"How many of these things are there?" Zidaoz asked.
"There are seven. Each of them is under control now."
"How big did you say they were?"
"They are about three times the size of a man. But it's not their size that is their greatest asset; it's the magic inside them."
Zidaoz straightened his beard and scratched his cheek as he walked. "You're positive that they are no threat to us?"
The man stopped. "Of course I am sure. How can you doubt me after all I have shown you?"
"I wouldn't call it a doubt, my friend, I just like to be sure of my safety. Where are they?"
"We moved six of them from the south side of the camp to the north side this morning. Tomorrow we will take them farther north towards the main encampment near Burnhamheade. It will probably take two days to get there."
"So where is the seventh?"
The man smiled, showing his straight white teeth. "Just beyond this hill. We wanted to show you one before we took them to Burnhamheade. I must warn you though, the smell is quite bad."
The Zidaoz sniffed at the air, hoping to get a whiff of this smell before they got there. He was eager to see this thing, but nervous at the same time. The Dirujen had proven to be a valuable ally, but he was still being cautious; especially in this situation. His thoughts were interrupted as a horrible smell hit him like a hammer.
"You're right, it's awful," he said as he covered his nose. "Why do they smell like that? It smells like rotting meat."
"No one is sure of the reason for the smell," the man said as they cleared the top of the hill.
The sight hit the Zidaoz with the same impact the smell did. His jaw open and shut several times but words would not form in his mouth. At the bottom of the hill stood a thing that did not seem real. Several Dirujen stood around it as it calmly swayed back and forth. It towered over them, and made even the nearby trees seem small. It was shaped somewhat like a man, but its limbs were longer in comparison. Its arms nearly touched the ground, but that was partly because of its hunched-over posture. They approached it from the rear, and he could see that sharp, armor-like bone jutted through the gray skin in places. Its vertebrae formed a jagged line of exposed bone all the way down its back, while its knees and elbows and other areas had bone that looked more like plates of armor.
The Zidaoz suddenly felt very afraid. "Is it safe? Can it harm us?"
"No Zidaoz. We have it under our control. It can do nothing but stand there, even if we all walk away from it. You need not worry."
Reluctantly he approached the beast. When they finally came into its field of vision, the ground shook from the low growl that came from the beast's throat. Its long fingers seemed more like claws than digits, and the beast snapped their tips together several times rapidly, causing frightful clicking sound.
"Do not be afraid of the clicking Zidaoz. It makes that sound when it is frustrated. It cannot harm you."
He slowly raised his head to see the rest of the creature. Its head was large, and hung forward in front of its frame; unlike a human's head which sat above the shoulders. The jaws snapped loudly several times in succession, causing thick saliva to seep between its long razor-sharp teeth and drip in long, messy strands to the ground. But the most terrifying thing, what caught his soul in a trap that made him unable to move, were the eyes. They were rather small and sunk deep in the head, causing the area around them to be dark and shadowed. Where he thought there should be color, like the brown or blue or green of a human eye, he saw only white, but an odd white that shined like the eyes of a wild animal in the dark. It looked at him with those soulless, piercing eyes and filled him with horror. He found himself on the ground, but he could not remember falling there.
The Dirujen helped him to his feet. "I assure you Zidaoz, you are safe. It would have attacked you if it could have. It is just not used to your presence. It will learn to ignore you in time. This one is a male, but the rest are female. The females are a little larger and they have black markings on the back. Right now we are focusing most of our attention on training the male. The females will follow and learn from the male."
The Zidaoz found it hard to speak in the vicinity of the creature. "What is it called again?"
"We call this beast a Thrahk. Its true weapon is its magic. When it is angry, an opening appears in its chest and a beam of energy is thrown from it. Anything that this beam touches is destroyed. It will boil metal, and cook the meat off of the bone before turning the bone to dust. These Thrahks will make your army more powerful than you ever imagined."
"Can it speak? Does it communicate?"
The Dirujen laughed a short laugh. "No. It does not speak like we do, but it can communicate to other Thrahks just like wolves or birds can communicate with each other. They use the clicking sounds you heard, along with other clicks it can make in its throat. In fact, in our language, Thrahk means 'click'. We are able to speak to it in a way, but it's not at all like you are thinking. We converse more on the level of feelings than anything else. We have been working with them and teaching them what we want them to do. For instance, we don't want them to attack this army, so we are trying to teach them that they are supposed to attack people who face them, and not the ones who stand next to them. It is difficult to show them this, but we are working on it."
The Zidaoz still felt the cold fear inside him as he stared at the creature's horrible, empty eyes. Its smell filled his nostrils and burned his lungs, making him cough. "I do not want to be near this thing any longer. Come Lohken; let us get to fresher air."
Lohken put his hands behind his back and bowed his head slightly. They both walked a while through the camp until they came back to the Zidaoz's travel tent. Inside there was still wet blood on the ground from the children he had slain earlier in the day. The odd metallic smell of blood hung heavy in the air, but he welcomed it as a pleasant change from the vile smell of the Thrahk. He sat down on a lavish pile of pillows and held out his hand to offer Lohken a seat in front of him.
Lohken sat on the ground and tossed his long hair over his shoulders. "What shall we do next Zidaoz?"
"I think it is important for some of the Dirujen to continue looking for animals that we can use in battle, but it is time for the rest of us to move northward. Within the next few days, this detachment must merge with the greater army outside of the Vindyri capital. We must get the majority of the killing done long before winter comes. This army cannot support itself for very long, and soon the animals and vegetation will run out. Our army is a very heavy hammer, and it takes time to swing it. We must hit the enemy hard and be on our way home as soon as possible."
"Yes of course. I believe the Thrahks are nearly ready to serve us properly. They will be ready for battle as soon as the army is."
"I hope so. We cannot have those things turning on our men. They will be frightened enough just to see them, let alone if one starts killing people on our side. We must also find a way to hide them. We cannot afford to have any enemy scouts see them and report it back to their leaders. They must be kept a secret."
"We can keep them in large tents while we are not moving, but I'm afraid that they will be easily spotted as we move them. They are simply too tall to hide and there is no way to move them other than making them walk."
"Then we must move them swiftly and at night. Perhaps we cannot move this army at night, but we can certainly move a small group of Dirujen and Thrahks in darkness. Take your men and these beasts and go ahead of the rest of us. It will be difficult for any scout to detect you."
Lohken nodded for his response. He could see that this particular Dirujen was more intelligent than the rest of them, and he understood why the man had become their leader. He was strong-willed and dedicated to advancing his cause. While he lacked the religious motivation necessary to be equal to the Bhoors, his ideals certainly meshed well with the people of Bhoor-Rahn, and so in some respects, the Zidaoz considered him an equal. Of course, without accepting Rohni, the Dirujen were cursed and wo
uld be punished for such a great sin. They had all respectfully refused to hear the word of god, but they were too important to discard for their lack of belief. He would use them in this war, and then he would see to it that Rohni knew to punish them for their sin. Until then, he smiled at the faces of the faithless.
He smiled at him even as he sat before him. "Will we be able to use these Thrahks for a long period of time? I have more work for them to do if their service lasts longer than this war does."
Lohken picked at some lint that clung to the sleeve of his fine jacket. "Yes of course. As long as we feed them and keep them alive, they are in our service until we set them free or kill them. That is the case with all souls under our control."
"Good. I do not wish to stop after this battle in Vindyrion. The whole world must bow to Rohni." He caught himself and added more: "The whole world with the exception of the Dirujen of course."
Lohken said nothing as he stared into his eyes.
Mighty Hammer Down Page 53
