Richard Tuttle - Army of the Dead

“I am not chastising you, Lyra,” smiled Marak. “I made a more serious error than you. All that I am trying to say is that we must not let the words of others determine our actions. You let the words of some swordsmen endanger your people. Kaltara chose us because we have the skills necessary to complete this task. We must slow down and think about how we are to use those skills before we act.”

“You might have drowned,” protested Lyra. “Or even worse, the skeletons could have gotten you. We had to move quickly. You don’t seem to be very grateful for our actions.”

“I am very grateful,” sighed Marak, “but you are taking my words the wrong way.”

“I have never seen you this negative before, Marak,” frowned Lyra. “I have never seen this side of you, and I don’t like it. Just what is bothering you? Is it Myka’s death? We have all lost loved ones in these wars. It is fine to grieve, but you are well past that point. You are downright bitter.”

“I suppose I am,” Marak said softly as his eyes dropped towards the ground.

“You said that you also made a serious error,” Lyra continued. “Is that what is bothering you?”

“I guess so,” nodded Marak. “So many have died because of my actions today. It is easy to point out how you rushed into battle without a plan and relied on anonymous words pertaining to tactics, but the fact is that I did exactly the same, except I did it worse.”

“What do you mean?” questioned the Star of Sakova.

“I should not have been on Myka today,” stated the Torak, “but I had to rush to find out what was going on. Once there, I did nothing to help the dragon. In fact, I was a burden to her. I realized that after the first battle ended, which is why I jumped off.”

“You jumped off?” Lyra echoed in surprise.

“I jumped off,” Marak repeated. “She was over the lake, and I thought my odds of surviving were very good. I knew she could not fight two demons with me on her back, and she would never endanger my life to survive. I did what I thought was the smartest thing to do. I jumped in the lake.”

“I understand,” Lyra said consolingly.

“No, you don’t,” Marak shook his head. “Jumping did not save her life, and it endangered thousands of others as they had to come and rescue me.”

“You had no choice,” soothed Lyra as she began to appreciate the torment that Marak was putting himself through. He was blaming himself for the dragon’s death as well as the deaths of all those who perished to rescue him.

“But I did,” retorted the Torak. “I should have stayed and fought with her.”

“Myka told us that our magic was useless,” Lyra pointed out, “and striking out with a blade would cause the demons no harm. You could not have helped her.”

“I think you are wrong,” countered Marak. “Kaltara has given us everything we need to succeed in this battle. I could have helped her.”

“Now you are being unreasonable,” scowled Lyra. “You are just trying to blame yourself for her death. How could you have helped?”

“You were told that the skeletons could only be killed by a strike to the neck,” explained Marak. “Is that correct? Was anyone able to kill one in any other manner?”

“Not that I know of,” answered Lyra. “We did not try magic, but the instructions we received appeared to be valid. What are you getting at?”

“I killed quite a few on the ride back from the lake,” answered Marak, “and not all of them were strikes to the neck.”

“Are you sure?“ questioned Lyra. “How is that possible?”

Marak removed his hands from Lyra’s shoulders and drew his sword. He held it between them, its blade upright pointing towards the sky.

“The Sword of Torak,” declared Marak. “It is a gift from Kaltara, and as I said, he has given us everything we need to succeed.”

“It can kill the skeletons?” gasped Lyra.

“Easily,” nodded Marak, “and if I was to guess, I do believe the cuts that it could deliver to a demon would bleed quite well.”

“Merciful Kaltara!” exclaimed the Star of Sakova. “Now I understand why you are berating yourself, but wouldn’t Myka have known this?”

“I don’t think so,” Marak shook his head. “In her previous battles with demons, there was no Torak. The only way she could know is if Kaltara told her, and He has not even told us. He has given us what we need, but the battle is ours to figure out.”

“Alright,” Lyra nodded. “Your point is well taken. Now that we know what we are up against, we can plan our attack, but you must let go of the past.”

“I can’t,” frowned the Torak.

“You must,” Lyra said adamantly. “We have both made mistakes, but there are many people depending upon us. Let’s sit down with Rejji and Fisher and see what we can come up with.”

“Fisher?” inquired Marak. “He is here?”

“He is called Scarab,” grinned Lyra. “The Jiadin leader is actually claiming that Scarab is his little brother. I don’t know how he does it, but he has been inside the temple.”

“Recently?” Marak asked, his interest growing by the minute.

“Within the past two days,” nodded Lyra. “Xavo and Lady Mystic were inside the temple when he was there.”

“They have not gone back to Vand, have they?” asked Marak.

“Of course not,” Lyra shook her head. “I am not sure what they are up to, but they have a hidden room in the temple. They saved Fisher when he almost got caught.”

“Then let’s talk,” Marak said with a hint of enthusiasm. “Can we do it here? I am not ready to greet the others.”

Lyra wove an air tunnel to Bakhai and asked to have the Astor and Fisher sent over. Bakhai came as well.

“Tell me what I need to know, Fisher,” ordered Marak.

“There are five hundred thousand of the skeleton creatures,” Fisher began. “There were six demons before today, and there are thirteen highly skilled mages. They are the best mages from the Island of Darkness. The leader’s name is Pakar. Also, Tzargo’s fifty thousand men have been turned into hellsouls. It is going to be quite a fight to get to Vand.”

“So it would seem,” pondered the Torak. “Where are the hellsouls located?”

“They are camped in and around the temple,” answered the Khadoran spy. “The skeletons were held in the city of Vandegar when I left, but now they are the outer ring of Vand’s defense. The demons normally stay on the roof of the palace, but they do go in to dine with Dobuk. I do not know where the mages are, but I would suspect inside the temple.”

“Okay,” nodded Marak as he stooped and picked up a stick. “Now that we know what is facing us, let’s figure out a way to defeat them. Rejji, did everyone come with you?”

“Of course,” smiled the Astor. “We had many questions regarding our slow pace, but we are ready for whatever you need.”

“Excellent,” grinned the Torak as he began drawing in the dirt. “We have always known that we would have to fight Tzargo’s men, and the only thing that has changed in that regards is the fact that they are hellsouls now. It is the additional five hundred thousand that concerns me right now. We are once again badly outnumbered. We will lose the best part of our forces trying to get through them. That is not acceptable. Get Avalar and Ukaro over here.”

While Bakhai ran for the elf and the Chula shaman, the Torak drew a map in the dirt with his stick. When everyone was present, Marak continued.

“We need to drive a wedge between the skeletons and the hellsouls,” declared Marak. “I will not waste our forces fighting something that is already dead. Bakhai, that is your task. Corral the skeletons and make sure that they do not interrupt our battles with Tzargo’s men.”