Outlanders

Chapter 20: Counterattack

At the port at Tawantinsuyu that Qasikay left weeks ago, four ships appeared on the horizon.

When the first two pulled into port, Qasikay and her sailors disembarked, flanked by Leif and Zoltána. Eva walked directly behind them, keeping the children close.

Qasikay stepped in front, prepared to greet the shore crew in Inti. When she saw the people who came to greet her, the words died in her mouth.

A tall, lanky, grizzled old woman and a sinister-looking man walked up to the group. Both were white, with blond, and they wore dark dress shirts with brass buttons, with hardy black pants leading down to leather boots. Another woman, younger than either of them, ran in and stood behind them.

"What is this?" asked the officer in the lead. "Have you brought prisoners? We haven't got quarters for them."

Qasikay gasped. She stepped away, holding back tears. She started whispering spells in her own tongue.

Leif's ears and tail stood straight up.

Zoltána thought quickly. "We come with reinforcements. One thousand and five hundred. I have a message from the commandant-general here. Come closely." She pointed to the man in the lead. "It is for your eyes only."

The lead officer shot a haughty smirk to others and stepped forward.

With a meaty smack, Zoltána's fist beat into his stomach, then his temple, and he collapsed. "Get them!" yelled Zoltána.

Leif launched himself into the near officer, pinning him to the ground, while the farther one turned and sprinted off. An arrow whooshed past him, then a second. Two more pounded into his back, and he fell silently to the ground, his lungs punctured and useless.

The woman in front of Zoltána stood drowsily up, massaging her temple, and Zoltána seized her by the collar. "You will stay here, and stay quiet," she said coldly. "Well done, Leif. Archers, get these pieces of corrupt filth out of my sight."

Two teams of lanky forest bandits picked up the officers, putting sinewy hands over their mouths, and dragged them moaning back to the ship.

"Oh no..." Qasikay sobbed. "The factories... they have taken Mashka Aswan. This is not good. We are landlocked."

"They're bound to have soldiers," said Leif. "We should clear them out of those houses."

"You know we're going to have to kill them," said Zoltána.

"I can accept that," said Leif sadly. "These people weren't born to this. Invading someone else's civilization was their choice."

"Leif," said Eva. "They did not choose. They were too poor, Leif. They had to fight. Or they would starve."

Leif's ears fell. "Oh... so that's how it is?"

"There's no turning back now," said Zoltána.

The third ship pulled up to the dock. As the fourth lagged behind, the newcomer poured their warriors forth. Among the disembarking horde, Zoltána located Astrapi and Caldus.

"You two," she said, "there are nine captured Inti structures out there. They haven't noticed us, so we should sweep them all simultaneously. I want no one to escape."

Astrapi looked back at the army behind him. "Ya, I think we have enough people for that."

"Yes," said Caldus. "We should hurry, before we're noticed."

"And ask for a surrender first!" called Leif. "Please!"

Caldus and Astrapi led their teams into the Inti houses, where the stonework was lined with wooden barrels and burlap sacks instead of jars. Little teams of fighters gathered around the narrow doors, using a different tactic for each, until the last of the structures had been raided. Caldus came back with a straight column of scared, poorly-clothed prisoners. Astrapi followed a few minutes later.