One Way Ticket To Talenthar – Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ludger awoke with a start at around 04:00. It was still dark outside and he could hear sobbing in the room next to his own. He got up and dressed to investigate.

All was quiet in the stately corridor, except from the muffled weeping coming from a neighbouring door, that stood slightly ajar. Ludger noiselessly walked to the door. He was witness to a compassionate scene. Nathalia, with all traces of her regal, commanding ways gone, was crying on her brother’s shoulder. Arexis was doing his best to soothe his sister’s sorrows. She looked so young and vulnerable in her brother’s arms, that Ludger thought that her earlier conduct might have been the veneer of court rearing, put on to maintain her composure.

He silently retreated to his own room. He quickly found out that he could not sleep. He decided to take a bit of fresh air and go walk his dog at the same time. He walked to the other end of the corridor, escorted by Bacchus. After ten minutes of unsure progression and numerous backtracking in the silent palace, he finally found a corridor exiting in the courtyard. Ludger crossed the empty space to the main gate, where two guardsmen stood at attention. They saluted him. When he inquired, they pointed the way to the palace’s gardens. Since he was not dressed to comfortably jog, Ludger took a long brisk walk in the crisp, cold, morning air. The gardens were quiet and desolate in this early winter morning. The scenery fitted Ludger’s mood perfectly.

It was slightly past five when Ludger returned to the palace. In the courtyard he found Chargoff examining his truck and equipment with a look of confusion mixed with curiosity, on his face. He joined the man and explained to him the workings of the truck and of some of the equipment. Dregnar soon joined them, accompanied by a stableboy who was leading a pair of magnificent grey horses.

Both horses had their chest, shoulders and hindquarters covered in flexible, lightweight chainmail. The leading horse was tall and solidly built, while the other was shorter and more massive. They both seemed even tempered.

Chargoff explained that the lead horse was a trained battle horse that would follow its rider’s commands implicitly. He would not retreat under attack. The second was a sturdy pack horse that was trained with the battle horse as a team. It would follow its leader without any attention from the rider. It could carry a heavy load, day in day out.

Ludger looked over the horses with an expert eye. He was satisfied with his inspection. He proceeded to saddle the horses with the help of the stableboy. This last was fascinated with the modern saddles. With the help of Dregnar he loaded up the pack horse with his equipment. He put his G3 and shotgun in the long scabbards hanging from his riding saddle. He stored some extra ammunition and personal effects in a couple of saddle bags, that he fastened on the horse’s rump.

Other teams of horses were already assembling in the vast courtyard, under the watchful eye of General Chargoff. Ludger cornered the General and showed him the use of a 2-way radio. The General was very impressed by this technology. Ludger gave Chargoff two of the handheld units, with some spare battery packs. One was for himself, the other for Princess Nathalia, so that she could keep track of her brother’s progress. Ludger urged the General to establish a daily schedule of short calls at fixed hours, to preserve the batteries’ power as long as possible.

After the preparations were completed, Ludger followed Chargoff to the officer’s mess. They would eat breakfast with the troops. He felt comfortable with this no-nonsense man. Over breakfast they talked about their respective world’s differences and similarities.

They were interrupted by Andrack. The portly magician was looking for them. He informed the General that the Prince was ready to go. Their presence was needed in the courtyard. Chargoff ordered his officers to assemble their men. The small group left for the courtyard.

Ludger left the General to his job. He quickly found and mounted his horse. He told Bacchus to follow him. As the Prince lead his troops out of the castle’s yard, he fell in line behind Andrack, who was riding a massive black stallion.

As they slowly emerged from the courtyard, Ludger caught sight of Nathalia. She was overseeing the departure from one of the tower’s balconies, with barely suppressed tears in her eyes. Masses of troops were waiting in the outer enclosures. After they crossed the bridge to the citadel, Arexis motioned Ludger to ride at his side. More troops joined them in the citadel. Every soldier not critically needed for the protection of the city, would follow to the base camp.

As the main gates of the citadel opened, Ludger noticed that crowds of citizens were lining the streets, even at this early hour. They silently watched, with gloom in their eyes, as their leader left for his quest while a strangely dressed man, mounted on an alien saddle, rode at his side.

They slowly crossed the town on their way to the north-east gate. Once there, the small party, with their armed escort, parted company with the main body of troops. They picked up their pace as they crossed desolated snow covered farmlands.
They rode all day under the cold winter suns. Ludger’s only distraction was to listen to the constant bickering between Balnor and Andrack. They were discussing the proper method of reclaiming the sceptre. They seemed to never tire of their endless arguments, like young siblings on the back seat of a car, during a long trip.

Late in the afternoon, Chargoff called a halt. They set up camp about half a days ride south of the town of Arnor. Soldiers kept themselves busy by setting up tents for the night. A few large fires were lit. The men sat around them to eat their meagre trail rations. Ludger, after taking care of his horses and dog, unrolled an insulated sleeping pad and laid down comfortably in front of the crackling fire. Dregnar brought him a piece of dried meat and a steaming bowl of thick stew. The troll uneasily sat down between Ludger and his dog, who was sleeping by the fire. The troll still did not trust Bacchus.

At the end of the meal, Andrack came to join them, carrying a leather covered flask. The large man sat on a boulder next to Ludger. He passed him the flask. Ludger was delighted to find out that it contained a fortified wine similar to Vintage Port. He took a sip and passed the flask back to it owner. With a long sigh Andrack passed the flask back, after taking a long pull from it. He said.

“I am glad that you decided to come with us. I am sure that without your help, it would be impossible to finish our quest.”

“You seem to have more faith in me, than I have into myself. I do not really have any special magical abilities and I am not familiar with the customs of your world. The only thing I can offer is a little bit of technology.”

Ludger took a long sip of the strong wine and before Andrack could reply, he continued.

“I have read your treatise on technology and magic. I agree with you that in some cases, unfamiliar technology can be called by the uninitiated, magic. But I do disagree, though, with your position that they are fundamentally similar.”

“Well, they are similar in that they both accomplish good and help man in his daily life.”

“They both can also do bad. Like your black magic and our military technology that makes killing more easy every year. But in my world the technology, or machines, are not in themselves evil. Only the man using them for this purpose, is. In your world it seems that black magic is the embodiment of evil that corrupts its user.”

“This might be due to the fact that the people using this form of magic are predestined to be creatures of evil and that black magic only amplifies this trait in its users.”

While Ludger was listening he pulled, from his vest, his cigar case. He offered one of the long cylinders of tobacco to the large magician. They both lit up and continued their argument.

Ludger pulled on his cigar and let out a long stream of pungent smoke. He then said.

“Another difference, that I found, between our worlds, is that here magic brings you close to your environment. It is part of the essence of your world. In my own world, it seems that technology separates you from the earth. It removes you to an artificial man-made cocoon. The more technology, the further away your are removed from the earth.”

“But your technology comes from elements harvested from your earth and….” So the argument went on, late into the night.

When the discussion was finally wound up, due to lack of ammunition, Andrack retired to one of the tents. Ludger was left alone, thinking, by the fire. He felt refreshed, like he used to feel after similar argument when he was still a student. Stimulation of the mind is something that is very important and it is needed on a regular basis. It felt so good, under the cold stare of the stars, that Ludger decided to sleep al fresco.

He fetched his down-filled mummy bag from his pack and made himself comfortable by the fire. He noticed that Dregnar had also decided to sleep under the stars, as he quickly lapsed into unconsciousness.

*

Ludger awoke with a start. It was still dark. His body was stiff from the long day’s ride. He heard muffled noises coming from the direction of the river. Dregnar was not around, so he decided to investigate. He pulled on his boots, laced them quickly and took his G3 rifle. He attached a powerful multi-cell electric torch under the barrel of the firearm. He turned on the light and the illuminated reticle of his scope.

He slowly walked in the general direction of the sound. Bacchus followed sleepily. They soon reached the edge of the dried up bed of the river, where they followed the sound of the scuffle to a series of large boulders that stood ominously in the stark moonlight. As they approached the first rock, Bacchus’s ears started to twitch. She emitted a low menacing growl.

They soon found the source of the commotion. Dregnar was cornered, amongst the rocks, by a large animal with a long, well-toothed muzzle. It looked like a cross between a black bear and a rat, because of its pointed snout and its long tail. The animal was about ready to pounce on the poor troll. Ludger could do nothing, because the troll was in his line of fire. Sensing his indecision, Bacchus let out a lone bark and ran, head down, toward the bear. She bunted the animal in the chest, making it loose its balance. Before it could regain its equilibrium, she jumped, open jawed, at the animal’s throat. She could not get a good grip on the loose folds of fur. The creature effortlessly brushed her off. This had been enough to remove Dregnar from Ludger’s line of fire. The man surgically placed two bullets, in rapid succession, in the creature’s shoulder. The beast was killed instantly. The deafening roar of the shots, awoke the sleeping camp. Soon Ludger, Bacchus and the dazed troll were amongst friends.

Chargoff was surprised that a feisty water bandybear could be so easily defeated by Ludger’s firearm. They were all in awe of the power of the gun. They left a group of soldiers to expertly skin and quarter the carcass, for meat. As they walked back to the camp, Chargoff explained that the bandybear’s meat was a delicacy. It would nicely supplement their daily rations. He then chided Dregnar for leaving the camp, alone in the night.

As they sat by the fire, merrily passing around a wineskin, Dregnar pledged servitude to Ludger and Bacchus, with Arexis’ blessing. While things quieted down and people started retiring to their tents, Arexis took Ludger aside. He said.

“I want to thank you for leaving one of those communicating devices to my sister Nathalia. With it she will be able to keep in touch. I know she might seem haughty, but she is under a lot of pressure. She is at the verge of a breakdown. I had hoped that you two could have met under better circumstances. She is really a great girl.”

Ludger silently acknowledge the Prince’s words. He went to his packs to retrieve one of the small radios. He gave it to the Prince for personal use. Both men exchanged a warm handshake and retired for the rest of the night.

*

They were under way at dawn. After an hour’s ride, Arny of Elkvar – the Prince’s Trackmaster – joined them with his squad of trackers. They had news from the north. The way was free to Arnor, though there was trouble between Arnor and Setcryck. Bands of goblins or trolls had attacked small villages. They would have to be very cautious on their way up north.

By mid-afternoon, they arrived at Arnor. The farming town seemed desolated in the middle of the snow. Led by Arny, they bypassed the town. They went directly to the military camp. There, they found a few thousand soldiers looking worn. They were milling around the tents in an enclosure defined by high log walls. They met Colonel Dimitri at the gate. The solid man, in the prime of his life, was wearing a field armour. He enthusiastically greeted them.

Dimitri led Arexis and Chargoff to a tent, so they could finish planning their campaign. Arny and his trackers proceeded toward Setcryck to reconnoitre ahead of the small party.

After a night’s rest in the camp, they prepared to leave. They met with Chargoff, who was staying behind. They quickly went over their plan. They would first travel to Setcryck. There, they would find a guide to escort them to the underground city of Thorland. In that city they would request help from the dwarf’s leader, to proceed to the source of the river of Gods.

They had an emotional farewell. They rode all day without any signs of trouble. Early in the evening they set camp by the river. After they finished their evening meal, Arny of Elkvar came back from the field. He reported on his findings.

The tall thin man, dressed in the traditional green felt uniform of the Royal Trackers, said in a low clear voice.

“My men and I, have found traces of a marauding band of trolls patrolling this area. Guards should be doubled for the night. I would advise that Dregnar stays out of sights. I fear that if his presence is revealed it could provoke an attack by his inferior cousins.”

“Thank you…” Said Arexis. “…we will act upon this information. We should meet again at midday, tomorrow to evaluate the situation.”

With this, Arny soundlessly disappeared into the night, to rejoin his men. Arexis instructed Dregnar to stay out of sight. The men nervously settled down for the night.

All through the night Ludger kept being awaken by yells and cries emanating from the sparse woods surrounding the camp. He was uncomfortable at the thought of a band of trolls roaming in the darkness. Bacchus seemed to be of the same opinion, she kept growling faintly all through the night.

After a restless night, they raised camp early in the morning. Around them, the snow was slowly getting deeper. The air grew colder. They were lucky, it was still more invigorating than uncomfortable to ride in the cold air.

By midday they caught up with Arny. The willowy tracker was sitting on a rock while pensively cleaning the soles of his soft leather boots. When they reached him, Arexis called a halt.

Arny gave them a grim look. He said, pointing to the low foothills ahead of them.

“To reach Setcryck we must take a pass, in the hills, about three miles ahead. In a narrow portion of this pass, a group of goblins and trolls, together, have set an ambush. This is a very bad sign.”

Andrack quickly said.

“This is true, only Magdar could force trolls and goblins to work together. They normally cannot stop fighting each other long enough to cooperate.”

Balnor nodded in agreement. Things must have been really serious, it was unusual for the scribe to agree with matters uttered by the magician. The situation was discussed and a plan of action was decided. Arny’s men had found a small gulley that lead from the pass. It was unoccupied and could provide good cover for hiding. The bulk of their small group would hide in the gulley. A small party, lead by Arexis, would ride ahead to the site of the ambush. There, they would draw the attack and retreat past the gulley. From there, Ludger would launch an attack on the rear guard of the ambushers, who would effectively become the ambushees.

On foot, quietly leading their mounts, Ludger and his men were led into the gulley by one of Arny’s trackers. At the mouth of the narrow trench, another tracker signalled that all was well. They went in a single file and hid themselves as best as they could, amongst the low vegetation that clung to the walls and behind large boulders that had rolled from the top of the hills. After they were settled, the two trackers covered their tracks in the snow. Soon it was as if no one had entered the gulley. Nothing would reveal their presence, except the occasional muted neigh of a horse, that was quickly lost in the sound deadening bushes.

After waiting about half an hour the small party, lead by Arexis, passed in front of them. The Prince was lost in deep conversation with Arny, who was riding a borrowed horse. Silence quickly fell back amidst the waiting men.

Their wait was of short duration. Suddenly, amongst loud hooting and hollering, they heard the rhythmic drumming of horseshoes. The Prince’s party burst into the open space in front of them, with a ragged band of trolls and goblins at their heels. The formers ran like overgrown apes while carrying large knives. The later looked like small deformed caricatures of human beings, with permanent toothy grins set on their distorted faces. They kept cackling, laughing and hitting each others with a mind boggling panoply of sticks, knives and rusted swords.

When the unlikely group finished defiling in front of them, Ludger launched his own attack. MAC 10 at his fist, he spurred his horse after the evil creatures. His men jumped into the foray with their swords drawn. Ludger let go of a few short bursts of fire, but soon found out that he was just as likely to hit a friend than an enemy. He put away his submachine gun and drew his long kukri knife. He quickly hacked at a troll, who was trying to bite him through his boot while hanging by his stirrup. The heavy blade thudded in the troll’s neck. It fell, lifeless, to the ground.

When Ludger was bent forward, in the follow-through of his blow, a goblin jumped on his back. He could smell the stench that reeked from its open mouth. Fighting nausea, he elbowed the creature to his side. As it was about to bite him, Bacchus jumped on it. She clamped her teeth in the goblin’s leg. They both rolled to the ground. Dregnar swiftly disposed of the creature with one swift blow of his walking stick. He wildly grinned at Ludger, nodded to the dog and they both went after their next victim.
Andrack was calmly sitting on his horse. With a flourish of hand gestures, he was setting the greasy hides of goblins and trolls ablaze with simple firespells.

They quickly decimated their attackers. After they had regrouped, they discovered that the only casualty, on their side, was Balnor who laid on the bloody ground, with a deep cut in his shoulder. He was hysteric. It was well known that being wounded by a goblin’s weapon led to massive infection and soon after, painful death.

They quickly established a makeshift camp in a clearing. Balnor was carried to it. They laid the scribe on a rough blanket, by a fire that Andrack had hastily lit with a spell. Ludger grabbed his first-aid kit from his pack horse. He attended to the wounded man. Andrack was pacing back and forth and muttering to himself.

“I do not have enough power for a healing spell. It is all a question of entropy.”

Balnor, through clenched teeth, said.

“I am glad that I will not be touched by Andrack’s magic. I do not know what I would be turned into.”

Ludger hushed the man and looked at his wound. It was messy but superficial. He cleaned the area, then anaesthetized it. He disinfected the gaping wound with providone-iodine. He stitched the deep gash using silk on a mounted cutting needle. He dressed the, now closed, wound with an antibiotic ointment, then applied an adhesive bandage.

Andrack, looked with great interest. Ludger said to no one in particular.

“And now to combat the potential infection.” As he drew a syringe full of antibiotics. He expertly injected Balnor in the biceps and followed it with a tetanus booster.

As he swabbed the injection site he said to the man.

“Your shoulder will be stiff for a few days, but you should not be afraid of any infection. You should rest for an hour, then we will ride.”

Ludger helped Balnor to arrange himself comfortably by the fire. He went to the Prince, who was talking with Arny. Ludger said.

“Balnor will be alright we should be ready to ride within the hour. I would suggest that Balnor return to Arnor.”

Arexis replied.

“Thank you for your help. We will have to force our pace toward Setcryck. Arny does not think we should chance sleeping out tonight. He fears another attack.”

After a short rest, the men gathered their horses. Balnor was helped to his mount. Some of the soldiers carried Arny’s trackers behind them. After an uneventful crossing of the snowy pass, they reached a long valley. Setcryck occupied the far end, with its back to the tall mountains.

By nightfall they has reached the banks of the river of Gods. They forded the narrow muddy creek without any difficulties. From there it was only a short ride to the village.

Setcryck was nested on an incline at the base of tall mountains. Two deep canyons led from either side of the village. They once contained the raging flow of the river of Power and of the river of Gods.

The village was gaily lit by lamps hanging in the windows of alpine style chalets. A large stone wall, made from a hodge-podge mixture of darkly polished river stones, blocked the access to the valley.

Men, standing guard by fires near a narrow tortuous gap in the wall, recognized Prince Arexis, as he was leading the party. They ceremoniously bowed and saluted the Prince and his entourage. They were led through the narrow opening. As they crossed the gap in the wall, Ludger noticed that it would be very easy to dislodge stones from the sheer sides and effectively seal that gap.

When they reached the snow covered path, leading to the heart of the village, a mob of children were waiting for them.

Obviously, news of the Prince’s visit had travelled quickly to the villagers. Escorted by the irreverent horde of cheering kids, they quickly reached the main square of the village. A large Inn stood ablaze with lights. A painted sign representing a ruddy complexioned, cheerful faced, dwarf holding a large blacksmith’s hammer, hung over the front porch. On this porch stood the owner of the Dwarf’s Hammer, the town’s mayor and a few other dignitaries.

They officially greeted the Prince and his friends. They were led to a large common room while young stable boys took care of the horses.

The high ceiling, brightly lit, room was lined with tables. A high mezzanine circled it. A massive staircase led to it and the sleeping quarters.

They were ushered to take seat at the tables where the mayor made a long speech. The portly man, with a faded suit where the sash of his office left a bold stroke of colour, finally terminated his oration to the applause of the bored crowd.

Arexis gratefully thanked them for their hospitality. He requested rooms for the evening. The large innkeeper graciously offered his best rooms for the night. He ordered a meal brought to his guests. A hearty repast of meat and potatoes was devoured by the ravenous men. Entire kegs of ale were drunk in the revelry that followed the telling of the story of their heroic fight.

Andrack was sitting in a quiet corner, lost in a conversation with a thin man wearing a dark cloak. He finally shook the man’s hand and gave him a small leather pouch. The man’s long thin fingers expertly appraised the weight of the bag and deftly pocketed it.

Andrack went to fetch Arexis, Arny and Ludger. He introduced the thin man to them.

“This his Arckvor, our guide. He will escort us to the gates of Thorland. Where we will meet with the dwarf’s leader, my good friend Kurden McNish.”

The thin man replied in a low reedy voice.

“I am pleased to meet you. We will leave by mid-morning. We should be in Thorland by mid-afternoon. We will have to keep close to each other. It is very easy to get lost in the snowy mountain passes. I will see you in the morning.”

The thin man curtly bowed and retired to his room. The three men look at each other and shrugged. Ludger asked.

“Can he be trusted.”

Andrack replied.

“Do not be put off by his gruff manners, he his one of the best mountain guides around. I have known him for many years. He can be trusted, I guarantee you.”

Ludger took another pitcher of ale. After he finished drinking the potent brew, his head was spinning. He wearily climbed to his room. It was a comfortable, well appointed room. He fell asleep on the bed, without first undressing.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

From 1990: One Way Ticket To Talenthar

The Sass