War Of The Wildlands(48)

Yori began to feel anxious at the thought of war. So far, the Sycamore Clan had resided in peace, far from the borders of Na’zora. The king’s ambitions must have increased dramatically to reach so far from his original borders.

Darin, being a highly respected elder member of the clan, walked to the front of the crowd. “Overseer,” he began, “we cannot expect Al’marr to come to our aid. If the Na’zorans don’t cross into their lands, they will not help us. We are nothing to them.”

“We cannot be too quick to act,” the Overseer replied. “If we arm ourselves and attack them first, we will only escalate the fight. They are probably just patrolling the area and have no desire to fight with us. We have caused them no problems, and we have been no threat to their people.”

Many elves sounded their voices in agreement. Darin shook his head and returned to Yori’s side.

“I don’t think they’re just passing by,” he said. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Why would they travel so far from Na’zora?” Yori asked, hoping there could be another explanation.

“The only other reasons would be to attack Al’marr or convince them to join the fight against the elves. Either way, we are not safe.”

“Who is willing to fight and who is ready to run?” Reylana asked the crowd. “What harm will it do to ready yourselves for battle if they have no plans to attack? We don’t have to attack them first, but we have to be ready to defend ourselves. They destroyed my village as well as many others, and they have murdered our children. I will not sit here and wait to be killed. I will fight with every ounce of strength in my body.”

Over half of the crowd cheered at Reylana’s words. She spoke forcefully, and her words moved the elves. The Overseer shook his head, clearly disagreeing with the sword maiden.

“It will do no harm for the nursemaids to take the children into the woods for safety. Our warriors can arm themselves, but they must not attack the humans unprovoked. I do not wish to start a war over a peaceful passing of troops.”

“Those peaceful troops are the same ones who are murdering your kin just north of here. If you weren’t such a coward, you would arm yourself and lead your warriors into battle. We should slaughter these men for their crimes against all elves!” Reylana’s face grew red with anger. Clearly the elves were divided, and she was desperate to convince them to fight.

“You would have us run to the slaughter,” the Overseer argued. “There is no use in speaking with you.” He walked away and returned to his hut.

“Go on and hide then,” she called after him. “See if that hut will protect you from their magefire!”

Nat approached Reylana as the crowd began to argue amongst themselves. “Reylana,” he said. “There are many of us who would join you in battle. We agree the Overseer is a coward. We should have come to your aid weeks ago when we heard the rumors of war.”

Reylana nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Gather whoever is willing to fight. We will do what we can to defend the village.”

Nursemaids began leading the children deeper into the woods. They would take to the trees in hopes that the Na’zorans would attack the village and leave the forest untouched. A few of the elderly clansmen joined them, but the majority of the elves would stay in the village. Less than half of them were preparing to fight.

Yori followed Darin back to the forge. “What will we do?” he asked.

“I’m guessing those humans didn’t teach you to use a bow,” Darin commented. Yori shook his head in response.

“Can you swing a sword?”

“To check the balance,” Yori replied. “I’ve never fought with one.”

“Take a hammer, then,” his grandfather said. “You may need it.” Darin retrieved his bow from his hut. “I haven’t used this for many years, but I won’t let our village be destroyed without a fight.”

Lem came to Yori’s side and handed him a hammer. The young elf’s eyes were wide with fright, but he was prepared to fight as well. Yori accepted the hammer and squeezed it tightly in his hand. He tried to steady his breathing and stay calm, but his stomach felt as if it were turning cartwheels.

“Let’s hope they’re just passing through,” Darin said. “If not, we’re going to be glad we’re using runed weapons. Too bad we haven’t attached those runed tips to any arrows yet. Those would have been very useful.”

Yori turned to his grandfather and said, “Can’t we just throw them? The scrap metal exploded when you threw it.”