Chapter 9-2
1833 Words
“Are you giving me a warning?”
Rainstorm looked surprised, “No. I am trusting you with knowledge about us and proving that it was you and not us that we were worried about.”
“I see.” The soldier ran his hands though his hair. “I’m sorry. I feel so jarred after the events of today. The hideousness of that flogging, with all my men watching. Losing my whole way of life. And all my years of training and experience as a soldier; gone in one quick afternoon.”
“You have had a pretty tough day, haven’t you? And now you find yourself among people you don’t know.” Rainstorm smiled encouragingly, “But you still have your training and experience behind you. They haven’t gone. You just have to use them for someone else.”
“No. You don’t understand. Everything I have learnt of how to fight an enemy has been turned upside down. You people defeated eighty of my well-trained troops without a shot being fired, with no one being killed and with complete ease, as far as I can see. And there are how many of you?”
“Forty-four,” replied Rainstorm. “Forty-six now, with the sorcerers, you and Falling Rain.”
“Hmm. Roughly two to one. Not a great effort on my part, I would have to say.”
Rainstorm grinned, “Well, to set the record straight, we did shoot your two frontrunners but only with slingshots so that we didn’t kill them. But I am afraid to say, that with the way we set our trap we could have immobilised you all with – let me see – less than ten, I think.”
Harkell scratched his head, “But I still don’t understand how it happened. One minute we’re riding along in neat pairs. The next minute, the troops were bunched up right across the road, jostling for space. Good use of a shield, though. Shields have only ever been used for defence before, you know. This will revolutionise warfare.”
“A shield wouldn’t have trapped you so effectively without Tarkyn’s intervention first,” said Rainstorm with some satisfaction.
Harkell frowned, “What did he do?”
Rainstorm smiled, “He asked the horses to bunch up and stop. He’s the guardian of the forest, you know. He can communicate with animals.” He nodded towards the cave, “You saw him doing it just now with the mountain lion.”
Harkell eyes grew round, “Oh, I see. That is amazing. I saw him with the mountain lion but I just thought he must be intimidating it somehow.”
“He was,” chortled Rainstorm, “He was using images of a wolf pack. That poor deluded mountain lion thinks we’re all a strange type of wolf.”
For the first time, Harkell smiled, “I can see we are, in a way. The mountain lion could defeat one man, but not a pack of us.”
“True. So you see, Tarkyn used images of a wolf pack to say that.” He glanced sideways at Harkell, “Tarkyn could simply have defeated the lion outright but he chose not to. To preserve the lion’s autonomy… and to keep Waterstone happy.”
“Why would that please Waterstone?”
“Waterstone doesn’t like the fact that Tarkyn could break that mountain lion’s will if he wanted to.” Rainstorm shrugged, “Waterstone is fiercely independent and it has been hard for him, and for all of us, to accept a liege. But even without the oath, Tarkyn’s power is so immense that he could break any of us if he chose to.” Rainstorm brought his eyes up to meet Harkell’s, “But he doesn’t choose to. If you must follow someone, you have found yourself a great person to follow.”
“Hmm, so I am beginning to think. And I don’t feel quite so bad now about failing Prince Jarand as I did. I didn’t realise the extraordinary power I was up against. The ability to control our horses is like having our forces riddled with enemies. It is an enormous advantage. In fact, since the horses effectively changed sides, we were outnumbered.”
“I don’t know why you care that you failed Jarand. The man is an out and out bastard.”
“I care because I had undertaken to serve and protect him, whatever his worth. I failed myself when I failed him.”
Rainstorm smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder, gently in case it was still tender, “I see. Fair enough, I suppose. I would not feel good about failing to keep an oath either.”
Harkell looked away out across the light dotted blackness below. “Somewhere out there are my wife and children whom I may never see again. Do you think Prince Tarkyn will really let them know I am safe?”
“If he said he would, he will”
They sat in companionable silence for a while until Harkell said quietly, “Thanks, Rainstorm, for making the effort to talk to me.”
Rainstorm smiled at him, “After such a terrible day, you needed to talk to someone. I helped rescue you from that tree, you know. And we all saw the state of your back.”
Harkell frowned, “I didn’t realise that anyone other than Danton and the prince was involved. Danton didn’t mention you.”
“No, he couldn’t at the time, because you didn’t know about us then.”
“I see. Then thank you for that as well.” Harkell thought for a minute, before saying slowly, “Since I have never seen you people, would I be right in saying that you never leave the forest?” When Rainstorm nodded, the soldier asked, “So was it nerve-racking, going out into the open?”
“Yes, very. I have never been out in the open in daylight before. I jumped a mile when a crow cawed near me.” He gave a soft laugh, “Well, actually, I jumped about seven feet. That’s a little something we woodfolk can do that you sorcerers can’t.”
“Really? Show me.”
A voice called out quietly from behind the bushes he had lain in, “Over here.”
Harkell swung around to see Rainstorm waving from behind the bush. In the next instant he was sitting back at his side on the rock.
Harkell grinned, “That’s marvellous. So you people have your own special powers, mind talking and…I don’t know what you’d call that… it’s like short distance translocating but quicker and easier. It doesn’t seem to make you feel sick in the same way.”
“No, it takes no effort at all. Tarkyn calls it flicking.”
“Can he do it?”
“No, only born woodfolk can.” Rainstorm considered him for a minute, “So, I understand sorcerers all have different sorts of power. What about you?”
Harkell shrugged, “I can’t do much. I come from a long line of blacksmiths. So I can bend and shape metal to some extent and sharpen blades.”
Rainstorm beamed at him, “Can you? You’re going to be in great demand here. We all have knives, and then there are arrow tips that need sharpening. I come from a long line of artisans myself. My people are forestals. They tend to stay in or near one particular area of the forest and craft weapons, bowls, utensils, clothing… all sorts of things. Do you have any magical fighting skills? We always thought, before Tarkyn came, that sorcerers only used power to fight with.”
Harkell raised his eyebrows in surprise, “Really? How odd. Hardly any sorcerers do. I certainly don’t. I live and die by the sword.”
“What about shields? Can you make a magical shield?”
The soldier grimaced, “Under extreme circumstances and for a very limited period of time. But it takes all my effort and concentration and leaves me exhausted after only a couple of minutes. So, if the danger hasn’t passed by then, I’m a sitting duck.”
“Hmm. String and Bean aren’t very good at shields either but Danton, Stormaway and Tarkyn can hold them up for hours.”
“Really?” Harkell frowned, “I would have expected Prince Tarkyn to be able to because he is renowned for his skill as a tournament fighter and I would have expected a wizard to be able to. But what do you know about Danton?”
Rainstorm shrugged, “Not a lot. He is apparently an elite guard and his full name is Danton Patronell, Lord of… Hmm, I’ve forgotten where he’s lord of. Not lord of us, that’s all I care about.”
“Oh, I see. He’s a lord, is he? And he has an honourific. He must be b****y good.”
“What’s an honourific?” asked Rainstorm.
“It is a title that can be carried down through the generations. Like Tamadil. The royal family’s second name denotes that their line is very strong in magic. One of their ancestors will have earned it. If you achieve a very high level of magical use and fighting skill, you are granted a second name in recognition of your achievement. That’s why wizards all have two names, although both of theirs are honourifics. With these elite sorcerers, the honourific is added to the name that they already carry.”
Rainstorm became thoughtful, “Perhaps if I had known this, I might not have tried out Danton’s skills so casually.” He shrugged and grinned, “But then again, I knew he was an elite guard. That’s why I was testing him.” He stilled. “Hang on,” he said quietly, “There’s something in that tree over there.”
He sent out a message to the other lookouts and received back a reply from Grass Wind that an owl had just flown from her area into his.
“Don’t worry. It’s just an owl,” said Rainstorm. “Owls and eagles are always hanging around and keeping an eye on Tarkyn. The whole forest protects him.”
“Not the mountain lion apparently.”
“No. Some of the more predatory animals need a bit of persuading.” His eyes went out of focus for a moment before he turned to Harkell, “That was Waterstone relaying a message from Tarkyn asking whether you are all right. Why don’t you come back inside when I finish my shift? You can stay and chat with me until then. What do you think?”
Harkell smiled, “It is a novelty having my liege care what happens to me. Could you thank him and Waterstone for their concern and say that I will do as you suggest.”
- Writer
