The Staff of Sakatha

by Tom Liberman

  Jon nodded, “Lead the way, Proteus; Sorus and I will follow.”

  Proteus took his sword in hand and walked steadily past the tall archway and into the red glow beyond. Jon went next and Sorus followed behind in the rear. Jon’s huge body blocked his view for the most part and the young knight of Elekargul strained his eyes in the dim red light to see further ahead. The natural cavern quickly gave way to shaped stone walls and a smooth floor worked to perfection by skilled hands. The red glow came from stones embedded in the walls and Sorus did not notice when Jon suddenly stopped in front of him and he banged into the young knight and bounced backwards a step. Jon didn’t chastise him but simply looked at Proteus, who stood with his hand raised just ahead.

  “Right around this bend,” he said in a whisper and lifted his sword. “Now!” he suddenly shouted and dashed around the corner. Jon went next and was instantly out of view of Sorus who charged after. When he turned the corner he saw Proteus already halfway across a narrow chamber where the skeletal creature stood in mid turn and the snake thing still had its back to their approach.

  Chapter 19

  “We’re lost,” said Thaddeus to Odellius and about a dozen other knights as they stood in a small circle, the moon shining overhead like a baleful eye watching their predicament. Around them the groans of wounded knights and the hisses of reptile men sounded intermittently. “Why don’t they finish us off?” he said to the rotund knight whose face was visibly red even in the darkness and who sat on one knee as his breath came in great gasps.

  “We surprised the bastards,” huffed Sir Odellius between labored pants. “Killed more than we had any right,” he continued. “They’ll probably wait for morning to finish us off. The darkness isn’t their friend and they don’t like the terrain.”

  “That gives us about an hour,” said Thaddeus, and some of the other men, their eyes hollow and many with wounds on their arms and legs, nodded their heads as well.

  “Should we attack or wait to be annihilated?”

  “Normally,” said Odellius as his breath becoming more shallow, “I’d say attack and die, but every hour means the chance for more knights to find us,” he finished and put his hand on the ground. “How many are we?”

  “I count fifteen able to fight,” said Thaddeus looking around the group just as a dart flew through the air and missed him by a few inches. “Shields up!” he ordered, but the men formed up in a circle with their shields linked to provide protection before he finished.

  “I don’t think they want to wait until morning,” said Thaddeus to Odellius with a wry smile. The sound of darts as they clanked off heavy shields sounded almost like thick rain drops hitting a thin metal roof. “Luckily they don’t use crossbows or heavy bows,” he continued, “or this would be over in a few moments.”

  “Lucky indeed,” said Odellius just as a lucky dart penetrated the shields and embedded itself in the shoulder of one of the men. The unfortunate soldier stifled a cry of pain and kept his shield in position as another man, inside the circle, moved quickly to attend to the wound. “It’s just a matter of time though,” he continued, “perhaps I should revise my original plan.”

  Just then the hail of darts began to slow and within a few moments came to a complete stop. “They are far from home,” said Thaddeus with a hopeful smile. “Perhaps they did not bring a particularly large supply of darts.”

  “It is a possibility,” said Odellius and grinned back. “Keep those shields up lads, it might be a trap, but I think we can hold out until morning unless they come at us.”

  Over the next hour an occasional dart hissed through the air but there were no more casualties and the warriors rotated the shield men and managed a few moment of fitful sleep as they waited for the dawn and their deaths.

  “It’s getting lighter,” said Thaddeus and nudged Odellius whose snores rang out into the early hours of the morning. The rotund mason opened his eyes instantly, looked around to take in the slow lightening of the sky, and nodded his head.

  “Are they up yet?” he said with a motion of his hand to the surrounding group of reptiles.

  Thaddeus nodded, “I’d guess about a five hundred of them at least, they’ve been yelling at us, apparently some of them know our language. Things about Black Dale and what they’ll do to our wives after they kill us, the normal things.”

  Odellius smiled. “Let’s hope they try and make good on that; the First Rider and our men will run them down easily in this open terrain,” he said and suddenly stood up. “Form up men, they’ll be coming for us in a few minutes.

  The able knights stood up and arranged themselves in a circle around those too wounded to stand and, as daylight began to banish the darkness, the forms of their foes slowly became clear. Thaddeus’s guess appeared to be about correct as the reptile men had them ringed in on all four sides with about a hundred or so in each group. The leader of the enemy was a tall man who wore a spectacular uniform decorated with many bone symbols. Odellius shook his head, “With our mounts they’d run before us like children,” he said.

  Thaddues looked at Odellius, his eyes shining brightly. “It’s too bad men on their civilian twelve month aren’t allowed either horse or lance; still, death against an overwhelming force isn’t the worst way for a knight to die, now is it?”

  “Balls on,” said Odellius and gave the younger knight a clap on his shoulder so hard he staggered forward a step. “By the Black Horse, I’ll take them lizards on with a wooden practice sword and five beers in my belly.”

  “They’re getting ready to come down on us,” said Thaddeus looking up at the gathered reptile men and listening to their strange sibilant language as they shouted orders to one another. “We’ll not hold up to even a single charge,” said the knight with a smile, “but I’ll go down with one of them at least,” he finished and pulled out his sword. “For Elekargul!” he shouted and the men shouted it as well, but then a horn sounded and the shout suddenly echoed tenfold in the distance.

  “By the Black Horse,” said Odellius. “If that’s not the First Rider and a company of men then I’m a tea totaling brewer boy in his mother’s petticoats!”

  The reptile men directly to their right spun almost to the man to look behind them, and all four groups began to signal frantically and moved to unify their formation. The sound of thunderous hooves came next and then, from a small dip in the hills, a hundred heavily armed horsemen, their plate mail glinting in the orange glow of the morning sun, charged forward, a white banner with four black horseshoes carried by the lead rider.

  The horses seemed to gallop at the same speed and maintained a perfect line as they moved with deceptive swiftness towards the reptile men who hurriedly tried to form a wall. A loud cry came from the horsemen and all one hundred lances dipped at the same moment to create a terrible phalanx of death. The two groups of reptile men on either side of the trapped knights raced towards the unit closest to the horsemen while the creatures across simply tried to cut through Odellius and his men.

  “Face me,” cried Odellius, turning his back to the reptiles and facing the soldiers at his command who turned to look at the massive warrior. “Line up, three deep, rows of six,” he calmly ordered and they obeyed in precise fashion getting into place just as the hundred or so reptiles hit their wall. The creatures that struck the center of the wall stopped in their tracks while those on either side flowed around and jabbed with their swords at the massed center.

  From behind this little battle, the sound of thunder rolled over the battlefield and a hundred lances swept through the reptile lines like a scythe through a field of wheat. As Odellius tried to bellow orders the horsemen flew past him, their mounts heavily armored, and the men on their backs silent.

  A short man with the features of a hobgoblin that included a square head with black hair and black eyes motioned with his hand; fifty of the riders suddenly swung their horses around in perfection unison, and lowered their lances for another charge. The leader made another move with
his hand and all fifty of the remaining knights dropped their bloody lances, dismounted, and pulled out thick swords like a drill team on the parade field. “By the lance, by the sword, by the horse, to me knights of Elekargul, to the First Rider!”

  The isolated soldiers dashed across the field and found positions with the fifty heavily armed soldiers like gears that turned on a mill, and Odellius found himself next to the squat man who gave the orders. Odellius stood almost a foot taller than the man although their bodies were nearly the same thickness and the little man’s legs were even stouter, like trunks of some great tree.

  “I expected you’d find a way to weasel out of your twelve month of masonry,” he said to Odellius, although he kept his eyes on the reptiles that tried to reform with at least half their number dead or badly wounded. “Swords … up!” and sixty some odd blades rose into fighting position while shields locked.

  “It’s nice to see you as well, Vipsanius,” said Odellius.

  “At the double!” shouted the squat man and men started toward the few reptiles that managed to band together after the second sweep from the cavalry. The big leader of the group, a flagman at his side, shouted orders but their lines remained jagged and many of their foe looked at the horses, who swept around for another charge rather than at the swordsmen who rapidly approached. “Address me as First Rider if you please,” said the short man. “Keep in line there, Surantius,” he shouted as a young knight with an open hand symbol between his four horseshoes surged half a stride ahead. “Make a note, Odellius,” he continued, “how many of them watch the horses and how many watch us.”

  “Yes, First Rider,” said Odellius as they moved to within ten yards of their massed foes. Some of the enemy noticed the foot soldiers, although at least half, if not more, watched the horsemen now completely wheeled and ready to charge forward again as they lowered their steel lances to chest height.

  The horses moved aside at the last second and rolled past like a river split around some massive stone, but their movement captured the attention of most of the reptiles in the square and the First Rider’s group hit them a moment later at a full run. What few of the enemy put up a fight were quickly dispatched as their hide armor proved no match for the field plate of the knights and within a moment Odellius and the First Rider approached the heart of the enemy unit where the great captain and his personal guard awaited.

  “A weak choice of armor,” said Vipsanius and thrust his blade under the arm of a reptile whose own overhand smash he easily deflected with a steel shield.

  “They are from the swamps, unused to open plain fighting,” said Odellius and smashed a second of the beasts in the face with his own shield and then, as the creature reeled, chopped its left leg off at the knee.

  “Now, then, that one seems better equipped,” said the First Rider, planting his steel tipped riding boot into the face of a downed reptile and crushing his mouth, as he pointed to the leader. “Shall we test his steel?”

  Odellius nodded his head, “I’m afraid technically I’m still on civilian duties, First Rider, and he does seem quite fearsome,” he continued as the two advanced on the leader whose guard suddenly seemed to evaporate in the avalanche of steel. “But I’ll come along in case you get yourself in trouble and I have to save you … again.”

  The two knights strode forward towards the heavily armored champion who turned to face them with a sneer on his face. He uttered something in a strange, guttural language, made a gesture with his sword even as the First Rider, who stood at least a foot and a half shorter than the massive creature darted forward and brought his sword up in a thrust that caught the big creature between the legs and drove into his body. Odellius, more on par height-wise with the creature, blocked a violent blow that caused his shield to ring and arm to go numb and fired off a level swing that neatly beheaded the creature whose shocked expression remained even while it rolled along the ground a moment later. After this, all resistance swiftly ended.

  The two men stood for a moment and the First Rider looked to Odellius and shook his head sadly, “You tall fellows always go for the sweeping attacks. I’ve told you many times, my old friend, that it is easy to block such attacks, come in low, with a stabbing motion and your opponent must either dodge aside or be impaled.”

  “I grant that for a half-hobgoblin, half-halfing midget like yourself such a tactic might prove effective from time to time but those of us who can see over the back end of a horse find an overhand strike has more power,” he replied and looked down at the First Rider, a large grin on his face.

  “Ah, now with the racial insults,” replied the man and shook his head again with an equally broad grin across his square jaw. “At least my mother knew the identity of my father,” he finished as another of the well armored horsemen approached.

  “That’s hardly fair,” said Odellius, “my mom had it narrowed down to three or four the last time I spoke with her.”

  “First Rider,” said the man who wore steel armor with the symbol of four horseshoes around a clenched and bloody hand. “The enemy is defeated; the prisoners indicate that another group of them are holed up in the hills north of here.”

  “Well done,” said Vipsanius with a nod. “Set a unit to take the prisoners back to Black Roost, allow them their personal possessions, but strip them of arms and armor.”

  “Yes, First Rider,” said the soldier, clenching his fist, then turning to the other men, and beginning to bellow out orders.

  “So Odellius,” said the squat man, “why are you out here chasing reptiles when you should be in Black Dale working on your masonry skills?”

  “I apologize, First Rider,” said Odellius, scratching his mammoth belly with one meaty hand. “The mayor received your orders to mobilize after the reptiles landed.”

  Vipsanius looked at Odellius through narrowed eyes for a moment and the coal black seemed to take on a hint of red. “I see,” he finally said and put his hand on his sword hilt. “And he ordered all men on civilian duty to arms?”

  “Yes, First Rider,” said Odellius as he looked away toward where the knights organized the prisoners into lines in preparation for the long march to Black Roost.

  “Most unfortunate,” said the First Rider with a shake of his head, although he also turned to gaze at the prisoners. “You and your men return to Black Dale and resume your twelve month,” he said. “I’ll get to the bottom of this incursion. The mayor is with you?”

  “He joined us after a few days but died bravely yesterday when we first encountered the enemy,” said Odellius. “He led the first assault.”

  The First Rider shook his head again, “This is most troubling my friend. There is something going on in the lands. I’ve known for several months now but I did not appreciate the gravity of the situation until this moment. Our own men influenced by this force, corrupted in some way.”

  “There is another thing, First Rider,” said Odellius quietly as the two watched the organization continue apace. Most of the reptiles lined up tidily while armored horsemen maneuvered around them, their lances in an upright position.

  “Go on, Odellius,” said the First Rider and turned to look up at the huge bellied mason.

  “An emissary came to Black Dale shortly before the mayor sent us on this patrol,” continued Odellius quietly. “A man, a young man not much out of boyhood, named Jon Gray who claims he is the son of the Gray Lord of Tanelorn. He wanted to speak with you of an alliance.”

  “I’ve had no word of such a thing,” said Vipsanius with a frown. “No messenger, nor my priest magically notified.”

  “No, First Rider,” said Odellius. “Mayor Thorius thought the boy merely a drifter looking to steal or otherwise deceive you and refused to send a message.”

  The First Rider nodded, “And what did you think of this young emissary?” he said and turned to face Odellius and look up at him.

  “He’s no drifter,” said Odellius with a smile, remembering their tussle in the yard. “Perhaps he’s not w
hat he claims but he is a lad to be reckoned with. I’ve heard of this Tanelorn, First Rider. They are a people not unlike our own and an alliance with them is something I would welcome. If their warriors are on par with the boy, then, at least, I would not want to be their enemies.”

  “So,” said the First Rider, “you think it likely he is who he represents to be?”

  “Yes, First Rider. I think it highly likely. I also think his presence here has something to do with the recent activities of the reptile creatures, of the … corruption of Mayor Thorius, and more.”

  “Where is this boy now,” said the First Rider, “in Black Dale hoping that I’ll turn up?”

  Odellius shook his head, “No, First Rider. He befriended the young brewer boy, the one who was sickly and untaken as a squire but who grew up well, Sorus Brewer. They headed into the hills with Sir Germanius. The old warrior hoped to end his life with some sort of glorious deed and seemed to trust the boy well enough.”

  “Where were they headed?” asked the First Rider as his hand went to his square jaw.

  “Into the Mountains of the Orc,” said Odellius, “I think …,” he started to continue but the First Rider immediately held up his hand.

  “The Mountains of the Orc,” he repeated as his hand left his chin and his face turned towards the mountains which were visible to the northeast in the distance. “Did he say what he wanted up there?”

  Odellius shook his head no, “I’m sorry, First Rider, the boy was in town for about a month hoping you would turn up but eventually grew bored and left. I think he confided in Germanius, otherwise I doubt the old fellow would have gone along.”

  “Odellius,” said the First Rider, “would it bother you terribly if I ordered you to come along with me to the mountains instead of resuming your duties in Black Dale?”

  Odellius smiled broadly. “To be honest, I was enjoying sculpting very much. I hoped to make a statue in your honor by the end of my term. Your form is not particularly easy to duplicate, short and wide and how I was going to cut that third leg of yours that hangs near the ground I’m not certain.”