ground, along the edges of the burned forest, “but maintain the depth at chest height.
Is that possible?
“That? Child’s play. If you want, I can even have a ditch connecting it to the edge of
the stream and some distance beyond that, within the cover of the forest. To cover
you, I can have a fog in the area and extend it for some distance. It’s normal in this
part of the forest but sometimes fog doesn’t happen so we better make sure. To cover
your smell, you get to choose an enchantment or roll around on the ground and wipe
yourselves with those leaves. The enchantment doesn’t last long, you should know.”
Tyler looked at his two companions.
“Thanks for the ditches. Please extend it as you see fit. Uhmm, about the enchantment
and the natural cover, can we have both?”
Rumpr laughed. A lot.
“Oh, you humans. You never change. I’ll cast the enchantment when we’re there. In
the meantime, rest and eat. Then follow up to the stream near your former camp. I will
go ahead and do my work. Don’t worry, I will find you when it’s done. But don’t take
too long.”
With that, Rumpr walked out of the defile. Probably didn’t want us to see any more of
his tricks. He could have left the way he came. The three ate their meal in silence. Each
one thinking about what may happen. Three against a couple of thousand. Even when the attack was going to be done at night, under cover of a short-lived enchantment, the
odds looked daunting. Tyler, for his part, was wracking his brain on what to do. The
general idea was there. But as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Meal over, he
looked at the two.
“Here’s the plan. We have no intention of directly tangling with two thousand jotnar
and dokkalfr. What we want to do is hit their siege equipment and then the wagons. If
we can do that, the pressure on Scarburg will lessen. A lot. Your job is to watch my
back. Jorund, an extra task. If you see me falling into that magical exhaustion again.
Tell me. Then we all withdraw and find another opportunity. But find targets of
opportunity. No flame arrows. They will be seen in the dark.”
“Sire, once things start being exciting, they will suspect the woods on both sides. It will only be a matter of time before they find us.” That was Jorund. Habrok nodded in
agreement.
“If that happens, we withdraw immediately. We use the ditch to get out. You heard
what I told Rumpr. We have up to the forest past the stream. That way we wouldn’t be
silhouetted while getting away. When withdrawing, keep close. We won’t have the time
to look for anybody missing.”
The three moved out, confident that their movements will be cloaked by
the landvaetter. Tyler had his staff in his right hand. The fog was already starting to
rise but he could still see where they were going. Reaching the trees just before the
stream, they paused and waited for Rumpr. They could see the thick fog that covered
the desolate forest battleground in front of them. While waiting, they rubbed exposed
skin and their gear with the leaves pointed out to them. After a while, Rumpr’s voice
sounded behind them.
“Hello, my human friends. Who are as crazy as a svartalfar on a grog-less diet for a
week! I would have said a vargyr with its tail on fire but it didn't seem right!”
“Everything ready?” asked Tyler as he turned to look at the being.
“Except the ditch on this side. The channel on this side will be directly in front of the
trench on the other side of the stream. Can you see it? It’s right in front of you. Did the digging while you were waiting.”
Tyler tried looking at the ground in front of him. But excellent his enhanced eyesight
may be, the lack of forest tracking skills betrayed him. He couldn’t see anything. Habrok
spoke up.
“There it is, Sire. See that tree in front of us? With a big rock beside it? The trench opening is between the two.”
He finally saw it. It really was difficult. It merged with the darkness and shadows cast
by the trees. He gave the signal to cross the stream. Habrok took the lead and Jorund
took the tail end position. They moved fast, trusting in magical concealment. As they
passed through the ditches, they made sure dirt spread along their bodies, grabbing
fistfuls at times to rub into their armor and faces. Tyler trusted Habrok could find their
way back. The man has changed since the discussion at the inn and strangely, Tyler
hasn’t decided yet if he missed the old garrulous Habrok. Most probably not.
The crooked way the channel ran confused Tyler. He doubted he could find his way
back by himself. By the time they reached their so-called front line, the trio were
unbelievably dirty. Their fording of the stream contributed to dirt turning into mud in
their bodies. Front line for Rumplr was several feet away from the edge of the scorched
forest and true to his word, the fog was heavy. It extended to the encamped enemy.
Tyler was guided by Habrok to a part of the trench which was directly in front of the
wagons and siege equipment. Not that it was difficult to find. The belfries of the tall
siege towers were visible even with the dim moonlight. Thankfully, the moons had shed
their full glory and moved to the next phase. Ground visibility was nil. The problem was
the wagons and the catapults could not be seen. He based their locations from the
drawing Habrok made, using the breaching towers as his reference point.
I can’t use the ground level fireball spells. Can’t see for shit. Distance must be around
three-fourths of a mile? Difficult to assess under these conditions. What to do? How to
do it? A bombardment of empty spheres and fill with energy before impact? That would
limit the number of spheres. I don’t think I can infuse all of them before they hit. Not to mention difficult. An outright volley will definitely lead them right to our exact
