9. Field of Slain

Quili followed the army’s trail, hoping she was in time to warn them of the eagles’ deceit. The trees hugged each other so tight, however, that most soldiers were forced to walk in each other’s trail. Traferia pressed them all together until their fur scratched trees and snapped vines, creating an even larger mess of leaves and branches.

She couldn’t find the army; she could find a few stragglers. Some Gosti leaned against a tree trunk with eyes closed, which looked like crumbs of sand amidst the much larger lions around them. One heard Quili come and cracked open one eye.

“Oh. You.”

“Has Tibbowe sent you? Like … like …” Their silence betrayed the truth. Tibbowe didn’t know this.

“We can’t,” the Gosti whispered. “This is mad. I’ve eaten too little to raise an arm, and we’re supposed to fight?”

She tried to help the Gosti up with her hooves, then her snout. The only result was that they now slept on top of a lion.

“Listen! Wake up! They are walking straight into a trap!”

More of them opened their eyes. “Why do you think—”

“The eagles are not on our side! They make animals vanish and leave behind a seed, because they secretly have the Windgustwing!”

The Gosti studied each other. “But that is great news!”

“What?”

“Then we have an excuse for staying behind!”

Quili swung the Gosti on his feet. “Which of you is the fastest? Go back to Tibbowe and try to warn him?”

“That would be me,” said the largest lion. “Mane oh mane, being commanded by an Equid, the world is going insane.”

He still listened. Suddenly, he reached top speed, which was dangerous, because he was too tired to run straight. After two almost-collisions with trees, he tried a new running style: push off trees and zigzag just above the ground.

“Does one of you know the path to Darus’ Heavenmatter? Or other details about our actual mission?”

Some Gosti nodded. Tibbowe had taught them formations: if you had enough soldiers, you could make a clever square such that everyone protected each other. They all instantly made that formation; at least their training had been effective.

It was less effective when everyone was too tired to stay in formation.

The group meandered through the woods as if they were all sleepwalking. The lions on the outside kept walking inwards, flattening the Gosti who then had to roll away. When Quili wanted to up the tempo, her paws also gave in and she dove headfirst into the sand. The other creatures had a delayed reaction, so they joined her on the floor soon after. This formation was great at stirring up dirt, but if they met an enemy …

And what if Darus’ object had protection? A monster guard? She’d heard other magical places usually had some tough test you had to overcome.

This was a disaster. “Is it far?”

“I thought we were already there?” a Gosti said, surprised. “Why else are we digging?”

“Because I can barely lift my claws.”

Het werkte minder goed als iedereen te moe was om de formatie aan te houden.

De groep slingerde door het woud alsof ze allemaal slaapwandelden. De leeuwen aan de buitenkant liepen steeds naar binnen toe, waardoor Gosti werden geplet en halsoverkop naar buiten moesten rollen. Toen Quili het tempo wilde verhogen, begaven haar voorpoten het en dook haar snuit als een schep in het zand. De andere dieren reageerden natuurlijk veel te laat en schepten even later met haar mee. Deze formatie kon de grond geweldig omwoelen, maar als ze een vijand tegenkwamen …

En wat als Darus’ hemelvoorwerp beveiliging had? Ze had gehoord dat andere magische plekken vaak een test hadden die je moest doorstaan.

Dit was rampzalig. “Is het nog ver?”

“Ik dacht dat we er al waren?” zei een Gosti verbaasd. “Waarom zijn we anders aan het graven?”

Their bellies rumbled so consistently, that it took a while for Quili to notice that the sky was rumbling too. A thunderstorm was coming. The first raindrops fell. It would turn into a heavy rainstorm that could last for days. The name Rainforest, which some animals used, was used more and more by her as well.

“Almost there,” the lion bellowed over the patter of raindrops. The roar was answered by someone far away. They must have drawn close to the other army, but the curtain of heavy rain made it impossible to see further than one lion’s length.

The rain washed away the dirt they just stirred up.

It revealed a purple-blue plate.

As if a cave was built underground, then covered with earth. The discovery recharged her. She ran over the stone path that appeared, looking for a way in. The other animals were recharged too and spread out to reveal more of the plate. This had to be a giant cave, just below the surface. No matter how far they ran, or how much dirt washed away, it kept going. She felt like she walked in a large circle, back to camp.

Thunder struck. The plate took it. No, the plate absorbed it, as if plucking the beam from the air. The stone grew a yellow-red ring, which grew and grew, until it became visible below the surface.

Another roar sounded shortly after.

The ring had reached the other army too. They must be close.

Very close.

From the rain drops, the heads of wolves formed. Two shiny jaws opened right before her snout. A lion’s claw pulled them shut again, and two Gosti bound them with rope.

More thunder. More flashes. It briefly illuminated the entire battle field.

Tibbowe and two other soldiers had walked into the trap. They were now trapped inside that tiny cave, together with Pricecats, though the door had been ripped off its hinges.

The others had heard the warning in time. Didrik zoomed over the battle field and helped wherever soldiers were outnumbered. With Tibbowe locked up, he automatically became the new commander.

Now that the eagles had shown their turn colors, their army had a distinct lack of air soldiers. The elephants pulled entire trees out of the dirt to hold overhead like a shield. The Gosti always kept the sharp ends of their spears pointed upward. Cosmo was the only guardian amidst the clouds.

Quili looked back and forward. Between the trap … and the cave below her feet which had to contain Darus’ Heavenmatter. The very powerful magical object. The thing Cosmo assumed would win them the war.

She made a choice.

“The king! Save the king!”

She jumped on a lion’s back. The tired group was able to find their formation again and race to the cave entrance. Other soldiers, of both armies, dodged this sharp arrow as it came to the rescue. Quili hid in the lion’s manes when an eagle descended—Cosmo snatched the animal in his beak just in time.

The cave was nothing more than three large stones that stood close together. This made a tiny, dead-end room. From the outside, it might seem the hiding place for the God of Stone, but from the inside this was a laughable idea. The Pricecats surrounded Tibbowe in the center, but that forced one feline to stand with his back to the opening. He heard the formation come, looked behind, and could not react in time.

Quili’s army stomped over the first two Pricecats. Tibbowe’s own guards had already died. The king stood alone, wildly kicking and scratching. The encirclement stood strong. The Pricecats were formidable creatures, certain and blood-thirsty.

Now they had also surrounded Quili.

“Appreciate the gesture,” Tibbowe said through clenched teeth, “but save yourself.”

“I do. By saving the animal that keeps me safe.”

She sounded so sure. She was merely sure she’d be eaten by a Pricecat any moment now. The circle around them shrank and shrank. Tibbowe was the center of a pile of soldiers who could no longer flee.

I hope the gods also rule the heavens where dead animals go, she thought. And they see, in the end, that I was really on their side.

Something hard and unyielding scraped her head. A dull thud was followed by more dull thuds. She didn’t dare open her eyes. Yes, she was a worthless fighter. What soldier closes their eyes when—

Somebody pulled her away. She felt raindrops again, on her fur and her face, opening her eyes by instinct.

A bear, roughly the same size as Tibbowe, used a door as a weapon. One that was far too pretty for such use. Pricecat after Pricecat received the flat, unbreakable wood to their nose, jaw, ribs or hind leg. And on his back sat a familiar Equid.

“Get them! Yes! Let them feel the strength of Beardoors!” Epoh yelled, soaking wet, but her eyes fresh and sharp. Wolves leapt for her. Eagles bit into her skin, an ant’s length away from being taken.

She is alive! She is alive! When it truly mattered, she risked her life to save Quili. It made her earlier actions easier to forgive.

She felt she was just glad animals were alive—anything else barely mattered.

Her group was quickly commanded by Tibbowe to fall back. Lions complained about “more running”. Not all soldiers got away, for as they fell back, they were chased by the remaining enemies.

Another thunderstrike. A red circle grew below the surface—the purple-blue plate had been hit again. The beer placed the door on his back to allow carrying smaller soldiers. Epoh too.

Quili did not hesitate and jumped next to her.

Their eyes met. Without a word, they bumped snouts, and Epoh gave her friend a quick kiss on her forehead.

“This is Bunjo!” Epoh yelled. “He will—”

When they reached the top of the hill, Bunjo threw the door onto the floor like a sled.

The journey downwards was bumpy and painful, but at least twenty soldiers were safe now.

Or so she thought.

Eagles circled their camp from the sky, with Pricecats and wolves in their claws. Did it never end!?

A few small creatures on a door were, fortunately, not their main interest. Once the others followed Tibbowe down the hill, the two armies clashed again.

Unfortunately, Quili’s garden stood between the two.

The battle moved to the stone spiral, upward, where animals had to fight diagonally and mostly tried to shove each other off the edge. Didrik climbed to the top and slid down, as if it was a playful slide, while kicking away enemy legs as he passed by.

She and Epoh jumped off the door as it passed the garden. They jumped in a dirt square full of … strong stalks and blossoming plants.

How did it grow so fast? This was … this was food!

Quili wanted to take a bite, but Epoh nudged her. They dodged the first stampeding horde passing through her garden. She stood protectively before the stalks, as if her body would stop an entire army.

“Stop it! Place your paws somewhere else!”

An elephant nearly destroyed the whole thing. Epoh pranced to force him the other way.

Two wolves ran for the elephant, plant stalks stuck in their nails. Quili bit every which way to send them around the garden. Each stalk that survived was a victory.

“Stop fighting! Stop fighting here!”

Epoh repaired the wooden fences and pushed them deeper into the dirt. Quili wished for the quick fingers of the Gosti, instead of massive hooves.

Venomous snakes slithered through her garden and took some more seeds with them. Quili really wanted to bite their tail. This time, she found it warranted.

Epoh and her chased away all intruders from their home.

Her army was losing. Her garden survived, yes, but if this continued, everything else would die anyway.

Nobody had expected that the enemy would suddenly flee.

A whispered message was passed on. All enemies turned around. Away from this camp, away from their own camp, possibly away from Traferia. Just … gone. They gave up? What?

Their army was too tired and surprised to cheer or congratulate each other.

Tibbowe looked skeptical. “Calm yourselves. Don’t be too happy just yet.”

All meat eaters jumped on the deceased enemy soldiers. They devoured the meat with no sense of limits or modesty. It was the first time Tibbowe’s commands were ignored entirely. The king was too hungry himself to do something about it.

All plant eaters looked at the garden. Quili’s garden. It had stayed alive, holding enough food for all. In all the chaos, two friends had kept the garden alive. Smiling, they fell into each other’s paws.

“I am sorry,” they said simultaneously, after which a rumbling belly took over the conversation.

They attacked. Rabbits, sheep, Gosti, but mostly Equids devoured the mais and grain. Entire fields disappeared and still Quili felt hungry. Not so strange after lacking food for a week. The horse-like creatures ate so quickly and enthusiastically, that Didrik invented a new saying: “Ha, I am hungry like a horse!”

They made a careful expedition to the enemy camp, but found it spookily deserted. A wooden circle awaited Didrik there, who had to move on immediately. He did ask Quili if she didn’t want to join the Companions without King. She didn’t have to think about it. She had found her place—her king.

Tibbowe was disappointed about the Stone of Destinydust, which is what Darus had named his own object. Still he rewarded Quili for saving his life. He promised to expand the territory around his palace, giving all prey animals in a wide area a safe haven. He created a new group who were now tasked with tending the gardens and filling food storages.

Never again, he vowed, kings had to look on as their subjects starved. Quili and Epoh, as first Advisors of Agriculture, would help him.