Sergun's Mission Read online

  They rode at walking pace in the dark and waited. Few words were spoken as men slipped into their private thoughts. As the sun lethargically rose behind them there was no sign of life in the camp. The horsemen trotted for a couple of hundred metres before making their horses gallop. Sergun and Kall led from the front and the rest tried to keep up. They were less than fifty metres away when a guard spotted them.

  They rode into the camp at full speed, as men appeared from the tents they slashed them with their blades. Sergun reached the camp with his bodyguard and five men close behind. He struck down one enemy wearing little and only carrying a sword nearly decapitating him, ran another through and quickly dismounted. He held his shield in his other hand and moved through the tired and shocked enemy. Dressed and half-dressed women, as well as children, emerged from the tents screaming and running away. A few men fled on horses but they trusted the archers to intercept them.

  A large dressed enemy came at him armed with a huge axe. As his opponent raised it above his head, Sergun stepped aside fast and stabbed him in his side. The man turned and found the strength to slash sideways. Sergun leant backwards, then stepped in and stabbed the man again in his side. The man again lifted the axe above his head, slower this time and Sergun stepped in fast and lunged into his heart with his sword killing him. He turned and his bodyguard was close by finishing a large man. The distinctive thumping of Handguns occurred several times. The action was over quicker than Sergun expected. The surprise was effective. No women tried to fight and so were spared. The archers returned with two with red hair and blue clothes; they had killed the others who fled. There were a few men who surrendered, they were bound and sat silently with their heads down. Mourning women and children were the biggest trouble as they screamed and cried as they found their dead men. Sullen young girls and boys stared at them with hatred. Kall reported he killed two (including one with his Handgun) and apart from minor injuries to three of their men they had no casualties. They sent troops to retrieve their pack horses and gear.

  The older red-headed man was identified as Terris Thorn. The younger red-headed man was left with the survivors. They moved the captured man away from the camp. The troops knocked out one woman who tried to stab a soldier. The captured man acted tough, issued many threats about what his remaining people would do to his captors, later he offered bribes, many slave girls and finally treasure. Only when they were satisfied with his answers did they kill him. He cooperated after Sergun threatened they would begin killing the men and women they held captive unless he assisted them. Terris told them there was no chance of getting the blonde girl back. There was a powerful man in the City of Dreams who loved beautiful young girls the most and as blondes were rare she fetched a higher price and he’d never part with her. He told them the man’s name was Lord Arconis, one of the rulers who held absolute power. He ran a business and the Lord enjoyed untouched goods. They asked him the whereabouts of the other man they were hunting for. His reply was the man was a renegade who gave Raiders a bad reputation and he would be at a camp three days to the east. Sergun told him he was out of business for good. They gave Terris Thorn a quick death by slashing his throat since he assured them he hadn’t molested Jannesse. They bagged his head as proof for the Keratha. Since they lost no one during the attack on the slavers and three took only minor injuries they discussed whether to hunt the man who tricked the Kerathas or not. The consensus among the officers was still to track him since the Keratha were powerful it was best to please them for now and they would be able to trade his death for the life of the innocent slave Preca. Sergun was pleased all were in agreement.

  The City of Dreams was many days away at the outer edge of the eastern side of the Raiders’ lands. They took food and drink from the defeated camp but permitted none of their men to get drunk. The women and some of the children continued to scream and cry for the loss of their men. Not all men were killed but they had been dealt a severe blow. Sergun’s men were in good spirits and even when told the trail led to the City of Dreams none protested.

  Kall passed Sergun a bottle of alcohol taken from the Raiders. ‘Brings a tear to my eye the taste of it.’

  It smelt strong. He took a swig and spat out all he could. ‘Dog piss must taste better.’

  Kall laughed, ‘it’s not that bad but I don’t think their finest brewer worked on it!’

  The men were in good spirits. It was the first attack since they’d left their lands and they were successful. Captain Terril reported the men were keen to find the girl and to kill many Raiders.

  8. A Meeting

  Several days later in the afternoon on a deserted track in a forest, they slowed as they sighted a distant party of men on horseback. They appeared to outnumber the others by double. Sergun wondered how many might be hidden in the forest and discussed with Kall their options. They agreed to send one of their men forward and Sergun said he would go. Kall refused to allow him and Sergeant Denal volunteered. The Officers and bodyguards removed their Handguns from their holsters and took off the safety catches. Half of the men took their bows and put an arrow in place.

  The sky was clear blue and the forest looked too dense for many horsemen to be hidden. The sun was behind the group and it was hard to see details. The Sergeant rode slowly and they waited. Sergun’s hand was on his sword and he was ready to spur his horse into action. His bodyguard was a metre behind him. The Sergeant stopped short of the group and appeared to be talking.

  Sergun was impatient. After a short time, he raised his right arm and motioned the men forward. They did so at a steady pace. As they got closer Sergun realised the ‘men’ were Galls. He didn’t expect to see them in the area. He was astonished as three rode forward and he recognised the broad grey face of the one on the right. He was big, even for a Gall and wore their black chain mail. They were riding their powerful horse hybrids as standard horses could not ride as far each day with a person the size of a big Gall.

  ‘It’s a good day to see you, my brilliant warrior. What finds you in this area?’ Sergun said with a big grin.

  Grer smiled which appeared to be a sneer to the ignorant human. ‘General! I’d heard you were in the area and I cannot deny old friendships.’

  ‘Heard we’re in the area?’ Sergun asked. He was worried, the fewer people who knew of their whereabouts the safer they were.

  ‘Well, we heard there was a party of outsider humans in the area. I thought who would be crazy enough to come here? I hoped it was you! I was right! No, we were right,’ Grer stated as he introduced his brother.

  The Gall next to him wasn’t as physically as impressive but Sergun greeted him with respect. His brother was called Terlah. Sergun welcomed all of the warriors. He explained they were hunting Raiders and additional excellent fighters would be a great addition.

  Sergun introduced Grer to Kall as ‘the finest fighter ever to have near me. The unstoppable and feared Grer the mighty.’

  ‘Sergun the Savage and Grer the mighty? Let none stand in our way now. We welcome all who will assist us,’ Kall stated.

  Word was passed to Captain Terril, the men relaxed and put away their weapons.

  ‘Have you seen any Raiders in the last two days?’ Sergun asked. ‘We’re searching for ones who would trade with the Keratha. That’s where we have come from. The one we’re looking for now is big and has a dark beard and an eyepatch.’

  Grer replied. ‘You’ve been visiting those dammed monsters again? Did you kill one of them this time as well?’

  ‘Not this time. I think they only want a person to do that once.’

  ‘Hah! I thank our Gods our lands are far from theirs. We passed two small bands of Raiders but they left us alone. We didn’t get close enough to see if they had a big man with an eyepatch though.’

  Sergun introduced the Galls to the men and explained it was a great day for their fortune. The Tharne military for many years recruited Galls in their units and all men respected their allies fighting skills and strength. H
e felt joyous to have excellent additional warriors with them and to know his old friend was still alive and battle ready. They rode following the main trail to the east. The sky was clear blue earlier but later shards of mottled clouds appeared. The sun was distant and offered little warmth. They wrapped up in their clothes as they travelled.

  Galls lived in large numbers to the south and east of Tharne. Many spoke standard, they were intelligent and often gentle in nature. Because of this and with their size and strength they were used as slaves centuries ago by some humans as well as being seen as large animals. The largest males were nearly double the weight of an average human male and Galls were as smart as a typical human. They had their own language, cities, religion, and culture. They lived across much of Tharne with full legal rights though some people were not friendly towards them.

  The Galls were better at tracking than humans. Tracker A-dogs were the best but they could not keep up with horses over the distances they were travelling. The Galls said the enemy was still three days distant.

  ‘How we will catch them up?’ asked Kall.

  ‘They’ll make camp soon. They’ll get drunk and sleep well.’

  ‘How many of them are there?’

  ‘At least eighty.’

  Kall snorted his dismay. ‘It’ll be poor sport to fight against so few in number.’

  ‘Head north and east if you need greater numbers to fight,’ declared Grer. ‘There’s about a million of them I hear.’

  Kall laughed thinly. ‘I was hoping for no more than a hundred.’

  The rolling hills meant they rarely saw further than a kilometre. The landscape was barren of visible life except for the vegetation. They knew there were small burrowing animals but many were nocturnal. They needed to rest their horses and sleep. Light from the stars was poor with the growing cloud cover and the risk of the horses falling into a burrow or hidden drop was too much to risk.

  They took it in turns to watch and as soon as it was light they made their way again. Sergun rode up front with Grer for the morning. ‘How did you really find us?’

  Grer laughed. ‘Who else would be mad enough to go and visit the dammed Keratha?’

  ‘I didn’t volunteer.’

  Grer laughed. ‘Sergun forced to fight! It’s the main trail out from the Keratha. We’ve spies in Edge City and they noted your leaving. We like to know what happens in this world.’

  Gall spies? Sergun was surprised but not alarmed. It made sense for them to be concerned with happenings in the Empire. He knew the Galls were divided just as humans were. There were those who wanted no contact with humans but the Galls’ rulers offered friendship to Tharne, traded and were allies in war.

  Grer said he was hungry and it was time to go hunting. Sergun was used to hunting with his dogs and didn’t think he stood much chance without them especially at night. ‘I hate this. In the real army, we didn’t have to worry about getting our food. I’m not a regular hunter I’m a farmer now.’

  Grer laughed. ‘I’ll get enough for us.’

  Sergun hunted alone and lost arrows before shooting a bird. He wanted a bigger one and would share it; it was the only way. He found the camp and saw Grer had what smelt like a roast pig on the spit but it looked like two small dogs stuck together.

  They sat around the fire and ate. Grer shared his kills and Sergun his. They drank only boiled water. Neither of them needed alcohol to instill a willingness to fight. They talked about past battles with much laughter. Each had saved the other’s life more than once. Their shared experiences of years of war had made their friendship. He wondered what Grer had been doing since he left the Army.

  ‘Sired children like you.’

  9. The Attack

  They found tracks of wagons and horses the next day at an abandoned camp. It was clear they were outnumbered. Two groups must have come together and departed. They were grateful the lay of the land was once again small hills and black rocks. It was hard to see for further than a kilometre except in a few places. They rode through small streams of clear water and filled their bottles. At night they didn’t risk lighting fires and took their food and drink cold. Guards were set and men and Galls slept.

  Sergun awoke with a cold face. He dreamt of Sharis and smiled. He was more than ten days away from her and needed a bath. He splashed his face in the cold waters of a stream and filled his belly with meat and biscuits. He hoped they could find the man and save the girl but hope would not be enough. With their recent success and the arrival of Gall allies Sergun’s spirit was good. All traces of sadness were vanquished.

  Their scouts spotted the wagons and horses the next day. They devised a plan and waited until they were close. The soldier’s quivers were full of arrows and all were ready. The humans waited until Grer’s troops got into position and rode fast to the rear of the wagon train. The rear-guard spotted them and the motion of the wagons and riders slowed and stopped. Many of the riders rode slowly towards them. Sergun was on the lookout for a big man with a beard and an eye patch but to his disappointment, more than one bearded man was wearing such a patch. These Raiders looked tougher than their previous enemies and were sober. All were heavily tattooed in black patterns across their arms, chests and faces.

  ‘What do you want so far from home?’ Their leader asked.

  He looked tough and was well built. His face was scarred and he carried a large sword. He wore an eye patch and Sergun wondered if he was Thos Eron.

  They asked the Raiders for information on a blonde girl they were tracking from Tharne back from the Keratha.

  ‘You won’t get her back. All this for a girl? Be gone before we get angry.’

  Such words washed over Sergun like light rain. He didn’t come to slaughter Raiders. He knew the men were prepared to fight. He hoped to dissuade them.

  ‘General Sergun. These men insult us.’

  Sergun knew Kall said his name and former position hoping to intimidate the Raiders. He doubted they heard of much beyond their hunting lands. Raiders were rarely involved in the last war. They tended to stick to their own huge territory.

  ‘General?’ Their lead man spat. ‘What a mighty army you lead!’

  ‘The title is honorific. I don’t lead an army, just a few travellers together for safety on these paths.’ Sergun said wearily.

  ‘Well, General, your army against mine. Your skins will look nice on our bodies. We’ll give you to a count of ten to leave before you die.’

  ‘Flight!’ shouted Sergun as he rode to the left with his men. Sergeant Dules sounded blasts from their signal horn.

  ‘Cowards! Dogs! Dead men!’ shouted the Raiders joyfully.

  The archers of the men of Tharne turned and fired arrows in quick succession, while from the other side the Galls charged in and set wagons on fire. Then the men rode back in to complete the attack. They rode fast and the lead riders took out spears and threw them killing several Raiders before they were close enough to attack with their swords.

  Sergun cut fast and removed his first opponent’s head. The enemy was confused by the Galls appearance in the rear of their people. Sergun fought viciously and quickly. When one of the Thos Eren lookalikes appeared in his path he hesitated for a moment before deciding to try to kill him. As long as some were left alive to identify his body it would be enough. The big man relied on his strength and aggression. Sergun for his size was surprisingly nimble and moved like a much younger man might dance when highly trained. This confused the big man who looked disappointed at his opponent’s tactics. Sergun’s swordplay was superior, and he slashed the man twice before lunging low and deep. His bodyguard protected his back and as he turned he glimpsed his soldiers involved in a series of individual battles with the flames from the wagons behind them. There was no time to look too far before enemies came towards him. His bodyguard was a good swordsman and they stood side by side for one fight both killing their opponents at nearly the same time. When two enemies approached his bodyguard pulled out his Handgun and shot in
to one opponent’s chest and he fell to his knees, leaving his bodyguard with an easy kill. The other enemy was distracted and Sergun quickly killed him. No enemies tried to flee that they could see. Their tactics worked; surprised them from behind and in swordplay working in small groups covering one another. The younger enemy men were aggressive but lacked great skill and were swiftly defeated. In the aftermath, Sergun found two of their soldiers were killed and several wounded but none seriously. There were twenty enemies who surrendered at the end without serious injury. They searched the wagons and found the remains of goods and clothing; those inside had fled from the ones which caught on fire.

  In a few wagons, they found bound and gagged slaves and a shiver rippled down his spine. The Galls predicted nothing precious would have been in the outer four wagons. The Raider women and children who were left were too stunned to scream. Some lay on their dead men like lovers while others sat with their heads bowed between their legs. He congratulated all on their attack. They looked through the surviving men and questioned them for the whereabouts of Thos Eren. Two men pointed to the same dead body of a big man with a beard and an eyepatch but the man’s children ran to another. He cursed his children and hugged them at the same time. Then he stood and identified himself. He was injured badly in his right arm but boldly said, ‘hand me my sword and I’ll fight you left-handed.’

  ‘That won’t be necessary.’ Sergun replied.

  ‘What do you want with me?’