The Map Maker's Choice

by Matthew J. Krengel

  3: Planning an Attack

  It was noon when everyone had gathered back into the big meeting room built into the mansion that served as a home and the command post for the rebels. A large granite table sat in the middle of the meeting area, and Carvin carefully rolled out a map on the surface. Jane and Jackie were sitting next to each other chatting while Jacob stood leaning against the wall. His head seemed to be better, but he was sure he had received a concussion from the blow. Actur stood over the table with his arms folded, looking nervously at the map as it was unrolled.

  “How do we know this one is safe?” Actur rumbled. He took an involuntary step back, despite his size and strength. He knew the power of those who could step through the maps at will. After the battles to free Duluth, he had taken a leadership role in the infantry. He was an easy figure to spot on the battlefield, standing head and shoulders above the tallest human. His bravery was unquestioned and his wisdom on the field legendary among the rebels.

  “Don’t worry. This map is just a plain old map,” Carvin said. He looked around at everyone present. “Jane went over it carefully and gave me the thumbs up. At least I think that’s how you guys say it on the other side.”

  “Perfect,” Jacob replied with a grin. He was feeling much better after getting some sleep, and he wanted to get on with rescuing Tasker. He pushed off the wall and walked the four steps to the table. Spread out across the table was a rough drawing of the land around Isle Royale and a sketch of the island and the defenses they had managed to scout out.

  “Here is what we know,” Carvin explained. He pointed to where Madeline Island was on the map. “As you all know, Madeline Island and the former Prison Isles are our first line of defense from the east. Every week an Adherent supply ship comes up from the south and travels a few miles north of the fortress on its way to Isle Royale. Tomorrow at about noon that ship will pass the fort. We have left them alone for now because we thought the Adherents there were out of the fight. Apparently we were wrong, and now Tasker is paying for that mistake. I’m proposing we take over that supply ship and send in a small force to infiltrate the city and take out their lookout towers to the south. Once we get the signal that the way is clear, we’ll bring a large force up on the Reliant and Ironsides and land them on the southern half of the island. From there we’ll take over the garrison and free anyone there.”

  “What if they use Tasker as a hostage against us landing our forces?” Jane asked. She didn’t want Tasker to become a pawn as they struggled for control of the city. She was concerned about the dwarf. Then she realized how much she really cared for him. Despite his gruff manner and odd ways, she really liked him.

  “That’ll be the job of the other half of the first force,” Carvin replied. “Half will clear the southern watchtowers, and the other half will rescue Tasker and find a defensive position until we arrive.” He pointed to where the main fortress was located on the island. They had all been there one other time and had lost a good friend to Carvin’s father. “He’s probably being held in the dungeons near the castle. It’s their job to get in, find him, and hold out until everyone else arrives.”

  “Will Puck and his goblins be there?” Jacob asked. He had not seen the goblin now in many weeks and wondered if he even knew what was going on in the city. He hated to say it, but he kind of missed the short goblin and the clatter of his hooves on the pavement. Despite his gruffness, the goblin had sacrificed much for the rebels.

  “Yes, we’ll be there!”

  They all jumped as the voice belted out from the door. Puck strode into the room and flopped down in a chair. He looked worn out, and Jane wondered what he had been up to. His finely tailored clothes were rumpled, and his face had a two-day growth of beard on it.

  “Let’s just skip the usual pleasantries and get straight to the planning,” Puck muttered. He ignored the questioning looks and focused on the map laid out before them. Despite being known as the most adept of pranksters, he was not in his usual mood.

  “What’s your problem?” Jacob asked. He focused on the goblin leader, sensing his irritation.

  “Have you ever tried to run a mining business with no workers but a bunch of goblins?” Puck growled. “I don’t know how my kind has ever survived in this world. Half of the workers wander off at a moment’s notice, and the other half are too busy playing pranks on the half leaving to care about mining iron. I thought owning the iron mines would make me rich. So far I have lost half the hair on my head, and I have not made a single gold coin.”

  “Wasn’t much there to start with,” Jacob quipped. He leaned over and looked down at the goblin’s head as if examining it carefully for lost clumps of hair.

  Puck glared at him, then smiled evilly. “Watch it, boy. I’ll have my revenge someday. You’ll never see it coming.” He rubbed his hands together as if beginning to plan his revenge already.

  Jacob gulped and took a step back, cautioned by the devious look in the goblin’s eyes.

  “Okay everyone, let’s focus on this,” Carvin interjected, tapping the map on the table. “We’ll intercept the ship here with the Ironships Freedom and Corsair. After we spot the vessel, we’ll move in with soldiers and board it. The crew will never be able to stop us. We’ll leave the supplies in place and offload most of the crew. Jane, Jackie, Jacob, and myself will lead two teams into the city as night falls. By morning, we’ll have the watchtowers in this area,” Carvin indicated another location on the map, “cleared for Puck and Actur to lead the ground forces in and establish a hold here.”

  Suddenly another voice from the door drew their attention, and Jane squealed with delight as Eriunia strode in. The elf was dressed in leather armor and had her bow slung over a shoulder and a short sword strapped to her waist. She also had a smaller version of the Adherent musket strapped to the other side of the belt. Her face was grim and she looked ready for a war.

  Jane jumped up and ran over to Eriunia. She wrapped her in a big hug, then pulled back and looked up at the elf princess. “I knew you’d come,” she said.

  Bella was perched primly on Eriunia’s shoulder, and Jane smiled at the fairy, as well. “Thanks, Bella.”

  “It was easy,” the fairy said loftily. “I told you I knew right where she was, sort of.” With a flip of her wings she floated down to the table, where she sat on the edge and crossed her legs. She smiled at everyone in the room and started to clean her nails with a small sliver of wood.

  Eriunia put her hands on her hips. “Bella, you walked into a private meeting of councilors from a score of nations and said you needed to talk to me immediately. As if that wasn’t bad enough, you threatened to drop fairy magic all over them until they gave in. I’m still surprised the pharaoh didn’t have you locked up in the City of the Dead just to prove a point,” Eriunia said. She smiled when Bella grinned sheepishly and kicked at the edge of the table. “It’s okay, I don’t think he would have.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t have done anything permanent,” Bella replied. “I was just going to make them all float in the air until they told me where you were.” She adjusted her small green skirt to cover a little more of her legs.

  They all grinned. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jackie couldn’t contain a laugh. The conversation on the battle plan lasted another half hour, and then they all scattered to prepare.

  “We’re leaving tomorrow morning,” Carvin reminded everyone as they exited the room. “Make sure you’re ready.”

  Jane and Jacob waved as they left the room and walked to where Tasker had set up a small workshop in the basement. The dwarf had leaned a large painting of the North Shore against one wall. It showed the cliffs around Split Rock Lighthouse and great waves crashing against the stone. The beam of light that shot across the water was painted in brilliant whites and yellows.

  “Why do you think they kidnapped Tasker?” Jacob asked. He shuffled around the wor
ktable and looked at the collection of tools and half-completed projects spread out across it.

  “He’s the heart and soul of this rebellion,” Jane replied. “Cut the head off the snake?” It might be that simple, she thought, but she had a feeling there was more to it than just revenge for the defeats they had handed the Temple.

  “You know, a couple of months ago, I would’ve agreed with you,” Jacob countered. “But now . . . I don’t know. I think it’s grown bigger than just Tasker trying to right the wrongs of the past. I mean, Carvin has everyone hopping and has this attack planned. Eriunia dropped everything to return and lead the charge, and Puck’s back, for whatever that’s worth.”

  They both chuckled, knowing Jacob was exaggerating. The goblin leader had returned when informed of the kidnapping.

  Jane walked around the workbench as they grew silent. Jacob was lost in his own thoughts, and she was lost in hers. She circled the area twice before she stopped and looked at the bench. An array of gadgets and devices lay scattered about. Tasker had begun disassembling an Adherent repeater and sketching out the plans for it. She flipped through the pages and noticed he had marked places where the designs could be improved. As she got to the last couple pages, she found that Tasker had sketched future plans for the city and the area. He’d made drawings of a Duluth that sprawled out into a grand commercial hub for the iron, timber, and mineral trades. Even beyond that, he wanted to build halls for craftsmen to build products out of those resources and sell finished goods. Slowly a tear crept into Jane’s eyes as she closed the book, and a grim determination filled her to make whoever had taken Tasker pay dearly for it.

  As she was turning away from the table, she noticed a slip of paper tucked under the edge of the compass Tasker had given her so many months ago. She had left it on this side, never really understanding why he had given it to her. He had fashioned a golden chain for it, and she picked it up and slipped it around her neck. The compass was small enough that it could pass for a necklace and wouldn’t get in her way in a fight, so she decided to wear it to remind her of the odd things Tasker did.

  “Hey, look here,” Jacob said suddenly. He was standing across from Jane and lifted the loose sheet of paper that had been underneath the compass, on which was scrawled a single sentence. The paper itself was battered and creased and looked like it had been folded several times. It read, “Beware the dark one—he seeks the hiding place,” and it was signed with the initials “L.L.”

  “Who’s L.L.?” Jane muttered. She took the paper and turned it every which way before handing it back to Jacob. The lettering was careful and precise, and when she held it she thought it emitted a slightly earthy smell.

  “I don’t know, but apparently someone was trying to warn Tasker something or someone was coming,” Jacob replied. He put the paper back down on the desk and turned to a weapons rack fastened to the stone wall. He took down the single repeater stored there and checked the charge. It was ready to go so he slung it over his shoulder and held out his hand to Jane. “Let’s go get him back.”

  Together they left the room and headed back to the main floor where everyone was gathering. As Jane stepped out onto the porch again, with Bella on one shoulder and a musket slung over the other, she looked around. Duluth on this side had erupted in a military frenzy. Rebel soldiers rushed about gathering supplies and equipment. Already, lines of soldiers marched toward the docks, where they would gather aboard the Ironships. The enemy had kicked a nest of hornets. The rebels were spoiling for a fight now, and a grim determination filled every one of their faces.

  “Let’s go make them pay for not leaving us alone,” Jane growled. She could hardly believe she was saying this, but after all she had been through and what she had seen of the Adherents, even she was ready for a fight.

  4: Back to Isle Royale

  Jane stumbled as they erupted from the mushroom circle and stopped for a moment to gain her bearings. They were standing on the hill opposite the fort on Madeline Island, and she could see that a small village had grown up over the last few months around the walls—dozens of dwellings, a corral with horses. Several people had planted gardens, protected by rough timber fences. The docks had been repaired, and two big iron steamships were moored against them. Word seemed to have preceded them because she saw a frenzy of activity around the ships as supplies were loaded. It was early morning yet and the sun was just now lending its full light to the scene before her. A contingent of lightly clad troops filtered onto one of the ships.

  “Looks like they’re almost ready,” Carvin said. He had come through the circle first and was shouldering his equipment. Behind them a half dozen more rebels poured through the opening, each escorted by either a goblin or a fairy.

  “We need more people who know the lower paths,” Jane said to Carvin as she and Jacob joined the hike toward the fort.

  “I agree, but that’s not something you can just teach to someone,” Carvin explained. “It takes months of exploring with someone who knows where they’re going to get good at navigating the paths. Puck is the only one I’ve ever seen who never takes a wrong turn.”

  “Oh, please don’t say that around him,” Jacob groaned. “We’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “Hear the end of what?” Puck said from directly behind them. “Did someone say my name?”

  “Never mind,” all three of them piped at once.

  “Well, fine. Be that way,” Puck grumbled. The goblin was so happy to be away from the iron mines he didn’t care what they were talking about. Why in the world did he ever decide he wanted to be a respectable businessman? What a stupid idea, he grumbled silently. Maybe he could sell the iron mines to the rebels in Duluth. That way he could make a profit, and the headache of running them would fall to Tasker.

  According to Jane’s watch, it took thirty minutes to finish loading the ships. Then both vessels pushed out of the docks and steamed north, disrupting the calm water.

  “We have spies watching the supply ship,” Carvin said, “and they said it was moving right on schedule.”

  He stood on the thick deck planks of the ship, hands clasped behind his back. Jackie stood nearby, leaning on the railing next to Jane. Jacob was inspecting the edges of his dragon-scale shield, looking for any sign of wear. The shield remained undamaged despite the number of times it had been hit with musket fire and struck with weapons.

  “Who’s that?” Jane asked curiously. She wondered if Yerdarva had returned from the mountains. She didn’t think that was possible, though, considering her baby was just getting his feet under him. Still, a dragon would be a great aid in the coming battle.

  “Couple of merpeople from the Greek Isles,” Carvin explained. “They were visiting the Great Lakes, and we convinced them to keep an eye on the ship for us.”

  Another hour of anxious waiting passed. Oddly, Jane found out that even using her map, she could not see the Adherent ship. Apparently the Adherents were working on ways to avoid the attacks that had lost them so many of their precious ships. She knew they would have to capture someone who knew how they were managing it and find a way around the shielding.

  “There it is!” a lookout posted atop a tower in the middle of the ship shouted down to those on the deck.

  “This is it,” Carvin ordered. “Get ready for battle.”

  Jane primed the musket she was carrying and stood between Eriunia and Jacob. They could see the Adherent supply ship moving along quietly, still unaware it was being stalked.

  “All right, bring in some fog,” Carvin said to Jane. “Just enough to mask our approach.” He didn’t want a repeat of the storm they had told him about the first time the rebels had sailed against Madeline Island.

  Jane turned to the table out on the deck and unrolled her map. She began drawing in bits of fog blowing in from the south. After a few minutes, the rolling wisps of fog began to drift over them.
All went quiet except for the chugging of the steam paddle. Everyone waited for the moment to strike, grappling hooks held in anxious hands, two score of the rebellion’s toughest fighters waiting patiently. Four minotaur warriors would anchor the raiding party. They waited with eager smiles on their bovine faces. Five elves, outcasts from their society for joining the cause, stood ready to fight for their new home. Bella was sitting on Jackie’s shoulder, her fairy magic ready to help in any way possible.

  “Jackie, give it a try,” Carvin encouraged.

  They had decided to try Jackie’s skill as an engineer. As the ship drew closer, she began constructing a bridge between them. The alarm on the Adherent ship didn’t get raised until they were a hundred yards from them and closing fast.

  “Now!”

  Jackie dropped the bridge she had constructed when the ships were twenty feet apart, and the rebel forces swarmed across it. As the attack got underway, a dozen ropes and grappling hooks were thrown across. Soon the vessels were tightly bound together.

  The battle was short lived, and the crew of the cargo vessel surrendered when they realized they were horribly outnumbered.

  “Get them back to Madeline Island and lock them up for now,” Jane ordered. She watched until all of the crew had been searched and taken aboard the rebels’ ship. “Now then, let’s get that old tub underway and go free Tasker.”

  The freighter was a stripped-down, smaller version of an Ironship and looked to have been an early model, something built while the Adherents were trying to work out the kinks in their designs. It had a massive central cargo space divided into thirds, each section filled with crates and barrels.