The Black Sword Trilogy: The Poacher (12 page)

And then the soldiers cheered.

             
Then, from out of the darkness they heard it.  The howling that had chilled their bones every night since the Wolfen arrived.  The fifty six voices of soldiers were drowned out by the thousands of voices announcing themselves.  It was so loud it filled the air and seemed to make the whole world vibrate around them.

“Here they come.” Kenner whispered to himself.

             
At first there was a deathly silence following the howling.  Then they heard a sound of thousands of feet coming towards them and felt the ground shake beneath them.  After only a few seconds, the men saw the creatures coming at them in the torchlight and in an instant they were upon them.

              Growling and snarling, they reached the barricades and the men thrust their spears into them.  Dozens of creatures died in the first few seconds, but the men stood their ground.  The barricades formed a half circle in front of the gate and so there was no way for the Wolfen to get behind them.  Each time an animal showed its head above the defenses, a spear was thrust into its body; an axe cleaved its head or a mace slammed against its skull.  From above, the archers shot arrow after arrow, killing even more.  Soon the animal army began to get packed up against the defenses and had no forward momentum.  Their dead piled against the wall and the animals climbed over their bodies.  Still the men held their ground.  Finally, a high pitched wail came from behind the oncoming creatures and they retreated.

              Watching the retreating animals made the men’s spirits soar and they cheered loudly.

“Is that it?” One soldier asked Captain Krall.  “Is it over?”

Captain Krall was also encouraged, but he knew better than to celebrate.

“Not likely.” He answered grimly.

Then the howling began again.  After it stopped, the Wolfen attacked again.

              They had weapons that were like swords, except not as elegant.  They looked rust brown and had a long, sharp edge that widened at the top of the weapon.  They slashed and swiped with their weapons, mostly blocked by the spears, axes and short swords of the soldiers.  However, some began hitting their marks and the first soldiers started to fall.  Despite their losses, the men held their ground and the creatures retreated again.

              For many of the men, seeing their comrades lying still on the ground was the first time they had ever seen death.  The experienced soldiers quickly picked up the bodies and threw them behind the formation.  The howling started again and the creatures rushed upon the barricades one more time.

              This time, they seemed even more ferocious.  They slashed with their weapons and swiped with their claws.  Several climbed over the barricades, jumped onto the backs of soldiers and dug their teeth deep into their necks.  These men too were lost.  They pushed against the carts and bags causing the barricades to move and sway.

“Back two steps!” Sergeant Holly commanded and the men two steps as if one motion to the rear.

The Wolfen began to come over the barricades in greater numbers.  Most were cut down inside the makeshift walls, but for every ten animals to die, one would reach a soldier and take his life.  The archers continued to rain down arrows at the beasts.  But for every one they killed, there seemed a hundred would take its place.

              “Fall back!” Captain Krall shouted.

The soldiers turned and ran inside the gates which were quickly closed.  Inside, the men could see the gate shake back and forth and the archers could see the creatures pushing against it. Then suddenly, they stopped.

“What’s happening out there?” Sergeant Holly called to the archers.

“I’m not sure!” Terri called back.  “They just seem to be standing there!”

             
Captain Krall was confused.  What were they waiting for?  His next strategy depended on the creatures pushing the gates open slightly and for them to start pushing through.  His men could kill dozens more and fill the gap in the gate with the dead.  What were they doing now?  He had his men reform the line.

“Get ready!” He shouted at Terri.  She then took a special arrow out of her quiver that was prepared like a torch and lit it.

             
Kenner, from his position on the platform saw their General walk almost leisurely through the masses of Wolfen towards the gate.  He also saw something in his hand; a huge axe.  General Grail pushed his way to the gate and commanded the animals and men around him to back away from him.  He raised the axe and swung it against the gates and when he did, the wooden gate shattered like glass with a sound like thunder.  The strike turned much of, what had been the wall to dust and when Grail stepped through the dust ahead of his army, Captain Krall nearly fainted at what he saw.

“The Silver Axe!” He gasped.

             
All at once, the beasts rushed through the open gate.  The men stood their ground as best as they could, killed many more creatures, but the animals were too many and quickly surrounded them.  The men then began to fight close quarters, each one facing Wolfen all around him.  Some of the men died within seconds of the gate being breached.  Still others fought with ferocity and courage, taking many of the creatures down.  When the animals raced up the stairs leading to the platform, the archers drew their short swords and fought like animals themselves.  As the platform was narrow, the men and Wolfen pushed against one another; but men and Wolfen both fell from the platform to the ground.  Before she joined in the battle, Terri shot her flaming arrow into a thick pile of straw and it began to burn.

              Suddenly the platform collapsed from the weight of the animals and men fighting on top of it and everyone was thrown to the ground.  One of the creatures landed on top of Kenner.  It tried to get to its feet, but Kenner thrust his sword into its gut.  It howled in pain then fell to the side.  Kenner lifted his head and then, as if everything had slowed down, he saw the vision he had seen in his dream.  There was the General in his full armor and skull helmet and in his hand was a silver axe.  Behind him were flames as the fire began to spread.  He saw the General look at him directly in the eye and then raise his axe as if to strike.  Kenner scrambled to try and get to his feet, but stumbled.  As the General was nearly upon him, he saw Sergeant Holly jump on the General and strike at him with his mace.  This attack had no effect and the General killed the Sergeant easily.  At that same moment, Kenner heard Captain Krall shout “Break cover!”

              After this order, the soldiers that could ran out the back gate towards the river.  The horses had bolted and in trying to find them, the cavalry were cut down.  Kenner ran as fast as his legs would carry him.  While he ran, he heard awful sounds of men being caught and mauled by the beasts pursuing them.  Soon his legs began to feel heavy; he began to have trouble breathing and felt a sharp pain in his side.  When he felt he could run no more, he turned around determined to die fighting.  In the orange glow of the burning barracks, he saw a Wolfen coming straight for him, its red eyes fixed on him.  But just before the beast fell upon him, he saw a huge, black shape come out of seemingly nowhere.  It was Shela.  It tore the animal’s head off and then spat it out.  Several more Wolfen began to charge at the cat, but when it roared, the animals turned and ran away.

              The huge cat then turned its head to look at Kenner.  He saw something in her expression that seemed to tell him, “Let’s go” and the cat crouched down.  Kenner jumped onto her back and she bounded off with Kenner clinging to her fur.

The Causton Wars: The Priest

             
After nearly going to war with Masallah, Walechia entered a time of relative peace and affluence.  Food was plenty, markets were rich and the cities became full of artists, philosophers and poets all speaking the language of an age of prosperity.  Suddenly in the middle of this Golden Age a crisis began that tore the nation of Walechia apart and nearly engulfed the Known World in another catastrophic conflict.

              It began when a plague swept through the city of Kasabbah, second largest city in Walechia.  After the plague claimed nearly a third of the city’s population, a priest named Causton began preaching that the pestilence had been a judgment on the city for its sinful and immoral ways.  Indeed the city had been known for its lascivious nightlife and the decadent lifestyles of its citizens.  Causton blamed, not only the citizens of Kasabbah; but also what he called the “Wickedness of a depraved and sick people;” referring to all the peoples of Walechia.

              After the plague had subsided, he traveled all over the nation, gathering followers as he went from town to town and village to village. Within only a few years, he had thousands of followers marching with him on pilgrimages all over the land.  At first, these pilgrimages were peaceful, ending with massive prayer services in fields and in the Great Plain.  However, Causton’s rhetoric began to become more and more laced with hints of violent action needing to be taken against a “Corrupt and decedent land”.  When he threatened to “Burn” the city of Kasabbah “with the fire of righteousness”, he garnered the attention of the Lord Mayor of Kasabbah, who was a close friend of King Rellas.  As the King was also concerned with the increasing militant nature of Causton’s rhetoric, he called the priest to the White City to confer with him.

              In a dramatic spectacle, the priest entered the throne room wearing a suit of armor and carrying a sword and shield.  When the King asked Causton about this, he answered that he was “A warrior of righteousness fighting a war against immorality and sin.”  The King attempted to speak civilly with the priest and asked him to tone down the nature of his speech.  At this, Causton in another dramatic action drew his sword, pointed it at the King and shouted, “And you are the greatest sinner of them all!  You sit at the throne given to your forefathers by the Great Lady of the Sky and tolerate the worst depravities against her will.  You, who should be praying every day and night for forgiveness of your transgressions must honor the will of the Great Lady, for whom I speak by stepping down off of your throne and handing your crown over to me who represents the will of the spirits in striking down sin and cleansing the land of impurity!”

              The King instead had Causton arrested and imprisoned within the White City.  This however did nothing to quiet the thousands of Causton’s followers.  In the first few days after Causton’s arrest, a small number of his followers camped outside the walls of Kallesh in a candle lit vigil.  Day by day the number of Causton’s followers outside the walls grew.  Within only a few weeks, the people in the growing crowd numbered in the thousands.  More than that, this crowd began to become more and more restless as the days went by.  Eventually, as more fervent followers joined the ongoing protests, it became less of a peaceful protest and the threat of violence seemed to be becoming more real.

              In the middle of this time, King Rellas died and the Congress quickly confirmed his oldest son Philas as the new King.  Wary of violence by the still growing throng of protesters outside the walls of Kallesh, King Philas released Causton as a gesture of what he referred to as “My willingness and desire to rule as a man of peace, justice and by the will of the spirits.”  But when Causton walked out from the Iron Gates and into the massive crowd waiting for him, his first statement was, “In the name of The Great Lady, I declare a holy crusade against the evil will and deeds of this diseased nation!”  He then led his followers away from The White City.  What he and his followers would do next would thrust the nation and very nearly the entire Known World into chaos.  The Causton Wars had begun.

Chapter Sixteen

             
Kenner couldn’t tell exactly how fast the battle cat was taking him; but he knew it was faster than he’d ever traveled; even faster than a horse.  With the wind whistling in his ears, he felt almost as if he were flying.  But strangely, the cat’s paws made almost no sound as she bounded away; taking him away from the horror of the battle he’d just left.  With his face buried in her coat, he couldn’t see where he was going.  He was only thankful he was going somewhere.

              Eventually, she stopped.  He looked up and saw an outcropping of rocks that he guessed was at the edge of the Badlands.  The sky was still dark, but a silvery, blue light began to fill the sky with the coming dawn.  He climbed off of the back of Shela and looked behind him.  Off in the distance, he could see the, still burning fort he’d just escaped.  Even as far as five miles away, he guessed, the fire was raging.  No one could get through that blaze, he thought.  Perhaps they had accomplished their task, he hoped.  Perhaps they had, indeed slowed the creatures down.  But some of the creatures had gotten through, he knew.  They would likely be hunting him and he needed a place to hide.