“No,” answered the dwarven Knight of Alcea. “We have undermined the cliff for a length of three leagues. The length of their column in only a little over two leagues. Even if one of their riders bolted at the first sound of a hammer, he could not ride fast enough to escape the mountain falling on him. Nor could they save themselves by leaping into the sea. The height of this cliff is several hundred paces and a lot of that will land in the sea. There is no escape from this trap. There is only death for twenty-thousand invaders.”
One of the dwarves caught Prince Darok’s attention and the prince turned to see the end dwarf signaling him. He signaled back and then returned to his conversation.
“But the ropes?” questioned Natia. “What are they for then if not to rappel down and fight the enemy?”
“The ropes were used to undercut the face,” explained the dwarf. “They have been left in place in case something goes wrong. As certain as I am that the sappers have done an excellent job, nothing is perfect. If there are pockets of Federation troops that survive, we will go down and finish them off.”
“No prisoners?” asked Tedi.
“Not in this battle,” answered Prince Darok. “My people have to rush from this battle to Hendy Valley where we will be pitted against a superior force led by General Ritka and General Stemple. We have no time to take prisoners and no place to put them. The only exception will be for General Gattas and General Montero. If they survive, Kroto has orders to capture them. If they die, he will retrieve their heads. He is keeping pace with them now so that we don’t have to search under all that rock to find them.”
Prince Darok stepped away from Tedi and Natia and peered over the edge. He quickly stepped back.
“Send the word that the attack will begin in a few minutes,” Prince Darok said to the closest dwarves.
The dwarves sent the message both ways along the line of dwarves.
“What about their mages?” asked Tedi. “Can they stop the attack?”
“Not with any magic that Kroto or Doryelgar know,” answered Prince Darok. “We had planned to take out the black-cloaks last night, but we got word from Tagaret to alter our plans. I think we will be safe from their magic, but we will respond in kind if they surprise us. Now I must ask you to step back a little further. The ground is going to shake mightily, so you might want to get a good stance before I give the signal.”
Tedi and Natia moved away from the edge and prepared for the ground to shake. With a sudden thought, Tedi stirred Button to life and told her what was going to happen. He asked her to record the attack for Tagaret to see.
The little blue woman leaped into the air and shot upward, angling over the sea. A moment later, a fiery arrow shot high into the air from some dwarf near Prince Darok. Button looked down and watched the Federation soldiers. None of them appeared to notice the arrow, but they all heard the sounds that followed. The sound of two-thousand hammers striking the wedges pealed like a monstrous bell, and every soldier glanced around nervously. Some of the soldiers chose to look upward. Those men saw the face of the cliff start to peel away from the ridge, and their shouts of warning rippled through the ranks of the Federation armies.
Panic and chaos gripped the hearts of the Zaran soldiers. Some soldiers jumped into the sea, and some tried to hug the face of the cliff, hoping the debris would somehow miss them, but most of the men remained frozen, staring up at the tons of rock cascading down upon them. The cavalries at the two ends of the columns raced away from the center of the armies in a futile attempt to avoid death, but as Prince Darok had said, none of them could outrun the collapsing mountain.
The rock wall screeched as it tore apart, and the ground rumbled noisily from the impact. The ground shook like an earthquake, and the tumultuous sea tossed waves high into the air. In seconds, it was over, and a deathly stillness replaced the chaos. There were no cries from wounded men, no screams from trapped horses. The only sound was the crashing of the confused waves upon a new shoreline. As Button watched, a great massive cloud of dust spewed skyward, blotting out her view of the ridge. The fairy banked away from the mushrooming cloud before it enveloped her.
* * * *
Podil awoke to gentle raindrops falling on her face. She opened her eyes and stared at the angry sky overhead. It took her a moment to realize where she was, and when she did, she sat up quickly and looked around. Zalaharic knelt next to Wesik, his hands on the large unicorn. She frowned when Zalaharic did not acknowledge her rising, and she was sure that he would have heard her stir.
“Zalaharic?” she called softly.
“He has been like that for hours,” Wylan said weakly. “I think he is in a trance of some kind.”
Podil turned and stared at the Knight of Alcea. Wylan was sitting up at the edge of the glade, a mass of leafy material placed between his back and the tree that was supporting him.
“How are you feeling?” asked Podil.
“I have felt better,” Wylan replied with a smile, but Podil could tell that the smile was forced and that the Knight of Alcea was in pain. “Still, I am alive so I guess I should not complain too much.”
Lightning streaked across the angry sky and thunder shook the forest. Podil quickly erected a shield over the glade as she stood and looked around some more until her eyes landed on Sinora. The unicorn stood sleeping near the body of Sheri, which looked exactly the same as it did when Podil closed her eyes earlier. She continued to look around, but she could not find the fairy.
“Where is Thrip?” Podil asked Wylan. “We should send her off to Tagaret to let everyone know that you are alive. They thought you had perished.”
“Zalaharic sent her to Caldar for supplies,” answered Wylan. “He said that he needed more kioji and torafin.”
Podil nodded silently. Kioji was used to replace lost blood and strength, and torafin was a pain killer. Podil had brought some of each with her, and she was sure that Zalaharic had as well. That fact that Zalaharic needed more of each was not a good sign. She knelt next to Wylan and gently leaned him forward. He did not protest, but he winced in pain. Podil pulled away the poultice and examined his back. She nodded with satisfaction and leaned Wylan back against the tree.
The clouds opened up, and a torrent of rain fell from the sky. The raindrops hit Podil’s invisible shield and flowed over its surface and away from the glade. Podil glanced up at the storm as she moved across the glade to Zalaharic’s side. She knelt next to him and frowned, wondering how long he had been inside Wesik. With the storm overhead, she had no idea how long she had slept, so she reached out and touched Zalaharic. His skin was cold, too cold. Weighing the danger of waking Zalaharic or letting him remain inside the unicorn, Podil leaned forward and gently pulled on Zalaharic’s wrists. The Elderal elf blinked and looked over at Podil. He sighed wearily and nodded to her as he pulled back from the unicorn.
“I hope my interruption was not poorly timed,” Podil said softly, “but I was worried about you. Your body felt like ice.”
“The internal damage is severe,” Zalaharic said softly, “but you were wise to pull me out. These things should not be rushed, yet there are always others waiting for our skills. Tend to Wesik’s flesh if you can. I need to rest.”
Podil nodded as Zalaharic stretched out right next to the unicorn. He closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep.
* * * *
Alexander Tork opened his eyes and grabbed a knife from the table next to his bed. He quickly rolled off the bed on the side opposite the door and crouched behind it, the morning sun streaming through the window of his room in the Royal Palace of Tagaret. He had heard someone pause outside his door, or at least he thought he had. He was never quite sure if it was a dream or reality when such a sound woke him from a deep sleep. But the Knight of Alcea took no chances. He waited silently as the door slowly opened. With the knife held for throwing, he cocked his arm and prepared to strike. The door suddenly opened and Jenneva stood in the doorway. Alex sighed loudly and relaxed his arm. Jenneva looked across the room and raised an eyebrow at her reception.