Chapter Twelve
Aftermath
"We won!" shouts a farmer.
"We've beaten them!" says another.
"For now," says Shad, "They'll be back."
"How can you say that?" asks an old woman, "Look at them flee!"
"Just as they did after The Battle of Aruk," says Dar, "When they slipped away to rebuild their numbers and become a threat once more."
"This won't be over until The Juns are no longer a threat," agrees Conan, "Not next year. Not five years from now. Not ever."
"What are you suggesting?" asks Madmartigan.
"That we take the fight to The Juns," says Conan, "That we show them that we will not be a victim to them ever again. Show them how it feels to have their home invaded."
"The Juns don't take their women into battle," says Madmartigan, "You're talking about killing non combatants."
"My sister is still being held prisoner in their Hidden Fortress," says Shad, "So are many other women. We have to rescue them."
"The Akira are severely short of able bodied people to work the fields," says Dar, "If there are young Jun children there, children young enough to not have been taught to be evil, perhaps they could be adopted into the community. Made productive members of the village."
"No!" shouts Kura, "They killed my daddy! They killed Malak! They took my mommy away! They tried to kill my brother! One of them tried to rape me today! I want them all dead! All of them!"
"What separates us from the Juns," Red Sonja says gently, "is that we are able to show compassion and mercy. The sins of the husbands and fathers should not be paid for by their wives and children."
"Well said," says Madmartigan, "I've done many things before becoming Lord of Tir Asleen, things I'm not exactly proud of. One thing that I can honestly say that I have never done is kill innocent women and children."
"What does it matter?" asks one of the farmers, "They're fleeing to their Hidden Fortress. None of us know where it is. That's what makes it hidden."
"That's not exactly true," says Dar, "I know where their Hidden Fortress is. Sharak showed me the way."
"Can you find your way there?" asks Conan.
"Of course," replies The Beastmaster.
"Where is their fortress?" asks Red Sonja.
"High up in the mountains," says Dar, "Built into the mountain itself. There are large stone pillars on either side of the entrance, carved into the shape of giant snakes."
"What?" says Conan.
"The pillars are made to look like giant snakes," says Dar, "And there's a symbol carved into the doors. Two giant snakes facing each other, but they share the same body."
"With a black moon and sun below?"
"Yes," replies Dar, "Why? What is it? What's wrong?"
"Do the Juns worship Set?" asks Conan.
"I don't know," admits The Beastmaster, "When they were once led by Maax, but he was a priest of Ar, not of Set."
"You're acting strange," says Red Sonja, "What is going on?"
"That symbol," says Conan, "It was carried by those who followed Thulsa Doom when they came and destroyed my village."
"But Thulsa Doom is dead," says Madmartigan, "You told us so yourself. You cut off his head and burned his remains, and his temple with them."
"His Mountain of Power is many miles from here," adds Sonja, "There can't possibly be a connection between The Juns and Thulsa Doom."
"Most likely after the Battle of Aruk, the scattered remains of The Juns came across a hidden stronghold of Set worshipers which was abandoned after their leader was killed," suggests Dar, "I doubt that their choice to live there was anything other than them being pragmatic."
"Still," says Conan, "I want nothing left of that evil place when we are finished. We offer the women and children a chance to surrender, then we burn the place to the ground."
"It's been carved out of the mountainside," says Dar.
"Then we'll knock out the support pillars so that it collapses in on itself!" shouts the Cimmerian, "No one is to find their way into that evil place again! Ever!"
"Fine," agrees Red Sonja, "So we have to decide who is going to go and who's going to stay."
"Every Akira who is able to ride should come with us," says Madmartigan, "This is their fight. They need to be able to see it through to the end."
"How many are left who are able to ride?" asks Conan.
"About a dozen," says Dar, "Hardly what you could call an army."
"No," agrees Conan, "But maybe enough to convince The Juns to surrender. Very well. Round up whatever horses The Juns have left behind. We leave at first light."
"We're coming too," says Kura.
Conan turns around to see the young girl and a host of Akira children with grim expressions on their faces, all armed with daggers and hatchets. "No," says Conan, "You are too young."
"You didn't think that we were too young when we charged the battlefield earlier," argues the girl, "And the Juns didn't think that I was too young to be raped tonight!"
"I hate to say it," says Sonja, "but she has a point. We are desperately short on able bodied adults. These children could give us the numbers that we need to win."
"They are too small and weak to stand against adults in battle," says Conan, "even against their aged veterans and inexperienced youths."
"In close combat perhaps," agrees Madmartigan, "but we can arm them with crossbows to fight from afar."
"I was not much older than these children when my father began training me with the sword," adds Dar, "And King Tal was almost as young as they are when he led the people of Aruk against the priests of Ar and their temple guards, as well as the Juns as they attacked the city shortly after."
"Prince Tarn of Hablock was similarly young when he and his man-servant Falcon joined me on my quest of vengeance against Queen Gedrin," says Sonja.
"King Tal and Prince Tarn were older then than these children are now," says Conan, "And they had the benefit of years of training by the best tutors that their wealth and position could afford. These children did not even train with the other Akira."
"Conan," says Shad, "I am loath to use children as soldiers. And you are right in that they have neither the size, the strength, nor the training to stand toe to toe with even the weakest of the Juns' reserves. But they are of Akir. They have the right to fight for their home."
"Very well," concedes the Cimmerian, "We will take only the older children. Arm them with light crossbows. Each of us will have to double up. One child on the back of each horse."
"Agreed," says Shad.
"Then gather up the necessary supplies," instructs Conan, "We must make haste if we are to catch up to the Juns before they reach their home. Once they barricade themselves in a fortress such as that, even an entire army would be unable to get them out."
The Akira gather horses and supplies. Conan, Sonja, Dar, and Madmartigan gather their equipment. Conan takes Deathstalker's Dragon Bow, and Sonja takes Subotai's longbow. Madmartigan takes a heavy crossbow, and The Beastmaster takes a spear. The four remaining mercenaries are joined by Shad and twelve of his fellow Akira. Three of the Akira are hunters, armed with bows and arrows. The rest are farmers, armed with heavy crossbows, axes, and spears. Kura has gathered sixteen of her fellow children, all armed with hatchets, knives, and light crossbows. The Akira have gathered seventeen Jun warhorses for the party, each one loaded with bags of provisions and a pair of light crossbows strapped to their saddles. The mercenaries and their Akira employers mount up, each one with a child mounted behind them. As the eastern sky turns pink and red with the rising sun, Conan leads the party into the mountains after the fleeing Juns.
With Dar's animal companions scouting ahead, it takes the Akira and their mercenaries little time to track down the fleeing Juns. They come across them in small groups. Sometimes two or three at a time. Sometimes up to a dozen. Each time, Conan and the other mercenaries let the Akira take the lead in eliminating these Juns. The children begin the attacks by firing their crossbows at the barbarians. Then the adult Akira close in for melee combat, finishing off those who weren't killed in the first volley. With the larger groups, everyone fires their bows and crossbows before the adults close in for the kill. Conan and the others back up their employers on the battlefield, but the majority of the fighting is left to the Akira. They need to be ready for the final confrontation that is yet to come. Not just physically, but emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. They cannot afford to have any hesitation when they storm the fortress. After two days of hard riding, and skirmishes with small groups of Juns, most of whom were the aged veterans and the untried youths, The Beastmaster calls for the group to halt.
"What is it?" asks Conan.
"A clearing up ahead," says Dar, "A lot of Juns are camped out there. A lot of Juns."
"How do you know?" asks Madmartigan.
"I can see them," he replies, "Through Sharak's eyes."
"How many?" asks Conan.
"We're outnumbered at least four to one," he replies, "Many of them are adults in their prime. A score of them at least. The rest are all of their reserves. Their silver haired veterans and youths that are barely old enough to shave. Both of their young and their old each have us outnumbered by at least two to one."
"It must be a rendezvous point for the Juns," says Madmartigan, "A place to gather if the battle turned against them."
"Which It has," says Shad.
"I don't think that our usual strategy will work for this group Conan," says Sonja.
"Me either," agrees the Cimmerian.
"Shad," says Dar, "I want you to take all of the Akira who are armed with crossbows and flank the Juns, positioning yourselves between them and the path towards their fortress. Conan, Sonja, and Madmartigan will sneak around to our left. The three Akira with longbows will stay behind with the children and attack from the rear."
"And where will you be, my friend?" asks Conan.
"Ruh and I will be attacking from the right," replies the Beastmaster, "Just as soon as we gather some reinforcements. Just don't start the attack until you hear my signal."
"And what signal would that be?" asks Shad.
"You'll know it when you hear it." And with that, Dar and Ruh run off into the forest.
"So thirty of us are going to surround nearly four score Juns?" asks Shad.
"Subotai and I faced worse odds and won during our final confrontation with Thulsa Doom," says Conan.
"And I faced worse odds when defending the castle of Tir Asleen against General Kael and the soldiers of Nockmaar," adds Madmartigan.
"Besides," says Sonja, "We don't actually have to outnumber the Juns. We just have to make them think that we do."
"When you hear Dar's signal," instructs Conan, "The Akira archers and children will fire upon them from behind. At the same time, Sonja, Madmartigan and I will fire upon them from the side. This should create panic in their ranks. Some of their numbers will likely flee towards their fortress. When they do, Shad and his men will fire upon them. Then the archers and children will continue firing into the crowd while the rest of us take to the field and finish them off with steel."
"Are you certain that they will flee?" Shad asks.
"Do I look like Crom to you?" replies the Cimmerian, "I don't know everything that might happen. What I do know is that the Juns are tired, they're hurt, and they're already on the run. After what happened in Akir, I doubt that they have the stomach for another battle."
"Remember," says Madmartigan, "These are the scraps of the Jun Horde. When firing upon them, aim for their prime warriors first. The veterans who are past their prime and the youths who have not yet even reached their prime will be far closer to your combat skills."
Shad nods his head affirmatively and then leads the Akira around the Juns. Conan then addresses the Akira archers. "Remember," he says, "Stay hidden and keep shooting. Keep up the barrage as much as you can. Make it seem as though there are sixty of you, not just twenty." The Akira archers nod their heads and lead the children into position.
"Come," says Sonja, "Let us get into position. Dar will be back soon with his reinforcements."
"What reinforcements do you suppose he has in mind?" asks Madmartigan.
"He is The Beastmaster," replies Conan, "I suppose he will be bringing an army of beasts."
"I figured as much," chuckles the Lord of Tir Asleen, "What I mean is what sorts of beasts will he be bringing to help?"
"Whatever they are, they had better be fierce and powerful," says Conan, "And lots of them."
"Come on," says Sonja, "If we aren't in position when Dar arrives, it won't matter what kind of reinforcements he brings."
The three mercenaries take up their weapons and run off to take their positions. They creep through the bushes until they come to the edge of the clearing. Keeping hidden, they spread themselves out. Conan moves to the left, while Red Sonja goes to the right. Madmartigan takes his position in the centre. Conan and Sonja stick the tips of their arrows into the ground for easy access. Madmartigan sets out three loaded crossbows, one heavy and two light, and then does the same with his crossbow bolts. Then they sit and wait. Fortunately they don't have to wait for too long. Soon the sound of wolves howling echoes through the clearing. The Juns stand up and face the direction that the howling is coming from. Taking this as their cue, Conan, Sonja, and Madmartigan open fire upon the Juns.
Conan shoots an arrow into the back of the head of a Jun youth. The projectile connects with such force that the youth is thrown into the chest of a grown Jun warrior. The arrow continues on through the boy's skull and into the heart of the older Jun. Sonja lets fly with arrow after arrow, each one finding its mark in the heads and chests of healthy adult Juns. Madmartigan fires his heavy crossbow first. The heavy bolt drives through the helmet of a Jun warrior. He tosses the heavy crossbow aside and picks up the light crossbow. He takes aim and puts a bolt through the neck of another Jun. Then he tosses that crossbow aside and picks up the second light crossbow and fires another bolt, this one pierces the heart of another Jun warrior. He quickly pulls back on the bowstring and locks it in place. Madmartigan puts a bolt into place, takes aim and fires, shooting another Jun right through the throat.
As the Akira archers and children see the mercenaries open fire on the Juns, they too release a volley of arrows and crossbow bolts. As instructed, they aimed mostly at the warriors who are still in their prime. Many of the Juns fall, either dead or badly injured. The three archers continue the barrage of missile fire as best they can as the children reload their crossbows. The Akira children then begin alternating their attacks, with some of them shooting their crossbows while the others are reloading theirs.
Just as the Juns are beginning to get peppered with arrows and crossbow bolts, The Beastmaster comes running out of the forest, spear in hand. He hurls the weapon at the first Jun he sees. The spear soars through the air with such speed and strength that one would think that it had been shot from a ballista. It strikes a Jun warrior in the chest, impaling him and piercing his heart. Several white haired Jun veterans take up their weapons and move to intercept the lone warrior. They may be old, but they still have The Beastmaster outnumbered at least forty to one. Dar doesn't even slow his pace. He draws his sword and heads straight for the Juns' encampment. Then the Juns stop dead in their tracks as The Beastmaster's reinforcements arrive. A pack of dire wolves come barreling out of the bushes, each one nearly the size of a horse. There are at least a dozen full grown wolves, with nearly a score of cubs, each one roughly the size of one of their smaller, more common cousins full grown. And running alongside them is Ruh, roaring and ready to fight. The dire wolves pounce on the Juns, clamping their jaws down on their throats. Some of the Juns get their arms up in defence, the powerful jaws of the wolves tearing flesh and crushing bones.
The remaining prime Jun warriors lead the Jun youths in a mad dash towards the Jun fortress. Conan nods his head in understanding. The Juns youths are the future of the Jun empire. They are the future hunters and warriors of the Jun people. They are the ones who will sire the next generation of Juns. The veterans are old and past their prime. They likely cannot bed women as often as they could when they were younger. And even when they can, they are less likely to be able to plant their seed in the women's wombs. So the veterans are staying behind to sacrifice themselves. Giving their youths the opportunity to get back to their fortress, to barricade themselves behind the heavy doors and wait out any invasions. The Juns prime warriors and the inexperienced youths approach Shad and his fellow Akira. The farmers release a volley of crossbow bolts. Ten Jun warriors fall dead, bolts protruding from their chests. The Akira toss aside the crossbows and grab others that are laying loaded and waiting at their feet. Another volley of bolts, cutting down another ten Juns. Their crossbows now spent, Shad draws his scimitar and takes up his shield. The other Akira follow his example and take up their weapons and shields. Then with a cry of pure rage they charge the field. The Juns, now only the youths and the veterans are left to fight.
Conan, Madmartigan, and Red Sonja draw their swords and charge onto the field as well. Madmartigan's enchanted sword cuts through the wooden spear shafts and ax handles as though they are made of warm wax. The Juns fall at the knight's feet, either cut in two, dismembered, or split open. Conan lays into the Juns, cutting them down with his Atlantean blade. Red Sonja slices and stabs the Juns with her sword, blessed by the goddess Scathatch, leaving them either dead or dying.
Soon, between the skill of the four remaining mercenaries, the constant barrage of arrows and crossbow bolts, and the pent up rage of the Akira, the battle is eventually won. Remarkably, even though they were terribly outnumbered, and the Akira were nowhere near as skilled in combat as the Juns, The Akira suffered no casualties in the battle. Some of them had been injured, but not severely enough to be taken out of the battle. Nor badly enough to keep from moving on to the Hidden Fortress of the Juns. They bind their wounds, mount their horses, and continue on their way.
In the bed chamber of Karak, Nanelia lays naked on the bed, her body glistening with sweat and her face contorted in disgust and discomfort. Leaning over her is a hideously ugly Jun woman. Her sagging naked breasts hang down in Nanelia's face. She gives the Akira girl a cruel grin, her teeth rotting, some of them even missing. One of the woman's hands holds Nanelia down on the bed while her other hand is thrust down in between her thighs. The old hag pulls her hand out from between the girl's legs, her fingers glistening in the candlelight from her bodily fluids. The Jun woman sniffs her fingers.
"Congratulations," she says, "You are with child." She then sucks the fluid from her fingers. "A boy child," she continues, "One who will grow up to become heir to the Jun Empire."
"He won't," Nanelia says to the Jun midwife, "I will smash his head in with a rock before I allow that bastard to grow up into a monster like his father!"
The midwife slaps Nanelia across the face. "Foolish girl!" She hisses, "Do you think that you are the first to bear a Jun child in this way? You'll be bound for the birthing. The prince will be raised by the Jun warriors. And once you have given Karak his heir, you will be used for the pleasure of all of the Juns. You will give birth to Jun children until you are no longer fertile. And when you are no longer of any use for breeding, you will die."
Nanelia glares at the midwife as the old hag walks away. "Enjoy your time as Karak's pet," says the midwife, "Before long, it will seem a preferable existence compared to what lies ahead."
The Jun midwife leaves Nanelia to her misery, grinning at the thought of her being raped by the entire Jun nation. The old hag then goes about overseeing the day to day activities of those who are left behind. The children who were considered to be far too young to go to war with their fathers and brothers were hard at work training for the day that they will be old enough. They wrestle with each other, fight with wooden swords, and practice throwing spears at targets. The few men who are left, those who are too old to even be used as reserves, watch over the boys and provide instruction, praising them for their success and chastising them for failure. The girls are hard at work, cooking and cleaning. There are many women here who are clearly not of the Juns' bloodline. They are locked in chains, nursing infants and helping with the manual labor. These women are slaves, taken from Akir and other nearby villages, as well as from merchant caravans which the Juns had raided. They are used by the Juns for breeding, forcing them to increase the number of Jun warriors. The midwife wants to make sure that everything is ready for when Karak returns victorious. He and his warriors will have built up quite an appetite, not only for food and drink, but also for the carnal pleasures of the flesh. Suddenly there is a heavy knock at the main doors. She and a couple of the old men head over to the large double doors and, with much effort, lift the heavy wooden beam which is keeping the doors barred shut. They open up the doors, smiling as they believe that Karak has returned. Their eyes widen and their mouths fall open as they see the group of Akira before them, bows and crossbows aimed right at them.
"Surrender!" Shad orders them, "Or die where you stand!"
The two aged Juns reach for the swords at their hips while the midwife turns to shout a warning to the rest of the community. They barely move an inch when the three Akira hunters let fly with their arrows, taking them down and silencing their cries of alarm. The Akira charge into the fortress, weapons at the ready. Conan and his fellow mercenaries hold back, allowing their employers to take the lead this time. Jun women and elders come to meet the invaders. "Surrender or die!" The Akira cry out. The Juns grab whatever weapons they can get their hands on in response, and are cut down by the Akira.
Still the Jun women and elders thought that they would be able to repel the intruders. Even though the elders were too old to even be allowed to march to battle as sword fodder, the children were all too young, and the women were completely subservient to the men and not trained in combat, they still outnumbered the Akira several times over. But then something happens that the Juns did not anticipate. The women who had been captured as slaves begin fighting back. The slaves who were busy cooking dinner take up their kitchen knives and attack their Jun oppressors. The slaves who are locked in irons attack their captors with their heavy iron chains. The slaves who are neither wearing iron chains nor holding anything that can be used as a weapon simply attack with their bare hands, punching, kicking, scratching, and biting. A small group of Jun women barricade themselves in the nursery with the youngest Jun children and their caretakers. The door is battered down by the Akira, who storm the room. "Surrender or die!" Kura shouts. One of the Jun women raises a knife and screams in defiance. Kura shoots her through the heart with her crossbow. The slave girls who were looking after the youngest of the Juns' children then attack the other Jun women, burying them under their numbers. All of them but one. A woman stands there, nursing an infant, looking at Kura.
"Kura?" says the woman, "Are you Kura?" The little girl looks at her with a confused look on her face. "By Mitra, it is you! It's me," says the woman, "It's Momma."
"Momma?"
"Yes, baby! It's me! It's Momma!"
Kura drops her crossbow and runs into her mother's arms. Mother and daughter hold one another, tears rolling down their cheeks. Conan, Dar, Sonja, and Madmartigan walk through the temple of Set. The Juns women and elders lay dead at their feet. "So much death," says Madmartigan with lament clearly in his voice, "Such senseless destruction."
"They were given the opportunity to surrender," replies Conan, "They chose not to accept it."
"And what of the children?" asks Red Sonja.
"Those who didn't try to kill us will be taken back to Akir," Dar tells her, "They will be raised to be farmers, not murderers."
"The Juns are a large and powerfully built people," says Madmartigan, "They will make excellent farmers. And excellent warriors."
"The Akira aren't warriors," says The Beastmaster.
"They weren't warriors," Madmartigan corrects him, "I doubt anyone could ever call them anything else from now on."
"They will be able to defend themselves from now on," agrees Conan, "And the Jun children will grow up to be great defenders themselves one day."
"I suppose you're right," says Dar.
Conan, Sonja, Madmartigan, and The Beastmaster search the temple of Set. They find the larder, packed with food taken from Akir and a half dozen other similar nearby villages. They also find enough livestock to provide milk, eggs, and meat enough to feed a large town. They find the armoury, with enough weapons and armour to equip a small army. And, most importantly to Conan, they found the treasury. Gold and silver coins, precious jewels, fine silks and expensive trinkets. Wealth enough to perhaps ease the pain of the loss of Subotai, Malak, and Deathstalker. The freed slaves and the children gather as much food and equipment as they can carry. The horses are loaded up with so much food that there is no room on their backs to accommodate any riders. So the Akira and their mercenaries walk all the way back to the village, leading a procession of freed slaves and young children. It takes them much longer to get back than it took them to get to the Juns' Hidden Fortress.
Author's Notes
I thought that I would share a few words about the origins of this story. My inspiration for writing it, if you will. I had written another story for the Conan The Barbarian movies called Conan vs Conan, where Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan from the 1982 movie meets Jason Mamoa's Conan from the 2011 movie. They get into an argument over who the real Conan is, which quickly escalates into a deadly sword fight. I'll let you guess who wins. The story got a lot of positive reviews. One review from Sw0rdslinger I found rather confusing, which read "Post your review here". Curious, I sent him a PM asking what he meant. He explained that a computer glitch had caused him to post the default text in the review box by mistake, rather than the review that he had actually written. This led to us discussing the Conan films in detail. We both agreed that it was unfortunate that the majority of the stories posted in the Conan Movie subsection were all about the 2011 film and not the original.
This led to Sw0rdslinger challenging me to something of a contest. For the longest time I didn't accept the challenge, as I had no idea what to write. Then I read a post on Superhero Hype dot com about movie crossovers that people wanted to see. Someone suggested a remake of The Seven Samurai set in the Hyborian Age, using many of the characters that I used in my story (namely Madmartigan, The Beastmaster, Red Sonja, and Conan). This sparked my creativity, and after making a few minor changes to the original idea (the person who posted the idea wanted to include Hawk The Slayer, Legolas, the sorcerer's apprentice from Dragon Slayer, and make Kurgan from Highlander the main villain) I began writing my story.
If any of you who are reading this story would like to join in on the challenge, here are the rules:
Rule #1: Your story must feature and/or reference characters and events from the 1982 film Conan The Barbarian and/or the 1984 sequel Conan The Destroyer.
Rule #2: Absolutely no characters and/or events from the 2011 Conan film are to be used or referenced at all. Inspiration from other Conan sources (the live action TV series, the comics, the animated series, etc) are allowed however.
Rule #3: Minimum story size is ten chapters, with a minimum of three thousand words per chapter.
Rule #4: Crossovers are allowed. However they must be fairly plausible, either through time travel, inter-dimensional travel, or already be from a shared universe. Or you can retcon certain elements of one of the other fandoms (like I did with Beastmaster and Willow for example). But truly oddball crossovers (like Conan The Barbarian & Miami Vice for instance) should be avoided at all costs.
Rule #5: A cast of era appropriate actors should be included at the beginning of your story in order to help the reader visualize the action (Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan, Gerry Lopez as Subotai, Mako as Hakiru the Wizard, Grace Jones as Zula, etc) . While not essential, this will help to prevent any confusion between the 1982 film, the 2011 film, the live action TV series, The animated series, the comics, and Robert E Howard's original stories.