I’m not sure. I just woke up myself and haven’t had a chance to look around yet. But judging by the light coming in through the cracks, it's morning. We should try to find Ivan and the others and get up-to-date on their plan.
Zahara joined him as they pushed back the fold in the tent and ventured outside. The morning breeze blew gently around the tent. Anders expected to shiver as he’d become used to the morning chill of living at a more northern latitude, but they were in Southland now. Where a late summer breeze in Westland would've chilled him to the bone if he hadn’t been wearing a coat, the Southland morning air was pleasantly brisk, but not chilling in the slightest.
When they’d been with the Rollo Islanders’ war party, their camps had always been stirring with activity come morning. Warriors sharpened their blades and donned their armor. People warmed themselves by fires lit to cook their first meal of the day. Water gatherers refilled drink containers from nearby streams. But as Anders searched through the hidden Lumbapi camp, he didn’t see any such movement. No one was starting a fire, cooking meals or gathering water. In fact, he didn’t see a single person moving about the camp.
He looked to the east to make sure that it was, in fact, morning and that they hadn’t slept right through the day and into evening again, which wouldn’t have been that surprising because they’d been so sleep-deprived that he could easily see how that might happen. His notion of it being early morning, however, was correct; the sun was rising in the east. He thought it strange that nobody was moving about the camp.
Is it strange that we’re the only ones up right now? Anders asked Zahara.
Yeah, she replied slowly. Where is everyone?
Anders reached out with his mind. He couldn’t sense anyone inside the hundreds of tents within this camp. He tried to reach farther past the tents to check the ships, but something was blocking him from sweeping out beyond the camp boundaries.
I almost forgot, Ivan told us Solomon has protected their camp with spells. I can’t sense anything beyond the tents, Anders said with frustration.
With a snort, she confirmed that she couldn’t reach out that far either.
Come on. We need to get to the ships, something isn’t right, Anders said and began to run. Zahara pushed herself up and launched forward, her claws tearing at the soil as she left the ground. She tilted her wing scooping Anders up as she glided past him. He quickly gained his wits and found his seat in their saddle. Zahara maneuvered herself with skill and grace as they flew low under the canopy of the forested camp. Dodging evenly spaced trees, she led them to the edge of the tree line and burst out from the foliage in a dramatic and startling display.
When they shot out of the forest and over the rocky shoreline, they saw the small armada of ships hugging the shoreline and a host of elves and dwarfs assembled among the space between trees and sea. Zahara had to pull up immediately to avoid buzzing their heads. She barely got her body up and over the spear tips of the elves. When she was high enough to clear them, she angled back down and flew in a wide arc, circling back toward shore.
The elves and dwarfs gathered near the ships were so startled by the dragon bursting forth from the woods and nearly crashing into their heads that they scattered in self-defense. The armed soldiers calmed themselves when they realized they knew the dragon and her rider. Anders ogled in surprise at the terror that he and Zahara had caused. He blushed with embarrassment as they landed near the head of the allied forces.
Anders climbed down from Zahara’s back as Nadir and Remli approached.
“You gave us quite a scare!” Remli bellowed, brushing the dirt off his pant legs and sleeves resulting from his dive to the ground when Zahara popped out of the trees. “I thought Merglan and Killdoor were here at last. I nearly messed myself at the sudden excitement. I haven’t been that startled in all my years.” Remli straightened his belt and brushed his beard with his thick stout hands.
“You really shouldn’t do that,” Nadir scolded them. “We could have attacked you with our archers and we can’t risk you getting shot by friendly fire before we even begin our attack.” The elf king seemed more in control of his facilities than the dwarf.
"We're sorry," Anders insisted. "We woke up and everybody was gone; the tent was empty. When we ventured outside, we saw that the camp was deserted as well, so we searched with our minds but the protection spells on this place are cast with skill; we couldn't reach out beyond the camp. We panicked and came here straight away." He chuckled slightly at the amusement of it all.
Remli frowned a bit and Anders let out a couple more half-hearted giggles then stopped. The dwarf eyed him with what seemed like intense hatred, then he, too, burst out laughing. Anders and Zahara joined in once more. Even Nadir cracked a smile at the hilarity of the confusion.
“Wait a minute,” Nadir said, returning to his scornful expression. “You said you’d fallen asleep in the tent last night? As in when we arrived here?”
Anders quickly stopped laughing and straightened at the question, “Yeah. Right after we landed, I went to the tent with you all. Zahara and I were so tired that we fell asleep on the floor by the fire.”
“And you just woke up, saw the sun was rising and assumed you had just slept there for the night?” Nadir asked.
“Um, yes? That’s how it happened,” Anders replied, slightly confused at why this might seem strange.
Remli continued to chuckle, “Oh, laddie, you have been out far longer than that.”
“Really? But we woke up with the rising sun, right?” Anders asked.
“Yes, that’s technically correct, but it’s not the next morning. You two have been asleep for nearly two whole days,” Nadir said with raised eyebrows.
“What!?” Anders shouted in disbelief. “How can that be? Why didn’t anyone wake us up?”
“Ivan told everyone not to disturb you two, that you needed to get as much rest as possible before the battle,” Nadir informed them.
“What did we miss? Have the orcs advanced farther into Southland?” Anders asked.
“We’ve been scouting with the Lumbapi the last forty hours, observing the enemy’s army and their movements,” Remli chimed in.
"My stepmother is heading their army," Nadir said through gritted teeth. "She's been assembling orc forces from the Eastland territories. The traffic slowed and it looks as though they are going to march soon."
“Where’re Ivan and Natalia?” Anders asked, relaying the question for Zahara.
“Ivan’s with Solomon, watching the enemy’s movements. Natalia is with Princess Inama scouting a strategy of where best to attack. While they went on ahead, we came back to assemble our troops. They’ve planned how to launch our attack. It sounds risky and a bit unconventional, but the Lumbapi have been successful in their strategies against Merglan’s forces so far. They know the lay of the land better than we do and they know how best to strike larger forces with fewer people," Nadir said.
Remli nodded in agreement.
“So, when was anyone going to come and get us? Or were you going to win this war without us?" Anders asked, irritated that he'd not been involved in the strategizing.
“Trust me, young rider,” Remli said. “We thought it was best for you to be involved in the process, but Ivan insisted that you not be bothered until absolutely necessary.”
Anders snorted in frustration. Crossing his arms, he realized there was nothing he could do about it now. He suspected that it might have something to do with the episode he had after drawing on the crystal’s power. He thought about the events leading up to this moment. He was still trustworthy; it wasn't fair that Ivan would hide something so important from him at such a crucial time in the war.
It was for the best that we rested, Anders, Zahara’s soothing tone came into his head.
Her familiar voice brought a calming presence to his mind and pushed back his frustration with Ivan.
We need all the strength we can get if we are to go into battle, she told him.
He knew what she was telling him was right, I know. It’s just frustrating to be treated like an untrustworthy child. I’m still the same person I was when we left the Everlight Kingdom.
We know that. It's not about that; it's about us being fully rested for the fight. We'll be relied upon heavily and we must be ready mentally and physically, she said.
