Ashes of the Realm - Juliette's Dream

by Andrew, Saxon

  Jingo followed the two warriors into the forest and saw they had difficulty moving between the giant trees. “They’re not going to be able to help us.”

  Scotty nodded.

  “How many Torg are we talking about here?”

  Scotty looked at Jingo and said, “Thousands.”

  Jingo thought about that vision and finally said, “The Torg don’t have much room to maneuver, either.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “First, let’s go see the nests. I’ll know more after that.”

  Bleath was waiting as the two walked into the nesting ground and saw them staring at the thousands of eggs in the forest. Jingo went to the first line of nests and started walking around the perimeter of the site. Scotty went with him and Bleath turned to the warrior that had carried Scotty. “Well?”

  “Great Leader, the two-leg is determined to help us. I saw his thoughts and he is pure in his spirit. I see that he is deferring to the four arms for the plan to defend our hatchlings.”

  Bleath watched the two strange creatures walk around the nesting ground talking to themselves. “Do you think they can help?”

  The warrior shook his head, “I have no idea. I’ve spoken with Vring and he seems to think they can. I’m hoping he’s right.”

  “So are we all.”

  Jingo and Scotty arrived back where they had begun their walk and Scotty said, “We’re going to lose some newborns.”

  Jingo nodded slowly and said, “We need them to move the outer nests into the center of the nesting ground. Do you think they will do as we ask?”

  Scotty shrugged and turned toward Bleath. He walked up to the Huge Zord, “We need you to bring the outer nests into the center of the nesting ground. We must have a smaller area to defend.”

  “If we do that, we could lose them all.”

  Scotty shook his head and replied, “I am not willing to leave any of your hatchlings in danger. We cannot defend this large an area successfully. As it is, many will die and it will be the ones on the outer edge. I’m not willing to let them die.”

  Bleath sensed the two-leg’s determination. He worried that if he gave in to their request, the Torg would attack the smaller area in a giant mass. The Zord had been able to save some of the hatchlings by making the Torg attack easier prey. As they stood among the trees considering the plan, six giant Torg rushed at full speed out of the trees seeking to make a meal of the Zord on the ground. Bleath turned and saw that four of the six were charging him and he had no chance of lifting among the trees. He braced himself and saw death coming.

  Scotty and Jingo brought their bowguns up and fired six arrows faster than the Zord could comprehend. All six charging Torg were hit and died before they hit the ground. Jingo turned and fired six more arrows at six other Torg attacking from behind. All twelve Torg were twitching on the ground in less than six seconds. Scotty held his bowgun at his cheek and scanned the surrounding forest. Jingo ran forward and jumped on top of the biggest Torg and also scanned the forest.

  “Jingo?”

  “There were ten more, but they’ve moved back into the dense undergrowth.”

  Bleath stared at the twelve dead Torg and then looked at the two small beings that had just killed them faster than he could see. He looked at the two warriors and said, “Start moving the nests.”

  Scotty lowered his bowgun and turned to Bleath, “Why don’t the Torg attack the eggs?”

  Bleath took a deep breath and said, “We sense their simple thoughts and we think they see the eggs as just rocks. Our eggs have no odor they can sense and the shells are extremely hard until they are ready to hatch. They seem to attack anything with movement and just ignore the eggs.”

  Scotty smiled and said, “There are some blessings in this. Creatures that work together in teams and never see an easy meal for the taking. Thank the Creator for that.”

  Jingo scampered up and said, “We’ll need at least a thousand good archers; every shot will have to count. We could use more, but the communities must also be defended.”

  Scotty looked around and said, “We also need five hundred carpenters here to build blinds in the trees.”

  Jingo nodded, “Archers first.”

  Scotty nodded and turned to Bleath, “We need to get enough of us here to start our defense, quickly. How many warriors are big enough to carry one of us?”

  Bleath said, “More than three thousand.”

  Jingo said, “Good, sent a thousand to bring the archers and the others to ferry our builders. Scotty, you go back and tell Sam and Jing what we need.”

  Scotty started shaking his head but Jingo said quickly, “You’re right. The better archer will stay here.”

  “Darn it, Jingo.”

  “You know I’m right.”

  Scotty let out a deep breath and turned back to Bleath, “If the nests aren’t in danger until they hatch, don’t start moving them until we can get enough archers here to protect the ones moving them.”

  Bleath gave a loud quivering screech. “I’ve stopped the warriors from moving the nests.”

  “I also want all of you to get out of the nesting ground. You’ll only attract Torg that will trample the eggs, killing some of your babies. I want you to bring the archers and carpenters back and have your other warriors carry the materials we need to build our defenses. They can then go back and bring enough food for us while we’re here.”

  Bleath looked back at Scotty as he left the nesting ground and said, “We are placing our eggs in your care. We’re depending on you to keep them safe.”

  Scotty said as he grabbed Zreeg’s binding and climbed up on his back, “The faster you can get us here in numbers, the better the chance of us helping them survive. I must go back and explain to our leaders what we need. Getting everything here in time is going to be up to you and your warriors.”

  Bleath and the two warriors ran from the forest as Scotty held on. Jingo went back and jumped on top of the largest Torg and scanned the forest.

  Zreeg flew at a speed that amazed Scotty. The eight hour trip was reduced to three and a half hours. Scotty held the binding and flattened himself behind Zreeg’s head to avoid being blown off the screaming Zord. Zreeg screamed as he arrived at the communities and dove for the clearing. He flared his wings and Scotty scampered down the binding. Samuel and Jing came running up and Scotty quickly told them what he had found at the nesting grounds.

  Jing yelled, “Sound the horns!”

  Three large wooden horns began sounding off and the two communities came running to the clearing. Samuel gave a slashing motion and the three horn blowers ceased their blowing. Jing yelled, “The top thousand archers in this year’s competition will gather their arrows and go with Scotty to defend the Zord nesting ground. Take as many arrows as you can carry and a pouch of food for three days. Go now!”

  Several hundred more stepped forward asking to go with the others. Samuel said, “We need you here to protect our community. You will have to be better than you’ve ever been to protect those that go into the forest for our food. We need you here.”

  The remaining archers looked at each other and even the Zord warrior watching the proceedings could see the pride they felt at the responsibility being placed on them.

  Scotty went up to Zreeg and could tell the Zord was weary. “Are you all right?”

  Zreeg settled on all fours and took a deep breath, “I rushed here so you could have time to prepare before the others arrive. I need some time to collect my energy.”

  Jing listened to the two and said, “We just killed a Torg at the edge of the forest over there. You’re welcome to it.”

  Zreeg rose up on two-legs and saw the dead Torg, “It would help me if I could have some of it.”

  Jing said, “Take it all. There’s plenty more where that came from.”

  Zreeg came down to four legs, moved over to the dead Torg, and began eating. As he approached the edge of the forest he disappeared as his skin matched the forest’s c
olor.

  “Scotty, do you think we can help them?”

  “I think more will live if we do, however, some of us will probably die in the effort. Samuel, there are tens of thousands of Torg massing to attack those nests.”

  Samuel looked at the ground and said, “We have to try.”

  “I know, Samuel. It’s not an option.”

  They turned and saw the archers assembling. Scotty said, “We’ll need more arrows. You might want to start the millwrights working on them quickly.

  Samuel turned and started issuing orders. Zreeg continued to feed and marveled at the determination of these small creatures to help his people. He didn’t care if some of the warriors were still suspicious. He liked the two-legs that rode his back and, after seeing him fire his weapon, he felt safer with him there. He prayed that this would be the season when he and his mate would have a child to raise. All had been killed by Torg before. He knew Telee was losing hope and he felt her overwhelming sorrow. Her soul was tortured from hearing her babies’ screams as the Torg killed them. He feared she would deliberately attack a herd to end her never ending pain. He looked at the two-legs with white hair and prayed the Air God had sent him to save their children.

  The Zord began arriving four hours later. Ten would land and as quick as bindings could be lashed, they took off at high speed for the nesting ground. After two days the archers began climbing on two at a time and flying off with the Zord. Time was growing short.

  The first archers arrived and saw Jingo still on top of the Dead Torg with thirty dead Torg at the edge of the nesting ground. Jingo jumped down and met them. He started sending them up in the trees on the outer perimeter of the nesting ground as the Zord females began moving the nests into the center. More than a thousand Torg were killed attempting to attack the females while they feverishly worked to move the now fragile eggs. The number of dead Torg rose to three thousand by the time the nests were relocated. The female Zord were amazed at the accuracy of the two-leg archers and ignored any Torg charging after the second day of work. Some of the eggs were starting to move by the time the carpenters had built blinds halfway up the trunks of the trees at the new, smaller perimeter. Warriors carried the carpenters back to the community and waited as they made arrows for the coming fight. The community could see the impatience of the giant Zord warriors as they waited for a load to be prepared. Finally all were loaded and lifted for the flight back.

  Jing looked at Samuel and said, “Well, that’s done.”

  Samuel said, “No it’s not, by far. As soon as the other carpenters finish their meals, I want them joining us to make arrows.” Jing showed his doubt and Samuel said, “I would rather have more than we could possibly need than not enough. You know we can always use them if they’re not needed. It will also keep the communities’ minds off the ones sent to fight.”

  Jingo tilted his head and nodded. He respected this Human and was often amazed at his insights. The communities needed to be kept busy. He turned around and saw Jesa sitting in front of her home, crying because Jingo had not come back with Scotty. “Especially that one.”

  On his way back to the nesting ground, Scotty asked Zreeg to fly over the area surrounding the forest and was stunned at what he saw. “Zreeg, how many Torg are moving toward the forest?”

  Zreeg looked down and said, “More than a hundred thousand in the initial herd.”

  “What do you mean, initial herd?”

  “There will be at least four herds coming to attack our newborns. The follow-up herds are bigger than the first. “

  Scotty looked down and saw Torg as far as he could see. “Why are there so many?”

  “They know the exact time of our breeding cycle and have been coming for as long as we have been here. This is their largest meal of the year, and their numbers have exploded since they began attacking our nests. Last cycle no newborns survived.”

  “Take me to the forest.”

  Zreeg turned and flew toward the forest directly in front of the giant, moving mass of Torg.

  Scotty came into the nesting ground and yelled for all archers to assemble. The thousand came running and Scotty waited for the last to arrive. He looked around the group and said, “It’s a lot worse that I thought.” He saw their apprehension on their faces. “I have just flown over the Torg herds, and it appears upward of half a million of them are coming to feast on the Zord’s newborns.”

  Jingo heard the number and said, “That many?”

  “Maybe more; I hope those additional arrows arrive quickly.”

  Jingo looked at the group and said, “There’s only one way we stand a chance.”

  The archers all turned to him and he continued, “We’re going to have to allow them to get close to the nests.”

  Scotty agreed, but the other archers were shocked at his suggestion. Michael Blake asked, “Shouldn’t we should stop them before they get close?”

  Jingo looked at Michael and said, “If we attempt to defend a large perimeter, Torg are going to get through. We need the smallest perimeter possible to make sure the number of pathways into the nesting ground is limited. The only way we can slow them down is to kill enough of them to choke their routes through the hedges. We have to fill the spaces between the hedges and pathways with enough dead Torg to block those coming from behind. That line must be where the killing starts, and then we take on anything trying to break through the barrier of dead Torg. I’ve scouted the area and there are a hundred ging roots leading into the nesting ground, and we must defend those paths. If we move fifty yards further out, the number of routes we’ll have to defend doubles from a hundred to two hundred. Ten of us will have to cover each pathway leading from the forest to the eggs. We know the initial numbers charging ahead of the main mass will be fewer than the mass pushing from behind. There will be one archer for every nine on the ground that will be up in a blind. They’ll be hitting anything that makes it through any path leading to the nests. Once the pathways are choked off, half of us will go up in the blinds and start hitting anything that looks like it will even remotely break through. The rest will go where they’re needed. Do any of you see another way?”

  Scotty said, “Once we stop the initial charge, I want fifty archers in the center of the nesting area at all times to support any part of our perimeter that looks like it will be overrun. Jingo and I will lead that group. Michael, you will lead the northern approach and Burd, you will handle the southern. Advance fifty yards up each path and start hitting them before they can reach the ging trees’ trunks. You’ll have to hit the first Torg more than a hundred yards up the path to slow the rush enough to create a barricade of dead Torg.”

  Bleath sent a thought, “You better get ready; one of the eggs just hatched and the Torg will smell it momentarily. The others will be hatching within the coming five hours.”

  Jingo yelled as the archers ran to their trees, “Make every arrow count!”

  Jingo and Scotty ran to the center of the northern perimeter toward the largest tree. Scotty went to the left and Jingo right. Eight archers arrived and waited at the giant tree’s trunk. Scotty and Jingo returned to the archers. Scotty looked at the eight other archers and said, “We see four major pathways leading up to this giant tree’s trunk. The one we are standing in leads directly to the nests. The Torg are going to funnel down those other three paths and arrive at this trunk next to the nesting ground.”

  Jingo looked at the pathways and said, “The two pathways coming from the left and right have a clear field of fire of more than two hundred yards. Four of you advance a hundred yards up each path and start hitting them two hundred yards out. Try to build the first barrier of dead Torg outside of a hundred yards. Retreat if you must, then start a new barrier at fifty yards. We must keep them away from the trunk of this tree.”

  Four archers went to the path on the left and four to the right while Scotty and Jingo took the path in the center. The archers knew that Scotty and Jingo were faster and more accurate than any arch
er in the communities. Jingo was the acknowledged champion, but only just barely, having bested Scotty by one point in the annual competition. Jingo swore that Scotty let him win, but Scotty never confessed that he did. The competition limited the archers to only one bowgun and Scotty knew that with Jingo’s four arms, there was no doubt about who was the real archer. Jingo was twice as good as Scotty because he had two bowguns. Scotty was good, but Jingo was twice as deadly. The archers moved a hundred yards up the pathways and dropped three extra quivers of arrows at their feet. They waited and knew it wouldn’t be long. The Torg could be heard getting closer.

  The other archers arrived at their trees and immediately saw that Jingo was right. The Torg had to be slowed before they could reach the tree where the pathways grew larger. They assigned archers to each path, advanced up the pathways, and took their stances. They heard the cries of newborn Zord among the hedges in the nesting area increase in volume. The sound grew and soon became a noise that permeated the forest. If the Torg hadn’t smelled the newborns, the archers were certain they could hear them.