I said, “I’m sorry. My initial thought was that if we left that one alive and bleeding badly, but not dead, that he would go and report that all of his companions had been killed silently during the night, that it would cause fear among the others. But, then I thought that having them disappear without a word would cause fear as well, but it might not cause them to change their tactics. If they don’t change tactics, neither do we. Not as long as our tactics work and theirs don’t. If they send another group like this one tonight, that works for us. If they know that they die in their sleep, they won’t go to sleep at all.”
Our tactics were working, so we stuck to them. Like the day before, we set about cleaning up. Dawn watched the cavern entrance while Val collected knives. Harmony went to scout for others, and I started running back and forth, carrying the bodies of the dead to the tunnel where the workers would come and take them away. There were nearly forty now, and it took me about an hour. The kobolds were too heavy for the girls to manage. We thought about having a cart brought, but decided that we didn’t really need it.
Harmony didn’t find any more scouts in the trees. And Dawn reported that the cavern entrance was quiet. A few kobolds had been spotted, but they seemed to be looking out for others and not very active. Val prepared a little breakfast for us back at our own camp, and we sat down to relax and eat for a few minutes.
I said, “Harmony, Val, that was wonderful.”
Harmony said, “It’s what you taught us. The art of fighting without fighting. It’s a style that suits me. And Val, Val, you did so well. We finished in half the time. I had expected that before I was half done, that the rest would wake up and we would have to fight at least twenty of them. But working with you, we finished all of them. Except for the four that we saw with arrows in them. And your bows were so silent.”
Dawn said, “I heard how Ronin did it, using only as much speed and strength as needed for the job, and our arrows were indeed very quiet.”
I said, “And it all worked exceptionally well. And when something is working, don’t change it. Hopefully, tonight will be a repeat of last night. But what happens today, we can only guess.”
Val said, “It will start to wear on us soon though. Already I’m feeling like I need a day of rest and playing. And it will get worse. I can keep going, but as your healer, I’m telling you that we need recreation before too many days go by.”
I said, “That’s very true. But I don’t see the way to do it yet. I’m sorry.”
Val said, “Ronin, we’re fine. I’m just reminding us about the need that we will be feeling and that we need to watch for it.”
I said, “Maybe we can finish this in the next few days. But right now, we need get two more bows ready for battle. We have killed a lot of our enemies that way, and we need the ability to do even more. Val and Harmony need to learn to shoot if possible. Eventually, Delilah will have to send out a desperate hoard, and they will flood out of their cavern, and we will need to dispatch as many of them from a distance as possible. If too many of them reach us at once, we will be overwhelmed. We can handle twenty or thirty at a time, it seems, if we are prepared and really only fight six to eight at once, but we won’t survive if they attack us so that each of us is pressed by three or five or more, all at the same time.”
Harmony said, “I have a lot to learn.”
I said, “I want to teach all of you several things. I want you to know how to use the wooden sword, and to fight with your hands and feet.”
Val said, “But first, now that we have eaten, take these potions. Dawn, this one is for you. Ronin, this one is for you. Don’t mix them up. Harmony, this is yours. You and I can take the same recipe, but for now, Dawn needs a different one, and Ronin’s will almost always be different.”
She saw the question on my face and said, “Because, as a man, your body chemistry is different than a woman and it needs different things.”
Harmony said, “Well, can we start then? The bodies are piled at the hole and the camp is the same as if no kobolds had come at all for the past two days. They come and disappear without a trace. It would scare the willies out of me, I can tell you that.”
I said, “If you girls are ready, then Dawn, will you take them and teach them to shoot? I will watch the cavern entrance for a while. I want to think. Don’t worry about being attacked from the caves. But move away a bit so that they can’t see you if they look down here. In fact, set up targets at the kobold camp and practice there. But take away all of your arrows and clean up again when you’re done.”
The girls started to go, but I called them back. I said, “Girls, can we have a moment to kiss each other before you go?”
Harmony immediately jumped into my arms and kissed me hard. It lasted just a moment and then she jumped down again. Dawn was next. She didn’t jump on me, but rather stood in front of me and let me kiss her deeply. Val was the same. And then they picked up their bows and arrows and left me to watch the enemy fortification.
I sat down in the shadows, at the edge of the orchard where I was confident that I wouldn’t be seen, and looked up toward the spot where Delilah and her minions were hiding. I couldn’t know what she would be thinking, or what her next move would be. I didn’t know how many kobolds there were. Or how much food they had. Or if there was another entrance to the caverns somewhere else. If there was another way in and out, it could be anywhere: a few hundred yards, or tens of miles. I didn’t even know what was on the other side of the hills that I was facing.
What I did know was that Delilah was angry. And she planned to kill us if she could. And she was the self-appointed queen of the kobolds, and as such, she would take more land for her kingdom if she could. At this point, human lives only mattered as far as they represented food to her people. I was convinced that she would think nothing of letting the kobolds eat her own family now, as long as it served her selfish purposes. What else did I know? I knew that we had killed about forty-five kobolds overnight and I thought that our total was well over a hundred, but I had lost count. I also knew that Harmony was one of the most deadly assassins that I had ever imagined, and that all of my girls were marvelous fighters, and that together we were quite a force.
In addition, I knew that the fight wouldn’t stay out in the open like this forever. It was unlikely that Delilah would empty her cavern and send everything that she had against us all at once. I had thought that she might, but now I was convinced that she wouldn’t. She might try to send an overwhelming force, but mostly likely, she would hold back some of her fighters and we would be obliged to go into her caves and fight in her own home. I wasn’t sure that a protracted siege would starve her out and make her surrender. And I didn’t expect that surrender was an option for her, and I didn’t think that she would see it as one, either. If she were hard pressed to the point of failure, she might take her forces and retreat farther into the caverns with a thought to establish her kingdom far underground, planning to rise again and take her revenge when she was strong enough once more.
So, we would watch the cavern. If she tried another attack today, we would do what we could. If she sent out more replacements to the orchards tonight, we would try to deal with them the same way that we had this morning. And when that wasn’t working anymore, if she changed tactics, we would adjust. I still intended to see what would happen if her kobolds started to return to the cavern mysteriously sick and covered in skin sores.
I had been sitting for about an hour, when I saw a single kobold start down the hill. I moved quietly as he approached the trees and kept my eye on him. As he approached the camp. He called out in his language and waited, but no response came. He looked about nervously, and then crept close. I saw him peek around a tree and try to see what the situation at their orchard encampment looked like. Seeing no signs of life, or even of death, he called out again, and waited again for a reply. Harmony was suddenly at my shoulder, and I motioned her to stay where she was and take no action. The kobold rushed into the middle
of the camp and took a quick look and then ran for the tress again. He didn’t stop, but ran straight for the cavern. Dawn was beside me now, ready for a shot at him, but I waved her off. We watched as the creature was greeted by his fellows and then ran below ground, I assumed to make a report of what he had found.
The three girls followed me quietly back to our own spot, so that we could talk.
I said, “That was fortunate. Just what we wanted, I think. They sent a scout and he found a ghost town where he expected to find at least forty kobolds. And if there had been any alive, even in hiding, they would have answered him when he called. Forty kobolds simply vanished. And he didn’t see any reason why. And not even any bodies that could be taken for food. What a disgusting thing. To eat your own kind.”
Dawn said, “Animals do it. All carnivores, except for men who are civilized, do.”
I said, “I suppose so. But anyway, this works for us, I think. I suspect that next, Delilah will send a large force to replace the ones that are missing. And here’s what I think that we should do when she does.”
I took a few minutes to describe what the plan would be, and then asked about how Val and Harmony were doing, learning to shoot a bow and arrows. Dawn said that they were both doing well, and I sent them back to keep practicing.
I kept watching the cavern, and at one point, a few kobolds, and what may have been Delilah herself, appeared and may have been arguing as they pointed and gestured toward the orchards. I thought it funny. A few days ago, we had been concerned about what monsters were in the orchards. Now, I was the monster in the orchard and they were now afraid of me and my pretty companions. Pretty, but very deadly.
At noon, the girls returned again. This time with supplies from the tunnel. They had a quantity of all of the potions and poisons that Val had described to her mother, another hundred arrows, and the new blowpipes and darts that I had asked for. And lunch.
As we ate, I examined the new pipes and darts with the girls. There were four new weapons with a much narrower bore than the ones that I had made. These were designed for a needle like dart that would pierce the skin, and deliver a small amount of the sickness poison, but the darts were so small, that they might sting and then fall to the ground. Even if they stuck in their target, he might not notice it. At least an kobold might not. Their skin was thick and not as sensitive as a human. The other darts were made for our large blowpipes, and short and blunt, but with a tiny point surrounded by a cupped area to hold the substance that Val had concocted to cause a painful welt that would grow in the skin over several hours. When we had finished eating, Val was charged with teaching Harmony and Dawn to use the darts. I stayed where I was as the lookout.
Before another hour had gone by, the kobolds had decided on another foray into the orchards. As they began exiting the cavern, and gathering uncertainly on the hillside, I tapped the tree where I stood three times with a stick, and waved my hand toward where I thought that the girls would be. They understood my signal, and were all with me a minute later.
I said, “They are preparing to attack again. I see at least twenty now, but there will be more. I think that our plan is fine. Let’s go.”
The four of us left quietly and headed for a hiding place right at the mouth of our tunnel. From here, we could see the edge of the orchard where it met the meadow and the way down to the village. We didn’t plan to use the darts this time, so we stashed them in the mouth of the tunnel and readied our bows. I hoped that Val and Harmony had learned enough for it to be helpful. Harmony was away to our left, closer to the hills, counting how many came out, and keeping out of sight.
A little later, she joined us again and said, “About half as many as before. About twenty of them. But they have scouts this time. One is half way up the hill. Three more are at the cavern entrance. One is at the edge of the orchard, just inside the trees.”
I said, “They are trying to see how their people keep disappearing and report it back to the others. They are only sacrificing a small number, hoping to discover something. We’ll do like we discussed. Come on.”
Chapter 4 - A Little Battle
I rose from our hiding place, keeping low, and circled around into the meadow. We wanted them to think that we were coming across open ground, from the direction of the village. We crawled along on our stomachs for a hundred yards, and then stood up. We had chosen a place far enough out that it would be visible from the caves, and when we appeared, the lookouts there shouted and waved in our direction. Apparently, this told them all that they thought that they needed to know, and we heard a commotion as the twenty in the orchard heard the signal and ran toward us.
Soon, twenty kobolds ran from among the trees, but stopped no more than ten feet from their shelter and screamed and taunted us. The girls and I stood still and held our fire. They were about thirty yards away, and we could have hit them, but I wanted them closer.
I said, to Harmony, “Throw a knife.”
She said, “It’s too far.”
I said, “I know. Throw it anyway. But not as far as you can.”
Harmony threw one of the knives as far as I had indicated and it fell short by a long way and landed in the long grass. The kobolds yelled and race forward a bit.
I heard Dawn say, “They aren’t especially bright or clever, are they?”
I laughed and said, “No. I suppose not. Harmony, again.”
Harmony threw another knife, as deliberately ineffective as the first one, but even shorter this time. The kobolds taunted us loudly and stepped even closer. And because they felt more confident, they started to bunch up closer to each other, nearer to us, instead of staying in an evenly spaced line.
I said, “Val, can you make the shot at this distance?”
Val said, “I think so.”
I said, “You and Harmony aim for the main group of them. Get lucky, even if you aren’t precise. Dawn and I will shoot at the ones on the edges. But wait. When we do started to fire, fire as fast as you can, and don’t worry about your misses.”
We waited several more minutes, not moving. And the kobolds continued to yell and taunt, and jump and wave their arms. Eventually they grew quiet. One of them seemed to call them together to confer about what to do next. And then, when they stood close to each other, I raised my bow and four arrows shot almost at one instant. And then four more. And then four more. Six died instantly from the shots that Dawn and I took, and another two were hit luckily by Val and Harmony. The twelve that were left on their feet screamed in a mix of fear and outrage. The four that were more outraged ran toward us. The others toward the trees.
I said, “Harmony, go.”
Harmony dropped her bow and raced back toward the tunnel opening and was gone from view an instant later. Dawn and I fired at the ones retreating and four of them fell before they reached the trees. I dropped my bow and drew my sword, cutting down two of the ones that came at us. Dawn and Val stepped behind me and Dawn killed one with an arrow. The one that was left, paused for just an instant, but that was too long and my sword pierced him as well.
I estimated that five had made it back to the trees and now the three of us ran after them. I was confident that there would be no ambush, but maybe a stand at their camp spot. We could see them running through the trees and we followed as closely behind them as we could. When they did reach the little clearing, they tried to stop and fight. Dawn had stopped already and one went down as soon as it faced her. Val and I didn’t stop, but ran straight toward them. The two nearest to me had their knives in their hands, but as my sword flashed, the hands holding their knives fell from their wrists at their feet. They were momentarily stunned and since they were now unarmed, literally, I stepped toward the other two. One lost his head as my sword removed it from his shoulders, and Harmony appeared behind the other and suddenly fell with a cut at his neck. And without a word, Harmony was lost to sight among the trees again. I spun to see the two that I had wounded and found them both on the ground at Val’s feet.
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Val was already at her task of collecting the knives from the dead kobolds and Dawn was running to join us. Val finished quickly, and the three of us waited where we were. A few minutes later, Harmony joined us again.
I said, “How did it go?”
She said, “I waited for a moment when the one on the hill turned his back to speak to the ones above and killed the scout in the orchard and dragged him into the trees out of sight. The area is clear. There are none in the trees. The ones at the cavern are waiting for news.”
I said, “Stay here. Dawn, you stay too. Val, come with me.”
Val and I walked quickly to the edge of the meadow and then out to where the kobolds lay dead. I started with the ones farthest from the trees and carried them back to the tree line, out of sight of the observers on the hill. Val collected the bows and arrows that we had dropped, and the knives of the dead, as usual. It didn’t take long to get the bodies out of the open, and when I was done, we left them in a pile and found Harmony and Dawn at the kobold camp, where we expected.
I said, “Good work, all of you. Val, come with me while I lug the bodies to a spot near the tunnel, but not to where they can see what is happening. We will take the bodies to the hole after dark. You two go to our base and keep watch.”
Val left the weapons with the other two, and she kept me company as I first took the bodies from the camp to the area where would hide them and then retrieved the ones near the meadow and did the same with them.
As we went about the task, Val said, “Ronin, we work exceptionally well together. How are you holding up?”
I said, “I’m fine, We are at war. Hardship is to be expected. It won’t last forever. Right now, I don’t see what else we can do. But, like you said, it will wear on us very quickly. None of us are used to this.”
Val said, “We will do what we can. My potions will help. You are a good man. Better than I ever hoped for. And a great warrior. Hey, I know what we can think about. What kind of treasure will we find when we finally plunder Delilah’s throne room?”
The Edge of Harmony: The Guardian Maidens Book 2 Page 4
