by Brett Vonsik
The longwalker bellowed and shook at the arrow impacts. The longwalker turned to escape then stopped after a few steps at the edge of the ravine. Confused, it turned about several times before finally staring down Kardul, who now stood ready with spear in hand and the spear-carrying Pax and Akaal at his sides. The longwalker bellowed and bluff charged several steps. Kardul and Akaal reversed direction then held their ground. Pax looked unsure of what he was doing and backed away even farther before realizing he was no help to the others where he stood; he looked for a place to move in as they shifted about, countering the beast’s moves.
Rogaan slid to a stop less than thirty strides from the wounded longwalker and drew his shunir’ra. With muscles straining at the tension, he looked for a spot to strike–the chest, low behind the front legs, where his arrow would pass through the heart, killing by bleeding it. Kardul and Akaal danced to avoid being trampled as the beast became more agitated and both of them kept getting in its line of step. Trying to time his shot with their movements, Rogaan let loose his arrow in a rush. He knew it to be a bad shot the moment he released it, and prayed to the Ancients that the arrow would not hit any of his companions. It whistled between Kardul and Akaal, very close to Akaal, missing the longwalker altogether. Both baraan snapped hard looks back at Rogaan. With a strained toothy smile, Rogaan gave them an apologetic shrug before they returned their attention to the longwalker. Embarrassment flushed Rogaan’s face hot, and his body shivered; then anger at himself replaced it all as he saw the inept shot again in his mind.
Fighting to control his anger and a growing fear of making another embarrassing shot, Rogaan closed his eyes and forced himself to refocus as he had many times before on the town wall. Pushing aside the blunder of his first shot, Rogaan sucked in a deep breath then exhaled, calming himself. Then, with his eyes on the longwalker’s chest, on the spot where he expected the heart to be, Rogaan drew his bow. Focus on target. Twenty-six strides. Breathe. No…twenty- nine strides. Breathe. The rib cage, where rust-shaded hide extended from the neck met with irregular blue-white vertical stripes of the body became Rogaan’s world. Follow target and anticipate. Breathe. Draw full. Breathe. Target. Where rust meets blue. Rust meets blue. Release. The arrow struck the longwalker close to where he aimed, punching through its thick hide and completely disappearing into the chest. Rogaan let another arrow fly. Then another. And another. All four arrows sank deep, disappearing from sight, leaving wounds a hand apart with blood pouring out of them in spurts. The beast let out a sorrow-filled bellow and staggered. Immense pride surged through Rogaan and he looked to see the Kiuri’Ner’s reaction. Kardul simply gave Rogaan a quick nod before returning his attention to the dying animal.
Akaal’s expression was of wide-eyed surprise, and Rogaan smiled broadly at that. Pride beamed from Rogaan. Pax just wore that dumb grin of his. Kardul yelled something that Rogaan did not make out, but Akaal and Pax heard and they both snapped their attention back to the longwalker. Together, all three drove their spears into the animal, though Pax was a little slower than the others. The longwalker bellowed again, and stumbled, caught its balance, and pivoted on its hind legs, swinging its massive tail at Pax. Pax went down hard from the tail slap then lay motionless. Kardul ducked under the tail easily, as if anticipating it. Akaal also ducked it, but just barely then danced to keep his feet. Without hesitation, Kardul jumped, positioning himself over Pax, and drove his spear into the wounded beast’s right side as it swung around. Rogaan realized he was watching the battle instead of joining it, and with heated cheeks and a strong curse, he let loose two more arrows that found their mark in the animal’s neck, passing through completely. Blood immediately spewed from the wounds. Rogaan caught a glimpse of one of the arrows shattering on the cliff beyond. A moment flashed in his head, with Rogaan realizing the cost of the nisi’barzil-headed arrows, in both his time and coin. The moment passed. Becoming a Kiuri’Ner was more important to him. The animal staggered, awkwardly this time, its bellow weaker, more sorrowful. Kardul shouted something at Akaal, and they both drove their spears deep into the longwalker’s chest and side. It teetered at the edge of the ravine, fighting to keep its balance, but the ground gave way under its weight, sending it into the chasm with a final bellow cut short followed by a slight tremor under Rogaan’s feet.
Kardul turned and scanned the open plain behind Rogaan. Rogaan realized he was looking for dangers that might be stalking them, and suddenly felt vulnerable with his back to the longwalker herd and the leapers. He spun and snapped a look in the same direction, half expecting the world to be jumping at him with bared claws and teeth. He was relieved when all he saw were the longwalkers going about their lives, seeming not to care that they had lost one of their herd -- and there was no sign of the leapers. Not in immediate danger, Rogaan’s thoughts turned to his friend. He rushed to Pax where he had fallen and still lay, praying to the Ancients for him to be alive. Please not in the darkness. Not in the darkness. Kardul was on bent knee tending to Pax by the time Rogaan reach them.
“Is he...?” Rogaan choked, afraid of the answer.
“He’s not on the road to Esharra.” Kardul’s voice was steady. He looked to Rogaan with a slight grin. “At least, not yet. He’s only dazed, no more. Should be singing praises of you, again, when his head clears.”
Rogaan let out a sigh of relief. Praising me...? A flush of embarrassment washed through him, driving him into denials. “Pax does not praise my deeds!”
“Of course…,” Sarcasm was thick on Kardul’s tongue. “A good friend to you. He speaks of your skills with that thing.” Kardul nodded approvingly at Rogaan then lifted Pax to his feet with one hand. He made it look as if it were no effort at all. Pax wobbled at first and did not seem to have his feet, so Kardul held him standing. Kardul then gave Rogaan a look that made him take his friend from the Kiuri’Ner, holding him up with a left arm slung over Rogaan’s shoulders and Rogaan solidly grasping his friend. Kardul scanned the open plain, again, and put on a concerned expression. “Let’s be gone from here, before leapers or redfin find us.”
Rogaan followed Kardul at a brisk pace. As he trotted, it dawned on Rogaan that he did not suffer the sickening attack when hunting the longwalker. He smiled to himself. His confidence grew and he started to feel like his old self. They trotted a short distance to a steep and treacherous foot trail, if one could call it that, leading down some nine strides into the ravine. Pax got back on his feet, though still shaky, by the time Kardul took his first step down. Pax pushed away from Rogaan, muttering some indignities under his breath. It was obvious he was in pain, though able enough to walk without aid. Rogaan sought to give his friend time to regain his strength and head before descending into the ravine, motioning for Akaal to go ahead of them. Akaal put on a skeptical look as he stepped to the trail head. After an awkward moment eyeing the two, Akaal grunted and followed Kardul. The man unsettled Rogaan. He seemed somehow suited for the Wilds, yet not. Rogaan could not put together the words to describe what or why he felt so about the baraan. It seemed Akaal was eager for something, and it was not hunting. Looking at Pax, Rogaan dismissed thinking on it further, and shrugged off his suspicions as foolish before starting down the trail, clinging to vines and roots as he went, while helping Pax as best he could, when Pax would allow it.
At a bit more than fifteen strides across, the ravine was large enough to keep leapers from jumping it. It offered some degree of protection from the packs for the wagon train of cutters, skinners, and carriers making their way to the opposite side. A shallow four- stride-wide stream ran down the middle of the ravine and was now partially blocked with water pooling at the back of the longwalker’s lifeless body lying on its right side. Kardul had already started preparing the carcass, his long knife out, making a cut in the hide under the neck and chest and around the left shoulder. Akaal was on the other side of the ravine, climbing the cliff with skill and grace he would not have thought the baraan capable of. Odd…why is he not helping Kardul? Rog
aan stood wondering at what he was up to when Kardul barked for them to get moving and help him with the longwalker. Pax moved gingerly, but without hesitating. Rogaan quickened his pace. They approached the felled longwalker carefully, Pax patting the animal’s tail as he walked around it.
“That be a lesson,” Pax said, more to himself than for Rogaan or Kardul.
“Duck when longwalkers dance,” Kardul instructed while his eyes kept focus on his blade as it sliced hide as easily as water. “You two get over here and prepare this hide for the cutters. We must move fast before the leapers smell the kill and come to claim it.”
Kardul instructed them where and how to cut. In no time the neck, shoulder, hip, upper legs, and tail of the carcass had deep cuts exposing muscle meat, as the hide was pulled back. A glance up by Rogaan found Akaal standing at the ravine’s edge, with spear in hand, looking about. Was he their watcher… alerting them of danger before it would catch them off guard, or at least before it reached knife length? On Akaal’s right, four ropes dangled down the cliff with tunic-garbed figures climbing down. Cutters and skinners, thought Rogaan. Each wore a long knife and carried a handsaw on their rope belts. Once their bare feet touched the ravine floor, they quickly swarmed the carcass, forcing Kardul, Rogaan, and Pax back as their knives flashed in confident strokes that appeared more a performance than the messy work they replaced. More tunic-clad folk followed. Carriers. Each had sacks and spools of hide cord used to pack meat and vital innards, such as liver and heart. They did so as quickly as the cutters stripped hide and meat from the carcass. More carriers, and some of those assigned to guard the wagons, stood at the top of the ravine near Akaal. All were hauling up bounded bundles on yet more ropes tossed down the cliff. Rogaan stood amazed at their speed and coordination as the carcass was stripped by half in short order. Everyone knew what they were to do, and did it well.
“Danger north,” Akaal yelled. “It’s in the chasm and coming fast. It’s big.”
“Everyone, up the ropes,” Kardul commanded with a steady voice, speaking as if he had been expecting this. “Rogaan and Pax, stay with me to guard after them.” Kardul quickly positioned them between those climbing and the approaching danger, the carcass slightly to their left. Kardul and Pax readied spears, while Rogaan nocked his last blue-tipped arrow. Ten more common arrows in a quiver handed to him by Kardul were all he had to fight with. Beyond that, his long knife was all he had to defend himself and the others.
Gripped with dread, Rogaan’s chest pounded hard anticipating the worst. It felt as if it would burst any moment. On his left, Kardul wore a determined scowl, his spear at the ready as the Kiuri’Ner stood like stone, staring into the depths of the ravine, waiting for danger to find them. To his right, Pax looked panicked and about to scream. Rogaan wondered if his friend would run. Beneath his booted feet, rhythmic shaking, tremors, almost imperceptible at first, regular and growing stronger, told Rogaan that what approached was big. Looking down, he watched a small water-filled puddle ripple inward from its edges with each tremor as small bits of dirt and rock started falling from the rocky walls with each impact tremor. Deep shadows of the late afternoon seemed to swallow the ravine, making what was coming all the more terrifying…death coming out of the Pits of Kur. Whatever it was, it was big, and Rogaan feared he was to fade away this day. It started happening, again. The urge to sick-up at the thick smell of blood hit Rogaan and the foul stench of the longwalker’s remains burned his lungs. His skin prickled painfully, his vision blurring and head throbbing, and that unwanted dizziness gripped him. Rogaan’s heart sank -- the sickness is back. He blinked several times to clear his vision. Looking up, his sight sharpened and the world now looked vibrant. As he expected, Rogaan found Pax and Kardul moving slowly and the dirt and rocks falling unnaturally slowly. Why this? Not now. Go away. Leave me! Rogaan dreaded this…sickness. In truth, it frightened him almost to paralysis.
Desperately wanting it to go from him, Rogaan fought down his panic and forced himself to concentrate on moving about as a distraction. He took a step to his left, then back to his right. Nothing…everything and everyone around him continued moving slowly. Rogaan fought against another urge to lose his stomach. At least he was no longer deafened by the pounding of his blood coursing through him. Rogaan gulped down a chest-full of air then exhaled, trying to calm himself. He found a little relief. Glancing over his shoulder at the climbing workers sank Rogaan’s hopes; they were going to have to stand their ground a while longer. “Climb faster!” Rogaan grumbled as fear twisted into terror. A deep, rumbling growl echoed through the ravine, alarming Rogaan with his hairs standing stiff and drawing his attention from the cliff. Another deep growl reverberating through the narrow ravine set Rogaan’s neck hairs stiffer as a shiver rippled up his back. It was very close. Kardul stole a look at the ropes. His scowl deepened as he returned his attention to the approaching danger. Out of the shadows stalked a maw filled with off-white stakes a hand’s width long. Rogaan sucked in a shallow breath at the stride-and-a-half-long head with its long, flat snout held some three strides above the ground. The beast’s muscular neck was as long as its head, and its rust-red body was almost ten strides long and three strides high at the hips. A red-hued short sail ran the length of its back, making it unmistakable...a redfin, and a big one. Rogaan frantically fought back the urge to sick-up.
The massive beast approached, ready to launch itself at any prey or danger. Rogaan caught sight of Pax’s spear extending toward the beast, shaking badly, and his friend’s face pale filled with fear. Rogaan fought back his own fear with mixed success. At least he had not panicked. He took another breath, shallow and forced. It did not make him feel better. Rogaan wanted badly for Kardul to command them to retreat, but the Kiuri’Ner remained silent. The redfin closed, now less than twenty strides, and Kardul glanced at the ropes again. His scowl softened, if only a bit.
“Back to the ropes,” Kardul commanded. “Give ground. Keep weapons at ready. Redfins charge, as often as not.”
Pax hastily bounded to the ropes, almost running, tripping and catching himself several times. Rogaan fought the urge to bolt, not wanting to leave Kardul alone against the redfin. Pax hit the ropes climbing in a single move, his spear tossed down and forgotten before he reached the cliff.
“I didn’t say climb,” Kardul angrily barked at Pax.
Pax paused several strides above Rogaan with his feet solidly against the ravine wall, his face a tortured mix of a desire to obey and terror. Terror won out as Pax returned to climbing, though he ascended much faster than his arms and legs drew him up. The workers above were hauling hard on his rope.
“Get moving,” Kardul growled at Rogaan. “Up the rope.”
Rogan did not hear Kardul’s words clearly, though he got the meaning with a nod of the baraan’s head. Rogaan hastily quivered his arrow, almost cutting himself with the razor-sharp blades then slung the bow over his back as he bounded for the ropes, climbing hand over hand with boots digging into the rock wall. The urge to sick-up remained strong as his dizziness diminished. Baraans above hauled the rope up, hastening his ascent, bringing a muttered thanks to Rogaan’s lips as he stole looks over his shoulder, fearing a mouthful of teeth coming at him. Kardul followed on another rope with little delay, also stealing glances over his shoulder to keep aware of what the redfin was doing. The beast continued to approach in a cautious stalk, but seemed more intent on the bloody carcass under him than the three fleeing up the cliff. As Rogaan neared the top, he saw Akaal grab Pax by the arm, pulling him up.
Relief filled Rogaan as the world sped up, returning to what he thought was normal. I’m going to make it. His stomach settled, and with it the urge to sick-up gone. Above, Akaal pulled Pax up by the hand; as he did, the baraan fixed eyes with Rogaan with a sadistic smirk. A shiver rippled down Rogaan’s spine and the hairs on his nape prickled stiff. Dread and helplessness washed over him in waves. Pax gave Akaal a questioning look as he hung unmoving at the end of Akaal’s hand. A
kaal never returned Pax’s gaze; the baraan kept his eyes fixed on Rogaan. Then the baraan’s smirk turned into a full smile. Rogaan opened his mouth to demand Akaal pull Pax up, but Pax fell backwards, yelling, and with arms flailing.
“NO!” Rogaan shouted as he helplessly watched his friend fall down to the ravine floor.
Without a thought, Rogaan let go of his rope. His fall suddenly turned strangely slow, almost as if he were floating. As he fell, he helplessly watched Pax slam into the dirt only to bounce limply back into the air, then finally land with a dusty thud before lying motionless in a twisted pose. Pax looked without light. Rogaan cursed his slow fall wanting to get to Pax in hope of saving his friend. As he neared the ground, Rogaan twisted his body, bringing his feet directly under him, allowing them to hit the dirt first. It surprised him when he rolled over and over, absorbing and throwing off the impact of the fall. When he rolled to a stop, he found himself kneeling at the edge of the stream, at the opposite end of the carcass from the redfin near where Pax lay motionless. The redfin stood ridged, looking at him over the carcass with curiosity.
A long moment passed before the rust-red beast’s demeanor turned angry and let out a roar while shaking its head and jowls vigorously. The foul stench of rotting flesh blasting from its gapping jaws. When the reeking gust struck Rogaan his innards protested, gagging him, and forcing him to sick-up. Idiot! What were you thinking? Now staring at the towering mountain of muscle and teeth, Rogaan realized he was no match for the beast. The redfin looked every bit not pleased with Rogaan’s presence as it took a step over the carcass and growled menacingly.
