Alutar: The Great Demon (17 page)

The captain saluted and returned to his company. He selected a squad for the task and sent them up the path towards the mouth of the cave. The sergeant in charge of the squad led the men in a cautious and quiet approach. They crept slowly up the path and along the ledge towards the mouth of the cave. When they got close, the sergeant held up his hand to stop the squad from moving closer. He alone crept forward and stuck his head out to peer into the cave. He could not see anyone. He signaled for his men to follow and then stepped into the mouth of the cave. Placing each foot carefully to ensure a silent approach, the sergeant led his squad into the dark cave.

Fifty paces into the cave, the sergeant halted. He held up his hand for silence and listened intently. A distant sound drifted to his ears, and he cocked his head as if it would magnify the sound. When the sound came again, he shuddered. It was the sound of something scratching the stone floor of the cave. The men behind the sergeant heard it as well, and they began to fidget nervously. The sergeant turned and glared at the men, but his attention was quickly drawn back to the sounds. They were getting closer.

Suddenly, a massive horned head poked around a corner, smoke drifting from its nostrils. The sergeant quaked with fear, but he stood paralyzed. As more of the huge beast came into view, the sergeant heard his men scream and race for the mouth of the cave. Knowing that he stood alone, the sergeant turned and ran after his men. He saw his men in front of him, and they were running for their lives. Some of the men slowed to turn onto the small path leading into the canyon, but others merely ran straight ahead and leaped into the canyon below. The sergeant slowed, afraid to trust his life to a leap from the ledge, but others were queued up waiting to get onto the path. He turned and saw the dragon approaching and decided to take his chance with the leap. He jumped without looking and crashed to the ground in pain. Suddenly, his whole world burst into flames.

All around the sergeant, men screamed as their uniforms and flesh were devoured by fire. He was sure that the dragon had spat flames at him, but he only felt the pain of landing on the ground. He heard the roar of the dragon as another group of men farther away from the cave were suddenly engulfed in fire. With the single purpose of fleeing the area, the sergeant barged into the chaotic crowd and tried to claw his way toward the canyon mouth. He tore at his fellow soldiers and tossed them aside, but it was all to no avail. Without warning, his body burst into flames, and he fell to the ground screaming.

* * * *

Colonel Atman rode at the head of the 1
^st
Regiment. He led his cavalry into the canyon following the last of the infantry. As he rode, he scanned the ridges on both sides of him searching for any sign of his men, but he could not detect them. He smiled when dawn arrived, realizing the vanguard of the column was approaching the mouth of the cave. There had been no sounds of fighting, and that meant that he had correctly evaluated the situation. He smiled broadly, but his elation was premature. A few minutes later, he heard the faint sounds of battle cries echoing off the canyon walls. He frowned as he watched arrows streaming into the column before him from the ridges above. Recognizing the ambush for what it was, the colonel swiftly reversed course to escape the deathtrap.

The 1
^st
Regiment was still flowing into the canyon when Colonel Atman turned around. He charged westward directly into the face of his own regiment. The men of his cavalry unit tried to get out of the colonel’s way, and most of them were successful as they moved close to the walls of the canyon. Those who got in the way of the colonel’s horse were shoved aside. Atman could hear the cries behind him getting closer, knowing that the men up on the ridge were taking their cue to fire from those next to them. Like a wave of death, the arrows chased after the colonel. When he saw the mouth of the canyon before him, he sighed with relief, but again, his feelings were premature.

Unexpectedly, a wall of fire erupted before the colonel. The screams of men and horses filled the air, but the colonel had no time to stop before the flames. He spurred his horse harder, and the creature leaped into the flames. For a moment, he saw nothing but fire and then he was through. The canyon on the other side of the wall of fire was clear, his own men having turned and fled. He raced after them, trying to estimate the size of the army he had left to lead. Besides the 2
^nd
Regiment that he had sent around the mountain, the colonel could only see about one hundred riders ahead of him. He called for them to halt and rally to him. As his men slowed and turned, the Rangers’ rear guard attacked. Two hundred arrows streaked out of the forest towards his men, Colonel Atman watched in disbelief as his soldiers were cut down. Before he could turn his horse to flee once again, an arrow pierced his chest. Colonel Atman stared at the men in black who ran from the forest towards him. He shook his head in wonder and then tumbled from his horse.

A captain of the 2
^nd
Regiment of the 30
^th
Corps of Karamin rode forward to ride alongside Colonel Cidel.

“Are you sure this is wise, Colonel?” asked Captain Borgund. “We have already sent one rider to investigate the fire and then a complete squad. Neither has returned. We may be riding into an ambush.”

“Your concern is noted, Captain,” replied the colonel, “but we have little choice in the matter. While smoking the rebels out of the cave was part of Colonel Atman’s plan, the smoke we saw was something else entirely. We have to investigate it, and we have already lost a squad. What do you propose we do next? Send an entire company? I will not risk dividing my forces any further. The whole regiment will respond to Atman’s aid. Nothing less will do.”

The captain nodded silently as the two officers rode together near the vanguard. An hour later, the battlefield that the 1
^st
Regiment lost to the Rangers’ rear guard came into view. The vanguard of the 2
^nd
Regiment stiffened in response to the bodies littering the ground. The colonel and the captain rode forward and called a halt to the column. The colonel dispatched a squad to examine the bodies and return.

“There are around two hundred bodies,” a sergeant reported. “They are all Atman’s men. The enemy must have taken their slain with them. Colonel Atman’s body is among the dead, but the body is headless.”

“Headless?” scowled Colonel Cidel. “The barbarians will pay dearly for this. Where is the rest of the 30th Corps?”

The sergeant nodded towards the mouth of the canyon, but he said nothing. The colonel surged forward, urging his horse to a gallop. The captain followed him, but the sergeant and his squad remained. When Colonel Cidel reached the mouth of the canyon, he halted and stared in disbelief. The rock walls of the canyon were marred with the charcoal residue of an intense fire, but what he saw beyond the scorch marks made his body tremble. The canyon floor was littered with the bodies of men and horses as far as he could see.

“All four regiments?” asked the captain. “Is that possible?”

“Not to rebels,” snapped Colonel Cidel. “Atman was no fool. He had the high ground covered in this battle. What I am seeing makes no sense.”

“Shall I have men count the bodies?” asked Captain Borgund.

“No!” the colonel shouted quickly. “Do you want our men fleeing in every direction? If there is a military force out here that can destroy four regiments, how do you think our men will react? Make the inspection yourself and report back to me personally. I will have the men make camp where they are.”

While Colonel Cidel returned to his column and issued orders to make camp, Captain Borgund turned and entered the canyon. When he reached the scorched area, he hesitated and viewed the carnage before him. Bodies of men and horses filled the canyon floor, and the captain shuddered as he imagined the battle taking place. He realized at that point that Colonel Atman’s men could not have held the high ground. Whatever happened to the two companies sent up to the ridges, they had been eliminated before the battle began. He urged his horse forward, seeking a clear path through the dead, but the horse had difficulty avoiding the bodies and became nervous. The captain dismounted, looped his reins over a freestanding column of rock, and continued on foot.

As he rounded a slight bend in the canyon, he noticed that there were no more dead horses. He realized that he passed beyond the 1
^st
Regiment and was now surveying the dead of the infantry regiments. He shook his head as he moved through the bodies, incapable of imagining such a slaughter. As he tried to push the gruesome images from his mind, he noticed the lack of arrows sticking out of the bodies. The enemy had taken the time to retrieve the arrows that would be useful for a future battle. That indicated to the captain that either the enemy was unaware of the 2
^nd
Regiment being nearby, or they were unconcerned about meeting it in a fight. The thought caused a shiver to race up his spine. He quickened his step, wanting to finish his assignment and get out of the canyon.

After a couple of hours of picking his way through the bodies, Captain Borgund was numb to the carnage around him. He no longer looked upon his fellow soldiers as bodies, but rather mere obstacles to walk around. That numbness dissipated instantly when he arrived at the wide area before the mouth of the cave. Over one thousand bodies spread out before him, and the captain felt the urge to vomit. He fought to suppress the urge as he tried to make sense out of what he was seeing. Many of the bodies were merely charred lumps, unrecognizable as individual soldiers. The captain forced himself to move towards the path leading up to the cave.

As he was climbing the path, he noticed the lack of bodies on the path or near the entrance to the cave. There was not a single body of the enemy force that attacked the 30
^th
Corps, nor had any of the Federation soldiers even made it up the path. He shook his head again, unable to envision such a scenario as the one painted by the remains. When he reached the mouth of the cave, he peered in, half expecting to be attacked, but no one was around. He sighed with relief. Having completed his task, Captain Borgund turned around and hastily returned to the canyon floor and began making his way out of the canyon.

The captain spent the next two hours making his way out of the canyon, thankful that the lengthening shadows were hiding much of the carnage around him. When he finally reached his horse, he sighed heavily, relieved that his mission was almost over. He mounted his horse and rode to the mouth of the canyon, anxious to make his report and push the images from his mind. He turned as he exited the canyon and headed towards the encampment, the last rays of sunlight fading to dusk. In the distance, Captain Borgund could just see the rising smoke from some of the campfires, but he frowned when he could not detect the light from the flames, as if the fires were smoldering. The campsite was as dimly lit as the surrounding woods. The captain grew anxious again.

Unexpectedly, several large figures moved off to his left, and the captain started with nervousness. He turned and gazed into the trees and saw three horses wandering through the trees. The horses were without saddles or bridles, and a dark feeling of dread filled the captain’s heart. He moved cautiously towards the camp and strained his eyes to see the sentries, but he could not detect any of them. When he eventually got close enough to see the men, he understood what he was seeing. The captain rode quietly into the camp and surveyed the men of the 2
^nd
Regiment. They were all dead. Understanding the situation clearly, Captain Borgund turned his horse and urged it into a gallop. He dropped all pretense of stealth and raced away from the battlefield, intent on delivering word of the massacres to General Salaman. Undetected by the captain, two pairs of eyes watched him ride by. One dark figure had an arrow nocked to his bowstring, but the other placed a hand on the arm of the archer to halt his firing.

“Why let him get away?” asked Caan.

“His arrival in Calusa will serve us better than what we have planned,” answered Randi Witzak.

“How do you mean?” asked Caan.

“Max Caber has built a miniature catapult for the express purpose of hurling Colonel Atman’s head over the walls of Calusa,” answered Randi. “It is hidden in the forest outside of the city. It was to prove the demise of the attack group sent against us, but that captain will now spread the word for us. He has reviewed all of the carnage. His tales of the massacres will spread throughout the city. The catapult will just be used now to announce our arrival.”

* * * *

Captain Gomery and Haditha sat in a rocky cove on the Isle of Despair unaware that they were being observed by the elf standing behind them. The water witch bent down and gently touched some kelp that had broken loose from its grasp on some rock offshore.

“Poor thing,” Haditha said softly. “It has been torn from its home.”

“It is just kelp,” commented the captain. “There is plenty more where it came from.”

“Gomery,” Haditha said with displeasure evident in her voice. “I used to love swimming through the kelp forests. They are beautiful creatures, not something to be thrust aside. Do you know that kelp can grow almost a pace in a single day? It is one of the most wondrous creatures of the sea.”

“I think I am gazing upon the most wondrous creature in the sea,” the captain replied lovingly. “Is it not understandable that I might not recognize other wondrous creatures?”

“Bah,” Haditha replied sternly, although a smile betrayed the falseness of her dissatisfaction.

“We need to focus,” Captain Gomery said with a more serious tone. “We are tasked with blocking Despair Harbor in some manner, and we are not making any progress towards that goal. I was wondering if we could store fire glue in some type of soft shell, something that would break upon impact with the hull of a ship.”

“No,” the water witch shook her head. “I will not be a part of killing innocent people, and any ship that struck one of your fire glue mines would sink. The sailors would perish. Gomery, there are simple merchant vessels that sail in and out of Despair Harbor. We cannot sink them. If it is a military ship I will help you, but not for indiscriminate killing. Find another way.”