The Black Sword Trilogy: The Poacher

by VanMeter, Jeffery

  Chapter Forty Four

  Kenner was summoned to a special council with the King and other officers. Prince Melkur was there as well. It was dark and several torches were lit around where the King sat. A tired and worn officer approached the King and knelt before him.

  “Your Majesty.” He addressed the King kneeling.

  “What news?” The King asked him.

  “Your Majesty,” he began. “We were attacked in the night by a force of thousands.”

  “What kind of force?” The King asked.

  He looked around at the officers standing around the King as if looking to them for guidance.

  “Don’t be afraid.” The King urged him. “You can tell me anything.”

  “Your Majesty, the enemy army were Wolfen. At least, I think they were Wolfen.”

  “How many of them?” The King interrupted.

  “Thousands.” He answered simply.

  The King then looked at Erlot.

  “Do you think he’s lying too?” He asked with anger in his voice.

  Erlot didn’t answer. He simply looked to the ground.

  The King looked at the officers around him and then back at the tired soldier.

  “How far are they behind you?”

  “A day, maybe more.” The soldier answered.

  “You and your men get into the carts and rest as much as you can.” He ordered the officer. He then turned to General Pol.

  “We’ll have to pick up the pace.” He ordered. He then addressed all the officers.

  “Tell your men to close their eyes and not open them until morning. Even with these soldiers, they still outnumber us two to one. They’ll have to be fully rested for the task ahead.”

  He then turned to Melkur.

  “Go back to Kallesh and tell General Goshen…”

  “But father,” The Prince interrupted.

  “Don’t disobey me. Go back to Kallesh and tell General Goshen to gather every soldier from every post in the land. If he doesn’t hear from me in three days, he is to march on Mobrey with every soldier he can find.”

  The soldiers from Post One were packed in with the rest of the army and there was virtually no space for the men to make themselves comfortable. Kenner again tried to tell General Pol that he would ride through the night.

  “You, especially have to be rested as much as possible.” Pol told Kenner. “You and Terri with her bow may make the difference between victory and defeat.”

  Kenner found an empty space between two of his own soldiers and stared at the night’s sky. It looked almost identical to the one he remembered, except for a sliver of a moon barely illuminating the sky with the stars. Suddenly he heard the voice of his “Shadow”. “Sleep” she said and he fell fast asleep.

  He knew he was asleep, but also almost awake. It was like he was in a kind of trance with sleep and consciousness fighting for his body. He saw glimpses of dreams come and go through the night. Some were barely visible, while others were almost as clear as day. He saw images of places he’d been and people he knew. He saw the face of a red haired girl standing in the glow of a bonfire. He knew her from his village and had begun to think he would never see her again. Here she was standing before him like a gift. She was smiling a loving smile and her hair glowed in the firelight.

  Then he saw his father in full Walechian armor and holding his sword. He was standing proud and strong like he had when he was alive and a confident smile was on his face.

  “I am with you.” He thought he heard his father say.

  The next was the clearest dream. He found himself on the top of the mountain again covered in snow. It wasn’t cold that he could tell. The sun was shining bright and “Shadow” stood before him in her black cloak with the hood pulled back for him to see her beautiful face.

  “This is a dream, isn’t it?” He asked her.

  “Yes, it is.” She answered simply. “But this one you will remember.”

  “I remember most of my dreams.” He said.

  “Not like this one. This one you will remember as if it were more real than most of your memories.”

  He stood looking at the stunning view of the mountains before him, taking in their grandeur.

  “What’s going to happen?” He asked.

  “A battle.” She answered sadly.

  “The great battle of my time?”

  “No. Only the first; provided you take the road I think you will.”

  “I seem to remember we were talking about destiny the last time we spoke.”

  “Indeed we were.” She said, coming to stand next to him. “And I was telling you that destiny is not always what people think it is.”

  “You didn’t think I was ready for the rest of the conversation.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “You think I’m ready for it now?”

  “Perhaps, but then again perhaps not. At any rate, there are things you need to know and I will tell you what you need regarding destiny.”

  He then saw her pick up a small stone.

  “See this rock?” She asked.

  He nodded, or at least felt like he nodded.

  “This rock has been sitting on this mountain for thousands of years undisturbed by wind, by rain, snow or by human hands. It has no power over what happens to it or where it goes. In fact, had I not moved it, it would probably have stayed in that exact same spot for many more thousands of years. But now, I’ve picked it up and putting it down close to where it was but not exactly is what most people think destiny is; something that moves them without them having any power or say in its effect.”

  “But you are not a stone,” she continued. “Neither is any man or woman who has been given the breath of life. Unlike this stone, you have a choice in which direction you move and a choice in whichever way your destiny goes.”

  “But what about the sword…” He started to ask.

  “Make no mistake, destiny gives you choices and the tools to become something larger or smaller than what you begin with.”

  “But was it not destiny that led me to the tomb?”

  “No, it was I who led you to the tomb.”

  “But wasn’t it my destiny?”

  “One possible destiny.”

  “This doesn’t make any sense,” Kenner said confused. “You pointed me in the direction of the tomb.”

  “Yes, but you could have chosen not to follow my directions.”

  “I could have gotten lost and died in the mountains.”

  “You could have not chosen to go into the mountains at all.”

  Kenner was then shown the memory of just before he and Captain Krall parted.

  “I know it would be easy for you to simply disappear…”He heard Krall’s voice tell him.

  “You could have chosen to go back to your village and completely disappear from history,” Shadow told him. “But you did not. You could have chosen not to follow my direction. But you did follow the path I showed you.”

  “I tried to give back the sword after I took it.” He reminded Shadow.

  “Once you’ve taken a step in the direction of destiny, you cannot go back.”

  “So you chose me to have the sword.” He said, almost disappointed.

  “I did, as did others who have faith in you.”

  “Faith?” He asked. “I thought that was us to have for the Lady and the Spirits.”

  “Would it surprise you to find that we also have faith in those who believe in us?”

  He then heard his father’s voice again.

  “Keep faith in the Lady,” the voice said, “and she will keep faith with you.”

  “So destiny is choice?” He asked.

  “Destiny is a thousand choices leading to a thousand different paths. Destiny gives you that which you need to reach your best or your worst. But ultimately, it is you who chooses the paths you follow.”

  Kenner then felt a hand on his shoulder.

  “Captain.” He heard. “It’s time to wake up.”

&n
bsp; Chapter Forty Five

  Kenner climbed out of the cart along with the rest of his troops. Stretching and yawning, he looked around him and saw that the army was just north of the city of Mobrey. He could also see The Serpent River stretched out to the north and south just behind the city.

  “Form ranks!” Kenner heard someone shouting ahead and he saw most of the army begin to move into the same formations they had before marching out of Kallesh. He ordered his men to do the same. Once in the ranks, the men were ordered to sit where they were. It was only a matter of time, Kenner thought before the enemy forces came upon them. Looking to the northeast, he saw the plain rise to a rolling hill several miles away. Soon, perhaps at any moment, Kenner thought the enemy would come marching over that hill.

  Kenner sat with his men and Shela came and sat with him.

  “That’s a mighty big pussy you’ve got there.” One of the men joked.

  “Are you the same one that told that joke last night?” Kenner asked.

  “Guilty as charged.” The soldier replied.

  “Remind me to have you clean the shit out of her stall for a week after we get back to Kallesh.”

  The company laughed.

  As he was still under arrest, Captain Krall spent the entire journey from Kallesh inside a locked, wooden box with a single chair. He had tried to sleep as best as he could, thinking that if Terri could sleep two nights in trees, he could sleep inside a box. There was very little light inside and when the door opened, he was temporarily blinded by the bright sunlight.

  “Alright Captain,” He heard the voice of General Pol. “You’ve been lazy enough for the past few days. It’s time for you to get back to work.”

  When he came out of the box and climbed out of its cart, his armor and sword were returned to him. After that, he was led to a horse.

  “My fourth different horse in less than a month,” He said sarcastically. “It must be some kind of record.”

  He was then led to the front of the formations where a cavalry company waited for him.

  “I thought the cavalry would be right for you this time.” Pol told him.

  “Sounds about right.” Krall replied with a smile. He then shook hands with the General and watched him ride away.

  A tent had been constructed for the King at the head of the army. He sat at a table looking at maps and smoking his pipe to try and keep his mind steady. In his head, he was replaying the battle that was to come in a hundred different ways at once. He saw cavalry charges and infantry assaults from all different directions; all happening at the same time as he tried to imagine which ways would give him and his army the best chance at victory.

  At the same time, he knew that it wouldn’t be easy. In fact, he thought to himself there was more of a possibility that he might be defeated rather than emerge victorious. Perhaps I’ve made a mistake in leading this army myself, he told himself. General Pol is a fine commander in his own right, he said in his mind. Perhaps I should have stayed at Kallesh and let him deal with this. No, he reminded himself. I have to lead my men. I have to command this army from the front as Banner did. I cannot lose face again.

  A rider then came galloping down from the far hill.

  “They’re coming!” He announced.

  General Pol was still inspecting each individual company and their commanders when the rider came down the hill. Before he returned to the side of the King, he approached Terri.

  “How proficient are you with that bow?” He asked her.

  “I think a more accurate statement is that this bow has become pretty proficient with me.”

  “Have you been practicing?”

  “I have and I managed to punch two holes in the back of the barracks at Kallesh with this thing.”

  “Two holes through that wall?” He asked in disbelief.

  “Yup; like a hot knife through butter. I still don’t know what happened to the arrows.”

  “What about its range?” He asked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “What do you mean you’re not sure?” He asked, sounding angry.

  “That is to say, General, I’m not sure this bow has a limit to its range. The farthest target I hit in practice was, at least two miles away.”

  Pol nodded approvingly.

  “Good. I need you to hit as many targets as possible.”

  “Oh don’t worry about me or any of my archers, sir. We’ll kill more than our fair share. Isn’t that right boys?” She shouted to her company. They all cheered.

  The army waited tensely for the enemy to come. Every soldier knew that at any moment, the enemy would come marching over the hill, looking like a wave breaking on to a beach. Kenner remembered feeling this same kind of tension waiting for the battle at the fort. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the distant hill over which that same army would be crossing at any moment.

  Terri practiced aiming with the bow. When she pulled the bow string back, it had a curious effect. Whatever target she was aiming at appeared to come closer; almost as if the target were right in front of her. It made her dizzy the first time she tried it and was getting used to it with each pull. She found a tree on top of the hill that she knew to be, at least three miles away. Each time she pulled the string back, the tree appeared as if only a step in front. Then she saw a single Wolfen cross over the hill. It peered down the hill and turned around. She couldn’t hear it, but she saw that it looked like it howled. She loosed an arrow at it and almost the instant it left her bow, the arrow struck the animal in the head.

  “One down.” She said with a smile.

  For the next hour, the army watched in awe and fear as the Wolfen army poured over the hill. From only a few officers at the head of the formation, they washed over the hill like a wave and eventually filled the plain.

  Kenner heard his soldiers murmuring to themselves in frightful voices. He pulled Shela around to face them.

  “You boys act like you’ve never seen five thousand Wolfen before.” He said, smiling at them. They laughed and Kenner thought they looked a little more relaxed after that.

  Captain Krall felt the same excitement and fear he had always felt before a battle. Even after thirty years of fighting, he never got used to the sight of an army massing before him. Memories flashed before his eyes of battles fought long ago and of the battle he’d fought less than a month previous. He remembered the sights, the sounds even the smells of malaise, weapons crashing against one another, screams and yells and the sights of bodies littered on a field. His horses and those of his company shuffled nervously as the massive army came closer and closer.

  The ground shook and a rumble like an earthquake came nearer as the mass of creatures and men moved slowly forward to the bottom of the hill. Suddenly they all stopped and three riders approached. One of the riders carried a white flag.

  The King rode to in front of Terri.

  “Should we kill them all now, Your Majesty?” She asked with a confident smile.

  “No.” He said seriously. “I will not dishonor a flag of truce. If they try anything foolish, then unleash hell.”

  Terri turned to her archers and nodded. All her men then readied arrows and prepared to loose them on them on the enemy.

  The King, along with General Pol and another General named Vash rode to within a few feet of the riders from the enemy ranks. When he removed his helmet, The King immediately recognized Grail.

  “Captain Grail!” He announced upon seeing him. “I see you are the traitor at the head of this army.”

  “I come to offer terms, Your Majesty.” Grail said calmly.

  “As have I, General. Let us hear yours first and then I will give you mine.”

  “Our terms are these?” Grail began. “Lead your army off this field and I will allow you safe conduct back to the city. I will then give you two days to evacuate the city and lead the citizens safely back to Kallesh.”

  “Is that it?” The King scoffed. “Are those your terms?”

  “They are, You
r Majesty.”

  “Very well then. Here are mine. Your officers may lead these foul beasts back the way you came and never return. You, on the other hand will surrender yourself and face trial for treason by a panel of judges. You will get a fair trial and then a fair beheading.”

  “Is that all?” Grail questioned, looking smug.

  “One more thing,” The King added. “I know you couldn’t possibly have summoned this army together yourself. So have your officers tell your master, whoever he or she is that if he or she dare send troops into my kingdom again, I will hunt them down from here to the four corners of this world. I will not rest, nor will any who serves me until his or her head is on a pike at the entrance to the White City. Do you understand me, traitor?”

  “I believe we understand one another perfectly, Your Majesty.”

  The King turned his horse around and began riding back to his army. Then the entire army watched in horror as General Grail threw the Silver Axe at the King. It landed in the middle of his back and the King fell to the ground.

  Chapter Forty Six

  Upon seeing the King fall, Terri shot an arrow at General Grail. It hit him in the middle of his back, but merely bounced off of his armor.

  “Damn!” She exclaimed. She then turned to her company who were ready to shoot their own arrows.

  “Wait for the officers to get back!” She shouted at them.

  Generals Pol and Vash returned for the King and found him motionless on the ground. Pol dismounted his horse and tried to pick up the King, but Grail rode up on his and brought the axe crashing down on his head. Vash spurred on his horse and tried to return to the Walechian army, but the Silver Axe landed in his back sending him to the ground as well.