Guardian of Heaven and Earth - Kanbal - Part 1 Chapter 2 - Tika Ul (Hunting the Hunters)

 Guardian of Heaven and Earth
-
Kanbal

(Book 9 of the Guardian of the Spirit Series)

Author: Uehashi Nahoko

Translator: Ainikki the Archivist

 

 Part 1 - To Kanbal

Chapter 2 - Tika Ul (Hunting the Hunters)

   

     Balsa and Chagum returned to the road while Dohal and his family prepared to move. "The cliffs at the gorge are too dangerous; it's hard to see. Stay here with Dohal and his family. When you hear me whistle three times, you can all start moving on the road."

     Chagum's shoulders tensed with worry. "Do you think Gol and his son will be able to protect that family?"

     Balsa smiled faintly. "Gol's survived this long. There must be a reason for that, right? He doesn't always act on the most reliable information, but he's a good guard and a reliable fighter. I wouldn't expect too much from the son, though. He unsheathed his longsword in a grove of trees. If we'd fought, he wouldn't have been able to swing his weapon without hitting his father."

     Chagum's face lit up with understanding. The trees did grow close together here. Balsa wouldn't be able to use her spear as effectively; she would probably wind up using a short sword like Gol.

     Balsa appeared entirely calm. Chagum guessed that she'd crossed this gorge and protected people from situations just as dangerous as this many times before, which explained her composure. Chagum couldn't seem to sit still; his nerves wouldn't leave him alone.  

     Dohal's family peeked their faces out of the forest behind him. Balsa faced Chagum and whispered, "That family has said they'll throw their goods away, but I'm not so certain that they actually will. You might have to fight them a little, but make sure they throw those bags off the cart."

     Chagum nodded. "I will."

     Balsa turned her horse toward the gorge. Gol and his son were waiting for her on the road.

     "Be careful!" Chagum called out reflexively as she turned her back to him.

     Balsa checked her horse and turned back to look at him. She was smiling. "Just pray that there are no assassins here." She smoothed her expression to seriousness again. "If you hear one long whistle, it means we can't get back here. If that happens, run--run on your own. Leave the family behind and keep yourself safe no matter what."

     Chagum didn't respond to that. He looked up at Balsa, his concern still plain on his face.

     Balsa turned her horse and followed after Gol and his son.

     When she and Gol reached the gorge, the road became so narrow that Balsa's horse had to walk behind his.

     "Do you have any idea how these bandits think, or what their numbers are?" Gol asked Balsa.

     "Not really, but I can make a few guesses. No one passes this way except for merchants and laborers on their way to Rota, or on their way back home from the south. I can't imagine they're used to hard fighting. I've heard that when it's caravan season, there are about twenty in this group, but it's the off-season now, so there are probably fewer than that." Balsa's eyes rested on a quiver full of arrows on Gol's back. "How good are you with a bow?" she asked.

     Gol grinned. "I was raised in Ashal, a region in Rota's northern mountains that runs along a deep riverbed in the mountains. Even children hunt with bows there. Game is usually wild goats and rokkal mountain rats around there. I can't remember a time when I couldn't use a bow. I can't pull as hard as I used to when I was young, but my eyes are as sharp as they ever were. I could probably bring down that eagle flying on the other side of the cliff." He pointed.

     Balsa's expression brightened. "Excellent. I'll be their main target. Get behind me and find a good place to pick them off with arrows."

     Gol looked at her with an expression of disbelief. "You really intend to hunt the hunters here, don't you? Wouldn't it be wiser to run or sneak past them?"

     Balsa smiled. "This is the best place to cross the gorge without losing time. If you'd said you had no confidence with the bow, my plans would be different."

     Gol appeared as nervous as Chagum had when she'd left him.  He sank deeply into thought for a while, but then nodded. "I've never tried to ambush the bandits here, but I've had tussles with them before. Even shot a few once. If you're really planning to be the target, I'll support you with everything I've got."

     Balsa nodded gratefully. They were nearing the edge of the gorge, so she and Gol dismounted and left the road. Gol's son dismounted as well. They didn't want to risk bringing the horses so close to the cliff edge.

     Gol's son was frowning severely; he whispered something in his father's ear. "What does tika ul--hunting the hunters--actually mean?"

     "Open your eyes, son. It's exactly what we're planning. Balsa is making herself a tokku--target--to lure them in. It takes great courage to do that, and it's a gamble; we're outnumbered here. But if we survive, we'll have a story to tell to other guards for the rest of our lives."

     Balsa faced Gol's son and said, "You'll stay behind to guard the family. We can't leave Dohal and the others undefended while we try to draw them out. Wait for us at a place on the road."

     Gol's son slumped his shoulders, but he agreed to do as she said.

     "Also..." Balsa tilted her head. "I hate to ask, but I'd like to borrow your bow."

     Gol's son seemed surprised at this request, but he handed his bow over to her.  

     Usal's gorge was wide at the top and very narrow at the bottom. Bright light reflected off the snow clinging to the dark stone at the very bottom. A river did run through here, but its current was sluggish, especially with winter so far along. The road passed over the gorge via a suspension bridge; it also continued to other crossings in both directions along the cliff. Because the gorge was so wide at the top, the suspension bridge was incredibly long. It was the perfect place to spring a trap or an ambush, since taking carts and animals over that bridge generally took a long time.  

     Grooves were worn into the cliffs on either side of the gorge; the surfaces were far from even. Balsa saw a few shallow caves that had either been formed naturally or carved out of the soft stone. If the bandits were camped here, they certainly had an advantage. The only good thing about the severity of northern winters, to her mind, was that it would be difficult for bandits or assassins to lie in wait for long periods of time. If they tried that, they might freeze to death.

     She still expected there to be regular watches on the gorge and the bridge. There were probably one or two men concealed in the caves below or in the trees on the other side of the bridge, ready to give a signal to the rest of the group at any time. It would be so easy to pick off a caravan with arrows as they crossed the bridge.

     Balsa backtracked and guided Dohal, his family, and Chagum to a spot on the road near the cliff. "Wait here," she said. "When you hear three whistles, make a run for the bridge. Send Gol ahead on his horse with the goods you intend to drop, then send forward the rest of the horses. If you're attacked, mount up on the horses and try to run. When you're crossing the bridge, throw away the two bags of dried fruit. Do you understand?" she asked.

     Since Gol's son and the horses would ride out ahead, Balsa and Gol lashed the reins of the other horses to Gol's son's to keep them together. It would be easy to scatter the horses by cutting the leads, but they couldn't help that. Dohal seemed very, very nervous, but he understood what the plan was.

     Balsa glanced over at Chagum. His eyes were full of single-minded focus and determination. They had to cross Usal's gorge. If they didn't, they would lose even more time.

     Balsa dismounted and removed her coat so that she could move more easily. She stowed it in her pack. She wrapped her horse's reins around the saddle's pommel, then said, "Include this horse with the others, but leave it free."  

     Gol tied his own horse to a tree. "I'd prefer to leave mine here. We can come back, maybe, when it's safe. I'll return on my own and catch up to you." He exchanged a few words with his son, then followed Balsa.

     They were ready. Balsa and Gol took up positions on the edge of the gorge and kept watch. There was an enormous clump of bushes on the other side of the bridge that would be perfect to hide behind. "I'll bet there's a cave there," Gol whispered. "They must have planted that bush and all that undergrowth to conceal it."

     He was right. Balsa saw thin trails of smoke coming from the direction of the bushes. The bandits were holed up there, waiting for someone to try to cross the bridge. It was even easier to keep watch from where they were than it was from Balsa and Gol's position, because they were on slightly higher ground. Gol turned around and started climbing uphill; he needed to be higher than the bandits if he wanted to pick them off easily with arrows.

     Gol's bow was a longbow: capable of firing accurately from very far away. It did, however, take some time to fire. If the bandits managed to swarm him before he reduced their numbers, he'd be in trouble. Balsa certainly hoped that Gol was as good with a bow as he'd said he was.

     Well, it's time. Let's do this.

     She lost sight of Gol when he passed into a bamboo thicket. She picked up her borrowed quiver and strapped it to her back. Her spear was in her right hand and the bow was in her left. She descended the slope toward the bridge. She had to find some cover for herself so she could shoot. If any of the bandits caught sight of her here, they could pick her off easily.

     Balsa heard the bandits whistle signals to one another as she ran. An arrow narrowly missed her shoulder. The archer was close; Balsa paused in place and removed the scabbard from her spear. She heard the sound of more arrows being released nearby and kept running. When she reached a narrow ledge on the cliff that was shielded from most eyes by the undergrowth, she stopped to catch her breath. She heard someone groan and tracked the sound to a bamboo grove. She saw a man up there with a bow in his hand--and an arrow in his back. He tumbled forward over the cliff.

     Balsa heard no more arrows whizzing around her. All was silent. She held her breath and tried to sense where the next volley of arrows would come from.  Three arrows came flying in her direction at once; she deflected all three with the tip of her spear.

     Gol was even more impressive with his bow than he'd stated. He used the position of the arrows aimed at Balsa to shoot down two of the enemy's archers without having to see them.  By bad luck, the final archer was behind Balsa, further along the cliff; he had good cover behind a rock formation. Gol's arrows couldn't reach him there.

     Balsa narrowly avoided the archer's next arrow, then set aside her spear and drew an arrow from her quiver. She nocked it back and fired at the last archer without an instant of hesitation. She missed. The archer prepared another arrow; she ducked to avoid it, then fired again. She saw her arrow pierce the archer's left shoulder; he gasped and dropped his bow. 

     More bandits emerged from the rocky area behind the archer; there was almost certainly a cave there. Men screamed and cried out warnings. A man that appeared to be the leader rode toward the cliff on a black horse. He planted himself at the other side of the suspension bridge and drew his sword. Six other riders wearing wolf pelts over their coats surrounded him in a fan shape. Four more tall unmounted men took places near the riders. Two others remained near their leader.

     The leader kicked his horse into motion and started to cross the bridge. One other bandit followed. Gol shot at them, but they didn't pause; they deflected his arrows with practiced ease. Balsa set her bow aside, picked up her spear, and ran toward the bandits at top speed. She ran halfway across the bridge and encountered the bandit leader. The bandits on the other side of the bridge got a clear view of Balsa and drew their swords.

     The bandit leader raised his sword and was about to cut Balsa down when he lost his grip on his weapon. Balsa brought her spear's point up and sliced off two of the fingers of his sword hand. His fingers and his sword fell over the edge of the bridge and into the gorge. The bandit leader screamed and fell from his horse. His feet caught in the stirrups; his panicking horse started trampling him.

     The butt of Balsa's spear struck the other bandit on the bridge below the jawline. He fell from his horse without making a sound. He flailed his arms desperately and held on for dear life to the bridge's rope guardrail.

     Balsa whistled three times, giving the others the signal to move up and cross the bridge. She didn't stop for an instant, but kept running across the bridge to deal with the rest of the bandits.

  

  

     Dohal and his family were panicked and frozen from fear, but when they heard Balsa's signal, they had no choice but to move. Gol's son was just as frightened as the merchant family and didn't move.

     "That's the signal!" Chagum said. "Go! Run!" He slapped one of the packhorses on the rear with the handle of his sword. The horse lurched into motion; the others that were lashed to it started moving as well.

     Gol's son seemed to return to his senses; he slackened his horse's reins and chased after the packhorses. He had panicked momentarily, but he was focused now. He drew his longsword and held it ready.

     Chagum faced Dohal and his family. His face was very pale. He tried to sound confident when he said, "Well then, let's go. We'll use the horses to provide cover. Even if they shoot at us, the horses will shield us, so don't worry. We'll be fine." Chagum unsheathed his own sword, then ran after Gol's son and the horses. Dohal's family hesitated for a few moments, then formed a line and started running behind Chagum.

     The cart that the packhorses drew sent snow flying in all directions as Chagum's group descended the slope.  Chagum fell back to defend them from behind; he couldn't see much in front of him due to all the flying snow. Chagum's group drew closer to the bridge, with Gol's son out in front of them.  Gol's horse started to cross the bridge. Chagum wasn't far behind him. There was a man in the center of the bridge holding onto the guardrail and screaming, but Chagum paid him no mind. He focused only on progressing forward.

     It was almost time to drop the two bags of dried fruit from the cart. The packhorses drawing the cart showed no signs of slowing down. "Dohal! Hoi!" Chagum shouted. Then he kept galloping across the bridge.

     Dohal glanced at him. His eyes were full of confusion and doubt. The goods were precious to him; he didn't think he had to sacrifice them for him and his family to escape. Chagum's shout went ignored.

     When Chagum reached the other side of the bridge, he drew up sharply on his horse's reins. The horse called Tanda couldn't stop in time without ruining the line of fleeing people and horses, so Chagum directed him a little to the side and dug his heels in.

     Balsa was still engaged in combat with the bandits. Chagum watched a rider fall from his horse. Balsa stood in the center of a group of four men, all holding swords.

     Balsa!

     Chagum suddenly saw everything clearly, as if it had been preserved in crystal. He knew exactly what he had to do. He kicked Tanda forward and ran after the cart full of Dohal's goods. He cut through the rope holding the goods in place; they spilled out of the cart onto the ground. Then Chagum turned back to Balsa and lined his horse up with hers.

  

  

     The leader of the bandits and three of his unmounted men were still standing. No one moved. One other man shifted slightly on the ground, but he couldn't get up. Gol's son, the packhorses and the cart all approached from behind, but Balsa didn't turn to look at them.

     But the bandits looked. Balsa knew then that the two bags of dried fruit were behind her, on the ground; everything was going according to plan.

     "Balsa!" Chagum called out.

     She felled the man in front of her by bringing her spear down on his head, then slashing at his horse's neck. It screamed and panicked, throwing its rider. Balsa galloped to Chagum's side.

     Balsa pulled up on her reins and thrust her spear into the ground to hold her horse in place. She turned her horse smartly around to face the few remaining bandits. The leader was wavering, she could tell. He wanted to flee, but he had to stand his ground or lose face with his scant remaining men. She glanced at Chagum, who nodded. The two of them charged their horses past the remaining bandits, following Gol's son, Dohal's family and the wagon.

     The bandit leader let them go. One of the bandits tried to chase after them, but the leader shouted, "Are you an idiot? We've got wounded here. We need to tend to them before we chase anyone." He turned to another bandit. "You. Go pick those bags up and see what's inside."

  

  

     Gol's son kept his horse galloping ahead of the wagon, packhorses, Dohal, and his family. They ran for a long way; the horses panicked at the battlefield and ran as fast as they could past it. The road was slippery with ice and snow, which helped them go even faster than they'd usually be able to. They picked up speed and couldn't slow down: at this rate, they might tumble into a ditch and die.

     Balsa brought her horse up alongside the cart. She spoke to the horses in a soothing voice and reached out with the butt of her spear to pat their necks as gently as she could manage. The horses slowed by degrees. When they finally stopped, their riders dismounted. The horses and riders were both drenched in sweat. It was so cold that their breath was visible.

     By the time Gol sneaked past the remaining bandits and caught up with the rest of them, it was growing dark. Gol's son saw him first; he waved. "Dad!"

     Gol brought his horse up, then passed a longbow back to his son. His own was strapped to his back. "We're fine now," he said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "The other bandits turned tail and ran. We don't have to worry about them anymore."

     Dohal and exchanged relieved glances, but they were shaking--from cold, fear, or some combination of both.

     "Thank you! Thank you!" Dohal's wife said. She clutched her young daughter to her chest and bowed to Gol and Balsa over and over again.

     Balsa smiled at Gol. "You're an incredible archer. It's really thanks to you that we're all safe."

     Gol blushed bright red and laughed. "It was nothing! You were the one who took all the risks. You're better than your reputation gives you credit for. We never would have made it over Usal's gorge without you."

     Chagum smiled as he looked between Gol and Balsa. He felt Dohal's eyes on him and stopped smiling. Balsa noticed Chagum's sudden change in expression and faced Dohal.

     Dohal looked at his feet. "I am very grateful to you all for saving us," he said, "but I don't understand why we needed to give them those two bags of fruit. They were done for; they wouldn't have chased us even if we'd kept them on the cart. It's a lot harder for me to pay off my debts without those two bags. I doubt I'll make any profit from this journey at all."

     Chagum went pale. Dohal's words angered him, but he also felt sorry that his family would suffer now. Dohal hadn't cut the two bags loose from the wagon; Chagum had. Their suffering was his fault. He opened his own pack to give Dohal and his family something for their trouble. Balsa seized his arm.

     "It's true that you lost some of your goods," she said, "but you're also alive. You can work in Kanbal until you have enough to pay off your debts. Try to think of it that way instead. You'll never make a profit again if you die."

     Dohal's expression was tinged with bitterness, but he nodded.

     Balsa rode next to Chagum as they continued their journey, looking for a place to make camp. "Do you think it was the wrong decision to cut those two bags free from the cart?" she asked.

     He shook his head.

     Balsa smiled. "If that's so, there's no need to pay him anything. You did nothing wrong." She put her hand on Chagum's shoulder. "You saved us by doing that. If the bags hadn't been there, the bandit leader would have ordered his men to chase after us. I would have had to fight off all four of them while we ran. I could probably have done it, but I doubt I could have managed it without injuries--to us or the horses. So thank you, Chagum." She smiled again.

     "I never expected you to charge up on your horse and give me that distraction. Even seasoned guards can't usually pull off the timing on something like that."

     Chagum's lips trembled. He looked like he was about to cry. He and Balsa remained silent for a while, listening to their horses' hooves slush through the snow. Gol and his son lighted torches behind them.

     "Do you think there were any assassins mixed in with those bandits?" Chagum asked.

     "Nah, those were all Rotans, and they all listened to the same leader. There wasn't more than one faction there; I would have noticed."

     Chagum nodded. "We can't keep traveling with Gol and the others for too much longer. We don't want to put them in danger. Bandits and assassins are different. Assassins will cut down the innocent to get to us if they have to."

     Balsa looked straight ahead and shrugged. "You're right." The dim outlines of a building appeared in the distance. It was a tahn--a small hut meant to give travelers shelter during winter storms. This would probably be a good place to spend the night. At least I'll be able to share the watch with Gol for the night.

     She frowned. She felt like she was being watched, but when she turned around, no one was looking at her. She didn't see anyone suspicious on the road or in the woods.

     "What's wrong?" Chagum asked. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword.

     Balsa shifted in her saddle and stared into the forest. "I feel like someone's watching us."

     "Are they following us?"

     "I don't think so..." She sighed, then shook her head. They rode on for a little while until they reached the hut. Balsa didn't think she was being watched anymore. "I think we would have sensed something if we were being followed. It's been a long day. My mind might be playing tricks on me."

     But Balsa was being watched. There was a monkey sitting in the trees behind Balsa and her horse, staring down with a very human expression of curiosity. The monkey's eyes remained fixed on Balsa as she walked away.

 

 

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