The kDira's World Anthology

by K R McClellan

  “But certainly, they saw something in you. They don’t just randomly pick someone to be leader. You act as though you’ve been leader all your life.”

  “Nope,” she said looking down at a piece of dried meat. “I just got the luck of the draw.”

  “I hardly think that,” Guller countered, “you are far too good to just be lucky. And what of your man Agis?”

  KDira laughed. “Not my man,” she said. “Just another kreb.”

  Guller looked at her accusingly. He knew he’d hit on a bit of bitter truth that kDira wasn’t ready to admit to.

  “He’s very fond of you, you know that, right?”

  “We need to get moving,” kDira said, as she picked up her things and headed over to Edu to see how the gurneys were coming along.

  “Almost ready to go, kDira,” Edu said tying knots to hold tapestry onto some long spears he had found. “This is the last one.”

  “Is it sturdy enough to hold a fat and lazy kreb like Agis?” she asked, winking at Edu.

  “I heard that,” Agis said from halfway across the room.

  “Better tie it tight,” she said, stepping away.

  “Why does she hate me, Edu?” Agis asked.

  “If you ask me, it’s because you’re ugly,” he answered back.

  As everyone became ready to head out, kDira sent two Warriors out to the street to ensure that no one was coming. Upon seeing it was clear, they waved the rest out and quickly as they could, and headed west down the road.

  The sun was still high in the midafternoon sky as they passed structure after structure, rubble pile after rubble pile. There were no signs of life other than the unending population of small filthy animals that squeaked their alarm at the Blackhorn intruders as they scurried under the debris to hide.

  By evening they had reached the edge of the city, and could see the road turn into a path that led west across the Valley of Death. kDira looked back and saw that there were no Karn following them.

  “Do we continue onward, or camp for the night,” kDira asked Guller.

  “I would suggest going as far as we can while there is light, then camping until morning. Karn will not be coming out at night, not without a king’s order.”

  “Good point. Let’s move onward ‘til dusk,” she said waving her arm forward.

  Onward they trudged, fighting their way around piles of debris, rusted carts, and rotting animal matter. With a bit of luck, they managed to find an old structure just over one hut high that appeared to be suitable to offer shelter for the night.

  kDira sent in two of the warriors to make sure the way was clear, and when they stepped back out they gave the signal for all to enter. The structure appeared to have been abandoned for dozens, if not a hundred years.

  “This will be fine,” kDira said approvingly. “Let us bed down for the night, Ari, set the watch.”

  “Yes kDira,” she affirmed.

  Once again, they found a place to stretch out and get some rest. The guards were set at the door, and watches at the windows. In a few hours, they would be relieved and replaced with others so they could get some rest as well.

  As the two Princess Mothers were finding their place near the back of the now crowded chamber, kDira watched them with sadness in her eyes. She told herself that in the morning before they ventured onward she would tell them the news that one would no longer be a Blackhorn. She felt they deserved to get a good night’s sleep before being laden with such news.

  kDira found her spot on the hard floor. As the light was fading from the sky, she could barely make out the faces of the warriors around her. The night was eerily quiet, not even the small creatures were out at this hour. kDira envisioned her tribe once again bustling with children playing in the courtyard, growing big and strong to become warriors

  She envisioned more and more breeders being born, and more and more young krebs learning the skills of the Blackhorn. The more she thought about it, the sadder she became, and she tried to make herself not think of her lost friends and tribemates. She thought of her Queen who fought so bravely to save her tribe from the Karn. She thought of Esenice and what a magnificent fighter she was. The thought of how Ari reminded her of Esenice. And as she tried her best to stop thinking of these things, she cried.

  The morning came without incident. The guard had changed hands several times during the night, and everyone managed to get some badly needed rest.

  kDira opened her now tear crusted eyes to see others getting up and making ready. Some were getting a bite to eat, while others were already suited up and ready to go. kDira wiped the sleep dried tears from her eyes and stood up. She looked over at the Princess Mothers and saw they too were waking up and slowly readying themselves for travel.

  kDira made her way over to them, reluctantly. She knew that now had to be the time to fill them in, as within a day or so they would be back at the Midlanders camp. And she felt queasiness in her stomach that she could only attribute to her nerves and the stress of the situation.

  “Good morning, Princess Abril, Princess Nepra,” she said trying to hide the sadness still in her heart.

  “We are feeling much better, kDira,” said Princess Nepra, the older of the two. “Abril is pretty shaken up from the experience, but we are doing much better now that we are in friendly hands.”

  “I’m glad,” kDira said. “But I must tell you something that might be hard to hear,” she said.

  “What is wrong, kDira,” Princess Nepra asked.

  “Most of these warriors are not from the Blackhorn. Most came from the Midlanders tribe. We only had but a few people left of the Blackhorn, certainly too small an army to take on the Karn,” kDira explained. “So, the Midlanders offered us a number of warriors to help us go and rescue you two.”

  “I see they gave you some of their oldest warriors as well,” Princess Abril interjected.

  kDira laughed, “No, the elders came on later, but that’s another story. The Midlanders gave us twenty-five warriors and all have proved themselves loyal in battle. But they came at a price.”

  “What price did it cost you?” Princess Nepra asked.

  kDira paused and gathered her thoughts and emotions.

  “The price was one of you. It cost us one of you,” kDira said sadly. “Believe me, it was not a decision I made easily,” she pleaded.

  “You offered one of us? We are Blackhorn, not Midlander. We are not property to be bartered,” Nepra said louder than kDira would have liked, catching the attention of the room.

  “I will go,” Princess Abril offered. “I will go to the Midlanders. I am the youngest. They could not be worse than the Karn, and I am grateful that they helped me get away from them. I will go to the Midlanders.”

  “Princess Abril, you are so brave. You will not be forgotten by the Blackhorn,” kDira said with a tear now dripping off her cheek.

  “Let’s go, I want to get out of here and get some real food. I heard the Midlanders are very good cooks,” Abril said.

  kDira looked at Nepra and she could see the anger in her eyes. She was not taking the news as well as Abril, and that concerned her. She rose to her feet and called for everyone to file out to the path outside. When she stepped outside, her emotions and nerves got the better of her, and she retched. Though her empty stomach didn’t produce much, she still had to wipe her mouth and eyes dry with her hand before anyone saw her that way. She didn’t realize Guller was behind her, and he made no indication that he noticed anything unusual.

  “If we push hard, we might make it to Midlandia by sundown,” Guller said to kDira as they turned and found their way to the path.

  “Then let’s get to Midlandia, I have a business deal to complete,” kDira said more angry than sad at this point. “Ari, let’s move them out,” she ordered.

  With Ari’s call out, several warriors picked up the gurneys carrying the wounded, and everyone moved at a brisk pace. Though everyone had slept at least most of the night, everyone was tired and anxious to get
to friendly territory. They were anxious too for good food and drink. Warm bryne was not the drink of choice after many days on the trail, and by this time all supplies were running low.

  “Will you and the First Hill tribe be coming with us?” kDira asked of Guller. “There aren’t many of your kind left, but you are welcome to co-exist with us for however many days you have left.”

  “I believe we just may,” Guller said. “You have given us a new life, though however short it may have been for some, we now have a purpose. We are a proud people again.”

  “Good. I think you will like it with us,” kDira said with a smile.

  “Can you cook?” Guller asked, laughing.

  “What is it with this obsession with cooking, lately?” kDira asked laughing.

  “I think it’s because we’re all starving. That might have something to do with it.”

  “Could be. Agis will be our official cook, I think,” kDira said. “He can’t fight, might as well make him useful somewhere,” she said, louder than normal.

  “I heard that,” Agis yelled from his gurney. “But I do cook a very tasty chideer!”

  “That he does,” confirmed kDira.

  “Thank you!” Agis yelled.

  “Shut up, kreb,” kDira yelled back.

  “You two are good together, you know that, right?” Guller asked.

  “I am not talking about this,” kDira shut the conversation down. Guller smiled and they walked along in silence for some time.

  Occasionally the group would take a break to rest, and some of the warriors would trade out the task of bearing the gurneys.

  By mid-day they had reached the First Hill encampment. kDira used this time to allow everyone to take a break, and the remaining First Hill people to gather their personal things to bring with them. Some of the First Hill brought out medical supplies and salves to better tend to wounds.

  Soon they were back on the trail and by midafternoon they had reached the edge of the Valley of Death and were looking down the Great Highway.

  kDira turned around to look at the massive rock with the ancient text scribed on it that she had wondered about when they first entered the Valley of Death.

  “Guller, can you read this?” she asked.

  Guller turned to examine it and he looked as though he were deciphering the writing of an ancient cave, much like the way Elick did in the cave in Ocheebee Pass.

  “If I understand this correctly, it says something like ‘Though I walk the Valley of Death, I fear nothing, for I have my bow and my sword, and they comfort me,’” he read. “It is something like that, anyway. It is very old, and I do not know the complete dialect.”

  “Interesting,” kDira said. “How appropriate.”

  “We still have a day’s hike ahead of us but only a few hours of light,” Guller offered for kDira’s consideration as they turned to face the Great Highway once again.

  “I say we push on. The Great Highway will be easy enough to stay on in the night, and we already know about the blackbers in the woods.”

  “Ah, the blackbers. Vicious creatures. Did you see one?” Guller asked.

  “Killed and ate one,” kDira said, as though it were a chideer or rock-goat.

  “Really, you killed one?” Guller asked. “How many warriors did you lose in the battle?”

  “I was hurt pretty good, but no one was killed.”

  “Amazing,” he said. “I saw the aftermath from when one ripped apart three good warriors. It was not a pretty sight.”

  “We didn’t want to be lunch for a blackber that day,” kDira said laughing.

  She turned to address her tribemates and the First Hill followers.

  “We will continue on through the night by staying on the Great Highway. We will continue until we get to Midlandia. There we will rest and eat.”

  With that, they continued onward into the evening. Several hours down the Highway they found themselves in the moonlit night.

  “Ari, I will trust you to guide our way back to Midlandia,” kDira said.

  “I could do it blind if I had to,” Ari confirmed.

  “Good. Warriors, keep eyes open for blackber. We must be aware at all times,” kDira ordered.

  Occasionally they heard sounds in the forest on either side of them, though the source could not be determined. kDira feared they were being tracked by a pack of Blackber and their hours were limited.

  At just about the point of everyone’s sheer exhaustion, Ari announced she saw the path to Midlandia.

  “Everyone stay close and do not lose site of the person in front of you,” kDira announced.

  Onto the path they went, and within a short time they came upon the gates of Midlandia.

  The guards there yelled an alarm to alert the camp of their coming, not realizing who they were.

  Ari stepped forward and announced who they were.

  “I am Ari of the Blackhorn, we have returned with the Princess Mothers. Let us in, we are tired and hungry.”

  Instantly the gates came open, allowing them entry.

  Several Midlanders ran to alert their leader of the return of the Blackhorn. The party made their way to the Plaza and found places to set down the gurneys and have a rest on the ground around them, their hands blistered from carrying the injured through the night.

  Moments later, Sylys Hayden came into the plaza with a smile on his face. “I see you are fewer Blackhorn than when you left, but you have gained some,” Hayden said. “Who are these noble elders?”

  “They are what is left of the First Hill Tribe,” kDira said. “We couldn’t have accomplished this without their help,” she said, gesturing over to the two Princess Mothers now sitting on a bench near the center of the Plaza.

  “kDira, you are a worthy leader of the Blackhorn,” Hayden said with a smile. “Come, let us provide you with food and drink, and then you will all rest. Our healers will tend to your wounds and then when we are all rested and fed, we will discuss completing our deal.”

  As promised, Sylys Hayden ensured that everyone had plenty to eat and drink and wounds were tended to.

  “You’re not eating much, brave Blackhorn leader,” Hayden said.

  “For some reason, I am just not hungry right now. The smell turns my stomach,” she said.

  “I hope you didn’t catch something from the Karn. Filthy creatures, they are.”

  “Or in the tunnels. That was the worst,” kDira explained. “The stench was so great that when we had finished our task and set to start back we decided it was better to face Karn in the streets, then the stench once again from the tunnels. And, we didn’t want our wounded to get infections from whatever might have been growing in the sludge below.”

  “Probably a wise move,” the Midlander leader agreed.

  Soon everyone became too full to eat anymore, and they were shown to the huts, complete with beds and blankets and pillows. kDira was offered a hut with a lone bed to have for herself, and while she didn’t feel right about being offered special treatment, she was afraid of the illness she was feeling inside. She feared that a sign of weakness might not be taken well at this point. So, she accepted the hut, and as she walked in she looked around. She noticed a chamber pot near the back of the hut. She strode immediately over to it, knelt down before it, and retched.

  “You picked a bad time to get sick, girl,” she said to herself.

  When she was finished, she wiped her face and found her way to her bed. She lay down and cried until she slept.

  cHAPTER 13

  The travelers had slept past the morning and into the midday hours. kDira stepped out into the light of day, her body aching from the strenuous days that led up to getting them were there were that day.

  She walked out to the Plaza, where she found practically every member of her tribe mulling around the center area. The Princess mothers were nowhere to be seen, and kDira guessed that they were still resting. She could not blame them.

  Sylys Hayden was in the Plaza as well, and the Firs
t Hill people were off in their own area, most sitting on the benches that surrounded the plaza.

  “Good morning, brave kDira. I hope you slept well,” he said.

  “I did, thank you,” kDira said with a smile. I think we have some business to conclude, and we will be on our way. Ari,” she called out, “please bring the Princess Mothers.”

  Unlike the past, she stood there, head down, with a somber look on her face.

  “Ari, bring out the Princess Mothers,” kDira repeated. The results were the same.

  “Ari, what’s wrong…?” kDira asked, confused.

  “kDira, Ari cannot bring you your Princess Mothers.” Sylys Hayden said with a bit of a sinister tone.

  “I have them safe with me,” he said. “I have altered our agreement. One breeder is not going to be enough to grow a tribe in any length of time, and if a breeder does not produce another breeder, then we are no better off. Having two breeders improves our odds. Certainly, you would look towards the survival of your tribe the same way.”

  “I did look towards the survival of our tribe by offering you one. You have proved yourself a scoundrel. Blackhorn, prepare to fight!” she yelled.

  Looking over at her tribe, she saw no movement, except for the few Blackhorn she had started with so many days ago.

  “The Midlanders are Midlanders. We do not change tribes for anyone. So, now that you are rested and fed, we will give you some dried meat and refill your bryne and you will be on your way to where ever you wish to go to die, but not here. The Midlanders will stay here.”

  “You bastard! We will repay you for your lies,” kDira said with a scowl.

  “Be thankful we let you leave with your lives. Take your oldlings with you and do not come around here again,” Hayden warned.

  kDira looked over at Ari, who met her glance but quickly looked away. Threg, now standing with his tribemates looked down at the dirt.

  “We are not done here. Remember that,” kDira warned. “You will return Elick to us at once.”

  “When he is done training his disciple, we may send him home to you. It depends on how much angrier you make us here and now,” he said with the assurance that he meant what he said.