“What do you see, Agis?” kDira asked.
“I think we are in the right place, hard to tell, but it looks promising. I see a big pile of rubble, looks safe for everyone to come up.”
“Okay, everybody up. Let’s go, quickly,” kDira ordered, and with that everyone, one at a time, made their way up into the fresher air.
kDira was the last to come out of the stench filled hole.
“Did we lose anyone down there?” she asked.
“It looks like everyone that went in made it out,” Threg told her.
kDira sized up the situation. Next to their position was a massive pile of rubble, bigger than many hills she knew of, and looking around she saw many more. She could not see the Karn Palace anywhere.
“So where is this Palace, Guller?” she asked.
“It is most likely on the other side of this mountain of debris,” he said, pointing at the nearest pile of debris. “I think, if we work our way around it to the west, we will be able to see it.”
“Then let’s go,” she said, taking the lead once again. “Everyone, this way.”
As she made her way around the pile of rubble she could begin to see what a mammoth structure the Karn Palace was, and just how difficult it was going to be to conquer.
“Guller, you did not do this justice,” she said in awe. “I could never have imagined…” her words trailed off.
The Karn Palace was as tall as a mountain in her eyes, with openings at every level. There were lanterns lit on every level, and it lit up the entire area around the structure. It had obviously been crafted using some long-lost skills, no tribe of this world would know how to bend rocks and stone to build such a monument. That it was still standing hundreds of years after the Great Cloud is a testament to its builders. And now it is overrun with Karn, like the stinking fury animals of the tunnels below, they scurry its halls and passages like scavengers, kDira imagined.
“We must review our plan,” Guller said, breaking kDira’s thoughts and bringing her back to reality.
“Of course,” she said.
“We need to attack both sides of the Palace,” Guller said. “I propose at this point you split us up into two groups, one to take the north entrance, one the south. Silently, we need to take out the guards as to not alert the rest of the Palace.”
“At that point, we will climb the two palace staircases and get to the top floor,” kDira confirmed.
“Right.”
“Omiroe, please pick out twenty-five warriors, some Blackhorn, some First Hill tribe and make your way west to the end of this plaza, then around to the south entrance. When you are in position, shoot a fire arrow back behind the Palace where we will be able to see it from the north entrance.”
“Yes, kDira,” he said formally. He turned and started picking his division of warriors off to the west end of the plaza to stay out of site. When he got far enough he would turn south and make his way around to the south entrance.
“Agis, you are in charge of our group. You know the plan, get everybody up and headed to the north entrance and wait until we see Omiroe’s signal.”
“Yes, kDira,” Agis said. “Everyone up, let’s go,” he said loud enough for everyone to hear, but not so loud as to attract unwanted attention.
kDira and Guller took position at the head of the column of advancing warriors, though her intent was not to lead them, but to assess the situation. She knew Agis would lead them just fine, and she was sure he knew the plan and could carry it out without her input. She, on the other hand, wanted to be able to change the plan at a moment’s notice should things go wrong.
Agis and his division worked their way around the north side of the Palace and took shelter behind the debris of another fallen structure. kDira and Agis looked between the giant boulders of the debris and could see two guards sitting on make-shift stools, and appeared to be joking with each other, laughing.
“Guller, you will not go in. You will wait outside until we return, you are not a warrior,” she said. Guller nodded his understanding.
“Agis, you and your warriors wait here,” kDira told him, “Threg and I will find a way around to the back and wait for Omiroe’s signal. When we see the signal, we will take the two guards down. That will be your signal to advance the rest of the warriors to the tower.”
“I should come with you,” Agis protested.
“No!” she said, sternly but still quiet. “Do as I say.”
Agis felt an anger burning, but was bound to follow her order.
“Yes, kDira,” he said, with just a bit of sarcasm.
kDira raised a finger to him. In the days before the Great Cloud, it might have been interpreted as “Strike One.”
“Threg, this way,” she said, motioning for him to follow.
Threg took his place next to her as they ducked down behind debris and made their way around to the back side of the north end of the building. They waited there in expectation of the fire-arrow. Knowing it would take Omiroe longer to get around to the south side of the building, she knew she was going to have to wait. This wait seemed to last forever.
cHAPTER 11
The fire arrow soared through the sky like a shooting star. kDira and Threg took immediate action, running up behind the two guards and slitting their throats in almost synchronized precision. As the bodies fell to the floor they heard a yell from behind, and before they could turn, the body of a third Karn hit the hard ground with a thud, air gurgling from his neck and mouth. An arrow had pierced his neck. kDira looked over to where Agis and the others were holding out and she could see Ari standing tall, bow in hand with another arrow ready to go. Agis was next to her, smiling.
kDira motioned to have Agis bring his warriors to the base of the structure. Agis abided by motioning everyone to head out. Quietly they moved from their cover and found their way to the spot where kDira and Threg stood, and the three slain Karn bodies lay.
One by one they made their way into the Palace doors on the north end, on the assumption that Omiroe and his warriors will have taken out their guards and were entering the building from the south. Cautiously they began their trek up the stairs. The youngest of the group, the Blackhorn members, went ahead and would be the first to make the climb to the top. As they got closer to their destination, the elders among them would hold back and watch the stairs and attempt to ensure that no one would get past them.
As they gained each level they checked the passage inward to make sure there were no Karn guards. Each level had its own patina of filth and grime and stench. It was obvious that the Karn had no interest in disposing of waste; it seemed they enjoyed collecting it.
First they passed one level, and then another and another. Agis and kDira led the way, with Threg and the other Blackhorn close behind.
As the levels got higher and higher, the elders began to fall back due to fatigue and physical disability. Sometimes two would remained behind on a level to stand guard, as the plan called for.
It was when they reached the tenth level that they heard the sounds of Karn above. kDira motioned for everyone to stop. Everyone behind her did so, and the word quickly got passed down the line to be still. The sound was from above, and it was getting louder. They were coming down the stairs, and the Blackhorn leader could tell that there were more than one. Agis looked at kDira. kDira looked back with uncertainty.
“Make ready,” Agis said, and before kDira could ask why, he darted up the stairs. kDira stood there confused, but it didn’t last long. She could hear Agis’ plan unfold above.
“Who are yooooouuuu?” a Karn hissed.
“I’m sorry, is this the way to the Blackhorn camp?” they could hear Agis say. Then they heard running and Karns growling their imperceptible obscenities at him. Agis was on his way down and the Karn were hot on his tail. Agis rounded the last corner of the stairs as everyone stood ready for attack. As the two pursuers came into view their look of surprise quickly changed to fear. The Blackhorn cut them to ribbons before they
could utter another sound. Everyone took a badly needed breath, as it seemed no one had breathed in minutes.
“What do you think you’re doing, kreb?” kDira scolded, a little louder than she probably should have.
“We had to do something and we didn’t have a lot of time to stand and discuss it,” Agis said, defending himself.
“Look, I am the leader now. You all decided that. I did not ask for it. You will do as I say,” kDira demanded.
“I know you’re the leader. You remind me every chance you get,” Agis said, and with a turn he went a few steps down to blend into the group awaiting orders to continue.
kDira took a moment to compose herself.
“Pile these bodies and block the door. Maybe if all this yelling gets their attention they will trip on the bodies and break a tooth or something,” kDira said sarcastically.
Two of the Blackhorn warriors grabbed the bodies and did as instructed.
With one more deep breath, kDira gave the order to continue.
“Let’s keep going. We have a lot of levels to climb,” she said. “Keep aware of everything around you.”
As they continued on, level by level, they checked each passage, and upon finding no other Karn, kDira was beginning to have flashbacks of her second visit to Karn Keep. She remembered how easy that had gone, until one wrong move alerted the entire Keep as to their presence. The fact that she lost her good friend Esenice at the very moment it all went bad. She did not want that to happen again. She especially did not want that to happen to Agis.
The stairs rose and rose, level by level. kDira reasoned that the Karn King must have a very high opinion of himself to want to trudge these stairs every time he wanted to come or go. But then again, she wondered if he ever left. A king of the Karn might just have everyone come and go for him.
Every floor they passed led to a more and more impressive level. The rooms off the main passage became fewer and few, and the levels were more and more open. It is likely, she reasoned, that the royalty lived in these upper levels.
After what seemed like a lifetime, they finally made it to the top, where the stairs no longer continued upward. A lone door, decorated with an animal skull and bones of unknown origin and long dead vines separated the stairs from the top level.
kDira had no idea if Omiroe had made it to the top yet or not, but if she had to guess she would bet that he was. Unless they had more trouble then she and her warriors had.
kDira cracked the door open just a bit. This level was much more lavish and ornate than any of the others she had seen. The floor was covered in cloth, as were the chairs and stools. Though still as dirty as all Karn décor is, this level was truly for royalty.
As she peered down the length of the massive chamber, she could see that there was a Karn guard on a door exactly opposite of her location. Though she could not see for certain, she believed there would be another just inside the door she was peeking through. Slowly, she closed the door again and she explained what she saw to Threg and those closest to her.
A quick plan was set in motion. Ari, who had proven herself to be an expert marksman with a bow, stood ready at the door. Agis was crouched near the door, ready to strike.
kDira opened the door with a quick jerk, as it arched fully open, Ari unleashed an arrow that struck the guard at the far end of the passage. Confirming kDira’s suspicions, a guard appeared at the opening of the door and Agis split his belly with his dagger. The Karn guard let out a cry that would certainly be heard through walls. And it was.
Immediately kDira and her warriors sprang into the chamber as a dozen or more of Karn guards came out of their personal spaces to see what was going on. To kDira’s relief, it was at this moment she saw Omiroe and his division begin storming into the chamber as well.
The first few Karn guards, having been caught by surprise, were easy to take down. But it was short lived as the guards soon had weapons drawn and were ready to fight. And fight they did. The element of surprise was lost and the Karns were now filling the chamber between the two flanks of Blackhorn warriors.
The sound of metal on metal rang in the air, as grunts and cries of pain painted a chorus of morbid textures to the layers of sound. One by one, the Karn dropped, bleeding from their guts or holding a stump where a dismembered arm once was. But the Blackhorn were falling as well. kDira had no time to take score, or worry about who might have fallen, she was in the middle of her own fight with two Karn who seemed to have singled her out as a person of authority among the Blackhorn warriors.
Ducking and dodging, and parrying sword and spear attacks with her long knife, kDira managed to get a few good cuts into the unarmored Karn duo, but they were powerful against her, and suddenly one landed the butt end of his spear to the side of her head with at ‘thwack!’ and she went tumbling to the floor. The room was spinning for kDira and the pain was excruciating.
As the Karn with a spear arched his arm back to drive the spear home, kDira’s eyes came back into focus just in time to see an arrow penetrate his chest. He fell to the floor in a heap, eyes wide open, his fellow Karn looking down on him confused.
Across the room, kDira could see Ari once again with her bow. kDira took advantage of this moment of surprise and slashed the Achilles tendon of the remaining Karn before her. He went down to the floor screaming. She rose to her knees and plunged her knife into his chest quickly three times.
Rising to her feet, kDira made her way to one of the few remaining Karn, and moved in, along with several other Blackhorn, and finished them off.
The Blackhorn leader took this moment to assess their losses. She could see that Agis was there with an injury to his arm and side, and Omiroe and Edu. Ari was unscathed, but she felt a sudden fear that Threg was among the casualties. Her heart sank as she began looking through the downed bodies.
“Agis, get me a head-count, please,” she asked without looking at him.
“Yes kDira,” he said.
It was then that her fears were confirmed. Lying on a pile of Karn bodies was that of Threg. She stopped for a moment to put her emotions in check. She knelt next to her friend from the Midlanders tribe, and ran her hand across his face. Her eyes widened as Threg let out a moan of pain. kDira sprang up made a call to action.
“You there,” she said, pointing to two of her tribemates, “Come here and tend to Threg. He is injured badly.”
In an instant they were there, ripping cloth that they found and making them into bandages. One gave Threg a few drinks of Bryne.
“You had me scared, Threg. I thought we’d lost you,” kDira said.
“I just needed a nap,” he said with a forced smile.
“Agis, how many do we have left?”
“Thirty-eight, not counting Threg,” he said.
“Thirty-nine,” the wounded warrior spoke up, “counting Threg.”
“Thirty-nine it is,” kDira confirmed. Looking around she could see several of the First Hill tribe still with them, and this warmed her heart just a bit.
“Now let’s find that King, and let’s find our Princess Mothers!” kDira said as everyone in the room erupted verbal in agreement.
“Time to start kicking in some doors!” kDira said.
“Agreed,” said Agis.
“If I were the Karn King,” Agis said, “I’d take that room right there,” he said pointing at the double doors in the center of the back wall of the chamber. “If I was king, I’d want two doors. Who has time for just one?”
“Then let’s kick down that door,” kDira said. “This way!” she yelled, motioning for everyone to advance.
Agis and another opened the door suddenly, and quickly learned this was a horrible mistake.
There were twenty or so Karn guard waiting inside the king’s chamber with bows and arrow. As the doors flung open they loosed their arrows at the advancing Blackhorn. Agis took arrows to the shoulder and to the abdomen and fell to the ground. Several other Blackhorn fell as well, but kDira managed to avoid being hit.
“Rush them!” she called out.
Before any more arrows could be nocked, the Blackhorn and First Hill warriors took each of them down with swift and unforgiving sword blows.
It was then that kDira realized that Agis had fallen. She ran to him at once.
“Agis, are you alright?” she called out to him as she knelt beside him. “Agis, can you hear me? Answer me,” she pleaded, her emotions starting to get the better of her.
Slowly he opened his eyes. He whispered something, but kDira couldn’t hear him.
“What was that? What is it, Agis?” she asked as a tear ran down her cheek.
Again, Agis whispered something, and again she could not understand. He motioned with his hand for her to lean down closer. She abided and leaned even closer.
One more time he whispered, this time even softer and more broken. kDira leaned even closer. Agis, weakly, softly placed his hand on the back of her head and caressed her hair, and gently pulled her just a bit closer.
“What is it Agis, tell me,” she said almost crying.
Then he pulled her mouth to his and kissed her like a young kreb.
She pulled away in an instant and slapped his face.
Agis laughed hard, as did everyone that had witnessed the event. kDira, not seeing it as funny, grabbed the arrow sticking out of his shoulder and gave it a yank, pulling it clean out of his body.
Agis’ laughter was replaced with a scream of pain, and then with more laughter.
“Someone yank that other arrow out of him and bandage that kreb up,” kDira said walking over to one last set of doors in the chamber.
“The king must be in there,” she said. “Now that we’ve all had a good laugh, let’s get back on task and finish this. Let’s not make the same mistake that we made last time. Be ready for a trap.”
Everyone stood clear as the door to the king’s chamber was opened. kDira peered inside. There she could see the Karn King, holding the disrobed Princess Mothers to his chest, knives locked across the necks of his captives. kDira walked into the room, followed by several of the Blackhorn warriors.
The kDira's World Anthology Page 11