The Undead Hordes of Kan-Gul

by Jon F. Merz

  Kancho nodded. “I agree with her. We’re here already. We’ll take them down hard and fast and then get out.” He stared at Ran. “Are you sure you can get the door open?”

  Ran patted his chest where the Chekhal hand was stowed. “I’m pretty sure I can.”

  “All right then,” said Kancho. “We attack.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Ran and Kancho considered the scene before them. With twelve Chekhal warriors, there would be enough action for everyone. But the task was to make sure they had the advantage for as long as possible. If the Chekhal were able to raise the alarm, there would be too many reinforcements to handle.

  “We need to make this quick,” said Ran quietly.

  Kancho pointed. “I’ll go in first and take out those two closest to the far wall. That will draw the attention of the others to me and enable you all to get behind them. And hopefully make quick work of them.”

  “That’s a pretty big risk you’re taking.”

  Kancho grinned. “Just don’t be late. As soon as I launch the attack, be on my heels and get killing.”

  “I will.”

  Ran relayed the commands back to Neviah and Jysal. He didn’t waste time trying to fill Malkyr in on the attack. With his wounded leg, Malkyr was more of a liability than an asset. Ran motioned for him to stay well back. Malkyr only shrugged and then nodded.

  “We’re ready.”

  Kancho eased his curved blade out of its scabbard and smiled once at the honed edge. Ran knew the feeling. Kancho was appreciating the fact that he had a weapon worthy of battle in his hands. While Ran wasn’t Murai, he nevertheless appreciated the craftsmanship of the blade he wielded. It had seen him through some truly harrowing encounters.

  “You can count on a sword,” said Ran.

  “And it will never betray you,” said Kancho. “I have seen the deaths of many men at the edge of this blade. I’m grateful for its service. Sometimes I think I have no right to ask any more of it than I already have. But here once more we enter into the fray like two old friends. Blessed be its existence, for without it, I would be half the warrior I am when I hold it.”

  Ran gave him the moment. After a few seconds, Kancho took a deep breath to flush himself with fresh oxygen. Then he stood and eyed Ran.

  “Remember: as soon as I hit them.”

  “Done.”

  Kancho took another breath, and Ran saw his face change into a grim mask. Then he charged into the room, his sword already swinging at the head of the closest Chekhal warrior.

  Ran came in quickly behind him.

  As expected, the instant Kancho entered the room, all of the Chekhal turned to face him, but Kancho was moving so fast that he was already past most of them before they had a chance to register the attack and attempt a defense. The first two Chekhal on the far wall fell to Kancho’s blade in swift succession. Ran’s peripheral vision picked up the two heads flying as they were severed from their torsos, but by then Ran was already engaging his first target.

  The Chekhal before him was armed with a strange gauntlet that had been fitted with a series of sinister blades that jutted out of it. As Ran closed, the Chekhal launched an attack of his own, swinging his arms in a pinwheel motion. Ran ducked the swipes and then cut up hard, scoring the Chekhal’s torso with his sword. He kicked out at one of the undead warrior’s knees, and the creature buckled. Ran pivoted around and swung his blade horizontally, cleaving the head from the shoulders.

  His gut spasmed, and Ran didn’t question it; he ducked under an attack from his rear, aware of a blade arcing through the space where his own head had been a split second before. He swung his other leg out and connected with the legs of another Chekhal warrior. The attack brought the Chekhal down to the ground, where Ran made short work of him by cutting his head off as well.

  He heard another blade go flying across the room and saw one of Neviah’s daggers embed itself in the dull eye socket of yet another Chekhal. The socket bled opaque gelatinous goo from the dead eye, and the warrior toppled over.

  “I guess there’s another way to kill them, eh?” Neviah smirked at Ran. “Makes things a bit easier.”

  Kancho had brought down another Chekhal in the meantime, but Jysal was having a hard time. Two Chekhal warriors had her pinned into a corner of the room, and they were closing fast. Ran sprinted the distance and brought his sword down obliquely from right to left, cutting through the thick leather armor and severing the spinal cord of the first Chekhal.

  Neviah sped into the fray and plunged another dagger into the base of the Chekhal’s skull and wrenched it left to right several times. The Chekhal stiffened and fell to the floor.

  “Behind you!”

  Kancho’s voice was abrupt, and Ran spun, bringing his sword up in front of him to ward off the expected attack. He felt the swing of the Chekhal sword and the weight behind it, nearly staggering back from the assault. But he gritted his teeth and used the Chekhal’s own weight to his advantage, throwing him off to the right. The Chekhal stutter-stepped, and, as he did so, Ran took the opportunity and swept his sword up, cutting from the front to the rear, slicing into the neck of the Chekhal. But Ran hadn’t fully recovered his own balance, and the blow hadn’t been delivered with quite enough force. His blade caught in a bit of bone. Ran turned his body, shifted his weight, and then yanked the blade free. The Chekhal’s head wasn’t completely severed, but lolled to one side as more dark blood bubbled up and out. It took a half step to one side, and then the body toppled to the floor.

  The clash of steel against steel sounded like a discordant orchestra of chaos. Kancho kept his blade whirling as he moved, and the Chekhal never had a chance to form any sort of real attack against him. Ran watched him easily take down another Chekhal and then wheel about to face another Chekhal that was trying to move into position behind him.

  Ran was about to go to his aid when he felt a thunderous kick slam into him from his side. He fell to one side, aware that the last Chekhal was coming toward him with its sword raised overhead. Ran had one chance. He rolled toward the Chekhal as the sword arced down at where his body had been a moment before.

  Instead of cutting Ran open, the sword bounced off the stone floor with a tremendous clang. Ran brought his sword up and plunged it deep into the bowels of the Chekhal. There was an awful stench, and Ran bit back the flood of bile in his throat. He jerked his sword loose and then came up, cutting horizontally and severing the head of the last Chekhal.

  With a final gasp, the Chekhal fell forward on its face and was still.

  The air buzzed around them. Ran surveyed the scene. The entire battle had taken perhaps a single minute. It had seemed at once incredibly slow and lightning fast. Ran could feel his heart thundering in his chest and willed himself to calm down. He flushed himself with more oxygen and looked at Kancho. The older warrior was sucking down gulps of air. He smiled at Ran.

  “Well, that was something.”

  Neviah was retrieving her dagger and wore a tight grin on her face. “I needed that.”

  Ran knew the feeling. He’d been wanting to battle these guys since they’d been taken into the castle. And it felt good to at least partially avenge Vargul’s death. It would’ve feel better, Ran decided, if they had killed Kan-Gul.

  But they needed to escape.

  Kancho came over. “Everyone all right?”

  Ran glanced around. Malkyr had entered the room and looked amazed at the scene before him. Perhaps he’d never witnessed such carnage before or maybe he’d never seen death dealt with such speed and skill as what Ran, Kancho, and Neviah had managed. Either way, Ran could see he was impressed.

  “Remind me never to upset you lot.”

  Neviah grinned. “We will.”

  “Much as I’d like to take a moment and rest,” said Ran, “there’s no time. I fully expect this encounter will soon be felt all over the castle. And Kan-Gul will send his legions after us.”

  “You have the key to get us out here?” asked Kancho.


  “Indeed,” said Ran. He reached into his tunic and brought out the dismembered Chekhal hand. “I think this is how they enter and exit as they please.” He walked to the farthest wall, careful to avoid the widening pools of gore that sopped the floor. It wasn’t blood, per se, but rather some other liquid that looked every bit as foul as it smelled. Once at the wall, Ran held the hand up before it and then touched its dead flesh to the surface.

  There was a single clicking sound, and then the entire wall started to move. First it slid in toward Ran and then to the left. Then he felt a rush of cool air on his face and knew they’d managed to breach the castle.

  His relief was short-lived, however, as in the next instant, a shrieking wail arose within the castle. Ran winced and looked at Kancho. “So much for us leaving unnoticed.”

  Kancho smirked. “We knew they’d find out eventually. Let’s get out of here.”

  Ran dropped the Chekhal hand and looked back, ushering Malkyr, Jysal, and then Neviah out of the castle. Ran took a final glance around and then stepped outside for the first time in nearly a full day.

  The night greeted him like an old friend. While he would have preferred daylight for ease of movement and speed, Ran appreciated the fact that the night would potentially enable him to use the darkness to his advantage. He could lead them nearly as well as if the sun were high in the sky. He had no idea what the capabilities of the Chekhal were and how they operated, but he was willing to guess the darkness might be something of an equalizer for them as they made their escape.

  At least he hoped it would be.

  Jysal tugged on his sleeve as they made their way out across the barren plain in front of the castle.

  “Are you all right?”

  She nodded. “Fine, thanks to you and Neviah. But I wanted to remind you of something.”

  “What?”

  “The Chekhal won’t be the only dangers we face out here. There are still those doglike things prowling the countryside. And you can bet that Kan-Gul will exert his influence over them. They’ll probably pick up our trail without much effort.”

  Ran frowned. He had indeed forgotten about the dogs. Their presence would no doubt complicate things, perhaps fatally so. But they couldn’t wait here. Already sounds of war cries echoed off of the castle walls behind them. Kan-Gul would not like losing his prized possession. And he would spare no effort to haul them back inside and put them to death in ways probably more terrible than what had befallen Vargul.

  “Press on,” said Ran. “We will deal with those creatures if it comes to it. There’s no sense worrying about them now.”

  Kancho stood back as Ran passed by him. “I think it’s probably best if you lead us.”

  “Why?”

  Kancho grinned. “You are more likely to be comfortable stealing through the night than I am. My skills are on the battlefield and are therefore limited. You don’t seem so encumbered.”

  Ran wondered if Kancho had realized what sort of warrior Ran was, but there was no time to ask. He only nodded. “Very well, stay close. The woods are likely full of dangers other than the Chekhal we left behind.”

  Ran led them across the plain and then spotted the trees that had led them here. He knew the game trail would be there and they plunged into the woods on the other side of the plain. Ran sniffed the pines as they entered and felt a measure of security wash over him. It reminded him of the game trails he’d snuck down back in the mountains of Gakur and the concealment offered by the boughs made him feel safer than on the open plain.

  He chose his steps carefully, his eyes scanning left to right, using his peripheral vision to see instead of staring directly at something where his eyes would not function best in the low light conditions. His nostrils flared as he moved the group off at a brisk pace. And his ears took in every sound.

  They descended into the forest proper, where Ran and Jysal had first seen the dog creatures. But the woods seemed as empty of life as they had on their arrival. Perhaps the creatures were sleeping? Or perhaps Kan-Gul hadn’t unleashed them yet? Part of Ran wondered if they might have been another illusion, but then he remembered that he had slain one of them. That kill had been real enough.

  Behind him, Ran could hear the footfalls of his party. Kancho walked as quietly as he could, but Malkyr was making a tremendous amount of noise. Ran called a halt to their march and moved back. Malkyr’s face was streaked with sweat. He looked up as Ran approached.

  “Sorry. I’m trying my best to be quiet.”

  “Try harder,” said Ran. “You’re making so much noise that every creature in these misbegotten woods will have no trouble tracking us.”

  “What’s the point? Where are we going to go? Back to the beach? Then what? Kan-Gul will just send his minions to deal with us. Or that accursed fog. Sooner or later, we will end up back in his clutches. We should just give him the girl and be done with it.”

  Ran never saw Neviah creep up behind Malkyr, but the edge of her blade gleamed once in the night air as it came to rest on Malkyr’s throat. “I will tolerate no discussion of us surrendering to Kan-Gul or giving him my charge. That is not up for debate.”

  Malkyr’s eyes looked completely white as he struggled to clear his throat. “I only meant that our options might improve if we considered all eventualities.”

  “Do you remember what you said back in the castle?” asked Neviah.

  “N-no.”

  “‘Remind me never to upset you.’ Well, you’re upsetting me now. I strongly suggest you shut your mouth, do as Ran says and be quiet, or else I will dispose of you for the creatures in this forest to consume at their leisure. Do you understand?”

  Malkyr’s head nodded ever so slowly as Neviah’s blade rested against it. She waited one more second and then pulled her blade away. She nodded at Ran. “I believe we are ready to continue.”

  Ran returned the nod. “All right then. Remember what I said: speed and stealth are essential. We know Kan-Gul will be after us, so we need to make sure we are prepared for the coming attack as best we can.”

  He turned and looked out into the night. Somewhere out there, Kan-Gul’s forces were preparing to marshal against them. The question was, where was the best place to defend themselves?

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Ran recalled a lesson in strategy from one of his teachers back in Gakur. The elderly man they called Taba was a veteran of countless campaigns and in his heyday had been a seasoned agent for the Nine Daggers clan. In his advanced years, he puttered around the sprawling compound and seemed content to spend his days sipping rice wine and marveling at the progress of the seasons. Underneath his nonchalance, though, lurked a keen mind unfettered by the assault of time.

  “When one is being chased—be it figuratively or literally—you have but two options: go where the enemy expects you to go, or go where they least expect you to go.”

  “But one choice is better than the other,” Ran had insisted.

  The older man had only smiled. “Is it? Which is the better?”

  “To go where they least expect you. In that way, you may surprise them.”

  “Perhaps, but while it does gain you the element of surprise, it does not gain you the opportunity to use their assumption of superiority against them.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  The older man had taken a sip of rice wine before continuing. “Picture it this way: if I am chasing you and you go where I least expect it, I will pursue you with all my senses alerted to the possibility of ambush. I will move slowly and you will then be worn down by the wait.”

  “But . . . ?”

  “But if you go where I expect you to go, then I proceed with a certain degree of confidence that you are now in my trap. As a result, my awareness is less and your chance of surprising me grows even greater. Both options therefore have their own unique strengths and weaknesses.”

  “And how will I know which is the better choice?”

  “You will only know that when you a
re in the situation itself. Even then perhaps you will not know for certain if you are choosing correctly. But as we have talked about already, indecision is the cause of more death than is making a choice and following it through.”

  As the night air made his skin prickle, Ran smirked. Far easier to espouse such things in the comfort and security of the compound in Gakur than out in the real world. Still, the lesson on indecision was certainly easier to understand. Ran considered his choices. They could proceed back to the beach. Once there, they would be hemmed in with their backs to the ocean full of marauding sharks and other possible dangers. They would have limited mobility in the sand and limited room with which to operate and maneuver. But those same limitations would also affect their enemy.

  The other choice would be to go off the path and enter unknown terrain. They might well find themselves a better place to make a defensive stand against Kan-Gul’s hordes. They might be able to escape. Or they might well find themselves in an even worse place than before.

  “Why have you stopped?”

  Kancho’s voice jerked Ran out of his mind and back to reality. “Sorry, just considering our options.”

  “Stop considering and make a decision. Already, the woods behind us are filling up with movement and noise. The longer we stay here, the more danger we will face—regardless of your decision.”

  Ran nodded. “You’re right, of course. Forgive me.”

  Kancho gave a curt bow. “Lead us out of here, Ran. You know how to do it better than any of us.”

  Ran took a final glance at the game trail in front of him. Staying on it would bring them back to the beach. Veering off would take them into the unknown. Ran took a breath, closed his eyes, and let his gut guide him.

  He stepped off of the game trail and into the deeper forest. The party stayed with him, and they soon found themselves in a shallow valley hemmed in by trees on all sides. Ran led them up the slope on the other side, passing through tall dead grass that brushed against their exposed skin like the coarsest wood. But Ran pressed them on, increasing his speed. He wanted to be as far away from the Chekhal as possible when they chose the location for their defensive stand.