KINGDOM OF THE STONE -- a Wattpad featured novel

Chapter Thirty Seven

Karux never quite had the chance to explain his strange questions to Theris, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Theris was exactly the right person to entrust with the elementals' power over the land. He just couldn't imagine how he could talk Theris into joining with them.

Karux and his reavers had not stayed in Theris' village long before more villages to the south reported similar attacks. Having recruited men for their tireav from all the surrounding villages, they set up a training camp in Korion-Athrion south of Korion-Sito. The men had barely learned the basics when the first warning cry came.

"A large group of reavers are approaching from the east," Macander called out.

Karux bolted to his feet. "How many?"

"At least a couple hundred."

Not good, Karux thought. They had less than half that number of barely trained men and boys. "Call out the spears and meet me at the east road."

Karux hurried out as Macander ordered the tacarchs to gather their men and arranged them before the korion's entrance in a defensive wall of men, wood and bronze. He paused just outside, straining for any sign or sound of the coming force, belatedly realizing he'd forgotten his own spear. It did not take long for the enemy reavers to trickle in. Scores of men strolled along the trail in no particular order, each man carrying his spear however it pleased him. They came within a stone's throw and paused, milling around as their fellows in the rear caught up.

Karux went out to meet them. Behind him, Macander called out "Ready spears!" and their own men raise their spears in unison, assuming a defensive stance as if they were prepared to stop a charge. They looked fierce, but knowing them as he did, Karux could detect fear in the looks they gave each other.

If only they'd had more time to train, Karux thought, hoping what little training they'd had would be enough. Few wolf skins remained with him and they had not fought in many months. None of the locals had ever fought anything larger than a fox or the occasional wild dog.

Slingers! Karux thought. How could we have overlooked something like that? Even a score of slingers could cast their enemies into confusion and allow his reavers to rush them. He thought of the surprise attack the farmers had made on the wolf skins. Theris had told him that if the farmers had only followed up on their simple attack of thrown rocks, the wolf skins probably would not have been able to defend themselves. A slung stone would strike with more force than a thrown rock and could even kill a man. A favored hobby of bored young herdsmen, he wondered if any of these farm boys had ever picked up a sling.

"Welcome, strangers, to Korion-Athrion. I am Karux. May I ask what brings you here?"

The strangers exchanged awkward glances, then a large man with a tall cone-shaped hat stepped forward. "I am Sabek, newly selected chief elder of Korion-Daikon. Our korion has suffered greatly from the blight and we have heard that you have stored up a great excess of grain."

Karux noted that Sabek the elder was barely in his thirties. He could only wonder what sort of upheaval the curse had caused in Korion-Daikon that one so young should be made chief elder. "Yes. We may have some small amount of grain that we could trade." Karux looked across the grim-faced mob of reavers. "What do you bring to trade?"

"I'm afraid we have nothing for trade. We have eaten all our own animals, even our seed crops and we've traded away everything of value for food already. Our women and children have begun to starve and we have nothing left but our own good right arms and these spears."

"Korion-Daikon? Did we not visit you, warn you of the coming blight and offer an alliance?"

Sabek looked questioningly to his men. One of the older men nodded his head shamefully. "It would seem that our prior chief elder did not possess the wisdom his gray hairs should have given him."