Chapter 27
They were delayed getting started as General Allison was not happy about having to cut trail. Topher pointed out that everyone had taken a turn yesterday except him. However what convinced the General to take his turn cutting trail was when Topher said he could always bring up the rear of the squad, but then he was not sure if they were safe from snow slides. With a smile, the Woodsman confirmed that they were still in danger of snow slides. He did not mention that a snow slide was likely to wipe them all out instead of just the tail end of the squad, but it was clear that General Allison believed that the danger was at the end of the line.
Begrudgingly the general started cutting trail. It was harder than it had been the day before as the snow was chest deep and packed. Topher waited about 30 minutes before relieving the general, putting everyone on the 15 minutes schedule like the day before. Judging by the look on the General's face and the fact that he did not say a word all morning, Topher guessed it has been a long time since General Allison had seen a hard day of manual labor.
The trail was slow, and it took them the morning before they had finally cleared the pass. Just as the Woodsman had said, the amount of snow started to decrease as they came out of the pass. Everyone was glad about that. At the other side of the pass was a viewpoint that took everyone's breath away. From where they were, the mountain dropped below them. Although it was steep in places, everyone could make out where the trail was. But the view beyond was amazing. Before them, as far as they could see, was a green valley. To the west, they could see the ocean. To people that had just come through a bad winter storm, it was a welcome site. Many wondered what the name of the place was but traveling in a single file made it hard to ask their guide.
Seeing that they would soon be traveling through green forest and not through thick snow renewed everyone's spirits. There was a renewed vigor in the effort to cut trail. A competition broke out to see who could cut the most trail in their 15 minutes. Although they were tired after their 15-minute turn, they were in great spirits, bragging and encouraging each other. The Woodsman did not have to give many trail corrections as the way was pretty easy to follow although once he had to stop Private Corval from going off the edge of a cliff. She was so intent cutting a trail that she missed how the trail turnedaround the face of the cliff.
It was early evening when they finally made it to the woods and no longer needed to cut trail. Since Corval was the lowest rank, she had to share her ride with Westfield. As expected, she did not complain but instead seemed more than willing to share. Sara was glad that she had decided to let the Wood-folk girl join the squad. Her attitude was so refreshing when compared to General Allison.
After a bit, they stopped to grab something to eat and rest the horses. As they sat there, eating their rations, Sara asked the question that everyone wanted to know.
"I had no idea this valley was here. What is it called?" she asked.
"This is the Kingdom of Hathorn, and the locals prefer to keep it hidden. They are not big on visitors," he replied.
"The locals?" Topher said with concern.
"Yes, and speaking of which, I would appreciate it if you and your men kept your weapons secured. Do not draw your weapon unless you see me do it. I want to come in peace, not be left in pieces."
"The locals are hostile?" Topher asked.
"Not so much hostel as isolationist. They prefer to be leftalone, so they do not like people wandering into their land. And since they want to stay hidden, they are even less amenable to letting people leave."
"If they do not like visitors and like letting people go even less, why did you bring us here?" General Allison spoke for the first time all day.
The Woodsman smiled and said, "Well that is why you hired me."
Sara then said, "You have been here before?"
The Woodsman paused before answering, "Yes, I lived with the locals for a couple of years."
"And who are the locals?" She asked.
"Dwarves."
There was a collective "Dwarves?" from everyone. Dwarves were things of myth and legend. No one actually believed they were real. Legend had it that dwarves were fierce fighters that slaughtered people. One myth was that the dwarves had killed the elves.
"And how do you plan on getting us safe passage through their land?" Topher asked
"I plan on asking King Rolland," he replied.
Sara was now impressed. Not only did this man know about the Dwarven Kingdom but he knew the name of the king and expected to gain an audience with him. Clearly there was more than just spending a couple of years living with them.
The Woodsman continued, "The dwarves are very touchy about weapons. They live by a code called Valloric. If you draw your weapon, then they have to draw theirs, and a fight must take place before they can put their weapon away. And fights are usually to the death." This got a look of surprise on everyone's faces. "They also believe that the friends and family of someone they killed have the right to try to come and kill them. So they like just to kill everyone so family and friends will never find out. Since I like living, just keep your weapons stowed."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"How far do you think we will have to travel before they realize we are in their territory?" Topher asked.
"Oh, they already know. The undoubtedly saw us coming down from the pass. There is probably, at least, one patrol watching us right now."
Many of the squad started looking around to see if they could spot them.
"Do you think they will attack us?" Topher said with concern.
"No, right now they are just watching us. They do not get many visitor so they will probably just watch us for a while to see what we do."
The rest of the meal was finished in subdued conversation. As they started riding again, everyone kept looking into the woods to see if they could spot the patrol that would be watching them. There was a mix of excitement in seeing a dwarf and fear as all the old stories told of how violent they were.
Sara noticed that the pace their guide had set, although still quick was not as fast as it had been on the other side of the Borah Mountains. She guessed that he was trying to balance between going quickly and not looking like they were on an attack mission. She knew the Woodsman well enough that he would not have gambled with the lives of the men so she guessed he must have something that would help him get the favor of the King and allow them to travel through Hathorn. It seemed the more she learned about the Woodsman, the more of a mystery he turned out to be. This man had once commanded the most powerful army in Anon, and then something happened, and he left that army. Then he traveled to the land of the Dwarves and somehow lived among and them, later was allowed to leave a people that killed to keep their presence unknown. After that he spent years living in the woods, helping random strangers but still living alone. The two pieces she wanted to know more than anything were why did he will to fight in the last war and what was he running from in trying to live alone in the woods. Somehow she had to find the answer to those questions.
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