48 Run All Nigh (1/2)
Our escape had gone smoother than I thought it would. This meant Ashley's team was doing a good job of keeping our enemies occupied. At the very least, their distraction allowed us to take our convoy of four wagons—which included fifteen wounded, nearly ninety child slaves, ten prisoners, and thirty-two able soldiers—to meet up with Thom and his two lookouts southeast of where we had our battle.
Our group traveled south via a second route that cut between two hills. It was the same route we'd originally taken to get to our ambush point so we were familiar with the terrain.
Enna and her drow scouts went ahead of the convoy to glide atop the sparse trees along the path. Once in a while, I would see their shadowy forms hop from one tree to another like flying raccoons or bats.
The path along the hills exited onto a wide grassy plain surrounded on all sides by even more hills. To the east were green hillsides covered by trees. The hills on the west were brownie-colored like the hilltop the Foolhardies conquered. We made our way to these brownies.
It was a very slow-going march which added to the stress of our escape. Every so often, I would glance behind me and spend seconds wondering if now was the moment I would see enemy riders break through the hillside to attack us. It got to the point where my neck was feeling the strain from the constant back and forth.
”You ride a swifthart well for a Mudgardian, Dean,” Aura said as she sat on the driver's seat of the lead wagon. ”It suits you.”
I knew she was only saying that to distract me from thinking too much about our current situation—but it worked. My mood always got a little better whenever she praised me.
”I thought they were all just called elkin,” I said as I glanced down at my mount.
The green-furred creature I rode was smaller than the elkin pulling the wagons. It was leaner and only about the size of a horse. Its fur was also a lighter shade of green than the bigger ones. But its most distinguishing feature was the pair of ivory white antlers on top of its head.
”Swiftharts are a different breed of elkin... much faster than these grass elkin...” Aura nodded toward the elkins pulling her and Qwipps' wagon. ”and more intelligent too.”
My hands held lightly onto the reins of my swifthart's harness. ”Yeah... it must be smart... because I've never even ridden an animal in my life and I haven't crashed into anything yet.”
I patted the swifthart's neck. It seemed to like the attention as its head leaned into my hand as I moved it over the soft fur.
”Glad you're enjoying yourself, Commander,” Qwipps said from the other side of Aura. ”You know... even though we left behind a bunch of people who might not come back... and we're probably still being pursued... and those kids in the back... and—”
”Qwipps,” I interrupted.
He cocked his head my way. ”Yeah?”
”Shut up,” I growled.
Qwipps laughed in that bells chiming kind of way common to pixies.
”Just keeping you on your toes, boss man,” he said jokingly.
The good atmosphere building between Aura and me and our bonding over my mount had been ruined by Qwipps Daggerby. I was almost certain he did that just to ruin the moment.
”You know, Qwipps, if you wanted to stress Dean out, you could just remind him that we still haven't accomplished our mission of finding and disabling the Magesong Clan's spell cannons,” Aura prompted.
”Oo~~oh, right-right,” Qwipps nodded his head in agreement. ”That would be something to worry about... failing Darah when she trusts you to get the job done. Wouldn't want to be you, Commander.”
I scowled at the pair of them. ”You're enjoying this, aren't you?”
”Yes,” Aura said.
”Yep,” Qwipps added.
”Well... you're both wrong,” I said while glowering at them. ”Darah doesn't want us to go after the spell cannons.”
”It's not nice to lie, Commander,” Qwipps chided.
”I'm telling you the truth,” I said smugly. ”The spell cannons are most likely hidden somewhere in the frontline and close enough to be of use... why would Darah send us on a suicide mission? Much less order us behind enemy lines?”
”I was thinking that exact same thing, to be honest,” Qwipps admitted. ”I just assumed she recognized our penchant for crazy plans and thought we'd be able to pull it off.”
Unlike Qwipps who was quick with his assumptions, Aura went silent. Her eyebrows bunched together while she thought about my questions. Exactly three minutes later, she responded with, ”She doesn't want us to go for the canons...”
Aura glanced over to me, and I have to admit, those striking blue eyes of hers were very disarming. It was a feeling of getting lost in a clear azure sky.
”She sent us back here to disrupt their supply lines... something connected to spell cannons... that would be,” Aura bit her lip. ”It's at the tip of my tongue...”
Her eyes lit up in understanding.
”Oh, she wants us to find—”
”The ammunition?” Qwipps supplied.
Aura did not appreciate his interruption. this could clearly be felt when she elbowed him hard on the shoulder.
”Ow!” Qwipps yelped. ”Why are all our females so violent!”
”No wonder Varda likes to hit you,” Aura turned her gaze on him and I had a feeling it wasn't the warm kind she sometimes sent me. ”It's cathartic.”
Qwipps protested while rubbing his arm. Aura ignored this and turned her attention back to me with one final question, ”How are we meant to find these supplies in the middle of this giant battlefield?”
For the answer, I pointed my thumb behind me. ”We're about to find out.”
Thom was walking up to us while dragging one of the two brown-haired twins roughly by the arm. Of course, he had to pick the one who was sure to be the least cooperative of the two. He brought us the brother I knocked out.
”Brought you your prisoner, Commander,” he said curtly. ”Perhaps next time you can ask one of your underlings to perform these menial tasks?”
”Um, technically, we're all his underlings,” Qwipps commented.
Even when he stared daggers at Qwipps, Thom never lost the smile on his face. It actually made him look even more menacing, almost like a serial killer.
I got off my swifthart, and with one hand on the mount's reins, accepted the silver thread connected to the coil of threads tied around the human's hands from Thom.
”Appreciate your help, Thom,” I said placatingly. ”Why don't you go back to the rear and—”
”Continue to be your watchman,” Thom suggested. ”I would like to do nothing less, Commander...”
Maybe it was just me, but I felt like Thom didn't really mean that. It was always how he said the word, Commander, in that joking way of his. I returned his half-hearted salute despite this as I really was getting used to his attitude.
After Thom sulked away, I turned my attention on the human visere he'd brought to me.
His brown hair was matted with dry blood. The long aquiline nose was partially broken, and his left cheek sported a large bruise. He also stank badly, like a guy who'd been sitting inside an overstuffed wagon full of dead people, which is exactly where my people put him.
”I have some questions for you... answer them honestly and you can stay out here where it doesn't smell of death,” Immediately after I said this, I walked away without waiting for him to follow.
I knew he would though, because like Sun Tzu said, ”The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy lies in the enemy himself.”
Give the guy we locked up in what was essentially a coffin for over an hour a taste of freedom and he was more likely to give up information despite what went down between us. I knew I was right about this when I saw the relief in his eyes after he'd caught up to me.
”W-what do you want to know?” He asked hesitantly.
”First things first... tell me your name, age, and rank,” I said.
”Collin Mccord... Seventeen... I'm the Black Wand's quartermaster,” he answered.