by P. G. Thomas
Panry walked over to her, “I am sorry. You did not respond when we called to you to release Earth Mother’s staff.”
Gingaar smiled, “I do not remember you being so tall, father.”
Zack walked by, “She stoned, Dude.”
Lindo shrugged her shoulders at Zack’s comment, “Your apology will have to wait. The medication dulls her pain and senses alike.”
When Lauren awoke that morning, Gor, locating a comfortable spot, prepared a special meal for her. As she stood up, he covered her with a blanket, walking her over to her own pot of hot bean juice, a stack of pancakes, and other delicious smelling foods. When any tried to approach, the look from Gor suggested that they were walking in the wrong direction. As far as he was concerned, Earth Mother had done enough, and Lauren needed some quiet time.
With the west now secure, there was no need to rush back to Alron. After Fritza and Lindo had reset Gingaar’s hand, giving her some berries to help her sleep, they watched as Nur’s Earth Guard placed her in the wagon. They then joined Panry sitting at the campfire, who was looking at the wall of Iron Wood trees. Two hundred stretched across the valley opening; each one almost two hundred feet tall, their trunks six feet in diameter, their bases corrupted by huge exaggerated overlapping roots that burst through the ground. There were spots between some of the trees, which thin lines of light did penetrate, but other than the section that the small river flowed through, the pass was blocked.
Lindo looked at the wall of trees, “Even if I had that staff. I would never have thought of doing that.”
Panry thought about what Ryan had said, “Earth Mother does not think like us. What she does, the black-clad will not expect. When they arrive, they will not understand how Earth Mother anticipated their moves and will reconsider all.”
“I had never thought of it that way,” advised Fritza, “you are a smart elf. I understand why Alron picked you for his second.”
The words stung Panry.
“Earth Mother harvested an Iron Wood forest, moved it, and grew it to meet her needs,” began Lindo, “I have never heard of anything like this before.”
“If we want to leave the pass, what do we do?” asked Fritza.
Panry shrugged his shoulders, “I am Earth Guard. Protect and serve is my oath. Earth Mother made this forest, and when its purpose no exists, Iron Wood trees will know fear. Not from saw, ax, or fire, instead from Earth Mother. I just hope that she does stand far back.”
When Gor and Lauren had finished their meal, he walked her to the empty hole that she had made with her tri-wood staff. She looked out to the wall of Iron Wood trees and smiled, knowing the west was safe for a little while longer. Bending down to the empty hole, she grasped her tri-wood staff, and then both headed back to the wagon.
When Panry saw them leave their breakfast spot, he whistled to the Earth Guards, who collected the odd chests and other items, bringing them to the wagon. Logan, though still weak, was able to get into the back of the wagon by himself. Playing her flute, Nur coaxed six deer out of the mountains for the additional Earth Guards, and her magnificent white-tailed stag had mysteriously reappeared, but nobody asked about the disappearance of Zack. The Earth Mothers rode on the front bench with Mirtza, who drove the wagon at a reasonable pace, because none would let Ryan near the front seat.
As they headed west, Ryan was riding Lauren’s horse, when Panry rode up beside him, “Earth Mother is Mother Chosen. Her brother is Sister Chosen. Dwarf giant and Tranquil Fury, I understand. Unchosen John, there does be nothing to understand. Zack, for the most part I think I understand also. That night on the wagon bench, I was not sure of what I saw. Elf arrow in darkness we shot, distance great, speed unseen until that night. Yet Earth Guard arrow, its mark it found, but not effect it has. Like assassin’s steel, Ryan rejects both. Rage, wrath, anger, or crazy rode that bench. I know not what it was, but Ryan it was not. A storm, nay ten wrapped into one, sped down on me. What gift or curse calls Ryan home?”
“I saw a vision that impressed me also. The darkness was blurred, and in the distance, I focused on one fire. Then more appeared, and out of the darkness, I saw one that stood, challenged that storm. Like a beacon in the night, when all hope seemed lost, I saw Earth Guard. One stood, dared it to trespass, and was ready to meet it with a wrath equal to the fury that threatened him. He didn’t move, didn’t flinch. Mother Chosen, Sister Chosen, Dwarf Chosen, Unchosen, and misfit, I have no idea why your crazy world does what it does. Me, I’m what happens when all goes wrong. Your world healed me, well, most of me, but inside, parts are still broken and will never heal. For a long time I was cursed, and I know that it still follows me to this day.” Ryan kicked his heels into the horse, raced up beside the wagon and smiled at Lauren.
*******
It was the last day of camping in the valley, and Panry was returning from inspecting the perimeter. Mirtza and Gor were by the fire, making breakfast. Logan had his hands wrapped around a mug of bean juice, and Lauren was seeing how Gingaar and Nur were doing. With their hands still bandaged, she helped them out of the back of the wagon and to the campfire.
As the others ate, Lauren went over to Panry, “Thank you for your help. I didn’t think the Iron Wood trees would put up such a fight.”
“Earth Mother, I understand why you did it, to block the pass, but could you not have found a different path?”
“Panry, I’m stubborn just like you and Alron. The pass needed to be blocked, and it would have taken a month or more to build a wooden wall there, and we worked too hard to get this far. There’s no way I’m going to lose this fight before it even begins. What happened to Gingaar and Earth Mother’s hands?”
“Earth Mother said the Core Wood burnt them. She said, even with her eyes shut, she could see the valley. That she felt like Mother when she held your staff. Even when we tried to break Gingaar free, we all felt an odd sensation.”
“To me, it’s just a dried up piece of wood. I didn’t see or feel anything. Panry, how do we win this? I can’t build a wall around the west. I was hoping I could but I can’t. When the black-clad army sees that wall, they’ll start looking for another way in. It’ll take us months to raise and outfit an army, and I don’t even know if we can raise one big enough. Some days, I see the suns rise, and they fill me with hope. Other days, I think it’s all a waste of time.” Before Panry could answer, Lauren turned, heading back to the campfire.
Panry let out a series of whistles, sending messages to Nur’s Earth Guards, which they quickly delivered to her.
She walked over, “What’s wrong?”
“Earth Mother seems different. I expected her spirits to be better now that the pass is blocked. A major victory she achieves, yet it appears that her fire diminishes.”
Nur looked over at Lauren, “I will let the Earth Mothers know. We will keep an eye on her, but I think it is just an after effect from trying to control so much power. She brought forth forty thousand years of growth in one day. That had to tax her system somehow. Thank you. We will watch her.”
Panry had seen the forest grow with his own eyes. It happened in such a short period, but he never thought of what Lauren had done. Two hundred trees, aged two hundred years in a single hour, Panry had a hard time imagining a number so large. Then he thought of the fifty thousand black-clad soldiers who used to call the valley fort home, deciding that he liked smaller numbers better.
Chapter 3
In the days that they were gone, much had happened back in Alron, and when Lauren inquired about an update, Brook and Arora advised her that it could wait until the next day.
Gor was absent from the kitchen the next morning. Instead, he was standing guard outside of Lauren’s bedroom with his war ax, wearing a look that demanded quiet. As the others spilled into the hall, they saw him and proceeded with quiet down to the lower levels. He also denied any access to the upper washroom, as the fire he had built was for her bath only. It was late in the morning, nearly afternoon, when Lauren finall
y opened the door, seeing the hot bath waiting. As she soaked in the tub, allowing the hot water to steam away the bad thoughts, Gor returned to the kitchen preparing her morning meal. When she arrived an hour later, like Gor expected, he led her to the backyard where a special breakfast waited.
She was surprised with the house being quiet. “Gor, where’s everybody?”
“Lauren, they wait at the front of house. My brothers will not let them in. When your meal is done, Lauren is rested, I will let them in. Until that time, Lauren you are, rest and quiet you need. When Earth Mother you want to be, let me know. If I agree, those who wait, I will grant entrance.”
“Thank you. You always know what I need.”
Returning to the kitchen, he let Lauren enjoy her meal in quiet, and an hour later, Gor opened the front door of the house. “Earth Mother, her updates she would now like.” Then his brothers followed him back into the kitchen.
The small group quickly filed into the backyard.
Arora smiled, “You have surprised us Earth Mother, as you have blocked the pass.”
“I will not permit the Royal House an easy route to the west. Now please tell me what I have missed.”
Fritza explained that the dwarves had crested the mountain, and were watching the black-clad army in the valley. The dwarves had sent back a message describing a mixed force of foot and horse soldiers, which numbered over one hundred thousand.
Pintar advised they had implemented the fast horses, and they were now receiving messages daily. He summarized the letter from the north town; it is twice our size, without walls, having a shantytown twice the size of ours, and they had built a wall across the pass to keep the plague out. There were also no obvious signs of black-clad or Royal House presence. When some of our residents fled north, they informed them that the plague is a hoax, that the east is under attack, and that the black-clad attacked our Earth Mothers, and as well, they have started to build a militia. He then began his update on the south port town. His spies paid to have the garbage collected at the Royal House and brought to them but there had been nothing of any importance. They had managed to bribe a maid that worked in the Royal House office, but she reported all of the papers that they read, they also burnt afterwards. However, news of several small, fast moving ships docking in town arrived just the past day. Pintar concluded, “We are now delivering over a hundred posts every week. The list with names continues to grow, and every day we have more posts than the day before to deliver.”
“The sky elf arrived three days past,” began Arora, “No new threats have they spotted, but the favor request they still pass from clan to clan. Later this day, they shall arrive with a new update new.”
Brook then advised that the Earth Scouts had made contact with elves, who were now starting to arrive.
“John, we saw some of the residents on this street move out. Can you check with the town hall to see if they sold them? If they just deserted them, they should be the property of the town, and if so, please rent them.”
“You could just—”
“Not unless you can prove they were property of traitors. If the owners deserted them, they’re town property, but we’re going to need a place for any elves that arrive. Hire some house staff to clean them up, and to take care of our woodland friends.” Lauren added, “How’s Gingaar?”
“She will stay at our house until her hands are healed,” Fritza said, “She is doing much better.”
“Pintar, do we make contact with the dwarf mines daily now?” asked Lauren.
“Yes. They have been sending out patrols but have not spotted anything.”
“Have somebody send them a message for me. Thank them for their great service, and advise them that they can stop their scouting missions. Tell them that we have found new scouts, but don’t mention the sky elves in the post. Also, inform them to start sending what weapons they have made to Alron, using stealth to sneak the shipments in so that we don’t raise any questions. John, can you find a secure building in town to store them. Have both the Earth Scouts and town watch guard it also. If they attack, I want those weapons here and not in the mountains.”
As Lauren finished her sentence, they saw a large shadow pass over them. Looking up, they saw the Mountain Eagle fly overhead, and anxious to hear the news, they rode out to their meeting spot.
The sky elf stayed mounted, “Earth Mothers, no new threats do we spot. The valley threat is still present, and dwarf now watches them.” Afraid that the land walkers may ask more from him, he promptly coaxed his bird to take to the air.
The group let out a collective sigh, as the massive bird gained altitude. Lauren turned to the group, “I’m still tired and need a nap.” As she headed into the house, Brook asked Nur to stay with Lauren, making sure there was nothing troubling her.
*******
Three days later, at noon, a dozen forest elves had gathered outside of Lauren’s house, in addition to two dozen dwarf clan members. After Brook had introduced Lauren to the forest elves, when everyone was ready, they boarded several carriages to ride out to the meeting spot.
Unfortunately, it was one of the days that Pike was supplying the report. Looking down at the large crowd of land walkers that had gathered below, he was displeased. When they had first asked for help, he thought a great danger had invaded the lands, but they had only seen one threat, and he was unsure of what was happening. As he landed his eagle, Nur and Lauren approached him, but he remained mounted, “Not any new threats have we spotted. In the future, if we do not land, it means that we do not have any new reports. This is too dangerous for my eagle.” Before Lauren could protest or offer a different option, Pike coaxed his eagle back into the sky.
Lauren cursed under her breath. The black-clad have probably pulled back, hoping that we think it’s all over, and that we’ll go back to sleep like we just woke up from a nightmare. She returned to Brook, “When the sky elves return in three days, we’ll bring all of the elves here to show them the massive birds. Even if they don’t land, they’ll be able to see them, and that night I’ll tell my story of what happened in the east. Then the next day we’ll take them to see the threat. Panry, please arrange to rent, borrow, or steal every coach and wagon in town. I have a bad feeling that the Royal House may try to move the valley army into a new hiding place.”
*******
For two days, Gor arranged for his biggest feasts ever, and each day, more elves traveled from the forest into Alron. On the appointed day, a crowd of eight dozen elves, six dozen dwarves, and several high-ranking midlanders were present at the meeting spot when the giant eagle circled before flying back to the north. Inviting everybody to the meeting hall, Lauren began her story. Starting with searching the midlander settlements, omitting specific unexplainable details, she concluded with the sky elves.
“Now, friends, new and old, I know you may find this all very hard to believe, so we have arranged to take you to the valley so we can show you the threat. I’ll try to answer any questions tonight, but tomorrow morning we’ll head out. Then you can judge the threat for yourselves.”
While some had heard parts of Lauren’s story before, it surprised others in both details and length. The story, well known by the dwarves, was a complete surprise to the elves, so she spent the remainder of the night answering questions. However, if felt odd; for the first time, so many were calling out to her, asking questions, instead of her trying to force this new truth into their world of denial or ignorance.
*******
The next morning thirty carriages and wagons headed out of Alron, watched by the perplexed townspeople, which only helped to fuel the rumors about the presence of elves. Seeing this from an alley, Eric had thought it odd that so many people had been trying to keep him so busy for so long, and when he saw the last closed carriage head towards the gate, he jumped on the back bumper.
As the last sun had set, the wagons arrived at the dwarf base camp. Panry had hired two dozen to help with the meals and camp, and to assist t
heir guests traveling up the mountain. As they checked to make sure everybody was comfortable, they saw Eric wandering through the camp, talking with the dwarves, and both uttered a silent curse under their breath. In the morning, an early breakfast waited for the anxious visitors, and then they formed small groups in preparation to ascend the mountain. Lauren and the Earth Mothers led the way up the dwarf path, followed by their Earth Guards and the Ironhouse brothers, and Zack had joined them, watching from the sky.
The dwarves on the backside of the mountain, in their boredom, had carved stairs through the most difficult parts of the mountain to make the ascent easier. Despite their efforts, it took the entire day to get the large group to the summit camp, and it was dark by the time the last one made it to the top, who was Eric. Even though it was dark, the fires from the valley below caused an unholy glow in the night skies. It would be a sleepless night for Lauren and Panry, who both watched Eric, making sure Tranquil Fury’s prophecy remained sheathed.
Chapter 4
Lauren was the first to poke her head over the crest, and from this elevation, the camp looked larger than the one on the riverbank. They were on the south side of a ten-mile wide dead-end box canyon, which stretched west into the mountain range, opening in the east. Ducking her head below the crest, she then watched while small groups of elves, dwarves, and midlanders viewed the threat, and she smiled, as now none could claim ignorance.
Around noon, all had seen the threat, and some had to look twice, not believing what they had seen the first time. After they had moved a small distance back down the crest, Lauren looked upon the group, whispered, “You’re being invaded, and now you’ve seen the evidence. You need to act and raise an army!” The blood had drained from most of their faces; their eyes were wide, their jaws slack. While some had fought battles, others had fought wars, but Lauren guessed few, if any, had seen such an army, as the crowd was speechless. When an eagle squawked, alarm whistles filled the air, and Earth Guards surrounded the Earth Mothers, as arrows rained down from the sky.
