by P. G. Thomas
One by one, Alron in the middle of the ice bridge, rushed them over the wet surface, as small waves would break over the top of the ice bridge, make it slippery. He called to the Earth Guards, who started to throw handfuls of gravel, and dirt onto the ice bridge, tried to win them back some purchase as rushing water underneath continued to thin the bridge. All struggled to cross, hoping enough ice remained, but as fast as new traction landed on the bridge, the river retaliated, and washed most of it away.
Alron could feel the bridge heaving more, knew the ice was getting thinner, and when Ryan was across, the Ironhouse brothers lined up, but none wanted to be first. Fiery dragons, dark caves, frost beasts, this and more would not put the scare into a dwarf. Fast flowing cold water, a dwarves nightmare realized. Panry ran across, gently nudged, or pushed each one onto the thinning ice bridge, where Alron helped them complete their journey to the other side. Some placed their trust in the elves, so scared, they would not open their eyes, but none would ever mention what the dwarves felt, would only speak of the bravery they showed.
Alron felt the heave and sag of the ice bridge increase, all were across but Panry and Eric. Erust tossed Panry a rope, and he tied it around Eric, ran slipping, and sliding across the heaving ice bridge. Once on the other side, Panry handed the rope to the Ironhouse brothers, and as Eric stepped onto the bridge, Alron stepped off of it. Eric was not even a quarter of the way across when Alron heard the deafening crack, saw the ice tip up, saw Eric go down. Ironhouse pulled the rope, but each time Eric tried to grab the last remains of the ice bridge, it broke free. The current, now free, started to push him downstream. Bor whistled, and his brothers pulled harder, but Eric was so big, had so much drag, and their boots still wet, the river threatened to win the battle. Panry grabbed the end of the rope and tied it to a saddle on one of the horses, smacking its rump. It pulled Eric out of the main channel, the current pushed him to the edge of the river, and he remembered how much he hated cold water. The Ironhouse brothers ran to his aid, and pulled him from the river and up the bank. Alron quickly got everybody mounted, needed a place to hide, as it was starting to get brighter, making them easily seen.
As he turned, he saw the reason for the increased light. The forest fire had jumped the river, found the wooden fort, began to consume it. Alron forced them into the forest, needed a safe place to hide, Eric and Logan needing warmth. As he drove them deeper into the thick forest, Lauren tried to sing, to help, but kept seeing Logan shivering, and was not able to concentrate. Alron finally realized he was not going to find a suitable spot, called for them to stop, and told the dwarves to take axe to tree, to make them a camp. Mirtza immediately materialized his wagon, extracted blankets, and wrapped them around Logan and Eric who were both shaking uncontrollably. There was enough daylight that would mask the light of their fire, but not the smoke, and Alron needed a fire for Logan and Eric else they might perish. Afraid that the black-clad might see the smoke, think it was a new fire, and take actions against it, Alron sent Earth Guards to the front lines, to extinguish any that had intentions of investigating the new smoke.
Ryan, John, Zack, and Lauren took turns helping to rub Eric and Logan, to get their circulation back. Mirtza was having trouble getting the fire going, the kindling too wet, would not accept the spark. Zack threw his lighter, Mirtza rotated the wheel as he depressed the little button, still surprised by the fire he saw in his hand. The cold kindling did not have the will to resist the hot flame, began to burn, and emitted the much-needed warmth. Mirtza brought out his magic hot plate that did not need fire, put on a pot of bean juice, which seemed to take a long time to boil, but soon he had two cups of the hot liquid for Eric and Logan, which they gratefully accepted. Slowly their teeth quit chattering, the color came back to their faces, exhaustion overtook them, and they fell asleep.
It was late in the day, and Alron had the Earth Guards replace by the Ironhouse brothers, who had managed to get something to eat, had taken a short but restful nap, they would be more alert.
When all was quiet, Lauren wondered over to Alron and sat beside him, “Are the rest of the days going to be like this?”
“Earth Daughter, I does naught know what does lie ahead. I does barely understand what does lie behind us. Rest here we shalt this night, tomorrow we does make fresh plans.”
Alron waited until Logan and Eric awoke to ensure that they were feeling better. Then he took Panry and the Dawnfalcons out to relieve the Ironhouse brothers, as he wanted elfin ears to warn him if anything should approach in the dark. Aaro and Bor would not leave their front position, as they were delighted to see the black-clad army fighting the losing battle with the fire that destroyed their fort, occasionally catching sight of a burning log falling on one, or a soldier catching on fire, jumping into the river, only to be swept downstream to a watery death.
It was dark outside, the fire burning bright, when Aaro first pointed to the white shape that materialized from the black night, the white bear, which hunted black. They watched in amazement, as it would sneak up on unsuspecting soldiers, pounce on them, and rip them into shreds. It prowled in and out of the shadows, seemed to disappear or materialize at will. Several times, they thought the black-clad had it trapped, only to see it appear behind the soldiers from a different shadow. Throughout the night, more black-clad soldiers arrived from the south, to help with the fire. The frost bear greeted them all with an undying enthusiasm, their response, a surprised indifference, as their warm life blood slowly flowed into the fast cold river.
As they watched, the suns began to rise, painting the sky pink. The white bear, now painted red retreated from the light, went back to the shadows. When replacement guards came to relieve them, Alron, Aaro, and Bor, still had a hard time believing what they had seen, and returned to their camp, where they found Eric and Logan in better spirits. The hot meals that Gor and Mirtza had prepared, a welcome change from the cold rations that they had tolerated for so long.
Alron sat beside Logan, but before he could ask, Logan said, “I don’t know Alron. The forest caught fire, filled with smoke. I knew we had to get across the river. We didn’t have a bridge so I made one. I really don’t know where the knowledge came from, how I made it happen. And before you ask, I have no idea on what will happen today.”
Alron appreciated the answer, but would have liked to have asked the question first. It was one thing to have his Earth Guards read his mind, as they were trained to anticipate his thoughts, but the realization that others could do the same disturbed him. He went over to Lauren, to advise the Earth Daughter they needed to start moving.
She greeted him, “We need to start heading south again. Do you think the roads will be any safer?”
Alron shook his head, trying to get all of the visitors out of it, “Earth Daughter, we does see many called to fight fire. Perchance deserted their post does now be, but we does naught know.”
Alron whistled, they saddled the mounts, Mirtza transformed his wagon, and they started to walk to the forest edge, where they met the front guard. When all were reunited, Alron gave the Dawnfalcons a fifteen-minute head start as the front guard, but did not deploy a rear guard, as none could cross the burnt bridge. Any stragglers at the fort had their hands full with trying to either rebuild or salvage what they could, and they managed to ride a week before they saw the first threat.
Chapter 28
The thought of playing hide-and-seek with the black-clad army did not sit well with Lauren. She asked Alron to watch the road that night to see if they spotted any patrols. In the morning, he advised of the quiet road.
“Alron, let’s travel at night, we can move quicker. If we have to keep stopping to thread our way through the forest unseen, we don’t travel as far. We have travelled a great distance, there has to be an end to this madness. There has to be a pass through the mountains, a freehold, or something soon. I found some Night Berries where I found my staff, which should help conceal us, and I can make the ground soft to absorb the sound
s of the horses if I need to. I am tired of playing cat and mouse, we need to outfox them.”
Alron could see the stress on the entire party, as everybody was tense. They had spent almost a month, dodging the black-clad, and Lauren was right, they should be getting close to something. Alron advised the group to rest for the day, and that they would travel at night.
As the last sun would set, they would make their preparations to disappear into the dark. When they came across the waiting front guard, Lauren would crush one of the Night Berries onto her staff, and darkness would spread out, diluting their appearance, melding them into the night. Then slowly sing to the road, make it soft, so that no beast would make a sound. When sufficient distance had passed, Lauren would wrap a cloth around the night berry juice to trap the darkness, and they would pick up speed, ever wary of the next threat.
They would travel for six or seven days this way, then rest for one. Sleeping in the day, but the cold food, noises in the night, it was all wearing them down. When Alron could sense the tension building, he would advise the Earth Guard to find a camp location deep in the forest. For one day, they would eat hot meals, had hot bean juice or tea to warm their spirits, and could sleep in the dark, and refresh their tired bodies. Alron had never heard of so many, pushed so hard, for so long, under such threatening conditions. In some ways, he was surprised they had gotten as far as they had, given the size of the enemy, an enemy he had greatly underestimated. To have such an extensive network of guards, poorly trained thankfully, he was unclear what purpose they actually served. Much like the frost bear that they had seen, the deployment of this army did not make any sense.
They continued their night travels for a month total, had covered a tremendous distance undiscovered, but there still seemed to be no end. Alron was becoming more concerned, the guard posts that they rode by in the night, they were changing. The first ones only had four black-clad soldiers, into the second week of night travel, the number of soldiers increased, eight, then sixteen, and then more. At some, there were so many talking or snoring, he could not guess the number that the dark concealed. Most disturbing, the last week they had ridden by two that numbered over one hundred. The Earth Daughter may have hidden them from the black-clad, but he was glad that she could not see that which he could easily hear.
They had been traveling hard for another seven days, when Alron called for a break, exhausted, they followed the front guard deep into the forest, where they stripped their mounts, and then looked for a dark shadow to mimic night, to help them sleep. It was late in the day when Alron woke up, went to check on the Earth Guards that watched the road. Increased movements, in frequency and size, which was not the news he was hoping to hear.
He wandered back to the camp, tried to think of options, but with only one road, an intensifying opponent, no understanding of what the black-clad were doing, he was undecided if he even had options. He could possibly capture a prisoner, and make it talk, but that usually got noisy. Desperate for something, he decided to send the Dawnfalcons out, to see if they could gather any information. He wanted to send Panry with them, but knew he would need Panry’s sword to protect the Earth Daughter, if any black-clad stumbled upon them.
As he came back to the camp, he could see the beaten look on the six Ironhouse brothers. Alron imagined that even the Master Weapon Smith never worked them this hard. This was not like being in the mines, it was worse. In the mines, you only had back breaking labor to contend with, but here every sound you heard made you jump. Every shadow looked like it moved, hid a black-clad soldier. This was worse, it was a mental contest that each fought to contain. They needed a week of rest, some solid meals, and hot baths, as more than their current situation stank.
Alron saw Lauren nibbling on a bun, sipping a hot tea. She was a mess, had given up on trying to keep her hair neat, and had just tied a large purple ribbon around it. The only one that did not look out of place was Logan, and with that realization, he sat down beside Lauren.
Her smile did not greet him, her emotions were more like Zack, or lack of them, “Earth Daughter, all does be weary. Camp here, seven days I does suggest. Dawnfalcons, task them to find news of any kind I shalt. We all does need rest as this pace no longer canst we keep.” Lauren was too exhausted to answer, just nodded in agreement. Alron went over to the Dawnfalcons, “Sorry I does be. Rest all does need, but more important, we does need information. Thou are tired, I does know. Thine service, it does speak loud. I does be proud of Careel and Babartin Dawnfalcon, but more I does ask. Tomorrow, scout south road, three days, naught more than four. Then return, two days rest thou shalt receive. Weary all does be, rest they does need. The task does be great, does be careful.”
Careel and Babartin understood the situation, they accepted Alron’s words, rejected his concern. “Alron, we does be Earth Guard. Coddle us naught like a mother does protect child.” Fatigue written deep on Careel’s face was obvious to Alron, but Careel refused to crack, even under this pressure.
Babartin agreed with his brother, “When Earth Daughter does be safe, then and only then, does Earth Guard rest. Protect and serve Alron, our oath we does know well.”
“Proud of Dawnfalcons I does be.”
Alron got up to get a cup of hot bean juice, and to talk with Panry. He knew he could push well-trained men hard, they would respond, do whatever he asked. But Alron also knew that if you stood too close to a meat grinder, pushed your men too hard, you ended up with ground sausage. Alron felt as if he was standing in a butcher shop, the special of the day was Earth Guard, and that image plagued his dreams that night as he tossed and turned. When he awoke in the morning, the Dawnfalcons were gone. They probably left hours before the first sunrise, would scavenge the trail for food, and most likely steal some from the poorly trained black-clad soldiers. He found Panry on a small hill that overlooked the road, sat down beside his long-time friend. “Panry Moonshadow, what words would thou offer this tired Earth Guard?”
“The great Alron Icefeather does seek wisdom from a Moonshadow, now I does be worried.” Panry smiled as he said it, “Strange our journey does be, and long. I does not understand this black-clad army. Army strategy I does naught hath, but odd it does seem, like they does be looking for something?”
“Does it be us?”
“I does think they does naught know of us. Tracks on road, too many to follow. No dead or traces does we leave. How would black-clad know that we does be here?”
Alron tried to hold in a yawn, “Dawnfalcons. Should mine first order be rest, mine second order, scout? Tired Earth Guards does be first to mistake make.”
“Earth Guard does naught know tired, your command given, fulfilled it shalt be.”
“Panry, I also does be Earth Guard, and I does be tired.”
“Alron does be old, tired does be expected.”
Alron smiled at the quick comeback from his second in command, realized it had been a long time since he had smiled, and hoped the Dawnfalcons would bring him reasons to smile more. They sat on the hill watching the increased patrols travel north and south.
At midday, Alron returned to the camp, the small troop looked a little more refreshed, but still tired. He asked Erust to take his stag to the back of the camp, explore the woods, and see if he could find a route. He returned two days later, reported that travel was slow, the ground not travel friendly, their tracks easily followed if found. Alron spent his days pacing the camp, or watching the road as the group rested. He consulted with the Ironhouse brothers, asked Logan if Sister had any news, asked Lauren if she had any thoughts, prayed to Mother, but silence was his only answer.
Alron awoke one morning, saw the Dawnfalcons sleeping back in the camp, and wanted to wake them, to hear the report. He fought the urge, and instead let them sleep. He saw Lauren sitting beside the fire, hands wrapped around a mug of hot bean juice, inhaling it deeply. Gingaar was behind her, brushing her hair, smiling with purpose. Alron grabbed a mug and joined her. “How is Earth Daughter this mo
rning?”
“She feels better, but next time we camp this long, could you arrange a stream or pond, I could use a bath.”
“Elf eyesight and hearing does be keen, as does be elf sense of smell. All could use a bath.” Lauren was unsure if she just insulted, but Gingaar smacked Alron on the back of the head, which caused Lauren to smile, something that Alron had not seen in a long time.
Lauren looked at the tired Earth Guards, “I see your men the Dawnfalcons have returned. Did they report to you last night?”
“I does naught know when they does return.”
“They toss in turn in their sleep, something disturbs them. I fear the words they will speak to you. Make sure I am present when they do, I need to hear the truth.”
Alron did not want to hear the truth. He wanted somebody to lie to him, to tell him it would end the next day. Tell him anything, as long as it was good, and not make him toss like the Dawnfalcons. Mirtza and Gor prepared the morning meal, fried meats sizzling made the Dawnfalcon’s ears twitch, the aroma of hot food carried on the cool breeze made their noses twitch, the tossing and turning ended, as Babartin and Careel pushed the sleep back. When they saw Alron, they went to report, but he told them to eat first, that the report could wait. They may have been elf, but they ate like dwarf, even Lauren was amazed at how much they packed away. It was about an hour later when the Dawnfalcons began to slow down, Mirtza and Gor could not keep the food coming quick enough for the two. Alron was glad that Mirtza chests had no limits, but once again feared the Tricksters’ unlimited magic would be tested.
