BattleAxe First Read: Chapter Thirteen: The Cauldron Lake

[pangolin20]

Chapter Twelve | Table of Contents | Chapter Fourteen (Part I)

NRSG: A good day, everyone, and welcome back to BattleAxe! Last time, we spent some time at the edge of the Silent Woman Woods and Axis has a strange dream. Let us see what happens now!

 

[Before we begin, Chel noted on chapter 2 that “cloudberry cheese” is not as outlandish as it seemed to me, as cheese with fruit in it is a thing.]

 

Chapter Thirteen: The Cauldron Lake

We open were we left off last chapter on the 29^th of September. An hour after dawn, the group has breakfast and leads their horses to within fifty metres of the Woods. There is a “biting wind”, the riders are nervous, and their horses too. Belial looks at the path and says it will not be wide enough for two people to ride abreast.

Axis asks Gilbert how far in the Keep is, and Gilbert says he is not sure. Axis then “dryly” says that he thought Gilbert “knew most things”, and he asks him if he knows where the Keep exactly is. Gilbert’s face “splotche[s] a patchy red in embarrassment” as he says that it is “[a]t the end of the path”. Ah, I see we must make Gilbert look bad once again.

Belial swears, calling Gilbert a “useless lump” of something or other. Then Axis says this:

“Belial,” Axis said mildly, “it is not a good thing to curse the Brotherhood of the Seneschal. If Gilbert says the Keep is at the end of the path, then the Keep is at the end of the path. Of course, it might help if Gilbert knew how long this Artor-forsaken path is, wouldn’t it, Gilbert?”

Yes, I get it, Gilbert is to be hated! Also, Axis, it might help if you did not sound like you want to beat Gilbert up. And if you are to hate someone, let it be Jayme, because he was the one who saddled you with Gilbert. Oh, and just maybe you could have asked him before now! I hate Axis.

Gilbert swallows, wishing he was back in the Tower of the Seneschal. He says they have not had communication with the Keep for some time. Axis says that Jayme sent a rider, and Gilbert says that is true, but the rider has not come back out again. Ah, that gives the Woods the menace I said they were missing.

Everyone gets nervous at this, and we are told that Timozel and Arne are the youngest people present. Axis remembers how unsure Jayme was about the records in the Keep, and he asks how long it has been since Jayme has heard from the Keep. Gilbert looks up, and his skin is “pasty-white” as he says that it has been “[t]hirty-nine years”. Well, then Jayme is not very good at his job! This is just ridiculous! No one had any contact with them for 39 years?! I guess it might turn out to be because of magical intervention, but I doubt it.

Axis is as incredulous as I am, and he asks how anyone even knows if there is a Keep and who the leader is. Arne, “a dour-faced and dark-haired man”, then chuckles, and says that the Seneschal sent Ogden to take charge 39 years ago. How… humorous. Axis asks Gilbert if that is right, and he nods and says that the brothers are “an uncommunicative lot”. Axis swears and wonders why Jayme did not tell him this.

He then comes up with a contingency plan: If they are not back within three days, Belial is to send in another party. If that party does not come out, he is to send no one else in, break camp, and go to Carlon. He can tell Jayme that he himself should go in the Woods if someone has to, and if he refuses, he can go stop the Forbidden at Gorkenfort.

Belial nods and says this: “May Artor keep and hold you in His hand, BattleAxe”. Nice to see another phrase of this. Axis now asks everyone if they are ready, and orders them as such: Gilbert-Axis-Timozel-Arne. Gilbert goes up front, because his prayers might hold off the demons.

They get going, and Axis “spur[s] Belaguez into a gallop”. Never mind that they are fifty metres from the trees and he will soon need to slow down again… Belial watches them disappear, and then goes back to the camp, thinking that he will post guards at the entrance. Halfway back to camp, he sees Faraday, who is “watching the spot where the riders [have] disappeared.” Then there is a scene break, so I am not entirely certain what the point of this was.

Back with the riders, we are told they “slow[] their horses to a walk” once they enter the Woods. So what was the point of the gallop, then? Within “thirty paces” they are engulfed in dusk. They are all at high alert, “expecting attack at any moment”. The narration tells us that they can “hardly conceive of a world where there [are] no wide-open spaces, where the sky [is] not instantly visible.” Care to expand on that, Douglass? Could you maybe show us what they are feeling? No, of course not.

Well, the Axemen hold their swords at the ready, and Gilbert “occasionally whimper[s] in fear” (we get it) and would stop if Axis does not push his horse forward with Belaguez. It is very dark and silent, and not even birds call from the trees. About a hundred paces in, Timozel cries out for Axis and Axis pulls up. Oh my, trouble!

Timozel is “bent double, half out of the saddle as he lean[s] further and further down his horse’s off side.” He says it is something about his axe. Axis now feels it too: there is “a massive weight hanging down by his right hip”, as if a “gigantic hand” is pulling his axe to the ground. The Woods clearly do not want AxeWielders! Axis tries to pull the other way, but he cannot overcome the force. The next moment he is pulled partway out of his saddle, “[feeling] himself being dragged inexorably to the ground.”

He can hear Gilbert “cry out in horror”, but he does not have time to see what is happening. The pressure on his axe increases further, and just after he hears Timozel hit the ground, he is pulled out of the saddle completely, and “hit[s] the ground so hard that his breath [is] knocked out of his body.”

I do like this; finally there is a tense action scene, and we also get more fantasy elements!

As soon as he hits the ground, he unbuckles his “weapon belt”, and as soon as he is done, the pressure disappears. He jumps to his feet, and sees Timozel and Arne lying on the ground, with their horses a little further along, “milling in confusion”. Axis almost falls again when the ground “sway[s] underneath his feet”. The forest truly is not happy, it seems.

Axis tries to reach the others, and shouts at them to undo their belts. (He calls Timozel “Tim” here, which I found interesting to note.) He reaches Timozel, who “[has] been pulled halfway into the earth” (oh my), and he tries to free him from his axe, while the ground keeps on heaving. Finally, he manages to pull it off, and Timozel “grunt[s] in relief.” Axis pulls him upright, and does the same for Arne, who managed to get his axe off himself. Oh, that is good.

I do wonder why Timozel got it worse than the others, though. Maybe it is because he was the first one to be affected? That would make sense. And Arne was probably the last to be affected, given that he fell after Axis did. Still a slightly skewed sense of priorities on the side of the forest, since I would think the BattleAxe would be the prime target, but then again, they have been disarmed, so who cares.

They turn to look for their axes, but the ground is “heaving and buckling even more violently” and their axes have completely disappeared beneath the “leaves and pine needles” on the surface. They step back to where the ground is solid, “legs shaking”. Arne says that their axes would have “taken us with them”. They look at the ground for some moments longer, too shocked to do anything else, and “hardly able to comprehend what has happened”. See, this is the kind of reaction I would like! Douglass can do it!

After a moment, the earth settles down until even the leaf litter is quiet. They exchange “frightened glances”, and the narration asks what sort of place this is, and how they can fight “the very earth itself”. Well, you cannot, so you would do good not to provoke it again. Timozel wonders aloud if Jayme’s messenger was “wearing an axe”, and if so, if he managed to get it off in time. Arne then wonders “how many others are buried under the earth in this spot.” (“Buried under the earth”… very redundant.)

Well, given how long the Axe-Wielders have been around, I think hundreds for the whole Woods is not a bad guess. Douglass truly should have considered writing horror instead of fantasy.

That thought “[doesn’t] bear thinking about”, so Axis tells everyone to get on their horses, and says he will feel better when he is on Belaguez.. Arne and Timozel do so, and then Gilbert comes riding back, and asks what happened. Axis mounts Belaguez, and says that they lost their axes, and they must hope that the forest does not eat them as well. So they ride on.

After a scene break, we are told that “[n]othing else trouble[s] them for the rest of the long ride”. They are still very nervous, and snarl at each other “whenever a twig snap[s] under hoof” (“under hoof”? I have never heard of that expression) or “a low-slung bough scrape[s] at a head or a shoulder.” The hands of the Axemen are slippery with sweat, but they do not want to wipe their hands, because the creatures of the Woods might just take that moment to attack.

Well, “almost eight hours” pass like this, and I have to wonder how they know that. They are in the middle of a forest, after all, and they cannot see the sun. Or is this the omniscient narration again? This should not be son unclear! Anyway, after this time, the ground slopes down, and they have to rein in their horses to keep from falling. An hour further on, Gilbert pulls up and turns to Axis, “deep lines of fatigue” on his face. He waves ahead and says there is water. That must be the Cauldron Lake, then!

Axis peers ahead, and indeed sees a “glint of water”. He tells everyone to keep going (as if you need to tell them), because the sooner “[they] find somewhere to rest and eat”, the better. Timozel doubts that they will find such a place, and Axis hefts his sword, his fingers so cramped he nearly drops it. Well, you might as well switch hand with it, because you will be quite useless with it like this. He thinks that they might as well lie down in the path if they cannot rest soon, and then wonders if the earth will eat them, then.

I highly doubt that. If the forest was out to kill them, it could have done so immediately, by letting their horses trip, for example. If it has not done so now, I doubt it will do so in the short while before they reach Cauldron Lake. (Of course, I already knew this, but I liked to deduce it from their perspective.)

Immediately after Axis thinks this, Gilbert’s horse jumps over a small obstacle and onto “level ground”. Gilbert only barely manages to cling on. Axis, forewarned, holds on better as Belaguez leaps across “a small stream”, and he warns the others. The path now “broadens and flattens”, and everyone allows themself a “deep breath of relief” at the wider space. Gilbert pulls back from the lead position.

Axis goes on, and he notes that the trees thin and there is a lake ahead. A few moments later, they rein in at “the shore of one of the most incredible sights they [have] ever seen.” The forest slopes down to a “deep circular basin”, “the mass of grey-green trees ending abruptly at the edge of an almost perfectly round lake.” I love that this says the same thing twice. Other than that, I now see where the name “Cauldron Lake” comes from. (And “almost perfectly round” and “deep” call “impact crater” to my mind, so well done, Douglass.)

However, the water itself draws the party’s attention. It shines “a soft, gentle gold” in “the late afternoon light”. Well, that is… interesting, to say the least. I do like the addition of the fantasy elements. Come to think of it, I would say that this chapter is where this book gets properly interesting. We have moved away from the court drama to the fantasy stuff proper, and now there is actual danger for the protagonist, instead of rumours about the Forbidden, and endless riding. And it simply fits in better with what this series is, and will be, about.

Anyway, Axis turns to Gilbert and asks him if he knew about it. Gilbert shakes his head, looking at the water throughout. Axis says it is enchanted, and Timozel says that it might not be water, while “making the sign of the Plough to ward off evil.” Quite reasonable conclusions. Arne then points out the Keep with his sword. Well, at least the Keep has not disappeared in the meantime.

We get a description. The Keep is very near the lake’s edge, “about a quarter of the way around”, and it is built out of “pale yellow stone” that reflects the water. It has “smooth cylindrical stone walls”, and it is some 28,5 metres (95 feet) tall. There are occasional “narrow dark windows” in the sides, and it looks completely deserted.

I just realised I have not asked why this keep would be built here, in the middle of a forest that the Seneschal hates. I think there are outside forces at play.

Axis spurs Belaguez on, saying that they should go find “this lost tribe of brothers”. (“Lost tribe”?) With some slipping and sliding, they manage to reach the Keep “just as the last rays of sun disappear behind the tops of the forest trees.” Yes, people, “forest trees”. Up close, the Keep looks very deserted, and everyone gets uncomfortable.

Axis guides Belaguez to the front door and slams the hilt of his sword into it “three times”, saying that they need “food and rest”. Nothing happens. Timozel and Arne “exchange[] looks”, and Gilbert groans softly. Axis tries again, and then backs up to look at the higher levels. Then, a “small trapdoor at eye level” opens in the door, and someone who is presumably Ogden asks their business. Axis “[feels] relief wash through him” (Paolini, is that you?) and he quickly dismounts and staggers to the door.

(On the topic of Paolini, I found this in Murtagh:

Relief washed through Murtagh, but only for a second.

~Murtagh, Chapter 3, “Fork and Blade”

So yes, the same description of “relief washes through X”. I guess it is bound to happen, given they have both written quite some words, but still.)

Well, Axis introduces himself as the “BattleAxe of the Axe-Wielders” (which is still very silly), and also Arne and Timozel, and Gilbert as adviser to the Brother-Leader. Ogden looks them over, and decides that Axis is not what he says, and Gilbert is not what Axis says, and then he slams the trapdoor shut.

Going by what we will learn later, this makes no sense for Ogden to do, and it makes him look very rude. Axis hammers at the door again in “angry frustration”, and invokes the Seneschal. Ogden appears again, saying that Axis is not the BattleAxe, “Fingus” is, and Gilbert is not the adviser to the Brother-Leader, but he is. And he slams the trapdoor again.

This is so silly. Like, why can Ogden not reason that Fingus might have died or stopped being BattleAxe in the meantime? And why would Ogden assume that he is the adviser to the Brother-Leader when he is stuck in a forest and has been for the past 39 years? If we are supposed to take this at face value, I doubt he would be the kind of person Axis and co. could work with on any level. And if we are not supposed to take this at face value (and what is actually going on), that means that Ogden is being deliberately obtuse for no good reason, in which case I also wonder why they would want to work with him. As it is, I do not know whether Douglass did not realise that “being isolated for 39 years from the outside world” is not the same as “thinks it is 39 years ago” or that she did not realise that having Ogden be overly suspicious of Axis and co. does not help us like him.

Either way, this feels more like a comedy sketch than anything serious.

Axis leans against the door, “rubbing his hand over his eyes in exasperation”. He explains that Fingus was BattleAxe decades ago, and the brothers have not received news from outside the Woods for the past 39 years. Never mind that that does not explain why Ogden acts as if time has stood still in the meanwhile…

Well, he hammers at the door for the fourth time, and Ogden tells him to go away. Then he goes for a more “reasonable” approach, saying they are hungry (did you miscalculate your supplies, then?), they are tired, and they need a place to stay the night, and will Ogden please give them aid? That does the trick, as Ogden unbolts and opens the door.

We then get a description of him: He is “about seventy”, he has grey eyes, a “round, cherubic face”, and “[w]ispy white hair” that surrounds his head “like a halo”. He “irritably” asks why Axis did not say so in the first place, and tells them to come in. Ah yes, more things that feel like a badly executed comedy, as he did hear Axis say this earlier.

In fact, let me make a count for this kind of “comedy”, as I have heard there will be a lot of it regarding Ogden: And No One Laughed. That will have two points for now, plus another for the “overflowing gutter” remark.

And No One Laughed: 3

Timozel takes the horses and ties them to “a row of iron rings” on the wall of the Keep, and then comes inside with the rest. And then Ogden slams the door shut. End chapter.

 

This chapter was… one of the best until now. As I said earlier, I think that is mostly because it focuses more on the fantasy than on the court drama. It is also because the story begins to engage with the actual plot by now. But most of all, things are happening now and we have had an action scene! I hope the book will stay like this going forward.

Of course, there are still problems with it, like the out-of-place “comedy” at the end of the chapter, but those are not severe enough to disturb my enjoyment of the direction the book takes.

Until next time!

 

Comments

[epistler]

There are some books where having a comic relief character or characters works, but this isn't one of them. Of course it doesn't help that Douglass' attempts at humour are dreadful to begin with. At least she doesn't sink so low as to resort to puns.