Miners were tasked with searching for veins of silver. They scoured most of our territory for suitable locations. Fortunately for us, the other tribes in the region had some small knowledge of metal. We searched for pure silver all over the jungle region. During that time, we received word from the Ophidians that they had finished their preparations, and the great migration had begun. The blessed march was approaching. The solution to both problems was ultimately the same: patience. We could do nothing more than to wait for the results to bear fruit.
We waited patiently for the results. In that time, we had to defend from raids from the Broken Wall tribe that stuck at villages within our control. Wooden watchtowers and fortifications were made to counter these, but they struck hard and fast. Never striking the same place twice, they were adept in sneaking into our lands and hampering us. They stole resources like armor and weapons. They began to slay us with our own swords and spears. Evidently they had some small love for irony.
The Broken Wall tribe was relentless in their pursuit, however I was just as —if not more so— ruthless in my aim to subjugate them. Days turned into weeks with little to no progress as far as finding silver. And when weeks turned into months, I did the only thing that I could do while the scouts were off searching. I trained. Kallista’s arm had healed somewhat, and she desired to train with me now that her wounds were almost gone.
All I had on was my battle skirt and sandals. I invited the danger, and Kallista was a kindred spirit. She had a battle skirt, sandals and some wrappings around her chest to hide her modesty. We circled each other like two beasts in a cage, just waiting for the other to strike. The only instruments in our hands were a pair of wooden shortswords, one for each of us. No shield; no armor, nothing but training weapons and our witts. Eventually, Kallista made the first move. She charged in with her sword for a quick strike. I barely managed to deflect the attack with my wooden blade. The sound of the oak timbers clacking together filled the air as we traded blows.
For a lot of the time I was simply defending. I deflected every blow she sent my way at the price of not being able to strike at her. Then I felt it. The tip of her wooden blade poked my chest right where my heart was. She pulled her blade back and then examined her weapon.
“This round is mine, Kai’Sar.”
“So it is.” I replied. It wasn’t a hard strike, but it did wound my pride only slightly.
We separated and then engaged again. We circled one another until she struck at me again. Like before, I deflected while she attacked. Her speed was great, and she was using her healed arm to great effect. Though my strategy had finally paid off. She gradually became more tired with each strike. Her strikes came slower and slower. Then I made my move. A single dodge to my right and then a thrust to her gut. I smiled and twirled my blade.
“And that leaves us tied…again.” I winked at her. But she wasn’t ready to give up the fight just yet. Soon, we engaged again, and this time her attacks were more furious. She struck at me and this time we traded blows. She got wise to my strategy and switched between offense and defense. We were evenly matched.
A crowd had gathered around us. Kallista and I showed them how true children of Roharim fought. Every strike was harder and harder. For a moment, I feared that we would shatter our blades and splinters would fly. Then I saw my moment. I lunged forward with my blade and deflected her strike. I grabbed her arm and pinned her to the ground. My blade pinned against her throat. Pridefully, I smirked and chuckled.
We both froze there after our duel. Our breaths mixing in the air as swear made our bodies shine in the sun. I leaned forward and winked at her.
“And with that, I win our duel~.”
She looked at me with a sly little smirk and half closed her eyes and moved her face closer to mine.
“Have you?”
I blinked in confusion. She then gestured her eyes towards my left side. Just under my armpit, the tip of her blade hovered, ready to stab me. Had that been a real fight, we would have both died. As such, a tie. I shook my head and laughed, tossing my sword aside and then stood up, offering my hand to help her up. We both stood, brushing the dirt off of our bodies.
“Impressive. Now let's not delay anymore than we already have.”
Octavian had some new strategies emplaced that he wanted me to review. I walked over to my tunic and draped it over my body so I could cover myself. I had to maintain some form of modesty. Kallista and I went to the war tent where a rough map of the region rested. Octavian stood there patiently waiting for us along with Brutus and Cao Tzu.
“Ah, my lord. Glad you could make it.” Octavian said as he gently patted a rod on his hand and then held it behind his back as he stood firmly.
“Octavian. What do you have for me today?” I asked while I took my tunic and patted myself down to dry myself off from the sweat.
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“My lord, the broken wall tribe has continued to be a thorn in our sides. Slowly, they are bleeding us like stuck pigs. I think it's high time that we take a page from their book.”
“What do you mean?”
“Simply put, my lord: we need to lay traps of our own.”
He reached down under the table and placed a few wooden carvings and then taught us what they were.
“Now, I’ve taken the liberty to set up a new trap. This outpost that we have here is situated on elevated ground. The main way to get through here with a large enough force to raid it is through one path here. Now these large blocks here are containers. They will hold gallons of oil.”
I cocked my eyebrow in confusion. “Oil?”
“Yes. We’ve gathered enough over our months here to fill these two containers up. We simply pop open these nozzles at the base and let the oil flow. It flows into a special canal that we dug that leads them right between us and the enemy. As they march up, we light it with a flame and fwoosh! Our enemies burn brighter than the sun.”
I liked Octavian’s plan, but there was one thing I noted that looked like an issue.
“That's all well and good, but there’s just one problem; what makes you think that they’ll attack this fortress at all?”
“Because, my lord” Octavian raised a finger and assured me. “I’ve made it enticing for them. I’ve made it no secret that this base holds many weapons and armor. With that many weapons they would surely have a leg up.”
“And if the Broken Wall tribe manages to get the weapons?”
“The greatest joke of them all, my lord. The weapons are purposefully made to be as shoddy and useless as possible. One smack against a solid shield and armor, and the weapon will shatter. And their armor couldn’t protect them against a light breeze.”
I smiled and rested my hand on Octavian. “Octavian Gallus…you are a genius.”
“You commanded the results my lord, I will provide them.” he said in a simple matter-of-fact way. Brutus of course wanted to say his peace.
“All well and good, but it sounds like a lot of waiting for a battle that might not happen at all.”
“Do you have a better idea?” Octavian asked as he patted his rod on his hand. Brutus paused for a moment, silent. He knew that the tribe was not easy to attack. He wasn’t dumb enough to suggest attacking an enemy we couldn’t engage with. He then thought of another way.
“How about we just set the forest on fire? If they want to hide in trees so much, then let them be kindling.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. Its simplicity was something to be admired.
“An interesting idea, however once the fire is let loose, We wouldn’t be able to control it. The last thing we need is to burn ourselves in a wildfire. A good effort.”
Brutus grumbled and threw his hand up in the air. A suggestion, but he seemed to take it personally. I let him leave the tent. If he wanted to pout like a child, then who was I to argue? A simple no and he huffed off. I didn’t let it sour my spirits. As far as I was concerned, the strategies were good. I turned to face Octavian and gave him a gentle nod.
“Make it so, Octavian. I want us to be ready.”
Just then, one of my scouts had returned. He was tired and out of breath. He knelt down and lowered his head.
“Kai’Sar! We found it, my lord! We found it! We found silver!”
I smiled wickedly. Our plans bore fruit. I looked at Octavian. While he had his strategy to implement, I had mine. All that was left was to wait for enough silver to be gathered and then, all of the jungles would witness a miracle from Ile’Sethak.
***
The silver mine was being dug, but I only needed enough to make the silver staff. Weeks of great effort went into digging the mine out. In the bowels of the earth, my workers managed to acquire enough silver. Blacksmiths worked day and night in the furnaces to melt that raw silver down. They removed any impurities. My craftsmen shaped and molded the silver from a rod of molten metal into a proper staff. Etchings on the staff made decorations. Painstaking detail was added so that the figure of the staff resembled that of a viper. A cobra with its fangs bare. At last, it was time to unleash the wonders of Ile’Sethak.
I gathered some of my army towards the borders of our land and that of the Broken wall. Cao Tzu stood ready. My men waited with anticipation. They stared at the border with a sense of dread. Many of our people died attempting to cross the border, and many more were murdered in retaliation. A hushed murmur fell over the crowd as they watched. How many tribals were hiding in the thick grass, watching us and studying our every move as intently as a child studied insects crawling on the ground? I gestured to a soldier who bowed his head before picking up the staff and offering it to Cao Tzu. She closed her eyes and nodded in silence. She took a deep breath. She was nervous about the entire situation. She was no fighter. Her magics helped her in the past, but that would cost a lot of time and energy in order to fight back the whole horde, and even so, there was no telling where or how many wastrels hid behind our sight.
Cao Tzu held the staff aloft. Doing as I instructed, she raised the staff in the air, proudly. Then with one swift and strong motion, she planted the staff into the ground. She waited, and yet nothing happened. We were confused; our goddess didn’t respond to our pleas and nothing seemed to be working. Right then, Cao Tzu started convulsing. She fell to her knees and groaned loudly, grabbing her throat. She was in a lot of pain as she let out gurgling noises that flooded our ears. Was she poisoned or something? Perhapssome barbarian shot her with a dart? Far from it.
From her mouth, a new tongue was forming. It was painful, yet she grew something that was not unlike a forked serpent tongue, albeit slightly thicker than normal. She fell to her knees and coughed, almost vomiting on the ground. She let out loud hacking coughs as she tried to compose herself. She stood up. I stepped forward with concern in my heart. If you had been paying attention to my story, you would know that she was the first person I saw after I had been crucified. I needn’t tell you about the effect her death would give me. She raised her hand to stop me. She was supposed to be in front afterall. Her eyes shot open and revealed slits. I spoke to her.
“Cao Tzu? Are you alright?” I grew more worried with each passing moment. Soon, she unburdened me from my fears when she spoke.
“Ile’Sethak has granted me my voice.” She said with a hiss. She then turned to face the planted staff and then she chanted something. It was Ophidian. She murmured about calling her brothers and sisters to aid us. Suddenly we felt something brush against our legs. Many of the men were startled by the slithering of vipers, yet they didn’t bite us. Tens became hundreds. So many vipers coming from seemingly nowhere. They hissed and slithered all the way to several hiding spots where the Broken Wall tribe hid. The serpents were rooting out every last barbarian out of their hole and turning their hiding spot into their grave.
The serpents continued to march as the screams of the tribesmen echoed through the jungle. I looked at my soldiers and I grinned wickedly. A miracle had been revealed, and my men cheered. I pulled my sword out and grabbed my shield from off my back. I then pointed my sword down towards the pathway made by the serpents and I grinned wickedly—so widely I felt as if I nearly broke my jaw— and spoke.
“Put them out of their misery! Slaughter them all!”
My men charged at my command and yelled. We took our blades and struck those that still had life within them despite the venom working deeply into the tribes. At long last we gained ground and would establish ourselves a foothold. At last, my people bore witness to a miracle from their new god. The first of many.