from the darkness. They nodded to Weylind before glancing toward Edmund. Essie was pretty sure they were the elven scouts who had gone with Edmund scouting the border.
Julien glanced at the group. “Looks like everyone is here. Let’s move out.”
“We will give you two hours until we start the bombardment.” Averett patted Julien’s shoulder one last time. The information was nothing new. They had gone over this mission several times over the past few hours. All of the details were drilled into their heads.
“We’ll be in place.” Julien nodded first to Averett, then Weylind. Then he shouldered his pack and led the way. The Escarlish soldiers fell into step behind him.
Essie hurried to fall into line. She didn’t want to take up the rear, even if she was the slowest of all of them. Not that her brothers were likely to let her lag behind.
Edmund came after Essie, with the elven scouts after him. At this time in the morning, few were moving about the encampment yet. Most of the soldiers were still sleeping, catching the last bit of rest before they were roused for battle. A few of the commanders were already up, going over the last few items for the plan while the artillery men were also awake, quietly moving their cannons and stores of ammunition into place under the cover of darkness.
Julien led the way to the faint trail going down the plateau, out of sight of Gror Grar. Still, they didn’t talk as they wound their way into the gorge.
Essie tried to keep from kicking stones loose or making noise, a difficult task in the near darkness. She tried not to glance to the edge, where nothing stood between her and a long drop to the bottom, a bottom she couldn’t even see in the darkness. Only the stars provided illumination.
Edmund and the elves behind her glided down the trail without a sound. The soldiers ahead of her crunched on the gravel, but even they didn’t make a lot of noise compared to the usual Escarlish soldier. They must be specially trained. Not surprising, given they were on this mission.
By the time they reached the bottom, Essie’s thighs burned from holding herself back against the steep downward incline. But she would not complain. They still had a long way to hike that night, and that was just the beginning. Who knew what would be demanded of them once they reached Gror Grar?
At the bottom, Edmund took the lead. He led them in the shadow of the cliff wall, sticking as close to the jagged stone as possible. Since they couldn’t light a lamp or a candle or any light that would give them away to any trolls watching from the walls of Gror Grar, they were left to stumble in the dark.
At least, Essie was stumbling over rocks and pitfalls she couldn’t see in the near darkness. This whole sneaking into the fortress was a lot less glamorous than she had expected. She struggled to keep her breathing steady. Edmund was setting a fast pace, and she was breathing hard. She might have to join Farrendel in his morning exercise sessions, if she was going to participate in sneak attacks.
Though, once she got Farrendel back, hopefully she wouldn’t have to. He would be safe, and Weylind and Averett would have taken the fortress and forced the trolls to surrender.
She would focus on that. Not on the winding gorge or the deep darkness shrouding them. Tonight, they would get Farrendel back.
After hiking for what felt like three hours, though was probably more like one, Essie glanced up and caught her breath. The jagged towers of Gror Grar loomed far above, the wall a flat, menacing presence far above them.
Essie swallowed. It had looked formidable facing it across the gorge. But she had been surrounded by two armies. Now, it was just the nine of them, hiding in this gorge like mice compared to the might of Gror Grar above.
She reached back and gripped the stock of her rifle where it rested by her thigh. No matter how intimidating, she had to go in there, for Farrendel.
Edmund led them around the mountain where Gror Grar perched until the wall disappeared as it melded into the mountain itself with the mountain’s peak forming the tallest tower of the fortress.
Finally, Edmund halted and pointed upward. “Here.” He kept his voice low, even if they appeared to be alone.
Were they alone? Would the trolls have someone watching this back entrance?
Essie pressed