“Let’s hope so,” Inama said, rising and leaving Natalia to her thoughts.
Natalia remained distant from the bulk of the Lumbapi. Gripping the mirror Nadir had given her, she fell asleep waiting for his call.
The trek from the Drakeshead to the Ramhorn took the battle-worn Lumbapi longer than they had anticipated. Inama had told Natalia that it would take one week to reach the bulk force of her people, yet the seventh day passed with no sign of the others. They’d lost a fair number during the fighting in the Ryedale canyon and Inama gave her tired soldiers more time to rest in the mornings than Natalia desired. Though she blamed her frustration on their slower pace, she was angrier with herself for not knowing the way to Kingston. She could’ve led Maylox there if she knew where they were, but the dense forest and her lack of familiarity with the area left her at the pace of the Lumbapi. Knowing she needed to heal and store more energy before venturing into the capital, Natalia struggled with her current frustration.
Each night she waited for Nadir to call via the magic mirror he’d given her. They each had one but could only talk when each was listening. Nadir insisted that she should not call him, because while he was trying to win back the favor of his generals, he wanted her mission to stay private. He could not risk losing his control over his elven army. If he lost favor and was forced out as king, the elves would revert to their usual self-preservationist ways and abandon the humans to Merglan’s rule. Natalia understood why the elves generally wanted to preserve their race, but she didn’t understand how her people, as a whole, could be so selfish as to turn a blind eye toward Merglan and the expansion of his dangerous power. Nadir called only once during her trek to let her know that his troops had dropped off the dwarfs in Eastland and were heading toward the Everlight Kingdom. Natalia wished he’d offered news about Ivan and Anders’ location, but for now, she would have to continue on her quest to find them.
By the tenth day of travel, Natalia and the Lumbapi had reached the western coast of Southland and entered the province known as the Ramhorn. Villages dotted the expansive area. The most densely populated towns were concentrated along Kingston Road, close to the coast. As they walked the short distances from village to village, Natalia became more aware of the people’s firm resistance to Merglan and his invading forces. Word of the orcs’ presence spread much faster than the orcs and those who were old enough to remember the last time Merglan had been in Southland fled to the southwest of the country. Natalia hoped everyone who saw their large group of battered and bloodied soldiers would look kindly on them and not set off any alarm that might alert the imposing ruler to their march. Their presence had been kept a secret as far as she knew and Natalia hoped it would continue to stay that way.
Freedom wishers passed on the word that the Lumbapi from the Drakeshead had arrived in the Ramhorn and word then came back to the group regarding the location of the sizable force of the natives’ army. Inama’s father sent a letter to intercept them within a few hours of their arrival. He would meet them that afternoon in a town not far from their current location. Inama shared the news with Natalia that the allied forces were gathering on the coast.
Natalia walked amid the Lumbapi soldiers, her feet sliding slightly with each muddy step as the host of fighting men and women processioned along Kingston Road. The wool traveling cloak she’d bargained for weighed heavily on her shoulders, its saturated hood drooping around her face and shielding her from a constant drizzle of rain. She glanced crossways over Maylox, who walked at her side. Maylox’s short dwarf stature allowed Natalia a clear sight down the line of soldiers. The long line of Lumbapi snaked down an open hillside, entering the largest town she’d seen since leaving Cedarbridge.
“Lucky thing, you trading for that cloak and all,” Maylox said as Natalia stared directly over her head.
Natalia glanced down at the dwarf, who still wore her full suit of plate armor. She hobbled along through the mud under the weight. “I asked you if you wanted me to try and get you one,” Natalia replied.
“That was before it started raining,” Maylox grumbled.
“I recall the Lumbapi soldier and I pointing out that the rains were bound to set in with the changing season, and what was it you said? Oh yeah, that your suit was ‘watertight,’” Natalia continued with a slight grin.
Maylox shrugged, “That’s what they told me anyway.”
“It sounds like someone was pulling your leg,” Natalia said as several Lumbapi soldiers hurried past them as they neared the town.
“No, my legs weren’t touched. And what’s that got to do with it?” Maylox asked, looking at Natalia as rain tinkled on her armor.
Natalia inhaled, ready to explain the idiom, but decided to let it go. The dwarf didn’t have the easiest go along the trail. Natalia found her lagging far behind over their first several days in the forest. Hanging at the back of the pack because of her injuries, Natalia struggled to keep up. After seeing Maylox struggle under the weight of her armor and the short stride of her steps, Natalia suggested that Maylox join her and Solomon at the head of the army each morning. If they started in the lead, they could remain in sight of the group over the course of the day, even at their slow pace.
“What do you think about our presence being broadcasted like this?” Natalia asked.
“Inama said we’re in a safe area now,” Maylox said. “And, it will be nice to sleep somewhere warm and dry for a change.”
“Yeah,” Natalia responded slowly, catching her first glimpse of villagers.
“From the sounds of it, everyone in town is here to welcome us,” Maylox said with a tinge of joy.
How safe can we really be? Natalia wondered.
Strangers lined the road as it entered the town, watching and cheering as the Lumbapi soldiers from the Drakeshead walked their streets. Hearing a roar erupt from the town’s interior, Natalia wondered whether Inama and her father had just been reunited. It was all Inama could talk about over the last several days when she’d learned of their meeting place.
Once in town, Natalia grew uncomfortable. She didn’t like the way people looked at her, their smiles fading at her appearance among them. The idea that so many people living so close to the capital would know their location after they’d worked to keep it a secret for so long put her further on edge. The Lumbapi thoroughly trusted the residents of Ramhorn, but she was skeptical. Besides the fact that she was an elf, walking alongside a dwarf of all things, she didn’t see why the townspeople stared at her so intently.
With the hood of her dark green cloak concealing her elven ears, she didn’t think anyone would recognize that she was an elf. And with her exposed tan hands and waves of brown hair cascading from under the hood, she figured she could pass as Kewian and that Southerners wouldn’t take special note of her. She looked away each time she awkwardly made eye contact with those who stared at her. At first, she thought the people were staring at Maylox, but she could see that their looks rose above Maylox’s head toward her.
“Are you well known around here or something?” Maylox asked as they neared the town center.
Natalia pulled the cloak tighter and replied quietly, “I’ve never seen them in my life. I haven’t ever come this far south.”
“Strange, people keep pointing at you and whispering to each other as we pass,” Maylox said as she struggled to keep up with Natalia.
Natalia kept her head down for the remainder of their trek into the sprawling coastal town. She wanted to be gone from this place as soon as possible, never mind the idea of Merglan and Killdoor coming for them. She wanted the hushed words and stares to go away.
Branching off to one side of the gathering troops, Natalia joined Solomon as he stood waiting for them in the steady drizzle. “I got us a room at this fine establishment,” Solomon said, motioning to the building behind them.
“Good, let’s get out of this rain,” Maylox said as she rushed passed Sol and Natalia toward the inn.
Stepping onto the inn’s covered porch, Natalia pushed back her hooded cloak, revealing her damp brown hair and striking features. Looking back out at the people still watching the last of the soldiers walk by, she asked, “Why do these people act like they know about me or surprised to see me?”
Stroking his gray and white beard, Solomon said, “I thought I saw that reaction just now. I don’t see how they could’ve spotted you as an elf with that hood up. You could pass for Kewian as long as you keep your hair down.”
Natalia unlaced the broach and, with a fluid movement, spun the cloak off her back, holding it away from her as it dripped onto the wooden boards. She watched as the last of the soldiers continued down Kingston Road, “I’ll be going to Kingston tomorrow.”
She could see the old man’s expression lined with concern as he asked, “You’re going to try tomorrow? But don’t you want to see what the Lumbapi King has to say?”
Natalia turned from the street to face Solomon, “I could hear what he has to say, but I’m going tomorrow. Anders and Ivan could still be trapped there and every second we waste is time Merglan could be using them to get some kind of upper hand over all of us.”
Maylox hobbled over to them, most of her armor disassembled and removed. She reached for the ties for her chest and backplate, the last two pieces she needed to remove to be rid of the suit. “Could one of you help me out here?” she asked.
Reaching down to help her loosen the straps, Natalia said, “You’re not planning on wearing that noisy suit on our mission to Kingston, are you?”
Grunting as she hoisted the remaining armor over her head, Maylox said, “No. I’ll leave it in a bag at the gates.”
Natalia raised an eyebrow at her and watched as Maylox’s look became unsure.
“Or not? Maybe I can leave it here and come get it afterward,” she tried again.
