Hayden’s spirits were lifting as well, and he knew that his little army was gaining its second wind. In the morning, he vowed, he would leave for Blackhorn and by the end of the day he would have conquered them once and for all, and the breeders would once again be his.
Fralek and the four others stood before the ruins of a small town buried in the middle of the Kaiba Forest. The buildings were being reclaimed by the wilderness, and there were no signs of human life residing there.
“I wonder if the Blackhorn know this is here?” Fralek said out loud.
“Let’s explore this quickly, we can’t waste too much time,” Acetec said, “but I would love to see what is in these old huts.”
“Me too,” said Lyren.
“Okay, let’s make this quick, we need to get back on track to get to Blackhorn before Hayden does,” insisted Shamaya.
The town was littered with wreckage and rubble, most likely left here since the olden days. There were more metal carts that were rusting away, very similar to the ones they saw in the Valley of Death and Karn City, but even more decrepit.
The structures had moss and vines growing along the outer walls and many of the ceilings had collapsed long ago. Some of the walls were falling in on themselves. As the five passed through the town, they checked each building to see what they might find. From within one of the buildings, Oleg came out with several tomes that looked to be in fairly decent condition.
“I wish I could interpret what these say, but they look interesting. I bet the interpreters at Blackhorn will get some use out of these,” Oleg bragged of his find.
“They just might,” Acetec said.
After a short trek, they reached the end of the town. Looking back, Shamaya mentioned that it might be worth coming back and spending more time there, if they survive the Midlanders.
cHAPTER 18
Now
With his army dried out, well rested and well fed, Hayden gave the order to get back on the trail south to Blackhorn. They had lost no more tribe members that night, and his spirits were high because of it. He could see the possibility of a victory against the Blackhorn, and the prospect delighted him. By nightfall the coming day he was certain he would be within striking distance of his destination
“Are you planning a night attack?” Duard asked.
“I haven’t decided. Since we don’t know the layout of the Blackhorn village, the condition of its walls or defenses, I won’t be able to make a decision until I see it.” Hayden paused. “I think I will just look it over from a distance and see what I can determine when I get there.”
“That makes good sense,” Duard agreed.
The Midlander army would travel until nightfall once again, and with a successful hunt, they would be ready for the inevitable attack.
The five defectors had spent a relatively comfortable night under the stars, and were now making good time in their travel to Blackhorn.
It wasn’t long after they set out that they managed to find the road going east and west. Heading west at a medium run, the small party were determined to take advantage of the easy travel.
At around mid-day, they came to a halt. Ahead they saw the walls of Blackhorn. The gates were shut, but they could tell that they had been seen by the sentry at the top of the wall.
“Who’s out there?” came a voice from the wall.
“Tell kDira we are here to join her,” Fralek called out. I am Fralek, of the Blackhorn tribe.”
“Fralek?” the voice from the wall questioned.
“Yes, Fralek. I am here with Shamaya, Lyren, Acetec and Oleg. May we approach? We have information that kDira will want to hear.”
“Stay there!” the voice answered.
The five could see the warrior on the wall call down to someone below. There was a pause that seemed to last too long, and the defectors were beginning to question whether their plan had been a good one.
kDira and her tribe of misfits were all gathered in the town center enjoying a feast in celebration of the return of Ari and Threg, the Princess Mothers, and Elick.
As the courses were being passed around, a female kreb, one of the younger ones in the tribe, came running over from the wall to just beside kDira. She bent down to whisper in the Blackhorn leader’s ear.
“There are strangers outside the wall, she whispered. One calls himself Fralek.”
“Fralek? I remember him,” she said, thinking back to the time she needed to get the Midlanders attention, and she did so by flipping Fralek onto his back. Fralek had proven himself in the battle against the Karn, and was, until Hayden expelled the Blackhorn from his village, in good standing.
Threg heard a bit of the conversation, and had to ask, “Did I hear the name Fralek?”
“Yes. Apparently he’s outside the gate with friends,” kDira said.
“He was the one guarding the Princess Mothers when I cracked him on the head and took them,” Threg said. “He’s probably not happy about that.”
“Let’s find out,” kDira said getting up from the table. “Agis, Threg, come with me.”
Without question, they both got up and walked over to the gate.
“Open the gate,” she called up to the sentry.
“It might be a trap, kDira,” Agis said.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “but be ready anyway. Open the gate!”
The gate opened with a creek. As it opened fully, kDira could see several faces she recognized as those that fought alongside her against the Karn in Karn City. Fralek in particular looked to be the happiest to see her.
“kDira, so glad to see you,” he said. “We are here to join you, and we have news that will not be so pleasant.”
“What is that, Fralek?” she asked.
“Hayden and his army of about forty are on their way from the north road to take back the breeders and get revenge. He’s not happy about being cheated by his own people.”
“They aren’t his people,” she said. “He turned them over to me and they swore loyalty, as you all did, and he broke the deal. He has no right to be angry.”
“Oh, but he is,” Shamaya interjected. “May we enter? We are pretty tired and thirsty from our trek.”
“Of course. Guard, they are free to enter,” kDira called up to the sentry.
As they walked over to the tables where the feast was laid out, kDira continued her questioning.
“How far out do you think they are?” she asked.
“They are maybe a day or so behind us?” Shamaya answered. “I am not certain, but we took a shortcut through the Kaiba Forest so I think we made better time than they did.”
“I have gifts for your interpreter,” Oleg said. “I found these tomes in an old abandoned city a day or so away in the Kaiba forest.”
“Elick and Guller will be happy to receive them,” kDira said.
As they approached the table they were greeted by Ari and Threg, and the other former Midlanders that had rejoined the Blackhorn after defecting from Hayden with the Princess Mothers, and Elick the Interpreter.
“Come, let us feast, and then we will make ready,” kDira said, sitting back down at the table. She instructed five of the others sitting there to man the walls and relieve those that were already there so that they could dine and rest as well.
“kDira, if you don’t mind me asking, aren’t you concerned about Hayden approaching?” Lyren asked. “Shouldn’t we be preparing for an attack?”
“We are preparing,” kDira responded. “Hayden and his warriors will be tired, and probably a bit hungry. We will be rested and well fed, and our moral is very good. When we finish our feast, we will make plans.”
“Now eat and drink and regain your energy. I am certain we will need your help,” kDira continued. “Hayden does not know that you have come here, does he?”
“I do not believe so,” Lyren said. “Shamaya and I were chased off by a blackber, and we just never returned. For all he knows we were eaten alive.”
“Hayden sent us ou
t on a hunt,” Acetec said, pointing at Oleg, “with instructions that if we did not get game then we should not bother coming back. We didn’t get anything, so we didn’t go back.”
“And what is your story, Fralek?” kDira asked.
“Let’s just say I have a score to settle with Hayden,” Fralek said. “He was not to happy that I had let the Princess Mothers get away, so he demoted me to mule. When we made camp the first night somehow it was my fault the camp was attacked by a blackber, so he tied me to a tree as bait. When they packed to leave, they left me there to die.”
“That was you?” Threg said. “Sorry about that. That knot on your head was my fault.”
“Then I owe you one,” Fralek said with a smile.
“Lyren and I found him, and untied him,” Shamaya said. “Then we brought him along with us. He did not complain.”
“How many warriors does Hayden have?” kDira asked Lyren.
“He left Midlandia with forty or so,” he replied. “With four of us defecting… Sorry, Fralek, you weren’t counted in the forty… and at least four were killed by blackber, then he has at most thirty-four.”
“And we have about thirty,” kDira said. “Some are elders, but they have proven themselves useful in battle.”
kDira stood at up the head of the table and called for the attention of everyone. Every tribe member at the table stopped eating or drinking and looked up at her. Even the ones standing on the walls looked to her for what she had to say.
“Brave Blackhorn. Once again, we face a foe that wishes to put an end to our tribe. We cannot allow this to happen. The Midlanders are coming as we speak to retake our Princess Mothers, and most likely put an end to the Blackhorn once and for all. I cannot let this happen. We cannot let this happen. If any of you are questioning your loyalty to the Blackhorn, I will allow you to leave without harm. I need each and every one of you to be absolutely loyal to the Blackhorn from this day forward.”
kDira paused to look at the faces of all the people seated at the table. No one moved.
“So we’re all in this together?” she asked loud enough for the entire village to hear.
Though there were only roughly thirty in attendance, it sounded like a hundred warriors cheering for their leader. kDira’s heart warmed with the sound of so much support.
“Then let us make ready for battle. The Midlanders will be here within a day,” she called out.
With that, everyone rose from the table, some took one more drink of bryne before heading off to prepare.
“Agis, I will leave it up to you to ensure everyone is in position for the attack.”
“Yes, kDira!” he said, taking one more bite of chideer.
The Midlanders were less than a day away from Blackhorn and Sylys Hayden started sending scouts ahead to find out just how far out they were. Within half a day’s travel one of the scouts returned, tired and winded, but eager to report her news to Hayden. Sylys brought the small army to a halt.
“Sylys,” Gedana said, “I am happy to report that we are but a few hours away from the Blackhorn village. Svila is hiding just outside the village to keep watch and await our approach.”
“Good work,” Sylys praised her. “What of their defenses?”
“They are protected by a wall, not as large as ours,” she continued, “But atop the walls are archers. We could see five standing watch. There might be more, but we did not go all the way around, we wanted to get back to report to you.”
“You did very well,” said Hayden, patting her on the back.
Turning to his waiting army, Sylys Hayden called out, “We will make camp here and attack at dark. Hunters go out and get us some game for our supper. Be quick.”
“Gedana, get something to eat and drink, then take some food back to Svila so that she too is ready for the attack.”
“Yes, Hayden,” she said pleased with herself.
Gedana had a quick meal of day old chideer and some mollyberries and when she finished she packed a small sack with enough food for her tribemate Svila. When she finished, she hurried back south towards Blackhorn.
As the Blackhorns prepared for attack, kDira went to Elick and Guller to talk to them about strategy. She had not been leader very long, and any advice was welcome at this point. The two interpreters were happy for a visit from their leader, as they had already been working on a plan to defeat the Midlanders, and were eager to share with her.
Outside the village, Svila sat watching the walls for any sign of movement. She watched the archers that she could see, three from this position, and within an hour of her watching she saw them change the guard and three new arches stood on the wall.
From her vantage point she knew she could not be seen, and as the day wore on she was hopefully waiting for the return of Gedana.
“Hello, Svila,” said a voice from behind. She turned to greet Gedana, but to her surprise, it was not her. Silently from behind, four Midlander defectors had snuck up on her. They quickly grabbed her and though she wriggled and fought as best as she could, the four defectors managed to drag her away, towards the main gate of the Blackhorn village.
“Trang, where did you come from?” Svila asked, confused.
“We were just about to pay a visit to our friends, the Blackhorns when we found you. What were you up to?” Trang asked as they approached the gate.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” the sentry called out. The others on the front wall of the village had their bows trained on the visitors.
“We are friends,” Trang called up to the sentry. We found this scout spying on your walls as we approached.
“Wait there while we get kDira,” the sentry ordered.
Momentarily, the gate opened revealing kDira and a small band of warriors. Among them were Shamaya and Oleg.
“Brave kDira, it is good to see you safe and among friends. We have come to join you,” Trang began, “and I see you probably already know about the approaching army of Midlanders.”
“We know,” said kDira.
“As we approached we found this one,” Trang said shaking the arm of Svila, “hiding in the brush just outside the walls of Blackhorn.”
“I will tell you nothing,” Svila said.
“That’s fine, you probably do not need to,” mocked kDira. “We already know about your army coming this way and we are ready.”
“You others,” she continued, “what brings you here? Why should I trust any of you?”
“kDira, we have seen our leader for what he really is, and when he went back on his deal with you it did not set right with us.” Trang paused. “He sent us out on a hunt and we decided that we would just make our way to Blackhorn to help you defend against them. Their numbers are not much greater than your own now. And you have the luxury of having the walls of the village, he will not.”
“Welcome to Blackhorn. Will you swear yourself as a Blackhorn from this day forward?” kDira asked.
“We already did once before, great kDira. We swear allegiance to you and to the Blackhorn tribe again and forever. It was not our idea to double cross you. That was all Hayden.”
The three others with Trang nodded their head in agreement.
“Have you eaten?” kDira asked. “If you are hungry we will see that you have some food and are ready to fight alongside us when the time comes.”
“What do I do with you, my little spy?” kDira asked.
“kDira, I will also fight alongside you,” Svila pleaded. “I will become a Blackhorn too.”
“I do not feel your sincerity,” kDira sneered. “Before you were discovered you were looking for ways to defeat us. You didn’t come to our gate asking for entry, you were waiting for your Midlander army to arrive.”
“Yet, I am not in the habit of taking prisoners,” she continued. “What shall we do with you?”
“Shamaya,” kDira said, looking over her shoulder at the group of guards with her, “you and one other take our prisoner to Guller and have him appoint some elders to res
train her and watch her until this is all over.”
“Yes, kDira,” Shamaya replied.
kDira then showed the four newest members of the tribe to the town center where the food was still sitting on the tables.
“Fill your bellies, and when you are ready, report to Agis for instruction,” kDira said.
“Thank you for taking us in, kDira,” Trang said.
“Do not give me any reason to distrust you,” kDira said, “and we will get along fine. Tell me, what is the mood like in the Midlander tribe right now?”
“We had been rained on all night and everyone was cold and wet. We had nothing to eat, and the mood was dismal, but that was days ago.”
“Okay, thank you,” kDira said as she turned and walked away. “Good,” she thought to herself.
The Midlanders had started south at a steady pace. Their goal was to wait on the outskirts of town until dark. But after a little over an hour traveling south, they met up with Gedana, who was more out of breath than the last time she ran back to the tribe.
“Svila is gone,” she said, trying to catch her breath.
“What do you mean, kreb?” Sylys asked angrily.
“I went back and she wasn’t there. I snuck around the area thinking that maybe she moved, but I didn’t see her anywhere. And what concerns me…” she trailed off.
“What?” Hayden insisted. “What concerns you?”
“The whole village appeared to be empty,” she continued. “There were no sentries on the wall, and the gate was almost all the way open. Like they just packed up and left the place.”
“Svila either got captured and told them we were coming,” Sylys speculated, “or she went to join them and told them of our plans.”
“Svila was loyal to you, Sylys. She would not turn against you willingly”
“Either way, it looks like our element of surprise is gone,” Sylys said. “We will still proceed as planned. We must not go in unprepared.”
“I agree,” Duard said. “It could be a trap, or they could be waiting outside the village, waiting to take us by surprise from behind.”
The kDira's World Anthology Page 16
