The Baldari (Book 3) (39 page)

Tara was in charge, but she was more than willing to take direction from Debi and Crissi.  The two mages from Sedfair, combined wizard and Caster, had spent many days in the jungle and had a far better feel for what was to be expected in this dreadful place than she did.

“The trees are taller and far less densely packed,” Debi said softly as they moved down the narrow path into the jungle and away from the long deserted village that had been in the gathering place.

They walked well spread out, with the majority of the wizards separated by a dozen large paces.  Only Debi and Tara walked side by side, so they could easily discuss what they saw and make decisions without having to make much noise.  Everyone was concerned about the strange pit that had cost a wizard who had gone in search of Burke’s team. If such a pit opened up here, they wanted most of the people to be outside the area that opened up.  Hopefully they could use their magic to pull out any who fell in.

The pathway was easy to follow.  Nothing had grown on the hard packed earth for a very long time.  Hundreds, probably thousands, of feet had walked along this path, rounding the earth into a soft trough and packing the dirt so solidly that it stayed in place.  The grasses that grew along the edge would have been trampled out of existence as they tried to spread into the open earth of the path itself.  A glass later the jungle thinned even more, and a vast area opened before them.  As far as they could see were tall plants topped with the deep red that Burke had described near where he and his team had disappeared.  It was an uncomfortable memory, and the presence of the reddish, foul smelling plants suggested danger as a result.  Most everyone was tense as they followed the trail through the fields, which were clearly cultivated.  Tara guessed that the Baldari were close.

Twice the trail split, one option veering off to the right, and the other to the left.  Each time the path split, Tara went to the left.  She was not guided by any particular insight, but had long chosen this method.  She wouldn’t randomly move forward at each juncture, and unless there was something that suggested otherwise, she would take the leftward option.  Having done so, if she was forced to backtrack, she would know automatically which way she had gone at each intersection, and would be able to systematically work her way through the options.

Colorful birds squawked as they passed, some seemingly following them as they moved along.  The birds flew from the tops of the trees, keeping an eye on them.  Other creatures swung from the vines that hung from high above, most watching them with uncertainty until they moved from view.  Several times they saw a couple of the strange mounts the Baldari used wandering free in the distance.  It was impossible to tell if they were part of a wild herd or something the Baldari had somehow domesticated.  None of the wizards were happy.  The beasts were dangerous and nasty tempered. 

Four glass after they had departed the staging area where they had arrived in the jungle, they worked their way up a steep hill.  As they crossed over the crest, they found themselves looking down on a large collection of huts spread out below them.  Dozens of female Baldari moved around, some tending the cooking fires and others carrying unidentified loads on their heads.  Youngsters played in and around the open area in the center of the village.  Tara called a halt and quietly the group found cover so they could observe the activity below them.

“I don’t see many men,” Tara said after they had watched a while.

“They might be off hunting, or perhaps tending fields of this red stuff we see almost everywhere,” Crissi suggested.

“Possibly,” Tara agreed. “But look at the size of this place.  Given this many huts and so many women, one would expect to see at least a few men.  If nothing else, some of the older men.”

“The Baldari have taken some heavy losses,” Debi said.  “It might be there aren’t any older men anymore.  They may have all been killed.”

“Let’s have a closer look,” Tara ordered. 

She wasn’t too worried about an attack.  With the shields they each were capable of making, the Baldari weren’t much of a threat.  Their arrows and swords wouldn’t pass through a personal shield, and even if the captured wizards or Casters were lurking nearby, none of them had demonstrated magic that could get past the protective barrier.  They were here to find the enemy, and if they needed to trigger an attack to do so, she was willing to follow that path.  She signaled those behind her, and started down the trail that led to the village.

S’erom watched from cover as the large group of Talls started down the hillside toward his village.  So, it came to this.  Now they had come into his homeland and were bringing the battle to his own village.  He didn’t know how the force that often had controlled him knew they were approaching, but earlier he had felt the familiar pressure in his head telling him to prepare for battle.  At first he had expected to be directed back to the gathering place, but that hadn’t happened.  More of the Baldari from the three remaining tribes had poured into his village, and he realized the battle was to be here.

That had truly frightened him, and he wanted to scream out against the directions he was given.  To fight here was to place his family at risk.  The peril would be great, and many innocents would die.  Yet he knew that was the way it was going to be.  The women were no longer docile, and had taken to sharpening sticks so they could join in the fighting.  The children were out playing, but that was simple diversion, making the village appear normal.  In addition to the men that had come, their women and children had followed, obviously under the same kind of control as himself.  The women from the nearby villages had moved into the empty huts, and had started fires to make everything appear normal.  The plan was to lure in the Talls, and then kill as many of them as possible before they were killed in turn.

Now he watched as the Talls walked onto the flats and made their way toward the village.  He would allow them to get most of the way across toward the village before he signaled the attack.  He and his infantry, and those riding the U’nydyn, would close from the rear.  The arrows would be released first, then they would close with the swords.  The women would attack from the front when they heard the signal.  His own mate was near the front of the village, and therefore would be among those most exposed.  The thought tore at him, but there was nothing he could do about it.  They would soon be dead.  He knew that beyond any doubt.

For reasons he didn’t understand, they were being sacrificed.  Every tribe member in the area was being brought into this fight.  But the Talls that fought with them in previous battles were conspicuously missing.  They would not be supported with the incredible power of their magic.  The force that controlled him and his fellows did not want to risk them for some reason.  That was enough to tell S’erom this was one fight he would not see the end of.

It was time.  The long line of Talls was at the spot he had chosen to trigger the attack.  The command in his mind was received by every warrior hidden in the forest, and as one, they burst out of their hiding places and charged down upon the invaders.  S’erom wished he could see where his mate was, but that was impossible.  He would never know her fate or that of his offspring.

“Here they come!” shouted Crissi from somewhere farther back down the line. 

Quickly the wizards shifted into the defensive posture they had planned and practiced before coming.  Tara could see a group of mounted Baldari riding the strange ponies coming up from her right.  She had no intention of allowing those poisonous beasts to get anywhere close.  She unleashed a blast of
Greenfire
that cut through the front ranks, tumbling beast and rider to the ground as it cut through them.  The trees of the jungle around the approaching forces was chopped up as well, the sounds of the tall trees cracking and falling onto the incoming warriors added to the screams of pain and death.

Hundreds of arrows peppered them, but the marvelous shields performed exactly as they had seen in the testing, and the arrows simply bounced away harmlessly.  Tara knew that swords wouldn’t penetrate either, and the poor Baldari would find themselves unable to inflict much damage on the small group of wizards.

As she watched blasts of
Greenfire
rip through another stand of trees, Tara shouted out her orders.  “Remember our orders.  Let’s try and do this the way Daim wants.”

She couldn’t tell how many heard her command, but they had discussed how they would approach any attack.  She could see the Baldari forces falling to the powerful magic being unleashed, and knew that even the large force of Baldari that had ambushed them would have little chance.  The fight was totally biased in their favor by the recent additions to their magic.  She saw dozens of the huts explode and burn as beams of magical fire rippled across the compound.  She and Debi watched for any sign of the captured wizards and Casters, but it appeared they weren’t coming to this party. 

Less than a quarter glass later, it was over.  Baldari forms lay scattered everywhere.  Men, women, even children.  They had joined in the fight when the others had fallen to the magic.  Tara walked through the carnage, observing her people and the additional forces that had been called in to aid.  She walked toward the area that Debi pointed out.  Control of the attacks appeared to have come from here.  In the center of the group she discovered a couple of Baldari.  One Baldari warrior carried one of the special crystal topped torches.  Those usually produced the shields that protected the Baldari.  It hadn’t served them well this day.  As near as she could tell it had never been activated, and this group of leaders hadn’t been any more protected than the rest of the forces.

Among the bodies, she saw what Debi had led her here to see.  One of the Baldari, older and scarred, could be the one they sought.  He did look a lot like the mental picture that had been obtained from the captive Baldari of their leader.  She would have him brought back so others could decide.  She explained what she wanted done, then went to see to the destruction of the village.

Kytra was having difficulty understanding all that had happened of late.  The forces of the wizards had enjoyed some remarkable successes, and had suddenly displayed powers and abilities she knew they hadn’t possessed earlier.  Something had changed, and she didn’t understand exactly what.

The attack on their capital city of Pagner hadn’t gone as she had hoped.  Somehow they had known what she had planned.  She was aware the white haired woman had sensed she had something planned, but given the many possibilities, how had she known where the strike was to occur?  They could not have prepared so well in every possible city.  They were not that strong.  She knew that from what she had learned from her captives.  But they had known, and she had lost a great many
helot
slaves as a result.  Baldari she could waste carelessly, but the
helot
, with their magical abilities would have to be her source of power until she was free to show these people what magic was all about.

She still didn’t understand what had happened to the one who had called herself Shym.  After returning from the battle, she had somehow been taken by an arrow deep in the jungle lands that Kytra had been certain her enemy knew nothing about.  A careful search had uncovered no sign of the enemy, and none with arrows that matched the one taken from the Caster’s body.  Kytra had had her
helot
search, and check for any sign of a
Bypass
that might have carried away the individual who had performed the assassination, but nothing was found.  A single arrow fired, and a perfect hit on her most valuable
helot
.

She had been certain that the enemy had somehow traced her warriors back to the staging area.  That meant the place was no longer secure, and she would have to arrange for a new location for future attacks.  She was not yet certain where that would be.  But she had been suspicious that before long, the wizards would be coming into the newly discovered area which she had been using to dispatch her army of Baldari.  They would be disappointed.  The place they would search was nowhere near where she was, and none there would be able to lead them where they wished to go.  Even so, she had wanted to know, to see just how powerful her adversary was becoming.  Perhaps she could learn something useful.

As a result, she had equipped several of the Baldari warriors with the crystal torches, and placed them on watch around the area.  She didn’t need to protect them, but when they carried the crystal devices she could see what they saw.  It had been a wise move.  Just this morning, the large force of wizards had appeared much as she had predicted.  She had the two Baldari on duty stay out of sight, but track them through the jungle. 

Knowing where they were headed, she had arranged for all nearby Baldari to attack them.  It was unlikely the Baldari would have much effect, but now that this area was known, the Baldari here would be of little use to her.  She wouldn’t waste any of her
helot
in helping them fight off the incoming wizards.  But she would have a chance to see what the wizards would do.  The exercise would also eliminate many of the Baldari she would otherwise have to command to simply shutdown as she did for those captured.  Baldari wouldn’t relocate or she might have tried to save those who had survived.  She had learned without constant mental control, any who were moved, would simply start back toward their home.

The attacks had been informative and unsettling.  This group of wizards clearly had protective shields.  They were fully protected against the arrows and spears of the Baldari, and Kytra was certain they would also be immune to the magic of her
helot
.  Her own magic wouldn’t be so easily pushed aside, but she was not yet in a position to personally take the war to these impertinent novices.  They also had
Greenfire
.  After the battle in the city of Pagner, she had thought only the Casters had that ability, but clearly she had been wrong.  She wondered what else she was wrong about.

As a result of the day’s events, she decided she needed to move more slowly, and understand what was her best move.  There were targets she could still hit, but she didn’t want any more face to face encounters.  If they had shields and
Greenfire
, they were more potent than any of her
helot
.  That meant her immediate actions would have to wait.  She was feeling her release was close, and now Tryll was showing signs of waking.  If she could gain an ally, she would be in a much better situation.  There were a couple of targets she would focus on for now, not the least of which was the meddling woman who kept spying on her.  She was certain where she was, a spot probably out of her reach for the moment, but if she were to move to a more exposed position, Kytra intended to act.

Now the wizards had taken care of the Baldari for her.  Her mind sensed nothing from the tribes she had sacrificed, which meant they were dead.  She had sensed them being swept from her mind in great numbers as the wizards unleashed their counterattack.  A few children remained alive in the secluded villages, but no others.  Those stragglers had somehow not accepted the command to relocate, and she would simply terminate them in the usual way.  The Baldari were no longer a problem.  So many gone so quickly, but then the Baldari were not going to be of much use going forward.  At most, they would be useful as a distraction.  Against magic they couldn’t do very much as the recent encounter had demonstrated.  She was a little sad to have sacrificed the one who had survived as First for so long.  It was not that he was anything special, but she had become familiar with his thoughts.

Kytra considered her current resources.  She had almost one hundred and fifty
helot
left, although not all of them were as yet under her control.  The halfmen, or
Duneriders
as she’d learned the wizards called them, were still working through the ranks of captured, and making them slaves to her will.  The implantation of the crystals into the brains was a tricky thing, and even the halfmen, who were designed for such a task, lost two out of every ten.  Within another couple of days the process would have been completed, and she would see what she could learn from this group.  They would have to be used sparingly, as she was aware the enemy had learned of her methods, and were taking more care to protect their own.  It was really unfortunate she couldn’t pass some useful magic to them, but other than what they could exchange among themselves, they were limited to what they knew when they were captured.  Perhaps she could capture one of the wizards who had exhibited the skills with
Greenfire
and shields.  That was something to consider. 

It was fortunate that the missing Nyk had created the group of halfmen.  All that had existed in her time had been destroyed, and under the present conditions she couldn’t make them herself.  She had called them to her side when the wizards had destroyed the facilities in the desert.  Once they had arrived she had destroyed all but a handful, but those that remained were very useful to her.  They were the only beings she allowed to enter the crystal chamber where she and her fellow Brryn were entombed.  The halfmen couldn’t harm her in any way.  They would cease to exist if they even entered the main chamber, but they could perform any number of special tasks.  They would have certain items ready for her once she was released.