Lixen, Sifindel, and most of the bodyguards had now crossed the Sodorfian-Dachwaldian border. When the fighting had started, two of the bodyguards had been killed by the overwhelming barrage of arrows that had come flying out of the woods. If it had been up to them, they would have stayed and fought, but their mission was to protect the emissaries, and they had no choice other than to form a defensive circle around Lixen and Sifindel and command them to run like the wind. They had galloped north on their spider horses, whose wide hooves and quick gait permitted them to gallop through the mud as if on hard soil, oblivious to the devastation occurring behind them. They mistook the screams of agony behind them as the Sodorfians’ shouts of frustration at their quarry having narrowly escaped the trap—that is, with exception of Tulgug, an overly curious bodyguard who had looked over his shoulder. As they crossed the border, which was about ten miles north from where the battle had taken place, General Sivingdon came rushing up to them on his horse, sword in hand, and began firing questions excitedly.
“Do we have permission?! Can I cross the border?! Where are the Sodorfians? Wait a second, there were ten bodyguards; what happened to the other two? What’s going on here?!”
“We were attacked by those perfidious Sodorfian traitors!” yelled Lixen. “They must not have liked the fact we were on to them and knew we were going to find out it was they who had destroyed our crops! Those mercenaries ambushed us! We lost two men, and the rest of us barely escaped!”
“Then it will be war!!” shouted General Sivingdon; “I’ll assemble my men at once. We will attack immediately!”
“Not so fast!” said Tulgug, the largest of the royal bodyguards. “I happened to take a look back as soon as the arrows started flying, and I swear I saw some Sodorfians being struck by arrows as well! In fact, just before I lost sight of the Sodorfians due to a small hill blocking their view, I could almost swear I saw some of them impaled on some kind of flying tree!”
General Sivingdon’s face turned white. “If I find out some of my men attacked without orders, I’ll have every last one of them impaled on spikes!! Captain Mindgkor?!”
“Yes, General.”
“Go check on all of the men. Make sure they’re all accounted for!”
“Yes, General. Right away!”
General Sivingdon was sweating bullets. He knew if it turned out some of his men had become hotheaded and attacked without orders he was going to be in a load of trouble. First of all, he would ultimately be considered responsible for what could turn out to be the beginning of a major war. Secondly, he could be held responsible for violating the king’s explicit orders, notwithstanding the fact he had authorized no such attack.
“What do you think about Tulgug’s statements?! Is he telling the truth, and if so, what do you think it means?!” General Sivingdon asked Lixen, frantic for an explanation. He hated not having been allowed to be there to see what happened firsthand, given that he suspected deep down he would ultimately be considered responsible for what happened.
“My job is to carry messages on behalf of my sovereign and to deliver messages to my sovereign, not to engage in speculation. That is the job of the king and the senate. I must report to the king the known facts, and it will be up to the king and the senate to fill in the blanks,” Lixen said dryly, having lost the enthusiasm he seemed to have a moment ago when he had first told General Sivingdon his opinion. Then, almost as an afterthought, he said, “The king will probably want to know whether you have thoroughly investigated the possibility of any of your troops being involved. Sifindel can stay here, and then as soon as you find out whether you can rule out the possibility of your own troops being involved in this attack, Sifindel can come to Castle Dachwald and give his report.”
“Well, I don’t like it, but until I receive new orders from the king, I have no choice other than to wait for the Sodorfians to arrive and give my trackers permission to cross or at least tell us what in Kasani is going on! Something that clearly is not going to happen now!”
Lixen mounted his horse and rode off at a full gallop.
The rain continued to fall hard. Sivingdon was as perplexed as he was outraged. He noticed most of the tracks weren’t even visible at all now. His only hope was that something would change for the better soon, and his trackers would still be able to follow some of the tracks. He had confidence some still could, but time was running out fast. His mind began to engage in endless speculation about who could have been behind the attacks. The apparent fatalities of a number of Sodorfians complicated what would have otherwise been the obvious explanation that the Sodorfians wanted war. But would they kill their own troops in order to accomplish this? he asked himself.