An eastern legionary stood 500 meters apart from the city walls of Napule. The general had decided to storm the city as fast as possible. Then they would help the rest of the legions in the battle against Duran. They had been informed, that Jagu was entrenched in the city with his guards, heavy artillery and local militia.

They formed ranks and took their positions. Their artillery, mostly catapults, ballistas and a few mages shot at the city. The city didn't return fire. Smoke started to rise from within Napule.

The assault continued and the army stormed to the city with ladders, siege towers and a ram.

-----

The soldier was puzzled. The enemy showed only minimal resistance. The flags and silhouettes on the wall showed the might of the enemy garrison. There should be a thousand soldiers on the wall, but only a dozen arrows were shot their way. When the first ladders reached the wall, some of the defenders fled from the wall and escaped into the city.

The enemy was already retreating! They would win this battle!

The first soldier shouted a war cry when he reached the top of the wall. He struck the first enemy in the stomach another one in the shoulder and beheaded the last. When the enemy's 'head' hit the ground the soldier froze.

All on the walls similar scenes played out. The supposed heavy artillery of the enemy crumbled to a pile of wood if you nudged them enough. The soldiers were only straw puppets. Equipped with old armour and weapons.

The legionaries of the east started to pillage the city. While there were no people in sight, there was still a lot of loot in the city. The commanders tried to bring order to their troop's actions, but they eventually joined the pillaging when more gold and silver was found.

All appearance of order was lost and the city burned at the end of the day. All valuables looted and in the hands of the legion. No enemy soldier or civilian was found that day.

In Arcadius' command tent.

"That is insubordination. I gave the order to stop the looting and advance to Valens. The men were supposed to drop the loot. It will slow us down. We already lost a day", Arcadius shouted at his close aides.

"The men were thrilled for a real battle. The constant marching and fighting against guerilla tactics have taken a toll on their discipline", said one of the commanders. Trying to save his skin and that of his men.

"Jagu and Duran are probably already planning to use this against Valens. We didn't expect our information to be totally false. Who was supposed to gather the intelligence", Arcadius looked his advisers in the eyes.

They didn't dare to say anything, even if they all knew who was in charge of gathering information. It was Arcadius task to organize the scouts and spies. Now he had lost the enemy he was supposed to fight.

"I want all soldiers ready for marching on the next day. We will abandon all loot and head to Valens as fast as possible", Arcadius ordered.

"We should also send our quickest messenger to Valens. He needs to know the situation", one of his advisers added.

"Yes, send our fastest riders to Valens. Now go and organize the troops. We will march at dawn", Arcadius dismissed his aides and planned the rest of the coming march in his tent.

The commanders were able to restore discipline and order in the troops. The soldiers still managed to smuggle coins and jewellery onto the baggage trains and into their own pockets. The commanders copied them. The legion only started to march long after dawn.

Three messengers and an escort of twenty men were heading to Valens' position. They had an important message for the general. The escort halted when they reached a hill. A mage spoke to the head of the escort.

"Sir something is not right. Something or someone is hiding behind that hill", the mage said.

"We should take another route. Men hear my command we wi…..", the head of the guard didn't continue. An arrow with glowing symbols embedded into his throat.

"Enemy attack", shouted a soldier.

They put the envoys in the middle and prepared to escape the ambush. Right as they turned around, a monster stormed into their ranks. The beast was 16 meters long and 8 tall, running on two legs. A long tail, red carapace with many horns and two horns on the head showed the nature of the beast.

"Tarrasque. They have a fucking Tarrasque", an enemy soldier broke formation and tried to escape his fate. A spear was thrown into his back and he fell from his horse.

"Get them all Hannibal! Get them all!", Rulvir Oakenshield encouraged his mount to decimate the enemy lines.

"Focus on the stragglers. We need to kill every one of them", Aeravan Cadarn shot another one of the soldiers down. "If Valens knows, the plan will fail."

"Aye, aye greenskin. We will tidy up properly", answered Rulvir.

Their group of soldiers managed to kill all of the enemies. They removed as much evidence as possible from the battlefield. It would be perfect if Arcadius doesn't notice the fate of his messengers.

They regrouped and headed to Jagu. Their mission was a success and Valens wouldn't get any information in time.

Jagu met with his advisers and his own personal guards and the best fighters of Napule in a now sealed cave system. They could open it in a few moments and attack Valens from behind if the latter decided to attack Duran's position.

"So you intercepted the messenger. That is good news", Jagu said. "We have around 800 men. The rest are with Duran. Firnadena how many illusions can you create?"

"I would be able to copy 300 men, 200 if I have to copy the Tarrasque" answered the elven woman.

"That is good. Copy the Tarrasque. I want the enemy's morale to fall when we pull this trick off. A thousand men and two Tarrasques should do the trick", the duke said.

"Jagu do you really think, that Valens will not wait for Arcadius? He might notice something", Rulvir asked with a concerned expression. A defeat would mean the end for his clan. He worried about the future of his family.

"I can't be sure. Nobody can. I trust Duran to hold his position and he trusts me to flank the enemy. The moment they panic is when we win. Should they not waver a defeat is certain", Jagu said.

"I just hope it works. We definitely need to kill Valens in this battle. I don't want to give him a second chance at us. He is a tenacious bastard. Good husband material", said Firnadena.

"Didn't you remarry last year?", asked Rulvir with a questioning gaze.

"Yeah. We hunted a wyrm together he didn't make it back. A shame really. His expression was glorious when he died", Firnadena looked at Rulvir with a wolfish smile. He made a hand movement on his chest. A religious gesture.

"Thank the gods that I was born a dwarf", Rulvir whispered and looked at Jagu, who had observed the exchange with an uncomfortable expression.

"Change of subject, please. Get ready to open the entrance. Prepare yourself for the coming charge and Rulvir get Hannibal to be a bit quieter", Jagu commanded and the men prepared themselves for their coming charge.

"Commander are there still no news from Arcadius' siege of Napule?", Valens looked at his men.

"No my lord. The last change of Information to be exchanged was, that Jagu had entrenched himself with heavy artillery and around two thousand men", the commander repeated the last known information.

"Hmmm. Did our line of communication get sabotaged? That shouldn't change the situation. Duran still lacks weapons against our wyverns", Valens tried to fathom the lack of information. "What can you tell me about Duran's position?"

"He has fortified his position. It is a defensive formation, which particularly guards the flank against a flanking manoeuvre. We have only spotted a few heavy artillery in his lines. There are a lot of baggage trains", the commander said.

"Send our the archers forward. I want them to harass the enemy position together with the wyverns we have. Make the rest of the army position themselves behind the archers. We will lure them out with ranged attacks. Our ammunition is enough for days", Valens commanded.

His information told him, that the enemy lacked defensive capabilities against his ranged and aerial troops. It would be wise to use this advantage. The only thing that did concern him, was the lack of information from Arcadius.

He still had to use his chance. Arcadius could have been defeated or he failed to get the enemy troops, if he waited too long an enemy force may attack him from behind. It was safer to attack now. His scouts had not reported any enemy movements in the area.

"General Vespasianus, the enemy troops are marching towards us. They are probably starting a ranged assault with wyverns and archers", his scout reported.

"Tell the crews of the artillery to get ready. The enemy will have a nasty surprise if he thinks that we lack scorpions", Duran said. "When the first volley is fired on the wyverns, I want the artillery to focus fire on the enemy cavalry. The archers shall occupy the wyverns"

"Sir should we hold position or counter charge the enemy?", one of his commanders entered the tent.

"The infantry will charge the enemy head-on. Heavy infantry in the front. Our cavalry will charge the enemy cavalry. They will be distracted by artillery fire. We have a few hundred demi-humans, which can transform. They will lead the cavalry attack", Duran organized the plan for his troops.

He pressed the pocket in his trousers and insured himself, that the mana crystal was there. When he destroys this one, the one which Jagu has will also crumble. That would be the signal for Jagu to attack the enemy from behind. They would never expect a charge from a sealed cave or a Tarrasque at that. He still didn't know where the Oakenshield clan had gotten the beast from, but it was reassuring to have it on his side.

Duran gave a few more commands to his subordinates. They prepared to full fill their portion of the plan. The charge of the twins would decide the tide of the battle.

An elven archer checked his equipment, while he moved forwards with his fellow men. The eastern legions marched to their enemy's position. The east had archers in front, infantry behind and cavalry on the flanks. A few artillery pieces were pulled forward with the archers.

Their enemy stood with heavy and light infantry in front, cavalry on the sides and archers behind. There were also the baggage trains, who were distributed across the infantries position. He couldn't find a reason for the presence of the baggage trains.

They probably hadn't time to move them or would use them as barricades against their volleys. The soldier stopped when his captain gave the order and waited for the signal to fire. He loaded his bow and aimed at the enemy.

"Fire", the captain shouted.

They shoot their first volleys. Enemy archers and light infantry took casualties due to a lack of armour or proper shields. We sent the wyverns next. Their poison would work better against the armoured troops. They could also fly into enemy formations and create chaos before tacking off again.

That is when the scene in front of the archer changed. The covers of the baggage trains were removed and scorpions pointed at the wyverns. They fired and the wyverns got shot down or had to evade to higher altitudes. Most of them were now out of range but had also problems attacking from this height.

The heavy artillery changed their aim and fired at the cavalry on the left. The archer's eyes opened wide when the enemy abandoned shields and cover and charged at their lines. They fired a few volleys at the charging mass but had to retreat behind their troops.

Line met line and a fierce melee ensued. The cavalry on the left struggled the most, because of transformed demihumans and the concentrated artillery fire. They were slowly pushed back. The archer noted, that the rest of their army was taking the charge much better. In fact, the enemy lines were slowly pushed back. It slowly exposed one flank of the enemy, where there was no support from their artillery or demi-humans.

The archer heard a monstrous roar behind him. A sealed cave entrance collapsed and two massive monsters charged their line with thousand men. Eastern archers and artillery fired on the troops in the middle and didn't notice, that their arrows passed through.

Valens sent a reserve force against the enemy charge, but the monsters just stormed through the lines and headed directly for him and the rear. He rallied his personal guard and prepared to receive the charge.

"Valens it is time to die" Firnadena killed another one of Valens’ guards. A throwing knife in his eye. Her illusions had already disappeared, but the enemy legions started to have signs of mass panic.

Jagu had sent half of the troops and the Tarrasque against the enemy rear. The enemy panicked when they were pincered and the lines slowly collapsed under the pressure from the enemy charge. The panic of the legionaries led to the loss of order and morale.

"I have to excuse myself, fair lady", Valens smiled despite the state of his army. A few of the remaining wyvern landed next to him and he and his close aides mounted the creatures.

"No! Get back here. Fight like a woman", Firnadena tried to fire an arrow at Valens but was interrupted by an attack of Valens' guard.

"I will get Arcadius' head for this", Valens whispered to himself. The horn signalling the retreat was blown.

The eastern legions tried to pull back in order but were chased and harassed by enemy troops for the rest of the day. They were only relieved when they met up with Arcadius' legion. A lot of troops and supplies were lost in their flight

Arcadius was stripped of his military rank for his incapabilities. Valens reorganized the remnants of his legions and retreated further north. They needed time to resupply and organize a defence against a possible counteroffensive from Jagu.

"How many enemy legionaries did we get?", Jagu asked his brother, while he observed the process of reorganizing and looting off enemy corpses.

"They should miss around two legions worth of soldiers. Many are injured or lack equipment. The east abandoned much in their retreat", Duran reported the estimated numbers. "We have exhausted our ammunition for archers and artillery. Including bolts and arrows with runes"

"No problem. We will chase the enemy along the coast to Roma. Titania will establish a supply line per sea. We will leave behind the injured and she will pick them up", Jagu said smiling. Showing his regained confidence in total victory.

Duran saw his brother's expression and smiled as well, if for another reason. "Are you sure of your victory already brother? I'm just happy to have killed some easterner, the elves especially", Duran said and spat on the ground.

Jagu looked around if somebody overheard them. It didn't seem to be the case. "You need to hold back your opinion better. It would strain our alliance and the peace talks, if you continue to rant", Jagu reminded. "We have elves among our troops as well."

Duran clenched his fist and glared at Jagu.

"Now don't look like that at me. We can't invade the elven parts of the east. We lack everything for that and the other eastern races would intervene. The ones responsible for Solana's death will be brought to justice. The rest of them have nothing to do with it.", Jagu said and put one of his hands on Duran's shoulder.

Duran grumbled a bit about revenge and getting the heads of some people, but calmed down eventually. "Fine I will wait, but not for long. I will take matters in my own hands if you take too long", Duran said with a tiered voice. "Every year they live counts. Now, what do we do with the prisoners?"

"Of course we take them with us", Duran glared at his brother. Jagu cleared his throat and reminded his brother. "Remember, the ones responsible will pay for their action, not the uninvolved."

Duran sighed, "What about the seriously wounded?"

"I heard there were no seriously wounded", Jagu smiled at his brother, who in turn just shook his head.

Jagu's legions reorganized themselves and moved to the coast with the prisoners. They would start their chase for Valens after they stocked up on supplies and handed over the captives and wounded. The legions passed Napule on their way to the coast. Parts of the city were still burning and it would take years to repair all the damage done.

"Wow, it's beautiful. Is that Messana?", I pointed at the city in the distance and asked mother. She stood next to me with Silas in her arms.

"Yes Lucius, that is Messana. The capital city of the dwarves on Sicillia", mother said. "I think that your friends from the Oakenshield clan have their home here. Maybe you could visit them?"

I smiled at the opportunity. I had a few months in Messana before Niloticus and I head to Alexandria. I would use the time to meet my friends and spent moments with my family. The result of the battle was also a long-awaited message, but there was still no news.

"LUCIUS!", my sisters came running to me. "The goat under deck gave birth. There are now two little white kids you have to see that."

I followed my excited sisters under deck while carrying the also excited Silas on my back. We reached the storage room with the animals. Alaric was also there with Aellelorn and Anaitis. He spun a dagger in his hand while looking at the goats. I put Silas down and spoke to him.

"Didn't take you for the animal type", I said to a bored-looking Alaric.

"Didn't take you to be a mule. This is just the most thrilling thing, that happened on this ship. The only time when I was more entertained, was when you were seasick", Alaric smiled at me and I was reminded of some rather unpleasant memories.

"It was my first time on sea!", I defended myself but stopped when I heard Anaitis' laughter.

"You are turning red, mighty seaman Lucius", Anaitis teased me and I became a bit redder.

I ignored both of them in the end and watched how Aellelorn cleaned the kids with straw. My sisters copied him and Silas reassured the mother goat with a bit too much closeness for her liking. The goat pushed him back, resulting in him falling on his behind. I had to stop the crying. He calmed down after a while and petted a kid instead.

"Why is an heir of house Cadarn cleaning kids?", I asked Aellelorn. A bit out of curiosity and a bit to embarrass him. He didn't seem too embarrassed about his actions though.

"Life is something holy for us. There is no shame in securing young lives. No matter the kind of creature it is", Aellelorn explained.

"Why are your kind fighting wars then?", I asked.

"First of all our wood-elf clan is one of many. Others have … lost their way. We don't like fighting, but will defend ourselves if necessary", Aellelorn said and the look in his eyes showed his sincerity.

We talked a bit with each other while my sisters played with the kids. We made a few plans to visit certain places in the city. Anaitis wanted to visit the thermal spring, Aellelorn the botanic garden and Alaric the local arena. I wanted to visit the Oakenshield's mansion.

The coming weeks in Messana would surely be interesting.