“Good. Because if it gets away from us, its gaze is as fixed upon all here on the road, just as the Eldengaze is fixed upon it.”
Allazar grimaced and glanced over his shoulder towards Elayeen, but even he knew now that the frozen form of the elfin and her blank stare trained on the northwest was very far removed from the vivacious young queen he had fought so hard to protect in Ferdan two short months ago.
“What would you have us do, my lord?” Tyrane asked quietly.
“I like your idea of moving people. It might serve as a distraction, a diversion. Perhaps, Jaxon, you and your people could help, move south about half a mile, then back?”
Jaxon nodded. “You go to face the darkness my lord? You and the wizard? Alone?”
Gawain shrugged. “And perhaps a couple of your stealthiest men, Tyrane? Those seven Gorian guardsmen were rather large and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Allazar should I have to deal with them alone.”
“I know just the two, Serres,” the sergeant grinned, “One of ‘em a poacher before he took his majesty’s gold and black, the other the son of a woodsman. Good lads, both of ‘em.”
Tyrane nodded. “Ask them would you, Sergeant?”
“Aye Serre.”
They stood and watched as the sergeant strode down the road, pointing first at one guardsman and thumbing him forward, then the next.
“My lords,” Jaxon said, his expression a mixture of admiration and fear, “If you go to face the darkness, I and my people will run to the mountain and back, if it will help.”
Gawain smiled. “I don’t think you’ll need to go that far, but thank you. Tyrane, if you post your guardsmen here, and stand close by my lady, you can perhaps gauge the effectiveness of the diversion.”
“Indeed, m’lord.”
“I’ll let you arrange the details with Jaxon and his people.”
“Aye, my lord. And it looks like you have your poacher and your woodsman. I’ll brief them, with your permission, and leave you to make your arrangements.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Gawain acknowledged Tyrane’s tactful withdrawal, and watched as he led Jaxon across the road towards the wagons.
“So, wizard. I hope you are ready for this. The beast is impressive.”
“The knowledge has shown it to me, Longsword. It is fearsome indeed.”
“Wait until you see it for yourself. It numbed my blood, I don’t mind admitting it. Is there anything you need before we leave?”
“Oh, perhaps a year or two to reconsider…”
Gawain smiled grimly. “Alas…”
Then, with a deep breath, Gawain slapped the wizard on the shoulder and moved to stand in front of Eldengaze, deliberately blocking her view. She didn’t move.
“I want my lady back.” Gawain said softly, for her ears alone. “I want the shimmering beauty I found hurt and bleeding on a moonlit autumn night near the track to Ferdan two years ago. I want the gentle and graceful elfin who nursed me so tenderly for so long when I was felled by Morloch’s Black Riders and their poisoned arrows. I want the elfin lady I held in my arms and carried through the snow from Elvendere to Threlland. I want the girl who robbed me of breath with a smile and a glance and who could melt my heart with a quiet word. I want the lady whose courage in the face of all that’s dark and terrible burns like a beacon in the night. I want miheth and mihoth and my bounden love. I want Elayeen back. And if the wizard and I succeed in destroying the darkness that threatens us all, I shall have her back, even if I have to walk barefoot all the way back to Raheen and smash the circles in my father’s hall with my bare hands to get her.”
Elayeen said nothing. She didn’t blink. She simply stood stock still, holding her bow lightly balanced on the toe of her right boot, staring through his chest towards the darkness.
Gawain turned away from her, strode across to Allazar, and with a flick of his head towards Tyrane, led the wizard across the road.
“These are guardsmen Rollaf and Terryn. Both have volunteered, my lord, and both are at your disposal.”
Gawain nodded to the two men. Rollaf was the taller of the two, but both were lean and wiry, tanned from long years outdoors, and both had about their eyes that deep serenity that seemed common to woodsmen and those familiar with the wilderness. They had removed their heavy leather uniform tabards and mail, greaves and other accoutrements, and each carried a shortsword and knife in scabbard at the belt, and a cocked but not bolted crossbow over their backs.
“We’ll move south along the road a mile at the double, and then head due west. We’ll come up on the enemy from behind, from the southwest. We’ll need to move as silently as possible; if the enemy hear us and loose the beast to defend themselves before Allazar can destroy it…” Gawain trailed off.
“I must be the first to strike,” Allazar announced quietly. “Once I have destroyed the Kraal, then you must deal with the Gorian guardsmen. I may not harm the races of Man.”
“And the parGoth dark wizard?” Gawain glowered.
Allazar nodded. “He too is mine. He has betrayed the races of Man.”
“The beast is immense,” Gawain warned the two men of Callodon, “And astonishing to behold. Try to fix your attention on the men and not the creature. Our first targets will be those not clinging to the beast’s chains. Earlier, they had two men on the chains each side of the beast, and three resting nearby, ready to assist the others if needed. Those three will be ours. I doubt you’ll have time to reload the crossbows, so don’t miss. Shoot, discard the ‘bows, and draw steel. The quicker this is all done, the better. Any questions?”
There were none.
“Captain?”
“No, my lord. We’ll wait until you’ve turned into the trees before deploying our diversions.”
“We have about two hours before dusk makes the forest challenging. If we fail, Captain, the Eld… my lady will tell you of the creature’s advance. If that happens, get as many onto horses as you can and scatter. Just don’t send too many to the north, for the sake of Jarn.”
“Aye, my lord,” Tyrane acknowledged, his face grim.
“I know this isn’t a particularly honourable action,” Gawain sighed, “But neither is loosing a ravenous beast upon an unsuspecting town. Let’s do this quickly and quietly, and then be on our way.”
With that, Gawain checked his own weapons and performed his curious jumping on the spot routine. Allazar promptly followed suit, and then the two guardsmen. Once all were able to move without clinks or rattles to give them away, Gawain gave a quick nod, a last glance at Elayeen, and then led the way at a brisk run south along the gently undulating track. After a mile, perhaps a little more, Gawain slowed to a halt, regarded Allazar and the men for a brief moment, and then leapt the ditch and headed due west into the forest.
At first, Gawain moved swiftly. He knew the forest floor and gauged the distance between himself and the enemy far enough to allow speed with sufficient caution not to cause too much of a disturbance to the woodland creatures. Then he slowed, weaving around obstacles, all senses alert. Allazar was doing well, better than he’d hoped in fact, and a quick glance also revealed the two guardsmen loping behind the wizard, grim-faced and wide-eyed, yet moving quietly and with skill.
Light slowly faded, and the ferns and brackens gave way to leaf-litter and humus on the gloomy forest floor. Gawain paused, peering westward through the trees and then up through the canopy, gauging the distance they had travelled. Satisfied, he squatted down, knelt on one knee, and made a brief hand signal to the guards. They acknowledged the signal, and then unslung the crossbows from their backs, holding them casually, still cocked but unloaded. Gawain frowned in the gloom, then reached into his muddy tunic and withdrew a mud-stained black cloth from his tunic. He tossed it to Allazar, and then pointed to his own head.