“Now, let’s greet the neighbors. They’re nice. They allowed us here already. Hrun, my friend, please show yourself.”
At that, the wall in front came alive. Three figures stepped out. Golems? No, not golems. Too tall and too thin. Humanoid form but other than that, no other features similar to humans. The three looked like mud men, only made of stone. One stepped forward. Tyler stood up and moved to Rumpr’s side.
“Well, Hrun, this is Havard the mage. A bit young, may have a death-wish, but good enough for a human. Havard, this is Hrun, the bergbui of this mountain as well as the one where you had your clearing. His balcony is located well above your campsite. Those are of his aettir. His brothers, in fact. Came from their mountains. No introductions needed. They just want to see that Hrun isn’t going to have any problems.”
At that, Hrun turned to talk to his brothers. A kind of rumbling and grinding language. The brothers turned and walked into the wall, merging into it, and then were gone.
“Nice to meet you, great Hrun. I pray fortune finds you well.”
“Oh, don’t kiss ass, Havard. Hrun will do fine. His name is actually too long to mention. Hrun is the very short version. No need to introduce your friends. The life of humans is too short for them to think about names and such. He does know your language but unfortunately learned it from a mad and lousy skald a hundred or so years ago.”
“A fine day for a night-meet,
Though enemies and wolves nip at your heels;
Long has it been, a mortal
I have seen; But a mortal like thee,
A millennium is worth the wait.”
“See! Told you!”
“I don’t know, Rumpr, he does say it well.” Though Hrun’s speech, whispered as it was, sent small vibrations through the rock, dislodging loose stones from the overhead roof of the hollow.
“Not you too! I have tried teaching him the normal way but he likes the lessons of the skald. Well, he and his family have always been my friends. Going back to your problem, Hrun had heard it already and is willing to help. Not the fighting of course. Like me, he doesn’t want to openly attract Ymir’s attention.”
“Aid you I must,
For portents dire have
My rest disturbed;
A world of magic,
Turned to a world of dust,
Of pain, Of jokes.”
Tyler looked at the being.
“I need to reach a high place where I can see the enemy in their full deployment. A mountain closest to the gap.”
Hrun turned to Rumpr and spoke in their own language.
“Well, you’re in luck. Hrun says there’s a ledge on the top of the mountain where you set up your camp. That's the balcony I told you about. He created it to keep watch on what you humans are up to in Scarburg. Though he tells me the town still stands. For how long, he couldn’t say. The walls have been damaged though.”
Hrun spoke to the gnome again.
“Oh, here’s the problem. To bring all of you up there will take a lot of time. Though it would be easy for him to create openings and steps. It would take you hours to get there. Not to mention, tired. To bring only one would be faster. Something about difficulty in transporting mortals. So, what will it be?”
Tyler looked at his two companions.
“Go ahead, Sire. Bring the waterskin and some food with you. We have transferred half of the water to the empty one already.”
“Rumpr, how about air? We’re in a hollow. The air will be stale and poisonous before long.”
“Don’t worry about that. The air here will stay fresh as long as Hrun wants it to be.”
“Wait for me here,” Tyler told the two. The two warriors just smiled and struck their chests with fists in farewell. Is that a Norse gesture? Isn’t that a Roman one? But his observation was cut short by Rumpr’s voice.
“Here, mage. We’ll both go with you. It’s both our magics anyway.”
He saw an opening in the wall. Surprisingly, it looked like a door just right for his height. Beyond it, a dimly lighted stone hallway, enough for the three of them. Hrun had already changed his height to equal Tyler’s.
He stepped into the hallway, Rumpr at his side, Hrun following after.
“We’re just walking there like this?”
“Yes, my ignorant mage of a friend. This is what you get when you have the magic of two beings such as us working in unison. But it does have its limits.”
“You’re more powerful than you let on, Rumpr. I daresay you can easily beat me in a fight.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that, my friend. I may have to stretch some of these old bones if it comes to that. A big hole then I’ll dump half a mountain on you.” Rumpr laughed loudly at his own words.
“Akin to gods,
But not gods;
Older than them,
But younger than
The sun.”
“Hrun… You’re talking too much.” But the stone being replied to Rumpr in their language.
“Yes, I understand that. This is the first time in a century or so you get to practice their language. But no more giving away secrets. Don’t listen to him, Havard. He's just showing off. Nothing he said is true,” said Rumpr. But his eyes were twinkling in merriment.
“But powerful you may be,
With ancient lore and magic to waste;
Thy unknowing friend, mortal
As he is, may be stronger still,
If he but opens his eyes,
And accepts what he is.”
Hrun wanted to have the last word. Funny, these powerful beings. They resemble humans more than they care to admit.
Rumpr just sighed. “I know that, Hrun. Now no more secrets. We may unwittingly change reality’s future. Joke about those giants you pranked some years back while we're walking.”
A foolish band of giants,
Of dread Jotunheim, they
Came; With dreams of conquest,
Death, land, and wealth;
For the great Ymir,
In his name, did they come;
They dared the Mountains
Of Rock and Barrow.
For a fortnight and a day,
Walked they the trails of stone;
Until they came to a Cavern
Full of gold; Their eyes filled with
Greed, they spent the night
Each armed against his fellows.
Then came Hrun,
Whose name is famed;
As it rhymes with dragon,
Of cunning and ancient power;
A piece of gold here, two
Pieces of gold there;
The sleeping fools never
Noticed; their dreams of wealth
Keeping them well aslumber;
Came the morn,
And the Greed awakened;
Thieves and cutthroats,
The giants turned out to be;
With a single blow, lethal as can be,
A naughty errant axe, from a corner
Dark; the blood began to flow,
Until Hela was satisfied.
“Huh. Very bad lines and rushed. That part about you was clearly forced, my friend. But I don’t think Gullin will be happy with that dragon part. You know how she is,” Rumpr commented.
Hrun replied in that grinding vocalization.
“Yes, I think that a good idea. Let’s just keep it among ourselves.”
“Who’s Gullin?” asked the curious Tyler.
“A common friend. Formerly lived hereabouts. Moved south when Ymir started lording it here. We do visit her from time to time. She has wonderfully golden scales. Breathes fire.”
“A DRAGON?”
“She prefers “Dreke” or “Draken”, lad. Not “Wyrm” or “Dragon”. Hates “wyrm” actually. She's very polite. Anyway, I think we're here but it’s raining outside.”
Polite? A dragon? What do they do when they meet? Tea and crumpets?
“Hrun, would you terribly mind a roof over the le
dge? I doubt if our young friend here wants to be drenched.”
Hrun simply grunted. After some seconds, he looked at Rumpr and said something. An opening appeared in the rock wall before them.
They stepped out. It was indeed raining. But an outcropping sheltered them from the rain.
Tyler oriented himself. He stepped to the edge of the ledge and sat down. His Elder-enhanced eyesight showed a sorry sight. To his right, he could see Scarburg. Its walls still stood, pockmarked by signs of struggle. Burned and burning mantlets and other equipment were on the field before the walls. Mounds of dead were on the field. A lot of barricades have been destroyed and ditches filled in. As of the moment, nobody was attacking the town. But smoke billowed from the settlement itself. Some structures have been burned. The small tower fortifications have also sustained damage. All details pointed to several heavy attacks and the struggle of the defenders to keep the walls.
On his left was the enemy host, deployed in attacking formation. Mantlets, a few siege towers, and catapults were deployed behind the front ranks. We must have done more damage than we thought. The siege equipment is far less than what I expected. He looked at the mass of the enemy. There was a lot of them. Torches and campfires marked the entirety of the enemy force in the Gap. The rear of the host moved like a living thing, the slightly twitching tail of a snake.
Most of the front ranks were already arranged in assault formations. And the entire column stretched back for some distance, a good four miles in his opinion. Daylight would bring a major attack as the enemy favored the use of the jotnar. They formed the bulk of the forces available anyway. Giants, ogres and trolls, the shock forces of the enemy, also do not do well at night. His shoulders slumped in disappointment.
When he began the skirmish against the jotnar and dokkalfr, it was an exercise in his mind. Now after the blood, the fear, the adrenaline, and near-death experiences, it had become part of him. He wanted to see the battle through. He wanted to win. But the mass of figures he saw brought him crashing back to reality.
Rumpr sat beside him.
“You look like you lost your favorite horse, lad,” Rumpr said. The being looked at the deadly vista before them. “That's a lot of ants. But a smidgen of Ymir's true might.”
“Then why not send more?”
“You forget you’re dealing with a paranoid and a bit unhinged entity. Who has gone through wars with the Nordic pantheon, with the dark elves, rebellious jotnar, and even Sutr. He fears an attack anytime from long-standing enemies and even from erstwhile allies. That's Ymir for you.”
“Look at that, Rumpr, how can I ever think of defeating them! There's too many!”
Hrun gave a grunt. He was kneeling behind them. Tyler didn’t notice. The being was also looking at the mass of enemies.
“I see a stream,
Not a wall of shields;
I see water,
Not armor and swords;
One does not need,
To empty a river,
A flooding to prevent;
Barriers strong, will hold
True, when a storm surges,
Towards the far shore.”
“You know, Hrun, one of these days, I am going to find a madder and a more atrocious skald as my teacher. Those lines stink.”
Tyler was silent. Hrun's words had some truth in them. There was no way he could defeat the enemy in open battle. That would be tantamount to suicide. And to what purpose? Scarburg would still fall. Ragnarok will follow.
He looked at the opposite side of the Gap. It was a distance of roughly a mile. The sheer sides of the far peaks could be glimpsed through the pouring rain. He looked down. The passage through the Gap below was narrowed by the rocks and boulders at the foot of the mountains on both sides. That left a distance of less than a mile.
I could try to put as many barriers as I can between the enemy and the town. Break the flow of their attack. Narrow their frontage and minimize the impact of their attack. That way, the defenders would face fewer enemies at any given time. Compared to a wave of enemies all advancing in a wide frontage. Now the question. How to do it?
He looked around. There were rocks and boulders here and there but he doubted if he had enough. He also needed a good level launching area. He would probably exhaust himself quickly once he starts but no omelets without breaking some eggs. Or is it no pain, no gain?
He turned to the two powerful beings.
“Hear me, please. I know you cannot go directly against Ymir. But would it be possible to have a flat ledge nearby with plenty of large rocks and boulders. I will perform the spells to release them down the Gap. It must be timed with their attacks so as to cause casualties among the attacking jotnar and dokkalfr. Yet it will also bring down solid barriers to break up their attacks.”
The two looked at him and talked between them. Tyler couldn’t get used to the grinding language. At times it sounded like somebody scratching a blackboard. It rattled his teeth.
Rumpr looked him and gave him an impish smile.
“We don’t see any problem with that, my lad. I doubt if they'll suspect a mage doing it. No ordinary mage, even a High Mage, could keep the pace you’re thinking about. Without our magic working the boulder throwing, no magical being will suspect us lending a hand. They would suspect a rogue group of stone giants but that’s another matter.”
“Thanks. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Be careful with giving thanks, young mage. You don’t know if or when some may try to collect on your appreciation.”
Tyler gave a wry grin. “That’s a lesson I need to be reminded about.”
“Anyway, rest while we play. Which reminds me. If a giant asks to play, don't accept. You will not survive.” Another laugh accompanied Rumpr’s statement.
“I don’t know how long I can keep it up. But if I exhaust myself, don’t bring me down yet. Let me recover and do it again if those bastards are still around.”
“Heard you. Now let me and Hrun play house decorating.”
Tyler stayed seated. He kept watching the movements of the enemy host. He took his meal while keeping an eye on them. Nothing changed except a movement of some forces to the front. He could already see the rising of the false dawn. Only a few hours left to go. He stood up and went to the mountain wall. He curled up and went to sleep.
“Havard, wake up.”
He sat up. He noticed the rain had stopped.
“Been trying to wake you, lad. Must have been more tired than you thought. Anyway, your stage is finished. Better check it first. No lights, please.”
They went to the prepared area. It was next to the ledge. The two had laid down a flat field, more wide than deep. Boulders of different sizes were lined up in three rows. More were stacked behind the stage. He looked at the two.
“Hope this works. At the very least, we’ll squash some of them and provide a barrier for the siege towers. The only thing left now is to wait.”
“It won’t be long now. My guess is they will attack at first light. We’ll be on the ledge watching the festivities. Holler if you need something.”
Funny thing about waiting for something, thought Tyler, you feel it takes longer. He was seated on the ground, his back to a large boulder. Slowly the sky lightened. Then he heard it. The sound of thousands of voices. Men, dokkalfr, and jotnar. All shouting at the same time. It reverberated throughout the Gap, reaching up to the mountain peaks. He peered into the Gap. He could see the front rows already moving forward, covered by large shields.
Catapults from both sides starting firing and the siege towers lumbered forward, drawn by the huge armored beasts he saw before. Some armored beasts were being used as moving towers, with a rough enclosure protecting those riding on them. Looking at Scarburg, he could see movement on the walls. Unfortunately, he was closer to the enemy than to the town so his vision didn’t allow him to see more.
The Accidental Archmage: Book One - Ragnarok Rising (MOBI EDITION) Page 34
