A trio of warriors nearby pushed a boulder toward the slope. The missile teetered backward for a moment, but then they heaved mightily. Slowly it toppled forward, and then it rolled over. The rock quickly gathered momentum, plunging and bouncing down the steep-sided ridge.
The stone plummeted some fifty feet and then crashed into one of the highest of the climbing ants. It smashed past the creature, leaving the ant flailing with the three legs on its right side. Its left legs had all been crushed by the boulder, and slowly the monster slipped to the side. In another second, it fell free, toppling unnoticed past the ants that climbed behind it.
The boulder, at the same time, continued its destructive plunge. It crushed the head of another ant, much lower than the first, and then tore through the joint between the
segments of a third. It continued to crash downward, smashing and crunching into anything that lay in its path
through the heart of the ant army. Another boulder tumbled free, followed by a handful of gat-sized stones and large rocks that a single man would raise over his head, pitching it into the insect horde. Beginning as a small clatter, punctuated by a dull roar, the deluge of stones started toward the unnatural enemy below.
All along the line, the men threw and rolled their missiles, until the air resounded with the cracks and crashes of smashing rock. A hail of stones tumbled downward into the faces of the advancing ants. The rocks bounced and crushed their way in sharp descent, careening along the slope of the mountain, some of them cracking and splintering into clouds of debris, while others ricocheted far out into the air, tumbling away from the climbing horde-But many of the boulders rolled true, striking straight into the center of the ant army. They continued downward to crush more heads and snap more legs, cracking the shell-like carapaces and even, occasionally, tearing through an ant and breaking it in twoThe men raised a spontaneous cheer as they saw the attack start to take effect. For the first time, the inexorable advance of the ants seemed to waver. The entire front rank of the ants tumbled away, carried downward by the momentum of the stone storm.
More and more of the boulders crashed downward. Some of these broke away parts of the cliff face itself, and great masses of rock, a few as big as small houses, plunged into the face of the insect horde. More and more of the creatures fell, crushed by the weight of the granite assault.
“See! They fall away!”
“We drive them back!”
“Tulom-Itzi is avenged!”
The normally unwarlike Itza erupted in howls of triumph and cries of savage glee as they saw the bodies of the hated invaders twist and break and fall. A heap of dead and crippled ants formed at the base of the cliff, and still more of the rocks tumbled downward.
Several older males, white-haired and frail yet carrying! sharpened sticks as if they were spears, advanced suspiciously, brandishing their makeshift weapons.
“Who are you? What do you want?” they demanded in the language of the Payit.
“We are travelers, seeking to pass through this country. We journey to Ulatos, and then on to Twin Visages,” Erix answered. “But who are you, a people that we find here without houses or crops?”
The first of the men looked at her suspiciously, and then sighed. “We are the folk of Tulom-Itzi. We have been driven from our city by the horror that comes out of the earth.”
“Tulom-Itzi! But-but that’s where Gultec was called to!” she exclaimed to Halloran. At the knight’s name, the men started.
“Do you know Gultec, Knight of the Jaguar?” the first speaker asked.
“He is our friend and companion,” she replied. “He left us to journey back to Tulom-Itzi after he was called by his master…” She tried to remember the name Gultec had told her. “Zochimaloc?”
“Yes, our great and wise chief.”
‘is he here? Is he alive?”
“He is not here. He was alive this morning, but who knows now? All of our men, led by Gultec, stand at a pass high in the mountains.” The man gestured to the ridgeline. looming high and remote to the east. “There they stand against the horror.”
He went on to explain the nature of the attacking army their flight from the city, and the skirmishes that had pre-; ceded the warriors’ stand at the pass. “Now we have fled until we can flee no more. If the pass is held, we shall remain here. If our warriors are killed, we shall perish soon afterward.”
“We have warriors with us,” Erixitl exclaimed. “Perhaps we can help. How far is the pass you speak of?”
The man gestured again, brightening for a moment but then sighing and shaking his head. “I thank you. The battle may be won or lost by now. We left the warriors hours ago,
and the ants were not far behind.”
Erixitl explained the situation for the others, and Halloran studied the rolling, jungled mountains.
“Monstrous ants!” exclaimed Jhatli. “I am not afraid! I have faced other monsters before. Now let me face these! I will slay them all!”
Luskag turned his eyes to Erixitl, his face an expressionless mask. The revelation of the Sunstone had sent him and his people to her; now, it was clear, he would follow her decision in the matter before them.
Tabub and his diminutive warriors, in the meantime, looked to Halloran. He alone would make the choice that would send them into battle or not.
Erixitl sighed and went to her husband, taking his hand in both of hers and holding it. They didn’t speak for several moments as he looked down at his wife, suddenly afraid. She was full and round with child, and a freshness had returned to her face now that they had left the dry country behind. Halloran thought of their peaceful march and the quiet moments they had enjoyed in the forest along the way.
But always there was the thought of the obstacles before them, and now they came upon the people of their friend, in need of help. There was no choice to be made, really; instead, they simply needed a few moments to grasp the one course of action they could take.
“Gultec crossed half of Maztica to come to us after the Night of Wailing. He led us to the fertile desert,” Hal said softly as Erixitl nodded. Still, the images of horror in his mind caused by the insect army described by the Itza affected him deeply.
“You must stay here,” he continued firmly. “I’ll take the desert dwarves and the Little People. We’ll head up toward the pass and see if we can get there in time.”
“You have to go, I know,” said Erixitl quietly, but with equal firmness. “So you can understand that so, too, do I.”
His objection died on his lips, for she was right. He really “id understand.
Don Vaez entered Ulatos, with full martial pomp, at the head of a marching column of more than fifteen hundred men. Nearly a hundred of these rode prancing chargers and they led the way. The citizens of the city, the greatest metropolis in the lands of the Payit, turned out to stare at the spectacle.
Ulatos stood out proudly from a flat, coastal savannah The wide grassland supported many fields of mayz, as well as small villages near the fringes of the city. But the city itself was the dominant feature of the land.
Tall, colorful pyramids rose throughout. Wide streets, some even paved with stone, separated its buildings. Many of the buildings themselves were made of stone, and even the adobe structures were meticulously whitewashed. Green gardens filled the gaps between many of the structures, and the city was lined with cool bathing pools. Flowers burst in chaotic abundance from bushes that grew at every street corner.
Now all the people from this mighty city gathered along the widest street, an avenue that led directly to the central plaza, where stood the tallest pyramids and the biggest houses. They stood in silence and awe, standing well back from the path of the approaching marchers.