by Sandell Wall
As they walked through the fort, a dark mood fell over Remus. His squad had fought hard in the past month. They had been so close to shaking off Goregash’s shadow and becoming their own independent unit alongside the Ethari and Volgoth. For Pricker to have undone all of that in one night was infuriating.
Remus followed Pikon up the stairs along the inner wall to the officer quarters. Promost Lister had claimed them for his own after Goregash settled into the commander’s office. When they entered, Lister was seated behind a great wooden desk. He was waiting for Remus.
“You will stand,” Lister said, pointing at a space in front of the desk between two chairs.
Remus stepped forward and faced the promost. Pikon moved to stand on Promost Lister’s right, behind the desk. Gray-skinned and dour, both of the Ethari were wearing the dark chitin armor of their kind. Crafted from shells and carapaces torn from monstrous insects in the Ethari homeland, the armor was lightweight and nearly unbreakable. It reflected light with a chromatic sheen. Remus had never seen its equal. No forge in the empire could match the organic armor and weapons of the Ethari.
For a long time, Promost Lister said nothing. He watched Remus in silence. Remus was used to this treatment and had learned to wait impassively until the other spoke.
“My people escaped from the Drathani,” Promost Lister finally said. “Pikon says you know this. But there is much you don’t know. The Ethari are created, grown, through some process that is unknown to us. The Drathani perfected my kind over hundreds of years of study and experimentation. We functioned as their shock troops. We were formidable, unbeatable, and ultimately expendable. They created us to fight the wars that were beneath them. A thousand years ago, the Ethari conquered this entire continent and delivered it into the hands of the Drathani.
“Just as they created us, the Drathani also experiment on themselves. Around five hundred years ago, a new breed of Drathani appeared. They were bigger, smarter, stronger, and possessed an innate viciousness that their progenitors lacked. These new Drathani thought they should lead and tore their empire apart in civil war. During this time, many Ethari cast off the yoke of our masters and escaped into the wilderness. My brothers and sisters carved out a home under the mountains far to the north where the claw-terrors hide in black tunnels deep under the earth. For hundreds of years we were free. We couldn’t breed, as we don’t know how we’re made, but we learned. We became a people.
“Two years ago, the Drathani found us. The new Drathani have subjugated the old and now seek to reclaim their dominion. They came to our homes and demanded that we accept their yoke again. They promised to help us reproduce. Many were seduced by these promises, but a few of us refused. We fled into the Wilds. Eventually, we found the Volgoth, and with their help, we have remained free.
“And yet after all of this, you bring this ancient enemy to our doorstep. This ‘Pricker’ that travels with you is more than he seems. He used a command word last night after Pikon fired an arrow at him. Only the Drathani emperor of old, and his greatest generals, knew of the Ethari command words. Whoever he is, he’s hundreds of years old, and held a position of great power in the old empire.”
“You expect me to believe that you’re a thousand years old?” Remus said. “How big of a fool do you think I am?”
Promost Lister’s eyes narrowed. “Not a thousand, more like six hundred. Pricker is at least a thousand years old. The Drathani are functionally immortal. They don’t die from sickness or age, only mortal injury. The Drathani share their undying blood with all of their creations. My kind age, but none of us have died from the simple passage of time. Will we? I don’t know.”
“And the Alkomian Empire? The human race? Why have we never heard about any of this?”
“Your kind were simple and weak when the Drathani found you. They enslaved you as they do all races. When they were pushed to the brink of extinction by civil war, the Drathani abandoned the conquest and settlement of the continent south of the great forest. It appears that you humans have claimed the skeleton of their empire as your own and built a nation upon its foundation.”
Overwhelmed, Remus slumped into one of the chairs. Promost Lister did not comment on his disobedience.
“So the runestones are from the Drathani,” Remus said.
“That, and more,” Lister said. “That your race can activate them at all is evidence of Drathani experimentation. To my knowledge, no other creature can activate the runestones without the blood of the Drathani flowing in their veins.”
“You mean…” Remus said, his words trailing off.
“Any human that can power runestones probably has a Drathani ancestor in the distant past,” Lister said.
“Do the Volgoth know this?”
“They don’t, and it had best stay that way. Due to their size, strength, and hardiness, the Volgoth suffered the most under the Drathani Empire. They were prized for their ability to survive even the harshest of experimentation. The barbarians lost most of their recorded history in the long dark after the Drathani Empire fell, but the Volgoth’s hatred of the Drathani has become almost innate. They will not be easily enslaved a second time.”
“Yet Goregash made the blood pact with Pricker.”
“Which brings me to my point. Goregash’s cowardice trapped him, and he acted in the only way he knew how. He defied the beliefs and traditions of his people and ignored his own nature in making the blood pact with Pricker. This cannot stand. He will lose the loyalty of his tribe if he does not find a solution. His first thought was to murder your entire squad as they slept. I prevented that last night, but the danger is not past.”
“Why save us? Why help us at all? My squad is fewer than fifty men, the Volgoth number over five thousand.”
Promost Lister did not immediately answer. He steepled his fingers and stared through Remus, thinking hard about what to say next.
“We chose poor allies,” Promost Lister finally said. “Your squad has done more in one month to combat the runebound than the Volgoth have in an entire year. I don’t know if it’s Goregash’s leadership that makes them ineffective, or if they’re simply a race of nomads who can’t work together toward a common goal. Whatever the cause, they have taken our help and given almost nothing in return. They don’t even acknowledge our warriors who fall in battle.
“Pikon has convinced me that the people of your empire would serve us far better as allies against the Drathani. My hope is that with you as an emissary, we can make contact with your empire and leave the Volgoth to deal with the runebound. Before he left, the soldier Brax spoke of this as a possibility.”
Remus was surprised to hear Brax’s name. Before vanishing into the Wilds, the veteran Rune Guard had met in secret with Promost Lister. Brax had told Remus to work with the Ethari instead of fighting them, advice that had probably saved his life.
“That was months ago,” Remus said. “Brax is gone, and the empire is weak. Have you not noticed that the Legion has ignored our occupation of this fort? Delgrath was pillaged by imperials and the Legion did nothing.”
“We learned as much from Tethana,” Promost Lister said. “Nevertheless, we cannot stay with the Volgoth much longer, and we cannot return to the east. We must continue west, and hope that someone in your empire survives to stand with us against the coming darkness.”
“I assume I play some part in this.”
“If we can keep you alive. Based on Tethana’s eyewitness account, Goregash is persuaded that Delgrath is ripe for the taking. His plan is to migrate his people there, starting today. But the runebound are too close to ignore. I’ve managed to convince him that he needs your squad to hold them off and protect his people as they prepare to travel. You will enter the forest with the bulk of my soldiers and hold off the thralls as Goregash and his people abandon the fort. We will carry out this duty, but we will not return to the Volgoth.”
“You would risk war with Goregash?”
“He fears the Ethari. I don’t think he w
ill openly challenge us, and he will have his hands full occupying Delgrath. In his hubris, he thinks war and conquest is easy. But he has never been challenged. He gives no thought to tactics or logistics.”
“And if the Volgoth cannot withstand the runebound?”
Lister’s voice was grave when he answered. “Many Ethari have died so that the Volgoth might have a chance. No more. Now they must learn to fight on their own, or perish.”
“You’ll hear no complaints from me. When do we leave?”
“We’ll march from the fort in one hour. Don’t tell your men that we won’t return. Tell them only to prepare for several days in the field.”
Remus nodded and stood. “They’ll be happy to return home.”
As he left the room, Remus felt a nervous fear take root in his heart. If they abandoned the war with the runebound, he would never get his hands on the Drathani overseer’s gauntlet. The upcoming battle was his last chance.
——
Remus and his men were escorted from the fort by the Ethari. The dark-armored sentinels formed a cordon around the squad as they exited the barracks into the courtyard. From in front of the commander’s quarters on the wall, Goregash observed their departure with his arms crossed. Tethana stood beside her uncle, a pained look on her face. Her hand fluttered in a little wave at Remus, but he ignored her. The mood was somber. Outside the fort, the Volgoth were tearing apart their makeshift village, preparing to carry everything they owned into the empire. No one spared a glance for Remus and his men.
So news of Pricker’s blood pact has spread.
Burdened by heavy packs, every one of Remus’s soldiers carried enough food to last each man a week. As they traveled through the camp, Ethari warriors fell into step alongside them, until there was a column of over two hundred marching into the forest. Soon, the cool shadows of the trees covered the winding line of soldiers. Several hundred feet into the woods, a group of fifty more Ethari joined them. His men were no fools. They knew this was no simple raid of the runebound horde.
“We’ve got every gray blighter in the camp following us,” Grotius said. “What’s going on? Are we going to push the runebound all the way back out the other side of the Wilds?”
Remus did not answer immediately. Grotius and Ellion walked on his right, Pricker on his left. Pricker had found a big straw hat somewhere. The thin Drathani looked ridiculous, the brim of the hat bouncing as he strolled along.
“We’re carrying enough supplies to feed all of us for a month, and the Ethari have been slowly joining us,” Ellion said. “I don’t think they want to be noticed. Remus said to prepare for several days in the forest, but I don’t think that’s the truth. I think we don’t plan to return.”
“Speak up, boy,” Grotius said. “You call us your lieutenants, so damn well act like we are.”
Remus was too busy thinking about the upcoming battle to pay attention to Grotius. Annoyed, he brushed off the older man’s question without really hearing it. “Stop arguing with me at every turn, and maybe I’ll treat you like my lieutenant,” Remus said.
Grotius’s anger flared. He pointed at the patch on his eye. “You see this? I lost an eye because I followed you. Don’t talk to me about respect.” He spat on the ground. “Now unless you want me to give you the throttling you’re begging for, get your head out of your arse and answer my sodding question!”
Startled by the vehemence in Grotius’s words, Remus snapped out of analyzing his battle plan and looked at the other man. Grotius was furious. Normally, Remus would have responded in kind. With a little intimidation, Grotius always fell back into line. But right now, Remus did not have time for it. So he answered the question.
“Ellion is correct,” Remus said. “We’re not returning to the Volgoth. Promost Lister wants to venture into the empire, and he wants to use us as guides and emissaries. The plan is to protect the Volgoth as they abandon the fort and then make our own way into the empire.”
“About blasted time,” Grotius said. “I’ve had my fill of barbarian hospitality.”
“We’re abandoning the Volgoth to hold off the runebound on their own?” Ellion said.
“If you want to be all noble and stay to fight, go ahead,” Remus said. “But I’ve got a plan that should cripple the thralls. If it works, the Volgoth might not have to fight at all.”
“Hear that?” Grotius said. “He’s got a plan. Are you going to share this plan with us, or are we just supposed to trust your brilliant mind for strategy? What a fortunate band we are, to follow such an experienced commander.”
“You go too far,” Ellion said.
Grotius grumbled under his breath, but did not continue.
Remus ignored Grotius’s remarks. He was too caught up in the excitement of what he hoped to accomplish to bother arguing with the cantankerous old sergeant.
“We’re going to attack,” Remus said.
“What did you say?” Grotius said.
“We’re not going to set an ambush,” Remus said. “We’re going to hit the runebound hard and fast. Every time we engage them, there is a delay while the leader takes control of the thralls and organizes them into a cohesive unit, and while that’s happening, we just wait for them to come to us.”
“We sit back and wait, because it works,” Ellion said. “Now that we know how to kill the thralls, we almost never lose a soldier. We risk nothing when we let them come to us.”
“We risk nothing, but we also gain nothing,” Remus said. “The enemy overwhelms us with numbers and slowly pushes us back, no matter how many we kill. But what if we could take out the leader? What if we could kill the Drathani that controls them?”
They walked in silence while Grotius and Ellion contemplated Remus’s words. After a time, Grotius said, “A novel idea, but how would we even get close to the evil bastard? He always stays well behind the fighting. Unless you expect to convince the Ethari to charge with us.”
“We don’t need the Ethari,” Remus said, glancing at Pricker.
“You expect him to fight?” Ellion said.
“He’s listening to us,” Remus said. “He can speak for himself. What do you say, Pricker? Will you fight?”
Pricker did not miss a step, or even look at them, but he said, “Pricker fights.”
Remus looked at Grotious and Ellion with his eyebrows raised.
“It could work,” Grotius said begrudgingly. “But you’ll put the men at risk. Is it worth it when we’re about to break away from the Volgoth and enter the empire?”
“Aye,” Remus said. “It’s worth it. This might be the only chance we get, and if we’re successful, the Volgoth might not have to worry about the runebound. Tell the men. Have them ready to follow me if I charge the enemy.”
Remus wanted more than to strike a devastating blow against the enemy to aid the Volgoth. The runestone on the Drathani overseer’s ornate gauntlet burned in Remus’s mind, a bright red star that he lusted after. It haunted his dreams and was never far from his waking thoughts. He would risk anything to possess the gem embedded in that golden piece of armor.
Grotius and Ellion dropped back, walking through the squad and speaking quietly to the men. Remus decided not to tell the Ethari of the plan. Pikon and Promost Lister would refuse to go on the offensive, but if his squad simply rushed the enemy, he expected the Ethari to follow. Beside him, the brim of Pricker’s straw hat wobbled as they marched through the forest undergrowth.
“Who are you?” Remus asked, unable to resist asking the question even though he expected a nonsense answer. “Where did you come from?”
“Pricker is,” Pricker said.
“Of course. Forget I asked.”
But Pricker continued. “Pricker saw the origin of your race, and the submission. Pricker sailed the Crystal Sea and stood on virgin shores. He led the immortal host against the enemies of the supreme one. His legacy is written in the stars and carved in the foundation of the world. Pricker is.”
The hair on the back of Remus
’s neck stood on end. He glanced at Pricker out of the corner of his eye. Ugly, dirty, and impossibly thin, the crazy Drathani looked like a starving refugee, not an immortal warrior from ancient myth.
“Why do you follow me?” Remus asked.
“Pricker finds no sense in the world,” Pricker said. “Pricker is lost. Damaged. Pricker wandered far and only found pain and suffering. Boy in quarry offered Pricker elixir of life when he had need. This is act of brother. Of friend. Pricker follows his new brother. He hopes to find answers.”
“You’ve followed me all this way because I gave you a sip of water? You’re crazier than I thought. I don’t have any answers for you, and I’m not your brother.”
“Pricker watches. Pricker sees.”
“The abyss take your cryptic riddles. If you’ll fight for me, you can call me brother. Will you charge when I order the attack?”
“Pricker fights.”
“That’s all I need to know.”
Pricker quieted, and Remus did not ask him any more questions. The Drathani scared him more than he wanted to admit. Out of the foliage in front of the column, one of the Ethari scouts returned with a report. Remus stepped forward to join Pikon and Promost Lister while they listened. A head taller than all of them, he towered over the Ethari soldiers.
“We’re close,” the scout said. “The runebound are passing through the next clearing, less than half a mile to the northeast. There are more than we’ve ever seen. At least six thousand.”
“Are they marching, or are they prepared to fight?” Promost Lister said.
“They’re moving fast, almost like they know the Volgoth are abandoning the fort. Their guard is down. They don’t expect an ambush, or they’ve decided to risk one.”
“We have little time, then,” Promost Lister said. “Pikon, take your men left. I’ll go right. Remus, hold the center.”
“As you command, promost,” Pikon said with a fist raised to his chest in salute.
Remus nodded. “We’ll hold,” he said.