“They’re going to play bloodline now?” Baine asked in wonder.
I opened my mouth to reply and then hesitated as something about the first man standing in the line caught my eye. His head was lowered and I couldn’t see his face, but something about him seemed familiar as he slowly kneeled. “Mother Above!” I suddenly exploded as I started forward. “He’s short!”
“What?” Baine called out in confusion to my back.
“Hadrack, wait!” I heard Jebido shout.
All the prisoners were now on their knees with their heads bent and I saw Eriz with his sword raised over the first man. “Stop!” I cried at the top of my lungs.
Eriz hesitated in mid-swing, staring at me in surprise as I limped up to him. “What is it, brother?” he asked with a look of bewilderment on his face.
I ignored Eriz and looked down at the kneeling man. My shadow had fallen across his body and I studied his sweat-encrusted, thinning blond hair before finally, slowly, the man looked up. It was Calen. There was no question in my mind. He was a youth no longer, now a grizzled soldier of twenty-six or twenty-seven, but it was unquestionably him. He looked up at me with eyes that had come to grips with his death, seeing me, but not really seeing me as I towered over him. “Do you know who I am?” I asked him in a whisper. My voice sounded odd to me, raspy and hoarse and I could feel my hands start to shake with anger. I let my right hand fall to the hilt of Wolf’s Head to steady it and I waited for him to speak.
“Brother?” Eriz said again. “What is this?”
“Just wait!” I screamed at him, barely able to control my rage. I saw Einhard standing behind Eriz. He was looking at me with a mixture of puzzlement and surprise on his face. Baine and Jebido ran up to join Einhard and I saw Jebido move as if to come to me, but Einhard lifted his hand and stopped him, for which I was thankful. I wanted no interference in what I was about to do. I turned back to look down at Calen. “I asked you if you remember me?” I said to him.
Calen wet his dry lips and looked around at the watching Piths, then focused on me. “Never seen you before,” he said.
“Well I’ve seen you before!” I growled at him.
“Good for you,” Calen said with a shrug.
I brought my good knee up and crashed it into Calen’s face, feeling his nose shatter with a satisfying crunch. He screamed and fell backward onto his rear, holding his ruined nose in both his hands as he stared up at me in shock and fear. I grabbed him by his hair and pulled him back up to his knees, where he stayed swaying back and forth as he held his nose. “Corwick!” I hissed at him. I had a good grip on his hair and I shook his head roughly and then dragged it back as far as I could, exposing his throat. Calen screamed and he let go of his nose with his hands as he spread his arms helplessly. “Nine years ago!” I shouted. “Do you remember Corwick nine years ago, you bastard?”
“Corwick?” Calen sobbed. “What about it?”
“You chased me into the bog,” I said, grinning coldly as I saw the light of recognition in his eyes.
“You’re the boy!” Calen whispered in shock.
“Yes,” I nodded. “I didn’t die in the quicksand that day.” I pulled his head back even farther, ignoring his whimper of pain. “You took my family away from me!” I hissed in his ear.
“No! No!” Calen protested. He tried to move his head but I held him firmly by the hair. “I didn’t have anything to do with it! I swear!”
“You were there. I saw you.”
“Yes!” Calen gasped. “I was there, but I didn’t kill your family! That was someone else!”
“You helped kill the others, though,” I growled.
“I had no choice!” Calen protested.
I let go of his hair and stepped back as Calen slumped forward with his chest heaving. I looked around at the silent Pith’s watching. Even the women had come to watch and I saw Ania and Megy in the crowd. For a moment I caught Alesia's eye where she stood watching me with an excited look on her face, then I let my gaze drift to Jebido and Baine, then on to Einhard, before finally I refocused on Calen. “We all have choices,” I said. “You killed innocent people.”
“Lord Corwick ordered us to!”
“Did he order you to rape and murder those women too?” I snapped. I saw Calen’s eyes widen in surprise and then he quickly looked away from me to hide the guilt that I knew lay in his eyes. I glanced down at the stag emblem of the king that I’d come to hate that lay across Calen’s chest. I pointed at the crest. “Why do you wear the king’s banner and not Lord Corwick’s?” I asked.
Calen hesitated for a moment, looking puzzled by the change in topic. “I was transferred to Klanden Garrison four years ago,” he finally said. “All the garrison troops there wear the king’s mark.”
I glanced at Jebido and he nodded that it was true and I nodded back to him, feeling a calmness coming over me. I turned back to Calen. “Where are the others?”
“What others?”
“There were nine of you that day,” I said. “Where are the rest?”
“I...I don’t know for sure,” Calen stammered. “Some are still with Lord Corwick, I think.”
“And the others?”
“Probably garrisoned along the border, if they live at all,” Calen answered. “I don’t know.”
I sighed, knowing I’d gotten everything I would from Calen. I turned to Eriz. “Throw him your sword.”
“What?” Eriz said, gaping at me in astonishment.
“Your sword,” I repeated. Eriz turned to Einhard, who stood studying me until finally the Pith leader shrugged and motioned to Eriz. The big Pith muttered something to himself and then threw his sword in the grass in front of Calen. “I made a vow to my sister and my father and to all those people who lived in Corwick,” I told Calen. “I swore to them that I would find their murderers and kill every one of them.” I pointed down at him. “You were just a kid then. No older than I am now, and I know you’re not the worst of the nine that was there that day. For this reason I’m giving you a chance to die like a man. Pick up the sword.”
I moved back, drew Wolf’s Head and waited. Calen looked up at me and I’m sure he could read the hatred in my eyes and he knew that if he didn’t pick up the sword I’d fall on him anyway. Around us the open field was deathly quiet, not even a bird chirped as Calen slowly reached out and grasped the sword in his right hand. He stood shakily and wiped some of the blood from his face, and then he nodded to me that he was ready. Calen was no longer a boy but a seasoned soldier, and, as it turned out, a very good swordsman made even better by desperation. I was young, wounded and inexperienced, but on that day, none of it mattered. As Calen lifted his sword I let the white rage that had been building up inside me have free reign and I attacked. Whatever Calen tried, be it defence or offence, I smashed past, pounding away at his guard with sheer single-minded rage. I nicked his leg, then his cheek, then his arm, ignoring a slash from his sword that got through and shaved some skin off my temple. I used Wolf’s Head like an avenging hammer and barely noticed when Calen’s sword spun from his hands and he fell. My sword continued to rise and fall, as over and over again I struck downward, pulverizing Calen into a wet, sticky mess of splintered bones, meat and blood. Finally, when it was done, I dropped my sword to the ground and fell to my knees. I grabbed the Pair Stone that still hung around my neck after all these years and I said a prayer of thanks to The First Pair for delivering Calen to me.
After a time, I felt a gentle hand rest on my shoulder and I looked up at Jebido. “Come, let’s get you cleaned up,” he said softly.
I nodded and, with his help, I got to my feet. Baine rushed to my other side and with them supporting me, I limped away. “That leaves eight of the bastards,” I said to my two friends.
Chapter 7: Ascension
For the rest of that day and the next we travelled st
eadily southward, while in the distance we could see Gander scouts riding in pairs and studying our progress. It was obvious to all of us that despite the overwhelming defeat they’d suffered at our hands, we’d not seen the last of the Gandermen. Einhard tried sending warriors on fast horses after the scouts at first, but he had finally given it up as pointless as the watchers only came within eyesight of us and then disappeared at the first signs of pursuit. On the afternoon of the second day after the battle, we came to a shallow stream no more than eight feet across at its widest point and Einhard called a halt to rest and to refill our canteens. I gratefully dismounted, rubbing my backside gingerly as Jebido, Baine and I led our horses to the stream to drink. Einhard approached us and let his horse drink beside ours as he studied the Gander scouts. “What are they waiting for?” Einhard finally asked Jebido, motioning to where the men watched us silently from a safe distance up on top of a hill. “Why don’t the Ganders just attack and get it over with?”
Jebido frowned. “After what happened to them the last time, I’m betting they’re waiting to have enough men to overwhelm us completely this time. They’re probably keeping an eye on us while moving troops around us like a net.”
“So then we’re just minnows waiting to be swept up and swallowed by Gander dogs at their pleasure?” Einhard said sarcastically. “How long do you think we have?”
Jebido shrugged. “Impossible to say. It’ll depend on how many troops they have at their disposal and where they want to attack us.”
“And if we try to slip away from this net?” Einhard asked.
Jebido motioned to the men on the hill with his chin. “They’ll always be watching, so that won’t be an easy task with a group as large as we are.”
“Probably not worth the effort anyway,” Einhard said. “My gut tells me they already know where we’re heading.” He bent down on his haunches and used his fingertip to draw a long line in the soil near the stream edge. “This is the border between Southern Ganderland and the land of the Piths,” he said. He then stabbed at the ground. “This is approximately where we are right now.” He then made five marks all along the length of the borderline. “The Gandermen have been busy in recent years building garrisons along the border.” He glanced up at us and grinned. “I guess they weren’t too happy with us raiding them whenever we wanted to and they figured this would deter us. The good news is only two of the western-most garrisons are complete so far.” He pointed to the eastern corner of the borderline. “This is where we crossed into Southern Ganderland. I’m hoping to get us back the same way. The White Rock river runs along the border, here, and there’s only one passable ford for more than a hundred miles. Once we get across that ford the only way through the mountains to our lands is a narrow pass.” Einhard made a face. “It’s possible the Gander’s know about it and, if they do, trying to fight our way through there will be costly.” He gestured to the ground. “There’s an unfinished garrison several miles from the pass guarding one of their new bridges, with several other bridges further west.” He glanced up at us. “If the pass is blocked, we’ll have no choice but to try and get across one of those bridges.”
“How far along are they on the garrison?” Jebido asked.
Einhard shrugged. “Last I heard, not even halfway.” He grinned at us. “And that’s how it will stay for the time being thanks to our raid at the quarry.”
“Won’t they just send more soldiers and slaves to Father’s Arse and start up again?” Baine asked.
Einhard chuckled and shook his head. “Not without the stonemasons they won’t.”
“They weren’t slaves,” I said, seeing a flaw in his logic. “They’ll just go back to work when it’s safe and start cutting blocks again. You’ll have gained nothing.”
“Now that would be a trick I’d like to see,” Einhard said with a laugh. “We Piths are not fools, my young friend.” He used his fist to make a large depression in the ground some distance away from the border line and then drew a wiggly line that snaked close to the eastern-most garrison. “We learned that all the stone used for building these garrisons came from only one place.”
“Father’s Arse,” Baine said.
“Yes,” Einhard agreed, motioning to the large depression. “We didn’t show up there by accident. The Ganders transport the shaped stone by wagon from the quarry to the river, here.” Einhard touched a spot on the wiggly line. “From there it’s floated downriver on barges and then loaded back onto wagons and distributed to the garrisons.” He glanced at us. “We needed to stop construction until we’re ready to attack them.”
“And the only way to do that was to stop the flow of building stones,” Jebido said with a nod.
“Exactly,” Einhard acknowledged. He grinned. “But it’s not like we could just destroy the quarry. It’s too big.”
“So you killed all the stonemasons,” I said, finally understanding. “That’s why you attacked. Not to take the fort, but to get to the stonemasons.”
“Yes,” Einhard said. “The builders need stone cut exactly to specifications. Something only a skilled stonemason can do properly. Since almost every stonemason in Ganderland worth anything at all was working in that quarry, their deaths should mean construction will grind to a halt. At least for a while.”
“How long do you need?” Jebido asked.
Einhard shrugged. “That depends entirely on the Master’s will. We must wait until He gives us His blessing.” He grinned. “So, in the meantime, we prepare and we plan as best that we can.” He gestured to the ground. “Keeping these garrisons weak is part of that plan.” Einhard straightened up. “It’s time to move.”
“One moment, if I may?” Jebido said with a slight frown. He gestured to where two Piths sat their horses about a hundred yards away and downwind from us, watching over the fifteen dead men and one woman draped over the backs of horses. “How exactly do you expect us to get through the Ganders while being slowed down by those?” The two Piths guarding the dead kept swatting at the air angrily as a host of buzzing flies swarmed around the decaying corpses. I heard one of the Piths spit out a curse as he slapped at his face.
“We’ll find a way,” Einhard said with a shrug.
“It makes a lot more sense to bury them here,” Jebido said stubbornly. “Continuing on with them makes no sense and could be the end of us.”
“I will not leave our brothers and sister behind!” Einhard snapped irritably.
“Then we will probably all die,” Jebido said flatly.
Einhard glared at Jebido and his eyes flashed before finally he grunted and handed me the reins of his horse. “Wait here!” he commanded before stalking away. He approached Alesia and said something to her and her eyes widened, then she shook her head emphatically. Einhard said something else and she started to protest, but was silenced by a curt word before the Pith leader strode back to us. “Tonight I will attempt to send the spirits of the fallen on the path to meet the Master.” He put his hands on his hips and nodded at Jebido. “I intended to bring them to the Ascension Grounds where it would be done properly, but, as our friend here pointed out, with them slowing us down our chances at success are low.” He glanced at the corpses. “Doing the ceremony here, under these conditions, is not something I wish to do and, if there were any other way, I would take it. I just hope that it will work.” Einhard took the reins of his horse from me and he swung into the saddle, shouting to his men to do likewise. Baine, Jebido and I shared a look and they both seemed just as confused by the entire matter as I was. We mounted up and followed the Piths as Einhard led us down the shallow bank and across the narrow stream. We travelled for the rest of that day, never stopping for a break before finally Einhard gave the word to make camp. Every evening since Baine, Jebido and I had joined the Piths we’d built a rough, rectangular palisade made of heaped earth and sharpened stakes pointing outward to protect us for the night. This ev
ening was no different, though I noticed as we worked that the palisade was much larger this time and that some of the Piths were setting posts into the ground positioned closely together in the center of the enclosure. I saw Ania working with Megy and several of the other Pith women and I walked over to her.
“What’s that all about?” I asked, motioning to the posts.
Ania smiled pityingly at me. “Sometimes I forget you haven’t found your way to the Master yet and still cling to your insane beliefs.” She glanced over her shoulder. “The only way for our fallen brothers and sister to find the path to the Master is to release their spirits to the skies.”
I saw several Piths piling dead scrub brush at the base of some of the poles and I realized what she meant. “You burn them?” I asked in surprise.
Ania's pretty face turned angry. “We don’t burn them, Hadrack!” she snapped, shaking her head. She looked upward. “We release their essence from their earthly bonds so that they can ascend. Only once the body is no more can a spirit be truly free to find its way back to the Master.” She sighed and looked sadly at the posts being erected. “It’s always preferable to bring our dead back with us and release them in the Ascension Grounds, which is the birth place of the Master. It’s a sacred place and the only one where the spirits are guaranteed to find the true path.” She looked down at her hands and toyed with her fingers. “I know the Sword of the King is right and I trust his judgment, but I’m afraid it might go badly for our brothers and sister to do the ceremony now.”
I glanced at the poles and frowned. “What happens if something goes wrong and they don’t get...uh...released properly?” I caught myself as I almost said burned.
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