Lost mine

Long ago the Ori spread across this part of the world. They ruled for almost a thousand years before their empire fell into civil war and broke apart. The greatest ruler was the first emperor who it was rumored had found a great mine. The diamonds were the size of a fist or a man's heart.

Today none believe the stories or have found the mine. The last thing the last emperor had done was smash the diamonds and hide the map to it. Time has done the rest and hidden it where no one can find it. Kane was where the Ori capital used to be. They were to the west of our country and arrogant bullies with more than a few mages.

To the east was the country of Sax which had been the home of great armies. My country was five hundred kilometers wide and over nine hundred long. That was not even a quarter of either country and most of it was thick forest. There were four large rivers that came down from Kane and Sax and ran all the way to the sea.

The borders on the east and west were the Saloman in the west and the Ember in the east. The next river closest to the west was the Ori and the last the Common. The major cities were to the south except for one along the north border where Kane and Sax meet. We had come a long way from the weapons of old.

We had rifles and artillery and planes that could drop bombs or shoot rockets. I was a apprentice forester and had been in the northwest for four months. We had built a platform high in the trees. There were long swing bridges that made trails through an area of several kilometers. It was all to watch a few very rare predator birds.

There were large ground predators we had to worry about too. I carried my father's steel twelve millimeter by three centimeter revolver called a Hawk. It could knock any predator down and if that did not work I carried a rifle. It was called the Priest because that was what you would need if shot by it.

It was a twelve millimeter by six centimeters revolving carbine with a wooden forestock and skeleton buttstock. At least it had an internal hammer with a light trigger pull. I carried four quick reloads under my arms for the Priest and two on my belt for the Hawk. There were four of us working out of a single building on the edge of a clearing.

I was up in the trees watching a fledgling when the Kane started the war. I had seen the planes but not really paid attention. We were almost a hundred kilometers inside the border. When I heard the shots I spun towards the clearing. More followed and I began to run and pull the Priest off my shoulder.

Of course when I reached the end of the swing bridge and the platform I had to sling it again. I started down using the pegs in the tree and kept searching below. I dropped the last couple of meters and yanked the rifle off. I started for the clearing and heard men yelling. I stopped behind bushes and looked at the building.

Simon, John and Albert were sprawled out in front of it. The men were soldiers unloading crates and cases from two large cargo planes. There had to be at least a hundred men and I moved back and started around to the back of the building. I listened and then crawled in a window and silently moved to the living area.

I checked the power on the radio and keyed the mic, "this is apprentice Adam Mageson."

I looked out the window, "Kane soldiers have attacked and killed the other foresters and are unloading equipment."

A mage emerged from one plane with a pair of teenage girls on leashes. He looked towards the building and gestured. I dropped the mic, spun and started running. The front of the building exploded as if from a bomb. I spun and lifted my rifle and aimed and the mage yanked a passing soldier in front of himself.

I fired and the soldier went back and into the mage and I spun again. I ran into the other room and bent to yank open a chest that had been mine. I grabbed a bag and a pack before I ran to the window and dove out. I hit the ground and rolled and came to my feet running. Bullets were ripping into the building as I crashed through the bushes.

I stopped by a tree and turned as I lifted my rifle. A soldier ran around one end of the building and I shot him in the chest before I turned and started running again. I did not go far before I turned to the west and started around the clearing. I stuffed the bag into the pack and slipped it on.

Finally I turned in and stalked closer and then began to crawl. I was behind and to one side of a tree and looking out from under a bush. The soldiers were moving around more and a officer with a fancy feather in his hat was barking orders. The mage was being seen by a man that could be a doctor.

I aimed and squeezed and the officer's head exploded. I shifted as they froze and then a sergeant began shouting orders. He was next and died the same way as the officer. I shot two more rushing towards me before I pulled back and stood. I moved deeper into the forest as my thumb pushed the cylinder release and I snapped the rifle to the left.

The cylinder opened and since our weapons used caseless ammo all I needed to do was pull a reloader and slide the bullets into the cylinder. I turned the brass knob and twisted my wrist and snapped the cylinder closed and dropped the empty reloader into my jacket pocket. I went south and around and came back up on the east side of the clearing.

The planes started and turned to leave and that was when the two Humers streaked in. They were our version of a armed hover craft. The planes accelerated and the enemy began to fire at the Humers. They spun and a lines of bullets reached out and tore into the enemy. Suddenly a ball of fire sped away from what was left of our building.

It split and struck both Humers and they burst into flames before exploding. The planes lifted at the last moment and climbed above the trees before turning to head west. I lifted my rifle and aimed and fired and shifted to keep doing it before I pulled back and started to the north. When I returned to the clearing they were in a file and moving into the forest to the east.

I looked at the building before I moved to the west and slipped out. I went closer and peeked in a couple of windows. The front of the build was burnt and shattered and I could see two soldiers. I climbed through one window and set the Priest on a crate. The whole building was full of them.

I pulled my long knife and stalked into the other room. The two soldiers were looking out the open front of the building and sitting on more crates. I struck fast, cutting the throat of one and lunging to shoved my knife into the chest of the other. I cleaned my knife and looked around before I looked at the crates.

They were supplies of ammo and rations and tents and ... I slipped out and went to the bodies of the other foresters. Someone had stripped the revolvers off but I found their Priest rifles to one side. I took their vests and put them in my pack and tied the rifles to the top. I went back in and added a case of rations, two fiber filled blankets and then started a fire before leaving.

I crossed the clearing and entered where they had. I could see their trail and moved to the side and into the forest. I moved silently and it was not long before I was catching up. I moved further to the side as I thought about what was ahead. There was a low ridge but the start was steep.

I turned in and began to slip closer until I saw the men. I could see another officer and aimed and squeezed. The Priest roared and the officer's head exploded and I shifted and fired into the chest of a soldier. I shot four more times before I saw the black cloud moving towards me.

I spun and started moving back as the enemy fired blinding into the forest. The black cloud kept following me and began to move faster. I turned to the west while reloading and finally had to start trotting. The cloud was still gaining and growing and I spun and started running towards the enemy.

The cloud followed and moved faster and was right behind me when I broke out of the forest and onto the trail. I went between two of the enemy soldiers and turned left and kept going. They spun and lifted rifles and the cloud reached them. They started screaming as the cloud engulfed them began to stretch and continue to reach after me.

More enemy soldiers were spinning to face the rear and I kept weaving through them. A lot of the enemy were engulfed and others spun and panicked. I had switched hands on my rifle and broken free of the soldiers and found the mage in front of me. I pulled my pistol as he straightened and fired into his chest twice.

As he went down I saw the girls and more men and behind those was another mage. I growled as I caught the leashes and turned to the north, "come on."

I pulled on the leashes and the two girls stumbled after me. Men were still screaming as I pulled the girls into the forest. I expected soldiers to follow or shoot but I guess they were to busy. I turned right and headed east and glanced at the two frightened girls. I used an animal trail that angled up the low ridge.

Once we were across I looked down into the low ground around where a stream was. I turned and reached for the first girl, "I am Adam."

I looked at the fancy collar around her neck as she looked at the ground, "Taylor master."

I snorted and twisted the collar when I did not find the lock, "this is a mage collar."

She remained silent and I looked at her and then pulled a very small and slim knife, "stay still."

They say only a mage can open a mage collar and a once it is on, a mage can not use their magic. I knew better, someone else had made it and not a mage. I carefully cut into where the lock should be and peeled it back. Next I used the point to work the lock until it clicked and opened. I pulled it off and tossed it and then reached for the other girl, "and your name?"

She smiled shyly, "Kyla."

I nodded as I looked and checked the collar before I twisted it, "hold still."

It did not take as long to get the collar off and I put my knife away, "do you girls want to stay with me?"

They looked at each other before nodding and I gestured, "first we need to find the stream."

Ten minutes and I was looking at the slow moving stream. I saw the large dragon fish and moved back and looked at the girls, "stay here."

I waited until they nodded and gestured to a log, "sit and rest."

I headed downstream and moved carefully until I saw the front of the enemy column. They were crossing the stream and I lifted my rifle and aimed. I fired and shifted and fired until the cylinder was empty. Dead men were slowly floating down the stream as the other soldiers fired into the forest blindly.

With the blood in the water now, dragon fish would head this way and no one would be safe in the water. I moved back as I used a reloader and when I reached the girls I grinned, "time to go."