Len Gilbert - The Furred Reich

Hans looked at the challenge lying ahead of him: A wall of white mountain peaks under a bleak, gray horizon. Soft flakes of snow fell out of the sky to cover everything under a pristine white blanket. His boots crunched as he walked along a path. Sometimes the mountain path was lined by wooden guarders, sometimes it wasn’t.

Lapine grandma’s map said he was getting close to the plains, where he hoped to find a place to live somewhere among the animals there. Grandma’s map said there were squirrels and minxes further ahead. Just no wolves, slavers or ‘Grimeskins,’ whatever those were. In the dead quiet, his breath was louder than usual. If the ‘northern plains’ were the only safe place in the world, then he would stay there, and hopefully prove his worth to whoever took him in.

As he peered over the first ridge, Hans saw tiny, white-covered paths struggling against the massive wild. They were paths that lead off far, far away. There was a long way to go.

“No one here, huh? That’s funny.”

The sand-lined road into Nebukkez sat unguarded. Qok stopped the oxcart, likely concerned about the bad sign.

“You know of any other ways to get to your destination?” The old bird called back to Hex, who was now his only remaining passenger.

“There aren’t any. It’s either Jasra or maybe Tyraeus.”

“Alright.”

Qok tugged the reins and oxen jerked forward past the border and into the desert kingdom.

Even late in the year most of Nebbukez scorched. This was actually Hex’s first time in Nebukkez, and it would hopefully be the last. Compared to Ahuran, Nebukkez was small, weak and very ill-prepared for what was coming. The sooner he got out of this kingdom, the better.

An oasis town hardly seemed to notice the travelers’ presence, and Qok stopped to refill a water jug and rest. The stallions of this land were fussy about others taking from their oases, which was probably why Qok loaded hay, for the livestock, into the cart back in the last town in Ahuran, Ilam.

“You can sit back now. I don’t think anyone minds us passing through.”

“Alright. Just let me know if you need me,” Hex said as he sat back in the cart and watched the oasis get smaller and smaller on the horizon.

The new climate restricted travel to evenings, mornings and late afternoons. Hex and the emperor’s driver sat at the front of their cart and watched sand dunes come and go from their view until a wall of palm trees ascended on the horizon. The scent of alluvial silt greeted Hex’s nose. They were passing through an oval-shaped swath of farmland which on the map reminded him a lot of Deltia.

The Caliphial Highway was blocked, and so Qok went on a smaller road that took them through the lowlands and then into the barren quarter, which was hot, uninterrupted desert. Only a sea of sand lay between them and Jasra port. They camped during the day, and Hex did his best to remain asleep at night, much to Qok’s insistence. The silence of the desert made Hex’s mind wonder on to other thoughts. All the more reason to never come back to this place.

“Hey,” the old bird squawked back in the dead of night.

“There’s some kind of trouble ahead.”

Hex roused from his nap and Qok motioned him back to the cart.

“Go back to sleep. I’m taking a southern detour. We’ll be at Jasra soon.”

The Kitsune didn’t worry about it. Qok knew these roads well, although Hex had a good idea what might be happening up north.

The next morning, a stark desert sunrise brought Hex up again, and he saw a line of armed, black equines forming a chain across the horizon. The chain stretched from east to west. Hex’s eyes followed the line westward to a minaret and some other domed buildings.

“Jasra?” Hex blinked.

“Yeah, but… I don’t think I’m going to make it back to Ahuran in one piece.”

Qok’s voice was heavy with concern. He was right, of course. If he took the same path, Qok likely wouldn’t make it back to his home.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking Hex, but is Deltia your next stop?”

“…It is.”

“You mind if I trade these oxen and go with you?”

“Um, well…”

“I won’t tag along. I’ll be out on the next ship to Bandar.”

“Oh… No problem then.”

Yes, the sooner they got out of this place, the better. Those oxen seemed to be just slow as hell, and they trodded along the brick lain path to Jasra while some kind of battle was occurring at a speed much faster than this pace.

“Come on…” He growled aloud, losing his patience.

“Hey, Qok… We’re not gonna get there in time…” Hex finally said to the bird.

“It’s the monsters,” Hex explained to the bird. “They’re fast on the way and this shitty little country isn’t going to hold for long! So push it!”

Qok looked over at him. “I’m going as fast as we can.”

A plume of smoke rose up over one of the buildings on the pinkish-orange horizon. There was no city wall, which meant that if the monsters broke through once everything was over. As they drew closer he could see residents panicking. Hex tried hard not to do the same.

“Qok? Just… Just leave the oxen here.”

The avian stepped off the cart and reluctantly looked at his oxen. He reached forward, pet their snouts and turned to Hex.

“Come on…”

Civilians were panicking, grabbing belongings and running for the seafront. Hex and the old bird elbowed their way past the city when a flaming ball descended from the sky and exploded on some apartments nearby, causing the building to crash and spitting debris everywhere. The throng of equines screamed and scattered around. A black fire rose from the rubble and another plume of smoke swirled up over the crowd. The Hwa-Chong bombs were already in use. Obviously.

“Good god what are we in for…” Qok shouted over the chaos.

At the harbor several boats were maneuvering into and out of the docks. Men were maintaining some kind of order, keeping a line of furres waiting to get on the next boats, which were coming by the minute. The lines of people stretched well past the docks, snaking into the streets.

Hex shook his head and got into a line with Qok. He could feel the combat constricting around them more and more, spilling into the city and closing into the port. Still the furres filed orderly onto one of two boats that were getting ready to shove off.

“Urrrrgh!”

An unearthly grunting rose up behind the throng. Hex turned around to see three hulking Greenskins slicing their way through a thin line of equine soldiers.

“Shit. It’s over.” Qok said.

Screams rose up from the once-orderly line. Some of them charged the boats, which were already brimming and weighed down with living cargo.

“Hey that’s enough!”

Some men and women even tried swimming out to the boats as they shoved off. No other ships were left in the water.

Drunk on success, one of the monsters grabbed a young woman by the hair and steadily pulled back. Hex stood there for a second, captivated by the scene and watching it as if he were watching a house burning.

After a second, he and Qok ran onto the docks in a desperate attempt to get to distant shores.

“Deltia! Deltia!”

A stray boat that looked like a guard ship was collecting up those stranded in the water.

“Deltia!”

It wasn’t a big boat. Hex and Qok both leaped into the water and made a swim for it. One of the staff saw the approaching beasts and turned away so that the boat made its way further from the increasingly dangerous coast. Qok got there first, reached out and took a hand.

Hex reached forward lunged at Qok.