by Joe Sniezek
“That’s cruel,” Zumi said.
“The last time we let our horses go, we later needed them. If we had them, Eniyan might still be alive now,” Wilfer said, his eyes welling.
Zumi softened and she placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “What happened?” she asked.
“An arrow pierced his heart and his body burned. We just left him there,” Wilfer said. All emotion draining from his voice.
“He died a good death,” Ikvig said.
“No death is a good death,” Wilfer snapped.
“Some deaths are better than others,” Ikvig disagreed.
Wilfer had no response. He looked up from his haunted stare when Zumi said, “Can you tell me what happened? Or is it still too raw?”
“We tried to block the gateway. Impossible from this side so we went through to try there. No good. When we came back, there was resistance,” Ikvig said.
“We accomplished nothing.” Wilfer was swimming in despair.
“Nothing?” Zumi asked.
“We found the gate cannot be blocked. We learned that more soldiers wait on the other side,” Ikvig said.
“More soldiers? Zumi eyes widened.
“What you see here is only half the army,” Ikvig said, nodding.
“I see,” Zumi said as she digested that news. “That is important information. That is worth something.”
Wilfer stood up and turned his back. He could not bear to think about it any longer. “We shouldn’t have gone there. I regret my haste and ignorance.”
“We had to do something,” Ikvig said.
Wilfer did not respond for a long time. At last, he said softly, “He knew. Eniyan knew it would happen.”
“How could he know?” Zumi was puzzled.
“I don’t know, but I could see it in him. He was filled with gloom. But he just let it happen.”
“He believed it was the right thing to do,” Ikvig said to comfort his friend.
“If he can see what’s coming, he knew this was best. Things can always be worse, you know. You did the right thing,” Zumi said.
Wilfer distracted himself from the unpleasant memories by checking on the horses. He brushed his hands over its flank, checking the straps and hooves.
“What are you doing here, Zumi?” Wilfer asked quietly without looking up.
“Aren’t you glad to see me?” Zumi asked.
“You know I am. I said so. But how did you know to be there to save us?”
Zumi looked at Wilfer and smiled, “Well, I came looking for you.”
“To convince me to go with you to San La, again?” Wilfer words dripped with sarcasm.
“Very funny. But that’s not really an option anymore,” she said, “I guess I just felt guilty. I never meant you any harm. I never wanted to put you in prison.”
Wilfer asked, “How were you planning on rescuing me?”
“Talking our way out of it, probably. Not riding in with my sword swinging,” Zumi said, and Wilfer’s face fell.
Zumi quickly continued to keep Wilfer from dwelling on unpleasant memories. “They are not your standard conquerors. They would rather talk than fight.”
“They are willing to fight too,” Ikvig added.
“No question about that, but at least they offer a chance to negotiate first.”
“How did you find us, anyway?” Wilfer asked.
“I followed your trail. I noticed tracks going up the hillside and thought it may be you. I wanted to avoid the troops also. I found this guy wandering around the trees,” Zumi said as she patted the horse Wilfer was grooming.
“When I saw the fire, I knew that must be you, so I ran towards it. Whenever there’s trouble, you always seem to be involved somehow,” she said and winked playfully.
“You know, it always seems like you’re only telling half the story,” Wilfer said. He has learned to be extra cautious when she is flirty.
“Trouble is coming and there’s not much we can do to stop it. That’s the real reason we thought you could help our realm. We’re desperate for anything that would help. There is an army at our door,” her response grew more serious.
“I think they will go to Granberk first,” Ikvig said.
Zumi thought for a moment. “Yes. That’s probably true. But it really doesn’t change much. It just delays things.”
“But you knew all that before. Why come back?” Wilfer asked.
Zumi sighed. “There comes a time to stop defending and to start fighting back. Not everybody in San La is ready for that, but I am. You aren’t one to let things alone. I knew if I wanted to hit back, you’d be the one to help me.”
“I guess that’s true. That’s why they exiled me in the first place. They could smell the trouble on me.”
“So we’re going to hit back?” Zumi asked.
“It’s our only choice now,” Wilfer said with determination.
“Yes!” Ikvig said, raising his fist.
“But no more risks. We need a place to rest and make a better plan,” Wilfer said.
“Ike needs water for a few days to heal,” Ikvig said.
“Oh, Ike! You should have spoken up sooner. I remember from Eniyan’s map that there is a lake, high up in the mountain. It’s in the opposite direction that the army is travelling and far enough away that we should not be disturbed.”
∞∞∞
They arrive at the alpine lake, high in the mountain. These glacier lakes are beautiful and pristine, but they are very cold. It was not cold enough for ice and snow to form on the ground, but cold enough for breath to be visible. Wilfer hoped they were far enough from the valley below for a fire to go unseen. Ikvig, Zumi, and Wilfer set up a tent. With a small fire burning inside during the night, it would be just warm enough to be comfortable.
Ike jumped into the water as soon as he could, splashing around. He changed from his usual purple-pink color to a bright blue. Despite the color change, the icy cold of the lake did not seem to bother him. He waved one more time as he headed towards the deep water to recuperate.
The lake rested at the bottom end of a high mountain valley. Anyone entering the valley would immediately spot the group’s tent, but from lower down the mountain, it could not be seen. Wilfer doubted that anyone else would come up this far during their stay; it was a difficult climb, and the weather was harsh. However, for Wilfer and his friends, it was safe, there was grass to feed the horses, and there was clean water to drink.
Zumi searched for edible plants and berries while Ikvig looked for animals to hunt. After a couple days, Wilfer’s head began to clear and he felt calm and relaxed. How easy it would be to forget the world below and just stay here forever and make this his home.
During a lunch of barbecued rodent and wild lettuce, Ike swam up to the shore of the lake. The squid was still bright blue from the cold temperature, but he was feeling better. He was far more energetic and happier than he had been in a long time. Although Ike was able to survive on land, he was clearly more comfortable in the water. The squid described the underwater terrain of the lake; it was very deep. It was as deep as the surrounding peaks were high. They would never run out of water.
Wilfer got an idea. He asked the squid, “Ike, what is holding all that water in?” The squid answered with mental images of a sloping wall made of rock and gravel on the bottom end of the lake. Wilfer realized that the over many years, sliding snow brought dirt and rock down from the peaks and deposited it at the bottom, eventually building up. In the spring, water runoff formed a lake behind it. This is common in many tall mountain ranges.
Wilfer dashed to the end of the lake to see the pile of large rocks and giant boulders that held back the lake. He looked beyond to see the terrain slope all the way down to the valley floor where the gateway to his homeland was. The gateway sat in a depression in the valley floor of what must have been an ancient lake.
Wilfer returned to the others and said, “If we can break the dam holding this lake back, the water will flow down the mountain
and drown the gateway. The soldiers won’t be able to use it unless they can swim.”
Ike squished and wiggled his tentacles excitedly. He sent them mental images of mud, rocks, and half-buried tree trunks. He mentally demonstrated pulling out those big stumps and branches with his tentacles. Zumi looked at Ikvig appraisingly, then back at Wilfer. She doubtfully asked, “How will we break such a large dam?”
“We would need many giants,” Ikvig agreed with her skepticism. “I am strong but not that strong.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Wilfer mumbled and ran off absentmindedly.
Zumi turned to Ikvig during Wilfer’s absence and said, “Flooding the gateway would stop people from going through. But I think we would be noticed long before we broke through the dam.”
“If we had that many men, we wouldn’t need to bother with the lake. We could hold the gateway with bows and swords. It is a pinch point. Only a handful of warriors could do it,” Ikvig said before he walked away to talk to Wilfer, who was inspecting the area while hopping from boulder to boulder.
“Do you trust her?” Ikvig asked Wilfer.
“Zumi?” Wilfer sighed, “No, not really.”
“I took the rear on our climb up here to make sure she didn’t leave a trail. But nothing,” Ikvig said.
“I don’t think she’s looking to betray us. I think Zumi will always do what’s best for Zumi. Right now, I think what’s best for her and what’s best for us are the same thing. So we’re safe for now,” Wilfer said.
Ikvig nodded and said nothing more. Wilfer tapped him on the shoulder to indicate that he should follow. “Here. This is the key.” Wilfer pointed at a large rock. It was shaped roughly like an egg standing on its end. It was at least as tall as six men – ten or twelve yards.
“The key?” Ikvig frowned.
“I think this one rock holds the entire thing together. Dislodge this and everything comes crashing down,” Wilfer explained.
“It’s a mountain by itself,” Ikvig said, outraged at Wilfer’s stupidity.
“It’s going to work.” Wilfer laughed as he hopped back up a path towards their tent, slapping his knees excitedly as he jumped from rock to rock.
∞∞∞
At the water’s edge near the tent, Wilfer talked with Ike. Then he returned to Ikvig and Zumi to say, “Ike is pretty good at digging underwater. He says he can be fast, too.”
“He’s not going to dig out that stone you showed me,” Ikvig said.
“No, all we have to do is let water seep in and soften the soil. He can work from the inside while we work from the outside,” Wilfer said.
“I still don’t see how we’ll be able to move that rock,” Ikvig said.
“We are going to try. This is the right course of action; I can feel it. I have no doubt. I finally understand what Eniyan was trying to tell me,” Wilfer said.
Ikvig and Zumi looked at each other skeptically and Zumi said, “Alright. So what’s the plan?”
We are going to use ropes, levers, and the unique nature of this world,” Wilfer said.
Wilfer demonstrated the concepts. He taught them about pulleys and ropes and how they can make moving a weight easier. Ikvig was convinced by the small-scale demonstrations, but he did not see how it would apply to the large rock. Wilfer was unable to convince them that it would work, but he was able to convince them, at the very least, to work together and give it a try. Anyway, they did not have any better ideas at the moment.
∞∞∞
They had a sizeable amount of rope once the various pieces were joined together. Ikvig cut many trees with long straight trunks that were twice as thick as his forearm. He tapered the smaller ones and left the big ones with ends cut flush – or slightly rounded.
Ike grabbed one end of the rope and swam down to tie it to a submerged log. He tugged on the rope as a signal and Ikvig and Wilfer pulled up them up. For ones too large to move, Zumi harnessed the ropes to the horses. In this way, they removed quite a few logs and branches from the dam and lake.
Wilfer cut one log into disks and hollowed a hole in the center to place an axle. It worked quite poorly as a pulley, but it was better than nothing.
Eventually, everything was set. Ike had cleared as much as he could from underwater. The logs were lined up near the large egg-shaped rock and the ropes had been laid out. They were ready for their first test.
Twenty-Two
“Come Ikvig, we need to wedge this pole behind the rock.” Wilfer pointing to a tree trunk that had been prepared. Once that was done, Wilfer lashed another trunk to across it, in the shape of the letter “t”. On each side of that horizontal trunk, he placed one of the pulleys he had carved. He looped the ropes around each pulley and also through another pulley and axle mechanism lashed across the horses’ backs.
“This will just be a test run. We want to see if anything breaks,” Wilfer said. Then he walked over to Zumi and the horses and said, “On my word, drive the horses slowly, at first. We will add tension as we go.”
When Wilfer gave the command, the ropes tightened but nothing happened. The horses strained against the ropes and were able to move forward a few paces. The ropes stretched, but the lever did not move. He instructed Zumi to drive the horses harder and the ropes stretched another yard, but the large stone didn’t budge.
“It’s not working,” Zumi said with defeat and Ikvig agreed. They both slowly released the tension.
“Listen,” Wilfer said, “I know it seems hopeless, but let’s try again. Please just keep pulling even though it’s not working. You have to keep at it because I have a hunch.”
“What kind of hunch?” Zumi asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Keep going and you will see. If the horses or you, Ikvig, are about to get hurt, then you can stop, but otherwise, just keep pulling,” Wilfer said.
“Alright,” Zumi said and Ikvig nodded.
“And trust me,” Wilfer said with a smile.
Everything was adjusted and reset. Wilfer again gave the signal and they started pulling. They slowly increased the tension in the system to stretch the ropes. When the ropes were finally stretched to the maximum and no amount of pulling would cause it to budge an inch, the process ground to a halt.
“Keep at it. Don’t stop. It’s working. Trust me,” Wilfer shouted.
After a long time of motionless straining, the horses began moving forward. The lever mechanism didn’t move, but the horses did. Zumi’s stared in confusion, then looked away when Wilfer said to her, “Keep your eyes on the horses.”
The horses came to a halt after only a few steps. Even though the horses were motionless, the lever began moving towards the horses – only a few handspans but it clearly shifted. It was as if the entire world was underwater and a wave passed through. It was not a wave of water or air, but a wave of pure distance.
When Wilfer saw the lever move, he quickly grabbed one of the extra small poles they had cut and wedged it in the tiny gap that had opened behind the huge egg-shaped rock. He yelled, “Ikvig, grab your hammer,” and pointed to the newly placed pole. The giant hammered it down tightly. “You can relax the tension slowly, Zumi,” Wilfer said once the hammering was finished.
Zumi came over with eyes wide and mouth agape. “What just happened? I don’t understand.”
“Distances are strange here. Remember the map? It’s not only the map that changes and moves.”
“So it worked?” Ikvig asked excitedly.
“It worked,” Wilfer said with a huge smile and they all cheered.
“Ike, did you see anything under water?” Wilfer asked. The squid said nothing had changed. “Well, the rock only moved a finger’s width, after all,” Wilfer said, still smiling.
They reset the apparatus again. Ikvig hammered the main lever down since some pressure was relieved by the additional pole. The entire process repeated, but again, nothing moved at first. Then a wave passed and the lever moved a finger’s length. This time Wilfer said, “Keep at it, More.” A second wave p
assed, then a third. The waves varied in size; one time the lever only moved some, another time it moved twice that. One time the horses gained more ground than the lever, the other time the lever out-distanced the horses.
The animals were exhausted and needed a rest. Wilfer inspected the progress; his fist could just fit between the large egg-shaped rock and the stone it was resting against.
“If we could get some water in there, it might help,” Ikvig suggested.
“Yes,” Wilfer replied, “I was hoping Ike could take care of that from his side because we don’t have a bucket to carry water. Shall we try once more today?” The others groaned but began preparations.
They pulled for the third time, and again it worked a little. They pulled for as long as they could and kept at it until the horses nearly fell down from exhaustion. The boulder moved enough that two fists could be placed in the gap, side by side. Wilfer jammed the poles and main lever deeper with Ikvig’s help and the group returned to the tent and collapsed, exhausted.
That was all the work they could manage that day, but they were in no hurry. If it took a week to break the dam, that was fine. Most of the army had already passed through the gateway down below. Now, it was a matter of choking off their supply lines, and time was not a critical factor.
Ike told them that there was considerably more bubbling and underneath the water. While they were pulling, he was busy digging. The water was seeping into the soil quite well now.
“Excellent,” Wilfer said, “We will check in the morning. If the soil below the stone is wet, I think we’ll have an easier time.”
∞∞∞
In the morning, Ike said he wanted to see the rock from the outside, so Ikvig agreed to offer him a ride on his back. When Ike inspected the setup from Ikvig’s back, he looked at the huge rock, then looked at the bottom of it, and then crawled on top of it and peered into the gap they created. Then he declared, “The water is seeping from behind, not under.”
“So it will take a bit longer, but it will work eventually,” Wilfer said with a shrug.