away from where he and his army was but not that far. Elis did the unthinkable he raised his arm and ordered the infantrymen and archers forward, thinking that he had to capitalise on this moment. The Troll had its back facing him and it was the only one in sight, Elis suspected there would be more in the midst and made all his infantry and archers stealthily and quickly move to the position of where that Troll was. Back to where Allan was, he asked his advisor what else was in store for Elis. “What else will confront Elis in the desert in his path” asked Allan. “There is a cliff that overlooks a canyon in his path which acts as a highway for anyone coming from the south and Doomenheim” said the advisor. “I have no doubt the Trolls will use it then, I hope my brother is doing well and can use that area to his advantage” said Allan. “Any moment should we come into contact with the Trolls” said the advisor.
Elis was about to be doing just that, he dismounted and joined his infantry in their stealthily fast movement towards the cliff which he was unaware of. “I hope we run into a huge army, I can’t wait to fight, I just can’t wait” said one of Elis’s companion to him. “Don’t get your hopes up too high and be quiet” whispered Elis back angrily. They continued running, the cavalry in pursuit as slowly and as quietly as they possibly could. Closer and closer they got and Elis raised his hand and ordered his soldiers to crouch and try to travel faster than they were. As Elis got closer he realised that cliff that he had just rushed his men to, he could not see what was below it yet but he will soon find out. Closer and he saw a hook that was embedded into the cliff edge that had a fibrous rope attached to it which descended into the gorge. Elis stopped and the soldiers began to crowd behind him, who immediately stopped when Elis did. He heard heavy marching from below him, there was something in the gorge that he could look down at if he went to the edge of the cliff. He brought his hand up which signalled for the soldiers to remain where they were. He then crept up to edge and as he did he observed the rope lose its tension as if there was originally a weight that needed it for support. He immediately figured it out, there was a Troll that climbed down the cliff using the rope, the same Troll that he had seen from a distance earlier. He continued to creep up and saw what must have been hundreds of Trolls marching through the pass that came from further south. His eyes opened wide and he started to grind his teeth. He immediately stood up and took his bow from his back. He then rose up his arm again which signal the archers to come forward. All the soldiers knew Elis was going to carry out a surprise volley of arrows onto the Trolls. They stopped creeping and ran fourth, spreading themselves along the cliff. Some of the infantry also started bringing boulders to the edge of the cliffs. Elis cried, without alerting the Trolls “bring up the oil and let them burn!” The soldiers began lacing rocks and boulders with oil and preparing torches with which they would hurl down onto the Trolls in the canyon below them. Elis drew back his bowstring with an arrow in place, next to him archers who were ready to begin firing rapidly at the Trolls.
“Fire!” shouted Elis extremely loudly as he fired his first arrow which killed a Troll. This was followed by rapid fire from the archers and the hurling of flaming boulders down the cliff into the ranks of the Trolls. “Humans!” shouted the Troll that had been on the cliff earlier who seemed to be one of the leaders of this Troll horde. He Trolls broke into a frenzy and started to desperately leave the canyon. The Trolls were dying by the dozens under the constant hail of the deadly matter and arrows from the Human positions. Elis kept firing and watched the Trolls begin to panic. The Trolls kept running but the Elis and his soldiers continued shadowing the Trolls along the cliff and firing heavily at them. Elis now discovered that he has bloodlust and a love for war. His training had paid off and he was able to capitalise on an opportunity that had been unexpectedly presented to him. A sense of accomplishment came over him and this made him continue to furiously shoot at Trolls, killing one with every arrow he fired. This stunned and impressed those around him, who now saw him as a military genius. Then another surprise greeted the Human troops, just out of their range, hey saw a second Troll force, but this one seemed to have very few Troll military personal but rather, female Trolls, the young, the infants and the old.
However, there were a few Troll warriors and now the first army they had seen was out of range. They had dealt a severe blow to the Trolls coming into the southeast. He observed this new group of Trolls stop in their tracks and turn around. To ensure that those Trolls won’t be using the pass again he fired at the second group’s warriors, threatening the innocent and the young. They took off after the barrage on them and attempted at making a new path into the north while avoiding the canyon. For now, Elis did not have to worry about potential settlers but Troll warriors have already gone through the canyon. He turned to face the first group he had attacked and saw the leader at the back, the first Troll he had seen and ever seen. He stood in the canyon at its exit, his eyes anger, he then drew a large sword and slit the air an inch from his neck, which had let Elis know he would do anything in his power to kill him the next time they met on the battlefield. Elis arrogantly and proudly accepted his challenge and with his bow and arrow, he drew the bowstring back with its arrow in place, an evil grin on his face and aimed directly at the Troll. The Troll roared and darted towards the end of the canyon, the roar was to intimidate Elis before running to safety.
Soon the Trolls were no longer in sight and the canyon was littered with the corpses of vanquished Trolls, arrows, and flaming stone. The scene was horrific and now Elis had to decide what to do and where he would go next. He turned to one of his companions and asked “what are we to do now, where shall we go next?” “I say we chase these beastly groups and hunt them down, if not sent them back from once they came” said his companion furiously. “Good idea, let us shadow the movements of these Trolls and kill them at every turn, let us follow the cliff and descend into the lowlands of the desert” said Elis as he kept away his bow and went to get his horse. He walked fast hoping not to lose precious time to the Trolls. Elis’s plan was to keep the Trolls informed that this Human army under him would always be in the Troll’s way, one step ahead and finally after constant harassment the Trolls would have no choice but to face him in pitch battle, where he could exploit the weak discipline of the beast troops. To ensure that this plan succeeds Elis and his army would have to travel through the desert as fast as they could as the Trolls have taken the quick way in, while he must scale the cliff for a safe way down for him and his men. “Hurry up! We have little time and no use for the weak, no slow pacing or I will leave you in the desert to fend for yourself, get in order now!” shouted Elis to his rowdy troops, some of whom were celebrating this event. Few have seen combat before and dealt such a blow to the Trolls, meant a lot to them. Elis mounted his horse and ordered his troops to march. “Keep moving, no stopping or else” shouted Elis to his soldiers who had just managed to get into their marching positions. They stamped their feet hard, to strike fear into the hearts of the Trolls who could hear. However, Elis and his army faced one serious problem, for now they had just enough food to meet the minimum requirement per soldier. The desert was vast yet it had nothing but cactuses and dangerous animals harbouring it.
For Allan, the situation is different, he has yet to run into any Trolls and is soon to reach the village of Zanten, the men were talking about how they were going to be able to rest and refresh themselves at the village. “After the village, what awaits us?” “More flat grassland awaits us after we cross the border and depart from Zanten. Yes, nothing but grass until we hit the wall” said the advisor. “What about the forces of Unodos under King Honorius, they have left Maredos by now, where would they be if they were travelling at our speed?” asked Allan. “It’s hard to say, he probably would have changed the direction he stated to you and he could be going much slower or much faster, given his attitude, much slower” said the advisor. “All right then, I think we should speed up, should the Trolls passed Zanten or changed their direction” said
Allan. “I agree with you, also he direction we and Elis are travelling are the directions where which the Trolls have broken through the walls, these are also quick ways of going north if you are coming from the south, thus I am confident that if we stick to the path, it is inevitable we will meet the Trolls for battle” said the advisor. “Faster men! We haven’t much time!” shouted Allan who then got his horse to trot slightly faster, which made the troops follow at that rate to keep up with the speed he was going at. They marched and marched, the soldiers’ eyes peeled for any sign of the village.
The sky was gloomy and the soil was damp, their clothes had not dried because the weather was too cool. It was quite uncomfortable and unfortunately the sun was shining brightly on them, making it rather humid for them. Some of the soldiers at this point would rather be in a desert than in this. Understandable as it was unbearable and the soldiers were densely packed together, hauling carts and dealing with their horses. They marched up