The Swithing Skill Chapter Four

The band of Chalkars following the girl were hardened warriors and expert horsemen, accustomed to forcing forbidding mountain ranges with armies of tens of thousands, carrying along with them the huge trains of equipment and supplies that such bodies of fighting men require. Now, relatively unencumbered, they found that to travel swiftly through such land as this, although not easy, was hardly an extraordinary task. To a Chalkar, brutal marches, frozen limbs, and extended discomfort were to be expected.
      Thus it was that by midday--much sooner than Dar-teh would have guessed--the Chalkars reached the forest where Dar-teh had taken the horses, and shortly thereafter they discovered the place of the battle--and their slain comrades. They squandered little time poking about the place; it required only a few minutes to examine the tracks and other signs and surmise that the girl had turned to fight and had been joined by a stranger. They found it mysterious, as it was difficult to explain why a lone fighting man would be present in this place, and how it was that he found the might to kill at least two of their own, before disappearing along with the girl, much weaponry and equipment, the clothes of one of the dead, and all of the beasts.
     Mysterious, yes, but no call for men such as these to hesitate or become faint of heart. They were Chalkars, the people who had swarmed out of the eastern grasslands under the leadership of the great Betpak Dala, who had magnetized the thousands upon thousands of nomads wandering and warring across the northern steppes, and then pulled them together like uncountable iron shavings rushing to join one another when called by the irresistible force. Under his leadership they had become unstoppable, for each man had a herd of his own beasts, mostly the horse, upon the spines of which every boy and many of the girls had spent most of their waking hours since birth, riding, hunting, always moving; and they had the bow, the stout, thick re-curve, made of wood and bone, capable of sending a shaft even through the thickest of hide shields or of striking an enemy down while hundreds, or even a thousand, paces away.
     The Chalkars had utterly destroyed every enemy who had fallen across their path. No other race was prepared for the onslaught of swift, mounted, deadly bowmen bursting forth from unknown lands, maneuvering like gazelles, striking like the cobra, if not the raging bull, subduing or enslaving every race who stood in their way, and thoroughly destroying those who resisted, to the extent of reducing to rubble the most magnificent of cities, leaving the corpses piled high, so that a wandering Yidu priest, ten years later, would pass the expanse of wasteland and report that, "Not an object above the height of the knee hinders one's view as far as they eye can see, and the charred earth is so befouled that not the least of weeds will grow there to this day. The stench of rotting flesh still foils one's attempt to wander too close."
     So the ten moved on with confidence, curious, perhaps only in the least uneasy, but certain that they would soon overtake and mete out a torturous death to the man who had somehow defeated their brethren, after which time they would enjoy the young girl, the much storied Miradi, before returning her to their general and denying any accusations she might make of them. They had incentive to move swiftly and to do well, for all ten of them had ravaged the women and girls of a hundred villages since their current march began two years ago, yet, since the winter campaign had begun, they had been occupied in remote wilderness and uninhabited mountains such as these, and were tremendously anxious to experience once again the carnal pleasures to which they had become accustomed. A half day's ride ahead, Dar-teh and Miradi, heads bent to the chill wind, forced their way higher into the peaks, striking an unnatural path for human travelers, who would ordinarily have stayed on the warmer slopes further below, clinging to the lower bosom of the great monoliths, until such time as their trail completed a giant half circle around to an eastern face, offering an easy descent to lowlands, the goal of any traveler trying this difficult passage.
     But Dar-teh and Miradi had struck upwards, through scant forests and up icy slopes, knowing not exactly where they headed, but knowing that their survival was at stake, and only brave, desperate measures such as this could save them. The girl's bleeding had slowed, but she had lost much of the precious fluid through the gash made by the Chalkar's blade. As a result, her body was unable to warm itself; she grew weak, and she was wracked with pain. Dar-teh had seen the wounding take place, and knew both from that quick sight as well as from the manner in which the girl slumped ever lower in the saddle that her condition was poor. The afternoon grew gray, snow blew across their eyes, and clumps of the ice formed in the manes and tails of the beasts. They came upon a bare outcropping offering a steep, frightening view of the land below, even down to the trail they had quitted some time ago. It was just such a place for which the warrior had hoped. "Here," he called to the girl, who rode a short distance ahead. She stopped and looked back at him with glazed, wondering eyes. He swung from the saddle.
      "Dismount, and I will lead your horse into the trees. Take your bow and find a place behind these stones overlooking the slope below. I will do the same. We have made poor time since leaving the trail, and it may well be that our followers will be passing along it shortly. If they are fooled and continue on, then we are saved. If they follow our tracks toward this place, then we will be waiting."  
     Miradi nodded and did as she was bade. By the time she had found a partly sheltered place among the rocks, Dar-teh was returning from the trees. He observed approvingly at the place she had chosen and looked some distance away at a second place which would complement hers. He looked back to the girl and noticed her trembling.
     "Gird yourself, fair one. My guess is that we will know our fate soon, and, should the spirits see fit, we will have the freedom then to secure more suitable shelter--even enjoy a small flame."
     Miradi nodded briefly and huddled down further in her shallow den. Dar-teh moved off and set himself in such a way so as to be able to cross his fire at an angle to that of the girl. He had barely settled into his place and begun to study the land below when the Chalkars appeared. They moved at a trot along the shelf, many hundreds of paces below, and then, to the dismay of the pair above, stopped short. The lead man, who had held up his hand, was examining the ground. He bothered not even to dismount before his eyes slowly wandered upwards, and then, twisting in the saddle to face his comrades, he barked out a short report. The others made a comment or two of their own, but otherwise sat waiting. Their leader looked up the icy slope a moment longer, pondering the situation and wondering at the intent of the strange pair he followed, then, without another word, signaled to his horse and turned off the trail. The others followed, and the line of horsemen began slowly picking their way upward, toward the hiding place of Dar-teh and Miradi. These latter let them come, for although the powerful bows they wielded were capable of great distance, sure hits would be easier at less than sixty paces. Yet, they must not permit the Chalkars to come closer than that, for if the warriors had the presence of mine to charge, they might overun Dar-teh and his companion before all of them were struck down themselves, although in that case, they would still have to contend with Dar-teh's blade. Each had strung a shaft, but the girl knew to wait for a sign.
      It came in the form of a buzzing string of gut, and the rushing of air as the missile passed by. His first shaft sunk deep in the chest of the lead rider, and the girl, had she not had the responsibility to shoot herself, would have paused long to marvel at the power and accuracy of the shot. As it was, in another instant, she knocked from the saddle the second man, for her own skills with the bow were equal to those of the man with whom she fought. The remaining eight scattered, however, the foremost three falling to the ground and rolling for cover, the other five lashing their mounts into short gallops into the surrounding brush. Dar-teh strung another shaft. He spied a warrior slide to a halt behind large stones and dismount. While the Chalkar stood grappling with his own bow, Dar-teh put a shaft through his side. Most of the remaining seven caught the direction of this last shot and the three foremost began stalking toward it, a formidable slab of rock, some thirty paces above their heads, over which they could not have seen, even had the mist and blowing snow been clear.
     Dar-teh, however, could lift his head carefully and observe them coming. They were brutish, scowling men, stocky and bow-legged from years in the saddle, broad shouldered, leather-faced, and with only slits for eyes against the stinging wind. Heavy cloaks covered them all, their bows were strangely massive, and they possessed many blades and an occasional lance. Despite the wind and distance, Dar-teh smelled occasionally of their scent, a rotting smell of horse and filth. They stalked like leapords across the ice, dashing quickly from one place to another, preventing Dar-teh from loosing another shot. Others, from locations unseen, sent shafts of their own flying close above the hidden warrior's head. But Dar-teh had chosen their position well. Miradi was in position to strike on the flank of those stalking him. He wondered an instant at the resolve of the girl; would she freeze in terror, flee as the fierce Chalkars grew close, or tremble so much as to miss her mark? His doubts were short lived, for as soon as the girl had chocked another shaft and aimed carefully, the missile flashed through the air and a fourth Chalkar lay dead. The others disappeared into cracks in the ground or behind slabs of rock. Dar-teh peered intently. The land was silent, motionless and gray, save for the whining of the wind and the blowing flakes of snow. He thought swiftly. Together with the girl, they had killed three of this race on the ledge that morning, more a moment ago; he could expect nothing but torture and death for the girl and himself if they did not defeat the rest of them now; therefore he did a thing that was distasteful to him, but which would save his life. The Chalkar mounts stood for the most part in open view, especially the ones who hadn't been ridden off to the side. Dar-teh strung shafts and fired rapidly and downed a pair of the creatures in an instant. As he strung again, Miradi shot, understanding her companions intent. A third animal whinnied and went down; then Dar-teh put a shaft through the neck of a fourth. The closer Chalkars dashed toward their beasts, horrified at what was taking place. Dar-teh buried a shaft in leg of one, causing the rest to hide again, and Miradi slew the remaining horses that were within reach of her shafts. Soon the wind whipped across a seemingly emptly slope, for the animals were gone and the remaining Chalkars hidden. What action these Chalkars might take next, Dar-teh could only guess, but his instincts told him that the time had come for the he and the girl to flee. He slithered behind the cover of naked branches and sharp stones and made his way to the girl, who lay shivering and pale, but watching intently the mountain below her. "Carefully fall back," he said. "Move rapidly but make no noise." He balanced her arm as she rose stiffly and moved at a crouch toward the trees behind. Dar-teh studied the hillside a moment longer, saw nothing, and followed after the girl.