“I can’t run and hide,” frowned Rejji. “My life has been turned upside down. It is not only my grandfather and the rest of the villagers, Mistake. It is everyone. If nobody takes a stand against these crimes, then how will it ever stop? Which village will be next to be slaughtered? We could probably run away now and maybe we would even survive the chase, but what then? What would we do on our travels every time we came to another slaughtered village? You just spoke how they think of nothing but themselves, yet you are asking me to be just like them and think only of us. I cannot do that. Somebody has to try and set things right. I may not be the person to do it, but I cannot fathom giving up without trying.”
Tears formed in Mistake’s eyes as she realized she was losing the argument. “Then I will stay too,” she declared.
“No,” pleaded Rejji. “You can’t. They will kill you on sight. Go find your Sage. Turn that new leaf and live a happy life. This is something I have to do. Not you.”
“You think you are better suited for this than I am?” she questioned. “I can ride a horse. I know how to use a sword and daggers. I bet I can beat most of these overweight braggarts right now. They move so slowly that they won’t even be able to strike me.”
“That is not the point, Mistake,” Rejji sighed. “You are a girl. Have you ever seen a girl bandit?”
“And just what do you think I have been doing all my life, Rejji?” she asked. “If the Greens don’t have woman bandits, maybe I should enlighten them.”
“You said you were walking away from all that,” Rejji protested. “Now you are eager to get back into it?”
“I don’t want to get back into it, Rejji,” she answered. “I want us to get out of here, but you refuse. I am merely stating that I am going where you are going. You can decide where that is to be.”
Rejji sat and shook his head. It was clear to him what he must do with his life, but he did not want to drag Mistake into it. He stared up at the dangling rope and realized what she must have gone through to get in to see him. It became clear to him that she was not just going to leave because he asked her to.
“Can you survive in the woods alone?” Rejji asked. “Without being seen or detected?”
“I have done so fairly well so far,” she retorted. “Why? What are you scheming?”
“Give me a couple of weeks here,” Rejji suggested. “Let me learn some basic skills and find out how they operate. I will try to learn as fast as I can and then maybe we can leave this place behind us.”
“Maybe?” Mistake questioned. “It sounds like you aren’t too sure that you will want to leave.”
“I do not desire to be a bandit,” Rejji declared. “You know what I am after. I just don’t know if I can learn enough in a couple of weeks. I will try to. But you must leave. I cannot have your capture on my mind.”
“You needn’t worry about me,” the thief protested. “I know how to handle myself. I will meet you half way.”
“Half way?” questioned Rejji. “How you can you leave half way? Either you leave or you don’t.”
“Not true,” grinned Mistake. “I won’t show myself, but I will always be here. While you are off learning to slay innocent villagers, I will be right below you.”
“Below me?” quizzed Rejji. “What do you mean?”
“There is a crawl space below this building,” explained Mistake. “I will stay right below you until it is time to leave.”
“You can’t get away with that for long,” cautioned Rejji. “Sooner or later somebody will notice you.”
“Then you had better study hard,” Mistake stated firmly. “The longer you dally, the greater chance of me being caught.”
Mistake rose and grabbed the rope with both hands and lifted her feet off the floor. She started climbing even as the rope swung from side-to-side. When she reached the roof, she let go of the rope and grabbed the roof with both hands. Just at that moment the door to the room swung open and Wyant walked in. Mistake froze and Rejji caught sight of the rope swaying above his head as Wyant walked towards him. Rejji did the only thing he could think of to distract Wyant. He charged across the floor and dove at the leader of the Zaldoni tribe.
Chapter 5
Vandegar Temple
The wind whipped his flowing red robe and threatened to push back his hood as Veltar stepped out onto the platform at the top of the pyramid. He scowled and pulled the red hood taut as he bowed into the wind and made for the edge of the platform. The wind decreased as he moved away from the doorway and when he reached the edge he stood erect and gazed out over the sacred Plains of Vandegar. It was on these plains, history told, that man had come together to defy the gods. The civilization of man had been grand then, thousands of years ago, thousands of years even before the invasion of the people who became known as the Fakarans.
Veltar looked out upon the huge semicircular section of the plain that was now part of the sea. The legends state that the gods in their anger caused the plain to buckle and the sea to turn upon the land, swallowing millions of souls in the blink of an eye, their souls forever captive under the waves of the sea. That day in history, it is said, the gods spat upon man and brushed away his aggressiveness as being insignificant. The remaining people fled to the far corners of the continent and hid from the gods. The pyramid Temple of Vandegar was abandoned and forsaken ever since. Until now.
The sound of footsteps caused Veltar to turn and see Grulak, leader of the Jiadin, approaching. Grulak’s muscles bulged beneath his red-dyed armor and his footsteps pounded loudly across the stones as he moved to the edge to stand beside Veltar.
“Greetings, Your Excellency,” bowed Veltar.
“Not quite yet,” scowled Grulak. “I thought I might find you up here.”
“It will be soon,” Veltar assured the leader as he waved his hand over the plain below. “See how your armies gather. Already you have amassed the greatest army and you have not even invited the other tribes to join with you.”
“The people recognize a great leader when they see one,” Grulak blustered. “Convincing the other tribes will not be so easy though.”
“You will prevail,” snickered Veltar. “I guarantee it. Has not my advice already brought you all of the new recruits each season? No longer do the young ones seek to join just any tribe, they now seek to join the Jiadin Tribe.”
“Yes, your advice has been good,” admitted Grulak. “That is why I have made you my most trusted advisor.”
“The only advisor you need,” Veltar pointed out. “The others trembled when you decided to move your forces here and reoccupy the sacred temple.”
Grulak looked down at the plain and saw his army encampments. From horizon to horizon tents were pitched and more men were arriving every day. Tens of thousands of men had rallied to him in the past few years.
“Are you sure these village slaughters are a good idea?” asked Grulak. “It may make the other tribes feel as if we are invading their territories. They might be less likely to join with us then.”
“On the contrary,” smiled Veltar, “it shows them the distance of your reach. The tribes only understand power. For years they have existed by displaying their power over the defenseless villagers. Now we are doing to them what they have been doing to the villagers. They will tremble and beg to give you allegiance. I do have a concern with the slaughters though.”
“Oh,” Grulak said as he continued gazing down upon his armies. “What is the problem?”
“My men are not treated with due respect,” declared Veltar. “Your patrol leaders will often do things that obstruct what my men are trying to accomplish.”