Amber forced a smile. "You are forgiven. Please, come sit." she said, patting the ground beside her.
Tayan settled down next to her. His eyes were swollen from crying. He felt his mind was a little more organized, though. These people were his friends--they weren't the ones that hadlet his wife die. That anger was for someone else.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you back there in that village." Scorpio offered.
"You were right." Tayan told him. "I was endangering the rest of you--I deserved it." Turning to Liefelm, who was sitting beside Glier in his human form, he asked, "Those hoarcs you saw, are they heading towards us?"
Liefelm shook his head. "They're keeping ahead of us, and far from the river."
"They won't go near the river, if they're smart," Odif told him as she sat beside Scorpio. "Halshaken attack hoarcs on sight, and one-on-one, they're much tougher.”
Her side was sore; but seeing Tayan start to act like himself, the soreness didn’t bother her one bit.
"Have any idea why the hoarcs haven't bother us?" Tayan asked.
Odif nodded. "Liefelm figures there's around a hundred of them. My best guess is they're keeping track of us, waiting for more help to arrive."
"There's a human with them, too. He wears black armor," Liefelm said.
"A black knight," Scorpio explained. "Which means there are more we don't know about yet."
"If there are so many, why don't they attack us?" Amber asked.
Odif tipped her head towards the east. "The river is only a couple miles away, and if there is only one non-hoarc then they don't have magic. They know we could hold them off until halshaken come. Black knights do not like a fair fight.”
Hoarcs were imitations of real halshaken, withscales instead of leathery skin, andtheir stubby snout and thin tail were no match for the long, heavy snout and wide, powerful tail halshaken used for swimming.
"Not unless they're nowhere near it," Glier added with a snort.
"They sent those pilgyns after us," Amber pointed out.
"They sent those pilgyns after helpless villagers. I don't think they knew we were here yet," Tayan corrected her.
There was a glint of eagerness in Glier’s eye as he said, "They do now, and I can't wait to meet them in person."
* * *
The small fishing village of scattered huts and two community docks had been overrun. Not by any attacking foe, but by the tents of Lord Zodiac's Company on one side, the thick, bushy growths of the druid camps towards the woods and the reed-and-mud shelters of the halshakenalong the riverbank. At first, the elven fishermen and trappers were terrified as they witnessed the large schools of alligator-like halshaken climbing onto the banks by their homes as druids and armored men appeared in large numbers from the forest. Everyone hid inside with barred doors, afraid of what might be happening. It was a great relief to them when the three forces merely stood in the street and talked.
By the end of the day, the villagers ventured out cautiously. Children gaped wide-eyed at the leathery halshaken, having never seen the river people up close. The leaders--Lord Zodiac, his brother Scorpio and the white-robed wizard Duncan--stood with First Druid Trelem and his two next senior druids, Odif and Barkum, facing the three halshaken shamans, one from each of the largest tribes in Longforest.
To make the meeting easier, Duncan cast a spell of understanding on the group to eliminate the necessity for translators. Only Odif, Trelem and Zodiac could speak the lizard's tongue, and very few of the halshaken could understand human speech. Once his spell was done, the gray-haired wizard said, "We may speak freely."
The halshaken in front of Zodiac stood bolt upright, arms crossed over his chest in the pose of non-aggression. "We welcome the peacemaker and offer to fight by his people to rid our land of the evil impostors.”
In the halshaken language, hoarc meant “evil impostor.”
Zodiac resisted the urge to bow. Although it was a show of respect for humans, halshaken considered lowering one's body an invitation to do battle, much like the crouch they used to spring at an enemy. He crossed his arms over his chest as he stood upright.
"I welcome you, knowledge and wisdom of your tribe. We have found evil impostors gather near our dwellings--the way is by the water's arm on this side of the river."
The halshaken facing Trelem crossed his arms and addressed the green-robed Druid. "Knowledge and wisdom of the tree people, we gladly make our nests together to devour the impostors. Our warriors have seen flying impostors as well as those who walk. None may be allowed to escape."
"Be assure, none will. I have held council with the peacemaker and now hold council with our brothers of the river. As each of us holds our own strength, we should have our warriors also nest together. In that way, the combined power of our warriors will be greater," Trelem replied.
Standing behind him, Odif knew what that meant--each team would have halshaken warriors with it, and those who went by river would have to know how to swim. Stepping up, she crossed her arms, facing Trelem. To talk directly to the halshaken shaman would be an insult to both of them.
"Our knowledge and wisdom, as the river people cannot fly, so the peacemaker's warriors cannot swim. My humble request is to let those capable stay within their strengths."
Casting her a sharp look, Trelem nodded slightly. "Your words are heard, Odif."
She stepped back and listened as the six leaders hashed out the details, including when the cooperation would be over. Halshaken held no love for humans, as humans held no love for them. Not twenty years earlier, humans hadhunted halshaken for their tough skins, as halshaken hunted humans and elves for their tasty meat. This practice by both sides built into an ongoing war. Lord Zodiac had managed to halt the fighting in southern Elrad and Longforest, and by endless talks with shamans and lords of the area had made an uneasy peace. In the interest of prosperity to all, territories were agreed on. Innocents were safe within their own boundaries, but if halshaken or human were caught in the other's territory, they were fair game.
An explosion in the woods made them all turn to see a large fireball rising into the sky. Fiery bits of debris rained down as the cloud of fire turned into smoke. At first, Odif thought that one of the wizards was showing off; then came another detonation on the north end of the village where a large part of the Company had gathered. At this explosion, she saw three spears arcing down towards them.
“Attack!” she cried. Focusing on one spear streaking dow she waited until it got in range then pointed at it. “Pioga Fammar!”
The spear detonated in the air as her fire met it. A lightning bolt shot up to destroy the second. The third landed on a village hut, blowing it into burning shrapnel. Screaming villagers fled for their lives.
As Zodiac and the shamans screamed orders to men and lizards to find the source of the threat, Odif watched the sky for more spears. She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Scorpio.
“Odif, we have to get back to our team. Tayan is in charge now.”
She nodded, not taking her eyes off the horizon. “Go back, tell them to stay low. I’ll be along as soon as I can.”
Another volley of spears shot up from the north. This time she saw where they were coming from. “There, you see?”
Beside her, Duncan nodded. “Yes, I’ll stop them. Go back to your team and protect them.”
Odif ran after Scorpio as Duncan used his magic to turn the spears around in mid-flight. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw five more descending on the riverbank where the halshaken were nested. There was no time to stop them--all she could do was dive for cover as they hit. This close, the ground shook as explosions rocked the air. She was showered with hot gravel and chunks of red-hot embers.
Brushing herself off as she staggered to her feet, she looked across the river where this new attack had come from. This far away, the figures on the banks were tiny; but it looked like halshaken fighting hoarcs. From a little farther downstream, six more spears shot up and arced towards them. Not
ing they were aimed for the south end of the village, she ran as hard as she could as she yelled a warning.
Spying a blue-robed wizard getting to his feet, she ran over and pulled him upright then pointed to the spears, which were reaching the top of their arc. “Destroy them!”
Dazed, he looked up at the sky. Seeing the spears coming at them, he swallowed and cast a spell.
Odif got ready to cast her fire again. In the sky, an eagle dove to grip a spear in its talons. As it flew towards the far bank, she saw the wingd man she knew as Shilo dive down to grab another. The wizard beside her cast his magic, a pale white line that shot up to evaporate another spear. Casting her fire, she destroyed a fourth. It burned, but kept coming.
The two remaining spears plunged earthward. Not having time to cast again, she grabbed the wizard by his shoulders, kicked his feet from under him and pulled him to the ground.
She waited, but there was no explosion. Looking up, she saw one had hit not twenty feet away. It was a plain spear--she sensed no magic in it at all.
“What in the abyss was that?” the wizard choked.
“They were fakes,” she breathed. “We wasted our energy on fakes.”
The tactic was obvious--they wouldn’t know if the spears were magic or not until they got very close. If they took time to check then the spears would hit.
Tayan had told her about such weapons having been used when King Alderlan’s caravan was attacked. Mixing these new explosive spears with plain ones would make them waste their energy. They had to go destroy the source of these weapons.
“No!” the wizard spat. “Why did you knock me down?”
She explained quickly as she hauled him back to his feet. “Some of those spears explode on impact,” she said, pointing to the burning riverbank. “They are mixing the magic spears with plain ones.”
Seeing another volley rise skyward, she pointed to them. “Here comes more!”
As the spears arced over the river, more eagles came to snap them out of the air. One she recognized as Liefelm. He caught one and forced it into the river. Many eagles carried their spears back and dropped them where they had come from. Not a single one exploded.
As this was going on, she could hear occasional explosions to the north.
“Come on,” she said, grabbing the wizard by the collar.
“I can walk!” he snapped, trying to pullfree as she led him along.
“Don’t walk, run!” she commanded.
Odif ran back to their group to find a sight that made her heart swell with pride. Standing in the center of a large ring of people facing away from him as he gave commands, Tayan now looked like the man she knew he was.
Seeing her approach with the wizard, he pointed at her.
“Odif! Take Scorpio and that wizard, go see how many halshaken you can get up here.”
She nodded briskly and pulled the wizard in the right direction. “This way.”
The flustered wizard glared at her. “My name is Entaurus! I do not appreciate being dragged around!”
“Then move your ass!”
Seeing Scorpio beside her, she took off.
The spears stopped coming as Odif raced to the river. Skidding down the bank, she inspected four of the large alligator-like bodies before she found a live one. Talking to the halshaken in his own language, she quickly explained that she was going to heal him the best she could. He lay quiet, with only a twitch of his long, thick tail as she worked her healing energy. Once she was done, she told him to stay with Scorpio.
Going along the bank, she found five more who were not dead. In the river, the appearance of an occasional snout told her that the ones capable were crossing the river for a counterattack.
Right after she got the fifth one to his feet, shouts came from the north end of the village. A familiar face appeared at the top of the bank and looked down at her. It was Pynlee, Glier’s wife. Her dark hair was in a frazzle, the chain mail holding in her extra-large bosom was caked with dirt. Waving her short sword, she yelled, “Hoarcs and pilgyns are attacking--Zodiac says get everyone you can to the north end!”
“Right!” Odif turned to Scorpio. “Go tell Tayan. I’m going to take this group up to the fight.”
Scorpio hesitated as if about to argue. He wanted to go with her, but after a moment he ran off as she prodded him.
“Excuse me,” Entaurus said, “but exactly who is in charge?”
“Of you, I am--now move,” Odif told him then explained the situation to the halshaken as they jogged along. Creatures of water that they were, their legs tired quickly from running on land, so she told them to swim just offshore until she drew the enemy to them. Somewhere she had lost her sword. She wasn’t too concerned by this--it was mostly a symbol and only good for close combat. She could do more damage with her staff.
She ran up the bank to clear a dock and found the battle right before her. Not fifty feet ahead, hoarcs and pilgyns fought mixed groups of warriors and druids. Near the water, it was mostly halshaken who tangled with the evil creations. The ringing of steel and the crackling of magic filled the air as the battle raged. The halshaken she’d saved came up out of the water to join the fight.
What Lord Zodiac had called together was the cream of Longforest power. Although the hoarcs and pilgyns outnumbered them, the evil creations were falling by the hundreds to the best warriors, druids and halshaken. Odif charged in with a wild battle scream, her staff spinning to crush two hoarc skulls. Entaurus stayed behind her, turning hoarcs into gray dust as he shot off his white bolts of pure energy.
Soon, Tayan and the band he had gathered were around her. Scorpio fought to her side. Slowly, the Company formed their line then pushed through the oncoming hoard, killing creatures almost as quickly as they met them.
When the creatures were whittled down to those being finished off or running away, Zodiac sent a messenger to Tayan.
Tayan thrust his sword in the air.
“Break off!” he cried.
One of the halshaken jumped onto the back of a wounded pilgyn as another snapped its jaws onto a knee and slapped its tail into the creature’s other leg, making it fall. The pilgyn died with a squeaking scream as more halshaken joined in to tear it into chunks.
“Break off!” Tayan yelled again. “Odif, tell them to break off!”
Odif got their attention by smacking them lightly with her staff. Nine halshaken were supposed to join the “land people” and vowed to fight with her; the others insisted on going across the river to help their tribe kill hoarcs on that side. As they split, she explained this to Tayan.
“We're going into the woods and circle around to the west!” Tayan announced. Looking at his group, he pointed to Odif and a dark-haired elf.
“Odif, Zit, you two will stay front and center.” Pointing to the human wizard and a blond elf wizard, he said, “Entaurus, Gloredaniel, stay in the middle. Amber, stay towards the back and keep your eyes open. Everyone else, make a battle line. Odif, tell the halshaken to keep Amber between them-she is our only priestess right now.” A quick glance at Odif, and he added, “Amber will reserve her energy for healing. Let’s move!”
They got in position and moved towards the trees. On the way, they passed dead pilgyns, piles of hoarc dust and far too many of Zodiac’s fallen warriors. A tear came to Odif’s eye as she saw a burnt, twisted body she recognized. Most of his flesh had been torn or burnt off, but she knew it was Glenn. As she passed his body, she paid him tribute by thinking of the times she had gone through ceremonies with him. No more would she see his handsome face or hear his cackling laugh.
“Goodbye, friend,” she whispered.
It wasn’t only Glenn’s body that darkened her mood. Being sensitive to all living things around her, she felt more death than just the people lying about. She felt the pain of animals who had gotten caught in the blasts, as well as the silent agony of trees that were torn apart. This new weapon didn’t just kill combatants. It wiped out everything caught in the blast.
They hadn’t gotten fifty steps into the forest when the surge of magic caught her attention. She looked back to see the cause.
Beside her, Zit’s jaw dropped as he looked up.
The sky was full of dragons. They were flying along in rows, claws full of what looked like sticks. Odif had a bad feeling she knew their intent. As she watched, the dragons began dropping their loads onto where the rest of the Company was cleaning up the remaining hoarcs.
“Spears!” Tayan yelled.
She moved to go warn Zodiac, and someone tackled her. Tayan screamed for everyone to get down. A shield was dropped over her head as the ground began to rumble with a staccato of heavy explosions. The thundering booms continued to shake the air as tons of rock and debris rained down. Although she couldn’t hear the screams, she felt them, as well as the terror from all around her. She felt the trees splinter and burn as they were blasted apart. From far off, she felt halshaken and fish squeezed to death by hammer-like shocks running through the water. Her long whine of agony was lost amid the shockwaves that vibrated the air back and forth.
It seemed forever before she was pulled to her feet. In front of her, Scorpio was asking her in a loud voice if she was all right. Dazed, she nodded weakly. She didn‘t feel any pains in her body; the pain was all around her. He began to pull her deeper into the woods. She turned to look for Tayan and stumbled. On a second try, she saw him leading Amber and most of the band back towards the pits of blackened earth that used to be a village. She wanted to tell him not to go that way, that way was death. She couldn’t bear the thought of her Tayan dying in such a horrid manner. She wanted to pull away from Scorpio and go back to help him.
She didn’t have the strength to try.
Chapter 2
The black knight known as Lash walked along the line of elven males kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs. Their expressions ranged from defeat for the older ones to open contempt in the strong youths. Behind them stood tall, scale-covered lizards that bore swords and shields. A few of the hoarcs twitched their tails eagerly, waiting for word to kill one of the tasty little elves. Across the street, bound and on their knees, were the elven women, also with hoarc guards. All who were too young to be of any real use were corralled in one of the huts.
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