Kirstie

Elgar called. “Stovelurne.” That was the chief dwarf’s proper name in the land, though when the dwarf chief appeared out of nowhere, and the men shouted, and the dwarf shouted with them, Elgar reverted to his native Old English to name him. “Booturn, your people will behave when we camp in the night, won’t they?”

Booturn shook his head to clear it and took a quick look around the room before he answered. “We will keep to our own place in the night. We will even feed Vortesvin, the mountain troll, so he won’t go looking for a snack in the night.” He grinned. He just could not help himself. “But I must say this.” He turned serious. “When the fighting starts, the mudders better stay away from the king’s house. Truth is many dwarfs can’t tell the difference between one human and another, so you best leave us alone to do our work.”

“Maybe we should give the king’s house a wide berth,” one man said.

Svator spoke to the men, which surprised some of the men. “They know we are coming. As long as you are with Lord Elgar, the dwarfs will behave.” He looked at Elgar as Booturn sighed and nodded.

Elgar continued. “We will camp in the king’s south field tonight to be ready to assault the south end of the town at first light. Just remember, we are not there to engage them in battle, just drive them to the water. God willing, that will be where they think to go in order to escape aboard whatever ships they are able to capture. Svator and his people will fly cover. They will route out any attempt to gather the enemy forces to counterattack, so do not be surprised if you see fairies land on a roof, get big, and use their bows expertly.”

“But look,” Chief Birger was thinking. “What if they don’t go for the ships? You said the Vanlil are not sailors. What is to prevent them from slipping out of town to the east and west as soon as we begin our attack on the south? They can then gather in the wilderness and come up with a new plan, as you said, and we will be right back in the same mess.”

Elgar shook his head. “Lord Amber,” he called, and the elf lord appeared beside Svator, not entirely disoriented at first. The shouts were a little less this time. “The elves of light have positioned themselves in the east and west to prevent that very thing.”

Lord Amber bowed to Elgar. “Lord. My people are in position. We will not let any escape into the wild even if we have to chase them down.”

“I still think we should be allowed to chase the ones on our side,” Booturn spoke up. “You can trust us not to let any escape.”

“Yes,” Elgar said. “And leave bits and pieces of chopped up humans all over the woods. I don’t think so. Besides, there are dark elves just itching to be part of the action. If any should escape Lord Amber’s people, it will be much worse for them in the woods at night.” Elgar paused and let that thought settle among the men in the room. He saw from the horror painted on several faces what the men thought about that. “You stick to your assignment and stay off the King’s ship. If they escape to the skied, the longship, you need to let them surrender.”

Booturn sighed again. “It won’t be easy,” he said, but he nodded.

Elgar looked around the room and spoke to his little ones. “Thank you for helping these men understand that we have a good chance to stop these exiled chiefs and their Jamts in their tracks. Please go back to your people,” he said. “Svator, you need to get small and keep your eyes on the proceedings.” Svator got small, and when Elgar waved his hand, and Booturn and Lord Amber disappeared, Svator sped back to hide in the rafters at such a speed, it looked to the men that he disappeared too. “Please tell the ones outside that it is safe to come back in.” Elgar said. “Only humans here now, and we need all-hands-on-deck to prepare. And I’ll not hear any bad talk about men who acted in a perfectly natural human way. Save that coward talk for any who might run away in battle. I hope no one will.”

Captain Kerga appeared sensitive to the few who came back into the big house and sat in the back. He spoke right away, “So, now all we have to do is figure out the timing, so we bring our ships in at the right time to block the port.”

“The timing will be difficult,” Elgar said. “If the ships arrive before the enemy is backed to the water, they may yet find a way to slip out from our fingers. On the other hand, if the ships arrive too late, the enemy may grab the ships in the town dock and slip out into the fjord.” Elgar thought for a second when he heard Yrsa speak up, contrary to all etiquette where women only spoke in the council when given permission.

“Perhaps we can help.”

“Of course,” Inga understood what Yrsa was suggesting. “The three of us can ride in Captain Kerga’s ship and the other ships can follow his lead.” She stood to speak so Yrsa stood with her, and Captain Kerga asked an obvious question.

“The three of you?” Kerga glanced at Mother Vrya, but Mother Vrya shook her head.

“Buttercup, show yourself,” Elgar insisted.

A little head poked out from Inga’s hair. “Do I have to?”

Elgar smiled. “You have to,” he said. “In fact, I think you should come over here and face me.” Elgar made it a command, but he tried hard to not smile as he said it.

Buttercup came but stopped out of arm’s reach. “But I like Kirstie,” she said. “You’re too scary.” Several men around the room snickered.

Elgar looked at Captain Kerga, who stared at the fairy as he stared at all the little ones. He opted to call Kerga’s number one, what some might call the first mate. “Jarl the Younger,” he called, and the man came. He looked delighted to see the fairy. “This is Jarl, Buttercup. When your father or Svator, or Eik, or one of the other Fee send you word to go, will you tell Jarl to go. Shout it nice and loud when that happens. Your friend Inga can remind you. Would that be okay?”

Buttercup took a moment to fly around Jarl. It got him to turn once all the way around, but Buttercup, in that annoying fairy habit, stayed always barely in his peripheral vision until she faced Elgar again. “He seems nice. I can do that.”

“Very good. Thank you. You can go back and visit Inga again.”

“Goody,” she said, and fast as a bolt of lightning she hid once again in Inga’s hair. Elgar saw the smile that colored Inga’s face and turned to Yrsa.

Yrsa did not need to be prompted. “I can also say go when Father sends word to my heart.”

“Your father?” Jarl asked, young man that he was.

Yrsa stared at Elgar. Elgar lifted his hand briefly, so everyone caught a glimpse of the elf under Yrsa’s glamour of humanity. “Don’t go there,” Elgar told Jarl. That was one complication he did not need, or rather, Kirstie did not need it, young as she was.

“Well, Saxon,” Chief Birger rubbed his hands. “You seem to have covered all the angles.”

“No pun intended, I am sure,” Elgar mumbled, when Mother Vrya stood and spoke.

“Not all the angles. What do you propose we do about the hag, the power behind this Vanlil invasion?”

Rune Stenson also stepped forward and had something to say. “And these spirits of nature. We have all heard terrible stories. Can they be trusted?”

“More than most men,” Elgar answered Rune and went away from that place to let Kirstie come home in case any of the men present had forgotten. “The hag will be my responsibility,” she said. “And concerning the little ones, they don’t like their word and loyalty questioned, so Rune, you and your crew better stay with me. You can keep me safe when the fighting starts. And as for the rest of you, if any of you hurts a fairy, elf, or dwarf, even by accident, I dread to see what punishment will await you. Remember, they are on our side. Normally, they would not be permitted to interfere with a human conflict, even with a power on the other side. In this case, we do not have enough men to assault the town and block the port at the same time. So, they are allowed to be part of the action as long as they… as long as we all stick to our assignments.”

Inga spoke up into the silence that followed. “You will not be going with us in Captain Kerga’s ship.” She made a statement, but it was really a question.

Kirstie shook her head and said, “Come on.” She headed toward the door. “I want to have a snack and gather my things before I have to walk all the way to the king’s field.”