by C Woodward
I took a brief nap and woke up when Teltar and Rejun come into the room. “Feeling any better?” Rejun asked while bringing in a container of food. I wiped the drool from my face and sat up.
“Thank you” I said when he handed me a bowl of stew. Teltar sat next to me and unrolled a scroll he was carrying. The scroll displayed a map of the mountain range. He pointed out where we were, “I talked with someone about the fort. It will take most of the day to reach the fort, even on horseback.” Rejun walked around to view the map as well. Teltar slid his finger down the drawn trail, “We take the patrol road all the way down to here, then it cuts off in this direction, and right around here is the old trail. That trail can be a bit rough from lack of use. The normal path is at least half the distance, so it should be rather easy to that point.”
Teltar explained the trails while I ate my meal. One had once been a supply trail to keep troops in the fort well-supplied, but the fort had been out of use for a couple hundred years. Erosion and overgrowth made that a much rougher trail. He assured us that it wouldn’t be much trouble to travel by horse. We have to make sure to watch for landmarks along the way because one could get lost and never get to the fort. “
What about the way into the fort?” I asked. Teltar glanced down at a crudely written note on a bottom corner of the map, “Oh yes, there should be a stone doorway that stands between two stone pillars. I think a piece of one of the pillars can be pressed inward to open the door.”
Rejun folded his arms, “That might be rather loud. How high will the walls be?” Teltar shrugged.
Rejun sighed, “Maybe I should get some rope.” I didn’t like the idea of staying around there when we should have been traveling. We decided to get to the fort by sundown tomorrow since we had no way of reaching it today. I thought of riding out halfway and then finishing tomorrow, but I guess waiting in town and getting our stomachs full of real food might be better than eating dry goods. After going though the map a few more times, we went out to get last-minute supplies. Rejun bought rope and other climbing gear, which left no mystery about what he wanted to do. It wasn’t a bad idea but I didn’t think I would be successful climbing in my armor and Teltar, well I have never seen a dwarf climb a rope.
“Should we pack a little heavy?” Teltar asked. I shrugged, “I think we won’t be bringing our packs into battle so go for it.” Teltar counted the money we brought with us and left to get some more goods. Eating, sleeping, and fighting is what this guy does best and right now he is thinking of the eating part. The clouds were getting thick again and the southern sky looked pretty dark. “Teltar, we should get some gear to protect us from the rain.”
Teltar looked at me and then at the sky, “Yeah, good idea. Do you think we should get some cloaks?”
I nodded, “Yeah, try to get black ones. Get a big cloak for me so it will fit over my armor.” I really didn’t know if one could fit over my armor, since my helmet and the shoulders of my armor had blade-like spikes sticking out of them. I decided to put my armor back on and see if we could find a place that had waterproof gear.
I got a few stares and some figured out who I was. At this point, I didn’t care if I was known here, or if there were any agents working for Forren. I’ll reach him before they did anyway. I got a mental image of sinking my blade into Forren, which made me laugh a little. We found a tailor who specialized in travel gear and sold packs and cloaks for the troops. Rejun and Teltar both picked out a hooded cloak. The tailor stood on a stool and did measurements on the pauldrons. He seemed happy to see the fixed metal rings underneath it, “May I suggest a black leather cloak? It might be pointless to have a hood so your helmet and pauldrons will be exposed.”
I shrugged, “That’s fine.” I didn’t expect to cover that area since the decorative spikes would just slice through and make it useless anyway. The leather cloak was a little heavier than the cloth one I had before, but it looked more durable. I will just put it over my pack and it will keep my pack dry. It cost a bit more than I planned but I had the funds. I wondered if something that kept me covered and unseen at night would be a pipe dream. Rejun and Teltar cloaks were more successful and they would be well-concealed in the dark.
Rejun was pleased with his cloak, “This is way better than the one I have at home!” He made me laugh. We went to a few more places to get the rest of our supplies. After that it was about time for dinner. Teltar took us to his favorite place to eat, which served roast poultry with a ton of sides. During dinner I said, “We should get to bed earlier tonight, since we want an early start tomorrow.
Teltar nodded and Rejun looked at me with concern. He swallowed his food, “Um, how dangerous is this going to be?” Teltar gulped down his drink and burped, “It should be pretty risky, but Blake will likely be taking care of the dangerous part.” Rejun sighed and looked worried about joining us. Teltar put his hand on Rejun’s shoulder, “Just stick to the shadows and you should be fine.” I stared at my food and started feeling a bit nervous as well.
After dinner, we headed back to the inn and told the innkeeper to wake us early. Now, to a dwarf, early means really early as they are all early risers. Well most of them. We had everything all ready to leave town quickly in the morning. Teltar was the only one who had no trouble going to bed early.
Rejun was tying knots in his rope and winding it up to make it easier for him to use. He put a large iron hook at one end. “So, what will be the attack plan once we get there?” He asked. I thought we talked about it earlier but he might want to confirm it.
“We get in and try to sneak in the best we can” I explained.
Rejun shrugged, “I already knew that part.” I took a deep breath and thought for a moment. Teltar was still snoring but I decided to go through some ideas with Rejun, “Um, we sneak in, either take out Forren or the Blood Witch. There might be something I have to do. You guys take on the other forces and if they have a trap laid out, we find a way to disrupt it.”
Rejun scratched his forehead, “Disrupt it? How?” I shrugged, “Sneak in, and shoot some guys, light something on fire. I don’t know. We don’t know the full layout. You find any weakness you can and exploit it.”
Rejun chuckled a little bit, “Did you really sneak into the Shaden base and burn it to the ground?”
I laughed, “Yeah. I am surprised it worked as well as it did.”
Rejun chuckled, “I guess tomorrow is more about how much damage we can do.” I smiled, “Pretty much. If we can get Torkuhl and your brother in efficiently, who knows how much damage they can do?” We laughed about that. We turned the lanterns off and went to sleep. Rejun was feeling more confident and not so stressed about tomorrow but I was still worried for Talestria. If Forren had harmed her even in the slightest… I bit my lower lip and tried to calm down. I need my sleep and tomorrow is going to be a long day. After a while I eventually fell asleep.
Morning came and a loud knocking on our door alerted us that it was time to get up. It was still dark out and my heart was pumping. Today was the big day. I hope it went well. We all were sleepy and too nervous to say anything. We yawned and mumbled as we got ready. With my armor on, I looked around to make sure we had everything. I took a mental note of all the things we needed and checked them off. I tilted my neck side to side slowly to get it to pop and put on my helmet. Time to go.
The horses were also a bit sluggish that morning, but once we left the city gates, they perked up enough to maintain a healthy pace. It was still dark outside and cold. Teltar charged through and took the lead. He muttered something but it wasn’t coherent so we figured he wanted us to follow him. They both had on their black cloaks which covered them and made it harder to see them.
After an hour or so the sun came up in the eastern sky and was bright until it touched the thick clouds in the sky. It was clear that we would have rain today; you could smell the moisture in the air. I fully expected to see a few drops soon. The mountain pass was well-maintained and the view was something to brag abo
ut. When we were in view of the eastern area, we could see a great distance. If it had been a clear day we might even be able to see the ocean. It helped keep our minds at ease as we rode.
We kept pushing toward the end of the trail. Teltar knew where we should stop. So far, it was going smoothly. The road was dirt with stone and wooden pieces to help the road from falling apart during a rainfall. We saw a few dwarves marching from the other direction. They were part of the patrol who were doing their normal routine. They politely nodded as we passed. I wasn’t sure if they didn’t see us as a threat because Teltar was with us or perhaps they knew who we were. It didn’t make a bit of difference since we had already passed them and were putting distance between us and them.
We eventually reached the point where Teltar needed the map. It began to rain a little which made reading the map a little harder. He shielded the map with his hand, pointed off in a direction and rolled it back up. We followed him toward a trail that was over-grown with tall grass. “This isn’t too bad; a few shrubs and bushes won’t slow the horses,” I said, feeling a bit thankful it wasn’t as bad as I thought. After a while I knew differently. There were sections where the road was washed away from years of neglect. The horses had no problem, but no one would want to take a wagon on this road.
We saw a few bunkers every once in a while. The stonework looked intact, but anything made of wood had rotted ages ago. We walked the horses in a bunker for a break and stopped to eat. Most of the bunker was below ground and at one point, we saw a stone stairway leading upward to a small tower. The tower was big enough for a single dwarf to climb into and warn of danger. The tiny tower had a ladder which was only held together with rusted nails.
I turned to Teltar, “Are these little watch-posts scattered all around the area?”
Teltar nodded, “Yup.”
I looked outside. It was raining a little harder, “I wonder if Forren knows of this route and has someone watching the back side of the fort.”
Rejun raised his eyebrows, “Oh, that would be bad.”
I smiled, “Perhaps we should be mindful of that and check each tower as we go by.
Rejun smiled, “Good idea! If there is someone up in a tower, I can shoot them down!” After our meal, we recapped our plans for a few minutes, and then we packed up and moved out. The horses didn’t mind the rain as much as we did which was good since they were the ones doing most of the work. We found more bunkers and sentry posts but saw no signs of life in either. A little later, we reached another bunker where the sentry post had been toppled over many years ago. It was a fair bet that no one had used that one either. It grew darker and now the rain let up a little. Visibility was still difficult but at least now we didn’t need to worry about being seen.
The horses trampled through a large puddle of mud and Teltar stopped to look at his map again. He pointed to a sentry post, “There, let’s stop over there.” We followed him toward the bunker which was empty as well. He walked his horse into the bunker. Rejun and I did the same. There was a slight downgrade of steps that my horse didn’t like at all. Teltar removed his pack and sat it on the ground, “We are close.” He tied his horse to an old iron loop on the stone wall. Rejun and I did the same. It looked like we would be traveling on foot from here on out.
I searched my pack for any last minute items that I might need. Rejun wound up his rope and put it over his shoulder, I took out my fireball scroll and some dried fruit. We gave dried fruit to the horses which made them happy. I stretched my legs a bit and tried to get ready for walking. My heart was racing with the excitement. It’s funny how an event will get your heart all worked up, even if it is not good.
I inspected my axe to see if it was sharp enough. I never worried about sharpening it because dwarves make really good weapons. Teltar checked his sword and a small hand axe which he often kept at his side but mostly used it to cut firewood. I guess he figured he might have a need for it. Rejun checked his crossbow and seemed content. He also carried a large knife but didn’t seem to really use it as a weapon. “You guys all ready?” I asked.
We hiked out of the bunker and into the rain. The last of the sunlight dropped from the sky and it got dark pretty quickly. The terrain was really muddy and we stepped carefully so we didn’t fall into the mud. It started to rain harder, which made it really hard to see where we were going. Teltar was still leading us which made me wonder if dwarves can see better in the dark. “We should spot two more sentry posts before reaching the fort” he said.
When we reached the first of the two sentry posts, there was no sign of life and we marched on by. A good distance away we spotted the last one which appear to be unused as well. With the darkness, we expected to see a light if anyone was present. If there was someone, the rain would help muffle our sounds as we stealthily got past them.
The fort stood out a fair distance away. It appeared more like an old castle than a fort. There were two large towers that faced the front end of the fort and several levels of stone structures that seemed to meld with the natural terrain. I saw a fair amount of light in the fort and the towers. It was clear that people were living in it.
We quietly walked closer to the back wall of the fort. I noticed that every several yards there were stone pillars that reinforced the stone walls. We crouched down under a tree to choose which pillar we would attempt to climb. Two voices from above got our attention.
“This is just stupid!” one man complained.
The second man replied, “Yeah, why are even out here?”
The first man coughed, “No way anyone will be coming from this way! I am going to get sick just standing out here in the rain.”
“Don’t be such a whiner, Forren is paying us good,” the second man laughed.
The first one paused and asked, “Yeah, true, but do you think Blake is coming?”
The second one laughed again, “His woman is locked up in the basement. Of course he will come.” The first one agreed, “Yeah! He will just run into the trap!” I closed my eyes and sighed in relief that Talestria was alive. Rejun loaded up his crossbow and crept a good distance behind us. I knew what he was up to.
“I would still rather be out here than in the front” the second man said.
The first man laughed, “Oh, don’t tell me you are scared.”
The second man argued, “Hey, anyone that could do that much damage is someone not to be messed with.”
The first one debated, “Don’t worry! The moment he gets near the fort, he will be covered with arrows.”
The second one asked, “I am going to get something to drink. You want some?” The first one replied, “Sure, but be quick.” A few moments passed and then I heard a slight click. Another few seconds later and we heard a body fall from the tall stone wall. Good job, Rejun!
“Now, I know you… hey, where are you?” the second man said as we heard him walking closer to the edge of the wall. I heard another click and that man also fell nearby.
Teltar looked at me and whispered, “Glad he is with us.”
I smiled and waited for Rejun to show up. I patted him on the back.
He grinned, “People are much bigger targets than game birds.” I helped Rejun retrieve his bolts. It’s scary how accurate he is with his crossbow. Teltar walked past us and felt around the pillars on the wall. Rejun whispered “Hold on.” He took out his rope and swung it around and tossed it into the air. After several tries he made it over and it hooked to the side of the wall. He tugged it a few times and moved his crossbow to his back. He was nervous and needed a deep breath.
I smiled and whispered, “Don’t worry, stay hidden and remember; they are bigger than game birds.” Rejun chuckled but was still a bit nervous. Teltar and I watched him climb up the wall. He almost slipped a few times but kept going. Teltar whispered, “Found the switch.” Teltar glanced up and Rejun waved at us from the top. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Teltar and I took our weapons out and looked at each other. Teltar nodded, “Good luck to
us all.”
Chapter 14
The stone door creaked loudly as we began to open it. I feared it would alert everyone. After about an inch, it wouldn’t open anymore. Teltar and I looked at each other. I whispered, “I thought the door would open more than that.” Teltar rolled his eyes and stuck his fingers in the gap of the door. He pulled the door open about two more feet. I peeked in and saw only darkness. The only sound we heard was the rain falling outside. Teltar walked in first and I followed.
It took me a moment to adjust to the darkness. We were in a large room with a low ceiling that went for a few yards. “This was the old storage room” Teltar whispered. We turned around and pushed the stone door closed. The thing closed more easily than I expected, but we left it open a slight crack since it would make a noise and we were trying to be stealthy. We walked to the other end of the room. There were a few things in the room. I guess Forren’s men use it as a storage room. Teltar and I reached the end of the room and heard footsteps coming.
We crouched down by the doorway as the footsteps got closer. I almost felt excited and held my axe while we waited. A light showed under the doorway and we moved further back so we wouldn’t be revealed when someone came in. Three men walked in; one with a lantern. “I don’t see anything that would have made that noise” one of them muttered.
The man with the lantern took a few more steps, “Could just be thunder.” They walked deeper into the room. I glanced at Teltar. He just a nodded and we moved out from our hiding spot and tiptoed toward the three men. I walked right up behind one and grabbed him from behind. I covered his mouth as I pulled him toward me. I brought my axe to his throat and slashed. I stepped back a little and let his body slowly slide to the floor. Teltar took out his target and now the one with the lantern turned in my direction. I ran as fast as I could and charged with my blade. He uttered one word before I pierced his chest with my strange axe. Teltar rushed over and grabbed the lantern before the man could drop it. So far, so good. Crap! The axe was stuck! As I struggled to get it out without making a racket, Teltar was dragging the other bodies out of sight. I finally dislodged my weapon and hid that guy behind some barrels.
