Zahara's Gift

by A. J. Walker

  “For a while, trolls were able to roam the mountains freely without worry; but once all of the trolls in the valleys had been eaten, the dragons adapted by expanding their hunting grounds. Trolls that had become accustomed to the safety of the mountains were at greater risk of being eaten by dragons than those now hunted in the Eastland Mountains. Those that had enough wits about them to realize they were no longer safe, hid in caves and holes in the ground. Diving deeper into the darkness to flee the dangers above ground, trolls quickly discovered they were not the only ones who occupied these mountains.” Nadir said and then suddenly stopped talking.

  Standing together, Anders followed Nadir’s gaze to see the Rollo Islanders’ camp below. He was glad to see that the group was roughly the same size as it had been when they left.

  “We’ll continue this conversation another time,” Nadir told Anders before they walked downslope to meet the warriors.

  Upon their arrival, Red, Jorgen and several other leaders welcomed Ivan, Max and Anders, but gave Nadir a hateful stare. Ivan had to quickly calm them down when they saw there was an elf in their company.

  “He is here to fight our common enemy,” Ivan said to Red, who was drawing his sword in anger. “I have negotiated with their people; they are willing to keep the peace while we combat Merglan and his forces if you are.”

  Red let his hand drop off his sword and stepped back. He turned to the other leaders. Their quick discussion ended in Red storming off to his tent. Red’s father, Jorgen, said to Ivan and Nadir, “We agree to keep the peace and work together to fight our enemy. You are welcome to join our efforts, elf. Please excuse my son; he does not yet understand the gravity of the situation.”

  “On a better note,” Ivan said. “I have the location of Merglan’s base. He has been building an army there. The orcs came from this location. Asmond, Nadir’s father, had elf spies tracking his location. After the orcs attacked, the elves were able to get an exact location on where they began their campaign.”

  “This is good news,” Red’s father said. “Yesterday we caught up with the orc tribe. There were no survivors on their end.”

  “That will surely irritate Merglan,” Nadir said with a brief smile.

  “If he doesn’t already know of this, he will soon. And with that knowledge, he will send more orcs out to meet us,” Ivan said. “We must move south, across the Eastland Mountains. Merglan’s fortress is at a place called Black Water Bay.”

  “I will notify the others,” Jorgen said. “We will leave posthaste.” He and the other leaders went off to tell the captains of their plan.

  Nadir turned to Ivan, “We’ll have to be on our toes; we’ve had reports of mountain trolls and goblins in the Eastland Mountains, not to mention Merglan’s orc and kurr armies.”

  “Sounds like a dangerous path we’ll be taking,” Max said.

  “It’s the only way to get to Merglan before he assembles his army and sends them at us,” Ivan said.

  “We are going to need help from my people sooner than we anticipated,” Nadir said.

  Ivan nodded, “Send word to them at once. We need to get a move-on if we are going to have a chance at this.” Ivan reached into his pack and gave Nadir the mirror he’d used to communicate with the elves.

  Over the next hour, Anders helped the warriors gear up for their departure through the Eastland Mountains. He was worried about the next part of their journey, but also determined to rescue his family. He just hoped Merglan hadn’t killed them yet.

  Chapter Fifteen

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  Through the Mountain Pass

  IVAN AND NADIR LED the way, guiding the Rollo forces through the Eastland Mountains. Red and several other captains, including Anders and Max’s friend Britt, were sent to get the ships that hadn’t burned during the battle with the orcs at Glacial Melt Bay. Several of the warriors had kept the ships at least one day behind the rest of their forces while they pursued the orcs, with the idea that if the orcs had launched another attack, the ships would be safely hidden. The Islanders needed their vessels to carry them home after the campaign. Red was the first to volunteer for the mission to sail the ships around the mountains. Anders knew the reason Red was eager to volunteer for the ship retrieval mission stemmed from his frustration that his father had allowed an elf to join their ranks.

  Wondering when the rest of the elves would be joining the march, Anders asked Nadir, “How long will we have to wait for the elf army to join our forces?”

  Nadir chuckled at the question, “Elves are much faster than humans,” he said. “We can travel great distances much more quickly than you humans can. Our speed is similar to your horses, and we can sustain ourselves at that pace for days without getting tired. If we need to keep pace with a dragon, however, we expend our energy more quickly.”

  Anders had his doubts about an entire army being able to move with such speed, but he hoped Nadir was right.

  Before Red and the other captains left, Ivan showed them a roughly drawn map and where to anchor the ships on the other side of the mountain range. It went without saying that the ships would make better time than those on foot. It would take them several days to journey through the mountain range on foot; with as many people as they had, Red and those who sailed with him would have to wait for them, out of sight from Merglan’s fortress.

  Leaving Red, Britt and the other captains behind, Ivan and Nadir led the Rollo forces into the mountains. Anders found Nadir and said, “I’ve been trying to imagine what it would be like if dragons were still hunting trolls in the area.”

  Nadir turned to look at Anders and smirked, “Dragons will sometimes discover a mountain troll in these mountains and devour them on sight. They’re a delicacy of sorts to a wild dragon of Nagano.” He paused, trying to recall where he’d left off telling Anders about the history of Eastland.

  Anders tapped the hilt of his sword, watching the wave of recollection wash over Nadir’s face as he picked up where he’d left off, “Dwarves and goblins had been living underground for centuries by the time the trolls sought refuge in the Eastland Mountains. The dwarves of Eastland are notoriously unforgiving of those who attempt to invade their homes. Being masters of mining and precious ores, the dwarves had been protecting their underground cities from the goblins for almost as long as the dragons had hunted trolls.”

  “Goblins will do anything to get their hands on a precious ore like gold,” Max chimed in. He’d been walking behind the two and listening in on their conversation.

  “Yes, they will,” Nadir said, looking over his shoulder at Max. “The constant battle between the dwarves and goblins didn’t help the trolls’ efforts to make a home of their own under the mountains. Between being hunted by the dragons and killed by goblins and dwarves, their species faced extinction. We know of several groups that still live in abandoned goblin villages within these mountains.”

  Amazed at how much the young elf knew about the world, Anders asked him, “How do you know all of this at such a young age?”

  Nadir laughed and said, “I may be young to my people and look it to you, but I am almost one hundred years old. I have seen much in my years and read much in the great library in Cedarbridge, but I am not as experienced as many in my culture.”

  “You’re a geezer!” Max exclaimed. “You’re older than the oldest man I know, Solomon the wise.”

  Nadir smiled, “Looks can be deceiving.”

  “Are you filling these boys’ heads with nonsense?” Ivan asked upon his return from scouting out a campsite for their large group.

  “Just giving them a little oral history of the Eastland Mountains,” Nadir said.

  Ivan raised his eyebrows and nodded his head slightly, “Trying to take their minds off prophecies of old and the fight to come?”

  “Just passing the time, old friend,” Nadir said.

  Ivan coughed seeing the uncomfortable look on Anders’ face, “There is a place several miles ahead where w
e should stop to camp. The sun is about to set and, at these altitudes, the temperature drops rapidly once it’s gone.”

  Once the camp was established, Anders huddled around a warming fire with Max, Nadir and Ivan. It seemed that even though the Rollo people had declared their temporary peace with the elves, they didn’t want to be friendly with the Elf Prince. He drew dirty looks from the warriors all day and every once in a while he was called ‘elf-grime and other curses Anders didn’t like to think about.

  “How do you put up with all of the hate they have for you and your people?” Anders asked him as they stood close to the warmth of the flames.

  Nadir looked up and sighed, “It’s something that comes with experience. I can remember stories of the time when my father was a young man and the warriors first landed on our shores. Our people had always been friendly with the humans, so when I learned of how they betrayed our offering of peace, it made me want to hate all humans. And for a time, I did. I have seen more fights with the Rollo people than any one of them here today.

  “I learned during my years of constant fighting with them that the fighting only fuels the fire between us. One attack on their people is followed by sorrow. Then they seek revenge and hurt our people. We grieve and are angered by this, so we retaliate. At a certain point, the reason for the fighting and hatred blinds you and you forget what started it all in the first place. All you know is that you hate them and you want them destroyed.

  “One particular instance changed my opinion about hating these humans. It happened after defending one of our villages from an attack. We were tracking Islanders down. They had tried to shake us off their trail by hiding in a well-known goblin cave. It did not, however, fool us and we assumed that if they were able to hide in the cave, the goblins were not a threat. Upon entering the cave, we drew our focus on the men. Weapons at the ready, we stared each other down in the brief moments before engaging in combat. At that moment, like a spider catching its prey in a web, we were blindsided by a large group of goblins. I hadn’t noticed until that instant that among the Rollo Islanders were both women and children. In that moment, I realized that they were families, just like ours. The fear on their faces of the overwhelming odds was staggering. During the fight, I watched as a young boy wildly defended an injured woman I could only assume was his mother. He was about to be overtaken by goblins when I stepped in and drove them back. As members of both of our groups fell in the fight, I made a decision that I would get the Islanders out to safety. I cleared a way out for them and they took it. Once out of the cave, they thanked me and ran back to their ships.

  “So to answer your question, I deal with the hate because I know if I retaliate it will only make things worse. I must show by example that if we can work together, the benefits outweigh the grudge that has lasted between our people for centuries.”

  “I never thought about it like that,” Anders said. “You see a future that not many are willing to see, at least in this camp.”

  “Unless that future is crushed like a bug by Merglan,” Max said tossing another log onto the fire.

  “Oh, come on,” Anders said. “Don’t be so negative.”

  “He’s right,” Nadir said. “We must first focus on the greater evil that is Merglan before our people can settle our disputes. That is the only reason why Jorgen has agreed to the temporary peace.”

  “While we are on that subject,” Ivan said. “Tomorrow night we need to discuss battle strategy before we reach the other side of the mountains.”

  “Agreed,” Nadir said. They remained silent the rest of the night and went to bed shortly after their exchange.

  Anders didn’t like not being able to sneak off and meet Zahara. He missed her. As he lay looking up at the stars shining brightly in the dark sky, he wondered if their paths would ever cross again.

  The next day, Ivan led them along a narrow path. They tried to stick to the lowest points of the mountain passes and stay out of the deep snow that blanketed the mountaintops. The cold mountain air numbed Anders’ cheeks as they hiked.

  He was impressed at Ivan’s and Nadir’s ability to find the best passage through the scree fields scattered below the steep rock cliffs that skirted much of the mountain range. They walked along small streams fed by the melting snow, pooling into tiny lakes and ponds downstream. Anders tried to imagine how hard it would be to live here as the trolls from Nadir’s story had. There was no good place to farm and very few animals inhabited the area. The valleys below were much richer in these resources. Anders felt some sympathy for the trolls that were forced from their lands. He appreciated how lucky he was to be human. Although, if he was in fact who Merglan, Ivan and the elves thought he was, perhaps he wasn’t going to be lucky enough to lead the simple life he cherished from his youth.

  That night at camp Ivan, Nadir, and the Rollo warrior leaders talked battle strategy. Once again, Anders and Max were not privy to the conversation, but afterward Ivan and Nadir filled them in around the campfire.

  “Red and those with the ships will be waiting for us in a small cove at the base of the mountains. We will come out of the mountains here,” Ivan pointed to one side of the mountains he had drawn in the dirt next to the fire. “It’s close to where the boats will land, but there is some flat ground between the foothills and the shoreline.”

  Nadir joined in, “My people will meet us here,” pointing to a spot next to their planned exit from the Eastland Mountains. “They will be prepared for battle and join our ranks.”

  “We will hold our position in the foothills while a small party goes to collect Red and the others waiting at the ships,” Ivan continued. “Once we have retrieved them safely, our collective armies will march to Merglan’s fortress. To stay unnoticed, we will wait to cross the valley under the cover of darkness. If by then he does not know our position, it won’t take long once we are out of the mountains for him to sense our presence. It is imperative that we make it across the valley before he sends his forces to meet us.”

  “And if we don’t?” Anders asked.

  Ivan took a deep breath and said, “If we can’t catch Merglan by surprise, then it is likely that the orc and kurr army he has will greatly outnumber ours and we will be sitting ducks.”

  For a moment nobody spoke, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

  “We must trust that our information is accurate and that he hasn’t been paying attention to the happenings of the world around him,” Nadir said.

  “So our plan hinges on the hope that this evil guy has his head stuck in the sand and doesn’t notice a large army of elves and men marching on his gates? And if he is paying attention, he’ll destroy us all and we will have come all of this way for nothing?” Max said with a tinge of sarcasm.

  “Yes,” Ivan said straightly.

  “That’s mad!” Max exclaimed. “I was in this when I thought it was just a raiding party that captured Anders’ family. I’m not even sure that my brother was captured. I don’t want to be slaughtered over some lunatic who believes Anders is a powerful sorcerer.”

  “No one is forcing you to do this,” Ivan said.

  “Hey,” Anders interjected. “Max is here because of me, let me talk to him about it.” Anders pulled Max aside and said, “Look, you and I have grown to become close friends, and I appreciate all that you’ve done for me. You’ve stuck by my side through the toughest moments of my life. I get it if you don’t want to do this, though. This fight was mine from the beginning and apparently from long before we met. You don’t owe me anything. Don’t throw your life away for my cause. If you want to leave now and search for your brother elsewhere, I won’t blame you.”

  Max looked down at the ground and said, “This is crazy. I grew up hearing all about the battles during The War of the Magicians. I never thought I would be caught in the middle of one.”

  “My world changed for the worse that day we met, but through our journey I have been proud to have you as a friend and a per
son I could always rely on when the going got tough. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” Anders said putting out his hand as an offering.

  Max sighed as he looked around, grabbed Anders hand, pulling him in for a hug and said, “Ah, hell. Who am I kidding? Thargon definitely has Bo. If he didn’t, Bo would’ve been waiting for me in Brookside. I’ve been involved this long. What are a couple more days?”

  Anders pulled away laughing, “You’re a good brother and a better friend, Max.”

  The two returned to the fire and Max reassured Ivan and Nadir he was going to stick it out. After discussing where they would be placed and who their commanding officers would be, the four of them went to bed.

  The next day required strenuous hiking over mountain passes, across plateaus and along steep slopes. Anders spent the day talking again with Nadir, whose wealth of knowledge he found fascinating. Nadir distracted Anders by telling him all about the dwarves and their culture. Anders learned Mount Orena was home to the largest colony of dwarves, and had been since the dwarves first came to the Eastland Mountains. Their ancient city, Hardstone, was built near the mine where they extracted the many riches of the earth that made their people so well known in Kartania.

  “It sounds like a wonderful place,” Anders said when Nadir had finished describing the great halls of Hardstone.

  “I’m sure it is,” Nadir said.

  “You’ve never been there?” Anders asked surprised. He assumed Nadir had been there after providing such a detailed description of the dwarf kingdom.

  “No,” he said. “I’ve never received an invitation to go, which you’d think I would have by now. My father put me in charge of trade negotiations with the dwarves several years ago. I suspect it’s because our peoples are mostly at peace with each other and they don’t want to foul anything up. For the most part we stay out of each other’s politics and as a result our relationship remains healthy. Every once in a while some argument occurs between our political houses and the trading stops. But in the end, we’ve always come to some kind of agreement to make the commerce work.”