The Messenger: A Hailgalad Story

Healers examined Frits and Jon while the others packed the horses for the journey ahead. A man held his hands on Frits shoulder while a pale, green light emitted from them.

"Are you sure it feels good enough for the journey?" the man asked. His voice was laden with concern as he examined the wound.

"It will be fine," Frits said, trying to tough it out.

It was, in fact, not a terribly deep wound but it did stiffen up his shoulder quite a bit. There will be plenty of time to rest when we get home, Frits thought.

Jon's healer was busy rubbing some of the medical sap on his scratch. Judging by the blood on his face when Frits saw him in the town, he thought his companion was not going to make it. Jon's wound, however, was more gruesome than it was threatening to his life.

"What is that stuff?" Jon said with a scrunched face. "It smells."

"It is a brewed mixture of tree sap from a special dark oak tree we call Dramken, and Gudblomst herbs," the healer said in reply. "It will keep your cut from becoming infected. Now, hold still."

Frits was up and stretching his arm as Agnes, Kalos, Sam, and Eva came over, leading the horses to their companions. High on the walls, they could still hear the twang of arrows as archers kept the northfolk at bay. The chanting of Bok and rolling of the deep drums continued with unceasing fervor.

"Ready to go home?" Eva asked in a cheerful tone as if she was trying to block out the task ahead of them. "This is Agnes, Kalos, and Sam. They are the ones coming with us."

Frits gave the three a nod as he examined each of them. He was filled with doubt, but the sight of these soldiers that held themselves so proudly brought him some bit of comfort.

Agnes was a woman of broad build. She had long, brown hair that came down past her helmet. Her face was determined as she sat upon her horse.

Kalos looked to be a thin man with a beard of stubble. He had kind eyes as he gave a smile to Frits.

Sam looked to be the youngest out of the bunch. She had a thick blond braid and blue eyes. She seemed calm and ready to do her part. Each were clad in the lighter steel and leather armor of Hailgalad scouts.

Good, Frits thought, we will need speed on this journey.

Taunten came up to Frits with his head bowed as if to apologize for leaving him at the southern gates. He pushed his snout into Frits and gave a snort.

Frits laughed, "All right, just don't leave me next time. I need you on this one."

Everand called for the archers to cease as the six riders mounted their horses and got into position. Seven lines of infantry that were armed with thick armor, shields, and heavy spears formed up in front of them. They all stood silent and resolute, each ready to meet the storm outside of the fortress. Two riders on bears flanked the soldiers. They were heavily armored and ready to screen the riders as they made their break.

From the forest, another stone was flung into the fortress. Pieces of the wall crumbled over their heads. The contact was met with a roaring cheer from the attackers. The Hailgaladrians responded to the barrage with an uneasy quiet and shift in their stances.

"Steady," Everand shouted as if to sense their worry. After a time, she said, "Now!"

The great fortress doors opened with a heavy boom. The infantry, led by Everand, immediately started to march forward in perfectly formed lines as the drums continued to boom throughout the town. The walls gave out a high horn call to urge the Hailgaladrian troops forward.

They marched outside the gates, to the town square, and they halted. The bears came to the wings and stood at the ready. A long while went by when nothing happened. No assault came from the northfolk. After a time, the ominous drums abruptly stopped.

"Maybe they aren't so brainless after all," Jon snorted.

"They are plenty smart. This is calculated. This all has been calculated from the first attack," Agnes said. Her voice was soft, but powerful and commanding. "They pulled a feint in the North while they sent their main force to the South to destroy our gates. This has long been planned for us, I can assure you that."

Frits took a deep breath in and out to settle his nerves. Out in the square, Everand shouted, "We will not hide in our hold. We have come out to fight you for control of the town. If you truly wish to destroy us and take our lands, come on and let us have it."

Another large boulder of ice flew to the fortress, shaking it once more. After the impact, arrows rained down upon the Hailgalad soldiers in an unending hail. The barrage continued to pour onto them, but it was clear they were ineffective. The thick armor of the defenders easily deflected any arrow that found its mark.

After a time, the northfolk archers stopped. Then, the drums started again with singular, deep booms that repeated with unsettling consistency.

Shouts came from the town as northfolk soldiers began to charge. Jon started forward, but Eva stopped him. "We have to wait until they fully commit."

The archers on the walls also held their fire to ensure the northfolk would be lured into the square. Within moments, Everand and her knights were engaged with the enemy. The Frostwatch troops in the town square held fast against the assault. It was clear their discipline and thick armor gave them an advantage against their adversaries.

It was not long until the weerwolven charged as well. Everand and her soldiers continued to hold and locked their shields together, but the weerwolven were breaking their lines. A horn blasted from the walls and another three lines of heavy infantry were surging forward.

After they had made it outside of the gates, Eva shouted, "Now!"

The archers on the walls loosed a storm of arrows as the six riders charged forth, being sure to keep behind the reinforcing infantry. When the riders cleared the gate, they split into two groups of three and turned to either side of the walls. This way, if one group was focused down, the other would survive.

Frits, Jon, and Kalos took the right. They kept tight to the fortress wall as arrows from the northfolk bounced off the stone. Frits noticed that some arrows glowed blue and stuck into the stone. They froze the area of the wall they penetrated with an unsettling blue glow.

A few of the weerwolven spotted the riders and eagerly chased after their prey. Archers on the walls fired upon them, but the arrows did little to slow the beasts. The bear and its rider on Frits' side saw them and crashed into one of the weerwolven. The power of the attack was too much for the creature and it fell in a heap of black smoke. The bear lunged toward the other weerwolven, but it was too slow to catch it. The hateful creature continued on to the riders with unceasing ferocity.

Kalos saw that the creature was after them. It was much faster than their horses could sprint and was gaining quickly.

Without hesitation, he veered off to the left and charged it as he shouted, "For Hailgalad!"

"No!" Frits shouted, but it was too late.

The rider braced with his shield as he clashed with the weerwolven. At that moment, black smoke engulfed Kalos and his attacker as he fell from his steed. Frits and Jon could not get a good look at the collision as they turned right around the fortress walls. The weerwolven, however, did not pursue.

"Do you think he," Jon started to ask.

"I'm not sure, just keep moving," Frits said, still trying to process what he saw.

As soon as they came on the northern side of the fortress, they could see that Frits was right. There was no opposition waiting or them in the shadows. They were able to ride along the stone wall while Everand and her troops fought off the multitudes of attackers behind them.

As they rode in silence, Frits and Jon made it to the next corner and turned. The sounds of the battle were growing more faint as they got further away from the violence, but the biting cold of the snow and wind still pressed them.

"We did it, Frits," Jon said, although there was no joy in his voice. "Your plan worked."

"Not completely, we lost Kalos," Frits replied.

Guilt began to bubble up in his gut as they rode on.

"He sacrificed himself for us. We will remember him for that," Jon replied.

Frits did not respond as his stomach turned and the guilt turned to anger. He pushed it down deep to focus on their task at hand.

It was not long until the two riders joined with Eva, Agnes, and Sam. They looked to be untouched and in good spirits until they saw only Frits and Jon approach them.

"Where is Kalos?" Sam asked anxiously as the five headed toward the eastern gate.

Frits remained silent, but Jon forced out, "A weerwolven charged us. Kalos attacked it to draw the creature off. We are not sure what happened to him."

"Five is more than we could have hoped to make it," Agnes said defiantly. "Come, we must keep our pace up. Some of the attackers are sure to come looking for us."

A look of defeat weighed on Sam's face as the group put their heads down and rode on through the town.

***

Frostwatch held an eerie feeling as a darkness gripped the land. The five pressed on through the chilling wind. It was not long until they reached the eastern gates. They were smaller and clearly only meant for limited parties to use. The doors were marked by a few torches that were still lit and they appeared to be open.

"Quickly now," Agnes urged them forward as she snapped her horse's reigns.

The path through the gates seemed to be empty of any people. Frits breathed a sigh of relief as he half expected the area to be swarming with guards.

A bit of luck still on our side, he thought to himself.

Agnes led them through the small gateway in a single file line. Suddenly, through the quiet dark, a shout came from her right.

"Riders!" a deep yell rose up.

Agnes was off in a flash as she cut south through the field outside of the walls. Frits emerged from the gates to find three northfolk that had been posted at the entrance. One loosed an arrow at Agnes, hitting his mark. Another sounded a harsh, blaring horn to alert the other invaders of the breach.

Jon, who was still hot from the attack, charged the three northfolk. Sam was right behind him as she shouted, "For Kalos!"

Before Frits could react, the two riders had cut down the guards with ease. They had no weapons in their hands other than a bow, so they were easy prey for the two angered souls.

"Come on!" Eva shouted to her companions.

They all looked to see Agnes holding her side. An arrow had pierced her, but it was not deep and on her side. She had already pulled it out and seemed determined to keep it from deterring the journey.

"Agnes!" Sam shouted as she rode up to her friend.

"It is nothing," the proud woman shook it off. "We must get moving, they are assuredly coming for us after that horn call."

Frits eyed his companion with concern. "Where shall we go? To the Northwood?"

Agnes shook her head. "Too obvious. We need another rode if we are to evade any who pursue us." She sat and thought for a moment as her face winced in pain. She nodded as if to affirm the way in her mind. "Follow me."

They dove into the thick forest and quickly found a trail. The path they took was tight and they had to ride single file through the bushes and gnarled roots. It was difficult riding, especially for Frits who was unfamiliar with this type of terrain.

"This is an old hunting trail," Agnes yelled back to the group. "We can take these for many leagues south. By then, we will be well clear of the northfolk army."

As they rode on, they passed out of the darkness and the sun reappeared. It glowed red as it receded behind the trees. There was still a chill in the air, but the snow and blistering winds had died down. Drums continued to roll in the distance as they pressed on, darting to and fro in the winding path.

Frits breathed heavily as he tried to keep up with the group. Cold sweat dripped from his brow and his eyes were fixed upon Eva's horse in front of him. The road was treacherous and he was glad to have an experienced and sure footed horse such as Taunten guiding him. Along they went like a gale until Agnes and her horse fell.

Frits and Eva, who were riding behind her, had to veer to either side to avoid the spill. Before they could react, northfolk soldiers poured into the trail. How the enemy caught up so quickly, they could not know, but it was as if the fall summoned them. Without hesitation, the other four riders dismounted and a fight ensued.

Eva drew her sword and quickly dispatched of two enemies. Sam was making her way from the back of the group, fighting off two other northfolk. As Frits dismounted his horse, Jon was thrown to the ground by a bruiting northfolk woman. Frits threw her off of him and within moments, two more enemies rushed him.

It was a feverish chaos on the overgrown trail. The heavy foliage made it difficult to see what was happening with the others. The horses reared and neighed loudly as their masters fought the ambushers. Frits found himself out of breath, but he advanced towards his next foe. He parried a flurry of deadly strikes and landed a mortal blow to the northfolk. Then, he felt a stinging pain behind him. He looked to see a short dagger in his right arm.

Before he could pull it out, he saw a northfolk man before him. The man raised his weapon and Frits blocked a heavy blow. The man grunted and followed up with another. After a few clumsy blocks, he beat Frits over the head with his axe hilt. Then, all went black as Frits fell onto the trail that was carpeted in dead leaves.

***

Frits woke with a ringing in his ears. As he tried to open his eyes, the sting of light hit them and the world seemed to fall in and out of focus. His head beat with a dull, thudding pain as he tried to draw in any breath that he could in short, jagged inhales.

"Frits, come on. You have to wake up, come on," Eva shouted as she was bent over him. Jon was on his knees shaking Frits to his senses.

After a few moments of this, Frits finally came back to reality, which came with another surge of pain. His arm was stinging with a searing white-hot intensity. He tried to shift his right arm, but it could barely move. Frits started to scream and Jon put his hands over his mouth.

"Quiet, they are coming," Eva whispered as she looked at Frits arm. "Jon put some of the medical sap on it, though I imagine it won't do much good for the pain."

"Never mind how it feels, we have to go," Jon said as he grabbed Frits and pulled him to his feet.

Frits fought through the jabbing pain and looked over to where Agnes fell. She was now seated upright on a log. Her face was contorted in a gruesome look, but she was being as silent as she could. Sam was by her side with her hand on her fellow Frostwatch soldier's shoulder. There were the bodies of the fallen strewn about the area. One horse had also perished in the scrum, leaving four for the riders.

"We must leave," Eva said again as she mounted her horse.

Jon helped Frits onto Taunten. He gave the horse a pat and said, "At least you did not leave me this time."

When he bent over, a searing agony shot into his shoulder once more. He pulled back part of his torn sleeve to find it arm was partially burned blue. Fear overtook him and his heart began to pound at the sight. He then remembered the glowing arrows.

"The best we can tell, is some kind of enchantment," Jon said with a wince. "Maybe the healers at the capital will know how to fix it. It stopped spreading when we removed the blade at least."

"Enough talk," Eva said urgently once more. "Look!"

Frits turned around towards Frostwatch. To his horror, countless torches approached them, coming down the sloping forest. The gathering darkness made it difficult to make out the figures that came their way, but they were coming at speed. Low drums were rolling and growing in intensity as the lights came closer.

"I am not leaving her," Sam said defiantly as she helped her companion up and placed her on the last remaining horse. "I will not condemn a fellow soldier to death."

"You must leave me," Agnes protested, but from the arrow wound and the spill she could not put up much of a fight.

"The mission must be completed," Eva protested.

"And you shall complete it. I am not leaving her to be killed by these beasts," Sam said defiantly.

"So that is it? You are just going to leave us?" Jon said in disbelief.

"We will draw them off your tail. Then, I will double back to Frostwatch and it is possible they will think we gave up on the journey," Sam said she got up on her horse with Agnes, who was still in a great deal of pain. Sam looked back at the growing light. "The army looks like it is moving south from the town. These are far too many to just be pursing us. It seems that Frostwatch may not be their final goal and they have other aims."

The drums and lights were growing ever closer as the riders stood, staring at one other in an uneasy silence. The tension of the moment was creeping up the back of Frits' neck like icy fingers.

"You need to leave. You are the royal messengers of our king and queen. It is only fitting the three of you should finish the journey," Sam said as she steered her horse off the trail. "We all need to leave."

Without another word, the Frostwatch scout snapped her reins and was off into the dense forest. After a moment, a high horn rang from San. With that, the drums rolled louder and the lights were almost on the three riders.

"Go!" her voice rang from far away in the trees.

"Come on!" Eva urged her companions on into the forest.

The three kept tight with one another and pushed their horses forward. Their sudden movement stirred up voices of northfolk soldiers that were hot on their heels. Frits heard one of them shouting words in an unknown, harsh language. Bows twanged and arrows zipped past his head, narrowly missing their mark.

"Ride, ride!" Frits urged them on.

The path continued to twist through thick ferns and bushes. A deep fog was forming the further they moved into the dense forest. After a while, the voices died down and they were alone in the darkness. All that could be heard was the chirp of crickets and their horses crushing dead leaves under their hooves.

"What is our plan?" Jon asked them as they eased up the pace.

"I am not sure," Frits panted. He was still trying to forget the pain in his arm that throbbed with every step his horse took. "I am not even sure what is happening."

The three put their horses to a trot as they thought of their plan. Each of the riders was silently trying to piece the day together.

Why did the northfolk attack now? Did the army truly move south or was that just an advance party to snuff out the riders sent to bring news of the attack?

Most importantly, they thought, will we make it home and how?

"We need to find some place safe to rest up," Eva finally said as she looked at her companions.

"Rest?" Jon exclaimed, still out of breath. “We cannot rest with those monsters on our tail."

"We cannot push the horses for two straight days, and they have been through quite a bit already today," Eva countered. "Besides, the two of you are in rough shape."

"Are you alright, Jon?” Frits asked. He was so worried about his own arm that he hadn't noticed Jon laboring.

"I was thrown from my horse in the ambush. Just a few small bumps and bruises. I will be fine," Jon brushed it off, but was slumped on his horse.

The winding trail traversed over a number of small hills and passed a loud, babbling brook. After a good deal of riding, it eventually made its way back to the Northwood. The broad, straight rode was a welcome sight, but it held an ominous feel in the falling night.

Crickets continued to chirp in a roaring chorus and trees rustled in the gentle wind as they sat and listened for a time. The fog was still deep, but the snow and wind had let up the further they got from the town.

Eva dismounted her horse, "Let me see if it is clear."

She crept out to the road and, after a while, she returned. "It is empty. We should be okay to move."

"What are we going to do? Are we going to risk the Northwood?" Jon asked impatiently.

Frits stared unsure of the road that seemed so fair earlier that day. "Is there any other way?" Frits retorted cautiously.

"We ride until we need to stop," Eva said, trying to sound sure of herself. "The army is not far off, they almost caught us back there. The most important thing now is we need to stay ahead of them. They will need to rest and so will we, but we need a buffer to do so."

Jon gave a grunt in agreement. Frits nodded his head. He was trapped in his thoughts, trying to make sense of everything and still in a haze from his blow to the head.

The sun was completely gone and a full moon shone brightly as they made their way down the road. The fog was thick and all was silent. It was not a peaceful silence, but watchful. It felt as if unfriendly eyes of the weerwolven creatures stalked in the brush, waiting for another chance to ambush the riders.

"We are coming up on the woodsmen village we stayed at last night," Eva whispered. "I would like to stay with them, but I do not think it would be wise."

"Should we not warn them?" Jon asked as he tried to keep his loud voice down.

As if to answer his question, a harsh whisper came from the side of the road.

"Over here," the mysterious voice said.

The three jumped and pulled their horses quickly to the side. Eva drew her sword. The steel sounded throughout the dark, silent night. A shadowy figure emerged from the bushes. They were tall and armed with an axe.

"Halt!" Frits shouted. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

The figure did not speak, but it continued moving forward in slow, cautious steps. The shining moonlight revealed it to be the man from the woodsmen settlement. "It is you! It is a joy to see you alive."

"What are you doing here?" Eva said in a loud whisper. "There are enemies marching around. They are cutting down our soldiers and will kill you as well."

"I know, that is why I have been waiting here. We thought you might be riding back and I needed to warn you," the man said as his head swiveled back and forth on the road. "It is not safe here. Come with me if you want to make it back to Hailgrad."

The three paused and looked at one another.

"Trust me, you do not want to travel along this road tonight," he urged as his head continued to dart around.

Fear seemed to pulsate from him, so the riders decided to reluctantly followed him off the road. The man told them to dismount and they led their horses through the dense, wooded path. In short order, the settlement came into view. There were no lights in the homes and the mill was dark and silent. No one was working on this night.

"Come into the mill," the man said in a low voice.

They followed him inside and he closed the heavy doors. Frits' fear was turning into frustration as the man continued to remain silent. They tied the horses in an open area near the back of the building. A few of the other woodsmen, along with the man's wife appeared with lanterns that burned low.

"Alright, what is this?" Frits asked impatiently. "Why can't we travel on the Northwood? We have been invaded. We need to bring news to the capital as quickly as we can."

"That is just it," the man said. Fear hung thickly on his voice. "They are already here."