by Pedro Urvi
“Well, that didn’t go so badly,” said Leenbiren.
“Wait for the militia to cross,” said Ingrid.
“And the short ones,” Nilsa added.
The soldiers began to cross. At first they did so carefully, one by one, but it was going to take forever for the whole army to cross like that. Soon the officers began to organize their men so that they now crossed in groups. They chose three points far enough apart not to get in the way of the others, and the three armies began to enter the water at the same time. At the northernmost point was the Thunder Army, ten abreast and very close together, like a great rectangular block. Following their example at the central point were the foreign mercenaries, who were much less organized and tightly-grouped. They were very nervous, particularly the Noceans. For them, used to the deserts, crossing that giant river was terrifying, since water was unknown to them. At the southernmost point the Snow Army was crossing, also in an orderly and compact way.
It looked to Lasgol as though they had built three large, very wide, bridges to cross the great river. But not everything was going smoothly. Several foreign soldiers lost their footing in the middle and were swept away by the current, as were some of the Snow Army. The militias and the forces of the nobles waited beside their lords. The King had the Invincibles of the Ice with him, and they would be the last to cross.
“Poor devils,” Nilsa said as she watched the water carry them away, never to return.
Gerd pointed. “There are some soldiers trying to rescue them.”
“They won’t have much luck,” Ingrid said with a frown. “And if they’re not careful, the same thing will happen to them.”
She was right. In spite of the efforts of their comrades, soldiers and militia were swept away by the current, and some of the rescuers suffered the same fate. The first lines reached the opposite shore and went into the forest to make room for those arriving behind them.
Leenbiren breathed out heavily in relief. “We seem to be crossing at last.”
“Thank goodness,” said Nilsa. She was still biting her nails, unnerved by what she was seeing.
“We’re going to lose a few men,” Ingrid said. “We’ll see if they manage to keep up the formation until they’ve all crossed, then the loss will be minimal.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Gerd agreed. “They need to keep up the formation, or it’ll be a disaster.”
“They’re well-trained,” Leenbiren said. “They won’t break it.”
The soldiers began to arrive, and Lasgol and his comrades began to relax. It was a major obstacle, but they had overcome it. Nilsa and Gerd relaxed, and a smile appeared on their tense faces.
“Let’s get into our positions,” Leenbiren said.
They turned toward the great forest. All of a sudden, they heard a distant hum, very deep, as if a thousand bees were on their way. A moment later the hum became louder. Something was coming at great speed from far away. The ground began to shake under their feet.
“What the heck is that?” Leenbiren asked in confusion.
Ingrid was looking in every direction. “It sounds like… a cavalry charge?”
“There’s no room for a cavalry charge,” Gerd said.
The ground was now shaking more powerfully, and it was becoming hard to keep their balance. The hum had become deafening, as if the Wind God was roaring in their direction. A strong wind struck them suddenly. It was so damp that they were left soaking wet.
“What’s going on?” Leenbiren shouted.
“It’s an earthquake!” Nilsa cried. She could no longer stay on her feet because of the tremors.
Lasgol, who was trying to keep his balance with Ona beside him, knew instinctively that something very bad was about to happen. Something with a shattering force was on its way. He received Camu’s message at the same time: Run. Escape,
“To the forest, quick!” he shouted.
“What’s the matter?” Ingrid asked. Her face was wet and her blonde hair blowing in the wind.
Nilsa was holding on to Gerd so as not to fall. Ona was already leading the way into the forest. She stopped, looked back at them and gave a mournful moan. She smelt danger, and she was begging them to follow.
“To the forest, now!” Lasgol shouted.
“To the forest!” Ingrid repeated, and they all ran, trying not to lose their balance amid the tremors. Leenbiren was the first to arrive, and he clutched at a tree. The others followed close behind and did the same. The tremors were now unbearable and the roaring of the wind was deafening, as though horses by the hundred thousand were galloping towards them.
“I love you all!” Nilsa shouted, perhaps thinking that she was about to die, even if she did not know what was causing it.
“Hold fast!” Ingrid yelled. “We’ll come out of whatever this is!”
Gerd was so pale that he looked as if all the blood in his body had drained away. Lasgol was holding Ona with him. Hold on tight, he messaged, fearful of what was on its way.
I cling to tree, Camu transmitted.
Ona gave a moan of fear. Lasgol took off his Ranger’s belt and tied her to the tree.
Suddenly a tremendous roar struck them, both in body and mind. Lasgol saw a colossal wave, tall as five houses, coming down the river, dragging with it everything in its way. It was so monstrous that there was no room for it in the river and was overwhelming everything it met on the banks as well.
“It’s a giant wave!” he shouted.
“It can’t be,” Leenbiren shouted back. “It’s a river!”
“Anything’s possible in Tremia!” Ingrid pointed out.
“Hold tight, it’s coming!” Lasgol shouted.
The edges of the wave swept the shore as it passed in front of them and hit them with devastating strength.
Hold tight!
Nilsa screamed. The strength of the water had nearly uprooted her tree and dragged her away with it.
“Hold tight!” Ingrid shouted, and as she did so she swallowed water down to her lungs.
Gerd was clinging fast, managing to hold on because of his weight and strength. Leenbiren clenched his jaw and clung to his own tree with all his might.
The great wave passed in front of them, sweeping everything in its passage along with it. There was three times as much water in the river as usual, and it was going to flood everything in its way. And then Lasgol realized what was really happening. He let go of his tree and ran to the shore. When he looked downriver, he saw the giant wave carrying off all those soldiers who were still crossing the river, along with those who were close to either side: both those who had arrived already and those who were getting ready to cross.
“Nooooo!” he cried in horror, and his comrades joined him.
“It’s swept away all the soldiers who were crossing!” Nilsa cried. Her hands were on her cheeks and there was a look of terror on her face.
Gerd put his hands to his head. “This is dreadful!”
“There’s not a single soul left,” Ingrid said sadly.
“How many casualties?” Leenbiren asked.
She shook her head. “I couldn’t say for sure, but I think more than a quarter of the soldiers, ours and the foreign ones…”
“And the King?”
“He stepped back when he saw the wave. He’s safe. It looks as though he and his nobles haven’t suffered any casualties.”
Leenbiren sighed in relief. “I can see the Invincibles restoring order. They haven’t suffered any casualties either.”
“But how did this happen?” Nilsa asked in puzzlement.
“An earthquake, or something else natural?” Gerd suggested.
Ingrid shook her head. “This wasn’t natural. This was prepared and set in motion.”
Lasgol nodded. “It was a trap.”
Chapter 37
Ingrid looked at them up and down. “Is everybody okay?”
“Yeah, scared to death, but fine,” said Gerd. He was shivering uncontrollably.
Ni
lsa was shaking her arms and legs. “And soaking wet, but fine.”
Lasgol ran to check how Trotter and the other horses were. They had left them tethered and the water had not swept them away, but they were terrified. He did what he could to soothe them, using the techniques he had learnt with Elder Gisli for dealing with animals in dangerous situations.
Confusion was general among the soldiers, who were running in every direction, unable to believe what had just happened. Some ran from the river in terror, others ran to try to rescue the men the great wave had carried away. The officers shouted orders to their men, without much success, and the rise in river-level now made it impossible to cross. On both banks the soldiers were trying to reorganize themselves and get the situation under control.
“Wait here, I’m going to see what new orders there are,” Leenbiren said, and ran to the crossing-point.
“What d’you mean, it was a trap?” Gerd asked.
“This was the work of Arnold and his people,” Ingrid said.
Lasgol nodded. “Egil, to be precise.”
Nilsa was looking up and down the river with eyes wide as saucers. “How did they do it? I can’t see how.”
“I think… I’m beginning to get an idea how,” Lasgol said. “They undammed the reservoir further up in the mountains.”
“And created that giant wave?” Nilsa said.
“It could very well be that,” said Ingrid.
“It seemed to me there was more than that to it… as if there was magic involved,” Gerd said. He was still looking frightened.
“It could be that too,” said Ingrid. “They might have combined both things, the dam and magic. Eh, Lasgol?”
He nodded. “The West must have a Mage with them. A Mage of Water could have made the flood even bigger and helped to create a colossal wave like that.”
Gerd was open-mouthed. “Amazing…”
“Filthy magic,” Nilsa protested. She folded her arms defiantly. “It’s cost us thousands of men.”
“More than magic, it was our friend’s intelligence,” said Ingrid.
“We’d better be careful,” Gerd said, “or one of the traps he’s prepared against the King’s armies might be the end of us.”
Lasgol nodded. “Yeah, that’s exactly why he sent us that letter, to warn us.”
Ingrid too nodded thoughtfully. “We’re going to need to keep our eyes open.”
Nilsa and Gerd nodded eagerly.
It took the army three days to establish some order among their ranks. Half the men who had not been swept away had succeeded in crossing, but the second half were still waiting. The river went back to normal, and there was no second wave, which was what the generals were afraid of. Rangers were sent up-river to the reservoir to confirm Lasgol’s suspicions. The entire wall of the dam had been destroyed, and all the water it contained had been sent down-river. It had not been an accident. It had been done deliberately, with careful planning.
To the group’s surprise, they knew several of the Rangers who had been sent to investigate. They met them as they were on their way back.
“Hi there, comrades!” Luca said with a smile.
Lasgol hugged him. “Luca! How good to see you again!”
“We’ve just come from the reservoir.”
“And it was an interesting climb,” came another voice from behind Luca. They turned and saw Molak, who was on his way towards them, smiling broadly.
“Molak!” cried Ingrid. She threw herself into his arms and kissed him with such enthusiasm that the Sniper dropped the magnificent long bow he was carrying.
“Ingrid seems delighted,” Nilsa giggled. She was watching her friend kissing Molak, who was left very nearly breathless.
The others chuckled as they watched the scene.
“I… wasn’t expecting to see you…” Ingrid said apologetically as she let go of Molak.
“I can see that,” he said, and laughed with great good humor.
“How’ve you been, Molak?” Lasgol said, and the Sniper hugged and greeted all the rest.
“They put Luca and me in the same group. I can see there’s no way of separating you either…”
“Have you seen Astrid?” Lasgol asked hopefully.
They both shook their heads. “No, sorry, Lasgol,” Luca said.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Molak said. “You’ll soon come across her, the way you did with us.”
“I hope so,” Lasgol said, without much conviction.
“So tell us, what have you been doing?” Nilsa asked.
Leenbiren, seeing that they were old friends, left unobtrusively so that they could talk freely. They sat down in a circle and chatted for some time, exchanging experiences and information. Ingrid and Molak went off to be alone for a while, and Luca stayed with them until they were finally called back to their group. They had to take up their watch duties again. Ingrid said goodbye to Molak with anther passionate kiss, which once again left him all-but-breathless.
“Take care of yourself, please,” she said.
“I will. Don’t worry.”
“Don’t be too trustful.”
Molak smiled lovingly at her. “Nothing’ll keep me away from my warrior goddess, not even death.”
“Don’t even mention that!”
“Don’t be superstitious. You take care of yourself too, and don’t get into more battles than the ones you really have to.”
“I never do.”
“D’you promise?”
“I can’t promise that,” she said, and shrugged.
Molak smiled and nodded. “At least take care.”
“That I can promise.”
“See you on the other side of the forest,” Luca said.
They took their leave after much hugging and laughing. After Luca and Molak had left, they went on chatting: all except Ingrid, who was thoughtful.
At last, and with the Rangers still checking the level of the water all the way up to the reservoir, the remaining soldiers crossed. It took them longer because of the care they took, even though now the flood had passed and the river was lower. It was hardly surprising, since they had just seen it take the lives of thousands of their comrades. After the soldiers came the turn of the craftsmen, the carpenters, the smiths and all the supporting manpower of an army, with their carts laden with supplies, tools and utensils. They were the ones who had most problems in crossing, but luckily the mules and carthorses were huge and found footing all the way. After them went the noblemen and their forces. The last ones to cross were the King and his Invincibles of the Ice.
From there they made their way into the Eternal Forest. Lasgol and his group took up their positions, covering the right flank. They advanced on foot, leading their horses. The forest was not only huge but tremendously dense, full of bushes, brambles and all kinds of vegetation which made progress very difficult. Lasgol had Ona with him, and she managed perfectly well. Poor Trotter on the other hand had a hard time. Lasgol walked ahead of the pony, leading him by the reins and calming him with soothing whispers at every step. The others advanced in the same way, leading their mounts.
“I can see why it’s called the Eternal Forest,” Nilsa said, “because it looks endless.”
“And hard to get through,” Gerd said with a smile. “It’s going to take us an ‘eternity’ to cross it.”
“I can’t believe it,” Ingrid said, pretending disbelief. “Have you made a joke out of a frightening situation?”
“It looks as though I have,” Gerd replied. He was smiling from ear to ear.
Leenbiren laughed. “A touch of humor raises the spirits.”
Lasgol gave a short laugh. If he had been with other Rangers he did not know, or with soldiers, he would not have been half as relaxed. He would not have felt protected, as he always did with his friends, and he was glad he was with them in this situation. If he had had to go by himself with Leenbiren, he would have been very worried about what was ahead of them.
They could not see the arm
y, because the vegetation was so thick that it did not allow them to see more than fifteen paces ahead. All the same, they could hear them perfectly well. A patrol was noisy enough, but thousands of soldiers could be heard leagues away. And if they could hear those soldiers, so could the forces of the West. Lasgol had no doubt that Arnold and his Western League knew perfectly well that Thoran’s armies were crossing the enormous forest at that very moment.
“We’re stopping,” Leenbiren said. “We’ll have something to eat and look for trails.” He glanced at Lasgol and Gerd as he said this.
They went out to check the area around, Gerd to the south and Lasgol to the north. Finding any trail was really difficult, because everything was dense with vegetation: earth, trees, rocks, and even the sky, although this last was only an optical illusion. The crowns of the trees were so wide and leafy that they covered the whole sky when they looked up.
“Everything’s in order,” they reported. Nilsa and Ingrid were sleeping, and Leenbiren was taking the first shift.
“Have something to eat, and then sleep. We’ll take turns to watch.”
“Yes, sir,” Gerd said, Immediately he searched among the provisions for something to put in his stomach.
“No trace of the enemy?” Leenbiren asked Lasgol.
Lasgol shook his head. “Not a trace.”
“There isn’t because we can’t see it, or because there really isn’t?”
“I think because there really isn’t. This is a good spot for hiding tracks, but I think I’d have found them if there were any.”
Leenbiren nodded. “You’re a Specialist. If you don’t find any enemy trail, then there’s none to be found.”
“All the same,” Lasgol commented, “this forest is a good place for an attack. We wouldn’t see it until it was right on top of us.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. We’re moving blindly through a forest that won’t let you see anything a hundred paces ahead. We could be heading straight for a trap, and we wouldn’t see it until we were there.”
“We have Rangers on watch all around the perimeter,” Gerd said between bites of cheese.
“Even so… I don’t trust it. The trap at the river was masterly. He’s pretty clever, this Arnold.”
