Mashaun joins Abigail on the cart, where she quietly describes the locations of the shadows. It doesn’t take long for him to see them stealthily moving along the tree line. He sees several other shadows and tells Abigail to get Axtel while he watches the shadows. Shortly Axtel is on his side, asking about the commotion, in which Mashaun describes each of their locations and their movements. Axtel looks at them for some time before whispering that they are setting up for an attack from two sides. Mashaun listens and then quietly suggests that they move up their timetable by starting the attack before the enemy is ready. Axtel agrees; looking around, he sees the men are awake and ready.
They quietly agree on their chosen targets. Their arrows fly through the darkness, striking their intended victims with deadly accuracy. One of the targets releases a loud cry of pain. The fight is on. A rain of arrows flies in both directions with a couple of guards launching flame arrows into the forest, hitting different trees. The fire arrows cast enough light to silhouette a number of figures lurking in the forest and the caravan. The attackers try to run, but another volley of arrows flies in both directions. The sound of arrows whizzing through the air pierces the silence of the night with the occasional cry as arrows hit their targets.
Mai and Abigail stumble across the caravan’s healer, only to find him a casualty from a volley of arrows. He is the first dead person that Abigail has seen up close, and it makes her sick to her stomach, losing what is left of dinner. Mai grabs Abigail’s head and turns it toward her close enough to smell her vomit breath, telling her that they need a medic, and that is what they will be. Now they have work to do. They cover their heads as another volley of enemy arrows lands around them. Mai grabs the healer’s equipment, thinking, How archaic it is, and goes around helping the wounded. Abigail shortly follows deciding while she doesn’t want to see any more blood. But, she doesn’t want to be by herself, even more.
Kazimir first picks up the bow and sends a few arrows into the dark, dropping it to grabs a sword and shield, dwarfing them in his hands. Seeing several enemy swordsmen breaching the parameter, charges into the fray, the enemy finds that he is a formidable warrior and the guards are glad he is on their side. His shield bash sends the opponent flying back into his comrades, knocking them down. Kazimir trades his sword for a large sword Several of the guards take up a position just behind him and to one side and use him as a tank while they use their bows with deadly accuracy a few more times before switching to swords. The three of them fight like a well-rehearsed team as they slowly make their way forward against the onslaught of bandits.
Pavvo and Toni stay in their carriage, each with a dagger and a repeating crossbow ready for any uninvited guests. Several small slits for arrows that allow the passengers to shoot anyone driving the coach. Wilmer is a blur with a large sword in one hand and a medium sword in the other, cutting his way through the enemy while staying on one side of the coach. Axtel protects the other side with his flail and spiked shield.
Berg and the twins hide under a wagon. He has a short sword for protection but quietly prays that he will not have to use it. He offers the girls a dagger, and they both refuse. The twins know that a slave with a weapon, end up in the arena or put to death. The arena games are violent and sometimes to the death, they would not survive and would rather be someone’s pleasure slaves than sent to the arena. The three remain quiet under a wagon, between the wheels, throughout the battle. Once, one of the guards falls not far from them, still alive. They quickly drag him under the wagon and stanch the bleeding.
The black of night gives way to the faint orange glow of the early morning light bringing the battle more into focus. Mashaun can see from his vantage point on a wagon that the bandits outnumber the caravan guards and that their only real advantage is the defensive position of the wagons. With the clashing of steel behind him and Mashaun knows that the enemy is in the camp, but he is busy with several archers that are hiding just inside the forest. He takes cover beside the wagon and continues to fire at the archers in the forest, every so often hearing a muffled scream. The body count continues to climb on both sides as the battle wears on into the early dawn.
Mashaun looks around and sees bodies littering the camp and surrounding area, realizing that it is only a matter of time before the enemy overwhelms them. He scrambles up on the cook wagon for a better view, looking for the leader. Sure enough, in the distance is the man whom Mashaun shot the last time they attacked the caravan. He takes aim and lets the arrow straight toward the man’s chest. Mashaun launches a second arrow before the first one reaches its intended target. The bandit leader knocks the first arrow aside with a small arm shield but doesn’t anticipate the second one hitting him in the shoulder again. The two glare at each other for a long moment before Mashaun shoots the third arrow, only to see him move out of the way, but it is enough for someone to sound the retreat.
The moans of the wounded and dying fill the usual peacefulness of the early morning. Mashaun scans the surroundings, seeing dozens of bodies lying on the ground. Mai and Abigail are busy helping the wounded. The landscape, caravan, and its guards have a fresh painting of blood. Wilmer and Axtel check on the carriage, making sure Pavvo and Toni are OK while several of the guards go around making sure that there are no enemy survivors and scavenge anything worth keeping. Mashaun goes into the forest to see about the ones that he heard cry during the battle, finding only a few dead and several blood trails. He starts to follow a trail of blood when he hears a noise behind him. Quickly turning with Dalistra drawn, he sees Axtel, shaking his head no. When he asks him about it, Axtel says nothing; instead, he just turns around and heads back to the caravan. Mashaun hesitantly follows, figuring it probably isn’t safe to track them alone anyway. The caravan is busy putting the wounded on the wagons and piling their own dead for a funeral pyre when they get back.
Mai’s and Abigail’s clothes are soaked in blood. They receive some of the extra clothes from the dead men and burn theirs so they won’t attract wild animals. Mai likes her outfit but knows they have to burn all the bloody clothes. The guards are glad to have them around during the fighting—Mai has managed to save quite a few lives with her medical skills, which increases the guards’ morale. Mai’s knowledge in medicine is far superior to that of most, giving her a definite edge over the previous healer. The guards will miss the old healer, but are glad that Mai is an excellent healer and she is on their side.
Several guards stand on the wagons as lookouts. Others hitch the horses to the wagons and the caravan begins to rumble up the road. Mashaun takes a quick count and finds that they are down to less than a dozen guards still in fighting condition. If the bandits attack again tonight, they will not be able to hold them back. He speaks to Wilmer about that, who nods in agreement and tells him that they are still several days from Shen Sherin. Mashaun asks him if they pushed, could they make it to the city. Wilmer shakes his head no and advises against such action because it would leave the wagon less defensible during the night.
Mashaun decides to disappear into the forest, dropping back to see if anyone is following. He waits in the bushes until the caravan disappears around the bend in the road before stealthily moving through the foliage along the forest edge, being ever vigilant about his surroundings and the forest on the other side of the road. After several hours, he is about to conclude that they are not being followed, when he sees a dust trail in the distance. He heads back to the caravan quickly, staying just inside the forest edge, noticing the dust cloud slowly closing the distance between them while watching for the movement of their scouts, which he is sure they have.
The caravan does not stop for lunch due to the late start, and they want to get as close to the patrol area of Shen Sherin as possible. It is late afternoon when a company of armed riders approaches the caravan. The leader says they are from Shen Sherin and need to speak with the owner. Each of them wears chain mail, carries both lances and swords, and looks like a seasoned warrior. Pavvo stops the caravan a
nd has a short private conversation with them before continuing up the road. The riders join the caravan, riding in pairs in flanking positions on the back end of the caravan while the leader rides in front with Pavvo’s carriage. The sight of the city guards is a welcome sight indeed, and when the men take their positions, the morale of the caravan jumps.
***===***
The bandit leader drives his men at a quick pace to catch up with the caravan, knowing that if they don’t get the caravan tonight, it will be too late. The bandits slowly continue to gain on the caravan, and Mashaun knows that it could be a long night if he doesn’t return before it gets dark. His plans change when he sees the bandit leader pop up over a knoll at the edge of the forest on the other side of the road. The leader in front of the bandits is acting as a forward scout. How unusual, he thinks. He could take a shot now, but that could reveal his position, instead, he chooses to wait… for now.
This is the first time that he gets a close look at the bandits’ leader. He has black hair tied back into a short ponytail. He wears a metal breastplate, with a small round shield and long sword, which is why his first arrows were not fatal. He watches him for a long time from the shadows of the forest as the leader scans the area before disappearing back into the forest. At one point, the bandit leader stares in his direction, but takes no action, as Mashaun freezes. Dalistra is telling him to take the shot. As he tells her that there are over two dozen men coming up the road and he can’t avoid that many for long, she halfheartedly agrees.
When Mashaun does not catch up with the caravan by early afternoon, he realizes that they did not stop and that he will have to be careful not to be mistaken as an enemy when he catches up with them. He eventually sees the caravan in the distance and knows that it is only a matter of time before the bandits reach them. Once the caravan stops and the dust settles, he spots extra horses on the road with them. The six well-armed strangers will make his return more dangerous than before.
Pavvo stops the caravan early to give the men and the animals some extra rest; he knows that it’s still two days till they reach the city. He has the wagons set in a tight semicircle, with the city guards setting up camp on the open side. He asks to see Wilmer, Axtel, Mashaun, Mai, and Tarain, the city guard captain. Mai looks around for Mashaun, but he is not in camp. She frantically goes around the camp, asking everybody if they have seen him, but she always gets the same reply, no. Wilmer tells her that they had spoken in the morning but he had not seen him since then. This troubles not only Mai but the rest of them as well.
Mai wants to go look for Mashaun, but Kazimir stops her, telling her that he is good at taking care of himself in the wilds, better than the rest of them together. She snaps back at him, implying that the only reason he stops her is so he could take his place as the leader. This not only stuns him but also hurts him, and he lets go of her. She immediately feels ashamed at letting her emotions get the better of her and apologizes, wanting to take her words back. She knows he is right, both in stopping her and that Mashaun is capable of taking care of himself. He accepts her apology, and the two of them go to the meeting together.
***===***
The bandit leader and Mashaun travel down the road. The leader, with his band, continue to follow the road while Mashaun mirrors him on the other side, the horseman apparently unaware of Mashaun. Sometime just before sunset, one of his men comes out of the forest on the other side and speaks to him, at which point they stop and set up camp. Mashaun quickly continues to the caravan. Shortly he realizes that the reason they stop is that the caravan has made camp only about an hour up the road. He approaches the caravan from the road, so they have some time to make sure he is not the enemy. When Mashaun gets to camp, one of the guards tells him that the meeting has already started without him. Mashaun looks confused, before hurrying to Pavvo’s tent.
He enters Pavvo’s Pavilion, asking for forgiveness, but he has some news about the bandits. Mai jumps up and gives him a big hug until Wilmer clears his throat. Mashaun can feel Dalistra’s jealousy and envy as the two sit down, and the conversation continues back to a strategy for the night. Pavvo asks him, “what news?” Mashaun tells them that he saw the bandits’ size and camp location. They listen intently as Mashaun suggests that they take the battle to them. They argue that would leave the camp unprotected should they attack. His counter offer is that they send a squad of bowmen that would harass them during the night, putting them off-balance and reducing their numbers.
Mashaun explains his idea, and not everyone agrees, but after some discussion, it gets the approval from the group. Axtel will get five of the best archers and meet Mashaun at the cook’s wagon. Mai feverishly opposes the idea, but for every reason, she comes up for Mashaun not to go, he counters with the one reason he should go—he knows where they are camped. That she can’t argue. She wants to go with them in case someone gets hurt, but Mashaun convinces her that she does not need to be in the raiding party when there are still wounded in the camp that needs tending. She reluctantly agrees.
Shortly after sundown, the small group moves into the forest and heads for the enemy’s camp, maximizing the darkness before the moon’s rise. About halfway there, Mashaun suggests that they rendezvous here before continuing to the bandit camp. Once within sight, Mashaun goes to find a good vantage spot for the leader’s tent while Axtel takes charge of the rest. They wait for most of them to bed down, leaving only a few sentries. The plan is to catch them off guard and keep them that way as long as possible. As if on cue, arrows fly from different directions, taking down several of the sentries, with one falling into one of the fire pits, creating a loud ruckus.
The camp awakes to find that as they stand up, some collapse to the ground with arrows in them. The whole scene looks familiar as if he had been there before. Mashaun seems to know when and where the leader will step out of his tent. The leader emerges to find out what is happening, only to find one of Mashaun’s arrows hitting him in the chest. Before the leader can react, several other arrows find their mark, just like déjà vu. Without his precious armor, the leader is vulnerable. The arrows drive deep into his chest, and he just looks at the arrows before collapsing to the ground in a heap. Most of the camp has gotten up and is blindly sending arrows back into the dark forest, not realizing that shooters have already moved to a new location.
The plan is to send two or three volleys of arrows into the camp then move to a different location, then launch another volley. They would keep that up until dawn, or if they’re met with a serious threat, they would meet back at the rendezvous point. The next volley into the camp comes from different directions, and the camp takes up a defensive position, hiding behind shields while sending arrows wildly into the dark forest. The arrows would stop just long enough for the camp to feel safe, and then another round would send them scurrying back behind their shields. After several hours of the random attacks, the bandits surround themselves with shields and refuse to leave their makeshift fort of shields. They even stop shooting arrows and just hide.
Seeing that they no longer have any targets, Axtel decides that it will be futile from this point on, taking his group to the rendezvous with Mashaun following before returning to the caravan. Axtel takes a body count. They find that it was a success with over a dozen bandits killed or wounded, including the leader, while none of them even got a scratch. Nobody says a word as the archers keep close to the forest, remaining vigilant to make sure no one is following. While they didn’t stay there all night like planned, the bandits will need a few days to lick their wounds and possibly find a new leader.
When Mashaun’s group arrives back at the caravan, the camp rushes to greet them with curiosity and enthusiasm. Everybody wants to know how it went. Mashaun receives a hug and kiss from Mai. Mashaun tells Dalistra not to say a word before she even has a chance. Kazimir, the twins, Berg, and Abigail are curious about the evening’s event. Kazimir is a little upset that he was not invited. Thinking fast, Mashaun tells him that if anything
would happen to him, he would have to watch over the group. Kazimir left with a big smile on his face, thinking that makes him second in command.
Pavvo summons Axtel and Mashaun for a status report. He is curious as to why, they have returned so early. He is pleased with the news that it is a success and that their leader is dead. The enemy is only slightly injured, and it would not be long before they regain their senses, but the death of their leader should buy them a few days. That night, they double the guards anyway, but nothing happens. The convoy leaves before sunup the next morning. Pavvo still wants to put some distance between them and the bandits.
CHAPTER 7
Shen Sherin
The next day turns out to be good traveling weather, with the air cool and crisp in the morning, warming up as the sunlight blankets the ground. The days are getting steadily cooler as they travel. Max tells Kazimir that they are heading toward the land of the long night, where it remains dark most of the time during the winter. They cover a lot of ground before they set up camp that evening. The conversations that night seem to be more about the city than the bandits, but the watch is still doubled. The city guards update the caravan guards about the events from Shen Sherin and the surrounding area, which isn’t much except for Magdalenia. They tell Pavvo and the guards that she has been furious the last few weeks, taking her anger out on anyone that even looks at her wrong. Rumor has it that someone has killed her clone, which had her stone staff while transporting two of her prized slaves, and they just disappeared. In a hushed voice, one of them says that rumor has it, she doesn’t know what has happened to her clone but the guard captain made it back, and then turns up dead a few days later.
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