Will McDermott - Judgment

The beast knew where it might find the perfect weapon for the job, but with every Order soldier awake in the camp, there was no way to get to Laquatas again tonight, let alone find the weapon it sought in the mer's tent. It simply watched and reveled in the chaos it had helped bring about, vowing to get what it needed to finish its task.

By morning Laquatas had a new plan. It was daring and dangerous, two things he truly despised in a plan, especially when the danger was to himself. But he could see no other way to get through the forest without the Cabal mages. And, if the Order forces were decimated by the nantuko, he would become vulnerable anyway.

The sergeant's report was exactly what Laquatas had expected. All the men reported nothing unusual until an inky fog suddenly appeared over the Cabal half of the clearing. When the fog disappeared a moment later, the Cabal forces had disappeared with it.

"I believe it was all part of their plan, Sergeant," said Laquatas, "and I'm sorry I became an unwitting pawn in their deception."

"Sir?"

Laquatas reached out and touched the sergeant's mind as he continued. "Obviously the Cabal forces never intended to honor the treaty. Their beast attacked at night, killing the lieutenant. They hung back and watched nantuko kill off even more Order forces. Then, when it looked like the coalition would work, they abandoned us, striking out on their own to claim the Mirari before the Order can retrieve it."

"Yes, sir," said the sergeant. "That makes sense, sir. Those bastards can never be trusted."

"Correct," said Laquatas, smiling to himself. "We cannot allow them to get there first, Sergeant. We must press on, for the glory of the Order."

"I agree, sir. But how? Without mages, we'll get slaughtered by the nantuko."

"You forget, Sergeant," said Laquatas, tweaking the man's mindset once again. "I am a mage. A quite accomplished one as you may know. Today, I will lead the Order forces to victory. Your duty, and the duty of your men, is to protect me, your only mage, at all costs. I assure you by the end of the day, no matter what losses we suffer, we will have the upper hand on the nantuko."

"Yes, sir!"

A short time later, Laquatas found himself near the front lines of the Order phalanx, wondering if he'd completely lost his mind. The prize was worth the risk, he told himself. Still, he decided to make sure the phalanx never strayed too far from the subterranean waterway he'd used to dispose of the spear- just in case he needed to escape.

Laquatas extended his senses out as far as he could, focusing on the area ahead and to the sides and neglecting the rear. If the nantuko attacked from behind, there would be great loss of life, but Laquatas was not at the rear, so it hardly mattered. The soldiers in front of Laquatas all carried ropes, while the ones beside and behind him were armed with spears and swords. He was as protected as he could be under the circumstances. Now to see if his plan could work.

Laquatas didn't have to wait long. No more than an hour into the morning's march, he sensed an incoming bug attack. Six bugs were descending from the trees, fast.

"Now!" yelled Laquatas as he began to build up mana for the spell. It would take some time, so he hoped the Order soldiers could withstand the attack long enough for him to prepare and detain one of the bugs with the ropes.

Six bugs dropped to the ground. Bending their legs to absorb the shock, the warriors came up swinging their deadly appendages. Two soldiers to the side of Laquatas dropped before the platoon could even react to the attack. Two more bugs advanced on Laquatas, and the mer had only a single soldier protecting his flank now.

"Get them!" roared Laquatas, pointing at the advancing nantuko.

"Protect Lord Laquatas!" shouted the sergeant from behind the mage as he stepped up and swung his sword at the first bug, clipping a chunk of serrated armor off its forearm.

Two more soldiers interposed themselves between Laquatas and the nantuko. But the mer had problems to his other side as four Order soldiers stood against the last two mantis warriors, trying to keep them at bay by jabbing their spears at the bugs. One soldier already had a huge gash in his shoulder and was losing blood. Another had his spear caught in the armor plates on the nantuko's thorax, and Laquatas watched as the bug pulled the spear loose, yanked on it to bring the soldier near, and then smashed its forearm down into the soldier's head, splitting his skull open and driving the man to the ground.

I've got to even the odds or none of us will survive, thought Laquatas. Using some of the mana he'd built up, Laquatas cast two quick spells in succession at the encroaching mantis warriors. Two ethereal clouds of energy burst into the melee. The first cloud enveloped one of the nantuko in front of Laquatas. The other seemed to devour the two bugs to his left. In an instant, the clouds and the three nantuko had disappeared.

A cheer erupted from the Order soldiers, but Laquatas barked, "It's not over yet. Rope men, prepare to detain one of the bugs. I'm almost ready."

Laquatas returned to building up mana, and he glanced over at the sergeant, who was getting the upper hand on his opponent. He'd cut deeply into the bug's shoulder, rendering one arm useless, and was now defending against the other arm while pushing inside the creature's defenses. Smacking the bug's arm to the side, the sergeant lunged forward and impaled the warrior on his sword, unleashing a torrent of green blood from the beast's thorax.

The bug to the side of the sergeant was faring much better. The nantuko warrior had cut one soldier completely in half with a single swipe of its razor-edged arm. It lifted the second soldier in both claws and slammed the man's back down on its serrated front legs, severing the soldier's spine in two places.

Dropping the crippled soldier to the ground, the mantis turned toward the sergeant, who couldn't pull his sword free from the dying bug in front of him. Before anyone could move to help, the nantuko leaped up in the air and came down on the sergeant, twisting its legs inward and crossing its arms to slice down through the man with all six of its razor-sharp, armor-plated limbs. When it landed, all that remained of the sergeant was a soft pile of pink-and-red flesh on the ground beneath the bug.

"Rope men!" called Laquatas. "Hold that bug."

Eight ropes flew from behind Laquatas, catching the nantuko around its head and arms. As it struggled to cut, snap, and break the ropes, Laquatas concentrated on his spell. He raised his palm, which held a sparkling blue ball of smoke. The mer leaned forward and blew softly on the ball, which drifted toward the bound nantuko.

As the bug snapped through the last of the eight lines and advanced on Laquatas once again, the ball of blue smoke enveloped the beast's head, and it stopped, rocking back and forth as if it wanted to move forward. In that moment of indecision, several Order soldiers advanced on the bug, but Laquatas yelled at them to hold.

The mer gazed right into the bug's eyes and whispered, "You're mine now."

The sparkling blue cloud disappeared, and the bug began to move again. The soldiers backed off, holding their weapons ready in front of them. But instead of advancing on Laquatas and the phalanx, the controlled bug turned and jumped toward the last nantuko, which had just killed another spear-wielding soldier. With two great swipes of its strong and deadly arms, Laquatas's nantuko warrior sliced the last bug into three pieces, leaving the dead creature's four legs standing while its thorax and head slid to the ground on either side.

Another great cheer erupted from the remaining Order soldiers. Laquatas surveyed the battlefield. The Order had lost eight men, including the valiant sergeant. They had defeated only two bugs, and one of those was killed by its own comrade. Still, an excellent trade, thought the mer, nodding and smiling at the victory. Eight men are a small price to pay for such a prize. A very small price to pay indeed.