~~~~~~~Ella
It turned out that the door was not just heavy but also partly frozen and covered in snow. It took all my strength to pry it loose from the side of the mountain and force my way out into the jarringly bright light and freezing cold. I stumbled out, tripping over a knee-high snow drift pushed up by the door, fetching up against a tree. I stood for several minutes, trying to see through my burning, watering eyes. When the scene cleared, I got my first view of the kingdom of Drinnen. This gloriously bright day revealed a sharp descent from my precipice into a wide, flat valley basin. A small village to my left of snow plastered grey buildings were reminiscent of the home of Joshua and his children on the other side of these mountains. They were not my destination, however. A section of broad switchbacks descended from the village onto a larger highway that curved off out of sight along the wide hip of the mountain. This same highway speared through the valley to end in a shining pile, visible as a bright gleaming set of spires against the black bulk of another mountainside. This was surely the city I was bound for.
As I surveyed the view, shouting and clashing below began to intrude on my consciousness and again the rolling anxiety and eagerness made me queasy. Cautiously I crouched behind a stand of evergreen trees and moved so I could see down into the village to my left. Arrayed below me was the large entrance of the mine, it had clearly been a central hub for the village when it was built and the dingy homes and shops lined an avenue that ventured darkly out of the wide open maw. Many of the buildings were boarded up with planks covering doors and windows. Smoke curled out of only a few chimneys in spite of the bitter cold. Further on I saw a much larger edifice looming out of the mountainside. A large manor house with formidable fortifications glowered forth over the village and mine head.
All of this, scenic though it certainly was, was merely a backdrop for the small scale invasion of the mine that was ongoing while I watched. A detachment of foot soldiers was in conflict with a massive number of well-armed dwarves in the huge entrance to the mine and spilling out into the road of the village and down the side of the mountain. A siege engine of some sort would periodically hurl massive stones into the side of the mountain, staggering humans and dwarves equally and wreaking havoc by spilling debris onto the combatants. A large number of mounted men were converging on the fight from the manor house and several more squads of foot soldiers were straggling up the switchbacks, valiantly striving to support their comrades. And their comrades needed the support. It looked as if, despite the siege engine and the superior size of the humans compared to their opponents, the dwarves had been underestimated. They worked seamlessly in groups and methodically took massive chunks out of the body of men opposing them before retreating back into the shade of the mine entrance. This tactic drew the men after them, pulling them out of the safety of their units in heroic but ultimately fatal charges after their retreating and taunting foes. Obviously this was an initial foray into open warfare for the people of Drinnen against the dwarves and they had not had an opportunity to study and counter this devastating strategy.
I watched as the battle developed further and the reinforcements joined the fight. The dwarves retreated further into the mine where the horses balked to follow and arrows began to rain down on the besieging army from above, cutting down swaths of attackers before another missile from the siege engine forced the bowmen back into temporary shelter.
A detachment of horsemen, noting the bowmen from the rear of the engagement, peeled off to attempt a switchback letting out above the mine entrance. Unfortunately for me, I was crouched on that switchback. I flattened myself into the freezing powder as they pounded past, howling what was presumably battle cries into the brittle air.
I thought I had been successful in hiding, but one horseman noted the portal that I had crawled out of. He quickly signaled some companions away from the group and followed my clear trace in the snow to my meager hiding spot. Swinging out of the saddle to triumphantly haul me up by my hair, he howled and his companions laughed uproariously before continuing after the rest of the squad. As he yanked my hair painfully, I couldn't help but scream in shock and fear, scrabbling at his wrist and scrambling to get my feet beneath me in the treacherous snow.
I finally got my feet planted and found that in spite of his strength, the man was shorter than me by half a head and I had to bend my back at an unnatural angle to minimize the force he was exerting on my scalp. He shook me by his handful of hair and gabbled at me in an unfamiliar language. I tried to plead with him, essaying several languages, all to no avail. He became distracted by noises of fighting from up the trail where his companions had continued on without him. Grunting in disgust, he pitched me back into the snow drift from whence he had dragged me and, after a further spate of foreign information and emphatic hand gestures, swung back into his saddle and rode after them.
Thankfully, my curse did not extend to orders I didn't understand or else I might have been obediently sitting in that snow drift until I froze to death. Instead I watched him ride out of sight then scrambled to my feet crashing headlong through the thickest part of the brush, in an attempt to avoid pursuit on horseback.
~~~~~~Char
The capital city of Drinnen of this kingdom of the same name was the first foreign capital that I had even seen and it contrasted starkly with my own home. Curiosity and interest pulled me inexorably out of my worry and fear and I looked about myself alertly when we came in through a massive iron-bound gate. We had managed to integrate ourselves with the lady's party successfully enough that we were not pulled aside by the gate guards on our entrance like the common folk around us. This was a blessing considering our lack of native speakers of the language and our travel stained and bedraggled collective mien. We probably would have been turned out immediately as brigands rather than allowed into the city.
I considered each of these moratoria on our persons privately and was deeply shocked when we entered the city proper and encountered the actual citizenry. All of the men appeared dirty and bowed down by hardship. Scarcely a single woman or child was to be seen in the street and any that were, seemed to be in terror for their safety, scurrying along the edges of the street and furtively cautious of looking at anyone else. Rough mountain men and labourers seemed to be the majority of the denizens with a few mercenary types in various states of drunkenness lurching through the crowds with circles of space around their unsteady forms. Not a single person looked up at us, though we pressed our mounts into the crowd and I saw more than a few caps and scarves pulled down to shade eyes faced in my direction. No other riding beasts were evident on the street and other than the odd cur, no animals at all were visible as far as I could see in the press. My men crowded near me and I kicked my beast up beside the lady Almaviva.
"Lady, I believe I will have to leave your party at this juncture. My visit is not sanctioned and I would try not to discomfort my royal father by presenting myself openly."
Both of her eyebrows rose up until they were completely obscured by her hat.
"I knew it was no state visit that brought you, or else I would have received forewarning of your coming. I never would have thought it was unknown to your father." She regarded me pensively. "You plan to come to the palace under a black band?"
I nodded and produced the lengths of black silk that Kieran had obtained for us, swiftly handing them out to my party. She looked us over once more.
"Take my man, Gehorg." She motioned to an attendant who swiftly joined our party. "He will keep you from being cheated and will help with translation and whatever else you need. He is also well known at the palace and can facilitate any inquiries you have in that direction." Then without a farewell, she moved up the street, abandoning us in the too-quiet crowd.
When I surveyed my group, most had successfully tied the bands of black silk around their upper left arm. Henry was assisting Lorne with the task and Lorne looked confused.
"What're these for, then?"
Kieran answered, a waspish annoyance ringing his voice, "they keep us from being acknowledged as an official party from Frell. This way, our actions won't affect the kingdom as a whole. Beware, though, we do not receive the same deference or the immunity of being a diplomatic party." He nodded as Henry finished the elaborate knot on Lorne's band and I motioned to Gehorg.
"A reasonably priced establishment for room and board, if you please." He bent in his saddle, his forehead almost touching his beast's neck and moved to the fore of the party.
He led us to a tall building in a cul-de-sac against the city wall. The four stories were white plastered with dark beams and the roof has a very steep angle to shed the copious snow that was falling even now. Grooms slunk out of the warmth of the stable to take our beasts, none of them making eye contact. Kieran ensured that each man received an appropriate tip and instructions with the help of Gehorg and we all went gratefully into the warmth of the inn. A large common room greeted us, redolent of the northern cooking spices and the smell of cabbage and onions. Gehorg and Kieran made the arrangements with the proprietor and we were shown to a long table and served stew in crusty bread bowls and dark ale while our possessions were loaded up the steep, narrow staircase at the end of the room. Kieran and Dirick made quick work of their meals, moving off to make a start at salvaging our existing wardrobes into appropriate dress for court. I overheard several disparaging remarks about our carelessness at leaving the bulk of our clothing with the slower moving merchant train as they followed our bags up the stairs. The rest of us lingered over our meals, thawing our extremities. I spent a good deal of time questioning Gehorg about the city, the customs here and gathering information about where we might start our search for Ella. In the end, he and I drafted a note to Sir Peter with a thick band of black ink staining the top of the roll asking after his daughter and informing him of our arrival in the city. Gehorg agreed to take it to Sir Peter himself and left shortly after he finished his meal.
Alfie, plainly bored, toyed with his ale mug. He had been uncharacteristically silent since the departure of the Lady Almaviva and I soon determined that he was in a sulk. I wasn't sure how to pull him out of his funk, and was frankly annoyed at his attitude, so I ignored his brooding and began to make plans with Vance, Lorne and Henry.
Gehorg had informed us that Ella, as a lady, would be quickly escorted to the palace if she arrived, however, if she was unaccompanied and did not speak the language or look the part, she may not have been able to penetrate the layers of etiquette, guards and attendants that cushioned the palace from the regular people of Drinnen. If she had travelled roughly without court attire or attendants, she may have been directed to an inn like this one to await a summons to the palace. That wait could be very long, depending on who received her message and the issues regarding the language barrier.
Our first plans involved Gehorg writing out a description of Ella and a request for information for my men to carry to the various inns in the city. Dirick and Kieran had changed some of our money for the local currency but we would need to change more for the steady stream of bribes, tips and payments that would be required. Gehorg would also be necessary for these transactions as the money changers in the city were notorious for short changing foreigners. Mandy was also uncharacteristically silent as we laid out plans, allowing for delays due to the language barrier and other impediments.
Gehorg returned swiftly, imparting that Sir Peter had not been available and that he had left the message with his staff. I sent him out again with my companions to deal with the minutiae of money changing and procuring writing supplies and to scope out the number of inns and taverns that might be of the correct type. When they left, Alfie went up to his room and shut himself in and Mandy and I were left alone in the common room. I was energized by the feeling of being close to success and from having a plan and executing it but Mandy looked me over and pronounced that I looked ill. When I took stock of myself I noted that I was weak and fevered and that my cough had returned, unnoticed in the excitement. She dosed me with a vile, oily concoction and sent me to bed. I thought I would lie awake and restless, but I slept hard and dreamlessly until supper.
~~~~~~~Ella
After my first headlong flight down the steep and heavily wooded side of the mountain, I was ejected, stumbling and gasping into a road. It was blissfully empty at the moment, but I did not linger there, fearing the imminent arrival of more mounted men. I swiftly crossed the road and pushed into the dense brush on the other side, beginning a more controlled descent to the next switchback of the road. The way was treacherous but the snow was not so deep here due to the dense tree cover and the heavy forest also furnished me with hand holds to slow my progress and ease my descent. Overall, it was a much better choice than the road to protect me from being seen by passing soldiers and also some protection from the snow and the icy wind. I made slow progress down the mountain, stopping occasionally to rest and drink from my flask. I saw a few more groups of soldiers both mounted and on foot go by and hid deep in the brush until they were well passed before venturing into the path. Not too long after, I noticed a small group of human sized people huddled at the side of the road, taking the same safer and hidden track down the mountain. I regarded them, counting what looked to be half a dozen women and about twice that many children. They were all dressed more warmly than I was, muffled in warm capes, scarfs, hats and mittens as well as items well lined in fur, but the clothes were drab and contrasted starkly with the sharply tailored and distinctly colored garb of the soldiers. I stopped at the edge of the forest and watched the group furtively and quickly cross the road just like I had done and followed them closely.
These seemed like locals and I was not going to lose them if I could avoid it. I reasoned that the benefits of following them outweighed the danger from them: they probably knew the terrain and would pick a better route down the mountain, I could possibly blend in with their group should we get noticed by armed men, they did not seem like they would be a threat to me as they were all women and children as far as I could tell and, lastly, they might lead me to the main road or other people where I may be able to communicate or gain a ride to the city. As I optimistically formed these plans, taking up a closer spot behind the swiftly moving group, I found my way eased. The people ahead of me cut a track in the deeper snow which allowed me to pass with less work, and as I had suspected, the way down the mountain was not so steep at this spot and had less in the way of underbrush and taller tree cover, which allowed us an avenue to walk without forever getting slapped with snow laden branches. At each road, the group would pause then run straight across to the other side when the coast was deemed clear. At these times, I would hide until they had all passed then judge the safety of the road for myself before following as quickly and quietly as I could manage.
I was crouched under a huge fir tree, peering out of its lower branches at my group of ladies as they ran across the next road, when I heard the hoof beats. My guides heard them too and began to run faster, scrambling out of the deep snow at the verge of the road and jogging to the safety of the other side. As I watched, the mounted men came around the switchback and sped up on the straight and a small form at the back of the group tripped on the windrow and sprawled into the road. The adult figure ahead of her did not notice at once and had picked up speed, galloping across the road. I didn't stop to consider my actions and scurried out from under their tree, snatching the child by the skirt and hauled her back out of the road and under the tree with me. The child tried to yell but had been winded in the fall and I swiftly clapped my freezing hand over her mouth as I huddled us both against the base of the tree.
The mounted men thundered by unperturbed and shortly after their passing a small group of women were at the lip of the road, looking for the purloined child. I let the girl go then and crawled out from under the tree after her. My subterfuge had been spent at this point. One woman was holding the child close as another picked up a fur cap from the road, scrapping the caked snow off of it. The cap had been smashed flat by the passing horses and was illustrative of the child's potential fate. The women looked at me with ill concealed uneasiness but said nothing, only making covert looks at me and continuing on their way with economic motions. They seemed to be allowing me to follow, but kept a close eye on me and seemed concerned when I came too close. As a result, I followed at a similar distance to before.
A seeming eternity later, we reached flat ground and my sweaty, gasping body slumped to the ground to rest as soon as the others ceased moving. None of the others seemed quite so spent, maybe they were more used to slogging through forest and down mountains and the thigh deep snow. All the grown women eyed me surreptitiously from behind scarves and under fur caps, never looking at me fully. The child I had saved seemed terrified and had cried a good portion of the last half of our trip. She was a beautiful rosy cheeked cherub with tightly braided blonde hair, only a year or two older than Georgie and looking at her reminded me painfully of him.
We all rested briefly and the women brought out tightly stoppered jars of unknown beverages to share around. When the stoppers were pulled steam came out and they took turns warming their gloved hands on the clay exteriors and drinking deeply. The woman whose child I had saved poured out a tin mug of the warm liquid and cautiously picked her way towards me. She did not look at me and kept her eyes trained hard on a large branch near my feet. She carefully set the mug down like an offering on a stump about ten feet in front of me then swiftly made her way back to the group, walking backwards to keep me always in front of her. The others seemed to be holding their breath to see what I would do.
Stiffly, I got onto my cold-numbed feet and tottered on my frozen and wobbly legs to the stump. I gratefully wrapped my freezing hands around the mug and smelled the contents. A rich and hearty stew redolent of either goat or mutton, perhaps both, was filling the cup to the brim. Unfamiliar spice combinations tingled in my nose and suddenly my stomach spasmed with seething hunger. I tried to appear non threatening while simultaneously gobbling as much of the food at once as possible. The women continued to watch me covertly while nursing babies and exchanging assistance in feeding and taking care of necessary tasks to do with the children. The children were all uncannily silent and subdued and I surmised that they were as exhausted as I was and probably frightened.
I finished the soup and pulled out a round of dwarf bread to wipe the cup with, chewing that down hungrily as well. I scrubbed out the cup with clean, undisturbed snow and very cautiously completed the same action as the woman, coming no closer than ten feet and leaving the cup on an exposed tree limb before backing away. The women exchanged looks before studiously not looking at me or the cup and packing their things away, preparing to begin travelling again. They started off again at a slightly slower pace than before and the cup remained on the tree branch. By the deliberateness of the action, the women were not forgetting the cup by accident but leaving it behind on purpose. I tried to imagine why and could think of nothing, so I picked up the cup as I went by and looped the handle to my belt, imagining 'waste not, want not' in Mandy's voice.
A few more hours were spent trudging single file through deepening snow and waning woods, the light failing quickly because of our nearness to the mountains. We didn't encounter any more roads to cross and I began to question my wisdom in following these women. At least I knew I was headed in the correct direction.
As night closed in in earnest, we came to a clearing that had obviously been a camp regularly used by men and beasts. The women began to make preparations for the night, unearthing a heap of intact fir boughs that had been previously used to make a sizeable lean-to against a huge fallen tree. While most of the women worked to reenact this shelter another woman began a fire and pulled out a huge sealed dish from a net bag she had slung on her back. She buried it deep inside the infant fire and covered it over with small twigs and kindling. The children had slumped onto a log near the fire and were stripping off snow and ice encrusted clothing items and putting them on sticks before thrusting the sticks upright into the ground near the fire. The clothes began to steam and the air became redolent with the scent of wet wool and fur.
Surmising that the group would not be willing to share the campsite with me or even let me come near enough to share the fire, I began to try to build my own. There was an adjacent spot that had also known recent campers and a nice ring of stones was already laid with charred twigs inside, so I hunted around and found some mostly dry wood from under a nearby tree and began to try to light it. Unfortunately, I was certainly not prepared for a campout and did not have a flint to strike on my miniscule eating knife. I began trying to start a fire by running a stick with a frayed end up and down against a larger log. I was thankful that the women were some distance away because I certainly used some colorful language on that log as the stick broke twice just as it began to smolder then proceeded to go out both times. The wind was wicked and sliced straight through my inadequate clothes, making my already frozen flesh shiver and quake now that I wasn't moving to keep my temperature up. My hands were frozen and clumsy, my fingers fat and unresponsive to the task, but I eventually got a tiny fire to spark to life.
By this time, I could smell whatever food was in the pot, warming in the other fire and my stomach growled fiercely. I took my cup off my belt and filled it with snow, melting the water out of it then drinking down the warm water to try to warm myself. I ate my last tiny dwarven loaf toasted over my fire on a stick then started taking off clothes to dry at the fire. Socks, cloak and mittens first then I dug my shift out from under all my other clothes and hung it from a nearby tree branch. It was soaked with sweat and stank to high heaven and the mending the dwarves had done on it showed in multiple places, but at least it would be warm and dry.
I huddled as close to the fire as I could, wisps of steam coming off the wet leather of my boots as they baked dry on my bare feet. Once I could feel the end of my fingers again, I began to consider shelter for the night. The large fir tree that had sheltered the fire wood was not a terrible choice, I thought. The snow had drifted up on three sides, creating a small hollow underneath that would be protected from the wind. I would be cold as soon as I left the fire but perhaps I could get warm enough to get a few hours sleep before I would wake from the cold and have to stoke up my fire again.
I tried to peer through the woods to the other camp, but the light blindness from looking into my own fire made it so that I could only see vague outlines of trees and people. They were clearly not going to welcome me to join them. I wondered what I had done to frighten them then gave up wondering when it proved fruitless.
As soon as all my pieces of clothing were dry and warm, I layered all my clothes back on and banked my fire so that it would be easy to stoke back to life. I crawled beneath the fir tree and pushed together the deep mass of pine needles beneath into a couch to keep my body away from the frozen ground then wrapped myself tightly in my cloak and allowed my exhaustion to claim me.