War Of The Wildlands (14 page)

Y
ori stood at the
forge with his grandfather studying a scroll laid out on the workbench before
them. They exchanged glances as voices began shouting from the center of town.
A crowd began to form, and they were both curious to see what was happening.
Cautiously, they approached the crowd where the Overseer was attempting to
appease the other elves.

“Everyone, please calm down!” he shouted, flailing
his arms in an attempt to catch their attention. “We must not act in haste. We
do not know the purpose of these soldiers.”

“Soldiers?” Yori said quietly to his grandfather.

Darin shook his head and shrugged, unaware of the
morning’s events.

Reylana shoved her way to the front of the crowd
to stand directly in front of the Overseer. “Quiet!” she shouted at the elves.
Her auburn hair seemed to flash with anger, and the crowd quieted down to hear
what she had to say. “Less than an hour ago, your scouts spotted a large
company of Na’zoran soldiers who appeared to be heading this way. They
will
attack you. You have no choice but to defend yourselves.”

Once again the crowd roared with many different
voices. Clearly, the clansmen did not agree on which course to take.

“Calm down, please,” the Overseer said again. “It
is true that the scouts have reported a large patrol in our area. However, the
Na’zorans would never attack us this close to Al’marr. They would be risking a
war on two fronts if they attempted to take land near Al’marr’s borders.”

“You are a fool and a coward as well.” Reylana
spat her words at the Overseer. “You must fight!” She drew her sword and raised
it before the crowd. Many of the elves cheered in response, while others
remained silent.

Yori began to feel anxious at the thought of war.
So far, the Sycamore Clan had resided in peace, far from the borders of
Na’zora. The king’s ambitions must have increased dramatically to reach so far
from his original borders.

Darin, being a highly respected elder member of
the clan, walked to the front of the crowd. “Overseer,” he began, “we cannot
expect Al’marr to come to our aid. If the Na’zorans don’t cross into their
lands, they will not help us. We are nothing to them.”

“We cannot be too quick to act,” the Overseer
replied. “If we arm ourselves and attack them first, we will only escalate the
fight. They are probably just patrolling the area and have no desire to fight
with us. We have caused them no problems, and we have been no threat to their
people.”

Many elves sounded their voices in agreement.
Darin shook his head and returned to Yori’s side.

“I don’t think they’re just passing by,” he said.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Why would they travel so far from Na’zora?” Yori
asked, hoping there could be another explanation.

“The only other reasons would be to attack Al’marr
or convince them to join the fight against the elves. Either way, we are not
safe.”

“Who is willing to fight and who is ready to run?”
Reylana asked the crowd. “What harm will it do to ready yourselves for battle
if they have no plans to attack? We don’t have to attack them first, but we
have to be ready to defend ourselves. They destroyed my village as well as many
others, and they have murdered our children. I will not sit here and wait to be
killed. I will fight with every ounce of strength in my body.”

Over half of the crowd cheered at Reylana’s words.
She spoke forcefully, and her words moved the elves. The Overseer shook his
head, clearly disagreeing with the sword maiden.

“It will do no harm for the nursemaids to take the
children into the woods for safety. Our warriors can arm themselves, but they
must not attack the humans unprovoked. I do not wish to start a war over a
peaceful passing of troops.”

“Those peaceful troops are the same ones who are
murdering your kin just north of here. If you weren’t such a coward, you would
arm yourself and lead your warriors into battle. We should slaughter these men
for their crimes against all elves!” Reylana’s face grew red with anger.
Clearly the elves were divided, and she was desperate to convince them to
fight.

“You would have us run to the slaughter,” the
Overseer argued. “There is no use in speaking with you.” He walked away and
returned to his hut.

“Go on and hide then,” she called after him. “See
if that hut will protect you from their magefire!”

Nat approached Reylana as the crowd began to argue
amongst themselves. “Reylana,” he said. “There are many of us who would join
you in battle. We agree the Overseer is a coward. We should have come to your
aid weeks ago when we heard the rumors of war.”

Reylana nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Gather whoever is willing to fight. We will do what we can to defend the
village.”

Nursemaids began leading the children deeper into
the woods. They would take to the trees in hopes that the Na’zorans would
attack the village and leave the forest untouched. A few of the elderly
clansmen joined them, but the majority of the elves would stay in the village.
Less than half of them were preparing to fight.

Yori followed Darin back to the forge. “What will
we do?” he asked.

“I’m guessing those humans didn’t teach you to use
a bow,” Darin commented. Yori shook his head in response.

“Can you swing a sword?”

“To check the balance,” Yori replied. “I’ve never
fought with one.”

“Take a hammer, then,” his grandfather said. “You
may need it.” Darin retrieved his bow from his hut. “I haven’t used this for
many years, but I won’t let our village be destroyed without a fight.”

Lem came to Yori’s side and handed him a hammer.
The young elf’s eyes were wide with fright, but he was prepared to fight as
well. Yori accepted the hammer and squeezed it tightly in his hand. He tried to
steady his breathing and stay calm, but his stomach felt as if it were turning
cartwheels.

“Let’s hope they’re just passing through,” Darin
said. “If not, we’re going to be glad we’re using runed weapons. Too bad we
haven’t attached those runed tips to any arrows yet. Those would have been very
useful.”

Yori turned to his grandfather and said, “Can’t we
just throw them? The scrap metal exploded when you threw it.”

“You’re right,” Darin said, laughing. “I suppose
we could. We won’t be hitting any fancy targets, but we’ll give them something
to remember.” The trio dashed behind the workbench to retrieve the sack full of
runed arrow tips. Gently emptying it onto the table, Darin said, “Toss these
into the center of a group of those bastards and see how they like it.”

“Reylana mentioned mages,” Yori said. “I’ve never
seen them in action, but I hear they are ruthless in battle. We should try to
take them out first if we can.”

Darin nodded and said, “If we survive this, you
might consider becoming a warrior.”

“If we survive this,” Yori replied. “I will
continue etching runes until the day I die. I want no part of war, now or
ever.”

“Sometimes we don’t get a choice,” Darin replied
quietly. “We do what we must.”

Yori turned his attention to the east, where the
forest lay quiet and still. Somewhere within those trees, an army was
approaching. He squeezed the hammer in his hand and hoped he would not have to
use it.

P
rince Aelryk
stopped his horse and held up a hand signaling his troops to halt. Mi’tal
joined him at the head of the company to receive his orders. “I’ve changed my
mind about entering their village with a small force,” the prince said. “We
will send everyone in and fully overwhelm the elves. Perhaps when they see our numbers,
they will be more willing to negotiate.”

“They may begin the fight before we reach the
village, my lord,” Mi’tal pointed out. “Wild Elves are extremely stealthy and
frequently hide among the trees.”

“I’m aware of that, Mi’tal,” Aelryk replied. “That’s
a risk we’ll have to take. I won’t slaughter an innocent village that has yet
to attack us. If we have to kill a few for starting the fight then so be it. No
one is to draw their weapons until we are fired upon. I want them to see that
we have come peacefully.”

Mi’tal gave the prince a nod and proceeded to
spread the message to the lieutenants. The company had nearly a thousand
mounted troops as well as seven war mages. The mages required constant
protection as they had become the main target in every battle with the elves.
Mi’tal wondered if the elves would begin the fight simply because the mages
were present.

As he returned to Aelryk’s side, his hand went
instinctively to his war hammer. After all, they were about to charge into
enemy territory where his prince would be vulnerable to attack. Though a sword
had very little chance of blocking an arrow, Mi’tal still wished the prince
would draw his sword for protection. Losing Prince Aelryk would be a disaster
for the people of Na’zora.

Nat crouched low upon a branch and watched as the
company passed through the trees. Their pace was no faster than a trot, and not
a single man had drawn a weapon. He made note of the mages in red cloaks near
the rear of the company. After the last man passed by, he hurried back to
Reylana and the warriors.

“There looks to be a thousand of them. They’re moving
at an easy pace and haven’t drawn their weapons. They will reach the village
within minutes.” He had never been in battle, so he trusted Reylana to lead his
clansmen.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Reylana replied.
“They must be trying to trick us.”

“Could they really just be passing by?” one of the
archers asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Were there any mages
with them?”

“Yes, there were seven of them,” Nat answered.

“I can’t imagine them traveling with mages if they
don’t intend to fight,” she said. “We should follow them and see if they enter
the village. The mages always stay near the back of the company, and we can
take them out first if we aren’t seen.”

The warriors followed Reylana as they made their
way into the trees surrounding the village. The Na’zorans were indeed heading
straight for them. They were vastly outnumbered, but Reylana was determined to
take at least a few of them down, even if the village was lost.

As the prince entered the village, he noticed that
none of the elves were fleeing in terror as the other clans had done. The elves
visible in the village stood their ground, each of them clutching a weapon. He
slowed his horse to a walk and lifted both hands in a gesture of peace.

“I have not come with the intention to kill,” he
declared. “I have come to speak with you.”

Hearing these words, the Overseer left his hut to
speak with the prince. “I am the Overseer of the Sycamore Clan,” he said. “For
what reason have you brought an army into our village? We have done you no
wrong.”

“I have come at the command of my father King
Domren, but I will not fulfill his wishes. I would have the continuation of
peace between Na’zora and the Sycamore Clan.”

“You have a strange way of showing it,” the
Overseer said, looking up and down the ranks of the prince’s army.

“Forgive my intrusion, Overseer,” the prince said.
“I did not know what awaited me in the Wildlands, and it is not safe to travel
without an escort.”

“This is much more an army than an escort,” he
replied. “You are bringing war upon us.”

Reylana listened closely from the trees, focusing
her eyes on the mages. At the slightest movement from one of them, she would
order the archers to attack.

“I have come to issue you an order,” the prince
continued. “You must vacate this village and move across the Blue River. There
you will find safety from my father and his war. If you do not agree, he will
send another army to annihilate you. I am giving you the chance to live in
freedom and will do everything in my power to stop my father from ever crossing
the river.”

“Even if we agree, you cannot guarantee our
safety?” The Overseer was clearly shaken by the choice before him.

“I do not control my father,” Aelryk said, “but I
will not allow him to send troops across the river. He plans to extend
Na’zora’s borders all the way to its eastern bank, and any elves in his path
will be killed. Your only hope is to cross the river.”

“How do I know we won’t be attacked as we leave?”

“My father has sent me to kill you. He will not
send more troops until well after I’ve returned. You have plenty of time to
move your people, and I will tell him that I found a deserted village where you
once lived. That should satisfy his desire to clear the Wildlands of the elven
presence.”

“You would lie to your own father on our behalf?
What sort of man does that make you?”

“I am the sort of man who would do what is right.
I have no desire to continue this war. Na’zora has several new farming villages
outside of her original borders. We do not need your land. You have my word on
that. When I am king, there will be peace.”

The elves remained silent, looking to their
Overseer to decide their fate. Yori and Darin still stood near the forge,
exchanging glances as the prince spoke. They could not believe the prince was
defying his own father to spare the elves.

After a moment’s consideration, the Overseer
replied, “We will leave this land to preserve the lives of my people. I will
expect you to keep your word once you are king.”

Aelryk signaled his troops to move out. He had no
intention of watching the elves to be sure they left the area. His job was
complete, and he had avoided any killing.

Mi’tal considered once more the idea of Aelryk as
king. If the prince did not believe Na’zora needed any more land, then there
was no reason to continue the war. So far, only the Silver Birch Clan had been
displaced to build the farming villages, and they might settle for other
compensation. The rest of the clans could rebuild their villages where they had
once stood. As he thought of the lives needlessly lost, his hand tightened on
the handle of his war hammer. A vision of King Domren’s funeral filled his
mind.