Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 187: Calm Before the Storm

"Boson, I want all of your men right here, in the main street. I don't think that the Storm Generals will be thinking about doing anything other than charging straight through to find me and Anteris." Tam pointed to the thick brown line that ran down the center of Aznur, running through the wall, alongside the Arena and then finally ending before the palace.

Boson nodded, still in a poor mood, and trudged out of the auction hall, heading toward the docks where the bulk of the army was still disembarking from the fleet.

"Serena, I want you above Boson's troops. If he clashes with either of the Storm Generals, he's going to need back up. Keep half of your archers with you, on top of the roofs on either side of the main street. Split the remainder in half, I want them posted along these two routes." Tam pointed to the two widest streets after the main street. 

"You got it, Grand Marshal Tam." Serena's tone was a little sour, as she still wasn't happy with the war, but she had sworn loyalty to Tam, and would continue to fight for him so long as he asked.

"Alright, Slate and Shale. I want the two of you to take your Mage Unit, and make sure every street other than the main street, and the two streets that the rest of Serena's forces will be posted along are impassable. Collapse houses, raise the ground, do whatever you can to make sure no horses or men are coming down those streets." 

"You got it, Sir." The shaggy haired twins chimed together, their leather battlemage robes still dusty from the previous battle.

"Rod! Get in here, lad!" Tam yelled out for the young soldier who had fallen into the role of being his messenger. There was a rattle of armor and the red haired young soldier came running in, an ill fitting helmet and breastplate bouncing up and down on his lanky frame, the source of the clanking noise.

"Right here, Grand Marshal Sir!" Rod skidded to a halt, saluting enthusiastically as he slid to stop.

"I want you to go to every single commanding officer, even down to the platoon captains. Have them all report to me, right here, within the hour. Understood?" Tam looked Rod in the eye as he spoke to him, causing the young soldier to swallow nervously.

"Yes, Grand Marshal Sir!" Rod saluted again, and turned to march out, but Tam called out to him before he could leave.

"And once you've done that, Rod. Go and see the Quartermaster, and get yourself some armor that fits, that breastplate isn't going to do you much good, and that helmet will set your head ringing the moment it takes a blow." Tam said softly, his tone much kinder. He could tell that the young soldier was eager to join the battle, but until now, he had been forbidden from being on the front line.

Rod flushed red as he marched out, he felt embarrassed at having the armor he had borrowed from a few generous soldiers being noticed by Tam, but also hopeful, being fitted for armor meant that he just might be able to join the upcoming battle.

After seeing the Grand Marshal fight the Emperor, while flying even, Rod had only grown more excited to finally fight on the battlefield.

Tam sighed as Rod marched away, shaking his head a little at the young soldier's enthusiasm for battle, it was always the same, young men too eager to see battle, only seeing the glory and might of the most powerful. And only realizing the true cost once they had first seen combat.

Tam had been the same before his first real campaign. So sure that the skills he had picked up as an adventurer would mean that he was unbeatable on the battlefield.

"Docara! Come on in, you and the rest of the Nighthawks." Tam said, just loud enough that his voice would be heard faintly outside the auction hall.

All around the auction hall, figures emerged from the shadows, as if they had been waiting for Tam to say those very words.

In truth, Docara had dispatched many of the Nighthawks to watch over Tam, just as a number of them had been watching over Anteris, and of them, a few continued to do so.

By now, many of the Nighthawks had returned to wearing their trademark masks, no longer needing to blend in amongst the Arena fighters or the civilians of Aznur.

As Docara marched in, followed by Pony, and another masked Nighthawk, whose mask Tam did not recognize, Tam began taking a headcount.

Only thirty of the over fifty Nighthawks were present. This meant that either more had failed to return from the north after their initial mission, or more had been successful in the final stage of their mission in Aznur.

"Docara, how many did you leave behind, when you returned from the wastelands?" Tam asked the hawk masked man, who joined Tam around the table in the center of the room, the rest of the Nighthawks choosing to loiter around the edges.

"Only a few. The rest are protecting the Grand Admiral, or carrying out their mission." Docara smiled under his mask, he hadn't expected that so many of his men would be able to find their way inside the wall before it closed during the Imperials' retreat.

"Good. That means that Anteris can stop his battle against the wall and prepare for his battle with the Storm Generals." Tam smiled, if all went according to plan, the Ursten forces could make their way inside the walls before the Imperial Army even arrived.

"I'll send word for when to signal to those inside. But as for the rest of your men, they'll be needed for the back up plan." Tam pointed to the map of the Outer City on the table.

"If we can't get inside the wall, we'll have to hold the Storm Generals off along these routes." Tam pointed out the routes he had previously discussed with his Lieutenants.