Once More, Unto the Breach

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 7

I took a glance into the sky, lifting my hand to block out
the glare from the sun. I could just make out the dark speck
in the air that was Thrysten. If I didn't know any better
she would look just like any other bird to me.

Come to think of it, I wasn't to sure it wasn't a bird,
there was a lot of specks like that in the sky. The sun made
it worse, as I was riding into it.

To add to the that, I never did learn to ride a horse, and
this one wasn't in a very good mood with me trying to
navigate him. Either way though, I was getting to where I
was wanting to go.

I pulled the horse to a stop. It looked like I might have an
escort though, in the way of about two dozen armed solders
who were currently blocking my path.

"Expecting me?" I asked with a slight smile. Most of them
jumped back a bit. I really was something new to them.

"You are to come with us," one guard, some kind of senior I
assumed as his uniform had gold hexagons embroidered onto
his shoulders.

I shrugged. "Fine by me."

He stepped forward. "Get off the beast, you will be walking
the rest of the way."

I shrugged again, and swung my leg around, sliding off the
horse. "Anything else?"

He held out his paw. "You're sword."

With a sigh, I reached around and undid my sword belt,
handing it over to him. I had expected this, which was why I
had taken one of Kalie's ever present guns.

The leader of this group nodded at two others. "Search him
for any other weapons."

The two solders were on me quickly, each one covering one
side of my body, going though my pockets and felling over my
legs and arms. They both went past my actual weapon, looking
for daggers or the like, I found that a bit surprising
actually. They should of taken that just because of how
foreign it was, that and it could have been used to
cold-cock somebody.

Eventually they stepped back into the group. "Nothing more
on him sir." One announced.

There leader nodded his head again. "Tight formation around
him, I don't want him slipping away." The solders broke
there line, falling into a tight square around me, giving me
about half an arms length from any one else.

The leader looked them over, correcting a couple of the men.
Then with a shout they all started to march, and me along
with them. Every time I got to close to one of the solders,
I was growled at. I quickly got the idea that they would
rather be killing me then escorting me.

Something else was strange though, the one next to me keep
shifting a bit, missing the march time just by a little. The
leader noticed this and had made a point of making sure the
solder knew it, still though he only improved by the
smallest margins.

I put it off as just bad training. Krege had a huge army,
and from what I understood from my last visit, a lot of
draftees on demand. So it was perfectly logical that a few
of the solders were still quite green.

That was when I noticed that the arrow still floating in my
eye sight had become black as night. I was stunned, it had
changed and I had never even noticed it! More then that,
Oriana was standing right next to me, right here and right
now, she was also one of the pair who had searched me
before, which explained why the gun had been left behind. I
had found her, now I just had to talk to her.

I though for a second, sending a few pre-set mental commands
to the translator to shut it off. There was no visible sign
of that change, nothing would show it unless I tried to talk
to someone. Slowly I reactivated the chip, but only to
translate my hearing, I followed that by setting it so that
my spoken language was translated into Oria's native tongue.

"Hello Oriana," I whispered low enough that she should be
able to hear.

She jumped, a startled looking playing accost her disguised
face. She gave me a glance out of the corner of her eye. She
finally whispered back. "I'm sorry."

I slumped a bit. "Don't kill him, it would be bad." I hissed
out, suddenly feeling anger starting to rise.

"I know, I can see that. I won't kill him."

I nodded a bit. "Good." I whispered back, then shut up as we
were starting to attract some attention.

We keep the march up for twenty minutes, as I was escorted
up out of the valley, and into the camp. I was led past a
forest of tents that the senior officers used. Finally
reaching a the largest one at the center of camp.

"Go in," I was ordered, the solders splitting in front of
me. I gave a quick look back to Oria, then reset my
translator. "Of course." I snipped at him, and taking three
steps forward threw open the fabric of the tent and steeped
inside.

It was partly lavish, a few designer items here and there,
as well as some maps on the walls. Sitting in a large chair
on the far side of the room was who I was here to see.

Walking right to him, I smiled. "And you must be Krege." I
said.

He gave me a tooth filled grin. "No... Krege is ill." He
motioned to the side of the tent where a pale looking wolf
was slumped in a chair. "I am Salden. Prime Minister of his
lands."

I took three steps back. This was an unexpected turn of
events. I was a bit shaken up. "For how long?"

He waved his paws a bit. "Long enough. Now, am I to assume
you are Fox?" He said my name with a slight roll of his
tongue, making it sound like 'fux'.

I pushed my hands into my pant's pockets. "That I am."

He smiled again. "What they say of you is true, you are a
very horrid creature. You demon was much more pleasant to
look at."

"Yes, some thing that. What did you do with her?"

He shrugged, leaning back a bit. "She has been disposed of."

I frowned... this bastard had killed Sora... The anger I had
felt before started to grow even worse. I tried not to show
it though. I gave him a smile and shrugged. "Well, she isn't
important to me now."

He chuckled, leaning forward a bit. "Yes... now we are hear
to talk about the terms of Draz's surrender."

I did not like the glint in his eyes. I was betting this man
was the reason why Draz's negotiation had been broken off. I
also got the idea that he might have caused this 'illness'
as well. I didn't expect him to want anything less then
Draz, and probably every one else in the castle dead.

"No, you are. I am here to try to end this in some peaceful
manner."

This caused Salden to frown. "I see... well then, would you
like a glass of wine?"

I shook my head. "No, I prefer to refrain from drinking."

He twisted his paws a bit, folding them lightly and resting
his muzzle on them. "Well then, sense we appear not to be
able to have a discussion, I would wonder if you would
answer a question for me?"

I pulled my hands out of my pockets and crossed them around
my waist, letting my right hand brush against the handle of
my gun. Focusing a bit I took a look at the arrow. It was
pointing behind me, and only a shade lighter. I hoped that
meant Oriana was just outside. I had the feeling that I
might have to make a run for it, and didn't want to have her
in the way if I started shooting.

"You may ask."

"Do you remember who helped you put Draz on the throne?" His
voice was suddenly dripping with venom.

I nodded. "An upstart pain in the ass little brat with
delusions of grander."

His eyes flickered over me. "Do you remember what happened
to him?"

This was definitely becoming a sour turn of events. I gently
pulled my gun out, holding it in front of myself, though not
trying to hide it. "Yes, one of his guards killed him in the
final attack. I personally think he deserved it."

Salden looked past me for a second, then back at my face.
"What is that thing?" He asked, pointed at the gun.

I raised it up, holding it to the side so anyone behind me
(like Oriana) could see what it was. "Oh, just a good luck
charm." I said with smile, as I thumbed the safety off and
pulled back the bolt of the gun, loading a round into the
chamber.

He smiled. "You will need one."

That confirmed things for me. I twisted around, taking a
step in Salden's direction as I did. Standing about five
feet away, and holding his sword ready to lunge was a one of
his solders.

We made eye contact for a fleeting second, then he ran at
me, I shot at him. I won. He lost his footing and fell to
the floor, his paws pressed against the wound in his belly.

Quickly as I could, I ran past him, and forced my way out of
the tent. I startled a pair of solders who had been standing
at attention at the entrance as I forced my way past.

Focusing on the arrow, I found a solder who was already
running towards me, as he got closer the arrow got blacker.
It could only have been Oria. As we ran past each other I
grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"Which was is out." I asked, pushing past some more solders,
and going around a corner. I could hear yelling starting
behind us.

"Behind us." She said. Her voice not fitting in at all with
what she looked like.

"Then which was is back into the hills?"

She gave me a look. "To the right, why?"

I turned right, plowing through a pair of solders. "Good
then. I think we can get into the hills and double back
thought the canyon. We should be able to get back to the
castle by late tonight."

"Won't it be a bit late?" She demanded. "By the time we get
there the attack might have already begun. We need a way to
warn them."

"It's on it's way already. Thrysten is above us remember. As
soon as I started to run she would have turned back to warn
the others."

There was a yell, and suddenly from three sides of us came
charging troops. I dogged and ran into a tent, pulling
Oriana with me. She saw what I was doing and pulled out her
sword, running in front a few paces, she sliced an arc in
the tent's fabric. She forced her way through it, and I
followed.

Outside I found she had cut her way though two tents. One
right next to each other. There was no room to go between
them, I could only go into the next tent, which Oria's tail
was vanishing into.

Diving after her, I found that it might not have been the
best of choice for an escape. We had apparently run into a
barracks of some sort. There was fifteen solders inside with
us, and they were all reaching for there swords.

Oria had stopped, not sure what to do. "Keep running and
turn of the damn Matrix chip." I said, pushing her forward.

She understood, starting to run again, speaking into the
chip-control that was built into the metal bands on her
wrists.

There was the explosion of light as the Matrix deactivated.
I had expected it, though was still shocked. All the solders
though frozen for a few seconds. Long enough to get past
them and out of the tent.

We were back between them again, this time though they where
starting to thin out. I could actually see the hills at the
end of the lane of tents, aiming for it, I started to run.

It took thirty seconds to get to the end of the lane, I find
things were not what I had expected it. Yes it was the start
of some of the hills, but it was also at something like an
seventy-five degree angle. I could climb it in about half an
hour, but that wasn't an option, and I could see no other
way up into them for about two-hundred feet.

We wouldn't be able to make it, I had seen archers in the
back of the crowed that had ambushed us. They would shoot us
down before we got even half way there.

The only other real option was a slanting pit to the side of
us, that smelled like it had been used for the camps refuse.
It was a way out, I was sure no one would follow us there,
but I didn't think we would be able to find our way out
either.

I looked at Oriana, she was pulling up the sleeve of her
trench coat, reliving some kind of device strapped to her
right arm.

"What is that?" I hissed.

She frowned, looking down at it herself. "It's a climber,
Marn gave it to me. I can use it to get up the hill, but it
can't lift more then my own weight." She started undo some
of the bits of it.

"I looked around, we had maybe ten seconds before the
solders where on us. "What are you doing?"

"Giving it to you so you can survive."

I growled a softly under my breath. "No time for that right
now! You go, I'll take care of myself."

She looked at me for a second, making her mind up. Then
suddenly grabbed and kissed me on the lips. It lasted for a
second before she broke it off. Aiming her arm up she fired
and was quickly gone.

Gone was what I was about to be if I didn't do something
damn quick. Looking up to make sure Oriana was safe, I
turned the gun's safety back on, stuffed it into my pants,
and jumped into the pit.

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This story is (c) 1997 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one a person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.