Richard Parker - Elsewhere

“He…he was a trainee, not a Tar,” Weldon replied still shaken by the unbelievably fast movements of the boy in front of him. It was not possible.

Gwaynn shrugged. “You will order your men from Toranado,” he stated simply and spun one bloody kali for emphasis.

Weldon stared fearfully at the swinging weapon and said nothing…but in the end, he did cooperate.

ǂ

“The Massi army has arrived in Manse,” Captain Tramm said with surprise and dolefulness. Tramm was a handsome young man with dark hair and eyes. He was tall with a slim build but with wide strong shoulders and thighs, the absolutely perfect build for a Knight. He’d risen through the ranks quickly and was a deadly horseman, but lacked the experience to understand the subtleties of strategy. He was learning, however.

Hothgaard looked up and sighed. It was what he feared as the days past and no word came from the King Weldon. The Palmerrio had obviously lost the Plateau.

“How strong?”

Tramm shook his head. “Hard to tell but there are cheers coming from the city.”

“Not returning in defeat then,” Hothgaard answered, knowing that taking Manse now was beyond the ability of his forces, maybe even with the arrival of the Rhondono army. The desire to pick up and leave this land suddenly threatened to overwhelm him once more.

“No…it doesn’t seem so,” Tramm answered, then asked. “Any word from Gan?”

Hothgaard shook his head. “Nothing yet, the King should have landed on the finger late yesterday…or perhaps this morning. We should have heard from him in any case.”

“We should pull back,” Tramm suggested, moving farther into the tent. He poured himself a small glass of water from the pitcher on the table and poured one for his commander as well. “Maybe threaten Cape again and perhaps they’ll be foolish enough to abandon their safe haven.”

Hothgaard nodded his head, which no longer hurt and his fever was gone. He was still weak but would completely recover within a day or two. He sat looking at the younger Captain, encouraged by the young man’s thoughts.

“Taking Manse may be out of the question now,” he finally replied. “The High King will not be happy, but I think we should move to the east, put pressure on Lynndon, perhaps join up with the King at the base of the finger.”

Tramm smiled, finished his drink and set the glass back on the table. “They’ll have to move if we threaten Lynndon.”

Hothgaard shrugged. “Perhaps, but without the Palmerrio our position on the Plateau might not afford us any advantage.”

“You think Weldon is finished then?”

“The Massi army would not have returned to Manse otherwise.”

Captain Tramm frowned. “We need to draw them out. Lure them away from their defenses and out on the plains where we can crush them.”

“You speak lightly of the army that has managed to destroy the Deutzani twice and now apparently the Palmerrio,” Hothgaard replied.

“They were not Temple Knights,” Tramm replied confidently.

“Beware young Knight,” Hothgaard warned, suddenly very serious. “Underestimate the Massi at your peril,” he added, thinking about their recent clash with the Massi cavalry.

Tramm sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment, but then Hothgaard stood. “But you are correct; we need to lure them out onto the plains. In Manse, I fear we will never defeat them. If we moved on Lynndon perhaps we can coax them to split their forces, then we’ll have them.”

Tramm said nothing, having no further ideas of his own. Hothgaard moved out of the tent and the young Captain rose and followed him outside. The cheers from the besieged city of Manse were still echoing off the distant Scar.

Hothgaard glanced around and noticed that most of his men were just standing about and glumly listening to the celebration.

‘Morale is falling,’ he thought. ‘We need to take action.’

Hothgaard turned back to Tramm who waited expectantly. “Pass the word. We break camp in the morning.”

“And?”

“And we head to the east.”

ǂ

“Tar Nev has taught you some of our secrets I see,” Tarina re N’dori said a day later as she helped Monde, na Gall and the new little Traveler Laynee, hold open a massive bridge to the Scar Gap. Gwaynn nodded, smiling at the Solitary’s control; he was not helping in the effort, his body still not recovered from his manipulation of time the previous day. Once the connection was made, thousands of Toranado heavy infantry poured through along with a couple of hundred Toranado cavalrymen and an additional five hundred Massi Archers. The Speaker Wynth also made the trip for communications purposes. They were to hold the Gap against all comers including the Temple Knights if they attempted to retreat back to Toranado lands. The bridge was immense and strong; it was the strongest bridge created since the passing of Galen Dawkins over three thousand years ago, but the group was not aware of the fact. N’dori was very powerful and both Monde and na Gall had grown in strength since the war began, the constant need for bridges and Speaker bubbles increasing their potency.

The Travelers stood in a loose semi-circle facing west while Prince Phillip, Tabernas, General Bock and Tar Kostek watched from relatively close by. Queen Ramona, who was still not well, was back in her quarters after much persuading. Captain Dolan would send out a squad of riders to the Toranado Capital to make sure the Palmerrio kept their word. Ramona wanted to return to Eno immediately and it was all Phillip could do to convince his mother to delay her trip and move by Traveler once they knew it was safe. She was ready to go home.

“Yes, Tar Nev taught me many things,” Gwaynn answered in a hushed voice once the troops were through and the bridge winked out of existence.

“Many things,” N’dori agreed. “Some that are not for the eyes of outsiders,” she reprimanded, her tone unusually serious.

“I’m an outsider,” he retorted and began to move off toward the kitchens with the rest of the Travelers. They lagged behind, walking slowly, his body far from recovered. “High Tarina Ethelridge made that very plain.”

N’dori grunted, glancing up at the flat gray sky. There was snow in the air but the small flakes were so light that they actually floated about in the air, like dust.

“No longer High Tarina. As I told you, Ethelridge has lost the Council’s backing, Nystrom is now in charge,” N’dori corrected. “Noble now knows that the Cassinni have joined the fight against the High King. We have a true civil war on our hands.”

Gwaynn glanced at the Solitary, pulling up his collar against the snow which was beginning to fall a bit harder now, but was still very light and in all likelihood would not accumulate. “And just who will Noble support in the end?”

N’dori shrugged. “Perhaps no one. But the danger is to allow every Tar to decide individually…like the Tars and students who have joined you. If such dissent spreads it could split the land and Noble into many, many pieces. I believe the Tars that remain on Noble, if forced to make a choice, will follow High Tarina Nystrom’s advice and remain neutral for now. After all they would be following Tar Nev’s example.

Gwaynn frowned. “Tar Nev is not leading anyone, anywhere,” he spat with obvious frustration as they moved into the large dining hall.

“Do not be so sure,” N’dori answered the smile back on her face. “I’m here plus Kostek and the others, and he did stand for you against the Council not so long ago.”

Gwaynn grunted.

“But he’ll not fight personally against the High King,” N’dori explained as Bock and Hahn joined them. They sat at a wooden table large enough to accommodate thirty troops to a side, but they were all huddled together down on one end. Trays of food soon began to appear and it wasn’t long before all the Travelers were eating and eating and eating. Gwaynn and na Gall would have preferred peach juice, but the fruit was well out of season so they had to make do with meat, breads and nuts.