Lorik The Protector (Lorik Trilogy) (33 page)

“Well,” Lorik said, “you may be right. I made a choice not to kill them. I hope that choice doesn’t come back to haunt me.”

The next four days passed smoothly. There was no trouble as the group traveled through the Wilderlands, and each night the Drery Dru lowered baskets of food down for Lorik and the returning captives.

The Norsik raiders had fought over what to do and eventually decided to continue pursuing their lost captives. But they were much more cautious than before, moving slowly through the giant forest, and Lorik’s group outdistanced them a little more each day. Vera and Stone were concerned about the raiders, but Lorik assured them they would be out of the Wilderlands by nightfall on the fifth day. With the women and children safely within the walls of Fort Utlig, the raiders would have no chance of defeating them.

Lorik was careful not to wear the captives down, setting a brisk pace but allowing for frequent stops to rest along the way. Stone’s leg was another concern, however. The wily fighter needed rest, but he refused to ride the horse, insisting instead on walking every day. His knee swelled again, growing stiffer. He was forced to splint the leg again, tying the straps tightly around his leg to support his injured knee. Vera worried constantly, but there was nothing she could do. Even with medicines, all she would have been able to do was ease his pain. He needed to stay off his leg for several days, but that remedy simply wasn’t an option.

Late on the fifth day of their journey Lorik sensed something amiss. He left Vera and Stone to lead the group and sprinted ahead to discover what was wrong. He knew there was trouble before he reached the edge of the Wilderlands. He could smell the trouble. It was fire and smoke.

At first he feared that the Norsik had set the Wilderlands on fire, but as he made his way carefully toward the tree line, he could see that the black, rolling smoke was coming from the plains. He knew then that Fort Utlig was gone. The fort had been defended by barely a dozen men, and as Lorik came out into the open under the giant redwood trees, his heart sank. The wide open plain around Fort Utlig was now filled with Norsik warriors. The wooden palisade and inner buildings of the fort were burned to the ground, and only the round, stone watchtower still stood. Around the crenellated top of the tower Lorik could see human heads mounted. He knew instantly that one of the heads had once been Constable Yorn’s. The miserly old constable had been difficult to deal with, but Lorik found that he still regretted the man’s passing.

He stepped back into the shadows of the forest and pondered. What could he possibly do? The captives were on their way to the fort, but if they were spotted by the massive horde of Norsik warriors they would be recaptured. Lorik looked across the field. There were thousands of Norsik raiders, all camped in small clumps that spread as far as Lorik could see.

He looked out to the east and saw Yulver’s ship still at the mouth of the bay. His friend didn’t have the resources to sail home, and now he was cut off from the land by the Norsik raiders camped along the harbor. He wondered if it might be possible to sneak out and somehow swim to Yulver’s ship. Perhaps they could find a place to make land and sneak the captives onto the ship. But Lorik knew that plan was hopeless. Yulver’s ship, even empty of cargo, couldn’t come close to carrying the almost one hundred women and children he had rescued. Not to mention that once he got them on board they would face the same dilemma that Yulver faced: where to land safely.

Lorik turned back and sprinted the way he had come. He had to stop Stone and the others before they came too close to the edge of the Wilderlands and were seen. He ran hard and caught up with the group less than a mile from the edge of the forest.

“What’s wrong?” Vera asked immediately.

“Let’s make camp here,” Lorik said.

Vera frowned but she didn’t argue. She got busy helping everyone settle down. It wasn’t difficult to convince the group to stop and rest. Lorik located water, and they all found places to sit and rest their tired legs.

“All right,” Vera said when she rejoined Lorik and Stone. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“The Norsik have taken Fort Utlig,” he said. “They have established a strong base where the fort was. There are several thousand of them.”

“By the gods,” Vera said. “We can’t fight that many!”

“No, we can’t,” Lorik said.

“So what do we do now?” Stone asked. “Is there any way to go around them?”

“I guess that’s possible, but we’ll have to go for miles to the west, and there’s no guarantee we’ll find a place to go.”

“What about the gulf?” Vera asked. “Is Yulver still there? Could he get us someplace safe?”

“He’s there, but the harbor is surrounded. I don’t think he has a safe place to land his ship on either side of the gulf.”

“You said there were thousands of raiders,” Vera said. “There weren’t that many when we fled, were there?”

“Not that I saw,” Lorik replied. “Why?”

“If there are thousands now, then chances are they’re congregating here.”

“Meaning what?” Stone asked.

“Meaning we have a better shot of going around them,” Vera explained.

“And then what?” Stone said. “They’ll just pursue us and catch us. That is, if we don’t starve to death first. They’re like a plague, eating everything and destroying what they can’t consume. There are no villages or farms to get food from. We’ll starve within days even if we don’t get massacred first.”

“There has to be something we can do,” Lorik said. “We can hide in the forest.”

“Not for long,” Vera said. “The raiders you fought are still behind us.”

“What about the Drery Dru?” Stone asked. “Can’t they help us?”

“I don’t know,” said Lorik. “They aren’t warriors.”

“They captured you.”

“They’re tiny,” Lorik said. “Smaller than most of the children we have with us. Besides, I doubt they would leave the forest.”

“What if we lured the raiders into the forest?” Vera asked. “Could they fight the Norsik then?”

“I’m sure they could if they had to, but they wouldn’t like it. I don’t think they are fighters.”

“Well, we’ve got to come up with a plan of some kind. How long do you think we have until the raiders who are following us catch up?”

“Tomorrow at some point,” Lorik said.

They looked at each other. Lorik felt sick to his stomach. He knew he had to do something, but he couldn’t imagine what it would be. The idea of asking the Drery Dru to fight with them seemed wrong somehow. But there was no other way to defeat the Norsik raiders.

“I’ll speak to the Drery Dru,” Lorik said at last.

“It’s our only hope,” Vera said.

“What’s the worst that they can do?” Stone said.

“All right. I’ll be back,” Lorik said.

He walked a short distance away and called out to the forest elves. There was no answer. Lorik thought that perhaps he was too close to the edge of the open land, so he hiked a mile deeper into the Wilderlands and called again. There was still no answer. Fear began to worm its way into his mind. He felt abandoned and defeated. He knew he hadn’t imagined the forest elves, but he couldn’t keep his mind from imagining the worst. They had abandoned him because he had made the wrong choices. He didn’t mean to make bad choices and he didn’t see how he could have made different choices, but the fear ate away at his confidence. Finally he decided that his only course of action would be to fight the Norsik.

He returned to Vera and Stone.

“They aren’t responding,” Lorik said.

“What?”

“They aren’t answering my calls.”

“Are you sure you did it right?” Vera asked.

“It isn’t a magic formula,” Lorik said. “I call, they answer. It’s that easy, only they aren’t answering now.”

“So what are we going to do?” Stone said.

“You and Vera have to take the others west,” Lorik said. “I’m staying here to distract the Norsik.”

“What?” Vera asked. “How are you going to distract the Norsik?”

“He’s going to fight them,” Stone said. “You’ll be killed.”

“I don’t know,” Lorik said. “I’ve fought them outnumbered before.”

“Yes, you did, but that was a couple hundred. This is at least ten times that number,” Stone said. “It would be better if you came with us. We don’t even know if the forest elves will feed us without you.”

“Are you both insane?” Vera said. “This is your plan? Have you forgotten that there isn’t any way to survive because the villages and farms were destroyed? Not to mention the raiding party that is following us. If you stay here we’ll be murdered.”

“And if we flee we’ll be murdered,” Lorik said. “At least if I fight, it gives you a chance.”

Vera looked at Stone but he wouldn’t meet her gaze. They both knew there was no good option. They also knew that what Lorik was proposing was suicide.

It was almost dark and Lorik had two tasks to complete when the sun went down. He was going back to kill the raiders who were following them, then he had to find a way to fight the raiders spread out around the remains of Fort Utlig. He sat alone, waiting for the gloom to overtake the Wilderlands. This close to the forest’s edge the mists were thin. Lorik knew that he could find his way; he could see in the forest’s black nights. It was like seeing on a night when the moon was almost full. He could see the shapes, distinguish certain features of the landscape, even recognize a person. With the mist, he could even make out small details, like the weapon a sentry was or wasn’t holding.

He thought about what Hennick had told him. The chief of the Erkadine tree village had told him a prophecy. It was hard for Lorik to recall all of it clearly, but he did remember that he would be in danger and that the choices he made would be the difference between life or death. Lorik had never really been afraid of dying. And the truth was, dying for others had a certain nobility to it. He doubted he would be remembered in the songs of great heroes, especially since he doubted if anyone from the group he had rescued would actually survive. But, if he was going to die, at least it would be in the service of others.

Night came. Lorik jogged through the forest. He wasn’t in a hurry to kill, though he knew that killing the Norsik raiders was the only chance Vera and Stone would have. He couldn’t leave the raiders alive to run down Stone and Vera from behind. And if he killed the raiders he could take their supplies back to Stone and Vera. They would at least have a little food to share as they looked for a safe haven.

Lorik felt some regret for not simply killing the raiders the first night. Still, it wasn’t something he was relishing, and as he ran he racked his brain for an alternative. He considered hiding Vera, Stone, and all the women and children he had saved in one of trees high above the heads of the Norsik who would have no way to scale the massive trees. The Drery Dru had given him the Kingtree, but it wasn’t in any kind of shape to shelter almost a hundred people. They would be a great burden to the Drery Dru, and it would only take one small mistake to incur the wrath of the forest elves. The two cultures were much too different and the risks outweighed the rewards. The last thing Lorik wanted to do was risk the last great forest in an attempt to save a few people.

Lorik came upon the Norsik camp. They had sentries standing around the perimeter of the camp, shoulder to shoulder, all with their weapons at the ready. Lorik stood watching the Norsik for a long time, trying to make sure he was making the right decision. He had thought he would be able to kill the raiders in their sleep, but that would be impossible this time. They wouldn’t be able to see him, but with their tight guard formation, they would know he was there. He could just imagine the screaming and running. He hoped that perhaps he could simply scare them and let them fall upon each other.

“What are you planning, Great One?” came a familiar voice.

Lorik turned and saw Shayah hanging on the trunk of a nearby tree. She seemed to glow slightly in the darkness. She tilted her head and regarded him with curiosity.

“What?” Lorik asked quietly.

“Why did you come back here?” Shayah asked. “You had a chance to deal with these raiders before. Why have you returned?”

“There are more raiders outside the forest,” Lorik said. “There is nowhere for us to go.”

“So you are going back to the other side of the forest?” she asked.

“No,” Lorik said. “I’m going to fight the Norsik who have invaded my homeland, but I can’t leave these raiders to hunt down the women and children we rescued.”

Shayah nodded. “A leader’s decisions are never easy. Putting the needs of your kind ahead of the needs of others is a great decision, but as with most great decisions, it comes with a burden. You have the strength of Drery Dru magic in you, Great One, but the burden you are about to take on cannot be born by muscle or bone. It is a burden of the soul and should not be taken on when there are other possibilities.”

“I agree with you, but I see no other possibilities,” Lorik said.

“We have come to help,” Shayah said.

And with that, hundreds of Drery Dru appeared. They clung to the sides of the huge redwood trees, each elf glowing softly and and giving the mists around the Norsik camp a ghostly light.

“You will fight with me?” Lorik asked, surprised but also relieved.

“No, Great One,” said Hennick, moving down beside Shayah. “We do not fight. It is not in our nature. We are protectors. We will protect your kind.”

“I don’t understand,” Lorik said.

“We cannot assist in the task before you. War is man’s aspiration. It is both the greatness and the bane of your kind. We will fight to protect the life of the forest, and in this case, the lives of those you have left in our care, but we may not join you in open battle.”

“I see,” Lorik said. He turned to Hennick. “Can you tell me the prophecy again? The one about the Protector.”

Hennick smiled, and a look of sheer joy came over him. It lit up his merry little face and made him glow even more brightly than before.

Hennick started reciting the prophecy, and soon he was joined by the other Drery Dru, until the forest was full of the jovial little voices.