Elvenshore: 03 - Elf's Bane

by Clark Graham

  Archers took pot shots at them, again to no avail. It just seemed to make the creatures angrier. They started smashing the wall with their clubs again. The sound was near deafening. There was a new cracking sound this time. The black oak of the wall was starting to crack and splinter. Troops with timbers shored up the wall even more, but when the Trolls put their torches to it the dry timbers burst into flame. Pails of water were brought forward from every nearby well, but the fire was starting to get out of control. The Trolls started smashing the now fire damaged wood and it splintered even more.

  To the horror of all, one of the Trolls smashed through the wall and grabbed one of the archers then threw him fifty feet. The mad died instantly upon hitting the ground. Other Trolls started to come through the breach, but it was time to head back to the mountain, so they all turned and abruptly left.

  Still having a fire to fight, the troops spent most of the morning putting it out. Istuin examined the smoking ruins of that section of the wall and determined that it there was no way to repair it. He gathered his men together. "We are leaving for the coast. The Trolls will be happy to stay and destroy the city each night for the next week. They will have a lot of houses to burn and it will take them awhile to do it. Staying here will only mean death to us. I want four or five men to go and get the Chancellor. If he refuses to come, tie him up and bring him along anyway. We are running out of people foolish enough to be the Chancellor at this point in time." His men laughed out loud at that one. Istuin didn't know if it was a relief at being able to retreat or because they liked his joke.

  To Istuin’s surprise, his men took him seriously and followed his orders. A few minutes later, a bound and gagged Chancellor emerged being carried by five Elf warriors. The Chancellor was stuffed in a wagon along with the wounded and the army started down the road to the coast. The once proud army was now retreating from a hopeless situation.

  Several hours later, Kolis was released from his bonds. Istuin wanted to see if the Chancellor would go back and die in his Chambers, but Kolis just sat in the wagon and stayed with the troops.

  Dwarves on the Far Shore

  "Land Ho" was heard from the crow's nest on the mast. Sarchise and his Dwarves gathered along the railings to look out and see it. It was just a misty bluish outline at first, but as the ships got closer, they could start to make out the land features. They could see a village on the water’s edge that was visibly overcrowded. There were tents and makeshift shelter surrounding the village. Sarchise thought that he saw smoke in the distance away from the village. The ships sailed gracefully up to the dock. The dock was much larger than the one at South Fort and could hold four of the large Elfish transports at a time.

  When the Dwarves started disembarking the ships, all of the Elves at the riverside didn't know what to do. Dwarves had been an enemy in the past. The ships were still sailed by Elves but that only added to the confusion.

  Verian and his top officers went down onto the dock to see what was going on. The Captain of the ship Sarchise rode on handed Verian a letter that Fannor had written.

  'To Armurous or the current Commander of the Elves,

  Per Chancellor Lanor's instruction, we have asked the leaders of the land of Elvenshore for help. These Dwarves are the first of a larger group that will eventually join the fight against the Trolls.

  Signed,

  Captain Fannor'

  Verian looked up as Sarchise got off the ship. There were four Dwarves on either side of him as guards, along with CommanderRoalig.

  "Who are you?" Verian asked Sarchise.

  "Sarchise adopted Dwarf Prince, and you might be...?"

  "Commander Verian, I have half a mind to put you and these Dwarves back on the ships and send you home, but I need the transports to get the noncombatants out of here. The Trolls will squash this lot between their toes."

  Sarchise was used to dealing with difficult Elves, having been around Amlius for a number of years. "Captain Fannor had a choice of Humans, Valkyrie or Dwarves. He chose the Dwarves as the best race to fight the Trolls."

  "Captain Fannor was badly injured. Perhaps it was the pain talking; besides Valkyrie no longer exists, how would he have had them as an option?"

  "They don't exist? I'll have to tell my wife."

  "Now why would you tell your wife?" Verian asked.

  "Because she is a Valkyrie."

  Verian looked stunned. He then turned to the Dwarves surrounding Sarchise to see if they would betray him as lying about the Valkyrie with their eyes. They did not.

  Sarchise saw that he now had the advantage over the speechless Verian. "What do you have to lose letting the Dwarves fight? They had proved a worthy enemy of yours in the past. You relied on a peace treaty instead of being able to destroy them outright."

  Verian thought for a minute, "You are right, I have nothing to lose. We have already lost almost everything except this village. Now that the Capital has fallen, we will be next. I will provision the ships and send them back out. The two hundred and fifty souls that I set upon these ships might be the last that leave. The rest of us could die here where we now stand. I will expect your help and the help of the Dwarves. If with your added strength, we can last until the seven ships make it back, then that would be a miracle. I would then be able to save three hundred and fifty more."

  "So then let's go work a miracle." Sarchise said with a smile.

  It had been a long time since Verian had heard any optimism. He smiled and led the Dwarves up the hill. Now they would have to find them a place to sleep.

  The village was overcrowded with people everywhere. Tents surrounded all of the houses and buildings. There were even a large number of lean-to shelters. People were shoulder to shoulder on the one street that ran through the middle of the village. Despite the normal cleanliness of the Elves, the street was started to get cluttered. There were few smiles except for those on the faces of those who had been assigned to go on the ships when they headed back out. Those were gathering their belongings and getting ready to leave.

  The food stores of the Capital had been raided and brought to Vil Mawe. They would be provisioned for a long time. Verian led the Dwarves to a bare piece of ground next to the newly finished moat. "This is the only space I have. As people board the ships, I will have some tents and lean-tos that will become available."

  "This will do," Sarchise said. "Do you mind if we go into the surroundings forest and cut some trees down for our own shelters?"

  As an Elf he hated to see trees cut down, but since he no longer believed that he was going to live out the month, he said, "That will be just fine."

  When Istuin and his men arrived at Vil Mawe, Verian was there to greet them. "I thought you were going to fight to the last man. Who gave the order to withdraw from the Capital?"

  Chancellor Kolis spoke up, "I did. There was no use fighting in the streets, the monsters will be happy in the Capital burning buildings for another week. We cannot hurt them, so I didn't see a reason to waste the lives of the men."

  Verian just said, "Very well," and then stormed off angrily.

  Kolis looked at Istuin and said, "You stopped me from doing something I would have regretted; I think that makes us even."

  Istuin bowed and replied, "It does make us even, thank you."

  Kolis looked over and saw Sarchise and his warriors setting up camp. "Are those Dwarves?" description

  Istuin turned to see what Kolis was talking about."I have never seen one before, but that looks to be what has been described to me as Dwarves."

  The Battle for Vil Mawe

  For the next week, the inhabitants of the land watched the nightly fires from the far off Capital. Everyone wondered how long it would take before the Trolls finished their work of destruction and came after them at Vil Mawe.

  Meanwhile the Dwarves had been busy building a rock wall around the inside of the moat. They were using the rocks that were uncovered when the Elves had excavated for the defenses. The outer ring was fill
ed with oil for burning, the inside was the moat, and inside of that was now a rock wall. It was not up very high yet as the Dwarves had to encompass the whole village and all of the refugees.

  Everyones’ heart stood still that first night when they saw the torches of the Trolls approaching from far off. To the Dwarves the monsters looked even bigger than they did to the Elves. When the monsters approached the outer circle, an Elf lit the oil. Fire shot up into the night, a sheet of flames that was as tall as the Trolls. The beasts walked back and forth trying to find a way around the flame. There was none. The fire started to die down, but time had run out for the Trolls. The distance from the mountain was longer here, so they could only spend an hour and a half at Vil Mawe before they had to leave.

  "That went well," Sarchise commented to Verian.

  "Yes, it did, too bad it is going to be a one time deal. We used all the cooking oil that we could gather. Next time things are not going to go so easily for us."

  Darnic and his troops had watched the Capital burn. He knew that it would be the last stand of the Elves at Vil Mawe. His troops had ridden hard so they could see the defenses that first night. When they saw the fire around the village, they knew that they were not needed and left

  The sea journey of the Elves to the swampland had not gone well. Darnic knew that when the two ships returned to the sea port that they would be heading for Elvenshore and not to the swamplands. The reports of the Captains of the ships was that the bay was too shallow and the ships kept grounding.

  The wall wasn't any taller than the height of a Dwarf. Sarchise's men had used up all of the rocks from the dredging of the moat. It was now time to go further afield to find more rock, but Sarchise didn't want them to do that. The time for preparation was over. It was now to save his warriors’ energy for the fight.

  Verian called for a war counsel and invited Roalig and Sarchise to attend. When they two Dwarf leaders arrived, Istuin, Kolis and Darnic Tewl were there also along with four Captains of the Elf armies.

  Darnic had not been told of the arrival of the Dwarves, so when one arrived at the meeting he was taken back. "Where do you hail from?" he finally asked Roalig.

  "I and my tall friend here are from Elvenshore."

  Darnic looked up at Sarchise as Sarchise stood a head and shoulders taller than Darnic. "I thought all of the Elves left Elvenshore."

  "No, they left one, but he is still there. I am Human."

  "A different place, this Elvenshore, they have the extremes in height," Darnic concluded. Humans are as tall as Elves and there is a small Dwarf race.

  Verian spoke up next, "I have been talking to the elders of my people, especially those that are old enough to have fought in the Dwarf wars. They inform me that the Dwarves fought with both spirit and ferocity, and are happy that the Trolls will feel the wrath of your warriors instead of the Elf. I am sorry for my original assessment of your warriors. I was wrong to look at their height and not their hearts."

  "Our enemies have often made that mistake; most of the time it is the last mistake that they make," Roalig said.

  Everyone in the room had a brief laugh over that.

  Verian was down to business, "We still have around eleven hundred refugees to evacuate. The seven ships that went to Elvenshore should be returning soon. Sarchise informs me that they will be bringing more Dwarves with them. We can evacuate another three hundred and fifty when they arrive. The five ships have just left, so it will take a while before they return. The two ships we sent with Mauric should be back soon too. Darnic tells me that the refugees are now stuck in the mud and are having to be rescued. We will not be sending anymore ships in that direction. The most we can hope for is getting another four hundred and fifty of our people to safety.

  Verian continued, "The moat will have timbers lashed together to serve as bridges during the day. They will be withdrawn at nighttime. So anyone on the other side of the moat when night falls will be trapped there all night."

  Darnic spoke next after getting a nod from Verian. "I have fought these beasts before. The best strategy we found was to duck under their swinging clubs and then rush forward. We attacked only the feet, that is where the skin is thinnest. They have a lot of feeling in their feet also. It does not kill them by any means, but it does slow them down in the journey back to the mountain. Sometimes they would not make it back before the sun rose. The sunlight turns them into stone."

  "If would could bring down just one of these monsters, it would improve morale immensely. Right now the warriors are thinking these things are invincible," Verian said. "We don't know if the Trolls will figure a way over the moat, but we have to assume they will. The Dwarves will have the advantage here. They can easily duck under the club swings and put a battleaxe or two in the feet of the beasts."

  "We will do our best," Roalig said.

  The meeting broke up and all of the leaders went back to their respective commands.

  Sarchise looked at the gathering clouds; he wondered how a little rain would impact the battle.

  The Ships to the Swampland

  Things could not have started any worse for Mauric's expedition to the swampland. There was a fight over who would go and who would not. In the end, Mauric chose those who supported him. This caused a considerable bitterness for those he left behind.

  Verian was just happy to get rid of the politician, as he had been a constant pain in his side. Mauric's demands were constant and unreasonable. Finally after the ships were loaded and slipped their moorings, they headed out to sea.

  One of the ships began to leak; the pumps had to be manned constantly until some crewmembers were able to shore it up. The water in the hull had ruined some of Mauric's possessions and he angry and blamed the ship's Captain.

  The ships went slow because the route took them past the leeward part of the land where the predominate winds were blocked by the mountain and hills on the edge of the Far shore.

  Mauric had demanded to sleep in the Captain’s cabin because he was the leader of the expedition. This was a great irritation to the captain, but he gave in with hopes that would be the last of Mauric's demands. He was wrong.

  When they had been out four days from Vil Mawe, there was a major scraping noise and the ship came to a complete stop.

  Mauric went storming up on deck, and started yelling at the Captain, "What is going on, how am I going to get any sleep with these maneuvers of yours?"

  "We have run aground," was the Captain’s simple reply.

  "You imbecile, how could you do this?" Mauric screamed.

  "The charts are in the Captain’s quarters. I could not get in there because you are always there."

  "You are blaming me for your ineptitude?" Mauric was still shouting.

  "Yes, I am," the Captain said, and then motioned for two of his largest sailors to come over. “You will put this man in the brig and get his things out of my cabin."

  "Aye, Captain," the sailors responded with enthusiams.

  "I am the leader of this expedition! You take orders from me," Mauric said.

  "No one outranks a Captain on his own ship, and by your shouting at me, I am holding you for mutiny. If you keep fighting with me I will hang you at the yardarm." The Captain knew it was an idle threat because Elf did not kill Elf, but he wanted that man off his ship. The next best thing was to put him in the brig.

  Mauric was hauled off kicking and screaming.

  It took an entire day to get the ship off the sandbar. They had to wait for high tide and then fasten a tow line between he ships. The other ship was able to pull the stuck one free. A day later the other ship was stranded on another sandbar. The constantly shifting sands of the shallow bays and coves made even the best charts worthless.

  After pulling the other ship off, the two ship Captains anchored and refused to go any further. The ship's longboats were lowered into the water. Mauric was set free and he and his expedition had to row to the edge of the land. The group had to jump out of the boats in knee deep
water and wade the rest of the way to shore.

  After ferrying the longboats back and forth enough times, the ships finally were able to disembark all of the expedition to the shore. When they task was done, the ships started their journey back to Vil Mawe.

  Mauric threatened to have Captain and all of his men banished. He had written all of their names on a tablet.

  The trip back for the ships took a toll. They had to go slow and take constant depth readings to avoid getting grounded again. More than once the ships scraped bottom, but did not run aground. It was to the relief of both Captains to get out of the shallow waters and into the deep.

  Mauric's travels went from bad to worse however, the refugees found themselves in knee deep mud. It was the kind of mud that is thick and pulled their shoes off with every step. Most gave up and went barefoot. Constantly pulling themselves through the mud exhausted the people. When they found a high spot that was free of mud they stopped there.

  Mauric sent out two of the young men with a two days’ supply of provisions to go get help. He refused to go further.

  The young men took three days to get to the bridge that led to the swamplands. They were tired and hungry when they finally arrived on Bon Lathan.

  Marken Garleand five of his clansmen, all on horses, followed the young men to where the refugees were stranded. Marken knew the area very well, having spent a lot of time in the mud lands during his childhood. He was able to find paths that led around the deepest part of the mud. They arrived at the high spot where the stranded group had stopped.

  Mauric was mad, and started yelling at the young men, "Five days! It took you five days to get back here?"

  Marken was unimpressed with Mauric. "You best get going. There are rain clouds on the horizon."

  Mauric looked up at Marken, "I need to be on a horse, I am the leader of this expedition." he said haughtily.