“You have agreed how to divide the column up?” asked Rejji.
“We have,” nodded Almos. “Your voice will be heard by most of the men. Eventually the word will spread to all.”
“Set it up,” ordered Rejji. “I would like this settled before nightfall.”
The Qubari clumped together before Rejji and spun their Air Tunnels down into the valley, each man choosing a different point in the long column. When they were all set, Almos nodded to Rejji. Rejji leaned forward and spoke where he was directed.
“You have entered the Valley Bones,” Rejji began in a loud voice. “The Jiadin have been defeated and we offer you a chance to save yourselves. You will find the exits to the valley have been sealed. Any attempt to exit to the east will result in your death. To exit to the west, you will need to follow my instructions. If you do not, you will die.”
Rejji paused and watched the men below turning and looking in every direction. All sense of order was erased and confusion rippled through the column.
“My name is Rejji,” he continued, “and these are my terms for your surrender. As the Jiadin no longer exist, you will remove your red scarves and abandon them. You will leave your horses and your weapons behind. Those who follow these instructions will be allowed to leave the valley alive. You must return to the western exit where you will be allowed to leave one at a time. Take your time and explore the valley if you wish, but come nightfall, anyone left in the valley will die.”
A small group at the head of the column charged towards the eastern end of the valley expecting to find the free tribes blocking the exit. What they found was much worse. The lead rider did not react fast enough and his horse slammed into the tyrik web, which spanned the entire pass. The horse screamed and the rider tried frantically to separate himself from the web. As the others watched in horror, several massive tyrik appeared high up on the web. As the lead rider screamed for help, the others turned and raced westward away from the web.
The group raced back to the column and reported what they had seen. The column turned and headed towards the western pass as the word spread rapidly. The riders halted as they saw the huge web blocking the exit. Unlike the eastern web, the western one was a long pace off the ground. There was just enough room for a man to crawl under the web without getting stuck.
Groups of riders split off and began exploring the rock walls of the valley. There were few areas that looked climbable and those few were also covered in webs. Men screamed and pointed whenever they spotted one of the huge tyriks above them on the walls of the canyon. Eventually, the column reassembled at the western exit from the valley. One brave soul dismounted and started to crawl under the web while the others watched. Yltar’s voice boomed among the men near the web.
“You were told to leave your weapons and scarves behind,” Yltar said through the Air Tunnel. “If you proceed further without following instructions, my men will slay you before you stand up.”
As if to demonstrate his point, a spear landed directly in front of the crawling man. He slithered backwards and rejoined his column. He searched for the location of the man that threw the spear and could not detect anyone.
Suddenly, one of the former Jiadin dismounted. He walked towards the web and tore his scarf off. He threw the scarf on the ground and dropped his sword. As the rest of the men watched, he lowered himself to the ground and crawled under the web. Cheers erupted from the column as the man stood up and walked down the path. Soon there was a crowd of unarmed men standing in line at the web. Fights broke out among the ranks of those who disagreed with the surrender, but the diehards where mobbed and killed.
One by one, the former Jiadin warriors crawled under the web and proceeded down the trail. As they cleared the narrow confines of the pass, they found the sides of the trail lined with men of the free tribes. The trail was lined for several miles before the unarmed men were allowed to walk freely in any direction they desired.
As the sun began to dip low in the sky, several hundred former Jiadin still occupied the Valley of Bones. Several of them tried hacking at the web with their swords, but backed off when the tyriks showed themselves. Some men tried killing the creatures with arrows, but the arrows bounced off the plating on the back of the tyriks. The men finally retreated to the center of the valley and lit campfires. Rejji and the Qubari kept watch from afar as the sky darkened.
The former Jiadin sat up late into the night, making plans for their escape in the morning. As the night wore on, the fires slowly dwindled to embers. And then the screams began. The tyriks climbed down off the walls of the valley and converged on the stubborn men. The men found themselves surrounded. Some tried to run to safety while others tried to battle the tyriks with swords. Neither approach worked and by morning all that was left were the bones of the men.
***
The city of Ghala was alive with celebration and the streets were lined with people. Long tables of food were set in the streets around the city center and several talented men were playing musical instruments they had made. It was a festive atmosphere and the ale flowed freely. Several of the men over imbibed, but a mere word from one of the tribal leaders was enough to send the offender home to bed.
Rejji felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to greet the man.
“So you are the Rejji that I chased across the country,” smiled Winus. “I am glad that I never caught you. It is a fine thing you have done for the people of this country.”
“Thank you, General,” greeted Rejji. “I also am glad you never caught me.”
“I have a question about what went on in the Valley of Bones,” continued Winus. “I have asked around and can’t find a single man that was involved in that action. I have heard that close to twenty thousand men surrendered there and walked out of the valley without their horses or weapons. How exactly did you manage that?”
“I suppose they realized the futility of continuing,” grinned Rejji.
“You aren’t going to tell me, are you?” questioned Winus.
“Winus,” smiled Rejji as he put his arm across the general’s shoulders, “sometimes you just have to have faith that things will work out all right. You of all people should know that Kaltara favors me and helps me at times that I need it. What army can stand against that?”
“I don’t know much about this Kaltara,” admitted Winus, “but I aim to learn. Someday I will learn about the Valley of Bones as well. I am sure I will run into some of those men before my days expire.”
“Oh that you will,” grinned Rejji. “In fact, we must start recruiting them soon. There are bigger battles coming and we will need every man we can get. We will be starting patrols all over Fakara, and food distribution too. Your services will be greatly needed. I will warn you though, there is no telling what strange stories you might hear from men who fled because they feared for their lives.”
“Are you saying there is another enemy besides Grulak?” questioned the general.
“The Time of Cleansing is soon upon us, General,” declared Rejji. “Our battles have just begun.”