Web of Deceit

by Richard S. Tuttle

  Rejji was still thirty paces away as Veltar’s arms rose one more time. Mistake slid to a halt wishing she had just one more dagger. In desperation, she swiftly formed an Air Tunnel to the far side of the mage and spoke into it.

  “Guess you forgot about me,” she snarled.

  Veltar whirled around as he sought the voice. The moment of confusion distracted Veltar longer than a dagger would have, but he still managed to turn in time to see Rejji swinging his staff. He swiftly raised his arms, but instead of issuing a spell, he grasped the staff as it descended towards his head. Rejji and Veltar struggled for control of the staff as smoke rose from the magician’s hands. Veltar cried out in pain as the stench of seared flesh permeated the air. With a desperate twist that threw Rejji off balance, Veltar relinquished his hold on the staff. Rejji tumbled to the ground, still clutching the staff, as Veltar stared at his blackened and smoking palms and screamed in agony. Rejji swung the staff hard and connected with Veltar’s legs. He rolled away from the falling body and leaped to his feet as Veltar slammed into the ground. Rejji forcefully jammed the end of the staff into Veltar’s throat and put all of his strength behind it. Veltar gurgled frantically as his charred hands gripped the staff again and he tried to force it away. Mistake raced to halt next to Rejji just as Veltar’s body dissipated in a puff of smoke.

  Wyant fought hard to keep his eyes on Grulak and not the battle that was taking place behind the Jiadin leader. Veltar’s cry of agony caused a hesitation in Grulak’s defense as he involuntarily turned towards the scream. Wyant was ready for such a distraction and swung his sword hard into Grulak’s neck. Grulak’s eyes opened wide with surprise as his head tilted onto his shoulder and his sword dropped from numb fingers. Wyant stood poised to deliver another blow as Grulak’s body toppled to the ground and sprawled lifelessly.

  Wyant rushed over to Rejji and Mistake and stared down and the cloak upon the ground.

  “I am thankful for that special armor you provided. It has saved my life today. What happened to him?” inquired Wyant.

  “He disappeared,” Rejji said softly. “I have seen it happen before, but not to anyone real. Who was he?”

  “That was Veltar,” answered Wyant. “He was Grulak’s main advisor. Is he dead?”

  “Yes, he is dead,” nodded Rejji.

  “What did you mean you had seen this before?” questioned the Marshal.

  Mistake wandered off to retrieve her daggers and Rejji stood shaking his head. His face pouted in thought as he turned to Wyant.

  “I have seen it in Angragar,” declared Rejji. “Evil spirits infest the city and rise again after they are killed. One marched around with Mistake’s dagger in his throat. The staff seems to be able to send them to their final rest. I do not really understand it, but just touching the staff caused the magician’s hands to burn.”

  “You have been to Angragar,” gasped Wyant. “I always thought it was a myth. Where is it?”

  “My horse is dead,” lamented Rejji, “and we are falling behind schedule. I wonder why Winus failed to act here.”

  “You can take my horse,” offered Wyant. “I will start slaying the elite before they wake up. Winus should have been here already, so I guess he is not coming. I fear I may have misjudged him.”

  “Jiadin!” Mistake’s soft voice announced as if she was standing next to them. “I will take him out.”

  Rejji and Wyant turned towards Mistake and saw the Jiadin soldier approaching, his sword drawn as his eyes darted back ad forth.

  “No, Mistake,” shouted Wyant as he saw her cock her arm. “He is one of Winus’s men.”

  The soldier looked around in confusion and then marched towards Wyant. He sheathed his sword as he approached.

  “Sorry, Wyant,” the soldier stated. “Brakas ran our horses off in the night. The rest of the men are a few minutes behind me. Have they started to wake up yet?”

  “Not yet,” nodded Wyant, “but I am glad you are here. The thought of trying to kill a thousand of them by myself before they woke up was not reassuring. I will catch up to you Rejji when the first of their horses awaken. You and Mistake should be on your way.”

  ***

  Yojji’s archers sent the signals to Adger and Blaka as the Jiadin climbed towards the western pass of the Valley of Bones. Cries of the wounded rippled through the forward ranks of the Jiadin as the archers rained down arrows upon the unsuspecting men. The column faltered as the surprise slowly registered and they tried to assess their position. Within moments, the column charged for the mouth of the valley. The archers continued to spray death upon the Jiadin as Yojji’s men stretched out low ropes across the ground and tightened them. The first riders to reach the ropes tumbled as their horses fell. The next few riders reacted in time to jump over the ropes and the fallen bodies, but they were soon blocked by Yojji’s men who had filled the path before them.

  The archers were relentless as the Jiadin engaged Yojji’s swordsmen and soon the order was given for the Jiadin to retreat out of bow range. It was precisely at that moment that Blaka’s force met with Adger’s and they engaged the flanks and rear of the Jiadin column. Both Blaka and Adger kept their horse archers safely behind the swordsmen as they squeezed the Jiadin column from three sides. Chaos ravaged the Jiadin forces as conflicting orders were issued from each end of the column. The Jiadin at the head of the column tried to retreat, while the rear tried to advance. Shouts of surrender rang from the center of the column alongside shouts to charge. The Jiadin expended more time trying to assess a way out of the fighting than in actually engaging the enemy.

  The battle was surprisingly short, given the skill of the Jiadin column, but the surprise and cramped location left them no room to maneuver as the arrows continued to drop man and horse alike. The free tribes lost three hundred men and carried the bodies clear of the battlefield. Adger had some men rearrange the Jiadin bodies so that there was a clear path into the Valley of Bones. Yojji called his archers down off the mountain and had men collect weapons and round up the horses that had survived. Within several hours of the end of the battle, the free tribes had returned to hiding in the forests west of the pass.

  ***

  “The war is lost,” shouted the rider. “Grulak is dead. The elite have been destroyed. The Jiadin are no more. There is nothing but dead bodies ahead. Run for your lives.”

  “That is the tenth rider today,” spat Klavin. “What fool thinks the fight is over when this huge an army is marching towards them? I don’t care how many men the free tribes have, we will still kick their tails just by the might of our numbers.”

  “You haven’t spent much time looking behind you today, have you?” questioned Gregnic. “More men desert every time a rider comes by. I bet we have lost over half the army already.”

  “That will just mean more food for the rest of us,” growled Klavin as he turned and looked at the column behind him. “We still have more than enough to wipe out the free tribes and take their food.”

  Gregnic turned and watched hundreds of men split from the column and head either north or south. This time there were not even shouts about the men leaving as there had been in previous desertions. The news had gotten progressively worse with each rider who came from the east and the mood of the army had become quite gloomy.

  “Easier for you to say than me,” frowned Gregnic. “I am not much of a fighting man like you are. I am a healer not a swordsman.”

  “I’ll take care of you,” growled Klavin. “You just stay close to me and I’ll let you bring me food when we get to Ghala, wherever that is.”

  “Another couple of those riders from the east and we won’t have enough men to worry about how much food is in Ghala,” Gregnic stated. “Our chances of getting any food out of this trip are ridiculous.”

  “How can you say that?” questioned Klavin. “The free tribes are cowards. That is why they would not join with Grulak. They will run at the sight of such a massive army.”

  “And if we manage to d
efeat the free tribes,” posed Gregnic, “who do you think will get the food? Grulak no longer controls this army. In fact, nobody does. Look around you. The men riding in front of you will cut your throat to get your food. Do you plan to fight every man in this army after you have fought the free tribes? It will be every man for himself when we get to Ghala. You will be so busy guarding your food, that you will never get a chance to bring it to your mouth.”

  “Why would they do that?” asked Klavin. “We are in the same army.”

  “We are in no army,” corrected Gregnic. “We are just a mob heading for a city we think has food in it. Most of the men here would probably surrender at the first sight of the tribes in hopes of getting some food. We only continue marching forward because we have no other place to go. Face it, Klavin, you are marching towards your death.”

  “Well so are you then,” growled Klavin.

  “Not anymore,” declared Gregnic as he veered to the south. “I will take my chances trying to find something to eat in the forest. At least I will die in peace.”

  ***

  Bakhai sat perched upon the mountain peak and stared into the Valley of Bones. He had been watching the tiny column of Jiadin soldiers entering the valley for over an hour and he could not even see the far end of the valley where Yltar was keeping watch. Almos, a Qubari from the village sat down beside him.

  “Yltar said the end is in sight,” Almos reported. “It will not be long now.”

  “That is considerably less of an army than we expected,” noted Bakhai. “I guess that Winus’s riders were effective.”

  “It is still a lot of men,” responded Almos. “It would be a shame to kill them.”

  “That is an odd thing to hear you say,” Bakhai stated as he turned to the Qubari. “I thought you wanted all of the invaders dead.”

  “We are not in the jungle,” replied Almos. “This is the invader’s land, not ours. We do not seek their destruction. We just will not allow them to seek ours. The Qubari revere life in all of its forms, but we realize that at times we will be called upon to take that life from some. It is not a pleasant thing, but necessary.”

  “Well they shall have the choice,” smiled Bakhai. “Have you heard from Mistake?”

  “She and Rejji will be here soon,” answered Almos. “She contacted me when they began climbing the mountain.”

  “Talking about me?” chuckled Mistake as she and Rejji stepped up behind Bakhai and Almos. “How is it going?”

  “Almost ready for the show to begin,” declared Bakhai. “I was afraid you would miss it.”

  “We ran into some old friends of Wyant’s,” interjected Rejji. “He stayed behind to entertain them. How did Yojji’s men make out?”

  “Only three hundred losses,” replied Bakhai. “The plan was very effective.”

  “The last of the Jiadin have entered the valley,” reported Almos. “Yltar is notifying the free tribes and will begin his preparations as soon as the column is out of sight. He said quite a few deserted at the sight of Yojji’s battlefield.”

  “How many do you think have made it this far?” asked Rejji.

  “Not sure,” answered Bakhai. “I would estimate only fifteen to twenty thousand are left.”

  “They must be really demoralized then,” calculated Rejji. “That is more defections than I even dreamed of.”

  “Yes, but that is an awful lot of bandit groups now roaming around Fakara,” interjected Mistake. “You know they will begin terrorizing the people to steal whatever food they can.”

  “That is why the free tribes will begin patrolling the country,” declared Rejji. “Eventually, all of the bandits will be brought under control. Right now I am more interested in preserving Ghala and the free tribes. One step at a time.”

  “Yltar has sealed the valley,” reported Almos. “I will get the others.”

  Rejji stood staring down at the tiny figures as they plodded eastward towards the end of the valley. He heard the soft footsteps and turned to greet the dozen Qubari tribesmen that had been waiting for this moment.

  “You have agreed how to divide the column up?” asked Rejji.

  “We have,” nodded Almos. “Your voice will be heard by most of the men. Eventually the word will spread to all.”

  “Set it up,” ordered Rejji. “I would like this settled before nightfall.”

  The Qubari clumped together before Rejji and spun their Air Tunnels down into the valley, each man choosing a different point in the long column. When they were all set, Almos nodded to Rejji. Rejji leaned forward and spoke where he was directed.

  “You have entered the Valley Bones,” Rejji began in a loud voice. “The Jiadin have been defeated and we offer you a chance to save yourselves. You will find the exits to the valley have been sealed. Any attempt to exit to the east will result in your death. To exit to the west, you will need to follow my instructions. If you do not, you will die.”

  Rejji paused and watched the men below turning and looking in every direction. All sense of order was erased and confusion rippled through the column.

  “My name is Rejji,” he continued, “and these are my terms for your surrender. As the Jiadin no longer exist, you will remove your red scarves and abandon them. You will leave your horses and your weapons behind. Those who follow these instructions will be allowed to leave the valley alive. You must return to the western exit where you will be allowed to leave one at a time. Take your time and explore the valley if you wish, but come nightfall, anyone left in the valley will die.”

  A small group at the head of the column charged towards the eastern end of the valley expecting to find the free tribes blocking the exit. What they found was much worse. The lead rider did not react fast enough and his horse slammed into the tyrik web, which spanned the entire pass. The horse screamed and the rider tried frantically to separate himself from the web. As the others watched in horror, several massive tyrik appeared high up on the web. As the lead rider screamed for help, the others turned and raced westward away from the web.

  The group raced back to the column and reported what they had seen. The column turned and headed towards the western pass as the word spread rapidly. The riders halted as they saw the huge web blocking the exit. Unlike the eastern web, the western one was a long pace off the ground. There was just enough room for a man to crawl under the web without getting stuck.

  Groups of riders split off and began exploring the rock walls of the valley. There were few areas that looked climbable and those few were also covered in webs. Men screamed and pointed whenever they spotted one of the huge tyriks above them on the walls of the canyon. Eventually, the column reassembled at the western exit from the valley. One brave soul dismounted and started to crawl under the web while the others watched. Yltar’s voice boomed among the men near the web.

  “You were told to leave your weapons and scarves behind,” Yltar said through the Air Tunnel. “If you proceed further without following instructions, my men will slay you before you stand up.”

  As if to demonstrate his point, a spear landed directly in front of the crawling man. He slithered backwards and rejoined his column. He searched for the location of the man that threw the spear and could not detect anyone.

  Suddenly, one of the former Jiadin dismounted. He walked towards the web and tore his scarf off. He threw the scarf on the ground and dropped his sword. As the rest of the men watched, he lowered himself to the ground and crawled under the web. Cheers erupted from the column as the man stood up and walked down the path. Soon there was a crowd of unarmed men standing in line at the web. Fights broke out among the ranks of those who disagreed with the surrender, but the diehards where mobbed and killed.

  One by one, the former Jiadin warriors crawled under the web and proceeded down the trail. As they cleared the narrow confines of the pass, they found the sides of the trail lined with men of the free tribes. The trail was lined for several miles before the unarmed men were allowed to walk freely in any direction they desi
red.

  As the sun began to dip low in the sky, several hundred former Jiadin still occupied the Valley of Bones. Several of them tried hacking at the web with their swords, but backed off when the tyriks showed themselves. Some men tried killing the creatures with arrows, but the arrows bounced off the plating on the back of the tyriks. The men finally retreated to the center of the valley and lit campfires. Rejji and the Qubari kept watch from afar as the sky darkened.

  The former Jiadin sat up late into the night, making plans for their escape in the morning. As the night wore on, the fires slowly dwindled to embers. And then the screams began. The tyriks climbed down off the walls of the valley and converged on the stubborn men. The men found themselves surrounded. Some tried to run to safety while others tried to battle the tyriks with swords. Neither approach worked and by morning all that was left were the bones of the men.

  ***

  The city of Ghala was alive with celebration and the streets were lined with people. Long tables of food were set in the streets around the city center and several talented men were playing musical instruments they had made. It was a festive atmosphere and the ale flowed freely. Several of the men over imbibed, but a mere word from one of the tribal leaders was enough to send the offender home to bed.

  Rejji felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to greet the man.

  “So you are the Rejji that I chased across the country,” smiled Winus. “I am glad that I never caught you. It is a fine thing you have done for the people of this country.”

  “Thank you, General,” greeted Rejji. “I also am glad you never caught me.”

  “I have a question about what went on in the Valley of Bones,” continued Winus. “I have asked around and can’t find a single man that was involved in that action. I have heard that close to twenty thousand men surrendered there and walked out of the valley without their horses or weapons. How exactly did you manage that?”