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Hejira: Sanguine Wave

By Mantrid Brizon

Episode 45: The Bigger Picture

Galloping swiftly through the field, a runner rides hard to Wildwood. Sent by the chieftain of Goldenrod, the young human male somehow managed to evade the forces bearing down on them. Facing destruction at the hands of Adelram's forces, Goldenrod, as the smallest of the tribes of ECTO, was considered of little strategic value; none of the chieftains, including Sarvah, assumed that Goldenrod would be targeted first, especially considering that they are the nearest to Wildwood.

Early that morning, however, a large force emerged and laid siege to the tiny village. Protected by only a simple palisade wall and several flimsy watchtowers containing several archer squads, they were forced to send a runner and ask their allies for help. As a member of ECTO, Goldenrod is guaranteed support. Guards atop the scaffolding watch as the rider approaches their village, peering at him with a monoscope. Seeing the emblem on the chest plate of his studded leather armor, and on the linen battledress of the horse, they open the gate.

Emma and Rinahra, who were discussing the economic state of the Feather Fingers in Emma's home, are quickly retrieved by a warrior, warned of the rider's approach with a special horn. Accompanied by Emma's personal assistant, Claire, the three females emerge from the house as the rider approaches. The horse, sweaty and weak, is quickly taken for resting by their rancher.

“What happened?! What's wrong?!" Emma asks.

“We're being attacked!" The teenaged human boy exclaims.

“What?! But Goldenrod has no real value." Rinahra gasps.

“Take him inside." Emma barks at Claire.

“Yes, ma'am." Claire bows her head.

Leading the boy into Emma's home, they offer him water and a simple meal.

“Tell us what happened." Emma says softly.

“A large force arrived this morning, just after dawn. They began by shouting from a distance away, gaining our attention. After an arrow barrage, they charged the wall but we fought them off. I was sent to ask for help before they regrouped and returned. They shot arrows at me and briefly chased me on foot, but I escaped." He explains.

“Why would they march to Goldenrod and bypass other tribes?" Rinahra thinks aloud.

“We need your help to fight them off. We killed quite a few defending our wall, but I don't know how long we'll be able to hold out. Please, help us!" He pleads.

“Where's Kelly?" Emma turns to Claire.

“I don't know." She answers.

“He's been overseeing some project." Rinahra interjects.

“A project?! What project, and why wasn't I told about it?!" Emma growls.

“I didn't even know it existed until I saw him yesterday afternoon issuing orders. Apparently, it's a secret; I was kept in the dark as well." Rinahra admits.

“Find him and tell him what's going on. He was taught by Gareth and is in charge of our military at the moment; he will decide what to do." Emma declares.

Standing near the cliffside, Kelly watches as several workers test a newly finished device. With a simple pulley system and two wooden arms that hang over the cliff, Gareth commissioned him to construct a basic, manually powered elevator to act as an emergency exit; it can carry a dozen people at a time and can be safely lowered by only two adult males when full or one when empty.

“Kelly! Kelly!" A voice calls out to him.

Glancing over his shoulder, he sees Rinahra dashing toward him. Turning to face her, he grows concerned by the look on her face. She stops and gasps for breath, the scrawny feline Sahvorai having sprinted the distance.

“What's wrong?" He asks.

“You need to come with me. It's very important." She replies.

Following Rinahra back to Emma's home, he is immediately greeted by the sight of Emma and Claire sitting with a teenage human boy. Wearing armor with Goldenrod's symbol on his chest, it's obvious who he is. They are quick to reveal what they've learned, and Kelly is stunned. Not even Gareth assumed that they would ever attack Goldenrod without cause; there's no tactical advantage to doing so. Kelly has a gut feeling that something is amiss, but he doesn't know what.

If only Gareth and Sarvah were still there, but they left with a small detachment containing their most elite warriors; the lovers lead sixty-four soldiers on a mission to harass the smaller outposts and villages in Silver Teeth territory. They've been gone for two days.

“What do you want to do? I'm leaving this up to you." Emma says to him.

“... You said they shot arrows at you?" Kelly turns to the boy.

“Yes, sir!"

“A lot of arrows, or just a few?"

“I don't know. It looked like many." The boy shrugs.

“What?" Emma raises a brow.

“I don't know..." Kelly sighs.

“Are you going to help us?!" The boy pleads.

“We have too. I'll send the fourth and fifth groups to go back with him. If they hustle, they might be able to reach Goldenrod just before nightfall." Kelly says.

“You don't want to send them all? You probably should." Claire interjects.

“Fuck that! Only an idiot would send his entire army away from his home and leave it defenseless. Besides, Gareth gave me a list of emergency instructions and that's absolutely out of the question." Kelly retorts.

“And groups two and three?" Rinahra asks.

“Steve is in charge of group two; I want him to focus on wall security. Group three will be in reserve and I'll take command of them." Kelly replies.

“When should the soldiers attack?" Claire asks.

“Hmm... After such a long march, maybe at dawn. They can catch Adelram's men when they're resting."

With the orders established, Rinahra races off to inform the Feather Fingers' warrior groups. Claire and Kelly leave Emma to her duties and take the Goldenrod's runner to the rancher to trade horses. He is then allowed to leave, quickly returning to the gate, where the warrior groups prepare for their mission. Claire returns to her master, aiding Emma with her duties. Walking back toward the cliffside, Kelly stops in his tracks. He glances back at the village, thinking for a moment. Turning around, he suddenly races as fast as he can toward the front gate.

“Wait!" Kelly yells.

The warrior groups, prepared to depart, stand at attention and turn back to him.

“Sir?" A captain asks.

“Rinahra issued your orders?" Kelly asks, as if to confirm.

“She did. March as fast as we can to Goldenrod and attack Adelram's men at dawn." The captain replies.

“I'm changing that order. Attack during the night, as early in the night as you can."

“Yes, sir!"

Following Goldenrod's runner, the warrior groups march through the opened gate and away from Wildwood. Kelly stands atop the scaffolding beside several archers, leaning on the palisade walls. As he watches the warriors walking swiftly through the field and away from their home, the feeling of dread is growing worse. With Gareth's secret missions completed, Kelly decides to ignore the feeling and continue on as he otherwise would. Taking command of group three, he makes sure that they've eaten and are prepared for battle.

Returning home to spend his dinner with his family, he sits at the table. Vahna sits beside him and their son beside her, while Naomi and Travahn sit across from them; Kelly often teases the boy for being adopted into their family, as he spends nearly all of his time with Naomi. In the middle of dinner, and only a few short hours after the warrior groups left to protect Goldenrod, a commotion is heard outside. Rising from his seat, Kelly heads for the door, only to be surprised when it flies open.

“Oh, I'm sorry! Forgive the intrusion, but we need your help!" A female soldier explains.

“What's going on?" Kelly asks.

“We're about to be besieged." She answers.

“WHAT?!" Kelly's eyes grow wide.

“Yes, sir. A large group of Adelram's warriors emerged from the forest only moments ago. They're marching for the walls. There appear to be several hundred of them. What are your orders?"

“Return to Steve and tell hm to put every archer on the wall. Tell them that if they use fire, don't worry, and to man their posts for as long as possible." He replies.

“Yes, sir!" She says before darting off.

Turning back to his family, Kelly looks at them with considerable fear; he couldn't stand to lose even one of them.

“Kelly?" Vahna slowly rises to her feet.

Rushing up to her, he takes his wife into his arms, holding the dainty rabbit-like Sahvorai. He strokes her soft fur and nuzzles her cheek with his nose.

“I'm scared." She admits.

“Me too. Gary planned for this, though." He says, ending the hug. “I want you all to quickly finish eating, then pack everything you need to live out in the wild, along with your most valuable possessions; things you can't live without are all we can take. After that, collect as much food and water as you can carry and wait by the cliffs. There's a way down from there. If we have too..."

“Please be careful. We need you." Vahna whimpers.

“I'll be alright, baby. It's going to be fine. I promise." He says before kissing his wife passionately on her lips.

Racing upstairs, he collects an old, watertight bag of .45 ACP ammunition and spare magazines for his 1911 pistol. As he dashes outside, he checks the firearm that often sits on his right hip in a vintage, leather flap holster. He hasn't fired it in well over a year, but with the threat of invasion, he might as well put his nearly two hundred rounds of ammunition to use; Kelly's talents are all based around melee. The third warrior group rushes toward the gate. Seeing their commander, they turn to him for guidance.

Emma, Rinahra and Claire also approach, curious to see what's going on outside of the safety of their walls. Kelly rushes up the ramp and stands atop the scaffolding, watching the men outside as they rush the palisade. Firing arrows covered with burning resin, they shoot at the base of the wall. To the horror of Adelram's men, the green painted walls of dead tree trunks don't burn. Kelly chuckles and shakes his head, thankful for Gareth's forethought. Using a special compound of pine resin for viscosity and a combination of plant matters, the green paint is actually a fireproof coating.

Also a secret project, the green, fireproof coating only covers the outer portion of the palisade. Only those who have left the village in the last two days will have ever seen it; aside from Kelly, a small crew of painters who worked only at night knew of this, and even they didn't realize what it was they were applying to the structure. Adelram's men appear confused and unsure of what to do as the wooden walls consistently fail to burn.

“Fire at will!" Kelly barks.

Archers fire volley after volley. The captain of Adelram's soldiers orders a charge. Unable to simply burn down their walls and wait, they must try and conquer Wildwood the hard way. Taking several ladders and charging them like frenzied animals, dozens of soldiers are slain before ever coming near the palisade. Once they are within range, Kelly opens fire with his 1911 pistol, each round striking someone. Quickly emptying his eight-round magazine, he reloads. Round after found he fires as they charge, until all six of his magazines are empty.

He is amazed by how many of Adelram's men are charging them; the force must be at least four hundred warriors strong. Racing down to allow two archers to take his place, he scoops out ammunition from his watertight baggy and begins to reload.

“Can we fight them off?!" Emma asks.

“I don't know. There's a lot of them out there." Kelly replies.

“What about our warrior groups? Could we send out a carrier pigeon and call them back?" Rinahra suggests.

Kelly's heart drops and his eyes grow wide. He suddenly realizes why he has felt the way that he did. This has all been a well-orchestrated plot. By attacking their weakest ally, they forced Wildwood to defend them with soldiers, thereby weakening themselves. If they did not send soldiers to protect Goldenrod, it would undermine ECTO and could possibly destroy it, but by sending away half of their forces, Wildwood risks destruction. Kelly is now faced with a horrific choice: recall their soldiers, route the enemy and save Wildwood, or stand alone and save ECTO.

As Kelly ponders his situation, he suddenly recalls his meeting with Sahvath. 'Do not grow attached. Focus on the greater good.' Sahvath told him. Could this be what he meant? Was Sahvath warning him to focus on preserving their alliance, even at the risk of his home? This was where he wanted to raise his son, and father more children with the Sahvorai woman he's grown to love more than anything. The unfairness of the options laid at his feet make him sick to his stomach, but he has no choice.

“If we sent word to them, they might be back in time to save us." Emma remarks.

“No... They need to protect Goldenrod." Kelly grumbles.

“What?!" Claire gasps.

“Why not?!" Emma demands.

“Don't you get it?! This was a trick to get us to divide our forces! If we bring them back, we might save Wildwood and the Feather Fingers, but if we let them keep going, they might save Goldenrod and the alliance! What's more important?! Our home, or winning the war!"

“I can't believe you'd make that decision..." Claire chokes out.

“No, Kelly's right... If we don't help Goldenrod, we're telling everyone else that the alliance isn't worth saving." Emma murmurs.

“Then what are we going to do?" Rinahra asks.

“Collect any important documents; maps, charts, ledgers, whatever. Take the most important documents and burn the rest in your fireplaces. Gather all of the food, water and money you can and meet up at the cliffs. I sent my family there." Kelly instructs.

“Why the cliffs?" Claire raises a brow.

“Gareth thought this might happen; he had me build an escape route. With any luck at all, most of the Feather Fingers will survive."

Claire and Rinahra are visibly stunned. Emma, however, appears furious.

“Why wouldn't he tell us about that?!" Emma growls. “Obviously you and Sarvah knew! Don't they trust us?!"

“Maybe they just didn't trust you?" Kelly shrugs. “Now shut up and move your ass!"

Returning to the scaffolding, several of Steve's soldiers are struck by arrows fired from close range. Steve himself ducks down behind a carved log of the palisade, using it as a shield. He peeks out to fire an arrow and then ducks down again, repeating this process many times.

“Steve!" Kelly calls out to him. “If they're about to breech the wall, I want you to fall back to the cliffs. Grab that new girlfriend of yours and head for the cliffs, understood?!"

“Did she say she was my girlfriend?!" Steve's eyes light up.

“Hey! Is that under-fucking-stood?!" Kelly yells.

“Yeah, yeah! I got it!" Steve nods.

“Good!"

Kelly rises and peeks over the wall, firing nine rounds as fast as he can pull the trigger into a mass of bodies who push against the gate. Ducking down, he reloads while Steve takes his place, shooting two arrows. They repeat this until Kelly has once again emptied every magazine that he has. Hearing the wood cracking as they refuse to surrender or retreat, Kelly grows his chain-whip from his left-hand palm. Leaning against the wall, he swings his arm, dragging the cobalt blue aura through their bodies below.

Men scream as arms and legs are cleaved from their bodies, some men cut in half at the waist from his razor-sharp aura. As the men are soon depleted, with nearly half of the four hundred men now lying dead outside of the intact wall, another wave appears. Realizing that they are still incredibly powerful, Adelram's captain sends in the rest of his group. Desperate to succeed, a few men who are fighting near the wall simply lob fireballs like grenades. Golf ball sized stones, wrapped in linen and coated with flammable resin land near houses just beyond the walls, setting them ablaze.

As another four hundred warriors rush in to reinforce their dying brethren, Kelly knows that even with their tactical position, his gun and his aura, they can't hold them off forever. There are simply too many of them. Eventually, they will break through. Diving down from the scaffolding, he quickly reloads his magazines for a second time, having fired nearly half of the .45 ACP ammunition he has in his possession. Several more archers are struck as they try to defend Wildwood, falling from the scaffolding and lying dead or dying in the dirt.

Panicking citizens, too young or too old to fight, are left waiting for their imminent doom. Thudding against the main gate causes it to push inward. When it was first designed, it was made to swing only outward, with wooden beams behind the hinges to act as wedges. The fact that the door is moving inward shows how much force Adelram's men are putting on it. The wood begins to crack and splinter. Steve jumps down from the scaffolding just as the gate is demolished by a screaming mass of brutish warriors.

On the other side wait two warrior groups, armed and ready for battle. Charging toward each other, they hack, slash, stab and bash each other in the bottleneck of the gate. Steve races off to find Madina, who waits fearfully in a house with several other newcomers to their tribe. Kelly also retreats, making sure that his home is void of life before gathering Rinahra from her home next door. Carrying a backpack with her things and a satchel slung over her shoulder stuffed full of important papers and money, they dash toward Emma's house.

With Claire's help, Emma finishes burning important documents in her fireplace, as Kelly had instructed. Taking her own bags, the group races toward the cliffside. Kelly grabs hold of his wife and kisses her before kissing his son's cheek as well. He makes sure that Naomi and Travahn are safe and sound and orders the first of them to evacuate the village. With several strong male soldiers manning the pulleys, they lower his family and the tribal leaders first, before returning to collect another load.

Steve and Madina find Kelly at the cliffs, bringing along as many civilians as they can find. Quite a few cower in their homes, having found hiding places to crawl into; they are too afraid to emerge when called, and none have the time to dig them all out. With reserve soldiers pulled away from the battle at the front of the village to protect the evacuees, they lower down Steve, Madina and their group. Joining the others in the valley at the base of the cliffs, they wait for yet another load.

Two more loads of civilians and a handful of warriors evacuate. Now on their fifth, Kelly ushers as many of their able-bodied warriors as he can aboard the makeshift elevator. As they collect a sixth load, Adelram's soldiers push through the lines. Though they don't break, the Feather Fingers are forced to regroup within the town. Adelram's men rush through and burn houses, not even bothering to enter to find victims with which to vent their frustrations.

As the scaffold lifts to collect yet another load, Kelly boards the device, realizing that he may not have another chance. With a dozen male and female warriors beside him, they lower themselves to the ground. Realizing that it's too dangerous to continue, they pull the ropes until they are free of the pulleys, landing in a heap at the base of the cliffs and leaving nothing but two wooden beams behind. Kelly's heart aches at the prospect of abandoning warriors, but he is left with no choice.

Taking his family and the others, he leads them around the cliffs and toward the lake where they can slip behind Adelram's men. From there, they'll march to Goldenrod to catch up to the other two warrior groups. Looking to the horizon, Kelly wonders what Gareth and Sarvah are doing right now, and if they're alright. What will they do when they find out that Wildwood has been lost? Walking with her boyfriend, Naomi looks to Travahn, who glances around at the evacuees.

“Baby? Are you alright?" She asks.

“I don't see my parents..."

“It'll be okay." She says, giving his hand a comforting squeeze.