Arrival

by William Dickey

  Shortly thereafter, we joined up with Titania and Albert on the surface. They were standing next to a set of horses that they had tied off to a pole.

  “What? We’re taking horses?” I asked.

  “Of course,” said Zelus. “You don’t expect us to walk 500 miles.”

  “But I’ve never rode a horse before. Have you?” I asked Albert.

  “Once or tvice,” he replied. “You really should experience more in the vorld rather dan zit in your man caffe.”

  “Never ridden a horse,” Titania gasped with disbelief. “How can anyone survive, while never riding a horse?”

  “Ve uze cars insdead,” said Albert.

  “Cars?” said Titania.

  “Dey are like carriage ardifacts dat can carry people place to place,” Albert explained.

  After a few minutes of trying to get on the horse and a few more failing to stay there, I ended up riding behind Zelus. Rose had tried to offer but Zelus insisted that the lady be given her own horse and he was the one providing them so there was no further argument. We all galloped into the depths of the night, abandoning all our problems or so we thought.

  Izusa shifted back to her human form after completing a skirmish as a wolf and took a swig of water to rinse out the iron taste in her mouth. Even in beast form, Izusa refrained from eating human meat. It just seemed like too close to cannibalism.

  “Hey Talia,” said Izusa as Talia landed and too returned to human form. That was perhaps the one downside of beast forms, the inability to communicate properly. In fact, if not for this trait, most beastmen wouldn’t return to human form at all, preferring their animal form.

  “Do have an accounting of the latest haul?” Izusa asked.

  “Bullseye is still organizing, but it looks like we took six more swords and three sets of armor. We also took four of these.” Talia handed over a short metallic rod. “It shoots lightning out the end when press the button on the side.” These were the results of the last raiding party she had led. They had raided a small human village. Taking whatever supplies and items they believed held value. Izusa had returned to the good old way of doing things, taking no slaves and only killing combatants. She saw no honor in slaughtering the defenseless.

  “And the other groups?” Izusa asked. Izusa led just under 100 men, but lately the small villages and farms they were raiding didn’t require nearly that many, so she’d split her 100 men into six squads of around 15. Izusa ran one of the squads while experienced veterans ran the others and Talia flew between, relaying messages.

  “Bearpaw and Talonhand had similar results. Only came across a couple of small bandit groups today, claiming a dozen swords and a handful of knives, axes, bows, and other armaments,” said Talia. Since they started attacking settlements last winter, it seemed like the number of human bandit groups had grown substantially. They didn’t outright pursue the bandit groups, since the chaos worked in their favor, but if they happened across them, they were handled in the same way all the humans were handled.

  “Horseface had better luck with the village. Twenty-three swords, twelve sets of armor, and a moderate stockpile of food,” Talia finished.

  “Have Bullseye distribute the food evenly among the squads and take the weapons back to base.” By base Izusa didn’t mean the Othan staging point in Monstone Pass, but a place much farther south that she established to serve as a central camp while the squads raided the area.

  Normally, Izusa would have wanted Talia to command one of the other squads, but she was too useful at what she was doing. Talia was one of the few fliers in the group and she was used to relay messages between them.

  “Very well,” said Talia. “Will go tell Bullseye.” Talia shifted back and flew away.

  “Capsain,” one of her men yelled as he ran over to her.

  “What is it?” Izusa asked.

  “We found a large group of knights moving south along the road,” said the warrior. “All well-armed and on horseback. Oh, and have a couple of carriages with, who knows what it’s carrying, but it must be important.”

  Izusa smiled. It sounded like an excellent target. On top of all the characteristics listed, the group was traveling at night, unusual. And unusual generally meant valuable. “How many?” she asked.

  “Around thirty,” said the man.

  “Let’s go,” Izusa winced. “We’ll have to hurry if we want to catch up.” Thirty knights were more than what her squad of 15 normally took on, but given their superior physical abilities, Izusa wasn’t worried.

  Izusa shifted back to her wolf form and led her small group south after the band of knights.

  “Daddy, I can’t sleep the cawege is too bouncy.”

  “It’s all right, Cerise. Look at this as an opportunity,” said Quewel.

  “Oppa-nuity?” said Cerise.

  “A chance,” Quewel tried to explain. “When was the last time you were allowed to stay up this late? Look outside. See. Look at that moon.” Quewel hoisted the girl up so that she could see out the carriage window. “Have you ever seen a moon that big?”

  “Set me down, Daddy. I don’t want an oppanuity,” demanded little Cerise. “It’s past my bedtime. I’m tired and I want to sleep. Tell them to stop the cawege. You’re the boss so you can tell them to stop and they’ll do what you say.”

  Quewel laid her back down across the cushioned seats. “We can’t stop the carriage. It’s very important that we go to Castlemere. You’d like to see the capital, wouldn’t you? See the palace and the court with all the people in beautiful gowns.”

  “And pwincesses,” asked Cerise.

  “And princesses,” Quewel agreed. “And first thing when we arrive, I’ll get you a new dress, the most beautiful one in the city so you can show it off to all the people we see.”

  “Yeeee,” Cerise shrieked. “A new dress, thank you daddy.”

  “Now try to sleep. It’ll take a few days to reach Castlemere,” said Quewel.

  Cerise settled back down but Quewel knew she wasn’t sleeping. Every couple of minutes she’d shift her position and complain again about the carriage. Quewel watched her silently as he struggled to suppress his feelings of guilt over abandoning the city. He’d lost his wife just last year, he didn’t know what he’d do if he lost his daughter as well. She was his first priority.

  It was nearly midnight and they’d been on the road for several hours before they came to a stop. Quewel exited the carriage and found Mercowin.

  “What’s going on? Why have we stopped?” Quewel asked nervously. He had told Mercowin to run the horses all night. Only then would they be far enough from the city not to worry about potential pursuers.

  “Don’t worry,” replied Mercowin. “We’ve only stopped to give the horses a drink.” Mercowin pointed to a small stream that ran along the road for this small stretch. “Return to the carriage. We’ll be setting off again shortly.”

  Quewel returned to the carriage. As he climbed up the iron footplate, Quewel paused at the faintest howl of a wolf. Quewel ignored it and went inside, unworried. This number of guards could handle any wild animals. Quewel’s only fear was of bandit groups along the highway, but thirty men should be able to deal with any of those. It was too bad that Quewel lacked much imagination. Then he would have taken more notice.

  Izusa’s crawl slowed as she approached the human band of knights. Izusa flicked her head to either side, signaling her men to spread out. Normally she would have wanted to return to her human form. Communicating was a lot easier that way, but she also wanted to approach unnoticed and no matter how many times you endured it, you couldn’t help but groan from the pain of the change.

  Izusa’s men slowly spread out in a half circle around the humans. It would have been better to do a full surround, but they needed to remain downwind so the horses wouldn’t catch their scent.

  When everyone was in position, Izusa gave a single sharp bark and they all jumped in. Out of the thirty guards, ten died instantly, their throats slashed wi
th a casual sweep of a tiger’s claw or their bodies trampled by the imposing weight of a bear’s bulk.

  The knights pulled back around the carriages, instinct overriding conscious thought as they interlocked their shields into a tight carapace of steel only interrupted by the occasional sharp point of a thirsty blade.

  Izusa returned to her human form. Most of her men did the same. The shield wall called for precision strikes that were difficult in their bulkier beast forms.

  A stocky bald man exited one of the carriages, his fine clothing radiated swirls of the most vibrant shades of red and his jewelry gleamed from the reflected moonlight with the perfection of a mirror. It was Archlord Quewel, but Izusa wasn’t aware of that. To her this man was the embodiment of all humanity: weak and soft, yet sporting extraordinary wealth, the perfect target.

  Izusa smiled. There were plenty of knights with good weapons and armor and to top it off they had this man. Othans naturally preferred the utility of a good blade, but gold and jewels still held some value.

  “Pair off,” Izusa shouted. This was the standard Othan tactic to deal with heavy human shields. They formed pairs. One focused on separating the shields to make a gap, while the other forced a blade through it.

  “Don’t think you’ll get the best of me again,” said Quewel savagely. “Today all you beastmen bastards die.” Quewel raised his arms and sent an arc of lightning over his men and at their attackers. Quewel wasn’t a strong mage. From a young age, he knew he’d inherit the position of Archlord so most of his studies focused on history and politics. Nevertheless, Quewel was still a noble and like most nobles, he possessed an affinity for magic.

  Quewel’s lightning strike was weak and couldn’t kill directly but it still played hell with the beastmen. The shock and the pain of all the nerves in your body igniting at once was enough to disturb and debilitate even the most battle-hardened warrior.

  Many beastmen recoiled at the vicious electrical surge. A couple even dropped their weapons as their muscles twitched uncontrollably.

  Izusa was one of the few who reacted quickly, activating the shield artifact on her belt to block the lightning.

  “Make a hole,” Izusa commanded.

  Two of Izusa’s men stepped up and pried apart a couple of the humans out in front of Quewel, making a hole.

  “Damn, beasts,” said Quewel. “Don’t think those artifacts will save you. Feast your eyes on some real magic.”

  Quewel added some interference magic on top of his lightning, shutting down the Othan shields. Pain seared through Izusa’s entire body. Her hands and feet shook, teetering on the edge of her control, but Izusa refused to give up and through an effort of sheer will, she clenched her sword and stepped deeper into the network of coursing electricity.

  The flashes blinded her so Izusa had to go by memory. She marched the final half dozen steps, crashing through the line of knights while she thrust out her blade. Izusa heard the smooth slide of the blade going straight in and knew she’d hit her mark.

  “Damn beasts,” Quewel groaned just before losing consciousness.

  “Daddy, daddy,” squealed the little Cerise from the carriage. “Get up daddy! Please get up.”

  “Ow. Ow. Ow,” I whined as each of the horse’s long gallops repeatedly slammed my tailbone in just the wrong place. I tried to find relief by shifting my position on the horse’s back but nothing seemed to help and hours of riding turned my whole ass into a whole bruise. I took a look at my skill window, the only recompense for my pain.

  †Riding Lvl.3 (14.7%)†

  You are able to ride a horse but with difficulty.

  Riding level will improve with practice.

  Higher riding level increases familiarity with horses. You’ll have an easier time getting them to understand and follow your orders.

  Riding comfort: 3%

  Riding speed: +3%

  This skill was the only benefit of riding, but I wasn’t sure it was a good thing. Riding was painful and comfort only seemed to increase by 1% per level. I’d have to endure a whole lot of pain to reach 100% comfort.

  “Can’t you stay still,” said Zelus. “It’s really awkward having you pressing against my back like that.”

  ‘Isaac has a tendency to get what he wants,’ said Mai.

  “It was Zelus’ idea to have me ride behind,” I replied.

  “Don’t remind me,” said Zelus.

  “How long until we stop for a break?” I asked. “My ass is about to fall off.”

  “Soon,” he answered. “There’s a place about half an hour up the road where a stream runs near the road. We’ll stop so the horses can have a drink.”

  We continued our gallop. I was a bit surprised we were able to ride so easily in the dark. If it wasn’t for Mai’s enhanced night vision, I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me. I asked Zelus about it he admitted he couldn’t see much of anything, but assured me that we’d feel the difference if the horse went of course. My ass disagreed.

  †Sense Jeopardy†

  “Hey, something’s wrong,” I yelled, bringing everyone to a stop.

  “What’s wrong?” Rose asked.

  “Shh, what’s that?” I said. Without the pounding of hoof beats, we could hear faint clangs of metal coming from down the road.

  “There’s fighting ahead,” said Titania.

  “Who’s fighting,” I asked.

  “Don’t know. Too far,” she said.

  “Why would there be fighting?” Rose asked.

  “Up ahead is a well-known resting spot,” said Zelus. “Maybe some travelers stopped there are being robbed.”

  “Vo vould be out here at dis hour?” Albert asked.

  “I only know of one other group out here,” said Zelus.

  “You think the Archlord is being attacked?” asked Rose.

  “Who else would be out here at this hour?” said Zelus. “Any other travelers would have waited till morning to set out or kept on a bit longer to make it to the city. The real question is what do we do now?”

  “I guess we check it out, carefully,” I said.

  We continued down the road. The Archlord may be a slime ball who abandoned his people, but he was still human and in the end didn’t we just do the same thing.

  Our group arrived just in time to witness the Archlord’s fall. A beastwoman had driven her sword deep into his abdomen, cutting short the Archlord’s lightshow.

  “Spread out,” I shouted. “Hit them before they can recover.”

  The beastwoman who’d stabbed the Archlord looked up. Our eyes met. I recognized her. I’d never forget the cherubic blond framed face that concealed the frigid heart of a monster capable of burning hundreds of innocent women and children alive.

  An anger I thought I long buried rose up in me fresh. All the people at Mill Valley, their deaths in ways most heinous and horrifying, being gutted or burned alive. Never again.

  I succumbed to my rage and charged the nearest beastmen gutting him with three swift spear thrusts while in the same motion, slit the throat of his nearest neighbor. Hot thick blood spurted across my front, saturating my vision with red until I wiped it clear and returned my gaze to the beastwoman.

  Her gaze briefly met mine before flitting down to my spear then back. A mixture of surprise and hopefulness filled her face. The surprise I understood. The last time we saw each other I had literally put my own head on a pike. Seeing me again was like seeing someone return from the grave. What I didn’t understand was the hopeful tilt of her lips. Could she be so bloodthirsty she was glad to see me alive so she could kill me herself?

  I pushed forward, activating the flames on the tail end of my spear to boost me towards my opponent.

  The beastwoman waved her sword, almost casually, parrying my rocket spear with a single swift sweeping motion. The spear passed harmlessly a few inches to her side, but my momentum continued driving me onward.

  The beastwoman lowered her shoulder and tilted her body so that my chest pounded ri
ght up against it. The sturdy leather of my breastplate shielded me from the stab of her iron spiked shoulder pad, but it couldn’t completely nullify the impact. Air gushed from my throat as my lungs were crushed and I fell to my hands and knees. In this pacified state, the beastwoman could have easily killed me but she didn’t.

  “Pull back,” she ordered. Her men’s odd stares proved they were as surprised as I was. They had just defeated the mage and without the lightning, many of her men were able to rejoin the fight.

  Then Zelus and Rose joined the fight, their twin fireballs lit up the night and the beastmen didn’t need any more convincing. One mage was bad. Two were terrifying.

  The beastmen orderly pulled back. Some kept up the fight while others retrieved the wounded and dead.

  I watched the beastmen retreat for several minutes until they were out of my sight. Everyone remained on high guard, eyes shifting around nervously at every gust of the wind and rustle of leaves.

  ‘The battle is over so why are everyone’s knickers still in a twist,’ said Mai.

  Everyone else didn’t have the benefits of Mai’s night vision and could only see a few feet. To them, the beastmen could be back at any second.

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “They’re gone.”

  “How do you know?”

  “If they wanted to kill us they would have,” I explained.

  Some soldiers relaxed a little at this. Half went to assess their comrades’ injuries while the rest remained on guard. They couldn’t survive another surprise. Hell, many of them were still going to die, not from another beastman attack, but from either their current wounds or the mob that was sure to rise up when they returned to the city they’d abandoned. Their greater fear of the enemy was the only thing that kept them from running off into the night.