The Scholars: The Hidden Heritage II

by Derek Palmer

  In the event, they sent a group after us. Since these Ugly People didn't have a clear magical Crowner, I wasn't able to tell exactly how many trackers they sent after us; but I was sure that there were more than three, but fewer than ten. We had a short break from running and then we decided that we'd try to take care of them. No, we needed to take care of them if we wanted to slow down the big group some more. I had no doubt that the Elves would be able to defend their area, once forewarned, but I was certain that there would be causalities if even seventy Trolls would be able get close enough. Damn, I wanted to avoid close contact if possible.

  ""This is as good place as any. You'll take a position behind that fallen trunk. It should give you some protection, especially if you move sideways behind it between shots.""

  ""Why can't I sneak behind them?""

  ""Because I think that I can hide myself somewhat with my magic while you can't.""

  It was a patch of solid rock on which we had stopped. I was certain that the Trolls coming after us were experienced trackers and they'd keep an eye on all irregularities. We'd need to continue running once we left the solid rock area and make it look like we had been running all the time in the same rhythm. I wasn't sure if they were that good, but that was what I would have done. Since we were gambling with our lives I had to assume that they were at least as good as I was.

  They were good - and fast. Once we had agreed our strategy I barely had time to take the detour to the place where I would be hiding. Almost in plain sight. Then, without almost any warning a group of eight Trolls was on us and past me. I rose from the heathers and released the arrow from the only crossbow I had with me. This time I needed all the advantage I could have, so I also shouted with all the magic I could put to the shout:

  ""DIE!""

  Well, I had heard my fellow Guardians say that payback is a bitch. Afterwards, I was quite certain that without that shout they would have killed me - even with the distraction I created, it was way too close. Leilatha did an excellent job with the crossbows and, luckily for me, that group of eight was a bit too close to each other to get a clear line to me with their crossbows. So, Leilatha killed four of them with her crossbows, three from behind and one when he was turning. I killed one with my crossbow and three with my short sword. Without all the training with the Guardians, the last two of them probably would have killed me.

  When it was all over I just stood there, breathing heavily. The metallic smell of blood was combined with the smells of urine and shit. I was still standing there when Leilatha rushed to me.

  ""Stian, are you hurt?""

  It took me some time to understand that she was genuinely worried about me. Was I hurt? At least I didn't feel like it.

  ""No, I don't think so. Why?""

  Only after my answer did it occur to me why the smell of blood was so strong in my nose. I had cut my last victim in his throat and I had gotten a fair share of the blood. My chest, and even a part of my face, was covered with the blood coming from the Troll's open throat. I shook my head.

  ""No, all this blood should be from him.""

  I shook my head again.

  ""Mother Earth, that was a bit too close. On the other hand, they'll think twice before they send another party after us.""

  I wasn't fully prepared for Leilatha's reaction since suddenly, she was hugging my bloody body like there was no tomorrow. I hugged her back gently and she looked a bit embarrassed when she pulled back a moment later. I didn't really know what to say or think about her reaction - and it turned out there was no need to think about that, now.

  ""Leilatha, we need to get going. I can sense that the big group is already moving forward. Are you able to run some more?""

  --

  Chapter 5

  By nightfall, we had hit them three more times. The good thing was, we were still alive. The enemy convoy was still far away from the village, and we had managed to cut down the number of Trolls able to attack. The bad thing was that I had underestimated their initial force, and after all the killing there were still some eighty of them left. Of course, there was also the fact that we both were totally exhausted, and I had a slightly wounded left arm. Luckily it didn't bother me too much - yet. But the wound was a reminder of what would finally happen simply because of exhaustion. The fact that we had already eaten all the meager provisions we had been carrying and were really hungry was just a minor thing.

  ""At least they have stopped for the night!""

  The tone of Leilatha's voice gave away the fact that she was at least as - or even more - exhausted than I was. I had sensed her exhaustion before our last strike and she had stayed a bit further away, looking after my back when I made a strike towards the group of three scouts they were now using on each side of the trail. She had killed one of them, just as planned; but I had slipped because of exhaustion after the first kill. That slip caused me a wounded arm; but it probably also saved me, since the last Troll was better with his sword than anyone I had faced before. My slip was something unexpected and it allowed me to kill him. Then there was the fact that my steel sword could penetrate his harness.

  ""No, I don't think they are stopping for the night. I have a feeling that they are using magic there. I'd almost be ready to bet that they are boosting a part of their group so that they'd be able to continue marching. Which makes me wonder why they are in such a hurry - unless they have some deadline to keep. Which is something even more worrying.""

  ""You mean that there might be another group coming from another direction?""

  ""That idea crossed my mind, yes.""

  ""Do you think they should be warned?""

  ""The idea of having a home to come back to would make me very happy.""

  Leilatha staggered to her feet.

  ""I know that I'm no more in shape to flee from those Ugly People by running in the forest, but I just might be able to stay in front of them on the trail.""

  Even in my exhausted state I was able to smile a bit.

  ""I'm sure I can still encourage them not to run after you, at least for a time or two.""

  Leilatha put her arm on my shoulder.

  ""Stian, remember that you promised to stay alive. You'd better remember that or we'll come after you.""

  It was probably my exhaustion that made me laugh at her stupid comment. She punched my ribs.

  ""Don't you dare laugh at me!""

  ""I'm not, Leilatha, and I do remember my promise.""

  I made sure that she got safely to the empty trail away from the resting invaders. Then I started looking for a position that I could use once the convoy would start moving again. When I found a suitable place for the next ambush, I loaded all five crossbows I was carrying with me and then I counted my arrows. My fatigue started to really affect me and I needed to count the arrows three times before I was sure I had the count right. I almost regretted those four or five arrows I had shot into the convoy from a distance, just to cause some havoc. No use to cry now. I had arrows for one or two more ambushes - assuming that I survived this next one.

  Because I was alone, I needed to start shooting a whole lot sooner than I would have liked, but I still tried to make every arrow count. Even in my exhausted state, I noticed the difference in the approaching group. There was no hesitation, no stopping, even if a few of the approaching group faltered and fell to the ground. I wondered what kind of magic had been used back there, when they were able ignore their wounded comrades just like that, and simply continue marching on. They were moving at such a speed that I had time to retrieve only three of the five crossbows I had been carrying. Well, fewer things to carry; and I had promised to stay alive, hadn't I?

  As soon as it was possible, I moved back to the trail as I also moved towards the village. I wanted to try my magical skills and check just how far ahead Leilatha was but decided against it. It took enough of my energy to try to track the army of Trolls behind me. I moved forward and tried to look for the position for the next ambush.

  I m
anaged to do another ambush and incapacitate three more Trolls and this time I used the magic I still had inside me and projected it with the first arrow I fired at the leading group. When I shouted ”Stop or die” after my first arrow it seemed that my two next arrows, especially, caused some reaction in the lead group.

  However, I didn't stay there just to keep an eye on them. I knew that I was no longer in shape to run away from them if they decided to come after me. Besides that, I had three crossbows and six arrows. Not much of a threat against some fifty Trolls - or the Ugly People. The more I had seen them in arms and coming close, the better I understood the name The Elves called them. They were Ugly - and damned scary in their determined state.

  I stopped thinking those complex things when I almost fell down on the straight trail on my way towards the village.

  It seemed that my last attack had slowed the approach somewhat or that their pace just had become a bit slower. Whatever the reason, I was happy that I didn't need to run in order to stay ahead of them. While moving onward, I had to ignore two almost perfect places for the last ambush, because some clouds were covering the moon. I still might have been able to see the approaching Trolls, but I wasn't at all sure that I could run away from them in the darkness. I still wanted to have at least some cover from the forest when I retreated from the ambush site.

  The cloud stayed on the moon, but maybe it was a little bit lighter because of the coming dawn when I found the place for the next ambush. It wasn't nearly as good as the last two, but if I could run just one more time - just one more time... I wasn't at all sure who I was trying to reassure.

  Or then I could just continue walking towards the village and hope that there would already be some organized resistance. The problem was that nothing I had seen among the Elves had convinced me there would be.

  So, one more strike. Three more wounded enemies. I started to calculate the number of the killed or wounded Trolls but my brains just refused to co-operate. Three. There would be three more. I could still count to three.

  I woke up shivering from cold, and with the feeling that something was terribly wrong. I had seen some terrible nightmare that contained blood and killing - except that they weren't nightmares. Those were real memories.

  Suddenly I was much more awake again, but then came the feeling that it was already too late. I started sensing around and I realized that the approaching group was already almost too close. I struggled to get all three crossbows loaded without being noticed and prepared to shoot the approaching group. The problem was that they were closer than I would have liked them to be. I started from the left and moved to right. Three gut shots. Then I picked one of the crossbows and started to run... or that was what I had planned to do.

  Rolling from one spot - or crossbow - to another was a different thing than running. I had no idea how long I had been sleeping but it had been long enough to make my whole body stiff and I fell on my knees when I first tried to stand up. Somehow, I managed to stand up, and start moving away from the approaching Trolls.

  I tried to run, but running in the forest is almost impossible when your legs refuse to co-operate. After almost falling down twice, I knew that I needed to get back on the trail - or then I needed to hide since I got a feeling that now they were after me. They had probably seen that I was alone and wanted to finish me, once and for good. I guess that I had really pissed them off.

  There was no way to make myself invisible when on the trail. Or I had no more energy to cloak myself that much with my magic. However, I tried to maintain my trollish guise but I wasn't at all sure that I was successful with that.

  When I got back on the trail, running became easier, but it also meant that the group behind me would occasionally be able to see me. Well, if they were running after me, they would not be able to shoot me - and they had also been moving almost as long as I had and they had tire at some point, didn't they? Besides, now I didn't need to waste my energy in following the group magically as I was able to hear them.

  I soon noticed that I had been wrong when I had believed that, in my exhausted state I would be able to outrun my bulkier chasers. Another problem was that there was now more light and the trail was so straight, that they would immediately see if I tried to slip off into the forest. What's more, that running thing wasn't the only way I had been wrong. I had assumed that they could not run and shoot at the same time - somehow they could. Even if they couldn't do it very accurately they could do it well enough to scratch my left arm. I staggered because of that, but luckily I didn't fall down, which would have meant my demise. No, I staggered for a few steps, and then I ran a bit faster which was probably also a mistake - but I did that because there were two other arrows that came just too close.

  I soon noticed my mistake since I could feel that my legs were going to give up very soon. Now, I just needed to decide where I would finish this. If I stayed on the trail they could easily make a pincushion out of me. No, I'd need to take a few steps into the forest, put down the crossbow and be ready to use my sword. That way, there would be fewer of them for the Elves to handle. For some stupid reason that decision almost made laugh out loud. This wasn't a part of my big plan, but maybe this would at least make some difference. That simple thought seemed also refill some of the magical well, from which I was gathering my strength. I smiled at the idea that now I would be able to hit those Ugly People that way. My only regret was that there was so much I hadn't learned about magic, and the ways of using it. No use to cry now, I just needed to find a place close by that would protect me from the arrows so that I could use my sword.

  Then I felt it.

  The changed presence in the forest in front of me. Without the refill of my 'magical well' there wouldn't have been any way that would have noticed it. If I hadn't been totally exhausted, I would have wanted to laugh aloud. But now all I could do was stagger forward, while trying to make sense of what was there on the sides of the trail. I made sure not to look there, not to do anything differently; since if there was a way to lead the group behind me directly into an ambush, I wanted to do just that. I didn't even need to exaggerate my uneven running since the truth was that I was barely able to run past the area where I had been able to feel that changed presence. Once I was past it, there was a big rock on the side of the trail.

  Since I wanted to make sure that they'd charge the whole way up to where I was, I decided that it would look good if I fell down while running. The only problem was that I did just that immediately I started thinking about it - which was four or five steps early. For sure, it looked authentic, since the way it hurt was also very authentic, as was my crawl behind that rock. Which also hurt.

  Once behind the rock, I moved into sitting position and loaded my crossbow before forcing myself to stand up and take a peek.

  I had to admit that seeing some sixty armed Trolls coming after you, was really a terrifying sight. They looked ugly and bloodthirsty - and abnormally determined again. I was quite certain that some sort of magic was being used in getting them that way. If they had been able to hit the village without warning it would have been a massacre, for sure. I kept that thought and the women at the hut in my mind when I pointed my crossbow towards the approaching Trolls. Then I waited.

  I didn't need to wait long, since there was a whistle, and then the arrows started flying and maybe some fifteen or twenty of the sixty running Trolls screamed. Those first four who were running towards me weren't among those, so I didn't need to change my target. I had time for another shot before the last two attackers were too close. I put down the crossbow and took my sword. Two attackers again, I could only hope that my fatigue didn't make me too slow.

  Suddenly the number of attackers was down to one, when the second of them collapsed to the ground with an arrow in his side. That didn't slow down the first attacker, who had decided to finish me with one strike. His only problem was that my sword was much lighter and even in my exhausted state I was faster than him. Not much, but enough. As the a
ttacker fell, I could almost feel all my energy leaving me. I had to support myself against the rock when I watched what was happening on the trail. Most of the Trolls were lying there, either dead or fatally wounded. From the sounds coming from the forest I was able to hear that some of them had tried to leave the trail in order to pursue the Elves on the sides.

  From what I could hear, they weren't very successful. I had done it... no, we had done it. Despite the massacre on the trail behind me, I smiled when I sat down on the ground and leaned against the big rock. We had done it.

  ""Stian, Stian - are you okay?""

  Damn, I must have fallen asleep again. There was a pair of arms shaking my shoulders and a worried face in front of mine. Shalana. I had to smile.

  ""Hey, beautiful! Please be careful with my left arm, it hurts a bit. But otherwise I'm okay. Just a bit tired.""