The morning's march went well for the allied forces. The Order phalanx cut their way through the underbrush, leaving nothing but tall trees alive in their wake. Still nothing attacked the troops. Laquatas reached out with his mind to scan for predators, but it was just as it had been when he pursued Kamahl into the forest-deserted of all wildlife larger than rodents.
"Oddly quiet, isn't it, Ambassador," said Traybor, coming up beside the mer.
Laquatas thought the summoner had overly stressed the word "ambassador," but he decided to let it go. He needed Traybor-for now, at least.
"I quite agree," said the mer, smiling broadly. "I had expected to be fighting for every yard we gained."
"Of course we could have passed right by the barbarian and never known it at this rate," said Traybor. "Especially with those Order idiots destroying the trail ahead of us."
"Not to worry, young man," said Laquatas. "I'm sure your mistress has told you that anyone who has ever come into contact with the Mirari can sense its location. I can tell you that it is definitely in front of us."
"But you can't tell where it's been, can you, Ambassador?" asked Traybor, subtly turning the appellation into a slur with his intonation. "Did you know that Kamahl left this trail two nights ago with a second fully laden horse and then returned again yesterday without his extra load? I would say that the barbarian's sister is at the end of that second trail, which has now been all but destroyed by those overzealous fools."
"Interesting information," said Laquatas, "but useless to us at the moment. Our forces are too small to split up, and we can't afford any delays with Kamahl already two days ahead. If we cannot overpower the barbarian when we reach him, we can always return for the girl. Now, you should return to your task, which is safeguarding the Order troops as they cleanse our path."
Just then, from the sides of the phalanx, a half-dozen creatures dropped from the trees, slashed into the nearest Order warriors, and then vaulted back into the trees, disappearing into the leaves before any of the allied forces could even react.
From behind Laquatas came a call from Dinell. "Phalanx halt," yelled the human lieutenant as he rode his horse up through the Cabal summoners. "What just happened here?"
Laquatas and Traybor followed the lieutenant up to the front ranks. The Order troops were scanning the trees. Laquatas reached out again with his mind but could find no trace of the attackers. He had let his scans lapse while Traybor talked to him. Had the summoner known about the impending attack and diverted his attention on purpose? Laquatas decided he'd better watch that one more closely during this campaign.
"Patrolmen report," barked Dinell from atop his horse. "What happened?
The Order soldier tore his eyes away from the trees to look at his commanding officer. "Bugs, sir," he said. "Giant bugs dropped from the trees, slaughtered six men, then disappeared."
Laquatas, Dinell, and Traybor all looked down at the remains of the dead soldiers. Two had been decapitated, another disemboweled, and three more had been cut cleanly in half, right through the rib cages.
"What in the nine hells could do this so quickly?" asked Dinell looking at Laquatas and Traybor. "This was no bug attack."
"Nantuko," said Traybor. "The warriors of the forest."
"You knew about these… these warriors and didn't warn us?" asked Dinell. "How typical of the Cabal."
"I only know of them from other summoners," said Traybor. "Believe me, only the craziest Cabal summoners have ever tagged a nantuko and lived to return to the pits. Even in the pits they are hard to control and harder to defeat."
"What are they?"
"Just as your man said," replied Traybor, "giant bugs. They guard the forest, ever-present but never seen-at least not by many who leave the forest alive. Few who have survived the mysteries of Krosan have ever caught more than a fleeting glimpse of the nantuko, and then usually only as they fled from the beasts. The bugs hide in plain sight, attack with blinding speed, and are gone before their foes drop to the ground."
"How can they be stopped?" asked Dinell as he scanned the trees nervously.
"By not being there when they attack."
"Gibberish!" spat the lieutenant. "I noticed you Cabal rats were not there when the nantuko attacked. But what about my men?"
"Most likely they will die," said Traybor with a hint of a smirk on his face.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen," interjected Laquatas as the two leaders advanced on each other. "We must work together, or we all die, and we will fail in our common mission. Save your venom for the barbarian."
Dinell and Traybor backed away from each other, but neither relaxed.
"Good," said Laquatas. "Now, Traybor and I shall work on a way to warn of incoming nantuko attacks. Dinell, keep your men ever-vigilant against surprise attack. We will get through this if we all cooperate, eh, gentlemen?"
Both men nodded and turned away to go about their tasks. Laquatas watched Traybor head back to his summoners. He's shrewder than any summoner I've ever encountered, thought the mer. I wonder what else he's holding back? Perhaps I should delve into his thoughts tonight and see what I can find.
The phalanx slowed to a crawl after the first attack. The second-rank warriors all watched the trees while their comrades in the front lines hacked away at the underbrush. But even these soldiers watched over their shoulders, afraid to take their eyes off the forest.
Laquatas continually scanned for nantuko but was often distracted by Traybor. He moved back and forth through the ranks of summoners as they advanced through the forest, talking and laughing with his mages, seemingly totally unconcerned by the threat of impending attack. The mer wanted to call the Cabal commander on his insolence but couldn't spare a moment from his scans, lest he lose more Order troops to the nantuko. Tonight, thought the mer. Tonight I will make you mine.
The nantuko attacked three more times that afternoon, and Laquatas went over each attack in his mind that night while deciding what to do about Dinell and Traybor. Laquatas had been able to raise the alarm moments before each of the first two attacks, and yet the order phalanx still lost four more soldiers, and not a single nantuko warrior was injured. The bugs moved so fast they were almost on the ground by the time Laquatas could yell out a warning. After a few quick slices, they were gone again, lost in the trees. Before the last attack, Traybor had once again distracted the mer, and six more Order troops were killed.
Laquatas saw the second attack. Just after he yelled, two bugs dropped from the trees right beside Order soldiers who were busy hacking through a large bush. The first nantuko warrior slashed down with both arms into the soldier's exposed neck, slicing through to the vertebrae from either side with its serrated forearms. The second bug plunged its claws into the side of its foe as the soldier turned toward Laquatas's call, shredding the man's organs and bursting through several ribs on its way up into his heart.
The second-rank soldiers raised their spears to plunge them into the attackers, but the bugs sprang back into the trees as the spears whisked through the empty space they left behind. Laquatas had thought it odd that he'd scanned six creatures in the area, yet only two had attacked. But he realized now that all of the other soldiers in the area had turned at his call and readied for the attack. Only the two men who had not yet reacted quickly enough were targeted.
Smart bugs, thought Laquatas. They will be tough to stop without some help from Traybor and his summoners.
The Cabal had been oddly silent during every attack. Laquatas's suspicions were aroused even more during the final nantuko attack of the day. Once again, just before the attack, Traybor came up to ask some inane question of the mer. Laquatas had ignored the summoner and concentrated on his scans, but he noticed the man's eyes kept darting toward the phalanx and back as they walked. Then, just as Laquatas felt the incoming bug attack, Traybor tripped and fell into him, almost knocking both mages to the ground. By the time Laquatas righted himself, the attack was over.