CHAPTER 17. THE HERMITS PREPARE TO ATTACK

Warden Appo was furious that the Bignoses had managed to escape. Their escape had ruined all his plans. He understood perfectly well who was to blame. But the Warden could hardly punish himself, of course. So he ordered that the goblin who had guarded the cellar be thrown into a cage. The poor fellow was accused of not hearing the prisoners make their way out of confinement. The Counselor came in for blame as well. In Appo’s view, Torul should have advised him to search through everything that had belonged to the Bignoses.
“If you don’t give the right advice at the right time, then what use is such a counselor to me?” he reproached. “And wasn’t it you who said the Bignoses were foolish goblins? Yet it turns out they were clever enough to slip away from us unnoticed.”
“Forgive my lack of foresight, Warden. Perhaps I even deserve punishment. But still, I see no need for it, since nothing terrible has happened,” the Counselor answered ingratiatingly.
“What do you mean, nothing happened? I think you have no doubt either that the Bignoses got out of there with the help of Ant Power. And if that’s so, then right now they’re moving home very quickly, and soon they’ll tell everyone everything they saw and learned. Their goblinum, and perhaps all the goblinums of the Bignoses, will start preparing for our attack. So we won’t be able to strike them by surprise anymore,” the Warden answered irritably.
“I dare to disagree with you. Surprise doesn’t matter much to us. What matters is something else — how much Ant Power we have, and how much they have. Besides, the backbone of our army will be well-trained warriors, while on their side will stand yesterday’s shepherds and field workers. So who, then, will have strength and luck on their side? I have no doubt it will be us. Yes, without surprise there will be a few more fallen goblins. But war doesn’t come without death, any more than day comes without sunlight,” Torul explained calmly.
“Now that’s the real Counselor Torul I see before me again — the one who instills confidence wherever doubt appears,” Appo said, his tone much softer now.
“I am glad to serve the ruler of the Hermits,” the Counselor said, bowing his head.
“Yes, yes, you’re right. That’s exactly what all our Wardens call me now. But I don’t think that’s necessary at all. After all, what matters isn’t what you’re called, but how you’re treated. Very often the one who flatters you to your face wishes you ill behind your back. So the coming clash with the Bignoses will show which of the Wardens’ oaths was genuine, and who turned out to be a skilled flatterer.”
“Your insight is worthy of praise, Warden. Tell me, how soon will the goblins arrive to reinforce your army?”
“I expect them in four days. I sent Dagul along with the Wardens. He’ll help them manage it faster. As soon as the goblins are here, we’ll begin preparing for the campaign. I think two or three days will be enough to teach them to hold a sword. And the main striking force will be our warriors, led by Lukdun. Sometimes it seems to me that with Ant Power, that goblin alone could stand against an entire army of Bignoses.”
“I think you’re exaggerating a little. Though Lukdun truly is a very strong goblin, and your best warrior. That’s precisely why he needs to be watched closely — so that he doesn’t turn his sword against you. For that is exactly where the danger of Ant Power lies,” the Counselor observed cautiously. And he said this not because he was concerned for Appo, but because he did not want Lukdun’s power to grow.
“Don’t worry, Torul. Lukdun is completely devoted to me, and he’s proven it more than once. Besides, I don’t intend to keep granting him, or anyone else, Ant Power without end. Each will receive exactly as much as the task requires. And I keep the pouches where no one can get to them without my knowledge.”
“Don’t think I’m trying to find out where you keep the Ant Power. I only wanted to warn you about Lukdun,” the Counselor said, growing flustered.
“Lukdun is, without question, a strong warrior. But don’t forget that I’m not the weakest goblin in our goblinum either, and I can handle a sword no worse than he can,” the Warden said confidently.
“Oh, of course, Warden. I always remember that. After all, no one submits to a weak goblin,” Torul said obsequiously.
“Ha-ha! Once again you’ve used your main weapon — flattery. Listen, maybe I don’t need Ant Power at all to conquer the forest goblins. I’ll simply send you to every goblinum.”
“Flattery is the lot of the weak. The lot of the strong is not words, but deeds. So why speak of what you want, when you can do it?”
“And I will certainly do it,” Appo said confidently.
He fell silent for a moment, then continued:
“Now give me some advice. I’m thinking of sending someone to the Bignoses’ goblinum. Let them watch what’s happening there. When we set out, we’ll meet up with them somewhere halfway there. Perhaps they’ll notice something important. Something that will help us win quickly and easily. What do you think?”
“That is an excellent idea, worthy of a true strategist. The Bignoses escaped only recently, so our eyes will be near their goblinum in the very thick of the preparations. And I am sure they will manage to see what the Bignoses will try to hide from us until the very start of the battle. It seems to me the best goblins for this would be those who have already been to those places.”
“Are you talking about Uruk and our little freak? But you’ve probably forgotten that those blockheads were spotted last time. And if I didn’t punish Dagul, that doesn’t mean at all that I won’t punish them too,” the Warden said menacingly.
“That’s exactly where the whole secret lies. Right now they feel guilty, and so they’ll be especially careful. I think they suspect that a second mistake would cost them very dearly,” Torul explained.
“Well, all right. I suppose I’ll agree with you. Let it be Uruk and Brakha, then. And so that they get there as quickly as possible, I’ll give them Ant Power.”
“That is the right decision, Warden.”
“Then bring them to me.”
Torul bowed and went out.
Meanwhile, Appo took his most valuable casket out of the chest. Before opening it, for some reason he glanced around, though he was completely alone. Pleased with the casket’s contents, he took out six pouches. The Warden understood it was better to give Uruk and Brakha Ant Power than to send them riding on rams. But once the pouches were in his hands, he no longer wanted to give them up. Right now he didn’t want to give even a single pouch to anyone.
Then others, too, will come to know that incredible power I had. What if someone really decides there’s no more need to submit — that instead, one can make others submit to oneself? Myself included. Maybe Torul is right, and this truly is the curse of Ant Power. You don’t control it — it controls you. No, no. I won’t allow that. I alone command it. And as soon as we march against the Bignoses, my power will not run dry for a single moment.
The opening door interrupted Appo’s thoughts.
As soon as Uruk and Brakha entered, the Warden’s face immediately turned stern. Uruk, remembering their last conversation, guessed that he was, after all, to blame. Brakha, however, was not particularly troubled by the menacing look — he had already grown used to everything, and now simply stood there, as if he had resigned himself to the inevitable.
“So our failed spies have finally arrived. It was you, Uruk, you clumsy blockhead, whom those Bignoses spotted in the tree. I promised I’d find out everything. Well, I have. You’re the main culprit. Because of you, the Bignoses immediately realized that someone had been digging around in the anthills. Because of you, they came here to kill me.” Appo said all this deliberately, so that fear would take complete hold of Uruk’s mind, leaving nothing but blind obedience.
“You deserve the harshest punishment,” he continued.
“Warden, but I haven’t done anything wrong. I only did what Dagul told me to do,” Brakha began quietly, trying to defend himself, not wanting to be punished without even understanding what for.
“Silence, you little freak!” the Warden shouted. “I’m certain you behaved carelessly too, which means you’re guilty as well.”
Brakha did not dare argue, understanding perfectly well that if Appo had judged someone guilty, that was how it would remain, until he himself decided otherwise.
“We admit our guilt, and we’re ready to do everything to make up for it,” Uruk said in a trembling voice, lowering his head.
Good. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, the Warden thought, then said aloud: “You say you’re ready for anything. But I strongly doubt you’re fit for anything beyond pulling weeds in a field.”
“Believe me, I won’t fail you again,” Uruk pleaded.
A tense silence fell. Appo pretended to be deciding what to do with the guilty ones.
“I think I can still give you one more task, after all. Carrying it out will show just how loyal you are to me, and whether you’re capable of anything at all,” he said at last.
These words visibly let both goblins breathe easier.
“Thank you, Warden. Whatever you need from us, we’ll do it quickly and without being noticed,” Uruk said, brightening.
“That’s exactly the part that must be done without being noticed. You will go to the Bignoses’ goblinum, the one you visited recently. You’ll watch everything that happens around it. I intend to seize that goblinum, and I want to know how they’ll defend it. In eight days you must return to the Stone Bridge and wait for us there.”
“But, Warden, the journey there will take no less than four days. And that’s if we ride almost without stopping, risking losing our rams. To get back to the bridge will take another two or three days. That means we’ll only be near the goblinum for a very short time,” Uruk explained anxiously. He was afraid that in so short a time they wouldn’t manage to notice anything important, and would therefore fail the Warden.
“Don’t be so quick to complain. You’ll have enough time,” Appo said, and showed his open palm with six pouches on it. “You already know these. With this power, you’ll arrive there faster than any riding ram.”
He paused briefly.
“One pouch gives power for two days. Three pouches each will be quite enough. You may go to the Iron-master and choose weapons for yourselves. Even though you’ll have the power, anything could happen. And most important of all — the Bignoses must not see you. Let alone catch you.”
The Warden gave both goblins a menacing look.
“I swear, Warden, this time we’ll do everything exactly as you ordered, and we’ll be at the Stone Bridge on time,” Uruk answered confidently.
Brakha only nodded, without a word.
“You may go.”
The goblins left Warden Appo’s house with completely different feelings. Uruk’s joy knew no bounds, though he tried to hide it. When the Warden had begun accusing him, he had already resigned himself to the inevitability of punishment. But, fortunately, Appo’s anger had given way to mercy. And now, in gratitude for his kindness, Uruk was ready to do absolutely anything. Even the Ant Power in his hand did not trouble the goblin much — he thought only of how to please the Warden. And if he’d been offered something else to drink right then, he would have done it without hesitation, even if it turned out to be poison.
The Warden had gotten exactly what he wanted. Uruk was in complete submission, and on top of that, he still felt grateful. Right now he was walking quickly home for his sword and other things. He and Brakha had agreed to meet near the fields on the western edge of the goblinum.
Brakha, however, felt no joy at all. He wasn’t thinking about the Warden, or about his threats, at all. Right now, all the little goblin’s thoughts were occupied by the three pouches in his hand. He hadn’t at all expected to get them so easily and so quickly. And three all at once, too. Now his body would finally get to feel what Ant Power was like. And after that — who knew? Maybe he’d manage to escape from Uruk and never come back to these lands steeped in the stench of the swamp.
He remembered well the words of a Bignose named Mor, who had said that in their goblinum, even a goblin who was a stranger would be given a home. But Brakha understood something else too: everything was heading toward war. And it could well happen that wherever he fled, the Hermits would soon come there too. Then Appo would not simply punish him. He would most likely want to kill him. For that not to happen, the Warden had to be stripped of the Ant Power. Brakha knew where it was kept. But how to steal the casket? And most important, he still had no idea how to open it. So he decided to carry out the Warden’s task, and see what happened after that.
The little goblin went to get a weapon from the Iron-master, since he had no sword of his own. Stepping into the workshop, he found the master and several helpers at work. One was fanning the forge, another was heating iron, another was shaping blade blanks. But the main work was left to the master. On a sturdy block covered with a thick iron sheet, he gave the blades their final shape, then sharpened them on a special stone.
Seeing Brakha, the master was pleased, thinking a volunteer helper had come. But it quickly turned out that the goblin had not come to help, but to get a sword. Brakha did not explain why he needed a weapon, merely citing the Warden’s order.
The master had quite a few finished swords, but all of them were made for ordinary goblins. Brakha was not one of those. The master understood perfectly well that in his frail hand, such a sword would be more of a burden than a weapon. So he decided to make a smaller sword. Luckily, another blank was already lying on the block.
Brakha, of course, did not mention that he possessed something thanks to which even the largest sword would have felt to him like a light blade of grass. The master began hammering energetically, and Brakha had nothing to do but wait. So as not to be in anyone’s way, he sat down in a far corner of the workshop, and out of boredom began looking around at everything. Nearby stood small and large boxes with hammers, tongs, chisels, and other bits of metal whose purpose was unknown to him.
Glancing lazily into another box, Brakha saw a heap of keys. There lay both whole and broken keys to all sorts of different locks. Sliding his gaze over them, he was already about to move on to the next box, when one of the keys caught his attention. A moment later, he realized what key this was. From intense excitement the little goblin flushed red, and large beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. Naturally, no one noticed. First, everyone was busy with their work. Second, the heat in the workshop made a red face an ordinary thing.
Brakha stared at the key as if bewitched, unable to look away. The very key he had been thinking about, the one whose hiding place he could not imagine, turned out to be very close by. All that was needed was to lean forward just a little and reach out a hand.
His first thought was to grab it, stuff it in his bag, and immediately run out of the workshop. But the goblin quickly came to his senses and cast aside that foolish idea.
Having calmed down a little, Brakha carefully looked around and made sure no one was paying him any attention.
So, this is who was chosen to be keeper of the key. Our Warden really is very clever. The Iron-master is one of the goblins most devoted to him. And he has no great power, unlike Lukdun or Torul. Besides, he doesn’t know what’s kept in the casket. That’s why he tossed the key in among all the other ordinary keys. But it’s too soon to take it yet. What would I do with it right now? And what if its disappearance is discovered quickly? No. I need to wait. Once I’m back in the goblinum, that’s when I’ll come here, Brakha thought, nervously fidgeting with his fingers.
Only a little time passed before the master called him over, handing him a sword that was still warm. The little goblin liked it at once: the weapon sat comfortably in his hand and did not weigh it down at all. The sword did not look perfect. The master did not want to keep someone who had come at the Warden’s order waiting too long, and so he hurried. But this did not trouble Brakha in the least. Thanking the master, he left the workshop, barely holding himself back from turning around to look at the corner with the boxes.
Quickly reaching the meeting place, Brakha saw Uruk pacing nervously back and forth.
“Where have you been wandering off to? You don’t even have a cloak to go and fetch, and the Iron-master has a whole pile of ready-made swords,” the displeased goblin grumbled.
Brakha apologized and explained that he had been waiting for the Iron-master to make him a smaller sword.
“Ah, right, I completely forgot your scrawny little arm can’t lift a proper goblin sword. If the Warden sees us right now, still lingering by the fields, he’ll be very surprised — and then he’ll get angry. Only this time it’ll be you who’s to blame, and I’ll gladly tell him so. Let me remind you that we’re setting out on this journey without riding rams. So don’t go thinking you’re anything special,” Uruk went on.
“I’m ready. We can set off,” Brakha answered calmly. He didn’t want to argue with this foolish goblin. Brakha despised him, but he couldn’t answer back, since Uruk was far stronger than he was. Still, that didn’t matter right now. A main goal had appeared, one Brakha was determined to reach. For its sake, he was willing to endure a little longer.
His calm reply cooled Uruk down a little.
“Fine. Right now we’ll move along the river. Once we cross the Stone Bridge, we’ll run along the Road of the Four Clans first. That’ll be faster. Then we’ll turn off into the forest and reach the Bignoses’ goblinum. We’ll see what the Ant Power gives us. Maybe we’ll be there in as little as two or three days,” Uruk explained, having decided that, of course, he was the one in charge this time.
Brakha did not claim leadership at all, and merely nodded.
Having agreed on everything, the goblins each tossed one pouch into their mouths and bit down on it. A few moments later, a pleasant warmth appeared — the Ant Power had begun to take effect.
Uruk had already been a sturdy, tall goblin even before this, and now he felt like a true cave bear. He might have compared himself to something else, but Uruk’s knowledge of forest creatures was quite modest. A cave bear seemed to him the very limit of strength.
Brakha, however, had for some reason been certain that his body would grow bigger, and that for the first time in his life he would stop being embarrassed by it. But outwardly nothing changed. His inner sensations, though, turned out to be completely new. His arms and legs felt as though they had turned to iron. The little goblin wanted to test himself at once.
He drew his sword and swung it sharply several times. The weapon slid through the air amazingly easily. Brakha could hardly feel its weight.
“That’s enough playing around. Time to go,” Uruk said.
Brakha fastened the sword to his belt, and they ran off.
The goblinum quickly shrank from a large dark-gray blotch into a small dot, and before long vanished into the distance altogether. The whole time, they didn’t feel the slightest tiredness. Their legs stayed strong, their breathing even and calm. It seemed as though they weren’t running at all, but simply strolling along unhurriedly.
Uruk kept marveling at his new strength. He was certain that by morning they would reach the Stone Bridge. And from there, it wouldn’t be far at all to the Bignoses’ goblinum. So the Warden’s task would be carried out better than anyone could ask.
Brakha was glad too. For the first time in his life he didn’t feel his usual weakness, and could run alongside Uruk, who was enormous compared to him. But he wasn’t thinking about the Warden’s task at all. Another thought occupied him — how to keep at least one pouch in reserve, in case he needed to leave the goblinum quickly once the key was in his hands.
So they continued on their way, each thinking his own thoughts.
Meanwhile, Warden Appo continued preparing for the clash with the Bignoses.
After Uruk and Brakha left, he spoke with the Counselor for a long time, and then ordered Lukdun to gather all the warriors in the square. Once they had lined up in even rows, the Warden announced that from now on they would be called the army of the Hermits, which would very soon show its strength.
“And this will not simply be the strength of Hermit warriors. I will give you a power that no goblin clan will be able to withstand. You will become invincible. Then, at last, we will take the place we deserve in the Goblin Forest.
“First of all, we will take revenge on the Bignoses, whose spies recently prowled around our goblinum and then treacherously fled. We will find plenty of tasty food among them, food which, out of their greed, they refuse to share with anyone.
“But legend has it that the Supreme Rider gave this forest to all goblins. That means the Goblin Forest is our shared home, not only theirs. Therefore, we too have a right to part of that land, and we will gladly share our own with them.
“In the lean years, we received no help from them at all. Yet our clan guards the entire eastern border of the forest, while the Bignoses live peacefully, protected on every side. This injustice must be corrected — where some enjoy benefits they don’t deserve, while others are forced to make do with little and give all their strength to defending our shared home. And our march to the west will restore justice.”
The Warden was trying to kindle anger and hatred in his warriors, and for that purpose he was ready to say anything at all. This was what Torul had advised him to do. Judging by everything, the advice had proven successful. The goblins growled menacingly and raised their swords over their heads.
Only Lukdun remained motionless.
The whole time, he had stood beside the Warden, calmly watching what was happening. The reasons for the coming war interested him little. What drew him far more was the war itself.
It didn’t matter whether it began with the Bignoses or with someone else. He wanted to test himself in a real battle. All the more so with the power the Warden had promised to give.
Lukdun suspected that in the recent fight against five goblins, the Warden had used precisely this power. If all the warriors now possessed it too, the army of the Hermits truly would become invincible.
And he would be the one commanding it.
Every goblin it conquered would come to know the name of Lukdun. And then he would become the greatest warrior among all the goblins ever born in this forest.
“Lukdun, be ready for the reinforcements to arrive. I think Dagul will bring the goblins very soon now. And remember: you’ll have no more than three days to teach them to fight. I can’t give you more time than that. While they’re not here yet, get the wagons ready. Load into them everything we’ll need on the march and in battle,” the Warden ordered.
“It will be done, Warden. Three days is, of course, a short time. But if we have no more time than that, then the goblins will continue learning in battle itself. So you need not worry,” Lukdun answered.
“That’s right, Lukdun. The stone has already started rolling down the mountain, and there’s no way to stop it.”
With these words, the Warden set off for his own house. Lukdun remained in the square and, without delay, began giving orders.