Book One: Rise of the King

Chapter Twenty

 Gray put on his sword, the bow and quiver and settled his hand on the hilt of his dagger. He looked at the men, all gathered around him in the mist of the morning. Charlie was there to translate for the Ranthos. Josan was with the horses, who had been fed, watered and saddled. Benton Singer stood with Nate and Eli at Gray's side. He had his plan. He had his hopes for the day. Now was time to implement it, get this over with and get as many people to the Plains of Haran as he could.

"Our force is too small to split up the way I would like it to be, so we need to be very diligent, pay attention to your commanders and work quickly. Charlie and Benton are going to create a distraction by the machines that we hope will cause the Gauran to gather down there while we all head down to the valley. I want archers on the mountainside with Nate and Tanis. I want swordsmen on the valley floor with Charlie and Intuk. Josan is going to be on Horse, taking out the stragglers or anyone running away.

"The Gauran had to be killed. Every one of them. When the Gauran numbers start to get low, Nate and Tanis are going to start getting the slaves out of the valley. When you get to a point where you can help them, please do. We'll have a lot of frightened and confused people down there. Eli, Benton and I will be going into the cavern where the Gauran and the Komeh are. We're going to use explosives, so I can't express how important it is that everyone get out of here as soon as possible." Gray said, trying to be concise and clear.

When Charlie finished, the men looked around, nodding in what he hoped was understanding and approval.

"Some of us will die today. There's no way to avoid it. I'm sorry for that. Good luck to each of you. God bless you." Gray said, moving away from the center of attention.

Eli responded to Gray's look, went before the men and bowed his head, eyes closed.

"Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning as humble men, looking to right what we understand is a wrong. We ask, Father, that if we've failed to comprehend Your plan and that our actions are in defiance of Your will that You forgive us this sin. We can only truly ask that Your will be done, but in our fear and uncertainty, we reach out to You and ask for Your mercy and protection for each man here. These are brave men who have left behind their families in the hopes of freeing their world from tyranny. We ask that you watch over us today, keep us focused and strong and that you forgive us our sins. We come to You humbly and with our heads bowed in deference to Your will and glory, our Merciful Father. These things we ask for in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen" When Eli finished speaking, he was answered with an 'amen' from the warriors kneeling before him.

Gray gave him an ironic half-grin.

"Let's go kill people." he said.

Charlie and Benton rode Mack down together through a fog that grew thicker the deeper into the valley one went. The ride wasn't an easy one. The shale of the mountainside wanted to slip under the horses hooves. The trees grew denser as they neared the bottom, making a quick ride impossible with the fog. They were quiet, at least. The sun was coming up and the fog would burn off soon. That was a comfort, but for now Charlie welcomed the cover despite the slow travel.

Above them and closer to the slave road were the swordsmen and archers, making their way to their positions behind their commanders, the Locke brothers of the Night Guard and the respected Intuk and Tanis. Josan was with them on Horse, her long dark hair braided down her back. Her quivers were full of poisoned arrows and she was prepared to use them all. The odd silence was unnerving, but now was the time to keep one's head. She looked to her left, wanting to see Gray, but he was barely visible through the fog as she sat on Zero behind Eli. She wanted a sign of comfort and encouragement but the brothers were lost in conversation and she didn't find it.