Journey to the Forgotten Island

Chapter 20 - Hope

The wooden structures looked like giant animals, lined up along the edge of the forest. The surviving, hardened infantrymen were lined up in groups in front of the tall wooden giants. The return of the good weather, of the sun, did not seem to lift anybody's spirits. They simply stared grimly at the forest, no hope left in them.

Since the surprise arrival of the ship and food, and the request of the Empire for the island to become profitable, there had been fifteen days of rain and harsh wind. Toma had awoken each morning hoping for the return of the sun. Each time it had rained, he had counted one day lost, one day closer to his possible execution. On the fifteenth morning, another boat had arrived and Dini Erosi had personally handed the ship's captain a case with forty gold coins and five thousand paper gold for the taxed food and goods. The ship had brought livestock, food, weapons, workers, tools. Toma had protested that he had requested none of it – that they should send it back and save money to buy more time. But Dini and Miro said it was the will of the Emperor King and Toma could do nothing. A letter had also come, addressed to Captain Adelmo, from Sub-Commander Torros, that told him he would need to find some resources soon, otherwise he would be 'invited to the Emperor King's council to explain'. The only good thing the ship had brought with it was the weather. For the five days that followed, the sun shone bright and the grasses dried, the floods on the cobbled roads subsided and the deer and wolves returned from the forest, apparently unaffected by whatever had haunted the men. On the sixth day, Toma sent for his men and said the time was now for them to execute their plan.

'I don't understand how this will work,' a soldier said. 'There has been much sun but the woods are wet and dark.'

'You better hope it works,' another soldier said. 'Otherwise we'll all starve.'

'I'd rather starve than eat more deer.'

'Maybe, if we cannot cross the wood they will send us home,' said another, hopefully.

'Or perhaps we'll be sent to the Sola front,' said the first.

They were all quiet at the mention of the Sola front.

Toma tried not to listen to them and focused on the wooden structure. He turned to the head carpenter, 'Are they ready?'

'Like I says, Captain. I never once built one of these trebuchets before but you showed me the plans and I followed 'em. That's alls I can do – do what I'm told,' the carpenter said.

'How can you be a carpenter of the empire and never build a trebuchet?' Miro spat.

'Well,' the carpenter shrugged, 'the Duro army hasn't laid siege to a city since Vulnir. That was thirteen years ago. And if I recall accordingly, the army walked right into Vulnir before the massacre. No catapults or trebuchets needed.'

Dini laughed, 'The man knows his history!'

Miro scowled at the the carpenter who shrugged again and walked to inspect another trebuchet. There were five in total, fifty feet apart. Miro looked at Toma and Toma nodded. The first signs of fear had begun to show on Miro's face in recent days – perhaps he wondered if he too would be held responsible if the settlement failed.

'Load the pouches!' Toma shouted.

Along the line of trebuchets, the soldiers loaded the large bales of hay that had dried in the barns and then in the sun for the last twenty days. Stefano walked along the line, inspecting the angles of the trebuchets and the counterweights.

'Release!' Stefano shouted.

The hay bales, wrapped in rope and weighted with small boulders, flew high into the sky and over and into the canopy of the forest. The soldiers looked at each other, satisfied.