Rojuun (32 page)

Marrraa claimed the next five sstejj that
approached. She and her trainee dashed forward to meet them. Her
trainee was her younger sister, Turrr. She was fresh out of the
academy and showed more promise than most. The two of them dashed
across the cavern floor. Marrraa somersaulted into the air, coming
down on the first sstejj’s head, ramming knives into the gills on
both sides. It was an impressive move that drew oohs and ahhs from
the watchers.

Her sister didn’t try to be so tricky. Turrr
rolled to the side of another sstejj and came up next to it. She
dashed between a set of legs and slashed deep with two knives,
killing it quickly. Another one attacked right away. She dodged the
attack and rammed a knife into its gills.

Marrraa had come over to see to her sister’s
safety, but finding that the young Rojuun was doing well, she
instead went after the next sstejj and killed it with rapid cuts to
the body. The fifth one fell with knife wounds to the torso from
both women. They stood still as it stumbled ahead five steps before
falling to the ground. Then the sisters saluted each other and
headed back to the group to cheers and congratulations.

Tathan and his trainee had the opportunity
to take on seven of the creatures. His trainee was a quiet female
named Aaruulaa who was small compared to most Rojuun. There was a
mischievous manner about her that he liked.

Aaruulaa raced ahead of Tathan, eager to get
a kill. Tathan paced himself to see what she could do. He would be
there if she needed him, but was willing to let her take out all
seven if she could. That would be better than any number of gill
shots, he thought to himself.

She did a standard tumble and dash to the
left, slashing deep into the body with a long knife. As it died,
she went into another tumble coming up to hit the second one in the
side. Aaruulaa wasn’t wasting time on gill shots Tathan noticed
with approval.

She darted to one in the middle of the pack.
The feju’s scent drew the other sstejj around her. The middle one
went down and with a quick move she was at the fourth, slashing
along its body. One tried to bite her. Aaruulaa ducked under the
one she just killed before it fell to the ground. The biting sstejj
stumbled into the dead creature.

With a quick twist, she avoided the teeth of
another one and rolled under it, slashing up against the belly with
one of her knives. As it fell, she rolled and leapt up to the back
of the sixth, driving two knives into it.

The last one had crawled over the dead body
of its companion to reach her. She hurdled from the back of the one
she had just killed to the back of the charging sstejj. That one
fell. Tathan thought that it was nice of the sstejj to die so
easily.

He roamed the perimeter of the battle the
entire time, ready to jump in and protect the young feju, but it
hadn’t been necessary. Aaruulaa looked around at the dead
creatures. Turning to Tathan, she saw his sword was clean. “I . . .
I . . .” she stuttered, looking guilty.

“Don’t worry about it,” Tathan said with a
grin. “I’m sure you’ll leave me one or two next time.”

They walked back to the group with Aaruulaa
blushing deeply. She was greeted with applause and pats on the
back. Tathan went to Marrraa, Vevin and Sir Danth who were all
glaring at him. “Well, I didn’t get any gill shots or kills,” he
said with a shrug. “I guess you guys are winning.” Their glares
became darker. He laughed and walked past them, knowing that his
trainee getting all seven kills was worth more than a hundred gill
shots.

It was a long day with many more sstejj
attacks. They split up; Tathan, Vevin and their trainees protected
the builders working on one tunnel. Sir Danth, Marrraa and their
trainees guarded the other.

Throughout the attacks, Tathan noticed that
sstejj would always go for the Rojuun before coming near him. It
made it very easy for Tathan to kill them most times. The Rojuun
fought so fiercely because the attacks were unrelenting. At times,
one or two of the builders would join the fight if an attack was
particularly heavy. They were all proficient at fighting the
sstejj. He came to realize that they had to be because the
creatures thirsted for their blood, stopping at nothing but death
to get it.

Tathan came to the conclusion that the main
goal of sstejj was to kill Rojuun. Most creatures took time to eat
and rest. Even carnivores would procreate and show signs of
community. The sstejj did nothing but try to slaughter Rojuun. They
didn’t even care about each other or their own survival. Liselle
was right about them.

He took the time to study one of the
monsters. The bodies had no real organs. They were just bits of
guts in a slime casing. Most importantly, there was no heart or
blood. Something was definitely unnatural about the creatures.

By the end of the day, the builders and
their protectors were tired. Even Sir Danth moved at a slower pace.
His sword and armor gathered power to keep him going. It was not
infinite though. Tathan had also noticed that the sstejj gave out
no energy. People, air, plants and even rocks all had some sort of
energy as did just about everything else in the world. Tathan
wasn’t extremely knowledgeable about magic, but he had learned the
basics. Sstejj were the only thing he had ever come across that
didn’t have energy.

Tathan didn’t honestly know what it meant,
but he was sure that Liselle might understand. She seemed to have
better instincts for magic.

Walking back, the trainees all talked
excitedly among themselves about the day’s events. Tathan’s trainee
had the most kills for the day, though none were gill shots. Once
the others realized that they could take out more by hitting the
bodies, they stopped trying for the more difficult and dangerous
method of kill and became more effective fighters. After that,
Vevin, Sir Danth and Marrraa also stopped the gill shots realizing
that while they were more impressive to each other, it was a bad
habit to teach trainees.

It was a good day’s work for all involved.
Two gates had been built, the trainees had received extensive field
experience and no one died or even received an injury. They made it
back to Garrrn Cavern in good spirits.

When they got back to their suite, Tathan
shared his observations with his companions. They listened intently
to the theories and discussed them for quite a while. Vevin was the
one who verified that all things in the world had energies. He also
agreed with Tathan’s assessment that the sstejj were the exception
to that rule. He hadn’t paid attention to it before, but he
concurred that they didn’t project energy.

They cut the night short to get some rest.
Marrraa had told them to take the next day off. More work had been
done in four days than in the previous four weeks. The elders felt
that all needed rest.

They spent the day listening to musicians
and watching painters in a garden in a different area of Garrrn
Cavern. All sorts of foods were brought to them by Rojuun who
wanted to see the human warriors up close. Even the presentation of
the food was done with artistry.

The companions were each given Rojuun style
robes made specifically for them as gifts. Sir Danth was given a
new cloak of exquisite artisanship, as he never took his armor off
to put on a robe. In that day, they all grew even fonder of the
Rojuun and their innocent beauty.

Chapter
30

“I’m fine,” Liselle said in frustration. She
was determined to go with them today no matter what they said. She
wasn’t completely back up to strength, but was well enough to take
care of any minor healing that needed to be done and could also
throw a fireball or two if a sstejj got too close. “I’m not going
to cast fire throughout the caverns. I’ll do only what I’m able to
do and that much only if necessary.”

“I’m not convinced, Cousin.” Tathan stood
with his arms crossed. “The healer said two weeks, not four days.”
He held up a hand to prevent more argument. “I know you understand
what you’re able to handle better than anyone. I also know that you
won’t strain yourself if you can avoid it.” He took a deep breath
and continued. “But those creatures don’t stop coming and you may
not be able to avoid using magic.”

“I can!” exclaimed Vevin leaping to her
defense. “I will keep her with me and make sure that she gets to
safety if things get that bad.” He stepped toward Tathan. “You know
I’ll protect her with my life, Tathan Friend. You know that nothing
can stop me from keeping her safe.”

Tathan sighed. Having Vevin spend all of his
time with Liselle wasn’t the solution he was looking for. “I know,
Vevin.” He sighed again when he noticed his cousin smiled at the
idea. Tathan wanted to argue more or even put his foot down, but
had the wisdom to know that wouldn’t go well for him. “Alright. If
things get bad, Vevin is to get you to safety,” he said to Liselle.
“I know you can take care of yourself, but I want to be smart about
this and not stress your powers too soon.”

“I agree to that, Tathan.” Liselle came over
and gave him a big hug, holding him tight. It felt good and
relieved some of his tension. “So let’s go,” she said eagerly,
grabbing the picnic lunch she had packed for them.

Tathan sighed again, leading the way through
the door. They met Marrraa and the trainees outside the main entry
then headed to the cavern. Marrraa glanced at Liselle then gave
Tathan a questioning look. He shrugged and said, “She’s going to
limit her magic and if things get bad, Vevin will get her to
safety.”

Marrraa nodded in response. A short while
later they were back at the gate at the end of the tunnel. There
were only a few sstejj this time. Marrraa let Sir Danth through the
door and he quickly dispatched them. Tathan, Marrraa, and the
knight scouted ahead, finding one more small pack, which they let
the trainees dispatch.

The warriors led the builders to the right,
heading toward a tunnel past the two that had been gated the day
before. They came across two more packs, one of which Tathan
handled with Aaruulaa’s help. Once again, he let her do most of the
fighting, though he did take out one of the creatures that headed
toward the builders. Marrraa and her sister took out the other
pack. She let Turrr kill all but one as well. The young trainee
walked back with a large smile on her face.

Tathan had a bad feeling. Part of it was
that there should be more sstejj trying to get to them, especially
since the companions had taken yesterday off. He also felt
unreasonably worried for Liselle.

Mostly, he just had a very bad feeling about
things. He used to trust those bad feelings, but he had cut through
so much empty air lately that he wasn’t sure anymore. They were
doing everything right and it
should
be safe. He was certain
they could handle any sstejj intrusion. After a few moments of
restlessness, he moved next to the knight. “Sir Danth, I have a
sense of dread and I can’t shake it,” he said quietly.

“I am certain Lady Liselle would not have
come out were she not feeling well enough. She does not strike me
as a fool.”

Tathan shook his head. “It’s not Liselle,
it’s just a general sense of dread, like something is wrong. I
can’t place it.”

The knight looked at him thoughtfully. “I
believe your instincts are to be trusted, Master Tathan. I do not
know how to attack a sense of dread, however.”

Tathan chuckled. “I haven’t figured that one
out either. Just be ready for the unexpected I guess.”

He nodded. “I will be extra diligent, Master
Tathan.”

“Thank you.” Tathan smiled gratefully and
placed a hand on his shoulder.

They reached their destination a short while
later. This tunnel was near the river, which flowed just a short
distance away. A waterfall poured out of the wall about twenty feet
up, creating a pool that would be perfect for swimming in when the
cavern was safe. From there, the river traveled to the lake on the
far end. They were on high ground, enabling the party to see
everywhere else. The glow of life in the river made it bright,
while phosphorescent moss from the ceiling and walls combined with
the plants, giving the cavern a moonlit cast.

The builders set up camp between the pool
and the tunnel they were going to gate. They began work just as
soon as everything was set. Liselle stayed at the camp with Vevin
and his trainee. Sir Danth, Tathan and Marrraa took their trainees
and scouted the area.

It wasn’t long before they came across a
pack of sstejj that had caught scent of the builders. Sir Danth and
Marrraa led their trainees into the pack while Tathan fell back to
catch any that might get past. He looked at Aaruulaa to see if she
were ready. She was juggling her knives and grinning at him, ready
for anything that should come.

He was surprised to see three of the sstejj
get past Sir Danth and Marrraa right away. It was a larger pack
than usual. Tathan leapt onto the back of one, slicing through it
and somersaulted to the next, killing it just as efficiently while
his trainee took care of the third. She looked at him in surprise,
as he had never taken the first kills like that. There was also
some awe there as she saw how easy he made it seem.

Suddenly there were more sstejj rushing
toward them, a lot more. Sir Danth was yelling at his trainee to
fall back. Tathan and Aaruulaa covered the retreat. Marrraa and
Turrr also fell back to Tathan’s position. The sstejj were rushing
past their flanks. There were too many and Marrraa pulled out a
horn to sound the alarm to the building party.

Sir Danth stood at the front of the rush and
raised his sword. Brilliant light emanated from the blade. He
plunged it deep into the ground. An enormous shockwave knocked
scores of sstejj off their feet and shattered creatures close to
him. The force of the shockwave acted as an overload to the sstejj,
stunning them. The warriors dashed back to the perimeters of the
camp, taking defensive positions.