CHAPTER SIXTEEN—CAMP LOGISTICS
The mist had cleared and the sounds in the night were few and far between. At least they had been for a time. Shiro suspected all of the Scorpions being dragged away to the maws of the Angor were now behind him.
A shiver ran down his back.
This all reminded him of his time in the dungeon of Narkuun where he and his friends had come across the Majja Vyne monster. He had almost died. His friends certainly had.
As he stalked up the hill, he crushed grasses and dirt and shells under his sandals, wondering why there were no sentries up here. Beyond, he could hear the men in the camp.
As the hill fell away to reveal the sea proper and the beach bellow, he now understood why there were no sentries. Most of the sleeps were gone, out on the water. His heart flipped inside his chest.
Ali and Raz clearly understood what to do, and got the men off the beach and the sandbar beyond. The tents were scattered about, and fires still smoldered here and there, but for the most part gave off little smoke.
There were still several hundred men on the ground in this area, and this is where Shiro expected to find Ali and Raz, and perhaps the Horde Commanders of the army.
He trudged down the hill and a man looked up, hailed Shiro and gave him a salute. “You have arrived, Master Samurai.”
He nodded. “Yes. What is going on here?”
“We lost many men when those tentacles attacked us. They were dragged away.” He nudged his chin up toward the steep hill behind Shiro and his face was quite dour. In his hand a naked blade glinted in the torchlight from his other hand.
In the distance some few of the Scorpions held glow stones, which provided vast amounts of light. They were like beacons on the shore. And they were magical.
“I know,” Shiro said. “I saw many of the men coming this way. What are you doing with the stones? They are magical and attract the monster.”
The Scorpion glanced back toward the camp proper. “I know, Master Shiro, but Ali said it was okay just for a time while we search for wounded men. We have already found several dozen buried under the tents.”
It did not surprise him. It was dark out and the tents were black. Hundreds of them had lined the sandbar and the beach. He nodded.
“The high vizier is this way,” said the man. He gestured forward.
“Take me to him.”
The Scorpion nodded.
They stepped over ripped tent fabric, dead men and fallen weapons. There were crates of food and supplied littering the sand.
Ali was speaking to Raz and one of the Horde Commanders—Captain Abbaas by the looks of him. When Abbaas flicked his eyes up, Ali turned. “Shiro—you are here.”
Raz was close by as he milled about giving orders to the men who searched and carried stretchers of wounded men back to the boats. Some of them were picking up supplied and moving quickly to put them back in the few ships that remained on the shore.
“Ali,” he said, “we must move.”
“What do you mean?”
“We must organize an attack force and meet Samira and Debaku to attack the Angor.”
He seemed surprised, and Abbaas eyes widened. “Truly?” Abbaas asked. “That monster took away at least fifteen hundred of our men, Master Shiro. Is that wise?”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “If we do not cut out way through that monster, it will take us months to sail around the southern tip of Kalush to flank the enemy. By then, the northern forces will have been destroyed, or routed.”
Abbaas growled.
He had much more stake in this war than Shiro did. Should the war be lost, the extent of his sorrow would be for that of his friend’s loss. Raz would be fine, Ali would survive, but not without a great deal of regret.
The Abassir Empire was his home, it was where his wealth was—his family and his house.
“We must hurry,” Shiro said. “As you have said, many men were taken. We can still save many of them if we move quickly.”
“We saw dozens of them just getting back here,” Raz said. “We saved the ones who were still alive and who could travel.”
Ali nodded. “How many men do you think we need, Shiro?”
If truth be told, he had no idea. “I do not know. Perhaps a thousand.”
“I can arrange that immediately,” Abbaas said. “My Horde was hit hard, but most of my men are still alive.”
“What of the other commanders?”
“I am afraid we lost Captain Kazem.”
Shiro growled in his throat.
Abbaas continued. “Captains Badru and and Daut were also taken.”
“In the meantime,” Ali spoke, “I have seen fit to raise Ushtan to the role of the Second Horde and Gohar to the role of First Horde. They are good men and capable of leadership.”
“What of the Fourth Horde?” asked Shiro. “They have no leader.” The Fourth Horde consisted of a thousand Scorpions of various weapon proficiencies. It was one of the smaller Hordes in the army.
“I have given command of the Fourth Horde to Captain Hasheff. He is experienced in commanding larger forces.”
Shiro nodded, leaving it there. He had no say in who led their Hordes. That was Ali’s call completely. “I am certain that you made the right decision, Ali.”
“Abbaas,” said Ali. “How soon can you have your men ready to move?”
“I have already consulted with my rank captains,” he said. “I can have five-hundred men move out immediately. For the other five hundred, it would take me at least a few hours to reassemble them.”
“That is not fast enough,” Shiro said. “We need to move off this beach now if we are to save the men who were captured.”
“Then…” Abbaas said, “I would suggest we take what forces we can from the other hordes to assemble the strike force.”
“We need five hundred,” Shiro repeated.
“Why a thousand?” asked Raz. “Why not send in the whole army—overrun this stupid monster?”
“Because,” Ali said. “If we fail now, then we will still have an army to sail around Kalush. Even if the likelihood that we can flank the enemy remains small, we will have recourse should our plan not work out, yes?”
“Ah,” he said brightly with a nod. He tapped his forehead. “You are using your head, high vizier.”
Ali put his hands on his hips. “That is my job.”
“In this,” Shiro said, “Ali is the better adventurer, Raz.”
The adventurer with the excellent hair and good looks laughed hard enough to lean his head back and show his teeth. “Very good. I accept that completely.”
“I need to consult the other Horde Commanders,” Abbaas said, “get an idea where we stand so that we can assemble a force as quickly as possible.”
“All right,” Ali said.
“In the meantime, I will order the five hundred to sail back to this beach immediately where I will place them in your command, high vizier.”
“Very good,” Ali said.
Abbaas nodded and stalked off toward the smaller boards on the beach. A group of men surrounded him, including a dour-looking Blade.
Ali let out a heavy breath.
“What is wrong?” Shiro asked.
“I am concerned,” he said. “What is this ‘Samira Al Hamiroon’ is laying some kind of trap for us, Shiro?”
“Iie—not possible, my friend.”
“And why is that?”
“Because,” he said. “Debaku is with her, remember?”
“And?”
“You know nothing will get past him. If she is an enemy, he will take care of her.”
Ali laughed. “’Take care of her’! Gods, Shiro—I swear, you sound more and more like an Abassir man every day!”
Shiro smiled and Raz nodded in agreement to his brother’s observation.
Suddenly a scream erupted.
With a collective gasp and a bristling of blades, they all turned as a Scorpion high up on the beach near the steep hill was lifted into the air, his body surrounded by tendrils and he squirmed and thrashed.
“Oh no!” Ali cried.
Shiro gritted his teeth. “Raz! Jessamine! I need you!”
“I am here,” Jessamine said immediately, and she appeared in a plume of blue mist, her body twirling like a dancer. “Your wish is my command.”
“Ha!” Raz spat. “No way.”
“Burn everything!” Shiro shouted. “Destroy all of the vegetation on that hill!”
“Hmph!” she noised with amusement as the man continued screaming. “I like your thinking, Shiro.”
She lifted into the air, her feet levitating off of the sand. She spun and balls of fire alighted in her palms. She hurled them, almost lazily into arching trajectories.
When the fireballs landed, they exploded atop the ridge, the flamed flying and engulfing into multiple areas from the explosions.
Then they licked about, consuming all in their path.
Shiro sprinted forward. “Raz!”
From behind, Ali started barking orders, but Shiro was not clear on what they were about as he raised his red-hot scimitar in the air.
His weapon was perfect for this quest, and Jessamine’s presence was even better!