by T J Trapp
Erin looked at the men standing nervously on the ground.
“We have no real fight with you,” Alec said, “but we can’t let you get back to the Alder. We will leave you alive, but we are going to take your animals with us.”
“Mercy, sir, have pity on us. Leave us our food and water, or we will die,” one said.
Erin pulled her trogus and rode over to each drunglet. She cut the saddles and packs off, letting the tack fall to the ground.
“You have what you need,” she said. Then she took the halter rope of each drunglet and attached them to the back of her trogus. She started off through the Grasslands towards the escarpment. Alec quickly followed her. After a couple of els, she turned to Alec.
“The drunglets are slowing us down; I am going to release them. I will just keep one to feed our trogus here. The trackers will find them, but that party will never be a concern to us.” Alec nodded in agreement.
As soon as their trogus were fed, they released the other drunglets. Then they urged their trogus forward, and they rode the plains rapidly. Late afternoon brought them in sight of the Aleinte Escarpment.
✽✽✽
Near the escarpment, they stopped for Erin to feel the surroundings.
“There is lots of activity swirling around us,” she said. “I think we must be close to our riders.” She continued to sense the situation. “There is so much activity that it feels like a battle is brewing. There is a large concentration of riders and animals close to the escarpment – that is probably our people.”
“I suggest we head for them,” Alec said.
“There are several other large concentrations of people around, but the direct route between us and our riders is only lightly covered. Do you sense any death rods?”
Alec next let his senses roam.
“I don’t feel any death rod ammunition close around. Let’s do it.”
They paced the animals as they rode – they wanted the mounts to be fresh if they needed to fight or to sprint. Every few minutes they stopped, and Erin sensed around them.
After about two els Erin thought to Alec, the large group is about another el ahead of us. Between them and us is a picket line. Can you do something?
I can blur us, but it won’t work when they get close to us because the trogus will smell each other, Alec thought back to her. But it will let us get closer before they start converging on us. Might reduce how many we must fight our way through. He created a blurring lens. The two of them slowly rode forward towards the picket line.
We are as close as we are going to get without the other trogus smelling us. We are about a half el from the outer lines of the other group. There are two Alder between them and us. I think it is time for the direct approach, thought Erin. We will leave our pack animal here.
Alec nodded in agreement and dropped the lens. Both prodded their trogus and headed towards the troops. Two Alder riders in front of them looked up in surprise and pulled out their short spears. They turned their animals with obvious skill. Erin slanted to the left. Both riders ignored her and moved to intercept the tall man.
The two Alder riders closed quickly on Alec. Alec’s only obvious weapon was his staff. The Aldermen knew it would not be an effective weapon against their spears and they rode forward quickly and confidently.
Focus. The first Alderman’s trogus flopped onto the ground. Alec turned to the right and the second trogus was delayed as it maneuvered around the downed animal. The Alder rider accelerated his animal and started to gain on Alec.
Focus. The Alder rider collapsed, but his trogus kept sprinting forward. Erin rode in from the side, and her trogus pushed the Alder trogus out of the path.
Then the two of them rode rapidly towards the mass of riders assembled before them. Five riders with spears started riding out to intercept them. For a second Alec felt they were heading into disaster – then one of the oncoming riders recognized them and let out a whoop of joy.
“Princess!” He whistled a signal to his comrades, and the others immediately separated to allow Erin and Alec to ride through the Theland line. They had found their riders.
They collected their pack animal and rode quickly to where the Theland lead rider had established his base.
“Ferd!” Alec cried out.
“Welcome, my Queen,” Ferd said to the two of them, grinning broadly. “Your Highness, Queen Erin, I stand before you as your most humble servant. Welcome, Consort Alec.”
“‘Princess,’” Erin corrected him. “I remain ‘Princess.’”
“Princess, we are glad to see you, but would not want to put you in such danger!” Ferd said. “Three days ago, one of the Alder patrols found our track, and they have been following us ever since. They tried to attack us twice, but both times we defeated them. They have determined they can’t fight us with even numbers – unless they have death rods, of course. The Aldermen have been slowly amassing more and more riders. For the last day they have been shadowing us, adding a few more riders periodically. I think that either when they have a two-to-one superiority, or when they get some more death rods, they will try to attack.” The lead rider looked at his Princess. “I didn’t try to retreat because I wanted to stay here in the Grasslands and wait for your return. Now they have backed us up against Aleinte Escarpment. We can’t take the wagons up it. We can ride our trogus up the escarpment and away, but we have about twenty wounded riders in our wagons that we would have to abandon, and I have been reluctant to do that.”
“I think we have another problem,” said Alec. “I sense that the Alder have gunpowder stores located on the top of that escarpment. I think they must have found a death rod or two and placed them up there. They appear to be well back from the edge of the escarpment, and I can’t get to them. If we go up the slope, they will be able to destroy us as we come over the top. It would be deadly to go up. They would get a lot of us before I could destroy them.”
“That only leaves the direct route out the front,” Ferd said. “I think we can punch through their lines and get most of our riders out. It will be another day before they have enough riders to stop us – but the wagons with our wounded wouldn’t make it.”
“Not a good set of alternatives,” said Erin. Then a gleam came into her eyes, and she looked at Alec. “How about your new toy, my Great Wizard? Can we use it?”
Alec started to say ‘no,’ because he needed two points for portals, and would have to go to the other point to set it up. Then he realized that he already had an end-point.
“If we are willing to move our people and wagons to the plot where we tested it, that should work,” he said. Ferd looked at him quizzically, not understanding what Alec was talking about, but not about to interrupt his Princess nor question her Consort.
“That place will be fine,” Erin said. “Let’s get out of here tonight before anything else happens.”
Alec described to Ferd what they would do and asked him to ready the riders for a little ‘wizard magic.’ At the edge of the Theland troops’ encampment, in the evening twilight Alec marked out a circle the same size as the circles he had made on the Grasslands where he had tested his newfound equipment. After some quick calculations, he determined that each circle was big enough to fit either ten riders on trogus or one wagon. Erin designated Thom and eight other riders as the initial group. Alec would go to the other portal with the first set of riders to ensure everything worked, and then return to transport the remainder.
The nine riders lined up inside the circle, looking somewhat unsure of what was about to happen next. Alec joined them and fed dark energy into the hex rod. The world faded and returned. Suddenly, the nine riders and Alec were in an undulating field of grass instead of the dusty camp by the escarpment.
“Move quickly,” Alec exhorted them, shooing the awed people and their mounts out of the marked circle. “Get out of this circle and fan out to ensure the area remains clear. Otherwise, you will be in the way of the next wave of riders.” He looked around at t
he sea of grass. There did not appear to be anyone within sight.
Alec strode back to the center of the circle, and everything faded again; then he was back at the escarpment. Erin had already lined up the second wave of ten riders. That wave disappeared. Then they began to cycle the wagons through, one at a time.
Alec had timed how long it took to remove everyone from the portal, and established a time allowance for each cycle. The riders had strict instructions to clear the portal circle within their time allowance, no matter what it took. The next group would be sent after the agreed interval.
Alec wanted to send Erin in one of the early waves, but she refused, saying she would go in the last group with him or not at all. The wagons and the wounded riders all cycled through the circle with no problem and over half the riders had been ported when trouble struck. A Theland scout came riding up rapidly.
“Princess, the Alder are mounting an attack on us. They have a sortie of thirty riders coming this way to see what we are doing. They must have heard the noise and commotion of moving our wagons and trogus into the magic circle.”
“Then we need to pick up our pace,” Alec said, “so that we can all be gone before they get here.” By this time, all that remained were several riders and their mounts. “The original time allowance was set for the wagons, so now we should be able to move twice as fast. This next wave can tell the troops on the other end to move out of the way more quickly.”
As the Alder riders started galloping forward, they saw their enemy vanish into the air, ten at a time. The Alder were close enough for the Theland troops to hear the heavy breathing from the charging trogus when Alec, Erin, Ferd, and the last three Theland riders moved onto the ring. Alec looked at the approaching Aldermen and then fed dark energy into the hex rod. The world faded, and then they were on the other side.
A cheer went up from Erin’s riders when she stepped out onto the Grasslands.
“We made it!” she said, in relief.
There was still enough daylight for the Theland riders and their wagons to regroup and travel. The Theland riders were afraid of the portal circle and wanted to get as far away from the ‘magic ring’ as they could, and as quickly as possible. It was dark when they finally stopped for the night, setting up camp by the light of the five moons.
The next morning the Theland contingent prepared for their long trek out of the Grasslands. On the second day, the scouts returned saying they had sighted a caravan. Erin decided they should take out the caravan. It would be a good way to resupply themselves.
“We should use your new trick, the magic circle, to capture this caravan,” Erin said. “Call upon your magic, oh my Great Wizard.”
Erin, Ferd, and Thom plotted the path of the caravan, and then Alec and a couple of riders went ahead to create a portal point that would be large enough for twenty riders at a time. They watched as the caravan moved along the route. When the middle of the caravan was abreast the portal point, they sent the first twenty riders through and quickly sent a second twenty through. Forty snarling trogus suddenly showing up in the middle of the caravan were enough to disrupt things. The caravan guards were unprepared and quickly disarmed. The caravan was stopped, and the drivers and other personnel escorted into the center. The caravan drungs were released and sent scurrying into the Grasslands. The Theland riders then came alongside the wagons and extracted any supplies they could use, taking two of the wagons to carry the extra supplies. Then they burned the rest of the wagons. They left the caravan people wagon-less to fend for themselves.
Four days later they reached Raner Pass. Erin been sensing ahead for troops or another enemy; however, the Alder had repositioned their army back into the Grasslands where they could use their remaining death rods to good effect to defend their forces from attack.
“It seems that the Alder General is waiting for significant reinforcements before he tries to assault Raner Pass again,” the lead scout reported.
He may have a long wait, Alec thought. Erin smiled at that.
Erin’s forces crossed through the pass and triumphantly rode into their old camp near the Gott fortress before the sun set behind the mountains.
Part Three
28 – Elf Mountains
The next morning, Erin dispatched a messenger with a request for a meeting with General Mawn. By late afternoon no meeting had been set up. That was not particularly concerning since her people needed a couple of days to repair damaged gear, attend to the wounded, and resupply. Alec and Erin put the time to good use by applying healing to their injured riders, and other warriors, where they could. The next day they still had not heard from the General. Erin dispatched a second messenger with a repeat of her initial request. By noon of the third day, when they had still not received any reply, Erin was becoming annoyed.
“It’s time for a ride,” Erin said. “The General is deliberately ignoring us, probably because of Amelia.”
The two of them rode to the General’s headquarters with Ferd and an escort of twenty riders, as was befitting a princess of Theland. They tied their mounts to the posts in front of the General’s headquarters and walked in.
“Her Highness Erin, Princess of Theland, to see His Excellency General Mawn,” Erin’s courier announced.
They waited.
No response.
Finally, Major Voy came out, looking a bit sheepish.
“Greetings. We have heard of your success on the Grasslands. We appreciate your esteemed efforts. General Mawn is very busy today. He might be able to meet with you tomorrow, but he has permitted me to debrief you today.”
“No,” said Erin, regally, to Major Voy. “The Princess of Theland wishes to speak to the General, and he will see me. It is that simple.” The major looked uncertain. “I don’t make threats, but I promise you that I will act if he cannot find time to see me.”
Major Voy went back into General Mawn’s headquarters. After several minutes he returned.
“The General wants you to know that he has pressing business that takes precedence over you. He also wants you to know that you are not recognized as a Princess of Theland by Queen Amelia of Theland, or as the leader of her troops. Therefore, Gott adheres to the instructions of our gracious ally, Queen Amelia of Theland.” The major cleared his throat slightly, looking quite uncomfortable.
“Queen Amelia has sent directions that you are to be detained here at the fortress. She is sending a new leader for the riders of Theland to replace you. General Mawn says that if you relinquish your command and promise not to flee, we will not put you in chains but let you remain with your riders.”
“However, in appreciation of your contributions to Gott in the war against the Alder, the General will make time in his busy schedule for you. He will see you personally, one week from today.” Major Voy tried unsuccessfully to give her a stern look.
“That will not be acceptable,” said Erin. Motioning for her retinue to follow, she marched to the front of General Mawn’s command center.
“General Mawn! Erin, Princess of Theland and Leader of the Theland Riders, is here to see you!” she yelled. She repeated herself a second time and stood waiting. When nothing happened, she said loudly, “Oh Great Wizard, the good General appears to be yet asleep. Will you awaken him?”
“With pleasure.”
A great clap of thunder rang out, and then a second clap, followed by a small whirlwind.
The General burst out of his command tent and looked angrily at Erin. A company of Gott guardsmen appeared, armed with swords and spears. The guards looked nervous. They knew the reputation of the Theland riders, and of Erin’s reputation as a great Warrior Princess.
Erin looked at the Gotts and smiled, a determined gleam in her eyes.
“You have made me angry, General. You only have three times as many guards here as I have riders. If you want to fight my wizard and me instead of talk, that is your choice, but I like my odds.”
The General spent a long moment looking at Erin. He motioned
for his guardsmen to stand down.
“General Mawn, I have things to do that are important, and I am not interested in you wasting my time. I have fulfilled the obligations of assistance to Gott that my mother, Queen Therin of Theland, proffered to you. I have lost skilled riders of Theland to back your cause, and return to Gott with many wounded, noble riders who have suffered greatly in support of your feeble troops. Without us, you would not have won the battle here at Raner Pass. Also, we have disrupted the enemy caravan chain as you ordered us to do, and we have dispatched many Alder soldiers who no longer stand as a threat to you.
“Now, I am going to take my riders and return to Theland. I have urgent matters to attend to in my homeland. I request that you provide us with a seal granting us free access through the allied lines and Gott for our trip home.”
General Mawn nodded, with a slight smile. “Come back tomorrow, and I will see what can be done,” he said.
“No!” said Erin. “We will wait here.”
The General shifted uneasily.
“The longer you stall, the longer it will be before you can return to your ‘pressing business,’’’ Erin said. “Have you seen what happens when angry trogus rampage through a camp? I would suggest that you don’t try to do anything that might be inopportune.”
General Mawn rubbed his jaw and then beckoned to Major Voy.
“I do not want to be a part of the internal politics of Theland. Issue them a free passage instruction over my mark and seal. Please debrief them. I would like to know more about the situation deep in the Grasslands.”
“I am sorry, General. I have ‘pressing business’ to attend to and do not have time to debrief the good Major.” As soon as she received the seal of passage, Erin did not wait. Before sunset, she had her entire force of riders and wagons traveling away from the General’s camp and into Gott.
✽✽✽
Several issues weighed heavily on Erin. The first was finding the truth about her mother’s death and punishing those responsible. The second was resolving the succession to the Theland throne, after Brun used the extorted abdication document and her absence to install Amelia as Queen. Overriding all these problems was the potential destruction of Theland and all her people if the elf concentrator destroyed itself. Because Alec could feel the increasing oscillations in the dark energy from the unstable concentrator, he kept impressing upon her the need to go quickly to the focus point in the Elf Mountains. In Erin’s mind, saving her people was more important than resolving her status or avenging her mother.