The Prophesy: Book 1 - Cave Lupus

 

The orcs occupied the bridge, all right, but they were very busy. Somehow the crocodiles had managed to get a stronghold on Ka's side of the bridge, climbing up the cliff side with the help of a rather complex rope and pulley system manned by the Hunters.

The avant-garde had halted the progress of the column high up in the mountain, as the wolves slowly crawled between the rocks at the bottom to have a better look at what was happening. It became rapidly apparent that there were too many orcs on their side of the river to see what was happening with any degree of satisfaction. There were few wolves on Ka's side of the river, and they were further upriver. A call to them made for a group to move closer to the river and peek over the side.

«Wolf King, there are swarms of crocodiles swimming downriver, and the cliff on the other side seem to be covered with orcs. They too are moving downriver. We have to go. A group of hunters is coming downriver following the cliff top.»

«Thank you. Be safe.» Harold replied.

"I think I understand the issue. It's a replay of what we observed when we left the King's Land. But this time the crocodiles and orcs are in vaster numbers."

"True, dad, but there is a marked difference," commented Paschal. "There is only sparse grass covering the rocks, mostly the vegetation cover is a thin layer of fungi. No bush, no wood worth mentioning."

"The issue is that this battle seem to have been going on for a while, already. We cannot storm the bridge, because we are stuck in a narrow gulch, we cannot wait for it to play out, it may take too much time."

"Sitar is right. We need to intervene before we are detected and the orcs turn on us."

"What would you suggest, Harp?" Enron asked.

"First, we need to know how the bridge is built. Can it be used safely by one of us as observation point, without being detected by the orcs on its deck?"

"Not really, Harp. The crosswinds must be terrible at the top of the superstructure. Teleporting there would be suicidal."

"Yet we need observation points. Any suggestions?"

"We could teleport ourselves baby step by baby step, until we can have a view of what is happening. Sunset is near; we could do it in the dark. Our night vision has been improved considerably with our wolf heritage."

"This is also true of the orcs. It's only an advantage when it comes to dealing with the crocodiles, Sitar."

"One question, before we progress further in this discussion. Is the orc concentration as high below the bridge as it is above it?" Paschal wondered.

"I don't think so, they are mostly coming from the eastern mountains, following the river's edge. The Kwai goes way deep in the mountain range, and is very rapid, narrow and it is encased in a stiff canyon that makes crossing it impossible, at least for the orcs."

"That is interesting, Samson. I wonder if the battle we are witnessing by wolf eyes isn't critical for the orcs: this is the nearest bridge they could use to cross the Kwai, and it seems the crocodiles are determined to stop them from crossing. Could it be we are witnessing an orc column headed to reinforce their camp near the dam at the northern border?"

"You might be right, Harold. We still haven't figured out why they are all fighting over the dams north anyways. The reason must be really important, given the forces involved."

"Let's get back to the issue involved, dad," piped up Enron. "We need information, something fierce. What can we do to collect it?"

"I may have an idea, Enron," Harp told them. "Since we cannot go on the bridge's structure without undue risk, I suggest two of us teleport by line of sight downriver until we can get close to it safely. Then we teleport across it and backtrack upriver. With any luck, we might be able to reach the underside of the bridge without being detected. The crocodiles seem to be working up-bridge rather than below it, and their Hunters are busy bringing them up to the battlefield."

"I don't like the hop and go approach there, son. Why not use wolf sight to teleport directly to your destination?"

"Because the wolves are dug in, and I don't think I'd appreciate materializing in rocks, dad."

"He has a point there, Harold. But why you, Harp? And you mentioned two. Who else and why?" Samson asked.

"First, I'm smaller, therefore I can hide in smaller holes than an adult. Second, I want Sitar with me as we fight like two sides of the same blade. Third, I need backup in case something goes wrong, so he can take me out of a hot spot or I take him out of one."

"Fighting is out of the question, Harp, do you hear? It's information we are looking for, nothing else!" Harold thundered.

"I know that, and I'll try to get back as fast as I can, dad. We need that information, and the sun is down. Sitar, are you ready?"

"Yes. Whenever you are."

"Let's go then. I'll keep you informed of our progress as we move."

With that Harp and Sitar vanished silently, no light show, no noise, as ghosts traveling the night.

"These two will be my death!" Harold exclaimed.

Harp and Sitar quickly jumped from one point to the next until they reached the furthest outpost of wolf observers. From there, progress was markedly slower as each jump had to be carefully analyzed, and preceded by careful observation of orc movements and stations. It took the two boys until compline to reach the river's edge, some eight miles downriver. They had moved silently, from shadow to shadow, using rock tops to be above the orcs that patrolled the river's edges, apparently hunting for crocodiles.

«No wonder the wolves can't get near. They have to walk and crawl, they can't jump from rock top to rock top!» Sitar informed the others. «Objective one, reached.»

The two boys crawled and looked over the edge of the cliff, to see the river flowing about five hundred feet below them. The stench of death reached them from below, and, even if it was too dark for them to see what was causing this miasma, they had a fair idea of its origins: the corpses of rotting crocodiles and orcs. The strength of the smell told them one thing: some of these must have been dead for days or even weeks.

«We have a problem. We cannot see the other side! We will have to go down and get near the river, in the hope of being able to see Ka's shores.» Sitar told the others, which were waiting impatiently for further progress reports.

As the boys were studying what they could see of the cliff face, they sensed something was odd. Harp, the first alarmed, focussed his attention on his environment and he immediately smelled the danger. Without thinking, he teleported himself and Sitar back to their last safe position, on top of a boulder.

«What?»

«Orcs. They were crawling towards us. I'll deal with them.»

Harp focussed and the overhang that had been supporting the boys a few seconds ago collapsed in the river, bringing with it the orcs which had grouped near its edges, not understanding where their lunch had gone.

«Noisy!»

«But natural.»

«Natural my ass.»

«For us.»

A couple of orcs made their way to where the lip of the cliff had been, and concluded rapidly that the others had been victim of an unfortunate accident. They left the area to go upriver report the tragic losses.

«Time to go back. Maybe this landslide will give us the opportunity we were looking for before being so rudely interrupted by these nosy orcs.»

The two boys went back near the gorge's edge and looked down.

«There! See that ledge about forty feet down? We can stand on it. From there we can see deeper down. Hopefully there will be steps of sorts all the way down to the river.» Sitar indicated, pointing down to their right.

«Ok. I'm first, being lighter. Lock on me, in case it slips, Sitar.»

Harp teleported himself down and verified the solidity of the support he was standing on.

«Solid enough, but it's narrow, no more than two feet. Be careful when you teleport yourself. I'm locking on you in case you miss.»

The boys walked along the narrow path offered by the ledge, and managed to get down another fifty feet before reaching the end.

«It's the end for that one, but look, right across that landslide, it continues for some distance on a gentle slope. I'll go first again. Lock on me, Sitar.»

Harp teleported himself across but as he started walking along the ledge to verify its solidity, the slope above him gave way and began sliding downward. Immediately, Sitar brought back his brother to his position.

«That was close, Harp!»

«Yes, and now we don't have a ledge to teleport to. Let's lie down on our belly and see if we can find a landing.»

The ledge was too narrow for both to do things side by side, so only Harp got on his belly, while Sitar stayed standing behind him. The two locked brains and shared what Harp could see.

"See that boulder, down below us? It seems to be embedded in the rock face. Maybe we could get down to it?"

"That's an idea, but it's even narrower than this ledge. I will teleport myself there, and report what I can see. How far have we traveled down?"

"I say about ninety feet. The river is what, five hundred feet down upriver, and the slope had dropped about a hundred feet over the last two miles. If the river has not hit on any soft spot to dig in, it's probably about three hundred feet down. I like diving, but that is a bit high for me!"

"A long way to go. OK. Sitar lock on me again, I'm ready."

Harp teleported himself on top of the boulder, which did not budge as he materialized on it. Finding that it was about eight square feet, he figured he could teleport his brother safely to his location.

«Sitar, I'll teleport you since you cannot see it while standing. Ready?»

«Yes.»

Sitar found himself standing beside his brother his back against the cliff face.

"What now?"

"Let's look around. Be careful the surface is slippery from moss."

The two boys explored the edges and tried to see in the pitch dark light.

"Can't see much, Harp. We need light."

"Yes, we do. However I do not want to attract attention from above or below."

"How about using heat?"

"Heat?"

"It's light, it's diffuse, and anyone seeing a hot rock would probably conclude to the presence of an underlying steam vent."

"If they believe that tale, they are ignorant fools. There is no volcanic activity in the area."

"Let's hope that they have no notion of geology other than heat equals vent."

"OK. Too bad we didn't bring Mitsuko."

"We do not need Mitsuko, Harp! You got Marlin's Magic Stick!"

"Oh yes! I've not explored all its possibilities yet."

Harp extended the walking stick horizontally and said 'I need dark red light, narrow beam!"

The stick seemed not to respond but then the rock on which it was pointing began to glow a dull red.

"It works, Sitar. Let's use this to heat up the countryside! Be careful, that rock must be damn hot to glow like that!"

The two boys began to point the stick at the face cliff, looking for a way to progress downwards. Much to their chagrin, the face cliff proved to be smoother than a baby's ass. Yet they continued and Harp noticed that there seemed to be a darker area down river, some twenty feet below them.

"Could it be a cave mouth?" he asked Sitar.

"Maybe, but we need more intense lighting, and I don't want to use heat if we are to step foot on that."

"Yes, let's use red rather than dark red. It won't heat up the rocks."

"Ok, but keep it narrow beam."

The light coming from the stick was adjusted and intensified.

"It does seem to be a cave mouth, Harp. Now, it's my turn to go first. I've got my short blade. If it is occupied, a very unlikely occurrence, I'll be able to defend myself."

"Agreed. I'm locking on you. At the smallest sign of trouble, I'm taking you out."

"Here I go."

With that Sitar teleported himself at the cave's mouth and looked inside.

«No smell of occupants other than bats, surface covered in bat shit, and lots of night crawlers. Not a place to set up camp!»

«And outside?»

«Looking. A ledge. It's about ten feet below and five feet away horizontally, about three feet wide.»

«Worth exploring?»

«Yes. I do not see the end, but it is going down.»

«Ready for teleport, Sitar. Lock on me.»

«Locked.»

Harp joined his brother at the cave mouth and looked at the ledge.

"It seems a lot more solid than the last one we tested!"

"Turn the light off, and I'll lock on you while you teleport yourself, Harp."

"Done. Ready."

"Locked."

Harp jumped to the next ledge and explored it a bit.

«It seems solid enough and to be going for a while, Sitar. Locking on you for teleport.»

Sitar joined his brother and they began to follow the ledge. This one lasted for quite a while, going down all the time, sometimes gently, sometimes more steeply. They reached the end after an hour of careful walking.

"How far down, do you think?"

"We easily dropped another two hundred feet, Harp. We should be quite close to the river now. Just listen to its roar. It's deafening."

"And the stench of corpses is staggering as well."

The boys looked around and quickly found steppingstones that seemed to lead down towards the river.

"Let's use those. I don't feel like actually jumping from one to the other, given they seem to be very slippery. Sitar, wait for my signal. I'll go down and as soon as I find a solid ledge I'll tell you. I'll then teleport you across without you needing to do the frog jumps. Be ready to catch me if one of these things slips, or I do."

"OK, Harp. If my estimate is correct, we still have fifty feet to the river."

Harp jumped from one step to the other, barely staying long enough to find the next step. In some cases, that was too much for the stones, which slipped into the void and the river below. It took Harp some twelve steps to reach a new ledge, located about ten feet above the river.

«Ten feet to the river, Sitar. The ledge is about five feet wide, solid rocks with boulders that rolled down from the cliff. Ready to teleport you.»

«Ready.»

Sitar found himself on a ledge overlooking the foaming river. Boulders could be seen strewn across the riverbed, blocking the flow of the river. Corpses were piled up against the upriver faces of the rocks, and in the pools of calm water sheltered by the riverbanks. Some corpses could be seen floating downriver, bloated by decomposition, some bursting into flames as methane gas escaped their bowels.

"Nightmarish, isn't it?"

"Yes, Sitar. I can only guess at the ferocity of the battle that produced this quantity of cold cuts."

"Yes, the carnivorous fishes must be bloating in food, sick and tired of a diet composed of orcs and crocodiles! Too bad they aren't solid, we could almost walk across the river!"

"Forget it, I may have wolf genes, but there is a limit! Look at that, it seems the fish aren't the only beneficiary of that bounty. The bird droppings clearly indicate they have been enjoying the free lunch. From the carcasses, I'd say we have quite a few carrion eaters flying around! And the fresh water crabs are hard at work! Look at that!"

"Yes, so I see. And rodents as well! We better find a way to cross without setting foot near the shores if we do not want to be seen as walking meat sticks!"

"How wide is the river?"

"Difficult to say, I'd say about thee hundred feet, can you light the other side with the stick? I doubt the crocodiles would see it given they are probably focussed on defending the bridge."

"Sure, here comes the red light!"

As the boys examined the river from the safety of their ledge, they could see enormous swells but couldn't see the other side.

"The water droplets absorb the light, Sitar. We should go along the ledge and see if we can find a better vintage point."

"Let's go downriver, upriver is impractical."

The two boys walked about a mile before they came to the end of the ledge.

"We can't go further. And it's out of the question we walk to the shore. Look at all these cadavers packed on the riverbank!"

"Maybe not, but let's examine the river again," replied Harp, as he turned on the red light.

The boys examined the river and found there was now a big rock in the riverbed, which seemed to be splitting the river flow in two, and rose about fifteen feet from its surface.

"That's an option, Sitar. We can see the top, and it seems to be wide since we cannot see the water flow roll around the other side."

"Yes, that's an option but we have no idea of how the top is. We see it, but that's all. We need to climb up the cliff's side to get a better view."

The boys, who had been looking more for a way across than up, turned their attention to the problem, and quickly found a narrow ledge, about six feet above where they were located, and twenty feet away. The surface seemed solid and Harp quickly made the jump up to the ledge; a few minutes later, Sitar joined him.

"Do we have a better view?"

"Yes, I can see the top now. It's strewn with rocks of all sizes. We will need to carefully select our fall point."

"How about clearing a landing?" Harp suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"This!"

Harp suddenly pointed the stick at a pile of rocks and they seemed to be pushed over the boulder's edge into the river, with a resounding noise.

"Not discreet, Harp!"

"Who cares, falling rocks must be a daily occurrence here. Anyways, we have our landing. Let's go."

Sitar teleported first, with Harp acting as safety net; then it was Harp's turn to do the same. The boys began a slow progress across the boulder's top, until they reached the other end. A second channel separated the rock they were on from another, somewhat narrower rock, whose face slanted gently towards the river. Again, rocks were dispersed on its surface, and Harp cleansed a landing area for them by pushing the rocks over the edge by telekinesis. Then the boys jumped over the foaming river channel, and safely landed on the other rock. Their progression was short-lived, however, as the boulder barely made for a hundred paces.

The next channel was much wider, and the next steppingstone was much lower, regularly washed by rolls of water cascading down from the powerful current. Its surface was wet, slippery, and apparently, covered with round rocks that would make walking across it very treacherous indeed.

"What now?"

"Well, we could use all the rocks on it as breakwater? After all we need not throw them in the river!"

"That's a solution, Harp. Let's start with those closest to the upriver edge."

The two boys began a careful piling up of rocks at one end of the big boulder, and, after working for an hour, had built a sort of rounded dam.

"We are running short of rocks, Sitar. I'll teleport those on this bit of crap to the other rock, and I'll let you continue the construction. We need to be high enough to see above the next stepping stone, which is higher than this one."

The two boys resumed their hard work, whose noise was covered by the roar of the river. By matins, they were finally finished.

"Break time! I feel knackered. Let's get some food!"

"Only you, Harp, can think of food with all these cadavers flowing around us!"

"Bah, they are only a bit gamy."

"Harp! Now I understand why dad says we're going to be his death!"

"Anyways, I have a selection of fruits. Apple, peach, orange, and prune. Your pick."

"I'll have a prune. I never liked that fruit before, and the memory of the stench of this place being associated with prunes won't be a bother to me."

"You have a point. I'll have a prune also."

The two boys ate their prunes and then resumed their work. Teleporting over to the now protected rock, the boys quickly made their way across it and climbed on the pile of rocks they had amassed at the other edge.

"This sucks, Harp, I am not tall enough to see over the top of the next steppingstone!"

"We can recover some rocks from the breakwater. We do not need it in full now. I'll get them from the extreme edge and you pile them up."

"OK. Be careful. When you remove them start at the top. A sudden pressure of rocks from a collapsing dam would put us in danger."

"I am not stupid, Sitar!"

"Man, you are tired, I've never seen you so susceptible! I'll find you some orcs to pass your nerves on."

"Promises, promises!"

The boys resumed the construction of the pile of rocks on which Sitar could climb. Thirty minutes later, Sitar made his way up and looked over the edge of the next rock.

"Same problem: Let me clear a landing, and I'll assure your transport."

A few minutes later the boys found themselves on a rock that climbed upwards as they crossed it to reach the other side of the river.

"Finally! The riverbank!"

"Yes, but some living crocodiles too. We need to get rid of them if we are to progress!"

"I could provoke a landslide, but I don't like the idea, Sitar. We know how it starts, but we do not know how it ends!"

"Let's study what they are doing. Maybe we'll have an idea."

The two boys sat down in the shadows, watching the crocodiles. The seemed to be looking for a way to climb up, but their agility was dismal. They even managed to create a minor landslide that buried a couple of them.

"That side of the river seems markedly unstable. We did good not to use a landslide. It would easily have showered us in rocks!"

"Yes, Harp. Hey! Look! They seem to have decided to go further down river in search of a climb up the cliff!"

The crocodiles were effectively leaving the area, and moving away.

"As soon as we can't see them anymore we teleport to the first ledge you see there!" said Sitar.

"OK. Let's hope the climb won't be as hard as the coming down."

"Don't count on it. From what I see, this side of the river is even more treacherous than the one we climbed down."

A few minutes later, the boys found themselves on Ka's soil, and began the arduous process of finding a way to climb up. Numerous landslides had made the use of ledges difficult, and a thick layer of rolling stones seemed to want to bring them down into the river at each step. They quickly found that their only solution was to follow the crocodiles downriver, but the boys had serious advantages over their adversaries. They could climb effectively, and they could teleport where they couldn't climb. As the night progressed, the boys grew increasingly tired, and by lauds, they decided to take a well-deserved rest.

«We are taking a rest. I'll assure first watch while Harp tries to sleep. Dad.»

«Fine son. Where are you?»

«I'd say about three-quarters of the way up on Ka's side of the river. We should reach the top by prime.»

«OK. Paschal suggests that he sends a pack of wolves near where you are to keep you informed of what the crocodiles are doing.»

«OK. From where we are they can't see us. We would like them to check where we will pop up from the cliff, at prime.»

«That is arranged, boys. Rest well.»

«Thank you, and try not to be spotted by orcs. You guys aren't in the best strategic position.»

«Don't we know it? There already have been some skirmishes at the edges of the column, and the wolves take no prisoners, and let no one run away to report our presence. But that can't last forever. Talk to you when you are topside.»

***

The boys took turn sleeping, and an hour before prime, well before the sun would rise over the mountains and shine in the valley, they resumed their climb. The cliff's nature had not improved in any way as they progressed upwards, and the last twenty feet were suicidal. The nature of the soil was such that the slightest touch made for a cascade of rocks falling over into the river below.

"I've never seen soil so volatile, Sitar. It's like someone piled dust on the top!"

"It is dust, Harp. It's volcanic ash, covered by a thin layer of topsoil. We will need help to get out of this place safely."

"I agree. Let's use wolf sight to examine the top of the cliff."

The two boys called on the wolves that were patrolling the top of the cliff to come near them, so they could estimate the terrain's configuration. It became apparent from what the wolves were broadcasting, that the cliff top was relatively flat, and, using some measure of approximate triangulation, located twenty feet or so above them.

«OK. Alpha wolf, I need you to look at the rock on your left and focus on it. I will materialize myself three feet above ground and fall on it crouching,» asked Sitar.

"Risky, Sitar. You could end up embedded."

"I know. That is why I'm overshooting. You won't have that problem since I will do the teleport for you. If, however, I do misjudge, please overshoot by six feet, so at least one of us survives!"

"Oh no, big brother!" With that Harp teleported himself topside, overshooting, as Sitar had so elegantly expressed, by six feet. He did materialize correctly, barely two feet above ground!

«Harp!» Sitar cried out, alarming everyone in the royal party.

«I am safe, Sitar. But you had underestimated the distance by about eight feet, and would have materialized in the rock! Let me do the teleporting. Here goes.»

"Damn, little brother, I won't reach puberty with you! I'll die of a heart attack before I do!"

"Well, we're safe. Let's get out of here, we need to find a hiding place before the crocodiles and their hunters spot us!"

«Phase three completed, dad. We are going into hiding.»

«Good. Stay hidden. We have had a number of incidents and they are likely to increase as the day progresses.»

The boys were led to a huge boulder by the wolves. It took ten minutes for Harp to climb on to its top, then he teleported Sitar and the majority of the wolf pack to its top. Others were left below to patrol and report on any suspicious movements of the crocodiles or the hunters.

"We have a nice view from here, and we should see anything moving around."

"Yes. Let's rest under the shade of that tree. It's thin, but it's better than nothing. The poor thing must have been trying to eat that rock for the last century. Harp, I think we can both sleep for the day. If anything pops up, I'm sure the wolves will wake us up. The one-hour nap last night didn't do much to get me in shape."

Both boys lay down, and Harp created a thick layer of moss for them.

"At least, it will collect humidity for our friend the tree. The area seems to be rather dry."

The day dragged on, and by vespers, the wolves woke them up. Harp brought up fruits for himself and his brother, and cube steaks for the wolves, for which they were grateful.

«Food is scarce around here, Prince. Thank you. I wish I could bring some to my pups and female.»

«Think of where your den is.»

«There, now they have food and fresh water, my friend. We help those of our subjects that are in need.»

***

«Anything to signal before we leave this rock?»

«A group of crocodiles is moving upriver, and a group of two-legged that live with the crocodiles is moving downriver.»

Harp and Sitar looked at each other.

"We need to deal with them before we can move. I don't like the idea of having to watch my back all night."

"Agreed, Sitar."

Turning towards the alpha of the wolf pack, Harp asked «How far away and what is their path?»

«Both follow the cliff closely, taking regular peeks over the side. Don't they know the soil is fragile?»

«Apparently not.»

«They will learn at their expense. They will meet in about a quarter of the time it takes us to cover our territory, right about in front of this place, near the river.»

"That means somewhere around an hour from now. We have a nice view of the cliff's edge from here, and the sky finally cleared, so we will have starlight. Let's wait and see."

"All right, Sitar. I'm hungry, but knowing the sense of smell of the crocodiles, I don't think it's a good idea to eat anything. We'll wait until later."

"Harp delaying food? I must have seen everything, I'm ready for the next life!"

"Don't twist the blade in the wound!"

The two boys waited quietly, not moving, as silent as rocks. They kept their senses open, monitoring any sound, smell, or vibration carried by Mother Earth to their exacerbated senses.

«There they are. The crocodiles are again peeking over the cliff, exactly where we passed the night. I think they have smelt us. They haven't seen the Hunters yet, but the Hunters have seen them and are moving rapidly towards their master.»

«That gives me and idea. Since they are so interested in smelling our last bedding, I'll give them a closer, if very short opportunity!»

"What will you do again, Harp?»

«Watch!»

As Sitar watched, fascinated, one crocodile after the other fell pushed over the cliff's edge. Instead of backing away, those that remained on top seemed to be fascinated by the spectacle of the fall of one of theirs and bent even further over the cliff's edge, helping Harp in his endeavour. As the last priest took a nosedive, the first hunter came to the edge of the cliff and tried to catch the falling priest, joining him in his doom. The other hunters behaved exactly like the priests and quickly joined them in their short-lived lesson in flight.

"I know crocodiles can swim, but I wonder if they learned to fly?" Harp asked, ironic.

"All depends, Harp. If they didn't break anything on landing, then I'd say yes. But why did you do that?"

"I counted on surprise, morbid curiosity, and the fact that they wouldn't resist looking over the edge to check what happened to their fallen comrades, as if anything but death could occur from this height!

"Do you know you have a dark bottom?"

"I got a good teacher in you, brother. And my bottom, as you say, isn't any darker than yours. I wipe my ass off too!"

"Oh, boy!"

"Yes, daddy?"

"Don't ever call me daddy, Harp. We have Harold as daddy, and the poor man will die early because of us!"

"Let's start on phase four, Sitar. The night is young, but we have a good eight to ten mile walk ahead of us."

The two boys teleported the wolf pack down the rock to the ground, and began following them upriver, staying well out of sight of any watchers. The wolf pack knew where they were, and made sure they stayed clear of any fixed camp or moving patrols, remarkably rare, given the circumstances.

«The crocodiles trust that the river is keeping the orcs on the other side, and they control the bridge on Ka's landings.» Sitar commented.

«All the better. Overconfidence on their part will help us.»

«Yes, but let's not make the same mistake they are doing.»

The boys were quickly brought to the edge of the territory controlled by the wolf group they had spent the day with. They were overlooking the road leading further into Ka, and it was apparent it was intensely traveled by crocodiles and hunters. They could see the next wolf pack waiting for them across the road, on an overhang.

«We leave you here, my friend. Be prepared to leave your hunting grounds and move south when we call. Things may degrade considerably very fast. From what we see, we will have to start evacuating the wolf packs further north sooner than we expected.»

«Where will we go?»

«For now we have no idea, my friend. Just walk with us when the call comes. Something terrible is happening and we have no idea what it is, but it is pushing these crocodiles and these orcs south. It must be a very bad thing to make them move, especially in such vast numbers.»

«We will wait for you call, prince. I will prepare my pack for the move. We obey.»

«I will bring you to your den. The region is too dangerous for you to travel safely. Forego this section of your hunting ground. The crocodiles are starving and will not hesitate making food out of your pups. Ready?»

«Yes. We are all here.»

Harp silently teleported the wolf pack to their den wishing them well. He then turned towards Sitar.

«Ready for a secure transfer? We can see the target area clearly. Let's move.»

The two boys easily teleported across the road. They were met by the next wolf pack, which was waiting for them on the overhang.

« Dad, step four completed. Starting phase five, infiltration.»

«Acknowledged. Be careful.»

«Aren't we always?»

«No, Harp!»

The next few hours were very stressful. The progress was hazardous, and quite often, the boys had to teleport the wolves and themselves over obstacles they could not run around because of hunters. By matins they finally reached the river's edge, about two miles upriver from the bridge.

«Thanks for your help. I will teleport you back to your den. Stay put, because the next few days will be hazardous at best. As I told the other wolf pack, be ready to move. We will tell you when and how. The situation is degrading too fast; it's out of control. «

«Thank you for the warning and the transport, prince. We will be ready for your call.»

Again Harp did the honours of teleporting their allies to their den. Meanwhile Sitar had looked below and found a ledge they could occupy. The boys quickly teleported down, and found a cave dug in by water seepage in the ash. The roof of the cave, composed mainly of thick roots, was fragile, but it afforded them a modicum of shelter from prying eyes.

"Dad, step five completed. We are lying on our belly watching the activity below, from the entrance to the cave. The stars supply enough light, but we will see much better during the day.»

«OK, son. Our situation is becoming precarious. We let a column of orcs pass through; they were too numerous for us to stop so we took to the cliffs. Luckily, we could teleport every single horse out of the way.»

«If the noise level we are hearing from the bridge is any indication, the battle must be in full swing. We hear bodies falling on the rocks below us. The din of metallic weapons engaged against each other will probably keep us awake for the night. Harp has reinforced the ceiling of the cave using a force field. It's not the time to have a rain of hunters fall on us.»

«We will stay out of the road for the night as well. No use going back down until we are ready to move. Keep us informed of any change.»

«We will, and you do the same.»

***

The next morning found the boys up before the sun, lying on their belly, their head barely sticking out to see what was going on below and above them. Harp kept an eye up while Sitar did a strategic evaluation of the situation below.

«Dad, I'll describe what I see. The crocodiles have set a breakwater in the river where their members swim to as the come down river. Probably those that we disposed of missed it somehow. Across the river, I can see orcs crawling on the cliff face, which is made of more compact rock than on the side we are. Cockroaches could take lessons from them, but they can't get across the river, the flow is too fast. They seem to crawl as much under the bridge as on its deck, using the crossbeams as if they were roads. Apparently, the battle is still in full swing. I see a rain of orcs falling off the bridge, and getting pushed off the cliff if they reach the underside of the bridge. The hunters are using bows to kill those under the bridge. They aren't good shots, but the number of arrows they are letting fly more than compensates for lack of aim. The orcs are also using arrows to fire back at the hunters and the crocodiles, but the precariousness of their position prevents a concerted firing. I cannot see what is happening top deck. However, the number of orcs taking flying lessons clearly indicates the crocodiles are holding their own.»

«How is the terrain?»

«The river is too wide for arrows to make effective weapons. The river itself is rapid, with rocks everywhere, and strong swells. Even the crocodiles have issues navigating it. I just saw one miss the breakwater and continue downriver.»

«What about the cliffs?»

"The one we are in is divided into layers of volcanic ash separated by a layer of harder rock, probably basalt. The base is very dark, indicating a thick layer of basalt. The river itself is trying to eat that base and presents terraces that get ever narrower as they get closer to the river. The other side seems to be of a different nature. I think this river used a pre-existing fault line to dig its nest, and that the fault line reveals a difference in the nature of the soil. The other side is very vertical, indicating a harder rock type. There are many visible paths that the orcs seem to exploit with ease. These beasts seem to be glued to the cliff face when there is no visible path, and to crawl where I can't even imagine there is a hold.»

«Sitar, let's move back in the cave. I heard steps above us.»

The two boys moved back silently, just as a hunter smelled their odour from above and came to investigate. Seeing nothing, he abandoned the area with the idea to come back later to see what was making him salivate.

«Dad, how long would it take to cross the bridge at full charge, from where you are to until we our rear guard is in the mountains?»

«Dunbar? Can you answer Harp?»

«Given the number of centuries we have, which is right near the thousand mark, we may need, let me see, something like eight hours at a run, and we cannot run across the bridge, which is a mile long. The bridge is three miles away, and from what I've been seeing using Harp and Sitar's view of the other side, the hills are close, but climb fast, and the road is frequented by crocodiles. I wonder where they come from?»

«Probably following the small streams that come cascading down the mountains before taking a fall into the Kwai.»

«Enron may be right, but this is secondary. Our issue is getting the army across as fast as possible with minimum opposition. Let me think this out aloud, ok?»

«OK, general Harp!» chorused the royals.

«Sitar, at what speed do you estimate the orcs travel across the cliff's face?»

«About the speed of a man walking, say four miles per hour.»

«That's what I thought. And what about the crocodiles?»

«They are helped by the river, which seems to push them at about forty miles per hour when they are in free water. However, the rocks slow them down. Then, they need to navigate the river, so I'd say about twenty-five miles per hour on average.»

«And on land?»

«They are at the same speed as orcs on flat grounds, but are considerably slower on rough terrain, roughly half.»

«That confirms my own observations. Let me think. Twelve times four equals forty-eight. Paschal what's the distance to the elven border, following the river?»

«Let me check.»

After a few minutes Paschal was back.

«I estimate eighty-four miles give or take a few.»

"Thank you. Let me think Suppose the river suddenly dried up, what would happen, do you think?»

«I'd say the orcs and crocodiles would be fighting it out on its entire length. The orcs would engage the crocodiles, suddenly without water, and fight them. The orcs on the bridge would probably thin out considerably, going down to cross at the now dry riverbed. And the crocodiles would try to spread out on top of the cliff to prevent them from climbing, a very useless move, because orcs can't climb dust walls any better than crocodiles can.» Harold analyzed.

«My thinking exactly. Now, let's add a twist. Given how fragile the top is, being made, as so astutely remarked Sitar, of ash, what would happen to the pulley system if the top took off on a toboggan ride down into the river?»

«It would take the ride, and given how difficult building that thing must have been for the Hunters, it wouldn't be replaced overnight!» answered Williams, always the carpenter.

«Assuming we managed to collapse the top segment of the riverbank, while the crocodiles were monitoring for climbing orcs, what would happen to these unfortunate souls?»

«A cold bath before a long eternal trip?» Paschal replied.

«And instant burial grounds for the orcs and crocodiles caught in the path of the landslides.» added Enron.

«We all agree, then. Disaster. For both sides, at that! Here is what I propose. I will go with Sitar upriver, tonight, and travel some fifty miles following the river, using wolf trails so as to be out of sight of hunters and out of their smelling range as well. Once we reach that point, which, given our use of eyesight teleportation, should take us until matins, I will use the magic stave to focus magic and collapse the cliff across river I need not aim anywhere precise, only across river. I will create a dam about two hundred feet high, and then come back. By prime, the battle along the river should be well engaged between the orcs and crocodiles. I'll clean up the riverbank on my side of any visible crocodile or hunter. With any luck, we will have a series of cascading landslides rendering the climb next to impossible at the top of the cliff, stopping the orcs cold. I will then tell you to charge the bridge. Throw the orcs and whatever is left of hunters and crocodiles overboard. They may well be engaged in a fight for the bridge still and not see you coming until it is too late. You know as well as I how difficult it is to disengage in a battle.»

«That is an interesting proposition, Harp. Is it practical?»

«If you have a better idea, Enron?»

«Not really, Harp. We need to move back in the gulch before coming out on the road. That takes about an hour, at best. The river will begin to drop level right after you close it upriver, but it wont drop instantly. Furthermore, building a two hundred foot dam that will hold is no easy feat.»

«Who said it needed to hold? All I ask is that it holds until you guys are across and in the mountains. Then I'll collapse it, catching both orcs and crocodiles in a tsunami and finishing them off. Anyways, this river is a sewer and needs to be flushed.»

«Will you need to go back to the dam to destroy it?» Paschal asked.

«I hadn't thought that far. I think I can mark a trench at the base of the dam, so it collapses on command, even if I'm not there. A careful analysis of its structure once it's built should indicate the keystones and stress points. Magic does have its advantages. By detonating these points the rest should follow and the water pressure bring everything down. And nothing stops me from creating a resonance in the earth that would match the dam's natural frequency, bringing it down like glass. And let's not forget that water is a very powerful lubricant. With all that water pressure from the lake this will create, water will find ways to seep into the smallest cracks.»

«Are you sure you aren't Attila reincarnated?»

«I am bad, am I not? Consider this, I've noticed that there are perpendicular faults to the one traveled by the Kwai. I could build my dam right over one, and then unlock the blocking point, creating an earthquake. But who knows, that might create such a disaster we would be in trouble.»

«Harp, reasoning before trying something? Where is the world going? No more surprises! Life is going to be such a bore!» Samson lamented.

«Anyways, any objection to Harp's plan?» Enron asked.

None were raised and Enron told Harp to implement the plan as thought out.

***

The rest of the day passed slowly as the boys observed the orcs and crocodiles go at each other's throat. They learned a lot about fighting tactics with arrows from both camp, but could not view them with swords as things were occurring on the bridge. An hour after sunset, the boys prepared to leave their hiding place, but Sitar held back Harp.

«That damn Hunter is back. He is alone, and is right on top of us.»

«Let's teleport him right in the middle of the river. The crocodiles won't see him fall, nor hear him, with all the noise the river makes. A five hundred foot drop on rocks shouldn't be fatal, I think!»

«For once I don't agree, Harp. OK, let's drop him, but on the cliff face, so he looks like he slipped. Hunters aren't birds, and one falling out of the sky might tip one genius that something is up.»

«You're no fun. I'll let you play with him, then.»

Sitar delicately lifted the unsuspecting hunter off the ground and carried him right beyond the cliff's edge. A sudden sensation of fall alerted the Hunter, but by now, it was too late for him to do anything about his fate.

"OK, Let's get out of here. The topsoil layer is thin; we can open it and teleport on top. Remember that rock we saw further upriver? As soon as we are out of here we teleport on top of it. I go first, this time, Harp!»

The boys did as Sitar said, and both found themselves on top of a boulder. Luckily, they made no noise as they materialized, because a group of hunters were just below them looking for food. They didn't wait and immediately teleported themselves further away; to another boulder they could see further upriver. The process was repeated several times until they had a good five miles between them and the hunters.

«These bastards gave me quite a scare!» Harp told his brother.

«And me! Let's continue rock hopping. It's faster than following wolves.»

«But riskier.»

«We can always see if the next rock top is occupied.»

«True, but we are never sure of its height relative to the ground.»

«True. Let's head further up away from the river. We can hear it on our right, and know where it is. The hunters seem to stick close to it.»

The boys resumed their progress along the river, staying within a mile of its canyon. As they progressed, they gradually climbed up getting a better bird's view of the area they were crossing. On many occasions, they saw concentrations of hunters on the prowl, and made sure to stay downwind from them while circumnavigating their position. Everything went fine and by matins, Harp called for a halt.

«We have covered approximately sixty miles along the river, amply enough to implement my plan. Let's get to the gorge and see how things look. We will have a very thin slice of moonlight, shortly, so we must be very careful.»

The boys progressed to get closer to the river's canyon and rapidly found a vintage point on a needle overlooking the river.

«That is ideal. Even a monkey would have trouble climbing this piece of rock we only made it by finding a higher point from which we could do the visual jump!» Harp exclaimed. «Let's see now. Ha, I see the other side, but let's wait for the moon to be up behind us. That should be in less than half an hour.»

The boys waited, and, meanwhile Harp informed the royals that the plan was ready to enter the second step. As soon as the moon was high enough to shine across the top of the canyon and light its opposite face, Harp began his dam building project. So as not to attract attention to their position, he used narrow beams of sound that made the cliff vibrate and collapse into the river. The size of the chunks falling in the river was such that water geysers rose above the canyon's edge, even if the river was eight hundred feet below! Sitar, who was watching orc activity, just couldn't stop smiling, as he saw them scamper to get out of the way of the collapsing cliff. He wished he could see the reaction of the crocodiles. At some point he spotted a group of panicked hunters heading for the canyon's edge. Harp blinked at him continuing his hard work. Once the hunters were all close to the edge, Harp changed his focus and made the entire side of the cliff collapse into the river, taking with it the hunters.

"We're done building the dam. Let's wait for the cliffs to settle; then I'll have a look at it. I think I overdid myself. We can see the top of the dam and that means it's a good four hundred feet high."

The boys could hear giant rocks falling in the river, as the cliffs tried to find a new equilibrium of forces. It took half an hour for things to become more reasonable, if things could be called that. Rocks continued to roll down, but the biggest chunks were already at the bottom of the river.

"Sitar, you stay here, and link to me. If anything happens while I test the dam for stress points, get me back here."

"OK, be careful. You might not hear a falling rock with all that noise."

"I suspect the river is rather quiet, now. The only noise will be falling rocks. The water must be gurgling along the dam, piling up, but it will take some time for the lake to fill up and pass over it. OK. I'm ready."

"Locked."

Harp teleported himself about thirty feet from the edge of the cliff. He was not ready to land on an unstable slice of turf and to risk a ride down. He walked parallel to the river to a point that placed him face to face with the dam he had built. Teleporting himself on top of a boulder, he began his examination of his handy work. A visual examination revealed that the dam was about fifty feet wide, by about four hundred and fifty feet tall. This told him it was a naturally unstable configuration that would collapse easily once the lake had filled up and began exerting hydrostatic pressure at its bottom.

A first magic scan revealed a dozen or so overstressed rocks, ready to give way under pressure already. Since Harp did not want a premature collapse of the dam, he tied strings of forces to these weak points, reinforcing them temporarily, but also leaving them vulnerable to a sudden recall of the magic that held them together.

A second magic examination revealed a few more interesting points, including locking stones, which, if removed or exploded, would speed up the dam's disintegration. At the core of the dam was the old cliff face that Harp had initially collapsed. It showed weathering, but also, numerous fissures due to its collapse. That would get its components to move once removing the dam restored the water flow. Furthermore, some water was imprisoned between the basaltic blocks and water was already seeping from the river behind the dam. Harp decided to ease the process by inserting magic strings in the most important fissures. A sudden release would widen them considerably, throwing any debris above sky-high. That promised to be quite a show, thought Harp, too bad I won't be there to see it!

As he finished, Harp heard a deep rumble from under him. «Get me out of here!» he yelled. Sitar immediately teleported him back, just as the rock on which Harp had been began a slow slide towards the canyon's edge and slowly, majestically, tipped over and fell below, to a resounding noise.

"Ok. Let's go back to the bridge."

«Dad, dam built. We are on our way back to the bridge.»

«What is your expected time of arrival?»

«Give us an hour. We have some hunters to dispose of on our way back. They will be given the rock ride of their life. It will be their first and their last.»

The boys having memorized the location of the hunter camps on their way, quickly jumped to near their last known location. As expected, most had moved further downriver, and were now looking, slack-jawed, at the developing battle between their masters and the orcs.

«Since they are so interested, let's give them first seat view!»

With that Harp and Sitar made some minor landslides occur, taking down the hunters right to the battle for those it still interested that is! In all, fourteen groups of hunters joined the battle unexpectedly.

«Back to the bridge, dad. We see crocodiles along the edge, near the bridge, and some hunters. They are in two groups. One is fighting the residual orcs on the bridge; another is getting crocodiles down rather than up. Since the crocodiles are so eager, I'm going to give them a hand getting down.»

«Be careful you do not debase the bridge, Harp.»

«Did you see any crocodiles watching the cliff face from its top?»

«No Paschal. Here goes.»

The boys moved closer and found themselves on top of the rock that had hidden the first group of hunters early in the night. The camp was abandoned, apparently because they were busy with the mechanism.

«Keep an eye out, Sitar. I need to focus the beam very narrowly to destroy just the right amount of turf to bring them down without damaging the bridge's buttresses and supports.»

«OK.»

Harp gently began undermining the cliff top, creating a gentle flow of ash that was creating a hole some fifteen feet inside the cliff, invisible to all but those with mage sight. The ash fell down in the river, dispersed by the strong crosswind before it could be noticed by those below, had they taken time to notice it, given they were involved in a bloody sport known as war games!

The topsoil hid the ever-widening gap between the cliff's current face and the one Harp was carving for it, but the tension was pulling on the roots.

«Almost there. Almost!»

Suddenly a series of snaps could be heard and the portion on which the crocodiles and the hunters were standing separated and began a slow and majestic ride towards the abyss. The earth, tortured by this shift, cried its pain, and suddenly, the slab took off as if a God had given it a kick in the butt! It flew out, giving the impression it would fly off, before finally turning nose down and disappearing in a catastrophic sound that resonated on the canyon's face, creating shock waves that made some fragile segments join their big brother down into the riverbed.

«Dad, it's done. Clearing the bridge. Get ready to charge!»

«Awaiting your signal!»

A few minutes later, the wolves that were watching the bridge saw a spectacle they did not expect. Orcs and crocodiles alike fell off the bridge into the canyon, flying in every direction at speeds they couldn't even imagine. The spat of bodies on the cliff faces and on the plateau could be heard.

«All clear! Go! Go! Go!» Harp ordered.

***

The army came down the mountain road, charged the bridge and quickly crossed. It did not stop to establish a bridgehead, but continued right up the road to engage itself in the gorge leading to the pass that would get them to Ka's capital, Kantar, as fast as possible. It took twelve hours for all units to get to the entrance to the mountain gorge, as Dunbar had expected.

«Harp, Sitar. We are in the gorge.» Williams told the boys, since he had the command of the rear guard.

«Releasing the dam.»

The power of the explosion that broke the dam was such that the earth shook for a hundred miles around. The blast cloud could be seen rising east of their position, an ominous black mushroom crisscrossed by lightning that would have made any God of Thunder jealous.

Harp and Sitar teleported to William's position as the full show began.

"Harp, if ever you aren't a general and get tired of being a prince, I want to create a circus with you!" Williams exclaimed. "Your pyrotechnics are impeccable!"

"Thanks. Glad to be of service."