The footsteps and talking outside his tent in the predawn hours caught Brakas’s attention and he crept to the tent flap. He peered out and saw one of the sentries escorting a soldier to Winus’s tent. He recognized the soldier as one of Grulak’s elite and excitement coursed through his veins as he realized that Zygor had gotten to Vandegar and delivered the fruit. The siege of Ghala was about to begin. Anxious to hear about the plans of Grulak, Brakas quickly got dressed and slid out of his tent. Knowing that Winus would frown upon his inclusion in the discussion, Brakas stole around the rear of the general’s tent. He listened closely and frowned as he realized that he missed most of the conversation already.
“Show our guest to a tent where he can get a couple of hours rest before we leave in the morning,” ordered Winus. “Return promptly so we can discuss what needs to be done.”
Brakas hid in the dark and listened to the receding footsteps. He stayed still in the blackness of the night to avoid detection until the sentry returned to the command tent.
“He is settled in,” the sentry reported.
“Good,” stated Winus. “Check on him in half an hour. If he is sleeping, kill him. We will be breaking camp in the morning. I want everyone up at first light and ready to move out.”
“Where are we heading, Sir?” quizzed the sentry.
“We are going to wipe out Grulak’s elite,” the general declared. “Every last man must be killed.”
“General, I mean no disrespect,” the sentry said nervously, “but we are no match for the elite. Even if it was even odds, they would carve us up quicker than we carve up those wasooki we got from Ghala. You are asking your men to commit suicide.”
“No offense taken, soldier,” chuckled Winus. “Your assessment is quite valid. What is missing from your knowledge, though, is the fact that they will all be sleeping like babies. The fruit Zygor delivered has a very nasty aftereffect. It makes you sleep like the dead for days. We shall have no trouble completing our task.”
“Ah, that is why you asked me to check on our visitor,” nodded the sentry. “If he ate the fruit, he will be out soundly. You are cunning, General. I will make sure all is ready in the morning.”
“I am sure he ate the fruit,” smiled Winus. “There is no other way he could be here so quickly.”
Brakas felt a tremor of rage race through his body as he listened to the treachery inside the tent. He thought briefly of trying to save Grulak’s man in the tent and swiftly brushed aside his concerns. There was no sense in revealing his knowledge to save one man, while endangering himself. He silently cursed himself for being too late to hear the location of Grulak’s elite as he eased himself away from the general’s tent.
Brakas slipped quietly into the trees at the edge of the camp as he pondered what to do. He had at most two hours before the camp began to arise. It was clear to him now that Winus had changed sides some time ago and had been in contact with Ghala. He shivered when he realized that Rejji and the free tribes must have known his identity while he was in Ghala. They had used him to sucker Grulak, but they had underestimated him too. Grulak’s elite would not sleep forever and if it was Winus’s job to slay them, then Brakas had to stop them from carrying out their mission.
Slowly and silently, Brakas crept to the tether lines that held the camp’s horses captive. He severed the lines, pausing frequently to hear if anyone had become aroused because of the gentle noises coming from the horses. When he was done, he took a horse and led it back to his tent. He retrieved his sword and his meager belongings. Quietly, he mounted the horse and began shouting.
“Enemy in the camp!” he yelled.
He continued yelling at the top of his lungs at he urged his horse faster and headed for the tether lines. Soldiers began swarming out of their tents and shouting for instructions. Mayhem reigned in the dark of the night as Brakas screamed and forced the horses into jolting away from danger. Brakas cackled loudly as the horses stampeded into the night and curses arose from the camp of General Winus. After an hour of scattering the horses, Brakas halted and tried to figure out how he should go about finding Grulak’s elite forces. After careful deliberation, he decided there was little he could do if he did find them and the most amenable plan was for him to ride towards Vandegar and alert whatever forces were left there.
***
Wyant nodded to the rider and told him to get some sleep. He turned and strode through the stockade and found Rejji and Mistake in the center of Ghala.
“The last rider has just come in,” Wyant reported to Rejji. “So far it looks promising. There are indeed three groups coming as we had hoped.”
“Then it is time for us to leave,” nodded Rejji. “Have we heard from Winus about the destruction of the elite?”
“Not yet,” frowned Wyant, “but I am sure that he has accomplished his task. If my calculations are correct, Yojji should be beginning his attack about now.”
Wyant, Rejji, and Mistake went to the corral and mounted their horses. The people of Ghala waved to them as they rose out the gate in the stone wall. They rode quietly as they headed for the Valley of Bones. It was just past high sun when they crested a hill and saw the Jiadin campsite. The camp was tidy and the fires were cold as they rode between the rows of tents. Wyant searched for signs that Winus had already been there and frowned when he could not find a single body or slashed tent. There were no signs of a battle or massacre.
Alarm raced through Wyant’s body as he spotted the carriage, because a carriage meant that Grulak had not ridden with his men and been forced to eat the fruit. He could have easily slept in the carriage during the trip. He turned to Rejji to point out the carriage as a lightning bolt shot down out of the clear sunny sky. The lightening struck Rejji’s horse with an explosive force and Rejji went flying through the air.
“Dismount,” Wyant shouted to Mistake as he jumped from his horse.
“So you would rather travel with children than join my forces, Wyant,” called Grulak as he stepped into the clearing with Veltar far behind him. “A pity. You always did seem to be cowardly.”
Mistake hurled a dagger at the hooded magician as he raised his arms to call up another spell. The distance was too far for her throw to be accurate, but she raced towards the mage as he reacted to the threat. Wyant drew his sword and advanced menacingly towards Grulak. Veltar sneered as he swiftly raised his arms again and Mistake jumped to the right just as a bolt of lightning slammed into the ground where she had been. The magician backpedaled as Mistake reached for another dagger. As she cocked her arm, she saw the magician casting another spell. She dove further to the right as dust and stones flew through the air where the lightening bolt had struck. She continued her roll and sprang to her feet, swiftly unleashing another dagger towards the mage. The magician frowned as the dagger soared towards his body, which was still moving backwards. The dagger missed him by inches and he raised his arms once again.
Wyant closed with Grulak and their swords clashed. Grulak whirled and slashed down hard on Wyant’s shoulder. Wyant gave way under the force of the strike and rolled away from Grulak. Grulak charged after him, but Wyant managed to pivot and kick Grulak’s legs out from under him. They both scrambled to their feet and faced each other.
Mistake tossed another dagger as she leaped further to the right to avoid another bolt from the magician. She knew that she had little chance of hitting the mage, but her knives were disrupting his concentration and allowing her to slowly spiral in closer to him. She frowned as she continued to roll away from the blast as she wondered if she would run out of knives before she got close enough to kill him. She knew that only her speed was keeping her alive.