The Scarlet King (18 page)

The commanding officer replied, “We will be
prepared to the best of our ability, but we are not of the
mountains.”

“Those of the Forest will need to take
charge, and if your troops will do as they are told, the passage
will be made.”

The commanding officer asked, “Will you lower
this entire group or will some stay on top to assist those of the
Forest with those who follow tomorrow?”

Heather responded, “It will be best that your
troops regain a lower altitude as quickly as possible, for there is
little air to breathe atop the mountains. It will be a most
difficult task but those of the Forest will need to accomplish the
work themselves.” The commanding officer said not, saving his
breath for walking.

Darkness was just beginning to show to the
east when Jeremy finally gave the order to make camp. The sun was
setting to the west and turning the sky red, but most were too
tired to enjoy the scene. Those of the Forest stayed up to tell
their stories for just a little while, and they too sought the
shelter of their tents. Sleep came easily because of fatigue.

Jeremy was up as the sky first began to
lighten long before the sun appeared atop the mountains. The
breaking of the fast was a simple meal of travel rations, and then
they were again on the move, climbing ever higher. Water on the
west side was more available than on the dryer east side, but still
a constant problem especially because of the size of their group.
Many of the troops began to remove nonessential items from their
packs and discarded them along the trail.

Heather spent much of the day walking with
the commanding officer and asking questions about the enemy they
faced. He described them as fierce warriors who covered their heads
with a cloth wrap and used curved swords which were deadly sharp.
His explanations were always of just a few words with long pauses
to maintain his breathing. Heather pushed him not, for she knew the
need to breathe and for proper pace. It was the use of great war
horses which impressed Heather the most. When she asked what they
fed the horses, the commanding officer knew not. Heather asked,
“What do they do with prisoners?”

The commanding officer replied, “They take no
prisoners.”

“You mean every fight is to the death?”

“When they conquer they conquer completely,
sparing only women, some children, and the tradespeople who then
work as slaves.”

Their discussion turned back to the horses,
for Heather wanted to know how they were used in battle. The
commanding officer explained, “Our last battle was mostly a sea
battle. The one landing they made included horses which were used
to break through our outer defense lines with a rapid charge.” He
added, “The horses wore armor.”

Heather asked, “The wilderness to the north
of the Great City seemed very dry except along the river; does this
dryness extend to the east also?”

The commanding officer but nodded his head in
the affirmative, saving his breath for climbing. They visited but
little more and Heather left to talk to the young navigator, for
she needed to know more of the land.

On the fourth day many were complaining of
fatigue and headaches, which Heather knew was from the lack of air.
She said only, “We must move on and descend to a lower altitude.”
Jeremy set a pace that seemed to have them moving in slow motion,
with a single step followed by a short pause before another step.
Even with the slow pace, breathing was difficult and complaints of
fatigue and headache became ever more commonplace. The view from
the crest of the mountains was awesome but few were able to
appreciate it. It was midday before they finally arrived at the
cliff face and began lowering the troops.

The commanding officer watched with great
interest as Jeremy demonstrated the technique. He commented, “I
expect the doing is much more difficult than the watching.” After
repeating the demonstration a second time, Jeremy asked for a
volunteer. The commanding officer stepped forward, saying, “If you
can make this work with me, the others should have no problem.”

Jeremy secured the secondary rope under the
commanding officer’s arms and had him grasp the primary rope. He
helped the commanding officer step backwards over the edge of the
cliff using his legs to help control the descent. The commanding
officer made slow progress moving down the side of the cliff, and
when he finally reached the first transfer ledge a cheer went up
from those watching above. One of the Forest helped him release the
secondary rope and attach the next one. Again the commanding
officer stepped over the ledge and made his way down the cliff
face. By the time he finally reached the bottom of the cliff with
the four separate transfers, his chest hurt from the tightness of
the rope and he had blisters on his hands. He released the rope and
gave a wave to those who could see him from atop the cliff.

The other troops then began the descent with
the three separate sets of ropes, lowering three at a time.
Darkness was evident by the time the last of the troops was
lowered. Heather remained until the end for her own descent. The
descent was far easier than the ascent had been, but in the fading
light she felt as if she was being lowered into a bowl of darkness.
Most of those of the Forest stayed atop the crest to help the next
group of soldiers. Those few who descended pitched their tents
between Heather and the soldiers of the Red. Breathing was a little
easier, but the stories were few and fatigue forced all to seek the
shelter of their tents early.

On the east slope of the mountains the
sunrise seemed to come even earlier, and Jeremy had everyone moving
fairly quickly. Their pace was better but Heather found again that
moving downhill was harder on her legs. She sought out Edna and
asked about her knee. Edna simply replied, “My knee is.” She then
mentioned, “I heard Betty last night. She seemed well.”

Heather could help not the tears that formed
in her eyes, and but smiled at her friend before again falling back
to visit with the commanding officer. She said, “I would a dozen of
your soldiers who travel the best go forward with two of those from
the Forest and return with the supplies that are cached ahead.”

The commanding officer turned towards one of
his junior officers and but nodded his head in the affirmative. The
junior officer fell back amongst the troops to select those who
would move forward. Heather continued, “Those of the Forest travel
without leaving sign but an army cannot. We will need to stay far
to the north and west of your river. Those of the East will need to
travel along the river for water and feed for their horses. I would
they not know of our presence.”

“Our enemy will most certainly travel with
food for the horses. Why do you think they will follow the
river?”

Heather but smiled and said, “I intend to
make sure that they have food not for their horses. We need to
control their movement and make the battle occur on our terms.” She
then added, “Your soldiers have traveled hard and I fear will have
limited arms. I doubt we can face a charge of their horses as you
have described.”

The commanding officer asked, “Where would
you do battle?”

Heather chewed on her lips lightly before
answering. “The young navigator says the river flows through a
canyon before entering the agricultural plain. I would expect
somewhere along the canyon.”

“How do you force the enemy into the
canyon?”

Heather responded, “As we did on the ice
field, by giving them no other choice.”

The commanding officer was silent for some
time as he recalled the stories he had heard from those who had
crossed the ice field. He finally replied, “There is no ice, only
desert.”

Heather nodded, saying, “Then it is the
desert that we must use as a weapon. I wish I knew the land but
perhaps it is better that we trust the Spirits of the Forest to
guide us.” They talked for some time about the Spirits of the
Forest as the commanding officer tried to make sense of this
unknown force. Heather finally explained, “The God of the Sacred
Water works through the Spirits of the Forest. Many of the Forest
are very sensitive to the Spirits of the Forest.”

The commanding officer wanted to know if
Heather was sensitive to the Spirits of the Forest and she replied,
“Only a little. I depend mostly on others to sense the will of the
Spirits of the Forest.” She then told the story of her
grandmother’s visit that sent her on this journey. The subject then
came up about Daniel and his powder, with the commanding officer
wanting to know if they could expect such power to help them in the
upcoming battle. Heather was quiet for some time before saying, “I
trust not your politicians and have sent Daniel back to our own
lands with the envoys.”

The commanding officer thought of Jeremy’s
story of how the ruling class had interfered with the negotiations
for peace and threatened their lives. The look of anger on his face
was fleeting but evident enough to Heather. He finally responded,
“I live to serve my King and my people, but at times those who
would rule make my commitment difficult. It is a great loss not to
have the power of the powder but I must agree with your
decision.”

The discussion turned back to planning for
the battle which they both knew was coming. Heather explained how
she foresaw those of the Forest working mainly as scouts and a
quick strike force. The main battle would need to be fought by the
army of the commanding officer. The initial goal was to force any
invading force into the river canyon. The commanding officer
remained uncertain how that would be possible, saying, “If I was
the commanding officer of the invading force, I would at all cost
avoid being trapped in a canyon.”

Heather asked, “Would you risk the canyon if
the choice was dying of thirst?”

“They will most certainly have a supply
system to support their troops.”

Heather responded, “It is this supply line
that must be our focus. Our hope depends on cutting off this supply
line.”

The commanding officer replied, “Don the
Great has instructed me to trust your judgment and I do as ordered,
but I fear that cutting this supply line will be very
difficult.”

Heather nodded in agreement and responded, “I
would you plan our defenses for a battle in the canyon. I will plan
for the attack on the supply line.” She added “We of the Forest are
few in number and I will probably need some of your soldiers as
backup.”

The commanding officer thought for a few
minutes before replying, “You of the Forest travel fast. I doubt
even the best trained of my troops can keep up.”

“I would expect that the invading army will
give pursuit whenever we attack. I would have a backup force ready
to ambush any pursuing troops. At times it may be important to
leave not any sign of our movement and if so your troops will need
to be kept separate.”

The commanding officer now had a pretty good
picture of Heather’s plan and said, “Your plan is most
unconventional but might work. I will seek out volunteers to
accompany you and the others of the Forest.” He then asked, “And if
your plan works not, what then?”

Heather shrugged her shoulders and said,
“Then the battle will be on the open plain and I would expect those
of the East to be victorious.”

The commanding officer asked, “Would it not
be better to retreat to the protection of the city’s walls?”

Heather again chewed on her lip and looked
off in the distance before replying, “Being trapped in the city
will be a slow tortured death as those from the East gradually
choke off the city completely.” She then added, “I cannot ask those
of the Forest to accept such a fate.”

The commanding officer but nodded his head in
agreement saying, “It will be as you say.”

Heather corrected him saying, “It will be as
the God of the Sacred Water and the Spirits of the Forest decree.
We can do but our best.”

The conversation was interrupted when one of
the Forest who had accompanied Stan approached them. He had
traveled hard and his fatigue was much evident. Heather insisted
they allow him to rest and drink of their water before hearing his
story. Others moved forward to set up their camp while Heather and
the commanding officer waited with the messenger. His message was
brief: “A fleet of over thirty black ships has landed just to the
south of the hunting grounds of Those Left Behind.” He then added,
“Those Left Behind have agreed to follow Stan and work to disrupt
their supply line.”

While the messenger rested, Heather and the
commanding officer discussed the military implications. The black
ships were of a larger size than the ships of those of the Red and
could carry close to two hundred troops each. It was obvious they
were facing an army about three times their size.

Chapter 10

Time passed all too quickly. Before all of
those who crossed the mountains were assembled, those of the Forest
brought back reports of scouts from the East. They traveled in
groups of three to five on horseback and traveled but one day ahead
of the main army. They were concentrated to the front but had some
even to the rear watching for possible attacks. Those of the Forest
reported that they saw little from their horses and avoiding them
had been easy. Their line of movement was indeed west by south
through the open forest at the edge of the mountains.

Despite the many wagons, they covered many
miles per day. Heather’s greatest worry was that they would attempt
to cross the river before reaching the hill with the high grass.
Those of the Forest told her how much more rugged the terrain was
on their side of the river and they doubted an early crossing. Yet
Heather continued to worry until one night she saw Daniel in her
dreams saying, “It will be as the God of the Sacred Water deems
it.”