* * * * *
After quickening their pace for another minute after the horn had been sounded, the narrow canyon walls suddenly spread out into a large open space. Leisu could clearly see why they called it the Oval, for it took on exactly that shape as it stretch on for a couple hundred feet ahead of them before the walls narrowed once again. The men were still moving quickly when the opening appeared and a shout was heard from up ahead. An arrow sailed out and struck one man in the chest followed by a crossbow bolt a moment later, taking another in the stomach. Both men collapsed to the ground, although the one with the bolt in his stomach flopped around some.
“Get back,” Liu yelled at them, and the men pressed back into the canyon quickly. One man tried to crouch down and help the fallen man writing on the ground in pain, but an arrow struck the canyon wall just above his head and he quickly moved back.
“Well, we know that we’ve got them pinned between us and Hui’s men,” Ko observed as they huddled close to the canyon walls. Every so often a man would peek too far out and an arrow would clatter against the stone wall.
“Yes, but they have us in a tight spot as well,” Leisu said. He turned to Liu. “We need to see what’s going on, can’t you get one of your men close enough to the entrance to report back?”
“I’ll try,” Liu said, then turned to a man close to him. The man took the sword from his belt and the bow from his shoulder and got down onto his stomach. He crawled right up the wounded man and put his hand on his mouth as he tried to speak, then crawled further ahead and out of sight. A few moments later he came crawling back and got to his feet.
“They’ve got three men crouched behind a large boulder directly in front of the entrance,” he said. “It looks like another few are spread further out into the Oval. I saw a few of Hui’s men dead on the ground around where the Adjurians are.”
“We’ve got to get in there and finish them off!” Leisu said.
“I’ll not waste my men’s lives by charging out into a hail of arrows,” Liu said to Leisu with a cold look.
Leisu returned the look, but knew that he could do little to force the man. He looked to the few men that he’d brought. “Get in there and clear a path,” he said.
One of the men crept up to the canyon wall and crouched down. He passed the wounded man and was out of sight, but a moment later they heard a cry and he fall back into view, an arrow sticking from his chest. He tried to pull at it, but quickly died. More cries came from further in the Oval.
“Those sound like Jongurian cries,” Ko said. “They’re far enough in the distance that they can’t be the Adjurians, unless they’ve made it much further in just the past few minutes.”
“They know we’re here and’ll be taking more chances to get out of that deathtrap,” Liu said.
“Which means that we need to take more chances getting in,” Leisu snapped back.
Liu gave him another hard look then turned to his men, nodding his head toward the Oval. Four men crouched down onto their knees with their bows out. Two of them crept along the wall and advanced toward the entrance while the other two hung back. Several arrows sailed out at them, but the shots were too high and bounced off the walls. They moved forward a bit more then ducked back as more arrows came at them. They waited and then advanced once again. Leisu had to admit that they were brave, or else heavily motivated by the money that now weighed down Liu’s pockets. When they got as far as they felt comfortable with, which was close to the three dead men, they raised their bows and fired while the other two men rushed over to the wall on the other side. No return fire came and they crept up a little further, quickly vanishing from sight.
The Jongurian Mission Page 17
