The Nine

by Terry Cloutier

  ​ “Come see me tonight and we can be happy together.”

  ​ I tilted my head back and laughed, then shook my head. “Much as I’d like to, Megy, I doubt Eriz would appreciate it if I did.” I turned and faced forward and tried to ignore the lewd suggestions coming from the three women about what they would do to me if I came to their beds. I’d already had three such encounters with Ania, a girl no older than myself but with a lifetimes worth more experience than I. Ania was the first Pith female I had seen that night in the compound and I can attest that what the women behind me were saying was, while shameless and most of it physically impossible, not without some accuracy. I smiled to myself as I thought about seeing Ania again that night and absently I let my hand fall to the hilt of my sword. I looked down at it, admiring the gold-plated pommel and crossguard. In the center of the pommel sat a carved, snarling wolf’s head, the eyes made with two piercing red rubies. It had originally belonged to the Quarrymaster and I still found it hard to believe that I actually possessed such a treasure. I had outfitted myself as best I could in armour, having had the reverse problem Baine had had. Where he was too small, I was too big. I’d found a sword that I’d rather liked, but when Einhard had seen it, he’d flown into a drunken fit of rage and thrown his mug across the room.

  ​ “You can’t be seen wearing a toad-sticker like this!” Einhard had cried in disgust, grabbing it from me. “You couldn’t cut the foreskin off one of your fat priests with this worthless blade!” He’d tossed it aside in contempt, then called to a Pith nearby and whispered in his ear. The Pith had nodded and left, only to return moments later holding a sword encased in a wooden scabbard surrounded by soft black leather. “You see this?” Einhard said, holding the sword beneath my nose and swaying dangerously. His eyes were red-rimmed and bleary looking as he blinked at me.

  ​ “It’s a magnificent sword,” I finally said, hardly daring to breathe as I stared at it with desire.

  ​ “Yes, yes,” Einhard muttered, waving away my words. “It is that, but I mean, do you see this?” He pointed at the pommel where a snarling wolf’s head sat glaring at me with its ruby eyes. I hadn’t noticed it until he pointed it out and I stared at it in surprise. Einhard nodded. “Yes, my overgrown wolf cub.” He handed it to me and belched. “It’s fate and the Master has spoken to me and wishes you to have it. Besides, I already have a fine sword. So take it.”

  ​ “I don’t know what to say,” I said reverently as I took the sword. “There are no words...”

  ​ “Then why say them?” Einhard interrupted. He grinned lopsided at me, patted me on the shoulder and then turned away. “More beer!” he cried. And so that’s how I came to possess the sword, which I decided obviously to call Wolf’s Head. Einhard had told me later, once we’d left the compound and its dead behind, that he’d intended to give me the Quarrymaster’s sword all along. He said that it proved what a gracious and caring leader he really was, but personally I think it had more to do with all the beer in his belly, than the kindness in his heart.

  ​ “You look quite pleased with yourself,” Jebido said beside me, cutting off my thoughts.

  ​ I glanced at him and took in a deep breath and smiled. “Well why not?” I said. I motioned to him and nodded at Baine. “Look at us now and compare that to where we were just three short days ago down in that hole. We were slaves, Jebido, not even really alive, and now we’re free! Except for riding this blasted horse, life couldn’t be much better. I have a full belly, a woman to rut with when I wish, and a sword by my side that would make a king proud. Why shouldn’t I look pleased?”

  ​ Jebido shrugged. “The Mother and The Father can be fickle,” he said. “One moment Their favor shines on you and then,” Jebido snapped his fingers in the air, “the next, Their anger. So enjoy it while you can, but don’t take it for granted.”

  ​ I shook my head and laughed. “Are you getting old on us, Jebido?”

  ​ “Yes,” Jebido said with a grunt.

  ​ “Exactly how old are you?” Baine asked with a mischievous look.

  ​ “Old enough to peel the hides off both of you with one hand, while scratching my arse with the other,” Jebido said. “That’s how old I am.”

  ​ Both Baine and I laughed at that and I took a moment to study Jebido’s profile. I realized I hadn’t really looked at him closely in a long time and I was shocked to see that his hair beneath the helm he wore was almost completely grey. When had that happened? I wondered. I noticed his face was lined as well, the skin tough and leathery looking. I looked away as I felt a pang of sadness come over me. I realized that my friend might be as old as forty, or even more, which to me at that time seemed ancient. I’d known Jebido for more than half my life and for the first time the idea that one day he wouldn’t be there had become very real. I tried not to think about it and instead I glanced back at Jebido. “Are we in the land of the Piths yet, do you think?” I asked.

  ​ Jebido shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He turned and pointed to the northwest, where high-peaked mountains could just be seen far away in the hazy distance. “That’s the Father’s Spine mountain range over there, which begins at the northern tip of Ganderland and crosses into Southern Ganderland before ending near the coast. I think if we were in the land of the Piths we probably wouldn’t be able to see the mountains.” He pursed his lips, clearly thinking before adding, “An army on foot usually makes about twenty-five miles per day, on horseback more like thirty-five.” He glanced at the decaying bodies swaying behind us on the horses and at the two wagons. “But with all of that slowing us down, I’d be surprised if we’re doing even twenty. So if I had to make a guess, I’d say we’re still at least three or four days from the border.”

  ​ We were following an obviously rarely used path that meandered its way through fields of rich green grass dotted with patches of tall pink and purple lavender. A steep hill bristling with jagged stone slabs punching through the grass rose before us with thick trees swaying on each side at the top, separated by the path. To our right the ground inclined toward a wide outcrop of flat, impassive grey granite that looked something like a turtle with its head held in the air. Tough looking yew trees grew almost defiantly in places along the turtle’s back in deep pockets of sediment that had been washed into the crevices over the years. More trees grew at the turtle’s base and to our left a thick forest of golden aspen and white maple sprawled for miles. From these trees we heard a shout rise up and Einhard lifted his hand, halting the column. Instinctively we began to bunch together, fearing an attack as one of our scouts galloped toward us from the trees and made his way to Einhard.

  ​ “What do you suppose that’s about?” Baine muttered.

  ​ “If I had to guess,” Jebido said, looking around with hard eyes. “I’d say The First Pair’s favor has just about run out.” He nodded to the trees. “As I thought.” Mounted men were coming through the thick forest and stopping at its edge to stare at us. I saw more riders on the hill and someone shouted out a warning as more men appeared from the forest behind us and trotted to the road, where they took up a position to block our retreat.

  ​ “Mother’s tit!” Baine cursed.

  ​ Einhard wheeled his horse around and came back to us at a gallop as Alesia rode to meet him. “Get the women up there!” he ordered, pointing at the turtle. “Make every bolt count.” Alesia nodded, her face set in a tight mask as she issued orders. Instantly the Pith women turned and raced for the outcrop. I caught a quick glimpse of Megy’s black hair and frightened white face and then she was gone in a swirl of pink and purple flowers churned into the air by the racing hooves of the horses.

  ​ “You,” Einhard said, gesturing to Baine. “You’re good with a bow. Go with them.”

  ​ I saw my friend’s eyes widen and he opened his mouth as if to protest, so I leaned over and slapped his horse on the rump, startling it into motion. “Get moving!” I shouted. The horse took off at a dead run with Baine holding onto the
reins desperately and looking back at me in confusion. I really should have told him what I’d told Einhard about his archery skill, but it had simply slipped my mind.

  ​ “Leave the dead,” Einhard commanded. “We’ll get them after were done with these turd-sucking Gandermen.” He pointed to two Piths. “Get the wounded out of those cursed wagons and go join the women.”

  ​ “Yes, brother,” both men said in unison.

  ​ I glanced to my left at the men in the trees. They’d started their horses into a slow walk, while on top of the hill the riders there had seen the women breaking for the rocks and were now in full gallop, trying to cut them off. I shouted a warning to Einhard and he whirled in his saddle and cursed. “Follow me!” Einhard cried as he drew his sword. There were around eighty or so of us and at least that number of the enemy streaming down the hill, with an equal amount in the trees. How many of them were still at our backs, I didn’t know, as there was no time to turn and look. Beside me Jebido drew his sword, his mouth set in a grim line as he kicked his horse into motion, following the charging, screaming Piths as they converged on the enemy coming down the hill. I drew Wolf’s Head and followed Jebido, holding onto my horse the best that I could as it raced over the field. In my peripheral vision I could see the riders from the trees were now coming on at a gallop. We’ll be slaughtered between the two, I thought, feeling panic start to rise in my chest. “Be calm. Be smart. Be strong,” I heard Jebido say in my head. I squashed the rising panic angrily and lifted Wolf’s Head above me, then cried defiantly to the sky.

  ​ The men on the hill had changed direction now, having given up on the women, heading directly for us bunched into a tight wedge. I could see individual faces clearly and saw that they wore the yellow and black mark of the King of Ganderland. We were racing over the field in a loose bunch, with me and Jebido at the rear. I heard Einhard give a sudden sharp command just as we reached the tip of the enemy wedge. The Piths moved in unison like a great flock of birds at Einhard’s words and they swerved to each side, swinging their swords wildly as the Gander horsemen plunged past. Two men at the head of the wedge fell instantly, mortally wounded, and several horses behind them tripped over their fallen bodies and flipped forward, tossing their riders from their saddles. It was a marvellous feat of horsemanship by the Piths, clearly something that could only be done by the most expert of horsemen. Unfortunately, I was not an expert horseman and I reacted much too slow. I saw Jebido wrench his horse’s reins to the side and I felt relief flood over me as he just managed to get clear, then I lost sight of him as the rush of riders were upon me. Horses swept past me on both sides and instinctively I lifted my shield to protect my head as first one, then a second sword clanged against it. I winced as I felt pain vibrate up my arm all the way to my shoulder. A rider with a black beard and snarling face was bearing down on me with his sword in the air and poised to strike and I ducked desperately under the man’s wild swing. I automatically lashed out with Wolf’s Head and felt my blade slash through his mail and cut deep into his midriff. I had but a moment to see his eyes widen in surprise and then he was past me and gone. Something collided heavily with my horse and I was wrenched sideways and would have fallen if not for the press of men and horses milling around me in confusion. I looked over my shoulder and saw that the Piths had swung back around and had completely surrounded the Gandermen. They had them hemmed in now, pushing the leaders back as the panicked horses behind continued to try to get through. I felt something bang heavily against my helmet and then everything went black. Feeling slightly dizzy and unable to see anything, I started to swing my sword wildly around me at the pressing bodies, expecting a sword thrust to take me at any moment. I could smell the sweat of the horses and the fear of the men and I cried out as something pierced my upper thigh. With my left hand I pushed my helmet back where it had fallen over my eyes and I just managed to bring up my sword in time to deflect a blade that had been aimed at my throat. The soldier whose sword I’d blocked cursed me and he swung his rectangular shield at my face. I leaned back as far as I could and the shield whizzed over me, just grazing the tip of my helmet. I let the shield pass and then stabbed forward, cursing back at him as I heard the man scream like a hog as Wolf’s Head took him in the chest.

  ​ For a moment I was free of attackers and I looked down at my aching thigh, shocked to see a Pith arrow jutting out of it. I realized that the women were shooting down at the encircled Gandermen from the rocks above and that they didn’t know that I was trapped among them. I heard a shout and saw Eriz and several Piths battling on the other side of a wall of Gandermen and I urged my horse in their direction with my feet. Around me Gandermen were falling as the arrows were starting to hit their marks and my shield was almost wrenched off my arm as an arrow punched a third of the way through it. I noticed that the wicked barbed point had just narrowly missed my upper arm and I said a quick prayer of thanks to Mother Above for watching over me. Another arrow glanced off my chest armour with a loud twang and I knew that if I didn’t get out of there soon, one of those arrows was bound to find my flesh whether The Mother was watching or not.

  ​ I sensed rather than saw movement to my left and tried to raise my shield just as a big man with a red-splattered beard swung an axe at me. The axe head barely grazed my shoulder armour, then deflected off my shield and collided with my horse’s head. The poor beast didn’t know what had hit it and it dropped instantly. I tried to fling myself to the side as the horse fell, but I only half succeeded, and I landed heavily with the lower part of my injured leg trapped under the dead animal. I screamed in agony as the big man with the beard leapt from his horse and stood over me with his great axe held in both his hands. He grinned down at me with brown broken teeth and raised the axe. I lifted my left arm to ward off the blow that I knew was coming before realizing with dismay that I’d somehow lost my shield. The bearded man opened his mouth to say something to me, what it might have been I’ll never know because a Pith arrow took him directly in the mouth and it flung him backwards almost contemptuously. I think I must have fainted from the pain for a moment after that because the next thing I knew I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up into the concerned face of Jebido.

  ​ “Are you all right, Hadrack?” he asked me anxiously.

  ​ I wiped at my eyes, surprised to see blood on my hand, then looked up at him and grinned weakly. “Never been better, my big-nosed friend.” Jebido laughed and slapped my shoulder as together he and another Pith pulled me out from beneath the horse. I grit my teeth to keep myself from screaming as fire burned along my leg from ankle to hipbone. Jebido saw the arrow sticking out of me and frowned and, in one quick motion, yanked it from my flesh. I screamed again and passed out a second time. When I came to, I found myself lying at the base of the turtle, where Ania was working at cleaning and bandaging my wound.

  ​ Ania smiled at me and motioned to my leg. “It’s not as bad as it looks. You should be fine in a week or so.”

  ​ I nodded and glanced over her shoulder to where the Piths were just finishing off the last pocket of resistance. Dead Ganderman lay everywhere, many of them having been struck down by multiple arrows. “So we won,” I said, wincing as Ania tightened the bandage on my leg.

  ​ Ania snorted. “Of course we won.” She motioned with her head contemptuously behind us. “Those Gander dogs can’t stand up to Piths.”

  ​ “True,” I agreed. “You women and your arrows made the difference.”

  ​ “Yes,” Ania said matter-of-factly. “Your friend did well,” she added, unable to keep the smile from her lips. “Though, if the truth were told, I’d wager he’d never picked up a bow before today.”

  ​ I glanced to where Baine stood beside Jebido on a small knoll of grass as they watched the Piths finishing off the Gandermen below them. Baine had a bow slung over his shoulders and he must have sensed my eyes on him, for he turned and looked back at me. He grinned when he saw me awake and said something to Jebido, who also t
urned. I nodded to them both and they smiled back at me before turning away.

  ​ “There,” Ania said. “All done.”

  ​ I glanced down at the wound, which Ania had wrapped with rags torn from a tunic. “My trousers?” I asked her.

  ​ “Here,” she said, holding them up as she rose to her feet. “Stand up and I’ll help you put them on.” I did as she said and winced as I put weight on my bad leg. It hurt something fierce, but I found it was tolerable. I lifted my injured leg and Ania bent and gingerly fit my foot through, then did the same for the other side. She pulled the trousers up, stopping to fondle my manhood before pulling the trousers all the way up. “Will I see you tonight?” she asked coyly.

  ​ I rolled my eyes at her and grinned. “You Piths are insatiable!” I said with a snort.

  ​ “Yes,” Ania agreed with a wide grin. She held Wolf’s Head out to me and I took it, belting it around my waist. “I have to go now,” she said. “There are others wounded.” I nodded in understanding and gave her behind a slap as she moved away, then limped over to stand with Jebido and Baine.

  ​ “Have a good sleep?” Baine asked me with a twinkle in his eyes.

  ​ “Ania tells me you held your own up there,” I said, ignoring his jibe and motioning to the outcrop.

  ​ Baine shrugged. “I missed more than I hit, but I’ll get it.”

  ​ “I hope you weren’t aiming for me,” I said, pointing to my leg.

  ​ “If I had, you’d be fine right now,” Baine said. Both Jebido and I chuckled and Baine’s face turned serious. “I saw you fall and thought you were done.”

  ​ “So did I,” I agreed.

  ​ “As long as there’s breath in your body and strength in your sword arm you’re never done,” Jebido said. Below I saw that the fighting was now over and most of the Gandermen were dead. Some soldiers, I noted, had thrown down their weapons and were begging for mercy. I had no illusions of how that would turn out. As expected, the Piths were in no mood for mercy this day, and they quickly sorted the prisoners into a line and were ordering them to their knees.