Newblood - A fantasy novel for NaNoWriMo 2018; CHAPTER- 28: Hit and Run

Summer, Year 22 of Koram

Pinnet had chosen to go alone to Harpair. He had argued that a lone traveler appeared to be no threat. He knew what he was doing. And he was taking a few bags of myrtle and some ale to sell. Myanse had changed his hair to grey and made his ears slightly longer. He was wearing highlander garb and leather sandals. Also he would carry no weapons except a small woodsman's curved dagger and a stout walking stick.

Pinnet first stopped at Asarac where he sold the mule. He used the money to buy a stout pony and he put in some extra silvers to buy three boxes of biscuits. Spending the night outside the biscuit factory in the company of other traders, he left Asarac at dawn traveling at a leisurely pace. He made a note of the frequency of the patrols and the amount of commercial traffic. He reached Harpair military camp at sundown, there he exchanged a box of Asarac biscuits and a barell of ale for a bag of smoked meat and a steaming bowl of porridge. He found out that the camp accommodated one hundred and forty soldiers, three elven captains who reported to Lord Thayer Darkwater, the commander. Pinnet thanked the soldiers informing them that he was going to Harpair, the road led to Harpair only, so there was no point in hiding the fact.

To Pinnet, Harpair looked like a ghost town. The market was closed as Pinnet knew it would be, more than that, all shops and inns were closed. Only those families from which at-least one member worked at the camp had chosen to stay while the rest of the town had fled or sent away. Those who had stayed behind were living each day not knowing whether they would live or die. They tended to the few remaining cows, looked after their small gardens of vegetables and kept their heads down. After half a day's stay in Harpair, Pinnet came to know why there were no young people in the town.

Pinnet had befriended an old lady offering her biscuit in lieu of a cup of cocoa. They sat talking about the times before and Pinnet eventually got her to tell what had happened. Before the people of Harpair had defied the military by not giving them any grain. They had sent away all their young away along with whatever money and grain they could muster. They were to come back only when things were better. Then the soldiers marched in and six good people were butchered, the town surrendered. The military crackdown and the roads being closed off had made the villagers resolute not to call the young ones back. Pinnet said he could help a bit, if he got some support but he did not know anyone in Harpair, he needed to know- who were the ones he would have to convince. "They have lost their fire. Not one will rise I think. But you can try, we are likely to be put into the ground if not by spear then by starving. There is old Dorgy, the best ship wright in the area. The other is that nasty hen Felda. If these two back you, you got most of Harpair- whats left that is." The old lady cackled at him.

Felda he found tending to her small potato plantation. He talked frankly, without mincing words. The military had killed Harpair. The people here would not last one more winter- not enough food- beg, steal or die were their options. Or they could stand up now, get their chance at giving back some misery to the Kingdom military and help the Grendale Army. Pinnet was told that she, Felda Luming was pretty much convinced of killing a few before dying, even before Pinnet showed up. Dorgy Shipbuilder was tired, of everything. Felda suggested he come up with a plan before they go to Dorgy. Pinnet and Felda sent most of the evening walking through Harpair trying to come up with a plan. They reached the ruined entrance of the council hall. The stone building had a sloping tiled roof except for the ruined door and some broken furniture the building was intact. Huge wooden beams supported the roof structure, two feet thick wooden beam made an 'H' over which smaller wooden buttresses and beam formed the skeleton to which batons were nailed down. the roof tiles were laid on the batons. Pinnet told Felda he was ready to convince Dorgy.

Felda went with Pinnet to meet Dorgy. The old ship builder was at home. Pinnet could see the workmanship in the doors and windows. The carved lintels and the lattice work in the roof overhang. Pinnet was still looking around when Dorgy stepped out. "Made most of it me'self."

Pinnet stretched out his hand in greeting. "Damn fine work Master builder."

"What can I do fer you?" Dorgy asked ignoring Felda.

Felda spoke up. "Wake up you old coot. That's what we 'r here to do. Wake you up."

"After all them yers' now you wan' me?"

"Dirty buggger" Felda said, smiling. "Pinnet here has a plan to hurt em savages. He's got biscuits if you got cocoa."

Dorgy invited them in and served them coccoa while Felda kept up the conversation with small talk. Once they were seated across each other Pinnet put his idea to Dorgy and continued. "Whatever the result if you want to leave, get to Pikers Lake there you will find help and work. For those who want to hunt elven, they can come with me to the Shamarank coal mines."

Dorgy ended. "And if we fail, all of us get hanged or worse."

Pinnet looked at Dorgy for a moment before replying. "What is worse than sending away your family while you wither away and Harpair that you built is burnt for firewood?"

"I am no fighter, I am a shipwright. Most o' us are woodworkers n metal craftsmen. We been selling our skills here for long long time- that is all we know."

Pinnet responded. "I do not want you to pick up a sword and fight and get killed. Just do what you know best and be man enough to stand straight."

"I don't think this will work, Felda."

Felda replied smugly. "Why don't you move your coward butt and help us make it work then?"

Pinnet, Felda, Dorgy and two more craftsmen called in by Dorgy went to the town hall. There was much discussion and finger pointing at Pinnet but Felda and Dorgy prevailed and they started talking about the structure and what would be needed. They would need four days to set up what Pinnet had planned. Pinnet suggested six days. They would have to arrange the getaway and food also. That night most of the town gathered around a large fire in front of the council hall. Pinnet pitched in with all the smoked meat and ale that he had. Two huge cauldrons were set upon the fire. Wild rice spiced with fired meat and vegetables was the simple fare. After the meal Dorgy explained that they wanted to hurt the military who had killed their kinsmen and looted Harpair. It was dangerous but there was a very good chance of most of them coming out of it alive. Those who did not want to take part could gather what they could carry and leave Harpair at temporarily. The rest should report here in the morning.

Of the hundred odd people, thirty chose to leave and the rest showed up at the council hall the next morning. Pinnet's plan was explained by the five people who knew and the work was sorted out. List of supplies needed was being made.
Felda went to the military camp accompanied by three very old men- who could not work much and they met one of the elven captains. Felda explained that things were very hard on them and they wanted to ease their relations with the soldiers. They needed a few concessions and some supplies to be able to farm adequately. The townspeople had organized a summer feast five days from today to invite the officers and the soldiers for dinner after which they would put forward their requests. But for arranging the food they would need three of the sheep which the soldiers had confiscated. The captain was happy to see the townspeople grovel and made them stand outside his tent while he informed the commander. the commander walked out himself to look at the three townspeople, Felda bowed and invited him adding that the council hall could accommodate only seventy to seventy five people. the commander said "Seventy Five", then he nodded assent and walked back in.

The morning of the feast an elf captain along with a dozen soldiers came to inspect the site of the feast. He saw tables being nailed together and cook fires on the right and left side of the hall were busy. Ropes were hung from the roof which were being dressed in ribbons and flowers. They wandered for about half an hour checking the inside and the surroundings for weapons and traps. Then bored with the normal activity they left. At dusk, as arranged all the officers including the commander entered Harpair, followed by seventy soldiers. Those who would not get a place inside would do guard duty and take care of the horses.

Pinnet was hiding by the road near the camp along with eight men each carrying a bottle of cooking oil with a rag soaked in oil stuffed into its mouth. As Pinnet had suspected a platoon of about thirty soldiers were making ready to follow the lead party who had gone ahead to Harpair. Pinnet and his men crept along the edge of the camp to the end farthest from the road to Harpair. There were a two guards stationed but they were relaxed and so easily killed. Two of the men put on the guards' uniform and mounted their horses and on cue raced through the camp towards the gate shouting "Fire! Fire!" The res of the men had lighted their bottles and thrown them where they would burn easily. The men disguised as guards slipped out of the gate before anyone could stop them. The lone captain called back the platoon which was leaving- to put out the fire while he and a the few guards would pursue the fugitives.

By the time Pinnet and his men reached the council hall, the welcome speech had ended and ale was being served. Dorgy took him aside and updated him. The Lord was a mage and had taken the trouble of checking the building for any magical traps before entering. The seating was all as planned along the 'U' shaped table that had been for this feast. The commander and six of his officers occupied the head of the table- facing the entrance. Then there were thirty soldiers seated along the left and an equal number on the right. Seven soldiers were on guard duty, two outside the door and five down the road with the horses. Pinnet instructed those outside how to deal with the soldiers who were looking after the horses. He then walked casually towards the entrance and knocked down one of the guards unconscious while the townsmen waiting behind the other, quietly wrestled the other guard. While others dragged the two guards away Pinnet entered the hall carrying a huge jug of ale. He made his way around the table. He deliberately did not look at the commander though he was sure that the mage had noticed him as mixblood. When he reached the area behind the head of the table he put down his jug and reached for the spears concealed behind the drapes. There were three he handed one to Felda and another to the man on his right and waved at Dorgy. Dorgy shouted at the entrance . "Now! Bring the main item NOW!" Aloud creak resonated in the hall as the three spearmen charged towards the commander.

The Mage however was ready. He stopped all three of them. While two humans went down in moments, gasping for breath, Pinnet was still advancing but very very slowly. Then with a clanking and a sigh of air moving out, the roof collapsed. The Lord was not powerful enough to avoid the falling debris and stop Pinnet, in the end a wooden splinter pierced his shoulder freeing Pinnet, who thrust the spear through the mage's neck. Then hands were pulling him away and helping him out he window even as the destroyed hall with soldiers struggling among the debris started to burn. Pinnet did not remember the next few moments correctly but they were mounting horses and Felda was asking him. "Can you ride?" Pinnet had blinked and nodded. He was sitting propped up, his back to a tree. He could smell the fire but he could not see it. Felda caught his arm . "Come on." Pinnet staggered up right and spit out bitter ashes and noticed that Felda was holding a water skin in the other hand. He grabbed at it , drank some and washed his face with the cool water. Feeling alive again, Pinnet ,mounted the horse in front of him and followed the townspeople into the swamp.

Aasia, Myanse and Deniel had passed through the farmlands seeing for themselves the change in the people. There was a new hope which fueled smiles. At most of the stops, they were given food and rest and offered help. From the time they had entered the forests the pace had been very slow. The paths and trails were such that most of the time they were narrow and winding, difficult to walk on and impossible to ride. After six days of trekking and leading their horses they reached the tall hills where the slopes were sparsely wooded. Once they found a trail wide enough for a horse to navigate, the going was easier. They met some boys and girls - the Ashvale Brigands, they called themselves. Myanse directed them to go to Harden or Pikers Lake to enroll in the Grendale Army.

The coal mines spanned a couple of hills around, what was a small lake. The miners were house over the hill in a small valley surrounded by guard towers. Deniel had gone ahead inside the fence while Aasia and Myanse waited in the shadow of a guard tower. Soon Aasia tracked Deniel coming back. She had brought two miners with her. Both were big and thickly muscled. Deniel introduced them as Shol and Bandy. When Deniel had asked the women, they had pointed out the brothers. They were among the miners who hated elven the most. Approximately two hundred people worked here. Almost all were criminals who were serving out life sentences. Deniel had shown them the pamphlet for the Grendale Army and Shol and Bandy were happy to volunteer.

Myanse gave Shol a gold coin and told him to display it as proof that the Grendale Army had contacted them, to free them if they wanted to leave. But this was not a free deal, they would have to help against the elven in Shamarank. Both the brothers agreed. Aasia used her bloodmagic to carve a huge stylistic 'G' on the tower which Pinnet would recognize as a part of the Grendale insignia. Underneath it she hollowed out a stone Myanse wrote a message for Pinnet and put it in the stone. Aasia used her magic to close it, It would open only when Pinnet saw the 'G'. They told the brothers that they should make as many people ready as they could. Pinnet would be arrive there in ten days.

They left silently, heading towards the Shamar. They did not want to stop for rest with so many troops around them. In the morning they crossed the woodland which hid the mines. There was a well used road from the mines down to the river but from where the had come out of the trees they could not find a way to the road They camped there, Myanse made the fire and set up camp, while Aasia fed and watered the horses. Deniel went to look for a way to reach the main road, she found it, a gentle slope where the horses could be led. The next day of traveling on the good road or close to it they made good time. They reached Blackpool in just two days without any problems. Shan was already there with two boats and lots of bags of salt. Salt was much more expensive upriver. It was a fantastic disguise. Myanse and Deniel left for the Great Lake immediately, leaving Shan, Aasia and the four sailors behind with the other boat.

Aasia's plan, Shan had remarked that idea was a more better suited word for it, was to approach the central bridge after dusk and weaken the stone pillars then when the bridge would be empty- by midnight or later to collapse the weakened pillars and sail away. Shan had rented a small jetty and filled it with the salt he had bought, he had even made a profit selling it by weight. The good part was that it was in sight of the central bridge, far- but, in sight. Shan and Aasia arrived in Shamarank in broad daylight. With Shan waving to the many familiar faces near his rented jetty, this was just another normal trip upriver.

Shan had brought a gift for Aasia, tubes of flexible bamboo about four feet long. He explained to Aasia that if the pirates had to make a stealthy landing they made use of such hollow bamboo. They would tie stones around their waist to stay a under water and breath through these tubes. They could either swim or be towed by a boat to where they wanted to go. That night Shan made Aasia practice breathing through her mouth, he also worked out how much weight should be tied to Aasia to keep her more than a foot under water. He made Aasia enter the river with the stones tied to her waist and made her stay under water for ten minutes. This exercise was repeated first with Aasia alone, then with Shan and lastly both of them being towed at a slow paced by a row boat.

Aasia and Shan spent the third day roaming Shamarank and visiting the Scolier children. As dusk fell they entered the water at the rented jetty and were towed downstream to the central bridge. The boatmen stopped a bit up river near the pillar on the human side and ordered fried fish from the quay side stall. Below the water Shan guided Aasia to the pillar. Aasia touched the pillar it was magically sheilded but the shielding stopped four feet below the water line. Aasia let her magic talk to the stone. Aasia focused on a line of stones just below the shielding, Soon the width of that line in the pillar began to shrink. To Shan it looked like Aasia was holding the pillar and squeezing it. Aasia finished in ten minutes. The boatmen crossed over to the elf side to buy some expensive cloth. They took their time to choose and haggle, eventually buying one bolt. Purchase completed they unfurled the sail and started upriver. Aasia and Shan transferred to the larger sailboat and the boat started to load up to move up river. The operation was stalled many times with workers running to the dockside to make purchases of water skins and then fried fish. Shan pointed to the central bridge it was empty but for two soldiers crossing it. On Aasia's cue Shan gestured at the sailors who at once pulled in the plank , un-moored the boat and unfurled the sail. With the wind behind them the sail had filled and there was no need to row, they were moving upriver. Aasia took out a phial of blood and drank it. Then she called to her magic. Both the pillars started to vibrate. The soldiers thought it was an earthquake and ran to the nearer side. Aasia pulled with all her might, her hands curled into tight fists, her face framing a silent scream. The pillars cracked. The noise of the bridge falling was deafening. An elongated boom, reverberating along the dockside. There was a huge wave which pushed their boat further away. Shan saw that Aasia had sat down and was shivering and muttering something he could not understand. He sat down and held her hand till the shivering stopped. As they sailed away Shan could see the dockside getting filled up as onlookers both elf and human gathered to see the destruction.