by R. F. Pace
Jake and Sara were fast asleep before the sun had set. The rain continued throughout the night, making for a sound sleep. George had told Tammy to sleep and he would wake her up if he needed her. George watched the others sleep most of the night, but when his eyes grew heavy-lidded, he decided to wake Tammy up.
The rain was still coming down the next morning, so they decided to just be lazy, waiting to see if it would stop. By the time it stopped, most of the day was gone. With camp already set, they decided to stay another night under the evergreen. Tammy spent most of the day working on George’s scar. By the time she finished, it was unnoticeable. George and Tammy took the first watch.
CHAPTER 19
The next morning the rain had finally ceased, and everyone was fully rested and ready to travel. They moved slowly because the rain had caused ruts, loose rocks and mud on the trails. The trees were not as dense as they had been, but there were still a lot of them. To add to the group’s problems, the temperature was starting to get a bit colder as they proceeded deeper into the mountains.
As they started down the mountain, Jake had an uneasy feeling about the area, but decided not to express it to anyone. He didn’t want them worrying about something he couldn’t explain. Yet Jake’s head was on a swivel and soon the others noticed it. George said, “You need to tell us what’s wrong.” “Nothing’s wrong,” Jake replied. George grimaced, “Not according to your body language. For the past half hour you’ve looked like you’re trying to locate a ghost or something.” Jake looked back and could see the concern in the others’ eyes. Everyone was now looking all around and searching for something unknown. Jake said, “I got an uneasy feeling after we crested the last mountain. I don’t know what the reason is, if anything.” Sara jumped in, “I think we all got the same feeling. The next time one of us gets a feeling like that, we need to tell each other.” Everyone agreed and all were on high alert.
The ride was even slower now as the horses seemed spooked and acting very skittish. Tammy said, “I don’t like this.” Jake finally got off his horse and handed the reins to Sara saying, “I’m going to walk ahead of the group.” Sara said, “Are you sure? That isn’t very safe. You need to be careful.” “Don’t worry, I will,” he replied. George asked, “Want me to go with you?” Jake shaking his head answered, “No. I think it will be better if you stay near the girls.” As Jake started walking in front of the group, then stopped saying, “I changed my mind. I think it may be better if the two of us were out front. Two sets of eyes are better than one.” George dismounted and handed his horse’s reins to Tammy. The girls were now riding a horse and towing three each.
George was about 50 feet in front of the girls with Jake another 20 feet ahead of him. The two of them moved fairly quietly, but the eight horses behind them were making a lot of noise. Jake stopped, walked back to George and motioned for the girls to come up to them. When the girls came near, Jake said, “Let us move a ways in front of you and when we stop, you move up to about twenty feet behind George and wait.” The guys moved back into position and started the staggered formation. It was very slow going now, but their instincts were telling them safety was of the utmost importance. Jake moved ahead of George about a 100 feet and stopped. George followed approximately 20 feet behind him and signaled for the girls to move up.
They were nearing the bottom of the mountain, where a stream ran at its base. The trail followed the stream a ways and then turned back up the mountain. The foliage was a bit thicker near the base of the two mountains and adjacent to the stream. Because of the limited visibility, they had to shorten the distance to be able to see one another. They stopped briefly to allow everyone to fill their water skins and let the horses drink their fill.
Jake started to move up the path and found a spot to wait. Everyone advanced and waited for Jake to move again. Jake hesitated several minutes longer than before. The hair on the back of his neck was now standing on end. Jake ignored his hunch however and started to move up the trail again. That was a mistake. As he took a step, he was sent flying back down the trail. He landed just in front of George, who was wide-eyed and trying to figure out what had just happened. George had drawn his sword and was preparing for the worst. The horses were now backing away from the area, causing the girls to struggle to control them.
When George ran up to Jake, he was out cold. George was about to drag him back when he looked up and seen the most horrific sight of his life. A monster was heading his way and it was bigger than anything he could have ever dreamed. He guessed it to be a mountain troll. The hulking creature stood about nine feet tall and weighed nearly 500 pounds. Its skin looked rubbery and grey, like the mountain rocks, with a green mossy tint. Its hair was also rock-gray which allowed it to blend into the background. It walked hunched over with claws almost dragging the ground. One of its most noticeable features was its cold, dark, fearless eyes that were now set on George.
The troll was now moving toward George at an unbelievable pace. It swung a massive claw at George. Having just enough time to put his sword up in front of him, George blocked the first claw from hitting him. The blade took the tips of the troll’s fingers off its right hand. The left hand then struck the sword near the sword’s hand guard and it went flying out of George’s grasp. George had moved just in the nick of time to keep from taking a direct hit to his head by the troll’s right hand. His missing fingertips didn’t seem to slow the troll down at all. Where the missing fingers were, the troll wasn’t even bleeding. George wanted to retrieve his sword, but it was too risky and a bit too far away from him. The troll came at George again with another furious lunge. The only thing George could think to do, was jump off the trail toward the stream, which he did. When the troll swung at him, he caught George’s cloak and ripped a section of the back. This caused George to go flying sideways instead of where he intended to go.
Sara had jumped off her horse and was heading toward the fight. She was fast approaching the back of the troll with her sword raised. Before the troll could jump on George, Sara brought her sword down as hard as she could. It struck the troll in the back right shoulder area. She only caused a minor injury to the troll, that didn’t even slow it down. The troll whipped around toward Sara and swung. Sara was just inches beyond the swipe of the claws and steadily backed down the trail as fast as she could.
Before the troll could run toward Sara, vines started entangling it. This didn’t slow the troll down much. With its strength, it was able to break the vines with no problems at all. When the troll took a step toward Sara, she raised her hands toward the troll and unleashed a massive fireball. It hit the monster dead center and sent pieces of the troll flying all over the place. The biggest part landed about five feet from George. Scurrying away, George moved as if it was going to get up and attack him again. When he looked closer, it was just a small section of the smoldering tissue. The rest of it was nowhere to be found, it must have been disintegrated by the fireball. George got up and ran over to where Jake was lying on the ground, still unconscious.
Tammy had managed to maintain control of four horses, but the other four were nowhere to be seen. Sara ran to George and muttered, “Is Jake still alive?” George said, “Yes, but he looks hurt pretty bad. The troll hit him with a sucker punch at full force.” Sara said, “We need to find a spot to make camp and see if Tammy can heal him.” They got a blanket and moved Jake into it. They used the blanket as a stretcher and made their way back down to the stream.
***
George retrieved his sword and started searching for a campsite. About a hundred yards away, there were over hangs of rock and some small caves. George scouted the area thor
oughly and went back to the others, informing them of what he had found. It took over an hour to get Jake moved into a cave, and onto a semi-soft pallet they had made. George asked Tammy, “Which way did the horses run off?” Tammy answered, “They followed the stream heading away from the troll.” George said, “I’m going after them. There is a lot of gear on Jake and Sara’s horses that we’re going to need. Keep a careful watch of the area.” George mounted his horse and rode off.
Tammy was kneeling over Jake with her hands on him, trying to heal him. After about two hours, she stopped and looked at Sara, saying “I’m drained.” Tammy laid down near Jake and was out cold. George returned a couple hours later with the runaway horses in tow. He took the horses to a nearby cave and rigged a rope to secure them in that area.
George returned to the cave and asked Sara how things had gone. She explained everything that happened. Sara was so worried about Jake, she felt she had to burn off some nervous energy. She walked out of the cave and started collecting fire wood. After gathering a nice load, she started a fire and made dinner, which she and George ate quietly, as they tended to Jake and Tammy.
As darkness set in, George cast a vine spell at the entrance of the horses cave and then a web spell at the front of their cave to prevent anything from entering during the evening. Every time Jake moaned or groaned, Sara would waken and check on him. This occurred throughout the night. Tammy, on the other hand, was sleeping like a baby and never even moved.
Morning arrived and Tammy awoke with a massive headache. The breakfast Sara made, helped a bit, but Tammy was still sluggish and her head hurt worse than anytime she could remember. Sara told Tammy to lay back down and rest some more before she tried to resume healing Jake.
George told Sara he was going to walk a few yards downstream and fish for a while. Sara said, “Please don’t go too far and don’t be too long.” George replied, “I’m just going about thirty yards down and shouldn’t be long at all.” When he returned, he was carrying six nice-sized fish. He cleaned and cooked them. The fresh fish lunch was a welcomed change from the dried meat they had been eating.
After resting and eating lunch, Tammy spent several shorter periods trying to heal Jake. She saw signs of her powers working, but Jake was still not moving much and hadn’t regained consciousness yet. She said, “I don’t know how much more it will take to get him up and moving again. He was pretty messed up on the inside from that strike he took.”
Finally, Jake opened his eyes sometime after dark that day. He was complaining that his ribs and chest were hurting badly. George explained what had happened and that he had been struck by what he believed was a very large mountain troll. Sara helped Jake remove his elven armor so he could rest better. In the center of his chest he had a huge bruise with four indentations from where the troll’s claws struck him, the marks a perfect match for the troll’s oversized hand.
Tammy said, “If he had hit you a little more to your left side, it would have stopped your heart. Most of your ribs were bruised or broken and your sternum was badly bruised. I have healed the broken ribs and have been trying to clear the rest of your injuries. It will take at least a few more days before you are able to ride.”
Jake said, “From the sound of it, I’m lucky to be alive at all.” Sara said, “You can say that again. That thing hit you so hard, you landed near George. If I had to guess, I would say you flew through the air about 20 to 30 feet.” George said with a slight snicker in his voice, “You looked like a rag doll, thrown by an angry little girl, having a temper tantrum.” The pain instantly hit Jake as he started laughing. It caused him so much pain, he stopped laughing and started groaning. Looking at Jake, George stated “We will maintain camp here, until you are well enough to travel.” Sara helped Jake get settled in.
CHAPTER 20
Three days passed before Jake felt as if he could ride without too much pain. Everyone watched as he climbed on his horse. It didn’t seem to them that he was having any problem mounting or sitting. George took the lead and Jake rode at the back. Sara was still very concerned about Jake, but whenever she asked him if he was okay he always replied that he was just fine.
After three days of riding the progress had brought them to the top of a huge mountain. From this vantage point, they could see that they were headed for a huge range with tall peaks covered with snow and ice. The number of trees decreased as they continued to go. Sara said, “Looking at the mountains, they appear to be very cold and treacherous.” Jake just gazed ahead and didn’t say a thing. George added, “It looks like we still have a day or two before we are in that mess; might as well enjoy this while we can.”
The group was still being cautious, not taking any chances of run into anything else that might cause them harm. There were signs here and there of big cats, bears or something similar, but unknown. The troll attack had thrown them all for a big loop and they were not only concerned, but very cautious about running into another one. They figured where there is one, there are probably more.
Finding a safe place to camp was now getting to be more of a chore. Available spots were now more open and exposed, which gave them the feeling of being very vulnerable. Tammy still spent time healing Jake and would require a long sleep after each healing session. The watches were now done by only Jake, George and Sara. The longer watches, with less sleep, started taking its toll on them.
The group first passed into a snow covered area early the following morning. They dismounted from the horses because the ground was uneven and the animals were slipping. They were all bundled up and each of the horses had to be covered. This made the traveling slower, but safer for both human and horses. When they crested the top of the mountain, George took a 50 foot slide down the side, but other than taking on a few minor cuts and scratches, he was fine.
***
At the bottom of the mountain they found a small alcove that blocked the wind. George and Sara checked the surrounding area to make certain there weren’t any traps or that it wasn’t already occupied. Confirming it to be safe, they decided to make camp there. They used one of the canvas’ to cover the entrance, to stop the little bit of wind blowing in. Starting a nice fire in the back corner heated up the whole area very nicely.
The only worry they had was if something came at them, they had no place to retreat to. There was only one way in and one way out. The only other choice would be to camp in the open, exposed on all four sides and that didn’t seem logical. The area was alive with small animals moving about, the horses also seemed to be at ease. The activity was a good sign that nothing bad was in the area.
The night seemed to pass to quickly, and the next morning arrived gloomy and too soon. Breakfast was simple dried rations ate by the warm fire. The bright spot of the day was that Jake began to get back to his old self again. When they broke camp that morning, snow had started to fall in light flurries. By the time they got half way up to the peak, the snow was falling wet and heavy. At times they could barely see the person directly in the front of them. George had to keep stopping as he would lose the trail and have to search for the correct way to go.
After a couple of leagues in the heavy snow, they decided it was time to make camp. They found a big evergreen slightly off the path. Jake said, “Thank God for these big trees.” They crawled under its canopy where the ground was still free of snow. They started a small fire and heated up their dinner. The fire was kept to a minimum for cooking, because of the lack of available firewood. No one wanted to venture too far and get lost in the snowstorm looking for firewood.
They placed a section of canvas on the ground, then a hea
vy blanket on top of it. They placed two blankets on top of that and then pulled the canvas over all the blankets. The girls crawled into the middle. George and Jake took an additional blanket to help shield their backs from the cold on the outside of the makeshift tent. It was a good setup and everyone was comfortable. The watch basically consisted of one person needing to stay awake and listen for anything out of the ordinary, but that didn’t happen, everyone fell asleep and slept through the night.
***
When George woke up the next morning the ground was covered in about six inches of new snow. The top of the canvas had some snow on it, but not very much. Everyone was still wrapped up nice and cozy. When George moved to get out from under the blanket, a blast of cold air woke everyone up.
George smiled as a few unkind words toward him filled the air. George said, “I need to check the horses and try to find some firewood. Jake said, “I’ll give you a hand.” More unkind words flew from the girls as he exited their makeshift tent. All George and Jake could do was laugh as they walked away from the tent.
The horses had weathered the storm just fine, but finding firewood under the snow was a bit of a problem. They found a bunch of very large branches sticking up through the snow, but very few smaller pieces they could use. They returned with what they could find started a pretty decent fire. As the fire started heating the area up, the girls finally made their way from under the blankets.
George and Jake went to check the trail to see if they should try to travel. It took a few minutes to locate and didn’t look in too bad of condition. George asked, “If we waited a day, do you think it would be any better tomorrow?” Jake said, “Probably not. We have a half-decent tree to camp under but very little fire wood here.” George said, “There aren’t many trees after we leave this area, so as we are traveling we need to start collecting wood when we find it.” Jake agreed and they returned back to the camp.
