Hidden Kingdom: Chapter 6

 

Chapter 6

As everyone sat around eating their meal in silence or whispered tones, Topher took a moment just to take in the scenery. He had a lot on his mind, and he found it helpful sometimes just to let his mind empty for a minute. The sky was clear and the stars had started their long and curved journey across the sky. He knew that many of the patterns in the lights in the sky had names, but he could not remember any of them. People had tried many times to teach him, but he never saw the patterns they were pointing out. It did not bother him though since the names had no bearing on his day to day life. He knew how to find the northern star. It was the star that was always to the north at night. Other stars would move around as the night went on and if anyone followed them they would be lost, but the Elven Star or northern star always pointed north. It would help any lost traveler that knew how to find the right star.

The first moon was poking its face above the trees. As a child, Topher had always been fascinated by the two moons. Both moons were about the same size and they always appeared in order, the first moon followed by the second moon. There was a tale of how to two moons came to be. The legend was that long ago; there were two elven twin sisters, Harrah and Dauphine, equals in beauty, magic and power. Although Harrah was born first, the two ruled all the land together. Things were peaceful in the kingdom until one day a disagreement broke out between the two sisters about which of the two identical sisters was prettier. This disagreement festered and their bickering turned to fighting. The fighting became worse and worse. It caused discourse throughout the land. Finally, the people convince the two to divide the land evenly so that they would not have to see each other, in hopes that peace could be once more upon the land. However, their anger continued to grow and soon a war started between the two kingdoms. The two so evenly matched that although bloody, the battles would end with little ground gained. This frustrated both so they each, being twin sisters, decided at the same time to create a super warrior that would ebb the tide of war. Harrah used her magic to create Kisa, a beautiful giantess with strong muscles, agile reflexes, and superior fighting skills.  Dauphine, on the other hand, created Seaven, a handsome giant who was also a master of strength, agility and fighting skills. Since both sisters possessed the same level of magic, their creations were perfect equals.  Kisa and Seavenreceived training by the two great queens and achieved incredible skill and knowledge. Both sisters thought that they had created something so great that no one, not even their sister could stand in the way. Both were very proud of their super-warrior. They taught them to think, love and appreciate fighting and fighting techniques. Kisa and Seaven became the greatest warriors that the world of Anon had ever seen.

However, both queens were shocked when the other revealed their giant at the same time. Their first battle was also upsetting for both as each warrior, each with perfectly matched fighting skills, had fought to a draw. What each queen did not realize was that because of all the focus on fighting and technique, the two giants fell in love with the other's battle technique. They found the other too great a warrior, a perfect fighter. It would have been a crime to them to kill something so perfect in the art of war.With all their training, they had come to find beauty in fighting. They were a perfect match for each other in both physical strength and skill. It led them to the realization that the other was the perfect match for them. They started sneaking off to spend time together, and soon they fell madly in love. When the queens found out, they were furious and ordered them to stop seeing each other and to fight. Instead, the two abandoned their armor, weapons and their queens and ran off together. They traveled far and finally found a place where they would settle down and make a life with each other.  However, the anger of the sisters was so great that they forgot about their disagreement, and they joined. No matter what was between them, no one could be allowed to defy a queen. Without their armor and weapons, the two were easily captured. As punishment, the sisters cast a spell on Kisa that she always had to run. Only the touch of her true love could break the curse. They held Seaven for 15 minutes, giving Kisa a head start. Seaven then took off trying to catch his true love. Now Seaven chases Kisa through eternity across the night sky, unable to stop chasing her for his love and longing to touch her but never able to. Kisa is unable to stop running because of the curse but longing for the touch that will set her free.

Topher smiled as 15 minutes later, Seaven, the second moon appeared above the trees. Topher did not believe that the two moons were two giant warriors chasing each other, but that did not stop him from enjoying the legend. 

Topher could tell by how his breath was visible in the firelight that it was going to be a cold night. Even without cloud cover, it was getting very cold. Winter was fast approaching. That was something else that worried him. Mountain crossing where always harder in winter because of the snow and temperature. As a practice in the Carriland Army, only emergencies would warrant a winter mountain crossing. Even venturing into the Saber Mountains in winter was considered risky and they were much further south and not as tall.

Topher took a moment to look around at the men and women who were on this mission. He was glad that these men and women were tough and seasoned soldiers. The only exception was Private Corval, and he guessed with her being a Wood-folk, she was probably more capable of this mission than the soldiers. He could see in the faces of each soldier that there was some concern. He guessed that word had spread about the enemy that was waiting for them at Lake Luka. He was glad to see that although many showed some concern, no one showed despair. He then looked at the three wounded. These concerned him the most. He suspected the ride would be hard and fast, and he was not sure what to do with these men. He needed a place to that could care for them, but he knew of no place. He would have to ask Captain Walch if Doorshire had any outpost on the way where they could leave the men. Topher knew that they could not bring them all the way to Emos.

The soldier that concerned him the most was General Allison. Something had changed in him after the battle. He seemed proud of the people he killed during the battle and even bragged about other kills he had done. There was something about his bragging that made Topher uncomfortable. He had heard soldiers partake in bragging fest before, talking of their conquests in battle. It was normal for soldiers, but there was something different in his talk. He emphasized the kills and the gore. He seemed to revel in the killing. It was sickening, and Topher could tell it made the rest of the men uncomfortable as they all avoided him during his pontification sessions. There was also a look in the General's eyes that was unnerving. Something had changed in General Allison, and Topher was sure it was not for the good. He had to find a solution to this problem before it became a bigger problem; he just was not sure what that would be. Being that he was not a member of the Carriland army, Topher wanted just to have him killed, but he was a general in a foreign army. He was pretty sure that killing him would cause a war between the two nations and right now that was the last thing they needed. He would have to talk with Queen Bellfourth about this.

After a few minutes, Topher stepped into the circle of troops. It was a stillnight, the smoke from the campfire was rising straight up. He was glad that their camp site was off the main trail and hidden by a hill. The night sky would hide their smoke from the enemy.

"Listen up men, we have to talk about a change of plans." Topher had learned that although he could just order these men and they would follow, that it was better to explain things to the men and let them buy into the plan. It allowed them to execute better his plan if they understood why they were doing it.

Once he had everyone's attention, he continued, "As many of you have probably already heard, the Emos army is waiting for us at Lake Luka." He looked at everyone's faces and could see that this was not news to anyone. Words always spread quickly around a campfire.

"It appears they knew we were coming and had set a trap. I suspect that we arrived here sooner than they expected which is why we caught that patrol off guard last night. Of course, that does not change the fact that there are even more soldiers waiting for us at Lake Luka. It means that we cannot get to Emos going through Lake Luka."

Many of the soldiers now had a look of real concern on their faces. They knew the importance of this mission.

"However, it appears we have hired the right guide as he as informed us that there is another way through these mountains into the Kingdom of Emos. However, to get to the pass, we have to ride south for a week or so. We will need to travel fast and hard. We will be traveling into a land that none of us have ever been, and I expect the journey to be dangerous. With a little luck, we can still make this mission a success." He paused to look at each soldier. Then he added, "Does anyone have any questions?"

Major Westfield spoke first. "Sir, how did they find out about the mission?"

That was of concern to Topher too, and he had given it a lot of thought. "We are not sure, but I suspect that they were able to make one of the men talk that they captured at Atel." He regretted saying it as soon as it went out of his mouth as the Duke was one of those men and he knew his fate was a grave concern to the Queen. "We do not think there is a spy among our numbers. If there were, they probably would have known better where we were."

Major Westfield nodded and looked relieved. It was clear he was worried there was a traitor in their ranks.

Sergeant Mohana spoke next. "Sir what about the wounded? You can't expect them to ride all the way to Emos do you?"

"No, I do not. Obviously, we need to find a place that can take care of them." He turned to Captain Walch. "Captain Walch, is there a settlement of some kind that could take care of them southwest of here that we could leave the wounded at?"

Captain Walch thought for a minute. "Well, there is the village of Bougainville. I am sure they would help us. They are small, but I am sure we can get someone from there to take the wounded back to Fort Applatch."

Topher was glad that there was a place. He turned to their guide who was standing by a tree on the outskirts of the fire. "Is that on the way?"

The Woodsman nodded. "It is about three days ride.

Topher turned back to the fire. "Good then we have some place to take care of our wounded. Any other questions?"

When there was no response, he said, "Very well, I suggest you all get some sleep we get up early and ride hard tomorrow. Oh and those who have next watch, please share what we talked about with those you replace."

With that, the meeting was over, and the group started mulling around, making their way towards their bivouacs.