by Clark Graham
Sarchise thought, 'That is why the Troll that knew he was going to die put himself into that position, to help any of the others that might also fall into the moat later on." He was impressed at the enemies tactics.
While he was standing there, Azram came up to him with a something large and bloody in his arms. Azram then dropped the thing at Sarchise's feet. It was then that Sarchise noticed that the thing had a toenail on it. Sarchise laughed, "Congratulations, you get to spend a night in the Vil Loree, the Golden City. “
Azram had a big smile on his face.
This night's death toll was nothing to smile at. There were many more dead and wounded Dwarves. The Humans and the Elves also had a high number of dead and wounded.
The warriors of all three races were exhausted after the most intense fighting yet. The Trolls were finding a way around every one of the tactics that was being used against them.
Exhaustion was the major motivation; however, the toll of the nightly battle was taking hold on the troops. Sarchise made sure that the dead were moved and the wounded were taken care of, then he headed to bed.
Sarchise was awakened early afternoon by Azram. "Sir, five ships have arrived from Elvenshore and they are disembarking Hemlot and a Dwarf army. “
Sarchise ran down to the dock to greet the new arrivals and to see his friend Hemlot. They were all little pale after they journey and looked as if they hadn't made it over the ocean any better than the other Dwarves had.
That night at the war council, Sarchise had all three of his commanders there.
Verian started out the meeting again. "Aron is here in the place of his father." He looked at Aron, "We are sorry for your loss. He was a true friend of the Elf. We will miss his counsel and spirit.” Darnic's loss had been a hard blow to all of them.
Aron replied, "Thank you, he was a wise and noble father and clan leader. It is a great loss to all of us."
Verian continued, "We took a beating last night, but we also hurt a lot of the Trolls. They adapt well to the changing tactics, so those things that work one day, will not work the next."
"One of the Trolls is missing a toe. I want to see if they heal very quickly or other Trolls are taking their place, so be on the lookout for one with a missing toe." Sarchise said.
"It is good that you have additional troops," Verian commented. We can desperately use their help.
"My new strength barely replaces my losses over the past two days," Sarchise replied. "We now have ladders to get over the wall quickly and will not be stuck on one side of it when the Trolls just lean over it and knock us down by the scores."
"A very good idea," Verian replied.
That afternoon the Dwarves contented themselves with sharpening their battleaxes and preparing for the upcoming battle. The new arrivals could only imagine the horror that they soon would face, the veterans knew all too well what the night would bring and feared it.
Taking the Battle to the Enemy
When darkness came at last, the three races were prepared for it. The Dwarves manned the wall. The Elves had flaming arrows at the ready. The Humans were manning the center of the line.
Sarchise could see the fear in the eyes of Hemlot and the other new arrivals when they saw the monsters for the first time. It was a feeling of helplessness that Sarchise had also felt that first night. "Steady men, steady. Remember to go after the feet, nothing else matters, only the feet."
To everyone's surprise the beasts did not have trees with them, but carried a lot of large rocks. They began throwing rocks across the moat.
Everyone took cover the best they could. With two hours of constant bombardment, there were casualties, but not nearly in the numbers they had seen the night before. When the Trolls were over the moat and clubbing the armies.
It was a matter of hiding from the onslaught until the enemy ran out of time and had to head back to the safety of the mountain. After taking care of the wounded the troops went to rest.
After sleeping a few hours, Sarchise and the rest of the leaders went to meet together. This time it was Sarchise who spoke first. ""I can no longer sit idly by and watch my men get killed without taking at least some of the enemy with me. This night I will hide my warriors in the tree line on the other side of the moat. When the enemy arrives, we will wait until the night is nearly up and then we will come out of hiding. I think that being between him and the mountain may just slow him down enough so he does not make it back."
Aron spoke next. "I will be there also, with my men. One of the Elves from the Calvary told me that Fannor was able to take down one of the monsters by using a rope between two horses and tripping the beast. It is worth a try. I wait until the enemy is distracted by the Dwarves and then ride forward with my men and ropes and down all of the beasts. That will also slow them down and make them more vulnerable."
Verian pondered and stood there for a long moment. It was a daring plan, but it just might work. "We will either win a great victory, or we will have a disaster on our hands. Doing something is better than just sitting back and having the rocks kill the rest of us, little by little. I will keep my warriors on this side of the moat, just in case they do come across. I do not want them slaughtering the refugees."
Sarchise observed, "There were only nine of them there last night and none of them had a missing toe. These are different Trolls than the ones we met the other day, and they are starting to run out of unwounded ones. We are having an effect."
With the plan worked out, the ramp was lowered and the Humans and Dwarves crossed, then hid themselves up in the forest. That night the Trolls took no notice of them as they passed. It was another night of the Trolls throwing large rocks over the moat.
When the Trolls were done they turned to go back to the mountain, but the Dwarves had come out of hiding. Their ranks now stood at the ready and were between the monsters and their mountain. The beasts had learned not to take these newcomers lightly, because the small warriors had inflicted a lot of wounds on the Trolls.
After a small pause, thatseemed to take forever, the Trolls charged full ahead with clubs swinging. They were hoping to get through the line of Dwarves as fast as possible. The Dwarves countercharged. The clubs cut a swath through the ranks of warriors but very quickly the Dwarves were in and around the feet of the Trolls and were hacking away.
Howls of pain could be heard as far as Vil Mawe, but the Trolls pressed on. Just when they had gotten through the Dwarves, the Human horsemen and their ropes were upon them. All nine of the Trolls went down, tripped up by the ropes.
This allowed time for the Dwarves to catch back up and the Trolls were getting hit with sharp battleaxes again. Two of the Trolls managed to struggle to their feet and were soon on their way. The other seven were trying to fight off the Dwarves. Swinging their arms, much like someone swatting at swarming mosquitoes. Dwarves were being tossing in every direction. Most were only momentarily dazed and were soon back on the attack.
A battleaxe hit one of the Trolls who was sprawled out on the ground. It cut the neck of the monster. Sarchise saw that the battleaxe had cut through the thick skin of the neck, so he buried his sword into the wound. Soon a river of blood was coming out of the Troll's throat, and the beast's eyes rolled back into his head. The Troll died and immediately turned to stone where he lay.
The rest of the Trolls had regained their feet and were on the way back to the mountain. Some were limping badly and their feet were bleeding. Sarchise wanted to follow the blood trail to see where the monsters went, but he had many wounded Dwarves that needing care, so he just let the enemy go.
The wooded drawbridge was lowered and the Elf army surged forward. The ferocity of the Dwarves in battle had both amazed and pleased them. They wanted to help with the wounded.
The Elves picked up all the dead and wounded Dwarves and Humans and brought them all back across the moat. The healers of both the Elves and Dwarves were plying their trade.
Sarchise walked back across the drawbridge ramp, he jus
t happy to be alive after the intense battle. He was suddenly exhausted and could only think of sleep. Verian, Istuin and Aron were all ecstatic about the battle.
"Victory, we have finally won a victory!" Verian said as he smacked Sarchise's back. To Sarchise it didn't seem like a victory with only one enemy killed and around a hundred of his men down. Sarchise just smiled wearily at them as he made his way to his bedroll and the sweet forgetfulness of sleep.
A Quiet Night
That afternoon when the counsel of war was to be held, they had to wake Sarchise as he was still fast asleep. He had the hardest time waking up. The nightly attacks by the Trolls were taking a toll on him. When he arrived at the meeting, all of the leaders were already there.
Aron started out by reporting, “all of the Elves that headed to Bon Jul arrived there in safety, my men tell me. I have other men shadowing the monsters’ retreat back to the mountain. I should find out if any of the beasts didn't make it by tomorrow.”
Verian was still all smiles, “I think the maneuver by the Humans and the Dwarves was a brilliant success.”
“I am not so sure,” Sarchise said. “We lost a lot of warriors in the process. I cannot afford to take more losses such as that.”
“You defeated a foe that was thought to be invincible. It was a major victory, you should be pleased with yourself,” Verian replied with a smile.
“Never the less, I think I will keep my Dwarves on this side of the moat tonight. It will be easier to dodge rocks than to dodge clubs.”
“I understand,” was Verian’s response.
The meeting adjourned without any new strategies coming forward. Sarchise went back to lie down with instructions to be awakened when darkness fell. He woke up on his own a few hours later. The Dwarf commanders had a table and were gathered around a map studying the Far Shore Sarchise had never seen a map of the whole land before and looked over it.
“The mountain is here, it is about a three or four day walk for a Dwarf, but these creatures make it there and back again in one night ” Hemlot was saying.
“Yes,” Sarchise replied. “They do not follow the road, but go straight at the mountain through forest and dale. That would save some time, and they have a very long stride.”
"True," Hemlot said.
While looking at the map it was amazing to Sarchise that the Humans and the Elves were cohabiting so well. On Elvenshore, the Elves lived in the forests, the Humans on the plains, and the Dwarves lived in the mountains; here there were no visible separation between the two races. There were Elf villages that were between two Human villages.
When darkness fell, the Dwarves manned their position by the wall. The Humans were stationed in the middle to respond to whatever side needed them more. The Elves had arrows ready to light on fire if the Trolls tried to bridge the moat.
The time for the enemy to arrive came and went without any sign of the beasts. All of the races could not figure out what it meant. The ramp was lowered and the horsemen of the Humans went out to scout the area and see if there was somewhere else the monsters had gone. Were they attacking the Human villages closer to home?
Verian and Istuin came up to Sarchise, "I guess we can only sit and wait for any news, "Verian said.
"The only time they did not attack was when it was raining, while I have been here. Have there been any other times when they have not attacked?" Sarchise asked.
"They have attacked every day without fail, except for the rainy days," Verian replied.
"They could be regrouping, getting ready for an all-out push to the coast." Sarchise said.
"I don't want to cross the moat in large numbers until I can get more information from the riders." Verian was worried about an attack over the moat with less than the full strength of all that the armies that were there. Dwarves had been a huge help. Captain Fannor had been right to send them and not Humans. Although, Verian would never admit that fact to Sarchise or his Dwarves.
They had no war counsel that night because nothing had changed and no attack had come, but the commanders still talked about the situation one on one. Again that night the Elves and Dwarves were in position awaiting an attack.
Darkness came and there was still no attack. The armies stood down and went back to their camps.
Later that day, messengers from Aron's horsemen came across the plank over the moat to report that three of the monsters had not made it back after the last battle. All three had turned to stone when the sun hit them. Verian was ecstatic at the news. He again congratulated Sarchise on his major victory.
For a third night, all the races were in battle array. When the time came that the monsters should have been there, nothing came. When the armies were started to go back to their camps, hoof beats were heard in the distance. Aron and five of his men were approaching the moat. Quickly the ramp was lowered into place allowing the men to ride across.
The leaders gathered to see what the Humans had found out.
Aron dismounted his horse and went to report to the group. "The doors of the mountain have closed. We were scouting out around the area of Bon Jul when we felt the rumbling of the ground around us. It was the same rumbling as the first time when the mountain opened up."
The leaders looked around to each other wondering what the implications of the doors closing were. Finally Verian spoke, "I guess that is the end of the war?"
Sarchise shook his head, "We take the fight to the enemy. He has destroyed almost everything in this land. You must know what is going to happen in the future. Are the Trolls going to attack again when you start to rebuild? An enemy just does not just go away he must be defeated once and for all."
"We know so little of this enemy, how many Trolls there are, what are the conditions under the mountain.We could be walking into a trap. There might be hundreds of them down there." Verian responded.
"Now is the time to find the answers for those questions, while you still have an army in place. I say we dig a hole in the mountainside and see the home of the enemy." Sarchise was adamant.
"I agree," Istuin said with conviction. "We have lost almost everything. We need to end this war on our terms."
Verian looked around the room to see the faces of the other leaders were in agreement with Sarchise. The decision was ultimately his, but he knew to listen to the wise advice from the others. He thought of all that had been lost. His people would not rebuild here if they thought that there was a possibility that the Trolls would return. "It looks like it is time to go and explore the inside of the mountain."
A cheer went up from the other leaders.
The Rebuilding of Santera
Elvenshore
Fannor’s wounds were starting to mend. He was able to do more and more to get himself around. The people had cleaned out the houses of Santera and fixed the leaks and damages. The Elves there were even starting to plant the seeds that the Humans had given them. More Elves were coming over the sea and then taking the long journey to the city.
The Elves of the land had elected Fannor as the Chancellor of the Elves of Elvenshore. When most of them had said that they were staying, they had decided to form a government. It was a position that he had not aspired to. Gilead would the head of the army until someone came over who outranked him, then he would become an advisor to the Chancellor.
Armurous was still having pain from his broken legs, when the ship finally docked in Elvenshore. He had no idea what to expect upon his arrival. There were still some Elves in the tent city. Those were the Elves that were waiting to heal a little better before they took up their journey.
As Armurous had watched the city of South Fort come into view, he marveled at the massive walls that surrounded the city. He had forgotten the strength of South Fort. There was nothing like it in the Far Shore. He had left from there a young Captain when he immigrated across the sea, but now as a Commander, he appreciated the strength of a good fort. He thought to himself that if he would have had this fort in the Far Shore, the Trolls would have n
ever breached the walls.
Ives was down at the docks to greet this group of new arrivals. He helped the sailors get Armurous off the ship and then wheel him in a cart towards the tent city. The Elf commander saw something in the Human commander's face that he recognized.
"You are Elf kin."
Ives smiled, "A very long time ago, that was true."
"Are there any more like you here, besides the ones that came back?"
"There is Amlius, he is all Elf," replied Ives.
"Amlius the Elf Slayer?" Armurous asked.
"I would not call him that. He has been pardoned by the Fannor, your new Chancellor in this land. Besides, he is a hero on this side of the sea."
"Why have they created a Chancellor over here? We will have to redo everything when we return to the Far Shore." Armurous was upset.
Ives smiled again, "I don't think that most of the Elves are going to want to return. They are rebuilding their lives as well as the city of Santera. From what I hear, your Far Shore is being destroyed piece by piece."
It was disturbing news to Armurous. He had in his mind that they would all return someday. He watched as ranks and ranks of Dwarves marched past him on their way to board the ships. "It is strange to me that the Dwarves are willing to help us after the wars that we had with them."
Ives looked down at the wounded commander and replied, "They sat out the first Gremlin war and they made that up to the Humans by saving Elvenshore during the second Gremlin war. Now they are making it up to you by saving your Far Shore."
It was all too much for Armurous to take in. His world had just been torn apart. He was badly wounded; he had seen a lot of those he commanded die. He left leadership of his country to a teamster, and now he was finding out that the people he had sent over here were not planning on going back. He lay back in the cart and closed his eyes. When they arrived at the tent city the Humans helped him into one of the tents.