A Gathering of Armies

by Christopher Williams

  At first the farms they passed were large plantations. The land closest to the Southern Road was the most valuable, so it had been doled out by Lord Steel to his richer supporters. The entire first day all they passed were the large farms with many workers. As they rode past, they could see the workers scrambling to harvest the crops quickly. Every farm that they saw had fires burning the crops that either would not be ready for an early harvest, or there simply wouldn’t be time to harvest.

  Atock found the sight of all those crops being burnt depressing. It had to be done, though. There wasn’t any point in leaving the food for the invading army. As always, thinking of the goblin army sent a shiver of worry through his stomach. On the one hand, Zalustus had said the armies would reach Telur sometime in the summer, but Atock was terrified of what would happen if no army showed up. Most likely, Lord Steel’s bondmen would revolt at having burned their own crops for no reason. He shook his head and tried to dismiss the worrisome thoughts. It’s in the God’s hands now, he thought.

  They made camp that first evening in a small grove of trees that grew in between the fields of two large plantations. They didn’t bother with a campfire, as it would only draw attention and Atock was sure that the landowners wouldn’t want armed men camping on the edge of their property.

  The nights were warm and a fire was unnecessary. They hobbled their horses, ate a small, cold meal, and quickly fell asleep. Atock and Enton were in agreement that a guard was not needed. Both men were light sleepers and anyone who tried to approach their camp through the trees would make quite a racket. Being a light sleeper was both a blessing and a curse as both men slept fitfully and woke many times during the night.

  All three men were awake and moving before the sun came up and they quickly broke camp. Another cold meal and they were mounted and heading eastward again.

  The second day started out much as the first had gone. They rode past more large landholdings where the workers scurried about in a frenzy. It began to slowly change as the afternoon came on. The large plantations were given by Lord Steel as a fief to a family, but they were worked by a large number of peasants who were allowed to live there in return for their labor. Early in the afternoon, they rode past the first large, family-owned farm. While this farm was still a large landholding, it was owned by a family and not given by Lord Steel. The workers that toiled in the fields on these farms were not peasants but hired hands, free to come and go as they wished. They rode through until dusk, the farms getting smaller with each hour that passed.

  That night they made camp in a farmer’s empty field. The field hadn’t been farmed in several years, perhaps to let it lie fallow for a time. They led their horses roughly a hundred yards away from the road to where several thick bushes were growing. On the other side of the bushes was a shallow depression. It wasn’t much shelter, but between the bushes and the depression, they were hidden from the view of anyone traveling the road at night.

  They set a watch that night, although neither man was much pleased with the idea. Unlike the woods they had slept in the night before, the farmer’s field wouldn’t give much warning of an intruder. Attackers could easily sneak up upon them while they slept. Neither Guardian much fancied the idea of waking up dead.

  They let Gilga fall asleep first, which didn’t take long since he was so tired from the long day of riding, then they drew lots to see who would get the first watch. The honor fell to Atock, and Enton promptly headed straight to his blankets.

  Atock moved off to the end of the depression and sat behind the bushes, watching the road. It was long and tiring work, trying to stay awake when he was so exhausted. He wasn’t sure, but he was afraid that he had fallen asleep once before while on watch and he was determined not to let it happen again.

  The night was warm, but not uncomfortably so, and there was a steady breeze blowing. Although they were a mile or two from the river, there was still the river smell in the air. It was a smell that Atock missed. His homeland was an island nation and he missed the ocean breeze on his face and the smell of the salt air.

  The night passed slowly but quietly. Atock woke Enton when it was his turn to keep watch and then gratefully collapsed into his blankets.

  All too soon morning came and they continued eastward. At first, the farms they passed were the same as the day before, large but family owned. As the day wore on, the farms quickly changed. By lunchtime, the farms were small with sections of woods growing between them. By the time they made camp that evening, they hadn’t seen a farm in over an hour.

  “Probably won’t either,” Gilga said while chewing on a biscuit. “There were some brigands operating on the river a few years back. Drove all the remote farms away. Hard to make a profit when you keep getting robbed.”

  “How much farther to the Narrows?” Atock asked.

  “Four or five days I expect,” Gilga answered. “To be honest I never traveled there over land. Always went by ship before.” He waved his biscuit in the direction of the horses. “They’re going to slow us down from here on out.”

  “Why?” Enton asked.

  “’Cause with no more farms, we’re also not going to have any more roads. Best you can hope for is a trail, and a lot of them will lead away from the river; not the way we want to go.”

  “Couldn’t we ride the horses along the riverbank?” Atock asked.

  “Perhaps,” Gilga agreed, “but only for a while. In many places, trees grow right out over the water.” He shook his head. “If we need to get there quick, we should leave the horses behind.”

  Atock and Enton shared a look, neither one much liking Gilga’s suggestion.

  Gilga grinned, catching the interplay between the two men. “You don’t have to decide now. We can at least start tomorrow on the horses, but I daresay that’ll you’ll agree with me by sundown.”

  They left their camp the next morning before the sun was even up, riding slowly eastward. For several hours, it appeared that Gilga’s dire warnings were unfounded, but by noon they were in thick woods and most of the trails they came across seemed to head north, not east.

  They spent the next several hours trying to force their way through the thick brush. Two hours after they stopped for lunch, they hadn’t even made it a quarter of a mile. The trees and brush grew together thickly and made getting horses through damn near impossible. Finally, after backtracking for what seemed like the hundredth time, Atock motioned Enton to move his horse nearer.

  “What?” Enton demanded. His tone was angry, not at Atock, but at the time they were wasting.

  Atock motioned in the direction of Gilga, who was busy looking anywhere but at the two Guardians. “I think he’s right. We need to go on foot.”

  Enton’s only acknowledgment was a rumble in his throat, it sounded rather like a dog’s growl.

  “I say we travel back to that abandoned farm and put the horses in the old pasture. There’s plenty of water and grass to keep them safe until we return.”

  “If they’re still there,” Enton said, sighing deeply. “Most likely some farmer or highway man will stumble across them and thank the gods above.”

  Atock shrugged. “Perhaps, but prior to that farm, we hadn’t seen anything for several miles.” He paused and then added, “And with the king’s orders, all the farmers are plenty busy right now.”

  Enton glanced at Gilga, who was busy looking backwards, apparently studying the route they had followed. “He’s gonna love this.”

  As it turned out, Gilga was more humble than they had expected. Either that, or he was unsure of the Guardian’s status. After all, they had been in council with Lord Steel; it simply wouldn’t do for a peasant to mock his betters.

  They traveled back they way they had come for a little over a mile. For all the time it had taken them to travel eastward that mile, it was much easier to retrace their steps. Actually, it was a bit frightening how much of a trail they had left; a blind tracker could have followed it.

  They reached the abandone
d farm late in the day; there was less than an hour of sunlight left, so they agreed to camp there for the evening. The house had burnt down long ago, leaving little more than scattered, charred timbers. At least the fences were still standing; Atock checked them while the others made camp. He didn’t much like the idea of leaving their horses, but he wanted to make sure the fences didn’t fall over at the first bump. They weren’t in the greatest shape, but he hoped they would contain the horses at least for several days.

  Atock returned to find the others setting up camp in the old barn. It was the only building that remained standing and they were pleased to have a roof over their heads. During the last hour, the sky had darkened; thick, boiling clouds blew in quickly and the air already had that cool, wet feel to it. It wouldn’t be long before the sky would open up.

  Sure enough, the sun hadn’t even set yet when the rain began to fall. Within minutes it was pouring.

  The roof of the old barn wasn’t perfect, but it did keep the majority of the rain off, although they had to adjust their locations several times.

  The barn smelled like horses, but that wasn’t an unpleasant smell.

  They made a small fire and ate their first warm dinner in several days. It wasn’t much, warmed meat and bread, but it was wonderful to them.

  Atock and Enton agreed that a watch was unnecessary. Anyone trying to enter the old barn would cause enough noise to wake the dead. With that, all three men rolled up in their blankets and promptly fell asleep.

  They rose before dawn the next morning, packed up their belongings, checked once more on their horses, and then started eastward. They also angled a bit to the south. Being on foot would make it easier to get through the thick brush and the only reason they had stayed as far north as they had was to try and stay on the farmer’s roads. As the roads had gone away, there wasn’t any reason to avoid the river.

  They made better time than they had the day before, but it would have been hard to travel any slower. They soon found that it was impossible to travel in a straight line. They kept finding that the woods forced them a bit to the north, or a little farther south. Overall, they moved in an easterly direction, but it wasn’t due east by any means.

  In addition to the thick woods, numerous small creeks and inlets blocked their path. If possible, they swam their way across these obstacles, but several times they were forced to circumvent the obstacle by traveling north.

  That night they made camp under several large trees. They didn’t dare risk a fire, as it would surely draw anyone in the vicinity. They had passed out of the civilized area into the wilds; anyone living here would do so for a reason.

  “Maybe it’s a good thing if Zalustus’s army crosses at the Narrows,” Enton said when they had all laid down that night. Their cold supper had been neither plentiful nor enjoyable.

  “What? Why would you say that?” Atock asked.

  Gilga remained silent, watching and listening as the two Guardians talked.

  “Well, surely any army that crossed the river around here would be stuck in these god-forsaken woods.”

  Atock was momentarily speechless. He hadn’t considered that point, but it made sense now that Enton had spoken it aloud. He slowly turned his head to look at Gilga. “Well?” he asked.

  Gilga shook his head. “Sorry, but the land east of here quickly turns to grasslands. Any army that crossed there could head northeast and then turn back to the northwest towards Telur.”

  Atock’s spirits sunk with the explanation. For one brief moment he had a real hope that Zalustus might fail before he even really got near Telur. Sighing, he turned back to his cold supper.

  Four days passed in the slow march through the woods. If anything, the woods became more wild and they kept being diverted north or south; gradually, they made progress eastward. They tried to stay close to the river but the thick foliage forced them gradually north. By the end of the fourth day, they were roughly several miles north of the Adelion. They began to notice the land gradually getting more wet. There were more lowlying areas that held water and occasionally, what appeared to be solid ground would turn out to be semi-solid. As the day wore on, they began encountering creeks and small streams more often. All-in-all, it had the feel of entering a swamp.

  “This is actually a good thing,” Gilga assured them. “It means we’re getting closer to the Narrows.”

  Despite his assurances, Enton and Atock both found the going demoralizing. Neither of them had expected this trip to take so long.

  Late afternoon of the fifth day, they emerged onto a large river that flowed south.

  “I know this river,” Gilga assured them smiling. “It joins the Adelion at the Narrows.”

  “So we should just follow it south?” Atock asked.

  Gilga shook his head. “I recommend we cross over and follow the far bank.”

  “Why is that?” Enton asked.

  “Because this river widens as it nears the Adelion. It’ll be easier to cross it here.”

  “Are you sure that we need to cross over?” Atock asked. “If the rivers join up at the Narrows, then perhaps we can stay on this side.”

  Gilga shook his head. “No, the river empties on the western side of the Narrows. You’ll want to cross.”

  “How?” Enton asked.

  Gilga smiled at the question. “Let’s make three small rafts and swim across.” He pointed to the south. “We’ll be at the Narrows tomorrow, no later than noon I reckon.”

  Atock looked at the river. It certainly appeared swimmable, at least for him and Enton. He wasn’t sure if the old farmer could make it. The river had to be almost a quarter of a mile across. True, Gilga had once worked the river, but that didn’t mean he was still a good swimmer at his advanced age. “No,” he said, finally making a decision. “Enton and I will cross. You go back to your home.”

  Gilga blinked in surprise, looking first at Atock and then to Enton. “Are you sure? I can make it across.”

  Atock nodded. “I know you can,” he said lying. “But you were only supposed to bring us here, not take part in scouting the Narrows.” He motioned back the way they had come. “No, you go back. Enton and I will go on from here.”

  As it was late in the day, they made camp on the western side of the river. It rained that evening and they spent the night soaking wet and miserable. It wasn’t exactly cold, but being wet made them feel chilly.

  They woke the next morning even earlier than usual. They considered changing their clothes to try and get dry, but Gilga reminded them they had to swim the river. They quickly said farewells to Gilga. He was friendly enough, but neither Atock nor Enton was necessarily sad to see him go. Atock wasn’t sure he could make it across the river and Enton just thought the old man was slowing them down.

  As Gilga turned his steps toward the west, Atock and Enton walked the short distance to the river. They looked to the south. Somewhere down that way, this river emptied into the Adelion River, emptied into it right at the narrows.

  Atock sighed and began looking around. “Let’s see what we can find to make a raft.”

  It didn’t take long to find several short but thick tree limbs that they tied together using vines. The result was a somewhat ugly raft. They tested it in the water and it did stay afloat, although it nearly capsized when the first wave hit it.

  Atock, who was more experienced with ships than Enton, quickly had them construct a second raft that was nearly identical to the first. He then found two long, thin tree limbs that he used to tie the two rafts together. It wasn’t the most sturdy vessel ever constructed, but it should get them across the river. In truth, he was more worried about what type of animals might swim in these waters. He didn’t have any desire to get a foot bitten off or to be bitten by a poisonous snake.

  The sun had been up for a couple of hours when they pushed their makeshift raft out into the river. Atock sat on the lead raft while Enton rode on the second one. Despite Atock’s misgivings about what might live in these waters, bo
th men sat on their rafts with their feet dangling in the water. It was the only way to remain upright on the raft as they were somewhat unwieldy.

  They used two branches as makeshift paddles. It took a while to learn how to best use their paddles, but as time went along they picked up their pace.

  The river flowed along slowly and they found the coolness of the water refreshing. Although Atock did keep a lookout for anything swimming toward them, those fears proved unfounded as they only saw numerous fish in the water. Atock was fairly sure that others animals were there, but they apparently chose not to approach the raft for which Atock was extremely grateful.

  The river wasn’t that far across, but they were hampered by their rather poorly built raft and Enton’s inexperience with sailing. Still, they crossed the river in just over half an hour. The current pulled them to the south a ways, but as that was the way they were headed, they didn’t complain too much.

  Upon reaching the far bank, they found this stretch of bank unsuited for landing their small raft. Trees grew right down to the water and even hung over a ways. Neither man fancied swimming through the shaded water underneath the trees. Instead, they rested and let the river carry them farther south.

  It didn’t take long for the shore to change and they came upon a section of the riverbank where the ground had collapsed into the river. The shore was covered in dirt and loose rocks and, even without speaking, both men began paddling furiously toward the shore.

  Reaching the shore, they pulled their raft up a little ways on the bank.

  Atock leaned close to Enton and said, “You check out that area to the north, and I’ll check to the south. Meet back here in five minutes.”

  Enton nodded, drew his axe, and hurried off into the woods. He didn’t even speak a word.

  Atock drew his two swords. He preferred to fight in the ancient way of his people; a short, curved sword in each hand.