by F M Andrews
With confidence now, he strode back to the tunnel where he found the three trolls huddled over Jeveran’s map, fingers tracing possible path but they all looked up expectantly as he entered. Making contact with Brack, Lutex conveyed the ‘all clear’ message.
“We are here,” the princess said pointing to a spot on the map and looking up at Lutex to include him. “We can go as far as here together but after that we will have to split up. Jeveran must go to the army camp here.” She moved her finger across the map towards a large circle at the edge. “And we have to continue on towards the mountains here.” This time her finger travelled a much longer route in the opposite direction to a point that was almost at the top of the map.
“How long do you think that we will take us?” Lutex asked anxiously. Without looking at Errin’s strokes he had no idea of how much time they had left, yet he could feel it in his bones, that it was disappearing fast. Jeveran stroked his chin in thought.
“If you really push it and don’t encounter any problems I think that you could make it in about three days,” he replied, sucking his teeth as his eyes scanned the map once more. “Four at the most.” He amended, this time sounding much more confidant. Looking thoughtful, he then added. “We should camp for the night. There is a cave somewhere? … there!” he proclaimed jabbing a spot some distance away. “It won’t take us long to reach it and, goodness knows, we could do with the rest,” he finished, yawning mightily. Brack and Lutex exchanged quizzical glances. No comebacks or putdowns from Lifen. Was the princess maturing or just too exhausted to care?
As quietly and unobtrusively as they could, they made their way to the cave and were pleasantly surprised by its size. It was immediately obvious that it was a well-used camp, as there was a fire pit complete with dry wood stacked nearby. The cave itself would have been impossible to find if you did not know where to look and if it had not been marked on the map, they would never have even known it was there. The king must keep it stocked just in case he needed it when hunting. It was hidden in a gully and the smoke hole for the fire was carefully engineered to dissipate the smoke away from the cave.
They threw down their packs on the sandy floor in relief. Tonight, they would be safe. Soon the fire was blazing, surrounded with their wet clothes, steaming on handy rocks. A billy was boiling and food was being passed around. If it wasn’t for the sad circumstances that had led them all here, it would have been quite fun: jokes were shared and the day’s adventures rehashed. After a while a companionable silence settled over them as each delved deep into their own thoughts. It was Jeveran who broke into them.
“How long do you think the princess will be away for?” he asked Lutex, hesitantly touching his hand in order to communicate. “I mean, do you think she will be back in time for next summer?” Lutex was caught completely off guard. He hadn’t ever thought about the possibility of her returning, but if Lifen survived he was sure Errin would be more than happy to send her back, if that was what she wanted. Jeveran could only have got the idea that she was returning from the princess. No wonder she was so accepting of the task set before her; in her mind this was an adventure not a life sentence.
Lutex knew that honesty was his only choice here, and so he gently explained that he had no idea of what trials lay ahead for Lifen but that the one thing he was sure of was that if she could, Errin would return her as soon as was possible. Jeveran seemed to be appeased, he gave Lutex a quick, grateful smile before returning his gaze to the fire once more.
Lutex sighed. So many lives caught up in this battle. His gaze came to rest on the slumbering Tubble and his heart quickened with worry. It was totally out of character for the energetic animal to be sleep for so long and he decided to try and use his talent to see if all was well with his friend, knowing that he would not be able to sleep himself unless he knew that he had done everything he could do to help. Closing his eyes, he gathered the power needed and carefully slipped into Tubble’s body. With relief, he discovered that, on the whole, the cat was well. There was a tiny bit of water still on his lungs, which Lutex pushed up and out, making Tubble cough, but apart form that he looked fine. Maybe that was the secret to healing yourself – plenty of rest.
Relieved, Lutex longed to lie down but there was just one more thing he needed to check. Opening his pack, grateful that the waterproofing had worked and everything inside was still dry, he extracted Errin’s parchment. Squinting at it in the dying firelight, he had trouble working out what he was seeing. He had expected to see four or five strokes left but there were seven, no six. This was really peculiar. There appeared to be absolutely no correlation between Feld days and days here. Sometimes two or three strokes would disappear in a single day and other times only one stroke would vanish over two or three days. This was no help. How could he predict when his time would run out? All he could do was to try and get to the pickup point as fast as possible. It wouldn't matter if he was early, but it would be disaster if they were late.
The sky was overcast but the threatening rain was holding off as they left the cave the next morning refreshed, warm and dry. This was a completely different party than the one that had staggered into the sanctuary the night before. Jeveran had pointed out that they would travel together for the first part of the morning until they reached the river, where he would turn to follow it downstream and they would continue on upstream. At first they were cautious, creeping along, but their progress was excruciatingly slow and eventually stealth became the victim of speed and as they travelled further and further away from Haktara and the likelihood of running into Krax scouts grew slimmer and slimmer, they inevitably became careless.
An arrow, suddenly sprouting from the tree just in front of Brack was a rude reality check. Training took over and all took cover. Brack slipped Tubble under a nearby bush and Jeveran stood in front of Lifen. Lutex also slipped away into the undergrowth. Another arrow narrowly missed his head as he ducked behind a large tree trunk. He had been spotted. Dropping to his stomach, he turned and scooted off in the opposite direction until he was hidden deep within a convenient bush.
Peering out, he watched anxiously as his friends fought for their lives. All three were now standing behind thick trunks as arrows continued to pin them down. Suddenly, a crashing of undergrowth off to one side exploded into a Krax in full leather armour, armed to the teeth, baring down inexorably on Brack who turned, both axes raised, and sidestepped just in time to avoid being impaled on a vicious looking short sword. Another Krax could be heard screaming a battle cry as it bore down on Jeveran and the princess. ‘Please, let there be only two,’ Lutex pleaded. Any more and they were in real trouble. The sounds of metal striking metal, grunts of pain and terrifying yells filled the forest. Lutex did not know where to look.
Brack was holding his own but he was slowly giving ground. He was defending well, although he was being pushed back towards a large slippery muddy puddle where it would be hard for him to keep his footing. He needed to attack. Maybe Lutex could help tip the balance. Kneeling down, he groped around until he found a fist-sized rock. Squeezing out from under the bush he stood and threw it with all his strength, adding just a touch of power to help it on its way. The rock flew true and with a sickening sound made contact with the Krax’s nose. Blood exploded across its face and for a split moment the sword was lowered. That was all the invitation Brack needed and he charged, twin axes flying.
The Krax was skilled and recovered quickly but now it was defending and Brack was attacking. Lutex turned searching for Jeveran and the princess, spotting them just in time to see the Krax slip past Jeveran’s defences and slice a long cut down his sword arm. Jeveran stumbled back a few steps. His adversary, sensing victory, moved closer in hot pursuit. Lutex gasped, then relaxed a little as he saw that this had all been a cunning plan of Jeveran’s to lure the Krax into overextending. He watched in awe as the troll smoothly swapped the sword from his injured side to his other hand and prepared to lunge. It would have been all over in an insta
nt, it would have been a death blow to the Krax, but Lutex watched in horrified slow motion as Lifen, who plainly did not understand Jeveran’s plan, tried to come to his rescue. Moving up behind Jeveran, giving him no room to move, she sent her throwing knife tumbling towards the Krax. Unfortunately, all it did was cause the Krax to duck out of the line of Jeveran’s thrust and distract Jeveran enough that he never had time to block the upward thrust that pierced his heart and ended his life. It all happened so suddenly, in the blink of an eye.
A cry of pain caused Lutex to spin round once more to see Brack’s opponent fall to the ground, an axe protruding from his forehead. Already, another axe was in the air, winging itself, end over end towards Jeveran’s killer, now towering over the princess’s fallen body, sword held high, ready for the killing stroke. The axe connected with its head, not biting in, but the throw was hard enough to knock the scout to the ground. Lifen seized the moment, grabbed Jeveran’s sword and screaming, she lunged. She hit the Krax in the side of the neck and blood fountained out, coating the now hysterical princess, still holding the blade in her trembling hands, staring down at the two bodies before her.
Slowly she sank to her knees, her lax fingers releasing the weapon, letting it thud to the ground. Lutex knew in that moment, seeing the despair in her eyes, that she should never find out that her actions had cost Jeveran his life. She would be unable to live with that knowledge and it was a secret that he would take with him to his grave.
The violence of a moment ago was replaced with silent shock. No one moved. All were focusing on Jeveran’s sprawling body, his sightless eyes wide in surprise. As if sympathising with their grief, the heavens chose that moment to open up and the rain poured down, pattering through the leaves and bouncing off the forest floor. Their vision was now limited to the carnage surrounding them and puddles of crimson blood mixed with the rain pooling around the fallen. Brack broke the spell. Striding over to Lifen, he gripped her shoulders and stared into her eyes. She looked lost, desperate and fragile. The complete opposite of her normal demeanour. Lutex came to join them.
“I am so sorry, we have no time to bury Jeveran, although we do need to hide the bodies,” he said gently.
The princess gave a shuddering sob but nodded in agreement.
“He deserves a proper farewell by his loved ones but all we can do now is make sure that his death was worth something, that some good comes of his sacrifice.”[CL31] He reasoned.
Lifen wiped her eyes and, sniffing, looked down at Jeveran’s body once more and took in a huge breath before bending to pick up the fallen troll’s feet.
The morning was well advanced by the time they had cleared the battle ground, retrieved all their belongings and begun their trek once more. They had found a spot under a large, spreading tree to carefully place Jeveran as if he were at rest. Lifen had crossed his arms over his chest and in doing so had discovered a crumpled, blood stained parchment. Retrieving it she had tried to open it but it disintegrated in her hands.
“It’s the letter from my father asking for help,” she’d whispered, head bowed. “He had it in the pocket over his heart.” Into the stunned silence, the soft sound of her weeping could be heard. This presented a problem that none of them could process just now so instead they had given the princess a moment alone with Jeveran to say her last farewells to the man she had taken for granted for so long. Lutex felt sorry for her. This was a life lesson that she might never fully recover from. Together, Lutex and Brack had stood waiting for her under the relative shelter of an overhanging branch, Brack cleaning his axes before stowing them once more in their rightful place on his back. Tubble had wandered up looking decidedly bedraggled but much improved, even attempting to lick himself half-heartedly. Lutex had found that the reassurance his two friends offered gave him strength and the knowledge that together they would look out for each other, no matter what, warmed his battered heart.
The princess had finally emerged, her eyes red, her hair hanging in wet strings around her face. She had looked so lost and forlorn that Brack had taken sympathy on her and refocused everyone away from their past on onto their future. “Time to be moving. We need to get as far from here as we can. The last thing we need is for someone to come looking for their missing scouts,” he had reasoned, an air of authority creeping into his voice. And so here they were trudging onwards, each deep in their own thoughts.
It was reaching the river that finally forced them to stop. There was no getting away from it now: a decision had to be made, a discussion had and painful thoughts aired. Upstream or downstream? They all stood staring at the deep, slow flowing water in front of them, knowing that this was a pivotal point in their journey.
“Let's find some shelter and eat,” Brack suggested, making everyone realize just how hungry they were. At one time the river must have flooded, leaving a mound of twisted logs behind, providing a dryish shelter of sorts, and they gratefully scrambled under its protection. Once they were all eating, Lutex took out Errin’s parchment, relieved to see that they still had six more days left. He felt that it was up to him to open the dark box they had all placed their thoughts into and steadying himself, he ripped open the lid to let the light shine on their situation.
“As far as I can see, we have two options,” he began, searching the others faces for agreement. “Option one, the safest option, is to go straight to the mountains to ensure that we will be in time for Errin’s pick up. The downside of this option is that we will not be able to get help for Haktara.” No one said anything so he continued. “Option two is to go to the army camp first, advise them of the Krax’s threat and then head for the mountains. The trouble with this option is that the army authorities might not let the princess leave again and, even if they do, it is highly possible that we will not have enough days left to reach our pick up point. There are risks involved with both options,” he concluded.
All would have been simple if Brack could have gone to get help for Haktara; however, without the King’s letter he had no authority and would probably not be believed. Unfortunately their only hope of delivering their message to the army was the princess. Sitting with her back against a dirty log, her arms hugging her drawn up knees, Lifen did not look like a princess anymore. She had a haunted look in her eyes as, chewing her bottom lip, she tried to weigh all her options. Tubble had left them to go hunting, something that Lutex was both pleased and anxious about.
Brack was staring at nothing, absently tracing designs in the earth with the tip of his knife as he pondered the situation.
“You know,” he began at last, “I think that we really have no choice here.” He looked up, catching their attention. “It is simple really. The many outweigh the few. If we fail Errin we fail millions of worlds and too many people to ever count will suffer. On the scale of things, that is so much heavier than the lives of the people of one small city,” he finished, unable to meet Lifen’s astonished gaze. Lutex was inclined to agree but Lifen had not said anything yet and turning to her he raised an enquiring eyebrow. Slowly she began to rock back and forth as if she were going back and forth between decisions.
“I know, in my head, that that is the most sensible answer but in my heart I am certain that I have to at least try to do all I can to save my city and my people,” she murmured, throwing them both an apologetic look, then wincing she continued. “I owe it to Jeveran to try,” she finished, tears streaming down her cheeks. Sniffing she wiped her nose with the back of her hand before giving a lopsided smile and adding. “Sorry.”
Brack and Lutex could see that there was no point in arguing. She would go with or without them. Decision made, speed was now of the essence.
The rain eased as they tramped down river, the game trail making the going easy. According to the map they should make the army camp by nightfall if they continued at this pace. Lutex was pleased to see the princess had regained some of her assertiveness and purpose now as she strode out in front making it hard for him to keep up. Tubble was also loo
king much better and flitted on and off the trail happily exploring. Brack was the only one who appeared gloomy and Lutex could almost picture a small dark cloud sitting just above his head as he scowled at the world around him.
Lutex caught up with the large troll and touched his hand.
“Something troubling you?” he asked.
“I just don’t like it. We are risking so much to appease one girl’s conscience. If the two of you do not make it back in time to fight Zail our worlds will continue to struggle, our people will continue to die and we will never be able to rise above his destruction. Can’t she see that?”
“I know,” Lutex agreed. “But we are treading a very fine line here, and her desire to want to help everyone makes her good, noble even. We have time, a small window, and we can't ignore a chance of saving Haktara as well. I am not giving up hope just yet.” He finished trying to smile encouragingly up at his scowling friend.
“For everyone's sake, I pray you are right,” Brack sighed, resigned to his fate.
The skies gradually cleared and the ground began to dry. “We should be getting close now,” Brack announced, examining the map again. “Once we leave the forest we should be able to see the camp,” he concluded, folding up the parchment and stowing it in his breast pocket. Encouraged, they picked up the pace and, sure enough, between one foot fall and the next, the forest came to an abrupt end. It was as if a demarcation line had been drawn on the ground separating the trees on one side and lush grassland on the other. All four stopped just within the forest and stared out at the scene before them. It was the first time since they left the besieged city that they could see the sky clearly. Low, grey clouds hovered, kissing the tops of the distant hills, interspersed with patches of blue, here and there, through which beams of late sunlight lanced, highlighting random pockets of landscape.