CHAPTER 10
BATTLE ROYAL
When they finally made it, breathless and sweating from their frantic flight through the jungle, Sebastian was relieved to see that all the villagers were at their battle stations. But at the same time he was worried to note how dark it had become; and when he looked up at the sky, he could see that a mass of bruise-black clouds were rolling overhead.
The young men of the tribe, and many of the women, were standing in a defensive line around the huts, each clad in a suit of rusa hide and holding a sword and a large wooden shield. A short distance behind them stood a ring of archers, each equipped with a bow and a quiver of arrows; burning torches of conflagrus were stuck in the ground beside them. Sebastian knew that the older people and the children were sheltering in the communal huts in the very centre of the village; but they too were armed and would fight to the last if necessary.
'Come on,' said Cornelius. 'Let's take our places. Our guests will be arriving at any moment.'
As Sebastian slotted himself into the circle of warriors, he noticed Keera standing a short distance away, armoured and armed just as the others were. Beside her stood Maccan, dressed in full ceremonial regalia, clutching a huge curved sword in each hand, his face painted into a terrifying mask.
Thunder rumbled again, and off beyond the trees there was a brief flare as lightning split the sky.
Sebastian glanced around but could see no sign of Max. After a few moments he noticed a large pile of straw standing a little way inside the circle and surmised that Max and the battle wagon must be hidden beneath that. Evidently Cornelius was using every opportunity to take the Gograth by surprise. Somebody handed Sebastian a heavy shield; he took it and unsheathed his sword. The shield was rather cumbersome but Sebastian knew that it would play a big part in the coming battle. Then Salah appeared carrying Sebastian's headdress. She motioned to him to bend down and placed it respectfully on his head. Then she bowed and pushed her way back through the ranks to the village.
'Do I have to wear this?' whispered Sebastian.
'Of course you do,' said Cornelius. 'You've got to look like a chief.'
'Yes, but I feel like a great ninny.'
'Stop complaining and start acting regal. Remember, you're in charge of all this.' Cornelius waved a hand at the waiting warriors. 'It's you they look up to. You're the Chosen One.'
'Yes, thanks for reminding me,' said Sebastian. 'And I have you to thank for that.'
Cornelius grinned. He reached up and lowered the visor of his helmet. 'They're close,' he said.
Now Sebastian was aware of a new sound coming out of the surrounding jungle, drawing closer and closer. It was a thudding noise, the clamour of scores of swords crashing against the sides of many shields. He glanced down at Cornelius, who grinned back up at him.
'Relax, lad,' said the Golmiran. 'That's just the enemy making a pathetic attempt to strike fear into our hearts!'
Sebastian swallowed hard. It's working, he thought, but said nothing to Cornelius. His friend did not seem to know fear and was never very sympathetic when he observed it in others. But there was something else he wanted to say.
'Cornelius, if I should fall today—'
'Don't be ridiculous!' cried the little warrior. 'What can happen to you? You're the Chosen One!'
'Yes, but . . . seriously, if I don't make it through this battle . . . there's a note in my pocket . . . for Jenna . . . I would appreciate it if you would make sure she receives it.'
Cornelius made a dismissive gesture. 'Don't worry,' he said. 'Today is not your day to die.'
'How do you know that?' protested Sebastian.
'Because you've already had one close call with the Gograth. I didn't nurse you back from the brink just to have you lose your life to those brutes. You'll be fine, provided you follow my instructions to the letter. Now stop worrying and get ready. I think I see our first customers . . .'
Sure enough, figures were emerging from the green depths all around them; great shambling shapes dressed in primitive armour, armed with shields and swords and throwing spears. Their faces were contorted into expressions of rage and they were making horrendous gibbering sounds as they marched forward. Sebastian's blood seemed to run cold in his veins.
'Nobody make a move,' roared Cornelius. 'Stand your ground until I give the word!'
Arrows began to fly out from the advancing ranks and somewhere to Sebastian's left there was a scream of pain and a Jilith warrior fell to the ground.
'Shields!' bellowed Cornelius and, as one, each man lifted a heavy shield to cover the top half of his body. No sooner had Sebastian lifted his than he felt the impact of arrows thudding into it. He peered out and saw a seemingly endless wave of armoured warriors coming towards him.
'Cornelius,' he said, 'we need to—'
'Wait!' yelled Cornelius. 'They have to be inside the ring.'
A spear glanced off the top of Sebastian's shield and went spinning end over end behind him. He glanced back and saw that the archers were waiting, their first arrows nocked and ready. Their faces were impassive, betraying no sense of fear.
Perhaps it's just me, thought Sebastian. Perhaps I should drop the tough-guy routine and take up embroidery or something.
Another arrow thudded into his shield. This time, the stone head actually broke through the wooden barrier and stopped a few finger-widths away from his face. Sebastian gulped and risked a glance round the side of his shield. The nearest of the Gograth were already well inside the ring but many of the others were not.
'Cornelius,' he hissed, 'we can't wait much longer—'
'Hold your nerve,' snapped Cornelius. 'They'll stop firing arrows now for fear of hitting their own men. I want them all inside the circle, or it won't work.'
Something struck Sebastian's shield with a force that nearly smashed it out of his grasp and then fell at his feet. He saw that it was a crudely made stone axe.
'Oh, nice,' he said. 'Really nice.' Then he felt something even more worrying. A droplet of water landed on his head. Then another, and another . . .
Rain. It was starting to rain! He remembered Max's doleful expression when he'd asked the question: What happens if it rains?
Cornelius seemed not to have noticed. 'Wait for it . . .' Sebastian heard him say. 'Wait for it . . .' And then, at a volume that seemed to shatter Sebastian's eardrums, he screamed, 'ARCHERS!'
The archers needed no second bidding. As one they plunged the heads of their first arrows into the flaming brands, took aim and fired. Sebastian was only dimly aware of plumes of smoke whizzing up into the rain-streaked air behind him and curving down to land behind the ranks of advancing warriors. In fact, so puny did the first volley appear that many of the Gograth stopped in their tracks to point at the passing arrows, laughing derisively at what they assumed was a miserable attempt to hit them.
The arrows trailed down out of sight, and for the longest time nothing happened. Sebastian felt an awful sinking feeling in his stomach. 'Cornelius,' he said, 'I don't think—'
And then the world seemed to explode in a great burst of orange flame, the ring of fire leaping up like something alive and clawing at the sky. Sebastian lowered his shield a fraction and felt the intense heat on his face. He saw that the Gograth were turning round in panic, unable to deal with this sudden explosion of the thing they feared most in the world.
'DOWN!' shouted Cornelius. Sebastian and the others in the front rank dropped onto one knee.
'ARCHERS!' screamed Cornelius again, and the ring of bowmen unleashed a second volley; this time they used ordinary arrows and their aim was deadly. The Gograth fell like wheat before a deadly scythe as the arrows thudded into their unprotected backs. Bewildered, they turned to face the enemy and were hit by a third volley, which dropped scores more. Now there was confusion among their ranks. Some shambled forward, others turned back towards the flames. In the chaos, a fourth volley hit them and now they were sprawling one on the other, screaming in panic, wanting to
flee but unable to brave the wall of fire that hemmed them in.
'ARCHERS . . . STAND DOWN!' yelled Cornelius. 'WARRIORS . . . FORWARD!'
The front rank of warriors jumped back to their feet and surged forward to strike the Gograth in their moment of disarray. Sebastian ran at the closest man and cleaved him across the shoulders with his sword. The man fell aside, arms flailing, revealing another warrior who was turning back to the fight; Sebastian ran him through, the razor-sharp blade crunching through his breastplate and dropping him where he stood.
Sebastian caught a glimpse of Keera, her sword felling Gograth warriors at every stroke, and then he moved forward again, stepping on the bodies of the fallen, blind to anything but the need to swing his sword at anyone who opposed him.
'FALL BACK!' Cornelius's voice cut through the noise of battle and he reacted automatically, dropping back with the others, raising the heavy shield as he did so: Cornelius had warned him that once the Gograth had recovered from their surprise, they would regroup, taking heart from their superior numbers. Through the smoke and haze of the still blazing fire, Sebastian saw Cornelius's grime-streaked face winking at him.
'MAX!' he roared.
Sebastian lifted his head and saw the huge mound of straw where Max was concealed suddenly burst apart as the buffalope sprang forward, dragging the heavy war chariot behind him. He moved slowly at first but rapidly increased his speed; now Sebastian could see the Jilith's best archers standing in the back of the wagon, their bows ready to fire. Max lowered his head and thundered towards the nearest ranks of Gograth. His horns made contact with armour and the warriors were flung aside like broken dolls. For a moment it was like a great tidal wave passing through the press of bodies; the Gograth could do nothing but try and scramble out of the way. Many were flung into the air, to come crashing down onto the heads of their comrades. Those who avoided the horns were felled by the archers as the wagon moved on.
'Go on, flee, you scum!' Max was bellowing. 'You tried to kill my master, you hairy brutes! Now see how you like it.'
Arrows thudded into the buffalope's padded flanks but he paid them no heed. He just kept galloping onwards, an unstoppable force.
Cornelius was laughing delightedly. 'What did I tell you?' he yelled. 'It worked in Keladon and it's working here.' He waited until the war chariot had gone past and then lifted his sword and signalled to those behind him. 'Come on!' he cried. 'Let's finish them.'
As if to punctuate his cry, there was a sudden brilliant flash of lightning; and in that instant the heavens opened and the rain came down. Sebastian hesitated for a second, shocked by the ferocity of the downpour. It was a deluge – he could feel the rods of rain bouncing off his head and shoulders, and thought how disastrous it would have been if it had come down like this a few moments earlier; but he could not allow himself to be distracted. He put his head down and ran after Cornelius.
Everybody surged forward and went to work on the Gograth who were left, but by now they were demoralized: many were simply looking for a way out through the flames.
Max came round the circle a second time, smashing down any Gograth who dared to oppose him.
'Behold the power of Max the Mighty!' Sebastian heard him bellow; followed by a rather less majestic, 'Ouch! Who left that there?' But then the war chariot thundered by, its wheels flinging up two fountains of water in its wake.
Sebastian ran forward to deal with those few warriors who were still left standing. He squared up to one mighty creature, ducked beneath a savage sword blow and was offered an open shot at the Gograth's head.
But something stopped him from making the killing blow – he could see blind terror in the Gograth's eyes. As he stood back, the once-proud warrior dropped his weapons and turned to run towards the flames, which were now dying down beneath the falling rain. Grey smoke billowed across the clearing and in a moment the fleeing creature was lost to sight.
Sebastian stayed where he was and lowered his shield. He suddenly felt very weary. He lifted the headdress off and tilted back his head to let the chill rain wash the blood and sweat from his face. Max came thundering round for a third time, but already there were fewer targets for him to chase and he was having to weave from side to side in order to make contact with them.
Then Sebastian saw a figure cut off from the rest, a huge, imposing warrior dressed in more sophisticated armour than his companions. He was standing on a heap of fallen bodies and fighting with all his might. His shoulder pads carried the insignia of a leader and his helmet sported a purple plume. This, Sebastian knew, had to be General Darvon.
He was surrounded by Jilith warriors, each of them eager to be the one to claim his life, but none of them reckless enough to attack him face to face. The huge two-handed sword he brandished lashed left and right, keeping them at a
distance. The general was staring through the pouring rain, wide-eyed with shock, unable to believe that his mighty army had been so thoroughly vanquished in what seemed like a matter of moments. As he stood there, the last of his warriors threw down their weapons and ran; he was alone. He glanced towards the ring of fire, now little more than a circle of smoke.
Then Sebastian saw Cornelius running towards the general, slipping and sliding on earth that was rapidly turning into a quagmire, clambering across the ranks of the fallen in his haste to reach his enemy. Sebastian dropped his shield and sword and ran after him, his long legs covering the distance faster than Cornelius ever could. He caught up with the little warrior a short distance from his quarry, grabbed him around the shoulders and wrestled him to the ground.
'What are you doing?' bellowed the Golmiran. 'Let me go, you fool, he'll escape!'
'Cornelius, it's over,' Sebastian shouted back. 'He's finished, let him go!'
The general took one last despairing look across a battlefield littered with dead and dying Gograth. He gave a final roar of defiance, then turned and fled towards the smoke.
Cornelius struggled to free himself from Sebastian's grasp, but the elfling hung on tight and they both watched as General Darvon flung himself through the wall of smoke and disappeared from sight.
'You bloody fool!' roared Cornelius. 'You've let him escape. We could have finished him!'
But Sebastian shook his head. He released his friend and gestured around him. 'He is finished,' he said. 'Look.'
Cornelius gazed around at the devastation: the piles of sprawled bodies, the pools of blood thinning in the rain, the lifeless eyes staring towards the dark-grey sky. He opened his mouth to say something, but words seemed to fail him. His eyes widened and a look of profound shock came over his features, as if he were seeing the scene for the first time.
'Shadlog's teeth,' he whispered at last. He got to his feet and continued to stare at the battlefield.
The dead must have numbered into the hundreds. Here and there, Jilith warriors were moving through the fallen men, finishing off those who were still breathing. As far as Sebastian could tell, the Jilith had lost fewer than a dozen men. He saw Keera walking across the battlefield. Her face was bloody but she seemed unharmed. She lifted a hand and waved to him.
'You did it, Cornelius,' he said quietly. 'You destroyed them, just as you said you would. Perhaps you truly are a general.'
But Cornelius was still staring around at the carnage. Sebastian saw, with a stab of shock, that the little warrior's eyes were filling with tears.
'Cornelius?' he said. 'Is something wrong?'
Cornelius shook his head. 'It's the smoke from the fire,' he said; and he turned and walked away through the falling rain, picking his way carefully through the lifeless bodies.
Sebastian stared after him, then turned at the sound of a familiar voice. Max was approaching, pulling the heavy war wagon behind him. His rusa-hide armour was literally bristling with arrows, making him look like an oversized hedgehog.
Sebastian Darke: Prince of Explorers Page 9
