***
Yojji’s archers sent the signals to Adger and Blaka as the Jiadin climbed towards the western pass of the Valley of Bones. Cries of the wounded rippled through the forward ranks of the Jiadin as the archers rained down arrows upon the unsuspecting men. The column faltered as the surprise slowly registered and they tried to assess their position. Within moments, the column charged for the mouth of the valley. The archers continued to spray death upon the Jiadin as Yojji’s men stretched out low ropes across the ground and tightened them. The first riders to reach the ropes tumbled as their horses fell. The next few riders reacted in time to jump over the ropes and the fallen bodies, but they were soon blocked by Yojji’s men who had filled the path before them.
The archers were relentless as the Jiadin engaged Yojji’s swordsmen and soon the order was given for the Jiadin to retreat out of bow range. It was precisely at that moment that Blaka’s force met with Adger’s and they engaged the flanks and rear of the Jiadin column. Both Blaka and Adger kept their horse archers safely behind the swordsmen as they squeezed the Jiadin column from three sides. Chaos ravaged the Jiadin forces as conflicting orders were issued from each end of the column. The Jiadin at the head of the column tried to retreat, while the rear tried to advance. Shouts of surrender rang from the center of the column alongside shouts to charge. The Jiadin expended more time trying to assess a way out of the fighting than in actually engaging the enemy.
The battle was surprisingly short, given the skill of the Jiadin column, but the surprise and cramped location left them no room to maneuver as the arrows continued to drop man and horse alike. The free tribes lost three hundred men and carried the bodies clear of the battlefield. Adger had some men rearrange the Jiadin bodies so that there was a clear path into the Valley of Bones. Yojji called his archers down off the mountain and had men collect weapons and round up the horses that had survived. Within several hours of the end of the battle, the free tribes had returned to hiding in the forests west of the pass.
***
“The war is lost,” shouted the rider. “Grulak is dead. The elite have been destroyed. The Jiadin are no more. There is nothing but dead bodies ahead. Run for your lives.”
“That is the tenth rider today,” spat Klavin. “What fool thinks the fight is over when this huge an army is marching towards them? I don’t care how many men the free tribes have, we will still kick their tails just by the might of our numbers.”
“You haven’t spent much time looking behind you today, have you?” questioned Gregnic. “More men desert every time a rider comes by. I bet we have lost over half the army already.”
“That will just mean more food for the rest of us,” growled Klavin as he turned and looked at the column behind him. “We still have more than enough to wipe out the free tribes and take their food.”
Gregnic turned and watched hundreds of men split from the column and head either north or south. This time there were not even shouts about the men leaving as there had been in previous desertions. The news had gotten progressively worse with each rider who came from the east and the mood of the army had become quite gloomy.
“Easier for you to say than me,” frowned Gregnic. “I am not much of a fighting man like you are. I am a healer not a swordsman.”
“I’ll take care of you,” growled Klavin. “You just stay close to me and I’ll let you bring me food when we get to Ghala, wherever that is.”
“Another couple of those riders from the east and we won’t have enough men to worry about how much food is in Ghala,” Gregnic stated. “Our chances of getting any food out of this trip are ridiculous.”
“How can you say that?” questioned Klavin. “The free tribes are cowards. That is why they would not join with Grulak. They will run at the sight of such a massive army.”
“And if we manage to defeat the free tribes,” posed Gregnic, “who do you think will get the food? Grulak no longer controls this army. In fact, nobody does. Look around you. The men riding in front of you will cut your throat to get your food. Do you plan to fight every man in this army after you have fought the free tribes? It will be every man for himself when we get to Ghala. You will be so busy guarding your food, that you will never get a chance to bring it to your mouth.”
“Why would they do that?” asked Klavin. “We are in the same army.”
“We are in no army,” corrected Gregnic. “We are just a mob heading for a city we think has food in it. Most of the men here would probably surrender at the first sight of the tribes in hopes of getting some food. We only continue marching forward because we have no other place to go. Face it, Klavin, you are marching towards your death.”
“Well so are you then,” growled Klavin.
“Not anymore,” declared Gregnic as he veered to the south. “I will take my chances trying to find something to eat in the forest. At least I will die in peace.”
***
Bakhai sat perched upon the mountain peak and stared into the Valley of Bones. He had been watching the tiny column of Jiadin soldiers entering the valley for over an hour and he could not even see the far end of the valley where Yltar was keeping watch. Almos, a Qubari from the village sat down beside him.
“Yltar said the end is in sight,” Almos reported. “It will not be long now.”
“That is considerably less of an army than we expected,” noted Bakhai. “I guess that Winus’s riders were effective.”
“It is still a lot of men,” responded Almos. “It would be a shame to kill them.”
“That is an odd thing to hear you say,” Bakhai stated as he turned to the Qubari. “I thought you wanted all of the invaders dead.”
“We are not in the jungle,” replied Almos. “This is the invader’s land, not ours. We do not seek their destruction. We just will not allow them to seek ours. The Qubari revere life in all of its forms, but we realize that at times we will be called upon to take that life from some. It is not a pleasant thing, but necessary.”
“Well they shall have the choice,” smiled Bakhai. “Have you heard from Mistake?”
“She and Rejji will be here soon,” answered Almos. “She contacted me when they began climbing the mountain.”
“Talking about me?” chuckled Mistake as she and Rejji stepped up behind Bakhai and Almos. “How is it going?”
“Almost ready for the show to begin,” declared Bakhai. “I was afraid you would miss it.”
“We ran into some old friends of Wyant’s,” interjected Rejji. “He stayed behind to entertain them. How did Yojji’s men make out?”
“Only three hundred losses,” replied Bakhai. “The plan was very effective.”
“The last of the Jiadin have entered the valley,” reported Almos. “Yltar is notifying the free tribes and will begin his preparations as soon as the column is out of sight. He said quite a few deserted at the sight of Yojji’s battlefield.”
“How many do you think have made it this far?” asked Rejji.
“Not sure,” answered Bakhai. “I would estimate only fifteen to twenty thousand are left.”
“They must be really demoralized then,” calculated Rejji. “That is more defections than I even dreamed of.”
“Yes, but that is an awful lot of bandit groups now roaming around Fakara,” interjected Mistake. “You know they will begin terrorizing the people to steal whatever food they can.”
“That is why the free tribes will begin patrolling the country,” declared Rejji. “Eventually, all of the bandits will be brought under control. Right now I am more interested in preserving Ghala and the free tribes. One step at a time.”
“Yltar has sealed the valley,” reported Almos. “I will get the others.”
Rejji stood staring down at the tiny figures as they plodded eastward towards the end of the valley. He heard the soft footsteps and turned to greet the dozen Qubari tribesmen that had been waiting for this moment.