KINGDOM OF THE STONE -- a Wattpad featured novel

Chapter Forty Six

Three days later, the tireavs marched southwards, the new shield fighters walking in the lead.  Behind them followed slingers and maccunai or war dogs which Cyoen had suggested back in that first fight with the angorym and their drwg.

Every couple of miles they passed through a nameless village that had been abandoned or worse.  The first village had been littered with the pieces of bloated corpses.  The sight awoke in Karux memories of dreams which had haunted him from his youth.  He felt as if he were walking in a nightmare whose conclusion he had already seen.

A group of refugees stopped their southward progress by kneeling in the trail.  Begging to have their lives spared, they cried out for the oracle of the north, offering their lives in service if only he would call off the beast he had summoned to ravage their villages.

Karux could never quite understand what he was supposed to have done, but he did learn Korion-Tamia lay between them and Nur, and that Amantis used the village to train his tireavs and store his weapons.  After handing the refugees over into the care of the daikons, Karux consulted his tacarchs.

"We could try and go around, through the hills" Hejom suggested.

Jomel stroked his beard thoughtfully.  "And add days of travel."

"In which case we would probably have to fight them anyway," Bazma said.  "With all these refugees running around on the roads, I would be surprised if they don't already know we are here.  We'd get pinned in narrow passes and cut to pieces."

"We should attack Korion-Tamia now."  Somek repeatedly jabbed his spear into the ground.  "Any delay will only give them time to prepare."

When none of the other spears had anything to add, Karux gave Macander a questioning look.  Macander nodded silent agreement.

"If I had more spears, I'd leave a group behind to attack Korion-Tamia while the rest of us went to Nur.  I fear we'll get bogged down here while Amantis, our real enemy, prepares to trap us.  But, if we must go through Korion-Tamia to get to Nur, then so be it.  We shall attack Korion-Tamia."

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Somek's predictions turned out to be accurate.  As they neared Korion-Tamia, a thousand reavers awaited them.  Their line stretched from the river on the left across newly plowed fields to the hills on the right.

"Line up the men," Karux told Macander, praying the enemy wouldn't attack until the rest of his force arrived.  He looked back at his own men, straggling northwards for a couple of miles, knowing once they were gathered he'd be lucky if the enemy didn't outnumber them two-to-one.

Karux led Eiraena to a large oak tree at the edge of the field and set her down.  He hadn't intended to bring her, but she had simply appeared among the men the second day out of Har-Tor.  "I want you to wait here.  It won't be safe for you out there.  Do you understand me?"

She stared back with unblinking golden-brown eyes.

"Don't wander off and don't..." how could he tell her not to play with the schemas in a way she'd understand?  "...do anything," he added uselessly.  With lots of hand motions indicating he wanted her to stay, to which she completely failed to respond, Karux walked back to his tacarchs.

"So.  What's the plan?" Jomel asked.

"If they attack first, shield fighters stand and hold them while the slingers sling and the rest throw spears.  I want the dogs loosed just before they get in spear range."

"And if they don't attack first?"

Karux held up a ram's horn.  "One blast means ready weapons, two blasts mean attack."