Chapter Twenty-Two
Link strode forward quickly, slightly bent over at the waist and moving with quick, quiet grace. The others followed behind at a rapid rate, allowing the Hero of Time to scout ahead in case the Tophetians had posted sentries.
'It's strange; one would think that they would have been more alert than this, if they truly planned to ambush us,' Link thought, frowning as he continued forward.
It did not occur to him that the majority of the Tophetians might not be at the exit of the gorge, but rather the entrance.
Miyako had tried to sleep, but found it hard to close her eyes. A heavy ball of uneasiness settled in the bottom of her stomach and rolled around whenever she tried to find a comfortable position.
'This is no use,' she thought grumpily, sitting up in the darkness and blinking to regain her vision. 'Might as well try counting Tektites for all the good it would do me.' The redheaded teenager decided the reason that she was sleepless might be that she needed to relieve herself, so she crawled out of the tent.
Immediately she sensed something was not right. The air was too thick, and there was a strange, almost putrefying smell on the air.
'...What...?' She thought, and before she could think anything else, a hand clamped over her mouth and a sword pressed tightly against her throat.
"Don't make a sound, little one, or thy pretty head will go rolling," hissed the owner of the hand, his voice deep and gravelly. It sounded as though it was painful for him to talk. Since she happened to like her head being attached to her neck, Miyako remained silent and waited for another order. "Stand up, ye wench, and come this way." Shakily, she got to her feet, his hand still clamped on her mouth, and he drew her away from the encampment.
Unfortunately, so were some of the higher Selintan officials in the troop, including General Torris.
'I should've left for the ruins my own way,' she thought bitterly, closing her eyes.
Now Link was truly worried; he did not see many shapes huddled around the campfires, and even less shadows were portrayed in the tents from the light.
'There should be more than this,' he thought, somewhat confused. 'This... I know I saw more than this earlier...'
"Link," whispered Lance in a voice barely louder than normal breathing. "I dun think that all of 'em are here and accounted for."
"I noticed that, too," he murmured back, keeping his eyes on the figures around the fires. "Maybe our eyes have gone bad. Have the archers position themselves in a semicircle around the encampment, backs to ours." The sailor gave a little salute then scurried back to tell the soldiers the orders. 'Not enough,' a part of his mind insisted, and Link brushed it away. He would puzzle over it later; now was time for action. He drew his own bow and took aim. Sighting around him to make sure the others were doing the same, he gave a shout and let fly. The Tophetians in the camp never stood a chance. Within minutes all twenty or so were dead. Even the soldiers appeared uneasy about the few numbers.
"I thought there'd be actual fighting," a young man, barely more than a boy, piped up. "Y'know... ah, never mind."
"If they had planned to ambush us with this sorry troop, then 'tis a sign that we'll win the war, with all the brains King Viru and his generals have," chuckled an elderly veteran. Link frowned, crouching down near several of the bodies to ensure they were dead. He raised his gaze and sighted around the camp.
Horribly, terribly, a nightmare dawned on him. There were too many tents, too much equipment, for twenty Tophetian soldiers.
"My Gods," he whispered, finally understanding. "I'm such a fool!"
Behind them, a large flare ignited and roared skyward.
Miyako knew she had one chance and one chance only to warn Link, Lance, and the band of archers, but she wasn't sure how to do it. Then she saw the tall, dead trees near the gorge entrance.
'Those will do nicely,' she thought, and waited for her chance to attack.
There were about one hundred Tophetian warriors gathered around where they were being held, and she bet that about half that number was keeping lookout in and on the gorge.
"Well, now what is a nice little girl like you doing with a Royal Selintan Troop?" The leader of the band was none other than General Khegen. He sneered at Miyako before turning his attention to General Torris. "Ah, General Torris. It has been a long time indeed."
"You traitorous scum! The gods and goddesses will see that your treachery is well reward with death and misery," spat the elderly Selintan. The Tophetian general laughed mockingly.
"Oh, how winning! You always did know how to warm a heart, Torris." The traitor turned his attention to his troops and barked orders in Tophetian. The warriors immediately begin roust about the tents and drag out the sleeping, confused Selintan soldiers.
'Now,' she thought, coaxing the dead trees, asking them to give in to her mulciber, her fire. Immediately the trees burst into flames, the licks of fire reaching skyward as far as she could force them to go.
'That should do it,' she thought, feeling weak as potentia drained from her body to create the flames. 'Lance, Link, see it!'
[Author's Note: All magic (in this fanfiction) is simply manipulation and asking for permission. If you want water, you ask the ground to bring it upward, and the dirt would part and clean water would bubble forth. If you desire to kill someone, you would use your potentia (power, capability) to convince his/her body and mind that both were exanimalis (deceased, dead), and the person would die (but only if you're a Dark element can you kill someone like that). No, people who use this kind of magic don't shout it out loud; it's not like Harry Potter or something (Good Heavens, no!), but concentration and being strong with your magic, particularly your element, is the key. Much of the ancient Kreyan language deals purely with magic, but you'll find out more about it later. Much later.]
Miyako needn't have worried, though; by the time the flames reached skyward, Lance had volunteered to check out the scene.
"Be on the lookout for sentries posted," Link called as loudly as he dared to Lance. The sailor tipped off a hand signal and darted forward with uncanny speed.
"Dammit, we should have known," swore one of the archers, slamming his fist on the ground and shaking his head. "And now t'others will suffer fates worse'n death, so they will!"
"We did the best we could," another intervened. Link tried his best to calm his mind, but it would be at least three-quarters of an hour before Lance returned.
'Maybe we should go after him; there'll be no use standing around here,' he thought nervously, picking at a loose strand on his tunic. Inaction made him edgy, and certainly this was a delicate moment. "Let's move out; we're going to follow behind Lance, and we'll need to be quiet about it." Almost at once the archers were following his lead. It was unnerving how easily they took orders from him; it seemed that they had much respect for him, even the elder ones.
Lance was sprinting with all the speed of the fastest race horse, praying that the scene would not be devastated, hoping that he would get there in time to help, perhaps use his aqua against the flames that licked higher. The whole Selintan encampment could be going up, and it certainly looked like it, though the fiery plumes had died down.
'Let them be safe, goddesses,' he prayed silently. 'Let them be safe.'
-----------------------
Sorry this chapter's late! FF.net was down for me last night.
Link strode forward quickly, slightly bent over at the waist and moving with quick, quiet grace. The others followed behind at a rapid rate, allowing the Hero of Time to scout ahead in case the Tophetians had posted sentries.
'It's strange; one would think that they would have been more alert than this, if they truly planned to ambush us,' Link thought, frowning as he continued forward.
It did not occur to him that the majority of the Tophetians might not be at the exit of the gorge, but rather the entrance.
Miyako had tried to sleep, but found it hard to close her eyes. A heavy ball of uneasiness settled in the bottom of her stomach and rolled around whenever she tried to find a comfortable position.
'This is no use,' she thought grumpily, sitting up in the darkness and blinking to regain her vision. 'Might as well try counting Tektites for all the good it would do me.' The redheaded teenager decided the reason that she was sleepless might be that she needed to relieve herself, so she crawled out of the tent.
Immediately she sensed something was not right. The air was too thick, and there was a strange, almost putrefying smell on the air.
'...What...?' She thought, and before she could think anything else, a hand clamped over her mouth and a sword pressed tightly against her throat.
"Don't make a sound, little one, or thy pretty head will go rolling," hissed the owner of the hand, his voice deep and gravelly. It sounded as though it was painful for him to talk. Since she happened to like her head being attached to her neck, Miyako remained silent and waited for another order. "Stand up, ye wench, and come this way." Shakily, she got to her feet, his hand still clamped on her mouth, and he drew her away from the encampment.
Unfortunately, so were some of the higher Selintan officials in the troop, including General Torris.
'I should've left for the ruins my own way,' she thought bitterly, closing her eyes.
Now Link was truly worried; he did not see many shapes huddled around the campfires, and even less shadows were portrayed in the tents from the light.
'There should be more than this,' he thought, somewhat confused. 'This... I know I saw more than this earlier...'
"Link," whispered Lance in a voice barely louder than normal breathing. "I dun think that all of 'em are here and accounted for."
"I noticed that, too," he murmured back, keeping his eyes on the figures around the fires. "Maybe our eyes have gone bad. Have the archers position themselves in a semicircle around the encampment, backs to ours." The sailor gave a little salute then scurried back to tell the soldiers the orders. 'Not enough,' a part of his mind insisted, and Link brushed it away. He would puzzle over it later; now was time for action. He drew his own bow and took aim. Sighting around him to make sure the others were doing the same, he gave a shout and let fly. The Tophetians in the camp never stood a chance. Within minutes all twenty or so were dead. Even the soldiers appeared uneasy about the few numbers.
"I thought there'd be actual fighting," a young man, barely more than a boy, piped up. "Y'know... ah, never mind."
"If they had planned to ambush us with this sorry troop, then 'tis a sign that we'll win the war, with all the brains King Viru and his generals have," chuckled an elderly veteran. Link frowned, crouching down near several of the bodies to ensure they were dead. He raised his gaze and sighted around the camp.
Horribly, terribly, a nightmare dawned on him. There were too many tents, too much equipment, for twenty Tophetian soldiers.
"My Gods," he whispered, finally understanding. "I'm such a fool!"
Behind them, a large flare ignited and roared skyward.
Miyako knew she had one chance and one chance only to warn Link, Lance, and the band of archers, but she wasn't sure how to do it. Then she saw the tall, dead trees near the gorge entrance.
'Those will do nicely,' she thought, and waited for her chance to attack.
There were about one hundred Tophetian warriors gathered around where they were being held, and she bet that about half that number was keeping lookout in and on the gorge.
"Well, now what is a nice little girl like you doing with a Royal Selintan Troop?" The leader of the band was none other than General Khegen. He sneered at Miyako before turning his attention to General Torris. "Ah, General Torris. It has been a long time indeed."
"You traitorous scum! The gods and goddesses will see that your treachery is well reward with death and misery," spat the elderly Selintan. The Tophetian general laughed mockingly.
"Oh, how winning! You always did know how to warm a heart, Torris." The traitor turned his attention to his troops and barked orders in Tophetian. The warriors immediately begin roust about the tents and drag out the sleeping, confused Selintan soldiers.
'Now,' she thought, coaxing the dead trees, asking them to give in to her mulciber, her fire. Immediately the trees burst into flames, the licks of fire reaching skyward as far as she could force them to go.
'That should do it,' she thought, feeling weak as potentia drained from her body to create the flames. 'Lance, Link, see it!'
[Author's Note: All magic (in this fanfiction) is simply manipulation and asking for permission. If you want water, you ask the ground to bring it upward, and the dirt would part and clean water would bubble forth. If you desire to kill someone, you would use your potentia (power, capability) to convince his/her body and mind that both were exanimalis (deceased, dead), and the person would die (but only if you're a Dark element can you kill someone like that). No, people who use this kind of magic don't shout it out loud; it's not like Harry Potter or something (Good Heavens, no!), but concentration and being strong with your magic, particularly your element, is the key. Much of the ancient Kreyan language deals purely with magic, but you'll find out more about it later. Much later.]
Miyako needn't have worried, though; by the time the flames reached skyward, Lance had volunteered to check out the scene.
"Be on the lookout for sentries posted," Link called as loudly as he dared to Lance. The sailor tipped off a hand signal and darted forward with uncanny speed.
"Dammit, we should have known," swore one of the archers, slamming his fist on the ground and shaking his head. "And now t'others will suffer fates worse'n death, so they will!"
"We did the best we could," another intervened. Link tried his best to calm his mind, but it would be at least three-quarters of an hour before Lance returned.
'Maybe we should go after him; there'll be no use standing around here,' he thought nervously, picking at a loose strand on his tunic. Inaction made him edgy, and certainly this was a delicate moment. "Let's move out; we're going to follow behind Lance, and we'll need to be quiet about it." Almost at once the archers were following his lead. It was unnerving how easily they took orders from him; it seemed that they had much respect for him, even the elder ones.
Lance was sprinting with all the speed of the fastest race horse, praying that the scene would not be devastated, hoping that he would get there in time to help, perhaps use his aqua against the flames that licked higher. The whole Selintan encampment could be going up, and it certainly looked like it, though the fiery plumes had died down.
'Let them be safe, goddesses,' he prayed silently. 'Let them be safe.'
-----------------------
Sorry this chapter's late! FF.net was down for me last night.