Gaining of Larruth: 20D
Saturday, August 13, 2005 (14:28:51)

Posted by TerishD

Chapter Twenty - Part 4

Mially was told to sit up front on the wagon with Oggelly as he drove it near the established point. Feladin and Larruth rode along with the wagon each trailing a horse. Knight Neveser, Sylvia, and Alfred skulked through the underbrush as direct as possible to their destination.

Larruth joined the three as they cowered in some bushes overlooking a section of wall. Sylvia had obviously been waiting for the prince, because at his arrival she whispered that she was ready. He gave directions to the group where camp was being established. With that news, Alfred and Sir Neveser felt they were ready as well.


The main event of the sub-plot is handled.


Chapter Twenty - Part 4

Mially was told to sit up front on the wagon with Oggelly as he drove it near the established point. Feladin and Larruth rode along with the wagon each trailing a horse. Knight Neveser, Sylvia, and Alfred skulked through the underbrush as direct as possible to their destination.

Larruth joined the three as they cowered in some bushes overlooking a section of wall. Sylvia had obviously been waiting for the prince, because at his arrival she whispered that she was ready. He gave directions to the group where camp was being established. With that news, Alfred and Sir Neveser felt they were ready as well.

The lady moved next to a tree and started casting a spell. Nothing noticeable happened and Sylvia complained of resistance. She obviously had an alternate plan already in mind, because she immediate set herself to casting another spell. A semicircle of stone rose in front of the wall. The lady then cast another spell that had a blast of air push the column against the barrier. She made a sound of elation as the rock held its shape.

The four waited to make certain that the column had truly been created without anyone noticing. Not being able to work the magic directly on the stone of the castle, the color of the column was not true. The day was starting to wane however, so all knew that the color difference would soon be less of a problem than the evidence of a new obstruction to the straight run of the wall.

Knight Neveser wanted to move first, but Sylvia stopped him. She explained that she was the lightest, and the one who constructed the column. The yellow haired lady thus could not be countered to being the best one to test the construction and the best one to be able to determine the quality of the construction.

Sylvia chose her moment, then fled to the castle. There was a wet ditch surrounding the fortress, but it was narrow being only a hindrance to mounted troops and siege engines. The leather garments presented no problem that would hinder the elf lady from jumping the distance.

She knelt and crawled through a hole created in the bottom of the column. Once inside, Sylvia stopped to check the size of her construction. She believed that she still had a good idea of how big she once had been, and had considered those dimensions in creating this work, but was uncertain just how much her present form had overcome her old self-image. She noticed how much room she had to move and suspected that the old large brute was still very much a part of herself.

The stonework was very rough on the inside, allowing hands and feet to easily find support. Sylvia was almost up when she noticed a sound below. Knight Neveser was below and averted his eyes when he realized the sight above him. The lady smiled knowing that the man only saw undergarments at the most as she finished her climb.

Castle soldiers watched as the yellow haired lady moved from the column of stone onto the battlements behind the wall. They held their position as she put her fingers to her lips, then waved at the sentries. She waited for the knight, then helped him make the transition to the wall. Sylvia directed the man to speak to the soldiers while she waited for her next comrade.

Knight Neveser spoke to Sylvia as she approached with Alfred and Larruth. "It is as I feared. The men are in support of our actions, but want us to save the queen and all the children. They think that your column will make the rescue easy."

She replied, "I am not certain that my column will go unnoticed. The enemy is spread thin here, but they are present all the same. We came for the baby princess."

One of the guards said, "Your concern is noted, Lady Sylvia, but we harbor no ill feelings toward our lord and lady. While Viscount Benturrit might have serious grievances against our lord, we feel that the viscount will be wrong to force his judgment on the family."

"I suspect that the queen will desire to remain with her lord, but I also believe that many will state a desire for a better future concerning their children. You will need to keep the inner forces informed as to the state of my column. Do not challenge the integrity of the castle attempting to protect the column."

Larruth added, "If there are forces around the column, then there will be problems getting the children out."

The guard assured the prince that he understood. He then signaled those on the inner wall. The group looked to see a couple of ladders being moved. One was to allow them to descend the present wall with another to allow them to ascend the next.

A signal had obviously been sent to those inside the fortress, because there was a reception waiting when the four descended into a courtyard. The knight was recognized, as was the name of Lady Sylvia and Prince Larruth. Alfred was not a name that had been heard, but he was welcomed with the others.

The monarch definitely wanted to save his children. The young princess was his fifth. The oldest was thirteen. He understood that the problem went deeper than that however, because his duty was to protect his people. To save his children meant that he should save all the children within the fortress. He was asking about the resources of the group as he led them towards the main keep.

Larruth turned his head, but it was Alfred who considered a sound of movement as suspicious. The man broke off from the group and went between some tents set up to help house the extra people. Larruth had been considering the human as being pampered, so was pleased to see him acting on his own initiative. The elf felt confident that the noise was merely a few castle citizens attempting to achieve some privacy, but stopped to listen to how Alfred handled the encounter.

A short scream turned to a grunt before the sounds of metal blades touching was heard. Larruth quickly drew his own weapon as he rushed between the same tents that Alfred had passed. The elf man came upon a few figures dressed in clothing of a similar grey as the castle stone, and sounded an alarm as he joined the battle moving over the fallen body of Alfred.

Sylvia and the monarch turned upon hearing the call to arms, although each held their position as soldiers moved to the conflict. The elf lady spoke of the insurgency as being an advantage, then told the monarch to gather all the children. The king smiled at her before issuing orders to have a group of advisors start moving. Knight Neveser claimed it was his duty to retrieve the young princess, but it was to Sylvia that directions were given to the royal nursery.

The knight understood that he was entering the territory reserved for women, so did not challenge the elf lady's lead. The queen did challenge the two, but quickly assessed them to be who they said they were. She wanted to follow her baby, but understood her necessity to remain in the castle. She did place her wet nurse into Sylvia's authority.

As Sylvia and Neveser moved to exit the keep, children kept being brought into their presence. There were a number of babies. Most were past the point of needing breast milk, but the wet nurse voiced her inability when the third very young child was handed over. The queen was present following her children, and she chose a couple of the mothers to join the group.

The soldiers were ready for the children as they left the keep. The group was herded to the inner gate. To prevent any keen sighted enemy from glimpsing the covert activity too soon, the inner gate was cracked open and the children moved through the corridor between the tall walls of stone. No torches or sources of magical illumination were provided for the children, but the guards above had their usual watch lights lit giving enough vision for the operation. As the children were walking, a demonstration concerning the caught invaders commenced at another location along the wall. Larruth smiled at Sylvia as she brought the children to the ladder. She asked about Alfred and was informed that he was hurt, but was being tended by Feladin and his goddess.

The children were rushed up the ladder, down the column, and towards the camp. The king had found some uniforms of his now traitorous viscount, and a few of the more trusted soldiers now wore them near the location of the column. The uniformed personnel gave a normal serene appearance to the area in spite of the occasional rush of forms. The children missed their parents, but most were old enough to understand the situation enough to obey the command to stay quiet. Those who could not, or would not, had their mouths stuffed with cloth during the procedure.

Alfred had not been severely wounded, but he was certain that it was only because the invaders had not expected to be identified by the stranger. The illegal occupants of the castle had rushed the man thinking that they had the advantage of surprise. The hasty movements between the tents had not allowed their attacks to be well directed, and Alfred was glad that a mortal blow had not been accidentally delivered.

The group luckily had killed a deer the day before, so were comfortable with meat. They were hoping to buy more vegetables from the town. The group was discussing the appetites of the children as they moved their camp even further from the field of conflict. A couple of the nursing mothers brought forth sacks of fruits from beneath their dresses. No one expected the fruit to last long, but they were grateful to put off the problem of feeding the youngsters for a period.

The children were kept awake during the movement for as long as possible. There was little problem getting the youths to sleep when a halt was allowed. Only two tents were erected. Larruth's tent was set for Sylvia while her tent was readied for the nursing ladies. The dragon skins were laid on the ground for the children with the blankets giving cover to those who needed it.

Sylvia understood that the tent for her was not erected simply because she was a woman, but because of her place of leadership. She could have just been told to sleep in the large tent. The yellow haired lady thus took time to spend with the men and discuss plans. If she was to lead this pack of women and children, she needed to be assured of a direction.

Knight Neveser explained the territory to the others. The children could not be released until the group entered the Kingdom of Forshin. Leaving the children in a domain of the present kingdom would put them back into the hands of the viscount assuming that he won the conflict. The minor noble was not happy about having to travel the distance with the children, but understood the duty that had fallen to him. He did mention that the children would be placed in the first barony of Forshin that they entered. Neveser stated that he was under command only to bring the baby princess to Castle Forshin.

The first few days of travel were very rough on the adults. The children did all they could to resist the constant movement. The wet nurses were not in the physical condition to handle the hours of walking. The wagon was used as much as possible, but it basically came down to Knight Neveser and the travelers having to overpower their young concerns.

The children came to recognize the authority of the group, and they fell into the daily routine of constant movement. The knight and his companions then felt the pressure of continuing a supply of food. Meat was not a scarce resource, nor was it one hard to identify. The wild versions of domesticated plants were rarely noticed, and on the few cases that they were they were not presently producing anything, especially not in the abundance necessary for the number of mouths present. Oggelly would go into what towns were seen and return with his horse pulling a cart loaded with fruit and vegetables. The empty carts would then be put to use to ease the weariness of the young walkers, although the horses started tiring sooner.

The children put up no resistance to coming under the care of Baron Dethallin. The man promised the children that he would return them to their parents should King Ivebuel overcome his opposition. If such did not happen, the baron told the children that they were welcomed as citizens of his domain.

In a private meal later in the day, the adults discussed reality. The baron praised the group for managing the movement of the children. The group was primarily thinking praises to the baron for allowing them to sleep in a bed away from the concerns of the youngsters. The knight and the travelers verbally asked the baron about any news from the conflict or word from Castle Forshin. The baron said that he had no word from either source.


A few interludes occur in the next installment as this sub-plot winds down and the main plot reasserts itself.