General Sarim sat almost an hour, pretending to be weary, but on the contrary, he was quite smug before a servant came out and announced that the general might see the council. He went through the heavy oak doors and heard the noise as they closed behind him.
“General Sarim, what is the nature of your visit?” The leader of the council, Lord Kaene, spoke on behalf of the council.
“The king’s wellbeing, my dear sirs,” Sarim said. “I fear he will be ambushed from the savages.”
“Not likely; the king is traveling with a hundred-man-strong guard. No savage will dare to attack them, and if they do, they will be sorry for it.”
“I’m afraid I disagree with you, Sir Kaene.”
“And you do that because...”
“A scout came in. He had seen a six-hundred-strong war party armed to their teeth marching out of Berkin one day ago.”
“And this scout of yours is reliable?”
“The best I’ve got, sir.”
“And what is your suggestion?”
“I have four hundred elite soldiers waiting at their horses; let us ride out and meet the king.”
“Then you should make haste, general.”
“I will, sir.” Sarim nodded before he turned and walked out.
“That took some time, general.” A knight waited for Sarim, holding the reins of both his and the general’s horse.
“As we expected, we have to hurry up. Is everyone ready?”
“Sure; they await us outside the city.”
“Let’s not keep them waiting,” Sarim said and swung into the saddle. The streets of Genora had already filled up with people, so they were forced to ride carefully out of the city, but as soon as they joined the others, they picked up speed, riding hard through the surrounding farmlands. As long as they were in sight of people, they rode as hard as they could, but as soon as they got into the wilderness, they eased up the speed to save their horses. The general’s goal was, after all, only to make it look like he tried his best to save the king.
***
“I was proud of you this morning, my squire,” Lord Roden said.
“How, sir?”
“The way you kept your calm and remained loyal. You must have been just as disappointed as the rest, knowing we are not going to Engriole after all.”
“Sure I was.” It was during breakfast that the knights had told about the change of plan. Everyone had been upset, and someone had even threatened to leave. His friends from the village claimed they were recruited with a lie, and that Lord Roden had known this all along. Oakentere knew this wasn’t true, but he wasn’t supposed to know, so he couldn’t tell. Still, he felt obligated to defend Lord Roden. He had calmed down the boys from his own village and the other ones from his area. Who had calmed down the rest, he did not know, but in the end, everyone accepted their new orders. Oakentere almost revealed that he had eavesdropped by not acting surprised by the news.
“I tend to look at the bright side of things, sir,” he said. “Going all the way to Engriole would mean a long day’s march today as well. Now we can settle for a shorter walk.”
“That’s for sure; now we will soon be done walking for a while.”
Oakentere wished they would soon reach their destination. To keep out of sight from the main road, they kept to trails within the forest, and that made the journey a lot harder.
A rider came towards them and stopped by Lord Roden.
“Right ahead is the perfect spot; the forest stretches over the road but for a little opening in the middle, and we’ve got large trees we can use to block the road on each side.”
“Good; send out your scouts to look for the convoy.”
The rider nodded, and then he was off again.
They walked less than twenty minutes before they reached the opening. It was an open field stretching three hundred yards in both directions, and it declined from north to south. Looking south, Oakentere saw an ocean of trees stretching from Gardir and far into the borders of Arantaya. It was Teigldur Forest, the largest forest in the world. Oakentere had heard stories of people getting lost in that forest every year for taking the wrong turn, and that one could walk for days without seeing the sun because of the thick leaves.
Lord Roden immediately deployed someone to cut trees by the road on both sides of the field. The rest of the army were gathered in the northern end of the field.
“I need archers to split in half and cover the road on both sides of the field. That means that the archers on the east side must be invisible and soundless. The convoy is supposed to pass you, noticing nothing.”
The captain of the archers divided them in two divisions.
“The infantry stays at the north end of the field; it gives us the advantage of charging downhill.” Lord Roden had to scream from the top of his lungs to overcome the noise in the crowd. He continued laying out the whole game plan before everyone found their position.
“Come, Oakentere; I will show you your position.”
“Am I not to stay with you?”
“No, you’re too young for open war. Come on.”
Lord Roden led on and Oakentere followed him to the east side of the field, south of the archers. He could see the trees meant to block the road were cut so close to falling, they were barely balancing.
“Now, my squire, you stay here well out of sight.”
“But I want to help,” Oakentere interrupted.
“I have two tasks for you; one is if I need a new sword, then I come charging right at you, and you come out and meet me with a new sword.”
“Sure, and the other one?”
“If someone in the convoy tries to sneak out into the forest on the south side of the field, then you must use your skills with the bow and arrow to take them out.”
“I will, sir.” Oakentere was proud to be a part of the battle, and he hoped someone, maybe even someone important, would try to sneak away from the battle, and he could show off his abilities.
Lord Roden rode back up the hill, and all the soldiers disappeared into the woods and the field went silent, awaiting the convoy.
Chapter 6
“Look; the Teigldur Forest. That means we are now in Gardir,” Queen Amrya said, admiring the massive tree line that rose before them.
“This is also where the journey can be dangerous,” the guard staying inside the carriage uttered more into the air than as a part of the conversation.
“Are there dangerous people living in the forest, Borthon?” The nurse was spooked by the guard’s comment.
“No, there’s no one living in the forest. The dangerous people are the savages that live up in the mountains, a cruel, barbaric people who use the trees as a hideout to plunder travelers on this road,” the queen said. “But have no fear; they’re also cowards, and by seeing all the soldiers accompanying us, they will surely flee back up to the mountains.”
“We hope,” Borthon, the guard, commented, but kept himself quiet enough to not be heard this time.
“There used to be people living in the forest, though. The forest is named after a forest king called Teigl; some say he even was a great wizard. But no one had heard of any forest tribes for centuries.”
“Well, I’ll be glad when we get out on the other side.”
“So do I. It’s boring to ride among the trees on both sides; so little to see.”
“How long will it take to get to the other side?” the guard broke in.
“The road was actually built on the borders of the forest, and never inside it. With time, the forest has stretched over the road in several places, sometimes even up on the mountains. So we will go in and out of the forest for hours,” the queen replied.
The convoy reached the first tree line, and the road was all of a sudden covered by large trees on both sides. The bright sunlight disappeared and all was dark green around them.
“I know what you mean, my Lady; it is so dark in here. And knowing these awful mountain men may lurk around in here is
creepy,” the nurse said.
“You should get some sleep while the baby is sleeping and let me worry about the mountain men. You may worry about the prince when he wakes up,” Borthon shot in.
“You’re probably right,” she said before turning back to the queen. “If I may, my Lady?”
“Of course, get some sleep.”
“You should try to sleep yourself, my Lady. It eases the journey.”
“I know, but I can never sleep well while on journeys.”
“Someone sure can.” Borthon pointed at the nurse that had leaned up towards him and was already fast asleep.
“That’s good. Then she will be fresh and awake when my little prince wakes up,” Queen Amrya said. Borthon, knowing every woman called her son a prince, wondered if it meant the same when the queen said it or if she was referring to his actual status.
“Look there’s an opening in the trees.” Borthon’s thoughts were interrupted by the glimpse of sunlight ahead of them, and soon after, the carriage was once more bathed in the sun.
***
“How long do you reckon?” General Sarim asked one of his scouts. They had just made a stop by a small stone bridge running over a tiny river, letting the horses get something to drink, and themselves some food. A pair of scouts had come in from the west.
“One hour with the speed you are holding; they’ve set up a pretty clever ambush.”
“And how long for the king’s entourage to arrive?”
“Assuming they rode out at the first light, I would say about an hour as well.”
“Then we will halt for half an hour,” Sarim said. “Tell everyone to stretch their legs and rest their heads. We ride out in full armor in half an hour.”
They had made fires several places beside the road and were roasting salted meat over the flames to eat along with bread. Sarim went onto the bridge and sat down, waving his legs over the water.
Not long after, a large knight came over to Sarim, handing him a plate of food.
“Please eat, general.”
“Thanks, Brule. Please sit down with me.”
The knight sat down and they both ate their food whilst admiring the open landscapes.
“You know, Brule?” Sarim broke the silence.
“What, sir?”
“This country is so blessed, it’s got everything shy of one thing, and that is a strong leadership.”
“And this country deserves a strong leader,” Brule said and tapped the general’s shoulder with his heavy hand. “It’s time. Let’s move out.”
“Sure,” Sarim said. He turned to a young man with a trumpet hanging at his waist. “We’re moving out. Give the signal.”
The trumpet sounded, and in seconds, the whole division moved. Fires were put out, horses gathered, and in less than a minute, they were all back on their horses, galloping towards the forest.
***
Oakentere sat behind two large pine trees growing almost into each other, giving space enough for the bow in between, and big enough to give sufficient cover. He had checked the swords and inspected bow and arrows before rechecking the swords. Now he sat and listened, but there was nothing to listen to. It was as if all the birds and animals that lived here had sensed what was going down and had left the premises. The silence was pressing down on him and he had no idea how long he had been sitting like this.
The first sound he heard was from one of the archers, not much, but as he shifted position to get better aim, he heard the sound of horses’ hoofs beating up the ground. They were still far away, but it was like a nervous tension grew around the open field. Now he saw movements among the infantry up in the north end. He heard small branches crack as soldiers moved within the trees. The sound of the horses slowly grew in intensity, and Oakentere's pulse rose, along with a slow beating in his temple as the blood rushed through his head. Instinctively, he put down his bow, lowered his head, and hid his face in his hands.
“Divine Lord, don’t allow me to disgrace you or my family,” he whispered.
Then he picked up his bow and withdrew an arrow from his quiver and put it on the bow string. The sound of the horses grew steadily, and Oakentere realized they couldn’t be far away now.
***
For the longer stretches through the forest, the convoy picked up speed, then slowed down every time they got back into the open plains. Whether it was planned or it resulted from the tension they all felt riding through the dense forest, no one could tell, except for the commander driving them forward. Now they had entered one of the longest stretches of forest road. This was also one of the large forest stretches closest to the highlands. This drove the tension up and the horses were pushed to the limits. Eyfenn pushed his horse even more and closed in on the commander. As he reached the commander, he tapped him on his shoulder.
“What is it?” The commander turned towards Eyfenn.
“Something is wrong. My horse is sensing it; he is trembling.”
“Maybe, but we are stronger than a highland war pack. Have faith, my friend.”
“Aye, sir.”
He saw an opening ahead. Had he been wrong? Maybe they were through the forest already. They had five hundred yards left before they were out of the forest, and both he and the horse could relax again. Then he noticed another tree line; it was the end of the forest, just an opening. This had to be it; it was the perfect place for an attack. Instinctively, he drew his horn and sounded the alarm. The soldiers reacted immediately to the horn, and everyone held up their shields as they entered the field. For a few seconds, nothing happened, and Eyfenn thought he raised the alarm needlessly. Another horn sounded, and several large trees fell over and blocked the road on the other side of the field and a hailstorm of arrows filled the air in front of them.
“Arrows,” Eyfenn screamed and raised the shield over his head.
“Defense formation,” the commander yelled out. The carriage formed a triangle, and the horses surrounded them, facing towards the woods.
Eyfenn realized there were archers on both sides and probably hundreds of them. Several of his comrades fell, unaware of the arrows ramming from behind. They could withstand two hundred archers if they didn’t have an infantry the same size. The arrows kept coming, but now they were aware of them and they did minimal damage.
Chapter 7
“What is happening?” Queen Amrya tried to get a glimpse out of the windows.
“We’re under attack. You must stay away from the windows, my Lady.” Then it sounded like thousands of stones were being thrown on the carriage when the first arrows hit it. Borthon looked up and could see the heavy arrows darted three and four inches through the thin wood panels of the carriage.
“Come down on the floor. It is safer, my Lady,” the guard said.
The queen and her maid got down on the floor with the prince’s crib between them, but the nurse sat, still fast asleep on the couch.
“Come on; get down, miss,” the guard said and pulled her hand. It was as though she was stuck. He pulled once more, harder this time. As the nurse tilted forward, blood came flowing out of her neck, and the guard saw that an arrow pierced the carriage and straight into her neck. He placed her on the couch and closed her eyes gently before he turned to the other women who sat on the floor in a state of shock.
“It will be all right, my Lady. We have good protection with us.”
***
Seven times, arrows rained down on them, each time causing a little less damage. Then the trumpet sounded twice from the forest, and with a mighty roar, a horde of savages entered the field from the northern tree line. Bring on the fight, Eyfenn thought as he saw them with their swords held high. They had no organization, held no line, and probably had minimal training. The savages came on more and more like waves pounding relentlessly on the shore. Even with no training at all, the savages vastly outnumbered them. Today we die for the king, he thought as he drew his sword.
“There are none coming in from the south. What do we
do, commander?” one officer on the south side of the carriages cried out.
“First line, reinforce the flanks. Second line, stay put and defend the king,” the commander cried out. “Ready to charge!”
The first of the savages were closing in, even though there were still more coming out of the forest. Eyfenn knew they needed to charge as the savages still were around one hundred yards away. Charging uphill, it would take some time for the horses to gain enough speed to cut through the lines. The last thing he wished for was to lose momentum and be trapped inside the horde of savages. This made him restless as the savages drew nearer.
“First line – charge!” their commander screamed as if he read Eyfenn’s mind. With their swords held high, the soldiers charged the savages. The ground was shaking from the horses and the running savages. The horses pierced through the ragged line of savages without sustaining much damage. The charging soldiers cut down many savages with their swords, but they were too few to cut off their lines, and most of the savages charged on towards the second line and their last defense. At the end of the field, as they had charged all the way through the savage lines, the soldiers regrouped and charged back hitting them from behind. But the crowd of savages was now so dense that they couldn’t charge through at high speed. They therefore lost one of their greatest advantages. As they charged, the savages sent out horse riders from behind them. Not many, maybe only twenty, but they still made impossible odds even worse.
Eyfenn could see that the defense line in front of the royal carriage had become thinner. He wanted to get through and support them, but the distance was too great. There were still one hundred yards to go, but he had to fight for every yard he made. Then he was attacked by a rider that had taken a killed comrade’s horse. Eyfenn had to fend him off several times before he landed a deadly blow to the neck where their armor was weak. As he saw the savage fall off his stolen horse, he felt his own horse collapse under him.
Eyfenn realized that he spent too much time fighting off the rider and had not watched his flanks, and a savage pierced a spear into the horse’s heart. Eyfenn dived forward and tumbled to the ground. He got up and swirled his sword around his head to get space around him before he landed the sword into the savage that took down his horse.