AA3 41 - Dunkirn I

The expedition arrived at Dunkirn later that day, making it to the town with just a few hours of daylight left, much to the relief of everyone involved. 

While the Kranjir seemed more than ready to take the fight to the Darjee, no one wanted to experience a night raid on their camp or an ambush while travelling.

Sadly, it wasn’t as easy as simply arriving and walking in, as the town had to find room to house them all. Currently, Verdan and his companions were waiting as the wagons were taken inside, and housing was arranged.

Tomorrow would be the start of their efforts to fight back, and Verdan found himself considering his role in it all. He didn’t know how many Darjee they should be expecting, but he had a feeling it would be multiple times what he’d encountered before. They likely wouldn’t have a numerical advantage, which meant they needed to use those they did to full effect.

If Verdan could catch a large number of the Darjee in an open space, he had no doubt he could devastate their force, but the problem would be getting them together like that.

The other issue would be the Bonecallers that Sebastian had mentioned. They were magic users themselves, so they likely had some way of protecting their brethren from spells.

It was hard to plan around such things when he didn’t know what their capabilities were, but hopefully, he could get a general idea from the veterans of previous conflicts.

Two of Ciaran’s thearns came jogging over to them, pulling Verdan from his thoughts as one of them approached him. “Wizard Blacke, the Keeper has arranged housing for you and your companions at the north of town. He’s also arranged for a meeting with the local Holder, which I can guide you to while we get your things sent over. Your Apprentice and Companions are welcome as well.”

“Understood, thank you,” Verdan said, glancing over to Dirk before making a subtle gesture towards Benlen and the rest of the Mhorgain thearns.

It took Dirk a moment to realise what Verdan was trying to say. “Ah, Benlen, you can come as well. The rest of you should stick with the wagon and check out the housing.” Dirk’s voice rose questioningly at the end, and Verdan gave a subtle nod to reassure him.

Benlen and the other thearns were still a little unsure about Verdan, so it was both good practice for Dirk and helped prevent any questions of why he was commanding a group of thearns.

“Understood,” Benlen said, his voice firm as he passed on the orders and moved to stand behind Dirk.

For all that Dirk wasn’t a Chosen or a Keeper, Benlen and his comrades had clearly realised that he was their best chance at restoring their Clan and were throwing everything in with him.

Verdan wasn’t sure how this would work in the long run, but that was a problem for another day.

The thearn who’d spoken to them nodded and began to lead them up into the town, while the other conversed quietly with those that were heading with the wagon. 

Dunkirn sat on a plateau atop a decent-sized hill, so Verdan got his first good look at the place as he followed the thearn through the gates.

Somewhat surprisingly, the town had a stone wall surrounding it with four towers rising up to command a good view of the area. There were no additional fixed defences that Verdan could see, such as ballista or other emplaced weapons, but the stone wall alone was more than he’d expected.

Between this, the design of Glarn and the small forts that were there for caravans to stay in, Verdan was beginning to notice a trend in how the Kranjir protected themselves. 

The interior of the town was also predominantly stone, with some wooden accents used in more recent expansions and more temporary buildings. The town itself was also a good size, yet didn’t seem to be overfilled with refugees.

Verdan hoped that was down to good planning and management and not that there were far fewer survivors than expected.

A good number of the townsfolk had come out to welcome the arriving reinforcements, and there was a relieved atmosphere to it all that made Verdan think that the town had felt abandoned to this point.

Verdan and Kai drew a lot of strange looks from those who clocked their lack of caelin, some of which were more suspicious than others. Having a handful of Kranjir walking alongside them no doubt helped their credibility, though, making Verdan wonder what it would have been like without them.

Their guide brought them to a large building central to the town that had been made in the same style as the Halls that Verdan had seen within Glarn. A number of thearns from each of the Chosen were lingering outside, along with a dozen shieldguards.

The shieldguards were easy to spot as they lacked any familial insignia, instead bearing only the emblems of Clan Thrain. They were slightly differently equipped as well, favouring spears over the axes of the thearns.

Padraig was waiting at the entrance of the Hall and stepped forward to meet them. “I’ll take over from here.”

“Yes, Blade,” the thearn said respectfully, reminding Verdan that Padraig had an informal rank among his comrades. He had a feeling that Benlen had the same honorific and once again wished that he knew more about reading caelin. He knew there were a lot of social cues that he was missing as it was.

There was a lot going on, but he’d try and start taking lessons with Barb. Going through the healing process of the Mhorgain thearns would likely help as well.

“Wizard, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your work with those arrows. They will go a long way to helping keep our scouts alive,” Padraig said softly, stepping in close to Verdan as he did. “We owe you for what you’ve done. I won’t forget that.”

Verdan was caught by surprise and stumbled on what to say for a moment, but Padraig was already turning away and beckoning for them to follow him as he made his way into the building.

Verdan appreciated Padraig’s blunt thanks far more than any honeyed words he might have received, and he resolved to make sure that he spent the time making more arrows in the evening.

Kai gave Verdan an amused look before leaning in close. “Who knew that some simple thanks would be enough to throw you.”

Verdan rolled his eyes, ignoring Kai’s soft chuckle as their small group followed after Padraig, who led them to a meeting room of sorts. Sebastian and the Chosen were already waiting inside, along with two newcomers.

The first was an older bald man with a short grey beard and sharp eyes who seemed to be engaged in a deep conversation with the Keeper. The other was a muscular woman with short dark hair who towered over everyone else in the room. She was currently having a staring match of some kind with Jarn, the two of them wearing intense expressions that didn’t match the rest of the room.

Padraig announced them at the door, and Sebastian broke off from his conversation to look over at them. “Wizard Blacke, thank you for coming promptly. This is Holder Dunkirn and the local shieldguard commander, Captain Galstar.”

“A pleasure to meet you both,” Verdan said, giving a neutral smile as the Holder and Captain looked his way with curious expressions.

“Kranjir working alongside Sorcerers,” the Holder said with a forlorn expression. “It is a bleak day when we need Southerners to help us maintain our own borders.” 

Sebastian frowned and began to speak before the Holder held up a hand. “I am not rejecting their aid, merely stating that I wish it was unneeded.”

“I agree,” Verdan said, drawing a surprised look from the old Holder. “I would much prefer that you had no need of my aid. That there was no need at all for the evacuation and other precautions that have been enacted. However, the situation is what it is, and I will do what I can to assist.”

“Well said,” Sebastian said quickly as he took hold of the conversation once more. “Now, we’re all present, so we should begin with a briefing of what you already know. Captain Galstar?”

The big woman gave Jarn a final fulminating look before moving over a small table set off to one side, which held a map of the local area. “Thank you, Keeper. The situation is simple enough that even the most bullheaded could understand at the moment.” 

Verdan watched in fascination as Jarn seemed to swell angrily, but a sharp look from Ciaran stopped him from saying anything.

A slight smirk touched the Captain’s lips as she tapped the map. “The villages we project to be in danger have been evacuated, as have a few close by. The refugees have headed north to Lathe Ridge, as planned. We’ve encountered several hunting parties, but not enough to warrant a strong presence on the other side of the Steps, so I believe they are spreading out more than usual.”

Sebastian nodded thoughtfully. “We did encounter a hunting group near Shepden, and the number of disappearances in the area was quite high, so we should assume they do have that presence.”

“If they are more spread out, it will be difficult to contain them,” Ciaran said. “Lathe Ridge has only a token force of shieldguard, we need to ensure that they keep their focus on us.”

Verdan moved over to the map, realising that Lathe Ridge was a town not far from the pass where they’d crossed over. It seemed that the Kranjir were well-prepared for this eventuality.

“Well then,” Sebastian said, running his gaze across the group. “Do we have any ideas on how to keep their focus here?”