by Taki Drake
Saroc had explained that isolated Hidden Folk had been left well concealed and camouflaged to provide help on the team’s return. Even though these people had not been able to travel at the frantic speed that was necessary to get to Zhanna, the fact that they were already outside the protected and fortified defensive location was a crucial advantage.
It made no sense to try to send people back in after the small party of Hidden Folk had managed to escape. Those that would have endangered the messenger group had all volunteered to wait, alone and without communications until they were contacted by the rescue mission force. They knew that each of them could better help by waiting for the rescue force and adding to the flanking efforts.
All Zhanna’s team could do was to hope that the concealed sentries were still alive and willing to help.
Arriving late in the afternoon at the planned waypoint, the mercenaries and a few of the Hidden Folk set about concealing the vehicle. While Zhanna didn’t entirely agree with the need for this, Stefan’s statement that they had no way of knowing if there were human malefactors involved in the attack on Noma and Tisha’s group made her bow to the older mercenary’s experience and advice.
Zhanna would have helped with the concealment, but Dascha insisted on additional practice between Witch and Familiar before they faced the next day. Realizing that she wasn’t critical to covering the SUV, Zhanna followed Dascha into the woods, traveling a short distance from the concealed campsite.
<< What is it that we need to practice, Dascha? Is it something that’s really important or are you just trying to take my mind off the seriousness of what we are going to do tomorrow? >>
<< Actually, both are good reasons. There is something that we really need to do, and I certainly want to keep you from fretting about tomorrow. All you’ll do by worrying for hours is make yourself tired and more fragile. Not a smart thing to do when you’re to be fighting the next day. >>
<< I hate to admit it, but you’re right. What is this important thing I’m supposed to be doing? >>
<< You need to ward the campsite. I don’t believe that we will be safe unless it is protected by something that prevents these nebulous Evil Ones from sniffing us out. The SUV also needs to be concealed from close inspection, so that none of our enemies will discover it. >>
Zhanna perched on the stump of an age-killed tree as she thought about what her Familiar had said.
<< That sounds like one of the spells that we had trouble with. Was that the one that I tried a dozen times and the only result we got was that I turned everything around me purple for a distance of ten yards? Is that the one that you’re talking about? >>
<< Yes. I could really do without being turned purple this time, however! It occurred to me that perhaps we did not understand this spell’s characteristics well when I was trying to come up with a solution for the campsite and the vehicle. >>
<< Okay… I think what you’re saying is that we broke things up incorrectly when I was trying to cast the spell. And that might make sense since we found a similar problem with my reading the book and trying to break it apart to remember it before casting. Always before we’ve been able to get past that hurdle, but this time nothing we tried worked. In fact, there is a group of spells where I just couldn’t figure them out. You know we tried. >>
<< Yes, we tried until both of us were exhausted. However, I think that all of the spells that so stubbornly resisted your efforts had similarities. I suspect that this problem didn’t reside on issues of speed or rhythm, or even the actual words. Remember that the description of the spell had those funny little arrows around it? >>
<< Yes! Those were the ones that we decided must have been somebody’s doodling because they didn’t make any sense. I also remember that you were quite sarcastic about someone being stupid enough to draw in a spellbook. >>
<< I may have been wrong. Something sparked an idea in my brain, I think after seeing some of the Magic cast at the Trials. It is possible that those little squiggle drawings are important, that they do make sense. >>
<< Oh? Then you would have to take back your nasty opinion of someone drawing on the page? >>
<< I would do that if it turns out that they’re not doodles. Until then, I refuse to consider the retrieval of any of my sarcasm. >>
Zhanna smiled, the interchange with her Familiar easing up tense muscles that she hadn’t even realized were draining her energy. The fact that Dascha was still teasing her meant that the situation was not as desperate as she kept thinking. They had a chance of winning, hopes of survival for both the endangered families and her own team.
Pulling her attention back to the conversation, the young Witch continued the discussion, << The drawings looked like they were directional, but the instructions were particular in what had to be done. All of the teaching books have been very precise, not only in the gesture descriptions but also the wording and focus. So how could they be directional? >>
<< What if the arrows meant how big the gesture should be? Not reiterating the components of the gesture but instead adding another dimension to it. >>
<< Oh… That we have to try! >>
<< <> >>
It turned out the discovery that the cryptic annotation referred to the use of space in the spellcasting was beneficial to Zhanna. With only a few errors, the young Witch not only conquered the improved warding spell that Dascha wanted but eagerly revisited the other spells that were accompanied by a long-ago Witch’s “doodling.” Rapidly, the young woman successfully cast, tuned, and added to her inventory, more than 20 spells that were far more powerful than the previous versions. She would have continued to push even more, but Dascha stopped her.
<< I didn’t distract you from being obsessive and wearing yourself out with worrying to have you turn around and tire yourself with spellcasting. >>
<< Sorry! It is just that I was so frustrated when we couldn’t figure those other lessons out that now that something’s working I want to learn them all. I practiced the problem ones over and over again, and they just wouldn’t work the right way. Now they do, and it’s exhilarating! >>
Zhanna could feel the mingled pride and amusement that Dascha was feeling over their bond. Called back to her current situation by the interruption, the young Witch was surprised to see that it was so late. While she had been distracted and immersed into her spellcasting, the sun had set, and darkness had begun to settle around the forest like a soft gray blanket.
Reminding her Witch that they needed to ward the vehicle, Dascha led the way back to where the rest of the Witch’s party were clustered around the campfire. Smiling briefly at Pavel and Mikhail, who were busy carefully cleaning their weapons, Zhanna made a beeline toward the vehicle and rapidly cast the concealment ward.
“What did you do? One second the car was there, and I could see it under the small bit of camouflage we had done. The next instant and it was gone!” Pavel exclaimed.
“The SUV needs to be hidden from either casual or enemy observation starting now. We don’t want to be retreating to this location thinking that the car is here, only to find that someone else has found it and taken it away.”
“Yes, but how will we find it now? What happens if you are not conscious or not with us? We still need to find the vehicle?”
Dulam, the Hidden Folk that reminded the mercenaries of a cross between a rabbit and a squirrel piped up, “You might not be able to find it, but most of us can. I guess you’ll just have to rely on those with better noses than you have.”
Pavel was startled by the comment coming from someone he thought of as little more than an animal. Surprising Zhanna, the subcommander paused for a second invisibly adjusted his response, saying, “That is a good point. We do have to rely on each of the members of our team. I guess I’m so used to human vision that I hadn’t thought about others having better senses. Thank you for the clarification.”
Stefan had returned to the campsite, arriving in the middle of Pavel’s speech. He laughed and said, �
��We will just have to keep everybody alive so that we can find all of our necessary pieces and parts. After all, I’m too old to walk home!”
The laughter was general, and their sense of belonging and shared goals was reinforced with an almost audible click. Zhanna knew that with each one of those moments her team became stronger and more integrated. It was a good feeling. One that helped her face the upcoming challenges.
Chapter 31 – Scouts and Spies
Zhanna moved on to other tasks that she knew would help to improve the security of their campsite. Making sure to use a lighter spell that would still provide protection, Zhanna warded the entire camp area against those of ill intent. She and Dascha had discussed the level of defense that would allow their team warning if they were attacked but would still permit any of Nomo’s sentries to find them.
The young Witch had just finished her spell work, collapsing onto a log arranged by the fire, when Stefan came and sat next to her. Looking thoughtful, the senior mercenary said, “I really hope that Noma and Sarawak can find the people that they left here. We really need the Intel.”
Before Zhanna could reply, Tisha appeared next to Zhanna so rapidly that she seemed to have sprung up out of the ground. Trembling visibility, the small female said, “Noma has found some of them! They come now.”
Not knowing what to expect, both Zhanna and Stefan looked around alertly, trying to see the direction in which the Hidden folk scouts were traveling or would arrive from. Stefan was unable to see them until the small group had almost reached the fire. Borrowing Dascha’s eyes, Zhanna had seen them as soon as they got into the clearing. Through the filters of her Familiar’s eyes, the young Witch noticed a diffuse glow around each of the figures. That glow was visible even when normal eyesight could not detect their presence.
Noma escorted his scouts to the fire, stopping a few feet away from the edge of the coals and encouraging them with voice and hand gestures to warm themselves. All three of the strange Hidden Folk were similar in appearance. Moving in a measured and stately manner, they resembled short and slender figures of twisted branches with surprisingly bright green eyes.
More of the mercenaries came in close to the fire to listen to Noma and his group. Quickly forgetting that they were talking to more of the legendary Hidden Folk, Pavel and Stefan promptly started to incorporate the information provided by the three scouts into a reasonably complete view of the terrain and situation.
Zhanna was aware that even as the new people talked with the mercenaries, they kept a wary eye on her. Every time that she made a comment, she could see that these Hidden Folk tensed up.
<< Why are they so frightened of me? >> She asked Dascha.
<< I heard one of them. I wouldn’t take it personally, Zhanna. It may be that they’ve had bad experiences with Magic workers. >>
<< I will stay quiet, and just listen. Hopefully, they’ll forget I’m here. If it gets so bad that you think I need to leave, I depend on you to let me know. >>
<< As if I would keep quiet? >>
Zhanna’s gurgle of laughter startled the scouts so severely that one of them jumped back nearly a foot. Eyes wide with white rims around their green centers, Nomos skittish scouts stared at Zhanna waiting for her next action.
Apologetically, the young Witch said, “So sorry, I was having an argument with my Familiar. Please don’t let me interrupt what you’re doing, even though I don’t think I can help much at this point.”
Dascha heard one of the scouts mutter in a low tone to the one next to him, “… Like the high mage before we escaped through the cold doors.” Although the black cat listened intently for a reply, she was unable to hear one over the noise of the general conversation and the crackling of the nearby campfire.
<< <> >>
It’d taken them another couple of hours to work out the plan of attack. During the strategy session, they were joined by a fourth scout. This one appeared to be similar in species to Noma and Tisha but was both older and injured. Tisha had dragged him over to the young Witch making little puffs of determination and indicating by the click of her feet the level of irritation she was feeling.
“Tisha, what is wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes, there is something that you can do to assist. This one has an injury and will not allow me to look at it. He says it is not for fragile females. You are much larger, and he cannot think you are fragile. Would you please look and see what you can do to lessen his pain and make him more rational?”
With that, the brown-furred female stomped away, leaving Zhanna and the dejected-looking male at the Witch’s feet staring at each other in trepidation.
“What on earth did you do to make her so angry?”
“She has never taken well to anyone that hides behind convention. Ever since she was a small one, her mind has walked on straight paths.”
Zhanna smiled and crouched down, putting her face near the Hidden Folk male. She said, “How about if we start this all over again? I will start. Hello, my name is Zhanna, and I’m a Witch. I am part of the group that has come to rescue the embattled group that’s pinned down.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Lady. I am aware that you are the Witch that has vowed to set things right in the forest in the fields. My name is Narama.”
With the ice broken, Zhanna was soon able to convince Narama to allow her to treat his wounds. There was no need to use Magic on the older male since his injuries were a matter of strains and cuts.
Once she had him more comfortable, she made some of the tea that she knew that Noma and Tisha loved. The smell of the beverage got through to Narama, dragging an involuntary cry of pleasure from him. Alerted by the sound, the other Hidden Folk came over to investigate.
Making sure that she did not startle any of them by too rapid movement, Zhanna was soon surrounded by the Hidden Folk, both those that had come with her and the four new ones.
<< Who knew that the key to interspecies cooperation was hot mint tea? >> Dascha said with a mental smirk.
<< It is what it is. I’m just as happy that easing their concerns was this simple. Apparently, mint tea and scary Witches don’t go together. Since it is obviously mint tea, that means I can’t be a frightening Witch. >>
Smiling broadly, Stefan moved over to Zhanna. He was trailed by Pavel and the rest of the human mercenaries, all of them with looks of great satisfaction on their faces. Looking inquiringly at the older mercenary, Zhanna waited for him to tell her what they were so happy about.
“It looks like we are all set for tomorrow. The scouts did an amazing job of bringing us information. We now have a good map of the field, and we understand exactly where the defenders are holed up.”
Picking up a stick, the senior mercenary began to scratch a rough map on the ground. As Stefan described the area, he drew lines in the dirt, adding rocks and other markers for illustration. “The survivors have taken refuge in a cave, unfortunately with no other discernible exits. However, it is well defended by a broken rock field in front that prevents clear line of sight for the attackers. There are partial, short walls that rise in a zigzag form when approaching the cave mouth to make attacking it more difficult.”
“That sounds a lot like the practice field near home. There used to be a river that came out of the cave, and it cut interesting channels into the surrounding terrain. It would make a frontal assault very difficult.”
“Yes, Zhanna, it seems exactly like our practice field, even as far as similar types of rock and challenges. The flipside of that is that it is possible to keep the defenders bottled up with a very small force. In fact, all of the scouts insist that there only three of the Bies, since one of them died from his injuries inflicted when Noma and the rest of the party escaped.”
The young Witch pause thoughtfully. Her mind bounced around a variety of possibilities, darting from the advantages of the positioning to the difficulty of extraction. Arriving at a short list of critical questions, she asked Stefan, “Do you have a
general plan of attack? And how are the scouts going to incorporate into our force?”
“We are going for a split attack to draw the enemy away from the middle and allow you to join the defenders. The three Evil Ones have positioned themselves in an arc just on the other side of the broken rock field. While the stones prevent a straightforward charge, they also force anyone attempting to leave into a predictable path. The Demons have set up a perimeter to snatch up any Hidden Folk who risk an escape attempt.”
Noma’s voice slid up into the conversation, sounding sadder than the young Witch had ever heard it, “Many died trying to escape. Only the very fast had any chance. Every time we tried, Folk died, snagged with the Evil Ones’ claws and dragged into their jaws.”
His face a frozen mask, Pavel asked, low toned, “How did any of you get out?”
“Forty of us tried. Many were caught. Some managed to run when the Evil Ones were busy killing. Jamdar sacrificed himself to let others escape. Tapma jumped onto the face of one of the abominations, clawing its eyes so that her kit, Tisha, could live.”
The air was very still, and the crackling of the fire could be heard in the quiet moment. A burning in Zhanna’s eyes and the choked feeling in her throat made it impossible for her to speak. << Oh, Dascha. What can we do in the face of such loss? >>
<< We can make sure that their sacrifice wasn’t in vain. We can rescue the survivors. >>
The young Witch grimaced, thinking to herself, I wish that I didn’t have this responsibility. I know that it’s my vow, but sometimes I wish I were a child again. No sign of what she was thinking was visible on her face, and Zhanna tried to keep an attitude of confidence and interest gathered around her like a protective cloak. It must have succeeded because Stefan continued to explain, assisted by Pavel.
“The bone creatures, the Demon Bies, are the adversaries. They are vicious attackers with a long reach and expert tree-climbing skills but do not appear to have a strong sense of smell. Even better, their vision is only good within 20 feet. Farther than that, their perception is muted and mostly limited to the detection of movement. They also appear to be weaker right before dawn, so the general plan is for us to catch an early night, maintaining a sentry watch, until two hours before dawn.”