Assault on Khalfi 2 (Sabato's POV)

The captain and I rushed to the camp and when we arrived, the whole place was busy with preparations for the trip to Ashkur, but no attack and no Ashasha present.

"Captain!" Saito called, as he rushed out to meet the captain.

"What is it, Saito?"

"We got a message last night. The goat messenger wouldn't talk to anyone but you. You know how they are."

"Well, I'm not surprised he wouldn't like you very much. They don't like being called goats," he mumbled as he walked up to the Yagrei.

"Hello, my friend. Forgive my subordinate's disrespect. What message do you bring?" he asked.

The Yagrei is a bipedal goat-like race. They have large horns and furry torsos similar to goats but there is nothing they hate more than being called goats. They are blessed with the ability to move through space, so they are the messengers in all the lands of Mundillum. They don't interfere in politics or wars, they would get your message to anyone anywhere for a price no matter who you fight for. This makes a lot of people dislike them, but their services are always needed.

Every village, city, and kingdom has the council of the Yagrei, which govern their affairs These councils are always made up of the most important Yagrei nobles.

"The stupidity of men surprises me no more, Captain. I am not offended.

"I bring a message from Ashkur. Your subordinate there, and the village head provided me with this scroll to deliver to you, and you alone," he dipped his hand into the bag he carried on his shoulder and brought out the scroll. He then turned and started walking away.

The captain opened the scroll and read through the message silently for a moment. He suddenly raised his head from the scroll, screaming "Prepare to leave now!"

He signaled to Saito, who was already waiting for him to do so, "Yes, Captain," Saito said as he ran to him.

"The report from Ashkur is not a favorable one. The village leader agreed to fight with us, but the orcs have since then gotten reinforcement, there are at least two Ogres in their rank now," the captain whispered.

"This is not just a raid like we've been led to believe, Captain. This is an invasion, and they are not planning to turn around after Ashkur," Saito explained.

"I feared so as well, from the beginning. The Orc raiders stopped coming to these parts after the massacre of Kinshurah which left the eastern Orcs decimated, killing all their leaders."

"For them to be doing this now, they must be aware that the kingdom is vulnerable as the Sultan is old and sickly, and rivalry between the princes has made them lose respect, even from their father. I heard Khalfi is supposed to be under the protection of Prince Qasseef for instance, but he's nowhere to be found," Saito explained.

"The Sultan is old and sick, but he's a very wise man. I am starting to believe we are not just here to stop a group of Orcs. The Orcs couldn't have been successful without help, and the Sultan believes someone or some people in his court might be planning a coup."

"What is to be done now, Captain," Saito asked.

"We must leave for Ashkur right now, Saito. We have no time to waste, and we have to act as if we are amongst enemies from henceforth."

Saito turned towards the rest of the men, whispering "Understood, Captain." I wanted to follow him, but the captain stopped me. "You're with me, Sabato. The threat level of this mission just increased and I'll need all the help I can get, even from a rookie like yourself."

"Okay, Captain," I replied.

"You left your beast at Camp Mikato, didn't you?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Come sit with me. You need to quickly reach out to your beast as I do mine. We are going to need them in Ashkur," he sat down to meditate.

The meditation is taught to every rider to be able to reach his or her beast anywhere in the world. The moment the rider chooses the beast and the beast chooses the rider back, they develop a bond that can never be broken.

I sat down beside the captain and meditated. I cleared my mind of every thought, every sound, focussed on Ashai, my Sheenzu. Suddenly, before I knew it I was standing in front of her in my head. It felt so real, as I could feel even the gentle wind blow on my skin. She was still close to Camp Mikato, so it would take less than two days for her to get to Ashkur. I stroked her back and whispered the words. "Meet me in Ashkur." I opened my eyes and the captain had already left my side.

"You really took your time, huh? You should be able to call out to your beast in seconds, rookie! I've seen the Captain do it before. Now move your lazy behind, we leave at once, Saito screamed at me.

We rode to Ashkur on horseback and got there on the fourth day as the captain had earlier said we would. The journey was not as hard as before, I was already getting used to it. The desert is miles and miles of open, sandy lands and it is full of death. The dried and drying carcasses of beasts everywhere tell you a story of nature winning in these parts, it says to abide by the rules or end up dead. This did not stop some races from taking up roots in these harsh lands anyway, the Maganha and Tankha are nomadic races that reside in these wastelands, and some of the territories of the Nubianian country fall in the desert too.

"See what I told you, Sabato? Even the beasts out here get taken by the desert, nature is in charge here," Kanji mumbled every time we saw the carcass of dead large desert beasts.

The village leader, an aged man named Ahkdad welcomed us into the village with open arms, but Tenoko was nowhere to be found. The village folks came out of their houses to watch as we marched through the street down the leader's house where we lodged and began to plan immediately.

Ashkur is a farming village, and the population is mostly made up of old farmers and youngsters. I could see the disappointment on Captain Hadeshi's face as we walked through the open street. "The village is indefensible, and these people aren't fighters," he mumbled.

"Find us a big clearing, chief. A place that would take a dragon and a sheenzu, the captain referred to the village chief.

"I have never seen a Dragon. I only just laid my eyes on a Sheenzu the day your subordinate, Lady Tenoko rode into my village on that magnificent beast's back, Captain. There is a clearing beside my house, the Sheenzu was already there. Lady Tenoko rode off two days heretofore, she didn't return but the beast did, then it left yesterday again," the old man replied.

"Kanji! Make sure the space would contain two more beasts, a Sheenzu and my Dragon. Chief, you are about to see a Dragon up close."

The chief called some of his people and they started preparing the space for the beasts. The assault on Khalfi would begin on the next day, we had a handful of the town folks, mostly old people and some young men barely old enough to carry their weapons and oversized armor.

"We attack at dawn, people," the captain blurted and everybody jumped into action, running to and fro, and engaging in one task or another.

The Chief's house was converted into a command center in no time. The house is the biggest building in the village but it was still just a farmer's cottage. An open space used for general gathering, with a large table at the center and a fireplace to warm it at night, it was used for resolving villagers' disputes, amongst other things, but was converted to a command center. The stable was enough to house the horses we took to Ashkur, and the pantry and the pantryman were put to work immediately.

"We can't allow this to drag on for too long, or we'll rid the chief of his supplies in days," the captain whispered to me and Saito.

"We cannot be too careless about it, either. The orcs are really dug in, and unlike Ashkur Khalfi is more defensible, if we use the dragon, we risk destroying the whole village and the remaining civilians," Saito asserted.

"Oh, but we can use the Sheenzu," I suggested.

"You ask for permission to contribute next time, boy...Continue then," the captain mumbled.

"I thought he said I wasn't a boy anymore," I thought to myself.

"We could sneak in with the Sheenzu under the cover of darkness, and the beasts' invisibility. Then we'll take out the patrols and maybe some civilians before launching the main assault. It would be better if we had Tenoko here, her beast would carry two people and mine would take two also."

"That could work, if well executed," Tenoko cut in as she stormed into the building, Kanji following behind her.

"I was there preparing that clearing for the beasts and she rode in on her beast almost undetected, Kanji explained."

"Welcome, Tenoko. What do you have for us?" Captain Hadeshi asked, not showing any surprise at all.

"He must have instructed her to spy on the enemy, to better know what we were to face," I whispered to myself.

"The village has been totally taken over, by Orcs not less than five hundred at least. They murdered all the men who resisted and enslaved the ones who didn't with the women and children. They hung dead bodies on trees, and by their legs, you could see them rotting on roads that lead to the village, it's disheartening.

"The good news is, that the prisoners are all kept in cages stacked in a single location, which would make a rescue easier. The bad news on the other hand is that there is a mage there present, he has taken charge of the village and is most likely preparing a kind of ritual that involves sacrificing the hostages. An altar is being constructed as we speak, a large one."

"A mage working with the Orcs is rare and never a good thing, only dark mages engage in human sacrifices. There is more to this madness," Captain Hadeshi mumbled.

"We have to tread carefully from here on, Captain. Mages are dangerous enemies to face, even the weakest ones, Saito whispered.

"Tenoko, you're in charge of the rescue, try to get any more intel while you're at it. Sabato, you're with her," Captain Hadeshi ordered.

Tenoko joined us where we stood over the large table, a map of the area laid openly on the table. She started pointing out the strategic points she had already mentioned on the map. A servant of the chief rushed into the building screaming "A dragon and another Sheenzu have landed in the clearing, master! It's huge, the dragon is a huge master!" The excitement mixing with dread was clearly seen on his face, they must have taken to their heels when they saw the dragon approaching as screams were heard outside.

"I am glad to the maker of the universe that you're on our side, Lord Sanada, the chief said," smiling from ear to ear.

"I am no lord and I'm no Sanada either, chief. I am a bastard, you see. But what I am going to be is the man who is going to save your village, Captain Hadeshi replied smiling back.

Another servant rushed in, followed by a Yagrei. "This goat head demands to see the Captain," the servant said, smiling.

"May you die a thousand deaths, servant!" the Yagrei cursed angrily, but this made the men laugh even more.

"Sorry, my Yagrei friend, the captain cut in, the whole room went quiet and the men immediately went back to work.

"You have a message from Grand Master Yoshida, Captain, and it's urgent!" the Yagrei said as he gave the scroll to the Captain.