THE LIGHT IN THE NORTH

CHAPTER 12 - The Road to Otta

There were forty-two second year elves at Fjaerland, which was a good number. Sergeant Olt had two useful jobs that needed doing, that could be given to the elves for their expedition tasks, so he was inclined to split them. The only thing that gave him pause was what had happened last time he’d put them into teams. He was still pondering this when General Herdalen messaged him, asking him to pop into the mess for a drink. It was rather late, but the sergeant readily agreed. Maybe the general could help him decide what to do.
A few minutes later, he was relaxing with a cool beer.
“Thanks for coming out so late,” said the general, stretching out his long legs as if he was tired.
“I was ready for a break,” said the sergeant. “Still can’t decide what to do about the expeditions.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about! What can’t you decide about?”
“How to split them up.”
“Ah, yes. I think it would avoid problems if you just accept the realities, don’t you?”
“Yes, I suppose I do. It just seems a bit defeatist – as if I ought to be encouraging them to work together - but I can do that here on camp. Sending them off on their own, it seems safer to avoid potential conflicts. They’ll have enough to worry about without that. There are a couple of problems with that, though. Not all of them are so firm in their beliefs as others. I don’t want to be pushing waverers in the wrong direction. The other is, who on earth do I choose to lead the Loyalists? There isn’t a good leader among them.”
“Is that what they’re calling themselves?” said the general. “Huh. There are older loyalties, I think… still, never mind that now. The best leader on that side isn’t a team leader at all, but Wayne Langdon.”
“He’s a good choice, but won’t Cor be offended?”
“You can get round it, because Wayne is the oldest. All you have to do is make sure the other team is led by their oldest.”
“That could work well, because it won’t be Ace, and frankly he doesn’t need the practice.”
“Who would it be? So long as it’s not someone hopeless…”
“No, it would be Alnus, so that’s all right.”
“That’s fine. He’s a good lad, but a bit quiet, it would do him good to lead a big group. Now, as for your waverers, that’s a good point. I suggest you put the lists up tomorrow, and give it out that if anyone’s not happy with his group, he’s allowed to swap to the other one. That makes it clear that you’re respecting their choices and not forcing anyone.”
“That just leaves the destinations, then,” said the sergeant, looking more at ease. “Now there, the problem is that one task is very much more exciting than the other. How to make it fair?”
“What are our side calling themselves? The Rebels? And loving every minute of it, I’m sure… I want the Rebels to go to Otta to collect the delivery. You see, it’s by way of being rather secret. Now, there’s no reason why any of the recruits should know what’s in the packages, but if anything should become known, I’d rather it wasn’t by people who may one day be fighting against us.”
“If that’s the case, then there’s no question about it,” said the sergeant. “They’re not going to be very pleased, though, when they find out what the other team are going to do.”
“Ah, in that case, just tell them the delivery is coming from Germany,” said the general. “That should do the trick.”


As the officers had foreseen, there was plenty of grumbling when the Rebels discovered they had to trek across country to Otta, just to collect some parcels, when their rivals were going to be camping out near the waterfall at Helgedalen, and panning for gold in the mountain streams.
But no-one changed sides, and no-one complained about the chosen leaders. Alnus looked a bit stunned and nervous, but Ace was quick to thump him on the back and tell him he’d be great. On the appointed morning, Sergeant Olt and Corporal Lavall took them down to the fjord and crossed them all over in boats, then called them together for some final instructions.
“We’ll be here again to meet you all one week from today,” he said. “If you can message to Signals with your approximate time of arrival, so much the better. Remember that good unison work will make light of the journeys. Bring back those packages, and bring back some gold, but as well as that, enjoy yourselves! These expeditions are meant to be fun. So, Wayne, you have your compass? Get your direction, then, and form up your team.”

Wayne looked proud and serious as he gave the order to line up, and only three of them knew how unhappy he must be feeling inside. Maybe it helped that Alnus shook hands with him and wished him luck. Will hoped he knew how much his friends admired his courage. He watched them go, slowly but neatly at first, and then picking up speed until they were out of sight. He turned back to his own team, to see Sergeant Olt patting Lauro consolingly on the shoulder.
“Very hard, very hard indeed, when causes split friends up,” he said. “If it’s any help, I’m immensely proud of you all for having the courage of your convictions. And so is General Herdalen,” he added impressively. “I know it doesn’t sound so much fun, your expedition, but the general specially asked for this team, for this job. And he said I could tell you that these parcels are coming from Germany.”
They were perking up already, he could see, and looking interested.
“I don’t have to remind you what’s in Germany – the Technical Section. I wouldn’t be surprised if these things weren’t parts for something important. Probably illegal and probably top-secret. He wouldn’t want the other team knowing anything about that now, would he?”
There was no doubt about it, that had done the trick. Every single one of them was looking delighted now, knowing that they were trusted, and that their mission was more important than they’d thought.
“Bright sparks, all of you,” he smiled. “You’ll all chip in with your own ideas, I know, and nothing wrong with that. Just remember that Alnus is in charge, and his decision is final. And one last thing – you’re going to a sizeable human town, so remember to keep out of sight! All right then – ready, Alnus? Line them up, and off you go!”


Their officers watched them go, and sighed.
“I’ll miss them,” said Corporal Lavall. “But at least it’ll be a nice quiet week.”
“That’s what you think,” said Sergeant Olt. “We’re going to clean out the office, and catch up with the paperwork.”
“Huh,” said the corporal. “All right, then. But I want one day off,” he stuck up for himself. “Just to lie on my back in the forest and do nothing at all, except send messages to all my friends.”
“Oh, go on then,” grinned the sergeant. “I think we can manage that.”


There were sixteen elves in Alnus’ group, which made a perfect square. The shape of it pleased Will very much as they covered the first few miles in a just-visible unison, getting used to the feel of it, and concentrating on thinking as one. Fran, Betch, Peter and Gran had the outside edges, as they had the height and strength to hold the line. Will and Ace had the back corners, as they were the most difficult positions for concentration, and their advantages were a good help with that. It was wonderful to watch how the square would move like a single organism, sometimes squeezing itself into a diamond, then easing out again. Ross, at front left, was pathfinder, and the shape-changing happened when he led them out into a curve. All he had to worry about was the terrain, and how fast Alnus was moving. It was his job to take them all across the best ground.
Alnus was at front right. He’d given himself the job of pace-setter, because his average build help him set a speed that was right for everyone. Kes and Vin were the look-outs. They were in the centre of the front row, and only having to watch Ross and Alnus, they had concentration to spare to keep an eye on the distance, and watch for unexpected dangers. Dub and Lupa, from Zoza’s team, were behind Kes and Vin, because they still found concentration very difficult, and those were the easiest positions. Behind them were Kiefer and Zoza, the smallest and slowest, well-shepherded in the centre, and in the back row, between Ace and Will, were Droz and Lauro, well-capable of holding outside edges. They were the rearguard, and their job was to notice if anything was wrong, if anyone was struggling, and shout to the leaders. Will was loving this. Alnus had placed everyone really well, it was going like a dream.

After they’d gone about twelve miles, Alnus slowed them down to a halt. Everyone was panting for breath, but every single one of them had a big smile on his face. That had been brilliant. They grinned, patted each other on the back, and reached for their water bottles.
Below them, a long, thin vatn had come into view.
“We have to decide which way to go now,” said Alnus, unfolding the map. “We have a choice. Squash round, and have a look.”
He held the map out as far as he could, so that everyone could see.
“If you’re enjoying yourselves, and want to keep to the hills, we need to swim the vatn,” Alnus explained. “But we’re not that far from the road. If you want to hitch a lift on a car at all, then we may as well head south towards it.”
“I’d like to do some more jumping today,” said Kiefer. “But I want to go on a car at some time, I’m dying to do that!”
“Could save that for tomorrow,” suggested Ross. “I bet we’ll all be so stiff in the morning.”
“That would be wise,” said Gran, “for the land will rise more steeply on that part of the journey. Don’t forget you’re heading towards the highest mountains in Norway.”
“We’ll go south, then, and follow the line of the road for today,” said Alnus. “Cars tomorrow.”
“Is that a fjord running alongside the road?” asked Betch. “What’s its name?”
“Can’t make it out, the writing’s too small. It seems to be an arm of Sognfjord, though – the very last one. How about aiming for the very end of it, as a place to make camp tonight?”
Alnus looked round, checking everyone seemed happy with that. Will thought it looked a good distance – they’d be stretching themselves, but not too much – and he said so, which made Alnus look relieved.
Glad you said that, Ace messaged him, as they formed up again. He’s doing really well, but he’s tense and nervous of doing something wrong. You’ve made him relax a bit.
That’s good, Will answered. I noticed you were keeping quiet on purpose, but I thought it wouldn’t rattle him if I said something.


Heading south towards the road, the land dropped steeply, and now and then they lost formation a little as Alnus checked their speed, but they kept up a good pace, and no-one fell over. Remembering how hopeless they’d been when they started learning this, Will was amazed to realise just how much they’d improved. When the road came in sight, they stopped again. It had a side road coming off it, leading to a farm at the end of a dale, and they had to cross this before they could continue. Alnus tackled it very cautiously, sending them across in pairs, but no humans or vehicles were in sight, and they were soon on their way again. It was a beautiful journey, with the fjord below them on their right, and on its far side, cascade after cascade of stunning waterfalls. At first, Will had energy to spare to admire the view, but after a while, he needed to give everything he’d got just to keep going. Towards the end, all of them had to dig really deep, to support Zoza, who was tiring fast, and someone else at the front - Will wasn’t sure who it was, his eyes were blurring - but whoever it was, he was stumbling now, and they were losing speed and shape.
Finally, just before they lost it completely, Alnus halted them in good cover close to the road.
“Well done,” he gasped. “That was terrific. Don’t relax yet, we’ll just cross the road and head for the shore of the fjord, then you can rest for as long as you like.”

Summoning up the energy for the long jump to cross the road wasn’t easy, and it took quite a while to get them all across, but once they’d done that, it was an easy scramble down to the water. They found a good place to stop, where soft grass was growing, sheltered from the road by a thicket of bilberry and a stand of young birch, and here they all threw off their backpacks and sank down, exhausted.
“Kes, are you injured?” said Alnus. “You were stumbling a lot at the end there.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” said Kes. “I twisted my ankle, and I thought I could compensate by landing on one foot, but it just made me stumble.”
“Let’s have a look,” said Vin. “Give me your foot, I’ll take your boot off for you.”
Kes yelped with pain as his boot came off.
“Oh no, I think it’s broken!” said Vin. “Help me, Will!”
“It can’t be,” said Will, crawling over to save the effort of standing up again. “He wasn’t jumping that badly. How does it feel, Kes?”
“It hurts when I move it, but not if I keep it still. And it’s all swollen!”
“It’s a bad sprain, but we can fix it,” said Will. “Come on, Vin, you can do it…I’ll pool with you, if you want.”
“Yes, please, Will,” said Vin dubiously. Will wasn’t surprised. Vin was a shrewd and thoughtful elf for his age, but his confidence in his own skills was non-existent. He was always sure he couldn’t do things, and then baffled when he did. Will waited until he was sure Vin was really concentrating, then just murmured what they were going to do. The swelling shrank considerably.
“There you go,” said Will. “You did that mostly by yourself. I hardly did a thing. Does that feel better, Kes?”
“Much,” he said. “Thanks, you two. It’s not completely better, though.”
“No, it won’t be, yet,” said Will. He turned to Alnus, who had been watching all this carefully. “I’ve heard Major Gourdon say that sprains do best with some care and attention. He ought to bathe it in cold water, have it bandaged lightly, and keep off his feet till morning.”
“Oh well, that’s easily arranged,” said Alnus. “Thanks, Will.” He glanced at the fjord. “At least we’ve got plenty of water.”
“Come on then, Kes,” grinned Droz. “Cold water time.”
He picked Kes up, staggering a bit under the weight, and carried him down to the water. It wasn’t until he started wading out that Kes realised what he was going to do.
“Hey, no! Droz, don’t put me down…aargh, it’s freezing!”
Droz gently deposited him in the water, and Kes glared back up at him.
“You’re mean, Droz Zlatni, and I’ll get you for that.”
Droz was just laughing, and so was everyone else. In a few minutes, Kes was laughing too, as he got used to the temperature and decided that actually it felt very nice. A few minutes later, everyone else was in the water too, splashing around, cooling off and washing their hot faces.
It was early evening by then, and the road behind them grew a little busier, as people who’d spent the day hiking in the Jotunheim began to head back to their campsites. The elves drew back into cover then, and lay down on the grass, resting and getting dry.


When it had gone quiet again, Alnus organised everyone to set up camp for the night. Some of them gathered wood for a fire, which Droz lit with matches, and Kes tended it, resting his bandaged foot. Dub and Lupa helped Zoza to pick bilberry leaves for tea. Ross got out the camp kettle and expanded it, and Fran carried it down to the water to fill it.
The tea was delicious, scalding hot and just as good as any that fairies could have made. It seemed to make all the aches and pains from their hours of jumping just fade away, and as Will sat surrounded by friends and gazing at the still waters of the fjord, he was feeling peaceful and contented, and by the looks on the faces around him, everyone else was feeling the same.


By the time they’d all drunk their fill, the sky was streaked with rose and purple clouds, and the little patch of fjord-side woodland was full of soft grey shadows. They set the kettle aside to cool, and pulled out their sleeping bags, and lay on them, around the fire.
Peter threw some more wood on, and Betch groaned quietly.
“D’you have to burn birch? Isn’t there any rubbish around?”
“I don’t know what you’d call rubbish,” retorted Peter. “D’you expect me to go hunting around for something that isn’t anyone’s tree? It’d take forever, we’ve got all sorts here.”
“Oh, I know. But not birch. It’s too beautiful.”
“Everyone thinks his own tree’s beautiful,” said Fran.
“No, he’s right,” said Ace. “Birch is special. White bark, for goodness’ sake. How special is that? Oh, I just love the way little slivers of it peel off, all white and papery.”
“Stop it,” whispered Betch, clutching his hands tight. He looked up at the little birches above their heads, and swallowed hard. “Oh, what wouldn’t I give to see my tree, just to feel the bark, just for a moment.”
“It’s the bark you miss, isn’t it,” said Ross quietly. He glanced up, then said, almost defiantly, “When a piece of mine flaked off, I used to put it in my pocket. And then I’d take it out and just, you know, touch it and sniff it.”
Everyone groaned, longingly. They all knew that feeling, though it wasn’t a thing they’d normally talk about. But out here, all alone, they were feeling cut off from the ordinary world. Ross had gone a bit deep there, but no-one minded. It was a gesture of trust, and it made people respond.
“It’s not seeing any at all, in this country, that I miss,” sighed Dub. “Wouldn’t have to be my own. Wouldn’t even have to be my own kind. Any oak would do me!”
Peter nodded in sympathy.
“Just to stroke a leaf,” he agreed. “The sweet, leathery softness of it…oh, doesn’t it ache, missing them?”
“Hey, steady on,” said Alnus. “Some people’s trees are dead, remember, how d’you think they feel?”
“Not as bad as we do,” said Gran shrewdly. “They’ve got something we haven’t. Go on, Ace. Tell us what it is. Just what exactly do you see at full moon?”
Ace couldn’t stop himself smiling, a broad smile of pure joy.
“Well, yeah, it is pretty special,” he said. “But I don’t want to drive you mad with jealousy. You don’t want to know, believe me.”
“Yes, we do,” said Betch. “Go on, Ace. What’s it like?”
Will was smiling too, and so were Droz, Kes and Vin, driving the others wild with curiosity.
“Well," said Ace, and they all gathered in a little closer, “imagine you’re there, touching the Tree, you know, and all his goodness is flooding through you and making you feel so alive. But you know, when you look up, what you’ll see. You’ll see your own tree, but always perfect. No snapped branches, no half-chewed leaves, just beautiful. And always different, always just right for the time of year. And yet, better than it ever was. The colours deeper, and the leaves even more alive, life just pouring out of it.”
He paused for a moment, and looked round. Kes had his eyes shut, smiling, and Droz was nodding slowly, his eyes far away.

“And then,” he went on, “and then it gets even better. Because you’re touching the Tree, and he is giving you all this, you feel as if you’ve got everything at once. Touching the bark, and the leaves, and being up in the branches, all at once, more than you could ever feel when it was alive. Because somehow, it’s more alive than ever, now it’s dead.”
When he’d finished, he rolled over on his back, breathing deeply and gazing at the sky.


Will could tell that had been an effort, even for Ace.
“I could never, ever, have found the words to describe it,” he said admiringly. “But that is just exactly right.”
“Beautiful,” said Alnus. “I’m glad you have that comfort. I’ve never known such loss, but even for me, the Tree makes home seem nearer, somehow, and my tree, with its roots wriggling down into the stream, doesn’t seem so far away.”
“It’s the springtime when I miss mine the most,” said Peter. “Watching the new leaves come out, seeing who’d be first, me or Fran.”
“Always last, oak and ash,” smiled Fran. “Worth waiting for, though. New leaves… oh, the smell of them!”
“Yes, and the feel of them too,” sighed Will. “You know, when they’re just out of the bud, so tight and fresh, and you just put out one finger, and very gently stroke them, and feel them quivering back at you…”
He couldn’t finish, and no-one else spoke. There was just a murmur of agreement, and some soft, wistful groans. There were some things you just couldn’t find words for. Silence settled on the little camp, and soon the elves were asleep.


Next morning, they were all up early, but they didn’t rush, remembering that they had a whole week, and Sergeant Olt’s permission to have fun. But they didn’t linger, either, because only half of them had ever jumped onto a moving vehicle before, and the other half were dying to try it, especially Kiefer. Alnus had, but only twice, and he knew Ace had far more experience, so he asked him to brief everyone on what to do, and what to expect.
As soon as their camp was cleared away, Ace took them all up into the biggest of the birches, where he could point at the road.
“The thing you just won’t believe,” said Ace, “is how fast they go. When you’ve chosen your vehicle, you have to start your jump before it’s near you, or you’ll miss it. I think we ought to aim for the slowest speed today, that’s about thirty miles an hour.”
“I don’t understand miles,” said Vin. “What’s that in kilometres?”
Once, Ace would have turned to him for the answer, Will thought, pleased to see that now he could be more independent.
“Fifty,” Ace answered firmly. “Fortunately, on a road like this, plenty of vehicles will be going that slowly, because it’s climbing. Watch this one, now… if I was going to jump onto it, I would jump… now!”
His ‘now’ came just before the car was under the tree, and he’d let them all feel the timing of it.

“Actually, modern cars aren’t very good,” said Ace. “Too streamlined, there’s nothing good to cling on to, and you have to cling on very tightly. Lorries, vans, old cars, those are all good. Anything with corners to hide in, and things to hold on to. I noticed last night that they get a lot of minibuses down this road, and those are brilliant, because they’ve often got heaps of equipment on top, perfect. The plan is to wait for one of those, and all jump on together. We can jump down from here, which is great. Much easier than jumping up from the roadside. If anything goes wrong, and you miss, don’t worry. Choose another vehicle and follow on behind. Jump off where the road splits in two, and rendezvous under the village signpost, it’ll say ‘Lom’.”
He looked round to check everyone had got that, then carried on.
“Make sure you jump forward… I mean, in the direction you want to go. And when you land, keep running forward, or the jerk can throw you off.”
“What about jumping off?” asked Kiefer. “Can you land on your feet, or d’you have to aim for something soft?”
“You can land on your feet, but you’ll be going so fast that even running won’t slow you down. It’s best to go straight into a jump. If you can’t do that, then try to run, but chances are you’ll trip and roll. So unless there’s plenty of room to jump, choose something soft if you can, and aim for grass rather than gravel.”
“Look at this one, Ace,” said Alnus quietly. In the distance, a heavily-laden minibus was trundling slowly along. “Looks good to me.”
“That’s perfect,” said Ace. “The only danger is it’ll pull off into the national park, and not go as far as Lom, but we’ll worry about that when we come to it. Any more questions? No? Then we’ll take this one. Alnus, I suggest that the people who know what they’re doing go into the next tree, and jump in their own time, while we take the beginners together from here.”
“That’s fine,” said Alnus. “Will, Gran, all you experts, move across to the next tree, and follow us on.”


Will jumped across and chose his position, then waited with the rest, as the minibus drew nearer. He heard Ace shout ‘Go!’ and saw him linger for a second until he was sure they’d all gone, then catch Zoza’s hand as he jumped, because he seemed to be hesitating. It was all over in a flash, and Will had to jump himself a couple of seconds later.
What Ace hadn’t pointed out, he thought, was that the more stuff there was on the roof to hide amongst, the less space there was to run into the speed. For a moment, he had to fight for his breath as he crashed into what felt like a bag of tent pegs. He hoped no-one had knocked himself unconscious. He’d been the last to jump, and he was quite near the back, but the only person he could actually see between all this equipment was Fran, who was looking stunned, but clinging on well to a piece of roofrack. Will grinned at Fran, then climbed up a bit, cautiously holding on to a piece of cord. It looked as if everyone was all right. He could see Ace right at the front with Alnus, trying to talk over the noise of the speed. Will smiled and settled down to enjoy the ride.
It was ages since he’d done this. It took him back to the old days of playing on the M60 back home. How young and daft they’d been then! They’d taken crazy risks, and learned the hard way, but it felt good to know they’d learned such a useful skill, and to have the chance to share it.

The road grew steeper, but the minibus kept going in a low gear. Will remembered times when he’d been going so fast, it was hard to keep your eyes open, but it wasn’t like that today. You didn’t even have to hold on all that tightly, and there was chance to watch the stunning views unfold, and feel grateful that you weren’t having to jump all these steep miles.
Suddenly, Will was jerked out of his daydream. One thing you didn’t get a lot of on the M60 was goats, but again, that wasn’t the case here. A young goat had jumped down into the road, but the driver had been ready for such a thing, and stepped on his brakes. A lot of the elves yelled as they were flung forwards then backwards, but Dub couldn’t have been holding on tightly enough, and he was flung backwards through the air. Everything seemed to happen so fast. Will didn’t know if anyone else had seen it, wasn’t sure where Dub had landed or if he was hurt, and before he could even turn to look, the minibus was moving off again. Hardly stopping to think, Will jumped off. He hoped he’d done the right thing. Ace would realise in a moment.
He might think I’ve fallen…
Urgently, he changed his thoughts.
Ace, it’s OK, stay there.
Did you fall?
No, Dub did. I’ll find him, and we’ll catch you up. Stay with Alnus, he needs you, and we’ll be able to find you, then.
OK, Will. But how fast did you think, then? Pretty good!

Will grinned to himself as the sound of the minibus died away, leaving the little mountain road in silence.
“Dub, where are you?” Will called. “Can you hear me?”
There was a faint rustling noise in the long grass on the bank.
“I can hear you, but I can’t see you! Ow, I can’t move!”
“Don’t worry, keep calling! I’ve got your direction.”
“Is that you, Will? Did you fall off too?”
“No, I jumped when I saw you fall. Keep talking, Dub… we’re getting closer.”
“I am underneath a tall flower… hawkweed, I think.”
“Got you… ah, there you are! Let’s have a look at you. Where does it hurt?”
“My arm!” Dub groaned. “I think it’s broken.”
Quickly, Will knelt down beside Dub and felt the bone. Just above the wrist, something was moving that shouldn’t be moving.
“Mmm, I think you’re right.”
“Ow! That hurts!”
“I bet it does. It’s not a bad break, I think it’s what they call a hairline fracture, but still, it’s going to hurt. Let’s see if we can get you a bit more comfortable.”

He unfastened Dub’s backpack and slipped it off without hurting him, then hunted in his own to find something he could use as a sling. He ripped the sleeve off a spare t-shirt, and made it into a triangle, then made it bigger. He wasn’t too sure how you fastened a sling, but he thought he’d be able to figure it out.
“Can’t you just mend the bone?” said Dub plaintively.
“I don’t think so,” said Will. “Not without Lupa. I don’t know you well enough, but Lupa will be able to do it, won’t he?”
“Lupa is kin,” said Dub proudly. “I would never say a word against him, you know that? But there is no denying that he is completely stupid, and will not remember how to mend a bone.”
“Oh well, if it’s like that, then I’ll help him,” laughed Will. “The thing to do now is catch up with the others, then we can get you fixed up. Drink some water. You need milk really, but I suppose we’ll have to wait till we get to Otta for that.”
“Ah no, that will be all right,” grinned Dub, wincing a bit as Will fastened the sling behind his neck. “Lupa is very, very good at stealing milk from the cow.”
“There you go, then,” said Will, helping him up. “Everyone’s got his own talents. I wouldn’t know where to start, with a cow. Now, I think we’ll have to jump as little as possible, because every time you land, it’s really going to jar you and hurt like mad. Let’s walk along the road until we find a good tree, and then you’ll have to jump up into it.”
“And then jump down onto another vehicle,” said Dub, understanding. “I can handle that. I’ve got to. It’s the only way to catch up with the others.”
“Brave, Dub,” said Will. “And while we walk along, you can tell me all about yourself. That way, if anything goes wrong, maybe I’ll be able to help you myself.”


It was quite a long walk to find a tree growing close enough to the road, and in that time Will heard all about the Berounka river in the Czech Republic that gave Dub and Lupa their place-name. It sounded a bit like Derbyshire to Will, with its steep limestone cliffs, deep gorges and ancient woodland.
“There are caves, too. Humans like to come and explore them. It was such good fun helping the ones who got lost or stuck. Just imagine them getting out and saying, ‘An elf helped me!’ They never would. But then we got a new police major, and he arrested anyone who went in the caves. Everyone was angry.”
“Was that when you and Lupa decided to join the army?”
“That’s right. It was a long time since anyone from our colony had gone, so they were very proud of us. They gave us a good send-off, and opened a chain to get us here.”
“Opened a chain?” said Will. “What’s that?”
“It’s a very slow way to travel, but it’s absolutely safe,” said Dub. “You don’t even need a map. An elf from our colony took us to the next colony in the direction of Norway. Then he went home, and an elf from that colony took us to the next one, and so on.”
“What a brilliant idea,” said Will. “Of course, there’d always be someone in a colony who knew where the nearest one was, in any direction.”
“That’s it, exactly,” said Dub. “It took a very long time, over a year. But it was worth it. It’s easy to see what they’re up to. They want to keep us away from humans altogether. But our colony has traditions to maintain, we have a long history of helping humans. In the old days, we used to help them to forge money, hidden in the caves!”
“Counterfeiting?” said Will. “I’ve done a bit of that.”

He told Dub about the time he and Ace had made half a million pounds, and Dub was impressed and interested. He did his best to explain that it had been a one-off thing, but he wasn’t sure he’d explained it very well. He had an uneasy feeling that he’d left Dub with the impression that England was full of elves who kept up the good old traditions of illegal activity. Still, it wasn’t often you got a chance to have a chat with someone, one to one, and Will felt he’d learned a lot, and had definitely got to know Dub better.
The jump up into a wayside spruce hurt Dub a lot, Will could tell, but he didn’t complain, just swore a bit, and waited patiently. In the middle of the day, the road was very quiet. Eventually, a timber lorry came along. They both groaned at the sight of so many cut-down trees, but they couldn’t afford to turn their noses up at it, and jumped on. Will had his arm round Dub’s waist, supporting him and helping him, but he had the weight of two backpacks to contend with as well, and the landing was clumsy and painful for both of them.
They had no strength to spare to talk. Will’s nose was bleeding, from banging his face into a log, and he was hanging by one arm onto a strap, and by the other onto Dub. Dub was hanging on too with his good arm, as well as he could, but his grip was feeble and his face was white. It wasn’t going to be a very pleasant journey.

Will tried to visualise the road. He hadn’t done this journey before, but Ace had, in reverse, on his long journey home last summer, and he’d described things to Will as they’d looked at the map together. Looking up whenever he could, Will worked out that they were still climbing Sognefjell. They had a long way to go yet, and there were some fierce bends coming. He was ready for them, and managed to get out enough words to explain to Dub that they were going to have to hang on even more tightly, and Dub did his best, gritting his teeth and using his feet and knees as well to give him more grip. Finally, the painful work was over as the road straightened out. Will looked around again, and recognised the inn at Elveseter, where he knew Ace had taken shelter one night, and then the great peak of Glittertind came into view, and he knew they weren’t far off now.
The road went into a wide curve, and Will could sense very clearly now that he was getting nearer and nearer to Ace. That was very reassuring, and he started to move towards the edge of the lorry, bringing Dub with him in slow and careful movements. As soon as he got to the very edge, he could see the road junction ahead of them, still some way off.
“That’s it,” Will managed to shout above the noise of the engine. “We won’t stand up till we’re ready to jump, but we’ll have to do it quickly when we do.”
“OK, Will,” gasped Dub. “I can do it. Just tell me when.”
Will watched carefully, using all his senses, judging exactly how far away Ace was, and looking for a soft landing, until he realised that Ace would be waiting right on top of the best landing spot there was. He relaxed then, and trusted his instincts.
“Now,” he said. “One, two, three, stand…woah, balance! One… two… three… jump!”
A moment later, he was rolling in sweet, soft clover, and looking up into a familiar pair of dark eyes.

“Hello,” said Ace. “Haven’t I seen you before somewhere?”
Will grabbed the hand that was stretched out to pull him up.
“Could be,” he grinned. “You do look vaguely familiar.”
He slapped Ace on the back to thank him, then turned to see that Lupa was there, helping Dub stand up.
“You fell off!” Lupa was saying. “How could you fall off? You are a nitwit!” All the time he was scolding Dub, he was looking at him anxiously. “If it hadn’t been for Will, you would be lost in the mountains and would probably have been devoured by a wolf, and serve you right!”
“I broke my arm!”
“How about I break the other one?”
“How about you stop telling me off, and mend it?”
“Mend it?”
This terrifying thought obviously gave Lupa pause, so that Ace could get a word in edgeways.
“You can tell they’re friends, can’t you?” he grinned. “How about we all get off this verge and into the field, out of sight? Give me those bags there, Will, you look shattered. That’s it… under the rail, and into the long grass. Now we’re safe.”
He and Lupa made Will and Dub sit down, and gave them water and helped them to wash off the blood.
“Where are the others?” said Will.
“Alnus has taken them up into the forest, to make camp. We volunteered to wait for you, naturally.”
“Thanks,” said Will, with a smile. “We need to fix Dub’s arm, then, so he can jump without jolting it all the time. Can you unfasten the sling, Lupa?”

Lupa listened carefully as Will explained what they needed to do, and he concentrated hard. Will could feel that they were pooling well, but when Dub cried out with pain, he knew something had gone wrong.
“Stop!” he cried out. “OK, Dub, hang on, we’ll get there… Lupa, long, not wide… we’ve made the bone go sideways, not lengthways. Let’s try again.”
“Will, you’re too tired, that can’t be helping,” said Ace. “Pool with me first, and take some strength, then bring Lupa in.”
“Good idea. Thanks, Ace…”
This time, he had the strength almost to force Lupa into seeing it right, and Lupa’s deep knowledge of his friend did the rest.
“Oh,” groaned Dub, in deep relief. “Oh, that’s so much better.” He flexed his arm experimentally, and looked thrilled that it had stopped hurting. “Thank you very much, all of you.”
“You still need some milk,” said Will.
“You could do with a drop yourself,” said Ace, “but don’t worry, there should be some in camp by now. Kiefer was planning a milk raid, because this isn’t the only injury we’ve had. Betch had a bad landing when we jumped off and cut both his knees open.”
“Betch did? That’s not like him, he’s usually so graceful.”
“It was just the timing, I think. He hesitated, then by the time he jumped, the minibus was going into the bend, and he tried to compensate for that by jumping backwards, but it didn’t quite work. But it was only his first time, he’ll get used to it.”
“Three injuries already, in just over a day,” said Dub. “How many more, before we get back?”
“Well, at least there shouldn’t be any more today,” said Ace. “How’re you feeling, Dub? D’you think you can jump now?”

Dub said he was fine, and put his own backpack back on to prove it. Ace explained that Alnus had said he’d follow the stream up into the forest, and had promised to leave a tracking marker if their route got confusing at any point.
“So we can jump,” he said, “but not so fast that we miss anything.”
“You go first, Ace,” said Lupa. “You’d notice more than I would, and the others are tired.”
“Ready?” said Ace. “Let’s go.”

Will wasn’t surprised when Ace stopped them halfway across the second meadow. He could see for himself that the stream split in two higher up. He was very startled when Ace hissed at them all.
“Hit the ground, fast!”
Will didn’t know what Ace had seen, but he quickly threw himself down.
“What is it?” he whispered.
“Over there… just below the tree line, see?”
Will looked carefully, and he saw what Ace meant. A group of elves was moving in tight formation, and it didn’t look like anyone they knew. They were all tall, and carrying heavy backpacks. And they were all dressed in black and green.
“It’s Special Brigade!” said Ace. “I’d know that uniform anywhere. What are they doing here?”
His face showed just how bewildered he was, and Will could see he was torn between wanting to follow them and worrying about their own team.
“Let’s get back to the others, fast,” he said. “Be careful. And get your knives out.”
Dub and Lupa drew their knives. They had serious expressions on their faces, and were looking around with caution, not wasting any time on pointless questions. Will was impressed. They might not know a lot, these two, but they were canny and reliable.

Ace checked the stream side and saw Alnus’ marker of twisted grass, then led them off at terrific speed, not slowing down until they were under the trees. He made them all lie low again while they scanned the area carefully, but there was nothing unusual to be seen. Warily, they continued up the stream, and there, behind a large, mossy boulder, they found their friends. There were several gasps of surprise as Ace and Will, Dub and Lupa ran into camp with knives drawn and grim expressions.
“Did you see them?” said Ace.
“What?” said Alnus, jumping to his feet. “Who? See who?”
“Special Brigade. Ten of them, crossing under the tree line, west to east.”
Alnus shook his head, and several people looked around nervously.
“We’ve seen no-one at all,” said Alnus. “You’re sure it was them? Did they see you?”
“Yes, I’m sure it was them. We all saw them, and no, I’m pretty sure they didn’t see us.”
“I saw what Ace saw,” said Dub. “If they weren’t Special Brigade, they were doing a very good job of impersonating them. You can’t miss that uniform.”
“How strange… what are they doing round here?” said Ross. “How dare they poke their noses in so close to Fjaerland?”
“Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” said Ace. “What are they up to, and how many more of them are there?”
“Let’s go and find out!” said Droz.
“Just you keep calm,” said Alnus. “This wants thinking about. We’ll set a lookout, though – top of that boulder. Who wants to go first?”
“I will.”
“Thanks, Ross. Everyone else, sit down, and keep the noise down a bit. Will, Dub, are you OK? What happened to you?”

At first, Will was surprised that Ace hadn’t already told him, but as he and Dub explained between them what had happened, Will realised that Ace had kept quiet because no-one else knew that they could message each other while they were off the mountain. It wasn’t only Gran Herdalen’s order that made them keep quiet about that. It was just a bit too personal and private.
“Great initiative, Will,” said Alnus, when they’d finished.
“He was brilliant,” said Dub. “He saved my life. A wolf would have eaten me by now.”
“Why are you two so obsessed by wolves?” said Gran. “There are not as many wolves in Norway as you seem to think.”
“I didn’t know there were any,” said Betch, sounding rather concerned.
“Wolves can’t climb trees,” said Alnus. “Where’s the rest of that milk, Kiefer?”
Alnus made sure Dub and Will drank some milk, and then joined Ross on top of the boulder, taking a look around for himself, and talking quietly to Ross for a while. Then he came back down and asked for opinions.
“I think, and so does Ross, that if our officers knew that Special Brigade were in this area, they wouldn’t have sent us here,” he said. “So that must mean they don’t know. Do we tell them?”
“Yes,” said Ace quietly, and there were several heads nodding in agreement.
“But they might call us home, and then we’ll get no fun!” said Kiefer. “Let’s tell them when we get back.”
“I agree with that,” said Gran. “Those you saw may have been on a journey, just passing through. By the time it can be investigated, they will be long gone, and we would look silly for making a fuss.”
“We won’t look silly if they’re massing a big force for an attack on Fjaerland,” said Droz, but that was too far-fetched and made everyone laugh.
“Besides, they were going in the wrong direction,” Dub pointed out.
“Maybe,” said Ace. “I don’t know, though… there was something about the way they were moving. They may be the enemy, but they’re only elves, like us. They looked like they were on exercise to me. You know that feeling, when you’re heading back to camp.”
“Then there could be more of them,” said Fran.
“We can’t assume there aren’t,” said Ace.
“What if they’re after these top-secret packages?” said Peter.

That was what had been worrying Will, too. If they were… then either Colonel Dünnwald or Major Teplou was a traitor, or Ace had told Blanche. He told himself fiercely that none of those was possible.
“That’s impossible, Peter,” said Will. “But if they are on a journey, they could well be heading to the station at Otta. If they see us – or see the elves making the delivery – they’d interfere, and then we’d all be arrested.”
“Hmm,” said Alnus. “Suppose you knew what was in these packages, Will… would the things be illegal?”
He was assuming a very innocent expression, making it clear that he wasn’t going to make Will betray any confidences.
“I would say, yes,” said Will.
“And could you hazard a guess as to how many packages, and how many to make the delivery?”
“My guess would be four packages, and not too large. Two to make the delivery, I’d think.”
Alnus was thinking hard, and although Will was getting very worried about the safety of the patch antennae and the signal repeaters, he was sympathising very much with Ace, who looked as if he was biting his lips to make himself keep quiet. Alnus was doing everything right, asking the right questions and thinking it through, but it all felt very slow. Ace probably had half a dozen different plans formulated already.
“Thanks, everyone,” said Alnus. “I think it’s clear what we have to do. They may be up to something, so it’s our duty to let our officers know, even if it spoils our own fun. And the delivery is too important to be risked. They may want to replace us with more experienced troops. I’ll send a message to Sergeant Olt, and no doubt he’ll reply with orders before morning. In the meantime, Fran, could you relieve Ross? Then we’ll chance a small fire, have a drink, then get to sleep. We may have to move very early in the morning.”
It was sound and cautious, but Will had expected no less from Alnus, and he had no complaints to make, especially about the last bit. He could hardly keep his eyes open.


At six o’clock next morning, Ace woke him to take his turn at keeping watch, but by then Will was feeling refreshed and much, much better. Ace didn’t go back to sleep, he came back to the boulder with Will, so they could talk quietly. Ross and Alnus weren’t there, they’d probably wandered off for a private chat themselves, and everyone else was still asleep.
“Gran just messaged me direct,” Ace whispered. “It’s plain the sergeant told him the news right away, and I don’t think we’re going to get called back.”
“Oh, that’s good,” said Will. “What did he say?”
“ ‘Proceed with extreme caution’, that was one thing. He also said to remind you that our lives are more important than the Internet.”
Will laughed. “And was he interested in the news?”
“I’ll say. He really wants to know what they’re up to. I thought he would. He said, ‘Don’t take silly risks, but the more information we have, the better’.”


They lay on the boulder, watching the terrain carefully and enjoying the sunlight filtering down through the pines, full of insects rising into the warm air. The beautiful translucent wings reminded them of their friends, and they were chatting as they watched, wondering how the fairies were getting on.
Dan and Bella had gone to Stavang, to observe operations at the air base, but Rose, Clover and Stella had gone all the way to Sweden, to visit the Supplies HQ.
“You know, I bet Clover ends up working there,” said Will. “She’d love it, just making things all day.”
“Her lazy side would love it,” Ace agreed. “But there’s more to Clover than that. I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t end up in Guidance one day.”
“That’s a point,” said Will. “She is very like Madge in a lot of ways. What was that! Did you see something down there?”
“Yes, but…” – he turned around to see who was still sleeping – “it’s only Kiefer and… Lupa, I think.”
“Oh, another milk raid, then!” laughed Will. “That’s good. I don’t really want to chase Special Brigade before breakfast.”


If he was going to be perfectly honest, Will would have had to admit that he didn’t much like milk that was still warm and foaming. He preferred it ice cold and straight from the fridge. But most of his friends, even Ace, thought there was no finer breakfast, when camping out, than milk fresh from the cow, so he didn’t make a fuss. The only other person who hadn’t acquired the taste for it was Ross. They shared a secret grimace of disgust, downed their share as quickly as possible, then drank some water too, to take the taste away.
While they were having breakfast, the message to Alnus from Sergeant Olt came through. Alnus wandered off, concentrating on listening, then came back looking pleased.
“We’re not called back!” he said, and everyone cheered. “The orders are, carry on, and get to the station as quickly as possible. If we see them again, observe as much as possible, but don’t let them know we’ve seen them. And no-one is to go anywhere on his own.”
“That shows the officers don’t know what they’re doing here any more than we do,” said Lauro.
“Covers all the possibilities, doesn’t it?” said Ace. “And it shows they’d like to know more, if we get a chance.”
“This is getting very interesting,” said Alnus. “Let’s have a look at the map.”


It was easy to see that with a bit of luck, they could reach Otta that day. Alnus said they’d ride vehicles again, to save time, and they’d travel in groups of four.
“If some are slower than others, that won’t matter,” he said. “It gives everyone a chance to practise using his own judgment. Kes and Vin, you go with Gran and Droz. Dub and Lupa, you come with Ross and me. I haven’t a lot of experience either, but Ross has loads. Lauro, you know what you’re doing, and Kiefer’s really got the hang of it, so you two take Betch and Zoza. Fran and Peter, you go with Ace and Will, and that’s not just because they can help you with the riding. You’re our best muscle, and if Special Brigade are after anybody…well, let’s just say, no-one’s forgotten Immindingen.”
Will had been so concerned about the packages, he hadn’t thought of that, but Alnus had a point.
“Aw, don’t get captured again, Ace,” said Betch. “It was really boring without you. You’re just too conspicuous, with all that bright hair.”
“You can talk!” said Ace. “Yours is even brighter.”
“Yes, but Special Brigade aren’t after me.”
“Why don’t you wear a hat?” said Peter. “Like a disguise… or camouflage.”
“I will if you will,” said Betch. “It all helps for passing unnoticed.”
“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea,” said Ace. “One of those pull-on sort would be all right. Has anyone got a bit of wool?”

Droz found a pair of socks in his backpack that would do the job nicely, and between them, they made hats for Ace, Betch and also Ross, whose red hair was just as noticeable in its own way. Will tried very hard to look impressed at the sight of Ace wearing a black woollen hat over his hair. If he thought he looked daft, he wouldn’t wear it, and Will thought it was a very good idea.
Once they’d packed up, they headed back across the meadows, down to the road again, and there they discussed where to meet.
“Not inside the railway station, in case Special Brigade are there,” said Alnus. “But we don’t want to be far from it. Ross and Ace, you’ve been there, where do you suggest?”
“There’s a lot of open space around the station,” said Ace. “But there’s a pretty good hiding place close by. Opposite the main entrance, there’s a grassy bank, with a row of recycling bins hiding it.”
“That’s not where you’d hide if you were waiting for a train, is it?”
“No. For that, you’d wait above the door that leads out to the platforms,” said Ross. “There’s a wide ledge there, so perfect you’d think it had been built for elves.”
“Stranger things have happened,” said Gran. “There are a lot of Allies in these parts.”
“Fine,” said Alnus. “Meet up at the recycling place, then. And if anything goes badly wrong, don’t forget you can message the sergeant for advice. Split up now, then. Good luck everyone – see you later!”


Ace persuaded Fran and Peter that it would be a good plan to have a quick look around Lom before catching a ride.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with finding out what Special Brigade are up to, would it?” said Fran.
“Absolutely not,” said Ace, sounding shocked. “It just looks like an interesting village… okay, okay, maybe I was just thinking it’d be a shame to leave the area without having a look for them.”
To Will’s surprise, Fran agreed.
“It’s plain the sergeant would like to know more,” he said. “So long as we don’t do anything reckless, it should be all right.”

Jumping quietly from shadow to shadow, they moved through the village, through gardens and over roofs, then circled the outskirts, checking out every tempting campsite very carefully, from high vantage points. They saw an elderly fairy flying across a field in the distance, but no sign of any elves, Special Brigade or not. Finally, they gave up and stopped in the shadow of the famous old stave church.
“What a lovely building,” said Peter. “It looks like the Great Hall, doesn’t it?”
“Probably the same age,” said Fran. “It’s beautiful. Every bit made of wood… you know, I don’t like it when trees get cut down, yet I love it when humans make things out of wood. Weird, isn’t it?”
“I know exactly what you mean,” said Ace. “They’re good people here. It’s no wonder there are so many Allies, like Gran said. You get the feeling that if you accidentally met any of them, they wouldn’t make a fuss.”
“True,” said Will, “but that doesn’t mean we should hang around in the car park of a famous tourist attraction… look out! Cover!”

Just in time, they all dived out of sight as a family came strolling over to look at the church. A woman was reading from a guide book.
“This is it,” she said. “It looks fantastic. We’ll just have a look round, then drive into Otta for a coffee, before we move on to Rondane.”
The family went inside the church, and Ace looked at Will. He didn’t have to say a thing.
“Inside the engine?” said Will. “OK, if Fran and Peter are up for it.”
“What?” said Fran. “OK, if they’re going to Otta, that’s great, and I can see it’s not the sort of car you can hide on the outside of, but inside the engine? We’ll be mangled to death, won’t we?”
“Not if you pick the right spots,” said Will. “There are lots of moving parts, true, but lots that don’t move. If you know where a vehicle’s going, it’s not a bad way to ride. Come on, let me show you, you can’t miss an opportunity like this.”
Ace and Will showed Fran and Peter how to jump up inside the engine, and clamber forward to sit in front of the radiator grille.
“Oh, this is a good one!” said Ace. “Nice wide ledge to sit on, and you can even see where you’re going.”
“It’s draughty,” said Will, “but not as bad as being on the top. It’s a lot warmer in winter, and you don’t have to cling on so hard.”
“The only problem is, you have to get on and off while it’s stationary,” said Ace. “But as Will said, if you know where it’s going, then you’re fine.”

Fran and Peter looked happy and excited at the new challenge. Will filled in the time while they were waiting, pointing out to them which parts were safe, and which they must never touch at any cost. When they heard footsteps coming back, they all gripped on tightly.
“Don’t let the noise of the engine startle you,” Will warned. “It’ll sound horrendous at first, but you’ll soon get used to it.”
Peter yelled with shock when the engine started, but of course no-one heard him, and he didn’t let go. Far from it, he was clinging on more tightly than he needed to. But as the car moved off, he relaxed like the others. It wasn’t going too fast. The humans were on holiday, they were enjoying the views, not racing past them.
The journey didn’t take too long. Will was only just beginning to get stiff when he realised, by the number of turns and the sound of other vehicles, that they had reached the town. As soon as the humans had parked the car and gone in search of coffee, the elves jumped down and peered out cautiously to see exactly where they were. Then Ace laughed.
“They’ve stopped at the station! We’re here!”