The Ninth Prophecy

As the days passed by, the insurgent group being dispatched to Venegor, Nox had intensified its preparations for the imminent enemy campaign. Axion was spending most of his time meditating and talking to Yon and Faris, who seemed particularly interested in the nature of prophesying. The two became quite close, just like Hadera and Yon. Hadera was impressed by Yon’s organizational skills and the way he motivated his troops in the times of hardship. She saw him as a proper partner in war. It was yet to be seen if her emotions would grow into something more than that.

Yon, Faris and Spero were inspecting the works on the walls. Faris decided to open up a discussion on a matter he tried to bring up several times: “My lords, all the work we are doing seems more than impressive, but it is not going to be enough. We need everyone who’s not on Daors’s side to join us.”

- “Your brother and I have agreed on that. We will discuss the matter upon your return from Venegor. I summoned you to tell you that our informants have returned. You were right Faris. The horions are in Venegor, in a camp on the outskirts of the town. You will leave as soon as tomorrow morning. We can’t afford to lose any more time. The horions are growing stronger by the hour. You’ll get all the information you need once we are back in the tower.”

- “That’s great news. I must tell Axion,” Faris responded with excitement.

- “Axion already knows. He always knows,” Spero said, still visibly puzzled by the unusual mental skills of the Chosen. Yon assumed his brotherly role, as he advised Faris to be careful and not to waste time once he gets the chance to rid them of the grim threat. When the three returned to the tower, they were awaited by the two insurgents. One of them, a young, skinny, small man explained what they saw:

- “The horions are kept in metal containers. They are mobile and there are horses ready to haul the containers at any moment. Each horion has his own container, twelve altogether. They change the location of the camp every few days. Tomorrow they will move to the outskirts of the town. We think that you will have the best chance to attack them at this time. When they transport the horions they cover their eyes and they put them to sleep using some scented smoke. In this way they are able to transport them in one single wagon pulled by ten horses. The wagon is made of toughest metal too, several layers of it. They separate the beasts when they reach their destination.”

- “And the guards, how many of them are there?” Yon asked the two.

- “It is hard to say. There are some twenty men guarding the beasts at all times, not including their riders. There are also some ten argorite riders patrolling the area. Argorites can smell a man from far away, you know. They almost found us when we scouted the camp. There are some three shifts, so that means that there overall some sixty men guard the beasts.”

Faris seemed to be pleased with what he could hear, although he was quite worried. “That doesn’t sound too bad. We will take twenty men. We will travel in three groups so we don’t arouse suspicion. We leave at dawn.”

- “Yes…You know, in an inn, we got one of the guards talking about the job. We asked him why there weren’t any more guards. He said that no one is crazy enough to try to harm the horions. He said that horions need no protection by themselves and that they were merely escorting and transporting the beasts and their masters to the set locations. He said that one of the healers came too close to the animal without its master present and the animal froze him dead in an instant. Allegedly, there is no way to come anywhere near these beasts without their masters, and you can’t spear them or kill them in any other way from a safe distance since they are kept in these…cocoons. When they fly, they are covered with the leaf-like armor with several layers so it is even less probable that one can take them down while in flight,” the second informant explained.

- “None the less, the animals will meet their match, and their guards will too, whatever they call themselves,” Faris tried to break the discomfort the statement caused among the present group.

- “You must be extremely careful. Enemy patrols are on every step of the midland border. You should travel separately to avoid attracting unnecessary attention and then gather at one point near Venegor,” was Qali’s advice, which all accepted.

The next morning the two groups, broken up into smaller ones during the trip, left Nox and headed for Venegor. Yon and Faris were discussing even the smallest of details of their plan. Two groups were to separate before they approach Venegor. They will set their camps at locations within 500 lengths of each other. Yon will send one scout to investigate the best options for a diversion at the harbor, while Faris will send one man who is to conduct a subtle inquiry about the present location and the status of the horion group. Then they will meet again to make final arrangements regarding the coordination of their activities.

When the groups reached Venegor they split as they had agreed. After spending the night in their camps in the woods outside Venegor, Faris went to the town along with Maedur. The two decided that they were the best men for the job. Likewise, Yon and Hadera named themselves the reconnaissance team which was to scout the harbor. Both were well disguised.

The first thing Faris and Maedur realized was that the horions will be harder to find than they first thought. They learned that the animals had already been moved to a new location just the night before and no one knew where they were.

After roaming around, looking for signs of the animals without any success whatsoever, they went to an inn, exhausted and disappointed. They sat down, ordered a couple of drinks and started looking for a suitable candidate for interrogating. They saw one alliance soldier, a Septor, who was sitting with a friend in a corner of the room. They instructed the waiter to get them some drinks. When the waiter brought the drinks, the two soldiers lifted their glasses saluting Faris and Maedur.

Faris saw this to be a good chance: “We salute the heroes of Baan Senicore! You gave those Kulin bastards what they deserve!”

The two soldiers laughed in approval and invited Faris and Maedur to sit with them. As minutes passed and drinks slid down the soldiers’ throats, they seemed to be making more room for new ones by spitting out all the words they could say. It wasn’t much trouble for Faris to get them talking about what he wanted to hear. There was only one problem - the soldiers didn’t have much to offer.

The soldiers simply didn’t know much. They simply said that they enjoyed serving in Venegor and that they were well paid to guard a nobleman there, which wasn’t very troubling. The one thing that bothered them was that lords always get up at dawn. Apparently, dawn was the best time to conduct business in Venegor. It was the time when few eyes could witness the pacts and arrangements made. To Venegorans, discreetness was one of the most important factors.

The soldiers confided to Faris and Maedur that lords of Venegor apparently enjoy visiting the gardens of Venegor, which were said to be the most beautiful piece of known earth and it was for their eyes only, separated from the contamination by everyday world with tall, guarded walls. As the matter of fact, their lord was just having a business meeting with the innkeeper about making arrangements for transporting some of the most delicate plants from the garden to the forest lodge he was to buy. The lord owned a large piece of property outside the town and the innkeeper was a skilled gardener.

The only thing that saved Faris and Maedur from hearing detailed information on this far from stupefying subject was the appearance of the lord who came out of a secluded room and shook hands with the innkeeper. To Faris’s surprise and horror, the lord was none other than Legan himself. Seeing Legan approach the table, Faris lowered his head, pulling the hood over as much as he could. Maedur, unaware of their mutual history, was puzzled by Faris’s sudden nervousness.

Legan came to the table and stood right above Faris. He looked around and then spoke: “Well, well, look what we have here…my guars filling their bellies so much that they won’t be able to move, let alone protect me. Get up and move!” The two soldiers stood up in panic and picked up their swords from the floor. - “And you two…you don’t have to pay for anything. It’s all on me.” Maedur thanked the lord and smiled at him politely. Surprised that one of the two didn’t at all react to his generous act, Legan, seemingly offended, spoke once again: “You, lift your head up! You can at least do that much when the administrator of Venegor buys you a drink!” Faris nervously lifted his eyes slightly. Their cover has been blown. With one hand he gripped his sword and just as he was to lift his head Maedur slapped him so hard that he fell right down on the floor.

- “Forgive my servant, my generous lord. He has had one drink too many and his head is filled with only the fumes of the drinks he has had. He better stay down then get your precious cloak stained by what would come out of his mouth if he was to speak - and it wouldn’t be words flowing out, if you know what I mean.”

- “Drunks!” Legan commented with reproach. - “Well, those of your kind fill up our treasury more than many others do, so I will forgive your friend. Enjoy your stay!”

As Legan and his escort left, Maedur rushed to help Faris pick himself up and the two sat back behind the table. Maedur fearfully looked at Faris.

- “My master, I am sorry…I saw you grab the sword under the table and I realized that you probably knew the man and had some grudges…We couldn’t afford to blow the cover…I’m sorry. Maybe I took a little too much pleasure...liberty, I mean liberty, not pleasure…in smacking you. You have every right to reprimand me…”

Faris smiled, a drop of blood coming down from his lip: “Stop it, Maedur. You did great, really great. You saved us. Do you know who that man was?”

- “Well, he said he is the administrator.”

- “Yes, the administrator. This is the second time in a short period that he has pardoned me,” Faris said with a smile on his face.

- “Now, tell me Maedur, why would an administrator be so eager to transport flowers, so much that he would come and arrange the details in person with some innkeeper?”

- “Well, I don’t know. It is known that they have some rare flower specimens there in the garden of Venegor. He’s probably interested in preserving them.”

- “Oh, come on Maedur. He wouldn’t be transporting them out of the garden if that was the issue. Besides, he’s not that much of a flower lover. They have gardeners and a garden administrator who takes care of that.”

- “Then what? Why would he be arranging the matter and why would he transport flowers out of the garden? Maybe to see if they will breed in plain soil?”

- “No, Maedur. You see, I am quite sure that he is arranging this affair because it is not flowers they are transporting. I bet that they will be transporting the horions. Think about it! What is the safest place to hide someone in Venegor? It’s the garden, for sure. Hidden from the eyes of the commoners and visitors, guarded by trained soldiers. It is the most discreet location in all of Venegor and the last place one would suspect to find these procurers of death and annihilation!”

- “By the name of The One, you’re right! Why do you think they are transferring them from this to another location?”

- “Well, they said they are moving them to a farm further to the south. I suspect that the animals are healed or almost healed and that this is their last station before they return to Baan Senicore and join the alliance troops. So, we have to strike without delay. The only thing we don’t know is at what hour they will be transporting the beasts.”

- “Maybe you would know that too, had I smacked you harder!” Maedur said laughing, but he stopped when he realized that he had pushed it a bit too far. Faris didn’t appear to enjoy the joke. Maedur wiped the smile off his face and spoke again: “My lord, I think I know when they will transport them. Didn’t you hear what the two guards said?”

- “No, Maedur. I must say that I tried to listen to their blabbing as little as I could.”

- “Don’t worry, I did. They said that the lords prefer conducting business at dawn, when few eyes are open to witness to what they do.”

- “By God, you’re right. They will make their move at dawn then. We must rush back and report to Yon. We have to prepare. This might be our only chance to remove this devious threat.”

Faris and Maedur rushed back to their camp and then to the location in the woods where they were supposed to meet Yon and Hadera. When they arrived, Hadera and Yon had already been at the agreed location. When the two appeared, Yon spoke with relief: “Thank The One, you are all right. I already started thinking that you might have run into that bastard Legan and that he recognized you. I thought you were dead, damn it.”

- “Oh, I ran into Legan all right.”

- “What?! Did he recognize you?!”

- “Calm down, brother. We profited from the encounter a lot more than he did…and no, he didn’t recognize me. Anyway, we found out where the animals are and what they plan to do with them. They are keeping them in the Venegor garden. They plan to transport them to a farm closer to the south. They are probably near the end of their recuperation process. It is my guess that they plan to send them back to Baan Senicore within the next few days. They leave for the farm tomorrow at dawn – this is our guess.”

- “Your guess?” Hadera said with irony in her voice.

- “Hey, we did our best. That’s our best guess and we have every right to believe that it will be so. We must attack them as soon as they reach the farm.”

- “I disagree,” Axion spoke coming out of the woods, surprising the four. - “We must attack during transport.

- “Thank you for joining us, Axion. I had no doubt that you would. I agree with you. They are most vulnerable at this stage. It is our best chance for an effective ambush,” Yon supported Axion’s position, as Axion continued: “Not only that. This is the only moment when the horions will all be together in one container. Who knows what will happen after they arrive to the farm?! Maybe they will already be in shape to fly.”

- “In that case, we won’t set up a diversion. It will only alert them. That’s not such a good thing now that we know that the horions might already be healed. It is best if we jointly attack, both groups. Since we know their way of movement, we can find the best spot for setting up the ambush together. Hadera and her three siegers will set up traps at the place of attack. Hadera, Faris and me will be in charge of the guards. Axion, you, Maedur and six other soldiers will be in charge of taking over the wagon,” Yon laid down his simple plan.

- “That seems like a good plan. However, we must know that we will be outnumbered by at least two to one. Especially if we don’t set up the diversion, their troops will not split up. So, the first thing we have to do is efficiently take out as many of the guards as we can with the first blow. We must act as one and attack at the same moment,” Faris explained.

After scouting the area, they found the desirable spot for the ambush. It was a small field of some fifty lengths in width, about half way to the farms. It was on one side bordered by the woods and on the other by a steep slope.

- “I am sure that they will rest here. No other spot on the way offers such an opportunity. When they relieve themselves of the armor and sit to relax, we will strike. Even if they don’t, we will strike here nevertheless. The location offers both an elevated position and a chance to charge in full speed from the woods. Ten archers will strike from the slope and we will strike from the opposite side. As soon as we have fired our first arrows we will charge from the woods,” Yon laid out the simple plan.

Hadera then approached Yon: “It’s not the best spot for setting up traps. Narrow gaps are better, but we will do our best. We should strike after the first trap is triggered. It will be right on the path.”

- “Do what you must,” was Yon’s short reply.

As the sun was to rise over the realm of the straightwalkers, Yon and his fellows were waiting eagerly for the word from the town.

- “Our scout hasn’t arrived yet. Maybe you were wrong brother. Maybe they are not keeping the beasts where you think they are.”

- “No way, I am certain Yon. This is it.”

- “We will wait for the scout for a couple more minutes. If he doesn’t arrive with good news, we leave.”

- “What’s good news?” Hadera asked, smiling. Just then they heard the sound of horse hooves which grew louder and louder. It was the scout: “Lord, they come, they come!”

- “You see. What did I tell you brother,” Faris said pleased that his suspicions were confirmed.

- “They will reach this point in some ten minutes. There are at least thirty Karosian soldiers in the convoy, along with some twenty Koprites.”

- “That’s a bit more than we expected. It changes nothing, nevertheless. We will strike, we just have to put some more effort into it.”

Just as the scout had said, some ten minutes later, the brave bunch heard the first voices and noises coming from the road. It wasn’t too long after that they could see the two riders coming ahead of the convoy. Few lengths behind, others came too. The large metal cage in which the horions laid contained would shake from moment to moment. It appeared as if the beasts were awake, but the more probable cause was the rough road on which the wagon was pulled.

Argorite riders were at the sides of the wagon, five on each side. Argorites looked angry, bloodthirsty. Ten other soldiers rode horses which pulled the smaller containers for individual horions. They were empty. The convoy cautiously approached the field, unaware of the fact that their every move was being observed by twenty pairs of eyes. The leader of the group ordered the convoy to stop just before they reached the place where Hadera had set up a trap. As they stopped, the argorites grew more and more restless. It was obvious that they had smelled the hostiles. Yon looked at Hadera nervously and she only shook her head back at him, as if saying that it wasn’t her fault that the convoy stopped before the trap was activated. He had no choice. He had to give the order before they would be uncovered. As he turned back, an argorite had already come to only two lengths away from the bush in which he laid.

He slowly lifted the bow and aimed. A swooshing sound tore up the silent air as the arrow struck the animal right in the eye. The beast twisted and turned, throwing the rider off its back. Yon screamed: “Attack!” Before the alliance troops realized what was happening, half of them were taken out by the Galian arrows. From the bushes, Yon came out waving his sword, followed by several soldiers and Hadera’s swift and lethal crossbow strikes. The two riders who tried to escape towards their destination point fell into a disguised hole full of arrows dug into the ground with their sharp ends pointing outwards. A single short scream was heard coming from the hole.

Coming to his senses, an argorite rider groaned looking at the three guards who were sitting on top of the wagon with horions inside them. The Sciprian commander still standing next to him, realizing the Koprite’s intention, screamed at the guards: “Lift the gate! Lift the gate, now!” The three guards, recovering from the initial shock, grabbed the top of the gate and struggled to lift it all the way up.

Hadera tried to grab an arrow, but she was only to realize that she had run out of them. She waved and screamed at the archers on top of the slope who were commanded by Faris, who was already coming down with his sword. Faris looked at Hadera and at the wagon. His heart froze seeing the massive tooth scraping the floor underneath the wagon gate. It was a horion trying to get out as the guards managed to lift the metal gate just few inches up.

Faris yelled at the archers on the slope, Axion being one of them. After he got their attention, Faris pointed towards the wagon. Axion immediately reacted, ordering the archers to shoot down the three guards. Axion was so fast in his reaction that he took out two guards before the third one was struck by an arrow of a different archer. The metal gate, which had been opened to almost half a length, fell back down. The head of a horion which was trying to get out, although blindfolded, got pinned down by the heavy door. The animal let out a shriek and jerked its head back inside. The door slid all the way back down.

By this moment, all of the alliance soldiers had been killed, some by swords and arrows, some by falling and drowning in the concealed mud pits. However, the horion wagon started to shiver and the metal started to change its color to misty white.

- “The horions have smelled the flesh. They are breathing ice. They’re trying to get out,” Axion delivered the unpleasant news.

- “They are awake. We can’t kill them now. There is no way we can come near. We must do something fast or they will get out and kill us all,” Yon spoke with reason.

- “I will take care of this inconvenience,” Axion said coolly and rushed towards the wagon. Faris grabbed his arm: “Where are you going, my friend?”

- “Don’t worry about me. There’s a lake nearby. I will drive the horses into the lake. I will drown the beasts. In the worst case, if they break out, they will freeze the lake and themselves in it. You must leave…now.”

- “But you will die. We need you. You have a purpose to serve with us. You said it yourself,” Faris tried to talk him out of his idea.

- “This is my purpose, my destiny. Now let me go and flee as far as you can and as fast as you can, ” Axion spoke while loosening Faris’s grip. Faris let go of him rather unwillingly. His eyes were watery as he watched his friend grab the leathery ribbon. Yon grabbed Faris by the shoulder: “Axion is right. We must leave, brother. We must leave now.”

As Yon helped him get on the horse, Faris could not get his eyes off Axion. Axion whipped the horses into a gallop. He disappeared into the woods without sharing farewells with Faris and the others. They, on the other hand, silently but quickly rode off in the direction of Nox. Few minutes later, a scream from far disrupted the serenity of the morning skies. Yon and other riders turned back seeing a mist-like cloud rise above the lake to which Axion took the horions. They said nothing and yet they all felt the same - the spirit of Axion had whispered to them his last but memorable farewell.

As the tired group reached Nox, they were awaited by Spero and the people of Nox. The word of their achievement had preceded their arrival. They were celebrated as heroes and treated accordingly. People spilled buckets of water before their horses’ hooves as their heroes rode into the city, symbolically cleaning the path before them; this was an act of honoring only the bravest of warriors. Few warriors received such an honor. As they dismounted, they were covered with finest of cloaks made by the best tailors of Nox. They were hugged by Spero, but also by a number of commoners - and they hugged them back. Only Faris was not in the mood for celebration. He took off his cloak and put it on the ground. He squeezed through the crowd in a hurry and went inside the lord’s tower. Yon noticed it, as well as all others from the celebrated company.

When all others entered the chamber cheers could still be heard coming from outside the tower. Yon approached Faris as soon as he walked in: “My brother, we all grieve for Axion and remember him, but you must pull yourself together.”

Faris turned energetically towards his brother, confronting him chest to chest: “Oh, really? I didn’t see any grieving from your part or anybody else’s. The Chosen gave his life for us, for God’s sake! That ought to be appreciated! And when his light went out, a sea of knowledge dried out along with it. He had knowledge that one needed ten lifetimes to collect and ten more to retell. I hope it was worth it. We sure don’t look like we’re worthy of his sacrifice right now…celebrating like that. We might as well be celebrating his death. If you had spent a little more time with him in the last days instead of chatting with your lady to be, you might have understood the magnitude of the loss we suffered out there!”

Spero stepped in between the two before Yon got a chance to respond in any way: “Faris’s reaction is understandable and we must appreciate it as it is. This also means that you, Faris, must understand the reaction of the people. This was a welcome encouragement. For the first time our people are starting to believe. However, we must be aware that this is far from turning the tables in our favor. We are still drastically outnumbered. Daors still has all of the demi-lords on his side and - unlike Baan Senicore - they will march together on Nox. We have sent a powerful message but no more than that. Maybe we stirred up some trouble within the alliance but I am sure that Daors will find a way to turn the things in his favor with the Koprites. He will channel their anger accordingly. They will come here resolved to avenge the lost of their beloved pets. The last thing we need now is to start quarrelling among ourselves. We must not turn this victory into our defeat by acting rashly.”

Yon had calmed down by now. His response was milder than expected: “You are right Spero. We must respect Faris’s relationship with Axion and we must appreciate our position. My brother and I will not take this matter any further, I assure you. Tomorrow when we are rested, the two of us shall resolve the issue by wrestling in the mud!” All laughed at Yon’s last remark, including Faris who put on a smile which lasted as long as a blink of an eye. The gesture meant that all was resolved between him and his brother.

* * *

The news of the loss of horions reached Daors while he was still in Baan Senicore, preparing to leave for Karos. He was just strapping his horse when a rather synchronized scream of several Koprite commanders drew his attention. A Septor rushed to him to explain what had happened: “Sire, we have just received news that horions…they are dead. When they didn’t show up at agreed location few days ago, patrols were sent out to find them. A Koprite patrol found the location where the convoy was ambushed – it was the Kulins, no doubt about it. There was no trace of the horions. At a nearby lake they noticed that the water was frozen in the shades. They were probably drowned.”

- “Drowned? How?”

- “It was a hideous, cowardly act. They probably sent a troop disguised as commoners or as our soldiers to infiltrate. They set up an ambush along the road and killed the escort. The horions were in one single wagon. They probably just drove it into the lake. Maybe they even carried it in.”

- “But how did they know? How did they know where the horions were and where they were heading? Someone must have told them! It was treason!”

- “Let’s not rush to conclusions my lord.”

- “Rush?!” Daors said grabbing the news barer by the neck. - “We are in a war in which we outnumber and outclass our enemy in every way and yet it seems that they are always one step ahead of us and you advise me not to rush?! Our only real weakness is overconfidence, you fools! Overconfidence allowed Yon to slip out of our hands and it put the life of my son in the hands of the sea renegades. And what do you advise me?! To relax? Not to rush? To allow the enemy to execute more plots in order to cripple our forces? We must find the weak link. We must find the traitors, the enemies of the realm within our ranks. It might very well be someone from around Venegor, someone who could’ve guessed what was going on and offered information and assistance to those Kulin bastards - no offense, Aegor.”

- “The Koprites are growing restless. They ask for blood, for retaliation. They want it now and we must provide. Otherwise, they might turn against us,” Aegor stressed out the immediate problem

- “Yes. Then blood we will give them. We will provide them with suitable culprits. Justice will be performed at their expense.”