Terry W. Ervin (51 page)

Lilly’d stopped shivering. “So, they were watching the road and I slipped around and followed the path down to the road. But, before I did, I got a glimpse of the stronghold. It’s huge and set against a mountain, partway in a canyon. There’s a wooden wall surrounding it. Taller than an ogre. There’s some big buildings inside, like castles but with smoke rising out of tall chimneys.

“We have not seen smoke,” said Roos. “The enemy must run the fires and furnaces at night.”

“The smoke breaks up pretty fast,” said Lilly. “I bet they have an air wizard doing it.”

My hand went to my chest, remembering the sorcerer that wounded my heart, nearly killing me. And they had other spellcasters in addition to sorcerers and necromancers. What if they had seers?

Roos rubbed his chin. “The lights. Maybe the enemy lacks the magic to dissipate them. It means, friend Hawk, that the enemy constructs panzers and Stukas day and night.”

“The palisade could be a problem,” I said. “Is the gate guarded?”

“The Crusader is right,” said Lilly. “There’s two big gates. Wagons pulled by horses and ogres going in one. The other going out. I couldn’t tell what they were carrying in. Dark and rock-like stuff.”

“It may be coal,” said Roos. “And iron ore.”

“I saw a flatbed wagon with a tarp covering whatever it carried going out. It might’ve been a Stuka. And the gates stand open. It looked like there were ogres by each gate, but they don’t watch too closely what goes in and out. The filled wagons come from the north and empty ones return north.

“If we could sneak aboard one of the wagons,” Lilly added, “then we might get in undetected.”

To me it sounded too easy. “How did you get covered in that smelly stuff?”

“Well, I figured luck was with me and decided to get a better look. The lights are on the inside, but I saw the reflection of a pool outside the gates. A stream must come down from the mountain, and drains out. It’s nasty. You know what it smells like from my clothes. Its surface is slick with a heavy oil with,” she paused, turning her head in disgust, “with rotting corpses and excrement settled on the bottom.”

Lilly took a breath before continuing her tale. “I snuck down to a cesspool of water near the fence, hid my clothes and changed. They’d cut away the wooden grillwork where the fouled stream flows under the palisade, so I was able to swim through. They had to or else the corpse parts would’ve blocked the flow. What remains of it is rotted away anyway.”

“That was pretty risky,” I said, trying hard not to imagine what she experienced. “I only asked you to find a way around the watch tower and a place to hole up. We almost came looking for you.”

“That’s why I came back so soon.” Even through the faint light that penetrated the thicket, I saw Lilly roll her eyes. “I figured you would. I only took a look to see what it was like on the other side before coming back.”

“And?” I asked, wondering if I might not have to risk the wagons to get inside. “Do you think the bomb could be placed there? Would it be close enough to destroy the scientist zombies?” Deep down I hoped not. I didn’t want to shift my burden to Lilly and expose her again.

“I said this place was big. And I couldn’t tell where the scientists would be. It’s noisy in there, kind of clangy like blacksmith’s hammering and forges burning. I didn’t see much. It was like a city, but with straight streets, not winding ones. Big buildings like warehouses and barns with flat roofs. None near where the stream flowed out had chimneys.”

“Did you see anybody?” I asked. “Ogres or giants?”

“Yeah,” she said in disgust. “Some goblins pissing in the stream. That’s when I left.”

“How deep is the stream?”

“If you’re thinking of getting in that way, no way. As a muskrat, I was able to shake most of the oils and waste off before changing back. Still, you saw how dirty I was and bad I smelled.”

“Right,” I said. “Sneaking around like that wouldn’t work.”

“What about the lights?” asked Roos. “Can one travel the streets undetected?”

“They have big glowing globes,” said Lilly. “But there aren’t many and they leave lots of shadows. At least where I was.”

We sat, whispering ideas and slapping mosquitoes until morning, trying to formulate a plan. In the end it was my mission, and I decided to take the greatest risk to see it through.

“It’s not up to you, Lilly.” She turned away from me with tears in her eyes. Tears weren’t going to work this time. “I’m carrying the bomb in and placing it. You can help as I’ve asked or not at all.”

She knew better than to look to Roos for support. He’d given his advice but sat quietly now.

“The decision’s been made.” Whispering made it difficult to project authority. While the thicket could shelter us from enemy eyes, it did little to protect us from their ears. “The sun’s setting. It’s too late to change.”

“No it’s not. My plan is better.”

“It’s been decided, Lilly. Roos will cover our retreat. I’ll infiltrate by wagon, locate where the scientists are and place the bomb. If I can’t find a suitable wagon to carry me out, I’ll make my way to the stream and escape under the palisade. If that happens, I’ll need your help.”

“Right,” she said with arms crossed and facing me again. “You know my plan’s better. I can get in and out easier. I can place the bomb. You and Roos can cover my retreat.”

“What do you know of cities?” I asked her. “Nothing.”

“I can sneak better than you.”

“I’m leaving my breastplate, helmet and spear.”

“I’m still better.”

Lilly was right. She could infiltrate better. But, in my heart, I didn’t believe she was as committed as me. She had no family to save. My promise to Prince Reveron meant nothing to her. She’d place the bomb anywhere rather than risk her life, and mine. “We’re trying my plan first. If it doesn’t work, we’ll try yours.”

Bitter resentment filled her eyes. If Roos hadn’t been there, she might have tried something crazy like knocking me out and taking the bomb. “Sure,” she said. “Even if you get in, you have no intention of getting out. You’ll stay there until it explodes.”

“Keep your voice down,” I warned. “I have no intention of sacrificing myself.”

“Roos said that the explosion might bring the canyon walls down.” Lilly crossed her arms. “You don’t have to place it as close as that ego-mad, self-serving immortal Colonel said. If he trusted you—if he cared about you and your prince, he wouldn’t be detonating the bomb. You would!”

“Things are the way they are. If you won’t help me, then stay and help Roos take out the guards at the platform.”

That’s how the conversation had ended. Angry, I snatched the pocket watch from Roos and crawled out of the thicket. I didn’t even reply to the Crusader saying, “Good luck, friend Hawk. I shall ensure thy retreat is open.”

I found the goblin trail leading up the western slope and almost missed the fork circling above the posted goblins. I knelt, resting for a second. The weight of the bomb on my back was more than physical. Even worse, I felt naked without my breastplate, helmet and spear.

Not far behind the rattle of rocks tumbling downhill gave me warning. I hurried along the narrow path, hunched over to avoid catching branches and leave them waving in my wake. Crickets fell silent as I moved past them.

Whatever was following me picked up its pace. Maybe it was Lilly. Wishful thinking. She wouldn’t chase after me.

The path turned back down the hill. I snapped a branch and kicked brush, making it appear I’d turned up the hill. Then I went straight and hid behind a thick pine whose trunk forked five feet up.

I slid off the bomb and drew my sword. If it was a single goblin, I’d take it by surprise before it could call out a warning. If it was more than one, I’d remain hidden and hope. I was good enough to take two surprised goblins, but I doubted my sword skills were swift enough to kill both before one could call to nearby patrols.

My heart sank at the sound of pattering feet. Goblins rarely traveled alone, and tonight was no exception. I gripped my sword hilt and pressed my back against the sap-covered trunk. They stopped, two of them. Even if I understood the foul tongue, their brief exchange barely carried the ten feet to my ear.

I held my breath, ignoring a mosquito buzzing around my face as I listened to the light footsteps creeping toward my hiding place. The bug landed just below my left eye. The buzzing stopped, but the goblin’s breathing grew nearer. When he reached the other side of the tree I attacked. Guessing he was right handed, he’d approach hunched over and to my right, so I spun around, angling down with a backhand cut. My sword bit deep just below its ear, right where the helmet’s protection ended.

The second goblin on the trail jumped back upon seeing his partner fall. He held his spear ready and lifted his head to shout. I charged. Before I made it three steps, a form leapt onto the second goblin’s back, slamming it to the ground. Lilly stood up grinning at me.

“Figured I needed your help more than Roos?” I whispered, looking around for more goblins, feeling both relieved and angry.

She wiped her dagger, bloody from slicing the goblin’s throat, on its sleeve. “No, I just like you better than him.”

“Thanks. Guess I’m not good at sneaking, like you said.”

“You’re right,” she said. “These two were on regular patrol and you were sneaking too slowly.”

I wiped my sword on the back of the goblin I’d killed before sheathing it. “We’re still on my plan.”

“I know.”

“We’d better hide the bodies.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” she said, shedding her tattered wool vest. “I can make it look like a wild animal got them. You go ahead. The night’s wasting.” She began unbuttoning her green shirt.

“Okay,” I said, retrieving the backpack and slipping my arms through the straps. “Thank you.”

“You already said that.” She shed her shirt. “I’ll be inside the fence in the stream. And remember, if you aren’t in by midnight, give it up and try again tomorrow.”

I avoided looking at Lilly by pretending to check my gear. I didn’t want to see Lilly’s beast emerge, nor did I want to stare at her naked body. It would’ve been wrong. “You don’t stay too long. Who knows if I’ll be able to reach the stream. A better opportunity to get out the gate might present itself.”

“Okay, now get going,” she said softly.

“I am.”

Thirty minutes later I’d crossed to the east side of the road and made my way past the stronghold. Lilly was right, it was huge. The twelve-foot palisade ran five hundred yards across the front while the stronghold’s interior extended almost a half mile back. Hiding in a reed-filled ditch accompanied by croaking frogs, I assessed my chances as scattered groups of wagons rolled past. The frogs fell silent every time a team of ogres huffed and grumbled while hauling wagons past, or a team of draft horses clomped by.

After a while I realized an elevated hiding spot might benefit me by giving a view of the wagon’s contents. But such spots were further from the road and meant more time in the open. And steady patrols paired with empty wagons leaving the stronghold already complicated things. My plan was to run in behind a trailing horse-drawn wagon and climb in. If I reached the wagon and its contents offered no concealment, I could abandon the effort and hide in the ditch running alongside the road thirty yards down.

I began to second guess myself, wondering if I should have listened to Lilly. Or if I should’ve scouted first and left the bomb behind, out of range of being activated for detonation. Or let Lilly do the scouting and find where to place it. But every day we remained in the area held the risk of being discovered by enemy patrols, or a giant.

The pocket watch showed a few minutes past midnight. I was about to give up when a string of four wagons rolled toward the stronghold. The first two looked to have coal piled in them. The trailing two had canvas tarps loosely tied down over their cargo. No goblin patrols were to be seen and no wagons were leaving the palisade gate a quarter mile away.

The croaking frogs fell silent as the first wagon rolled past with a weary goblin at the reins. Same with the second, third and fourth. I pushed myself up and broke from the cattails. Despite the weight of the bomb, I trotted lightly behind the wagon and lifted the sagging tarp to chance a peak. Barrels tied down, with room along the back and sides!

I slipped off the bomb and shoved it under the tarp. The thump snapped the goblin out of his daze. Gripping the lip of the wagon’s gate, I tucked my head and lifted my feet, bracing my knees against the wooden frame.

The goblin cursed his horses while snapping the reins. Taking advantage of the jerking wagon as the horses sped up, I ducked under the tarp and climbed in. I stayed motionless for a few seconds, ignoring the bomb digging into my back. The wagon kept rolling so I edged forward around the barrels, pushing the backpack ahead of me. By the time the wagon stopped at the gate I’d maneuvered to the front of the wagon where the tarp was most securely tied down.

An ogre tugged at the tarp, revealing barrels near the back. “Nug fum?” it asked.

“Ogux,” the goblin driver replied quickly.

“Homm,” said the ogre. “Goll.”

With a jerk the horses began pulling the wagon again. I held my breath, wondering what was said, and where I was going. The ride inside the palisade was rougher than on the road, probably ruts or debris. Five times we passed under one of the globes whose light penetrated the canvas, showering the interior in gray light.