Walker Ch. 01.12

Chapter 1.12

Pallets and clothes were brought. Walker advised Shuq out of the plain dress and into the loose trousers and shirt. Tearing a strip from the dress he told her to lift her shirt. It was awkward with the shackles but he managed to secure her breasts so she would be able to run comfortably. Her cloak hung off her shoulders.

'Try to sleep. You'll be glad in the night.' he advised.

They lay on the pallets resting a while but neither found sleep before the door opened and two guards ushered them into the courtyard of the compound. Dozens of guardsmen busied themselves tightening others' leather chest pieces, checking the heads of hatchets and filling water satchels.

Edwin, Cedric and two other veterans stood in a huddle speaking to four loggers as a dozen logger women stood feet away. The compound doors were open and Walker could see more of the slaves loitering in the road with several men watching over them.

Edwin motioned to Walker and Shuq's guard. 'The Tigreni'll will remain close to me.' he informed them. He asked the loggers 'Y'all know that area in the dark?'

'We do aye.' one said. Another nodded agreement 'Me womens as well. Tis mostly flat country with rocky hill to the side. Anyone camped will be close to the road.'

'Any landmarks? Features of the terrain?' Edwin asked the group.

'How ya mean captain?'

'If we're going to be fighting it'll be a retreating action. We need to pull people in behind us while we keep any attackers at bay, so I'll be needing to know about any high places, ditches, outcroppings, places where the landscape isn't flat.'

'Oh, aye Captain Edwin. There's like this ol' rockslide, like the hill broke in the middle, it cuts the valley in half. A determined man can climb over it but a cart's only gettin' by on the road by the river.'

'Good.' Edwin said, 'Further on?'

'I think everyone past there's already back, or comin.'

'Are you sure?' the guard to Edwin's right insisted.

'Ain't sure o' nothing, sir.'

'Right.' Edwin said determinedly 'Let's go.' He shouted at the assembled guardsmen 'Right lads, grab a woman from the road. They got hatchets and you'll be fighting alongside em. The unarmed ones are serving as scouts, they'll be spreading out before us. We want to return as many as we can to their owners, so for the sake of the gods, try and keep em alive.'

'Ye sure there'll be fightin captain?' a guardsman shouted.

'Sure of nothing boys. But we've a hunch the bandits're out in force tonight looking to kill men and steal the slaves.'

'Assuming's better than dying lads!' the man to his right echoed, 'Be ready!'

The men shuffled into the road where the slaves waited.

Finally, Edwin turned to Walker 'You want a leather breastplate?'

'I want a weapon and out of the shackles.' Walker muttered.

Edwin shook his head 'Your legs will be freed. We're leaving in minutes.'

The moon was full as it inched towards the night's zenith.

A hundred strong column followed Edwin out of the northern gates beside the river. At their back were the loggers who knew the terrain and behind that the guardsmen walking beside the armed logging women. Walker had seen only four swords, Edwin, Cedric and the other two commanding officers.

The road pulled immediately to the west and they entered the forest along the road. As they marched Edwin called up the scouting women, about twenty of them in their brown rags, all were tall and lean legged.

'Call to each other as you spread out bitches.' Edwin ordered, 'Stay as far ahead as you can without losing sight of our torches. If you see anything, don't call out immediately unless you get spotted first.'

'What if we see something master?' A tall woman with short crudely hacked off hair asked.

'You run back here and tell us soon as you can.' he answered 'Y'all can navigate in the dark?'

'Moon's out master. We can see.'

'Good. Go.'

They formed a jogging line in front of the column then broke off to the sides. For long minutes Walker could hear the women calling to each other in the trees. The voices eventually faded then quieted.

'That's what you wanted?' Edwin whispered to the tiger at his side.

'Close.'

'Sorry 'bout this mate.' Edwin said earnestly.

'Hrmm.'

The moon had begun sinking when a runner came in from the left 'There's a campsite ahead master.'

'Occupied.'

'People there. Smoldering fire. All asleep methinks.'

Edwin called up two guardsmen 'Follow her. Get the logger up and have his bitches pack the camp. They're to abandon any lumber that's not been moved yet. Rejoin us as soon as you can.'

'Aye aye sir.' the men rushed off.

The column marched silently by torchlight. Thrice more they encountered such camps and each was ordered back to town.

Soon after the third, two women ran up from the dark road ahead 'There's people coming master.'

'What people?'

'Loggers it looks like. They's all scattered up the road. We thinks we saw four men, bouts ten or so women but there's more a'comin.'

'Good. One of you stay with me.' Edwin dispatched several guardsmen to advance and escort the men to him. They set off. Within minutes the guards returned with three bloodied men, one leaned on another huffing with exertion and blood loss, one arrow in his back and another in the soft tissue beside his neck.

Edwin took a look at them 'Tell me what you saw.' he commanded tersely as the column moved on behind him.

The third man was the oldest 'Screeching women sir, dozens came pouring from the darkness, clubs, spears and hatchets, cutting into our tents. Me son here says he heard some men too. More'n that there was beastfolk with bow and arrow shooting down me slavejacks as we fled.'

'How long ago?' Edwin demanded.

'Not more'n an hour sir.'

A logger broke off from the column 'Eason? That you ol' son?'

'Aye, who're you?'

'It's Petrus, glad ta see you alive mate.'

'Aye, I guess. Fuckin' bandits damn near killed me whole gang. Wounded me boy.'

'Aye? Javid's packing up camp down the road. If ye get there soon he'll put yer lad on a cart.'

Edwin stopped their chat 'Men, women and beastfolk. You see anything else? Heard anything?'

'Nay sir. We was woken an fled. Left tool 'n cart 'n all back there. You intendin' ta fight em captain?'

'Yes. Keep moving. Your son's losing blood.'

'Wait.' Walker said moving to the wounded man, his chains clinked as he approached. The tiger yanked the arrow from the man's shoulder. The man gasped and his father protested to Edwin who waved them on.

Edwin motioned Petrus to follow them to the front of the column while the tiger closely inspected the arrow.

'Halt!' Edwin shouted loud as he could. To the girl he said 'Find the other runners. Tell them what happened and to be ready. They're to keep a keen on our torches, it's going to get much darker now.' The woman ran off. Edwin gave the order that all torches but for four at the front be smothered, then everyone was to adjust their night eyes.

'Loggers to me!' the men shuffled to the front, 'We need to know what's around us.' Edwin told them as the other senior guardsmen stood by.

'That rockslide is only a bit to the north captain. If there's people comin' down I bet they'll go through there.'

'How far's the river?' Cedric asked.

The men argued briefly until consensus was reached that it was barely out of earshot.

'To our west?' asked the third senior guardsman.

There was no argument about this, a ten-minute jog or twenty-minute walk up a gentle slope to the base of the hill proper. All the men assured Edwin that the break in the hill was too steep for any man to climb.

'Right boys,' Edwin began 'we'll march up to that bend beside the river and hold there until sunup.'

'Wait.' Walker said. Edwin and the other three men turned to him. He asked the loggers 'How high are the rocks beside the road?'

'About a man a half? Only gets taller the closer ya get to the hill.' one answered, the others nodding agreement.

'How wide is at the road? Are they boulders? Are they rocks? How uneven is the surface if one were to climb up? What color is it? Are there plants or weeds growing there? Detail. Detail.' the tiger demanded. Confused the men looked to Edwin.

'Walker. There's no time, we have to move.' Edwin insisted.

The tiger handed Edwin the arrow, 'The head is flint, sharp enough to pierce leather and wide enough to tear open flesh. We have time if you don't want everyone dead by morning.'

Edwin took a torch from Cedric and held the arrow to his eye. The tip was flat and jagged at the edges but the point was razor sharp.

When the men had answered all his questions Walker turned to the captain, 'We need some tents.'

The Tigreni outlined a plan which the men agreed to. The column set off briskly down the road encountering several more women fleeing towards them. They had met no more than thirty fleeing from a camp which had numbered two hundred that day.

Less than an hour later Edwin, Cedric, Walker and Shuq lay in the undergrowth watching several slavejacks arranged around a lone fire set between ten tents in a makeshift camp. The figures were small from the distance but the fire was easily visible. Far to their left was the round bend in the road. Between them and the waterside camp stood tall trees.

A runner ran through the trees 'Captain?' she half whispered.

'Over there.' a man's voice told her.

'I'm here.'

'They're coming through Captain.'

'Unlock the shackles.' Walker urged frustrated.

'Can't do that.' Edwin reiterated 'Just stay behind us.'

Walker tensed, 'I see them.'

'Get ready boys.' Edwin told the guards huddled about them.

Walker's cat eyes followed the movement of a mass of figures creeping towards the campsite from the far side of the road. They avoided the road itself, staying low. The figures in the back were mostly smaller, he thought he could make out the bows they carried.

'Must be more than two hundred.' Walker informed them as a group below moved up the slope in front of them in an effort to encircle the mostly empty tents. 'They are watching the camp. Do it now.'

Edwin sprang to his feet 'Get at em boys!'

Twenty guards and twenty slavejacks sprang up farther to their left. Shouts went up down the line as guards and hatchet wielding slave women descended down the hill in a jog. Thirty slavejacks had hidden deep in the rockslide, they now ran at the enemy from the direction of the bend, coming from behind.

Walker watched the mass below turn backwards to face the screaming women running down the road as the rest of the force descended quietly from above.

The guardsmen had timed themselves well as their split forced approach with relatively equal measure.

Beastman archers ran further up the hill over the road, notching arrows and waiting for the slavejacks to come into range. They realized too late, the guardsmen interspersed with slavejacks, rushing at them from behind. Human figures ran to defend the archers, they clashed in the center as the beastmen clambered to the back line but failing to notice Edwin's group flanking the right wing. Edwin and Cedric crashed into the small figures with their men. The slavejacks from the road crashed into the left flank and a dozen figures emerged from the fake tents, sprinting across the road to hit from the rear.

Shuq ran behind Walker. He stopped her 'Go further up the road. Hide. Do not come out unless it is clear we won. If not, run back to town.'

'I want to stay with you!'

'No! Go now.' he shoved her away and she obeyed.

Everywhere shouting became moans as the number of wounded began numbering itself; barks, bleats and goat screams came from the backline. The tiger saw Edwin in the melee, then he noticed five small figures having broken off into the dirt road, they were firing wildly at any guardsmen from behind. Walker sprinted at them, his tiger's feet silent as the air rushed over his face.

The first one's body whipped into the air as the jumping tiger's knee collided with its jaw. Walker landed on the second crushing its delicate chest beneath his weight