❝𝘼 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙎𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖❞

Chapter 17: Battle of Temujai Camp

"Ranger Will, my name is Damien, and this is my son Edwin. There's thirty of us in total who want to join the Skandians instead of the Temujai." The elderly man who had conversed before with Will crouched, not far from where he was 'bound'. After the first time he had worked the knot free, Will had begun to find untying himself relatively easy.

Will nodded.

Edwin crept towards him quietly and whispered to him, "The Temujai, as a gift, have given to each one of us archers one of their spare horses, of which they have many. We have located an extra one for you. Whenever you give the command, thirty-one horses shall be ready, and we should be able to ride from here with ease."

"That would be wonderful." Will replied quietly. "I would believe that the Skandians will act out soon enough, vexed as they are at this point. As soon as this camp is attacked, we set out."

Edwin nodded before quickly disappearing to wherever he needed to be. His father remained sitting not far, polishing weapons and making new arrows. This was the task that had been appointed to him by the Temujai, considering his elderly age, but now, half of his arrows have been set aside for the small force of Araluans ready to follow Will.

>>>———>

The day was still perfectly calm and still when a Temujai scout ran back from the outskirst, shouting for the alarms to be raised. A few seconds later, one of the tents on the outskirts burst up in flames. Quickly, Ch'ren led his master, Ka'zhak out of his own tent.

Despite the fact that two of the tents were already on fire, a malicious smile appeared on the Temujai leader's face. Turning, he nodded in satisfaction as he spotted the two riders who had been set on the task of being the messengers quickly receding into the distance. Very soon, he knew, Shan En'tak will be leading another force of Temujai, twice as large as his own, straight down to the abandoned Skandian capital of Hallasholm. At last, his plan was beginning to work.

"My lord, which tactic?" Ch'ren asked beside him.

The smile on Ka'zhak widened, if that were possible. "Recall all the men at the guard posts. Let them ride straight into the heart of this encampment, then send all the best archers to lie in wait on the fringes, so that when they are occupied with fighting us in close combat, the archers can pick them off one by one."

Ch'ren bowed and retreated to pass the orders.

>>>———>

"Ranger Will!" Edwin ran towards the lone figure of the Ranger still 'tied' to the post. "The Skandians are-"

"Here and fighting, I know." Will cut in. "Is everyone ready?"

"All thirty of us." Edwin replied seriously. "And the thirty-one horses, and all the spare arrows we could gather."

Will leaned back, letting his own back act as cover while he slipped his hands from his fake bonds. "Five minutes, Edwin. Find me here in five minutes. Take everyone with you, all on horse."

Without another word, Edwin ran back.

"Well now, your friends have come at last." A taunting voice sounded from behind the Ranger. "And you've already got a plan to escape? Fool, my master will catch you."

Will turned slightly to see a Temujai soldier he did not quite recognize. "Oh," he said softly, "I don't think he will." Then, in one sudden movement, his hands slipped free and one hand grasped onto the hilt of a secret knife that Damien had passed him earlier. With years of knife-throwing practice imprinted in his very being, the knife flew from his hand and embedded itself deep in the man's chest. He fell without a sound.