“You have much to learn, Cortain,” chuckled the Lord Marshal. “Rybak’s kind has been around as long as there has been an army. Rybak is nobody’s man but his own. You should watch him closely.”
Marak felt on top of the world as he pranced out of the mansion and headed for the barren field. The Lord Marshal was correct about Rybak. The man didn’t blink an eye at hearing that Marak was now his Cortain and that he had been ordered to spend the morning with his mother.
As a Cortain, Marak was free to speak with his mother or any slave, but the Lord Marshal’s orders were still necessary in order to relieve her of her duties and for Marak to be able to take her away from the overseers. He gently led her across the creek to his personal practice field and started the encounter with a kiss and a long embrace. Glenda's tears rolled down her cheeks as Marak told her about his promotion. For hours the two talked and hugged, as they had not been able to for years.
After a couple of hours into the encounter a smiling, but sheepish, Tagoro entered the field with a picnic basket for the two of them and a message from Lord Marshal Grefon. The message stated that Lord Marshal was amending his orders and Marak should utilize the entire day with his mother. Enclosed in the pouch with the message was a single lituk blossom for Glenda. The day passed quickly for both Marak and Glenda and it was long dark by the time Marak escorted his mother to the slave compound. Marak went immediately to his keepbox and withdrew his father’s necklace and put it on. He remembered his vow to her, which he made the night he sneaked into the slave compound, as he fell asleep.
* * *
Marshal Garouk looked out the window at the rising sun as Lord Lashendo paced the floor of his study.
“I don’t care what they said in Lituk Valley,” the Lord ranted. “They treated us like we did not know how to handle our own affairs. You said your plan was solid. Why should we wait for some young pups from Lord Marshal Grefon to come help us out of our problem?”
Marshal Garouk shook his head. “The only reason to wait is because they told us to wait,” he stated.
“That is not entirely correct,” whirled Lord Lashendo. “The Lord Marshal ordered us not to make any further attempts at clearing Sitari Valley. Although I bristle at being given orders by anyone other than Lord Ridak himself, the fact is that nobody told us not to spring our trap. The Lord Marshal said he planned on sending men to reinforce us, but he did not say that we had to sit and wait for them.”
“What exactly are you proposing?” questioned Marshal Garouk.
“If Lord Marshal Grefon’s men come in here and your plan works,” explained Lord Lashendo, “they will get all of the credit and we will look like incompetent fools. If, for some reason, it doesn’t work, it will be because our plan was incomplete or foolhardy. It is a situation in which we cannot win. The only way we come out of this looking good is to solve our own problems and you already have the plan in place. I say we institute the plan immediately. Send a squad into the Sitari Valley. No lumbermen, no wagons, just a squad of soldiers.”
“A lone squad will be wiped out,” protested Marshal Garouk. “If we wait for Grefon’s men, we can send them into Sitari Valley and not worry about the losses. Who cares about the credit for success or failure? The end result is that we have the valley and the cat people are dead.”
“I care about the credit!” screamed Lord Lashendo. “I can not just apply for another job as Lord of somebody else’s estate. If I look bad here, Lord Ridak will replace me. He will replace you, too, in case that makes a difference to you. The point is that you have presented me with a plan for solving our problem. I am still the Lord of Fardale and I have accepted your plan. I am ordering you to institute your plan without delay. There is no more discussion needed on this matter. When you balance a suggestion from Lord Marshal Grefon against my direct order, you really do not have a choice. Get the defenses set up and choose a squad to go out to Sitari Valley.”
“As you command, My Lord,” Marshal Garouk recited.
The Marshal of Fardale walked out of the study trying to choose which squad he would send to their death. Getting the defenses ready would occupy his mind and keep the rest of the men from brooding on what they all knew would happen to the squad sent out. He had actually proposed the reinforcements to Lord Marshal Grefon in the hopes that the Lituk Valley men would not be aware of what waited for them when they left for the Valley of Death, as the Fardale men had been calling it.
Chapter 5
Learning
The squad of yellow and green clad soldiers rode hesitantly into the Sitari Valley. The Squad Leader discussed the available options with his men and they decided to try to draw the Chula out after them instead of sacrificing their lives for the Situ Clan. Their orders were to arouse the Chula into attacking and no one mentioned the need for the squad to commit suicide. The Squad Leader decided to sneak into the heart of the valley and then raise a ruckus as they galloped back out. Hopefully, the Chula would be incensed enough to chase them all the way home to the Fardale mansion.
The members of the squad were jumpy and every sound caused someone to shout or cry out. The Squad Leader cursed under his breath as he gave up hope of sneaking into the heart of the valley. The musty smell typical of a fargi forest hung over the trail and even the horses seemed to sense death all around the party. The Squad Leader decided that the center of the valley was too great a risk to take and set his new goal at the small clearing where the last group of men had been slaughtered. From the description given to him by Togi, the one lumberman to escape the massacre, the Squad Leader knew he was close and they could turn around soon. He hoped the cat people would chase them as he had no stomach for making this trip again.
The Squad Leader saw the slight notches on the fargi trees and looped around the clearing so his men would have room to turn around. As soon as he started heading back out of the clearing, he saw them. Six nearly naked men with spears sat upon tigers blocking the trail back home. The Squad Leader could not imagine how they had gotten into position to block the trail without anyone hearing them. They were only about six horse lengths behind the last rider in the column. The horses reacted to the presence of the tigers and tried to back away. The other soldiers finally saw the barbarians and their large cats and started cursing.
The Squad Leader looked frantically left and right for more of the Chula and breathed a sigh of relief that they were only facing six of them. He waited for his men to regain control of their horses as the barbarians just sat there. It suddenly dawned on the Squad Leader that there might be more Chula on the way and he must act quickly if he was going to survive. He shouted the order to charge at the top of his lungs and started forward to give his men the start they needed. He immediately halted his own horse as the first of his men went racing past him towards the barbarians.
Smug that he did not need to lead the charge, the Squad Leader watched in horror and fascination as several twirling masses of light lanced towards his group from the bushes. The masses of light flattened and transformed into blue-white blades twirling around a center. Even as he watched his lead men going down with barbarian spears in their chests, he saw the whirling blades slice through their first victim. The blades sliced cleanly through clothing, flesh and bones. Even then, the blades continued on to their next victim. More of the twirling blades came flying out of the bushes surrounding the clearing. The last thing the Squad Leader saw was the growing pile of body fragments, both human and equine, as the whirling blades slashed into his chest.
* * *
A shout rang out from the main gate to the Fardale estate and Marshal Garouk ran out of the mansion with Lord Lashendo close behind. They stood on the porch and watched a lone horse trot through the gate and head for the stables. Marshal Garouk needed no confirmation of the meaning of the returning horse. The animal’s back was covered in blood, the blood of its rider, no doubt.