At first, they worried the humans and monsters would flee, but rejoiced when repeated scrying showed no such movements were taking place. The Setsulah had not wished for their master to spend years chasing rabble and refuse through the wilds. Thankfully, he hadn’t needed to. They expected the humans and monsters would crumble the moment they arrived. Crushed under the weight of the thousands of monsters that rushed at them.
They could not have been more wrong!
“Have you ever seen a collection of monsters like this?” Chen’thra asked, bewildered.
“I have not, my heart,” Assan’diri confirmed, just as confused.
The walls, the traps, the ambushes, the stratagems. One after the other, after the other.
“Did you hear what happened in the last hour?”
“The third wall was taken, was it not?”
“It was, and when the chatka charged toward the fourth, the ants flooded them!”
“They what?”
“They flooded them. The sand blasted creatures built a covered reservoir and they knocked out the walls. The chatka were washed into holes and taken beneath the ground. I’ve never heard of such a thing!”
They shuddered, and Assan’diri reached out, his hand unconsciously seeking that of his wife. To those who lived their entire lives in the deserts and mountains of the true kingdom, death by water sent shivers down their spines.
They were deep in the belly of the horde, surrounded by chatka, slave monsters, on all sides. More worrying than those, were the hundreds of gigantic crocodile-like monsters that shared this space. The master had committed to this sacred purpose and the Bond Kin would serve as dutifully as ever, but he wished he had been able to leave his wife at home.
“Come, my heart, let us return to the compound.”
To his relief, his wife nodded her assent and they turned their backs on the battle and strode to the source of the simmering anger that thrummed across the Bond.
Assan’diri tried to ignore the Garralosh spawn as they passed. The monsters stared at the robed figures with scarcely concealed hunger. Only the iron will of their parent was able to keep the primitive brutes in line. Even the knowledge that the master would scour their flesh from their bones should they lay one scaled claw on the Setsulah wasn’t enough to sink into their simple minds.
He tried not to be too disrespectful of the creatures in his thoughts. His master had dedicated a great deal of time to this project, and it wouldn’t do if the Kin were to harbour ill thoughts toward something the master had devoted such attention to.
[Do not mind it, Assan’diri. I have no great opinion of these creatures myself.]
Assan’diri and his wife both stumbled at the sudden touch of the great mind of their master through the Bond.
[Master. I prostrate myself. I did not mean any offence.]
He made good on his words by immediately dropping to his knees and bowing low in the dirt. Chen’thra joined him without hesitation.
[Peace,] the master sighed. [I have intruded on your thoughts without announcing myself, you need not apologise. There is no disloyalty in your thoughts.]
The two Setsulah straightened themselves, their thoughts seized by the weariness they sensed in their master.
[I sense our task may be coming to an end. The skein shifts rapidly here. The ebb and flow of possibility are shifting beneath our feet, yet I sense a conclusion will come. Success or failure will be decided soon.]
The servants shared a significant glance.
[Do you anticipate the Setsulah will be deployed? We are willing to serve.]
[No.]
There was finality in that response.
[I will not tolerate further loss of the Bond Kin. Our charge has made this her mission and it will be on her to see it through. I alone will be enough to satisfy the demands of the order that Garralosh be supported.]
Assan’diri clamped his fangs shut and grimaced within his hood. If it weren’t for that cursed monster hunting them, the master would not need to tax himself in this way.
[Have I fallen so low that my own Bond Kin will fuss over me in this way, Assan’diri?]
The servant hissed in agitation and once more threw himself on the dirt to bow low in the direction of his master. Even without being able to see the blessed form of his Bond holder, he was able to bow directly toward him.
[I mean no offence, Master! Please discipline me as you see fit.]
[Enough. If not for the Bond Kin fussing over us, we Ka’armodo would do naught but debate and hibernate until our species faced extinction. Gather the Kin. We must channel the ambient Mana once more into our charge. If Garralosh is to have the best chance of success, then we must ensure her core isn’t depleted.]
[As you wish, Master.]
The touch of the master over the Bond faded and the two servants rushed to fulfil their master’s instructions. It seemed as if their long quest would finally reach a conclusion. The Setsulah longed for the hot winds and sheer peaks of their mountain home. Whether Garralosh was successful and broke through or failed and languished in this cage of her own making, Assan’diri no longer cared. So long as the master was able to discharge his duty, they could return home with pride.
133. Fight for Your Life
“Am I gonna make it, Miss Enid?” the boy begged tearfully.
Enid glanced down at the horrific gut wound the soldier suffered, her face set in a calming smile.
“You’re going to be fine, soldier,” she soothed, wiping the sweat from his face with a grimy cloth. “The healers will get to you as soon as they can.”
Fear boiled in the young warrior’s eyes as he clutched at her. He wasn’t going to make it. Black blood leaked from the wound in his gut. Monster claw, she guessed. She felt helpless, but continued to comfort the doomed lad as his lifeblood drained away.
She’d seen many things in her life. Travelling the caravans hadn’t always been safe. On occasion, when her husband had caved to her pestering, she’d even been able to join him on a few delves. The danger had been real, and many times, she’d feared for her life.
But nothing could have prepared her for this. Even now, she could hear them. The roars. The screams. The clash of steel ringing out across the clearing from the wall. Nestled against the side of the ants’ defences, the human wall had held strong, but the cost had been steep. The medical tent had seen a steady stream of wounded from the moment the battle began. Without any Healing Magic practitioners, there was nothing they could do for those with serious wounds but bandage and clean them. With that done, the injured could do nothing except languish on pallets alongside a growing assembly of their fellow warriors.
Enid had also been on the wall during the fighting. Not for long, of course. She knew she’d only be underfoot when the fighting got hot. However, she couldn’t resist the need to see the fight. To share the risk, at least for a time, that her fellow villagers would undertake.
The sight would haunt her for the rest of her life.
As gruesome as it had been at the human wall, the monsters that were their neighbours fought a far more brutal battle. The sight of the monster versus monster combat had been horrifying to behold. Creatures torn to pieces and consumed on the spot. The wounded stomped underfoot or dragged away. The attacking horde howled and shrieked until one’s ears rang with pain.
And all the while, the ants battled in an eerie silence.