Chapter 68

Day 258/259:

John and company were most of the way to the double-peak Ariel indicated as their navigation landmark when a massive wind and rain storm rolled in from the north. Within minutes, visibility in the air dropped to a yard or two, and the gusts were so rough that they decided to land and continue on foot. The group spent that night miserably trying to camp on the best rocky hill they could find.

The rain stopped before dawn, but if anything the wind picked up with the sun’s rise. Reluctant to force the dragons to fly, John and Veronyka decided to continue trekking through the rough terrain. The group sent Hal ahead a few hundred yards to scout, and stuck to whatever high ground they could since the ravines were all flooded with runoff. They trooped up and down, jumping over precipitation-swollen streams and keeping a sharp eye out for enemies.

Several hours into the new day’s march, Hal flashed a quick colored signal back and John ordered them to halt. They waited for quite a while before the Cambion crawled back to confer.

“There is trouble ahead.” Hal informed them. “Three khimeran archers are firing at someone on a cliff-top across a large stream from them. Two others, on bolt khimeran are attempting to attack the cliff-top from the side. The area is very rocky, so the pair is moving slow. Do we go another way, or attack?”

“Who are they attacking, could you see?” John asked.

Hal shook his head. “I am not sure. Their enemy is very careful to stay behind some boulders, as the archers are sending arrows continuously. I know it is more than a single person, but think it might be less than five?”

“Could you observe any sign or device that would tell us who they might be?” Sygraid wanted to know.

“None.” Hal admitted. “Not without crossing the water, which I hesitate to do. The stream looks treacherous.”

“Anyone else in the area, that you saw?” John pressed.

“I saw no other people.” Hal denied. “Though with the ground like this, anyone could be beyond the next rise.”

John shrugged. “Hopefully, they’re from the city and can help send a message. I say we attack. Are they all archers, or what?”

“The other pair are carrying lances.” Hal said. “Bolt khimeran are larger and heavier than the flash ones we have been riding. The riders carry large shields, pointed on the bottom like a drop of water turned upside down and their armor is a mixture of bone, leather and thick cloth. It appears to my eyes as better than that worn by the archers.”

“I know this armor.” Sygraid told them all. “It goes by many names, but most refer to it as lancerite. Highly effective, but hot and heavy to wear. I too suggest that we slay them. Their mounts might prove useful.”

John’s eyes took a poll from the other two. Hal and Veronyka both nodded their acceptance of the target.

“Let’s get closer then.” John proposed. “V, can you do that stun thing again so the three of us can get close enough to hit them all at once?”

Veronyka nodded. “I can, but it’ll probably only buy you a few seconds.”

“It’ll have to do.” John said. “Let’s move.”

Staying low, they crept up to the backside of the rise where the Regimental archers were firing. Over the course of the morning, the howling gale had subsided into no more than a strong breeze. The three archers were taking turns, keeping a steady stream of arrows instead of a rapid-fire flurry. They were having to aim into the wind, and giving each other sarcastic advice whenever an arrow was blown off course. In front of the men, the ground dropped quickly to a whitewater-topped rush of water. Though not overly wide, there was no way any of the companions could jump over.

But about a hundred yards upstream was a flat rock perched in the center. The path of torn ground leading to the bank beside the rock indicated that it was the place where the two lancers had crossed. Those two soldiers were now dismounted on the far side, using long pole-weapons to attack whoever was hiding in the rocks. Their heavier khimeran were picketed about fifty yards behind, on the outside of a boulder-filled slope.

At John’s signal, Veronyka used her own Lance to blast the three-person bowman group. The resulting disorientation made all three khimeran rear back and spin in confusion. Sygraid leaped up at the same time, her giant spear fully extended to punch a hole in her target’s torso. She connected solidly, lifting the man from his saddle completely. His khimera whipped around and tried to gore her with its tusks, but she slammed the side of its head with her shield. The animal staggered for a moment, then collapsed, leaving the archer’s corpse dangling from the end of her weapon.

John’s intended opponent was the farthest away, so he had a harder time. He chopped with the Tooth, but his target’s mount turned at the last instant. So, John only scored a nasty, but minor gash to the man’s thigh, and a larger one to the thick saddle. The archer swung to fire an arrow in response, but John’s second strike after ducking to the other side splintered the man’s bow. John had to dance back as the experienced rider pulled the khimera’s head towards John while drawing his own melee weapon: a slightly curved saber. John dodged back the other way, keeping to his enemy’s offhand side.

Hal’s extendable rapier resulted in multiple penetrations of his target’s mount instead of the man himself, driving the animal to continue wildly spinning and bucking. The rider fought to control it, but a deep hit into his belly made him slide off with the beast between them. The Cambion tossed an illusion into the khimera’s eyes, badly frightening the battle-trained mount. It jumped back, not remembering that the ground dropped off there. It stumbled and rolled down to the water’s edge with a sickening crunch, laying there and making a piteous sound.

Veronyka joined Hal’s side, blasting the now-dismounted target into insensibility. That gave the Cambion plenty of time to run him though with his blade. The archer slumped to the dirt as both of them turned to help John. But he’d already darted in and chopped the last archer’s other leg. The Tooth bit deeply, and the man tried to hack at John only to find the Sygraid was there to thrust her spear up under his arm from the other side.

He screamed, arm flailing wildly which left John an opening to follow up on with two more hits, this time to the archer’s torso. The second one nearly disemboweled the man. Sygraid pulled him off the khimera and grabbed that mount’s reins to keep it steady.

Across the way, the two other men, also in Regimental colors had noticed their comrades being attacked and were now retreating quickly back to their mounts. John scrambled into the saddle of the khimera Sygraid was holding and pointed at the two lancers.

“Keep them busy!” He ordered before wheeling around and racing for the rock-ford.

The animal John was riding had sufficient intelligence to realize that the person on its back now was the same one that attacked only minutes before. It tried to shy away, and slow down, but John was ruthless with it. He kicked its flanks with his heels, and smacked the Tooth against its rump.

“Listen, you stupid fucking beast,” John growled, leaning forward, “if you don’t obey me, I’ll slit your goddamned throat and run instead.”

The beast turned its head slightly, which John told himself meant it was seeing if he was serious. He held the Tooth up by its neck, and had the weapon flash into view. Apparently that worked, because it stopped struggling and went where he directed. It even scampered across the stream like a mountain goat, without so much as a hesitant step.

As he came upon the larger, picketed animals, John’s eye caught Sight of an electric bolt flashing across the chasm, that impacted right in front of the two clambering lancers. The men paused for a few moments but pressed on. It happened twice more before John reached the beasts; and between the shots and the uneven footing, he made it with a few minutes to spare. He had plenty of time to retrieve the reins, and begin leading the khimeran toward the stream crossing.

Back to where Sygraid and Hal were also using the rock-ford. The Cambion even had one of those strange, box-added bows in his hands, while Sygraid carried a large pair of saddle-bag quiver/reloads across one massive shoulder. John gave them the two larger animals, and waved for Veronyka to join them.

Meanwhile, the two lancers decided discretion was the better part of valor at this point. They were already re-retreating, this time going around to the other side of the hill from both John’s group and their first targets.

“You guys give chase,” John said, “I’ll wait for V.”

“Then you should take the larger one, and give me yours.” Hal argued. “It will be better for two of you.”

“Good point.” John agreed, hopping down to switch.

He gave the smaller mount a glare and a neck-pat as Hal stepped into the saddle. Sygraid tossed the reload-bags across Hal’s new saddle for him.

“Go, we’ll be right behind you.” John instructed.

Sygraid’s massive form made her mount look like a large pony, rather than the medium-sized war-beast it really was. She rode awkwardly, bouncing against the khimera’s back instead of moving with the animal’s motion. But she kept it pointed in the right direction as Hal sped up to pepper the lancers with his new bow. Proving that he’d had some small experience with riding, the Cambion quickly figured out how to keep his upper body stationary enough to fire the weapon somewhat effectively. The lancers had to keep their shields oriented in his direction, which slowed their movement to a walk.