Neversfall (2 page)

“I want to address the troops before we go, but we will move out immediately after,” Jhoqo said.

“Yes, sir. My people will have our camp broken down in two bells,” Adeenya replied.

Jhoqo gave her a hard look and said, “No, Orir. You’ll be ready to move before next bell.” With that the man offered a nod and moved toward the rest of the Maquar soldiers who still stood in perfect formation, awaiting their next command. Adeenya held back a sigh, hoping she had never come across to her subordinates as Jhoqo just had to her.

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Xaennen fell into step behind his commander. He felt the anticipation in the air among his fellow Maquar. Jhoqo was a true orator, his many speeches worth the waits between and good for morale. Taennen glanced over his shoulder to the Durpari commander. She nodded tightly.

Taennen wondered at the woman’s inattentive expression. He needed no mirror to see the enthusiasm on his own face. He saw it reflected on the faces of his brothers. The Maquar stood rigid—disciplined but excited to hear their commander speak. His words led to their deeds and their deeds were great. Yet Adeenya and her troops stood quiet in body and spirit, their eyes seeming attentive but dull and lacking illumination. Was there a better moment in the life of a soldier than the one just before a mission?

He basked for a moment in the pride of knowing that when the troops heard their new mission, they would cheer. They would celebrate the opportunity to bring the rule of the Rajah to new places and people. They would revel in simply being soldiers, doing their duty and helping one another along the way. Taennen cast an eye back to Adeenya and wondered if she ever felt such joy. Probably not—she was still a mercenary. Soldiering was all about money to mercenaries.

Jhoqo paced before the soldiers as the last few Durpari fell into their places. Next to one another, the differences between the two forces came into sharp focus. The bright, bold colors of the Maquar arranged next to the subdued appearances of the Durpari provided an extreme contrast. The Maquar looked ready to take the battlefield while the Durpari looked ready to skulk through city streets at night. The pride and joy of Estagund beside the best Durpar could offer.

Jhoqo stopped his pacing and raised his arms. “Brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters, let us take this moment to share in our joy of being given this awesome task. The One, the All, has come together and presented us with an opportunity to add our balance to the world. We will do just that!”

The Maquar slapped their gloves on the boiled leather of their bracers in response, though their demeanor never changed, their disciplined stance never wavered. Startled by the sound, several of the Durpari moved their hands instinctively to the hilts of their weapons, only to release them when they realized the source of the sounds. Taennen offered a reassuring smile to Adeenya, who had also started at the ritual applause.

Jhoqo continued. “We are in the most dangerous of the southern lands, my friends. It doesn’t take much of a fool to make a mistake in Veldorn that costs someone’s life.”

The Maquar again pounded their appreciative rhythm but stopped short when the sound of further pounding came from the Durpari ranks. Each Durpari soldier was slapping the shoulder of the nearest comrade. A moment of silence passed when the pounding stopped, and Jhoqo walked to stand before the Durpari, looking Adeenya in the eyes.

“You honor us, our Durpari brethren,” Jhoqo said, clapping Adeenya on the shoulder.

Adeenya bowed her head in thanks to the man.

“And you, my loyal Maquar. I would enter battle beside no one else!” Jhoqo said, turning from her.

The Maquar roared in return, a brief, violent burst chorus. Taennen felt a burr in his throat, but that only made him shout all the more.

Jhoqo continued, “We all know what awaits us in Veldorn. We will be in the land of beasts, my friends. We must defend ourselves. We may even have to kill!”

The pounding of fists and chests rattled in Taennen’s ears, the syncopation of solidarity. He hit himself harder, adding his own effort to the clatter. The troops of both countries seemed to pound all the harder, attempting to outdo one another in friendly competition. Taennen was proud to see the Maquar allowing the Durpari mercenaries to stand with them as though they were equals in a sign of solidarity.

“Let us do so together, as family, as a whole within the Adama,” Jhoqo said. “Let us defend one another against the monstrous hordes should they be fool enough to come against us!”

The reactionary noise hit a new level, and a few affirmative shouts joined the chorus. Jhoqo beamed as he paced before the gathering, his colors fluttering and chin held high.

“Come!” Jhoqo said. “We begin our journey together!”

Taennen saluted and turned to give orders for his troops to form up just as a loud horn sounded in the distance. The durir drew his weapon at the sound. Adeenya’s eyes widened and the Durpari leaped to their feet. Adeenya shouted a string of commands to her people.

Taennen’s eyes found his commander, who nodded once in permission of Taennen’s unspoken request. He scanned the area and spotted what he needed—all twelve hundred pounds of it. Taennen sprinted toward an unburdened brown and white pack horse and vaulted atop the creature with a shout. His heels dug into his mount’s side, and the horse dashed away. Usually loaded down with goods, the horse rarely had the opportunity to sprint, but unburdened now, the horse covered the ground quickly.

From the east, a Durpari soldier waving an unfamiliar signal flag sped toward him at an arrow’s pace. Though the man’s face was indistinguishable, Taennen felt the terror pouring off the runner, even from so far away. He looked over his shoulder, shouting.

“Threat to the east!” Another Maquar took up the call, carrying the news further into the ranks until all present had received the information.

Taennen kicked the horse into a gallop toward the fleeing soldier.

The thundering hooves became a war drum to his ears. No anger, hate, or violence bubbled in his mind, but rather adventure and opportunity. His father had always said that young men should fight every so often just to remind themselves that they could. Jhoqo disapproved of such philosophy. Taennen grinned a little and kicked ahead, his pulse pounding.

Fifteen paces from the fleeing soldier, Taennen could clearly see wounds on the man’s arms and neck, thin oozing cuts. The horn-blower rasped and wheezed, his lungs strained from running, but one word was clear: “Monsters.”

Taennen reined his mount to a stop next to the young soldier. The runner sucked hard for breath, collapsing

against Taennen’s horse. Taennen looked back to see the rest of the Maquar and Durpari. They marched toward him but were still several long bowshots away.

“What’s the danger, soldier?” Taennen said.

The soldier tried to speak, but still Taennen could only make out that one word. Taennen reached down and turned the man’s face toward him. His eyes were glossy and distant, his pallid face streaked with blood. Taennen released him. Whatever had stricken so much fear into this man would not drive Taennen to the same state. He was Maquar.

The Durpari man pushed away from the horse and ran to the rest of the troops. The Durpari mercenaries had fallen in with the Maquar, both forces approaching but still some distance away. Taennen pulled his steed s reins and turned the horse to take his place among his men. He froze in place when his ears began to vibrate with an unfamiliar sound. It felt like dozens of flies buzzed in unison inside his head. There was no pain, but the sound was discomfiting.

He stared toward the east, still unable to see what might be causing the sound. Taennen slid off” the horse. Something was close. He jogged forward, coming to the top of a small hillock, and looked over its edge into the valley below. He nearly cried out. Behind him he heard the horse scream and take off towards the Maquar and Durpari. He shook his head to clear it, and glanced back at the fast approaching army.

“Sirs,” he said as Jhoqo and Adeenya reached him. “We have a problem.”

Below the gathered troops, at the bottom of the gently sloping hill and charging toward them, was an army of creatures. Taennen’s practiced eyes scanned the mobbing beasts. “Approximately fifty individuals,” he reported. “Maybe ten bugbears, another dozen goblins, a score of

kobolds, more than a dozen humans and… by the One! A pair of girallons and a half-giant.” Jhoqo nodded, his brow furrowed, his mind already working on a strategy, Taennen was certain.

Goblins, bugbears and kobolds together, Taennen could accept, but never had he seen so many humans alongside the black-hearted creatures.

But that was not their greatest concern. What Taennen, and no doubt the others near him, found so amazing were the creatures behind that gathered mass.

Ranging in sizes that matched everything from a dog to a horse stood another twenty or so creatures, looking like twisted and mutilated centaurs crossed with insects. Taennen was reminded of desert ants, only these creatures were less graceful in appearance and many thousands of times larger. Their reddish brown flesh shimmered in the midday sun. They stood on four legs that bent at multiple joints. Two arms attached to shoulders topped by wicked, bony protrusions. Bulbous sacks erupted where their legs and backs met and carried short barbs on some of the creatures. There could be no doubt that they were pressing the other creatures, human and goblinoid alike, up the hill toward the waiting soldiers.

“What in all the order of the Adama are those?” someone from the ranks exclaimed.

Taennen had seen a wemic once, a leonine creature similar to the centaur-like ants below. The wemic had been beautiful and frightening at the same time, elegant death in motion. The same could not be said of these creatures. They moved with twitches and jerks, their gait uneven. Thin to the point of emaciation with hairs covering their legs, they clattered along with their stomping cohorts. They could not be creatures of this world. Where they came from was

a mystery, but they did not belong in Veldorn, that much he knew.

“Something is terribly wrong,” Adeenya said.

“We should continue to the citadel,” Khatib advised. There was no fear in his voice, only practicality.

“I doubt they’ll let us just stroll by, wizard,” Marlke said.

“Soldiers!” Jhoqo shouted, drawing his broad falchion from its scabbard with a scrape. It shone bright with magic in the midday sun, a bright star against the dull plains of Veldorn.

“We are brothers and sisters in battle! Surely together there is no force to stop us on the face of Faerűn!” Jhoqo shouted. Maquar and Durpari alike shouted in response.

“For the Rajah!” Jhoqo shouted and turned to face Taennen and Adeenya. Through the cheering and scrapes of steel being pulled from sheath and scabbard, Jhoqo shouted to be heard. “Taennen, take half our men as yours to flank the left. Orir, take your men and circle around to flank them from the right. Terir, you’re with me.” He turned again and faced the gathered forces. “For the South! Clean every last beast from our path! None of my soldiers die today! Is that clear?”

Cheers erupted again. Taennen’s ears ached with the sound, but his heart raced with anticipation. He drew his khopesh.

“No prisoners, sir?” Adeenya asked.

Jhoqo turned from her and strode away without answering. Whether or not he had heard her question was unclear. For her part, Adeenya clenched her jaw, but she rallied her soldiers and drove them to the right.

She had a point, Taennen realized. Prisoners might be useful in gaining information. Perhaps this ragged army

of creatures was somehow involved in the trouble—if there was any—at Neversfall. An army of beasts this organized could have taken the regiment by surprise.

Taennen threw his hands high, signaling for two of the four Maquar squads to follow him. He pushed his way left to approach the enemy from a flanking position. Once away from the other units, Taennen shouted to the men gathered about him. “Kill if you must, but if you can incapacitate an opponent to claim a captive, do so.”

The soldiers saluted. Seeing Jhoqo’s troops setting off down the hill to meet the charge, Taennen thrust his khopesh high and loosed an ululating war cry. His troops returned his cry as they charged down the hill, falling into position as they ran.

As they descended the hill, Taennen’s troops came into a wedge formation to punch through the enemy ranks and prevent the beasts from flanking Jhoqo’s men as they attacked the center. Taennen stayed behind the forward line of that wedge by several strides, out of the heaviest fighting, in order to better command his forces. Leading troops meant living long enough to make sure that you lost as few soldiers as possible. His secure position gave an advantage in this.

He watched the forward soldiers pouring down the hill and felt nostalgic. It wasn’t long ago that his place was in the action. Taennen held his shield and khopesh ready, looking for openings and opportunities to assist his soldiers.

With shouts of “For the rajah,” Taennen’s troops plunged into the fracas, scattering a group of goblins. The clatter of steel on steel made Taennen’s blood race, and his eyes devoured the battle scene before him. He watched for gaps in the lines of the wedge formation, shouting out directions to fill them as the fighting force plowed through the battle.

He stepped over the corpse of a goblin as a line of blood sprayed across his chest from a nearby kill made by one of his soldiers.

A bugbear dodged through the formation of soldiers, its bulky body surprisingly nimble, and charged Taennen. The Maquar durir met the attack by launching his khopesh at the creature’s neck. The bugbear parried the blow with a strong upward sweep of its club. The blade carved into the club with a thunk. Taennen pivoted on his left foot, brought the blade around, and drove it into the bugbear’s groin.

The beast didn’t make a sound. It stumbled and fell forward as Taennen snarled and plunged his sword into the bugbear’s side.

“Right side! Disabling blows!” Taennen shouted. “Form up and get in there!” Two of his soldiers tightened their formation in response, without so much as a hesitation between swings.