Ebony Mist -Original

Part XXI: Prepare for Siege

Alaura stood at the base of the great stone wall, looking up at her handiwork as her hand caressed the silvery strand of hair that was gradually turning back to it's natural flaming color. She had been standing out here for some time, paralyzed at the weight of the responsibility the druid had thrust upon her. All the while, screams and creaking sounds, as well as the clash of metal, echoed far in the distance. Those were the sounds of the druid at work, buying her time. The sounds unnerved her, causing her to falter. She knew she hadn't the time to paint the wall, so she was forced to sing.

The wall had risen from the ground at the beckoning of her voice, though she spoke no words, she simply let her voice sing to the ground, and to the walls of the mansion. They formed themselves from the delicate and grungy mansion walls, to the wall of a fortress of sheer rock, with only a few windows to gaze out beyond the courtyard in front. The song had caused most of her hair to become white, something she noticed when she went to push it out of her face from a strong wind that had picked up.

With a worried sigh, she turned her back from the wall and faced the forest beyond, looking down the long gravel road. The noises were slowly getting louder, and it concerned Alaura. So many of those screams were cut short, causing a shiver down her back. How many people were dying because of her? She had to resist the urge to run down the trail and stand before the army, to give herself up so that no one else would die.

Whenever she thought of doing that, the image of the druid's face would appear in her mind. His lonely eyes, and his words spoken to her a short few hours before. She made a promise, and she was raised to keep the promises she made. Maybe if she simply explained this to the one leading the army, they would understand and return to the castle to inform her father of the situation?

She went to take a single step forward, but stopped as she saw a dark shadow appear on the road, running towards the mansion. It was the druid, having left his horse behind to choose agility over speed. He slowed as he approached, sweat dripping from his face as he came to stand beside Alaura.

"They will be at the wall by nightfall. I have done all that I can to stop them. There is only so much one man can do against so many, no matter how powerful I am. They just keep coming from the sky. As if all of Everim had emptied out," he said, looking down the path he had come, then looked up at the wall. "You did well, Alaura. This will hold long enough for Abraham to move the library to a safer place."

"Is that all you're worried about?" Alaura found herself asking, causing the druid to frown down at her. "You're only worried about your library? About the mere three other things that live peacefully in this mansion? How many of those men have you killed? How many have already died, and are going to die?"

"Alaura..." Xavier trailed off.

"I should just go with them before anymore harm is done!" she said, turning towards the road, her mind made up, and this time the image of his lonely face didn't stop her. It was his hand around her arm that stopped her.

"No, more harm would come from you going with them. They have a strange feeling about them. The same that your brother had. They are not led by a general, or even by their king. They are led by some kind of madness. There is something at work here, and I fear if you were to go with them, the result would be worst than this siege," he told her.

"It sounds like you're going off nothing more than a hunch," she murmured.

"That may be, but I have enough knowledge, sense, and foresight that my hunches are never wrong. They were brought here by a cloud. So the same weather witch that sent the storm, sent them here. The same may have been possible for Drewland as well," Xavier told her, letting her arm go. A loud snap of wood echoed out of the forest, followed by a scream of pain that gradually died down.

"But... how many have to die? If they're led by madness, then it's not their fault, and they shouldn't be made to die for it," she whispered, eyes towards the forest.

"They are falling into traps. Some may be wounded, but I heard your concern. None have yet died. I never said I would kill any of them. I simply said they would loose half their number, I did not say they would be killed," Xavier told her, causing Alaura to turn and look up at him.

"You're not... killing them?" she asked, her eyes searching.

"No, I'm not," Xavier told her. "Simply trapping them. Now, come inside. You did good work. It should hold well enough."

"And what are we going to do?" Alaura asked. "Surely you can't trap this great army without hurting a single one. They'll reach the wall, and break through it. What are we trying to defend? What are we trying to do?"

"We're buying time until we can figure out how to break their madness," Xavier told her, heading inside. Another scream echoed from the forest, followed by an angry war-cry, and then silence. Alaura bit her lip, but nodded and entered the fortress. She followed Xavier as he examined the lines of defense created. The courtyard had been completely blocked off, so no one could enter and would have to travel through the mansion to work towards the base of the tower. Traps and barricades blocked the way in several places, and they had to move carefully around several of them, and step over trip wires or pressure plates. Alaura was amazed by the work done in such a short amount of time.

The base of the tower itself had been cleared away from, leaving open space all around it so anyone looking out the windows had perfect view of anyone who approached the tower. The very same tower where the druid and the princess had worked together to save the island.

Finally they went to the library, which had been completely emptied out. Abraham sat in the middle of the floor, examining his handy work. He informed the druid that all the books, parchments, and scrolls had been relocated to the tower's lower bunker for safety. Xavier thanked Abraham, before going up to his tower, Alaura still at his heels.

They went into the great room where the druid's bed was, where the stars shone across the ceiling, and out to the balcony. The balcony had the best view of the island. The sun was starting to set, turning the sky an array of pink and orange. Alaura grasped the railing tightly and looked to the edge of the mansion, where the wall stood. Just on the other side of the wall was the army, as Xavier had predicted. They had cleared out the forest as they had approached, leaving a bare scar from the shore to the wall, and the whole scar was their camp. And even much of the shore was covered with tents and fires surrounded by soldiers.

"How many..." she whispered to herself, at a loss at the size of the army before her. She swallowed hard, and glanced up at the druid, who stared out at the army.

"The island will not be the same after this. Perhaps it was a mistake to bring you here, but it is too late to turn back down. You cannot change the wheels of time that ever move forward," he said. "I just need enough time."

Alaura had nothing to say to that, looking back at the wall. They had packed as many soldiers as they could along the wall. They couldn't go behind or beside it due to dense forest that had somehow come close to the mansion during the course of the day. She guessed it had to do with the druid influencing the land. He was the master of it.

The sound of the room's door opening pulled her out of her observations. She turned to see the druid had crossed the room and now stood at the door. She started towards him but he held up a hand for her to stop.

"You will remain in here for now. I cannot have any harm coming to you. The knowledge may be precious, but you are even more precious. I could not live with myself were any more harm to come to you. So you may watch, but you will stay here," he told her.

"But!" she started, running to the door, but before she reached it the druid had closed it and locked it. It turned a strange grey color all about it before looking normal again. She went to touch the door, only to feel a slight shock. The druid had spelled it so she couldn't get out.

"Please... don't leave me in here..." she whispered. "I can help..."