by Jamie Davis
“That’s assuming, this message was just brought in on the ship. There’s no telling how long that officer had it in his pocket. The announcement is dated over a month and a half ago.”
“With the number of Marines that attacked us today,” Helen said. “I’ve got to think that they are from a new contingent off a second ship. It’s many more than a normal ship’s contingent would be.”
“That makes sense,” Cari replied. “Knowing that almost makes me want to go back down there and question one of them to find out where they’re from.”
“You’re not going back down there, are you Captain?” Francesca asked.
Cari laughed. “I said ‘almost.’ I didn’t say I was going to. That would be crazy. Let’s get you seated over here, Helen, so we can see to your injured leg. Then we’ll settle down and wait a little bit longer to see if our troll friends catch up with us. Otherwise, we’re going to have to make our way up this mountain and down the other side on our own.”
Once they were settled back near The Finger, Cari bandaged Helen’s injured leg and they sat back together against the ledge, watching the evening sky and the trail below at the same time. The view from their vantage point was spectacular, almost peaceful. It was a stark counterpoint to the desperate fighting they’d seen earlier.
About a half hour later, Chrrrak and a group of trolls came lumbering up the pathway towards the ledge. None of them were injured as far as Cari could see. If they’d sustained damage in the fighting, they’d regenerated any injuries along the way. There were a few of their number missing, though, so they’d taken some losses.
Cari stood up and raised her hand overhead, waving it so that Chrrrak could see them.
Even from a distance, Cari could see the broad grin on his face as he waved back. He didn’t appear to be in any hurry, so Cari assumed they’d either defeated the remaining marines or caused them to retreat from the fight on the trail in the forest below. Either way, Cari was happy they weren’t going to be caught in a running battle up the side of this mountain.
When the troll chief arrived at the ledge, Cari smiled up at the giant creature. “It is good to see you, Chrrrak. I see you are missing some of your number. Were they lost in the fighting below? I’m sorry if you lost more of your tribesmen.”
“The fighting was hard. New men in red brought fire. We were unable to save our friends from those wounds.”
Cari paused and offered her friend a grim smile of condolence before continuing. She pointed up the mountain. “So, where do we go from here?”
Chrrrak pointed up the trail farther into the mountains. “It long journey up and over mountains.”
“We have to go by the fastest route possible. We just discovered our time is running out.”
Chrrrak’s brow furrowed for a moment as he pondered Cari’s words. He seemed to be struggling with what he wanted to say. Finally, after nearly a minute, he shook his head and spoke. “There is shorter path through mountains, it dangerous, though, maybe too dangerous.”
Cari shrugged. “It can’t be more dangerous than staying here and waiting for those marines to catch up with us. They will come back. I think they now know for sure we have the girl with us.”
“Then I take you as far as entrance to man tunnels.”
“Man tunnels? That sounds ominous. What are they?”
“They are ancient passage. They travel through highest part of mountain. Much of it too narrow or too short for trolls. In days past, legend say men and others traveled tunnels often.”
“You said it’s dangerous. What did you mean?”
“No one travel passage for many years. It home now to many creatures. Most not friends to intruders. Plus, it haunted.”
“Great. Tunnels, monsters, and ghosts, oh my.” Cari shrugged. The decision was made for her because of the urgency of the situation. She said as much as she continued. “We don’t really have a choice. We’ll deal with any challenges as they present themselves. Let’s get going. It’s probably a good idea that we put as much distance between ourselves and those imperial troops as we can.”
* * *
Quest accepted — Find the tunnels under the mountain
* * *
Chrrrak nodded and pointed up the slope to a pair of his companions. The two trolls nodded at their chief and headed upslope at a loping run, soon disappearing around a bend in the path. “Those two will scout ahead for place to camp. I leave others here to watch behind.”
“That is a good idea,” Cari said. “I’ll get my people on their feet. We can get on the trail immediately.”
“I’ll fetch them, ma’am,” Francesca said. “Percy and the girl both fell asleep back there on the ledge. It’ll take them a few minutes to be ready to move.”
“You do that, Francesca. I’ll get Helen on her feet. She can start up the trail with Chrrrak and I’ll wait for you and the two kids.”
Cari watched as Helen joined the trolls trekking up the mountain behind their chieftain. He was surprisingly compassionate with regards to Helen given his fierce exterior appearance. He remembered his companion was wounded and stopped to let her catch up with him before he continued up the trail after his tribesmen.
The three remaining trolls were left on the ledge back at The Finger, staring down the trail and watching for signs of pursuit.
Cari nodded to them and the turned up the trail as Francesca came up with the two children. “Let’s get going. We’ve got a long way to go and I’d like to be safely away before we make camp for the night.”
Francesca took the two children by the hand and the four of them continued up the mountain trail, following after the troll chieftain.
Chapter 10
Following the trolls, the group traveled up through the mountain pass for the few remaining hours of the day. The sun had just started to dip beyond the peaks to the west when they arrived at the edge of a steep ravine.
Chrrrak stood at the top of the ravine and waited for Cari to catch up to him. When she reached his side, he pointed down into the canyon. “Man tunnels begin there.”
After scanning the steep drop into the ravine, Cari said, “It’s awfully steep to descend this way. Is there another path we can take to the bottom?”
“No,” the chief said, shaking his head. “Father say bridge once crossed ravine and path down other side. Bridge gone long time.”
Cari got down on one knee and leaned over the edge. It wasn’t a sheer drop, but it was close. They had thought far enough ahead to bring rope with them in their packs, but she wasn’t sure there would be enough to reach the bottom.
She stood up and looked around. “I think it’s best we camp here for the night. We should have outdistanced any pursuit at this point. We haven’t heard from your companions who stayed behind to watch for anyone following us.”
“I already send word back to them. They be here soon.”
Cari nodded and walked over to where Percy and Jaycee stood with Helen and Francesca. “We’re going to camp here. Let’s find a spot that offers at least some shelter.”
Francesca nodded. “I’ll check around. There might be a place with a bit of an overhang to provide some cover if it starts to rain and give us some cover from the wind, too.”
As the woman headed across the ledge on which they stood to check farther along the path, Helen started unpacking some of the gear from her pack. She had a small camp stove that burned a mixture of wax and alcohol. They didn’t have much to supply it, but there would be enough to boil a simple broth. That combined with the jerky they had from the ship’s stores would have to serve as dinner.
Jaycee sat down and leaned against the rock wall behind her. She looked exhausted. Cari crouched down beside her. “How are you holding up, Jaycee?”
“If you can do it, Cari, so can I.” The little girl offered her a big smile, but Cari could see weariness behind the grin. It was evident in her eyes.
“You’re a courageous girl, Jaycee. I’m going to need you to be even
braver now, though. We’re getting ready to head into a tunnel through the mountains. I’m not sure what we’ll find there, but I will keep you safe. I promise.”
Jaycee reached down and gripped the belt knife at her side. “I can help, too. I can be as fierce as you are, Cari.”
“I know you can.” Cari smiled and placed her hand on top of the girl’s blond hair, stroking a stray strand out of her eyes. “Here, turn around and I’ll braid your hair just like mine.”
Jaycee’s smile grew even brighter and she turned, sitting cross-legged with her back to Cari. She sat up straight and tall so Cari could braid her long blonde hair.
“I’ll look just like you, Cari. We can be fierce princesses together.”
The statement made Cari chuckle. Since she technically was a princess by imperial decree from the time she was two years old, what Jaycee said was correct. “You’re right. Fierce princesses are exactly what we’ll be.”
Helen just got the camp stove set up and lit it when the trailing group of trolls caught up with their party. It was immediately evident why they had taken so long to catch up. Two of them each carried a deer across their broad shoulders.
Cari nudged Helen and pointed in their direction. “Looks like the jerky soup is off the menu.”
“Thank God. I’m not looking forward to the point when we have to settle for that for dinner.”
“Don’t worry, Helen. Where we are going, we’ll likely be eating it soon enough.”
“You really think it’s a good idea to head down into those tunnels?”
“I don’t see how we have a choice. We are going to have to get through these mountains one way or another and Chrrrak says this is the fastest route.”
“Are the tunnels going to have enough air? I heard from someone once the air in tunnels can go bad sometimes.” Percy looked a little pale as he asked this question.
Cari put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “We’ll be fine. I promise. It’s going to be a difficult journey, though. Are you up to it? If not, I’m sure Chrrrak would deliver you to a human trader or even the closest human settlement or farmstead at the edge of their lands. You could travel on to Tandon or anywhere else you wanted to go from there.”
Percy puffed up his chest and shook his head. “I’m going to stay by your side, ma’am. That’s where I belong. I’ve proven myself, haven’t I?”
“You absolutely have, Percy. I meant no offense. If you’re willing to come on the journey, I’d be honored to have you at my side.”
That seemed to settle him down a little and he also seemed a little more relaxed about where they were headed. That was all Cari could ask for.
Francesca came back and pointed around the bend from where she’d come. “There is a small cave around the corner. It doesn’t go too deep into the mountainside and it appears to be unoccupied. I think we can shelter there for the night. There’s even some scrub pine all along the upward slope so we might be able to scrounge up enough deadwood for a small fire. It’s going to get cold tonight I fear.”
“Excellent,” Cari said. “Chrrrak, we found a small cave around the corner. Let’s move up to that point and set up our camp there.”
The big troll nodded and grumbled something in the troll tongue at his companions. Two of them picked up the two deer carcasses and together the whole group moved around the bend to where Francesca found the cave.
They were able to build a small fire in front of the cave entrance and the roasted venison was delicious. Everyone ate their fill and there would be enough left to carry deer meat with them for at least one or two days of meals in the tunnels. The meat should last that long before going bad. After that, it would be jerky soup.
The cave proved dry and warmed up a bit with the campfire in front of it so that it became quite comfortable for a night in the high mountains. They were still all a little cold under their blankets, but they managed to stay warm enough to sleep.
Jaycee had taken to sleeping right next to Cari. When she woke the next morning, the little girl had snuggled up against her. Cari realized she had one arm wrapped protectively around Jaycee.
Cari tried to work out from under the small girl without waking her so she could go out and stoke the fire, but Jaycee woke up as soon as she moved.
“Where are you going?”
“I was just going to throw some fresh wood on the fire. It would be nice to have a hot breakfast I think before we start down into the ravine.”
Jaycee stood up and started toward the cave mouth with Cari.
“I can go gather some wood.”
“You may go, but don’t go too far. Stay where I can see you.” Cari watched as the girl scampered up the slope next to the cave and started gathering sticks from beneath the small pine trees there. Cari threw the few remaining branches they collected the night before on the fire and blew on the remaining coals until flames popped up again. The wood was soaked in pine resin and the branches caught fire quickly.
Jaycee returned with a handful of branches before going back upslope to make another trip. She couldn’t carry much, but she was willing to work to help out and Cari appreciated that.
While Jaycee made another trip, Cari cut two slabs of meat from the haunch of venison and skewered them on their camp spit suspending the meat over the flames. She would have them roasted and ready when everyone else got up.
Jaycee brought another load of branches down and set them on the pile. She turned to go back up into the woods, but Cari stopped her. “That’s enough for now, Jaycee. Why don’t you come over here and help me get some breakfast together? Dig into Helen’s pack over there and bring me the small sack of cornmeal. There might also be some cheese in there, so if you see that, grab it.
Jaycee headed over to the place where the packs leaned against the side of the cave and pulled out the sack of corn meal and a wedge of hard cheese from Helen’s pack. When she brought it back to Cari, she smiled and said, “What are we making?”
“I think we can make a kind of polenta.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s something they make where I come from. I’ve never made it before myself, but I know the basics of what’s in it. Let’s experiment together, shall we?”
Jaycee nodded and leaned forward to help Cari make breakfast. Cari realized the girl had become quite attached to her. She also realized how attached she’d become to Jaycee. In some ways, she reminded Cari of herself at that age, full of enthusiasm and excitement about everything new she learned.
It was strange, Cari thought, how she lost some of that as she grew older. It had come back with a vengeance, though, when she returned to Fantasma and discovered this wonderful world waiting for her. It was as if she’d become a child all over again with so much to explore.
The trolls had taken turns at guard duty and the others must’ve felt safe and secure in the cave because they slept longer than Cari thought they would. When breakfast was ready, she had to go wake the rest of them up. She understood their weariness. The journey since they left the Sailfish had been arduous -- especially on the adults. She was glad the others had gotten some rest.
Francesca stepped out of the cave entrance stood up and stretched her arms wide with a groan. “You should’ve gotten me up. I could’ve helped with breakfast.”
“You all three looked so peaceful in there, sleeping like babies the way you were. I didn’t want to wake any of you. Besides, I had my assistant Jaycee here helping me out.”
Jaycee smiled with pride at the recognition.
Cari continued as Helen and Percy stumbled out into the bright sunlight. “Sorry I had to wake you all now, but we’ve got things to do today.”
“Understood, Captain. What do you want me to do?” Percy asked.
“Easy does it. First, eat your fill of breakfast, it’s likely to be one of the last hot meals we have for a while. Then, get with Helen and gather together all of the rope we brought with us from the Sailfish. Let’s see how much we have if we put it all to
gether.”
“Got it,” Helen said, staring over at the edge of the ravine. “Hopefully we have enough to reach the bottom.”
“We’ll see. Come here and get something to eat first. Then we can set to work on solving that particular problem.”
“I can’t believe you let us sleep so long, Cari.”
Cari chuckled. “That’s exactly what Francesca said. I figured you should enjoy the sleep you were getting. I’m not sure how much we’ll get while we’re in those tunnels down there. We’ll probably want to press to get through as quickly as we can.”
“I won’t have any problem with that. I, for one, enjoy open sky above me. I’m not sure how I feel about being trapped with tons of mountain rock over my head.”
The group settled down to eat as Chrrrak came over to where they sat by the cave. Cari offered him some of the roast venison. He took it with a grin and tore into it with his huge black teeth. Cari figured Trolls didn’t often get cooked food given their fear of open flames.
“Chrrrak, I don’t know what we would do if we didn’t have you as a friend.”
“Friends what make life worth living.”
“I am always surprised by the profound words that come out of your mouth. You are, of course, correct.”
“Truth is truth, Cari. Truth is same in man tongue and troll tongue.”
“What will you and your tribe do, if the imperial soldiers continue to press onward into the mountains?”
“We find high passes in which to camp. There are places, high places, no man can reach. We can live there long time. Eventually, soldiers go away.”
Cari nodded. She was happy his tribe would find a place to live until the trouble passed. She hoped the soldiers from the ships below lost interest in searching for them.
Thinking about their flight from the coast and the skirmishes they had with imperial troops reminded Cari of the information she discovered about the Empress. She wondered if now was the right time to tell young Jaycee about her great-grandma’s passing. Cari decided it could wait until after they were through the mountain. She didn’t need the little girl saddened by anything that might keep her from being as brave as she needed to be in the dark tunnels.