THE ABANDONMENT OF BJÖRSLAND

THE ABANDONMENT OF BJÖRSLAND

Part 1

There was no time to celebrate the victory.

The four dragons were already growing larger against the northern sky, and beneath them the sails of the Blood Dragon fleet were appearing beyond the coast.

Anvard and Lionne had made their decision. They would not attempt to hold Björsland with their exhausted army. The treasure would go with the main force toward Valinvaga, while a handful of men remained behind to make the Blood Dragons believe the ruins were still defended.

The deception began immediately. Spears, pikes and torches were placed behind broken walls and along the battered defenses of the Wolfpack Tower. From a distance, their points and standards gave the impression of ranks of soldiers waiting behind the ruins. The wounded were positioned where they could still use bows. Twelve battle-ready soldiers remained with them, together with Lionne’s wounded War Troll.

The surviving Wyrmgaard prisoners were divided as planned. Six were executed and their heads displayed before the ruins. Five more were kept alive as hostages. The last five were taken with the retreating column.

There was only one problem with the second part of the plan.

The ships.

Eight men reached the shore and looked at the five vessels waiting there. In the confusion of planning the retreat, one simple fact had been overlooked: eight exhausted soldiers could not properly crew five ships.

For a few moments they tried. Ropes were cut loose, sails prepared, men shouted between decks. Then one of them looked north. The dragons were closer. There was no longer a decision to make.

Four ships were abandoned.

The eight men crowded aboard the smallest vessel they could manage, raised what sail they could and pushed away from Björsland with all possible speed. The remaining ships drifted beside the coast, empty and helpless.

They never saw what happened at the Wolfpack Tower.

The men marching toward Valinvaga did.

The retreating column moved hard through the hills. Fifty-three soldiers remained in the main force, accompanied by the two Hwach’as, the hammer-wielding Swamp Dweller and Anvard’s wounded dragon. Five Wyrmgaard prisoners were driven along with them. Nobody spoke much. They knew what the men behind them had volunteered to do.

Eventually the road climbed.

From the high ground, Björsland became visible one final time. Someone shouted and pointed back toward the Wolfpack Tower.

Two dragons were descending.

The deception had worked for a few moments. From above, the spears and pikes behind the ruins might indeed have looked like soldiers. But the dragons did not need long to discover the truth.

A few arrows rose desperately from the ruins.
Then the first dragon breathed fire.

Flames swept across the shattered tower and everything around it. The second dragon descended moments later, pouring more fire into the ruins. There was no real battle. The defenders had nowhere to go and no way to fight such creatures. The wounded War Troll disappeared somewhere beneath the smoke and flames.

From miles away, the retreating soldiers watched the Wolfpack Tower burn. For a few moments they could still see movement between the flames.

Then there was none. Nobody in the column said anything. They continued walking.

A second glow soon appeared near the coast.
The third dragon had reached the abandoned ships.

It passed over them once. Then again. Flames poured across the decks. One ship caught immediately. Fire climbed its mast and spread through the rigging before the next vessel began to burn. Soon all four ships that had been abandoned at Björsland were burning along the shore.

Farther out to sea, the tiny fifth vessel was already disappearing toward the horizon.
Against all expectations, the eight sailors escaped.

Behind them, the Blood Dragons landed.

One of their ships came ashore beneath the smoke of the burning fleet. Thirty-five Blood Dragon warriors disembarked and advanced toward the ruins. There was no organized resistance left. The Wolfpack Tower was theirs.
But they did not take Björsland for themselves.

They took possession of the domain in the name of Wyrmgaard.

The land Anvard had reclaimed only hours before had changed hands once again.

The retreating column knew none of this.

They had other problems.

Three dragons could still be seen behind them.
The fourth could not. Then a shadow crossed the ground. Men looked upward. Far above and behind them, something moved between the clouds.

The fourth dragon. And this one had a rider.

For several terrible seconds it seemed to follow the same direction as the column.

Had it seen them?
Nobody knew.
Nobody waited to find out.
The order was given to leave the road.

The column disappeared into the rough country between Björsland and Valinvaga, choosing gullies, wooded slopes and broken ground wherever possible. The Hwach’as became a terrible burden, but they refused to abandon them. Men pulled the weapons through mud and over rocks while others carried wounded comrades. Scouts doubled back to hide tracks. Whenever open ground appeared ahead, the entire column stopped and searched the sky before crossing.

And they still carried the 5 Iron.

Eventually, the commanders made their choice.

The treasure was slowing them down. If the dragon really had spotted them, every minute mattered. The Hwach’as were worth keeping. The Iron could be recovered later.

They knew this country well enough.

Far from the road, among rocks and broken ground, the five Iron were buried. The place was concealed as carefully as time allowed, its location committed to memory.

Then the column moved on without it.

Hours passed.

The dragon appeared again in the distance.
Perhaps it was searching for them.
Perhaps it was following them.

The soldiers pushed deeper into the most difficult terrain they could find, dragging the Hwach’as with them until the mountains finally began to give way.

Then, at last, they crossed the border. The first men crossed without cheering. Others followed, exhausted, wounded and blackened by the smoke of Björsland. Only when the last of the Hwach’as had been dragged across did the officers finally stop and count the column.

Once.
Then again.
Something was wrong.
Eight men were missing.
Nobody had seen them fall.

Nobody remembered them becoming separated during the march. But all eight knew where the treasure had been buried.

The commanders looked back toward the mountains. There was no question anymore about what had happened. The eight men had deserted.

And while the army continued toward Valinvaga, they had gone back.
Back through the hills. Back to the hiding place. Back for the Iron. By the time the theft was discovered, it was already too late to turn around.

Somewhere behind them was the fourth dragon.

Farther back, the Blood Dragons now held Björsland. The army had wounded men and two Hwach’as to get to Valinvaga.

So they marched on.

And somewhere in the mountains behind them, eight deserters dug the 5 Iron from the earth and disappeared with it.

The treasure of Björsland was gone.

AFTERMATH — BJÖRSLAND

Blood Dragons occupy the domain in the name of Wyrmgaard.

ANVARD & LIONNE — RETREAT TO VALINVAGA

53 soldiers began the march toward Valinvaga.
8 soldiers deserted during the retreat and stole the hidden treasure.
45 soldiers continue toward Valinvaga.
2 Hwach’as remain with the column.
The Swamp Dweller remains with the column.
Anvard’s wounded dragon remains with the column.
5 Wyrmgaard prisoners remain with the column.

LEFT BEHIND AT BJÖRSLAND

20 soldiers — Killed
1 wounded War Troll — Killed

ESCAPED BY SEA

8 soldiers — Escaped aboard the smallest remaining ship

LOOT

5 Iron — Lost / Stolen by the 8 deserters u/silvertree99

SHIPS
4 ships — Destroyed by dragon fire
1 ship — Escaped with 8 soldiers

CURRENT STATUS

45 soldiers + 2 Hwach’as + Swamp Dweller + wounded Anvardian dragon + 5 prisoners are making their way toward Valinvaga.
8 soldiers escaped by sea.
8 soldiers deserted and disappeared with the 5 Iron.
20 soldiers and the wounded War Troll were killed at Björsland.
The 5 Iron recovered at Björsland is gone again.