The Staff of Sakatha (27 page)

The crack of the blow seemed to wake Sorus and events suddenly seemed to resume at their normal speed.

“Nicely done, Jon,” said Proteus and moved up next to the young knight. “Are your ribs all right?”

Jon lifted his arm and the club slipped out although Proteus reached forward with a hand, grabbed it before it hit the floor, and then lowered it gently to the ground. Jon stretched his left side over and pursed his lips, “I’m good,” he said, “it only hit me with the handle, hurt a bit at the moment though.”

“Quiet,” said Proteus and put his finger to his lips. “Keep the light stones away, we can see well enough. I’m going ahead for a second to see what’s there, you two wait for me and see if those creatures have anything valuable on them,” he finished and pointed to the two dead-bear like darklings on the floor.

Jon leaned over, gave off a little grunt of pain, reached into a satchel around the waist of one of the creatures and pulled out a flask, a small clam shell of some kind, and a beaker of some sort of liquid. He opened the flask, brought it to his nose carefully, and smiled, “alcohol.”

Sorus went to the second creature who wore a similar satchel around its waist and detached it with a quick motion. Inside was another flask much like the one Jon took, a small pouch that chinked when Sorus touched it, and another bag filled with something soft that smelled musky when the young knight brought it to his nose. “There are some coins here,” he said and looked up at Jon with a smile, “and more of that whiskey I’d guess.”

At that moment Proteus appeared at the entrance to the natural cavern, a strange look on his face. His eyes were open wide to see in the darkness, his teeth clenched, and his jaw tight as his eyes darted back and forth between Jon and Sorus.

“What is it, Proteus,” asked Sorus while Jon continued to examine the items found on the strange bear creatures.

“It’s like you said, Sorus,” said the knight with a nod of his head. “It’s a skeleton of some sorts, wearing robes, and a creature that looks like a human snake. They’re down the passage a bit. It’s darkling made for certain. The natural cavern ends not far past the archway here,” he continued and pointed to the natural formation above their heads. “I couldn’t hear them but they seemed to be arguing about something. There are more exits from where they’re at so if we want to attack them, now’s the time.”

“If,” said Jon and looked at Proteus with raised eyebrows.

“They look …,” started the older knight with a shrug his shoulders, “they look like they are perfectly capable of defending themselves. The skeleton wears a sword but the snake is a wizard or a priest I’d bet.”

“We could just follow them,” said Sorus as he looked back and forth to the two men. “They don’t know where the staff is either but they might lead us to it eventually.”

“Down here, among the darkings,” said Jon with a shake of his head. “It’s too dangerous, we’ll be spotted soon enough and have them down on us like a hoard of grasshoppers. We take them out now and see if we can get information from them after that.”

“I agree,” said Proteus the strange look still in his eyes, “Do you mind if I say a prayer to the Black Horse first, Jon?” he continued and knelt to the floor.

Jon watched him silently for a moment. Soon Sorus joined Proteus on his knees.

“May my steed be swift, my blade be true, my heart be strong, and my seat steady,” said Proteus from his knees and Sorus said the same. “There,” said Proteus and stood back with a smile at Jon. “My fate is my own.”

 Jon nodded, “Lead the way, Proteus; Sorus and I will follow.”

Proteus took his sword in hand and walked steadily past the tall archway and into the red glow beyond. Jon went next and Sorus followed behind in the rear. Jon’s huge body blocked his view for the most part and the young knight of Elekargul strained his eyes in the dim red light to see further ahead. The natural cavern quickly gave way to shaped stone walls and a smooth floor worked to perfection by skilled hands. The red glow came from stones embedded in the walls and Sorus did not notice when Jon suddenly stopped in front of him and he banged into the young knight and bounced backwards a step. Jon didn’t chastise him but simply looked at Proteus, who stood with his hand raised just ahead.

“Right around this bend,” he said in a whisper and lifted his sword. “Now!” he suddenly shouted and dashed around the corner. Jon went next and was instantly out of view of Sorus who charged after. When he turned the corner he saw Proteus already halfway across a narrow chamber where the skeletal creature stood in mid turn and the snake thing still had its back to their approach.

“We’re lost,” said Thaddeus to Odellius and about a dozen other knights as they stood in a small circle, the moon shining overhead like a baleful eye watching their predicament. Around them the groans of wounded knights and the hisses of reptile men sounded intermittently. “Why don’t they finish us off?” he said to the rotund knight whose face was visibly red even in the darkness and who sat on one knee as his breath came in great gasps.

“We surprised the bastards,” huffed Sir Odellius between labored pants. “Killed more than we had any right,” he continued. “They’ll probably wait for morning to finish us off. The darkness isn’t their friend and they don’t like the terrain.”

“That gives us about an hour,” said Thaddeus, and some of the other men, their eyes hollow and many with wounds on their arms and legs, nodded their heads as well.

“Should we attack or wait to be annihilated?”

“Normally,” said Odellius as his breath becoming more shallow, “I’d say attack and die, but every hour means the chance for more knights to find us,” he finished and put his hand on the ground. “How many are we?”

“I count fifteen able to fight,” said Thaddeus looking around the group just as a dart flew through the air and missed him by a few inches. “Shields up!” he ordered, but the men formed up in a circle with their shields linked to provide protection before he finished.

“I don’t think they want to wait until morning,” said Thaddeus to Odellius with a wry smile. The sound of darts as they clanked off heavy shields sounded almost like thick rain drops hitting a thin metal roof. “Luckily they don’t use crossbows or heavy bows,” he continued, “or this would be over in a few moments.”

“Lucky indeed,” said Odellius just as a lucky dart penetrated the shields and embedded itself in the shoulder of one of the men. The unfortunate soldier stifled a cry of pain and kept his shield in position as another man, inside the circle, moved quickly to attend to the wound. “It’s just a matter of time though,” he continued, “perhaps I should revise my original plan.”

Just then the hail of darts began to slow and within a few moments came to a complete stop. “They are far from home,” said Thaddeus with a hopeful smile. “Perhaps they did not bring a particularly large supply of darts.”

“It is a possibility,” said Odellius and grinned back. “Keep those shields up lads, it might be a trap, but I think we can hold out until morning unless they come at us.”

Over the next hour an occasional dart hissed through the air but there were no more casualties and the warriors rotated the shield men and managed a few moment of fitful sleep as they waited for the dawn and their deaths.

“It’s getting lighter,” said Thaddeus and nudged Odellius whose snores rang out into the early hours of the morning. The rotund mason opened his eyes instantly, looked around to take in the slow lightening of the sky, and nodded his head.

“Are they up yet?” he said with a motion of his hand to the surrounding group of reptiles.

Thaddeus nodded, “I’d guess about a five hundred of them at least, they’ve been yelling at us, apparently some of them know our language. Things about Black Dale and what they’ll do to our wives after they kill us, the normal things.”

Odellius smiled. “Let’s hope they try and make good on that; the First Rider and our men will run them down easily in this open terrain,” he said and suddenly stood up. “Form up men, they’ll be coming for us in a few minutes.

The able knights stood up and arranged themselves in a circle around those too wounded to stand and, as daylight began to banish the darkness, the forms of their foes slowly became clear. Thaddeus’s guess appeared to be about correct as the reptile men had them ringed in on all four sides with about a hundred or so in each group. The leader of the enemy was a tall man who wore a spectacular uniform decorated with many bone symbols. Odellius shook his head, “With our mounts they’d run before us like children,” he said.

Thaddues looked at Odellius, his eyes shining brightly. “It’s too bad men on their civilian twelve month aren’t allowed either horse or lance; still, death against an overwhelming force isn’t the worst way for a knight to die, now is it?”

“Balls on,” said Odellius and gave the younger knight a clap on his shoulder so hard he staggered forward a step. “By the Black Horse, I’ll take them lizards on with a wooden practice sword and five beers in my belly.”

“They’re getting ready to come down on us,” said Thaddeus looking up at the gathered reptile men and listening to their strange sibilant language as they shouted orders to one another. “We’ll not hold up to even a single charge,” said the knight with a smile, “but I’ll go down with one of them at least,” he finished and pulled out his sword. “For Elekargul!” he shouted and the men shouted it as well, but then a horn sounded and the shout suddenly echoed tenfold in the distance.

“By the Black Horse,” said Odellius. “If that’s not the First Rider and a company of men then I’m a tea totaling brewer boy in his mother’s petticoats!”

The reptile men directly to their right spun almost to the man to look behind them, and all four groups began to signal frantically and moved to unify their formation. The sound of thunderous hooves came next and then, from a small dip in the hills, a hundred heavily armed horsemen, their plate mail glinting in the orange glow of the morning sun, charged forward, a white banner with four black horseshoes carried by the lead rider.

The horses seemed to gallop at the same speed and maintained a perfect line as they moved with deceptive swiftness towards the reptile men who hurriedly tried to form a wall. A loud cry came from the horsemen and all one hundred lances dipped at the same moment to create a terrible phalanx of death. The two groups of reptile men on either side of the trapped knights raced towards the unit closest to the horsemen while the creatures across simply tried to cut through Odellius and his men.

“Face me,” cried Odellius, turning his back to the reptiles and facing the soldiers at his command who turned to look at the massive warrior. “Line up, three deep, rows of six,” he calmly ordered and they obeyed in precise fashion getting into place just as the hundred or so reptiles hit their wall. The creatures that struck the center of the wall stopped in their tracks while those on either side flowed around and jabbed with their swords at the massed center.

From behind this little battle, the sound of thunder rolled over the battlefield and a hundred lances swept through the reptile lines like a scythe through a field of wheat. As Odellius tried to bellow orders the horsemen flew past him, their mounts heavily armored, and the men on their backs silent.

A short man with the features of a hobgoblin that included a square head with black hair and black eyes motioned with his hand; fifty of the riders suddenly swung their horses around in perfection unison, and lowered their lances for another charge. The leader made another move with his hand and all fifty of the remaining knights dropped their bloody lances, dismounted, and pulled out thick swords like a drill team on the parade field. “By the lance, by the sword, by the horse, to me knights of Elekargul, to the First Rider!”

The isolated soldiers dashed across the field and found positions with the fifty heavily armed soldiers like gears that turned on a mill, and Odellius found himself next to the squat man who gave the orders. Odellius stood almost a foot taller than the man although their bodies were nearly the same thickness and the little man’s legs were even stouter, like trunks of some great tree.

“I expected you’d find a way to weasel out of your twelve month of masonry,” he said to Odellius, although he kept his eyes on the reptiles that tried to reform with at least half their number dead or badly wounded. “Swords … up!” and sixty some odd blades rose into fighting position while shields locked.

“It’s nice to see you as well, Vipsanius,” said Odellius.

“At the double!” shouted the squat man and men started toward the few reptiles that managed to band together after the second sweep from the cavalry. The big leader of the group, a flagman at his side, shouted orders but their lines remained jagged and many of their foe looked at the horses, who swept around for another charge rather than at the swordsmen who rapidly approached. “Address me as First Rider if you please,” said the short man. “Keep in line there, Surantius,” he shouted as a young knight with an open hand symbol between his four horseshoes surged half a stride ahead. “Make a note, Odellius,” he continued, “how many of them watch the horses and how many watch us.”

“Yes, First Rider,” said Odellius as they moved to within ten yards of their massed foes. Some of the enemy noticed the foot soldiers, although at least half, if not more, watched the horsemen now completely wheeled and ready to charge forward again as they lowered their steel lances to chest height.

The horses moved aside at the last second and rolled past like a river split around some massive stone, but their movement captured the attention of most of the reptiles in the square and the First Rider’s group hit them a moment later at a full run. What few of the enemy put up a fight were quickly dispatched as their hide armor proved no match for the field plate of the knights and within a moment Odellius and the First Rider approached the heart of the enemy unit where the great captain and his personal guard awaited.

“A weak choice of armor,” said Vipsanius and thrust his blade under the arm of a reptile whose own overhand smash he easily deflected with a steel shield.