Ashrak stood and stared helplessly while Chari cried. Daka stepped up next to him and leaned in, whispering in his deep rumble. “She’s got you there, lad,” he said softly. “You really are a big idiot, now go give her a hug. We’ll figure this out. Don’t worry; those soldiers aren’t living past sunset.”
Ashrak took a deep breath and nodded before moving over to Chari and wrapping her in his arms. He held her while she sobbed into his chest, whispering softly into her hair though it wasn’t long before Chari regained her composure and the two returned to the group to talk about what to do next.
In the end, they all decided that Ashrak was still the best choice because he was fast, knew how to run on the sand, and wasn’t about to lend his tunics to one of his filthy companions. The tunics were long enough that pulling it up over his head was not a problem. However he looked like an idiot staring out through the hole in his tunic so to cover up the strange sight he made; he borrowed one of the bandit’s old shirts and hoods which covered up his nicer clothing.
“Okay, I’m going to go down there, and as soon as they start shooting at me, I’ll turn and run,” Ashrak said as he peeked around one of the large boulders in the corner of the road before it led down toward the soldier's ambush site.
“There’s no way this is going to work,” Ellian said. “It’s too simple.”
“That’s exactly what makes it a good plan,” Nilesh said. He was standing near a low boulder and setting out several throwing knives for easy access. “It’s going to be really hard to screw up run and scream.”
Ashrak gave the small man a wry look before turning back to his sister and Chari. “All right, I’m ready,” he said. “Is everyone in position?”
Ellian nodded, and when Ashrak looked around, he could see that everyone was well hidden. Chari reached up and pulled him down for a quick kiss before staring intently into his eyes. “You’d better not get hurt out there, mister,” she growled at him fiercely.
“I won’t; I promise,” Ashrak said and gave her one final kiss before she ran off to go hide. He watched her go and took a deep breath before turning around. It was time. He shook his shoulders and then begin walking, trying to appear like a casual traveler. It was about a hundred meters down the road to where the soldiers had set up their kill zone, but it only took him a few minutes to get down there.
He scanned around himself as surreptitiously as possible, trying to see if he could tell where the soldiers were without looking like he was trying to spot them. The hood was not helping him in the slightest, and as he got closer to the point, he became more and more nervous. He wondered if they would try to talk to him first or just try to kill him.
His answer was the sound of two arrows hissing through the air. One zipped by his head while the other struck him right in the chest. The arrow didn’t hurt him at all as it lodged in the dirty bandit’s shirt he was wearing over his armored tunic. Despite knowing it was coming, he still cried out and stumbled backward at the surprise.
Turning to run, he realized one of the errors they had made right away. He had assumed they would attack him once he came within close range, but instead, they had let him walk deeper into the ambush point. Several soldiers were running out with drawn swords, and two of them were actually behind him and closed quickly.
“Dammit,” he said to himself, realizing they might get a swing or two at him before he could get beyond them. He started running hard back up the road, keeping a careful eye on the two soldiers that were moving to intercept him. One of them had short legs and wouldn’t make it in time, but the other was lean and faster. That one would get a chance to cut him so Ashrak put his head down and ran as hard as he could.
A few more arrows whizzed by his head, but the bowmen stopped shooting so as not to strike the soldier that were converging on him. Ashrak looked into the man’s eyes and saw the savage determination as he raised his sword. Despite knowing he couldn’t be hurt, Ashrak still gritted his teeth and angled slightly away as he tried to get past the soldier.
Both men yelled almost at the same time. One in exultation as he chopped down at Ashrak’s back and the other in sheer determination as he gritted his eyes closed and pumped his legs as fast as he could. Ashrak felt the sword land on his back, thankful he was wearing his armored tunic and glad the man didn’t try to trip him. It would’ve been a difficult situation if he lost his footing. Eventually, one of the soldiers would’ve stabbed toward his face.
Still, he blew past the confused soldier and threw his arms up with the yelp of excitement. He heard the distinct sounds of cursing and yells behind him as the enemy took up his pursuit. The sounds of running feet were close behind.
Chancing a look over his shoulder, he saw that there were about seven men in fast pursuit of him, including the bowmen that had shot at him earlier. There were other soldiers that had stepped out from the ambush point behind him though they didn’t look interested in taking up the chase. That was perfect. They hadn’t wanted to draw all of the soldiers into their smaller ambush as it would have been more dangerous. The point had been to split them up, and it looked like it was succeeding.
He came bursting around the corner in the road, continuing his run at a slower pace. He wanted to give the appearance that he was still running and keep the soldiers focus on him. It worked like a charm. They followed right along, huffing and yelling after him to stop and didn’t even see the bandits rise around them until the first few arrows begin to land. Unlike Ashrak’s experience, these arrows sunk in causing several of the soldiers to stumble or fall to the ground with shafts peeking out of several body parts. One was already lying silently as three more were sobbing and clutching at their injuries.
The four remaining soldiers, including the fast, thin one that had taken a swipe at Ashrak, stopped in panic. They had no clue which way to look and bunched up in the middle of the road trying to figure out what to do next. The bandits didn’t give them any chance to think and continued their rain of arrows at the doomed men. Ashrak just stopped and turned, watching the soldiers fall. In moments they were all laying on the ground either still or groaning in pain.
Ashrak walked back to the carnage as the rest of his companions came out of hiding. Nilesh and two other bandits peeked around the corner and kept watch while the rest of them inspected their handiwork. “That worked like a charm,” Ellian said as she leaned down and drove her dagger into one of the still living guards, silencing him forever. “We’ll have to get ourselves some of these tunics from your friend. They certainly came in handy and saved your hide.”
Ashrak nodded, relief clear on his face as his sister moved to the next still moving form. “Yeah, I’m glad that the guy didn’t try to trip me or things might have become complicated. As it was, I bet the remaining soldiers are wondering what is wrong with their arrows and swords. They hit me several times.”
“That is the beauty of combat,” Daka rumbled as he and several other men begin dragging the bodies off of the road and into the brush and rocks to hide them. “No one has time to think, so your little friend is right: simple plans are the best as long as you can get your target moving in the right direction.”
Chari came running up and despite having her sword drawn, gave Ashrak a fierce hug. For his part, Ashrak got a panicked look on his face and didn’t move while she did so. Daka gave him an odd look and raised his bushy eyebrow. “You just went walking into an ambush and got hit with arrows and swords with no damage at all. Why are you acting so afraid of her sword?”
Ashrak delicately grabbed Chari’s sword hand and gingerly pulled it away from him. Chari was startled, and then looked at her sword before grinning sheepishly at Ashrak and sheathing it safely in its scabbard. After he had successfully done that, Ashrak turned back to the large man who was coming back to grab another corpse. “The swords are magical, as well. They’ll cut through pretty much anything as if it were air.”
“Really?” Daka asked as he bent down to pick up another soldier. “What
other toys do you have? I suppose next you’ll say you can fly?”
“No,” Ashrak said with a clear note of irritation. “Aidan didn’t have time to do that, dammit. I told him that would prove more useful, but he insisted on building something else.”
Daka’s eyes squinted at Ashrak, wondering if the tall noble was making fun of him. Before he could say anything, Nilesh hissed from his watch position. “It looks like they’re hunkering down,” the small man whispered loudly. “I don’t think any more of them will be coming up this way. I’m sure they heard the screaming.”
“They’ll be ready for us, now,” Ellian said as she narrowed her eyes. “We can’t afford to wait for several days. Other patrols might come along.”
“Let’s wait until nightfall,” Nilesh said with a twinkle in his eye. “With seven gone, there should be only about eight left. I’ve got some ideas on how to take care of them quickly.”
Chapter 15
Nilesh was true to his words and about three hours after darkness descended on the desert, he spread some dark pigments on his face and snuck off into the night. They had set up camp far enough away from the soldier's ambush point that they did not fear being found so set to the business of food and sleep.
“I don’t like just sitting around,” Ashrak groused. “It’s annoying enough that the soldiers are already out this far. I was hoping we could bypass most of them by taking the Skywitch.”
Chari rubbed his arm and leaned against him as they sat before the low fire. “I know,” she said tiredly. “But Oya Dihya always says never to expect the plan always to work. She’s right. If that soldier had tripped you back there, it would’ve changed everything with our little reverse ambush.” She gave a small sniff before continuing. “For one, they’d all be dead now because I would’ve run to save you and we wouldn’t have to be waiting around.”
Ashrak chuckled and leaned his head on the top of hers, nodding. “That is true,” he said. “Next time will just let you charge in and kill them all.”
“Don’t misjudge her, Ashrak,” Ellian said as she lounged with her head in Fallon’s lap. The firelight flickered and cast her face into deep shadow as she spoke. “She’s fierce, and with those fancy weapons and armor you have I’m not exactly certain she couldn’t do what she says.” She shifted and turned her head slightly toward her brother. “Speaking of, tell us about this friend of yours that can make these fantastic things. The most I’ve ever seen a glimmer steel engineer make before were all simple constructs and most times you could break what they make with a hammer.”
Ashrak shifted uncomfortably and finally decided to speak. “Well, it was an accident, and we’re all not sure what happened but somehow Aidan, that’s my friend’s name, gained the ability after a dare.”
“What kind of dare,” Daka rumbled from across the fire as he slowly stirred a large stew pot.
“He was a commoner, and we dared him to touch one of the glimmer stones we were using for one of our classes,” Ashrak supplied. “Personally, I thought for sure he would die, but I was wrong. Instead, it turned out he could make glimmer steel without even using the stones, and better than even the ancients.”
“Wait, you mean to say he didn’t die on the spot?” Daka said, looking up from the stew pot. “Have you tried making any other commoners touch glimmer stones?”
“No, we haven’t had time,” Chari interjected. “Unfortunately, we’ve been pursued by criminals and a Mourning Lord ever since. It’s not been a peaceful year.”
“So, this must be relaxing for you just being chased by an army,” Ellian laughed.
Chari grinned over the firelight at the prone woman. “I can’t say it’s been relaxing,” she answered. “It hasn’t been any more exciting than what we’ve become used to.”
“Wouldn’t that be something,” Daka said wistfully. “Being able to make magic stuff sounds like a dream come true. I sure wish your friend had been able to make it so you could fly.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Do you think it would work on me? I mean, touching a glimmer stone? Maybe commoners have more ability than nobles?”
“If you do it,” Ellian said with a grin. “Let me know so I can watch. I’ve never seen someone’s brains boil out of their ears before, not that there would be much to boil.”
Fallon grinned while Ellian laughed and Daka scowled. “Fine,” Daka mock growled. “Just for that, you don’t get served until last. And don’t yell at me because I know you’re too lazy to get up from Fallon’s lap.”
The laughter from around the fire was good-natured. The stew itself was not overly complicated, but it was filling, and there was enough for everyone. Ashrak and Chari were just moving away from the fire to sleep when Nilesh came walking back into the camp. The little man seemed unconcerned though Ellian looked up and narrowed her eyes before looking at Daka.
“Daka, did our scouts signal that they saw him coming in?” Ellian asked with a sense of concern in her voice.
Daka shook his head and began to stand, but Nilesh held his hands up and motioned for him to sit back down. “Don’t worry, the guards are still out there and safe,” the small man said. “They just didn’t see me, is all. I’m not used to being out in the desert, and I wanted to practice.”
Ellian snorted and let her head fall back in Fallon’s lap roughly which earned her a grumpy look. “Well, I knew you are sneaky and quiet. I just thought our people might be better than that.”
Nilesh shrugged and grabbed a bowl full of stew. It was only semi-warm though he didn’t seem to mind. “They are okay, but you have to understand I went to a school for this; one where you could die if you screw up. They would have us train against moneylenders and royal houses. If we were caught, we would be lucky if they turned us into the city guard and not just kill us outright. It served as good motivation, let me tell you.”
“So I take it your plan was successful?” Chari asked. They both had returned to the fire to hear how Nilesh’s endeavors had gone.
The little assassin nodded and smiled before taking a large bite of stew. He chewed and swallowed before speaking. “Yes, it went perfectly. We can move on our way in the morning. They will be dead before nightfall, tomorrow.”
“They’re still alive?” Daka asked.
“For the time being, yes,” Nilesh answered. “However, I spiked all of their water barrels with a slow poison. They won’t even realize anything is wrong until late afternoon. By that time all of them will have taken a drink or two, and they will be doomed.”
Chari shuddered, and Ashrak grimaced but nodded. “That should work. Even if one or two of them survive, it won’t be enough to cause any more problems.”
***
They pressed on the next morning into the hot sun and barren wasteland. Their scouts continued to see signs of troops moving through the area in small number. Since they were about a week away from the capital, they were most likely on the edge of the zone Count Stavix had sent his men.
Still, they were forced to move slowly to avoid the scouts groups in the area. Ashrak asked if it might be better to move it nighttime, but was quickly voted down. There were too many creatures that moved around at night, and none of the bandits wanted to end up attacked without a fire at their back. They kept them small though they still deterred most of the creatures in the area. At least they had so far.
They were about a week further on their travels when they came upon the first remains of a skirmish between Count Stavix and General Rhendu’s soldiers. It was clear that Count Stavix’s men had accomplished a hit-and-run attack against the larger army column and neither side took the time to clean up after their dead. Ashrak sat on his dancer with a grim face as he looked out over the half-covered bodies sticking up out of the sand. Unfortunately, it had done nothing to keep the scavengers away.
“Animals,” Ashrak snarled. “Freaking animals.”
Nilesh Road next to Ashrak and Chari. “I don’t think you can blame the scavengers for wanting to eat.”
Ashrak shook his head. “Not the real animals,” he said quietly with a sick look on his face. “I mean the men. Why didn’t they even bury their dead? Wouldn’t you want to bury your friends?”
“I would, and imagine quite a few of them wanted to as well,” Nilesh said thoughtfully. “My guess is the officers pushed them on. As ugly as leaving their fellow soldiers to rot is, if they are fighting each other than they are not looking for us. I can’t feel too sorry for them if it gives us an advantage. Not to mention, it should keep any animals in the area fat and happy and not interested in attacking us.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Ashrak said, still looking forlornly at the dead they were slowly leaving behind. “Do you think any other Lord has their troops out here?”
“It’s hard to say,” Nilesh answered. “There may be other lords powerful enough to have large armies but not powerful enough to take on Count Stavix or the General so they are staying out of it. If they did have troops out here, they would have to sneak around like we are. I didn’t hear of anyone else sending seekers out and we didn’t have a lot of time to ask around.”
The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4 Page 99
