Richard Tuttle - Army of the Dead

Premer Cardijja returned to the comfort of the large tent, and Bakhai sat up again. He smiled inwardly as he thought of a variation to the attack. His third call went out to the snakes and reptiles. Within moments thousands of slithering beasts invaded the encampment. Again the shouts and curses split the air, and Premer Cardijja was quick to appear. He looked over at Bakhai questioningly.

“What in the world is going on?” he snapped.

“I do not know,” frowned Bakhai. “I was awakened by loud screaming. Are we under attack?”

“It is snakes and lizards,” a nearby officer reported. “This land is cursed.”

“Nonsense,” bellowed the premer, although Bakhai could sense uncertainty in the man’s voice.

The officer turned and ran off to help his men. Premer Cardijja turned to Bakhai once again.

“Have you ever heard of such things around here?” he asked.

“There are occasional insect plagues,” nodded Bakhai, “but they are a rare occurrence. They are only ants and spiders and will not really hurt anyone, but the snakes and lizards I have never heard of before. Perhaps the insects disturbed them, and they are trying to get away. At least they do not seem to be affecting us,” he added with a smile.

The Motangan premer shook his head as he gazed at his soldiers in disgust. He stormed back in his tent. Bakhai grinned inwardly and watched the soldiers. He knew that he should not repeat the call a fourth time, but he was pleased to see that it would be unnecessary in any event. The Motangan soldiers were not returning to sleep. They gathered in groups around the campfires and smoked and drank coffee. Bakhai was smiling as he let himself drift off to sleep.

When morning came, Bakhai sat up and gazed around the encampment. Many of the soldiers were in the same spots that they had occupied when Bakhai closed his eyes. He listened intently to the conversations of passing soldiers and learned that the camp had been awake the whole night. Many of the men sported dozens of welts, and all of them were scratching some part of their body.

When Premer Cardijja emerged from his tent and ordered the camp struck, cheers rang among the soldiers. They eagerly donned their packs and collapsed their tents, spending extra time to inspect each for any hidden threats. Within a couple of hours, the Motangan army was marching eastward through the pass between the Bone Mountains and the Giaming Mountains.

Bakhai’s eyes scanned the plain the moment it came into view. He looked for any sign of the free tribes, but he could see none. By high sun the army was through the pass and marching across the open plain. Bakhai kept looking for any sign of the attack, but nothing happened. He gazed around at the soldiers marching alongside him. They appeared weary and uncomfortable, and the Fakaran spy knew that the time for the attack was ripe, but still no Fakaran horsemen arrived.

The sun descended in the west and eventually dipped below the peaks of the mountains. Bakhai gazed at the long shadows in confusion. He wondered what had happened to the promised attack. A few hours later, Premer Cardijja called for the column to halt. The Motangan soldiers started staking out the camp as the premer called Bakhai in for his daily briefing.

“Are you familiar with this ground?” asked Premer Cardijja.

“Yes,” nodded Bakhai. “I have crossed here many times.”

“Will there be problems with insects here?” inquired the premer. “I cannot afford to have the men subjected to that again tonight.”

“Insect attacks are very rare,” shrugged Bakhai, “but no one can predict them. I have slept here many times and never been bothered. We will just have to wait and see.”

“How far to the jungle?” asked General Luggar.

“One day’s march,” answered the Fakaran spy. “Tomorrow we turn slightly to the right when we leave camp. That is the shortest path to the jungle and will bring us close to where the evil spirit started chasing me. I hope she is not around,” Bakhai added anxiously.

“You will be protected,” promised the premer. “You have nothing to fear while you are in my camp.”

“We will kill any evil spirits that appear,” assured General Luggar with a sigh of disbelief. “Why don’t you go out and draw in the dirt or whatever it is you do?”

Bakhai glanced at Premer Cardijja and saw the man nod with approval. He rose and sauntered out of the tent. As soon as he was outside the tent and away from the sentries, Bakhai sat down on the ground and secretly wove an air tunnel through the gap in the door flap. He listened to the conversation of the two men, but he learned nothing new or exciting. When a Motangan mage came near, Bakhai quickly dropped the air tunnel and rose. He wandered around the huge camp for an hour before arriving at his usual spot near the sentries at the easternmost point of the perimeter. The soldiers nodded in a friendly manner and then returned to watching for any potential intruders. Bakhai again wove an air tunnel and aimed it at a spot one league to the east. He spoke softly into it.

“What happened?” Bakhai asked, expecting to hear the voice of the Qubari shaman. “There was no attack.”

Bakhai nearly gasped out loud when his brother’s voice answered.

“You are to leave the Motangan camp tonight,” Rejji said sternly. “As soon as full darkness comes, you are to head east as fast as you can run.”

“But you did not attack today,” protested Bakhai. “I can call on the insects again tonight. Tomorrow the Motangans will be weak from lack of sleep. Besides, if I leave the premer will suspect an attack tomorrow. I must stay.”

“You must leave,” asserted the Astor. “The attack will occur tonight, not tomorrow, but it will not happen at all with you in the camp. In one hour’s time, I am sending some Qubari to eliminate the perimeter sentries near you. Watch them closely. When they fall, you are to flee as fast as you can. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” Bakhai subconsciously nodded. “I will be ready.”

Rejji’s end of the air tunnel dropped, and Bakhai sighed with anxiety. He stretched out on the ground and closed his eyes, willing his body to relax. The hour passed slowly as Bakhai listened to the sounds around him. He opened his eyes abruptly when he heard the premer’s voice.

“What are you doing here, Bakhai?” asked Premer Cardijja.

Bakhai bolted to a sitting position and looked up at the Motangan premer.

“I often come here at the end of the day,” Bakhai replied. “I like to watch the moon rise.”

“That is hours away,” replied the premer. “Come back to the tent and eat. You ate very little today.”

“I am not hungry,” Bakhai shook his head. “Besides, I do not mind waiting for the moon. It looks magical when it rises. It is so large at first, but it grows smaller as it climbs into the sky. It is wonderful to watch.”

Premer Cardijja stared at the Fakaran youth and smiled. “Very well,” he said, “but return to the tent after it rises. I do not wish you to be so close to the perimeter. You do not want the evil spirit to get you, do you?”

“Oh, no,” Bakhai shook his head exaggeratedly. “I will hurry back to the tent right after the moonrise.”

The premer nodded and started walking away. Bakhai frowned at the encounter. In a different place and a different time, he could have become friends with a man like Cardijja, but he had to remind himself that the Motangan premer was tasked to destroy Fakara and all of its inhabitants. There could be no friendship under the current circumstances. There could only be death or surrender for the Motangan.

Bakhai got to his feet and stretched as his eyes covertly scanned the darkness now surrounding the camp. The two nearest sentries suddenly dropped quietly to the ground. Bakhai quickly looked around to see who was watching. The nearest tents had blazing campfires burning before them, and Bakhai knew that their ability to see beyond the flames was limited. He bolted past the dead sentries and ran into the darkness. He never saw the Qubari warriors who had delivered the deadly darts, but Mobi, a highly skilled Qubari warrior, soon met him.