After two and a half months of traveling, the men grew restless and angry from the constant rain and cold, uncomfortable nights. Xi’Lao expressed her concerns to Gavin that the retreating force might have moved more quickly than anticipated. They could have missed them by days, weeks even, and there was a good possibility that perhaps the rain washed away any tracks already.
Morale in the group plummeted and quarrels between the men erupted on a regular base as everyone felt the pressure. It was hard for Gavin to keep control of the squad. And although Raylan backed his brother in all of the arguments between the men, he was grateful for every time they found an empty cave, allowing them to avoid the rain and to build some sort of fire to keep themselves warm in their sleep.
Their supplies ran out faster than expected. In the beginning, they were able to hunt to spare most of their rations; but now that the temperature dropped, the game became scarcer. It meant they would soon have to turn back or divert from their pursuit to find bigger wildlife to hunt. They would have to move south, away from the White North toward warmer regions; but this would also mean moving away from their primary pursuit.
Gavin was about to declare the mission a failure and change directions to a friendlier climate, when they came across a fresh trail of a reasonable size group of travelers. Stephen and Ca’lek were immediately sent out to scout. They confirmed there was a group of armed men transporting a large chest in one of multiple wagons. The chest was difficult to spot in the wagon, but as luck would have it, the wind blew up the cotton rags of the wagon long enough to spot it. The chest they saw had the same fine red wood with a gold colored metal frame that witnesses described as being taken away during the raid of the temple. The soldiers looked worse for wear, having clearly been on the road under harsh conditions for a long time. Their numbers were less than expected in comparison to the report one of the monks sent in after the ransacking of the sacred temple. Both scouts assumed that a lot of the soldiers had died of starvation, or from the cold, during the travels so close to the White North. It was a hazardous road to take, after all. Still, the group counted about three times their number, estimating a total of at least thirty soldiers and fifteen horses.
Gavin was happy to see that now that they discovered their target, the squad's morale quickly recovered…the men finally had a more direct task to focus on. They tracked the soldiers and chest for three days. They observed the harsh hierarchy in the group. These were hardened men who did not flinch at the thought of using violence. The first night, the scouts even came back with the story that they killed one of their own men over a scrap of food.
It became apparent that they could not make a mistake with these killers. So they followed them until the opportunity arose to strike. The group of enemy soldiers made camp on top of a low hill. It provided a sheltered place surrounded by rocks and a relatively deep cave in a small rock formation. Here, the weary men could take shelter from the weather. While the site provided an excellent view of the surroundings during the day, it was the cloud-filled sky and rainy night that gave the Aeterran squad their first real opportunity to sneak up and attack the camped force. If their squad had any wish of retrieving the item, they had to take this shot now.
Gavin set out a plan of attack. They would slowly move closer, as the dark night pulled over the land, and wait for the opportunity to strike. It took them most of the night to get from the nearest tree line to the camp’s edge, using low brushes and rocks as cover from the guards’ eyes. The soldiers did not seem to expect much trouble, or perhaps the group simply lacked discipline after months of traveling under harsh conditions—as only three men were on watch duty.
It looked to Raylan as though they felt comfortable no one would come so far northeast, which probably meant they knew the area, or at least had been there before. Once in position, Gavin would give the signal of attack toward the hour of dawn, a time when the guards on watch would be least alert and most of the enemy camp would be fast asleep.
Raylan shifted his weight and, once again, wiped the water from his eyes. Movement coming from Gavin’s direction drew his attention. He caught Gavin’s eyes as he saw his brother do a quick check around the group to see if everyone was ready. Finally, the wait was over. Raylan did not look forward to what was about to come, but somehow the waiting was worse. Satisfied by what he saw, Gavin gave the hand signal to begin the attack. Instantly, Raylan’s heart rate increased, his nerves gave way to the adrenaline that started to pump through his body. Following the plan, he waited five counts, during which the world seemed to slow down for his senses, then he began to move…
Chapter 2
Attack
One-one-hundred, two-one-hundred…from the corner of his eye, Raylan saw Kevhin and Rohan stand up, position a heavy crossbow to their shoulders and pull their triggers. He heard the faint swishing zoink of both strings releasing, and soon after, the thud of the thick cross bolts hitting their targets. One bolt hit the first guard in his left eye and another pierced the second guard in his heart, straight through his armor. Raylan was already moving before both bodies hit the ground.
Kicking out his legs to go straight into a charged run, he moved along the right side of the rock he had taken cover behind. He saw Gavin—who had snuck up behind the third lookout—cover the guard’s mouth with his left hand and slit the man’s throat with a dagger. Raylan felt a knot in his stomach. It was disconcerting to see the person you grew up with take another man’s life so easily.
Sound seemed to phase out of the world, Raylan only heard his own heavy breathing. His legs felt wobbly and weak; but, with each step, he felt them regain their strength as he ran straight for the nearest enemy soldier.
Apparently, the soldiers stocked dry wood in the cave, since they managed to build three campfires in the shelter of the boulders. A shadow on his left made Raylan glance up to see Xi’Lao choosing a path over the rocks. Her face had nothing left of the normal gentleness, it showed angry determination as she took one leap after another, moving swiftly across the boulders. She moved as surefooted as one of the mountain cats Raylan had once seen on his travels, jumping across gaps with ease. Suddenly, she disappeared out of sight on the far side of the rock that Raylan was running past; she found her first mark.
He approached the campfire where the soldiers rested. Raylan tightened his grip on his sword and burst from the darkness as he jumped into the circle of light cast by the fire. By chance, an enemy soldier walked into the circle of sleeping men from the other side. Looking at Raylan emerging from the darkness, sword in hand, a confused look of surprise crossed his face. His hand moved to his sword, sensing something did not seem quite right; but, before he could raise alarm, or fully pull out his sword, Raylan brought up his sword and lunged at him. Striking on the left side of the soldier’s unprotected neck, Raylan felt the sudden resistance of the soldier’s flesh as he saw his sword create a large gash down to the collarbone. Pulling his sword back, blood gushed out of the wound. The surprised look on the soldier’s face changed to a grimace of pain. Grasping his neck, he stumbled forward and crashed directly in the campfire. The force of the body made the fire explode into a cloud of ash and sparks, suddenly plunging the surroundings into darkness.
At the same time, Ca’lek entered the circle—to his right—while cleaving his sword through the neck of a soldier who slept with his back against a small stone. From multiple sides, Raylan saw his squad mates enter the enemy camp. Across from him, Galen swung his two-handed war hammer and hit a soldier straight in the chest. Raylan felt the shockwave, and the dull thump, as the force of the impact shattered multiple ribs. The soldier went down with a grunted scream, which halted suddenly as Galen moved his war hammer over his head in one fluent motion and crushed the skull of the floored soldier.
Enemies all around woke up quickly, from the sound of fighting, their weapons ready in hand while they scrambled to their feet. Raylan shifted his feet and struck down the nearest soldier, who had just gotten up an
d tried to hit him in his left flank. Turning around on his right foot, he heard a whistle as he felt two gushes of wind behind his head. Following the direction of the sound with his eyes, he saw two soldiers taken down by the salvo of crossbow bolts.
All the noise now brought the full encampment to high alert. The soldiers who had taken shelter in the cave, poured out, swords at the ready. At the far end of the cave, the soldiers’ horses, tied to some low branches, snorted heavily at the smell of blood. With their eyes stretched open so wide the campfires reflected in them, they reared up and pulled at their reins in fear. The branch was no match, as a number of horses broke loose and suddenly charged straight through the camp, trying to get away from the danger. Two enemy soldiers who could not move out of the way in time were violently trampled by fleeing horses.
Unfortunately, they were not the only ones. Regis noticed the incoming stampede too late. Raylan saw the young man tumble as the horses knocked him down and ran over him as well. His body slid to a halt, face down in the mud, and remained motionless. Raylan saw both Stephen and Harwin make their way to the young lad at once, fighting any enemies they came across on the way, trying to find out if Regis was still breathing.
Startled by a loud furious scream, Raylan became aware of an enemy soldier, charging at him from the left, just in time. Diving under the swing of the enemy sword, Raylan rolled past the soldier. Rising back up, he brought his sword around and cut the back of the soldier’s knee. Screaming an unknown curse, the soldier sagged to one knee as the support of his leg dropped away. Raylan swiftly stabbed the point of his sword in the back of his neck, quickly looking around, trying to determine if any other danger was coming his way.
He saw Xi’Lao swirl around a soldier’s stab and, using her knives, quickly cut the armpit of the soldier’s outstretched arm, severing an artery. Her other hand, armed with a second knife, came around over his shoulder and cut his neck through the opening between his breastplate and helmet. It was a clean kill; but, as the soldier’s body dropped to the floor, Raylan saw a big soldier emerge from the shadows behind Xi’Lao, battle axe already in a full horizontal swing.
“Xi’Lao, watch out!” he screamed, seeing certain doom approach.
But the scream had been unnecessary. Xi’Lao noticed the attack and, with ease, dodged it by dropping flat to the ground. As the battle axe passed over her, she pushed off with her legs, rolling forward. Her left hand reached for the smaller knife on her belt. Rising to her feet, she swirled around as the soldier raised his axe above his head, intent on splitting her skull open, only to find she was faster. Her knife left her skillful hand with lightning speed, boring itself deep into the throat of the axe wielder. Raylan watched the soldier keel over backward, while Xi’Lao sped off to help Galen who was surrounded by three soldiers with spears.
Another volley of crossbow bolts flew into the entrance of the cave, taking down two unlucky soldiers entering the chaos from the dry shelter. The ground, already muddy from the rain, showed dark red blood mixing with the brown dirt. It was hard to maintain a good footing on such a treacherous, slippery surface.
Raylan moved to Ca’lek’s flank, taking on a second attacker that approached him from the side. It gave Ca’lek the freedom to focus on the attacker in front of him. Raylan parried a stab to his leg, swiftly moving his front leg backward.
Observing his opponent’s movement, Raylan noticed that the black armor was more decorated in comparison to the other soldiers he had fought till now. The black was artfully decorated with golden prints on the shoulders, while the armor looked of higher quality and was better taken care of. An emblem of two small, golden, diamond symbols was displayed on his chest. This soldier was also more skilled in the sword than the others Raylan had faced. A horizontal slash made Raylan shift further backward to dodge the attack. It seemed he was facing one of the most experienced of the group, perhaps even a squad leader or a commander.
Another slash came from above, followed by a stream of powerful blows from the sides. The wet ground made blocking each enemy slash difficult. With each block, his foot wanted to slip away from the force of the impact. Another forward stab tried to get in the opening of his leather armor. Raylan barely parried it off to the side. His opponent recuperated skillfully, moving his balance slightly forward to come back quickly with another forward stab. Raylan used this moment to sidestep the forward movement of the soldier, grabbing the soldier’s wrist with his left hand. He pulled the weight of the soldier forward, while bringing his sword forward, past his own center. Bringing up the back of his sword, he gave the enemy soldier a powerful blow to the face. The soldier’s nose cracked so loudly that it gave Raylan chills down his spine.
Dazed by the blow, the soldier grabbed his broken nose with his hand as a steady stream of blood dripped off his chin. Intending to give the final blow, Raylan turned his sword around, just as he saw Ca’lek’s foot slip in the darkened mud, giving an opening to the other opponent. The sword slash hit Ca’lek on the side of his arm, cutting through the leather armor into his tricep. The scout’s sword slipped from his grip and ended up between the grass and the rocks. As luck would have it, Ca’lek’s movement to the ground mostly took him out of harm’s way; his entire arm could have been lost, but the danger was still present. Raylan jumped forward, toward the soldier who was intent on finishing Ca’lek off, and struck him down quickly.
“You okay?” Rylan panted, while squatting next to Ca’lek.
“Yeah, it didn’t cut deep,” grunted Ca’lek briskly, while trying to get his footing back. It looked like his pride was more wounded than his arm.
Suddenly, Gavin’s voice thundered from behind.
“Raylan, watch out!”
As he turned around, Raylan saw the soldier with the bloody nose rise to his feet, ready to get his revenge. His sword was already in full motion, slashing downward. Time slowed down in Raylan’s mind as his head worked out a defense against the incoming attack.
There’s no way I am going to make this.
His mind fought the sudden feelings of panic and mortal fear. Trying his best, he kicked out his feet, attempting to roll to the side, away from this steel messenger of death. To Raylan’s horror, the ground provided too little friction, and his foot slipped away in the same mud that had brought down Ca’lek. While his reflexes told him to look away from the incoming sword, he found himself mesmerized and unable to take his eyes off the heavy blade speeding toward him. As the blade drew closer, it seemed as though time actually did stop.
“Come on, dad’s gone!” said Gavin, while he beckoned to Raylan.
Raylan looked at his older brother. He didn’t really feel like practicing sword fighting today. He felt hot and filthy from moving bags of coals into storage all day.
“Maybe another time, it’s too hot.”
“Oh come on, just wait until you see what is waiting in the workshop. Dad finished it! Or, perhaps…you’re afraid you’ll lose again.” Gavin baited him.
Their father had been working on an impressive sword for weeks. Laid out with rubies and emeralds, it was meant to be used in a special ceremony later in the summer. Their father was well regarded for his work, but he rarely received a request from a nobleman for anything as special as this. This was a great opportunity for him to get his work out there.
Raylan’s curiosity, and the fact his brother would keep taunting him until he caved, made him reluctantly follow his brother. Both boys ran over to the workshop and poked their heads around the opening of the door. Nobody around…
Gavin was the first to the worktable; he opened the wooden chest where the sword had been placed. The gem-covered sword sparkled in the flames of the fire roaring in the hearth.
“Beautiful,” said Raylan, “Dad really outdid himself this time. How does it feel?”
Gavin took a step back and took a couple of practice slashes.
“It feels very well balanced. The metal is really singing.”
“Yeah, Dad must have fo
lded and hammered that blade a thousand times. Do the gems put you off when slashing? Let me have a try,” Raylan asked.
“No way, I have it.”
“Come on, don’t be such a jerk. I just want to check it out up close, too.”
“Forget it. If you want it, you’ll have to come and take it.”
Gavin spun around on his feet taking a defensive stance while shifting away from his little brother. His eyes dared Raylan to take action.
Raylan moved in and reached out with his hand. He barely pulled it back in time when Gavin slashed the sword through the air.
“Hey! Watch it!” said Raylan, angrily.
“You’ll have to do better than that, little brother.”
Looking around, Raylan took a plain blade from the sword rack and launched a stab at his brother. They had been practicing with real swords for quite some time now. They knew the reach and amount of thrust they could use to make the attack feel real but not pose any real danger of injury.
Gavin easily parried the attack with the gemmed sword. The metal clash rang through the shop.
“Nice try, but you’re too slow.”
Raylan tried a couple more slashes.
“Nope, still not there, little brother. You’ll never beat me,” taunted Gavin. “Not fast enough, not strong enough. You’ll never touch a sword as fine as this.”
Raylan did not know if his brother was pushing his buttons more than usual, or perhaps it was the heat, but something in him snapped. Instead of focusing on his sword, he stepped in, sliding his sword along their father’s masterpiece. Pushing it out of the way, he brought up the back of his sword and slammed it into Gavin’s face. A big gash opened on his nose and blood rushed out.
“Oof! What the hell, Raylan! We never practiced that!” he yelled, losing his temper in turn.
Gavin pushed him back with furious slashes. Shocked that he had finally broken his brother’s defense and landed a blow on him, Raylan could do nothing else but step backward, parrying off hit after hit. When his back hit the wall, Gavin came at him with a powerful downward slash. Raylan held up his sword, trying to defend against the slash; but the power of the blow slammed away his sword, cutting his right eyebrow. Now both boys had blood gushing down their faces.
Windcatcher: Book I of the Stone War Chronicles Page 3
