by Pedro Urvi
“It’s the first bloody time being a miner’s been any use to me,” Honus said.
“What do you think?” Mitas asked again.
Ikai eyed the mine thoughtfully. “It’s risky, but we haven’t any other option. We’ll have to take the mine and free the slaves.”
“There are nearly three thousand of them in there,” Karm said.
“If they join my five hundred loyal men,” Mitas said, “we have the beginning of an army.”
Ikai nodded. “That’s the first part of the plan. We have to gather an army to rise with. We must free the mines and quarries to recruit an army of slaves. It’s the only way.”
“Understood,” Mitas said.
“I’m ready to kill a few Enforcers,” growled Honus. “What are we waiting for?”
“We’ll attack at midnight.”
“And Rutus and the other men?” Karm asked.
“They’ll all attack at midnight tonight as well. It’ll be a coordinated attack. We must all go in at the same time to give Sesmok and the Enforcers no chance to react. It’s essential if the plan’s to succeed. We have to strike at the same time in all six Counties, and move fast. The objectives have been chosen carefully: places where slaves are massively concentrated.”
Karm nodded. “Like this mine…”
“Exactly.”
“Which building are the Executors in?”
“The biggest one, by the cave-mouth.”
“And the other buildings?”
“In the furthest one are the surface slaves. The two in the middle are for storage.”
“Right.” Ikai said thoughtfully.
“Are we going to attack all at once at nightfall?” Mitas asked.
Ikai shook his head. “No, we have five hundred men. The hundred Executors would destroy us. Five to one isn’t enough. I don’t even think ten to one would be. Our men don’t know how to fight. They’re slaves, workers, not warriors.”
“And so…?”
“I have an idea,” Ikai said. “It might work… Let’s get ready. We don’t have much time.”
He went back into the forest, where the men were waiting. He ordered silence and went to stand in the middle. He called fifty men around him and spoke to them in a low but firm voice.
“You have a right not to do what I’m about to ask of you, because it’s your life you’ll be sacrificing for the cause. The decision is yours, not mine. When I give the order, you decide. I’ll accept your decision, whichever it is.”
He explained the plan, then went on to the remaining men, repeating the message and the plan.
“Will they do it?” Karm asked.
“They’re decent people, and brave ones,” said Mitas, “but we’re asking a lot of them.”
“When the moment comes, we’ll see,” said Ikai.
“What if they chicken out?” Honus asked.
“Then we’ll all die.”
At midnight Ikai gave the signal, and the plan was set in motion. He took Karm, Honus and twenty archers with him, all with bows, quivers of arrows and large satchels on their backs. Bent almost double, they ran to a group of rocks and hid behind them.
“How many?” Ikai asked in a whisper.
“I can see a pair of Executors by the door of each building,” Karm said.
Honus craned forward. “Two others at the mine entrance.”
“Good. We’ll go around this flat area to the outermost building, where the slaves are. Careful with the torches. We mustn’t be seen. If we are, that’ll be it. We’ll be dead, the lot of us.”
They moved on with care among the shadows of the night and came to the back of the building where the slaves were kept. Here they hid behind bushes, without going any closer.
“To your positions,” murmured Ikai.
They dropped on one knee and readied their bows. Ikai moved to the back wall of the building, peered round and saw the shadow of one of the Executors keeping watch at the front. This is the moment of truth. Protect us, Girlai, Father Moon, because your children the Senoca need you. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. His heart was beating fast, and in the silence of the night it felt like a hammer at his temples. I must keep calm. He breathed deeply once again, and his iron determination took command. Bending over and picking a stone from the ground, he measured the distance, then threw it hard along the side wall. The stone bounced off the ground several times and rolled in front of the Executors.
“Who’s there?” one of them cried in a cavernous voice.
Ikai watched with one eye, his face glued to the wall, his body hidden. The two Executors appeared at the side of the building. He pulled his head back like lightning and waited a moment, listening. The heavy footsteps of the two Executors reached him, coming toward him. He retreated along the wooden wall. The footsteps were now clearer and closer. They’re almost here. He drew sword and knife and readied himself. Both Executors turned the corner and appeared in front of him.
“Who…?” one of them began. Twenty arrows from the vegetation to his right riddled him. He swayed unsteadily, but did not fall.
The second Executor turned toward the hidden threat. Ikai launched himself at the Enforcer’s feet and stabbed his thigh with both sword and knife. The monster groaned, and in a reflex act hit Ikai with the spear as if attacking some noxious animal which had bitten him. Ikai flew backwards and hit the ground hard. The Enforcer raised his arm to throw his spear. Ikai swallowed, twenty more arrows riddled the Executor. The monster grunted, lowered his arm and fell to one knee.
“Fi… nish them…” Ikai managed to mutter.
Karm and Honus hurled themselves on the Executor and knifed him repeatedly in the neck, wrenching off both helmet and breastplate. The others, following their lead, attacked the first Executor and stabbed him again and again until he fell dead.
Honus helped Ikai to his feet.
“Playing cat and mouse is one thing,” the giant whispered, “but this is more a case of the mouse biting the cat,”
“You shouldn’t risk yourself so much, Ikai,” Karm said. “We need you alive.”
“I’m… fine,” he said, clutching his chest, which hurt horribly. He saw triumph and pride in the archers’ eyes. “They need me to guide them by example.”
Honus slapped him on the shoulder. “If you’re going to face up to an Executor, then you’d better leave it to me. At least we’re the same size.” The giant’s big hand felt like a mace to Ikai, but he appreciated the gesture.
“And now what?” Karm asked. “We free the slaves in that building so they join us, right?”
Ikai shook his head. “It’s the most logical thing to do, but no. It would be too noisy, and we’d be found. It’s not the right moment.”
“So, what next?”
“We need to reach the Executors’ barracks.”
“We have to pass the storage sheds…”
“We will.”
Karm nodded. “And now?”
“Now we chop the heads off these two.”
Karm opened his eyes wide. Honus smiled from ear to ear. “I like your plan more and more every minute. I really do.”
Ikai winked. “I hoped you would.”
The second building was a storage shed, with two more Executors posted at the door. The group approached stealthily. The situation was more complicated now. They were in the center of the open area, and although the rear of the store gave them some shelter, they had to go as carefully as they could. Luckily the entrance to the cave and the Enforcers’ barracks were more brightly lit, and there were black spots to hide in. They followed these to the back of the storage shed.
The two Executors guarding the storage building heard a sound to their right and turned. Rounding the corner and coming towards them came two new Executors. They walked slowly in the shadows, and their helmets tilted slightly forward with every step. The two Enforcers on guard looked at them in puzzlement. It was not time for the other shift yet. This was not in the rule-book. When they were no
more than a pace away, the two coming Executors stopped.
“What the…?” one of the Enforcers on guard began. The spear wielded by the Executor in front of him buried itself in his neck. His companion turned to act, but found the other Enforcer’s spear buried in his own neck. He tried to defend himself, but it was too late. Honus and three other men appeared behind the Enforcers and finished them off, swiftly and savagely, then dragged the bodies inside the store. Ikai loosened the Enforcer’s cloak he had worn clasped round his own neck, covering the dead Enforcer’s head he had put on top of his own.
Karm laid the other head on the ground. “I can’t believe it worked.”
“Luckily they’re not too smart,” Ikai said. “Their intelligence has been severely damaged. They carry out the Eyes’ orders and have a few basic functions to guide them. Facing up to other Executors isn’t one of them.”
“And they don’t see too well at night, either,” Honus said.
“You told me they never go into the mine, that the Tormentors are inside. That’s what gave me the idea.”
“You’re a lad with ideas, and good ones,” Honus said. “I like that.”
“Let’s hope one of them doesn’t kill us all.”
“Don’t worry, Ikai, it won’t do that,” Karm said, and the assurance gave him confidence.
“So, what’s next?” Mitas asked.
“Now we take the barracks,” said Ikai. He spoke confidently, trying to convey something he did not altogether feel himself.
“There are a hundred or so Enforcers there.”
“It won’t be easy, but there’s no other option. Go back to the men and be ready for my signal.”
“We won’t fail you. Trust us.”
Ikai nodded, and Mitas left.
“Ready to kill a few heartless bloody Enforcers,” Honus said.
“For freedom,” Karm put in.
Ikai’s eyes went to the rest of the group. Brave men. Men who would sacrifice themselves for the cause that night. He took a deep breath. For freedom!
They left the storehouse and went to the rear of the Barracks. They could go no further without being seen. To their right were four Executors on watch duty by the pens. To the left, the entrance to the mine, with another half-dozen Enforcers. At the door of the barracks four others were posted.
It’s time. I hope their brave hearts don’t fail them now.
He put his hands to his mouth and hooted like a barn owl, three times. From among the trees there came a faint murmur, which grew in intensity as Mitas’ men gained speed. They were running along the open area in silence, without a single shout, trying to muffle their footsteps, trying to avoid being seen until the last moment.
And then came the dreaded cry of alarm.
“Slaves! Watch out!”
All the Executors on duty hurled themselves at Mitas’ men. It was as though a huge wave had broken against a few rocks in a cliff. The rocky Enforcers began to deal death among the wave of slaves. And the sea was blotched with red.
“Executors, to me!” cried an Eye-of-the-Gods.
The slaves moved on, avoiding the Enforcers. They ran with one purpose only: to prevent the Executors from the Barracks from coming out and getting into formation.
Ikai gave his men the signal. From the satchels they carried on their backs they took oil-skins and started to drench the walls of the barracks. They began with the back wall and the two side ones, while the first Enforcers to come out lined up before the doors.
The wave of slaves broke against them. A hundred determined men hurled themselves at the barrier formed by twenty Executors. They were killed before they could even reach them. But that did not stop them. The slaves came at a run and threw themselves with all their might at the Enforcers. They were run through with spears, but they struck the Enforcers with all the momentum of their bodies. That was their purpose. The first wave broke and died against the enemy barrier. But the next ones began to sweep the Enforcers back. First the outer ones, until they reached those in the middle.
They’re not flinching! They keep going! They’re heroes!
“Form a barrier! Form!” an Eye was shouting to those inside the Barracks. But the doors were not wide enough to let the Enforcers out.
Mitas and five men knocked the Eye aside. Before another barrier could form, fifty men blocked the doors with their bodies. The Executors ran them through from inside, but the rest of the men were pushing to stop them coming out.
“Now let’s go!” Ikai ordered, and his men set fire to the oil. The walls of the building burst into flames.
Ikai ran to meet Mitas.
“Block the exit!”
A group of men appeared with an enormous iron sheet. While Mitas’ men pushed against the door, they passed the sheet over their heads and used it to block the door. On the outside, three hundred men were pushing to stop the Executors coming out, while the flames devoured the building.
“Follow me!” Ikai called to his group. He led them towards the Executors still standing in the open area. The fight was brutal. Honus fought as if he were one of the Enforcers himself, with Karm always at his side to help him. By the time they had finished with the Enforcers, only the two of them and one other man were left standing.
“Push! Push!” Mitas shouted to his men.
The ceiling collapsed in flames on the Executors, followed by the two side-walls.
“Get back!” shouted Ikai.
A dozen Enforcers appeared amid the flames, their bodies burning, trying to escape the fire. The slaves moved away and let them wander aimlessly about while the fire devoured them.
After a short while the whole building collapsed, and not a single Enforcer came out alive.
“We did it!” Karm shouted.
“Tonight I’m having broiled Enforcer for dinner!” cried Honus.
“Victory!” shouted Mitas’ men.
“We did it,” the County Leader said to Ikai. “Your plan worked.”
Ikai pointed to the pile of bodies. “So it did. But we paid dearly for it.”
“They went willingly. They knew the plan.”
“Even so… we’ve lost more than two hundred men.”
“Their sacrifice will lead us to freedom, Hero of the Senoca.”
“I’m no Hero of the Senoca. They are.”
“For the Heroes!” came a shout, and it was picked up by the rest: “For the Heroes!”
“Now it’s time to take the mine and free the miners,” Mitas said.
Karm arrived with Honus at that moment. “How are we going to do it?” he asked. “There are plenty of Tormentors down there.”
Ikai thought for a moment. “We’ll do it with light. A lot of light.”
Karm understood. “Get some torches ready. A lot of them.”
The fight inside the mine was brutal and chaotic. But just as Ikai had guessed, the Tormentors were vulnerable to light. They had been created to work in the darkness of the deep mines. This advantage turned out to be decisive. They fought till dawn, taking level after level of the mine, until they reached the very deepest. They lost another hundred brave men, but their lives freed two and a half thousand slaves. In all, more than three thousand were freed from that accursed place. They were all assembled in the open area outside the mine, to wait until they had got used to the light of day.
Ikai addressed them. “My name is Ikai, I come from the Sixth County. I’m one of the seven Heroes.” The slaves started to whisper and murmur, in a mixture of incredulity, fear and joy. Ikai gestured to them to let him continue. “Today is a great day for the Senoca. Today, for the first time in our history, for the first time in a thousand years, we’ve risen against the Oppressors.”
The murmur rose again, and this time there was no doubt it was one of fear.
“Today the Rebellion begins. We’ve conquered this mine. We’ve set you free. What seems impossible can be achieved by the will of an oppressed people, and this is proof of it. And just as with you, right now, all a
cross the six counties other groups of slaves are being liberated. The Heroes and the leaders of the rebellion from each county are freeing the people, just as we’ve done here. The Rebellion has begun, and now we’re going to bring down Sesmok and the Enforcers.”
The murmuring gave way to cries of astonishment.
“I know it’s hard to believe. I know it’s hard to accept. But think about it. Did you imagine this morning that a group of Senoca would come to set you free? Did you ever think it was possible? That a bunch of Senoca might defeat the Enforcers? And I’m telling you now: we’ve done it. We’ve killed the Enforcers, we’ve freed you. And in the same way we’re going to free all the Senoca. We’re going to rise against Sesmok and the Enforcers, and we’re going to topple them. All of them together, in one go. The Senoca will be free.”
The rumor ceased. Voices in favor began to be heard among the slaves. Some cried to the sky, others encouraged the remainder to rise and fight. Some, defeated by fear, by a life of slavery, resisted. But little by little the majority started to lean towards rebellion. And soon the whole open area was filled with voices in favor of fighting, in favor of freedom.
“Will you fight with me to gain your freedom?” Ikai asked exultantly.
“We’ll fight!”
“Will you follow me into battle?”
“We’ll follow you!”
“For the Senoca! For freedom!”
Three thousand throats broke into cheers to the heavens.
Ikai’s heart filled with joy. He could not have been prouder of his fellow-countrymen. Thank you, Oxatsi. Thank you for infusing courage into their noble hearts.
Mitas came to his side. “We did it. Now what? What are your orders?”
“Listen carefully. It’s vital that you follow the plan closely.”
“I’m listening.”
“Take a third of the men and go through the whole County. Recruit all you can, in fields, hamlets and places where you don’t find too much opposition. Don’t go near the capital of the County or the bigger villages. The Guard and the Enforcers will be getting ready to fight you.”
“Very well. I’ll do that. What about you? Don’t you need me?”
