Clash of Scouts

 

I won't give a full after action report from the game I played a couple weeks ago. The photos below convey the gist of the skirmish in which three mounted Nahorn scouts met six Kru dog faces on foot. The Kru's objective was to get someone on the high ground to observe the Nahorn outpost and return off their own board edge with the information. The Nahorn objective was to prevent the Kru from returning with intelligence that the outpost was inadequately defended.

In similar scenarios I've played, the Kru always split up and every dog face fends for himself--leaving them to face the riders alone. This time, the Kru leader kept his warriors together. However, the line formation he used was vulnerable at each end, which is where the horse scouts targeted their attacks. The Nahorn men waited for the Kru to clear the rough and brushy ground before striking. The mounted spearman above took out two Kru in one pass--slaying them both.

One of the dog faces did get to the high ground and howled the intelligence back to the leader, who almost escaped with it. The Kru captain couldn't outrun the horses, and, on 4th and goal, a Nahorn blade put him down permanently only inches shy of the end zone.

Two riders were pulled from their mounts, but they survived. The dismounted riders chased the last dog face into the brush and treated him to multiple rounds of that popular game "Spear point, axe head, who's got the wound." The Kru refused to go down easily. He succeeded in catching wound after wound until he finally lost consciousness

___________________

I'm on chapter 20 of the final edit of Truth in Flames. I would promise that it will be available in ebook this week, but the cover may take me a little longer because my artist is away on a cruise. Of course, the paperback will take an additional week to format. In fact, the paperback may not go up until January.

 AAR of Wreck at the Ruins

Sing, O Muse, of the race among the ruins, when the princess fled from her crashed flyer to fall insensible as she hid from the green men of Mars. Rehearse for us the exploits of those noble red warriors of Melihum as they spilled their blood over the golden ochre of the dead city where the princess lay. Tell their names and the weapons they bore. Describe the mighty foe and lament the warriors they laid low.

The warriors were true and brave. Nantos Nan (NN), veteran of many battles and sound in mind and deed, did lead them. He bore the bright sword given him by the Jeddak of Melihum, with his short sword and pistol he faced the enemy. He had with him Han Tadron (HT1), who slew many green enemies in his day and wore a warriors metal. Dav Ravo (DR) of the straight-shooting pistol and gleaming sword came to make his name known. Mardos Tors (MT) the fearless and valiant completed their number, bearing his gleaming blade and shortsword with a shooting weapon on his hip. Han Tadron the second (HT2) had lagged behind, but joined the warriors when Han Tadron was slain.

Their foes were arrayed in the metal of warriors slain, and casting long shadows--for they were three times the height of a man--their four arms were quick with sword and pistol. First came Vak Voka (VV), renowned among the green Zarhoons for his prowess and cruelty. He was the one who had fired the shot that disabled the princess' flyer. At his side marched Bak Badja (BB), the bold attacker. 

Tell us who drew first blood? It was the green man Bak Badja who drew first blood. His radium pistol shot true, taking Han Tadron at the base of throat, in the little divot where the clavicles join the sternum. The exploding shell left him no chance at life and his blood first stained the ochre moss.

Nantos Nan took aim to repay BB for the deadly shot but his bullet exploded against the wall upon which the ancients had written, "Nutritional Facts."

BB, unfazed by NN's shot, returned fire to graze NN's shoulder and caused him to take shelter behind the wall. Vak Voka looked also for the princess. In a ruin with pink upon the walls, he found a trap which dropped him to the pits. He spent many long efforts in trying to escape from the trap.

Sing, O Muse, of Dav Ravos's fate. Tell how he hurried in his search. He thrust his golden helm within a ruin's walls only to meet a great pale simian. DR, swift of hand and mind, drew his pistol and fired in surprise. His bullet went true, but the white monster shrugged off the wound and came on the attack.

The pale brute of savage will and brutal power struck him a blow that crushed one shoulder. DR fled from the ruin with the speed of the zephyr but the angry ape bounded after, bent on pounding the intruder into dust. NN and HT2 traded shots with BB. The fierce fire drove the green man into an ornately decorated building, but not before he had wounded NN once more. Inside, BB found the unconscious princess. He threw her over a shoulder and ran out, knowing that the Melihum warriors would not dare to fire for fear of injuring the princess.

HT2, a flame of chaste and loyal passion burning in his heart for the princess, rushed to BB as though on a chariot of the gods. With sword drawn he engaged the verdant giant.

BB released the insensible princess and raised his flashing blades. His steel clove HT2's shoulder, the blade cutting down into the upper ribs. HT2 dropped to his knees, and BB pulled the sword from the wound, which gushed with the warrior's fresh dark blood. Although not slain, HT2 fell to the side, blackest night enveloping his consciousness. BB lifted the princess from the ochre moss as MT drew near.

But what of DR and his unlucky fate? He turned to fight the mighty ape, and dealt it another wound, his quick blade darting between the beast's four deadly arms. The wound did not stay the white simian. With thews rippling like an angry sea, the pale ape crashed a massive paw against DR's golden helm. The brave warrior fell, not dead, but unable to move.

 How did MT bring honor to his name? The valiant warrior MT was set upon by VV, mightiest of the two green men, and who had finally escaped the pit. MT gave as good as he got, wounding the green man and taking a small hurt of his own. When he saw that BB had taken up the princess again, he broke away from VV and leaped the wall to rush upon BB like a banth defending its kill. MT brought up his best trick of swordplay to drive his blade through BB's dark heart. At last, the life fluid of a green man dampened the golden ochre not far from HT2's unconscious form.

How did MT meet his end? VV bounded over the wall in a single stride, like a nimble thoat clearing a low fence. The cruel green man struck from behind. MT turned to meet the attack. NN, twice wounded by BB's bullets, surged forward to aid MT and to rescue his princess.

MT had exhausted all of his tricks of swordplay, and NN, slowed by his wounds, could but watch as VV's whirling blades cut down his comrade. MT dropped upon the ochre yet wet with BB's warm blood. As the warrior expired, he rolled to place his body between VV and the princess. 

Did DR recover from the blow that sent him low, with darkness closing in? DR could not escape his fate. Clobbered to the turf by the hand of the pale ape, DR's living body could not respond to his danger. The white simian dragged the miserable man back to his lair to feast upon the human flesh.

What of NN? Did he succeed in saving the princess? O how the sorrow of Melihum was magnified on that day. NN, last of the Melihum warriors still treading upon the ochre, sprang forward as VV took up the beautiful princess. Cover your ears and steel your hearts for the sad end draws near. Without even lowering the princess once more, VV parried NN's desperate blow, and drove his sword through the red man's core. Weep, Melihum, weep for sorrow and remorse. The cruel VV carried away the princess to shriek beneath the tortures that would make the green men laugh with delight.

_________

Was the play test fabulous? Indeed it was. Combat, shooting, movement, etc went tremendously well. I believe it's time to move on to a scenario from the Kru War. I doubt that Homer will be joining us for that report.

 

Once more it is Rescue from the Hangman's Noose as I test another variant of my skirmish game rules. More than skirmish rules, really, they have the mechanics to transition into table top rpg.

Four musketeers attempt to save a friend from the hangman's noose. Andre, D'Hubert, Arnaud, and Paul sneak into the square as the grim ceremony is set to begin. A drummer beats the solemn prelude and the musketeers linger out of sight at the edges of the square. Five of the Cardinal's Guard watch the crowd for the would-be rescuers. (I've dispensed with the crowd for my purposes today).

The musketeers are spotted immediately by an alert guardsman. The guards are under the command of Lt. Joubert. His four men are Rousseau, Colbert, Jarnac, and Joussac.

Hearing the guards shout a warning about the musketeers, Paul runs in from the shadows of the auberge to take Joussac, who is waiting for the hangman and prisoner to emerge from the cells, and runs him through. (The green markers denote hidden items the musketeers can use but which were not significant factors to play as the circumstances developed). D'Hubert has come around the other side of the auberge.

Meanwhile (not pictured), Arnaud rushed the guard Rousseau. They exchanged blood samples and Arnaud retreated to check the depth of his wound.

Joussac's death cry attracts the attention of the lightly-wounded Rousseau. The guard's rush toward the hangman and prisoner is interrupted by D'Hubert. Paul charges the hangman and introduces the pommel of his sword to the hangman's skull. The hangman is completely floored by the encounter. (The hangman is played by a cowboy sheriff figure, and the condemned is played by another cowboy figure).

In his rush to delay the guards from hindering Paul's rescue attempt, Andre leaps upon the table, only to have the unstable furniture tilt as his feet come down upon the edge. The table tips to spill Andre to the ground. Fortunately for him, the guards are focused on the the prisoner and are unable to take advantage of his temporary vulnerability.

Arnaud discovers that his wound is, in fact, but a flesh wound, and he launches himself at the guard Jarnac. In a brief flash of steel accompanied by remarks about lineal irregularities, Jarnac falls with a mortal wound.

Joubert, seeing the hangman down and a musketeer about to seize the prisoner, realizes that desperate measures are required. He raises his pistol and fires at Paul.  A puff of smoke rises from the flintlock and the ball smashes against the stone of the prison wall. Joubert follows the shot by rushing Paul.

Paul begins his escape with the prisoner before Joubert can stop him. D'Hubert measures swords with Rousseau. The latter comes up lacking, with the result that he measures his length upon the square. The musketeers have slain a third guard. 

 Even with three of their number stretched upon stones, the two remaining guards keep their heads. Before Paul can escape with the prisoner, Colbert fires his pistol at Paul. Although his lead message doesn't strike the rescuer, Paul does leap for cover, abandoning the prisoner.

The guards find both courage and will. Joubert sprints in to grab the prisoner and drag him back to the hangman, who has regained his senses. They have a resurgence of hope--which D'Hubert punctures, along with Colbert's innards. The badly wounded guard drops to the cobblestones with a bellyache that obliterates his ability to take part in any further festivities.

Joubert and the hangman don't get far with the prisoner. Paul breaks from cover to engage Joubert in a vigorous philosophical discussion with an emphasis on being or not being and the utility of cold steel in providing an answer to the query. Joubert becomes converted to Paul's point of view, first falling as the argument penetrates his flesh, and then fleeing with the burden of his new found wisdom.

With Joubert converted and Colbert stewing in his own juices, no guards remain to impede the rescue. 

Overall, it was a great game. I was surprised that the musketeers took only a single wound while killing three guards, putting one hors de combat, and having the fifth flee the field. Andre never even got into the fight (if you don't count his duel with the table). As usual, I like the changes I've made to the system. I'll have to see how it goes with more advanced scenarios. I anticipate the Rescue in the Ruins next. As far as this scenario goes, it could be made more interesting with the addition of replacement guards entering on the next change of initiative after the death of any guard. Adjusting the random starting positions of the musketeers so that none of them enter so close to the prison might be a simpler alternative.

 Klingons in Distress

Uhura turned in her chair to better address the captain. "Distress call, sir. It's Klingon. They report that they have been seized by a beam from planet Cestus VI. Their ship is breaking up."

"Beyond sensor range," Spock said, anticipating Kirk's question. "Intelligence on Klingon positions indicates a single ship, a Klingon battle cruiser in the system."

"I'm not picking up any responses to the distress signal, Klingon or otherwise," Uhura said.

"Mr. Sulu, set a course for Cestus VI."

The distress signal ended abruptly. Scanners located debris in orbit. Spock indicated that the debris was consistent with that of a Klingon battle cruiser. Immediately thereafter, the Enterprise was seized in a tractor beam from the surface. Kirk and a landing party beamed down to the surface of the class M planet to check out the source of the tractor beam. 

If the power source is not disabled, the Enterprise will be destroyed by the power of the tractor beam.

When Kirk, Scotty, McCoy, and Chekov materialize, they find that their weapons, tricorder, and communicators have issues. None of the communicators work. Only Chekov’s phaser works. The tricorder does not work.

Also on the surface is a party of Klingons who were stranded when they beamed down before their ship was destroyed in a tractor beam. When they see the Enterprise crew, they believe the Enterprise destroyed their ship with some Federation secret weapon. The Klingon equipment also has  problems. Only one of the disruptors is working. They are led by Captain Kor.

Both Klingons and Federation teams begin searching the ruins. Six, low buildings in various states of disrepair surround a large square. A line of pillars runs down the center of the square. Two large patches of brush and low trees have also grown up in the square.

Chekov runs across the broad square toward a taller building with weird designs around the doorway. Kirk moves into the closest building where he locates a piece of alien technology which shocks him and knocks him out when he touches it. Scotty has gone to the next building beyond Kirk. McCoy goes in to help Kirk.

Meanwhile Klingons crewmen entered two buildings. One of the buildings had a pair of swords which were seized. Kor saw Chekov and Scotty. He had his man with the working disruptor toss it to him. Scotty sees Kor but is distracted by something in the building. While Scotty hesitates, Kor scores a direct hit, killing the engineer. 

Things don't look good for the Enterprise. The pressure on the hull is increasing, and Uhura lost contact with the landing party as soon as they beamed down.

McCoy revives Kirk. The determined captain rushes out to see Kor firing at Chekov. He isn't close enough to speak to Kor, but he does yell at him. Kor responds via distruptor and Kirk adds a minor wound from the disruptor graze. Kirk takes cover inside the building to discover Scotty's dead body and a wall of strange designs with a board of buttons, lights and controls. Writing in an unknown script is scattered about the control board and wall. Chekov takes out one Klingon. He and Kor trade shots; each takes a light wound. Chekov is cornered. McCoy is trying to get his tricorder to work. (That figure on the far left that looks like Mirror Universe Kirk with a sword is actually a Klingon suffering from a wardrobe malfunction).

While Chekov ducks back inside the building across the square to avoid Kor's distruptor fire, Kirk begins working the alien board. He's trying to make sense of the controls, to find a pattern, a clue to deactivating the destructive beam that holds Enterprise.

Chekov peeks around the corner. He exchanges shots with the Klingon captain, wounding Kor a second time, and driving him into cover. 

Kirk thinks he has it figured out, but a Klingon with a sword is rushing toward his location. If Kirk gets interrupted, he'll have to start all over. The Enterprise may not have time for Kirk to begin the deactivation process anew.

In the nick of time, (a really big nick, actually) Kirk completes the sequence before the Klingon attacker arrives. The communications are no longer jammed. He signals the ship to have them lock onto the himself and Scotty, as well as Chekov and McCoy. 

The game play was very smooth. It gave a great sense of action happening all over and very rapidly. If this was an episode, it would've only been a few minutes long, excluding the hook. Ideally, Kirk would have tried to convince Kor that they needed to work together. Kor saw the Enterprise crew before they saw the Klingons, and Kor's proclivity for shooting first and getting details later deprived Kirk of an opportunity to close to diplomacy distance to try his persuasive abilities. Chekov wasn't about to opt for an attempt at diplomacy while Kor was following Klingon policy of negotiating from a position strength--over the dead bodies of his perceived enemies.

The Enterprise was set to go all tin can beneath the semi-truck tire when the damaged/timer reached 100. Kirk deactivated the beam at 68, so there were a few turns left.

Interesting side note both casualties were redshirts: Scotty, and the Klingon who was being played by an unnamed redshirt because of a lack of Klingon figures for the game.

________________________

The Tomahawks and Dragon Fire prequel--which may be called Crimson Tempest, or not--advanced significantly this week. I had hoped to finish by the end of March, but the new target for completion is the end of April. Leave me a note if you're interested in being an advance reader. 

There was absolutely no demand for this episode of the Kru Wars, but I had committed myself to a two part installment when I subtitled the previous one (Part I) so here it is. More pictures at the end.

Tellereth Outpost

(Part II)

Copyright © 2020 Stanley Wheeler

All Rights Reserved

     The terrible scream lanced into their ears from upstream—from the Nahorn side of the river. Four unarmored Kru, one armed with a bow, and the others wielding a blade of jagged steel in each clawed hand presented an unusual sight as they advanced across the gray-green grass of the plain toward the barracks. The other creature, or pair of creatures which moved as one, proved to be the source of the mind-jarring screams. A great, black spider with a human archer upon his back walked among the four savage Kru

     “What is it?” Zorereth cried from his position on the bridge, fear and doubt clawing at his thoughts.

     Kolmor shouted back, “A screaming spider. I’ve heard of them. They live in the Garkag Mountains, I’ve been told. I’ve never seen one. That thing on its back is a man. We know how to kill one of those!”

     “The noise, it hurts,” Zorereth said. “It tells me to run away.”

     “Aye, so it does. Fight it. Fight the fear. Noise can’t hurt you,” Kolmor shouted to the younger man.

     Kolmor said no more, but his mind pondered the timing of this attack. They meant to strike us while our attentions were occupied by their friends from across the river. If they had arrived only a few minutes sooner, they’d have caught us like a misplaced hand between the hammer and the anvil. We’re not deployed to fight them with most of us on the bridge, or upon the wrong side of it, but things aren’t as bad as they could’ve been.

     He looked to the enemy. He could barely see the heads of the Kru dog faces over the river barricade. One of the Kru disappeared around the back of the barracks. Kolmor stepped away from the body of the Kru he had slain only moments before, and ran for the bridge. He had to get back on the Nahorn side to lead the fight.

***

     Gendorg urged the great spider forward with the power of his own mind commanding the mount. He had received two gifts from the pale lady: the ability to control the spider, and the special arrows she had given him. He discerned from the position of the enemy that the attack by the Kru across the bridge had already failed. He rode past the barracks on his right and toward the bridge beyond at his left as he fitted an arrow to his bow. He would have to seize victory himself this day.

***

     Thormo raised his bow. He was the closest warrior to the new attackers. He stood near the abutment on the Nahorn side of the bridge. The constant, ear-piercing scream of the spider caused him to hesitate for an instant. In that moment, the archer, wrapped in bands of blue, white, and gold cloth, loosed an arrow from atop the back of the screaming spider. Thormo had the presence of mind to duck behind the solid wood wall along the bridge. With only the faintest sound of impact, the enemy arrow struck the edge of the guard wall.

     Thormo raised up and returned fire at the archer. The arrow flew at the enemy, passing beneath his raised bow arm but failing to find the archer’s body. Unfortunately, the dog face archer who had advanced beside the spider had better luck with his shot. The missile penetrated Thormo’s hauberk to lodge in a rib bone. Unable to contend with both the spider’s unnerving scream and the arrow in his side, Thormo retreated to the center of the bridge above swift waters of the Tellereth, and huddled against the guard wall. He hated to see himself act in such a cowardly fashion, but for all the courageous words he had heard and had spoken to inspire others, his mind could find no hold upon such words at this moment. Even thoughts of his wife and children eluded him.

     Two of the wild Kru, gray-skinned and barely clothed with a furred hide about the waist, dashed past the spider and over the roadway. One of them vaulted the bridge abutment and leaped down from the other side. Meanwhile, the dog face who had gone behind the barracks appeared and sprinted up the roadway toward the bridge.

     Mellereth denied the fear brought by the awful arachnidian screams, and lifted his bow. As he drew back the arrow, the string snapped. The arrow clattered to Mellereth’s feet in the premature release, and the bow bounced and shuddered within his hand. The warrior threw the bow to the bridge planking next to the arrow. He drew his sword, racing toward the dog face. As Mellereth neared the end of the bridge, the archer upon the spider loosed another arrow. The peculiar missile struck Mellereth’s scaled hauberk and seemed to disappear in a cloud of dust. Gripped by a sudden panic, Mellereth threw himself over the bridge wall, falling to the turf between the river barricade and the bridge abutment. His body shook as though seized by a momentary paroxysm before he could push away the doubt which had seized him, and take stock of his situation.

     The spearman Zanfreth had been the most distant from the new enemy’s advance. He left the breach in the river barricade and the patch of brush to face the two wild Kru loping his way. Zanfreth raised his spear and charged the nearest one. The Kru raised his twin blades high, running forward to meet the warrior’s charge. The dog face avoided the tip of Zanfreth’s spear, ducked, and rolled to slash beneath the warrior’s shield, cutting a bloody path across Zanfreth’s leg below the hauberk. Stepping back with the wounded limb, Zanfreth stabbed at the gray-skinned dog face. With one blade the Kru knocked the point away before it could pierce his coarse-haired torso, and slashed at Zanfreth with the other. Zanfreth avoided the jagged blade but his wounded leg failed him. He stumbled at the feet of the dog face.

     The other Kru didn’t follow his fellow to battle Zanfreth, but moved against the fallen Mellereth. The blond warrior hurried to rise and establish his footing to meet the fierce attack. With no shield to protect him, he had to face the whirling blades of his enemy with only his sword. The jagged blades failed to intimidate Mellereth, and he swept aside the enemy steel to jam his sword into the dog face’s naked side. The Kru yelped in pain and hopped back several steps. A third Kru raced past the dog face as that one retreated from Mellereth, and leaped in to clash with the blond warrior on his own.

     As Kolmor ran to the crest of the bridge, Zorereth upon the bridge avoided one of the spider rider’s strange missiles. He struggled against the pounding fear and sent an arrow in response. The shaft tore through a band of cloth hanging from the enemy’s arm, harming only his wardrobe but not his person.

     The wild Kru archer sprinted forward and vaulted up the abutment to the roadway. As he raised from his crouched landing, he brought up his bow with an arrow knocked. The dog face found his target and released the shaft. The iron barb of the shaft pierced Zorereth’s hauberk and stabbed into his belly. The Nahorn warrior shouted out against the pain, against the fear hammering against his courage with each intense repetition of the spider’s scream. He clenched his teeth, aimed the tip of his arrow for the Kru’s chest, and sent it swishing swift and true from his bow to the target. He watched the dog face crumple like a wineskin with a rent torn in the bottom. One of the spider rider’s strange missiles whizzing past his face jerked his attention away from the fallen Kru.

     Balured, upon the opposite bank of the Tellereth, leaped for the top of the bridge abutment. His shield caught upon the edge of the obstacle and he fell to the ground. In a flash he regained his feet and clambered up to the roadway.

     Mellereth parried the blades of the dog face who had rushed him after he had wounded and repulsed the previous Kru attacker. Mellereth’s steel bit into the naked flesh of the dog face’s side. The dog face yelped and turned away, scampering back beyond his wounded comrade, and abandoning the fight altogether. Mellereth spun about and ran toward Zanfreth who had found his feet.

     The Kru abandoned his attack against Zanfreth to slash at the attacking Mellereth. The jagged Kru blades sliced across Mellereth’s bright scales but did not wound the warrior. The dog face spun to turn his blades upon Zanfreth who took the deadly blows upon his shield.

     The first Kru Mellereth had wounded realized that he would recover from the injury, and paused to lick the wound with his long tongue. He growled in anger and dashed toward the warrior, salivating for vengeance.

     No longer troubled by two opponents, the Kru renewed his attack upon the wounded Zanfreth. He deflected the spear and slid down its length, driving one of his blades into the warrior with all his weight. The connection between the scales parted and the blade stabbed into the flesh below the shoulder. The wound burned and Zanfreth feared that the Kru blade might be poisoned. He could no longer hold back against the pressure of the spider screams and the wounds to his leg and shoulder. He broke and ran, barely turning the final flurry of the Kru’s last attack as he hurried in terror from the field.

     Upon the bridge, Kolmor romped past Zorereth to the Nahorn side of the bridge, and narrowly avoided a glimmering missile from the bow of the spider rider.

     Thormo remained paralyzed with fear, unable to move from his crouch against the bridge guard. He fought an inner battle for mastery, trying to grip and hold his will and courage rendered slippery and untenable by his wound and the incessant, fear-inducing screaming.

     Balured shielded his mind against the spider cries. He rushed across the bridge to Kolmor’s side. Balured saw that Mellereth was engaged with one enemy, and that the Kru who had put Zanfreth to flight would join against him. Balured leaped from the abutment, falling forward, rolling to his feet and launching himself toward the dog face.

    A great wave of panic had been steadily rising. Kolmor felt it crashing upon him, drowning him in fear and doubt. He struggled to move, to think at all. In an effort requiring every ounce of will that he could scrape together and focus into action, he hurled his axe at the spider rider. The axe tumbled end over end toward the rider who endeavored to nock another missile to his bow. The blade bit deeply into his ribs below the bow-arm, and stuck, wedged in his side. Kolmor’s throat voiced a victory cry.

***

     Gendag held his position upon the black mount, adding his screams to those of the spider. It was possible that he was not too seriously injured. The blade had not penetrated deeply. A number of ribs had been broken and he likely had some other painful damage that would probably heal in time. Nevertheless, his blood flowed freely, staining his wrappings of colorful cloth, and it required great focus to command the spider. If he should take another wound, or pass out from the pain, he risked losing control of the beast. He cursed the two Kru who had fallen to their deaths as they had made the difficult crossing of the Tellereth with him over the narrow but deep ravine farther upstream. If those two had not fallen, if the Kru sent to attack the bridge had waited for his approach, he might be unwounded and bearing moustached and bearded heads in victory to the pale lady. It was not to be. She would be angry, but she would heal him. He had become one of the valuable ones upon whom she had poured a portion of her power—a small, but not insignificant portion. He would return another time with a properly timed attack. For now, he directed the spider away, leaving the outpost and bridge to their defenders—this time.

     Theer gave a snarl when he realized that Gendag was riding away. He hated the human with his pretty clothes and mysterious arrows. Nevertheless, the human served the lady, and she had commanded Theer to serve under the human’s commands. If the human upon his mighty creature believed it proper to leave the field, Theer would leave with him. The dog face had hoped to see the great spider drag Nahorn defenders into its dark maw to rend and feast upon those pale bodies. He would not see that today, but if he loped away wearing his own wounds as proof of his bravery, he might delight in such a spectacle another day. Theer turned away, taking a cut from the tip of the Nahorn sword which sliced across his shoulder blade, and hurried after Gendag and the spider.

Vun saw Theer turn and flee. Vun understood that he was the last of the pack in the fight. He ducked away from the two Nahorn warriors and their swords. He ran to the end of the Nahorn barracks before wondering if he might find a narrow way at the stable in which to make a stand against these yellow beards. He stopped and turned to assess his enemy.

***

     Mellereth followed upon the heels of the retreating foe. When the thing turned to face him, Mellereth shouted a war cry and stabbed at the Kru. The dog face parried his strike and pushed him away. Balured, right behind Mellereth, crashed into the Kru, knocking him to the ground. Mellereth joined Balured, but the dog face scrambled to its feet before they could pin it to the ground. The dog face’s wicked blades held Balured at bay, but Mellereth charged in, kicking the feet from beneath the Kru.

     Kolmor, free of the near paralysis caused by the spider’s screams, hurled himself into the fight against the last of the hated Kru. The resilient dog face bounced to its feet, churning the twin blades in a slashing double windmill toward Mellereth. With the other two Nahorn warriors interfering with the dog face’s attack, Mellereth avoided the blades and drove the point of his sword through the Kru’s liver and into its spine. The dog faced dropped for the last time, coloring the hoof-trampled ground with the ichor that had keep it alive.

Copyright © 2020 Stanley Wheeler

All Rights Reserved

The third installment of the Kru Chronicles -- Kru Wars actually is a better title. These episodes will tie together eventually. Pictures at the end.

Tellereth Outpost

(Part I)

Copyright © 2020 Stanley Wheeler

All Rights Reserved

 “I win!” Zanfreth said, slamming his cards down on the top of the table, sending the pile of small, round, multi-colored cylinders of wood scattering across the table.

Mellereth pounded the table. “I think your luck has been running mighty high. Are you sure you’re not in league with the pale lady?”

“Do not even jest about that!” Kolmor ordered. “Take your sticks, Zanfreth. If we ever get paid again, we’ll pay you according to the sticks of each man’s color you hold.”

Mellereth opened his hands before him, asking the other three at the table, “Could a man league with the pale lady and have her change his luck? They say she does magic.”

“Sorcery,” Kolmor corrected. “As for leaguing with her, we’ll never know. None of our envoys to her have ever returned.”

Zoreroth, the youngest of the four, asked, “Does she create the dog faces with her sorcery?”

Kolmor, the lieutenant and leader in Captain Fleroth’s absence, said, “I don’t know as she created them, but she did something to them. Ten years ago the Kru were nothing but scattered packs of dog faces who came down from the mountains to raid livestock now and then. If we so much as shot an arrow at them they would run away in fear. They attack all the time now, here and there in little packs, sometimes in whole battalions, and they’re armed too. I’ll wager the pale lady’s behind it.”

“Do you think our riders will be back soon?” Zoreroth asked.

“Captain Fleroth is due back with Defling and Eoroth before long. Later today I’d wager, depending on how many Kru necks they had to chop in the next valley,” Kolmor said. “Until then, let’s keep our eyes open. This bridge would be a fine prize for the Kru. If they can take this outpost and bridge, they can run supplies up this road by wagon to help feed an invading army. Let’s not be having them cross the river on our watch.”

***

Wun pushed his dark muzzle between two branches. Through the trees and brush he saw the outpost which consisted of a narrow, two-story barracks and a separate stable across the river. The Tellereth River ran deep and swift, but it was not wide. The pony men had barricaded the far bank so that it could not be scaled from the river. However, a section of the barricade had washed out some distance away on the left at a place where the river ran through some shallows. The current was particularly swift at that point, but it was shallow enough that one could walk across if he watched his footing. He could come ashore on the far bank on the edge of a patch of small trees and brush behind the log house in which the pony men stabled their horses. His small pack had come to seize the outpost and the bridge. He had placed his pack members on each side of the road. They were making their way forward, moving stealthily through the cover.

***

“Alarm! We’re under attack!” Thormo yelled. He repeated the cry as he raised his bow, seeking a shot at the dog face he had seen sneaking through the trees on the far bank. If he could see one Kru, there were several others he did not see. His position on the abutment at the end of the bridge gave him a raised position from which he could look over the barricade along the river to the far shore. He did not see a shot he could take. He looked downstream where he saw a dark shadow of a Kru leap into the swift waters of the Tellereth. The dog face wore a mail shirt, held a shield, and had his sword raised high. The fast flood swept the feet from beneath the dog face and he went down beneath the water.

Thormo’s voice penetrated the barracks. Mellereth rose to grab his bow and quiver of arrows. His sword was already at his side. He jammed his helmet upon his head as he broke through the doorway. He raced onto the bridge, his scaled hauberk thumping as he ran. He launched a shaft at a dog face within the trees, but the brush deflected the arrow. Another Kru broke from the trees, and came running up the road behind his shield. Mellereth dropped his bow to seize his sword. Balured, one of his comrades, arrived at his side at the same instant the dog face made contact. Mellereth stuck first, landing his sword edge upon the crown of the dark Kru helm. The dog face stumbled backward from the blow.

The Kru in the river struggled to his feet and leaped to the bank.

Thormo yelled and pointed when he saw the Kru emerge upon the Nahorn side of the river. Zamfreth heard the cry and raced over the roadway and past the corner of the stable in the direction indicated by the archer. Before could reach the dog face, Thormo bid the intruder welcome with an arrow to the thigh. The Kru took the arrow like a man and didn’t flinch. His upright posture and courage in the face of danger allowed Thormo to deliver a second token of welcome in the form of a feathered shaft piercing through the Kru mail shirt to the shoulder beneath. The dog face reeled backwards and fell into the swift current of the Tellereth and disappeared.

Balured drove forward behind his shield and sword at the Kru on the bridge while Mellereth once again took up his bow. Balured had fought many Kru. They had tried to cross the bridge before but had always been pushed back. Although the dog faces were fierce fighters, he had been consistently victorious by taking the fight to them, rather than waiting for them to coordinate an attack. He crashed into the Kru and pushed him back a pace.

Mellereth spotted another Kru in the trees and communicated the fact to the dog face with a pointed message which lodged in the calf of the pale lady’s minion. Mellereth had won the archery contest the month before at the village up the road. He wasn’t lucky cards, and his luck with the bow had no connection to the pale lady in her dark tower. Regardless of whether one mentioned the pale lady in the dark tower, the pale lady, or even the dark lady, everyone knew the term referred to the nameless woman said to have face and hands as white at the pale moon, and hair as dark as the blackest night. Living in her dark tower of stone, she was rumored to use sorcery to create the Kru and to attack the souls of men. Mellereth had heard stories of men who had forsaken their duty to family and country under her influence. Some were said to fall into a killing rage against their own comrades and kin. Others rode away to unknown ends. It was said that to look upon her without a protective charm was death, or something worse. Mellereth wondered how she entranced those who had never looked upon her.

Zoreroth with his bow, and Kolmor with his axe and shield followed from the barracks. Zoreroth moved to mount the abutment from which he might fire over the barricade upon the Kru across the river. Kolmor moved to the bridge itself.

Mellereth sped another arrow at the Kru who already bore an arrow in his calf. The second missile struck the dog face’s helm near the eye, piercing the metal, but not penetrating sufficiently to harm the target. Nevertheless, with an arrow in the leg and another nearly in his eye, the Kru flung himself to the ground in fear.

Another dog face burst from the trees to sprint up the road toward Balured. As the Kru brought his sword forward to stab at the Nahorn warrior, the hilt caught on his own shield and the weapon dropped from his hairy hand.

Thormo aimed and loosed an arrow into the belly of another Kru upon the roadway. The dog face fell in a yelping heap, hands tugging at the shaft in its gut before it lapsed into the peace of unconsciousness.

Another Kru rushed from the trees to leap into the river across from the washed out barricade. He was too late to save his comrade who had been swept away. The smooth rocks and swift water collaborated in dragging his feet from beneath him as well. A second dog face went into the river to help the fallen one. This one kept his feet, reaching to assist his pack mate.

When the Kru lost his sword, Balured pressed his attack. The wily dog face used his empty hand to seize upon Balured and swing him to switch places with him upon the roadway. Balured, according to his strategy, refused to relent against the dog face and he forced them changed places again, getting his back to his own men.

When another Kru raced into roadway, Mellereth bent his bow and sent a shaft toward the dog face, but the Kru shield turned the arrow away. Thormo fired at a Kru still in the trees, but the cover proved too thick for his arrow to penetrate effectively.

***

Wun had watched his pack retreat from battle and fall with arrow wounds. He could not tell what had happened at the river crossing, but he suspected those pack members were slain or held at bay at the water’s edge. He rushed from his position in the trees to join Tu’un against the Nahorn swordsman upon the roadway. Wun worked the warrior to the side, forcing him around. Now Wun and Tu’un separated the warrior from his own men.

***

Zanfreth stepped to the river’s edge and hurled one of his spears at the dog face still on his feet in the flow. The Kru, bent over his pack mate, looked up, but could not avoid the deadly missile. The steel tip took the hapless Kru over the collarbone between the opening of the mail shirt and his metal helmet, driving deep inside. Unable to fight the spear and the rolling waters, he fell and slid away in the current, dragging with him the unwounded companion he had tried to help.

Zanfreth prepared his other spear, congratulating himself upon the easy dispatch of two enemies in a single throw. These Kru fell more easily than his comrades markers at cards. Zanfreth thought the Kru had to be crazy creatures to attempt this crossing with the current in such a state. Did the pale lady drive them to do it with the power of her magic?

Yet another Kru bounded up to the river across from Zanfreth. The warrior prepared to meet him.

One of the last of the Kru warriors sprinted from the foliage to the roadway toward Balured. Carried away by the anticipation of driving his sword into the warrior’s back, the dog face stepped into a deep rut, tumbling to the ground.

Kolmor bounded over the bridge with his axe swinging to help Balured against his multiple enemies, with Zoreroth following behind. The bowman had been unable to get a shot from the bridge abutment. The young archer sought an opportunity to stain his arrows with Kru blood before the conflict ended.

Mellereth looked down the shaft of the arrow upon his bowstring. He looked beyond the shaft to meet the wide eyes of the Kru who had fallen at the edge of the trees. Mellereth released the arrow. The shaft tore through the right eye of the dog face.

***

Tu’un saw his pack mate Teree drop for the last time with an arrow through his eye. Tu’un gave an involuntary whine and scampered from the field, refusing to heed Wun’s warning barks. Varee, who had tripped in the rut on the roadway, scrambled to his feet. With a growl, he shrugged off both Teree’s death and Tu’un’s cowardice. Wun, angry at Tu’un, turned to follow and vent his wrath upon the coward, and received a glancing blow from the Narhorn axe-man in the process. He stopped next to Varee. “The glory of the lady be upon us alone then,” he growled to his pack member.

Wun could not see him, but one other member of his pack remained upon the field. Nevex stood in the river crossing, fighting against the current to cross over and fight the spearman on the far bank.

****

Balured stepped from the bridge to the abutment, opening a lane of fire for the archers, Zoreroth and Mellereth. Kolmor did the same upon his side of the bridge. The archers offered arrows to the two Kru upon the roadway but those two refused to receive them. The Kru divided, one rushing Balured, the other attacking Kolmor. Kolmor rebuffed the attack, shoving his attacker back into the roadway. Mellereth seized the opportunity of separation to fire once more. The arrow nicked the dog face who fell back and dropped into the brush for cover.

Kolmor saw that Balured was hard-pressed by his opponent and raced across the roadway to add more Kru blood to this axe-blade. In attempting to avoid the mighty axe, the dog face fell from the abutment to the ground a few feet below near the edge of the river.

“Take him!” Kolmor ordered to Balured before turning to rush the other Kru who had gone to ground to avoid Mellereth’s arrows.

Obedient and always diligent in orders to kill Kru, Balured jumped from the abutment, but the crafty Kru rolled to his feet before Balured could strike a blow. The Kru drove forward behind his shield, shoving Balured away.

Zoreroth saw a chance for his arrows to taste of Kru and stepped forward for a shot at Balured’s enemy. His shaft penetrated deep into the dog face’s leg. With a flick of his sword, the Kru broke the shaft and lunged into Balured.

Kolmor’s Kru got to his feet before the axe-man could reach him. The Kru slashed at Kolmor but the warrior deflected the attack.

As Zanfreth watched the last Kru in the river succumb to the relentless current, farther up the river, Balured thrust his sword into his attacker’s arm.

***

Varee howled in pain and dropped his shield. He dropped to the ground before rolling away and to his feet. The Nahorn swordsman pierced his mail from behind, wounding him again, and forcing a yelp from his throat. Using his sword arm to hold both his weapon and his injured arm, Varee made a limping run in a mad panic away from this conflict. He could not enjoy the pale lady’s rewards if he left his life at this river’s edge.

Wun snarled in disgust at the running Varee. The snarl died upon his his lips as he considered his predicament. As far as he knew, he alone remained against these men of Nahorn. He had not seen a single drop of blood fall from the pony men. Half his pack had died or fled. He had had no sound or even least sign of success from those sent to cross the river. He stood no chance to take this bridge and outpost by himself. He turned to follow those of his pack who still lived.

***

As the dog face turned, Kolmor stepped forward to bury his axe in the back of the Kru’s head. He pulled his blade from the dead creature’s skull, and turned to join his men scattered out across the bridge.

The men of Nahorn raised their voices in celebration of their victory over the enemy. Even Zanreth, still at the crossing, joined in the deep-throated chorus that was the victory cry of Nahorn.

A new sound rose over the victory note. The new sound made their Nahorn blood run cold.

END OF PART ONE

Copyright © 2020 Stanley Wheeler

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