by Allan Joyal
Natalie immediately put a hand up. "We need to get some people freed up to help weed the fields," she said firmly. "Verval, Esme, and I have been going there during the day to run the irrigation system and do what we can, but we need a lot of help."
"How bad is it?" I asked as I looked back at the wall. "You do realize we have horde of Orcs wanting to get over that wall and kill us all."
Natalie laughed bitterly. "Of course I know, but that doesn't change the fact that if we spend too little time in the fields we all get to starve to death next spring. I've done what I can to ensure that we get a good crop and Verval has added all of his knowledge. He's impressed by how quickly some of the plants are growing, but we need to keep weeds from sprouting. That's what I need people for."
"Weeding?" I asked.
"Don't laugh," Natalie said sharply. "The grains and vegetables we planted don't need competition from other plants. They need to get all of the water and fertilizer we provide, not have it leeched away by some vine we can't eat. I need people to help me get rid of the weeds and we might need someone to pluck bugs. It looks like some kind of butterfly has tried planting eggs on some of the tubers."
"Sounds like something for the kids," I said carefully.
"Who are all helping assemble the platforms or are actually standing watch," Natalie snarled. "I understand that they know how to use a sling, but I need them."
"How bad is it right now?" I asked.
Victoria took my arm. "Why don't we walk to the fields? I can explain."
Natalie frowned, but nodded and then wandered over by the fire where Kariy was cooking another stew. I allowed Victoria to guide me to a path that led back to the meadow where we had first camped.
Once we were in the trees, Victoria sighed. "Ron, Natalie is just tired and scared. Verval, Mary, and I have gone with her every day to help in the fields. We could use some help, especially to keep the herds out."
"Don't we have a fence?" I asked. "I remember building one."
"We do, and it works well, but the herds still wander near. Ideally I'd move them elsewhere," Victoria responded.
"Actually I'm thinking that next year we plant in the meadows we've found upriver and the herds can have this field. That should help keep the water cleaner in the river," I said as we continued to walk. "What about the crop? Will we have a good harvest?"
Victoria shrugged. "I was a shopgirl, not a farmer. Verval seems extremely surprised by how well the crops are growing. Natalie isn't as positive, but…. Ron, Natalie is pregnant."
I looked at Victoria. "When?"
"I'm guessing sometime during our trek here. I believe it's Krysbain's, but Natalie isn't going to tell anyone who the father is. Anyway, that's why she's worrying so much. She can't help at the wall due to her leg, so she's obsessing over the crops."
I sighed. We had just left the trees, and I could see the fields in front of me. They had only been planted for about twenty-five days, but many of the plants were two feet tall or taller. Neat rows of green stretched from the river to the cliff face.
"This appears to have grown," I observed. "I don't remember planting all the way to the cliff."
"Verval's idea. He thinks the winter will be mild and late, and he thought we might try planting some more wheat. He hopes the extra would help both in the spring and give us more seeds to plant next year," Victoria said.
"And I'd plant more, but everyone is at the wall," Verval said from behind us.
"You followed," I said.
"Thank you captain obvious," Victoria said as Verval snorted.
"I wanted to talk to you in private," Verval insisted. "And when you are at the wall, everyone is paying attention to you."
"And I’m paying attention to the Orcs," I pointed out.
"I hope you are," Verval said. "I never thought we needed the wall. Even when you brought that orc head and dumped it at my feet, I thought shelter was more important."
"The wall is a shelter of sorts," I pointed out.
"I know," Verval said sadly. "Fortunately, the nights haven't been very cold. And the Orcs don't want to attack the wall for some reason. I do want to see my child born."
"You will," Victoria said. "I'll make sure of that."
Verval looked surprised as I laughed. "Don't be too surprised. A woman can do surprising things to protect her family, and it's clear Victoria considers you her husband."
"I do," Victoria said as she reached out to embrace Verval. "But we aren't here to talk about that. Tell Ron your thoughts."
Verval nodded. "The crops are growing well, but I agree with Natalie that they need more attention. I've gotten some help from Corwar and Soldrin. They come by and help in the morning and evening most days. The girls also help when they head out to check the herds, but they rarely do much."
"Sounds like you've had a lot of help. I'm guessing that Esme and Mary help as well," I said.
"Mary does," Verval said. "Esme will help with the irrigation, but she doesn’t touch the plants or try to weed. She said she needs to keep her hands clean in case there is an injury." The man frowned.
"That might be a good idea," I said trying to avoid a problem. "In our land we discovered that one of the things that made injuries go bad was getting dirt into the wound. Doctors who kept their hands clean will have more patients survive treatment."
Verval shrugged. "I don't know, but I do know that the crops are doing fine for now. But this is the calm period. Other than to water and weed there isn't much to do. However, some of the tubers will be ready to harvest soon. We could use more hands for that."
"I can't make any promises, but the orcs have to leave sometime," I said. "I can't imagine there is much food left, and they have to be getting desperate."
Verval nodded, but he still looked unhappy. He glanced over at Victoria who smiled serenely. I was about to say more when a cry of alarm rang out from the wall. I jumped around Verval and started running.
Chapter 33: The Orcs Take the Field
Several more cries rang out as I dashed through the trees. Most of the cries appeared to be coming from the north area of the wall where we had first encountered the orcs. I weaved through the trees, running as fast as I could.
I broke into the clear and could see Krysbain standing on the ground. He was looking to the south.
"Keep someone in one of the towers down there," he shouted. "But bring everyone else including that crossbow."
I ran up to him. "Sorry, I was checking the crops. What is the situation?"
"Two hundred orcs have entered the clearing," Hencktor called out. I looked at the wall and realized he was standing just above me. Jeff stood to his right. The young college student was shaking as he looked out.
"So many," Jeff moaned out. "They will get over the wall with ease."
"I doubt they know how to make a pyramid of bodies," I said. "More likely they'll try to throw hooks over the wall and pull it down."
"And it's not like this wall won't fall over," Jeff said with a groan. "It's flimsy."
"They don't know that," I pointed out. "And we can cut the ropes or vines they use if we work quickly. That's what we'll need to do." I put my left hand on the platform and vaulted up onto the platform.
Jeff glanced at me shock on his face. "You just jumped up five feet!" he commented as I looked out over the wall.
I ignored the comment as I looked out across the clearing we had created. At the far side standing in front of the trees were four rows of orcs. Each row appeared to contain twenty warriors. One large orc holding an elaborate staff was in the center of the formation. He was shouting something as the other orcs shifted and looked away.
"They don't seem too eager," I said quietly. "Jeff, to answer your questions, I've spent the last few months hiking across this continent and eating fresh food. I'm in the best shape of my life."
"Hopefully that will make a difference," I heard Aine say from my left. I glanced that way to see that Gertrilla was in the tower to my left while
Aine, Borlan, and Al were standing on the platform behind that tower.
"It should," Al said from my right. I looked that way and found Shaylin standing in the tower. Hencktor and Al were on the platform behind her.
Before I could reply, the orc in command shouted something and raised the staff above his head.
"That's a mage staff!" Shaylin said, surprise tinging her words. "How did they get it?"
"Can he do anything with it?" I asked worriedly as the front line of orcs raised their hands. I could see that each one was holding a barbed wooden hook in one hand and some rope in the other.
"Not that I can imagine," Shaylin said. "You'd need to know what enchantments were put into it, and even then, most mages made sure that they were the only ones who could use a staff they made. At least that is what I understand."
"I've read the same things," Gertrilla said. "It was one of the few books about the fall I ever found that had that information. The author blamed female wizards for introducing the practice."
"And I'm sure that a male wizard wrote that down," Aine said scornfully.
I could hear Al inhale deeply, but before he could speak the first rank of orcs charged forward with a roar.
"Here they come!" I shouted.
The roar from the orcs made it impossible to hear the whirr of the sling Gertrilla immediately raised over her head. I lowered the point of my spear and braced my legs for impact.
The charging orcs had covered about twenty feet when one stumbled and then collapsed to the ground. Another took two more steps and then grabbed his right arm. I could see a crossbow bolt impaled through the monster's forearm as it turned away from the fight.
The others continued forward. Shaylin shouted something, and a series of purple balls of light shot from her hands.
Two more orcs collapsed to the ground as the purple missiles impacted. A couple more orcs stopped charging, but the remainder passed the halfway point of the clearing and continued their advance.
Gertrilla unleashed her sling. Her shot missed, flying over the heads of the orcs. She frantically grabbed the loose end and began wrapping it around her fingers so she could try to fire again.
"What do we do?" Jeff asked frantically as several orcs slowed and threw their hooks toward the wall.
"Cut the vines from those hooks," I called out. "Do not get hooked, but we need to keep them from pulling the wall down."
The first wave of hooks started coming down. Two fell short. A third barely cleared the wall between Jeff and me. The hook caught on the top of our wall and the vine holding it immediately pulled taut.
"What do I do?" Jeff asked.
"Cut the rope before they pull on the hook," I called out.
Jeff stood frozen. I turned so I could reach out with my spear. Just as I was about to lean forward another hook flew just in front of me. It missed the wall and the platform as it fell toward the ground on our side of the wall. Then the vine attached to it began sliding back over the wall. The hook recoiled back until it caught on the edge of the platform. The structure lifted up for a moment.
Jeff screamed in surprise. "Get that one, I got this!" I shouted as I slid the blade of my spear under the vine. I lifted the blade into the vine just as the orcs heaved against it. The platform started to rise up again, but then the blade caught on the vine and sliced through it.
The hook fell away from the platform. As the platform settled back down, the cut end of the vine whipped up and slashed me just above my right eye.
My face burned, but I kept both hands on my spear and spun around to face the orc horde. I could see that three orcs had grabbed the vine from the hook that had caught the top of the wall. I started to move toward it, but Jeff leaned over the wall and slashed the vine with his spear. The snapping vine fell away.
Just below us a group of orcs tumbled to the ground. "Good job," I called out.
Jeff nodded grimly and then looked out at the pile of orcs at the base of the wall. One rolled onto his back and threw one of the remaining hooks towards us. It failed to reach the top of the wall, tumbling back to the ground and striking one orc in the thigh.
I was moving to see if any of the orcs would offer me a clear shot at their back. Another roar rang out from the far side of the clearing. I looked up to see the next line of orcs raising their clubs.
A high pitched feminine voice shouted something I could not understand. From the tower to my right, a ball of fire about the size of a basketball shot towards the charging orcs. Just before it met them on the field it exploded, unleashing a sheet of flame and heat. Jeff and I both had to drop down on the platform to escape a few flares that came back towards us.
When I stood back up and looked I found that the line of orcs had been devastated by the blast. The right side of the line was lying scattered and burned, while the left was running back towards the trees.
"Wow," I heard Jeff mutter.
"Shay!" Victoria called out from behind me.
I turned to look at the tower. Shaylin was slumped down so her arms hung over the walls, dangling towards the orcs. I could see one orc looking at her hands and readying himself to leap.
"Switch," I said to Jeff as I pushed him towards the wall and jumped around him on the narrow platform.
"Is she dead?" Jeff hissed as I dashed across the platform. The one orc was now charging toward the wall. I lunged to grab Shaylin and pull her from the platform. Her body felt limp as I rolled her onto her back and laid her down on the tower's floor.
"Did I get them?" she asked sleepily.
"You did good," I said. "Where are you hurt?"
"Not hurt, just tired. I didn't realize that spell took so much energy," Shaylin said without opening her eyes. Her head rolled to this side as she sighed. She was still breathing, but it was clear that she needed rest.
"Ron?" I heard Victoria call from just below me. "What happened? I saw the fireball or whatever that was, and then she collapsed."
"I think casting the spell exhausted her," I replied. "We need to get Esme to check her and get someone else on the tower. Can you take her?"
I lifted the limp body of Shaylin and held her out. Victoria stepped forward and reached up to take the body from me. Her eyes widened as she looked up at me. "Ron! I can see bone above your eye. You're bleeding badly."
"I don't have time to bleed," I said firmly. "We have a battle going on."
Esme ran up and looked up at me. "Ron, you are cut to the bone, get down here. It needs to be checked."
"We have orcs attacking," I replied.
"And if you can't see out of one eye because it's covered by blood, you can't fight well. I'll work fast," Esme said. "Get down here."
"What about the tower?" I asked.
"I've got it," Soldrin shouted as he ran up and jumped. His hands grabbed the edge of the platform, and he pulled himself up.
I sighed as Victoria took Shaylin from me. As she lowered the unconscious girl to the ground, she frantically scanned the body. Eventually she shook her head. "I don't see any injuries."
"She woke when I first reached her," I informed Victoria as I jumped down from the platform. "Apparently that fireball spell took a lot out of her. She probably needs rest and then something to drink."
Victoria nodded and then turned to carry Shaylin away. Esme grabbed my head and forced me to look her into her eyes. She stared for a moment before releasing her left hand. Her right kept a firm grip on my hair, preventing me from turning my head.
"Your pupils aren't showing signs of a concussion," she said. "But I can see your skull from that cut. I need to clean it and then sew it up."
"We don't have time," I said as several thunks could be heard from sections of the wall. I need to be up on the platform defending.
"You'll end up with a nasty scar if I don't sew the wound shut," Esme snapped. "Can you live with that?"
"Hopefully, Heather and Cimbra can," I said impatiently. "But if the orcs get over the wall, it won't matter how big this one wound wil
l scar, because we'll all be dead."
"I'll hurry," Esme said. "I’m just waiting for Natalie to get here. She has the clean water."
"How are the casualties so far?" I asked.
"Shaylin is down as you know. Hencktor got hit in the shoulder by one of those hooks. He was leaning over to cut one rope, and another hook caught his left shoulder," Esme said as she pulled a clean piece of cloth from a pouch.
"How bad is it?" I asked.
"He'll be able to use the shoulder tomorrow," Esme said. "The hook was too blunt to break the skin, but his shoulder is heavily bruised. I have him resting the arm."
"But that leaves Al alone on that platform," I said worriedly. I tried to turn to look, but Esme grabbed both of my ears and held me firmly.
"Gerit took over and Borlan joined them," Esme said. "There are more people here than just you. Now hold still so I can clean this wound."
"With one cloth?" I asked as Esme released my right ear.
"No, with cold water and a clean cloth," Natalie said as she took the cloth from Esme's hands. I could hear water trickle to the ground. She handed the cloth back to Esme.
"Hold his head," Esme instructed her lover. "I need to see how bad this wound really is. Frankly, I'm stunned Ron isn't complaining about being unable to see out of that eye."
Natalie put her hands on the top of my head, holding it in place as Esme brought the now wet cloth up to my forehead. She carefully rubbed my skin. I could feel the cloth pulling at my brow. It was uncomfortable, but cooling as she worked.
After a minute Esme hissed. She kept up with her cleaning for another moment and then looked over my shoulder at Natalie. "I need a bandage," she said. "We need to cover this before Ron gets back on the wall."
A long strip of beige linen was thrust over my shoulder. Esme took it and placed an end just above my right ear. "Don't move," she said as she began winding the cloth around my head."
"I don't remember getting anything like this," I said as Esme started wrapping the bandage around my head.
"You didn't," Esme said as she pulled the bandage tight against my forehead. "Natalie and I went into Saraloncto one night and got some things. This was one of them. I wanted more bandages."