THE TALENDE TREE

CHAPTER 2 - Oslofjord

Colonel Dünnwald was just as worried about the progress of the war as any other right-thinking elf, but he could see reasons for satisfaction in his own corner of operations. A new sprite computer was even now being constructed, a phone had been found, a truly excellent new Ally made, and news of all these things was going out and being spread. It did help that most sprites, when hearing news of any kind, had a great urge to pass it on – often embellishing it on the way – but even so, the results were impressive. But then he had been struck by a disturbing thought, and wondered if there was anything he could do about it. He decided that there was, and called all his Third Regiment elves together.
“We are starting to get news out,” he said, “and that’s good. But there’s very little news coming in. What General Herdalen will surely want to know is what Special Brigade are up to now. Hundreds of them attacked Fjaerland, but it won’t have taken hundreds of them to deal with their prisoners. Where are the rest of them?”
He was pleased to see, by the glances they were giving each other, that they were looking interested and keen. They had got his drift already.
“Go out on the network,” he said. “Follow your instincts and find the enemy. Are they keeping together or are they splitting up? Where are they going and why? They’ll be hiding from humans but they won’t be hiding from other elves. They don’t know the trains like you do. When you see some, count them. Get units if you can. See if you can identify their destinations. Watch out for further arrivals. And when you have some information, bring it back here and we will get it to General Herdalen. You missed the battle, and that was hard, I know. This is your real battle. Don’t let them win.”

Within a few minutes, the elves were packing their backpacks and talking at the tops of their voices, discussing where to go. Then, in their pairs, they jumped out into the pre-dawn light on the Freiheit, and into the station concourse. Dub and Lupa couldn’t make their minds up. So many choices, so many directions. Most of their team mates seemed to think north or east the likeliest directions.
“Someone ought to go the other way,” said Lupa. “How about if we go south or west?”
“I would like that,” said Dub. “Let’s just go to the right platform and jump on the first train we see.”
“Leave it to chance?” said Lupa. “Yes, why not? That is just as likely to work as working out something that you just don’t know.”

Seasoned travellers now, they were comfortably settled in the luggage rack of a Europe Express train long before any humans got on board. Dub sipped some water from his bottle then put his arms behind his head as he relaxed.
“Zurich, excellent,” he said. “We’ve never been there, have we?”
“No,” said Lupa. “We’ve been to Switzerland but not Zurich. A new station for us.”
Dub sighed happily.
“I wish Will could see us now.”
As the smooth Express picked up more and more speed, Dub and Lupa slept for a while. They’d got used to sleeping when and where they could. But when they reached the border crossing they took up positions where they could watch the new route into Switzerland, and they grew more and more excited as they headed into the main station at Zurich. Each of them was taking in the details of the platforms and the layout and the way the tracks led out. Will would have been very proud of them, the expert way they split up and disappeared through the doors without any chance of being spotted. They joined up above the destination board.
“Seen anyone yet?” said Dub.
“Not yet,” said Lupa. “But a big junction like this, where so many lines meet, we’re bound to see someone if we’re patient.”
“We might have to stay a few days then?”

They didn’t waste any time. Still keeping sharp eyes on every departure and arrival, they learned everything there was to know about Zurich station and all the routes that used it. After a couple of days they had a bit of excitement when they spotted a fairy. But she wasn’t Special Brigade or even army, just an elderly local fairy hitching a lift on a train. She accepted a drink of water and stopped for a quick chat.
“I’m only going to the Hill at Uetliberg,” she told them. “But the entrance is nearer Felsenegg, and you can’t fly that bit, it’s such a popular walk, always humans about. So I’ll ride on the train first, and save my energy for the climb up to Felsenegg.”
“That’s the S10 route?” said Dub. “Couldn’t you go out along the lake to Adliswill on the S4 route, and just fly up to Felsenegg from there?”
“You’re right, that would be quicker, except that it’s hard to keep out of sight there, too. There’s a cable car goes up the mountain. Some elves ride on the top of it, but I don’t fancy that. Have you been out to the Hill yourselves, then?”
“No, we just like trains,” said Dub. “Always interested in routes. Is the Hill for parliament or the army?”
“Oh, parliament, of course. They organised the first parliament, called the founder colonies together to choose the envoys. So you could say that they were the founder Hill. Most people are for parliament round here. They say parliament just won a big battle, have you heard that?”
“Yes,” said Lupa. “I think that is true.”
The fairy nodded briskly.
“Sooner it’s over the better. I’ve nothing against the army myself, but war is never a good thing.”
“Here’s your train,” said Dub.
“So it is. Nice talking to you, my dears – goodbye.”
“So!” said Lupa when she’d gone. “I did not know we were so close to an important Hill – and a parliament one, at that.”
“I think it’s meant to be. We don’t know what’s happening anywhere else. The others may have found the whole parliament force by now. But we trusted to luck and see where it’s brought us!”

After four more days, their patience was rewarded. During all that time they had not seen a single solitary sprite, but on that day, they saw a lot. First, a couple of local elves, who wandered into the station and caught the S4. Next, three elves and three fairies who didn’t look as if they’d been travelling together, but all got off the train from Stuttgart.
“Could have come from all over the north,” said Lupa. “Changing trains, then all ended up on the same one?”
“It’s happened to our team,” Dub agreed. “An easy thing to happen. The important thing is, they’re all heading for the suburban lines.”
“Something’s going on at that Hill today. Who else might turn up?”
Finally, an elf arrived who was so important he didn’t have to carry his own backpack. He held his head high, so the web-like streaks on his face were plain to be seen. The four elves with him looked like an escort.
“They’re not civilians,” said Lupa. “The others were, but these aren’t. They’re trained.”
“It shows, doesn’t it? And they are not army, so they must be Special Brigade.”
“Well, they are the enemy. There are not many of them, but our duty is clear, we must follow them and find out what they are up to.”
“They might be watching out for that,” said Dub. “It’s easy to guess where they are going, so why not get there before them?”
Lupa’s eyes lit up.
“That is a wonderful idea! Can we do it?”
“They are only waiting for the S10. And the footpath from Uetliberg to Felsenegg is long and steep, that fairy said.”
“S4 and the cable car, then,” said Lupa. “Come on!”

They were hopping about with frustration as they saw the S10 arrive first, and the enemy elves start their journey. It was only a few minutes before their own train came in, but it felt like forever. Dub and Lupa leaped aboard with their usual care, but they didn’t settle down. They watched everything they could, tense and curious about what was going on, all their senses alert for danger or the unexpected. Humans poured off the train at Adliswill and they had to wait so long for them to clear the carriages that they almost missed their chance to get off. The door closed again behind Dub so close it nearly squashed him.
“Oh, that was a close one!” he gasped.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, just a bit shaken. But look, see the cable car! It’s easy to see where to go.”
“Beautiful. But, you know, riding on the top will be quite slow. How about if we jump up the cable itself?”
“Wow, do you think we could?”
“It’s not much harder than the ropework in the trees at Fjaerland,” said Lupa. “We will have to move very fast so we are not spotted, but I think we can do this.”
Dub looked at the cable, disappearing up the mountain. It looked dizzying, terrifying, but thrilling too. Lupa was usually the cautious one. If he thought they could do it, then maybe they really could.
“All right,” he said. “Let’s do it. Up onto the roof of the little station, and jump on from there.”

They didn’t know it, but months of crossing Europe by train had improved their balance even more than the training ground at Fjaerland had. After a small wobble each on the first landing, they soon got into their stride, getting faster at first, and finally slower as the steep gradient began to make their legs tired. But not once did they get in each other’s way; they knew they wouldn’t crash, and they didn’t. All the same, they had to concentrate. They had no idea of the delightful forested hillside they were travelling through, no idea of the beautiful lake view behind them. Only one thing mattered, getting their feet to land accurately on that cable, time after time after time.
Instinctively, they slowed down again as they came close to the top. They jumped down onto the station’s wooden roof, panting and trembling, but triumphant. They slapped hands and quickly pulled out their water bottles. Lupa checked his watch.
“Brilliant. The S10 will not even be at Uetliberg yet. We will get there first. Acting like any visitors on a long journey, just looking for a bed?”
“Definitely,” said Dub. “Act stupid, too. That always helps.”
“Fortunately, for us, this is not difficult,” grinned Lupa.
“Where are we going?”
“Oh… er, home to Berounka?”
“Sounds good. And where have we been?”
“Hmm. Do you still have that picture of the Eiffel Tower on a postcard?”
“Yes, I do, it’s in my backpack.”
“Good, good… we have been doing a forfeit. Our friends at home challenged us to go to Paris and back without getting lost.”
“That’s a great cover story. Just the sort of thing that only really silly elves would do.”
“So now, all we need to do is find the entrance to the Hill.”
“Then let’s get to the very summit. If the entrance is not there, then at least from there a sprite path should be visible.”

“A bed for the night? Of course, you are very welcome,” said a kindly Swiss fairy. “The dormitory is down on level 4. It might be a bit crowded, actually, we have a lot of visitors today, but I’m sure we can fit everyone in. There’s a canteen on level 2 and a music room next to it. And if you’re really lucky, you might catch a glimpse of General Huskvarna himself.”
“Wow!” said Dub.
“Wow,” said Lupa. “Who’s he?”
The fairy stared at them.
“You really don’t know? He’s the head of Special Brigade. You do know there’s a war on, don’t you?”
“Oh yes, we heard about that,” said Dub. “Anyone won yet?”
“Yes, well, as I said, you’re very welcome. Enjoy your stay.”

“Do you think,” murmured Lupa, “that web-face could be this general?”
“It could be. He looked as if he thought he was important.”
“And he will be here soon. We need to hang around.”
“Look, on the wall, a lovely mosaic. So many pictures, all done in little stones.”
“Telling the history of the Hill, I think. It deserves our closest attention, don’t you think?”

Dub and Lupa lingered by the mosaic for half an hour, admiring the design and working out the story. They could speak German fairly well now, but reading it was another matter. It was very easy for them to pretend to be struggling with the words, because it was true. So when General Huskvarna arrived, no-one noticed travellers at the far end of the hall, quietly murmuring to each other. Suddenly, the reception desk was surrounded by people. The kind fairy who had greeted them seemed to have got squashed at the back.
“General Huskvarna, welcome to Uetliberg!”
“Thank you, Judge! It’s a real pleasure to be here again.”
General Huskvarna’s genial voice was booming so loudly, it seemed to Dub and Lupa that it would have been unnatural not to turn round and stare, so they did. The general was grinning his widest grin.
“He resembles a wolf!” whispered Lupa. “He frightens me. You did remember to take your wristband off, didn’t you?”
“Let me see… I think so,” said Dub.
“What! Be careful!”
“I was joking, Lupa. It is at the bottom of my backpack. But remember to walk not smartly. Sloppy, that is what we want. If we detected military training in them, they can do the same to us.”
They walked sloppily across towards the access to the lower levels, talking to each other quietly in Czech, but they were listening carefully in case anything interesting was being said.
“The representatives you asked for have arrived,” said a different fairy. She was dressed all in black and she had a clipboard, so they didn’t know if she was Hill or Special Brigade. “Three from Germany and three from Switzerland. The largest of the nearby colonies that are friendly.”
“Excellent. Then let’s get as many of your people together as we can. Half an hour, in your big music room?”
Dub and Lupa walked nonchalantly down the steps to level 4, and soon found the dormitory. They bagged two beds by dumping their backpacks on them, then waited until they began to hear plenty of noise outside. They sidled out and mingled with the crowds on the staircase, making their way to the music room. This was a very impressive place, with wonderful musical decorations in white plasterwork, touched with bright gilding, and on the stage was a grand piano.
“This is too grand for me,” whispered Lupa. “I would not dare to play my accordion in here.”
As the room got fuller, they stopped admiring the décor and concentrated on holding their places at the back. Then General Huskvarna and the Judge came in through another door, and everyone cheered. Dub thought it would look good if he joined in.
“Web-face, ugly mug!” he called in Czech.
Lupa kicked him.
“Shut up, nincompoop! Someone may understand you!”
“Not likely,” Dub retorted, but he acknowledged the remote possibility and kept quiet. The Judge was speaking, anyway, introducing General Huskvarna, and there was more cheering as he stepped forward.
“Thank you so much for your welcome,” he said. “I’ve come here first with the news, because you of all people can claim to be the originators of parliament. First, the good news. The army, which has done nothing but hinder good governance for decades, is finished. My troops took the fight right to their doorsteps and captured their camp up there in Norway. They also captured most of the army sprites, who are even now being re-trained so they can see the error of their ways and be a real help to us in Special Brigade. The small remnant that wasn’t captured is powerless now, scattered and leaderless. But that brings me to the bad news. The realm also is leaderless. The Premier, I am most sorry to say, is missing. He appears to have abandoned Wielkopolska. Moreover the envoys, who evacuated at the first sign of danger, have not returned. If they had, they could elect a new Premier, but without them, it is difficult to know what to do.
I can’t stay for long – tomorrow I must be off again to France – because there is just so much to do. The army may be finished, but that means there are no longer any police. The lawless are already taking advantage of that and the thuggish gangs of refugees are getting bolder. Last week, I heard that the ancient Hill of Franchard, one of the finest in the realm as you know, was invaded by a gang of riff-raff from Paris, imps and goblins among them, of course. To be fair, it was ex-police sprites who helped restore order. They’re calling themselves some fancy name now – Guardians, I think it was – but a lot of damage was done before they acted.”

When the general stopped, questions poured out, but Lupa began to push Dub back towards the wall.
“Sergeant Grybow!” he whispered. “Turn your face away, she was army, and only two years ago. If she sees us, she could recognise us!”
“Oh dear, we are in the kettle now,” said Dub. “We can’t get out either. Whatever is she doing here?”
“She is Special Brigade too. She could be on a journey, like he is.”

General Huskvarna raised his voice.
“The answer to a lot of your questions – I am sorry to say – is that I just don’t know. But what I will do is get information to you as quickly as possible. We are forming a new section to do just that, until the communication system improves. What I ask of you, as the pre-eminent Hill and colonies, is to think how order may best be maintained in the current emergency. Someone has to make a decision, and then I and my colleagues in Special Brigade will implement that with all speed before the situation deteriorates any further. Thank you.”

The Judge took over again then, directing some people to return to various duties and others to attend emergency meetings. As the sprites began to file out of the door, Dub and Lupa kept their eyes on Sergeant Grybow and tried to keep out of her line of sight.
“Let’s go outside,” Lupa mouthed silently.
Once they were clear of the crush on the stairs it was easy to get outside. They both breathed in the fresh mountain air as if they needed to get rid of the stifling atmosphere. They couldn’t see any humans around just now, but they were feeling cautious so they headed for the shelter of a little stand of pines.
“Oh, this is very heavy,” said Dub. “So much news! We must remember carefully everything we have heard.”
“There is urgency,” said Lupa, with a worried frown. “We must get away as soon as we can, yet to leave immediately would look very suspicious.”
“I know, I think we will have to stay the night. And we will have to head east too, or that will also look suspicious. Oh, look out, someone’s coming! Quick, up into the trees, and keep still.”
They leaped, only just in time, feeling that they should have realised that they would not be the only sprites who needed a breath of fresh air.
“It’s her!” whispered Dub. “Oh, no!”
Sergeant Grybow – if she was still a sergeant – appeared to be in no hurry to go anywhere. She wandered from tree to tree in quiet contemplation. But then she stopped, right under the tree where Dub and Lupa were hiding.
“You, army elves,” she said, without looking up. “I’m sorry that I don’t remember your names, but I remember your faces. I don’t know if you’re spies or not, and I am not asking. But I am asking something of you, because I care about parliament as much as you care about the army. Get word to Gran Herdalen, that Lars Huskvarna is trying to get himself appointed as Protector of the realm. Warn him – warn him as soon as you can.”
Dub and Lupa stared at each other in consternation. They watched open-mouthed as Sergeant Grybow walked quietly away, then they stared at each other again.
“So that is what he was on about?” said Dub. “Yes… all those hints about how bad things are, were really trying to get them to turn to him?”
“How clever he is. I never spotted it – but now the sergeant has said it, I can see it.”
“And that is very bad for the army, but it is bad for the parliament too – the real parliament – and Sergeant Grybow does not want Special Brigade ruling the realm, she wants the real parliament.”
“But getting word to General Herdalen,” said Lupa, “how can we do that? He is in Poland. We have never been as far east as Poland. I think we should go back to Essen and tell Colonel Dünnwald. He will know what to do.”
“I don’t think there’s time,” said Dub. “This is too urgent. We ought to go straight to General Herdalen. There is no-one to ask, and no Signals to help us. We are on our own.”
They were each quiet, thinking it through, and Dub was the first to speak again.
“What would Ace and Will do?”
“Ah,” said Lupa. “They have such confidence. They make decisions and go for it. They would go to Poland.”
“Then so can we,” said Dub. “First thing in the morning, we head east.”

High above Oslofjord, the Hill for Southern Norway lay safely hidden in the mountainside. On the slopes around it, a sprawling makeshift encampment was growing by the day. Here, the refugees from the Battle of Fjaerland were gathering. Some had been there for days; some, like the contingent that had come by helicopter from the Salvesen farm in Dovrefjell, had only just arrived. Ace moved quietly through the camp, taking everything in. The mood was sombre. There were many reunions going on, and though you could see love and relief in people’s faces, you could also see grief and tears. But there was also a sense of purpose in the air, a quiet resolve to pick themselves up and do battle again, to put right all the things that were wrong. This war wasn’t over yet, whatever parliament might think.
Rumours, as always, abounded, and as the more optimistic rumours passed from sprite to sprite, faces looked more animated and cheerful. Ace overheard one elf telling some new arrivals that Technical HQ had found a way to make Signals work again. Ace smiled to himself, thinking of Will. He knew that one wasn’t true, though he could see where the idea had come from. He also heard a fairy telling another fairy that reinforcements were coming, top troops from First Regiment who had missed the battle because of their duties guarding Hills. Ace knew that that one was true, and the thought of it put a spring in his step. There were friends coming, friends he was longing to see again.
Another cheering thought was General Gran Herdalen. The best tactical brain in the army, Ace knew he would have spent every waking moment for the last four weeks thinking of plans, and that those plans would be good. Ace didn’t know what orders he was going to get, or where he’d be tomorrow, or next week, and he didn’t mind, either. Whatever it was, it would be part of Gran’s plan, and right now, that was all that mattered.
He saw people he knew, and if they caught his eye, he waved cheerfully, but he didn’t stop. He was looking for someone, and he didn’t know where he would be. But Madge would have been looking for the same person, while Ace had been organising the camouflaging of the helicopters, so Ace reckoned if he listened out for Madge’s voice somewhere near the centre of all this crowd, he wouldn’t go far wrong. Madge was actually talking to General Stalden, who had come down from Hella a couple of days ago with a group of flyers. But sure enough, Colonel Arnsberg was nearby.

Buchel Arnsberg, a beech like so many in Third Regiment, had spent years quietly as colonel of Germany 3. When the call had come to defend Fjaerland, he had responded with speed and had found himself at first the senior elf present. His sturdy common sense had helped Madge immeasurably. He was standing now near the entrance to the Hill, with a queue of people waiting to speak to him. Ace waited his turn and listened with respect to the way the colonel reassured the anxious worriers, promised news soon to the impatient and supplied basic information to the bewildered. The queue moved quickly.
“Hello, sir!” said Ace.
“Ace, good to see you! How are you?”
“Fine, sir. Just missing Will. How are you?”
“Hanging on. Fighting is easier than organising! But there are orders coming, from General Herdalen. Then we’ll all have some action, I’m sure.”
“Brilliant,” said Ace. “Well, this might help once you’re on the move.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Mobile phone for you, sir. You can actually use this one straight away to call General Arley, General Stalden or soon, Colonel Dünnwald. Those phones work already because they’re on a human network.”
“I’m not sure I understand that, Ace, but thank you very much for giving me your phone.”
“Don’t worry about it, sir. Colonel Dünnwald and Will are working on a sort of elf network and then you’ll be able to call any sprite with a phone.”
Colonel Arnsberg looked at the phone with awe.
“I don’t know how to work it.”
Madge was in earshot, Ace noticed.
“General Arley could show you, sir, she’s a real expert now.”
“I heard that, Ace Moseley. Very funny.”
“I’ll hang around here, sir,” grinned Ace, delighted at having got a rise out of Madge. “Then I can show you things whenever you’ve got a few minutes free.”
“Thank you, Ace. I hoped you’d say that!”

Ace followed his nose to a nearby campfire. If someone had a fire burning in July, there would be hot drinks going and he hadn’t had a drink for hours and hours. As soon as he had his drink, Ace sat down on the grass. The colonel was still busy, and there was no-one nearby who looked sad or lonely, so Ace felt free to float away in his mind and find his twin. South – a long way south – but not that far east. He wasn’t in Germany yet, then. He wasn’t in a helicopter, either. Not moving fast enough for that. In fact, if he was moving at all, Ace was too far away to detect it.
Will? Where are you?
Oh hi, Ace, I’m in the Netherlands. At a station called Eindhoven, waiting for a fast train east. Where are you, you’ve stopped flying south, are you at Oslofjord now?
Just arrived, all safe.
What’s it like?
Serious. Quiet but resolved.
I wish I was there with you.
So do I. But you’ve got work to do that no-one else can do, and I mustn’t wish you away from that. I’ve given my phone to Colonel Arnsberg now.
We’ll soon get you another one. I’m taking about twenty to Essen, just from the people at home.
Thanks, Will. Where did you split up from Pendo and the others?
Just outside Rotterdam. They’re heading north along the coast, and from Copenhagen they’ll just follow the railway lines. They should be with you in a couple of days. Hey, here’s my train, got to go!
Tell me when you get to Essen!

Feeling much happier, Ace brought his attention back to where he was. The colonel was coming over, holding his phone dubiously but with a determined expression on his face. Ace finished his tea and got ready to concentrate. He had work to do.
Colonel Arnsberg learned much faster than Madge. Ace was impressed, but he realised that the colonel wasn’t even trying to understand what he was doing. He was just memorising sequences of actions. Madge had been slower because she’d been trying to understand something that didn’t come naturally. Give either of them a completely different phone, and Madge would have figured it out first. Still, it was an excellent start, and when other people began to want the colonel’s attention, Ace said that was probably enough for one day, and went off to find the rest of his unit.
Only a few of England 3 had gone north to Marta’s. The rest of the regiment, under Captain Thurlgrove, had been scattered across Sogn, evading capture by Special Brigade and burning with grief for their dead colonel. But then they had re-grouped and travelled swiftly to Oslofjord by cross-country and by train. They had been waiting now for two weeks, and they were the ones who had made the tents and helped the sprites from the Hill to care for new arrivals.
Ace was the last of the latest batch to turn up that day, but he was still swamped with hugs and questions. Everyone was avid for every scrap of news. Ace told them that Will had been sent to Essen. That didn’t surprise anybody, but he got a lot of sympathy. He could tell them too that Pendo, Sal and Lance were on their way here now. Once everyone was just talking again, mostly speculating about what they’d be doing next, Ace had a chance to look around, because here they were right at the edge of the encampment. The mighty fjord, sweeping out to sea, looked so blue in the summer light. Oslo itself, spread out before them, looked like a city with all its doors open. From here, you could go absolutely anywhere. A better place to assemble an army it was hard to imagine. As the evening wore on, and he relaxed with his friends, Ace noticed that the mood across the whole camp seemed louder and more cheerful than it had done earlier. It seemed to be because a large party of goblins had arrived. Living in the present as always, they had no regrets and no apprehension either. They were just very happy to have finished their journey and found the rest of the army, and their jollity spread around.
It’s always the same, thought Ace. Morale can swing one way or the other so easily. Betch is right. Cheering people up is very important.
Another thing he noticed was Madge, walking often to the same viewpoint, where she could look to the south-east. She was expecting someone to fly in, then. She was waiting for something important. Ace wondered what it could be, until he remembered what Colonel Arnsberg had said, that orders were coming from General Herdalen, and then he stopped wondering. Ace stood up and stretched. It wasn’t dark, of course, but soon, people would want to sleep. It was time to sing.

Hail to the Queen of Sprites…
And then something wonderful happened. One by one, more and more sprites stood up and joined in, until it seemed as if the whole hillside was singing and the sprites inside the Hill came out to see what was going on. And to Ace, the best part of all was knowing that they were all singing in their own languages, but he could understand all of them, and they were all singing the same thing. The more deeply he sensed that, the more he missed Will, and the more he missed Will, the more aching pain crept into his voice, though he didn’t realise it. By the time the singing was over, there were a lot of sprites in tears.
Ace was devastated. That had been so beautiful, but he’d ruined the cheerful mood.
“I’m so sorry,” he apologised to those around him. “I didn’t meant to make anyone unhappy.”
“Unhappy?” said Captain Thurlgrove, blowing his nose. “Don’t you believe it. Don’t you know that some tears are even happier than laughter?”
And when he thought about it, Ace realised that was true. He lay down to sleep, and thought to Will, but there was no response, even though he’d been moving at train speed until very recently.
Kept going till he crashed, then fell straight asleep in some grubby corner of a railway station, thought Ace fondly. Head on his arm, probably didn’t even bother to make a blanket. I know my twin. Sleep well, Will. Keep safe.

No news from the east arrived that night, but Ace didn’t spend the next day just waiting, because he was given an unexpected job to do. Soon after breakfast, a goblin major whom none of them knew, turned up looking for him.
“Captain Moseley? I need an elf with wide experience of cities and traffic, and General Arley recommended you.”
“Oh,” said Ace, “yes, I have that all right. What can I do for you?”
“I’ve had a report of two goblins stranded on an island in the middle of a road junction, just outside the railway station. They daren’t move back and they daren’t move on. Can you go and rescue them for me?”
“Yes sir,” said Ace. “I’ll get off right away.”
“Thank you so much,” said the major. “Take anyone you need with you.”

Ace thought one other elf would be enough, so he took Douglas, who was bored and wanted to come. He was keen to learn more about traffic himself, and as well as that, he was extremely tall and big enough to push a frightened goblin around if necessary. Leaping together through the countryside outside the city was a joy. When they reached the suburbs, they had to slow down a bit, but it gave them a chance to get used to everything being the opposite way round to England. Traffic lights, though, behaved in exactly the same way, and Douglas said he was glad to have finally got his head round the sequence.
“Another thing that’s different to home,” said Ace, “is that cars have to have their headlamps on all the time. Seems a bit crazy on a bright day like this, but that’s their rule.”
“It looks weird,” said Douglas. “I bet that’s what’s frightened those goblins. But I suppose it makes sense. It’s simpler than having dozens of different low-light situations that you have to have lights for.”
“And this is Norway,” grinned Ace. “Dozens is what they’d have. Hey, look at that bus! Come on!”
Trusting that Douglas would follow him, Ace streaked off down the road, jumped up into a tree, and then leaped down onto the top of the bus when it moved beneath.
“You spotted where it was going?” panted Douglas.
“Jernbanestasjon,” gasped Ace. “What a stroke of luck. The railway station. I wish I’d noticed the number.”
“It’s 70,” said Douglas, “but why?”
“Oh well spotted,” said Ace. “Because buses work in pairs. Another number 70 will come back down this road, doing the same route in the opposite direction. It will say the name of the place it’s going, but we don’t know the place names, that’s why we need the number.”
“That’s going to save loads of time,” said Douglas with respect. “I am learning so much today.”

Riding on top of the bus was great fun, and they learned a lot about the layout of the city. It was easy to see when they were approaching the station, and to jump down onto the roof of a bus shelter.
“Excellent,” said Ace. “Now, where are our lost goblins?”
“That’s the main entrance, where the glass doors are? They won’t have come out that way, will they?”
“Unlikely,” said Ace. “Goblins usually look for a side door. There are two side streets, so could easily be an entrance each side.”
“So we need to try each in turn. But how to get round there? It’s too busy, there are humans everywhere.”
“I agree, it’s too busy to cross the square. But from here, we can go round the edges of it, building to building, there are all sorts of things to land on.”
“Eeek,” said Douglas.
“You’ll be fine. If we get split up, meet up again at that corner – you see it? – where the name of the square is.”
“Jernbanetarget. I see it. You go first, will you, Ace?”
“OK, but don’t be worried. I’ll tell you what a very wise friend of mine once told me – humans hardly ever look what’s happening above their heads.”

Ace reached the far corner first, but he could see where Douglas was. His jumps were fast and accurate; the only thing that was slowing him down was his great caution about when it was safe to go.
“I can’t believe I did that!” he said happily when he arrived. “All those humans! And they never saw me!”
“You were great,” said Ace. “And look what I’ve spotted - just in front of the station there – the entrance to a subway. I thought it was an island at first, and might have been where the goblins were. It isn’t, but it’s going to be a great way to get them out of here.”
Ace and Douglas went cautiously around the corner, and the first thing they saw was that the station did have a side entrance in that street. The second was that there was definitely an island in the middle of the wide road, well supplied with shrubs and tubs of flowers.
“It can’t be that, can it?” said Douglas. “A tiny little road like that? I thought they’d be in the middle of the main square!”
“So did I,” said Ace. “But it’s the first island we’ve seen. Let’s check it out.”
Two big jumps got them onto the island and sure enough, there were the goblins, hiding among the shrubs. One was shaking and had his arms wrapped around his head. The other was waiting patiently.
“Ace!”
“Cowberry!” said Ace. “Great to see you again! This is Douglas, he’s England 3 like me. And that’s Tistel, isn’t it? So what’s the problem here?”
“We were coming to join the rendezvous,” said Cowberry. “But the train frightened Tistel so much, and when he saw all this traffic, he couldn’t go any further. He walked down to Fjaerland from his fjell, you see, and the busiest road he’s ever seen before is the road to Balestrand.”
“I understand,” said Ace. “It’s a big shock. Hey, Tistel! Can you move your arms a minute and look up? That’s better. You remember me, don’t you?”
“Ace,” said Tistel. “You did wonderful music.”
“Ah, those were the days,” said Ace. “I’m not even sure where my guitar is now. Harpsden Wood, maybe. Anyway, the thing is, we’ve come to help you get away from here.”
“I daren’t. It’s horrible!”
“Oh, that’s a shame,” said Ace, winking at Cowberry. “Because Cowberry and Douglas and I are leaving now. We’ll have to leave you here all on your own. Of course, a cat will probably get you, but that’s much less scary than crossing a tidgy little road with two elves to help you, isn’t it?”
“Shall I go and find a sheet of newspaper, Ace?” said Douglas. “I think I see a bin over there.”
“Thanks, that’d be great. Oldest trick in the book, and they never notice.”
When Douglas had gone, Ace pretended to ignore Tistel.
“So Cowberry, it’s very easy. We hold the newspaper above our heads. It hides us completely, and we do little scurrying runs, so the newspaper looks as if it’s just blowing around. We cross this little road, then go round the corner. Cross another little road and then down into a subway – that’s like a tunnel under the road. Can’t even see or hear the cars from down there. Walk through the subway, then climb out and up into a tree. It’s a stiff climb for a goblin, but one as brave and strong as you will have no problem.”
Cowberry didn’t ask what came after the tree. He could see that Ace had stopped at that point for a reason.
“It’ll be great to get up into the mountains and the fresh air,” he said. “Meet up with the rest of the Goblin Regiment and have something good to drink. I can’t wait!”
Ace gave him a big grin and a thumbs-up for this helpful comment. Then Douglas came back with the sheet of newspaper. He and Ace took an edge each, then invited Cowberry to come into the middle.
“Right, we’re ready,” said Ace. “Off we go. Bye, Tistel, it was nice knowing you!”
With a first scurrying run, the newspaper moved off. With a frightened howl of misery, Tistel leaped to his feet and ran to Cowberry’s side.
Yes, thought Ace. Result! How I’m going to get him on the top of a bus I don’t know, but I’ll worry about that when the time comes.

They hadn’t gone very far along the subway when Ace noticed the noise. Just a soft swish that seemed to be keeping pace with them, he would have thought it was just an echo from being in a tunnel. Except that they weren’t jumping. To keep pace with the goblins, he and Douglas were running. The jumping was being done by whoever was following them.
As soon as they drifted artistically to their next halt, Ace whispered to the others.
“Next time, when I say ‘turn’, retrace your steps and get ready to fight.”
No-one wasted time asking questions. They moved forward, with Ace counting jumps and listening hard to the direction, and when he tossed the newspaper aside and leaped onto his quarry, the goblins both joined in with enthusiasm, delighted to have the opportunity to be a real help. Douglas just held on to the newspaper so it didn’t blow away for real. The goblins had the enemies on the ground already.
“Prisoners!” said Cowberry. “This is fun.”
“I’m afraid not,” said Ace. “They’re on our side. Get up, you cuckoos."
“Aw, we thought you were Special Brigade! This is so not fair. Colonel Dünnwald sent out all his deliverers to see if we could find out where Special Brigade were and what they were doing.”
“What, you mean you’re Third Regiment? I’m shocked. We expect a higher standard than that. But we can’t talk here. Come with us for now.”

With six sprites under the newspaper, it wasn’t really moving at all like a piece of paper being blown by the wind. There wasn’t much wind in the subway, anyway, but there wasn’t anyone to notice either. The only person who passed them was a girl who didn’t look up from her phone. It took patience to get everyone up into a tree near a bus stop, but once they had done that, they could breathe. Douglas shared some water and Ace had a look at the elves he'd found. One was nearly as tall as Douglas and had a baffled look that was very familiar to Ace now. He thought he knew what tree that one was. One was only a bit taller than Ace was, with sparkling blue eyes, a cheeky grin and amazing pink streaks. He had no idea what tree that one was at all, yet there was something familiar...
"Are you an Acer?"
"Acer davidii," said the elf with a grin. "Not many people get that right first shot, but you would, of course, sir. David is my name, and this is Gus, but his nickname's Goffo. That's Italian for clumsy."
Ace was too polite to comment on that, so he just remarked that all the elves he knew from Italy were great, and introduced everyone else. But when he got to himself, the new elves just stared at him as if they were astounded.
"You mean you're Will Moseley's twin? Wow!"
"I have that honour," grinned Ace, thinking it was about time someone saw it that way round. But of course if these two were from the Technical Section, they would definitely have heard of Will.
"So, this is a great idea of your colonel's, to track down Special Brigade. When did you go out?"
"July 17th. We thought some of them might still be in Norway, that's why we came straight to Oslo. If they left from here, we might have been able to work out where they were going."
"Good thinking," said Ace. "Apart from following us. Honestly, why would Special Brigade have goblins? And be wearing army wristbands? Still, never mind that now. The thing is, you’ve picked the very place the army is assembling. And as far as I know, no-one’s reported any sign of Special Brigade in these parts.”
"Bother," said David. "Wish we'd gone south now. I thought Dub and Lupa were crazy, going south, but they might have been right."
"Dub and Lupa Berounka?" said Ace. "I know them. Great friends of mine. Perhaps they'll have had some luck."
"Here's the bus, Ace," said Douglas.
"Excellent. Why don't you two come up to camp with us, at least for the evening? I'm sure General Arley would want to hear your news, and she might have some hints about where to search. You'll come? Great. We may need you to help us push. Now, Tistel, this is a bus, okay? Nothing to be frightened of. We're just going to jump down onto the top of it."

Once Tistel was on the roof of the bus, he stopped being frightened and started enjoying himself. So the rest of their journey back went smoothly, but all the same, it took them the rest of the day to do it. It was early evening when Ace delivered the goblins to the rest of their regiment, and waited while David and Goffo reported to Madge. Then he took them back to the rest of Third Regiment, where a surprise was waiting for him. Some of First Regiment were there too. Ace ran towards them as they ran towards him, resulting in a hug that was more like a crash.
“Fran! Peter! Oh, it’s wonderful to see you! Oh, we’ll soon start winning now you lot have arrived.”
“You’ve been doing pretty well yourself from all we hear,” said Fran. “Look at you! You’re a captain now! Where’s Will?”
That started another long session of news, and in the middle of that, Pendo, Sal and Lance arrived, weary but triumphant. They got an ecstatic welcome, and at the same time, a party of fairies flew in, and the noise from the other fairies was getting louder and louder. The sprites from the Hill came out to see what was going on, and more and more sprites seemed to be crowding together until they weren’t just units or gaggles of friends, but one big throng. And then Ace, who’d been too busy talking to see why, looked up and saw Madge flying up to a rocky vantage point above them. Madge, with papers in her hand. This was it, then. The crowd fell silent.
For a moment, Madge beamed fondly at them all, then instantly began speaking decisively.
“The news we have been waiting for,” she said, and the army cheered. “While the Commander is still a captive, General Herdalen is our leader. I have every confidence that his plans will be clever and successful. All we have to do is carry them out, and we shall soon have parliament on the run. I pay tribute to his flyers, who have crossed the continent at phenomenal speed and with the secrecy vital to the success of our plans. They are a credit to Fighter Squadron – Dan Moseley and Carda Rysy.”
Ace cheered them loudly and so did everyone else. It was easy to imagine how terrifying it must have been to be entrusted with documents so important. Gran had sent his very best.
“Security is vital,” said Madge. “No word of these plans must reach the enemy. We strike hard and fast in small groups in many places, and each achievement will baffle the enemy and be part of a big picture.”
Which we won’t see till the end, thought Ace. Devious as ever, Gran!
“Therefore,” Madge continued, “I ask you now to raise your hand if the person standing on either side of you is unknown to you. Unless you are certain that he or she is for the cause, raise your hand.”
The crowd was so dense now that actually quite a lot of hands were raised. General Stalden and Madge herself flew over the crowd, checking, and making sure that everyone was vouched for. Then Madge returned to her perch.
“Excellent. I shall now read the general’s orders, as far as they apply to all. Then I’ll read a list of names. Those officers will report to me for details of their individual missions. By tomorrow, we will be on our way again.”
Madge cleared her throat and began to read:

For the purposes of winning this war, we are now two armies, the western army – that’s you – and the eastern army. All ranks hold, but units do not. Action will be taken in very small groups and very big ones. So for now, forget regiments, squadrons, etc. All that matters is your next objective.
Communications remain poor. Although we have some phones now, and I have every confidence that we will soon have more, there will be missed messages and stragglers. Any unit finding stragglers or lost army sprites or army sprites unsure of what to do, will take them on, regardless of past units.
This is vital. We can’t win without numbers. It needs all of us, we can’t afford to lose anyone. Yet we have been scattered. The only way we can get back together is to start thinking as one.

“You get the idea?” said Madge sternly. “Good. So I don’t want to hear any more about first, or second, or elite units. Every member of this army is an elite sprite. And that includes all recruits who had not formally graduated. It includes all volunteers, too. Now, the objectives. These are the names of the people who will lead teams.”
This sounds good! thought Ace. What a great way to get everyone working together. Oh, I hope I get called out.
He didn’t have long to wait before he heard his name. When Madge had finished reading the list of names, she had a few more remarks to make.
“All flyers currently searching and taking messages will continue with that vital work. I myself will be remaining here for some time yet, organising messages and helping stragglers. Some of the Elf Squadron will also remain, under Captain Thurlgrove, holding their magnificent helicopters in readiness for any dire emergencies that arise. The rest of you will soon be on your way. Remember to keep your eyes open for phones on doorsteps! Every one of those is not just a wonderful tool but also a potential new Ally. It will be some time before we all meet again. But if we all follow General Herdalen’s instructions very carefully, then when we do meet again, the situation will look very different. Of that I am absolutely certain.”

After that, Ace had to queue up with a lot of other officers all equally keen to find out what they had to do.
“Captain Moseley,” said Madge formally, but with a twinkle in her eye. “Here are your orders. If you need anything – maps, materials, for example – ask at the desk in the Hill, the Hill workers have been putting together all kinds of useful things.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” grinned Ace.
Madge just looked at him fondly for a moment, with a sweet smile, then she had to turn to the next waiting officer. Ace hurried off to read his orders. He was delighted to find there no formality at all. To read Gran’s words was nearly as good as talking to him.

Hi Ace, he read, sorry to take Will away from you, but as soon as Colonel Dünnwald can cope, he can rejoin you. Meanwhile get together a small team, about a dozen should do, anyone you like. Just don’t take all the pilots, some of them will need to stay with your wonderful helicopters. You'll need some flyers and I recommend at least one French speaker. Proceed to grid reference 5PXF and at that colony of Rabot, arrest, well, kidnap really, parliament’s Chief of Communication, Strelitzia Rabot. Once you’ve got her, bring her to grid reference MW6G. And no, I’m not shielding you. Far from it. This is a tricky one. If anyone can find a way to winkle that hag out of her mountain fastness, it’s you. Good luck, my friend, G.H.

To read that made Ace’s emotions flare up like so many squibs going off in different directions, but the overwhelming one was excitement, at the challenge of what lay ahead. Finding maps could wait. Other officers would also be looking for teams and Ace didn’t want to find his friends had already been picked by someone else. He went first to Captain Thurlgrove, to see who’d been chosen to stay. He couldn’t have Pendo. That was no surprise, he was a superb pilot. He couldn’t have Douglas or Lance either, but the captain said he could have Herbert and he suggested Ace took Sal.
“He’s not your willow, but he is a willow.”
“I can’t equal Will at anything,” said Sal. “But I can do the exuding calmness bit.”
“Thank you,” said Ace. “I appreciate that very much.”
The captain was keeping Rob, so Ace didn’t even try to take Phil away. His next move was to see if Fran and Peter were interested.
“You bet,” said Fran.
“Can I come too?” said Lieutenant Waterperry. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Ace, mostly from Aesculus.”
“Oh!” said Ace. “Oh, you must be Tivo? Aesculus thinks the world of you. Great to have you!”
“Now we need flyers, and French speakers,” Ace explained.
Then Phil turned up.
“If you and Will can cope apart, then so can Rob and I,” he said. “If you’ll have me.”
Ace just hugged him.
“Do you know anyone who can speak French, Phil?” said Fran.
“French? Yeah, sure, Lisette.”
“I’ve heard of her,” said Ace. “She’s the volunteer who helped Dale with the computer. Where are those two, are they here?”
“They are,” said Peter, “but Lisette can’t fly, her wings were burned. And only Dale really knows her, and you know Dale – “
“We do,” sighed Fran.
“-no confidence.”
“We’ll sort it,” said Ace. “Anyone know where they are?”

It took a while to find them, and while they were searching, Ace noticed that the army was very short of flyers who weren’t already assigned to searching and taking messages. In fact, the few who weren’t had their pick of missions.
“Hi Dale, want a job?” said Ace.
“Me? You want me?”
“I do,” said Ace. “And Lisette too.”
“But I can’t fly,” Lisette nearly sobbed.
“Don’t you worry about that. I’ve been thinking. We have to go to the south-east of France, so why shouldn’t we go via Essen? There’s someone there who can pool with Dale and make your wings better.”
“Brilliant,” said Phil. “And if we’re going to Essen, we don’t need to waste time queuing up for maps and things here. I can get us to Essen, and the maps and information they’ll have there will be better than anything Oslofjord Hill can provide.”
“I forgot you were a train fan too,” said Ace. “This is great. How many have we got now, then?”
“Nine,” said Sal. “Is that enough?”
“One more,” said Ace, “so long as she’s a flyer.”
And then, as if it was meant to be, a little imp walked past.
“Hey, Gazania!” called Ace.
He suspected a first year imp wouldn’t be everyone’s first choice, but Ace had had the opportunity to see her quality and he knew how fervent and brave she was.
“I’m taking a team to France on one of General Herdalen’s missions,” he explained. “Would you like to come?”
“Come with you? Yes. Yes please, sir.”
“That’s great. But, you know, General Herdalen might want us to mix things up a bit, but I’m still Third Regiment and we don’t do much formality. My name’s Ace, OK?”
“OK, Ace. Did you say France? Whereabouts? I’m from France, de la Pommeraye."
“Grenoble,” said Ace. “Another French speaker? This is excellent.” He looked around at his new team. “How d’you feel about getting off now? General Arley isn’t going to let everyone leave at once. But if we left now, we could be in the city by dawn, and be off south on the first train of the day.”
“But you’ve already been to Oslo and back today!” said Tivo. “Can you manage that?”
“I know,” said Ace. “I’m not saying it won’t be tiring. But it’s going to be a big help if some people leave really soon, and we can sleep on the train.”
“Well, if you can do that,” said Sal, “I guess the rest of us can manage it.”
There was a murmur of agreement, and Ace felt his spirits soaring. This was going to be a great team, he could feel it.
“Fantastic,” he said. “I have to report to General Arley, tell her the names of the people I’m taking. That shouldn’t take long. If you’ve got backpacks or any useful things with you, go and get them, and meet up again here in half an hour.”

Madge had someone writing everything down for her, to take back to General Herdalen, and Ace shrieked when he saw her.
“Dan! Epic flight. Wish I could nab you for this team, but I guess you’re going back to Poland soon?”
“Oh, Ace, I hoped I'd see you!” She jumped up to hug him, scattering her papers on the floor. “I’d love to come, but yes, I have to get back. But not to Poland. The Eastern Army is on the move too.”
As soon as Madge turned to attend to Ace, Dan hastily picked her papers up and Ace tried to look serious and professional. He couldn’t manage it for a moment, but he knew Madge would understand. Madge didn’t ask him any questions at all about his plans, and he appreciated that compliment to his skills. She just made sure they had the names of his team and noted that they were heading for the train to Denmark.
“Good luck,” she said warmly. “We’ll meet again soon, I’m sure.”
“Thank you,” said Ace. “General Herdalen’s not the only general who’s doing a brilliant job for us. See you soon, ma’am, see you, Dan!”
Ace was hurrying back towards the helicopters to say goodbye to Captain Thurlgrove and to pick up his own backpack, when he sensed a warmth flooding through his mind that meant Will was trying to get through to him. He kept moving, but he slowed down and let his gaze linger on the mauve horizon over the sea.
Ace? Well, I made it. I’m here in Essen.
Ace listened to Will’s news, noticing how tired he sounded, and glad that he had some good news of his own to give him before he went to sleep.
Yes, Gran did give me one of the teams to lead, he finished. And he said you could join me as soon as you can, too. I have to go to Grenoble, and we’re coming via Essen. See you the day after tomorrow.

Will had known that when he arrived at Essen station, there’d be someone to meet him, but he hadn’t been expecting Colonel Dünnwald himself. But as soon as he cleared the platform and leaped up to a good vantage point, there was the colonel leaping down to greet him.
“Will! It’s good to see you again. You’ve made very good time. This way… it’s not far. Everyone’s so excited about meeting you.”
All this made Will feel rather wary. He didn’t want to be the centre of attention, it made him uncomfortable, and he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be as easy to stay in the background as it was when Ace was around.
“That’s great.” Will tried to sound enthusiastic. “Lead on, sir, I’ll follow you.”
The huge stairwell of the office block was a bit daunting, but Will tackled it with determination and found that actually, the exercise helped him, and he could shake off the stiffness that came from hours cramped in trains and sleeping on concrete. Then he was at the top floor, light was pouring in through huge windows, and that was fine. Equipment and tools of every kind were ranged along row after row of work benches and that was fine too. But every eye in the place was looking at him and that was not good at all.
Fighting a desire to panic, Will followed the colonel closely and looked to him for introductions. He was surprised that there were so few elves, but he heard that they were all out on duty.
“I’m sorry to miss Dub and Lupa, they’re good friends,” said Will. “I’m afraid I don’t know anybody else, except Ratzo.”
He shook hands with the goblin from his own year, and then with everyone else, from a fairy called Penelope Pamisos who looked as fierce as she looked intelligent – and she looked very intelligent indeed – down to two fairies from Third Squadron who kept staring at him speechlessly.
He smiled as cheerfully as he could, hoping to put them at their ease, then started to look at the things the colonel wanted to show him.

“He’s beautiful,” sighed Maag.
“And his twin is even more beautiful than that?” said Campanilla. “Is that even possible?”
“This we have to see.”

Blissfully unaware that his looks were being discussed behind him, Will was by now peering inside Colonel Dünnwald’s computer, all shyness forgotten.
“I agree,” he said. “If a component looks in good condition but doesn’t work in a given setting, it’s likely to be a compatibility issue. Still worth keeping the component. Did you know, parts from computers that have this symbol – you see the little image of an apple with a bite taken out of it? – won’t work with parts from other computers. Best to keep them separate. But this is terrific. You’ve done so much. What else do you need in here… let’s see… a sound card. I bet your excellent scavengers have found some of those.”
Everyone was gathering around to watch.
“Great wiring diagrams and spec sheets,” said Will. “Photocopies from a library? Brilliant idea.”
His eyes were flickering from the sheets to the computer. In half an hour, Colonel Dünnwald was saying ‘Ah’ a lot, and Captain Pamisos was taking notes. Finally, Will invited the colonel to press a button and a wonderful green light came on. There was a outburst of crazy cheering and jumping about, and Will noticed, bemused, that his neck was aching and it had gone dark.
“Well done, well done!” said the colonel.
“That was mostly your own work, sir,” grinned Will. “Tomorrow I need to show you how to do coding so you can program it. And we haven’t even started to look at the phones yet.”
“First thing in the morning,” said the colonel. “We mustn’t waste time. But it’s late and you’re tired. Come upstairs and get some fresh air.”
Interested, Will followed the colonel up a rather bare stairwell and emerged onto the roof. Here, there were cool breezes and the stars were bright overhead. Even better, there was a fire burning and a kettle hanging over it.
“We do have electric kettles,” said the colonel. “But last thing at night, we like to be outdoors, scientists and scavengers all together, just to relax a bit and have fun. Reminds us that we’re all sprites and we’re all army.”
“That’s beautiful,” said Will. “You’re a wise elf, Colonel.”
Will drank some hot chocolate and went to talk to Ratzo, then joined in a game of tag all around the parapet, trying not to look down at the terrifying drop.
Ace would love this, he thought. Then a biting loneliness started taking hold of him, piercing through his happy mood, and he knew he’d have no peace now until he’d had a chance to talk to Ace. He sat down by the fire again, but it wasn’t too long after that when people were ready for bed. He helped tidy up, then followed the others down to another part of the office that had been turned into living quarters. Here he found an astonishing and delightful marvel. The sprites had spread real earth across the floor and real plants were growing. The whole place was carpeted with living grass, and tall plants were growing happily in the well-lit room. Yet under the plants were beds and comfortable chairs and wash-stands, everything an off-duty sprite might like or need. The whole effect was of a barracks set in a forest glade, yet indoors and safe from wind and rain. The scale was comfortingly sprite-sized, with the plants shielding the view of the enormous windows and too-high ceiling. Only the Technical Section could have come up with this, Will thought. He was very quickly beginning to feel at home here. Even better, there were dozens of spare beds.
“Take your pick,” said Ratzo. “Goodnight, Will.”
“Thank you so much,” said Will. “This is luxury.”
Willows love their sleep, and Will was very tired and the bed was blissfully comfortable. But before he closed his eyes he fixed his mind on Norway and on his twin.
Ace? Well, I made it. I’m here in Essen.