Eighteenth of Harvest

Ertas waited until the morning light to march his company into Narandir. Though Ukari had warned that they would be at least twelve hours behind Davos, Ertas had refused to enter the Forest during the night. He had seen what lived in that land, and he had no intention of facing them in the darkness. He knew that such a fight was inevitable, but he wasn’t going to invite it. Rangir had heartily agreed with the sentiment, remembering his first encounter with Narandir’s evil. So at first light the company of Svaletans rose, took up their arms, and marched into the Forest. They marched with swords drawn and shields up, ready to put up a shield wall at the first sign of danger. Half of the archers had left their bows behind after Andiri suggested that they would be of little use in the deeper parts of the Forest. Rangir had disagreed, and a compromise was reached. So sixteen men carried bows, though these were slung over their shoulders as they held their own swords at the ready. Along the company’s flanks walked twenty spearmen, and in two long lines marched the thirty swordsmen. Seventy men in all marched into Narandir ready for battle, the entirety of Farhad’s resistance to the Recluse. Ertas did not know if it would be enough, but he was determined to fight his way through Narandir at whatever cost. As Andiri had said, he had his King’s orders. He was left with no alternatives.

* * *

Belkai rose that morning to find that the Recluse had tracked them. She could feel him trying to distract her from his path, and she warned Davos that she would be unable to both protect them and find the Recluse. They set out with weapons drawn and at the ready. The Forest seemed to get denser, more oppressive, as they moved. Davos quickly lost sense of what direction they were headed, too focused on avoiding tripping to take note of the position of the sun in the few moments it could be clearly seen through the branches above.

“We are getting closer,” Belkai said after a few hours of walking. “He is creating a sort of fog that I cannot see through. But it is weakening. He knows that a rival has entered Narandir. He will not allow us to go much further without resistance.”

When she gave the warning, all was silent. It was only a while later that Davos put a hand on her shoulder and whispered for her to stop. She broke off her mental pursuit and turned to the scout, who put a finger to his ear. She nodded and kept silent. She could hear hooting, as if they were surrounded by a flock of owls.

“I first heard them ten minutes ago,” Davos whispered in her ear. “They’re getting closer.”

“What are they?” Roulson asked.

“The Recluse’s agents,” Belkai replied. “Whatever they are, they have been sent to stop us. We have to keep moving.”

“You don’t want to stand and fight?” Davos asked. “Kill them now, then have more freedom?”

“They call out to make us afraid,” Belkai told him. “We will not let him pick the ground of our fight. The closer to his home we fight, the more he will feel the pressure. Then he is more likely to make a mistake, and I will find him.”

And then you will kill him, Roulson thought. And take his power for your own. A coup of the cosmic sort. As he walked, he found his eyes drawn back to Belkai as a wolf’s to its prey. All he needed was the moment to strike.

* * *

Davos still had no idea where they were several hours later. The trees and undergrowth all seemed to blend together in his mind, and if he hadn’t trusted Belkai he would have sworn that they were walking in circles. It took all his willpower to stay focused on tracking potential threats, but even so he almost missed glimpsing something strange out in the distance. He put a hand on Belkai’s shoulder to get her attention, then waved for the others to stop.

“What do you see?” Loranna asked, tightening her grip on her axe.

“Something on the right.” Davos noticed her tension, and quickly added, “Not a danger. But it’s strange.”

“Show us,” Belkai said softly. Without a word being spoken, the three spread out behind Davos as he led the way through the bush. After a few minutes it seemed to thin out slightly until he finally pushed past some vines and came face to face with what he’d glimpsed earlier.

“What is that?” Roulson’s voice was lowered, almost awed. No one answered as they slowly stepped forward to inspect what lay before them.

For as far as the eye could see were big masses scattered through the low lying bushes. Davos knelt next to one and ran a hand over the faded green surface. It was firm but soft to the touch and radiated warmth.

“It almost feels like a solid fungus,” he called out as Belkai knelt beside him and put a hand on it.

“It’s alive…in a sense, anyway,” she murmured. She glanced up and tapped Davos’ shoulder. “Look up.”

For the first time Davos noticed that the sun was more noticeable here. The canopy was lighter, and the wind blowing through the higher branches made the shadows seem to dance. There were more of the fungus-like shapes hanging from massive man-sized vines up in the trees. They were a mix of light green, brown, and red, all in subdued shades that seemed to shift colours in the changing light.

“They almost seem to have been placed here,” Loranna said, and Davos found himself grunting in agreement.

“It was the elves,” Belkai announced, finally taking her hand off the broken piece she and Davos were kneeling beside. She came to her feet and looked around, taking in the full extent of the strange growths. “I almost forgot about them. There used to be forest elves who lived here. No one’s seen them in centuries.”

“What have elves got to do with all this?” Roulson asked.

“This was their home,” Belkai replied, her voice distant as she tried to remember what she’d almost forgotten over the years. “They would use the raw materials of the Forest to grow their homes. A symbiotic relationship, of sorts.”

“What happened to them?” Roulson had found a smaller shard of the fungus and was inspecting it closely.

“The Recluse must have either killed or enslaved them,” Belkai said. “I imagine that the Forest is full of ruins like these.”

“He doesn’t appreciate rivalries.” It was Loranna who spoke as she kept a lookout for threats. Belkai felt a chill run down her spine. This was exactly what a loyal slave of Ashelath would have done to the local inhabitants. What he would want me to do to Svaleta, she thought.

“We need to keep moving,” she suddenly announced. “We are too exposed here.”

Roulson tossed the fungus back into the grass and followed the others back into the bush.

“Is he still tracking us?” he asked Belkai.

“Always,” she confirmed. “Don’t let your guard down.”

* * *

Belkai’s mistake was in thinking that she was the only threat that the Recluse had faced. Indeed, although she was the greater threat, he was blinded by his own arrogance. He felt no fear as she pushed through his defences, only a determination to throw up more barriers. He had no concept of the danger that a band of four could bring with them. Belkai thought that he held back his forces to surprise her, when in fact he had recognised the threat of Ertas’ company and had sent his vile troops to prepare ambushes along likely paths. If he could destroy these soldiers, then he could turn his fury upon the trespassing mage and snuff her out of existence. Had he known that Belkai served Ashelath he would have acted very differently. Fate had a different idea in mind.

Ertas led his men in quiet confidence. They had travelled for several hours with no interference, and though he knew that he needed to stay alert, he had started to become complacent. Only Ukari, a hunter by trade and not weighed down by the heavy armour and weaponry of the soldiers, had resisted the feeling of weariness that threatened them. His skills had been finely honed by Davos’ training, and though he lacked the Lowborn’s natural talents, he had learned well. Even so, he smelled the threat only when it was too late to do anything more than raise the alarm.

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* * *

Belkai had found a noise beneath the confusion that the Recluse was attempting to spread. It was fainter than the whispers of the trees, more a sensation that rippled across the Forest. It fluctuated, as if it were sentences and conversations. The sensation would feel powerful, commanding, and then a weaker one would follow. Belkai thought that she had found the Recluse’s means of communicating with his creatures, but she had no way of deciphering it. As she walked, she began to listen carefully, discerning patterns, and attempting to find a clue as to the Recluse’s whereabouts. It began to grow, turning more fierce, and Belkai dropped to her knees with a yell.

“What is it?” Davos asked, taking a knee beside her. She shook her head to clear it.

"Someone followed us into the Forest, someone the Recluse sees as a threat. He is attacking.”

“Ukari,” Davos breathed. He began to rise but Belkai seized his hand.

“There is nothing you can do for him,” she said, pain evident in her voice. “We have to carry on while the Recluse is distracted.”

Davos hesitated, but he knew she was right. The knowledge didn’t make his fear any easier to deal with.

* * *

Ukari raised the alarm just as the first arrows slammed into shields and nearby tree trunks. The column halted, forming a shield wall on both sides. Those with bows readied them, waiting for targets even as another wave of arrows rained down upon them.

“Orcs!” Andiri yelled, casting aside an arrow that he had lifted from the dirt. “Brace yourselves!”

“Spears ready!” Ertas called out, but his men had already prepared for the inevitable onrush. Ukari drew his sword, but Rangir ordered him to stay in the centre of the column. Whoever else fell, they needed Ukari to either get them to the Recluse or find an escape out of the Forest.

“Here they come!” someone yelled, and from the trees on the right the first line of orcs burst into view. Snarls and grunts filled the air as the creatures charged forth brandishing swords and clubs. The Svaletan archers began firing, and snarls turned to squeals as orcs crumpled to the ground. It wasn’t enough. The first orcs slammed into the shield wall, some skewered on outstretched spears, others hacking wildly at the unmoving barrier. As more arrows rained down, the screams of wounded men mixed with the snarls of the beasts.

“Swords ready!” Rangir yelled, and stood close behind one of the spearmen. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was to come. “Break the wall!”

The shields dropped, and the orcs seized their chance to spring forward. They were met with a flurry of blades and arrows as the Svaletans pressed their counterattack. Rangir cut down two orcs and sidestepped a blow from a third. He turned to face it, only to see an arrow stop it dead in its tracks. Another orc charged forward, and Rangir rammed his sword through its chest. He stepped back as it collapsed and turned to face the second wave. There was no end to them.

“Push forward!” Ertas yelled. “Cut them down!”

Rangir led the swordsmen as they ran to meet the oncoming horde. Steel pierced flesh, human screams and orc snarls mixed in the fray, and any sense of unit cohesion was lost as every man lost sight of his comrades, focused entirely on his own individual foe. Rangir quickly realised that he no longer had command over the battle even as he tried to get his men to rally around him. Still they pushed forwards, driving the orcs back step by bloody step. Rangir nearly tripped as he stepped over bodies of both men and orcs, driving off blows and slashing at all who stood before him.

It felt like an eternity before Ertas shouted for them to pull back. The surviving orcs fled back into the forest, and Rangir fell to his knees in exhaustion. He lifted his eyes and counted the bodies. Scattered amongst dozens of fallen orcs were at least ten of his men, their blood soaking the dirt. He watched as Andiri bent over a fallen orc and inspected its equipment.

“They’re not feral,” the King’s Guard announced. “At least, not in the sense we usually mean. They were far too well equipped.”

“The Recluse has an army,” Ertas agreed. “More so than we thought.”

At least they had won the first battle, Rangir thought as he slowly stood. That had to count for something.

* * *

“The Recluse is angry,” Belkai said, rising to her feet. Looking at Davos, she said, “Your friend – and whoever he’s with – won that fight. The Recluse sees a new threat in them. He will not be so focused on us.”

“That’s good news, right?” Roulson asked.

“Not so much,” Belkai warned him. She turned as she heard more of the eerie hooting, closer now. “Without his control, his creatures will resort to bare instinct. They will attack us as their hunger demands, not his strategy.”

Roulson gave no reply. Belkai called for them to keep moving and took the lead once more. With the Recluse distracted by this other threat, she could more clearly discern where he was.

“How can she know what he thinks?” Roulson asked Loranna. “Every time she speaks, she reveals a new witchery.”

“I don’t know,” Loranna told him. “But I trust her. She has brought us safely this far. We have no reason not to trust her.”

It had to be some sort of spell, Roulson thought. He had no other explanation for her unquestioning loyalty. How could she put such faith in one who seemed to be able to commune with the trees, hear the whispers of distant minds, and determine other people’s hearts? What witchery is this?

The strange hooting was still growing closer, and now Davos could hear movement in the trees.

“Belkai, stop,” he whispered, putting his hand on her shoulder. “They have gotten too close.”

She nodded, and her fingers tightened around her daggers. “So we fight.”

"It seems we have no choice,” Davos acknowledged. “Loranna, Roulson, keep your guard up.”

They could hear chittering now, and the sound of creatures leaping from branch to branch. A snarl sounded somewhere above them, but still nothing could be seen. Roulson found himself panicking and forced himself to slow his breathing. Where are you?

There was the crashing of leaves, then the first creature struck. For the first time, they got a glance at their pursuer. It was light brown, the size of a small child, but with leathery wings that doubled its width. As it jumped out of the trees above, it stretched its thickly muscled legs and bared its claws. It had an almost human face whose mouth snarled, revealing razor sharp teeth. Blackwings, Davos thought, an old word from stories from his childhood. So they’re real.

The creature stretched out its wings and dove like a hawk towards Loranna. With a yell, she stepped aside and swung her axe with all her might, the blade connecting with the creature as it straightened up for its strike. The blade caught it in the midsection and ripped through its leathery skin. It let out a screech and fell to the ground. Its legs scrambled, trying to stand up, until Loranna’s axe crushed its skull.

“What is that thing?” Roulson yelled, but no one could answer before the others attacked. One slammed into Davos, knocking him to the ground and clawing at his chest. His leather jerkin resisted its slashing blows, and he threw it off before ramming his blade down its throat. His jerkin was ripped apart, but he stood tall and braced for the next one.

There were too many for Roulson. Unlike the others, he had no armour, nothing to protect him from the razor-sharp claws that reached for him. But the Svaletan army trained its soldiers well, and his former cowardice was forgotten as he slashed and hacked his way through the Blackwings that came his way. All four of the companions were locked in their own personal battles, but Roulson’s was the most desperate, almost as if the Blackwings were driven by anger at his victory over the Recluse’s manipulations.

Belkai braced herself as one the creatures dropped off a tree and shot towards her. She ducked at the last moment, lifting her daggers and jamming both blades into its hide. As it flew, it carved its way across the steel and collapsed dying to the ground. She had no chance to celebrate. She slashed at a second creature, but it dodged back out of range. Its mouth opened wide and it snarled at her, swaying this way and that in the air to keep her off balance.

Roulson drove a Blackwing to the ground and drove his sword through its heart. He looked up to see Belkai facing off against her foe, oblivious to another group that was launching itself at her. He yelled a warning and dove forward to take the brunt of the assault. He’d pushed this luck too far. The first creature crashed to earth as he sliced through its throat. The second went down with a gash through its stomach. The third knocked him to the ground and immediately tried to tear him open. Pain flooded his body as it bit into his arm, crushing muscle and bone. Roulson gripped his sword like a dagger and stabbed at its back as its claws tore into his legs and stomach. Finally, the creature went still beneath him and Roulson rolled onto his back on the dirt. His breath came out in small gasps, and he watched with fading vision as his companions fended off the winged beasts. He saw Loranna run towards him, but he forced himself to focus on Belkai. He may have killed three of her attackers, but two more got to her, sinking their claws into her shoulders. Her daggers dropped to the ground as they snatched her into the air with a surprising strength for their size.

You should have killed her, Agatha’s voice whispered.

My mother did not raise a killer, he answered, and closed his eyes. As everything faded away, his last thought was of his wife.

* * *

Davos was too late to do anything but yell aimlessly as Belkai was carried out of sight. He began to run after her, but Loranna caught his arm and spun him around to see Roulsons’ body.

“She’s gone, Davos,” Loranna said gently. “But she’s alive. We know who’s got her. We just have to find him.”

“They got Roulson,” Davos whispered, finally taking note of his comrade’s broken form before him. Loranna nodded.

“He tried to save Belkai. There were too many.”

“They attacked so they could take her. The rest was distraction.” Davos shook his head. “I should have known.”

Loranna rested a hand on his shoulder. “We will find her. But Roulson comes first.”

Davos nodded absently, and Loranna stepped away to kneel over Roulson and whisper a funeral rite. After a moment of silence, she found a branch and placed it over his face, an old custom of the Svaletan army when they couldn’t afford to bury the dead.

“What’s the plan?” she asked when she finally turned away from their fallen comrade. Davos took a deep breath and forced himself to focus.

“Ukari should be close behind us,” he said. “Hopefully he brought an army.”

“And if he didn’t?”

Davos let out a grim laugh as he stooped down to pick up Belkai’s daggers. “Then it’s going to be a short fight.”