happily in the town of Canterberry, population: about five hundred ponies. Side note, apparently there are three distinct types of 'ponies': earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasai. Unicorns are the only ones able to do magic and are, at least in Canterberry, a minority.

Anyway, Crystal said that about seven or eight months ago, two ponies encountered a group of humans near the entrance to the cave. The ponies had known about the cave and even explored part of it before, but as far as they had known, there was nothing in there but more cave. Apparently the first meeting between humans and ponies didn't go well, as the ponies fled back to town almost immediately. When they led a large party of ponies back to the spot, the humans were gone. A few days later, humans began pouring out of the cave, led by Grayborn himself. In short order they had captured the town and systematically enslaved or killed its inhabitants.

Hearing Crystal's story, it was easy enough for me to piece together what had happened. Grayborn, cunning wizard that he is, saw the tide turning against him and his fellow wizards back in our world. He decided to turn the caves into a bolt hole should the worst happen. Of course he would have the caves thoroughly explored to ward against surprise attacks. It was the greatest stroke of blind fortune that one passage happened to lead to another world entirely.

“He put the earth ponies to work rebuilding the town and working the fields.”

Crystal's voice was getting shakier as she recounted more recent events.

“They were hobbled during the day, and at night they were all kept in pens. There weren't that many pegasai around when he attacked, and they could fly away and escape. I think they only caught one. I don't know what happened to him. He rounded up the unicorns and put us in cells. We were treated a little better than the rest because he was interested in our magic. We were guarded constantly, but they didn't whip us like...like they did with some of the others. We didn't try to escape, though. H-he said that he would k-kill ten ponies for every one of us that escaped. W-we were too scared to try. We didn't even know what was going on outside. We were kept in the cells a-and every so often, he'd c-come and take another one of us.”

She paused, blinking back tears. Moonbright nuzzled her mother's neck.

“When they c-came for me, I j-just...I just ran. 'Bright and I, we ran f-for the door. I didn't even know where I w-was running to, I j-just wanted out of that p-place.”

She looked up at me, her large eyes swimming with tears.

“That's when we met you.” I said.

She nodded.

Jackal let out a low whistle. “So that's how he was able to levitate boulders and teleport! He learned a way to use your unicorn magic, I'll wager.”

“I-I suppose.” Crystal looked doubtful. “I've never heard of a unicorn teleporting though, except in old mare's tales.”

“No doubt about it.” Jackal warmed to his theory. “When you perform magic, your horn glows. Furthermore, I noticed that when you threw Jacky Boy into the tree earlier, there was a definite aura around him as well.”

The mare blushed. “Yes. Um, sorry about that, by the way.”

“Its fine.” Jacky Boy sulked.

“When we last faced Grayborn,” Jackal continued, oblivious to the interruption, “he attacked us by levitating boulders and then teleported away when cornered. Both actions cast a definite aura about them, identical in appearance to your own. Thus, we may conclude that either Grayborn has coerced a unicorn into aiding him, or more likely, he has learned to perform unicorn magic.”

“So, what's our course of action?” I asked.

Jackal looked thoughtful. “Grayborn is in a powerful position. His army controls the area, not to mention the gate. He is a dangerous wizard, and his unicorn magic makes him doubly so. While he may still be incapacitated thanks to Flick's shot, when he returns he will do so with a vengeance.”

“Alright,” Lamb said, “we've finished our mission to scout the gate. We're cut off, but we can still raise hell from here. While our brothers keep pounding away at Grayborn's army from the front, we'll wreck his supply lines, torch his crops, and ambush his messengers. Every warrior he pulls from the front to stop us is a warrior not fighting our brothers. And,” he looked over at Crystal, “we're going to make freeing ponies a priority.”

Crystal smiled for the first time since I met her. “Thank you so much. It seems like we've been living in some horrible nightmare since he came. I'll do anything I can to help you free my friends.”

Her smile faded. “Although, I don't know what good I'll be. I'm not...I mean, none of us ponies are fighters.”

“I think you are.” I said. “You broke out and escaped. We rescued you in the field, but we couldn't have done it if you hadn't escaped from the town first.”

She still looked doubtful and more than a little apprehensive.

Time for the tried and true Annalist oratory to win her over.

“Look,” I said, getting to my feet, “we may have rescued you, but you friends and neighbors are still prisoners. Grayborn's either going to work them to death keeping his army fed, or torture them to death so he can learn their magic. If they try to escape, he'll probably chase them down and kill them. You're right, you didn't escape on your own. We were there to help. I know you hardly know us, but I'm asking you to trust us. We're professional soldiers. You may not know war, but we do. Believe me when I say that you can help us fight this war. You can't swing a sword, true, but can you roll a boulder or lift a log?”

She nodded hesitantly.

“That's right. And do you want to keep your child out of Grayborn's hands?”

She nodded emphatically, hugging the filly close with one foreleg.

“I know he probably seems like some kind of unstoppable monster to you,” I went on, “but Grayborn's just one wizard. He needs food and water just like the rest of us. He needs soldiers to guard him and do his dirty work. Every warrior we kill weakens him. Every pony we free is one more pony helping us and not growing food or hauling lumber for Grayborn's army. Don't be afraid of him, because we're going to beat him. We've been fighting wizards like Grayborn for years, and we beat every one of them. Grayborn's the last of them because he's the biggest coward. We beat him in the desert, we beat him in the mountains, and we're beating him in the caves. Now we're going to beat him here with your help. This is your land. No one knows it better than you, not us, not Grayborn. With your magic, you can do things that no wizard, not even Grayborn, can do. We're the Black Company. Alone, we can slow Grayborn down. But together, we can end him. Now, do you want to help us stop the man who threatened your child, destroyed your life, and enslaved your people?”

Crystal leaped to her feet, eyes blazing. “Yes!” she shouted.

I held out my hand to her. “Welcome to the war.”

Chapter 5: Flight

“But if he didn't attack your herd, why are you fighting him?”

“That's what mercenaries do. People who need our services can hire us to fight for them. Its a business contract. They hire us, we do the job, then they pay us and we go on our way. Back in our world, this ruler wanted some wizards dealt with, so he hired us. Grayborn was one of them. We just ended up chasing him all the way to your world.”

“That's horrible! How can you kill other humans for money?”

It was mid-afternoon. The others were all out and about: Jackal and Marsuf were setting more traps in the valley, Egg and Flick were out foraging, and Lamb, Priest, and Jacky Boy were off scouting the surrounding area. After our initial meeting with Crystal and Moonbright, I had taken Lamb aside and suggested I take the ponies away from the camp and talk to them alone. Despite their outward bravery, it was clear the two pones were badly rattled from their time in captivity. Crystal flinched at any sudden movements and Moonbright was practically glued to her mother's flank. Even if we were allies, it would take some time for us to get used to each other. I was hoping some quiet conversation could take the edge off the ponies' fears. So far, I only seemed to be making things worse.

“Believe me, all we do is necessary.” I said, edging around decades of Company history. “Look at it this way, what do you do when another group of ponies wants your land?”

“Well, we welcome them and invite them into our community of course.”

“Okay, but what if they don't want to share with you? What if they want all the land for themselves?”

Crystal looked confused. “Why would they do that? There's plenty of land for everyone around here.”

“Point taken. Alright, what's something that's not common around here?”

“Umm, well, there's the clay beds down by the river.”

“Perfect. So, what would you do if some other group of ponies tried to take over those by force?”

Crystal looked more confused than ever. “I-I don't understand. Why would anypony want to fight over clay? We'd gladly share what we have with them.”

“Alright, lets try this again. Is there anything in the area that would try to hurt you and couldn't be reasoned with or befriended?”

She frowned. “Not really. Sometimes creatures come out of the Everfree Forest, but we can always scare them off or lead them away from town.”

“So you're telling me that you've got no army, militia, guard, or anything like that, and that none of you have ever had to kill something?”

Crystal's ears flattened against her skull. “No...no,” she said quietly, “that would be awful.”

“I'm sorry.” I said. “I don't mean to be insensitive, I'm just trying to learn about your people.”

I desperately cast about for another topic of conversation.

“Tell me about that mark on your flank.” I said brightly. “A...pot, is it? I'm guessing that's not a natural mark.”

Crystal perked up. “My cutie mark? Yes, its a vase actually. It symbolizes my special talent for pottery.”

“Huh, guess I never pictured unicorns making pots. Of course, I didn't know unicorns existed until today either, so what do I know?”

Crystal smiled shyly. “I know everyone thinks earth ponies are the best at that kind of thing, but my stoneware is the finest in town. Ponies come from all around to buy my pots. Even Lady Stratus herself praised my work.” she finished proudly.

“That's...interesting. I guess it would make picking people out of a crowd easy enough. So how do you get one? Work hard enough at something?”

“More or less. When a young colt finds their special talent in life, a mark symbolizing that talent appears on their flank.”

“Let me guess, magic?

“Of course.”

I shook my head, more in amazement than disbelief. Jackal was going to have an aneurysm trying to figure all this out.

She craned her head to the side. “So, what's your cutie mark?”

I shrugged. “Don't have one. We humans don't have anything like that.”

“But then how do you know what your talent is?”

“Well, considering I've been with the Company for almost fifteen years now, its safe to say I've found my talent. Besides, sometimes you only get one path to take.”

“Oh. That doesn't sound very nice.”

“Yeah. I get the idea our worlds are very different.”

“Different doesn't have to mean bad.” Crystal said warmly. “You and your friends are different from the other humans. You treat us like friends instead of pets or slaves.”

“Believe me, we're just as glad to know you. Right now, we can both use all the help we can get. Speaking of which, you mentioned a Lady Stratus earlier. Is she the ruler of the area?”

“That's right. She and Lord Cirrus live over in Windsoar Castle.”

“And how far away is Windsoar Castle?”

“About five days walk.” She waved a hoof towards the north. “Maybe a little more, I haven't been there since I was a little filly.”

“And would this lord and lady have troops that could help us?”

“I think so. I mean, they'd at least have a personal guard. I'm sorry, I don't know much about that kind of thing.” Her ears flattened down again.

“Stop doing that!” I snapped.

“E-excuse me?”

“That thing with your ears and the apologizing. Look, I understand you don't know some things that might be good to know right now, but you're still miles ahead of us. We know nothing about this place. So stop being so apologetic and try being a little more assertive. Here, I'll show you. Ask me how far it is to Windsoar Castle.”

“Um, how far is it to Windsoar Castle?”

“About five days walk to the north.” I said in an exaggerated falsetto. “I know that because I'm a smart pony; not like you, you big, dumb human.”

Moonbright giggled.

I grinned back. Progress.

We spent the rest of the afternoon together. Crystal told me stories about her family and their life in Canterberry. It seemed like the kind of life too perfect to be real: picnics and festivals and snow fights and races. She said that even the weather was perfect, constantly watched and controlled by the pegasi. A part of my mind filed that piece of information away for later, even as I listened to her tell me about cloud racing and tornado wrangling.

There weren't many stories I could tell her in return that wouldn't shatter her tenuous trust, but I tried to remain as truthful as possible. As my predecessor and mentor was fond of saying, truth hurts now, lies hurt later.

I didn't tell her about the battles and the marching and the long, grinding sieges. Instead, I told her about how the light sparkled off the crystal minarets of Basrim, and the smell of the great spice market of Dobrudska. I told her about watching the great sea serpents dance in Sevaufeth Bay until the very water glowed. I told her about the seven gates of Malzenberg and the jade colossus of Rhulath. We told stories until the sun began to set and the chill wind drove us back to camp for warmth and food.

“Speaking of food,” Crystal said as we hiked back to camp, “I understand you humans eat all kinds of things.”

I got the feeling that she was choosing her words carefully.

“Comes with the job.” I agreed. “In our line of work you can't afford to be choosy about what you eat. That won't be a problem, will it?”

She shook her head. “I know plenty of wild animals that eat meat. Even griffons eat it, although I've never met one.” She smiled shyly, looking up at me. “Its just going to take some getting used to, alright? I mean, you're twice our size and built like a predator. Any sensible pony would be just a little apprehensive about trotting up and saying hello.”

I grinned back at her. “Fair enough. Speaking of food, we'll need you to show us which local plants are safe to eat and which aren't.”

“Oh, that's easy!” she said enthusiastically. “The only thing you shouldn't eat around here is Snakeweed. It grows down by the river. Its not poisonous, but it tastes awful. And you shouldn't eat anything you find in the Everfree Forest unless you're certain you know what it is.”

“That's the forest across the river?”

“That's right. Be careful if you go in there, all kinds of strange creatures live inside that forest.”

I silently wondered whether a race of magical, talking, brightly colored ponies had any right to call other creatures 'strange'.

Dinner was a surprisingly cheery affair. My brothers and I were old hands at savoring feasts like this, knowing it could be our last good meal in a long time—or ever. Crystal and Moonbright were celebrating their first dinner as free ponies. Both seemed to handle our eating meat fairly well, even if Moonbright's stare held more horrified fascination than polite interest.

Afterward, we held a council of war. According to Priest and Jacky Boy, our initial plan to stay close to the gate and wait for our brothers to punch through was looking less and less tenable. Their scouting trip had found new defenses erected on the hill above the tunnel, with cavalry patrols combing the valley below. More troubling was the steady stream of warriors they had seen emerging from the tunnel. Either our brothers were doing an admirable job of giving Grayborn false hope for victory, or he was preparing to abandon our world entirely. In either case, the hundreds of new warriors in this world would make life difficult for us. Flick, seconded up by Marsuf and Priest, suggested stealing a wagon and making our way back through the gate by posing as guards for a supply caravan. Lamb shot that plan down. Jackal was for staying put and letting his traps and our arrows deal with searchers. His plan was to harass Grayborn by night and hide away by day, always keeping on the move. If worst came to worst, we could always escape over the hills. I brought up what Crystal had told me about Lord Cirrus and suggested we head north to raise support. This got their attention. After some careful questioning, Lamb began to come around to this course of action, although he wanted to know why Cirrus hadn't launched an attack to retake Canterberry. Crystal admitted with some confusion that she didn't know, but hotly rejected Priest's speculation that Grayborn and Lord Cirrus were allies, saying that pegasi would never be friends with a man like Grayborn. Apparently both Lord Cirrus and the majority of his subjects in Windsoar were pegasi, the most militant of the three races. Jackal objected to this plan, saying that throwing ourselves on the mercy and understanding of an unknown lord was too dangerous. I countered that we carried proof of our friendly intentions with us in the form of Crystal and Moonbright. The beginnings of a heated argument were cut short by a distant outcry. A sudden flash of orange light burst from the darkened valley below.

Jackal cocked his head. “Deadfall, first line, left side. They must be working their way up along the rim.”

“They won't be alone.” I said softly.

As if to illustrate my point, a second orange glow momentarily brightened the opposite valley wall.

“What do you think, Lamb?” Jackal asked, his eyes half closed. “We can sit here and string them in all the way, or move before they get too close.”

Lamb glanced behind us, where the last red glow of sunset was fading behind the hills. “The sooner we move, the better for us, light be damned.” he decided. “Break camp and be ready to march in two minutes.” He collared Jackal and myself. “You-” he prodded Jackal in the chest, “-make sure we can seen them coming. Marus, get me a route to Windsoar.”

I turned to look for Crystal just as she trotted up to me.

“How can I help?” she asked, looking concerned.

“I need the fastest road to Windsoar, or failing that, one that will keep us hidden.”

She thought for a moment. “Well, the fastest way is the north road over the river, but he probably has guards on the bridge. I think the best way would be for us to swim the river above the bridge, and then take the north road from there.”

I smiled to myself. Thinking tactically already.

“If you don't want to be seen, we should stick to the hills. They start curving west after a while, but by then we should be far enough away to cut east without being seen.”

“Sounds good. Lamb, got your course.”

Lamb shouldered his pack. “Lead on.”

We struck out, climbing a narrow game trail that zigzagged up a rocky bluff and out of the canyon. As I slithered over the rim, careful not to be silhouetted against the sky, I glanced back. A dense fog was rolling out from where our camp had been. Already the near half of the valley was drowned in a thick black mist. Between the shadows and the traps, Grayborn's hunters were in for a long night.

We crossed the river upstream from the bridge. The water was wide and deep, but not particularly fast. We forded it without being detected and with little trouble. There was a brief moment of excitement when the log that Priest and Marsuf were using to ferry their clothes and equipment across rolled, condemning the two of them to spend the rest of the night in wet armor.

Once on the other side, we stayed off the road for a few miles until the suddenly thickening forest forced us to either take the road or cut our own trail. We took the road, still wary of pursuit from behind or patrols from ahead, but we saw neither that night. We left the road shortly before dawn, making camp for the day in a small clearing where a huge tree had fallen and died. The clearing was choked with dense, wiry bushes laden with strange dark berries. Crystal delightedly informed us that they were called blackberries. They proved delicious.

We spent the day resting as best we could in the thorny tangle. Most of us napped in the small clear space around the fallen tree trunk. Jackal went so far as to scrape out a shallow hole into which he curled himself, snarling at anyone attempting to rouse him. The rest of us took turns standing watch. Despite our concerns about pursuit, the only traffic we saw all day was a lone rider headed back towards Canterberry.

Crystal and Moonbright found me on watch. I was sitting in the shadow of a particularly large blackberry bush, allowing me to watch the road while remaining hidden.

Crystal plopped down next to me with an exhausted sigh. “I thought we'd never get away!”

“Lamb harassing you again?”

“Yes! He keeps asking me questions about Windsoar and whether it has walls and towers and things like that. I told him that I had only been there once when I was young, but then he started asking how many soldiers Lord Cirrus had and whether the place could 'stand a siege'. What's a siege, anyway?”

“Its when you try to take a city away from someone. Usually it means going under or over or through the city wall.”

“Oh. Does it take long?”

“It depends. Sometimes it takes years.”

“Wow!” Crystal paused to nibble thoughtfully on a blackberry. “But what happens if you can't get in?”

“You leave. Company's only done it three times since I joined, and all three times it was because our patron backed out of the contract, not because we were beaten.” This was said with some amount of pride on my part. Only one other mercenary band had anywhere close to as good a record with sieges as the Company, and they exclusively specialized in siege work.

I wondered what would have happened had the Company ever faced them over a city. Lieutenant Viorel would kill to get his hands on their siege engines, were half the tales about them true. I reached up to pluck another blackberry.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Crystal stiffen.

“Don't move.” she whispered, slowly lowering her horn at something to my right.

I slowly turned my head in that direction. A striped green snake was slithering towards us through the brush.

“Don't. Move.” Crystal hissed, her horn beginning to glow.

“Mine!” Jackal shouted, diving out of nowhere to pin the snake to the ground with both hands. The three of us scrambled back as the wizard deftly shifted his grip to immobilize the thing's head.

As he triumphantly held his prize aloft, the snake opened its mouth wider than I would have thought possible, baring two stubby fangs. Twin jets of venom sprayed from its fangs into the wizard's face.

Fortunately, it takes a special kind of wizard to run with the Company. Fast as the snake was, Jackal was faster. He squealed and ducked away, twisting the snake's head away from his own. The stream of venom that should have struck him full in the face merely grazed his left cheek. The two of them thrashed on the ground for a moment before Jackal wrestled the thing into a sack.

Lamb and Priest crashed through the brush, hands on their swords. We all stared at Jackal as he got back to his feet, grinning from ear to ear. “Got a snake!” he said, holding up the wriggling bag.

“He got you a little too.” I said, pointing to his face. The exposed skin on his cheek and ear was already turning red.

Lamb sighed. “Priest, if he dies slowly and painfully, please let me know.” he said, disappearing back into the brush.

Priest grasped Jackal's chin, tilting his head to the side like an artist examining a painting. “Crystal, do you know that breed of serpent?”

“Its a Swamp Spitter.” Crystal said, staring at Jackal like he was insane. “The venom isn't deadly, but it burns if you don't clean it off.”

“Ah well, I suppose a painful death was too much to hope for.” Priest said cheerfully, wiping his hands.

“The biggest danger is getting it in your eyes.” Crystal went on. “If you don't wash it out, it'll blind you.”

Jackal's grin grew wider. “Ohh, yes.” he whispered to the bag. “This is wonderful.” He whirled and vanished into the bushes.

“Don't forget to wash that shit off!” Priest called after him. He looked over at me, shook his head. “I'm going back to sleep.”

I settled back under my bush.

“Is-is he insane?” Crystal asked, staring after Jackal.

“Probably a little. Most wizards are. Hell, not just the wizards, most of us are probably insane to one degree or another. Like you said, what kind of person kills for money?”

Crystal's laugh was tinged ever so lightly with hysteria. “I'm starting to understand that.”

For the next three days we journeyed north, traveling by night and hiding by day. We saw nothing of the enemy except lone riders hurrying along the road. Lamb's strict orders to remain hidden were obeyed, although the riders were eyed hungrily by whoever was on watch. On the fourth day, however, things changed. As we prepared to break camp late in the evening, Priest reported seeing a fire back down the road. Jacky Boy and Flick were dispatched to investigate. They returned with intriguing news: one of Grayborn's supply caravans, bound for somewhere ahead of us, was setting up camp for the night not a mile down the road. Five wagons with teamsters, a few mounted outriders, and twenty ponies were an enticing target, even for our small band. It was the last item that got Crystal's attention. She begged Lamb to help free her friends. The rest of us backed her, eager to stick a thorn in Grayborn's side. Lamb gave his consent, then gave his orders.

We struck from the deepening shadows as Grayborn's men were cooking dinner. Undisciplined and unprepared, the enemy was dead or fleeing within minutes of our opening volley. Marsuf and Egg gleefully ran down the fugitives while the rest of us secured the camp. I helped Crystal free the captive ponies. They huddled together, bewildered at the sudden turn of events. I let Crystal approach them first while I helped the others rummage through the wagons. They were filled with the usual army gear: food, tack, clothing, bits and pieces of armor, several bundles of spears. There seemed to be an unusual number of arrows and bowstrings present.

After a few minutes Crystal came back with a large black stallion in tow.

“This is Cinder.” she said. “He was our neighbor back in Canterberry. Cinder, this is one of the humans who rescued us.”

“Can't thank you enough.” the pony said, holding out a hoof. I took it, somewhat awkwardly. “Name's Cinder Forge, and I hafta say, you fellas are a sight for sore eyes. Thought we'd spend the rest of our lives hauling these dang wagons.”

“Marus, Black Company.” I said. “Happy to help. Freeing Grayborn's captives is priority right now.”

“And speaking of priorities, we need to get moving soon.” Lamb spoke up. “Are the ponies fit to move?”

“I'm fit, but I don't think some of the others are.” Cinder said. “We ain't exactly been getting vacations, if you know what I mean.”

Cinder led the way back to the other ponies. They stared up at us with some apprehension, but they seemed fairly calm, especially with Crystal there to explain things.

“Alright, listen up, everypony!” Cinder said, looking around the group. “I'm sure we've all got questions, so let's let Crystal and her friends say their piece.”

Flick mumbled. “Lovely, I'm playing backup to a magic pony.”

“These men come from another world, just like him.” Crystal explained. “They're here to kill him and help us take back our homes.” Her voice started shaking. Lamb stepped in.

“We're heading for Windsoar. You're coming with us, unless you'd rather strike out on your own.”

There were murmurs of surprise from the group.

“Uhh, boss?” Cinder spoke up hesitantly. “You don't wanna keep going this way. Grayborn's army is camped at the edge of the Everfree. Its a war zone out there.”

“Is there a way around?” Lamb demanded.

“Not without going the long way 'round through the Everfree.”

“War zone with whom?” I interrupted.

Cinder shrugged. “Don't know, we never went to where the fighting was. Probably the Windsoar pegasi though. No one else around could put up a fight like them.”

“How far from here to Grayborn's camp?” Lamb asked.

“Should be another day, maybe a little less.”

“Alright, we'll discuss it on the way.” Lamb decided. “Marus, Priest, empty out this wagon and grab some extra food and water from the supplies. Flick and Egg, head back to our camp and grab our gear, we'll meet you there. Jackal, Marsuf, stack the rest of the supplies with the other wagons and burn them. As for you ponies, if you can walk, great. If you can't, ask someone to help you into the wagon. We'll have some food for you in there and you can rest up. Jacky Boy, you're with me. Let's get these horses hitched up. Move!”

Priest and I kicked the bundles and bales out the back of the wagon, then helped the ponies up inside. Many were in bad shape, we had to carry several from where they had collapsed on the picket line. Besides the marks of brutal and repeated whippings, there were no serious injuries; the ponies had simply been worked half to death. I helped Priest lay them out near the front of the wagon where he could work on them. Meanwhile, Jacky Boy and Lamb had cobbled together a crude harness to hold two of the escorts' horses that seemed to be in fair condition. It would be a tight fit, but we managed to load all the injured ponies into the wagon, along with some supplies. Priest was already doling out flatbread cakes and water from one of the bags.

I walked beside the wagon with Cinder and the others as Lamb whipped up the horses and we rolled out of the camp. I looked back over my shoulder as our two resident pyromaniacs touched off the remaining wagons in a massive orange fireball. I hoped our new friends got some small consolation out of the fact that Grayborn's men would be going hungry.

Egg and Flick were waiting for us as we came abreast of our camp. We took up our packs, rotated a few ponies into the wagon, and marched on into the night.

We made good time, all things considered. Aside from Crystal and Moonbright, none of the ponies could keep up the pace for long. They had, after all, been pulling heavily loaded wagons all day. By the end of the night, the wagon was nearly overflowing, with ponies packed into the bed and spilling onto the driver's board. Lamb was wedged into the center, doing his best to drive the wagon with an exhausted pony curled up against him on either side and a third on his lap. The rest of us helped with the overflow, cradling a pony apiece in our arms as we walked alongside the wagon. I must here make an official note: Let the Annals show that at no point in the journey did Priest gently stroke his pony's mane and scratch behind her ears, and that any statements made to the contrary are baseless slander.

“Well, that's a battlefield alright.”

“That must be Windsoar way over there.”

“Lot of open ground between here and there.”

“No way we're getting the wagon across either, that field is solid mud.”

Jackal, Lamb, and I were crouched behind a rotting log on the edge of the forest. A few dozen yards in front of us was a crude dugout, part of a chain stretching off in either direction under the eaves of the forest. Grayborn's men had excavated a few feet of earth, piling it along the front and sides, then laid logs across the top. A shallow trench ran along the back, connecting it to its fellows on either side. A slow, steady drizzle beat down, completing the bleak picture.

“Alright, we'll wait for night, sneak across under cover of darkness.”

“They'll be expecting their supply caravan today.” I said. “When it doesn't come, they're going to go looking for it”

“We'll risk it.” Lamb said.

“We can hide in the forest,” Jackal spoke up, “but how long will we last before Grayborn's cavalry hunts us all down? I say we go now. I'm willing to take that chance.”

“But I'm not.” Lamb replied. “I'm going back for the others. You two stay and keep watch.”

Lamb folded himself up against the log and closed his eyes, whispering under his breath as his hands dipped into various pouches and pockets. I checked my crossbow and settled myself in a position where I could see but not be easily seen. Of course, all there was to see was a stretch of muddy trench and a few dugouts, beyond which lay a wide plain of churned mud. There was no sign of life anywhere. The only sound was the steady patter of rain on leaves.

“Cheerful place.” I murmured to myself.

Lamb returned in ten minutes with Flick and Marsuf.

“Alright, we've found a place back in the trees where we can hide for now.”

Jackal came out of his trance. “I still say this is unwise.”

“Duly noted.” Lamb unslung his crossbow. “Now follow me.”

“If we're spotted, you run as hard as you can.” I said. The semicircle of ponies stared up at me. “You get across the field to Windsoar and you'll all be safe. We'll be behind you to ward off pursuit.”

“And be shot full of arrows.” Flick pushed past me. “Come on, we're taking the dugout.”

“Coming.” I turned. “Cinder, you're with us. You'll hold at the edge of the forest. Once we have the trench, we'll signal you to go back and get the others. Crystal, you keep them together.”

“You got it, boss.”

“I'll do my best, Marus.”

The drizzle had trailed off by the time we were all in position. The overcast, cloudy day dipped into inky darkness. A fire burned inside the shelter before us; to our magically augmented vision the dugout was an island of white-hot light in a sea of cool blue twilight.

“Grayborn needs to have his boys dig their shelters a little closer together if they want mutual protection.” Priest whispered.

“Leave a note.” I whispered back.

Jackal finished setting his spells and we attacked. It was nothing epic; Jackal whipped aside the blanket hanging over the entrance and the rest of us pincushioned the surprised warriors inside. Jacky Boy and Marsuf entered to finish off any survivors while I gave Cinder the high sign. He galloped away for the others.

Twenty ponies aren't exactly quiet, but bunched together we could all just fit inside Jackal's spell zone. We sloshed across the field, the line of fires behind us diminishing with each step. It was a long, wet, muddy walk, but at least it was quiet. No arrows winging out of the darkness or shouting horsemen swooping in to run us down. At last we stood before the gates of Windsoar and were challenged by the guards. Anticlimax. I can live with that.

Chapter 6: Windsoar

We stood around in the drizzle while Crystal and Cinder argued with the guards atop the gate.

“You'd think we'd be more credible with all these ponies around us, not less.” Flick observed.

“Would you let us in if you were them?” I asked.

“Point. How bad do you think the fighting was around here?”

“No bodies or gear that I saw,” Priest said. “Just a lot of damn mud.”

“A siege, then,” Lamb spoke up. “But how do you besiege a city where the people inside can fly?”

I glanced back at the guards hovering over the gateway, noticing for the first time that they and the wall they guarded were perfectly dry. So, weather control. Impressive weather control. My respect was somewhat blunted by the fact that, while they were warm and dry, we were standing around in ankle-deep mud getting thoroughly soaked.

In the end, they let us inside. There was a great deal of fuss and excitement: drums rolled, reserves were called out, torches were lit, messages went up the chain of command and back down again. When we passed through the gate, our little band was greeted by a double line of pegasi hovering on either side of the archway, spears lowered and ready. A big white stallion landed in front of us.

“Don't move!” he barked. “Drop your weapons!”

“Can't do both.” Flick helpfully pointed out.

The pegasus blinked but resolutely stuck to his script. “Lord Cirrus Nimbus has ordered you to be brought before him. Give up your weapons at once.”

“That's harsh,” Jacky Boy complained. “All we've done and you don't trust us enough to-”

“Quiet.” Lamb growled at him. “Do as the pony says.” He unbuckled his sword belt, laying the weapon carefully on the pavement. “All your weapons, mind you.” His right hand made a quick gesture as he reached behind his back to unsheathe a long knife. I smiled to myself as I followed his lead.

Satisfied that we were following orders, the pegasus turned his attention to the ponies in our group.

“Sergeant Dazzle! Get these ponies to the infirmary immediately. Have the doctors check them for injuries, and see that they're cleaned up and fed.”

A yellow pegasus saluted and swooped down to land in front of our bedraggled companions.

“Right this way,” she said, “We'll get everyone taken care of, sure enough.”

Crystal glanced back worriedly at us as she followed the rest of the herd.

I winked at her. “We'll be fine, go on.”

She smiled back and trotted after the others.

Between the eight of us, we left quite a nice pile of weapons behind, although there may have been a few small oversights. For one, my boot knife rode snugly in its usual place. Pure forgetfulness on my part of course.

The guards escorted us onwards. They seemed well disciplined enough, hovering a few paces behind and to either side of us. While their spears were still trained on us, they didn't seem eager to use them at the slightest provocation. Still, best not to give them one.

I looked around the city that we were being marched through. A short way from the gate, the road curved up to the first in a series of terraces that stair-stepped up the mountainside. As we wound our way upwards, I noticed that there seemed to be remarkably few buildings for a city covering this much land. Most of the ground was dedicated to crops of one kind or another.

“Looks like you're expecting some rain.” I said cheerfully to one of the pegasi on my right, pointing to the towering mass of clouds covering the mountain's peak.

“No talking!” the captain growled.

“I was just...because the clouds. They look like a castle.” I finished lamely.

“No, they look more like a fish.” Jackal opined.

“You must be shitting me.” Jacky Boy chimed in. “That's clearly a ship.”

“I said no talking!” the captain shouted.

We lapsed into silence. “Bastard.” Jacky Boy grumbled.

It was a castle. A perfect likeness of a castle: gates, walls, towers, and turrets, all sculpted out of cloud. We passed under a cloud gateway with pegasi patrolling along the top. I dragged my hand along the wall. It didn't swirl away like mist or fog, but merely parted like bunches of finely spun cotton. One of our escorts immediately swooped in and brushed it back into place with a wing while another herded me back with the others. So, the clouds were solid for them but not for us. Interesting.

We were marched into the great hall. I noted with some disappointment that it was constructed entirely of stone. A fire crackled merrily in a large fireplace on one wall, and a raised dais occupied the far end. Occupying the dais was a huge gray pegasus, staring us down the whole way.

“So,” he said, stroking an impressive goatee as the guards planted us in front of him, “I am Lord Cirrus Nimbus of Windsoar Castle. You will tell me who you are. And then,” he roared, his wings snapping open, “you will tell me why I should not have you thrown from the highest turret of this fortress!”

Lamb authorized me to speak for us all by rabbit punching me in the kidney.

I took a step forward, bowed.

“We are the Black Company, Lord Cirrus. We are the enemies of your enemies and the friends of your people. The rescued ponies in your house speak for our allegiance and the trail of bodies behind us speak for our skill.”

I repeated the bow, stepped back into line.

“Damn.” Lamb whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “Didn't know you had that on tap.”

“Read it in the Annals.” I whispered back.

“You'll forgive me if I'm somewhat skeptical.” Cirrus sneered. “Since your kind first appeared, you have done nothing but ravage our lands and enslave our people.”

“My dear, if you spent more time with the prisoners and less in the sky, you would know that their kind are called humans.” A second pegasus entered from a side door to stand beside Cirrus.

Jackal stiffened like a hound catching a scent. “Prisoners?”

“Lady Stratus, I presume?” I bowed again.

“You may.” she smiled. “But come, you have me at a disadvantage. I must know the names of the brave humans responsible for rescuing so many ponies.”

“My name is Marus. These are my brothers: Lamb, Jackal, Priest, Marsuf, Egg, Jacky Boy, and Flick.”

“My, such a large family.” She made a kind of curtsy. “I am Lady Stratus Nimbus, and this is my mate, Lord Cirrus Nimbus. You are most welcome in our house.”

“They could be spies!” Cirrus protested. He wheeled to face me, jabbed a hoof in my face. “You. Prove you are not a spy.”

“With pleasure.” This pegasus was starting to irritate me. “Lady Stratus, how many prisoners do you have?”

“Only two. We captured them when they first attempted to storm Windsoar's walls. We have kept them safe in the dungeon, but beyond proclaiming their allegiance to another human named Grayborn, they have been quiet. I have tried to speak to them many times, but have learned little about them.”

“Or why they persist in attacking us.” Cirrus growled.

“I'll wager you weren't asking nice enough.” Jackal said. He saw where I was going with this.

“If you would, Lady, please have one of the prisoners brought up here.”

“Very well, Marus.” She nodded at a guard. “Do as he asks.”

I turned to the others as the guard zoomed off. “I'll handle this. Jackal, can I count on a little wizardly intimidation if I need it?”

Jackal grinned like a child clutching a new toy. “Count on it.”

The clinking of shackles preceded the appearance of the prisoner a few minutes later. I looked him over as he entered. Small, dusky, and dirty, like most of the men we'd fought back in the mountains.

I strode over as the guard prodded him forward.

He blinked up at me, startled. “Who're you? You here to get me out?” He noticed the others behind me. “You lot work for Grayborn? Did we win?”

“No and no and no.” I flipped back my cloak, exposing the Company badge pinned to my breast.

He stared at it, the color draining from his face.

“Got it in one.”

His mouth flopped open. He started babbling something, maybe a prayer or a plea. I cut him off.

“Shut it. I ask the questions, you answer them straight. Or maybe you'd rather talk to Jackal?”

Jackal grinned, waved. Something long and black and chitinous with too many legs curled around his upraised hand, vanished back up his sleeve. The prisoner started shaking.

“Now then,” I said, pacing the floor like an inquisitor. “Tell our hosts who we are.”

“You're the B-Black C-Company.” he stammered.

“Good. Now, are we your friends?”

“N-no.”

“And are we Grayborn's spies?”

“No.”

“Well, there you have it.” I spun on my heel to face the two pegasi. “I submit that we are not spies.”

“Perhaps.” Cirrus said grudgingly.

Stratus smiled. “Of course they are not, dear.” She waved a hoof at the guard, who led the shaking prisoner away. “I never doubted you for a moment, Marus.”

She glided down from the dais, struck a formal pose. “Allow me to welcome all of you to Windsoar Castle. I would speak to you at length, but I believe such conversation is better left until tomorrow. I would not wish to subject you to an interrogation while you are still tired and hungry. While our more luxurious apartments here are inaccessible to non-pegasi, we will have accommodations prepared for you as soon as possible. You must be quite exhausted after such a daring escape.”

I glanced back at the others. Lamb made an emphatic affirmative gesture.

“We humbly accept, lady.”

“Wonderful!” She rose into the air, hovering effortlessly. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have matters to discuss with my mate. The guards will show you out.”

I bowed again and fell in line with the others as we filed out.

Our quarters proved to be a large storeroom that was being emptied out for our use. The guards kept us corralled in an antechamber while the preparations were made. Either they didn't want us big scary humans frightening the staff, or they were testing which of us would be the first to snap and start eating a guard to stave off starvation. Thankfully they got things ready before we had to test that theory. We trooped inside, found bedding set out on one side, a plank table with food and drink on the other. There were even several basins of water for washing up. Everything we needed. Well, almost.

I collared one of the guards on his way out.

“I don't mean to complain, because you've done a great job getting everything ready for us, but you wouldn't happen to have some beer on hand, would you?”

“Beer?” He looked confused.

“Brown beverage. Strong. Cures life's ills.”

He looked like he couldn't decide whether I was putting him on or being deadly serious. He decided to err on the side of caution. “Err, yes sir, I do know what beer is. I don't believe there's any in the castle. There may be a keg or two in lower Windsoar, but I don't know if I could lay hooves on them at this hour.”

“What about wine?”

He perked up “Ah, yes sir. What vintage should I ask for?”

“Oh, don't trouble yourself about that,” I chuckled, “just send up a couple of skins.”

The guard's face wavered between confusion and horror as he beat a hasty retreat. I belatedly realized that a race of near-pacifist herbivores would probably store their wine in something other than goat skins. Truly, I had been in the desert too long.

I chose to wash before tackling the food, as did most of my brothers. You can usually find food while campaigning, but a hot bath is rarer than roc's eggs. Speaking of eggs, I was relieved to find that we were not expected to subsist on hay and various varieties of herbs. All in all, the food was superb, although I had a sinking feeling that I had seen the last of red meat for a while. The others realized it too. Some of them took it better than others. The return of the guard I had sent out for wine lightened the mood. He presented us with four dusty bottles, eyed the decimated buffet with a glimmer of apprehension, and disappeared.

“Alright.” Lamb said. “Everyone gather round. Its time for a little council. Jackal, if you would?”

Jackal muttered some words under his breath and wiggled his hands around. “Done.” He snagged a wine bottle, started prying at the seal.

“Marus, what's your opinion of our hosts?”

“Wary. Good potential allies though. They may be underestimating the threat posed by Grayborn's soldiers. I'd say they're baffled by the situation more than anything, although their attitude is more belligerent than any of the other ponies we've seen so far. Not that we've seen many ponies, of course. For all we know, Canterberry is some sort of pacifist enclave.”

“Can they be turned to our side?”

“Yes, as long as we don't present it in those terms. What I mean is, we shouldn't present ourselves as foreigners requisitioning manpower-”

“Horsepower.” Jacky Boy snickered.

Lamb slapped him in the back of the head and took away his wine bottle.

“-but instead as unexpected allies that can solve their problem.”

I looked around the circle. Heads nodded in agreement. Flick worked the cork out of his bottle with a delicate pop. He tipped the bottle back, took a swig.

“What's our course of action?” Priest asked.

“Barring dramatic revelations, we stay here.” Lamb replied. “Our hosts seem friendly enough, and we share a common enemy. Our main goal is still to link back up with the Company, but I'd say we're safer waiting for them here than out in the wilds.”

“How much do we tell our hosts about the Company and our mission here?” I asked. “Even people as trusting as these ponies have been are going to want to know our story and where we come from.”

“We tell them nothing.” Jackal said, tugging on his recalcitrant cork. “Our history is none of their concern.”

Lamb considered. “We tell them as little as possible, but we tell it to them straight. But we don't let on that the Company might show up here. They've been welcoming enough to eight of us, but six thousand of us appearing out of the blue is threatening no matter how you look at it. We still don't know how they'd react to losing control of the situation.”

“They already have.” Marsuf spoke up. “Grayborn's men are on their doorstep and they are welcoming strangers inside their gates. They are reacting, with no more control over events than us.”

“We know what's coming.” Flick passed his bottle to me. “Give us a little time to drill these ponies in proper warfare and I'd say we stand a pretty good chance of making it out of this in one piece.”

“Marus, you play a good diplomat.” Lamb said. “Stick with the lord and lady and make us indispensable.”

“Good thing that won't take much effort on my part.”

“Don't get snarky. I've got a bad feeling that things are about to go sideways. When they do, I want the locals on our side.”

I wasn't done. “I'm not doubting that they'll be on our side, just that our side is looking pretty pathetic at the moment. Eight of us and some flying ponies versus Grayborn and his brigands? Those are some pretty long odds.”

“Come on, Marus,” Jacky Boy said with a look of owlish solemnity, “don't you know you're not supposed to look a gift horse in the mouth?”

“Kick him.” Flick advised. Egg obliged.

“I know the odds could be better.” Lamb said, when order had been restored. “But this place has the closest thing to an army we've seen so far. We get a few months to whip them into shape and we'll be in business.”

Egg said. “They have courage and discipline. They lack only experience.”

“And that, we can provide,” Lamb said, “as long as Marus gets us in with the bosses.”

“No pressure there.” Flick grinned at me.

“Easier than busting raw recruits.” I retorted, snagging a passing wine bottle.

“Egg and I will handle that.” Lamb said. “Priest will be in charge of supplies. Flick, you and Marsuf will be responsible for scouting and intelligence, Jacky Boy and Jackal take care of arms and munitions. We've got a great big wall out there, no sense in not having plenty of stuff to throw off the top.”

“Our soldiers can fly.” I reminded him. “We can drop stuff from anywhere we please.”

Lamb grinned as the realization struck him. “Shit. We've got a whole other set of options to play with.”

“This is big.” Priest had downed almost a whole bottle and was feeling contemplative. “I mean, step back and think about what we've done. I know we've been fighting and running and bushwhacking every step of the way for the past week or so, but we're in another world. A whole other world. And not just that, but we've found a race of talking ponies that can fly and do magic and all kinds of shit. And on top of that, they want to be friends with us so we can take down a wizard.” He jabbed a finger at me. “That's one for the Annals right there.”

I felt I had a duty to play it cool. I shrugged. “Stranger things have happened, back in the day. Some of the old Annals talk about a whole ring of gates, connecting different worlds.”

“Yeah, back in the day.” Priest retorted. “I'm talking about now. Doesn't matter what I do for the rest of my life, this'll be what I remember.”

“What happened to the gates?” Jacky Boy wanted to know. “Our world's never had some invasion from another world, least that I know about.”

“Not all invasions are hostile.” I reminded him. “Technically speaking, we're invading this world.”

“No shit.” Flick said contemplatively. “Hey, do you think there's some kind of reward? You know, for exploring a new world.”

“Its not really new.” I protested.

That sidetracked the conversation for a bit. Jacky Boy was dispatched to find more wine when our stock ran out. He returned with an armful of bottles and a worried guard investigating the sudden demand for alcohol.

“Official business.” I assured him.

“But-”

“Official. Business.” I shut the door in his face.

“Um, sir?” a muffled voice said from the other side of the door. “You just shut your hand in the door.”

“...knew that.” I closed the door properly, examined my injured hand. Clearly, more wine was needed to dull the pain.

A great drum was beating somewhere. Its relentless echos thundered through the stone halls, reverberating off the walls and causing the very air to pulse to its beat. I cracked an eyelid. No, it was just my hangover.

“Good morning, Marus.” Egg thrust a cup of water into my hand. He was one of those infuriating people who never seem to suffer ill effects from heavy drinking.

“Mrgg.” I levered myself upright and managed to get the cup to my mouth on the second try.

Beside me, Flick elected to make the journey to the water basin on his hands and knees.

We were mostly presentable when the guards came to collect us. They goggled at the state of the room, although I couldn't say what startled them more: the staggering number of empty wine bottles or Jacky Boy depositing his dinner on the floor before them.

We were marched into the great hall under heavy guard, although they bore no visible weapons. As before, the lord and lady faced us from atop the dais at the end of the hall. This time they chose to receive us sitting down. Their seats weren't exactly thrones, but their positioning certainly lent them a royal air. Subdued enough to satisfy a jealous sovereign, but majestic enough to proclaim their owners' power.

“Good morning, humans. I trust our hospitality was to your liking?” Lady Stratus was all smiles and sunshine.

“It was, my lady.” I stepped back into my role as spokesman for the group.

Lord Cirrus spoke up. “We have discussed what to do with you. We believe that, despite all that we have suffered at the hands of your kind thus far, we may yet find common purpose with you.”

He leaped down from his seat and began pacing the platform.

“We find ourselves faced with a situation unlike any we have ever encountered. These humans are a foe of which we have no knowledge and which have thwarted our best efforts to expel them from our lands. As much as it pains me to say it, I admit that your experience outweighs ours in these matters. Last night you said that these humans were your enemies. I must ask you to prove that now and stand with us.”

“These are your fellow humans.” Lady Stratus chimed in. “If anyone can provide a resolution to this problem, it is you. We will fight if necessary, but I hope a peaceful resolution may yet be reached.”

Flick suppressed a guffaw. Jackal didn't bother trying.

“My lady...” I tried to think of a way to enlighten her without being downright insulting. “...they...aren't looking for a peaceful resolution. They're here to kill you, take your lands, and enslave your people. Maybe peace could be made if it was just the few hundred out there, but its not. There's ten times that number a week's march away and their master's with them. And he's not backing down because he has no down to back to. I told you last night that we belong to the Black Company. Well, back in our world, we were hired to kill this wizard Grayborn. He fled to your world, and now the rest of our brothers bar his exit. At the time, we didn't know your world existed, we just thought Grayborn had gone to ground in some caves. But then we found the gate to your world and here we are.”

“I...see.” Cirrus said slowly. Stratus whispered something in his ear. He nodded.

“This situation is clearly more complex than we thought. If you would join us for breakfast, we wish to hear the whole story.”

Two other ponies joined us in the dining hall. Cirrus introduced them as Storm Front, captain of the guard, and Inkwell, trusted adviser. The latter, I noticed, was a unicorn, not a pegasus. Guards manned the doors and served us our meal. “There is no hiding that fact that there are humans in Windsoar.” Stratus explained. “We simply wish to minimize premature contact with the populace.”

I told them our story. I told them a little about the Company, picking the parts they needed to hear. I told them about our contract and how we executed it. I told them about the desert and the mountains. They were intrigued by our suspicions that Grayborn had found a way to use unicorn magic, although Inkwell scoffed.

“Magic is part of our very essence.” he said. “You cannot teach it to a non-unicorn, and you could more easily take a unicorn's horn than steal his magic.”

I told them about the caves and about how we found the gate. I told them about finding ourselves in their world and about Canterberry. Storm Front became angry when I told about what I saw there, and about rescuing Crystal and Moonbright.

“I told you we should have tried again!” he growled, slamming a hoof on the table. “We failed our people! Now they suffer for our weakness!”

“That decision was mine, captain.” Cirrus said wearily. Noticing my questioning look, he elaborated. “We attempted to relieve Canterberry some months back. I led the captain and a full company of our best fliers south. We failed to take back the city and lost a dozen good ponies in the attempt. We tried twice more, suffering heavy losses each time.”

“It can be done!” Storm Front insisted angrily.

“Captain, please.” Stratus said gently. “It will be done. But this is not the time nor the place for such outbursts.”

Storm Front subsided and I picked up my story. When I finished there was a thoughtful silence. Cirrus was the first to speak.

“I misjudged you, and for that I apologize.” he said frankly, looking around the table. “I see now that we share an enemy, one that we both wish to see defeated. To that end, I wish to formally offer your company an alliance with Windsoar. Our resources and soldiers are at your disposal. All I ask in return is that you use your experience to help defeat our enemy.”

Lamb stood up. “I accept you offer on behalf of the Company. Together-”

Jackal gagged.

Lamb shot him a dirty look. “Together I think we can defeat this bastard.”

Now it was my turn to shoot him a dirty look.

Jackal gagged again, clawed a napkin off the table. Holding it to his mouth, he hocked up a throat-full of blood. The four ponies scrambled to their feet in alarm.

“Should I call for a doctor?” Storm Front asked.

Jackal waved them off. “I'm fine.” He pressed the napkin to one nostril, then the other, snorted out more blood. “Damn, Chains never could send a message right.”

I explained for the ponies' benefit. “One of our other wizards back in our world contacted him using magic. Its usually not this bloody.”

“Because Chains is a fucking amateur is why.” Jackal grumbled.

Lamb said. “Alright, so if you're done criticizing your link to the Company, would you mind relaying his message?”

Jackal grinned, displaying a mouthful of bloody teeth. “You want the good news or the bad news?”

“Both, Jackal.” Lamb said patiently.

“Fine. Good news is Grayborn did half our job for us. He got antsy and collapsed the whole cave system. Our boys got wind of it so they were able to get clear in time. So, the gate's buried under a mountain's worth of rock, but so is a good chunk of Grayborn's army.

I interrupted. “And the bad news is the rest of that army, plus the man himself, is over here on our side now.”

Jackal grinned again. “Looks like.”

“Did they give an estimate on how long it would take to dig through to the gate?” Lamb asked.

Jackal shook his head. “Could be weeks, could be months.”

I said. “And we've got what? Two, maybe three weeks before Grayborn is knocking at the gates.”

“Windsoar can withstand a siege.” Cirrus spoke up proudly.

“Yes it will.” Lamb had a fire in his eyes now. He stood. “Lord Cirrus, Lady Stratus. I suggest we adjourn this meeting for another time, we've got plenty to do and little time to do it. Brothers, see to your assigned tasks. We've got a siege to plan.”

Chapter 7: Calm

“This could be a problem.”

I was standing at the foot of the citadel wall with Inkwell and several guards.

“I don't see the problem.” Inkwell said. “After all, the guards can still use the wall.”

“True enough.” I said. “But if we humans need to use it in an emergency...” I stuck an arm into the wall, wiggled it around. “...we're out of luck. Hell, if Grayborn breaches the lower wall, he can literally walk right through this one.”

“Relax, Marus, we're working on it.” Jacky Boy said as he strode past. “Besides, I thought you were supposed to stick with their lordships.”

“Stratus is busy and Cirrus left to go inspect the troops with Lamb and Egg. What are you doing up here anyway?”

“Jackal's supervising the work teams on the lower wall. He sent me back up here to get one of their lordships to sign off on some demolition.”

Inkwell started. “Demolition?”

“Minor demolition.” Jacky Boy reassured him. “We found a couple of blocked fields of fire.”

“Oh my.” The unicorn sounded nervous. “Perhaps I'd better come with you.”

“Whatever. So, Stratus?”

“Main hall.” I said absently, staring at the wall. A glimmer of an idea was beginning to take shape in my head.

I turned to the guard at my side. “I need some volunteers.”

Night was falling when they called us in for dinner. I found Cirrus, Stratus, and Inkwell in the main hall.

“Your brothers will not be joining us.” Stratus announced. “They informed us that they would be staying in lower Windsoar until their work is done.”

“Fine by me. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they work most nights too.”

“And you?” Stratus asked teasingly. “Are you going to work all night?”

“Lamb assigned me to be our go-between with you.” I grinned. “So I'm not working nights unless you are.”

Cirrus looked at me oddly. “Are all your kind so...driven?”

“Dear,” Stratus chided him gently, “they're called humans.”

I swallowed a massive wad of greenery. “Its alright. If I tried reciting all the dirty names we've been called over the years we'd be here 'till breakfast.”

Inkwell said. “I for one will be glad when this is over and we can have a proper talk. I have had several long discussions with the ponies you brought in, but I would like to learn more about you and your world from your own mouth. The meeting of two intelligent races is a momentous event, and I am saddened that it is blighted by such conflict.”

“I wouldn't mind filling you in on some things either, but I think we're going to be a bit preoccupied for the time being.” I waved a fork at Cirrus. “Speaking of, there's something I need to ask you. You're the lord of Windsoar, but is there anyone you owe allegiance to? A king or sultan or anything like that?”

“I serve their royal majesties Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, rulers of Equestria.” Cirrus said proudly.

“Princesses? No king or queen?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“Well, in my world, princesses are usually next in line to the throne. They don't actually rule, they become queens when they assume the throne.”

“Interesting.” Stratus said. “Are there many such rulers in your world?”

“Oh, wagonloads. Put a few on the throne ourselves, actually.”

Cirrus looked confused. “So you serve no ruler?”

“The Company serves the highest bidder, whether that's the king or his upstart brother. Or his chancellor. Lots of ambitious chancellors.”

Stratus said. “Strange, to serve so many different masters.”

I shrugged. “Its what we do. We don't care about politics. But getting back to my original question, if you owe allegiance to these princesses, isn't it your duty to inform them of this threat to their kingdom?”

Cirrus stiffened. “This invasion occurred in our lands and it will be dealt with by us. I see no need to trouble the princess with it.”

“In case you haven't noticed, Grayborn's occupied a good chunk of your lands and is using your people as slaves. At what point does this become serious enough to pass up to your superiors?”

“The invasion is contained.” Cirrus said through gritted teeth. “The enemy will penetrate no further into our lands. We have held them at bay for months, and now we will turn the tide. Your arrival here is welcome, of course, but not necessary for victory. We will defeat these invaders and drive them out.”

While I sputtered over that, Stratus seized the chance to turn the conversation to less dangerous topics.

Nobles. I swear, there's nothing worse than someone who thinks he's above it all. Even with all his arrogance, I hoped he was right, although my gut told me that we only had a week or two before Grayborn was baying at the gates. I didn't like our chances, and I didn't like Cirrus' attitude towards all this. I didn't know what kind of power structure Equestria had, but in our world, nobles who didn't request aid from their lord when invaded were either looking to break away on their own or were working for the other side. Maybe there was more to this than what I was seeing. I was operating under a pretty heavy handicap, what with having no knowledge of local politics or history. I decided to do something about that.

After dinner I hunted down Inkwell and got him to meet me down in our quarters with an armload of maps and records. Well, hornload in his case.

“Get me a map.” I said as he started sorting through the papers.

He unrolled a hefty parchment which covered half the table.

“We're here.” he said, pointing.

I studied the map for a long time, memorizing as much as I could while he pointed out cities and landmarks. The detail was excellent, although I suppose that had something to do with flying cartographers.

“Right.” I finally said. “I think I understand the lay of the land. Now, fill me in on the political landscape. To start, are there any other noble houses in this area?”

Inkwell sighed. “Yes.” He pointed to a city labeled Trottingham. “This is the home of the Silvershoes. As you can see, they are our neighbors to the south. Unfortunately, they are also our bitter rivals.”

“Why?”

Inkwell shook his head like someone who had been asked that question many times before. “It is an old feud. If you gave me a fortnight to search the records I might be able to uncover the cause, but as it stands, who can say?”

“Are they stronger than you? Can their army match yours?”

“I would think not. They are an old house, related by blood to the princesses in fact, but their strength lies in money and connections, not arms.”

“Interesting. So they have a claim for the throne then?”

“I suppose. The head of House Silvershoe is also the princesses' nephew. I do not believe that the princesses will be abdicating the throne anytime soon, however.”

“What about a coup? Is there any possibility that he would overthrow the princesses and take the throne for himself?”

Inkwell laughed. “I do not think so, Marus. In the nearly two thousand years that the princesses have ruled, there has never been any attempted rebellion by the nobles.”

I held up a hand. “As impressive as that is, go back to the part before that, because I'm pretty sure you just said they've been ruling for two thousand years.”

“Well, not quite two thousand, but-”

“Forget the specifics. They've been ruling for a hell of a long time. Are they immortal?”

“I believe so, yes. Of course, the only ones who would know for sure are the princesses, and they are known for being rather tight-lipped about their past.”

“Alright, so what makes them special?”

“The princesses are alicorns. They possess the natures and abilities of all three pony races, as well as being physically larger. I would estimate Celestia as being about your height, while her sister is a bit smaller.”

“Are there any alicorn nobles?”

“No, most nobles are unicorns, although there are some earth pony and pegasus nobility. There are only two other alicorns in Equestria: Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire and Princess Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville.”

“So all alicorns are princesses?”

“It...would seem that the two are related, yes.”

I chuckled. “Ink, your political system makes no damn sense. You've got four princesses but no king or queen.”

I think he took that a little personally. He spent the next twenty minutes trying to prove me wrong by going over the history of Equestria, starting with something called the 'Age of the Three Kingdoms' before shifting into the 'Time of Discord' and finishing with the modern age of the 'Diarchy'.

“Fascinating.” I said, when he finally ran out of breath. “Now, if you're quite done with the history lesson, I've got another question.” I held up the most recent record book. “What are the 'Elements of Harmony'?”

The next morning I hiked down the mountain to see what my brothers had been up to. I found Lamb and Egg on the parade ground with the Windsoar guards. Egg was beating the crap out some pegasi with a wooden sword. Lamb was shouting encouragement and advice.

“Move side to side!” he bellowed as a pegasus was smacked out of the air by Egg. “Don't attack straight on!”

A pegasus charged in from the side. Egg sidestepped and slashed up with his sword, clipping a wing. The pegasus spiraled into the ground. I noticed a row of dazed guards sitting off to the side, groaning and holding bruised limbs.

Another pegasus shot in low to slam into the side of Egg's leg.

“Good shot! Go for the back of the knee next time!” Lamb tapped the body part in question. “Clip the knee, finish 'em on the ground!”

He noticed me watching and strolled over, still bellowing encouragement.

“Morning, Marus. How are things in the citadel?”

“Well enough. Spent last night going over pony history with Inkwell.” I filled him in on a few of the more relevant details.

“Four princesses but no queen?”

“Yeah, I said the same thing.”

“Huh. Well, I guess if it works...”

“Right. The other thing is this 'Elements of Harmony' business. I couldn't get a straight answer out of Inkwell-”

“Wrap your legs around his neck! Choke him!”

“-but apparently they've figured out a way to harness the power of emotion, or something close to that.”

“No shit?”

“Inkwell's only heard about it secondhand, but apparently there's these six ponies that each represent an 'element', or quality respected by all ponies: honor, generosity, kindness, things like that.”

“Go for the eyes! Gouge his eyes-oh right, no fingers.”

“Each of the six has a gem that they can use to focus or channel their element in combat. Now, it only works when all six are together-”

“Don't be afraid to bite, son, got those teeth for a reason!”

“-but when they are, its apparently pretty devastating.”

“How devastating we talking?”

“I had Inkwell get me the records. In the last three years, there have been three serious threats to Equestria, not counting that coup up in the north.” I ticked them off on my fingers. “First, the younger princess went crazy and tried to seize the throne for herself. Second, some kind of elemental spirit of chaos got loose or broke out from somewhere. Third, some kind of shapeshifter tried to infiltrate the palace and kill the princesses.”

“Exciting times.”

“Yeah, but get this: in the first two cases, the Elements defeated the threat when no one else could touch them. The third case is a little less clear, apparently they had some secondary help or something.”

“Sounds like the kind of help we could use.”

“To put it mildly. If these records are right, this kind of power makes Grayborn look like a backwoods hedge wizard. If we can get them here, its all over but the screaming.”

“Alright, good job, he's down! Everyone up!” Lamb strode past me. “One moment.”

I turned around. Egg was nearly invisible under a pile of pegasi. Lamb started pulling them off.

“Good job, boys. Your technique needs some work, but you've got enthusiasm. And superior numbers. We'll beat the training into you eventually.”

He pulled Egg to his feet. “Alright there?” Egg spat out a feather and nodded.

Lamb passed him a bucket of water and turned back to the pegasi. “Alright, you did pretty good for beginners, but don't get too cocky. Remember, if that had been a real fight, Egg would have killed the lot of you.”

“Sir! What's a real fight like, sir?” The question came from somewhere in the back ranks.

Lamb turned his best sergeant glare in the speaker's direction. “Someone wants the real thing, do they? Step up!”

The ranks parted as a silver pegasus stepped forward.

Lamb bared his teeth in a grin. “So, what's your name, soldier?”

“Silver Streak, sir!”

“So, Silver Streak, you want to see blood, do you?”

“The pegasus laid her ears back. “No sir! I just-”

“Real fighting means blood, soldier!” Lamb barked. “Sooner you realize that, the better. Or did you think you could dogpile the enemy into submission like you did with Egg?”

“No sir!”

Lamb rubbed his chin and I started to get a sinking feeling in my gut. “I have an idea of how we might grant your wish.” He pointed to two guards at random. “You and you, bring one of the prisoners down here. Make sure to bring all his gear too.”

As the guards took wing Lamb turned back towards me. “Marus, feel like a little swordplay?”

“Don't you think its a little too soon for that?”

“No time like the present. What, you worried you'll get hurt? I could always get Priest to come hold your hand if you'd like.”

“I think you're going to spook the troops.”

Lamb was suddenly very close. “What would you have me do?” he hissed. “Wait until Grayborn's boys are climbing the walls before finding out that ponies don't know what real fighting looks like? There's a battle coming. And most of the killing is going to be done by these ponies. You and I both know what it looks like when wizards go to war. These ponies don't. So unless you want them running as soon as Grayborn starts his song and dance, we've got to give them something to look up to. We've got to look like the kind of iron-plated, death-eating war machines that give Grayborn screaming nightmares. Yeah, they're going to be spooked when you dismember this poor bastard. But they're going to remember it. And maybe it'll make them fear the other side a little less.”

I sighed. “Well, it wouldn't be the first time I've put on a show for the locals.”

Lamb slapped me on the shoulder. “That's the spirit! Remember, if you croak, I get your boots.”

I groaned and began limbering up.

I stood in the middle of the parade ground. A ring of curious, apprehensive pegasi circled the arena. At the other end stood the prisoner and Lamb.

“Alright, listen up!” Lamb bellowed. “This fine fellow here is going to get his shot at freedom today!” He clapped the prisoner on the back. The man looked confused.

“All he has to do to walk free is kill that man there!” Lamb pointed at me. Suddenly the prisoner looked a lot less confused.

“Watch and learn!” Lamb dropped the man's sword in front of him and nodded at the guards. “Release him.”

The manacles clattered to the grass and the guards sprang into the air, out of arm's reach. The prisoner stood for a moment rubbing his wrists, then looked back at Lamb.

Lamb winked. “Watch out, he bites.”

The man hesitated for a moment, then scooped up his sword and charged at me.

The bards love to sing about swordsmen performing great deeds through strength of will or righteous anger. If their tales are to be believed, a youth armed with his slain father's blade and a heart full of wrath is the most dangerous swordsman that you could ever face.

This is, of course, thoroughly untrue. An angry or inexperienced swordsman will try to use relentless, violent attacks to overwhelm his opponent's defenses. He will then be cut apart by his more disciplined adversary, who kept his head in the heat of battle. The Black Company trained us to be killers, not bravos. We abjure the path of the Red Brotherhood, which trains its members in a flashy, aggressive fighting style to intimidate opponents. We are efficient killers, and efficiency holds a terror all its own.

“And that, Silver Streak, is what a real fight looks like!”

I wiped my sword on the corpse's shirt and watched the pegasus. She held up better than I expected. They all did. Of course, Lamb didn't make them drag the body outside and bury it. Bastard.

“How are our auxiliaries coming along?” Priest asked, bandaging the cut on my arm that was my sole memento of the fight.

“Ten dinar says we last a week.”

“No can do, Marus. Already got twenty riding on five days.”

“Shit. Marsuf, right? Pessimistic bastard.”

“What can I say? A squad of us and some ponies versus a wizard and his army? Not good odds any way you look at it.”

“The odds would be better if I could convince Cirrus to ask for help.” I grumbled. “That pegasus is more stubborn than Jackal on a winning streak.”

“We've still got time, right?”

I nodded. “A little. Scouts are watching the road, so we'll get a couple days warning. Hey, did you know that pegasi can sleep on clouds?”

“No shit? How the hell do they-”

“Hey, Marus!” Jacky Boy dashed up, grinning from ear to ear. “You guys gotta come take a look at this.”

'This' proved to be a trio of crude catapults sitting behind the outer wall. Under Jackal's direction, crews of enthusiastic if inexperienced ponies were lobbing rocks over the wall.

“What do you think?” Jackal was pleased with himself.

“Not bad.” I said, kicking the frame of the nearest one. “You two build these?”

“Only the first one. I have teams building more right now. We will cycle the teams so they can learn to both build and operate them.”

“How many do you think you'll have ready?”

Jackal shrugged. “More time, more catapults.”

One of the catapults ran out of rocks. I grinned as a watching pegasus jumped into the bucket and tripped the catch. The pegasus was launched out over the wall, spreading its wings and soaring away at the apex of the arc. The crew whooped and cheered.

Jackal stormed off to shout at them.

I stood in the gateway and watched Flick and Marsuf lope in out of the perpetual drizzle outside. Flick grinned and gave me a thumbs up. Marsuf was liberally spattered with blood. From the contented look on his face, I guessed that none of it was his. Killing gave Marsuf a certain look in his eye. I usually saw that look in the eyes of men who had just enjoyed a woman. I learned not to ask. At least we'd finally got him to stop taking trophies.

The raids were mostly intended to eat away at enemy morale. The plan was for squads of ponies to eventually join them in the field, time permitting. Small victories would do wonders for our allies' confidence.

A week ticked by, then another. Still no sign of Grayborn.

We continued our preparations. Under Lamb's tutelage, the pegasi began to resemble a fighting force. Squads of pegasi began joining Flick and Marsuf in raiding up and down Grayborn's line, although they limited themselves to dropping spears and stones from above. Getting into the spirit of things, Storm Front suggested an idea that was swiftly implemented by Lamb and Egg: the Stormriders. Teams of pegasi mounted on clouds would hammer a trench or bunker with lightning bolts produced by their clouds. The results were spectacular. A concentrated volley of lightning bolts could literally blow a bunker apart. Flick noted that they were becoming increasingly comfortable with aiming their lightning at the actual enemies as well.

Priest quickly found that his assigned post as quartermaster was mostly unnecessary. With so much cultivated land inside the wall, Windsoar was capable of surviving for years on its own produce, besides having the supplies stored in the citadel. Plus, there was the fact that most of its population could fly. Priest joined Jacky Boy and Jackal in supervising the construction of catapults and ballista for the defense of the outer wall, as well as stockpiling countless bolts, spears, javelins, darts, and stones for use by the machines and the pegasi. Sadly, Jacky Boy's plan for constructing two gigantic catapults on the mountain peak was vetoed as impractical. He consoled himself by chiseling derogatory remarks about Grayborn's parentage into catapult stones.

I spent most of my time in the citadel with Inkwell, poring over maps and records. If Windsoar could hold, we would need outside assistance to drive Grayborn back and destroy him. If Windsoar fell, we would need a new safe haven. The closest and most likely candidate for both was Trottingham, but the feud meant that such an alliance was extremely unlikely. Again and again I insisted we send word directly to the princesses, but Cirrus always overruled me. Even with Inkwell backing me, the pegasus noble refused to consider that we might need help. I shifted my focus to Stratus. Perhaps Cirrus would agree if his mate was on my side.

“Marus.”

I grunted and opened my eyes. I had fallen asleep in the archives again.

Lamb stood over me. “Marus, get up. Grayborn's coming.”

“Scout just flew in.” Lamb said as we strode out of the citadel. “Grayborn's whole army's coming hell-for-leather up the road.”

“About time.” I said, forcing a laugh. “I was getting sick of waiting.”

The sky was clear, even over Grayborn's trenches.

“I've got the ponies working on something a little more effective than drizzle.” Lamb said when I asked him about the change in weather.

Cirrus and Storm Front swooped out of the sky to join us partway down the mountain. They seemed more nervous than fearful. I suppose that was a good thing. Still, no way to tell how they'd jump until the fighting started.

We spent the next few days putting the finishing touches on our preparations. Unless the Company decided to swoop down out of the blue, we'd be fighting for our lives within the week. Cirrus still refused to budge on calling for aid. Fifteen years with the Company and I was going to get killed because a flying pony got his tail in a knot over looking weak in front of his rivals. Unbelievable.

I was marginally cheered up by a visit from Crystal and Cinder. Cinder and several other Windsoar blacksmiths had put their heads together and banged out some armor for our squad. It was surprisingly high quality stuff. Flick proofed the breastplates with his crossbow and didn't so much as dent them. At least I'd die in one piece.

“Do you think we're ready for this?” Crystal asked.

I had the armor strapped on and was moving around, getting a feel for it. She was helping by whacking me with a stick. I didn't remember asking her to do that.

“No one's ever completely ready for a fight.” I said. “You just try to be as ready as you can be when the fight finds you.”

“So, is that a yes?” she asked playfully, thumping me in the ribs.

I grabbed the stick and hung on. “I think we're as ready as we'll ever be. We'll hurt Grayborn bad, although I wish you and the rest of the civilians would evacuate in case the worst should happen.”

The glow around the stick faded. “I convinced Jackal to let me fight.” she said soberly. “I'll be helping to keep the barrier up over the catapults.”

“Are you sure? What about your kid? Don't you think you should-”

“Moonbright will be safe in the citadel.” she interrupted. “And yes, I'm sure. I asked for this. I wanted this.” She stamped her hoof. “Celestia's sake, Marus, you weren't there when he attacked Canterberry! I want to help stop him! I need to help stop him!”

I took a knee beside her. She looked up at me. Her eyes blazed, but there were tears in the corners.

“Sorry.” I said. “I didn't mean it like that. I know you're not useless.”

“I lost my mate when they took Canterberry.” she said softly. “He tried to fight them off and they shot him.”

I laid a hand gently on her shoulder. “I'm sorry. He sounded like a brave pony.”

“Caramel Foam. His name was Caramel Foam. He was the best mate any mare could ask for. The best father.”

“I would have liked to meet him.” I said quietly.

“I was just so helpless.” She broke down and cried. I held her.

“We'll...we'll beat them, won't we?” she finally sniffled, looking up at me.

“Sure as the sun rose this morning.”

She wiped away the last of her tears. “I wish I had your confidence.”

“You will. And when the time comes, we'll make them bleed.”

“Yes.” she said. “Yes we will.”

Grayborn never slowed down. He drove his army up the road in record time, heedless of the pegasi that swooped down to drop rocks into the marching columns.

His army reached the edge of the forest late one afternoon and unfurled into a massive camp. I counted campfires as the sun went down and found myself revising our odds of survival downward. I had put on a brave face for Crystal, but I still had doubts. Oh, I knew with absolute certainty that Grayborn would be destroyed. I just wasn't sure if we, here and now, would be the ones to do it. Tomorrow would be a bloody day.

What might be our last day in Equestria came. The sky was, appropriately enough, leaden and dismal. No sun shone through the heavy gray clouds. The northern horizon was dark and the wind had a chill bite.

Heh. What my predecessors must think of me now. What is probably my last entry in the Annals and I spend it writing about the weather. Of such little details are our lives constructed.

One of the guards just flew in. Grayborn is breaking camp. His entire army is on the move.

I have left instructions with one of the guards here, made her swear to safeguard this book. When my brothers come here to end Grayborn, they will know all that has transpired. They will know that I have done my duty.

My name is Marus. I am the Annalist of the Black Company. Soldiers die, but the Company lives.

Chapter 8: Storm

We survived, most of us.

Egg and Marsuf are dead. They held the breach until the end. I record their passing here.

Brother Egg, rest in peace. We who remain salute you.

Brother Marsuf, rest in peace. We who remain salute you.

The rest of us are more or less cut up. Jacky Boy is worst off. Touch and go whether he'll pull through.

I'll live. Hard to write left-handed though.

Cirrus is dead, shot down while buying us time. He was a canny bastard, and I may have judged him too harshly. I should have known from the way the pegasi moved clouds around. The citadel was our escape.

Commander Storm Front died retrieving Cirrus' body. Stratus promoted Silver Streak in his place.

For now we drift south with the wind and lick our wounds. The one bright spot is Stratus. One of her first acts after the battle was to dispatch a messenger to the princesses requesting aid.

Too fucking late for my brothers.

I hurt all over. I haven't had a good night's sleep since the siege began. I'm going to lie here and not think about these clouds underneath me parting and dropping me hundreds of feet to the earth.

Please don't be angry with me, Marus. I just want to help you with the records. I know how careful you are with this book and I promise not to mess anything up.

Oh, this is Crystal, by the way.

I'm not hurt and neither is my foal, but a lot of ponies are. A lot of ponies have died. I didn't know all of their names, but they deserve to be remembered. I want to write down exactly what happened so that everypony will know how brave they were, even if I don't know all the right words like Marus does. I hope this is enough.

It was only three days ago when he first attacked, but it feels like a lifetime ago. I feel silly looking back. I had no idea what it would be like. What I was capable of.

I should start at the beginning.

On the first day I started off down behind the wall with the catapults. My job was to keep the magical barrier up over my assigned section to stop any arrows from hitting anypony. The hard part was opening a hole in the barrier every time a catapult launched a rock. That took some concentration. I was so nervous. I didn't know what to expect in a battle, although Lamb and Jackal had done a good job training us. I just tried to remember the training and not think about anything else. I think I did well, though. Nopony got hit in my section. Also, Cinder was on one of the catapult crews in my section. I felt better knowing he was nearby.

I didn't see any of the enemy on the first day. All I saw was the pegasi flying back and forth dropping things on the enemy outside while ponies on the wall stood and fired arrows. Sometimes they'd drop their bows and pick up their spears and stab with them over the wall. The humans ran back and forth on the wall keeping an eye on things. Whenever the guards on one part of the wall would pick up their spears, one or two of the humans would run over there too. They had spears like the guards, but bigger and longer. The only human that didn't run back and forth was the one that smiled all the time, Jackal. He stood on the wall over the gate and waved his hands around. Once I thought I saw what looked like colored ribbons or streamers float away from his hands and over the wall. Maybe he was doing magic tricks to keep the enemies distracted?

I asked Marus about it when he came by after the enemy stopped attacking. He looked funny with his face all red and sweaty. He just laughed and said something about cheap magic tricks being all Jackal was good for. I asked how the battle went and he said we did good. We hurt the enemy badly. I asked if they had killed him and he just shook his head. He said they hadn't seen him all day.

The enemy didn't attack that night, but Marus and the others kept watch all the same. I felt better with them out there, even if he was somewhere out in the dark too. I hugged Moonbright close and tried to sleep, but her nightmares kept waking her up. She had been getting better once we got to Windsoar, but now things were just as bad as they were back in Canterberry. I tried to be strong for her, but it was hard when there was nothing I could do for her.

That night a blizzard howled in from the north. When I walked outside the next morning, the ground was powdered with a thin layer of snow and I could see my breath in the air. Marus took me up on the wall to show me what the blizzard had done. The snow was thick on the field outside and there were huge drifts against the wall. Marus was happy. He told me that Lamb had gotten the pegasi to pull a snowstorm down from the north to slow the enemy down. I had never thought of using the weather as a weapon. Marus laughed and said that he had walked through enough mud and dust to think of the weather as just another enemy.

The enemy got over the wall on the second day. At first it was just like the first day. Then suddenly the air was so full of arrows that I couldn't open a hole to let the catapults launch their rocks. One of them launched anyway, but the boulder just bounced back off the barrier and rolled away. Everypony on the walls ducked down so they wouldn't get hit. Suddenly I saw heads start appearing over the wall from the other side. The humans ran over there and started fighting with them, but there were too many enemies and they started attacking ponies all along the top of the wall. Storm Front and the pegasi guards swooped down and attacked them from above. They worked together with the humans to kill the enemies or push them back over the wall.

I saw my first dead human up close that day. The big black human, Egg, picked up an enemy and threw him off the wall back towards the catapults. I was standing close to where he landed. He made a strange cracking noise when he hit the ground. I was scared, but I got ready to charge him like Marus had showed me. I stood and waited for him to get up, but he just lay there. I started inching closer but he didn't move. When I finally got up next to him, I noticed that his head was bent around underneath him. I realized he was dead, but it didn't seem real at the time. It seemed like it should be harder than that to kill a human.

The humans and pegasi drove the enemies away while I was staring at the dead human. Some pegasi finally came and took the body away.

I held my daughter for a long time that night before I could fall asleep.

The third day he came.

I had finished my turn keeping up the barrier and decided to visit Marus on the wall. It had been quiet so far that day. The enemies were keeping away from the wall. Every now and then they'd fire some arrows over at us, but the weren't trying to climb over the wall like they had yesterday. When I found Marus, he was curled up asleep. I was going to let him be, but then he shook himself and sat up. He had a bandage on his arm and a big cut across his cheek and nose. I asked him about it and he just smiled and said that ladies were supposed to like scars. I think he was joking. I told him about the human I saw die in front of me the day before. He nodded and said that getting used to seeing people die was never easy, but it was part of war. He started to tell me about his first battle but then there was a big commotion in the enemy camp. We looked across the snowy field and it looked like the whole enemy army was marching towards us. Marus and his brothers were all shouting back and forth at each other and Storm Front was calling up the guards to man the wall. I told Marus I wanted to fight. I thought he would order me off the wall, but he just looked at me for a second, then handed me a short spear and asked if I knew how to use it. I told him I was a fast learner.

The enemy army marched out onto the snowy plain and stood in front of the wall. Then he walked out between two rows of soldiers. He walked right up to the wall and stood there while all the archers and catapults and pegasi were firing at him. He just stood there while all the rocks and arrows just sort of missed. It must have been some kind of magic because I know Marus was a good shot and I saw him shoot an arrow right at him but he still missed.

Then he started speaking and I didn't know the words but they echoed and hurt my ears. I think Marus knew the words though because he grabbed me and dove down the stairs off the wall. We got to the ground and everypony was shouting and the pegasi were flying away from him and then the wall just melted. It sounds silly because everypony knows that stone can't melt but it did. It was like the wall was made of wax and somepony held a candle to it. A big section of wall flowed out and we had to jump back to avoid it. I saw him standing there in the middle of the gap and I thought he would walk through it and kill us all but he just smiled and turned around and walked away. Then his soldiers all shouted and charged through the opening where the wall used to be.

I had seen his soldiers burn Canterberry but that was a slaughter. I had seen Marus and his brothers kill his soldiers but that was a surprise attack. I had never seen how humans fought face to face. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.

It was a little like dancing except you weren't supposed to kill your partner when you danced. Marus and his sword danced together and the bodies piled up in front of them. I was beside Marus stabbing with my spear and the other ponies were on the wall but they kept coming and we went back, step by step.

Then they were over the wall on either side of us and the pegasi were all flying and the angry human, Lamb, was yelling at them to fall back. The ponies all ran for the citadel but the humans didn't run, they put their shields together like a wall and walked backwards and kept facing the enemy. Their shields were like a wall the enemies couldn't get through. They killed any of his soldiers who got too close and I stayed close to Marus because I thought that was safer but I didn't know how to dance with the enemy like he did. I know I killed at least one enemy though because my spear went into his stomach and he fell over and my spear wouldn't come out even though I pulled on it and then another enemy ran up and swung his sword at me but Marus blocked it with his sword and kicked the enemy between the legs and then Lamb stabbed him in the neck with his sword. They were very quick. Lamb would yell and then Marus and his brothers would all turn and run for the citadel as fast as they could and then Lamb would yell again and they would turn and walk backwards and kill the enemies again.

We stopped for a little while in town because the streets were narrow enough for the eight of them to block from one side to the other and the pegasi threw spears from the rooftops. Then I saw enemies with torches come up and they started burning buildings and we had to move again because the pegasi couldn't fly through all the smoke.

We fought them all the way up the terraces and up the mountainside and they started shooting arrows at us again but I was able to block them with my barrier. I was tired from all the fighting and running but I didn't let my barrier go down because I didn't want Marus and his brothers to die and I wanted to hurt him and I wanted to be there when Marus killed him and more than anything I wanted to see Moonbright again and hug her and tell her everything was going to be alright. Then I saw the enemy shoot Lord Cirrus when we were halfway up the mountain and he fell out of the sky into the road in front of us and Storm Front dived into the middle of the enemies after him and Lamb yelled for them to save Lord Cirrus and they charged forward and I saw Storm Front buck two enemies right off the mountainside and then Marus and his brothers were killing the enemies and pulling Lord Cirrus and Storm Front out of the pile of bodies. Lord Cirrus was covered in blood and there were arrows sticking out of him and I thought he was dead but then he coughed and said something to Marus and Priest, the nice human who was a doctor, but I couldn't hear what he said because he sounded so weak. I think he died then because Priest closed his eyes and told two pegasi guards to get Lord Cirrus to the citadel. Storm Front was already dead but Marus said he died defending his lord. He said he died well but I'm not sure what he meant by that.

His soldiers fought us all the way up the mountainside and no matter how many of them we killed there were always more behind them. Then we were at the gate to the citadel and the pegasi collapsed the wall on his soldiers so they were flailing around in a fog bank while Marus and his brothers fought them off. Inkwell and the other unicorns were using their magic so we could walk around in the citadel but they needed more time so Marus and his brothers said they would get it for us. Marus told me to go with the others and I said I didn't want to but then he yelled at me to go to Moonbright and so I went. Humans can be pretty scary even when they're friendly.

We all got into the citadel as quickly as we could while the humans held off his soldiers. Inkwell stayed with them to cast the cloudwalking spell on them. The pegasi started to raise the citadel just as Inkwell and the humans came running back. Two of the humans were missing though. Marus was repeating a couple of words over and over. I didn't know what they were but I think they were bad words.

The guards and the humans shot arrows and threw things at his soldiers underneath us while the other pegasi steered the citadel into the sky. I don't know-

I've had a little talk with Crystal about Company property. She won't be touching the Annals again.

Fucking hells. We're stranded in an uncharted world with a pissed off wizard and a couple thousand of his thugs hot on our trail, and our only allies are a bunch of empty-headed ponies who wouldn't recognize a battle plan if it crawled out of their ass.

Its my own damn fault. I'm the godsdamn Annalist and I let some fucking civilian get her hands on the Annals. They're my Annals and my responsibility. Hooves, whatever.

Gods below, that was stupid. We should have run. We should have let Grayborn march on Windsoar while we ran. Maybe circled back and tried for the caves again. We couldn't have stopped him anyway. Hells, we didn't. He would have burned Windsoar whether we were there or not. If we could do it over again I'd give him Windsoar to burn if it meant Marsuf and Egg lived. Hells, I'd sacrifice ten cities to get all of us back to the Company.

We don't dwell on what ifs. We learn from the experience and move on. We honor our fallen and avenge them if we can. I still live, even if my right arm is mostly held together by stitches and bandages. While I live I can fight, and if I can fight I will.

I take it all back. These ponies are magnificent and I love them. They have some kind of liquid that they pumped directly into my arm through a hollow needle. It took away the pain almost instantly. I feel fucking incredible. Like a goddess reached down from heaven and shoved my face in between her tits. Can't write. Going to lie here and enjoy this.

Interlude: First Letter From Princess Celestia to Twilight Sparkle

My Dearest Twilight Sparkle,

I am pleased to hear that you are continuing with your studies in friendship, despite the added responsibilities of your new status. I regret that we have not been able to spend time together lately, but with my sister away on royal business in the Griffon Kingdom, my days are busy indeed.

A new problem has come to my attention in western Equestria. Two noble families, the Nimbus and the Silvershoes, have become embroiled in a serious feud. I fear that open violence may break out if peace cannot be restored soon. I can think of no one more qualified to mediate peace and restore harmony between these two families than one who has proven herself time and again to be an expert on friendship. Travel to Windsoar and find Lord Cirrus there. I leave the rest in your capable hooves.

Your loving teacher,

Princess Celestia

P.S.

As princess, you hold authority over these nobles. Do not be afraid to assert it if the situation calls for it.