Forsaken At The Crossroads

by Joe Sniezek

  They waited and watched for a long while until their feet went numb from squatting in the bushes but nothing further could be learned. These soldiers at the edge of camp were practicing and maintaining their gear, not planning strategy and techniques.

  At last, Eniyan said to Wilfer, “Well? You got your closer look.”

  Wilfer didn’t reply right away because he was trying to firm up his resolve. He gulped and said, “Maybe I should try to get some information. An idea of their plans.”

  “Let’s do it,” Ikvig said.

  Eniyan cautioned, “There’s no way Ikvig could blend in there. I could pose as a beggar but I’d need to keep my hood low. You, on the other hand, already have the uniform. You look the same as them,” Eniyan said, pointing at Wilfer.

  Wilfer steeled his nerve and got ready to walk in. Realizing he had no plan, he turned to his friends and asked, “What should I do in there? Just look around? Talk to someone?”

  “Look and listen,” Ikvig said, nodding.

  “Avoid talking to anyone,” Eniyan added.

  Entering the camp, Wilfer pretended he was coming back from relieving himself in the bushes, very calm and casual. He wandered past the first tent but it was empty. Another nearby tent held a soldier cooking soup; nothing to be gained by that. A group of soldiers returning from practice headed his way. They were laughing with each other and in generally good spirits. Wilfer hastily sat down behind the soldiers’ tent. He tried to listen without appearing to be doing so. The conversation he overheard was not useful. It was a mix of boasting and teasing. These conversations were more about bonding and less about imparting useful information. However, the soldiers were relaxed and not carefully watching their tongues. This was his best chance to hear some useful bit of gossip.

  Of course, these soldiers did not know the commander’s plan but they were tired of practicing and waiting. They were anxious to start doing something. It was a bad idea to keep a battle-ready army waiting for too long. And from what Wilfer was told, giving men a purpose was a big part of Senrig’s overall plan. Wilfer realized the army would be moving soon.

  “What are you doing here?” a soldier walking by said as Wilfer eavesdropped.

  Wilfer was startled but quickly recovered, “Stone in my shoe.”

  The soldier gave a knowing half-smile. After a moment he said, “What are you doing all the way over here?” and pointed at Wilfer’s uniform.

  Wilfer realized that his uniform was a bit more ostentatious than the plain green tunics of the infantry surrounding him. He silently cursed his carelessness. “Oh, you know just screwing around,” he said, trying to look more embarrassed than guilty or nervous.

  “Last bit of fun before we move out, eh?” the soldier said.

  “That’s right,” Wilfer said as he got up and started on his way.

  “What unit are you with?” The soldier asked Wilfer as he walked away.

  “Calvary,” Wilfer said, and subtly increase his pace but doubted the subtle part was working. He walked towards the center of the encampment. Wilfer assumed that heading off into the wilderness would raise some alarm.

  “Calvary?” The soldier frowned. “What’s your name?” The soldier had definitely noticed something not quite right and suspicion was building.

  “Corweg,” Wilfer blurted out the first name that popped into his head that wasn’t his own. Not the most common name, but not the most unusual in his homeland. He darted between two tents, then slipped down behind two more. Finally, he crawled into an empty tent. As he waited in silence, he heard the soldier following after him, calling his name a couple times. Although the soldier seemed to have lost interested in Wilfer, it was past time to leave. Wilfer had no idea if the soldier was alerting his Captain to the suspicious activity at that very moment.

  ∞∞∞

  More careful this time, Wilfer had no issues making it to the edge of camp, into the bushes, and back up towards his friends waiting on the hillside. He did not encounter anyone else.

  “What did you find? Any problems?” Eniyan asked when he saw Wilfer had returned.

  “That was risky. One soldier might have thought I seemed out of place, so we should move,” Wilfer replied.

  He, Eniyan, and Ikvig travelled in the direction they had been heading, continuing past the encampment. Wilfer hoped this misdirection would help if anyone realized who he was. They would naturally assume he would run back the way he came, in the direction of the San La. Of course, the soldiers may simply start fanning out in a search, but all Wilfer could do is try to increase his odds of escape.

  “Any information?” Eniyan asked again.

  “They are on the move or will be soon. Where they are headed, I don’t know. The soldiers grow restless,” Wilfer said.

  “Not good,” Eniyan said, “But I guess we have to wait them out. Let them start marching and see where they go.”

  ∞∞∞

  The next day, the soldiers were indeed on the move. As the encampment thinned out, Wilfer’s next move became apparent. Within the center of the encampment was the gateway to Jorden, Wilfer’s home. It was guarded and surrounded by tents. There was also a stream of men coming and going through it.

  Wilfer pointed towards it and said, “I think we found our answer. We must starve the beast. We must close that gateway.”

  “But then you would never be able to return home,” Eniyan reminded him.

  “I could not have anyway,” Wilfer said, “Do you know of a way to close a gateway?”

  Eniyan sat silently in thought for a while. He wore an expression of doom. This was more than deep thought; something was clearly troubling Eniyan but he said only, “I do not know of magical ways to close it or destroy it. But it can be blocked.”

  Twenty

  “Tell me all you know about these gateways,” Wilfer asked Eniyan as they hid and watched the soldiers from a safe distance.

  “Not much, honestly. I have little experience, other than walking through them as you did. But I can tell you what I was told. A gateway can only be entered from one direction. They do not exist from the back or the side,” Eniyan replied.

  “What does that mean? What if you walk up to one from behind?” Wilfer asked, puzzled.

  “Nothing. It’s as if there is no gateway there. From the side, it is strong like a ring or a barrel hoop. That’s why rocks often mound up around it. And in this case, you can see it’s almost a tunnel in the woods. The trees overgrow it, but never through it, forming a tunnel with their branches.”

  “And if we set fire to the trees?” Wilfer asked, “What then?”

  “I am not sure. I don’t know anyone who had done that,” Eniyan said, “But I think the gateway would endure.”

  “So can it be destroyed?”

  “No, but we can block it with something. Sadly, I don’t see anything to do that from this side,” Eniyan said.

  “So we try the other side?” Wilfer asked. Eniyan shrugged in response.

  “We go through and find a way. If not, I will guard the gateway myself and choke the passage with their dead,” Ikvig said, shaking his fist.

  “Do you know what’s on the other side? Maybe you can remember,” Eniyan asked.

  “No. I didn’t even know these things existed and I was taken through while unconscious,” Wilfer explained. Eniyan grunted in remembrance.

  “It would be good to know where it’s is located on the other side, in what location in your realm. That is a strategic information,” Eniyan reasoned.

  “We will set fire to it, and see what happens,” Ikvig said.

  “So we just charge in, set fire to everything, storm the gateway, and destroy it from the other side?” Wilfer asked.

  “Yes!” Ikvig said while Ike wiggled in excitement from the giant’s back.

  Eniyan looked dismayed at the prospect. The old man usually had few opinions – if any – so Wilfer was sure the man knew something. But whatever it was, he wasn’t talking; he only said, “A distractio
n might be a good idea.”

  “Yes, a distraction,” Wilfer mused, “I suppose we can keep them busy with putting out the fire while we slip through the gateway. The other side is still a mystery. The fire will not travel through the gateway, will it?”

  “No, the fire won’t spread through. And there are sure to be people nearby on the other side; people are coming and going often,” Eniyan said.

  “Okay. We need a plan. We have no horses, so what are our assets?” Wilfer asked.

  “Two men, a giant, and a squid,” Ikvig said.

  “Excellent,” Wilfer said, “We also have two staves and several swords.”

  “My war hammer. A bow and arrows,” Ikvig added.

  “We’re better equipped than we have been up until now,” Wilfer said to remain upbeat. Ikvig nodded and smiled in agreement.

  Eniyan demeanor further darkened. Wilfer began to doubt the wisdom of the plan. He asked his friends, “Should we not do this?”

  “Haven’t you already made your decision?” Eniyan replied.

  Wilfer realized that he had but wondered if this was some sort of test. He restated the plan, “We shall be extra cautious. We will use stealth and avoid fighting whenever we can. There is no cover nearby so we will approach at night; the bright flames in the darkness will add to the confusion. Pass through the gate, using force if we have to. On the other side, look for any way to block the gateway. If we find nothing, we run back out.”

  “We will get this thing done, I am sure of it,” Ikvig said.

  Eniyan paused in thought and said, “Once we’re through the gateway, we may find ourselves trapped there. Are we willing to trap ourselves in a place we are not welcome?”

  Giving them a moment to consider it, Eniyan continued, “If we come back, we will have to run and they will certainly give chase.”

  “I am willing to take the risk,” Wilfer said and Ikvig grunted in agreement.

  Eniyan added, “If we have to stay in your realm Wilfer, what would we do there? Continue searching for plans to block the gateway or try to raise an army of our own? Your homeland has likely fallen; they expanded to other realms only after they had conquered their own.”

  “We will adapt or die trying,” Ikvig said with great seriousness.

  ∞∞∞

  Unable to plan further, Wilfer, Eniyan, Ikvig, and Ike crept as close to the encampment as possible during daylight. They crouched in the nearby bushes and waited.

  Wilfer hated waiting. He would have liked to eat and rest to build up some strength, but with so much tension, neither was possible. There was no choice but to wait in a state of readiness for several hours until sunset. This calm before the storm was the worst part of battle. Nothing felt right, his mind and body was a rolling sea of contradiction. Conversations ceased and time slowed. Hours felt like weeks but they had to be careful not to act prematurely. This was not to be a twilight attack but rather during the full darkness of night. With the constant starry sky, they had forgotten to take into account the moonrise; a bright moon would foil their entire plan. But Wilfer saw the moon in the sky while the sun was still shining; this meant that it would likely set sometime during the night. They only had to wait a bit longer for it.

  ∞∞∞

  When the night was pitch black, they made their way to the remaining tents in the center of the camp. It was more difficult than Wilfer had anticipated. There were braziers lighting the inside of the tents, so their destination was easy to spot, but the ground beneath their feet was cloaked in darkness. A twisted ankle or the noise of a dropped sword would mean death.

  They could see men walking to and fro, between a pair of torches lighting the entrance of the gateway. Eniyan grabbed a nearby pot of oil and drizzled a trail on the vegetation growing beside the gateway. The branches and leaves were partially dry and would burn well once ignited but they would be slow to catch fire. The oil should help with that.

  While Eniyan was doing that, Wilfer wrapped a bit of cloth around the end of his staff to create a torch. He dipped it into some oil and then the brazier, igniting. He walked behind Eniyan and set fire to the oil and leaves. It caught, but slowly. He hoped it would continue to burn as he turned towards the tents and ignited the bottom of the canvas. He upended the brazier as well.

  Wilfer waited breathlessly for someone to sound the alarm. Once the first shout was heard, Eniyan fired arrows in rapid succession into the men who were at the gateway, running towards them. Ikvig ran towards the gateway also, swinging his war hammer while Ike held swords and spread his tentacles like a peacock in a repeat of their attack formation from the last battle.

  The soldiers focused on putting out the fires by beating the burning canvas with whatever they had available, so Wilfer and his comrades reached and passed through the gateway before anyone had noticed. He was stunned at just how easy it was. They were completely unscathed and Wilfer felt a surge of confidence in his plan.

  Through the gateway to Wilfer’s homeland, they were greeted by blinding sunlight. It was a hot and sunny day. Wilfer and his friends stood stunned for a moment as their eyes adjusted to the brightness. When the world came into focus, Wilfer saw they were in a small ravine between two grassy hillsides. Above them was an arched stone bridge. The gateway sat in an old stream that had long since run dry. The bridge could be brought down but as Eniyan had told them, that would not harm the gateway. Otherwise, he saw no other means to block the passage; it would take far too long to fill the ravine with dirt and bury the gateway.

  As Wilfer examined the surroundings, he heard Ikvig grunt with displeasure. Two soldiers were walking up the ravine towards them. Behind the two soldiers was an army of similar size to the one on the other side of the gateway. There were hundreds of tents and preparations were being made for a march.

  Wilfer froze in his tracks and the soldiers did as well. Wilfer could not tell if the soldiers were alarmed or merely surprised. After all, Wilfer was wearing a uniform but it would be hard to explain Eniyan’s presence and even more difficult to explain a giant with a squid on his back.

  Wilfer made the snap decision to run back through the gateway. He now knew what was on this side and it was not good. There was no practical way to block the gateway from either side. The plan was to try to block the gateway and if not, then return with any new information, wasn’t it? At least, that’s what he remembered in his adrenalin-fueled state.

  Ikvig and Eniyan followed Wilfer. The two soldiers shouted just as they passed through. Hoping the soldiers were still dealing with the fire, Wilfer said to his friends, “Run as far and as fast as you can. Stop for nothing. This was a mistake.”

  The two soldiers were fast approaching behind them, Wilfer heard them draw their swords. Ikvig said, “Ike will take the rear,” and he pushed Wilfer ahead with a hand on the back.

  Eniyan took the lead as they emerged from the gateway. The thickets on both sides were still burning but the tents had been extinguished. The soldiers were no longer occupied with firefighting; they were ready with weapons drawn. Being the first through, Eniyan was met with a flurry of arrows. At least one arrow must have pierced his heart because he crumpled to the ground, at once. The flames quickly spread to his cloak, igniting them. Instantly, his lifeless body was engulfed in flame.

  The sight of this horror stole the very breath from Wilfer. He could not help but slow his pace. Ikvig stepped around him and let out a mighty battle cry. He swung his war hammer and crushed the skull of the nearest two soldiers with a single swing. He did not pause for even a moment; he stepped over their bodies and continued his swinging. Wilfer followed in the path that Ikvig cleared, stepping over the fallen soldiers.

  Ike had also taken an arrow but it did not seem to be fatal. The squid had lost some of his speed on the wounded side but was otherwise able to function. It had dispatched the two soldiers pursuing them through the gateway. Those two poor soldiers did not stand a chance against the squid’s half-dozen swinging swords.

  Ikvi
g mowed a wide path through the soldiers. Not all were killed, some were only wounded or knocked out of the way. Nevertheless, it gave Ikvig and Wilfer enough opportunity to escape, and soon the fighting switched to running. Unable to slow down enough to watch their step, they surviving on luck alone. A mere stumble would again mean their death.

  The wounded soldiers could not keep pace. Hope rose in Wilfer’s breast as he saw the edge of the valley. The forest did not guarantee safety but it offered more hope than the open field. It was a place to hide, a chance to get lost.

  Horse hooves thudded ahead of them. There were no horses left at the encampment; they had fled during the fire. However, someone must have circled around to cut off their retreat. Ikvig veered away from the sound of the hooves, but the horse corrected to compensate. It was clear there would soon be another fight and Wilfer drew his sword in anticipation. As the equine approached, he saw that there was not one but two horses – and a single small rider.

  Wilfer smiled in recognition. He said, “We are saved. Run towards the horses, Ikvig.” Wilfer jumped on the horse with the rider, pointed to the other horse, and said to Ikvig, “Get on.”

  Wilfer said to the rider, “I’ve never been so happy to see you, Zumi.”

  Twenty-One

  “We cannot rest long,” Zumi said sternly, as they stopped for a moment to tend to the horses. The animals were exhausted. They have been pushed to their limit for hours because each horse was carrying a larger than normal load; one horse carried both Zumi and Wilfer, and the other carried a giant.

  “Should we abandon the horses?” Ikvig suggested, “They are close to their end.”

  “That might be a good idea. We can head far up into the mountains beyond where the horses can go. We will be well hidden there,” she replied.

  “No,” Wilfer said abruptly, “We’re keeping the horses. We will ride them until they die.”