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FireStorm  by Lindelea

Chapter 14. Firestorm

Once the fire loosed its bonds and found air, it grew rapidly, blossoming and casting its seeds of sparks upon the light breeze. The fire paid no heed to the sweating hobbits labouring upon its flanks; none dared to stand before it, to challenge the advancing head. Inexorably it moved forward, devouring all in its path, sending banners of smoke high in the air to proclaim victory. When it reached the first firebreak, ploughed around a farmstead, it was not stymied nor stopped, it simply felt its way along the edges of the ploughed ground until it found clear sailing again. The questing fingers it sent across the firebreak were quickly beaten out with shovels and wet sacks, but no matter. There was plenty more fuel for the burning, and the fire gathered strength and vigour once it had passed around the first farmstead.

The farmer and helpers beat out the last sparks and straightened, wiping soot and sweat from their faces. Sunnybank Farm had been saved, at the least. They turned to watch the fire, now beyond them, on its steady march towards Tuckborough.

***

The Thain gave quick orders. 'Ferdi, take all the ploughs and teams you can gather to the top of the ridge, start ploughing the firebreak. Have crews ready to set backfires as soon as you have a wide enough strip. Ev'ard, tell Aldebrand and Samenthal the plan, load casks of black powder onto ponies; I don't think you'll get waggons into the woods. Take a horn with you, blow it when you see the fire approaching, to give warning to the crews in the woods.'

He turned to the stable lad. 'Call the head forester, tell him to get crews out to the woods to cut a firebreak. You know where to send him?' The lad nodded, he'd looked carefully at the map as the plans were rapidly formulated.

'Regi,' the Thain said, 'you see to the safety of the people. Send to Tuckborough, get everyone to the Smials. Make sure no one is left behind, some will need to be carried, you know. There's no time to gather possessions, the fire could be upon us in an hour if the wind comes up. Once you've cleared Tuckborough, send everyone who can wield a shovel to the firelines.'

He took the farm lad by the shoulder. 'Thanks for the warning,' he said. 'You've won us a bit of time with your fast riding.' The lad nodded. 'Now I want you to go to the stables, tell them to start wetting down the thatch on the stables and barns with buckets of water.' He released the lad, who took off at a run.

'Regi,' the Thain said, 'Tell Old Tom to pick the best of the livestock, get them into the Smials. The rest...' He paused, swallowed hard, momentarily sick at the thought of the barns burning with the helpless animals trapped within. 'Turn the rest loose. They'll have more chance, running before the flames, than tied in stalls.'

'Will I find you here?' Reginard asked the Thain.

Pippin looked surprised. 'I'll be with the engineers,' he said. 'That's the point of most danger; they'll need quick decisions made before the hour's out.'

'I don't like it,' Regi said. 'I'll go to the woods; why don't you get the people out of Tuckborough?' He wanted the Thain in the safest place, of course, if there was any safety to be found in this situation.

Pippin shook his head. 'They'll listen better to you than to me,' he said. 'Half of them still think you're Thain, you know, and that I just carry the seal around to spare your hand the weight.' Sudden steel came into his voice, and he said, 'But why are we wasting time and breath? Let's go!'

***

Reginard, having seen the emptying of Tuckborough well underway, had climbed to the top of the hill that contained the Great Smials, and he had a panoramic view of the fire. He could see the advancing line of flames, the land green and gold before them, smoking black behind, the oasis of the closest farmstead as the flames burned around the ploughed firebreak. He could see Ferdi's crews, the firebreak growing longer and wider behind the ploughs. Looking down into the woods, he fancied he saw work progressing there, as treetops shuddered. Yes, trees were falling. He hoped they were taking care that no one got caught under.

The gently teasing breeze paused a moment, as if for a breath, and then the wind picked up, puffs of wind becoming a steady blow. As the steward watched in horror, the line of flames became a towering wall and its leisurely progress became a race. He saw the tiny figure that was Ferdi, watching from ponyback, lift something, and the sound of a horn came dim to his ears. Figures with torches sprang across the firebreak to set backfires, while others stood ready to turn back any flames that might try to cross the break. He saw Ferdi turn the pony from the ridge and kick it into a run, down towards the woods.

***

The Thain seemed to be everywhere. He watched the engineers laying the line of black powder and placing the oiled candlewicking fuses along its length. He conferred with the crews cutting and raking away underbrush. He even pulled an unwary worker from the path of a falling tree, cautioning the foresters to work more carefully. 'It's as bad to be crushed beneath a tree as to be burned up,' he shouted. Once he was satisfied that all were working as efficiently as possible, he stepped back to watch for trouble. The work was slow; you do not cut a forest down in a day, working with hand tools, but that wouldn't stop the Tooks from trying.

He jerked at the faint call of the horn, and shouted to Aldebrand, 'We're out of time! They're setting the backfire upon the ridge. The fire must be nearly upon us!'

The chief engineer waved back, and his crew redoubled their efforts. They had nearly completed the line, the last fuses were being laid when Ferdi rode up on his lathered pony, jumping down to gasp, 'Fire's coming fast! Got to get the workers out if you're not ready.'

'Aldi!' the Thain shouted. A wisp of smoke from the advancing fire blew over them and he coughed, feeling the warning tightness in his chest. The chief engineer waved, and raised his own horn. At the blast, the workers retreated to a safe distance as they'd been instructed before the work started. Hobbits with tapers ran forward to light the fuses. The hobbits watched in suspense as the flames raced along the candlewicking to the line of powder, then with an enormous whoosh the powder went up in blistering heat and flame and billows of white smoke which enveloped the watchers and rose to the skies.

As the smoke cleared, a cheer went up from the watching hobbits to see the blackened ruin left behind. 'Rake it all out!' Everard shouted. 'Down to bare earth!'

Ferdibrand felt a clutch at his arm and turned to Pippin. The Thain had his other fist pressed to his chest; his face was white, eyes staring, mouth open in desperate effort to breathe. More smoke was blowing towards them from the fire, and Ferdi felt his own throat closing in protest. He caught the staggering Thain, threw him across the pony's back, mounted, and kicked the pony into a run, away from the smoke, in search of clearer air.

***

Thanks to my friend J. for describing how they set backfires, and how black powder would be used for such a purpose, in fires out West.





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