by Alan Black
Over Gadon’s shouts of protest, Tanden asked, “Tuller, did you find any more of that strong wine among these men?”
“No,” replied Tuller. “We do have a few swallows left from the bag we had last night.”
Tanden smiled, “Good. Pass it around while it lasts.”
The Hummdhar croaked, “Kill me, I beg you.”
Gadon asked, “What’s he saying?”
Tanden shrugged, “Nothing important. He asks to die.”
Gadon said, “He will. Oh, he will die, in good time. From thirst, or hunger, or eaten alive by animals. But not by my hand.”
Seenger tapped Tanden on the shoulder and handed him the wine bag.
“Girl?” Tanden gestured with the bag for her to join them. When she stood by him, Tanden handed her the bag. Each in turn took a swallow and passed it around. Gadon got the last swallow. Before drinking, he raised it in Durrban’s direction.
Gadon said, “To Durrban. A good man. May he get to the next life on favorable terms!”
Tanden said, “Pick a saurus. Let’s mount up and get moving. I want to find a resting spot for Durrban soon.”
With five sauruses and five people, Tanden was sure they would be able to make good time to the south coast of the isthmus. He helped I-Sheera mount while Seenger held the saurus’s head. She still looked uncomfortable, but she reached down and stroked her mount’s neck.
Tanden grabbed her leg in both hands and bent her knee. He slid it forward onto the saurus’s shoulder. Once in place, he patted her on the thigh. “Squeeze here.”
She smiled down at him. She put her hand over his as it rested on her thigh.
“Thank you, Captain,” she said. She gave him a quick wink, reined her saurus about, and headed after Gadon and Tuller, who were already halfway to the forest. Tanden mounted his saurus, holding Durrban’s body before him, and followed. Seenger brought up the rear.
They put Durrban’s body in a small crevice on the side of a rocky hill. It only took a few moments to cover the opening with stones. They left no marker and said no words, it was quickly and quietly done.
CHAPTER TWENTY
A whoop, a shout, and the whiz of an arrow passing his ears persuaded Tanden to dig his heels into the ribs of his mount. He shouted a warning to his companions riding ahead of him. Branches whipping around his face prevented him from saying more.
His saurus was not fond of him and for most of the past hour took an inordinate pleasure in running under the lowest branches it could find. The dense forest would keep their pursuers from getting a good shot at him. He ducked and twisted, lying as low on his saurus’s back as possible. He grabbed a handful of neck and urged the saurus on to its greatest possible speed.
Tanden saw two riders on his right. The men wore clothing like the Hummdhar warriors, but they shouted in a language he could not understand. They turned toward him. He pulled his long sword from his waist and angled away from the riders. There was another rider to his left. The man shot an arrow at Tanden. It thumped into a tree missing him by inches. He heard his people ahead of him crashing through the forest. As the rearmost rider, Tanden’s task was to keep the enemy from the backs of his men.
Tanden hauled in his running mount. Reining hard, he rode straight at the archer to his left. The man was unable to notch another arrow and loose it before Tanden sped past him. Tanden slashed the long sword across his body as he sped past. There was a slight jerk on the sword hilt, but no solid contact. He missed both man and saurus.
He spun his saurus about again. Driving his heels into its ribs, he shot forward, directly at the archer. The man had thrust his wooden bow at Tanden’s long sword on the first pass. The bow, now useless, was the contact Tanden had felt. Tanden looked into the man’s face, seeing only a frightened boy’s eyes. This was not a warrior to be put to death easily, but a child sent to do a man’s duty.
At the last possible moment, Tanden angled away and slashed through the reins on the boy’s saurus. The startled saurus shied sideways into a tree, spilling the boy on the ground before bolting off through the forest. Before Tanden could pull the sword back to his side, he brushed a tree and lost his grip on the sword as the blade sank deep into the bark.
Tanden looked up and braced himself for contact with the two riders bearing down on him. Unable to pull a new weapon before he crashed into the two men, he grabbed a double handful of neck and sat as upright as the mast of his ship. He faced his mount at the two riders. He would only have to fight one man at a time if he could maneuver his saurus to one side at the last minute.
He reined his saurus violently at the last second. His saurus leaped to the right, putting both riders on Tanden’s left. A blade sang through the air at his head. Tanden ducked backward. The blade slipped past his nose. Kicking to the side and upward, Tanden’s foot connected against the midsection of the swordsman. The recoil almost unseated Tanden. His kick did not knock the other rider off, but did send him reeling against the other man, sending that man crashing to the ground.
Tanden pulled his short sword from its sheath and spun his saurus around for another pass at the two men. The unseated man rolled on the ground, cradling his head in his arms. Tanden could see the mounted man clinging desperately to the back of his saurus, bounding off through the forest.
Tanden wheeled his saurus again to the south, urging the animal to a run. Holding tight with his legs drawn high, he flattened his body against the running saurus’s back. Limbs and branches slapped and scratched at him. Tanden and his saurus broke into a small clearing near the top of a hill. The sight of his friends rewarded Tanden.
They had stopped and turned to face the forest. Tanden shouted the command to get moving over the hill. He was not concerned about the three men he had fought, but where there were three, there might be more. He raced past them. Tanden crested the hill and saw why his men had stopped. The downward slope looked almost vertical. His saurus, unable to stop, continued over the edge. Tanden clutched at the saurus’s neck. He leaned as far back on the saurus’s haunches as he could stretch while remaining seated. Sliding down the hill, the saurus appeared to sit down as it braced all four legs against the slope. Loose muddy dirt and rocks sprayed every which way showering them.
Motion seemed to slow until Tanden felt as if he and his saurus were sitting still and all the world was sliding backward, up the hill, moving past them and not the other way around. Tanden glanced over his shoulder to see I-Sheera’s saurus leap over the edge. Tuller and Seenger quickly followed her. Gadon’s saurus slipped over the edge as if it was moving forward against the will of its rider.
Tanden looked at the valley in front of them. Surrounding a village in the center of the valley were large, cultivated fields. Although the rain had stopped, no one was working in the fields. All the villagers stood at hastily built defensive walls. He was unable to tell if the villagers were Hummdhars or Coodhars, nor did he know which tribe had chased his little band over this hill, though he assumed they were Coodhars because of their language. Not that it mattered which group was which. An old Holdenite saying stated: the only way you could tell a Hummdhar from a Coodhar was to ask and then you could expect them to lie.
To the right was a shallow river splitting the visible part of the valley by one-third. A large concentration of men sat at the far edge of the river ford, huddled around their noon fires. A few men stood guard facing the village. Both sides of the conflict were bundled tightly against the biting wind blowing from the northwest out of the mountains.
To Tanden, it looked like a standoff, equal forces taking time out from a battle to huddle down against the changing weather and partake of a midday meal. He realized the group of Hummdhars they had encountered earlier in the day must be reinforcements for one group or the other. Those reinforcements might have changed the balance of power in the fight for or against this village. Those reinforcements were now less than half their expected strength. Undoubtedly, this village was the key to controlling the whole pe
ninsula.
Tanden felt, more than saw, the slope changing angle, beginning to curve outward, giving them less and less of a downward angle. He looked behind. Gadon’s saurus was coming down the slope, skidding along without a rider. Gadon clung to its stubby tail with his legs churning through the soggy dirt.
I-Sheera had almost caught up to Tanden. Her saurus, completely out of control, looked like if it was flying. The woman had thrown herself forward around the saurus’s neck. The top-heavy animal finally lost all balance and began tumbling head over hoof, throwing the girl forward. She landed on her feet, running downhill. The saurus tumbled behind her, its feet churning through mud, wet grass, and air. Any second she would be rolled over and crushed.
Tanden released one hand from the saurus’s neck. Stretching for the woman, he grabbed a fistful of leather bunched at her chest. She jumped toward him as he pulled her up behind him. Tanden felt his saurus gathering control of its legs again as it leaped forward and away from the tumbling animal.
The sauruses were now running more now than sliding down the tree covered slope. Gadon had somehow vaulted onto the back of his saurus. I-Sheera clung to Tanden’s back, refusing to watch as her saurus crashed to a stop against a tree. Tanden saw her saurus rise again to all four legs and shake itself free in a cloud of flying mud.
Continuing their momentum downhill, Tanden did not stop for I-Sheera’s saurus. He was sure both armed camps in the valley below saw them. They were five riders on four sauruses now.
The hillside flattened to the valley floor just at the tree line. Not slowing his saurus, Tanden jerked the reins, steering a course straight to the river ford. The others followed closely.
A group of eight or ten mounted men from the village dashed after them, trying to cut them off or cut them down before they could reach the river camp. The village riders shouted curses and showered them with arrows. Tanden knew, as did everyone in that valley, that shooting an arrow from the back of a running saurus and hitting a man on a racing saurus was nothing but chance or luck, good or bad, depending on your point of view. Ignoring the arrows that fluttered harmlessly about them, Tanden and his group raced to the ford.
Shouts of encouragement from nearby men urged Tanden’s people toward them. Gambling that he read the situation right, Tanden shouted a common Hummdhar greeting, calling for help. Half a dozen mounted Hummdhars thundered out of their camp, running their sauruses straight at the pursuing Coodhars. Tanden did not swerve from his course.
He heard a clash of swords and sounds of battle behind him. He guided his saurus at a full run through the river, sending water splashing in every direction. One of the men standing guard by the river, looked strangely at Tanden, but ducked and turned away from the spray caused by the saurus. The other men in camp focused their eyes on the fight going on in the middle of the valley. A large group of Hummdhar warriors quickly armed themselves and ran past Tanden’s group, heading to assist their comrades.
Almost everyone in the Hummdhar camp ignored Tanden and his men. In turn, Tanden’s group ignored the men in the camp. They continued on, urging their running mounts through the middle of a hostile force. One man shouted at them to slow down, but he quickly turned his back to the wind and re-focused his attention on a leg wound, daubing it with river mud to help stop the flow of blood.
The angle of their flight across the valley turned them to the west. Tanden wanted to be out of sight before he turned south again. They might be able to avoid further pursuit by either tribe if they could get out of the valley without being recognized. Just inside the tree line, Tanden rode into a group of men riding the opposite direction. Not slowing, Tanden shouted at the men in Hummdharian.
He said, “Full attack from the village. Circle north to flank. We’ll circle south.” He did not slow down for a response, not offering them the opportunity to recognize his group. He reined his saurus to the south. Rather than circling around, he continued to drive his mount up the side of a hill and down the other side.
Once out of sight of the valley, he pulled up to a stop. The saurus beneath him was blowing hard. He asked I-Sheera, “Are you all right?”
The woman nodded against his shoulder. She was almost as out of breath as the saurus beneath them.
Tanden said, “Seenger, look behind us to see if we’re being followed.” He signaled the other men to watch around them.
Tanden believed the village was a Coodhar settlement, under siege by Hummdhars wanting to move into the peninsula. The three men he had fought on the hill were Coodhar, probably working their way around to flank the Hummdhar camp. If there was one group of Coodhars in the forest, there may be others.
He also believed the group of riders he spoke to at the edge of the valley was the remnant of the Hummdhar replacements. He did not know whether they had turned aside at the sight of Seekin’s severed head or because they were under orders to reach this camp without delay. However, he did know it would only be a matter of time before the fighting wore down and someone in the Hummdhar camp put it all together, figuring out who had run through their camp.
Seenger came back from the hilltop behind them. He said, “I can see no one following, for now.”
Gadon said, “Good. Now Tanden, just what it the name of my great aunt’s saggy tits was that all about? We could’ve been cut to pieces down there. I plan to live a long time yet, and I don’t see how I can do that with you running around jumping off cliffs and running through a troop of armed barbarians!”
Tanden said with a smile, “It looked to be the quickest way south. It would’ve taken us too long to ride around such a little bump of a hill and then to stop and kill everyone in that valley. Remember, I have somewhere I want to be. Besides, I don’t know what you’re complaining about. Your saurus did all the work.”
Gadon snorted, “Maybe. But I did all the worrying.”
Tuller said, “Should we try and make a deal with the Coodhars? From what I could see, it looked as if that village blocked access to most of the open land of this whole region. They may provide us the easiest access to the south coast of the isthmus.”
Tanden replied, “Maybe they can. But, right now they don’t look like they’re in the mood for opening negotiations. Back on that other hill, Coodhars set upon us. Unless poking holes in strangers is their way of saying “Let’s talk.” I don’t think we have time to work out a deal for passing through these lands. Remember, we’re racing for the White Wind.”
Tuller nodded, “True.” They could still hear the sounds of the fighting from the valley. He said, “Besides, it sounds like we started a little fuss back there.”
Tanden said, “Good. The longer they’re busy with each other the longer we have to hide in these forests and the hills ahead.”
Gadon added, “And the more of them that kill each other, the better for Holden. I don’t care who lives on this wretched spit of land, but I do know a lot of men back home won’t be happy to have Coodhars or Hummdhars living this close to our trade routes. They’re more pirates and smugglers than settlers and that’s bad for business.”
None of their sauruses had caught their breaths, but Tanden decided not to delay any longer. He wanted to put as much distance between them and the warring groups as possible. Gesturing with his hand, he reined his saurus southward and worked his way down one hillside and up the next. As the group crested the hill, the found themselves silhouetted against the sky. The wind had blown the clouds clear leaving a bright blue sky beneath a hot early afternoon sun. The day turned suddenly from cold and wet to hot and humid.
A shout from behind them to the west jerked their heads around in unison. A dozen armed men were angling up the hillside towards them. From that direction, Tanden believed they were Coodhars who were circling around behind the Hummdhar camp, like the first group he fought north of the valley. Hummdhar or Coodhar, it did not matter. These men were ready to ride them down and kill them.
Tanden wheeled his saurus southward. Followed closely by the ot
hers, he fairly flew down the slope, putting distance between them and the men chasing them. Once they started up the next slope and the men behind started down this one, the gap would close. It could fatally close. Two people on his saurus severely hampered them and they would not be able to outrun any hard pursuit. They skidded to a stop at the bottom.
Gadon shouted, “What way, Tanden? Up, right, or left?”
Seenger said, “Or do we fight the bastards right here?” He grinned in ogre-like anticipation of another good fight.
Rather than answer, Tanden turned to the right and began working the saurus through the small gap between the hills. They moved in and around rocks, boulders, and trees. They weren’t able to see the men chasing them, but they could hear them shouting to one another. He was sure they would send out flanking riders to each side. As long as they kept moving, any rider moving up the slopes of the hills should not be able to catch them.
Tanden kept pushing to the left, always striving to keep their direction to the south, constantly attempting to swing around the hill on their left. Shortly, their direction was to the south and a choice of courses lay before them. The next choice was between two high hills with south directly between. The two steep-sided hills would force their pursuers to follow the same path. The other way appeared to circle back toward the valley.
Without hesitation, Tanden moved into the gap between the two hills. “Maybe,” he thought, “the Coodhars will think we went the other way.” Soon, they heard sauruses and shouting behind them. Tanden was surprised the Coodhar’s had not caught up with them yet. His saurus was all but finished. Carrying two people at a run for so long had all but worn out the poor creature. It stumbled often but kept moving. The heat and humidity were like steam, tearing at all of them.
Tuller shouted, “Tanden, I think we’re being herded.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Tandend looked at the high walls around him. They had been well and truly funneled into a canyon. He caught the sight of a Coodhar rider’s shadow across the rock walls, pacing them on the rim.