The Black Powder March   Please take note.  This is just a small piece of a fantasy novel I am working on in my spare time.  Any publishers that look at this site, please let me know if you are interested in publishing this novel when I am done.  Thanks   The Black Powder March   The Beginning of the End               It was a steamy day in the little village the mage Cornathnub had chosen to take his well needed time off to meditate and rest his mind.  The little town seemed so empty as Cornathnub stepped outside.              “Something must be wrong,” he thought, “normally there are so many people outside that I can’t tell where everyone is going.”             As the mage began to walk around to investigate, he became rather cautious.  He decided to call all 3 of his blade bearing mechanical golems from the woods in which they were hiding, to form a perimeter around the town.  As he watched the powerful, shining metal behemoths arise from their hiding places, he began to hear a faint clunking noise.  Then the mage saw something that made his heart stop.  An army of powerful steam powered golems was marching towards the town.              He summoned his blade golems to attack the approaching threat, but he knew it would not be enough.  He decided then and there that he must leave this formerly peaceful village or be killed.  He hastened away from the town with the speed born of pure urgency.              “Curse those rebels,” Coranthnub thought to himself, “always messing in Atlantean affairs.  I can’t even take a break for 1 week without having to deal with them. “I must make it to the army waiting in the northlands so that I can warn our forces that the rebels are on the move.”             As the mage moved into the woods, he suddenly was surrounded by a score of dwarven fusers.  As the dwarves moved in, a figure in magnificent armor stepped out from the shadows.  Duncan The Red, feared by Atlantean people everywhere uttered a single word and a force of 14 steam golems emerged from behind Coranthnub, blocking his path.             “Magus Coranthnub,” Duncan proclaimed, “you are hereby taken as an official prisoner by the Black Powder Rebels.  As such we shall take you to a remote location and interrogate you about the Atlantean army that our spies have confirmed that is waiting to attack from the northlands.  And don’t even consider trying to run away, I will not hesitate to cut you down.  Your blade golems have been rendered useless by our golems, and we have scouted the area and you have no other bodyguards to help you, so I don’t think I will have an excuse to kill you today.”             And with that, the magus had his staff broken, and was bound by 4 surly looking dwarves.  He was then surrounded on all sides by steam golems and kept under the watchful eye of Duncan.  The force began to march, but Coranthnub was by this point in a shocked state of mind, did not have a clue to as where they were headed.  As he began to turn his head, he was hit on the head with the blunt side of Duncan’s axe.             “Now you won’t have any idea where we are taken you my friend,” Duncan muttered.             As the magus awoke 2 days later, he was in a place he had never seen before.  Slowly, Coranthnub lifted his head off of the ground.  As he looked up he was greeted by the haggard face of Duncan.              “What will you do with me,” he said.             “If it were up to me,” Duncan replied, “I would kill you on the spot, but the council wishes to interrogate you as to learn the strength of the Atlantean force in the northlands, and what it is doing there.  I think you will find the council’s interrogation much more painful than me simply killing you, and now that I think about it, it should be rather fun to watch.” With that, the dwarf uttered a curt laugh and left.             After what seemed to be years of marching to Coranthnub, the small army reached a large canyon.  The mage didn’t think that the group could possibly cross the gorge, but he was again knocked out and somehow woke up on the other side a day later in a deep pit.              Peering down into the hole, Duncan asked his log keeper, “When will the council arrive to torture this pitiful fool.”             “Well sir, I think I see them now,” said the dwarf, peering into the distance.             A short time later, the council arrived.  They quickly traded words with Duncan and then set to interrogating the prisoner.  They brought down a freshly armored Hill Giant that the councils forces had caught, subdued, and refitted with gun turrets and armor.  As the giant reached down into the hole to pick up Coranthnub, he let out a primal scream and was quickly calmed by the rider atop his head, by way of the chains attached to the giant’s eyebrows.  The giant lifted the terrified mage out of the hole to face the council.  The “council” as Duncan had called it, consisted of several aged and obviously respected dwarves and humans.  The councils then had him set into a chair of sorts, and strapped down.             “What is the purpose of your army in the northlands?” asked one of the members.             “You will never get that information out of me!” yelled Coranthnub defiantly.             The chair then proceeded to send sharp blasts of electricity throughout the mage’s body.  As he writhed and yelped, the human asked the question again, this time with much more force behind the question.             “The.. army. is.. to atta..ck the villages.. which.... support. you... dirty.. rebels,” gasped Coranthnub.             The bolts of electricity ceased to flow through his body.  The council members then proceeded to ask of the army’s strength, exact location, and who was leading the forces.  Each question Coranthnub put up a fight, but was over and over filled with the painful electricity from the chair.  Eventually the council was though with the investigation and ordered the magus killed.             As Duncan was just about to strike with his axe, a huge crack of thunder was heard.  Suddenly, trees parted and in marched the huge Atlantean army that was supposed to be in the northlands.  The rebels called forth all of there forces and made promises that the spies who had passed this false information would be found and killed.  Little did they know that their spies were not wrong, but that the Atlantean forces were much, much, much more than any of the factions had believed, and that the push to bring Atlantean rule to the land once more had been taken into overdrive.     The Atlantean Encounter                 As the scores of mighty blade golems came marching through the woods, Coranthnub used his magic to levitate his staff to him.  He then ran towards the advancing army for safety, but turned out to be to slow.  A potshot from a dwarven fuser caught him in the left leg, just below the knee.  As he fell he used the last of his energy to levitate himself behind a line of advancing blade golems hoping someone would notice him and help.              As it were though, all the Atlantean ground troops and mages were all too involved in the heat of battle to notice him.  The last sound he heard was the mechanical whine of a leg joint moving on a blade golem, and saw a dark shadow come over him. CRAAAAAAAAACCCCKKKKKKKK!!!! The poor Magus Coranthnub crushed under the enormous weight of the golem.                                                             :: Here ends the life of the Magus Coranthnub, and the saga of another warrior begins.  As we join Duncan The Red, the Black Powder Rebels will find out just what they and the other factions are up against in the fight against the Atlantis Guild.                                                             ::     Enter the Elemental League                          As the rest of the rebel forces attempted to fight off the Atlantean forces, Duncan decided that this was a battle the Black Powder forces couldn’t win, and decided to run for it.  He dodged past golems, both friend and foe, and into the woods with his log keeper and a small troop of dwarven fusers which he trusted almost as much as he trusted himself.  As the little group rushed through the woods, Duncan came upon a revelation.             He turned and spoke to the dwarves while still running, “We have underestimated the strength of the Atlantis Guild for the last time.  When we are rested, we shall travel the land, gathering more and more to our cause, and then we of the Black Powder Rebels shall be victorious over all factions.”             The others nodded grimly, knowing that the task of defeating the Atlantis Guild was now at least two times as hard as they had previously thought.  Now no assumptions could be made about the strength of the Guild without accounting for at least two full strength armies.             “We could try to ally with warriors from other factions for now,” said one of the fusers, “We could use the Elemental League for some help with scouting, they always seem to help anyone who comes across them.  Also, one of us has a slight wound, eh Duncan? I have seen first hand how good the Elemental healers are at what they do.             “Haha, that’s our leader, always ready to battle even with a wound,” proclaimed another one of the dwarves.             Duncan knew what they said was true.  The group was too small to get involved in any kind of battle.  And he also knew that his wound needed urgent attention this time.  He had felt the stray fuser shot pass through his shoulder, but hadn’t really given it any thought until now.  As he glanced down at the blood seeping out from under his battered armor, he told the group to set up camp in the clearing ahead.              As the rest of the dwarves were setting up a makeshift camp, Duncan went off to the side with his log keeper.             “Log Keeper Earnidren, you have served me well in the past, but now is when you must come through for me.  I fear that I shall die from this wound unless it can be healed.  The others spoke of the Elemental League healers, do you know if the League has a camp around here?”             “Actually, sir, there is one about a half days slow march from here according to my records, which I assure you, are accurate.”             “Thank you for your assistance, Earnidren, I knew I could depend on your knowledge of the land.”             Then Duncan and Earnidren returned to the camp.  Once there, Duncan instructed the group to pack back up and be ready to march in 1 hour.  Although the dwarves didn’t understand why they had unpacked and were now being told to pack it back up, they trusted their leader above anyone else.             The troop began to march towards where Earnidren’s records said the Elemental League camp was located.  Once there, Duncan, Earnidren and the rest of the dwarves entered the large camp, and were greeted by Uster, the camps centaur leader.             “What business do you have in my camp rebels?” asked Uster forcefully.             “Me and my troops need rest, a hot meal and would like the services of your healers, for I especially need attention, as you can see,” said Duncan.             Uster took one look at Duncan’s shoulder, where the blood had now covered his armor, and escorted the group to one of the larger huts in the camp.  Inside there sat an old woman, meditating next to a fire.  Uster called out in a language the dwarves couldn’t understand, and the woman came out of her trance and began to circle the group.             “Ah ha, one of you is in need of my services.  That is all Uster, you may resume your duties and I shall tend to mine,” said the old woman.  “Greetings rebels, I have foreseen your coming to our camp and have been preparing myself to heal a great many more dwarves, but where are they?”             “My army was attacked by a fully outfitted Atlantean golem army.  We were forced to flee, and this is all that is left of us, as far as I know,” said Duncan grimly as he winced and glanced down at his shoulder.              “I shall tend to you shoulder in just a minute, but have some food first, all of you look like you need it.  If I could inquire about what your name is sir?” asked the woman.             “My name is Duncan The Red, this is Earnidren my log keeper, and these are my trusted warriors, Johan, Cornithius, and Fernicanan,” said Duncan proudly, “I trust them with my life as they do with me.”             “Well Duncan, my name is Esmaridan, and I am ready to take care of your shoulder now. Now then, if you would remove your armor please.”             Duncan obliged the healer and removed his armor to reveal a wound about the size of a fist where the shot had gone through.  Esmaridan sprinkled some brightly colored dust over the wound, and the dwarf watched as it began to close up and disappear without a scar.              “So it is true about the amazing healing magic of the Elemental League’s healers,” said Earnidren, scribbling onto his log book with great concentration.             “Yes, we are good at what we do.  But I have one question for you, Duncan.  That wound was made by a fuser shot, and I didn’t think the Atlantis Guild used Black Powder technology, so where did you get shot from?” asked Esmaridan quizzically.             “Well, I may trust these four, but the other dwarves in my army don’t have quite the experience or the skill that comes with seeing as many battles as we five here have been through.  I was hit while running from the fight in an attempt to find reinforcements to help the Black Powder cause,” said Duncan.             “Well,” said Uster stepping into the tent, “Are you positive it wasn’t an assassination attempt by a mercenary dwarf posing as a warrior in your army?  But either way, the Guild is getting to strong for its own good with the revealing of a third Atlantean army.  You can count the Elemental League, or at least this camp, as your allies, and we shall travel with you.”             “Are you telling us that the Guild has another army other than the one in the northlands and the one that attacked me and my army!!??!!??!!??!!” asked Duncan, whose jaw had hit the floor when he had heard this new piece of information, along with the rest of his squad. :: The puzzle is now coming together, The Atlantis Guild has unleashed at least three armies into the land, and nobody knows how many more they may have hidden or that Duncan’s little group has uncovered.  The Atlantis Guild may once again reign supreme in the land. ::                The Orcish Raids             As the now large motley assortment of dwarves, humans, centaurs and elves marched at a leisurely pace through the woodlands, a slaughter was beginning out on the plains.  For when the group stepped out of the woods, all they could see was smoke and flames.  Earnidren quietly whispered something into Duncan’s ear that the others had no way of understanding.              “The Orcs have come to raid the villages.  We must offer as much assistance as we can, for it may lead to more support for us,” declared Duncan.             “But Duncan, the Orcs are some of the most feared creatures when in battle, each time you hit them, they just seem to get stronger.  We will have great trouble helping the villagers without more warriors, for me and my centaurs are the only warriors that have been in a battle, besides your dwarves,” said Uster grimly.             “Yes, I do agree, but it appears that we are not the only group ready to aid the villages, look towards the east,” said Duncan gladly.             As they all turned their heads, they could see an enormously huge blob blocking out the light.  As the group watched, a group of about 3-4 Iron Rain Hill Giants marched towards the villages, with 3 Black Powder Dwarves on each of them.             The group gasped at the amazing site.  Seeing just one giant was amazing enough, but three was terrifying to even the most experienced warrior.  As the giants marched towards the towns, one going to each one, Duncan saw scores of dwarves at the heels of each giant.             “Sir...Do you really think they need our help?” said Johan, “It appears as if our help wouldn’t do much good.”             Just then, the group of elves and humans and the lone centaur saw something none of them would have thought possible.  For off in the smoke filled distance, one of the giants had fallen.  Then, off to the left, the group saw a dull object fly through the air and the second giant fall.             “The Orcs appear to have a way to take down even the mightiest of creatures in this forsaken land!” exclaimed Duncan, eyes filled with terror.  “If we want to have any chance of living till we are old and gray, we must find a way around them.  But it is also me and my group of dwarves sacred duty to go and help the others.  Uster, will you and your elementals come with us and lend a hand to stop the Orcish atrocities occurring before our own eyes?  The healers and old ones can stay behind in safety, as they can fend for themselves, but lack battle experience.”             “We shall follow you into battle, Duncan,” said Uster grimly, “It is also the Elemental League’s duty to protect those who are weaker than us,” he turned to the elders and the small group of healers behind him, “You shall stay here, if we are in need of your help, I shall send a messenger to retrieve you.  You should be safe here for now, but be wary of Orcish scouting parties poking around.”             Then the fighters began to march to the villages as the elders and healers retreated back into the woods.  In the distance, the third and last remaining giant fell, crushing scores of dwarves, humans and orcs in it’s wake.   _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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