The First Riders

by David Ferguson

  There were four chanits in the room, all young, all eager, and all apprehensive. They looked at the tough figure of Fallassan with interest and at her rifle with awe. Fallassan realised that, by some telepathic miracle, they already knew about this weapon.

  Welkarlin said without preamble, "Are you ready and how many of you are there?"

  "We are ready, Welkarlin, and there are fifty of us. We can assemble in just a few minutes. We all have swords."

  "Have you been practising?" he asked.

  "Of course," the apparent leader replied, slightly offended.

  Fallassan had understood none of this. She said to Welkarlin, "Do they know what they have to do? We have to march as quickly as possible to the square of the pyramids and take on the guards. I presume a pitched battle is taking place as we speak."

  Welkarlin translated and the rebels signalled understanding. The door opened and others entered making the small room crowded and stuffy. Fallassan made a head count.

  "There are more in the neighbouring houses," Welkarlin said. "We have been talking to each other telepathically. We are all ready."

  Fallassan looked at them and tried to keep her doubts to herself. They were idealists, very willing to fight for the cause, but would they be any good? Their swords seemed home-made, their fitness seemed to be more suited to town chanits. She said, "There is no time to waste. We need to leave now. Welkarlin - you’d better lead."

  They walked onto the street where others were appearing from open doors. It was uncommonly useful having a group of telepaths, Fallassan thought. No need for shouted orders, banging on doors; they simply appeared in response to silent thoughts.

  The group of rebels walked rapidly through the streets, swords in hand. Other chanits stared and commented.

  "They are asking ‘What is going on?’" Welkarlin replied to Ombissu’s question. "We are telling them that a battle is raging in the ceremonial square, but they know nothing of it."

  "They haven’t heard shots?" Fallassan asked, worried.

  "No, nothing."

  "Well, we’ll find out what’s going on before long."

  "I can try to contact Mayvatha and Eln-Tika," Welkarlin said tentatively.

  Fallassan realised she had missed a trick. She had been thinking how useful telepathy was without using it for her own ends. "Try, Welkarlin, try hard," she urged.

  They walked without speaking, Welkarlin concentrating on distant thoughts.

  "I’ve got Mayvatha! She’s to the west of the square. They are walking. Eln-Tika and Ombissu have disappeared. They are going to attack the square soon. Should they wait for us?"

  "Yes, yes. Tell her we’re approaching from the south as planned. In fact, everything is going to plan. Tell her to wait."

  A loud call echoed down the street. "Stop!" it said. "Stay where you are!"

  A line of guards was barring their way.

  Chapter 34

  Ombissu and Eln-Tika were in a long stone-flagged passage lit by torches held on wall brackets. The moving shadows added to the fear that pervaded this place. Rifle and bow at the ready, the two chanits walked cautiously along the passage.

  They came to a junction; all routes looked the same.

  Ombissu said, "If we carry on we will probably come to the far side of the pyramid. If we turn left we might come out on the left side. Turn right and it’s the right side. Which is it to be?"

  "Keep going. If we appear where they don’t expect us then we may surprise them."

  "Very well. Onward."

  The tunnel seemed much longer than they expected judging from the size of the pyramid and it seemed to be descending. There were fewer torches; the tunnel was narrower; the air seemed damper and colder. They walked on, hearing and seeing no-one.

  "I think we are now climbing," Ombissu whispered. His voice echoed around the tunnel.

  "Yes," Eln-Tika answered. She was finding this place oppressive. She was a creature of the open air, not one who skulked underground like this. And there was this sense of fear, which was increasing the longer they climbed.

  "There’s danger ahead," she whispered. "There may be guards."

  They stopped and listened. "Can you hear voices?" Eln-Tika asked quietly.

  Ombissu, at the very limit of his hearing, thought he heard faint murmurs coming from far ahead.

  The two chanits, in their soft riding moccasins, moved silently along the tunnel. It was getting lighter; a rectangle, several shades paler than the pervading black, appeared ahead of them.

  "The edge of the pyramid - maybe," Ombissu whispered dubiously.

  They crept forward until they could see that the rectangle was the entrance to a room. The tunnel had widened into a kind of antechamber. They cautiously stepped into it and approached the entrance. They could hear the same voices, now much louder.

  "There are priests here," Eln-Tika whispered.

  "Do we enter?"

  "If we are foolish."

  Ombissu grinned, then stepped through the open doorway closely followed by Eln-Tika.

  *

  In the street somewhere south of the ceremonial square, Fallassan raised her rifle and aimed it carefully at the guard who had shouted. She squeezed the trigger, there was a loud startling bang, and the guard fell. There was utter stillness. The guards had frozen in shock as had the rebels. Casually, and as unobtrusively as possible, Fallassan reloaded her rifle.

  She said calmly to Welkarlin, "There are now five guards. I will not be able to shoot them all. You have your swords - you must now use them. I will fire another shot, and then you must charge. Please relay that to your friends."

  There was a brief conversation before Welkarlin announced they were ready. Fallassan raised her rifle once more and fired. Another guard fell and, to their amazement, the others, screaming loudly, spun round and fled. The rebel band, exultant, raced after them waving their swords and shouting in triumph.

  *

  Reffurio and the others heard two shots in the distance. It lent urgency to their progress. They hurried through the streets until they were confronted by the solid walls of the edge of the ceremonial square. They stopped to scan the rooftops for archers but they could see none. Perhaps they were hiding until they were inside. They moved cautiously towards the entrance to the square until they could see into the square itself. It seemed quiet, but that, they knew, was only temporary. Quietly they walked through the tunnel until they were at the edge of the square.

  They looked carefully at all the likely places but could see nothing.

  "Where are they all?" Mekbill asked.

  "Waiting for us to step into the open. We will wait here until Fallassan arrives. Where is she now, Mayvatha?"

  "Almost at the square. They met some guards - that was the shots we heard - but none of them were hurt. They are nearly here."

  "Good. Now - I will signal, via Mayvatha, for Fallassan’s people to enter the square. They only have swords and spears, so they will be met by a hail of arrows. They will then immediately retreat. The archers will have shown themselves, so we will have an opportunity to shoot them. Now we wait for a little while."

  Reffurio passed away the time by alternating between carefully studying what he could see of the square and anxiously watching Mayvatha’s face. Her face changed its expression.

  "They are ready," she said. "Shall I give them the signal?"

  "Yes."

  He saw a guard suddenly appear on the side of the nearest pyramid. He raised his rifle and fired, then raced headlong into the square. There were guards with bows all round. He sprinted round the square, followed by the others, to the south side. He ran round the corner of a pyramid and there, just in front of him, a tremendous sword fight was taking place.

  He realised immediately that the covering archers were no use here, for they were just as likely to hit a friend as an enemy. Indeed, it seemed likely that at least some of the archers were now swordsmen.

  Reffurio positioned his group against one of the smal
ler pyramids, so that their backs were protected. They began firing; the others followed suit. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, Wath-Moll and Voi-Til shooting off arrows at a tremendous rate. In the face of this fierce attack, the guards began to fall back.

  Reffurio was reloading his rifle yet again when a guard and a rebel appeared round the corner of the pyramid engaged in a mighty sword fight. Before Reffurio’s appalled eyes, the guard stabbed the rebel through the chest and immediately set about Reffurio. Reffurio swung his still unloaded rifle up against the guard’s sword. The guard staggered back giving time for Reffurio to throw down his useless rifle and pull out his sword.

  The guard thrust forward and Reffurio parried. He was being forced back by the violence of the attack. He parried again and again, his strength draining. It could only be a matter of time before he was cut down. And with that thought he drove himself to the limit. The guard, who had been smiling without mirth, fell back in surprise. Reffurio lunged forward just as an arrow struck the guard in the neck. He turned to see Voi-Till lowering his bow. He picked up his rifle and reloaded it. It was now quiet, in the immediate vicinity at least.

  "What’s happening?" he asked Voi-Till.

  "They’ve run away. We think they are in the buildings - what’s left of them."

  "Right. We’ll have to go after them. By the way - thank you, Voi-Til, I was in great trouble."

  Voi-Til grinned and slapped Reffurio on the back. Together they walked forward to join the others.

  *

  Ombissu and Eln-Tika stepped into the room. It was a much larger chamber than they had expected. It was almost square, each wall covered in beautiful intricate murals. Light come from high in the walls through tall oblong openings. They realised they must be in one of the buildings that fringed the square.

  The priests and their acolytes were sitting at a long highly-polished table. Their conversation died away as the two chanits moved into the room. A guard, standing unobtrusively by a wall, reached for his sword. Eln-Tika fired an arrow and he dropped to the floor, his sword clanging on the flagstones. Another guard, who had moved forward a pace, stopped.

  "What now, Eln-Tika?" Ombissu asked. "Shall we kill them?"

  Eln-Tika was in a dilemma. She knew - indeed she could sense - that these priests were evil. They had forced their extremist religion on their people, subjecting them to repression and fear, killing and torturing without compunction. Yet she could not bring herself to killing them in such a calculated way. She killed animals in order to eat, and she killed slashers to prevent them killing her. Death was part of her life. And yet she could not kill them as they sat at their table.

  "I don’t know, Ombissu. We ought to, but I can’t."

  "Well, I can." He raised his rifle just as there was a commotion outside and a group of guards came running in followed by a mixture of sailors and hunters and rebels. Ombissu turned to the newcomers and fired at the nearest soldier who fell to the ground. Ombissu dropped his rifle and drew his sword. He swung at a soldier who was attacking a sailor. The soldier fell, wounded in the ribs. He swung at more soldiers like a maniac. They melted before his remorseless onslaught. Then it was over. The soldiers and priests were either dead, wounded or gone. He relaxed his right arm and let his sword fall to the floor. He looked around in relief now that it was over and saw that the others were doing the same. Among the survivors he recognised the familiar figures of Wath-Moll, Sil-Jeve, and Welkarlin. As he acknowledged Wath-Moll, Eln-Tika ran across the room and embraced the sturdy figure of the hunter. Ombissu contented himself by grinning at Sil-Jeve and patting him on the back.

  "How are we doing?" Sil-Jeve asked. "Have we won?"

  "Not yet," Wath-Moll answered. "There are still guards at large."

  Eln-Tika was looking around, examining the bodies. "I don’t see the head priest," she said. "He must have got away."

  "How?" Ombissu asked.

  "I don’t know."

  Wath-Moll was looking round the chamber. He called from a far corner. "There’s a way out here. He might have gone through this way."

  They ran over to where Wath-Moll was standing and looked into the small doorway.

  "He’s got away. That’s a pity," Ombissu said.

  Welkarlin was anxious. "We can’t let him escape. We must catch him and kill him. If he remains alive then the rebellion will fail. He will act as a focus for any soldiers and their sympathisers."

  "I don’t know how we can find him," Ombissu said regretfully. "He could be anywhere."

  Welkarlin said, "He’s a telepath. He only has to use his power and we will detect him. Let Eln-Tika and me follow him."

  Ombissu made a quick decision. "Very well. Reffurio and Wath-Moll will go with you. I will stay here and link up with the others."

  Reffurio signalled agreement and the four chanits disappeared through the doorway. Ombissu turned to Sil-Jeve and said, "Now we need to find the others and get organised. This is the start of a new era."

  *

  The four chanits ran lightly through the tunnel that lay beyond the doorway. Very soon they were in complete darkness for there were no torches on the walls. They seemed to be descending and it became cooler and damper. They came to a fork; they stopped, wondering which way to go.

  Welkarlin walked up the left-hand tunnel. "I think it’s this way," he called.

  The others joined him. Reffurio was the first to speak. "Why do you think it’s this way, Welkarlin?"

  Eln-Tika answered, "There are very faint signs that a telepath has passed this way recently. There is nothing the other way."

  "Right. Let’s go."

  It was unnerving in the blackness of the tunnel. They ran on through the dark noticing that the tunnel was slowly climbing. Eventually they saw a very dim light far in the distance. They ran towards it and soon they were at an entrance. They peered cautiously out and saw they were in a garden. They stepped outside. The entrance to the tunnel was in a small square building obscured by bushes.

  Wath-Moll said, "This may be the garden where we left the blenjis. We have been travelling west, so we certainly must be near."

  Reffurio looked around. "You may be right. There are enough beehives. Can you detect the blenjis?"

  Eln-Tika concentrated. Far away to the left she thought she could sense the dim thoughts of the animals.

  "They are here," she said confidently. "Over to the left."

  "Excellent," Reffurio said cheerfully. "Now we have a chance of catching this priest."

  They ran towards the blenjis, and there they were, a quiet group under a large tree guarded by two sailors who were sitting at their ease. The priests were still tied up.

  They jumped up in alarm when they saw the approaching chanits. Reffurio wasted no time in coming to the point.

  "Have you seen anyone? Anyone at all?"

  "No, Reffurio. We have been alone all this time."

  "Good. Now - we’re taking our blenjis and chasing after the high priest. Stay here and wait for Ombissu. I can’t imagine he’ll be long. Oh - and by the way - we’ve almost won. Ombissu is mopping up right now."

  The four chanits mounted then rode round the garden looking for gates. There had to be another way out.

  "The sense is getting stronger," Welkarlin and Eln-Tika called. "Oh - I see it."

  There was a gate, the twin of the one they had entered by. It was open. They passed through and entered the street outside. There were people moving in the street. Small groups stood at doorways talking quietly. Friends walked side by side waving arms in animated conversation. It all stopped when the riders appeared.

  Welkarlin called out, "Has a priest passed this way?" There was no answer, but the nervous tension increased noticeably, something even sensed by the non-telepathic Wath-Moll and Reffurio. He called again, "Has a priest passed this way? We are chasing him. We want to bring him to justice."

  A voice answered, a voice that was unsure but oddly defiant. "The head priest and five soldiers went down this st
reet in the direction you are heading. I don’t know where they went."

  The riders broke into a trot scattering the people in the street. At every junction they asked the same question and every time the routine was the same: silence, then a voice braver than the others. Eventually they reached the edge of the town where they was yet another junction. But there was no-one left to ask. They stopped, wondering which way to go.

  Eln-Tika and Welkarlin rode slowly up one of the roads, returned and repeated the operation up the other road. Reffurio and Wath-Moll waited impatiently at the junction.

  "To the right, but it is very faint," Welkarlin said. "I think they may be trying to escape to the mountains to the north. If we hurry we may catch them."

  "Then we will hurry," Reffurio said briskly. "Let’s ride."

  The countryside was flat and rather barren, unprepossessing but offering a long view down the straight road. Immediately ahead they could see the faint outline of a large mountain range through the heat haze. They rode fast along the road throwing up a huge cloud of dust behind them. Chanits walking in the fields stopped and stared at this remarkable phenomenon.

  "Is that something ahead?" Wath-Moll shouted.

  The riders came to an abrupt halt while Reffurio pulled out the telescope he carried in his saddlebag. He looked carefully at the dark dots on the road far ahead. They could well be their prey, he thought. They rode forward, faster than ever.