Early the next morning found Kaylith approaching the caravan loading grounds at the edge of the city. The first person he came across Kaylith asked about Mooran. He was pointed further and further into the caravan loading grounds by various people until he finally found Mooran. He was slightly darker of skin and Kaylith was unfamiliar with his garb, but the man definitely looked the part of a merchant.
"Mooran?" Kaylith asked.
"That's me," he replied.
"Tirvin told me to ask about hiring on as a guard.”
“Straight to the point! I’ll be busy here in a bit, so why would he send you?”
“I delivered him a letter from the Fae Kingdom’s army that was ambushed the other night. He further wants me to deliver it to your capital of Unster.”
“Are you a run away?”
“My last day was the night of the ambush. Delivering the letter was part of my release.”
“Ah!” Mooran pulled at his mustache. “Report to Dionus over there,” as he pointed at another man wearing a suit of lamellar and just come out of a tent, “and let him know we have a new recruit.” He waved to get the other man’s attention, raised his thumb, and ushered Kaylith off to the other man and then turned back to his work.
“Aye, sir,” and Kaylith marched his way over to Dionus. “Reporting for guard duty,” he stated.
“So that’s what that was about,” said Dionus. He looked Kaylith up and down, noting his pair of swords, quiver, and lack of armor. “What skills of battle do you have? And why are you not wearing armor?”
“I should have been a mage blade in the Fae army, but the elves wouldn’t allow that training. Probably for the best. I did my minimum required time for the Fae army fighting bandits and humanoid armies.” Kaylith debated putting on a little show of his weapon prowess, but didn’t think he’d impress Dionus much. “I’m ambidextrous and well trained allowing me to fight from the left or the right which has helped in skirmishes. Armor would interfere with my magical protections.”
“So no spell casting?”
“Only some minor, basic spells at the moment.”
They talked more about what the caravan expected of guards, tactics they would use for a few scenarios, meals, boarding, and pay. The caravan service had a few war wagons, pulled by oxen, that were spread out among the merchant wagons that were useful as guard posts on the trail and at night at the defined camping spots. While the caravan was moving, most guards would be spread out amongst the merchant wagons, but depending on how many merchant wagons they were escorting the extra guards might have to ride inside the war wagons. The Druid’s Pass, through the mountain, was narrow in most places and the switchbacks, that had to be navigated carefully, were favorite locations for bandits to attack.
Kaylith spent the rest of the day watching wagons, mostly with various foodstuffs, roll into the caravan loading grounds, being inspected by various people in charge, and paying the fees for the caravan service. As wagons came in they were placed in a large loose spiral based on how many wagons they thought would join with newer or better looking wagons being placed at what would be the front and older, more rickety wagons, placed at the very back. Three smaller wagons, that had already had their spot determined in the spiral, sat nearer the city along the road and seemed to be accepting smaller packages from various people in the city. Curious about this Kaylith made his way over to listen in on what was going on. One wagon was a part of the caravan service and delivered parcels at various towns along the route on the other side of the mountain with most of it going to Unster. The other two wagons were independent merchants, doing the same, who planned to separate from the caravan once they had made it over the pass and go their separate ways across the countryside, both having a completely different list of villages they would attempt to sell their wares at.
Late in the afternoon the spiral was resized slightly. They tightened up the space between the wagons. They also set markers where the three wagons dealing in smaller packages would go. This gave them the extra space for the extra wagons. At this point no further wagons were spotted as planning to join the caravan. Druids and priests of nature deities wormed their way through the caravan saying prayers of slow rot upon the various wagons carrying food stuffs. Animals were unhitched and bedded down for the night. Kaylith was stuck with the first watch which seemed odd being so close to the city, but the merchants had paid for the caravan service and the caravan was to be protected until they reached the capital or when individual wagons left the caravan. The night was fairly quiet.
The next morning the caravan was ready to go. Kaylith was assigned to carry the marker for the second wagon that had been accepting small packages as the spiral unwound. The war wagons had been divided into four groups - a group placed at either end and the remaining two balanced in the middle. Kaylith noted he was a wagon behind the number two group of war wagons placing him fairly close to the front. Once his marker reached the road the wagons behind paused for that wagon to take its place. Kaylith put the marker where the merchant pointed and asked him to place it in the wagon. He then climbed up the side of the wagon to take a spot on the seat next to the merchant. Right before he landed on the seat, the merchant slapped the reins, and the jerk of the animals pulling the wagon landed Kaylith hard on the seat, “oof.”
The merchant chuckled and turned to Kaylith, “an elf upon my wagon? What did I do to earn this great privilege?”
“Half-elf,” Kaylith replied, annoyed. “I’m working for passage as I’m delivering a letter for the lord's marshal to Unster about a humanoid ambush on the elvish army. Kaylith by the way. Do you make this journey often?”
“Reose’s Wandering Mercantile is providing your ride today. I used to come this way more often, but it’s easier to get my wares from Unster these days due to all the conflict farther south along the river. Even this trip from Unster I sold so much here and I’m not sure I was able to pick up enough to make my village run worth it. At the moment I’m leaving it to the events of this mountain pass as to whether I go all the way back to Unster first. My worry though is going back will delay reaching some of the villages I know will need the goods I do have.”
They spent many hours chatting as they passed all of the farmland heading towards the foothills. Kaylith tried to keep the conversation more about Reose as he didn’t want to talk much about his past. Reose had been following mostly the same village route for the last 30 years and knew all the basic things needed across all of the villages. He tried to keep well stocked on those items and he was surprised at how low he was on these staples after buying and selling things in Kurdwood. He also tried to check on prices of other items the villagers might want in case they had special orders. Sometimes special orders could take over a year to work through if he was unfamiliar with the item.
Kaylith pushed the conversation towards merchants Reose had dealt with in Unster. Kaylith was trying to figure out if Reose knew any merchants Kaylith could work for that would get him closer to the sea. Over the next couple of days, as they rode through the foothills, Reose talked through several merchants he had worked with over the years that plied the Kewl River and Sheldomar River all the way to the port city of Asylhafen.
The camps in the foothills were all fairly similar. Walls surrounding a large enough area to contain all of the wagons, beasts of burden, merchants, and guards of the largest of caravans within. There were usually four large gaps within the wall where two of the war wagons would fit tightly together. For smaller caravans a single war wagon could fit with panels folding out from either side, not ideal, but it would work. The war wagons also had panels underneath that would fold down and prevent things from crawling underneath, at least in theory. The idea was for the walled camps to be able to provide extra protection to the caravans without needing to be manned year round. If humanoids had moved in they would need to be chased out first, but with the large holes in the walls it should be easier to chase them out.
There were only two camps in the mountains, both near the peak. The reason for this was in case two caravans were attempting to cross the peak at the same time. These were similar in nature with a large manufactured cave complex as “housing” with an outer yard to house all of the wagons. The outer yard had a wall surrounding the entire area except for the area facing an oversized switchback. It was assumed that the war wagons would fill this gap and any extras could be placed in the outer yard for different angles if anything attacked from above the cave.
When there were two caravans attempting to cross, the duchy had declared that the shorter caravan could come across first going all the way past the other camp. Once that was completed, then the longer caravan could travel over the peak. As the last wagon from the longer caravan left the camp, the shorter caravan could then move into the camp. Caravan scheduling attempted to help alleviate the possibilities of this, but disasters and delays could cause problems.
The road got steeper as they started going up the side of the mountain. The switchbacks varied depending on the space available. If there had been enough space the wagons were able to fairly easily make the turn at a fairly flat level. Others had the space, but were at a slanted angle so the merchants and guards took turns making sure that each wagon successfully made the turn. Some of the worst required so sharp of a turn they were worried about the wagons tipping over if they had been badly balanced. Almost all of the switchbacks seemed to have had some sort of earth shaping magic applied. This was verified as they neared the currently worst switchback as the lead druid that had been traveling with them had the caravan stop. The druid quickly approached the switchback and used earth shaping magic to allow him to slightly extend the shelf by borrowing a portion of the mountainside.
Kaylith had assumed the name, Druid’s Pass, was a reference to the druidic leader of the duchy. It made more sense with druids actively maintaining the pass. After passing this switchback they were on the final climb to the camp they would be staying in that night.
The first wagon was just approaching a place where the road plowed a short bit through the mountain. Mountain on either side, but not deep enough to make a tunnel. They should just be coming into view of the camp, when a loud shrieking wail assaulted their ears. Tiny humanoids, three foot short, both blue skinned, wearing simple cloth doublets, and rusty brown scaly hides, wearing raggedy garbs, charged out of the camp and down the mountain road towards the caravan. Other blue humanoids appeared over the ridge from the higher mountain road tossing nets and stones down upon them.
Kaylith stated, “off to work,” as he launched himself, from the wagon he was riding, towards the front of the convoy where the other guards were forming up to defend the road against the raging humanoid masses. As he got close enough to the blue humanoids above Kaylith quickly whispered some arcane words while flexing his hand and fingers. He pointed, then a slight dart appeared and quickly flew from his hand and slammed into one of the blue creatures, causing it to topple from the cliffs above. Kaylith had to leave the others above on the ridge to the archers in the convoy that were heading into the war wagons. Between the cover of the war wagons, nets and rocks slowed his progress, but he finally was able to engage in the morass of melee.
The guards had started a line across from mountain wall to mountain wall with others filling gaps as they arrived. The forty or so diminutive, rusty brown scaly, kobolds charged at the convoy’s guards with spears. The kobolds poked and prodded the guards and barked like yapping dogs. The small, bald, blue-skinned humanoids behind them numbered several hundred and waved tiny swords. It was these blue creatures that screeched the awful wail. They also seemed to be pushing the kobolds before them as if the kobolds were there only for the initial clash.
Druids and priests that were riding along with the caravan finally arrived. One priest cast a spell of chanting, another priest cast a war prayer over the guards, while yet another cast a blessing.
The convoy guards, including Kaylith, quickly worked their way through slaughtering the kobolds. Instead of falling back, once the blue beings were engaged they quickly changed tactics. The wailing temporarily stopped and a shouting began. Four of them jumped on Kaylith knocking him backwards into the guards behind him. The caravan guards on either side quickly closed ranks around him. Others nearby immediately turned to slaughtering the now vulnerable blue beings who were only interested in beating Kaylith. Once the blue creatures were dead, Kaylith was quickly dragged back by his fellow guards and lifted back up. A druid quickly healed his light wounds. During this time the wail had picked up again.
Without a shield, Kaylith decided he’d work right behind the first line helping slaughter any of these blue creatures that got through and at times being able to stab over the top of someone else’s shield. The work was gruesome as these strange blue things kept jumping onto shields and flailing their tiny swords over them. Others would try to crawl under to get behind. It became difficult for the guards to simply hold their shields, let alone try to fight. The second line, including Kaylith, worked to batter the blue things off the top of shields and stab at the ones trying to crawl underneath.
The blue humanoids kept surging against the front lines. A druid cast a spell towards the middle of the mass and the blue beings nearby started shrieking as grasses, weeds, and bushes started twisting, wrapping, and entangling them. Archers from the war wagon in front launched a focused attack upon the entangled creatures, killing them while they were unable to dodge or protect themselves. A request went out for another and another druid selected another area, the plants went to work, and then the archers went to work. Another request went out, but no one else had prayed for that, focusing on healing instead.
The front line had rotated out several times and the slaughter continued. The distraction had been useful, but hadn’t given anyone much of a break as the blue humanoids kept surging against the guards. Priests healed, the archers shot at targets in the mass of blue beasts, and the line of melee kept the slaughter up. The sun, at last, dipped past the crest of the mountain and the battle plunged into darkness for a moment. A priest that had been paying attention, finished his prayer and a light as bright as day arched up and appeared above the battle and remained there allowing all to see and continue the gruesome work.
The line of battle moved back and forth as the blue creatures surged forward and then fell back as the guards pushed back in a slaughter. Leaders had been discovered at the back of the blue mass, but they were too far away to be struck by spell or arrow. Shadows flickered across the side of the mountain as shapes moved in the darkness beyond what the light was able to spread to. The awful wailing had been continuing for the entire battle, but it rose and fell in different areas of the battle. Kaylith had tired and been rotated back to the back, he hoped the rest of the convoy was ok and that they weren’t being counterattacked at the rear. If they weren’t being attacked at their rear as well, they should be getting reinforcements soon. A warning message was passed about that there were no more healing spells.
Kaylith was about ready to head back to the line when another guard finished rotating back.
Kaylith barely understood the man, “worsing I see! So many farts! Die easy, but keep coming!”
“Farts?” Kaylith asked.
“No! Farts!” the man yelled back.
Kaylith turned to the man on his other side who had also just rotated back, “what does he mean by these farts?”
The man chuckled, huffed, and looked at Kaylith. “It’s ‘is axe scent,” the man huffed. “He’s meanin’ xvarts, these things are,” as he waved at the blue humanoids beyond.
“Xvarts?” Kaylith asked between the two of them.
“Yeah,” the second man answered. “They usu’lly only ‘ttack in large numbers. When too small in number, they leave.”
The first man reiterated, “die easy, but keep coming.”
Kaylith replied, “so we keep up with the demoralizing until they flee.”
As Kaylith tried to work himself back into the conflict more guards showed up. Their reinforcements from the rearguard had arrived. The fresh guards worked their way to the front of the line and the freshness brought a new strength to the battle. The battle line was now moving to midway through this space with a wall on either side. Soon it was noticed that the xvart’s leadership had disappeared. After that it seemed the mass of xvarts was decreasing from the back almost as fast as they were disappearing from the front. Shortly after the xvarts were in a complete rout. The fresh guards gave chase with others following behind as they tried to keep up.
Some xvarts died simply being pushed off the side of the cliff, once they got past the mountain wall, as those behind them pushed to get away. Many other xvarts died simply because they were unable to move as fast as the advancing guards. Eventually the guards had fought all the way to the camp, chasing the xvarts farther up the mountain pass. The archers had exited the war wagon and followed after, shooting into the fleeing xvarts. The guards held at the switchback, allowing the remaining xvarts to flee. One of the archers was quickly sent as a messenger to bring up the rearguard to clear the road for the wagons and get the wagons into the camp. The guards and archers were then split into two groups, one to stand guard on the road, the other to check the camp. The few druids and priests that had followed the battle waited for the guards to head into the camp first.
Kaylith was part of the group checking the camp and the light that had been set above the battle had not been set high enough to do much other than cast shadows within the outer yard. He was able to see, with his elvish sight, a few yards into the outer yard and could see many small animal traps. The others were waiting for torches to be brought up, but he softly walked into the outer yard. Walking around the outer yard took some time because of all of the traps. As he came across a trap he would trigger it with his sword and then knock it over. Most wouldn’t hurt the merchants directly, but they could cause someone to stumble.
Eventually torches were handed out to the other guards. They headed into the outer yard and proceeded with trap removal as well. The druids and priests slowly followed the guards in. It became obvious they weren’t finding all of the traps as guards and priests alike stumbled on occasion. After the stumble they’d pull or slice off the missed trap, better the people looking for them than someone else.
The first war wagon had finally arrived, was brought somewhat into the outer yard, and then was backed up so the back was blocking the majority of the road the xvarts had retreated up. Fold out panels from the sides were braced against the wagon side to block even more of the road. This gave archers a protected place to shoot behind and allowed a decrease in guard required to hold the road. The remaining guards were retasked to help sweep the camp or helping the wagons. The next war wagon was brought up and set in its place leaving space for the first once all of the wagons were inside. The other wagons were being backed into the outer yard as the guards finished cleaning out the traps they could find in the outer yard.
The guards headed into the manufactured cave portion of the camp. The xvarts seemed to have only recently moved in. There was evidence that the xvarts had been converting this as a warren. The damage done here would be dealt with by the druids over time. For now the beasts of burden would be housed in the worst of places with the merchants and guards sharing the rest. Others could sleep in the outer yard under the wagons if they wanted something that didn’t smell as much.
After all of the wagons had been brought into the camp and the first war wagon had been put in its place to block the gap it was late. Considering how late it was, all of the day's events, the injured, and the need for priests to pray, the decision was made to not travel over the peak the next day. Instead, scouts would be sent out to check on the other camp and to watch for the possibility of another caravan coming up the mountain. As a caster, Kaylith was able to pull himself out of hard watch duty in order to get a full night of rest. He retreated to the far end of the outer yard, close to the large gaping hole of the manufactured cave, and laid his bedding out for the night. Exhausted, and grateful he didn’t have to dig a latrine, he fell into a deep sleep.
He stretched gratefully, and slowly, into wakefulness. It was the middle of the morning, but due to the late activities of the night before many of the priests were still asleep. Luckily the cook was prepared for “late wakers” and still had a fire going. Kaylith was able to start with some bread made earlier for those that had started the day much earlier. The cook started preparing meals again as he took Kaylith appearing as a sign the druids and priests would soon wake as well. Kaylith munched his bread as he watched the food preparation. Soon, before he finished his bread, he got some warm breakfast soup. When the soup vanished he cleaned the bowl with the remainder of his bread.
After Kaylith returned his bowl and spoon he headed to the war wagon wall to check in for guard duty. Checking in he discovered that the scouts had found that the xvarts had gone over the peak and settled into the other camp. It was assumed that making noise and putting forth the full force of the guards that the xvarts would flee further afield. The scouts still hadn’t spotted any signs of a caravan coming from the other side of the mountain. Kaylith was also notified that several merchants had gone back to the battlefield to partake in some looting. With nothing else going on Kaylith was able to spend ten minutes studying to memorize his spell.
Later in the afternoon Kaylith noticed the merchants returning that had gone a looting at the battlefield. It seemed to only be Reose and the other independent merchant that had returned to the battlefield. The guards let them back into the camp and the two merchants transferred their bundles of loot into their wagons. Kaylith wondered if it was for the metal, but figured he’d ask Reose later.
Eventually the scouts were brought back and plans were made to head over the peak on the morrow.
The caravan set off in the morning with the majority of the war wagons at the front. Archers were set up in the first war wagon, already in place for the coming battle. All of the guards, except for a small rear guard, had been loaded into war wagons behind the archers, Kaylith found himself in the second of these. The caravan traversed the peak and before they were halfway to the next camp they stopped. All of the guards formed ranks in front of the first war wagon in a way that made their numbers obvious. Those with shields started a rhythmic bang upon them and then a shout was echoed by all. The order was given and rather than simply marching down the mountainside road, they stomped down it at a slow methodical pace. The rhythmic banging, the shout, and the stomping continued down the road. The war wagon loaded with archers followed behind them.
It became obvious the noise had been heard when a small xvart scouting party appeared. They quickly retreated as the archers fired a wave of arrows at them. The procession continued down the mountain pass and as it came into view of the camp they could tell that the ruse had worked. The xvarts were completely fleeing the camp. The guards kept up the banging, shouting, and stomping all the way to the camp. Only a few xvarts had been hit by the archers and the guards had purposefully been slow to decrease any possible slaughter. At this point they just needed to chase the pests out.
The rest of the caravan followed at a slower pace trying to prevent the wagons from getting out of control. The front war wagon was again set up to face the road down which the xvarts had fled. Kaylith found himself in the group guarding the road this time. He could see others clearing small animal traps from the outer yard again.
When the rest of the caravan showed up, they were again backed into the outer yard. Watching this from the road Kaylith slowly started to realize the organization going on. At the other camp, backing the wagons in reversed the order of the wagons in small sections. Backing the wagons in again in the same groups of small sections would put the caravan back in the same order as when they set out. A lot more planning had gone into this than Kaylith had thought.
The final war wagons arrived with the rearguard and took their place in the wall. This allowed Kaylith’s contingent to fold up their war wagon’s panels and move into the first slot in the wall. Kaylith was again added into the night watch rotation and during his shift, in the middle of the night, he swore he could hear the xvarts moving around further down the mountain.
