The Invasion Of The Sombers
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The next day, as Garin had already told them, they entered a more rugged area with slight depressions, small mounds and numerous groups of trees which, although they did not manage to form forests, some of them had a considerable extension. And the environment was impregnated with a slight aroma of vegetation.
Garin also warned them that it was inhabited by a snake not very large, but very poisonous which petrified the whole body in a matter of seconds. And as if it had been a premonition, a few minutes later, one of the warring orcs complained of a bite in his hand. Garin ran toward him and, with incredible speed, cut off his hand with an axe just in time. The hand fell to the ground petrified and the deadly poison did not continue through the arm of the mutilated orc.
Lirieth thanked Garin for his quick reaction, squeezing a kiss on his cheek that caused the dwarf's blushing. This gesture and many others dispensed by the princess to dwarves as well as to men, and the own attitude of the orcs, meant that little by little they were not so frowned upon and were accepted as companions, even by the dwarves.
Even generals Smolion and Gungaroth began to be somewhat more friendly with the new allies.
After the incident and a light rest to heal the wounded orc, they continued the march more attentive to the small but deadly snakes and, although on more than one occasion some warriors had to dodge several attacks, the ophidians ended up splitting in two and failed to bite no one else.
After a few hours of marching, they heard some loudly and terrible screams, like someone very big who was suffering a lot from some kind of torture.
They decided to stop and find out what was going on. The screams came from the back of a mound on the right. Lirieth, Syriel, Baldrich, Garin and Bellamir stealthily climbed it. When they reached the highest part they stretched out behind some bushes and watched as some hideous harpies had in captivity a giant of about ten feet high tightly bound with sturdy chains that, nevertheless, seemed to be very young, because by the features of his face it did not look more than fifteen or sixteen years old extrapolating it to a human aspect.
The harpies had sadistic fun flying around him and throwing magical balls of fire or electric rays, which must have been very painful to judge by the cries and convulsions of the young but enormous being.
Other harpies prepared a great cauldron with all sorts of spices, which gave off a rather nauseating aroma and did not bode any good for the unfortunate and bulky prisoner.
“I don't like giants at all, but harpies are the worst creatures I've ever seen. If we don't do something, the young giant will be the dinner of these damn winged witches," Garin said, with a tone halfway between indignation and compassion.
“I have counted about ninety," said Syriel. “If we attack them, they will not be able to take us," blessed the prince.
“Surely more will come from the surrounding area," Garin said. “They live in communities, side by side, and help each other when they need it. I estimate that, in the event of battle, they will come in far greater numbers than we do," warned the dwarf.
“With the liberated giant we would have a great help," Bellamir bet.
“Could you free the giant without the harpies seeing you?" asked the prince to the audacious mediam.
“Yes, if you distract them with a little fuss," answered Bellamir with a mischievous smile.
Syriel looked at Baldrich, who assented convincingly, then he looked at Garin, who looked enthusiastically at the idea, and then he looked at Lirieth.
“What does our captain think?" the prince consulted, more with a loving gaze than with the proper composure of military submission.
“Well, all right," said the princess. “Let's free the poor boy. Besides, if we could get a few giants as allies, they would certainly be of inestimable support against the sombers," said Lirieth with some reservations about the plan.
“Go ahead, then," encouraged the prince, "but Bellamir's plan may serve as an emergency. A safer plan must be outlined and executed with the utmost secrecy, preventing the neighboring harpies from coming. We cannot afford casualties in case we have to face the dark ones again," warned Syriel receiving significant assent from his fiancée.
A few minutes later, when the harpies realized that an elf in a magician's tunic was heading toward them, they stood still cautiously, as if in expectation.
Baldrich addressed the harpies with determination and without the slightest hint of fear and, when he was close enough to the one who stood out as the leader of the group, he told them:
“Greetings, winged ladies, I am Baldrich, a mighty elf magician who will inflict no evil on you if you quickly release my friend the giant.”
With a loudly broken voice, the supposed head of the harpies gave a loud laugh.
“Do you think we're stupid? Before you could lift a single finger, you would become part of our tonight's menu. How do you intend to inflict that evil on us, hey?" asked the unpleasant witch, with a marked disdain in a clear tone of threat.
As all the dwarves appeared pointing at the harpies with their crossbows, Baldrich answered with such calm and confidence in himself and his words that he made the shameless harpy pale.
“With a hundred accurate crossbow dwarfs, perhaps? Each one of you is the target of a different dwarf; and you in particular, being the main lady, have been given the honor of signing up ten dwarfs at a time. One false move or shout of warning and you will be the one who ends up cooked in that pestilent pot. And none of these dwarves I have ever seen fail a single arrow. If I were you, I would let my friend go without further ado," exposed the elf forcefully.
After a few seconds of looking around and weighing the situation, with resignation and contained rage, the horrific creature finally gave way.
“Do what it says," said the harpy, her eyes injected with blood and her face deformed with anger.
Two witches freed the giant, who seemed to fall to the ground with a crash when he was released, but, far from it, when he saw himself free, he grabbed his two captors by the neck, one with each hand, and smashed them head against head, knocking them out of combat.
The perverse fairies screamed furiously and began to attack, but more than half of them were hit by the dwarves’ arrows. One of them was the ringleader, who received eight deadly hits, leaving the winged creatures bewildered and unorganized.
Another hundred witches appeared from behind another nearby mound and many more from a little further away. However, when they were greeted by the dwarfs' accurate crossbows and when they saw that they were falling like flies and that, in addition, they were threatened by a group of orcs and humans who were ferociously joining the attack, they decided to flee and give up the battle for lost, apart from the tasty dinner based on giant.
Of the few remaining harpies, the giant took revenge with such fury that, when there were no more, he almost faced his liberators as well. But he calmed down and, kneeling, not out of reverence but to equal heights, he gave some effusive thanks to Baldrich:
“Thank you very much, great magician Baldrich for freeing me from these repellent creatures. I am indebted to you.”
“It is not me you must thank for your liberation, but my princes," said Baldrich, showing with his arm the approaching nobles.
“You must thank us all equally that you are free. My name is Lirieth, daughter of Gulrath, princess heir to the throne of Teberion.”
“And I am Syriel, son of Jorion, prince heir to the throne of Delfia, and you are not indebted to us: it has been a pleasure to free you from these vermin," the prince declared.
“Lirieth and Syriel? The heirs of Teberion and Delfia! What are you doing together? Weren't you at war?” asked the giant in great surprise.
“That war is now a thing of the past. Now, orcs and men are allies and it is likely that we will soon enter into war against the sombers. Lirieth is now my fiancée. By the way, you haven't told us your name yet…" Syriel was interested.
“A thousand apologies, your highnesses. My name is Sergiker, son of Magellan, king of Granlesia, the giants’ land,” the great prince introduced himself.
“Wow, a giant prince! Is your kingdom near here?" was Syriel surprised.
“No, it's quite a long way, about twenty days, before we cross the great desert, but it would take you twice as long or more," replied Sergiker.
“And what are you doing here alone and so far from your kingdom?" asked Syriel.
“I have come to see a friend," replied the giant, blushing.
“You ran away from home, didn't you?” Syriel suggested.
“Y-yes," said Sergiker, somewhat embarrassed.
“How old are you, young prince?" inquired the human.
“Fourteen years old," said the giant proudly, as if he were already a respectable adult.
This time it was Lirieth who asked.
“My father keeps yelling at me, reprimanding me and punishing me, he never lets me do anything I want to do," protested the big boy, as if he were the victim of the greatest injustice in the world.
“Well, perhaps your father would like to prepare you well so that tomorrow you will be a good king," said the princess sweetly.
“But… I don't know if I want to be a king," responded the young lad.
“And giant? Have you ever thought if you want to be a giant?" asked Syriel.
“Giant…? But… I can't help being a giant," replied Sergiker in surprise.
“Well, the son of a king can't help it either, and he has to help and obey his father so that, in the future, he can reign with justice and wisdom. If you renounce that, the greed of others who do want the throne can provoke wars and bloodshed and, in the end, there will be a king who will be neither just nor wise, as surely you would have been," concluded Syriel.
The young giant digested the prince's words and ended up looking embarrassed.
“You're right, I'll go back to my kingdom," answered the giant with a look of gratitude and admiration.
“Well, but first I'd appreciate it if you'd tell us what friend you've come to see," Syriel wanted to know.
“To the White Magician. He lives about two days from here. Well, I suppose four or five days in your steps," said Sergiker without being able to disguise a clearly condescending tone, though lacking in malice.
“Do your parents know this magician?" Lirieth asked with great affection.
“Yes, the White Magician regularly visits our kingdom and tells me many adventures, teaches me tricks and informs me of the future of your kingdoms," said the giant prince in a careless tone.
“Then, if it's all right with you, we'll go to that magician and find the best way to get you back to your parents in the safest way possible," proposed Syriel.
“All right," responded the boy, already with a big smile drawn on his huge face.
And they set out to continue on their way to the abode of the White Magician, already seeing in the background the colossal Dragons’ Mountains.
This mountain had been an ancient volcano that had not erupted in more than three thousand years. It was, without a doubt, the most gigantic mountain known in all of Frienia. It was so colossal in height that, when perhaps it was not even halfway to its summit, the air ceased to be breathable for any being who attempted to surpass that point. Something that no one had ever achieved, not even the dragons that populated the mountain and also needed air to breathe. Only from a considerable distance and on very clear days, with no clouds in the sky, could one glimpse the towering peaks of the massive mountain.
The brawl with the harpies did not cause any casualties to the princes’ company, only a few wounded and none serious, so they resumed the march as soon as possible in case those monsters came back with more reinforcements.
During the day, guided by the giant, they left that region behind to enter a more uneven region with hills and mountains.
The White Magician
Frienia, year 1815 of the second era.
After a couple of days of tireless march, they reached Crystal Lake, not too large a lake but incredibly transparent and totally still that gave it a polished glass appearance, where they decided to stop over. Anyway, Garin advised everyone to stay away from the shore, as respectable-sized fish with strong jaws and fairly sharp teeth emerged from the water with large jumps, which could cause considerable injury to anyone who ventured into the waters.
However, Sergiker disregarded the advice of the dwarf and went into the water gathering a large number of these fishes, which he caught in flight, showing the giant an outstanding dexterity and thus offering his liberators a succulent dinner. The fish turned out to be very tasty once roasted.
The next day, very close to where they spent the night, they came across the remains of the camp of the somber group that preceded them and that little by little increased the distance between them.
Leaving the Crystal Lake behind, and entering a leafy forest, they continued the march under an heavy and annoying rain that did not stop afflicting them all day.
The downpour ceased at sunrise, but left the terrain too soft, where it was more uncomfortable and tough to advance.
At mid-morning they saw a column of smoke on the horizon, as if coming from a large bonfire, and decided to move cautiously in case it was the sombers.
At dusk the next day they could see that the bonfire was directly related to the sombers, but in a very different way from what they had originally thought. It was not a fire for cooking or heating, but a funeral pyre. The group of sombers, who had been able to avoid them for many days in the Peaks Pass were not as lucky with some effective enemy who, after defeating them, piled them up and set them on fire.
In analyzing the marks and footprints of the battle, Syriel pointed to the others:
“This has been done by a very powerful squadron, be alert at all times.”
“I know who did this," said Sergiker with pride. “The footprints and marks are unequivocally my father’s; he must be around here looking for me. So, don't worry, you have saved me and you are my friends, you have nothing to fear from my people,” the giant tried to calm his new friends.
“Well, that reassures me and matches those huge footprints. But don't stop watching, just in case," added the prince.
They left the funereal bonfire, expectant, and so on for the next two days, until they entered a gorge that made its way through a not so large mountain range.
“At the end of this gorge, in a huge camouflaged cave, lives my friend, the White Magician.”
But before anyone could answer, they were surrounded, from the irregular and not too high elevations flanking the gorge, by a hundred chunky giants measuring about thirteen feet height and brandishing their weapons in a threatening attitude.
Sergiker advanced to the giant with the most majestic bearing.
“Father, this is Syriel and Lirieth, princes of Delfia and Teberion. They and their men, orcs and dwarves, showing a distinguished bravery have saved me from the claws of the harpies I was held captive by and are escorting me to the White Magician’s abode to find the best way to bring me home," announced the giant prince, with a marked affectionate tone and thanks to his liberators.
Then he added, turning to the princes, filled with pride:
“I present to you my father, Magellan, the king of Granlesia.”
“I am indebted to your highnesses for saving my son," thanked the enormous king as he approached his heir and the rest of the giants relaxed, lowering their weapons.
Father and son fused in an embrace for a few seconds, then the giant king rebuked his offspring, affectionate but forceful.
“What am I going to do with you? How can you abandon your people and expose yourself to the dangers of these lands? When are you going to learn? When are you going to assume the role of prince that corresponds to you?” almost begged the giant king, with a certain harshness, although without ceasing to show a clear fatherly affection.
“Father," replied Sergiker, solemnly and expressing deep repentance, "I am very sorry for all the affliction I have caused you with my acts of immature rebellion. I give you my prince's word that it will never happen again and that from now on I will submit with illusion and desire to the learning tasks proper to my condition of future king,” promised the boy, looking furtively at Lirieth and Syriel.
“What made you change so radically? asked the pleased father.
“The princes have made me see that just as I can't help being a giant, I can't help being a prince and a future king, so I've decided to face my destiny as best I can," said Sergiker enthusiastically.
After holding his son tightly, he looked with deep gratitude at Syriel and Lirieth.
“I will never forget your help. If you ever need anything that is in my hand, don't hesitate for a moment to ask me. I am doubly indebted to Your Graces,” the great king compromised himself, with tears of joy in his eyes.
“Forgive me for daring to speak to you so soon, but we have seen that the dark ones are not counted among your friends and it is possible that soon we may need help in the face of an attempt by them to invade our kingdoms," said Syriel.
King Magellan ordered a wasteland to be brought to him. Instantly, one of its giants gave him a cage with a bird and the king offered it to the prince.
“Princes and future kings of Teberion and Delfia," he said, "I give you this most precious and beautiful bird. It is a balardi, if you let it free, it will come to me to follow it to the place where you released it. Therefore, when you need me, release him and he will take me wherever you wait for me. The balardi is a very fast bird, the only one faster than the falcon, and it will not take long to warn me of your invitation. It is the first time that I have given one of these birds to someone who does not belong to my people," confessed the monarch.
Syriel took the cage delicately and thanked the king for the valuable gift.
“We are very honored by your invaluable favor, although I hope I will never have to use it. If not, do not doubt that it will be because of a desperate situation in which we hope never to find ourselves," the prince wished.
Sergiker, fed up with all the flattery, interrupted the regal conversation.
“And my friend, the White Magician?”
“Here," replied a snow-white figure who appeared behind the giant prince, just at that moment.
Sergiker turned and embraced the snowy apparition, which reached beyond his waist, with touching affection.
The White Magician was really a being of dazzling whiteness, he had the typical point-shaped ears of elves and a pearly mane, straight and silky, that almost reached him halfway down his back. But surely, he was not known as White Magician because of the hair color which was already almost perfect white, but because of the marked albino tonality of his skin, as well as of the eyebrows, and even of his eyes, whose pearly shade could not even be distinguished the apple of his eye’s cornea. In spite of having more than two thousand years of age, his appearance was like that of a healthy human halfway between the sixties and seventies, although without any beard, as was usual among beings of elfic race.
Once the effusive greeting between magician and giant was over, the White Magician addressed the princes.
“I also thank you for saving my little prince. Welcome to my abode," he invited as a magical breach opened in the middle of the rocky mountain. “Go ahead, there's room for everyone, even the giants if they bend down a little as they enter.”
They entered caves of enormous dimensions, as much as the dwarfs, and even more so since only the White Magician lived there.
With a gesture of the magician towards one of the corners, some stables appeared with everything necessary for the rest and provisioning of the horses.
And to another gesture of the white-skinned wizard, some tables and stools of various sizes were materialized for the comfort of men, orcs, elves, mediam, dwarfs and giants, with everything necessary to initiate the most succulent and sumptuous of the banquets that could have been done for those lands.
That night the wine and beer of some small magical casks ran out and they could also eat until they got fed up with fountains full of the richest delicacies and bewitched in such a way that, when someone took the last piece of them, exquisite food would immediately come up again.
All night they rested placidly and comfortably until long after dawn.
At the foot of the colossal Dragons’ Mountain was the somber squadron camped out. General Baldin informed his future queen, accommodated in her luxurious tent, of the encounter that the group that was able to escape with the giants from the Peaks Pass.
“Giants?" roared Elenir, angrily. "What was a group of giants doing there? Their lands are much further north! Why have they come through these lands just now?" complained the dark princess angrily.
Elenir received nothing but an uncomfortable silence from her general, who did not know what to answer.
“How many survivors?” asked the shadow princess, with marked harshness.
“Only two, my lady," replied the intimidated general.
“Two survivors of one hundred and eighty warriors, well-prepared and dark! And not a single scratch was made on any of the giants!” a disgusted Elenir lamented.
“There was also a very powerful elf magician. He was white as snow, even his eyes, but he didn't seem to be blind. There were almost a hundred giants plus the magician, some enemies terribly…
“SILENCE!!!!” I do not want any more excuses, General Baldin. You have already disappointed me too many times, I won't admit one more failure, General. From now on, I will take over personally. Let no more decisions be made without my approval. We will go to The Dragons’ Mountain, dominate all we can give while a squadron at your command awaits the princes in a ‘lovely’ ambush. Prepare everything so that nothing fails, it is your last chance, general, and you know what that means. Do you consider yourselves qualified for this mission I commend to you, general?” asked the princess, not trying hard to disguise her insulting disdain.
“Nothing will fail this time, Your Highness, you can be sure," replied the general, forcibly sure and with a good lump in his throat.
“I hope so," replied the terrible sovereign, no longer looking at her interlocutor and dismissing him with a contemptuous gesture, indicating that he should withdraw.
The day after the opulent banquet, quite early, the giants, with their king and their prince departed back to their kingdom, but not before bidding a very cordial farewell to the White Magician and his new friends.
After the farewell, the princes, the orc generals, Hans, Garin and Baldrich met with the magician, who initiated the encounter.
“Well, my new friends, what brings you to these ungrateful lands? I suppose that the coincidence of your presence with that of the dark squadron must not be entirely coincidental, am I mistaken? I am also happy to deduce that the endless war between men and orcs has come to an end and, apparently, in quite a friendly way," said the magician, casting a significant complicit glance at the princes.
“Well, you're not wrong," said the princess. “Men and orcs, we began a new era with an alliance, with the main objective of defending ourselves with guarantees of the sombers and culminated with the marriage between the heirs of the two kingdoms. And as for the dark ones, we learned that they were going to the Dragons’ Mountains to recruit some of them into their ranks, so we decided to go intercept them to avoid it or to do the same as them, in case they arrived late. But a welcoming committee waited for us in the Slanted Mountains that we managed to reject, and the unfortunates who burned yesterday were the ones who managed to escape our enemies," the princess said with some pride.