Richard Tuttle - Army of the Dead

“Move the Star!” DarkBlade shouted angrily. “This is not a fight for her to stay for. There are hundreds of these things in the forest. Get her out of here now!”

StarWind needed no further encouragement. She forcibly picked Lyra up and placed her on the back of a choka. She quickly mounted her own choka and shouted commands.

“LifeTender, Goral, and SkyDancer stay with HawkShadow and the others and fight until we are clear,” the spymaster shouted. “The rest of you mount up and form a cordon around the Star. Move now!”

The Sakovans burst into action. Everyone mounted except the six chosen to remain behind and delay the creatures. StarWind started the procession, but the kruls seemed to understand what was going on. They ignored the fighters facing them and raced for Lyra. DarkBlade, StormSong, and HawkShadow leaped forward and engaged the kruls, two-handed swords swinging into the flesh of the creatures.

Goral grabbed his huge maul and raced to head off the kruls. He caught one of them with a swing to its head. The crack resounded through the forest as the creature’s skull burst open. LifeTender and SkyDancer threw fireballs at the kruls closing on Lyra. Two of them burst into flames, but one continued onward.

StarWind turned aside as she waved the others forward. She rode directly towards the lead krul, her sword swinging free from its sheath. The krul tried to run around StarWind, but the choka was much too fast to be avoided. The large warbird ripped into the krul with its sharp claws, while StarWind’s sword sliced into the creature’s neck. The krul screamed in agony as its bloody body tumbled to the ground.

HawkShadow, StormSong, and DarkBlade attacked the kruls from behind as StarWind’s choka turned and raced after Lyra. Goral waded into the still advancing kruls swinging his heavy maul from side to side, while LifeTender and SkyDancer continued to incinerate the creatures with magical spells.

The clearing was lit only by the light of the flaming krul bodies, and long shadows danced across the battlefield. Shadows and kruls seemed almost indistinguishable as more creatures emerged from the trees.

“We are being surrounded,” warned HawkShadow as he sliced the legs out from under a krul. “It is time to go.”

The four warriors started fighting their way towards the two mages and the chokas. Sevemore cones started popping as the burning kruls littered the forest floor. Unexpectedly, a wounded krul on the floor of the forest reached up and grabbed DarkBlade’s leg as the warrior was retreating. DarkBlade swiveled and brought his blade down onto the head of the creature, splitting its skull. As he pulled his leg free of the dying creature’s grasp, another krul grabbed DarkBlade’s head from behind. The krul viciously twisted its large hands, and DarkBlade’s neck snapped. The krul lifted DarkBlade by his head and brought it to its mouth. LifeTender incinerated the krul with a fireball as HawkShadow and StormSong reached the mages. They turned to learn of DarkBlade’s fate.

“A fire is starting,” SkyDancer warned urgently as she pointed to where a krul’s flaming body was wrapped around the base of a sevemore tree.

“Good,” snarled StormSong as she glared at DarkBlade’s body. “Maybe it will kill these foul creatures.”

HawkShadow leaped onto his choka and urged the others to follow suit. The five Sakovans fled from the Motangan creatures as fast as the chokas would carry them. When they had ridden for ten minutes, HawkShadow ordered a halt. He sat listening for any sounds of pursuit.

“Do you think they will follow us?” asked LifeTender. “Tonight, I mean.”

“I do,” nodded HawkShadow. “MistyTrail told me a bit about these creatures. When they are unleashed in search of someone, they never stop. They are also quieter in the forest than most humans. That is how they got so close tonight. These kruls are a real problem for us. I fear them more than the whole Motangan army.”

“They are animals,” added Goral. “They will not be fooled by clever Sakovan tricks. They will track us as an animal tracks its prey.”

“They burn well,” commented SkyDancer, “although their screams are hideous.”

“I would rather hear their screams than ours,” retorted StormSong.

“I agree,” nodded HawkShadow. “I am about to recommend something that I have spent my life trying to avoid.”

“A fire?” questioned SkyDancer. “That will destroy the Sakova. You can’t be serious?”

“I think it is brilliant,” interjected LifeTender as she gauged the direction of the wind. “The sevemore trees burn hot and fast. The fire will spread faster than the Motangans can run”

“Do you realize what you are saying?” frowned SkyDancer. “The Sakova is our home. You are talking about destroying it. You don’t really want to do that.”

“Isn’t that exactly what we are asking the Omungans to do?” asked Goral. “We want them to burn their farms and cities to deny them to the Motangans. How is this any different?”

“All of the Sakova will not burn,” LifeTender explained. “The sevemore trees will burn, but the fargi trees will not. It takes a long sustained fire to burn a fargi tree and that won’t happen. The sevemore trees burn much too quickly.”

“And the Motangan armies will be caught in it,” added Goral. “It is the perfect way to reduce the size of their armies.”

“StormSong?” asked HawkShadow. “What do you say?”

StormSong looked at each of her fellow Sakovans before answering. She locked eyes with SkyDancer and saw fear in her friend’s face. She knew that a burning forest was every Sakovan’s worst nightmare, or it had been until this night.

“Burn it,” StormSong replied adamantly.

* * *

Premer Doralin awoke to the shouting. He quickly rose and hurried out of his tent into the predawn darkness. He stood for a moment listening to the shouts coming from the forward most area of the camp. As he stood listening, his nose crinkled with irritation. He inhaled deeply, smelled the smoke, and frowned. General Valatosa was soon by his side.

“What is the matter?” the premer demanded to know.

“The krul are returning,” answered the general. “They are returning in a panic.”

“I thought the smell of smoke was too heavy to be from the campfires,” the premer replied worryingly. “Only one thing truly scares the kruls, and that is a forest fire. The kruls will be unstable. We will need mages to calm them. Find out how severe this forest fire is.”

“The mages are already on their way,” reported General Valatosa. “As for the fire, it is severe. Already the eastern horizon is lightening, and it is not because of the approaching dawn. We are in trouble, Premer. With the current winds, we are in the path of the fire.”

“And if this dawn is similar to the others that we have experienced in the Sakova,” nodded Premer Doralin, “the winds will increase significantly.”

“Exactly,” the general swallowed hard. “We will not escape in time.”

“Do not panic, General,” the premer responded calmly. “We will start an orderly retreat of our rearmost forces. They are to move well west of the edge of the forest. Make sure that it is orderly. I will not tolerate hysteria. I want your army to organize it. Keep a steady flow of men moving out of the forest at all times.”

“What about you?” frowned the general. “I cannot abandon you to die in this forest.”

“I have no intention of dying anytime soon,” the premer said confidently. “I will order the armies around me to begin felling the trees around us and removing them from the area. We will create a firebreak around us. You may personally return here after you have instructed your men.”