Smitten Ch. 05

Honour. A demonstration of their courage. A noble sacrifice.

Considering that mine was one of the lives they would be sacrificing, I wasn't so keen on any of these suggestions. For some reason, though, I kept my mouth shut for a time. Maybe the Goddesses had punished me enough; maybe Kelthala was finally lending me a little wisdom. I had just enough patience to let most of the others have their say.

- "May I speak?" I asked.

Ditgurat gave me a look, but she didn't immediately dismiss me. "You are one of us, Smit. You may speak."

Is it any wonder that I wanted to fight for her?

- "Is it necessary to fight them in the open? In full view of the whole band?" I asked.

- "It is more honourable." said the chieftain. "The band would see us triumph."

- "Or die." I said. "I'm sorry if that sounds pessimistic. Perhaps it's my human upbringing, but I would prefer if none of us died."

Lagakh smiled slightly at that. "Surrender is not an option."

- "I know. I was there when they killed Slagip and Ushug."

I let those words hang for a few moments. No one said anything.

"My point is this: why should we be concerned with honourable combat, when our opponents are treacherous murderers, who struck by surprise?"

I didn't expect an answer. But I was enormously relieved when my eyes met Shaghar's - she was nodding her head, encouraging me to go on.

"Our enemies are Ur'gora. Without honour. They deserve only to be eliminated. And if there is a way to do that without losing too many of the people I care about ... then that is what I suggest."

- "You have a plan?" asked Lagakh.

- "Uhm ... no."

***

As I've said, I'm no fighter. I've been in a few drunken brawls, though. Hit the other asshole hard, and if he doesn't fall down, run like hell. If he does fall down, kick him in the jewels, and then run like hell. Anyone who sticks around for seconds in a tavern brawl is asking to have a bottle broken over his head (or a cudgel, a stool, or a table ...).

The point is, I knew nothing of Shall'a Cloudbringer, the Goddess of War. Did she expect honour in war? The little I know of history suggests otherwise. Ditgurat and the others seemed bent on treating this fight like some kind of group duel, a multi-person challenge for the leadership. A team-Mak'gora.

But Kurbag and his gang had stooped to murder to gain an advantage. And I didn't want any more of my friends to die.

- "A stratagem." said Shaghar.

- "A trap?" said Shelur. She had caught on quickly. You don't become the band's chief scout because you're stupid.

- "Ghorza saved us all," I said, "by her quick reactions. She used her foot speed to reach you first, so that Kurbag couldn't murder you as well."

- "We are not all fast." said Umog.

- "No." I agreed. "But we have intelligence, as well as speed. There is power here, and courage - but we can do better than meet them face to face, toe to toe."

The orcs had no expression for 'toe to toe'. It struck them as tremendously funny. I mean, picture a fight where the combatants have to touch toes. They all thought that I was lightening the mood by making a joke. Little Snak laughed hardest.

- "A trap." said Shelur. The wheels were definitely turning there.

Ditgurat wasn't about to ignore the advice of her best scout.

- "Explain." she said.

- "You don't chase a deer." said Shelur (I am paraphrasing, here. Shelur didn't speak the common tongue very well, so she spoke in orcish. I am translating and paraphrasing at the same time).

"You don't face a bear - and certainly not 'toe to toe'." she said, with a glance at me, and a quick smile. Most of her listeners grunted and even chuckled at that, appreciating her wit.

"We can put Kurbag at a disadvantage. That is what Smit is saying, I think." Shelur smiled again. "We lead them into a trap. And then we take their heads."

That led to a discussion of possible locations.

- "Smit brought a rope." said Coopah.

It was enough to change the whole conversation. Prior to that, Shelur and Lambug, the scouts, had been arguing that the best sites for an ambush were to be found in the deep forest, south and east of us. Umog and the two bigger males, Gurukk and Durz, wanted more room to swing their weapons; they preferred more open ground, closer to the Blasted Tree.

Ditgurat let everyone have their say. Lagakh was reserving her opinion - until Coopah mentioned the rope. Then her eyes lit up. We all saw it; it was like witnessing the birth of a plan.

It wasn't fully formed - not yet. There were details that had to be worked out, roles to be assigned. Lagakh began to explain to us how we would go about it.

***

Ghorza drew the first dangerous job. Like an idiot, I talked myself into joining her. To tell the truth, I was trying to talk her out of it, but I ended up committing myself instead.

We approached the band's home ground from the west, coming along the stream. Then we hid in the trees, not very far from the first spot where we'd made love.

- "I have fond memories of this place." I said.

Ghorza shushed me. We stayed in hiding, and watched band members come down to the stream to get water. Six times, Ghorza tapped me on the arm - a warning to stay down - because it was the wrong person who turned up.

But for the seventh visitor, Ghorza rose to her feet.

- "Surak!" she said. "It's me! Ghorza. We need your help!"

Surak was an older female, with a bucket in her hand. Ghorza had waited for her, because she knew that Surak favored Kurbag - she would never take the risk of aiding us.

"We need food, Surak. Can you bring us some?" As she said those words, Ghorza tapped me with her foot. That was my signal to stand up.

The moment she saw me, Surak shrieked and dropped her empty bucket. She turned and ran back towards the Blasted Tree.

- "It worked." I said.

- "Of course it worked." said Ghorza. "Start running."

- "What about you?"

- "Go. Run." Ghorza gave me a push.

- "I thought they were supposed to see me."

- "They will. Go!"

I ran.

As you may have guessed, running is not one of my better skills. Even with a head start, Ghorza caught up to me sooner than I'd expected. She'd lingered by the stream just long enough to let herself be seen.

That was the plan. Shelur and Lambug knew that Kurbag's group had failed to find us, and had returned to the Blasted Tree to re-supply. Lagakh had chosen her spot; Ghorza and I were the bait, to lure them there.

- "If they see me," I'd suggested, "they won't stop to think: they'll come right after me."

- "He is right." said Shaghar.

- "They know that Ghorza can outrun them." said Ogash. "But Smit they could catch."

Ditgurat agreed as well. That led to me accompanying Ghorza on her mission.

I ran as fast as I could, pumping my arms like a madman, and praying that I wouldn't stumble. We could hear the shouts of our pursuers.

We reached the forest path at full speed. Ghorza insisted on staying behind me, but I didn't see how that could help. What was she going to do - prod me with her spear?

I could hear the orcs chasing us - it might have been just my imagination, but I thought that I could even hear their footsteps. They were barely ten meters behind us. Then I caught sight of the twin oaks. I didn't breathe a sigh of relief - I couldn't afford to - but I did draw on my last energy reserves to make a final sprint.

At the last second, I remembered to jump.

I landed awkwardly, stumbled and fell, just past the two trees that Lagakh had chosen. Ghorza made the jump easily. She managed to avoid my flailing arms and legs as I sprawled in front of her. Then she slid to a halt, and turned about, to come to my defence.

Three of Kurbag's crew were on our heels. They were too focused on me, too close to bringing me down, to see the rope lying on the ground between the twin oaks. Even had they been looking closely, I doubt that they would have spotted it, because Shaghar was using her aether skills to hide it in plain sight. She was sitting in the underbrush, muttering and wiggling her fingers.

A moment before our pursuers passed between the trees, Shelur and Lambug pulled on the ends of the rope.

It rose to the height of half a meter. Kurbag's chasers never had a chance to react. The two leading runners tripped over the rope, and measured their length on the forest path. One of them landed badly, and probably injured himself in the process.

It didn't really matter: the moment they fell, Bula was already stepping forward, with a massive rock in her arms, which she proceeded to drop on the prostrate orc. Urzoth was there to deliver the coup de grace.

The second chaser, a half-orc, fared no better. Umog pounced before he could rise, and crushed his skull with her axe.

There was a third pursuer, just slightly less fleet of foot than his unfortunate comrades. He skidded to a stop, and reversed course.

It wasn't part of the plan to risk chasing him.

Kurbag had lost his two swiftest adherents. The one who escaped had seen Ghorza and me, Bula and Urzoth, and Umog - but neither Lagakh nor any of her scouting party.

Lagakh and the others had been waiting, concealed, in case anything went wrong, or if Kurbag's entire cabal had caught up to us. In a worst-case scenario, we had been prepared to fight here.

Instead, we'd eliminated two of his supporters without revealing Lagakh's presence.

- "He will chase us." she had promised, two days before.

- "How can you be so sure?"

- "He killed Slagip and Ushug, but lost Oag, and let Smit escape. Then he let Smit and Shaghar get away. And Snak." she said. "And now, if we successfully ambush him? He cannot go back to the band with three failures."

- "S'pecially if he thinks that Ditgurat is alone, without Lagakh. Without the scouts." said Shelur.             

- "Exactly."

We ran. Shelur calmly coiled up the rope, and followed.

It was part of the plan to leave plenty of signs of our passage, so that Kurbag couldn't possibly fail to find us. Yet we pushed hard for the rest of that day, putting as much distance between us and them as we could. We did not want to have them catch up to us in the dark.

I rested next to Ghorza that night, holding her close. It was neither sexual nor sensual. I was simply terrified of losing her. I didn't want to lose any of our group. I knew that we expected to have to fight on the morrow, and that prospect filled me with trepidation.

I missed Ushug. But I could admit to myself that it would have been so much worse if Shaghar or Ghorza had died. Losing Ditgurat or Lagakh would be a tragedy for the Red Knees; but I couldn't even imagine mourning Shaghar or Ghorza. And Goddesses forbid that anything should happen to Snak. Or Umog.

Of course I didn't sleep very well. I kept Ghorza awake, too.

***

We lured Kurbag all the way to the rocky ground, to Ditgurat's hiding place: the crevice. If we lost this fight, she wasn't ever going to need it again. None of us would.

There was a heavy mist clinging to the earth. The sky was grey, and the clouds were heavy, hanging low. It would rain, at some point.

Kurbag arrived at midday, with nine companions. Six of them were warriors; the other three would hang on the flanks, and try to assist their comrades, or to turn our line. One of them would be hampered; Ushug had broken his arm on the beach.

Ditgurat was out in the open, waiting for them. Urzoth was on her right, Umog on her left - the vulnerable side. Bula was beside Urzoth. Shaghar and Ghorza were on our left. I stood behind them. With only a long knife, I couldn't possibly stand in the front line.

The youngsters were in the second line, too, with Coopah. There were no non-combatants. Even Snak held the little knife I'd salvaged from the wreck. I couldn't even begin to imagine a scenario where she might be able to use it to any effect.

It was madness for us to make a stand there. Kurbag had to see it. Only he didn't. Hatred of Ditgurat? Loathing for me? Whatever it was, he wasted little time. With a collective roar, they charged at us.

The moment they did, Lagakh and the others emerged from the crevice, where they'd been completely hidden from view. Lagakh herself, with the two males, came out on our right, while Ogash and the two scouts exited the crevice on our left.

Kurbag was outnumbered, and outflanked on both sides. It was a race, then: once Lagakh and the scouts entered the fight, our numbers would tell. But for a few dangerous moments, Kurbag had the advantage in the very centre. If he could reach and kill Ditgurat, Umog and Urzoth, he could tip the balance back into his favour.

I didn't see it. There were three big orcs (a male, a female, and another half-orc male) on our side of the line - headed directly for Ghorza and Shaghar. One of them faltered and stopped, catching sight of Shelur, followed by Ogash and Lambug, as they came out of the crevice.

The other two came straight on.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Umog shift to her right, to support Ditgurat. She couldn't help us. That left Shaghar and Ghorza facing opponents twice their size.

Without thinking, I moved forward.

The big female had a two-handed axe, which she swung at Ghorza - who ducked under it by going down on one knee. Ghorza stabbed at the belly of the female - who roared, more annoyed than injured.

I leapt, and sailed over the top of Ghorza, crashing into the female warrior. I had a long knife, but it was more of a flying tackle than anything else. It was like diving into a brick wall.

Fortunately for me, the orc hadn't recovered from her missed swing at Ghorza; the head of her axe was still off to the side. I got both of my arms around her neck, grabbed a handful of her hair, and even tried to grapple her with my legs.             

Already off-balance, she stumbled and toppled backwards, with me clinging to her like a madman, trying to wrench her head off her shoulders. We both fell heavily, with me on top. The impact drove the breath from my lungs.

I didn't see what happened next. Apparently the big male orc, who'd been headed for Shaghar, was distracted by my mad leap. He decided that the little female could wait - here was a chance to eliminate the one person he hated above all others: me.

He raised his weapon, prepared to cut me in half.

I didn't see him. But I heard Shaghar's unearthly, ear-piercing shriek - and I did see the sudden flash of light, brighter than staring into the sun, sharper and more sudden than the crack of lightning.

The blow never came.

I have no idea if he was blinded, or stunned - or both. For whatever reason, he failed to act. Shelur ran him through the back. She arrived so quickly because the half-orc male on the end of their line saw the odds against him, and backed away. It turned out that he was the one with the broken arm. Ogash and Lambug drove him further back.

Meanwhile, the female orc violently head-butted me. I couldn't even see, for a moment; I thought she'd cracked my forehead. Then she squirmed and flipped us over, so that I was thrown to the ground beneath her. One of my arms was still around her neck, but I couldn't prevent her from raising her axe.

Ghorza stabbed her in the back with her spear. Shelur grabbed the female's hair, pulled her head back, and slashed her throat open with a long knife. Hot blood splashed all over my face.

I was gasping for breath, probably concussed, and covered in blood - but still alive.

The fight was reaching its most critical moments.

Kurbag had gone straight for Ditgurat. He was bigger, stronger, younger, and faster. She had courage, and experience. She didn't have to kill him in those first few moments; she had to stay alive.

She chose to deflect his first savage blow, rather than trying to block it. Even so, she almost underestimated his speed and strength. She reeled a bit from the power of his swing.

Umog saw that, and moved to intervene. She'd easily parried her opponent's first attack, and forced him to leap backwards to avoid her counterattack. Now she swung at Kurbag, who had to swiftly give ground to avoid a serious injury. Umog pressed her advantage, driving him back another two steps.

That probably saved Ditgurat, but it left Umog vulnerable. She was still taking the fight to Kurbag, stepping forward. Her first opponent came up behind her. He swung his axe, aiming for the back of her head.

Blood spurted. Umog bellowed, and fell forward on her face.

I saw none of this. Nor did I see Coopah come running forward, to put himself between Ditgurat and her assailants. Kurbag contemptuously smashed him to the ground with a backhanded sweep of his arm.

By then, it was too late - for him.

Lagakh rushed at Kurbag from the side. He was younger and stronger than Ditgurat, but her daughter was something else again. Swifter. More powerful. And incredibly angry. She severed his left arm at the elbow, delivered a mighty kick to his groin, and then buried her sword in his forehead.

The male who had struck Umog from behind was simply stunned - or perhaps he was in shock. Lagakh cut him down a moment later.

Only one of Kurbag's followers tried to escape - the one with the broken arm. Lambug and Ogash ran him down.

Ghorza helped me get out from under the dead female. Seeing all the blood, she began looking for a serious wound on my body. There was none.

I saw Shaghar, lying stretched out on the ground. There wasn't a mark on her, but she looked dead. Little Snak was kneeling beside her.

- "She's breathing." said Snak.

Unconscious, then. I turned about, and saw Umog. She was lying on her stomach, face down, the fingers of both hands clawing at the earth between two stones. There was a piece of flesh from the back of her head hanging off to one side, and her blood was still spurting.

Without thinking, I rushed to her side.

- "I'm here." I panted. "It's me, Umog. Hold still - I have to stop the bleeding."

Whether she heard me or not, she didn't make a sound as I took off my shirt. The enemy's blow had carved a great hank of hair, and some flesh, from the back of her head. I could see bare bone, but the axe didn't seem to have cracked her skull. I tried to put her skin and hair back in place, and then keep it there by tying my shirt around her head.

Coopah was still alive, though his arm was broken. Urzoth had a nasty gash on his thigh. Shelur was limping: she'd stepped in a hole and twisted her ankle badly. Other than that, no one else of Ditgurat's partisans had been badly hurt. None had been killed.

Kurbag was dead - and every single one of his adherents with him. It was well-nigh miraculous.

Luck, of course. Sheer luck. And magic.

Virtually everyone had seen Shaghar's incredible bolt of light and power. She'd used the aether to stun and blind an enemy - and to save my life. But now everyone knew her secret. I wondered if any of the others suspected that she hadn't been alone in using magic.

We stripped the enemy dead of their weapons, and any useful gear. Lagakh took Kurbag's head. Other than that, Ditgurat left the bodies where they lay.

- "Let them rot." she said. "It is all they deserve."

*****