The kDira's World Anthology

by K R McClellan

  As the morning light started growing brighter, kDira and Esenice could see two guards on the top of the span. Both were standing and talking, not really looking for any signs of danger. kDira and her partner readied their bows.

  “Don’t miss,” whispered kDira.

  “You don’t miss,” whispered Esenice.

  “I’ll take right,” kDira said, “You take left. Ready? Now.”

  With that they both let their arrows fly. Both hit their targets. One Karn fell dead where he stood. The other let out a howl and staggered a bit, and looked as though he was going to bolt. kDira let him have it with another arrow and he fell to the floor.

  kDira and Esenice waited to see if anyone came to see what the howling was about, but no one came. The pair made their way down the canyon wall to the top of the Keep, and each regained their arrows. They walked across the span to see if there was anyone else hiding, but found no one. They did, however, find a doorway that they assumed would lead to lower levels. Repelling over the side might not be necessary.

  With little warning, they heard movement behind the door. kDira and Esenice dashed to the walls on either side of the doorway. As the door opened a Karn walked onto the walkway.

  “You laaaazzzzy Karnssss,” he hissed. “You ssssleeping on watch again? I’m here to relieve youzzz.”

  Those were the last words he spoke as kDira came up from behind and slit his throat. She didn’t count on another Karn guard following the first.

  “What issss thisssss?” he called out. “Are you Blackhooorrrn?”

  He pulled his sword and charged kDira. He was on her before she could avoid him but countered his swing of his sword with her knife. Esenice, shocked by the rapid turn of events, snapped into action running up behind him and whipped him across the back of his head with her bow. He went down hard. She finished him with her sword through his chest and he hissed “Blackhooooorrrrnnn…” before he died.

  A few levels down, Agis and his team were quickly and silently making their way onward room by room, killing anyone they found there swiftly. Agis showed them where the armory was, and unlike the previous visit, the room was full of battle axes, spears, and long heavy two-handed swords. Agis slid an empty barrel over to just behind the door. There, near the barrel he laid a burning torch on the floor, and reaching around the door, he placed one of the molten cat-tails.

  “If anyone goes running into the armory,” he whispered to his fellow Blackhorn, “They are going to get a hot surprise.”

  They continued onward, room by room, checking each in hopes of finding their Princess tribe mates. With each door, they killed more Karn, but left without finding their Princess Mothers they so desperately needed to find.

  Above, kDira and Esenice silently crept down the stairs from the parapet lined top walkway to the second floor. This was uncharted territory for kDira as they had never explored this level on their first visit to the Keep. There were several Karn sleeping in the window lined passage that spanned the Pass over the top of the one Agis and his team had traversed. The female pair made short work of spilling their Karn blood from their necks before anyone could speak. They crossed over to the west side of the canyon into more passages of doors and torches. They went room by room in the same style as the male krebs below them, desperately looking for their Princess Mothers.

  As they reached the end of one westward leading passage they found a stairwell going downward, and kDira believed that it was the one that led to the lower level, just South of the passage they had booby-trapped leading to the surface. Deciding to continue searching this second floor, she turned and saw Esenice, face stressed as in horror.

  It was then she noticed the Karn behind her, his short sword sticking through her chest and he was holding the small framed Blackhorn off the floor by the hilt of his weapon.

  “Blackhooooorrrnnnn!” he hissed loudly. He let down the sword and Esenice’s limp dead body fell to the floor. “Now you die, Blackhoooorrrn female!”

  kDira sliced her knife though the air, where it was countered by the sword of the Karn. The noise was loud enough that kDira knew this was not going to be a fair fight for long. She swung her knife with everything she had, and at every move the Karn countered perfectly. This was obviously an experienced fighter, not like the one they had met on their first visit.

  “What are you doing here, Blackhooooorrrn?” he hissed again between fending off kDira’s melee attacks.

  “I’ve come for our breeders, Karn scum!” she said, striking out again and again.

  “Ha ha ha ha,” the Karn laughed loudly. “You came to die for nothing, sssstupid Blackhorrrnnnn. Your breederrrrsss are not heeeere,” he said taking a more offensive stance and striking out against kDira.

  “What do you mean? Where are they?” she demanded, beginning to tire and slowly retreating towards the stairwell.

  “They went to Karn City. You think this all we are?” he asked as he pounded her again and again with the heavy sword, wearing kDira down quickly. “We are so big now you can never conquer Karn!”

  kDira, backing up, tripped over the body of Esenice and fell backwards. She looked up at the Karn, who was taking a stance to finish her off. kDira looked over at the dead body of Esenice, and in her thoughts apologized for leading her into this. The Karn lifted his sword, point downward, set to finish kDira, when a crossbow bolt pierced his heart. He looked confused, as though he wasn’t aware that he had been shot, just that his body was no longer obeying his commands. He dropped his sword, stumbled backwards and fell to the ground.

  Omiroe reached upwards, grabbed kDira and started dragging her down the stairs. As kDira was being pulled to the stairs she could see several Karn coming down the passage towards her. They still weren’t fully aware of what was going on, but they knew there were dead bodies everywhere and something was wrong. All were armed.

  “We can’t leave her!” kDira yelled.

  “We have to go, kDira. You can’t save her now,” he said firmly.

  kDira made her way to her feet. “The Princess Mothers are not here, we have to go,” she said.

  As she got to the bottom of the stairs they met up with Agis and Isiath.

  “Esenice is dead,” Omiroe said. “Karn are coming, we need to light this place up and tear it down.”

  Agis could hear the Karn coming down the stairs, he pulled out a molten cat-tail, lit the oil soaked fabric on the top of the flask and it blazed instantly. He tossed it into the stairwell as the Karn were just coming into site. The flask broke on the rock stairs and the oil burst into flames. The unsuspecting Karn slipped on the burning oil and themselves became engulfed in flames. Smoke began filling the passages. The screams of the Karn would certainly awaken anyone that was still alive. The remaining four began to run towards the span of the bottom floor to get to the east side of the Pass before the final part of the plan could take place. As they passed the main passage Agis looked down towards the armory just in time to see it go up in flames, an unfortunate Karn was running covered in flames the other way down the passage.

  They found their way to the span, stopping before they crossed. They pulled out every remaining molten cat-tail, and as the Karn approached they lighted and tossed the fiery traps into the passages where they burst into flames engulfing numerous Karn in the process.

  Knowing the fire would burn itself out, they needed to get to the other side right away. They ran for all they were worth.

  “Now, Edu, now!” Agis yelled out the window at two males manning the cat-pult.

  When they had made it to the other side, Omiroe readied his cross bow and kDira readied her bow, waiting for any Karn that might make it past the fires.

  Edu, down below on the cat-pult put his axe though the rope holding back the ram. The cradle of rocks dropped suddenly, and the battering ram crashed into the side of the span with a solid thud. The whole structure shook, but did not fall. There were obvious cracks in the floors and walls, but one attempt was not enough. Edu and the I
nterpreter worked as quickly as they could, removing rocks from the cradle in an effort to lower the ram again.

  Time was running out. The Karn were breaking through the fire barrier and were now angrily crossing the span.

  “Blackhooorrrnnnns,” more than one hissed.

  kDira and Omiroe let loose their arrows, and two Karn dropped to the floor dead. The other Karn just stepped over and made their way faster.

  kDira was able to get off one more shot before Agis and Isiath stepped to the front line and began holding off the Karn attack as kDira and Omiroe switched to hand weapons. There wasn’t much room for more than two to stand side-by side, but the Karn were falling one by one.

  Edu and the Interpreter had the ram tied back down to the cat-pult and Edu was filling the basket as fast as he could. He knew his tribemates in the Keep needed that span to come down.

  When he unleashed the power of the cat-pult the second time, it impacted the span with a noticeable “crack”. The passage shook and shuddered. The Karn took pause to try to understand what was happening. And in an instant, the whole center of the span gave way, taking the Karn with them. Edu and the Interpreter barely had enough time to run clear of the falling debris and broken Karn bodies. Several were still alive, but badly battered and twisted. Edu had no problem putting them out of their misery.

  Agis and kDira looked across the Pass to the now exposed west passage opening. Several Karn there looked confused.

  “Blackhooooorrnnnn!” one yelled. “You are all dead, Blackhoooooornnnn!” They then turned to make their way out of the Keep. They did not know of the fiery surprise that awaited them on their rear exit.

  kDira and the three males made their way back down to the canyon floor. It was a bittersweet victory.

  kDira relayed what the Karn had said about the Princess Mothers not being here. She told how Esenice had fought and died at the hands of the Karn. She was tired. They were all tired.

  cHAPTER 6

  Having gathered some wood and various items from the destroyed Keep and fallen Karn, kDira and Agis led the way back to the cave where they hoped to stretch out and rest. It had been a long night, and even longer morning, and with the sun now high in the sky it was beginning to get unbearably warm in the canyon.

  After a few hours, they found the cave entrance, and again the floor below had a herd of rock-goats. Startled slightly by the Blackhorn coming into view, they scurried a short way down the Pass. kDira and Omiroe readied their bow and crossbow, took aim, and dropped two of them almost simultaneously. kDira took aim again and took one more buck from the now scurrying herd.

  “Looks like we eat tonight,” the Interpreter said. “Well done!”

  Edu helped the Interpreter up to the cave entrance, while the three remaining males gathered the rock-goats and started hauling them up to the cave. kDira hauled the wood up for the forthcoming fire.

  Inside the cave the Interpreter found the writings that kDira and Agis had discovered previously. He began studying the pictures and symbols with an enthusiasm that a parched man gulps water. The others watched him nod and scratch his head, sometimes mumbling to himself.

  Meanwhile, the others skinned and dressed out their kill for the evenings feast. kDira worked towards building a fire and a makeshift spit for one of the rock-goats.

  “Interpreter,” Edu asked, “can you understand any of those old writings?”

  “They are definitely from the Olden Days, at least many of them are,” he said. Some are newer, as though visitors have come through and added to it. Some I cannot understand.”

  “What do they tell us?” Edu asked anxiously.

  “It tells of the end of the great empires, the coming of the Great Cloud. Much of it previously mentioned only in the thin scrolls that were the final words put down before the beginning of the end, the end of the Olden Days. Someone was in a hurry to scribe these messages on the walls of the cave before they met their own end, I believe.”

  “But here,” he continued, “is some writing that must have come later. It most certainly was written by an Interpreter.”

  “Why do you say that?” kDira asked the interpreter.

  “It uses much of the same dialect that I use to interpret the old writings,” he explained. “Though this is just the old words, it is also a map. It is directions out of here.”

  He slowly passed his hand over the writings, dust falling from the very thin ridges in the rock. “It says here,” he explained, “that if you follow the Ocheebee Pass north for three days to its end you will come to an old stone path many strides wide running East and West. It is called the Great Highway.”

  “Odd, it doesn’t mention the Keep just a short distance from here,” Isiath said.

  “Odd, indeed,” agreed the Interpreter. “I would guess that these writings are older than the keep.”

  “Does it say where the Great Highway goes?” kDira asked.

  The Interpreter studied the wall closer, sometimes squinting as though that would help him understand what the strange words meant.

  “It appears that the road West leads to several other trails North and South, but the one South eventually goes to Blackhorn.”

  “What about East, Interpreter?” Omiroe asked eagerly.

  “Patience, my brave young kreb. I am getting to that,” the Interpreter scolded. “Now let me see…”

  Again, he passed his hand over the writings.

  “It goes on to say something about the Midlanders, or Midlandia, several days from the end of the Pass. They are a great tribe, it says here,” the interpreter said, still brushing dust off the walls.

  “And then…” he paused.

  The pause went uninterrupted for a few moments, when kDira could take no more.

  “And then, what?” she asked.

  “Then, it says, the road turns to rubble and you enter the Valley of Death.”

  There was a gasp from everyone. They all agreed that this did not sound good.

  “Then two days into the valley of Death,” the interpreter concluded, “is the Karn City.”

  There was a pause as everyone let it sink in.

  “So that is where we will go. If the Princess Mothers are still alive, they will be there,” said kDira.

  She looked at everyone in the group, what was left of the Blackhorn tribe. They each looked at each other.

  “Agreed,” they all said in unison.

  They spent the next few hours discussing possible plans when they reach Karn City, but without further knowledge of the city they could only speculate. As they conversed, they gorged themselves on rock-goat meat and some of the bryne they had brought with them. They had meat enough for the next day or so, but the bryne would run out. They had to make it last at least until they got clear of the Ocheebee Pass. It was doubtful they would find water in the canyon.

  As the day drew to a close, the last of the fire began to die out and the last of the rock-goat consumed, each rolled out their bedrolls on the cave floor. Because the night air was not as cold as the last time Agis and kDira were there, the tribemates didn’t bed as close as they might have had the temperature been cooler. Except, that is, for kDira.

  kDira laid out her bedroll next to Agis and laid down with her back to him. He rolled to face her, and reached around and pulled her close as he drew the blanket over them both.

  kDira wept. She wept for her fallen friend, Esenice, she wept for her fallen Queen, and for the Blackhorn tribe. They had won this first victory, but now it is certain that the real battle was still to come. They could afford to lose no more. They had lost so much, but if they failed to avenge the attack on their tribe, and fail to regain the Princess Mothers, then the tribe would be lost forever as well. So, she wept for her uncertainty as well, and as she did so Agis held her tighter.

  Then, sometime after the last of the day’s sun set and the canyon and cave grew dark, to the sound of rock-goats baying at the sliver of moon in the sky and the gentle breeze that whispered down the Ocheeb
ee Pass, they slept.

  A chill fell upon the canyon in the early morning hours of the next day. The sound of rock goats on the floor of the Ocheebee Pass could be heard over the sound of the wind whistling through the upper walls of the canyon.

  When kDira awoke, some of the males were already up and readying their packs to leave. The Interpreter was studying more of the wall writings in the early light.

  kDira moved Agis’ arm from around her and started to get up. Her body was sore and it seemed to creek a bit as she moved. Edu walked over to her and offered her a piece of cooked rock-goat, and she accepted it eagerly.

  “Agis, get up, lazy kreb,” she said, elbowing him in the stomach. Agis let out a grunt of displeasure and his eyes sprang open.

  “You couldn’t have found a better way to wake me up?” he whimpered.

  “Nope, that one was my method of choice,” she said, smiling for the first time in many days.

  They both stood up and began packing their things, pausing only long enough to go a bit deeper into the cave and relieve themselves.

  They ate a bit more food and packed the rest. They gathered all their bedrolls, packs, and weapons and started for the cave opening.

  “Wait a minute,” kDira said. She turned around to see the Interpreter still studying the walls.

  “Interpreter, we’re leaving,” she called out.

  “Just one minute,” he said more to himself than anyone in particular.

  “Interpreter, we’re leaving now,” she insisted.

  “Impatient young krebs, never have time for what is important,” he complained as he turned to walk towards the opening.

  Together they climbed down the rocky face to the canyon floor, Edu again helping the Interpreter navigate the slope.

  At the bottom, they headed north, knowing they were to cross paths with the fallen Karn Keep again. Not knowing if the Karn had other exits to the canyon, or if they found a way to crawl down from the shattered passages above, they had to be ready to fight off more Karn should they find any of them within the Pass.