Chapter 17

Day 17:

John and the others strode up to the End’s wall just before sundown. They’d pushed hard to make it by nightfall, and all were exhausted. The guard stationed at the tower top took a second to recognize Sygraid, but once he did, they were allowed entry without delay. Sygraid instructed the Watch to bar the door, and only allow actual Enders inside without approval from her. She sent Treb to track down Heegan, and meet them at Rorik’s.

“Uh, Sygraid,” one of the Watch that John didn’t know ventured in an awestruck tone, “there’s a bunch of Watch Captains, and even a couple Valkyries at your husband’s place.”

“Good.” She replied, leading the way.

At Rorik’s they found ten Watch Captains, plus Heegan already seated around a cluster of tables, talking with the Valkyrie Squadron Leader, and two Flight Leaders they’d not met before. The companions hung their weapons up, and dropped their packs onto another table. Rorik himself was filling tankards and serving food. Runa was nowhere to be seen, and no one else was in the room.

“Sygraid!” Rorik boomed when he saw her. “Welcome home!” He peered at the others doggedly. “Where’s D—Trebuchet?”

“I sent him to find Heegan.” She said, giving her husband a hug and kiss. “He’ll be along in a bit.”

“Already here, Shield-maiden!” Heegan called.

“Then he should have no problem finding you.” Sygraid grinned.

Heegan blinked. “Uh, yeah. Thank you. Ran? Ranveng, is that you?”

Heegan and various Captains jumped up and clustered around the Senior Warden. Several versions of, “what are you doing here?” could be heard.

Sygraid ignored the tumult and bowed before the Squadron Leader.

“Mother, it’s good to see you again.” She smiled.

“Daughter, you as well. How do you fare?” Brunhyldar smiled back.

“I am well, but I believe we’ve stirred up trouble with Lord Tygus. Our companion, Ranveng is the Senior Warden in this region. My lord, Jyon has a proposal for a solution, but it will require much to get everyone’s approval.” Sygraid replied.

“Very well.” Brunhyldar waved them to seats. “Captains! Senior Warden, please join us!”

The cluster around Ranveng quieted and escorted him to the table. Heegan made the introduction.

“Squadron Leader, Flight Leaders, this is Senior Warden Ranveng. He says he brings grave news.”

“What news do you bring, Warden?” Brunhyldar asked.

“Lord Tygus, who holds sway in this area, has declared Sygraid banished from his fortress, and sent his men to kill us after we departed.” Ranveng reported.

The Captains looked thunderous at this.

“Why would he do this?” Heegan asked. “She is his favorite Warden.”

“She was.” Ranveng conceded. “But when she displayed her Adept powers, his men turned against her right there.”

“What Adept powers?” Rorik interrupted.

The Shield-maiden smiled and froze her husband’s feet to the floor.

“What’s this?” He frowned, struggling.

“My Adept powers. One anyway.” Sygraid laughed.

“Wife!” He growled. “Release me!”

Sygraid blinked. “I’m not sure I can. Hold.”

She furrowed her brow, and Rorik’s feet came unstuck.

“No more of that!” He warned, plopping an enormous tankard in front of her.

Several Captains, and Heegan all roared with laughter. Even the ones who’d been glaring at her with shock a moment before.

The door opened again, and Treb came in. He hung his weapons up as well, then joined his mother.

Sygraid stood. “Captains, Valkyrie, on our journey into the Halls, my son killed a troll and many draugyr in combat. He completed the Challenge Tasks, and earned Adept powers of his own.”

Apparently, someone had already prepared Rorik, because the man just put a tankard in front of the boy and pounded his back while the Captains cheered. A few more enthusiastically than others.

When they quieted, she continued, “Were he not coming with us, I would suggest he assist the Watch with Lord Jyon’s proposal, but he’s sworn service to the lord, so...”

John picked up. “Captains, Valkyrie leaders, Commander Heegan and Rorik, you have a problem. Once word of what we’ve done spreads, and you know it will, you’re going to have hundreds of people coming here to copy us. Before, you were too remote, and had little to offer, so your neighbors didn’t find you worthwhile to mess with. That’s all changed now. You don’t have a very large fighting force, but your neighbors all do. Between the Raider Kings, the Alfyr Legions and the orc hordes, I think you can expect one or all of them to find you attractive as a target. Defending your towns from one, not to mention more would be a challenge I think you’d lose. What do you think?”

One of the Captains John didn’t know stood. “I have twenty men in the Watch at Rugged Bluff. All of you have at least that many, or more. I say we combine them, and we’ll be a force they won’t soon forget!”

“Would you leave your village totally defenseless?” Heegan asked, frowning.

“No.” The man agreed. “But even if I gave half, there are eleven villages represented here. That’s over a hundred men, if they do the same. We know the land, we can easily defeat an invader much larger if we fight smart.”

Ranveng leaned forward. “The Raider Kings have war-bands over a thousand strong. Even if you kill half of them, but are killed or captured yourselves, you leave every village from here to Bludughadda at their mercy. And that’s after only one battle. What if more Raiders come?”

The man frowned. “What do you suggest? We cannot wait, each to his own village. My twenty could not hope to hold out against a thousand, even for a day!”

“Make your enemies fight each other.” Ranveng argued.

“This would be good, but how do we make it happen?” Heegan asked.

Ranveng pointed at John. “Lord Jyon’s suggestion is this: instead of fighting them off, make each person pay for entry into the Halls. If it’s cheaper to pay a few coins, as opposed to blood, most will agree. Then, once they see their own returning, those who succeed anyway, if someone threatens to take over, you can appeal to their enemies for aid. Claim your attackers mean to keep the entry all to themselves.”

At least half the Captains roared with anger at this idea. They pounded the table in fury.

Sygraid stood, and they quieted. “Watch Captains, you do not know this, but my husband Mase was killed by the dragon herself. Not even in battle between them, but uncaring and unknowing she crushed him like a bug. You can guess what I think of the dragon and her servants, after witnessing that. I have no desire to ally with our enemy, but we cannot possibly resist if our neighbors come here in force. Lord Jyon’s proposal has the benefit of making us valuable to all, something worth defending against all.”

“It’ll be a shot in the arm for your towns, too.” John added. “You’ll sell supplies and equipment to every visitor. Think how much money each village can make.”

Syg leaned over. “What does an arrow in the arm have to do with selling supplies?”

John sighed. “It’s an expression from my world. It means to make your arm larger and stronger.”

She frowned. “How does an arrow do that?”

“Never mind.” He hissed, as the Captains argued about his proposal.

Some were adamant that the idea was heresy, while others had more practical concerns. After a few minutes, Brunhyldar interrupted the men.

“Jyon, you suggest we open the Door to any who wish entry?” She asked. “What is to prevent a horde of draugyr and trolls from flowing out when we do so?”

“Well, there’s an ice wall inside that they’d have to open up, but that’s my point.” John explained. “They can open the glacier anytime they wish, anywhere they want. That’s how we left. The dragon opened a tunnel in the ice, and closed it when we were through. She doesn’t care about the Door. You don’t have anything on this side she wants. If she did, you’d already be eyeballs-deep in draugyr right now!”

“If what you say is true.” Another Captain said. “Then she will care once we let crowds go into the Halls. Killing us would put a stop to that.”

“Look at it from her view.” John replied. “Each draugyr she makes takes energy, right? So the farther out her forces are, the more difficult they are to replace. People will come, I think we all agree that’s going to happen.”

“Without doubt.” Heegan agreed, and most, even the ones scowling at it nodded too.

“She will concentrate her servants in the Halls, because that’s where they have the advantage. Yes, Challengers will kill her minions, but according to her, only one person in three actually survives the Challenge itself. If you add in those who die on the way, it’s probably one in four, or even five who live. The rest...”