The kDira's World Anthology

by K R McClellan

  “Good point,” agreed Agis.

  The cave they entered proved to be larger than it appeared. They could tell it went back farther then they could see, but without out a fire, and the daylight quickly fading, they dared not explore further that night. Instead the two spread out their bedrolls and made a short meal of dried fowl, some left-over mollyberries, and sips of bryne. This time, kDira didn’t share her bryne with Agis, instead making him drink his own.

  The cave was cold and they slept closely together, as krebs often do even when they aren’t intimate. It is just a necessity sometimes to keep warm and survive the night. Sometimes it is easier to stay warm if you are intimate, especially on very cold nights. It was very cold that night.

  Agis and kDira rose early the following morning and dressed quickly in the cold morning canyon air. Agis heard a rustling in the canyon below, with his senses peaked, he was eager to find out what it was. If it was Karn or another enemy tribe this could be the end of them both. If it was a wolfpack, they were in a bad place to warn the Blackhorn. Agis began second guessing his decision to enter the Ocheebee Pass. They both quietly edged out to the ledge of the cave to look down. It was a small herd of rock-goats. kDira fought back the urge to grab her bow and take one or two, as they didn’t have anything to build a fire, and they certainly didn’t want to have to carry one or two any distance until they could find kindling. With a heavy heart, she sighed and allowed them to head south toward the canyon entrance. Rock-goat could be almost as tasty as chideer if prepared correctly. She hoped in her heart they would be there when they came back out – if they did come out the way they came in.

  The team went about rolling up their bed-rolls and finishing donning their garb for the day’s trek ahead.

  As the sun began showing itself at the opening of the cave, kDira began looking around at their make-shift dwelling. The walls showed signs that she and Agis were not the first occupants. There was a strange writing on the walls, and a large series of lines and dashes. There were what looked like childish drawings on the walls, seeming to tell some sort of story that kDira couldn’t quite understand.

  “I bet the interpreters could figure all this out,” she said to Agis who was still packing up his sack.

  “Figure what out?

  “Come look at these drawings,” she said pointing to the wall.

  “Wow, look at that,” he said in disbelief. “What do you suppose it means?”

  “I don’t know, but it looks like they did a lot of fighting,” she said pointing to a small group of stick figures with what appeared to be swords or spears.

  She followed the story line along the wall for a short distance, but as the outside light became dimmer, she stopped at what looked to be the last of the story. It was what appeared to be a giant cloud rising upward from the ground, and many, many of the stick figure warriors lying on the ground.

  “The Great Cloud?” she asked as Agis looked on.

  “That would be my guess,” he said.

  “We need to go,” said kDira, tugging on Agis’ arm.

  They headed for the mouth of the cave, took a quick glance around to make sure it was clear, then headed down the shallow face to the canyon floor.

  Taking notice that there were no rock-goats in either direction, the pair continued north. The canyon walls grew higher and higher as they trudged onward. They traveled half a day seeing nothing but rock walls, but then they rounded a bend in the Pass and saw a structure unlike any other structure they had ever seen before.

  Growing out from both sides of the canyon was a city of rock and clay, spanning the Pass like a bridge. The architecture was ancient, yet it seemed right at home in the Ocheebee Pass. The spans had many windows, the top lined with parapets. There were columns connected by beams and covered in ornate scrolling. To their surprise, it looked to be deserted.

  “Who built this?” kDira asked not expecting an answer.

  “I wonder if this is left over from the Olden Days.” Agis answered kDira’s question with a question.

  “If someone is in there, I bet they don’t want company,” continued Agis.

  “I bet you’re right,” agreed kDira.

  kDira felt as though she should run for cover and hide, but she stood there in awe of the massive canyon structure.

  “Whoever build this knew what they were doing,” said kDira.

  “I think we should head back,” Agis urged.

  kDira looked at her partner in disbelief.

  “I’m going in,” she said.

  Without waiting for Agis to respond, she walked toward the canyon walls to look for an entrance.

  cHAPTER 3

  The entrance to the Ocheebee structure was well hidden, but kDira was an expert finder. Agis was always amazed at kDira’s ability to sniff out hidden items or pathways, it was a sixth sense she was born with and it had saved their lives more than once.

  Hidden behind a door of mud and stone, the entrance opened to a stairway that arose sharply to the north along the canyon buried several paces within the rock wall. It was unlit, except for the light that filtered in from the top.

  kDira looked back at Agis. They hesitated a moment, then Agis nodded and they began to make their way up the stairs. The stairwell was narrow, barely wide enough for two people side-by-side. Agis followed behind kDira as it was the most comfortable way to proceed, though in his heart he wished that he was first, just in case. kDira was more than capable of defending herself, maybe even more-so than Agis, but he still felt the instinctive need to protect her.

  At the top of the stairwell, kDira peered into the east passage. She saw a narrow corridor with window openings on each side covered with dust, loose rocks, and brick. Agis met her at the top and looked over her shoulders.

  “What do you think?” he whispered.

  “Do you see what I see?” kDira asked?

  “Dust?” Agis answered.

  “Footprints,” kDira said pointing her finger down the passage.

  “Footprints. We aren’t the first here,” Agis said.

  “And I would guess that they are fairly fresh, considering the openings to the weather outside. If they had been here very long they would have blown away by now.”

  “You’re probably right,” Agis said. “We need to be careful.”

  Nodding agreement, they progressed down the passage. As they approached the openings they looked out and marveled at the view. The view was more amazing than they had imagined it would from below. kDira couldn’t help but think if they were defending the location from attack they could take down any aggressor simply with bow and arrow before they ever found the entrance.

  As they progressed onward they entered what they believed to be the opposite, westward side of the canyon. The passage way came to a tee. Looking north the pair could see several adjoining passages and a few rooms with heavy wooden doors. To the south, they saw more stairs.

  “Let’s go this way,” kDira said pointing north to the passage with the doors.

  “You’re the chief,” Agis conceded.

  Looking at Agis with a smirk, kDira headed towards the first room. It’s thick wooden door appeared locked. Trying the handle and pushing on the door had no effect.

  “Probably for the best,” Agis said.

  They moved up to the first of several passages running off to the west and peered cautiously around the corner.

  “More of the same, and more footprints too,” kDira said. “I have a bad feeling…” kDira stopped short with her though.

  “Listen,” she said.

  Though what she heard was muffled, she could make out the sound of what she believed to be arguing. She cocked her head a bit, as if to better pick up the sound, Agis did the same. She could definitely hear it, but it was quite a distance down the passage, though she wasn’t sure if it was coming from the passage they were looking down, or the next one over.

  “We should go,” Agis said tugging as kDira’s leather sleeve.

  “Not
yet,” she whispered sternly. “I want to know what this place is all about.”

  “It’s about to get us killed, I think…”

  “Hush,” kDira scolded.

  She moved slowly and silently down the passage to the west and came to an open door. She pushed it open and it creaked a bit. She looked at Agis, who was looking down the passage instinctively. She peered into the room.

  The room had several makeshift beds, a small table in the middle, a fireplace, and a few trunks around the edge of the room.

  “Wait here and keep watch,” she said to Agis.

  “I think this is a bad idea,” he said in a whisper.

  “Hush, I said.”

  kDira went over to one of the trunks that was open near the corner of the room. Inside she saw numerous insignificant things, some pretty rocks, some small eating utensils, and in the largest compartment some tattered clothing items. She left them undisturbed.

  She moved to the next chest that was closed, but it appeared unlocked. She carefully opened the lid. Inside she recognized something that was unmistakable to a Blackhorn tribesman. The crest of a Karn was proudly displayed on the center of a tunic.

  “Karn…” she said, letting the word disappear into thin air.

  “Someone’s coming!” Agis whispered as loudly as he dared.

  He stepped into the room and as quietly as he could, shut the door behind him. kDira and he took a defensive stance to the side of the door where they would be hidden if someone entered.

  They could hear the Karn cussing and complaining in the strange Karnish tongue that kDira and Agis found unmistakable. Though they could not quite make out every word, but did extract the notion that the Karn was not happy for being left behind.

  Suddenly the door flung open, hitting Agis square in the face. He let out a yelp that alerted the Karn that he was not alone. kDira sprang into action, jumping on the Karn and taking him down in one skilled movement.

  Agis shut the door as quickly as he could recover from his surprise and went over to help his partner. kDira already had him pinned down with her hand over his mouth.

  “Relax, Karn. Be a nice boy and we won’t kill you,” kDira said firmly.

  She could feel his muscles relax almost as soon as she said those words.

  “Don’t yell, or I will cut your tongue out,” understand.

  The Karn did his best to nod his understanding under kDira’s firm grip on his face.

  “Good. I will take my hand away, do not make me do something you will regret for a long time.”

  Again, he nodded, and as he did so kDira removed her hand.

  “Blackhooooorrrrrn!” he hissed.

  kDira slapped his face, open handed but firm enough to get the attention of her Karn prisoner.

  “I talk, you answer, if you want to live!” she said firmly. Agis had his sword out and was poking it into the Karn’s chest, as a reassurance that if he thought he could overpower kDira, he’d have to get past his sword, and that wasn’t happening.

  “How many Karn are here?” kDira asked forcefully.

  “I tell you nothing, Blackhoooooorrrrn.” He said with a hiss.

  kDira hit him again across the face, this time with a closed fist. Blood trickled from his mouth. He spat blood in her face.

  She hit him again, holding nothing back and his lip exploded into a bloody mess.

  “How many Karn, I asked you!” she demanded.

  “The Blackhorn are done. We will conquer you all and you will be no more. Blackhoooorrrrns. You are weak. You are nothing,” he said through the blood in his mouth.

  “What do you mean?” Agis demanded. “What are you talking about, Karn?”

  “Right now, our entire tribe is on its way to Blackhorn. Your breeders will be our breeders. Your queen will die!”

  kDira hit him with her other fist, then again with the right. The Karn appeared to go unconscious, but then smiled though the blood and pain.

  “Blackhooooorrrn,” he hissed again, this time it bubbled through the blood, “You better get back home or your tribe will be no more.”

  kDira looked up at Agis, the horror of the Karn’s words showing in her eyes. Had they gambled with the safety of the tribe by indulging on some recreational exploration?

  kDira then looked down at her Karn prisoner, and then up at Agis. Agis saw the hate and fear in kDira’s eyes, and without another second’s hesitation, ran his sword though the heart of the Karn.

  The Karn managed a squeal of pain, but it lasted only a moment and he was dead.

  “We have to get back to Blackhorn. We have to go back now,” kDira said.

  “This is bad. We should have been there,” Agis said helping kDira up.

  “We must be quick.”

  “I am right behind you,” Agis said as they bolted for the door. Looking quickly to make sure the passage was clear of Karn, they headed back the way they came. When they got to the eastward passage that spanned the canyon, kDira hesitated.

  “If these stairs led to the top of the Pass, it could save us two days getting back. If it doesn’t we’ve only wasted a short while and we can come back down and go the way we came.”

  “Or we could run into more Karn higher up,” was Agis’ reply.

  “Or that,” agreed kDira. “But I vote we go upward.”

  “Let us go, then. We have no time to waste.”

  Together they bolted up the stairs to the next level. When they got to the top there appeared to be no more stairs, but another passage that spanned the Ocheebee Pass, and a second passage that ran north and south. They headed north again.

  Pausing only to ensure none of the passages to the west were occupied, they continued onward to the end of the passage. When they reached the end, they found a room that appeared to be an armory. To their dismay, they found that most of the weapons were gone. There were slots and hangers for numerous axes, swords or spears, but only a few were left behind.

  “They mean war, it appears,” said Agis, worried.

  “Come on, we need to keep going,” said kDira.

  They took the first passage west and made short time getting to the end where they found another solid door. This door appeared to be bolted from the inside. Again, kDira and Agis looked at each other and without a word, agreed on the next course of action.

  Agis lifted the bolt and kDira opened the door. Before them was a long stairwell rising upward as far as they could see. It was dark, but there was a visible torch a fair distance up the stairs that hinted this stairwell was a lot longer than they imagined.

  Together, without another thought, they started up the stairs. It was a long climb even to the torch that hung on the wall, and they could tell it was another long stretch to the next torch that was just as far away. When they finally reached the second torch, they could see no more light in the stairs. kDira reasoned that they had to be coming to the surface and continued on.

  As the stairwell became darker and darker, they began to worry. If someone or something was hiding in the darkness they would certainly have the advantage over the duo. They pressed onward, when finally, the tip of Agis’s sword bumped into something hard. It was wood. It was a door. kDira and Agis pushed it open and found themselves at the edge of the Kaiba Forest. The opening of the stairs had been cleverly hidden by a clump of bushes. Though Agis and kDira weren’t absolutely certain where they were, they knew that west of their location they would find Blackhorn. They had to hurry. They were still two days away, even at a good pace.

  Agis and kDira had been at an almost sprint pace since leaving the Karn stronghold. The brush, thick and sometimes obstructive, did little to deter the two as they chopped away brush and small branches to allow them passage, all the while, on the lookout for Karn wolfpack or other predators.

  The sun was starting to sink lower in the sky, and in the over brush of the forest it was getting dark all too quick. kDira and Agis stopped.

  kDira, with her hands on her knees, looked up at Agis.


  “How much farther do you think…?” she asked between breaths.

  “A day. Maybe,” Agis answered, hoping to sound positive.

  “What do we do? Press on until dark and make camp, or keep trying to find our way in the dark?” kDira asked not trying to sound desperate.

  “If we continue in the dark we could lose our bearing easily. We might end up farther away. I say we forego pitching a tent, roll out our bedrolls, and sleep until dawn in the open. We get started at first sign of light,” Agis offered.

  “That is the best plan,” kDira agreed. “Let’s continue and make as much ground as we can before the light is gone.”

  With a nod from Agis, they both took pace again and headed westward. Less than an hour later the light was all but gone, and the two found a spot shielded by brush that they could lay out their bedrolls and get much needed rest with no idea what the next day might bring.

  They went to bed fully clothed, saving valuable time that would be spent dressing in the morning. They shared the two blankets and their body heat, but they did not get much sleep. It was late before either of them dozed, but for kDira, it was not before she wept for the safety of her tribe. She cried silently, as to not attract the attention of Agis, but instinctively, though not exactly knowing why, he pulled her closer and held her tighter. It was a long night.

  At the first sign of light the pair was up and ready to move westward. With the sun rising in their backs they made a quick pace for home.

  It was only a short time after leaving camp that kDira and Agis found the main road leading to Blackhorn. It wasn’t long after that they she heard sounds coming from the West. She grabbed Agis’ arm and pulled him into some brush where they made themselves blend into the thick brush that surrounded them. They checked their breathing, and watched off to the west where she had heard the sounds. She hoped in her heart that it was just Blackhorn people going about their everyday trips to the outskirts, or hunters heading out to harvest some chideer.

  Rounding the bend was a formation of Karn, with two in the front carrying banners that boasted the Karn tribal crest, the same crest that was in the trunk in the Pass. Some of the Karn looked as though they had suffered serious injuries, but it wasn’t until the parade started to pass by kDira and Agis that her worst fears were realized. In a cart drawn by Karn krebs was a cage, in it were the two Blackhorn breeders, Princess Nepra and Princess Abril. Both looked to be badly beaten. Queen Dachraolene was nowhere to be seen. kDira tensed and contemplated charging to the rescue, but Agis held her down and cupped her mouth.