Elfsorrow

Rebraal kept up a hard pace all day. The going was difficult and in the afternoon they tired quickly. A brief stop for food after the third rain of the day hadn't brought much respite. Interrupted by having to move smartly away to avoid a foraging mass of inch-long ants, the meal of cold dried meat and bread was as tasteless as it was hard to eat.

Hirad had heard the sounds of water for some time before Rebraal brought them to a stop on the banks of a wide sluggish river. He could see the dirty brown water through the bankside vegetation and could just about make out the opposite bank some hundred yards away. Light was fading fast and he didn't know about anyone else but he was exhausted. Soaked by sweat and rain and with blisters irritating in his boots, he was ready to string up his hammock, confident that nothing would keep him awake once he got his head down.

'Which way?' he asked.

They'd gathered under the branches of a huge tree which soared up into the canopy and leaned out over the river.

Ilkar pointed across the river. 'That way.'

'How, by boat?'

Ilkar smiled. 'No, a bridge.'

'Really?' Hirad peered through the leaves and branches again. 'Where is it?'

'Hirad, this isn't Korina. You're not going to find a stone arch across the river. You're not even going to find lashed logs. You're looking in the wrong place.'

Ilkar tilted his head skywards. 'We do things by rope here. That way, people that shouldn't know crossing points don't find them.'

Hirad followed his gaze. He could see nothing. 'How far up?' Ilkar asked Rebraal. 'About a hundred feet. It's an easy enough climb. Rebraal will show you.'

'Wait a moment…'

But Rebraal was already climbing. Favouring his right arm, he stormed up the trunk, his agility leaving Hirad open-mouthed.

'Hirad, light's fading. We need to get across tonight. The opposite bank is far better for camping.'

'Why?'

'Less crocodiles, more space,' said Ren. 'And Rebraal doesn't want to stop here. This is where Mercuun fell.'

Hirad sighed and spread his hands. 'Let's do it. Anyone else not looking forward to it?'

'Didn't you ever climb trees as a child?' asked Denser.

'They weren't miles in the sky and full of snakes,' said Hirad. 'What are you two smiling about?'

Erienne and Denser had the look of people reprieved from execution.

'Tell you what,' said Denser. 'I'll try and catch you if you fall.'

Hirad frowned. 'You'll what?'

And then they were casting. So was Ilkar. In moments, all had ShadowWings at their backs.

'Bastards.'

Erienne laughed, her fear of the forest forgotten for a moment. 'One clear patch of bank is all we need. You should learn a bit of magic, Hirad.'

'I should choose new friends.' Hirad shook his head. 'You'd better have a good fire going by the time I get across. Make yourselves at least a little useful.'

'What, and miss the chance to see you wobbling on the rope bridge?' said Ilkar.

Hirad ignored him, turning instead to The Unknown. 'Who's first?'

'Don't be an idiot,' said The Unknown. 'Denser, Ilkar. Carry us. Let's show your brother we aren't so helpless.'

Hirad smiled. 'Great idea.'

'It was always the plan,' said Ilkar. 'And so was winding you up.'

Hirad laughed as he was lifted from the ground, arms locked around Ilkar's waist.

'What is it?' asked Ilkar

'Thraun,' said Hirad. 'Just look at him.' The shapechanger was scurrying up the tree, his agility a match for Rebraal's. 'Your brother's got a lot to learn about us.' Yron was woken by distant thunder and opened his eyes on a day kept dim by heavy cloud. He could see a swathe of blue over to the north but didn't hold out any hope of avoiding a soaking before the break arrived. Not that it would make much difference, given his plan for the morning.

As if to prove him right the heavens opened, drowning out the dawn chorus he had come to expect and now didn't disturb him at all. He shook Ben-Foran, the youngster coming to wakefulness with a start and groaning as he stretched his limbs and back, stiff after an uncomfortable night on the rock. He eyed Yron with a scowl but managed to force a smile onto his face as he stood up.

'What's for breakfast?' he asked.

Yron patted him on the shoulder. 'You know the rules of my army. Exercise before nourishment.'

'Why am I not surprised, Captain?' said Ben. He got to his feet and stretched again, arms high and back arched. 'Which way are we walking, then?'

'Same direction as yesterday. But there's nothing better than a healthy swim first thing, I always say. What say we race to the other side?'

Ben looked at him in total disbelief. 'You are joking, I hope, sir?'

Yron shook his head. 'Got to put something more impressive between us and them than distance, if we're going to survive this.'

'Captain, if I may make a couple of points that may have slipped your mind,' said Ben, face pale in the falling rain. 'First, I'm scared in open water, and second, when we hit this calm stretch, you said we had to get out quickly to avoid crocodile attack. And now you're suggesting we jump back in? Are you really sure?'

'If we don't, they'll track us down and kill us before we get to the ships, unless we are incredibly lucky.'

'And if we do, we're breakfast for crocodiles.'

'Not necessarily,' said Yron. 'It's all a question of timing and appearance.'

Ben shifted and frowned. 'You're really scared of these elves aren't you?'

'More scared than I am of a crocodile or a piranha shoal,' said Yron.

'How can they be so good?'

'When we get across to the other side, I'll tell you,' said Yron. 'It's time you knew what we're up against.'

'What about the others, then?' asked Ben, jerking a thumb back into the forest.

Yron smiled. This boy would go far if he survived. About to risk his life in the water, he still had enough wit to be worried about the other men.

'They had a good head start,' said Yron. 'They have a chance.'

'Really, Captain?'

'Don't stop believing,' said Yron, though inside he had very little hope left, none for the groups travelling without mages. 'Come on, let's find ourselves a float and a place to cross.'

Yron led the way back down the short climb, dropping the last couple of feet to stand ankle deep in the water. He cast an eye over the river, looking for telltale ripples or the eyes of a crocodile just above the surface. Ben was descending slowly, favouring his left leg. He looked clumsy.

'You all right, Ben?'

'Yes, sir.'

'What's wrong with the leg?'

'Just a little stiff I think. I must have lain on it bent or something.'

'Right,' said Yron. He looked closely, watching as Ben jumped into the water by him, landing on his left leg only. 'Are you sure?'

'It's fine, really.'

'Right,' said Yron again. 'Stay here, watch the opposite bank. Count the crocodiles on the mud and tell me if any take to the water before I get back with the flotsam. Think you can do that?'

'Yes, sir.'

Yron hurried back upstream to the pocket of still water they'd finished their river journey in. The log was still there and Yron greeted it like an old friend. He edged it from its lodging place and shepherded it downstream much as the day before, smiling as Ben came into sight. The young lieutenant was staring across the river sixty yards to the mud slope where four or five of the big reptiles lay.

Yron knew they couldn't see them from that distance but they'd sense vague movement and see clearly from about halfway across.

'Anything happen?' he asked.

'Nothing at all. They haven't moved a muscle.'

'Glad to hear it. Right, follow me. And tread lightly; anything in the river will be able to sense movement, so take slow easy paces, all right?'

Ben nodded and Yron set off, keeping the log slightly ahead of him and brushing the rock face. His nerves began to tingle. Here there was no quick escape. Here they were vulnerable. But he really had no choice. Crocodiles were predictable to a point. TaiGethen were infinitely more dangerous.