Power of the Dark Lord, Chapter 14 Copyright 2010 by Bert McKenzie
Chapter XIV
Caseldra and Jennifer spent the day covering the entire palace. They walked from tower to tower and hall to hall. Caseldra was checking on the weaponry and battle readiness if the trolls should be able to attack the castle. Meanwhile, Jennifer checked on supplies, primarily food stocks. She was assigned the task of inventory and rationing of all provisions in the event that they were unable to break the siege that cut off the castle's needed supply lines. There should be adequate stocks in the supply caves, but at the present time, those were cut off from access. Several merchant caravans were due within the month as well, but they would be unable to make any deliveries if the blocked canyon was not opened by the time they arrived. What was worse, Robin worried that the caravans themselves might be attacked by the trolls if they camped nearby. The merchants would be taken totally unawares.
Rowana, in the mean time, had taken a fairly sizeable party of men composed of guards to provide some protection, and members of the merchant guild from the red tower. She and Scott led their group out the north gate, a small entrance in the palace wall that led directly to a pass in the Crystal Mountain. The pass wound its way upward and onto a high plateau surrounded by mountains, but warm and green with grass. This was the domain of a band of unicorns that lived in the mountains. From this plateau there was an almost vertical path down to the bottom of the deep ravine in front of the castle. The only way to traverse the steep path would be on the backs of the unicorns. The sure footed, magical beasts could easily gallop up and down the sharp incline with little trouble, having even better agility than the mountain goats. Rowana had a special rapport with the unicorns, and Scott new the leader of the herd from their adventure a few weeks before. Consequently, Rowana and Scott were the perfect pair to send on this mission.
As they reached the high plateau, Rowana looked in vain for the magical beasts. There was no sign of them. "What do we do now?" Scott asked. He knew their mission would not work if they couldn't obtain help from the beautiful beasts of myth.
"I know not," the girl said as she brushed her thick, red hair away from her eyes. "I thought they would surely be here."
"Can you call them?" Scott asked. He suddenly felt very foolish. These weren't dumb animals like dogs that one could summon with a whistle. The unicorns were every bit as intelligent as the people who now needed their help. Rowana closed her eyes and sat very still. "What are you doing?" Scott asked.
"I am following your suggestion," she said. "I am calling them." She again lapsed into silence. The whole group sat silently, waiting for an answer to Rowana's call. She suddenly opened her eyes and pointed to a little copse of trees in the middle of the plateau. "There," she said. Scott squinted into the distance, but could see nothing more than the trees. "I shall meet with Firebrand and then return." The girl urged her horse across the open landscape toward the trees. Only then could Scott see a flash of reflected light glinting from the direction she took.
Rowana disappeared in the trees for several minutes, and then came riding back toward them. Behind her trailed a line of beautiful, white animals. They looked like tall, well muscled horses with very long manes, except for the sparkling horns and hooves. Each animal had a slender, shining, silver horn protruding from the center of its forehead. The hooves also sparkled and reflected the sunlight in gleaming silver, looking as if they had been cast from precious metal. The largest of the unicorns, and obviously the leader of the herd followed closely behind Rowana's horse. He proudly wore a horn of shining gold and had matching hooves of the same metallic color. Scott knew the difference in horn and hoof color was something that set Firebrand apart from the rest of the herd, but he wondered if the difference made Firebrand the leader, or if being the leader was what caused the difference. He assumed he would never know the answer to this Tuathan version of the chicken or the egg riddle.
"Firebrand has agreed to assist us," Rowana said as they drew close. "We may leave our horses here and mount the unicorns. They shall carry us down into the ravine where we may then follow the trail back up the other side. We can then stock them with supplies from the caves and return to the castle." The merchants and guards quickly dismounted.
"Firebrand, my friend," Scott said as he slowly approached the big animal. "You're looking good." The big unicorn lowered its head and made a soft, sighing sound as it nuzzled his shoulder, its horn resting against the side of his face.
"My lord, I believe he wants to carry you," Rowana said. She was just the tiniest bit disappointed that the leader of the herd did not select her. The party quickly mounted the backs of the unicorns as they trotted up, and once everyone had a ride, Firebrand raised his head in a loud whinny. The group galloped off across the plateau, charging for the drop off into the ravine. As Firebrand reached the cliff-like edge, he plunged over with unabated speed causing Scott to gasp and clutch the big animal's neck. The unicorns twisted and turned, literally dancing down the side of the cliff, using gravity to provide the forward momentum and their long, agile legs to find microscopic and often invisible footholds to break their fall. The physical sensation was similar to riding a roller coaster, only much more frightening.
Reaching the bottom of the canyon, Firebrand managed to transfer his downward momentum into forward momentum, galloping down the ravine at breakneck speed. He gradually slowed to a trot and then came to full stop, turning to watch as the rest of his herd descended the cliff face. They all managed to reach the bottom in relative safety, although the journey obviously took its toll on several of the merchant passengers. Their tribe generally had ruddy complexions, although now many of them appeared as pale as the high born guards.
"Let us quickly take the upward trail," Rowana said as the mare she rode trotted up to stand near Firebrand. A word from Scott to indicate the direction and the unicorns were off again, galloping along the ravine bottom. In a few moments they passed the large cave opening that just a few days before had marked the gateway to the carriage house in Scott's world. It was now just an empty cave. Continuing on, they came to a spot where the winding trail rose on the right to snake its way up the side of the mountain. Firebrand turned onto it and leisurely galloped up the rising path, showing no more effort than he had on the straight, level ground. The trail continued its upward direction, finally winding through some large boulders and ending abruptly at a narrow wooden bridge which crossed the chasm and joined the continuing trail on the other side. Following that trail would take them out through the two stone pillars and to the plains beyond. The storage caves were located both to the east and west in the rocky foothills that bordered the plains.
But here the group stopped. Scott and Rowana in the forefront brought them to an abrupt halt at the edge of the precipice. The wooden bridge that had been rebuilt just in the last two weeks was gone. Only broken remnants of splintered wood showed where it had been attached to the large posts set in the stone at the trail's end. If the group had ridden on down the raving bottom and had not taken the sinuous, upward trail they would have come across the rubble of the destroyed bridge where it had fallen. On the ground at the unicorns' feet were many of the baseball sized rocks, troll droppings indicative of the responsible parties of this destruction.
"So much for that idea," Scott muttered under his breath. As he did so, Firebrand shook his head, and then walked back away from the edge. He turned again to face the ravine, and Scott could feel the muscles in the big animal's back tensing. "No, Firebrand," He said quickly. "Even you can't jump that far."
"He is right," Rowana said as soon as she realized the unicorn's intention. "It is too far to jump, even for you, herd master." At the same time, the mare on which Rowana sat stepped forward, blocking the path to effectively cut Firebrand off from his suicidal leap. The golden horned animal was obviously upset by everyone's negative response, but he acquiesced by relaxing his muscles and stamping his feet in agitation.
"Thank you for your help, my friend," Scott said as he patted Firebrand's neck, "but we must now return to Esbereth. We won't find an answer here."
By late afternoon Robin had called a meeting in one of the conference rooms of the white tower adjacent to the throne room. The group attending was to present information and recommendations for him to consider. Robin then had an appointment with the high council to inform them of his plans and progress.
Akuta began by describing the wall that blocked the canyon. From his description it was evident that it was considerably more of a construction than had been the barricade of stone that they had dismantled on the previous day. It was apparent that the earlier wall had been nothing more than busy work to keep the fairies occupied. This second wall was further down the pass and was probably being built at the same time as the first one, only this wall was built to last. The trolls had undoubtedly finished it during the second night. Forell, who had scaled the structure, had informed Akuta that it would take at least three days to dismantle it. Melcot and Akuta agreed with this estimate. And what damage the elves could do during the day, the trolls would no doubt repair during the following night.
The next report came from Rowana and Scott. They told of the destroyed bridge over the ravine. It would also take some time to replace it, especially if the workers could only approach it and carry supplies via the steep path that only the unicorns could manage. Any way they examined the matter, the castle was effectively cut off from the rest of the world.
Caseldra and Jennifer then told of their survey. Caseldra felt that the castle defenses were totally inadequate if an attack were to breach the walls and gain access to the interior. It seemed that most everyone relied on the palace guard and the king's knights for protection. Caseldra felt that the knights would be able to defend the castle indefinitely as long as their supplies lasted and the trolls were unable to get inside the walls. Akuta agreed with her on this point.
Jennifer next discussed the supply issue. The crisis came upon them so quickly that no one was really prepared for it. Normal supplies of feed and grain for the livestock, as well as food supplies for the inhabitants were fairly well depleted. Two of the larger merchant caravans were soon expected which would bring most of their summer food supplies. If for any reason, the caravans were late or did not arrive, there was always the food stored in the nearby supply caves. No one foresaw a problem such as this, so no one had been concerned about dwindling stocks. As to the severity of conditions, Jennifer thought everyone could hold out another month with strict rationing. But after that the future looked grim.
"Then we are safe, my lord," Akuta said upon hearing this report. The trolls are flesh eaters. If they have nothing to eat, then they shall either starve or move on. Surely a month is a long time for such a great number of these creatures to survive on little or nothing.
"My lord," Caseldra said, calling again for the floor. "I would it were true what my lord Akuta supposes, but unfortunately he knows not the menace we face. When confronted with a lack of food, trolls quickly become cannibalistic. They also reproduce and mature with lightning rapidity. If they find no major food source in a month's time they shall just begin to devour each other. And then, when they see another food source, they will reproduce to gain strength in numbers to be able to attack it." She paused for a moment to let her information sink in. "And, my lord, in less than a month two caravans may arrive totally unsuspecting the peril they will be in."
"It is clear," Robin said, "that we cannot wait. We must take an offensive posture in this if only to protect the caravans. But in the meantime we are trapped and starving within our own castle walls."
"Excuse me." All eyes turned toward the unfamiliar voice. It was Stan. Akuta said that he and Alee might be able to sit at the back of the room and observe. It was only a courtesy he extended to the human who was willing to join their army and fight when he could have easily opted to be sent home.
"This is not an open forum," Akuta said quietly to the man. He then turned back to the king. "Forgive him, lord. He understands not."
"No," Robin countered. "Let the human speak." He bowed to the black man at the far end of the room. "If you have insight that might aid us, I certainly welcome it, my lord."
Stan stepped forward to the table and looked around uncomfortably at the faces that stared at him. He had been a soldier and a special agent, and consequently was used to taking orders. But he would never get used to being the center of attention, or speaking publicly before a crowd. In order to combat his nervousness, Stan focused directly on Robin and spoke only to him. "If you need to tear down that wall, I don't see why it should take three days."
"You have had little opportunity to examine our world, dark lord," Robin replied. "But surely you must see that we have not the great machines and tools of your world for moving earth. To destroy the wall we must use man power with wooden levers to remove it stone by stone."
"Can't you just blast it?" Stan asked.
"Blast?" Melcot repeated the unusual sounding word.
"Yeah. You know dynamite?"
"This is like gun powder, is it not?" Robin questioned.
"Yeah, just like it!" Stan agreed enthusiastically.
"We use it not. We have no need of such things in our world."
"Until now," Stan finished.
"It could work," Jennifer said, looking at Scott. "Couldn't it?"
"My lord," Robin replied. "What you suggest has merit in your world, but not here. Your plan might succeed if we had gun powder, but we have it not. And if we had this substance at our disposal, no one in this kingdom would know what to do with it. In comparison to your world, we are in the 'dark ages' as my consort continually reminds me."
"Well, what about this magician I've heard about?" Stan argued. "Couldn't he zap up some TNT? If he can make it, I can use it. I spent some time as a demolitions expert for the navy."
Robin turned to Caseldra. "My lady, think you that your father can 'zap' TNT?"
"No, lord," she answered. "If he knows not what it is, how can he 'zap' it?"
"There you have it," Robin concluded.
"Oh man, you can't give up that easily," Stan continued. "You said you could send me home."
"If that is your wish."
"Then send me home with a couple of your best guys. We'll get the stuff we need and come right back."
Robin thought for a minute, and then looked at Scott for advice. "Think you he tells the truth, love? Can he really bring back explosives?" the king wind whispered so no one else would hear. Scott only shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
"I urge you. Agree to this plan, my lord," Alee said, finally speaking up. "I pledge my honor that he will succeed."
Robin sighed deeply. "I like not the thought of bringing human destruction to our world. But these are desperate times. I thank you for your offer and accept. Go quickly, and take whom you will." Alee and Akuta left with Stan.
The discussion then turned to the condition of those in the hall of healing. Faylar was to be released on first light the next day as long as he promised to rest and take things easy for a time. Jennifer said the lead healer asked her that he not be placed back on duty with the palace guard if there was any chance that he might be called to battle. He would be totally recovered in a few days if he obtained the rest he required. Jennifer then told of Rood. There was no change in his condition. Sharon Gates said he was in a coma, but the lead healer called it the sleep of the dead. They could do nothing but wait for a change.
This brought the discussion to the new humans that had come to Tuatha. Both Sharon and Stan seemed to be honorable people, and were willing to stay for a time and help during the current crisis. Sharon was a medical doctor and research scientist by trade. She naturally felt needed in the halls of healing and wanted to continue to observe and study the methods of the healers. She was currently acting as Rood's nurse.
Stan, on the other hand, was a military man. He was willing to lend his expertise to the Tuathan army, but he was not very experienced in fighting with sword and bow. But everyone had to admit that had it not been for Stan, Alee would not have survived. And even now he was trying to help the fairies by applying human technology to their problem.
The future of the two humans was uncertain. Neither seemed concerned about the difference in time between the two worlds. And they both expressed an interest in finding out what had become of Dave Strahan. He had been tied up and slung across Alee's horse when the trolls first attacked. The horse was spooked and ran off into the Plains of Morinar carrying the bound man with it. The siege cut off any further attempts to find the scientist. For all they new, he had been captured and eaten by trolls, or he may have died of hunger and thirst on the prairie.
Robin finally brought the meeting to a close. He had gathered what useful information he could, and had agreed to try the black man's plan. Other than that, there was little else anyone could do. It would be sheer suicide to try to physically battle the trolls after dark. There were just too many of them. And so Robin left for the council chambers to talk with the members of the high council. As he crossed the courtyard he felt oddly out of place in what he was doing. The high council was designed to be a group of advisors to give him aid and information in his decision making. But of late, he was spending his time giving them reports of his actions and getting his advice from his close friends. This seemed to be totally reversed. Robin made a mental note to bring up this odd turnabout of responsibility at his meeting with the council to which he was now heading.