Chapter 120: Reconnaissance
It was a general sigh of reliefe and:
‘You’re right, you’re right.’
‘That doesn’t change the fact that Farheim and Inlang are going to anihilate us,’ said Luc.
‘Indeed,’ said Pierre. ‘That is a problem.’
Neville asked Gregoire for the enemy’s location, but Gregoire didn’t know. He had merely shared War’s relief with the invasion and Pierre’s apparent death.
‘What about our allies?’ asked Pierre. ‘We haven’t heard from the North yet and even the Frontier is silent. Rederico, could you and Old Woman investigate?’
‘I suppose we could, but I’d rather without the crown weighing down my head. It gives me a headache.’
‘I thought you wanted to give your people time to…’
Rederico interrupted Pierre. ‘They love me, but they already follow you. They’ll love me even more if I give you what is already yours.’
‘It is too early. They’ve just lost a queen and king.’
‘The Franish people is impressively strong, don’t you think?’ said Rederico. Thus, that afternoon, in front of everyone who was there to see, Rederico removed from his head a crown made by Leonard the Accident with twigs and daisies, and gave it to Pierre, who didn’t react. Neville took the crown and put it on Pierre’s head.
To the sound of happy voices, Rederico climbed onto the Eliana with Old Woman eaggling at his side. The people cheered for Rederico that, by giving up his crown, was the best King of that broken Farnária.
‘May I come with you?’ asked the Accident. ‘I’d really like to fly.’
‘Sure, why not,’ said Rederico. ‘You, too,’ he pointed at Gregoire, ‘to guide us in the Frontier.’
Leonard kissed Master Healer Marie on the mouth and jumped onto the Eliana. Jean, the cat without a tail, jumped after him. Gregoire climbed up clumsily because the handrail was on the side of his injured hand. Rederico and Leonard hoisted him up, the Old Woman barked to Jean and the red train rose up to the clouds.
‘The Accident, the Abdicated, and I,’ murmured Gregoire. That could be the title for something.
Jean scratched Old Woman’s snout.
First they flew South, to the Frontier. Gregoire took them to Carlaje, but Carlaje was empty.
‘There could be someone inside the houses,’ said Rederico.
‘Pierre’s father should be here,’ said Gregoire, ‘but he doesn’t usually pay attention to things that happen outside his books.’
There was no space for the Eliana to land and the three of them leaned out of the windows to look for any hint of movement. Suddenly, the Accident appeared on the ground.
‘How did you get there?’ asked Rederico.
‘I’m still here,’ said the Accident inside the train. ‘I’m not sure how to go get my body now.’
The cat without a tail jumped onto the window, aimed at Leonard’s body, and jumped off the train. The Accident cling to the cat, who landed gracefully beside the body, even though the train was hovering some six meters high. Leonard took back his body and started looking for people. Gregoire pointed him to the houses that belonged to the important people of Carlage, but they were all empty. Then he guided Leonard to a much bigger, two story building, with many windows and a sign: The FIRST Red Dragon. The word FIRST had clearly been added later, squeezed diagonally between the The and the Dragon.
The Accident went into the inn with Jean on his shoulders. After a few minutes, the cat came out, sat down and began to groom.
Old Woman stopped wagging her tail, stood on her haunches asking for Rederico to pick her up. He obeyed and Old Woman put her paws on the window. She began to bark. Jean looked up uninterested.
‘Is it common for people to abandon a town here in the Frontier?’ Rederico asked.
‘It is not common,’ said Gregoire, ‘but neither is it surprising. In Carlaje there was never a distaster because the darkness avoided the dragon, who bathed here everyday.’ He pointed to the Blood.
Old Woman made a sound that was half bark half howl and Leonard reappeared at the inn door. With him was a man with red skin and hair the color of coal.
‘That’s Pierre’s father,’ said Gregoire.
Pierre’s father and Old Woman stared at each other. They were both still, but Old Woman’s hair stood on her back. Then the man blinked as though he was waking up from a dream and noticed Rederico and Gregoire. The Accident cleared his throat and Pierre’s father gave a jump that would put many a goat to shame.
‘Where did you come from?’
‘I’ve been here for a while,’ said Leonard. ‘I’ve been trying to talk to you but you didn’t hear me.’
‘This is a problem,’ said Pierre’s father. ‘It is a problem I can’t solve, but I’m listening now. How can I help?’
‘Where is the people of Carlaje?’ asked the Accident. ‘Where is the Frontier?’
Pierre’s father pointed to the road that began at the steps of The FIRST Red Dragon. Rederico and Gregoire couldn’t see what he was pointing from up there.
‘Darkness,’ said Pierre’s father. ‘But not from the Land of the Banished. This darkness coms from the North.’
Leonard nodded and suddenly his body was on the Eliana. Jean meowed in protest and jumped over six meters to the train. Leonard came with the cat, recovered his body and said:
‘The road was recently trod by many feet. What is in that direction?’
‘The city of Lourdes,’ said Gregoire.
‘Take us there,’ said Rederico.
The abdicated king leaned out and looked at the man who had made Old Woman howl. The little dog seemed excited. She seemed to like that man. Rederico would have to come back here some day.
The city of Lourdes was also empty but the trail continued on the road West. The next village was empty, but the trail wasn’t so clear.
‘If the Frontier people left,’ said Gregoire, ‘they gathered at the two biggest towns: Lourdes and Carlaje. From there, they marched on.’
‘There was a trail leaving both Carlaje and Lourdes,’ said Leonard, ‘but they didn’t come this far West.’
They flew back over the road. Leonard went down several times until they found where the Frontier had left the road.
‘They went North,’ said the Accident. ‘To Patire.’
They lost the Frontier’s trail there. The temperamental Frontier Forest had swallowed any traces that they had crossed it. Rederico took the Eliana up and North. If the Frontier was not too far, they would find it from the sky. Old Woman wagged her tail, hitting Jean several times. The cat showed his teeth and hissed while trying to stratch the little dog’s tail.
‘Nakamura’s Death!’ said Gregoire. He walked backwards until he hit the locomotive wall.
The Frontier army was positioned at the end of Anuré Valley. Coming down that valley was an army that never ended.
‘So that’s why they didn’t come to Chambert,’ said Rederico.
‘They will be massacred,’ said Gregoire. ‘The Frontier will be decimated.’
‘The Frontier is well positioned at the exit of the valley, said the Accident, but he didn’t sound convincing. Yes, the Frontier had geography on its side, but the army inside the valley outnumbered them by at least four times, and Anuré valley wasn’t narrow enough. There was enough manouvering space there. All the enemy needed was a commander like Neville and the Frontier was done for, with or without geography.
‘We need to bring reinforcements,’ said Rederico. ‘The Eliana has three coaches, we can bring soldiers from Chambert.’
‘Even if we bring all of Chambert here,’ said Gregoire, ‘we’re still going to be outnumbered.’
Rederico nodded, but he seemed to be answering to a thought, not to what Gregoire had said.
‘Leonard, how long do you think that army will take to reach the end of the valley?’
Leonard studied the valley, calculated the army’s speed, and said:
‘Four or five days.’
‘Then we have time to go to Deran and find out what happened to the Rock and Lune,’ said Rederico.
The war train flew over the Oltiens to the Mouth of War. The Accident pointed at the divide between Deran and the South. That devide had hever been visible to the eye, but now a wall of black fog tore Franária from East to West.
‘It wasn’t Fulbert who held back the messengers from the North,’ said Leonard. ‘It was War.’
‘Look at that trail leavint the Mouth at the West,’ said Rederico. ‘That army must have been to the Halls of Snow before turning south to Anuré.’
When they flew over the black fog, it stretched up but couldn’t touch the Eliana. They went to the Rock, but the Rock kept its gates closed and, although all windows had eyes, the doors had no voice. The red train flew thrice around the Rock and turned to Lune.
‘Listen,’ said Leonard. Jean jumped on his shoulders and turned his ears to the mountain.
On one ot the Rock towers stood a blond man with half of his body covered in bandage. He waved his arms and pointed to the north, shouting something that the wind erased. Rederico only heard one word: Lune.
‘I thought Lune was to the East of the Rock,’ said Gregoire.
‘Nowadays I’m not sure of anything anymore.’
They flew North, to Sananssau Forest, which wasn’t as closed, or as temperamental, as the Frontier Forest. Sananssau river was shallow and a few hundred thin, bearded men bathed in it. It reminded Leonard of his own people when they left Debur and went to Chambert.
From a large white rock a woman waved to the Eliana. It was Vivianne.