FanStory.com - Back To Wahalandby Roxanna Andrews

In the days that followed Nyla arrival at the fortess, she was introduced to Augdon and Valdig and allowed to sit with the War Council. They told her of their plan to recruit the men of Wahaland to fight.

"Would you go with Joshua and talk with your brothers?" Valdig said.

"I am not unwilling to help, but the village cast me out as a child, they will not be glad to see me. They may not allow me in. I will go, but I can promise nothing," Nyla said.

"I know my uncles would be glad to have you. They will speak for you. They carry much weight with the council and they will speak on your behalf," said Joshua.

Joshua brought up another matter that he had thought much about since his vision.

"What of horses? There are many in the valley running wild. We can catch and break them for riding. They are all sturdy Friesian and will make good war horses."

Augdon shook his head. "I do not know that using horses would be wise. The horde use long spears. They would kill the horses and unseat the rider, also they would shy from the dragon fire."

"Not Wahaland horse. Friesiens do not startle easily, they are around fire always. The men burn bonfires that surround them to keep the cats at bay. We can fit them with breastplates to protect them from the spears. We have excellent iron smiths who can make them."

Augdon was pleased to see Joshua acting decisively. He nodded and clapped Joshua on the shoulder, "You are behaving like a leader, I am glad to see it," Augdon told him. "We cannot wait for the snow to clear but we can hope the weather holds. You should take a cart filled with firewood and extra provision against a storm. You may need to shelter for a few days. Use the longer route as there is a cave along the cliff side where you can stay."

Those chosen for Wahaland made the necessary preparations. It would take over a day to get there if the weather held. They packed plenty of food and filled the cart with firewood and sleeping mats.

They would be leaving before sunrise the next morning so Joshua went in the evening to see Lyse and tell her goodbye.

Lyse stepped out into the night and the evening breeze blew the loose strands of hair around her face. Joshua tucked them behind her ears and kissed her. He looked into her stunning blue eyes and saw tears. "Why tears? I will only be gone five days at most, I am not staying to train the men."

"Your family is there, what if they ask you to stay? They will want you with them. What if you do not return or there is a heavy snow and you can't get back? Let me go with you," she begged.

"Do you think anything could keep me from you? I will be back as soon as I am able. And no you cannot come, your father would never allow it."

"My father treats me as a child still. He does not know that I am grown. I should decide these things for myself."

"He is right to lookout for you. He wants you safe. There will be wild animals looking for food. I would not want you to be eaten." Joshua said trying to lighten the moment.

"I find no humor in this. My brothers will be with me, they will lookout for me."

Her brothers, Arvid and Magnus were most formidable. They were huge and so much alike they were hard to tell apart. There was just fourteen months between them and Joshua consistently got them mixed up.

"It is true no animal would dare assault you in the presence of your brothers," Joshua said with a smile. "You can ask your father again, but I have no doubt he will say no and I do not feel easy about it. Be patient, time will go quickly and I will soon be back."

"You are allowing your mother to go with you," she said with a stubborn look in her eyes.

"My mother is an expert with bow and sword and you are not." Joshua put a hand on either side of her face. "I promise you, all will be well. I will come back as quickly as I can."

Early the next morning those going to Wahaland dressed in their warmest clothes, put on fur boot and hooded cloaks and assembled by the stables to ready their horses.

The dogs, Ren and Habil would come as well. They would not be parted from Nyla so were allowed to accompany her to Wahaland.

One of the men fetched Hamish and brought him to the gate where his horse stood ready for him. He gave the fortress one last hateful look and mounted his horse. The trip down the mountain was quiet, except for an occasional complaint from Hamish. Being told to hold his tongue, he lapsed into a sullen silence.

Six hours on horseback was as much as the delegation could take and they were ready to stop for the night. The dogs had long since tired of walking and had jumped onto the cart and road in comfort.

The weary riders found the cliff side cave and the men lit torches to check for animals.

They came upon a family of otters using the cave as a home. The otters ready to defend their territory, ran at the men all teeth and claws. Arvid had to kill the male as it clamped it's jaws around his ankel. His boot protected him from injury, but the otter refused to let go. Arvid brought his sword down on the back of his neck. The female took her pups and ran for the opening. She attacked Cedric's horse, putting a large gash in his front leg before disappearing into the woods.

Nyla quickly wrapped the wound and the men built a fire to melt snow. Nyla used the warm water to clean the horse's wound and wrapped it again.

"I don't think he can be ridden, he is limping. I will give my horse to Cedric and ride in the cart," Nyla said.

They brought the horses and cart into the cave. Food was prepared and their sleeping mats laid out.

Cedric sat beside Nyla and Joshua could hear them talking and laughing as they ate. His mother was quite beautiful and he could not blame Cedric for flirting with her, but he felt a bit jealous that she would pay attention to another man. He shook off these feelings. She had been alone a long while and deserved some happiness. Cedric was a good man, for all his earlier failings, and he would be a great warrior.

They soon settled down for the night, the men taking turns keeping watch against wild animals and tending the fire.

Magnus had the early morning watch before sunrise, but he was exhausted and kept dozing off. Hamish watched him. He had been hoping for an opportunity to get to Wahaland ahead of the others, and when Magnus dozed, he planned his escape. He quietly made his way through the cave and grabbed his horse. He walked it a ways from the cave, than mounted and pushed it into a gallop. He arrived at the Wahaland village just as the sun was coming up.

Magnus came suddenly awake and jumped to his feet. He looked out the cave opening and saw the snow being kicked up by a galloping horse. He quickly woke Joshua.

"Hamish has gone. I slept for a moment and he ran. We may catch him if we leave now. I can still see the snow his horse kicks up," Magnus pointed to the chunks of snow flying into the air.

"We won't try to catch him. With some luck he will get lost in the dark, but if he does not, Wahaland will be aware of our coming."

"I am to blame, Captain. I let myself sleep. I did not think he had the courage to go on alone."

"It is of no consequence. He is a fool and I am hoping my family will not listen to any lies he may tell of us." He clapped Magnus on the shoulder. "Let's get moving."

Joshua woke everyone. They took bread and hard cheese from their packs to eat for breakfast and mounted their horses.

As he turned his horse, Joshua saw a huge mountain bear lumber out of the shadows towards him. His horse shied, rearing and unseating him, he fell hard to the ground. Having the wind knocked out of him, he lay still not moving. The bear was on him in minutes, raking his claws across Joshua's shoulders and down his arm. It flipped him like a rag doll and pounced on his chest, biting down on his neck, getting a mouthful of Joshua's cloak.