by Jon F. Merz
“If I had to guess,” he said finally, “I might think that a band of robbers kidnapped and tortured Ejul into revealing the direction of our travel.” Ran pointed at Ejul’s corpse. “This is a warning that they’re out there. Watching us. Even now, perhaps.”
Yasseh drew close to Ran, rage on his face. “That . . . is my son.”
Ran held his gaze and didn’t blink. “I know it. I mean no disrespect to him. But they clearly wanted us to find him here. They wanted us to know what they did and what they know.”
Gunj steered Yasseh away from Ran. “He is right, master.”
Yasseh let a big gulp of air slide from his lungs. “I know it. Damn it all to the gods. I know it. My poor son . . . my poor son . . .” His voice trailed off and Gunj nodded toward Ran as he steered him back toward the horses.
The remainder of the caravan trundled up and slowed down some distance once they spotted the figure in the middle of the road. Ran waved Kuva over, and the big man jumped down from his horse.
“What is it?”
Ran thumbed over his shoulder. “Yasseh’s son. They murdered him and left him here.”
“Why would they do such a thing?”
“I don’t know,” said Ran. “But what matters now is that we keep our guard up. There’s every likelihood that they’re watching us even now.”
“You think?”
“It’s what I would do,” said Ran. “They’re probably trying to judge our strength and the best time to attack us.”
Kuva shielded his eyes and looked off into the landscape. “Where would they hide?”
“Pick any of the hills that are encircling us right now. Any one of them could provide enough cover for an attacking force.” Ran wondered if the men he had seen talking to Ejul the other night had recruited others to help them or if they were still the same number. He’d have to assume the force would be large enough to overwhelm the caravan. That meant at least a dozen heavily-armed men against Ran, Gunj, Kuva, and the three other guards. Probably some of the merchants and their employees would fight, but not all of them. They were merchants, after all. Not warriors.
“You think the attack will come soon?” asked Kuva lowering, his hand.
Ran nodded. “They will wait for what they think is inevitable.”
“Which is what?”
Ran held up his hand. “Wait a moment.”
Gunj walked over. “Yasseh says that we are to bury Ejul now.”
Ran eyed Kuva. “You see?” He looked back at Ejul. “If we bury Ejul now, we will be attacked either before or during the funeral proceedings.”
Gunj sighed. “I tried explaining that to Yasseh. He is insisting that his native traditions be followed, however.”
“Is he willing to risk the entire caravan for that?” asked Ran. “Because if we stop to do this, we are handing it over to whoever killed his son. That doesn’t strike me as being very smart. And I would think Yasseh would understand that.”
“He’s just lost his son, Ran,” said Gunj. “Perhaps we can all use a bit more latitude in our thinking? Empathy, perhaps?”
“I was hired to help guard this caravan,” said Ran. “I’m not trying to be heartless. Or cruel. But I am trying to make sure that we consider all of the eventualities of our decisions. And deciding to hold a funeral right now while we’re sitting here surrounded by hills that could easily conceal an overwhelming attacking force is a foolish thing to do. If you don’t want to tell Yasseh that, then I will. I didn’t sign on for a suicide mission here.”
“You are right.”
Ran turned and saw Yasseh standing there. The merchant’s face looked pale and haggard. But Ran saw enough anger still lurking in the man’s eyes that Ran hoped he’d be a decent fighter when the attack came.
Yasseh walked over to Gunj. “He is right. Wrap Ejul’s body in the funeral shroud and place him in the back of one of my wagons. We will bury him later, after we are free of these accursed hills. Hopefully, the gods won’t be too angered by my actions.” He walked away and remounted his horse.
Gunj eyed Ran. “That was fortunate.”
“Shall I detail the men to wrap the body?”
Gunj held up his hand. “I’m more familiar with the customs of Yasseh’s people. I will take care of it.”
“How long?”
Gunj shrugged. “A few more minutes shouldn’t matter.”
Ran eyed the hills. “I hope they believe that.”
“Let them come,” said Gunj. “I’ve seen Yasseh fight when he’s angry. It’s not a pretty sight. But it is effective. He’ll hold his own when we’re hit.”
“Good to know,” said Ran. “We’re pressing on though, right?”
“Yasseh appears to be taking your advice, so yes, we are. Let me get Ejul’s body taken care of and then we’ll keep moving. Make sure your men have their wits about them as we continue. This is going to get tricky now.”
As if it wasn’t already, thought Ran. He glanced at Kuva. “All right, pass the word to the other men. I’m going to scout ahead of the main caravan. See if I can find any tracks or sign of what we’re dealing with here.”
Kuva’s eyebrows knotted. “You sure that’s a good idea, boss? Being out there alone . . . I don’t know.”
Ran smirked. “Don’t call me boss. And I’ll be fine. Hopefully, they left some sort of sign when they ditched Ejul’s body in the middle of the road. If I can use that to locate them or at least get an idea of how many we’ll be facing, it’s worth the risk to me.”
“Fair enough. Give a yell if you need backup.”
“I will.” Ran eased through the throng of the caravan and slid up into his saddle again. It had been years since he’d tracked from atop a horse. Ordinarily, he would have preferred being down on the ground, where he could read the sign better. But his reasons for staying on his horse were twofold. First, if he got into trouble, he could hopefully outrun his attackers and at least get back to the relative safety of the convoy. Second, if they were being watched, and the attackers suspected someone was tracking them, it might compel them to attack early. Ran wanted to know what he was facing without giving them any indication of what he was doing.
At least that’s what he hoped to accomplish.
From his saddle, Ran looked at the edges of the road. In particular, the scrub brush that framed the dirt highway. He recognized a few species of scrub pine and juniper, but otherwise the flora was foreign to him. Regardless, Ran knew what he was looking for and roughly two hundred feet down the road, he found it.
The broken branch might have been the result of a bird landing on it. Or it might have been due to a large animal passing through the underbrush. As Ran drew closer, however, he saw the impact of a boot heel in the soft earth near the branch. Judging from the lack of wear on the track, it was recent. Ran estimated it was perhaps an hour old. He eased his horse over to a nearby bush and let it munch on some of the branches while he studied the ground. From where he spotted the track, the ground sloped up and away into the hills. A few feet farther up he saw more tracks and counted at least three distinct sets.
Ryu squawked overhead and landed on Ran’s arm. The bird perched there quietly. Ran eyed it. “You’re not fidgeting.”
Ryu’s eyes swung and met his. The bird blinked once and then took off again. Ran watched it spiral around the sky overhead, gradually extending its circles as it did so. At the outer edge of its circle, perhaps two miles off in a northwesterly direction, the falk squawked again.
Ran grinned. He’d have to remember to thank Tanka when he saw him again. The falk was proving to be a very useful companion. Ran watched as it came zooming back and then lighted on his arm again.
“Thanks.”
Ryu cooed and then settled down on Ran’s arm. Ran turned his horse back toward the caravan and trotted back to meet them as they approached. Kuva’s face lightened as Ran drew in alongside him.
“Find anything?”
“Tracks,” said Ran. “They lead up int
o the hills. At least three men, but I’m guessing there are many more. They probably just used three to get the body down and then to erase the signs as they retreated.”
“Which hill?”
“According to this fellow,” said Ran, pointing at Ryu, “there’s a hill to the northwest of our current position. That’s where they are.”
Kuva raised an eyebrow. “We’re going to trust a bird now?”
Ryu’s head swung toward Kuva, and the falk squawked once at him. Kuva drew back. “What in tarnation is that thing anyway?”
“Falk,” said Ran. “They’re very special birds, apparently.”
“Bred and raised in Nehon,” said Gunj as he rode up. “Most people have never seen them outside of that island nation. But they are excellent trackers. Their eyesight is rumored to be extraordinary. If Ran thinks the bird was able to locate the raiding party, then I think it’s wise that we trust it. The bird, after all, can see things we cannot.”
“You heard?” asked Ran. “About the hill?”
Gunj nodded. “What do you think?”
Ran smiled. “If it was up to me, I’d pitch camp. Make a show out of preparing a funeral. Once the sun sets, we lead a small party out to that hill and ambush them before they can mount their attack.”
“Risky,” said Gunj. “What if we stumble into them on the way to the hill?”
Ran shrugged. “We’ll hear them coming, and we can put an improvised attack in on them still. They’ll think that they have the element of surprise when it’s us that has it. Even if they have superior numbers, our offensive move can disrupt them. If they haven’t planned for it, they won’t know what to do.”
“Most of these raiding parties are comprised of thugs, not warriors,” said Gunj. “There’s a chance your idea might work.”
“The other option is to sit here and let them work their way into a superior position and attack us. We’ll be purely defensive. I don’t like waiting to be attacked.”
“Nor I,” said Kuva. “I say we bring the fight to the bastards and get vengeance for Ejul.”
“Don’t let vengeance cloud your judgment,” said Gunj. “I happen to agree with you both, but I’ll have to talk it over with Yasseh.” He wheeled away and worked back toward where Yasseh sat. Ran watched the smaller man talk to Yasseh and then glanced at Kuva.
“Here’s hoping.”
Kuva grunted. “Your plan makes the most sense. Yasseh is a reasonable enough man. He listened to you back at the kill site. He should listen to you again.”
“Or at least listen to Gunj. Either way is fine.”
“How many of us in the raiding party?” Kuva eyed Ran. “Because I don’t want to be left behind and miss out on the fun.”
“All of us,” said Ran. “It’s a risk, but it’s a bigger risk to leave any capable fighters behind. Especially if we blunder into a huge force. We’ll need everyone there. If we lose, it won’t matter anyway. Will it?”
Kuva grinned. “I like the way you think. Big risk, big reward.”
“I’m young,” said Ran. “Some would say I’m impulsive.”
Kuva shrugged. “If it works, who’s going to argue?”
Gunj rode back over to them. “All right. Yasseh agrees to the plan. We will pitch camp at the next suitable location and wait.” He eyed Ran. “There’s just one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Yasseh wants to come along on the raid.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A mile farther down the dirt highway, the convoy found shelter under a copse of small fig trees that blanketed a field. Yasseh led them under the canopy and then pulled around before sliding down from his saddle. Ran rode over and dismounted.
“Couldn’t have asked for a better location.”
Yasseh grunted. “The trees will obscure what they can see. If we light several fires, they may well decide to attack.”
“They will,” said Ran. “But not until they’re sure it’s the right time. By that point, we should already be in position to attack them.”
Yasseh regarded him. “You’re awfully confident this is going to work.”
“I am,” said Ran. “But it’s not mere bravado; it’s human psychology. There’s no way they would ever expect us to do what we’re about to do. They left us a warning, and they probably think that they’ve got us scared now. Presumably, we will do what any other convoy would do in our situation: pull up and form a defensive position as best as we’re able to. They think we’ll rally and try to hold them off when they attack. It’s what most people would do.”
“Not you.”
“Not me,” said Ran. “Of course, it’s not my caravan, but since you’ve agreed to the idea, then it’s important that we do this as quietly as we are able. Surprise is the one thing that will tip the odds in our favor if we find that we are indeed confronting an overwhelming force.”
“I still have a hard time thinking it wise that we shouldn’t leave any sort of security behind.”
Ran nodded. “Let’s put it this way: we need all of our seasoned warriors out there with us. And if you leave some of them behind, not only does it hamstring our efforts, but it makes the other merchants in this convoy lazy. They’ll leave the fighting to the security and never lift a sword to help. If they know they’re out here alone, however, then their survival instincts will kick in and make them fight. That’s another win for us.”
Yasseh patted his horse and secured a feed bag to it. “You certainly seem to know a lot about how humans think.”
“I’ve done a lot of careful observing in my short time alive. Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to see. What we’re about to do is one of them.” Ran cleared his throat. “Now, I do have one question to ask you.”
“Yes?”
“Are you so certain that coming along is a good idea?”
Yasseh turned to face him. “As you said, this is my caravan.”
“No disrespect intended,” said Ran. “But we are going to have to crawl around in the mountains. Forgive me for saying so, but it doesn’t look like you’ve done much hard scrambling in a long time.”
Yasseh grinned and patted his girth. “I haven’t. Good living makes lazy fools of us all. But I haven’t forgotten my upbringing. Long before I was a wealthy man, I used to have to work like everyone else to find food and I once survived on my own for several weeks when I got lost in my native land. I can wield a sword as well as any man, too. So while I understand your hesitation, there is no need to worry about me. I will be able to hold my own.”
“I hope so,” said Ran. “Our survival may well depend on it.” He moved off and watched as Gunj directed several of the guards to light up fires. He dispatched more of the merchants to gather wood and place it in piles next to the fires. Their job would be to keep the flames stoked throughout the night.
Ran walked to the edge of the canopy and looked to the sky. The sun was fading quickly in the west. Ran estimated they had perhaps twenty minutes before the twilight would consume them. Perfect, he thought.
Kuva appeared next to him. “We’ve lit the fires. Anyone watching from the northwest won’t be able to see much beyond the glow of the flames.”
“Exactly what we want,” said Ran. “Have the men ready to move out within twenty minutes. As soon as we can use the deepening night to our advantage and steal away unobserved, we’ll be on our way. And make certain that anyone staying in camp move about, to make it seem like there are still plenty of men in camp.”
Kuva left, and Ran adjusted his swords. He felt for the package of senban concealed inside of his tunic. The flat throwing blades had been wrapped securely so as not to clink against each other. But Ran checked anyway. Better to check and be sure than risk a noise in the night air. Sound could travel for miles given the right conditions. And with the cool bite to the air, Ran had no doubt that any noise could compromise their element of surprise.
He turned back into the dense trees and saw Gunj squatting near one of the fires. T
he flames lit up his face and cast shadows into the deep crevices that pockmarked Gunj’s skin. The smaller man looked up as Ran approached.
“Yasseh tells me he had a talk with you.”
Ran sank to the ground and found a charred piece of wood that he plucked out of the fire. “We talked. I wanted to be sure he knew what he was getting himself into. This isn’t the sort of thing just anyone can attempt.”
“Indeed. But Yasseh has better claim to come along than others. They did murder his son, after all.”
Ran used his thumb and forefinger to pluck off burned bits from the end of the charred stick. He spat into his hand and rubbed the charred ash into the mixture before applying it around his face.
Gunj grinned. “The moon won’t be up for hours yet.”
Ran smirked. “I’m not as worried about the moonlight as I am other things. Plants and fires from a distance can reflect off of my skin. I’d rather daub it as much as possible than risk giving us away.”
“You’ve done this before?”
Ran shrugged as he applied more of the charcoal camouflage to his face. “I’ve been out in the night before, yes. No big deal.”
Gunj spat into his own hand and started rubbing char on his face as well. “The night is both a hider and revealer of people. It will be interesting to see how your plan works. If it actually does.”
“The only danger,” said Ran, “is if they have scouts out ahead of the main attacking force. They’ll be disciplined and quiet. Trained for exactly the type of thing that we’re going to be attempting. If we blunder into them and they raise the alarm, then our gambit is over before it gets a chance to begin.”
“I’m comfortable working at night,” said Gunj. “The dark hasn’t affected me in quite some time. Not since I was a child and my father made me spend a night out in the woods by myself.”