by Marcus Sloss
“You could never tell…” I let my sentence finish itself. “Finally… Pick up the pace we got clear underbrush and then rolling hills. This is old farmland. The report is we’re still hours out from combat. Good thing we run daily.”
“I don’t… please don’t… leave me behind. I cannot see well in the dark.” Fwar chimed in between panted breathes.
He would get fit or get replaced and that was the end of the conversation. I would wait until he passed out to carry him. I would reprimand King Horus when I could. No use in forcing a healer on me who couldn’t keep up. Sometimes nepotism was flat out dumb. I still hadn’t figured out Fwar’s angle. Then it dawned on me. Of course, that was it. One of his wives had similar looks to Addilyn. Yup, nepotism. Oh well, I would handle it later. Best to make the most of the situation. We waded our first stream thirty minutes into our run. I shifted Fwar to the front then stripped him naked. He protested until I bitch slapped him and the group giggled. Naked and light, I hauled his extra gear. It was better than carrying the man for now. If an ambush sprung, that Traz never saw, I would simply throw his gear on the ground and hope he got it on.
“For all that is holy Fwar… Stop trying to give me justifications while running. Tammy instruct the recruits how to breathe properly while running. Seven hells Fwar, I now realize you married into the family. During morning training you will run twice as much until you can keep up, or you will be replaced. Let us hope this is the only time we have this conversation.” I put on some speed and left them behind.
I could hear Tammy coaching him in lamaze breathing. You may laugh, but if you (heh heh who) while you run, you get more air into your chest and you can push further and faster. The short man was still struggling and we were only an hour in. I paused us for a five minute water break. Fwar went to sit when Nate kicked him back off his ass. Everyone else was walking, letting the blood flow. Fwar needed to walk before we ran again. If he relaxed he would cramp.
“Update Traz,” I muttered.
“The ships are a cluster… that is the nicest way I can label it. They are hitting each other, no one is rowing in tandem. A seasoned captain dropped sails on a smaller boat and is the only one ready to go at the rendezvous point. My guess is you will make it there hours before they do. Maybe let the wine drinker have a break.” Traz said with a chuckle, adding to the pile of comments about Fwar.
I tossed Fwar his gear. “Slow march from here. No long breaks. We hit the enemy and run. Fwar, save enough juice to sprint if things go to hell. Oh and here is some motivation. I don’t have to outrun the Horde… I only have to run faster than you…”
“Don’t have to be such a dick,” Fwar said and I let it slide.
It was Janice who pounced on this.
“We are as strong as Gryff and as weak as you. I get you enjoy lounging with your six beautiful wives and thrill for combat. We are all here for vengeance or glory. We are not here to babysit. If you do not shape up expect to be replaced. If you haven’t noticed, Gryff can care less if King Horus is angry at him.” Janice pointed out while we maintained a slow march.
“Why is it you don’t fear your King?” Winst asked.
Donnie answered for me. “King Horus needs Gryff more than Gryff needs the King. You ever notice Gryff never asks for anything. He created a mage academy and Zenith. Not King Horus. He sacked Malvia with the griffins… Again, no King Horus. To be fair, Mina talked with King Horus’ wives a lot and she said there were only good things said. The man respects Gryff. Hell, he knighted me, a low born and two mage women. No offense girls… that is a big deal. You notice no one argued that fact. You have to believe someone complained. What can King Horus do? Reprimand the man who is a key friend to our greatest allies? Challenge him in a duel? Doubt it, none of us can beat Gryff one on one. So that is why he does not fear the King.”
Winst nodded, tilted his head and kept going. “Then why don’t you become Emperor? We dozen know who Amber is.”
“I will.” That was all I said and all that was needed.
The hush settled over the marching group. If I said I was going to do something, then I did it. I was not a man of rash words or half measures. Sure I made mistakes but I knew in my heart Emperor Salvoni had to go. I also knew King Horus was a great leader. I was the next warrior Emperor and he was not. That was the sum of the equation. The world needed me. It had gifted me so much and my last gift was a five foot five babe with fiery red hair. I did not deny for one moment I wanted to strip Amber naked, smack her plump curvy…
I had zoned out and a spider was on my face. Seven hells, I smacked my face so hard it stung for the next twenty minutes. Two hours in and we were still an hour run from the nearest goblins. I watched the sun, knowing it would set in two hours. That at least gave us some time to kill before the dark set in. I ordered us to eat some jerky. Tammy asked to sing and I let her.
A song of love was kept mellow and low. The tale of two lovers and a mighty foe. They battled in desperation to maintain their hearts, only to end up dead, upon a cart. The victor a savage and brutal one, died alone… a story no one sung.
It was a gentle rhythm that spun a light story for all to enjoy. It almost made forget I was about to bring death across the fields of battle.
“Emperor… never would have thought it could happen. At least you’re the right asshole to stick against the Horde. Been an honor killing the Horde with you. So you know… Una called it that day with Count Conway. No idea where we go when we die, but that woman is grinning right now. Either in the blackness of death or the pits of hell. I guess I will find out when I die.” Lazra said in morbid thought.
“He is the right man for it, with the right advisors and experience, he will become something worthy of songs. To be honest we all will. They already sing of our feats at dead goblin pass. Fitting name really. We all have lost so much, it is times like these, where we get our due revenge.” Nate said.
“As stirring as your banter is, you’re five minutes away from three dozen goblins harvesting vines from some willow trees.” Traz alerted me and I halted the march.
“I know we have practiced formations to perfection. This is not one of those moments. I need to get myself between the main enemy force and these thirty plus goblins. I will charge and push them to you. I will not give a battle cry, but you will know when the battle starts. Push hard, accelerate… sorry, wrong term… No mercy. Carve the enemy to the last. Win the day. Parts for catalysts come second. Give me five to get settled then creep this way. Wait Traz wants me to point…” I shifted my extended hand from left to right until Traz said it was correct. “This way. Okay, griffins sure are awesome. Five minutes, Traz is keeping timer. If you miscount and see Traz hovering over you towards the east that means he wants you to join the fight. Enough said. Final combat checks. Stash bags here.”
Nate and I inspected each other and we parted. I turned on my speed and burned some aura. Traz and I kept in constant contact as I circled around the goblins. When I hit the area that separated my foes from their reinforcements, I slowly crept forward. Traz let me know my allies were closing in too.
The gutterish speech of the goblins hit my ears and riled my blood. I cracked my neck and pumped my shoulders. A few quick limbering moves and I darted between trees as fast as a bird. The first goblin never saw me. His arms stretched high to chop at vines. His head parted from his body. Since it was a harvesting group, I saw no weapons. It also explained the children and women I saw in the mix. A goblin on my left caught my attention. She noticed me too late and was bewildered. I was moving too fast for her to understand what I was and she tilted her head in confusion. I promptly shouldered her into a tree with such force her head split open. The youngling beside her squeaked. I punted the little ugly bastard a hundred yards. I wanted to shout goal…
The surprise was over as the goblins clamored at my arrival. The goblins were mostly unarmed, forced to carry vines instead of weapons. There were two armed slave master orcs providing overwatch. I
went from a standstill to a fast sprint again as I closed on the orcs. They were my only true threat here. Unfortunately for them, they only carried whips to control the slave. My armor was sundered from the force of a crack. The whip connecting easily, likely due to constant use. The skill was honed to excellence. I was a human in full armor, not a four and a half foot naked goblin. The impact site did nothing and I ran my sword across my opponent’s belly.
The last orc bellowed in rage at me. I lifted the crossbow I had practiced with more than I sexed my wives and thunked a bolt into his forehead. The carnage had only begun. My team hit the stunned goblins with the force of death itself. Bodies hit the floor as none were spared. I was feeling that mad laughter creeping in as I descended upon my foes with glee.
I ran my sword through a fleeing goblin and carved it out the side of the body. I looked around for another target to murder and found that the slaughter was complete. I belted my sword and retrieved my dagger. The fun work was about to begin. Eyes, hearts, tongues, and ears. All easy and light to carry. I tossed a pile in the grass not far from where I worked. Victor was on collection duty as was Donnie. They rotated between us Knights as we extracted the best pieces. It was efficient and we were done quickly. The orcs had the same process done to them. No carrying bones or whole heads. No excess weight without a cart.
“Well done Gryff, another party a few hundred yards south. I am going to try to guide you to the south as often as I can so you can see when the ships arrive. Speaking of which, the fleet is finally on the move. They are slow but the learning curve has been established and they are moving as one now. You could skirt all the combat and set up on a cliff I picked out in a half hour. They still have three hours of sailing so you might as well keep the slaughter up. We do have new walls to build in Fernlan. The griffins were wanting to build a range for diving for our young with some of the space…” Traz said and then paused. “Two hundred meters to your south. Not that way… there you go. Head that direction cut left to get in between them and the main army.”
I listened diligently to his commands. “How many?”
“Single dozen, all males. Part of the other group is my guess, allowed to split unsupervised because they are well trained.”
I address the group. “Drop packs here. A dozen enemy is ahead, I want the Knights to go straight in and I will catch any that escape.” The packs hit the ground. “Go.”
They were off with hunger in their eyes. I set myself running at an angle to the left. Sure enough, the sounds of combat hit my ears and it was silenced. A little goblin was running my way when a sword erupted from its chest. Donnie grinned with delight. I killed nothing from this group. I knew I served my purpose and grinned at my teams results. I raced to the bags and fit mine onto my back. I then grabbed a bloody sack off the ground for cleanup detail.
When I reached the dead bodies I saw exactly what I was expecting. A dozen dead goblins scattered among the trees. I let the team do the work and opened the bag ready for the bits to be thrown in. It was gruesome, but I long ago came to grips that Vin was nasty. Probably that first sex encounter with Lyna while she was on her period behind the well. After that, there was only more blood, guts, and organs. I shuddered and didn’t let myself get drawn into a zone out.
“Where to next?” I asked the air.
The Knights of the Frontier knew I was talking to a griffin and let the question hang. “Traz buddy, you there? Where to next?”
Silence. I huddled the team as we waited. Dina popped into view overhead with her pink tipped feathers. I raised an eyebrow at this and grew confused.
“Trolls ambushed Traz, we had to range heal him. Fret not, for he is fine. A dozen trolls overextended in chasing him. You can hit them but it may drag the rest to you. The fleet has sped up to try to keep all the different events timed in sync. Right now they are the only thing delayed. I say avoid the trolls and get in your spot to watch the event. I will guide you.”
“Combat silence from here. We’re going to weave between enemy clumps and establish an overlook. I need you to be close, but not too close. Silent, but fast. Here we go. If you get lost… hoot. Or caw, anything besides crying for help in English.” I looked at Fwar while I said this and he grimaced. “Sorry new guy. Don’t worry, won’t always be so hard.”
I heard some grumbling and then cursing at Victor for scolding him. There was only one option. To play the hand dealt to me. Dina helped guide us around the trolls. Five minutes later, we ran into an ogre taking a shit. Deep down I wish I was jesting, but this ogre was plugged up and struggling. I didn’t care if he was swimming in a river of piss and coated in a foot of dried feces. I wanted that damn heart.
A few hand gestures and I had the group huddled around me. “Okay we’re killing a lone ogre in the woods. He is shitting, get over it. Janice will freeze him in place. Victor will flame the face. The rest of us range him down. Aim for the squishy eyes and hope we brain him with bolts.”
The team nodded to me and I led them to the location Dina guided us to. Sure enough, after a few trees, there was an ogre holding two pines while squatted. His face contorted in agony trying to release a turtlehead. Janice never hesitated. She froze his feet and his hands. Before the first fireball hit him, two crossbow bolts ripped into his right eye and into his brain. The fireball smashed into the dead ogres face. The heat released his hands and he teetered until he fell. He died so quickly he never realized what had happened. We raced to the body. The stench was awful… I gagged a few times while keeping my stomach contents inside my body. Markus opened the bag as Nate went to work on the chest. I cut out the left eye and tongue. The heart gave a wet smack as it was added to the pile. I carried the bag for now because it was starting to get heavy.
Dina guided us deeper into the trees away from our foes and then up a steep slope. The sun was setting now, we were about to lose all vision. Ropes with hooks were unpacked and launched up the hill. I felt mine grab a tree and I yanked myself up to find I was only halfway to the plateau. I saw another hook with rope coiled up here from a failed throw. I snatched it off the ground and launched a throw to get the rest of the way up the cliff. I snagged a root and climbed the rest of the way to the peak. I was silent as I reached the plateau.
The slightest of movements gave the shaman scout away. I burned aura in a burst of speed and slammed into an air shield. It withheld most of my body except my sword arm had gotten through. I sliced then hacked at the concentrating enemy magician. The shield weakened as my blade did damage. I got through his defense with time and ended the surprised scout’s life. I rummaged through its bag to find basic supplies for a long camp out. That told me no replacements anytime soon. I scoured the plateau perimeter quickly with the dying light. I had to focus hard to find the enemy rope leading up here. It was a bent small sword with a long line of dried guts. I pulled it up and added to a loot pile with his bag.
I returned to the shaman’s body to see Nate extracting the key components. I opened the sack that was quickly filling. I left it for him as I checked on my team. Donnie was the last one up, coiling the rope as he went. I extended my hand to the young man, he grasped it for the last few steps up. I grabbed the hook and rope from him and stuffed it in my bag. I pulled us all into a huddle around Nate.
“Great work today team. Tonight the real fun begins. We put a scout on all four corners of this plateau. If you are supposed to be watching west… then watch west and ignore the cannon fire to the east. Trust me, when it starts we will swap out, so everyone gets a chance to watch. Stay diligent. Let your eye adjust and listen. Hoot or caw if you sense something. Four people on guard duty, the rest in the middle relaxing. We earned a snack, some water, and a chance to sit on our asses.”
Donnie, Brad, Fwar and I volunteered for the first shift. We were doing fifteen minute rotations roughly. It was hard to keep time on Vin. There were a few watches and large clock towers, but only the richest of the rich had those. The sun had fully set and night rolled in. There w
as a cloud cover that was so thick, no stars or moon shined through.
I was relieved of my post and had finished eating when the initial belch of a cannon roared across the bay. We never saw where that first long shot landed. I crossed my arms as I watched the bay remain silent, knowing the battle for Herodian Bay had begun.
CHAPTER 6
A nerve wracking half hour passed after that first shot. I was so concerned I checked in with Dina twice. The Horde ignored the shot and whoever fired earlier was probably no longer on the job. I really wished the griffins could talk with the other humans. Maybe we could create a sign language or something. The Horde never shifted as their armies lazed around the fires. The working goblins were full tilt though. They shifted around the encampment in hundreds of tasks. The fear of the whip did not allow any to rest. If I had to guess they worked better in the dark. There were at least a million goblins moving around the massed enemy. The fighters though, they relaxed… even after a ship launched a cannonball. If the enemy didn’t care and we were still holding fire, it meant we merely had to wait for the battle to resume.