Call of the Wolf (The Kohrinju Tai Saga)

by Nelson, J P

  Somehow, the current Xiahstoi had found a way to bring foreign beings into the country. They weren’t coming in from the southern coast, as some were thinking, and they clearly weren’t coming in from the Minotaur ruins as was first believed. And they weren’t demons. Hoscoe was hunching they were somehow being brought in through a means discovered, or rediscovered, inside or around the Pyramid. The Pyramid itself was located in the vast Rah’nor’Horuk Plain. According to Th’Khai, the Pyramid Lords fought their last battle here, before being driven back by the Minotaurs, Centaurs, Fauns and Volnien. According to myth, the plain rose twenty feet as So’Yeth reached up to bury the thousands upon thousands slain.

  Hoscoe called officers and sergeants together and first asked if anyone present had even seen our destination. When it became clear nobody had, he knelt and drew a diagram on the ground as he explained, “The Pyramid of Rem’Nai Sezhukte is perhaps the most precise structure ever built. According to history, it is built with no mortar of any kind, yet the structure is five hundred and seven feet tall from top to bottom.

  “The Plain seems to rise a bit in the area of the Pyramid, and it is itself based on a rock plateau that originally rose thirty-nine feet above the surrounding area. It was chiseled to a perfect dais shape one thousand, six hundred and ninety feet in diameter. A ditch thirty-nine feet deep and one hundred and thirty feet wide encircled the plateau and was filled with water. The only way to the Holy Dais, as it was called, was across a thirty-nine feet wide bridge on the south side.

  “The pyramid itself is built in two primary levels on the outside. At the bottom is a perfect square facing the four true points of the compass. At ground level it is nine hundred and sixty-two feet from corner to corner, rises upward almost at a perfect fifty-two degree angle for one hundred and sixty-nine feet, to form another perfect square six hundred and ninety-seven feet per side.”

  The exclamations were profound as everyone was in awe at the size of the structure. Hoscoe continued, “And that is not all,” he continued to draw in the dirt and speak, “to look at them, it would appear on each corner an additional square tower was built upon each of the base corners. The incline angle is different, but from the outer sides they taper inward, and from the inner sides they rise straight up, but the tower dimensions come out to two hundred and twenty-one feet per side at their base, and one hundred and sixty-nine feet at the top, which is flush with the top surface of the main structure. The sides are all smooth, and they are covered with a glossy layer of what looks likes quartz, at least mostly covered. Some pieces are now missing here and there from the gloss.”

  Hoscoe allowed his drawing to sink in with everyone and then proceeded with his illustration, “Now we move inward sixty-five feet from the base edge, and rise upward again at fifty-two degrees for three hundred and thirty-eight feet to a final perfect square of thirty-nine feet to the side at the top. There are three sets of stairs, one on each of the southern, western and eastern sides, each of them thirty-nine feet wide. But here …” he drew a type of straight ridge, from the top of the structure straight down to enter the ground on the same line edge of the corner towers, “… on the north side there is this. It is like a dorsal fin, or something. Nothing recorded explains what this is, nothing I have seen, anyway.” I just looked at Hoscoe, and he looked back at me.

  Someone started to ask a question, but Hoscoe held up his hand, “Here, here, here and here are the remains of smaller pyramids. There were twelve, all totaled, each one hundred and thirty feet tall which tapered down at the same fifty-two degree angle. The others have completely disappeared. This ditch,” he pointed at the circular trench he had dug, “has all but filled in with the shifting of the land.”

  Someone asked, “So how are we going to attack this thing? How do we get in?”

  “How to attack it? We do not. We find a way to lure them out. How to get in? That is a good question. What we have to remember, however, is this was once one of the most feared fortresses in the world. There used to be statues on each of those towers, and at the top was once a statue of Anu-Rah holding a mighty scepter. This scepter was feared and was said to control the sun. None of those statues are there, and they were too big to carry away. There is reportedly someone in there, now, which means at least some of the ancient secrets of this place are known. History says thousands were slain by some sort of unholy fire, but no one knows for sure. The facts are that the place did indeed fall and the power within conquered. Since then, the country has been ruled by the Minotaurs, Mhn’O’Quai, Tiskites, Clansmen, and now Keoghnariu.

  “The pyramids have been a dead concern for thousands of years, until now. I believe we are contending with a two dimensional adversary who has found a once powerful, but broken weapon. However, even a broken weapon can be repaired. I do not think it has been, yet, but we must keep it from being so.”

  Cudty made a statement more than asked a question, “General, sounds like you done been there.”

  Hoscoe looked at Cudty with his teeth grinding expression before answering, “Yes. I and some companions came this way sixty-eight years ago, we were looking for the Eye of Anu-Rah. We searched all about this Pyramid before moving toward Sunaktat Gorge not far from Teshucarr Falls.

  “Wheeew …” someone said, then Deak commented, “I know who you are, they got stories about you. You called yourself Scoey back then … it had to be you. Damn!”

  We were still looking at the pyramid drawing when Chymthina flew in and landed on Maedhith’s arm.

  Chapter 48

  ________________________

  CHYMTHINA WAS TO be sent back to us confirming the delivery of message. There was no way the unit could have gotten to Brosman Iron Mine that quick, so the message on her leg couldn’t be good news. And it wasn’t. The note read, Made to Ahvohriu. Atk by smthg new. V, S, Tn, C, Cl, W, Ar, Bt, Tr, R, me by ruin holdng off. Rest dead. Mssn faild. Sg P

  Hoscoe thought a moment, it was all it took, and he looked right at me. I knew Hoscoe, and I knew his creed, No man left behind. It was a creed used by Faethurayng, the founder of what became called Gahjurahnge, and no one knew where he got it, or if it as he who made it up. His grandson, Ahnushain, became first War Chief of the Gahjurahnge, and he made it a mandate. By Oshang’s time those Gahjurahnge had became known as Rangers.

  Those were our boys out there on that desolate rock. They sacrificed themselves for the mission and the tone of the message was their willingness to die as they were. We had learned a lot about each other in the last few years and I knew his mind. Those boys weren’t going to be forgotten or ignored. We were going to get them, now, and he was sending me to get them.

  I asked, “How many?”

  “As many as you need.”

  “Deak,” I said, “Come with me.”

  Deak knew the country as well as anyone, if only by information passed down from his people. He helped me outline the courses possible, how the land lay, and best ways to get to the ruins he knew of from our current position. There were stories of great apes up there, supposedly they had once been men but were cursed by the gods thousands of years ago. They had never been seen, but ... There were supposed to be big lizards in those mountains as well.

  What Hoscoe, Deak and I discussed as well, was a ancient trail which sky-lined, but followed the mountain range all the way to the Rah’nor’Horuk Plain. If I took a proper force to get our boys, and then followed the trail, it could actually come in handy as a strike force from the back door; depending on how and when the actual battle or battles took place. Communication would be tough, but Hoscoe was leaving it up to me to let him know where I was. I already had an idea about that. Discussing it with Hoscoe, he liked it.

  Our remaining command was grouped into three separate divisions. Major Maedhith was advanced to Lieutenant Commander of Cavalry, Ander and L’Nahr were made Captains and I became a Major. L’Nahr had A-Division, I had B-Division, and Maedhith had C-Division which was the cavalry. Hoscoe would take Divisions A and most
of C and weave a path toward the Plain, but staying wide of all known ruins. The cogs had made a pattern of attacking within only a few miles of such, and Hoscoe knew we would be watched.

  Playing a hunch that Aldivert would have already taken anyone loyal to him to make his army, Hoscoe was betting there were those who might be available among the mines that could fight. The diamond mining country, apparently still of little to no interest to the leader of the cogs, was actually not so far away in the scheme of things. Riders making double-time could get there, recruit who they could, and make use of all horses possible to reinforce us within the Plain.

  Maedhith was to hand-pick his fastest riders and himself go recruit who they could … all remaining soldiers, guards, and any prisoners who Maedhith felt comfortable with. He was to promise amnesty to said prisoners.

  I had Ander as my second; Izner, Patriohr and Kisparti with me as scouts; and Dudley to run my missiles. Dudley wanted Merle and his platoon, and we were assigned three platoons of XL’s; two of these were Resounder Platoons, giving me twenty-four of these weapons. We also had two platoons of ground troops, who had been well trained as auxiliary cavalry.

  Of these, T-bone would have nothing but to go with me and he said, “That jiuk is a fighter all the way through and you know where you stand with ‘im. Ain’t no one handled me ‘afore and he fought aside me and made no guff about it and he’s a’goin’ for his boys. I’d go with him to fight the dragon.” When I made T-bone sergeant he up and stood proud.

  I thought of Puffer, then tried to put it from my mind. By words of the note, he was gone, and it grieved me. He and Vensi had become one of us chums, and he was a good soul. He had him a girl he was going to marry when he got home and had sketched her picture he carried next to his chest. It was a good picture, too.

  The sword I had taken from the elf became my main weapon. I had some ideas and I was going to try them. Whoever was responsible for Puffer I was going to find, and they were going to die. As the thought went through me, giving rise to my anger, I felt So’Yeth reach up and the sword tingled in my hand. Good.

  Before we left, though, Hoscoe wanted to see me. We would leave the next morning, and he had a tent up off in the distance from the others. When I came in he was kneeling in front of a little floor table and a pot of tea was to the side, a new candle burning at the center. He sat quiet straddling a cushion with his knees. Another was on the other side. Motioning me to sit down in like fashion, I felt this was something special.

  “Timber Wolf … this isn’t the most ideal place to observe this, but it is the best we can do.”

  I was very quiet.

  In that perfect Elvish of his, he explained, “Every generation, since Diustahn, a father has presented this ceremony to his child as a rite to adulthood.”

  My throat was very dry and I felt emotion rise up strong in the man across from me, I felt it within me as well.

  “I know … I know, I am not your blood father. But I would like to ask permission to perform this rite for you.”

  Emotion made my breathing become tight, and I nodded.

  We engaged in a variation of something called a Tea Ceremony. Hoscoe elegantly sung my lineage in a voice that wasn’t the most beautiful in tone, but was beautiful to me. Then quoted verse to me that I was to repeat, and we passed tea. He then brought out a special vial, poured it into a golden cup, where he got it I don’t know, then instructed me to place both of my hands on it in union with his. We put it over the candle and a mist arose. He led me through another chant and it seemed I heard the voices of my ancestors as we began to sing an ancient Gaelic song …

  ___________________________

  We rode hard and fast for the Ahvohriu Mountains and all had one thought, to get our boys. Chymthina was with me and I communicated with her easily. I usually had her fly in advance and twice she helped me locate possible resistance. We found a cluster of cogs who weren’t expecting us at all, and instead of planning a fight we ran right through them, mad as we were. Hoscoe had instructed everyone in the skill of jousting, and we made good use of the defeated cog’s javelins and the Coumunti’s spears.

  Just before our second engagement, I *Detected* movement in the not to far off distance; I was getting better at that. We prepared a night camp and made the horses all lay down. Then we laid about as if we were dead, weapons carefully arranged for quick use. We waited for what turned out to be a party of ten Tiskites to get close. Curious, they walked right in on our scene of mock tragedy. Then we rolled up and cleaned them with one volley. Remembering those blow darts, we frisked them of all they had and moved on.

  As we got close to the mountain, we saw fixtures located up where anyone could see. I had Chymthina do a fly by, and as she sat my hand I performed *S’Fahn Muir* with her. I saw these were X-type crosses with the skeletal remains of people, Tiskites, and maybe an ape or two stretched out on these things. From careful study of the faces, I figured they had been hung alive. Finding a good enough location, I had everyone make a camp in the rock and I went into the woods alone.

  Relaxing my mind I reached out to *Summon* with specific intent … I wanted something big, at least human sized … and I got it. I knew I couldn’t contact humans this way, but animals were so far a consistent yes. Why there was a difference, I didn’t know, and based on my experience with my momma, I wondered if it was possible with another elf … of course, that was my imagination working.

  Landing soundlessly behind me from out of the trees, I felt the presence of the creature and smelled the reek of his breath. Slowly raising my hands so as not to startle him, I turned and looked up into the eyes of what must be a great ape. His arms were long and legs short, his body covered in a brown colored hair that looked burned at the tips. His intelligence was close to human level, but not quite.

  [Friend], I tried to *S’Fahn Muir* toward him, [friend]. With that he grunted, and made a hand gesture. I expressed the sensation of trust, all the while humming and holding up my hand. Turning his head this way and that, he mimicked my movements and slowly growing closer we touched hands. He felt the essence of So’Yeth Magic coursing through my body as I opened my mind, and tried to *Learn* his language … the Bardic Way.

  Speaking with a creature or asking for help was not new, but bonding with and making a friend with one, that was a fresh experience. I lived his entire life with him by memory, and I learned his name was Oot-um-numn. The Great Ones, as the apes referred to themselves, had ruled this part of the jungle for as long as their memory could be traced. Long ago they believed they ruled the entire land, and their true home was south of the wide, With teeth that could fly they made the Great Ones leave their home. Some of the hairless apes had flying teeth which made anything they bit become very cold-cold, so that the cold thing would break if it fell or was hit with a rock. Oot had no word for ice, but as he shared his memory with me I figured that that was what it was.

  I wanted to know what this she-ape looked like, but I already was figuring it to be the Shaman Lady. Commander Lahrcus had warned me her intentions may not exactly be benign, and may be working toward her own ends. My friend had no memory of seeing her, however.

  [How would you and your tribe like to regain the High-Up], I wanted to know. He mulled this over in his animal’s mind, and he became very excited. There were about other ten full-grown bull-apes in his tribe, and more not yet fully grown. He went back to his tribe and I returned to my camp.

  My troops knew to be on lookout for these apes, and the awe was there as Oot brought me this old ape to the edge of the camp. The old one was leery about coming too far into the camp, but I went into the woods and did my animal talk thing. When I came back I said, “Let’s saddle up boys, we have some fellows to cut loose.”

  The apes had seen, and I sent Chymthina to verify, five new crosses erected in the last couple days or so. With the apes I couldn’t be certain as to how long they had been up there, but at least we now knew right where they were. Getting to them would
not be easy, and I asked for the seven strongest men to climb up with me and get them. We expected to have to carry the prisoners back down, and of the eight of us we should be able to get all five. T-bone, Merle, Becket, four more big fellows and I were going up. Once we located the peak, Resounders and XL’s were set and the place surrounded. Ander was ready to attack whatever showed up.

  We got into position and started climbing; it was now up to Ander to do his thing. The climb wasn’t easy and I couldn’t focus on anything but my own job. We got part way up when the fighting started. Some really barbaric looking people with white faces and blood for war paint started showing up around the rocks, but I had to focus. An enemy bolt almost tagged me, T-bone got cut by one, and Becket took a bolt in the leg.

  An ugly face loomed out of a hole in the rock right beside T-bone. T-bone grabbed the startled goon by the hair and with a heave, dragged him out of his hole and out into the air. I couldn’t see it, but I heard the scream all the way to his landing seventy-five feet below. At the same time Becket saw a goon take aim at Merle, and he threw a well-placed knife between the goon’s shoulder blades just as he took an Ice Bolt himself and fell to the rocks below.

  Merle was first up on top, and goons started showing up like ants. He darted around one goon, then seized him in a hammer-lock, then grabbed his other arm and twisted it back, as well. Holding both of the white painted warrior’s arms behind him in a double-hammer-lock, Merle lifted him up with his left hand as he pulled his sword out to do battle.

  Several bolts went into the white painted warrior as Merle used him as a human shield and cut down goon after goon. Right away one of the goons raised a crossbow up and fired one of those Ice Bolts at him. But just as the bolt was fired, Merle turned into it and his still kicking shield took the bolt as Merle charged into several of the goons, knocking them over the ridge with their quickly freezing tribe-mate, paving a pathway for the rest of us to make the top.