“How is the meeting going?” Tarah asked.
Beth sighed. “I’m not so sure about that. Xedrion seems pretty set on attending this treaty meeting, but I have an awful feeling about it. Nothing specific like a vision or anything or I’d have told them. But something ain’t right. You make sure and tell them if you know something about this gnome that’ll help. You’re not the kind of woman to let a man intimidate you.”
“Uh, thanks, Beth,” Tarah said. The woman jogged to catch up to the stretcher and Tarah let out a slow breath. Djeri said to stay calm. Beth said to be bold. Tarah wasn’t sure she could be both of those things at once.
Esmine popped into existence in front of her. “You might want to hurry. The protector just asked Tolynn what was taking you so long.”
“Alright. I’m not that far from the door,” Tarah said. She turned the corner and the guards waved her in.
The Protector’s Conference Room, was packed full of people. The protector had separated the attendees into clusters to discuss different sections of the treaty. Each of the small groups were arguing one point of the treaty or another and when Tarah entered, her ears were met with a near chaotic jumble of voices.
Xedrion himself was standing at the head of the center table in the room, looking down at a large map. Sir Edge and Sir Hilt were standing at the table near him along with Jhonate, his oldest sons, and his first wife, Herlda.
Xedrion glanced up as she entered and motioned her over. “Tarah Woodblade, did Tolynn tell you why I wanted to see you?”
“She knows, Protector,” Tolynn assured him. The elf was aware that Esmine was monitoring the meeting, but knew that Xedrion might not like the idea that he was being eavesdropped on.
Thank you, Tarah sent to her trainer through the wristband. She had almost told him the truth. There was one mistake averted. Tarah tried to take on a proper tone, thinking back to the many books she had read. “I understand that the Mer-Dan Collective claims that Aloysius will be at this treaty signing as an impartial arbiter?”
“That is how they are putting it,” he replied. “What do you think?”
“I would call it a lie, Protector,” Tarah said. “Aloysius plans to conquer the grove. That goal won’t be accomplished by impartial mediation.”
“So you have said before,” Xedrion said. “And I have no reason to doubt you. But I need proof of his intentions if I am going to act. Have you seen anything in the recent tracking you have done that would shed more light on his plans?”
The protector had sent her on several tracking runs over the last week, every time his scouts had reported signs of Mer-Dan incursion into their territory. Tarah shook her head slightly. “The soldiers that had left the tracks I found knew very little. Only that an army of powerful demons had come to bolster their ranks and that the leaders were meeting with some master tactician.”
“There were no thoughts of betrayal in their minds?” Xedrion asked.
“Not while they were making the tracks,” Tarah said. “But there wasn’t any sense that they hoped for peace, either. They expected a battle. Of all the tracks I have followed, only Elder Qelvyn and the messenger that came last night thought about the treaty at all.”
“That is a helpful insight,” said Xedrion, rubbing his chin. “Thank you, Miss Woodblade.”
“If I may, Protector, I have a question,” said Sir Edge, his eyes on Tarah.
“Go ahead,” Xedrion replied.
“Tarah, I have heard you describe the thoughts you found in the gnome warlord’s tracks several times and each time you used the same word,” Edge said. “You say he wants to ‘conquer’ the Jharro Grove.”
“Yes,” Tarah said. “Those were his thoughts.”
“Yes, but what was the meaning of that thought?” Edge pressed. “As a bonding wizard, I communicate with thoughts all the time. When a person writes a word on a page, the meaning of the word is open to interpretation. When a person thinks a word, the meaning is attached. When Aloysius thought about conquering the grove, what images or feelings were in his mind? Was he thinking of destroying the grove? Burning the trees?”
“No,” Tarah admitted. She had been keeping that particular aspect of the thought to herself up until now. She had felt that the Roo-Tan would be more likely to act if they thought he meant to destroy the grove. “I didn’t necessarily sense that harming the grove was his goal. It was more that he wanted to possess it.”
Edge nodded. “Alright. Can you figure anything else out in the meaning? Was he thinking of going to battle and killing to get what he wanted?”
“No, but it was a short thought,” Tarah replied. “And I haven’t found any more of his tracks since. But I can tell you what I know about him from my prior experience. When Aloysius decides he wants something, he does what it takes to get it. He slaughtered Esmine to make his powerful sword more powerful. He left his homeland in flames just to root out a few enemies. If he wants the grove, he’ll do what he thinks is necessary to possess it. Aloysius doesn’t care about wrong or right.”
“Thank you, Tarah,” said Xedrion. “Please stay close by in case another question comes to mind.”
Tarah nodded and moved to stand by her trainer. Tolynn patted her on the arm and said through the wristband, You did well.
I feel like I accomplished nothing, Tarah replied mentally. He still seems as eager to go forward with this as before.
No, child, Tolynn replied. Xedrion is a complicated man and he has many aspects to consider when he makes a decision. I saw the look in his eyes when you were speaking. You made a difference.
“There’s something else about this that I don’t like,” Hilt said. He pointed down at the map. “Of all the places for this meeting to take place, why here?”
Xedrion had placed markers on the map to show where the proposed border would be between the two peoples. The meeting spot was located on this border line and the southernmost corner of the two territories at the bottom of a wide marsh valley.
“It’s the old wet-foot rule,” Xedrion said. “It has a wet base for us to stand in while the treaty is signed and the valley is large enough for both sides to bring the twenty thousand soldiers specified.”
“That’s what they said in the letter, yes. But there are other marshes along the border that are more centrally located if you wanted to stand in the water while signing the treaty,” Hilt pointed out. “Any of them would be easier for both sides to gather their people to.”
“It is closer to the merpeople stronghold, though,” said Herlda. “And since the ‘Dan don’t have large cities of their own, this could be where it’s easiest for them to gather.”
“Are we not fairly close to the Troll Swamps here?” Jhonate asked. “I have been thinking it a strange coincidence that we learn about the Troll Mother swallowing our people at the same time that the Mer-Dan Collective wants to meet.”
“She has a good point,” Edge said, looking closer at the map. “But is there any hint that the two are related? How close is this location to the areas of the disappearances?”
“They are at least half a day’s journey west of there,” Xedrion said. He shook his head. “This location is several miles from the Troll Swamp. I see no correlation.”
The Protector of the Grove raised his arms and called out to the room. “Defenders! Roo-Tan men and women. Gather around and hear my word!”
The room quieted as everyone halted their conversations and turned their attention to their leader.
“This choice has not come to me easily, but I have made my decision regarding this treaty. We shall attend the meeting!” There was a buzz around the room as the decision was met with general excitement. “Though I do not trust the leadership of this Mer-Dan collective, we have too long been at war with our cousins. If there is a way for us to live in peace with them, we must try. That being said, we do not have to sign this treaty as it currently stands. We have a limited time to work on this and I am depending on each of you to help create the revis
ions that I will bring with me to the meeting.”
Once the furor had died down and the people got to work, Xedrion motioned the rest of them closer. “I do not intend to go into this meeting unprepared. Qurl and Hubrin, I want you two in charge of scouting this area. I want to know all possible locations for ambush. And be careful. The Mer-Dan will have their own men there as well. Tarah Woodblade, I would like you and your friends to go with them. I want you telling me every thought our enemy is having leading up to this meet.”
“Yes sir,” Tarah said. At least she would be doing something. She was determined to find out exactly what Aloysius was up to before this meeting happened.
Xedrion continued, “Hilt, you and I will focus on attack strategies in case things go bad. There is a very good chance they will and we may want to go on the offensive. Sir Edge and Jhonate, I am giving you perhaps the most important assignment of all. I need to formulate plans for retreat. Take every sort of treachery into account. If we get in a situation where we cannot win, I’m depending on you to get us out.”
Chapter Twenty Two
Fist and Maryanne waited at the top of the cliff while Rufus went back down to collect the others. The gnome warrior stood at the edge and watched while the rogue horse descended, using his large, but deft fingers and clawed rear feet to help him keep a firm hold on the rocky wall. Qenzic and Locksher were waiting at the bottom, looking back up at Rufus, while Lyramoor had grown impatient and started climbing on his own.
“Ooh, they look a little green in the face,” Maryanne said, peering down at them.
Fist joined her at the edge. “How can you tell from up here? They look so small.”
Fist felt a slight tug on his hair as Squirrel peered over and looked down from the top of his head. I see them. Green, he agreed.
“They were looking ill while we were climbing,” she said. “Maybe this wasn’t the best route for us to take. Qenzic will pull through, but I don’t know if the wizard will be able to take it.”
“Wizard Locksher will be fine,” Fist assured her. “He can use air magic to hold on tight to Rufus.”
“Yeah, but this is just the first one. There are worse climbs to come,” Maryanne reminded him. “I think he has a fear of heights.”
Their current route to the black lake was a treacherous one, worse than the journey he and Maryanne had taken to get to the Thunder People. The multiple cliffs and unstable slopes in their way were obstacles that Fist would have chosen to avoid if possible. Unfortunately, there was no better option. The regular trails were patrolled by infested creatures.
“I am sure that Wizard Locksher can endure it,” Fist said, waving down at the two men. The wizard waved weakly back. “When he has a question in his mind, he forgets little things like fears.”
Maryanne scooted closer to him and put her arm around his waist. “You know, it’s quite a bit warmer now than the last time we were up here.”
On the journey from the black lake to the Thunder People territory, the wind had been stiff and cold. Right now the wind was deceptively warm. His arms were still wet from the water that had been dripping down the cliff face as Rufus had carried them. That concerned him because he could see dark clouds on the horizon.
Rufus reached the bottom and eagerly loaded the two men on his back. Fist waved down at them and would have called out encouragingly, but sound echoed oddly in the mountains. He could start an avalanche somewhere or worse, draw the ears of the infested dead.
He reached around Maryanne and pulled her closer to him, then pointed out the encroaching clouds. “Look. It will not be warm long. A big storm is coming. That could be bad if we are not back before it hits us.”
“Well, I won’t mind as long as you’re holding me close like this,” Maryanne teased.
Fist chuckled embarrassedly, but did not let go. The thing that had started between them while hunting down the ogres that had killed Puj had grown. At first Fist hadn’t known how to take the gnome’s constant flirting. It was suggestive, but not aggressive like ogre females. Once he had realized that she was expressing true interest and not just teasing him Fist had given the idea some real thought.
Maryanne was different from the women that he had been attracted to in the past. She was almost as tall as he was, but the gnome was thin and athletic instead of buxom and brawny like the ogre women. She also wasn’t as cerebral as the women of the other races that had fascinated him. She laughed at coarse jokes and tended to use improper grammar. In a way, she was somewhere in the middle between the things that had attracted him to women in his old life and the things that attracted him in his new one. He found that suited him quite well.
He looked at her narrow face. The wind ruffled her red hair causing the drooping top of one ear to protrude. He thought she looked beautiful. She turned her head and smiled up at him. “What?”
He felt an impulse to kiss her. She had been hinting that she wanted him to for several days now, but for some reason he kept holding back. At the moment he couldn’t think why. He leaned towards her, his lips parting just as Rufus’s hairy hand gripped the top of the cliff’s edge.
“Here!” said the rogue horse as he pulled himself up the rest of the way, the two humans on his back pale, but perfectly safe. “I not drop,” Rufus said proudly.
“No,” Locksher said weakly, releasing the many elemental spells that had tied him to the rogue horse. He slid off of Rufus’ back and stumbled a few steps. “You did quite well, thank you.”
“How are you feeling, Master?” Fist asked in concern, letting his arm drop away from Maryanne’s shoulder.
“Onwards and upwards,” Locksher replied. His hand shook visibly as he reached up to wipe the sweat from his brow. The wizard gestured back over his shoulder. “Do you see that storm system moving in? It is going to drop a great deal of snow on this mountain.”
“Fist was just saying that,” Maryanne said. “It could get a bit hairy for us if we get stuck in it, but snow’s a good thing, right? It’ll keep the evil from escaping and all?”
“It should be helpful for now,” Locksher agreed. “But I’m thinking that this may very well be the last big storm of the winter. It may only give us a few more days at most.”
“Then why has the Mage School been waiting?” Qenzic grumbled. “They should be on the way here now.”
“We have had this conversation before,” the wizard replied evenly. “And the answer has not changed. The High Council will not send out wizards in force until they know how many to send. And they will not know that until I tell them what they’re up against.”
“Well, you know what I think?” Lyramoor said as he hauled himself onto the ledge. As agile as the elf was, he was nowhere near as fast a climber as Rufus, a fact that, from the redness of his face, evidently frustrated him. “Someone from the academy oughta go down to the Mage School with their sword and start pokin’ wizards in the arses until they get moving!”
Fist felt that he should speak up. “The Mage School is ready to help. They are just trying to make sure that the right decision is made.”
“That’s not what Sarine says,” Maryanne replied. “She and Sherl and Beehn are pushing for the school to move. But Valtrek and the rest are dragging their heels.”
“Yes, don’t defend them. They are abominably slow to act,” Locksher said. “I had hoped this would change with the new council members, but alas this new group is just as stubborn.” The wizard sighed. “Our grumbling about it won’t do anything to move them along. Let’s get to that lake so that I can take my measurements.”
The problem stemmed from the fact that their journey to the black lake had been delayed multiple times. Locksher had wanted to head out the day after their arrival in Thunder People territory. Unfortunately the evil in the mountains had decided to increase the rate of its attacks. In the past, the dead had come to the territory once every three days. Now they came every day and in such numbers that the ogres needed the help of Fist’s tribe to fend them off.
>
The dead didn’t come at night because the worms still relied on the senses of the bodies they inhabited to direct them, but each morning as the sun cleared the horizon, on they came. Hundreds of mindless creatures whose only goal was to kill or infect the living. It was evident that something had stirred the evil up and Fist was fairly sure that his battle on the shores of the lake was the culprit.
The battles were long and brutal. The ogres had done this enough that they had become effective at disabling the enemy. However, they didn’t fight as a unit. The ogres would simply charge at the oncoming horde and bash away with their clubs and rocks until the enemy retreated.
Fist and Locksher sent in lightning attacks to help, but they had to be careful not to strike ogres as well. They also soon learned that electricity was only a temporary fix to the problem. When the worms infesting a body were killed, the body fell useless. But the evil seemed to understand this and was quick to send one of its dead comrades to leave more larvae on the body. Within minutes, the body reanimated again.
The Troll King (The Bowl of Souls Book 9) Page 38