by Alex Janaway
‘Everyone not shooting a bow, get down!’ Killen ordered. He ducked behind the wall and tried to take stock. But his scouts were all up and trading shots with the wood elves, so he reached for his own bow and dug an arrow out of the bag. By the time he stood up, it was over. The wood elves were no longer shooting, and the shield wall had disappeared around the bend. He surveyed the ground before the wall. Six dead elves. Another two on the approach further back.
‘We struck three of their archers,’ responded Sadad to the question that had yet to be asked. His eyes ever watchful.
Killen noted a red line running along Sadad’s cheek. An arrow must have sailed right by his face. Far too close for comfort. ‘You’re hit, you’re bleeding.’
Sadad spat over the side and continued to scan the draw.
‘No time to bleed.’
Fair enough.
He looked along the step.
‘What’s our damage?’
‘Misha took one in the shoulder,’ said Abbas. ‘She screamed like a girl when she fell back.’
‘I am a girl!’ she growled through gritted teeth as she regained her feet, the arrow sticking out of her armour.
‘Flitch is dead,’ said one of the Highlanders.
‘Alright. Get him off the step. Your choice if you want to bury him here. Patch up your wounds if you have them, we go back to the shifts.’
‘But won’t they be back?’ asked another of their Highland allies, a man with long greying hair. He had an odd burr to his voice. Killen corrected himself, not a Highlander, one of the Scotians.
‘I doubt they’ll be back for a while. That was a test of our defences. Probably someone at the rear was counting heads. All they know is they saw a fully manned wall and it cost them a third of their force. My guess is that’s the lot of them. It’ll be a waiting game now.’
He walked over to Misha, ‘You want a hand digging that out?’
She nodded.
‘I’ll do it,’ said Abbas jogging over.
‘Alright, let’s get some water boiling and a blade nice and hot.’
Misha looked decidedly unhappy about that. ‘Abbas. You always enjoy your work too much.’
Abbas grinned and followed her inside.
Another of his scouts and one of the Highlanders were dragging Flitch’s body off the step. Killen rubbed his chin and pulled at one of the forks of his beard. He was still buzzing from the skirmish on the wall, but that would pass.
An eagle came gliding in from the valley to the north, flaring its wings and settling just outside the cave. He sighed. Sleep would have to wait a little bit longer.
He waved at Anneli as she pulled her face scarves off and waved back. Killen walked over to her and proffered his hand and she took it, still wearing her leather-clad glove.
‘You missed the fun,’ he said.
She arched an eyebrow and looked at the wall, seeing the aftermath. ‘Oh. I’m sorry.’
‘Nothing to be sorry about. What do you have to share?’
‘Owen is back.’
‘That’s good.’
‘And Erskine says there is an army of wood elves coming.’
‘Less so.’
‘I’m to stay with you today.’
‘That would help. I think we’ve just had a tangle with a larger scouting party, but if there are more wood elves on their way, I’d like to know if they are coming here.’
‘I’ll get on it.’
‘And take a look at our flanks. They’ll be looking at going around us. All they need is an animal trail. Just six of them with bows could wreak havoc.’
‘I will.’
‘Thank you, Anneli. Oh, by the way, is Owen going to pay us a visit?’
She bobbed her head.
‘He is visiting the battlefront.’
‘The battlefront? Quite a title. I’d call it a fighting withdrawal.’
Anneli looked at him a little confused.
‘Oh, don’t listen to me. I’m just a pedant.’
That comment didn’t change her expression. So much for his years of military dogma.
‘Go, be safe, and be back no later than midday.’
She sketched a salute and returned to her eagle. As he watched her take to the sky, he thought about Owen. Had his trip been successful? Did they have any more swords? It would be helpful. But perhaps too late, if an army of wood elves was coming. He looked into the cave.
‘Conor!’
The lad ran over, wearing an oversized metal bowl that tilted at an angle over his head. That was the helmet he’d chosen?
‘You look ridiculous.’
‘But Major, you sai–’.
He stuck a hand up. ‘Yes, I did. Now take that off.’
Conor undid the strap and tugged it free.
‘Good. Now, I need you to get back on that trail and take a peek at what the wood elves are up to.’
‘I won’t be able to see them just round there,’ Conor protested.
‘Yes, I know that, get your eyes on where we first saw them. I want to know if any more turn up. Understand?’
‘Yes, Major!’ Conor scampered off.
‘And stay low. Those bastards have got excellent vision!’
Conor waved and bounded up the trail.
Killen shook his head. What was with all this youthful optimism? He returned to his blanket and lay down, he wriggled around a bit, got comfortable. He heard a grunt, caught a whiff of something. Pushing up on to his elbows, he glared at the camels on the other side of the cave, then looked over at Abbas and Misha. The arrow had struck high in her chest, just below the shoulder blade. Abbas stood over Misha inspecting the wound.
She whispered something in Erebeshi and Abbas shrugged, taking hold of the arrow and tugging hard. It came free, Misha hissing like an animal. Abbas saw Killen watching them and held up the missile. ‘Lucky. Not too deep, I didn’t need to cut it out.’ The arrow-head was not broad-leafed, more like a round cylinder tapering to a point. This one was designed to go through armour.
‘Huh. That’s new. When you’re done, get those camels saddled and outside.’
Abbas looked at him askance.
‘I want them ready to ride. We may have to leave fast.’
‘I need to …’ Abbas struggled with the word. He withdrew a blade from the fire. Misha shot him a foul look.
‘Yes, of course. Just don’t scream, Misha, I’m trying to sleep.’
He ignored the venom directed his way and lay back down, closing his eyes. There were a few more hushed, unintelligible words, swiftly followed by a growl, swiftly followed by a ‘You fucker!’ then the sound of scuffling and an ‘Ow!’ Killen tilted his head to one side and wriggled his toes. Abbas probably deserved that.
CHAPTER 14 – OWEN
A gentle pressure on his shoulder roused Owen from a deep slumber. He had been dreaming, something about running and a stream but already the memory was fading. He opened a single eye in the faint light provided by a candle held by Naimh.
‘Owen.’
‘Huh, umm, yes. Yes?’
‘Sorry. But you said sunup.’
‘Uh huh.’
She picked up another candle holder placed next to Owen’s bed and held the lit wick to it. The light flickered into life, the shadows dancing around his small room.
‘I’ll see you up top,’ she said, walking out and closing the door behind her. Owen lay back, placed an arm over his forehead and groaned. He felt out of sorts, light-headed, unsure of his surroundings. Like he was still dreaming. But he wasn’t and that was likely part of the problem. He pushed his blanket away, rolled off the bed and dressed. He took his empty mug and the hunk of bread he’d forgotten about. It was even harder now, but he ate it anyway as he walked up to the hall.
Waiting for him around a table were Naimh, Jenni, Anneli, Erskine and his brother Ernan.
‘Owen. I just got back in,’ said Ernan.
He clapped Ernan on the back. ‘Good to see you, all of you.’ He took a seat
and Naimh pushed a bowl of porridge his way. He nodded his thanks and placed his hands around the bowl, enjoying the heat. ‘Tell me what’s happened.’
As each gave their news, Owen listened patiently, eating his breakfast. That he could barely taste it, nor particularly wanted to eat it was not the point. It kept a little part of his mind occupied on something else, gave him some distance to process what was being said. He learned of the wood elf incursion. They’d been caught unawares in the camp, three of the five beacons lost. He felt frustration that his Eagle Riders had not spotted this. How could hundreds of wood elves so easily slip past their vigil? He wanted to share his ire, to hold them all to account. But he kept his counsel. They could not be everywhere at once, and even among the gentle rolling hills of the gnome settlements there was plenty of cover. He had to remind himself, their enemy was not stupid nor foolish. The wood elves knew there were eagles. All they had to do was travel at night. But still. He should have thought about that. Someone should have thought about that. Either way they had caught the defenders unawares and Erskine had estimated seeing between five and six hundred wood elves moving as a single body. Then he learned of the skirmishing, the slow fighting withdrawal through the mountains, the constant pressure of wood elves parties ranging wide, looking for ways to penetrate deeper into the Highlands. As they did so, his defensive line had had to shrink back towards Eagle’s Rest. And that meant, as well as the main force, there must be hundreds more dedicated to this effort.
‘They are going to find us,’ he said. ‘I planned for everyone to pull back towards Eagle’s Rest. It made sense at the time. But now I realise it for the folly it was. They just have to follow our people.’
‘No need to put it all on your shoulders, Owen,’ said Naimh.
‘We didn’t have any better ideas,’ Erskine added.
‘It doesn’t matter. When the Highlands were scourged it was not by the wood elves. They had no knowledge of our country. We should have led them away, not to Eagle’s Rest.’
‘Can we not do that now?’ asked Anneli.
‘The wood elves know what paths they follow now, it is obvious where they lead,’ Jenni answered for Owen.
‘What is the plan, then?’ asked Erskine.
‘Same as it always was, there is no other option,’ said Owen.
‘And what of your journey, Owen?’ Naimh said, putting her hands together and placing them on the table.
Those gathered listened with growing unease as he told them of his discovery. ‘Whatever happens, they are too far away to help us, even if they wanted to. We must look to ourselves,’ he finished. It was it that simple? Erskine and his brother both asked to go north, to bring back the Brevis Tissans. But he forbade them. He needed their eagles for the battle to come.
‘Jenni, the wood elf search parties could be here at any moment. Get Eagle’s Rest ready.’
Murtagh’s wife smiled coldly.
‘It already is.’ There was a glimpse of Murtagh in that. Owen missed him.
The meeting finished, Owen needed to get out on the ground. As the other Eagle Riders walked to the roosting barn, he tarried at the steps of the hall. Naimh stood with him.
‘We should evacuate, Owen,’ Naimh said, gently. ‘Get the children away, the old, the sick, those who can’t fight.’
‘And where will they go?’ he asked. Expecting them to go back into the wilderness of the western Highlands made no sense to him.
‘North. They can go north to the Brevis Sea,’ she replied, her voice had a pleading edge to it. ‘It was never something we could have planned for.’
Owen pursed his lips. North. Of course. It hadn’t even occurred to him.
‘Even if they leave now, it’s a long way by foot and we know what’s out there. The dwarves must be looking. There will be wood elf search parties. Who knows what else?’
‘Owen. You have five eagles.’
He sighed. ‘I need them.’
‘For what? You know the enemy is coming.’
‘It’s not just about that.’
‘What is it about?’
Owen rolled his eyes. Naimh was as bad as her brother when she had the bit between her teeth. ‘Owen, there is a chance to save our children. Whether we live or die here, they have a chance.’
‘So I just start ferrying folk off this rock instead? How many can I save before the wood elves work out what we are doing? They’ll hunt them down anyway.’
‘It has to be safer than here.’
‘Don’t be so sure.’
She looked at him askance. ‘What does that mean?’
He pinched his nose; he didn’t have time to debate this with her.
‘Naimh. I need to go.’ He turned and took her hands. ‘I will think on it. I promise. But I have to see what’s going on.’
Naimh took her hands away and cocked her head as she looked into his eyes. Owen felt like he was being scolded by his mother for telling lies. ‘Alright, Owen, do that. And take care.’
Owen flew across the eastern valley, the long and wide forest below had sustained Eagle’s Rest over the years. And for the second time it looked like it would be sullied by invaders intent on destruction, taking the game and the fruits of the forest for themselves. And there was nothing Owen could do about it; he just had to accept it. He kept low, wanting to prolong the moment. He turned for the pass that led to the draw, Arno taking a tight turn, tipping his wings at an almost vertical angle, the only way through such a thin opening. Owen held on tight to the saddle, gripping with his thighs. Damn, even Eagle Riders had limits! Then they were through, running along a wider gap between mountains and just ahead another curve, this one relatively shallow. Arno flared his wings as they came in to land. Owen sat back in the saddle and looked at the small camp. There was Killen walking over to meet him.
Owen climbed off Arno and embraced Killen, the older man clapping him firmly on the back. They released each other and both smiled, though the Major’s was tinged with sadness.
‘Hard days, Owen.’ Killen looked tired and drawn.
‘They never get easier,’ Owen agreed. He took in the defensive wall, the half dozen watchers and the camels lined up outside the cave. He also spotted the grave.
Killen followed his gaze.
‘That’s Flitch.’
Owen nodded. One life lost, and his force was diminished for it.
‘Come, let’s go inside.’
Owen collected his crossbow from Arno, and Killen led him to a small fire. As they settled down in front of it, he was offered some mint tea.
‘I thought you’d run out.’
‘The buggers have all been hoarding it. They know I can’t get enough of it. It’s the only vice I have left.’
Owen smiled and took in the sweet aroma.
‘If that’s your only vice, you are not doing too badly.’
He took a sip and looked around. Something was missing.
‘Where’s Hassan?’
Killen’s face went still, except for a slight tightening of the eyes.
‘He didn’t make it. He fell when we were ambushed not far from the beacons.’
Owen pursed his lips. He didn’t feel like he could say sorry. Not any more.
‘He was a good lad.’
Killen nodded and smiled thinly.
‘Aye, he was. And too damned good-natured for this world.’
Owen could relate to that.
‘Thank you for getting that beacon lit.’
Killen shrugged. ‘Larsen did that. Before we lost him too. Not sure we did all that well on our early warning plans.’
Owen sipped his tea slowly.
‘Plans fail, Major.’
‘Yes,’ Killen said, bitterly. ‘We always forget the enemy has a say in them.’
‘Even so, your actions saved lives too. Captain Rashad got the rest of your troops back to our defensive positions before they were cut off.’
Killen’s demeanour changed, and he leaned in.
‘How
are they doing?’
‘Rashad is holding the southern routes into the Rest. They are doing fine, the enemy hasn’t made any concerted efforts to push through that way yet. Oh, he sent all his camels back. Apparently, they’ll slow him down.’
That was met with a rueful grunt.
‘And Saul is north of here. Got a dozen or so people with him holding the peak passes. It’s been scrappy but the wood elves don’t have the numbers to get through. The trail is too tight.’
‘We are in relatively good shape, then.’
‘All things considered.’
Killen pointed at the wall.
‘I could do with some more men. It’s a good position, but …’
‘I’m running a little low on people, Major.’
‘I know. Just thought I’d ask. Oh, in all the excitement I forgot; how was your trip? What’s the word?’
Owen stretched and put the empty beaker on the floor. ‘I found them.’
‘And?’
‘It’s true. There are thousands of survivors. They are set up on a series of islands on the northern coast of the Brevis Sea. And they are making a community.’
Killen sat back and whistled. Then he clapped his knee.
‘Damn, that is good news.’ He laughed. ‘And are they going to help?’
‘Honestly? I really don’t know.’
‘What? Why not?’
Owen sighed.
‘Things are not … simple there. I left them debating it. Said I’d be back in ten days. That’s before this all happened.’
‘Debating? Who’s in charge there?’
Owen thought for a moment.
‘They have a council, but there was that one Lila told us about, Cade, she seems to carry the vote. She is … not what I imagined.’
‘Oh?’
‘She didn’t come across as someone who really wanted to be there.’
Killen huffed.
‘Either way, there was a lot of resistance. Part of me can understand it. I felt the same way once. They’ve been through a lot, they just want to hunker down and start over.’
