Deepforge (26 page)

All at once, the chromatic dragons and the Drakmid army began retreating to the west, at full speed.

“Pursue!” Grognor ordered. There was no hesitation. In fact, the pursuit had already begun before Grognor had given the command. Deccon landed and let his passengers off, including Teelena. She and Grognor shared a grateful glance, and then ran with the rest of them.  From behind was heard an unearthly sound. It was the horses. They had finally rallied and came running. Many warriors were able to grab a hold of a mane and catch a ride. The pursuit lasted several days, the armies only resting for short periods.

“What do you mean, ‘we’re losing’?!” the Black Queen raged.

The High General quivered with terror. “Your Majesty, see for yourself.” He motioned to the scrying device, nearly losing his bowels in terror.

The Black Queen shoved them both aside and peered into the device. The now shiny Deepforge army cut through her warriors with unexpected ease. At that point, the metallic dragons returned and engaged the chromatics, who were already fully engaged by the Stone Children. She roared in anger. “This is impossible! How close are they to the dome shield?”

“They’re on the edge now, my Queen. The royal army is at its edge,” the High General reported.

“I’m growing tired of these defeats! We are much more powerful than them, and more numerous! This is unacceptable!” She looked over at Jennifer and calmed herself. “Ok, sound the retreat, and have them retreat west, then south to the opening. Once they’re inside, I can attack them directly without the restriction.”

“Your Majesty, are you sure about that? We can’t afford to lose you,” the High General said.

“Once they’re within my circle of power they won’t be able to stop me. This may just work out in our favor. Have our army retreat all the way into the great valley. We’ll hit them there from both sides in an ambush. Then I’ll find Grognor and deal with him and the First One myself.”

“Yes, your Majesty,” the High General said.

Chapter 23

T
he chase continued until the Drakmids and their chromatic dragon companions retreated through a shimmering opening in the dome shield.

“Halt!” Grognor ordered as they all watched the Drakmids disappear into the distance.

“What?” Bruno asked. “Come on, let’s get them!”

“It’s a trap,” Deccon said.

“Yes, it’s obviously a trap,” Grognor began, “let’s make camp here. We’ll send a detachment back to the battle sight and deal with the dead. The rest of us will remain.”

“Look at the ground,” Eugene said. “Thousands of them have come through. This must be their only passage. But, I still don’t understand what’s the significance of this invisible shield.”

Bruno walked up and touched the unseen energy field. “It’s her.”

“What do you mean, Bruno?” Teelena asked.

The elder elves began inspecting the dome.

Bruno looked back at them. “I’ve been thinking about this, and I think I have it figured out, at least in part.” He looked at Deccon and Bōddy. “Why hasn’t she simply gone to Deepforge and taken it herself? Remember, I’ve seen her and her dragons destroy entire worlds with advanced civilizations. The fact that we’re still alive means something.”

“What have you figured out, Bruno?” Grognor asked.

“I think she’s restricted somehow. Believe me, if she could have done so already, she would have taken Deepforge a long time ago. I would bet this energy field is marking the limit of her direct power, and the main reason she’s had to recruit others to do her bidding. Something…or some
one
, has restricted her power outside this dome.” He nodded to his wife.

Everyone thought about this for a moment.

“Once we get inside, our fate is sealed, one way or another,” Bōddy said.

“Yes, I think so,” Bruno said.

“Well,” Grognor began, “one thing is certain. We now know their entrance point. How wide is that? Fifty feet or so? We’ll hold them here and rest. If they try to get through, we can take them. I’m not sure about entering, though, knowing what we know now. Once we go in we’re in her territory. It could spell death for us all.” He looked over at Bruno’s wife. “Thrúd, we could use some of your father’s guidance on this.”

Thrúd shook her head. “I’m not in direct contact with him, or any of the gods. Prayer is the best we can do, even for me.”

At that point, Eric and the Nords came to the impromptu meeting.

Eric overheard what Thrúd and Grognor had said. “We already know the answer, Thrúd.”

They all looked at him, confused.

“What do you mean, Chieftain?” Grognor asked.

“Look at the facts,” Eric began, “the last time we prayed, the gods sent Thrúd with the message they can hear us, and we are on the right path. How would we look to the gods if we cower at the realization that we now have to face our foe when the odds are not in our favor, even after we’ve had consistent victories?”

Grognor shook his head. “This is a different situation. It’s her territory, where she has all the power. It may be suicide to face her in there. We may need to come up with another plan. I really don’t think the gods would have wanted us to take unnecessary risks.”

Eric scowled. “Oh, I can tell you. Not only do they want us to continue, they have openly decreed by their limited abilities that we are, in fact supposed to continue. Otherwise, what the hell have we been doing all this time? I would also like to point out that we lost over a thousand warriors a couple days ago with the wave and the subsequent battle. People we loved. Close friends…family. We would dishonor them by cowering now. Sire, if you decide not to continue, you will be known as Grognor the Coward!”

Grognor’s temper raged, and he jumped off his horse, axe in hand. “How
dare
you talk to me like that!” He stood face to face with the Nord.

“Who are you, Grognor of Deepforge?” Eric asked as he pushed up against the Emperor. “Are you the Emperor who will lead us to save our world, or will you cower at a real challenge? Maybe your beard should be trimmed down to match your wife’s, huh? ‘Little Miss Grognor’, fetch me some beer at once!” He pressed his chest against the angry dwarven leader.

Grognor snarled at the Nord leader as everyone gathered around. Teelena jumped off her horse with her hammer ready to strike the Nord Chieftain down.

Then, he got it. Grognor looked into the judgmental eyes of Eric and backed away. He screamed at him, “I am
not
a coward. We will continue into the Black Queen’s realm, and we will destroy her
and her army
. I’ll not settle for anything less!”

Eric smiled. “There’s the Emperor I know. The Nords stand at your command, Sire.” He and all the Nords bowed with respect.

Teelena glared at Eric, but understood his tactic. It was sound. She latched her hammer and looked over at Grognor. “I hate to admit it, but he’s right. It goes back to what we’ve already stated. She has to be taken down. Now, it’s not just a matter of survival, but of honor. We must honor those we’ve lost. Let’s go kill that bitch!”

Everyone heard the Empress, and spontaneously cheered.

“It’s been stated that this is a trap,” Grognor said. “She will die in her own trap. The Black Queen will die at our hand, and we will reclaim our world!”

The cheer continued.

So, knowing it was a trap and that the odds would be stacked against them, they continued on after a couple night’s rest. The perpetual guard at the entrance saw no activity on the other side.

“I can go no further, my love,” Thrúd said as she snuggled with Bruno on the last night before they continued on.

“I don’t understand. You’re immortal, and one of the best fighters. We need you, Thrúd...
I
need you.”

“There are certain rules I was told, instructed. One of these was that I was not to enter her realm under any circumstances. If I do, she’ll become aware of my presence.”

“There’s so much we don’t understand about this, Thrúd. I hate only having half the story.”

“I know. Me too.”

Thrúd stayed behind as the army rode though. She and Bruno shared one last tender moment before they separated.

“Come back to me, Husband.”

“I will, I promise.”

They hugged, kissed, and separated. Thrúd stood alone as the army disappeared into the distance.

Moments later, she was in Bilskirnir. She had been recalled. Thor and Sif stood before her.

“Don’t worry, darling. He’ll be ok,” Sif said as she embraced her daughter.

Thrúd lightly cried, not saying a word.

Thor hugged her as well. “Don’t cry, we won’t let him get killed, not really. If his body is killed, we will resurrect him here.”

“I know you will, Father. I…just miss him already. I hate being away from him.”

Sif smiled and caressed her daughter’s long golden hair. “I used to have hair like yours…Baby, go home. Take care of those lazy kids of yours, and tend your garden. Before you know it, your Husband will be home safe and sound. You have our word on it.”

“Yea, I will. I bet they haven’t even watered my tomatoes. All they do is sit around and play video games or watch movies. When will they go out on their own?”

Thor and Sif shared a quick knowing glance.

“Soon,” Thor said, “very soon. Now, go on home.”

Thrúd nodded and reverted back into her true form, stretching her white wings. “Let me know what happens, ok? Don’t hold anything back. I know you already are…but…just please, no more memory adjustments, ok?”

Sif and Thor laughed.

“We promise,” they both said.

As soon as the Deepforge army crossed into the Black Queen’s territory, they felt a change. It was an overwhelming feeling of…evil. They scarcely saw any wildlife, to the point that they began to get worried about food. Eugene reported that they hadn’t seen a stag since they entered, so things were getting serious. They traveled for weeks, not seeing another creature but small game, and no humanoids.

“How much further?” Teelena asked after the third week of travel.

“We’ve been inside her territory for three weeks now. They have left us a clear trail…I’m not sure. Not sure of a lot of things, but I would guess we’ll see them again when we enter the mountains,” Grognor speculated.

“Yea, that would be my guess too,” Bōddy said. “There’s…well there used to be, a large valley where the two mountain ranges meet. I would bet that’s where they will ambush us.”

“The nights are getting cooler,” Teelena said.

“We’re in the southern hemisphere now. Summer is on fully at home in Deepforge, but here we’re heading into winter. Good thing we packed for it,” Grognor said.

Bōddy looked at the army. “I’m just glad we were able to get as much equipment from the wave as we did. I really wish we had the war machines back.”

“I don’t. They’ll be a liability in the valley, we can move easier without having to haul them. We can build more from the native trees if we need to,” Grognor said.

They traveled deeper and deeper into the Black Queen’s territory, edging closer and closer to the southern mountains. They rose abruptly out of the grasslands they had been passing through, and the forest appeared all at once. The mountains were tall, at least twice as high as the northern mountains, and even higher than the western mountains.

“Look at those peaks!” Grognor pointed. Everyone was in awe of the massive granite snow capped peaks rising into the clouds. “I wonder what minerals are awaiting discovery in them!”

As they traveled, they finally spotted what they were looking for. The obvious trail led right into a massive gap between two mountain ranges.

“This is a rift zone,” Deccon explained. “This continent is slowly…unzipping right through here. In a million years or so, this will all be ocean.”

“This is truly amazing,” Teelena said as she admired the dramatic, beautiful landscape.

“We’ll stop here. Camp, find food. If I’m right, she’ll wait until we are completely in the valley before attacking,” Grognor said.

“How could you possibly know that?” Teelena asked.

“Well, that’s what I would do.”

At the entrance to the great valley, they camped. Eugene and the Naw-nee hunted for several hours, only able to bag a couple of stags. By the time the suns breached the horizon, everyone was packed and ready for battle. The wide valley stretched out before them. The suns shone into the gap, illuminating the magnificent scenery. The high peaks of stone rose on either side, and the dense forest covered everything. The obvious trail snaked through the ancient, impossibly wide trees. Ranging from six feet to several dozen in diameter, the trunks of these behemoths rose hundreds of feet into the air. If it was Earth, they would be mistaken for the Giant Sequoia trees of California. The similarity was not lost on Bruno.

“Wow,” Bruno said as he looked at the magnificent trees. “This reminds me of California.”