The Undead Hordes of Kan-Gul (4 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

Ran woke just after dawn. He had no memory of the previous night. He had no recollection of posting a guard to watch over them while the others slept. He had nothing at all. All he could remember after they pulled Malkyr from the bloody surf was watching the darkness fall and the mist surround them. He’d naturally been exhausted, of course, but he still should have established a rotating system of watch.

He turned to his right and felt the stiffness in his joints. Kancho lay a few meters away from him, one hand on his sword. But he let out a snore and then started to turn over. Ran looked beyond and saw that Neviah and Jysal were bracketing the injured Malkyr.

Vargul was gone.

Ran sat up, his left hand grabbing for his sword. He rolled over and nudged Kancho. The old man’s eyes blinked a few times and then opened. “It’s morning?”

Ran nodded. “Did you stay awake last night?”

Kancho rubbed his eyes, seemed unsure of himself for a moment and then shook his head. “No. I don’t think I did. I remember seeing that mist come through the mangrove trees. I remember thinking it looked so fluffy. So comforting. The next thing I remember is you waking me up.”

“That’s about what I remember as well,” said Ran. “We all fell asleep without anyone to watch over us.”

Kancho eyed him. “You say that like—”

“Vargul’s gone,” finished Ran. “I don’t see him anywhere.”

Kancho stretched his arms overhead. “He could have gone to look for provisions. He does seem to require an ample supply of food, after all.”

“I hope you’re right,” said Ran. “But I have a feeling it’s nothing so simple as that.”

Neviah had woken Jysal. They were tending to Malkyr as Ran walked over to them. He noticed that Malkyr was awake. He looked a bit pale, but otherwise he seemed in good spirits.

“How is he?”

Neviah looked up from where she had taken off the strip of cloth that Jysal had supplied yesterday. “The bleeding has stopped, but I’m worried about the discoloration of the skin around the wound. It may be infected. I’m not sure about that yet, though.”

“How will you know for sure?”

Neviah nodded at Malkyr. “He will develop a fever.”

“There is a way,” said Jysal. “If we can locate a cherul root, that should take the sickness away from the wound and leave him able to heal.” She glanced around. “But I do not know if such a thing grows in these parts.”

Ran squatted next to Malkyr. “Feeling any better?”

Malkyr grinned. “You saved my life. You and that old drunk.”

Ran grinned. “Just doing the same for you that we would have wanted someone to do for us.”

“I owe you my life,” said Malkyr. “I won’t forget that debt.”

“Good,” said Kancho’s voice behind them. “You can start repaying us by not swimming with the sharks any longer.”

Malkyr looked up and smiled at Kancho. “Thank you for saving me.”

Kancho grunted and looked across the water at the
Aqaria
. “A shame your crew didn’t make it.”

Malkyr replied. “They were good men.”

Kancho nodded. “I don’t think the sun is going to come out today. But it’s getting humid. I already feel wet enough.”

Neviah glanced at Ran. “Where is the portly one?”

“Vargul?” Ran shrugged. “We were just wondering that ourselves.” He stood and walked to the edge of the trees that bordered the black sand beach. A few yards in, he spotted a broken branch. Judging by the color of the broken part, it had happened only a few hours previously.

He looked back at Kancho. “I think Vargul went this way.”

Kancho approached, his hand always on the hilt of his sword. “Show me.”

Ran pointed. “Through there. The broken branch.”

Kancho stayed quiet for a moment and then grunted. “It’s muddy. Shouldn’t be too difficult to follow him. Shall we?”

“What about them?” Ran pointed back at Neviah, Jysal, and Malkyr. “Can we leave them behind?”

“It’s either that or we drag along an injured man who can’t walk,” said Kancho. “You and I can make better time. If we’re lucky, we’ll also be able to get some sort of game to eat. We’re going to need food if we have any hope of figuring our way out of this mess.”

Ran glanced back at Neviah. “We’re going to follow Vargul’s tracks. It might be a good idea to make a fire and look for freshwater. But stay within earshot of the camp.”

Neviah frowned. “I would prefer to go with you. We are in a foreign land. There may be enemies all around us.”

Kancho sighed. “You’ve got your backs to the sea, and you’re hemmed in by thick forest on either side. You’re as safe as you’d be with us. And you’ve got to look after Malkyr. We can’t bring him along or he’ll die.”

Neviah nodded. “Very well. But if you find the cherul root, please bring some back with you.”

“What does it look like and where does it grow?” asked Ran. He’d studied herbology at the shadow-warrior school, but he couldn’t reveal such knowledge in front of people he didn’t know.

Neviah told him the plant’s appearance and where to look, and then Ran nodded to Kancho. “Let’s get going. The sooner we find him and bring him back, the better. None of us ought to be walking this swamp alone.”

“Agreed,” said Kancho. “And I wonder just what he thought he was doing by going off on his own in the first place. He doesn’t strike me as the type to take risks unless he’s certain of some greater reward.”

Ran pushed into the forest and instantly felt his feet sink into several inches of mud. The ground sucked at his boots, squishing and creeping in to touch any bit of exposed skin with its clamminess. Ran heard the whine of bugs around his head. He waved one of them off, but several more joined in the assault and he soon gave up.

Vargul’s tracks were more difficult to follow than Kancho had led him to believe. Because the ground was so muddy, as soon as Ran removed his foot, the ground would swallow the prints up. He frowned and turned to Kancho. “Tracking isn’t going to be easy.” He grimaced. “And it stinks horribly here.”

“You’ll get used to the smell.” Kancho frowned. “Look for top sign. Branches and the like. He’ll have to push them out of his way to make any sort of progress. And the plants won’t be able to make that type of abuse disappear.”

Ran was an expert tracker, but maintaining his cover meant not allowing Kancho to see his skill at following people. As it was, Ran had already noted the bent branches and mud scuffs on logs and roots ahead of him. Still, as he moved through the swamp land, he made his progress appear unsure. That meant it took longer to move through the area and search for Vargul, but Ran needed to make sure Kancho did not suspect him of being a shadow warrior.

Ran also felt a lot less armed than when he’d been back aboard the
Aqaria
. Jumping into the water, he’d been forced to ditch his throwing blades, the flat plate metal with sharpened edges that he’d been concealing in his inner tunic pocket. The metal weighed him down, and it had to go. He’d also been forced to part with his length of chain that he’d been fond of using to tie up opponents he didn’t need to kill outright.

At least I managed to hold on to my sword
, he thought as he eased over another log and put his feet back into the swampy ground. But it was only one weapon. Not the usual assortment another operative from his school might carry. Of course, Ran could always rely on his unarmed combat skills if need be. But choosing to use them would run the risk of compromising his disguise.

Vargul’s trail led them out of the swampy bog that surrounded the beach and onto higher ground. Ran marveled at the lack of life in the forest. Even the tree trunks seemed devoid of new leaves, their withered, twisted branches seemingly incapable of supporting life. Around them, Ran heard no birds. And there was no sign of any animals in the area. Just bugs and trees.

He pulled up and waited for Kancho to approach.

“Is there a problem?”

Ran frowned. “This place feels strange.”

“How so?”

“You haven’t noticed the lack of animals?”

Kancho shrugged. “They could be holing up for the day. Maybe they come out only at night.”

“It’s not just that. There’s no real sound here. No birds. No breezes. It’s just . . . still.”

Kancho looked around them and picked out a break in the trees. “There’s a path there. Maybe it will lead to Vargul.”

“Or perhaps not,” said Ran. “I don’t like this place.”

“Nor I,” said Kancho. “But we owe it to Vargul to at least look for him. There’s no telling where that oaf could have blundered off to. And if he’s in danger, it will be up to us to help him.”

“He could already be dead,” said Ran. He knew that Kancho’s upbringing as Murai would obligate him to search out Vargul and assist him, even at the expense of his own life. Ran wasn’t so ready to throw his away that cheaply.

Kancho laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll take the lead for a while. Just watch my back.”

Ran moved back a few paces and watched as Kancho threaded his way down the trail. It wasn’t much of a trail in reality, more of a game run. That fact cheered Ran a little. If there was a game run, that meant animals. Perhaps Kancho had been right. Maybe the animals only came out to hunt at night. If that was the case, then they would need to set up a system of hunting to get some food. Already, Ran’s stomach was grumbling noisily.

Kancho looked back at one point. “You’re as bad as the man we’re looking for.”

Ran smirked. “I don’t think I’m quite
that
bad. But I am hungry. Aren’t you?”

Kancho shrugged. “You learn to make do without.”

Typical Murai sentimentality
, thought Ran. They would forsake every ounce of their own comfort in order to live up to the ideals set forth in their warrior code. It was a noble gesture, he supposed, just not a very practical one. Why suffer through hunger and deprivation if you didn’t have to? Still, Kancho seemed to have little problem quelling his hunger pangs. There was some value in that, Ran knew. He thought back to his own wilderness survival training, spending days on end searching for berries and small game. He wasn’t looking forward to the constant gnawing hunger pangs in his gut.

They traveled several miles, and then Kancho abruptly stopped. Ran approached him. “Something wrong?”

“The trail has vanished.”

Ran looked around them and saw that Kancho was right. The bent sticks and various other top sign they’d been following seemed to have been erased. The two men stood in the midst of leering trees, scarred trunks, and very little else. The effect was almost completely disorienting. Ran glanced back the way they’d come and nodded. “Maybe we should head back to the beach.”

Kancho frowned. “We can’t just leave Vargul.”

“We’re not leaving him behind,” said Ran. “We’re going to come up with a better plan than the one we have right now. There’s no point in searching blind. And we’ve got a wounded man back at camp who is also our responsibility. Besides, Malkyr knows this territory better than us. Once he’s recovered a bit, we can try again.”

“Neviah said something about a root. I haven’t seen a damned thing that even resembles it.”

Ran shrugged. “Nor have I. But that doesn’t mean she and Jysal can’t forage a little closer to camp.” He stomach grumbled once as if to underscore the point.

“And what about food?” asked Kancho. “We’ve seen nothing that we can hunt.”

“True,” said Ran. “But maybe we can trap some small fish in the tidal pools close to the shore.”

Kancho nodded. “All right, but I’m not setting foot back in that water to try my hand at fishing. Not with those sharks out there.”

CHAPTER SIX

It took them much longer to return to the beach, even though they followed their own obvious trail. On the way back, Ran and Kancho were forced to battle a never-ending assault from the mosquitoes that called the swamp home. Swatting the annoying pests as they whined in their ears and tried to fly into their mouths sapped their energy, and by the time they reached the beach, both men were exhausted. Kancho went to fall asleep under the shade of a tree. Ran noticed that Malkyr was sitting upright.

“You look a whole lot better.”

Malkyr smiled. “I feel better. Neviah and Jysal took care of me. Seems they found a root, and its medicinal properties have staved off any rot.”

Jysal sat nearby. Ran watched her as she ground up some strange roots between a flat stone and a round one. “Nice work. I take it you found what you were looking for?”

She smiled at him. “It’s not hard if you know where to look. Neviah is making a soup down the beach.”

Ran turned and noticed the thin plume of smoke for the first time. Neviah had gotten a fire started and found a few shells on the beach that she was using to boil water. Ran frowned. Where had she found water? He wandered over to ask. “Our search didn’t go so well.”

“I noticed.”

Ran pointed at the shells. “You found water?”

She shrugged. “I am quite adept at looking out for myself. Survival has been something I’ve been taught since a very young age. Even in the most inhospitable places, you can usually find what you’re looking for.”

Ran’s mouth watered as he caught a sniff of the herbs she’d added to the water. “It smells delicious.”

Neviah nodded. “Truthfully, there’s not much. But it should give us some energy while we wait for Malkyr to figure out a way to get us home.”

“You think he will?”

Neviah shrugged. “He says he can probably work out a way to get us over to that seedy harbor.”

“That would be welcome news.”

Neviah looked up at him. “And what are you on this trip for?”

“Work,” said Ran. “I thought perhaps some warlord would be interested in hiring my blade.”

Neviah smiled. “There’s no work in Nehon?”

Ran frowned. “I get bored easily.” But he wondered about the real reason he’d come on this journey. Princess Cassandra was truly a beauty, and the idea of bedding her at some point down the road wasn’t unappealing to him. Of course, he had to find her first. During their final meeting, she’d told him to journey west and find the kingdom of her father. Perhaps Ran would find something interesting to do there. He was on his own, after all. And despite the fact that his masters back at the hidden mountain temple had tentacles everywhere, they might not mind if he vanished altogether.

He frowned. No. They would come after him if he abandoned the network. Loyalty was what they demanded. It was how they ensured their own survival. And it was why they’d invested so much time in training him for his eventual journeys around the world.

“You look troubled.”

Ran erased the frown on his face and shook his head. “Just tired. First the swamp and then the woods beyond. They’re filled with bugs. I’m tired and hungry.”

Neviah motioned for him to sit down. “Come. You can try the first batch of soup and tell me what you think.”

“I’m too hungry to complain.” He waited while she used some leaves to handle one of the deep sea shells filled with boiling soup and pass it over to him. Ran peered into its steaming depths and was immediately struck by the variety of herbs and plants that it contained. He spotted something opaque floating in the broth and pointed. “What’s this?”

“Crab meat. We found some down the beach in a tidal pool.”

Ran’s mouth watered even more, and he took a tentative sip. He had to blow and force himself not to slurp the entire mixture up. “It’s delicious.”

Farther down the beach, he heard Malkyr’s shout. “Hey, you going to leave any of that for the wounded guy or what?”

Neviah smiled at Ran. “There’s plenty. You take that and I’ll see to my patient.”

He watched as she rose easily on her well-muscled legs and padded down the beach bearing another shell full of soup. Ran had encountered a lot of warriors before, but nothing like Neviah. She seemed almost unreal with how easily she affected her role of protector and yet still maintained an ability to whip up a delicious soup and tend to Malkyr’s wounds. Whoever trained her, thought Ran, they did one amazing job.

He wondered about Jysal as he continued to sip the soup. She was far younger than Neviah. Perhaps she wasn’t even out of her teens yet. And there was an air of innocence about her that seemed so delicate. Yet beneath the innocence, Ran could sense something else. It reminded him of how a beautiful day in the mountains could be shattered by a sudden storm. You might have a crystal blue sky one moment, and in the next the clouds would form and a deluge would follow. He watched her and wondered what her storm clouds might be.

“You keep staring at her, and people might wonder if you’re going to marry her.”

Ran had heard Kancho approach by the grinding of sand beneath his feet. “I thought you were catching up on some sleep.”

“I was, but there’s food to be eaten.”

Ran eyed him. “Didn’t you tell me earlier not to pay attention to my stomach?”

“Only because you were letting the entire forest know we were there.”

“I doubt that.”

Kancho helped himself to a shell full of soup and squatted next to Ran. “The real question is what we’re going to do about Malkyr. He’s wounded. Which means his ability to travel is seriously affected. If he can’t make his own way out of here, then we’re all in trouble.”

Ran chewed on the crab meat. Already, he could feel the effects of the soup hitting him. He felt more energized and at the same time, his body wanted to rest. Overhead, the sky had brightened, but not enough to let the sun shine through the darker clouds. “I suppose we can see how he is tomorrow morning.”

Kancho slurped some of the soup. “Vargul is most likely dead.”

Ran looked at him. He thought about asking why Kancho thought so, but decided against it. They were both warriors. And Kancho seemed pretty sure of it. “We can’t say we didn’t try to reach him.”

Kancho shrugged. “Of course we can. We went as far as was prudent. But my reason for coming on this trip was not to have to save some fattened merchant from the northlands.”

“Why are you here?”

Kancho slurped more soup and shook his head. “Not yet, Ran. I don’t know you well enough. And something tells me that you’re not being entirely honest about who you are. So I’ll keep my secrets as well.”

Ran smiled. “Fair enough.”

The afternoon passed uneventfully. Malkyr ate more than his fair share of the soup, but Neviah didn’t complain. Jysal ventured into the periphery of the swamp a few times and returned with more roots and herbs whenever she did. These were added to another soup that Neviah created for supper. Bits of driftwood kept the fire fed, but Ran wondered how long they would be able to keep that up. The swamp would yield far less dry firewood than the beach.

As the sun started to set, the band of travelers gathered around the fire, trying to stay warm. Despite the flames, the fire seemed incapable of warding off the night chill. Jysal drew close to Neviah to share warmth. Malkyr complained about the cold.

Ran waited until the daylight had vanished before asking Malkyr. “How are you going to get us out of here?”

Malkyr smirked. “Not much I can do about the situation right now, what with this bum leg of mine and all.”

Kancho shook his head. “We cannot stay here. We are exposed to the elements. We cannot venture into the water to reach the
Aqaria
. That means our only option is to take to the swamp tomorrow and make for the woods beyond it.” He eyed Malkyr. “Tell us what you know of this area. Who lives in these parts?”

Malkyr’s smile vanished. “This is the land of Kan-Gul.”

Ran looked up. “The man you spoke of on the boat when we were at sea?”

Malkyr nodded. “The same. But he is no man. Some say he is beholden to some strange dark lord, the likes of which very few have even heard of.”

“What of this dark lord?” asked Kancho. “If he is a god, why trouble himself in the affairs of mortals?”

“Kan-Gul seeks to appease him through terrible sacrifices.” Malkyr shrugged. “Of course, this is all hearsay. Legends that drunken sailors spout in the taverns that line the docks. Still, no one I’ve known of has ever ventured here and returned home before.”

“If he offers sacrifices to his god,” said Neviah, “then what does he get in return?”

Malkyr fixed her with a hard stare. “You should be careful of asking questions that might earn you an answer you wished you’d never heard.”

Neviah shook her head. “I am the sworn protector of Jysal. It is my duty to know of and understand any and all threats that may arise to confront us. The whims of some strange lord in a foreign land do not frighten me.”

“They should,” said Malkyr. “It is said that Kan-Gul has an army of the undead at his command. Terrible soldiers who have risen from death to serve once more under their lord. They are unfeeling creatures devoted only to killing and eating that which they kill.”

Kancho gripped his sword a little tighter. “I have never seen a man with his head taken from his shoulder rise and walk again.”

Malkyr’s smile danced in the firelight. “Perhaps you have not seen all there is to see in this world then.”

“Perhaps, but it will be a strange day indeed when my blade severs a head and yet that foe remains alive.”

“Words are just that,” said Malkyr. “And when given around a warm fire, they are little more than sound. We will see if you are as good as you claim if we encounter Kan-Gul’s hordes.”

Kancho nodded slowly. “And I look forward to that day.”

“Well, I don’t,” said Jysal suddenly. “I have no interest in claiming the thought of such creatures does not terrify me.”

Malkyr bowed his head. “Forgive me, my lady. I never meant to scare you with such tales.”

Neviah frowned. “I’ll bet.”

“They are just stories,” said Malkyr. “Legends, if you will. As I said, they are the fodder that drunken minds conjure up in the sweaty mead halls. Pay them no mind.”

Jysal eyed him a moment longer and then moved a bit closer to Neviah.

Kancho cocked an eyebrow. “It would appear that our story time is now concluded.”

Ran nodded. “It’s better that we sleep anyway.” He looked at Malkyr. “Are you tired?”

Malkyr shook his head. “Not even faintly. I’ve been resting all day, and, frankly, I’m tired of sitting on my backside.”

“You’ll do well to stay on that backside,” said Neviah. “If you start the bleeding again, you may die.”

Malkyr sighed. “You changed the dressing on it earlier and there was no blood.”

“Yes, but you could do something to start it again. Stay where you are.”

Ran sighed. “You can still take a watch. The rest of us will sleep while you take the first shift. Wake me in two hours and I’ll relieve you. We’re not going to lay about like we did last night.”

“Agreed,” said Kancho. “We’re lucky we’re all still alive and weren’t killed during the night.”

Malkyr stretched his arms overhead. “Very well. You lot rest. I’ll take my turn same as any other.”

Ran and the others arranged themselves around the fire. As he peered into the trees, Ran saw the mist descending once more.