Unkarra Gate (1st draft)

Chapter 26.3

In the darkness they approached, creeping up the hill. There was scant brush to give them cover; they relied on darkness and the crest of the hill itself. Bogrel felt the tingle of battle beginning to wash over him, and with it all the memories he had hoped to leave behind in one life or another.

Still, the feel of the sword in his hand was familiar. He grimaced at the Unkarran men, whose approach was about as stealthy as drunken elks. The outpost came into view; a small tower built of wood with a ladder leading up to a small room. Lamp light emitted from the large windows, making the tower stand out against a dark hillside like a sun against the sky.

There was no alarm from the tower, and no figure could be seen from below. The Unkarran group gathered among the limited shelter of boulders and brush.

Matias approached Bogrel, sticking to the cover. "How many would be in there?" he asked.

"One or two. There'll be more at their camp." They couldn't quite see the entire area around the tower, being downhill as they were. He presumed the camp was somewhere nearby, out of their view.

"Will they have more guards in the camp?" Matias asked.

"Doubtfully anyone at the ready."

Matias left him at that, going to conference with several other of his men. A group of five rushed the tower a minute later, and seconds later, the rest were waved ahead over the crest of the hill, including Bogrel. He lagged behind, watching the attack play out, uninterested to involve himself.

The advance group stormed the tower, climbing the ladder before anyone was the wiser. It was not a silent affair, and quickly shouts were coming from all around. As Bogrel gained a point of view, he could see what was happening in camp. The Unkarran group hollered and screamed as they ran towards the tents and shacks of the encampment, which held a fire in the middle. He could scarcely make out men around the fire, and it looked like they quickly turned and ran for the most part.

As quickly as it had began, the shouting of battle ended, replaced with the shouts of victory. Bogrel approached the group at his own speed. Matias was already questioning the men and giving orders.

"Some of them got away. This could lead to retaliation before we can reinforce our position. Daro," he called over to one of his men. "I need you to catch them. Take three other men. Take the Geberran," he waved at Bogrel. "He has been through there before." He waved Bogrel over at that, and Daro picked his three men.

"You will help run those men down," Matias said to Bogrel. "Only if this all goes well, can you return to your home."

Bogrel stared holes through Matias, who looked away before the stare could affect him. He was called away quickly by Daro, though he was exceedingly close to striking Matias with the sword in his hand. It would have been a suicidal attack, surrounded as he was by armed men. He followed after Daro and the three other Unkarran company men, increasingly conflicted about his situation.

Matias was starting a war - Geberrans would not see it any other way. He was also right, however - he would never have any trading power as a beggar at their gates. But if he were thrust into a war, which side would he fight on? His estranged homeland, or his newly adopted one? Being pressed into this ordeal by Matias wounded his opinion of Unkarra, but the scars from Geberra ran deep.

The Unkarran men were waiting for him at the base of the gigantic black towers, by the row of massive pillars, seemingly scared to advance. Ahead it was pitch dark.

"You lead," Daro said to Bogrel. "Hurry now, they are escaping."

"Have you ever even run a man down before? This is about endurance, not speed. Let them run themselves to the ground, we will march them down, like we've been doing for the past weeks. But you're going to have to be brave enough to walk through the dark," he mocked as he turned into the darkness under the massive overhang.

There was just enough light to see the entrance to the interior of the gatehouse, once his eyes had adjusted to the darkness. From there, he knew to simply keep a straight line. The darkness through the huge main room was complete. Only when they approached the gate itself, could faint light be seen coming from the outside nightscape, coming in through the high openings of the passageway. The mysteries on the walls could not be witnessed; it was simply a traverse through the darkness which the Unkarrans did their best to follow.

"How far does this go?" Asked Daro once he was on the pathway, noticeably unnerved by his surroundings.

"It takes all day to cross. We'll catch them," Bogrel answered, though he was not sure how he felt about catching the men. Questions of whether he could really stand idly by and watch these men murder the fleeing Geberrans rattled through his mind. The threat upon his adopted family weighed heavily upon him - but his trust in Matias was minimal.

He still had the sword in his hand, something he had not done often since leaving Geberra. It was something he had hoped he might never wield again, but the sword always seemed to end up in his hand. Bogrel also knew himself well enough to know that when he was frustrated, and there was a sword in his hand, death was not far away.

These thoughts bounced around his mind as he marched through the incredibly dim passage, ignoring the scurring of the creepy crawlies coming from the corners. It seemed too soon that they saw torch light ahead. The Unkarrans were spurned on, forcing Bogrel to keep up.

They were noisy enough to be heard by the Geberrans in front of them, and a foot race ensued. From behind, Bogrel could see the men stumble and fall every so often in the dark. When the torch bearer ahead finally stumbled, the chase ended and the two groups approached, breathing heavily, weapons in hand.

"Who are you people?" One of the Geberrans yelled out, in the Geberran tongue that only Bogrel would understand. There were four of them, and it was obvious how surprised they had been back at camp. None of them wore any armour; in fact one had no shirt. One was only armed with what appeared to be a stick.

The Unkarrans spread out, beginning to surround the Geberrans. The fear in their youthful faces struck chords inside Bogrel. Yet he held back from attacking. Yet what had he done by leading the Unkarrans to these fleeing men? He almost had to correct himself, as these were nearly boys.

Bogrel knew the Geberran war machine well. These men were probably working their parent's farm a handful of weeks ago. At times such boys were conscripted at sword point by passing armies. Sometimes whatever war was happening had suddenly left them without a home. Few ever had much choice.

The first Unkarran man lunged in attack, stabbing one of the young Geberran men. His comrades called out in alarm. "Sedrik!" one cried out.

The familiar name was too much for Bogrel to bear. The sword in his hand felt hot, and his anger boiled from him. "Hey!" he yelled out, drawing the attention of the nearest Unkarran.

It was too dark to see just how surprised the man was, but Bogrel easily knocked the sword from the hand and ran him through with his blade, clean through the leather vest. The man's dying scream brought the attention of the other Unkarran men.

"What are you doing?" shouted Daro in the dark.

The Geberran boys were stunned for a moment, and the chaos of battle broke out an instant later. The torch dropped to the ground, and the swords flew through the flickering orange glow, catching the light here and there, becoming flashes in the darkness. Screaming and yelling echoed overtop of each other.

Bogrel had cut down two more of the Unkarrans, and a minute later, the fighting was over. Bogrel himself picked up the torch, surveying the fallen. All four Unkarrans lay dead, and it looked like two of the Geberrans had been killed as well.

"Who are you," asked on of the remaining boys, clutching a wound on his arm.

Bogrel didn't answer, lost in his own thoughts.

The boy dropped his questioning to check on his fallen comrades. Bogrel relieved the dead Unkarrans of their canteens, and turned to address the pair of remaining Geberran boys.

"Let's go, back to Geberra," He said, his native tongue feeling strange on his lips.