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Chapter 12

.....Moonlight glistened on the darkened ocean as the Midnight Dawn raced along the Asmar shoreline. She was a small ship, but fast and moderately armed, tasked with landing a scouting party on Asmar itself.
..... Cory leaned against the railing, golden eyes intent on the passing bluffs. Gathil stood on his right, watching him more than anything else. A young artrell stood on his other side, starring at the both with a mixture of awe and envy. His name was Vayne, the youngest of Cory's brothers.
....."...no sign of habitation."
....."There isn't any," Cory spat over the railing. "The Asmar confine themselves to large cities and forts. When I was here last they patrolled rather thoroughly, but with most of the army in Cardania...well that's why we're here isn't it?"
....."Strange people these Asmar," Vayne imitated Cory's contempt. "It should be interesting to engage them in combat."
.....Gathil snorted. Someday he would have to visit the island of Runt's birth. From studying the centaur's interaction with two younger brothers, he had learned a great deal about their culture. They were a people constantly at war with the local goblins who preyed on the nomadic centaurs for sport.
.....Vayne and the other, who was referred to across the globe as Fat Dancer, were both great warriors, trained from birth to defend their people, but they looked on battle much the way Runt did, like it was a game.
....."Interesting is not the word I would choose." He said.
.....Suddenly, Cory threw his head back and howled. The sound was made worse by the gnoll crew, who picked it up and echoed it until everyone on the ship was ready to scream from the agony of it.
....."He is here," Cory said. "Both of them." He sniffed the air and peered at the dark bluffs that marked the coast.
....."Who?" Gathil asked. Vayne frowned.
....."Sleet." Cory replied. "Sleet is alive."
.....Before Gathil could comment, a female gnoll came charging to the front of the ship. She bowed her head to the Knights and began to speak. Her language was a mixture of growls, barks, and brutal sounding grunts that Gathil didn't understand.
.....Cory nodded to her and she ran back the way she had come. "That was the...uh... First Mate." He explained. "She says that they spotted a ship up ahead, an Asmar frigate. The Captain thinks they'll try to intercept us."
.....Gathil ran a few numbers through his head and scowled. Vayne's expression was made even stranger by his artrell face. "Um.... I don't know very much about ships and all that, but isn't a frigate bigger than this?" He waved a two-fingered hand at the ship.
....."Considerably larger," Gathil said, "and well armed."
....."My boys'll hold 'em off," another female gnoll stalked past them. This one, Gathil assumed she was the captain, spoke the common tongue with a horrible accent. "We've weathered a lot worse 'an this lot."
....."You guys underestimate me," Cory said. "This is my ship, remember?" He motioned towards the bow with a clawed forepaw. Two male gnolls were pulling a tarp from a large wooden structure.
....."A ballista?" Vayne starred at the giant crossbow with wide eyes.
....."Leave it to a Ranger." Gathil muttered.
.....Vayne ran his hand along the wood as the two gnolls labored to crank back the twisted sinew string. Another loaded a spear-sized bodkin, capable of punching through virtually anything, attached to a long string of twisted sinew.
....."Um...no offense Cory, but that Asmar ship has cannons."
....."Lots of modern warships have cannons."
.....Gnolls began lining up along the deck, each carrying a cutlass, dirk, or other sharp object. They began howling, snurgling, gurgling, and making the most awful noises imaginable as they beat their weapons on the railing.
.....Gathil supposed it was how a gnoll pack warned others to stay out of their territory. Unfortunately, the Asmar didn't heed the warning. There was a loud boom and a flash of light as it unleashed the first volley.
.....Heavy balls slammed into the Dawn, tore through planks, ripped apart the hull, and shredded the sails. The gnolls who weren't speared by the shrapnel keep right on howling, shouting, and banging their weapons on the wood.
....."Chain-shot," Vayne commented. "They're going for the sails."
.....There were muffled curses and screams from below decks as the other Knights in the scouting party and the off duty crewmen realized they were under attack. Scapegoat burst out of the hold with his massive battle scythe in hand and dashed to their group.
....."What's happening?" He demanded.
....."The Asmar are attacking," Gathil said.
.....The Captain shouted something in her own language that set off another round of shouting, howling, and banging from the crew.
....."Do they always act like this?" Gathil asked.
....."These gnolls are from our homeland," Vayne explained. "They have had their share of entanglements with the gods cursed goblins. Lots of them escape into the world and become pirates."
.....Gathil rubbed his head and decided again that he would have to get around to visiting this homeland of theirs someday.
.....The Captain snarled and the beta female manipulated the rudder to move the ship nearer the Asmar vessel. She snarled again and the males manning the ballista fired. The string made a sharp twang as the weapon launched its projectile through the air.
.....It slammed into the Asmar ship just above the waterline and buried itself to the feathers. The piercing arrowhead burst open into a barbed broadhead that latched onto the inside of the hull.
.....Several male gnolls began turning a large crank that snapped the connecting cable tight and began to draw the frigate towards them. The sailors by the railing howled, shouted, and banged all the more loudly.
.....The Asmar ship answered with another volley of cannonballs at close range that devastated the sails of the smaller vessel. Then the gnoll sailors began tossing barbed hooks across to the other ship. The vessels collided with a sickening crunch and the gnolls holding the lines quickly secured them as small armies from both ships began throwing planks across the gap and fighting with whatever weapons came to hand.
.....Vayne undid the ties that held his swords in their scabbards on his back and ripped them free. Shouting gleefully, he charged into the fray among a knot of cheering, howling gnolls.
.....Gathil watched him for a moment, then a large Asmar struck at him with a cutlass, and he had other things to worry about.

..... Torus staggered over the broken, volcanic ground. His mana had run out long ago, preventing him from opening a gateway. The mages of Xenora had managed to seal off the city itself with rockslides; they were prepared for what he knew was coming. If only he had the power to warn them of the danger!
.....Somewhere behind, he heard the grunts of his pursuers as they attempted to struggle over the pile of rocks he had just crossed. He had to keep going, had to keep outwitting them. Xenora had to survive!
.....Torus stopped suddenly, almost on the point of collapsing. Silence greeted his ears. Perhaps they had turned back. Petrarch, if only they would turn back. Panting, he leaned against a rock formation. When he had the strength to move away, he left a crimson stain on the stone.
.....An Asmar stepped out of the rocks ahead holding a sword. Torus took a step back wishing he had a staff, a knife, anything to defend himself. The Asmar charged. Torus shouted and put everything he had into a last, futile, psychic arrow.
.....The brute barely staggered as it plunged the sword up to the hilt in his chest.
.....Torus took a moment to stare at the blade in wonder. He would never make it to Xenora. There would be no warning. He fell back against a rock, never taking his eyes off the sword.
.....The Asmar reached down, ripped the blade out, and plunged it in again.
.....Torus grunted and lay silent.
.....The creature tore the sword out again and wiped it on the mage's robes as an Asmar airship floated across the horizon.

..... The Dawn shuddered as the gnolls sliced the ropes that held them to the burning hulk of the Asmar frigate. Every Asmar and no few gnolls lay dead on the deck. The battle had been short, but bloody.
.....The Captain sat on the deck, cradling a dead gnoll in her arms and muttering things in their strange language. A favored mate no doubt. She stood up and tossed the body into the ocean, watched it for a long moment, and then stalked into her cabin.
.....The beta female took charge of the ship and rallied the remaining sailors.
.....Cory stood at the front of the ship, watching the Asmar hulk drift away into the night. Blood matted his silvery coat and his golden eyes gleamed with a strange light. Vayne sat on a crate nearby, holding a cold compress to his side. Gathil and Scapegoat stood a short distance away talking quietly.
.....The small ship drifted across the ocean and finally came to rest at an abandoned Asmar dock. The site had been chosen by an ex-Explorer as the perfect landing spot for the invasion force. Cory sniffed the air as the sailors scrambled to secure the ship and growled.
.....Gathil squinted into the darkness. "Probably just smells a rabbit." He told Vayne. "Sometimes he has trouble controlling the wolf instincts."
....."This whole place smells like Asmar," Cory growled and then added. "And I do not go chasing after rabbits...well...not...this is too important for that."
....."How could you smell anything but Asmar with that much blood in your fur?"
.....Cory shook his head. "Different Asmar and fresh. This structure was supposed to be abandoned." As he spoke a hail of blow darts rained down on the deck.
....."Ambush!" Gathil yelled, drawing his swords. Cory leapt onto the railing and threw himself over the side of the ship. Vayne started to follow, but Gathil grabbed an arm and drew him back. "You're going to get yourself killed."
.....Blow darts rained all over the deck while the sailors scrambled for cover. Gathil saw a few go down as he pushed Vayne behind a stack of crates.
.....The fog had swallowed Cory, but howls and screams filled the night. Somewhere out there, a battle was going on that left a badly outnumbered were-wolf surrounded. Gathil wanted to jump overboard and run to his aid, but was afraid that Vayne would try to follow.
.....The hail of blow darts ceased, leaving behind an eerie silence that consumed the darkness. Suddenly, through the mist came a scream, an angry scream, a scream of frustration, a scream of revenge. Half-way through its pitch rose to that of a scream of sheer terror like nothing Gathil had heard, even in the darkest pits of the Lost Caverns. That scream was cut off so abruptly that the resulting silence was almost as terrible.
.....Vayne stared wide-eyed into the night, swords drawn. "What was that?" His voice trembled as he spoke.
.....Scapegoat had paled, noticeable even in the shadows. Gathil understood their fear. Every Knight onboard had just heard their own death in that cry, felt the teeth closing to tear out their throats.
.....Cory did not return.

..... The girl hid in the tall grasses and watched the monster devour her master. It looked up at the moon with a muzzle that dripped blood and howled. The eerie sound echoed throughout the grasslands and made the hair on the girl's neck stand up. She hunkered lower, praying to the goddess that the creature would not see her.
.....It lowered its head, golden eyes peering into hers. She held her breath. It looked at her for long seconds and then dropped to all fours and trotted away into the mists.
.....She waited after it was gone, but the creature did not return. After a quick prayer of thanks, she stood up and started walking. She did not know where to go, but perhaps she could avoid being captured again. Somewhere in the night, she heard another howl and the clash of metal. She ran on in the opposite direction.

..... Sleet flexed his massive body, wondering what had caused him to wake. He and his mate, Dirt, had spent the last few weeks recovering from his assault on the shaman. That creature would die, by all the gods he swore it. This time he would be ready for the shaman's attacks.
.....Dirt lay nearby, still asleep. He decided not to wake her, but walked to the cave entrance and peered out into the night. Thick fog rolled up off the sea, blanketing everything in silvery mists. Somewhere far to the north, he felt the presence of other dragons, but it was too far to determine which.
.....Sleet turned away from the entrance and started back to the depths of the cave. The sound came again, a long eerie howl filled with evil. What creature could make such a sound? What mortal beast could be so completely evil? It was repulsive, disgusting; something created by the Asmar, warped beyond recognition by their powers.
.....Soon he would seek out the shaman and put a stop to this madness.

..... Scapegoat and Gathil moved silently through the tall grasses, following the broken trail created by Cory's passage. It seemed as if the were-wolf was trying to make as clear a trail as possible, heading directly inland. Vayne and Stanislaus followed, making enough noise for the four of them.
....."Do you think he's running point?" Scapegoat asked. "Looking for Asmar?"
.....Gathil glanced back to make sure the two artrell were too far back to hear them. "I think he's gone mad," the dwarf replied. "He has been acting strangely ever since he was captured by the Asmar and..." Gathil stopped in mid sentence unable to finish. Scapegoat glanced back to make sure the two artrell were keeping their distance. Gathil felt his stomach turning.
.....They had come upon a corpse, or at least what was left of one. Very little. Broken bits of Asmar armour lay around, stripped from the body and strewn haphazardly across the circle of trampled grasses. Vayne had come close enough to see what everyone was looking at. His face was twisted in an expression of disgust.
.....Scapegoat was kneeling beside the body. "It's Asmar," he determined. "I...I think it was the one we heard." He stood up and turned his back on the corpse. "It was alive when..." Vayne walked a short distance into the bushes and began to retch.
.....Gathil shuddered. "Cory?"
.....Scapegoat nodded. "Wolf tracks all over the place. I'm not sure he remembers that he's human anymore. He might be as dangerous to us as he is to the Asmar."
....."Look at this," Stanislaus had walked over beside Vayne. He indicated a crushed patch in the grass off to the side. "What do you make of it?"
.....Scapegoat crouched beside the impression and looked at it for a moment. "Someone lay here and watched..." He motioned back over his shoulder. "that. It was female, human. She waited until Cory had gone away and then headed off in that direction."
....."You can tell all that from an imprint in some grass?" Vayne asked, impressed.
.....Scapegoat nodded. "Rangers are trained to do things like this. Cory's had the same training and his wolf senses. If someone was here, he would have known. Why didn't he kill her?"
.....Gathil shrugged. "Maybe he has a taste for Asmar."
.....Scapegoat didn't think it was very funny. "Stan, take Vayne and follow this girl. Between the two of you, you should be able to catch up with her. Convince her to come back with you, I want to speak with her." The two artrell nodded and trotted off into the night.
....."What about us?" Gathil asked.
....."We're going to track down a certain were-wolf, scout the Asmar, and then return to Simoriah with our report."
....."That should prove entertaining."
....."It's only a few more hours until sunrise, maybe we won't have to sedate him and drag him back in a cage."
.....Gathil wasn't so sure.

..... Vayne trudged through the tall grass following the girl's tracks. She left a clear trail even for the warriors to follow. His mind was still on the horrible sights they'd left behind in the clearing. He'd fought, killed, as a warrior, a Jeweled Knight, and long before as a young centaur, but he'd never seen anything like that. Never such cold blooded brutality and rage. He found it hard that his friend Cory could do that.
.....Vayne had heard a lot of stories from his parents, the tribe, and even his other brother Fat Dancer about his brother Runt. His brother Runt who was not dead, but living inside Cory's head. Runt could do something like that.
....."She's sticking close to the shoreline," Stan muttered. "I think she's trying to get under cover, maybe signal a boat."
....."Yeah," Vayne replied. Far away, there was another eerie howling call that sent shudders through them both. He might be as dangerous to us as he is to the Asmar. Vayne had known Cory for a long time, surely he wouldn't attack. As dangerous to us... Vayne glanced into the grasses on either side of the path and stuck close to Stan.

..... Gathil frowned and sheathed his sword. Scapegoat walked a circle around the corpses and shrugged. Three Asmar, scouts perhaps, sprawled in uncomfortable positions and covered with blood. Yet another small group, like so many they'd already found.
....."If he keeps this up there won't be any Asmar left to fight." Scapegoat muttered.
.....Gathil glanced towards the horizon where the first dim rays of the sun were creeping over the ocean. "He's only attacking small groups and he's injured badly."
.....Scapegoat shrugged. "He's been injured half the night, lost so much blood he should be passed out somewhere, but he's still on this killing spree."
....."Take a look at this."
.....Scapegoat walked over to him and looked down at the grass. A shallow hole had been dug in the ground and turned into a pool of dark blood. Scapegoat glanced back to the three Asmar. "He was resting here, recovering from a wound. Depends on how long he stayed, but I'd say there was some major artery damage. Those are still warm."
....."If he was bleeding like this there should be some sort of trail."
....."He could hide a trail if he wanted. He hasn't bothered so far, so I don't know why he started now."
....."I'm not liking this."
....."Me either. Let's get going. We still have to scout."
....."I don't know. From the look of things we could tell Simoriah that there won't be an Asmar living within ten miles of the dock by this time tomorrow."
.....Scapegoat laughed, a dry laugh without humor.
.....They had started back down the path when they heard a low growling sound. Scapegoat stiffened and raised his scythe. The two Knights stood silently, waiting for the sound to repeat. It didn't.
....."Some kind of native animal," Gathil decided finally. "We're getting jumpy."
....."Yeah," Scapegoat turned and started down the path. There was movement in the shadows. Gathil opened his mouth to shout a warning as the large furred body slammed into Scapegoat toppling him.
.....Gathil drew his swords and charged the monster as Scapegoat tried to shove it off or bring the unwieldy scythe up to its throat. Cory howled and lunged. Scapegoat slugged him in the nose as hard as he could earning a yelp.
.....Gathil raised his sword to strike and caught the first rays of dawn on the blade. Cory clawed at Scapegoat's throat, oblivious to the rising sun. The elf rolled over and slung the creature away. It hit the grass with a yelp that was more of a scream than an animal cry and fell silent.
.....Scapegoat struggled to his feet and glanced towards the spot where their friend had fallen. His armour was smeared with fresh blood and silver hairs. "I never thought he would try that. Hand me the water skin."
.....Gathil tossed him the leather bag. He caught it, took a long drink, and splashed the rest of it into the bushes. He was rewarded by a startled gasp. Cory stumbled out of the tall grass, shaking his head to clear it.
.....Gathil started to keep his swords out just incase, but Scapegoat shook his head.
....."Are you alright?" Scapegoat asked. "Those Asmar banged you up pretty badly." As he spoke, he realized that the runt centaur was unmarked except for a long scar that flowed down his torso and across his horse body to his flank.
....."Petrarch." Cory muttered.
....."Help me support him," Scapegoat told Gathil. The two of them took positions on either side of the centaur and held him upright. "Good thing he's so small." They started back towards the ship, following the trail that Cory had made on his way in.
....."We're going to need a cleric I think," Gathil said.
.....Scapegoat shook his head. "He just needs rest."

..... The girl knew that someone was following her. She knew that they were gaining. Was it the monster? Or the Asmar? She never once thought of rescue. Pursuers meant only one thing. Death.
.....She raced along the path, not daring to look back. She would not let them capture her again. She would take her own life before that.
.....A monster stepped out from behind a tree ahead of her. A horrible creature with four arms and a bug-like face. It grabbed her and wrapped its arms around her, speaking quickly in a language of clicking sounds.
....."W-what are you?" She stammered.
....."My companion and I are artrell," a voice said from behind her. It spoke Farsi with a horrible accent partially caused by its strange mouth. "We don't want to hurt you. We have a ship. We can get you off this terrible continent. Please, come with us."
....."Why will you do this for me?" She asked, turning around.
.....The monster--artrell she supposed it was--twisted its mouthpieces in a sort of frown that looked very strange on its bug-like face. "Politically, you are useful to our war efforts against the Asmar. Personally, I came from a small island very near this one. The goblins there enslaved our people to work in their mines and logging camps. Then I came to a continent northwest of our homes and to a Kingdom where slavery is a thing of the distant past. I would take you away from this place."
....."Vayne!" The other creature shouted followed by a short burst of clicking. She didn't need to understand his speech to know they were in trouble as five large Asmar warriors walked out of the trees to their left
.....The artrell called Vayne said something that sounded like a curse and drew four large broadswords with beautifully etched blades and hilts like dragons. She darted in beside him and grabbed his long-thin bladed dagger.
.....The Asmar charged. They were shouting about Jeweled Knights and monsters as they slammed into the two young artrell. Vayne whirled, bringing his sword down hard across an open throat. Blood spewed from the slashed artery as the creature fell back. The other artrell thrust his blade deep through the crack in an Asmar's armour. The creature screamed and lunged, slamming its own broadsword through the thin exoskeleton wrapped around the four armed creature.
.....Vayne shouted something in their language of clicks and slashed at the three Asmar attacking him. The other artrell made a gurgling sound and fell back into the grasses. Vayne cursed again and threw himself at the remaining four Asmar, arms spinning and slashing made him look like a pinwheel.
.....The girl attacked the Asmar with the dagger, striking and cutting. She had never been in battle, never used a weapon to kill, but she fought. Long minutes passed, an Asmar lay dead at her feet, another before Vayne.
.....Two Asmar remained, the odds had finally evened out. They could still win this. She struck again with the bloody dagger, plunged it to the hilt in an Asmar's stomach. The creature screamed with rage and brought his sword down hard.
.....She had tried to hide, but they found her. She had tried to run, but they caught her. She had tried to live and they had killed her. As she lay there, bleeding from multiple wounds, she gazed over at the battered corpse next to her and smiled one last time.

.....Vayne saw the girl go down, but he didn't have time to see how badly she had been injured. It was all he could do to keep from falling over himself. Green fluid oozed from numerous gashes in his larva coat. His body screamed at him to just lay down and die, but he refused.
.....An Asmar blade tore off his lower right arm, but he hardly felt it above the rest of the pain. He wouldn't last much longer. They would get the girl, if she wasn't dead already. His mission had failed.
.....Suddenly, one of the Asmar fighting him fell forward, a javelin with a head the size of his fist stuck through its chest. Vayne and the other Asmar starred at it in shock as a second javelin flashed through the air and slammed into the second.
.....Vayne whirled around and saw the last thing he expected. Midnight Dawn drifted along the coastline under one sail. The gnolls manning the ballista howled and waved. A dinghy had been lowered over the side of the ship with Gathil and Scapegoat onboard.
.....Vayne waved back and shouted. "FOR THE QUEEN!"