Showdown at Spinea pass.

Flushed with their successes, the North-Landers set to work at once restoring their defenses. Kellen in camp began digging new trenches while others shoveled out the first. Loggers were felling more trees and loading pitch wood on carts which were brought to the pits as fast as they were dug out. More men rolled out barrels of oil and dispatched it in buckets to volunteers who dumped it on the piles of tinder , kindling and logs. Carpenters were forming more barricades which were set into place and row after row of fortifications filled in the area round the north side of the village. More rock was rolled in to shore up the works and the estate began to take on an impregnable look.
“I am pleased Bjorn,” Melki confided. “I hadn’t thought the people would respond nearly so well. I am optimistic. We may well pull out a victory in the end.”
“We’ve already achieved more than I had hoped for Melki,” Bjorn agreed. “I only hope our reinforcements arrive soon.”
“We really should get back to the caverns Bjorn. Bradley said Lashir and Ana were hiding there. They deserve to know their men are safe.” Melki pointed off to the high cliffs. I hope they haven’t done anything foolish like try to come and join us. I am certain Lashir knows better, but Ana is another story. She’s always been the first to jump into a fight. Knowing you are down here will only make her desires even stronger.”
“Perhaps you’re correct, Melki.” Bjorn nodded. “We should go and pay a quick visit, just to reassure them.” And, the two spurred their horses and started off up the hill.1


The advancing Kensen were still far down the valley just coming out of the first pass. Bartok was on guard, fearing an attack in the narrow ravine. His mounted men kept an eye out in every direction.
“We are progressing well now,” Bartok said to his seconds, as they stood at the side of the road. Those red devils won’t try that again in broad daylight. If they do, we’ll be ready this time.” He watched the progress as the mounted cavalry road past, now hurrying to get into the open flat land, where they wouldn’t be targets in the narrow crevasse. “I think we can count on those little monsters staying at bay in the daylight.” He smiled, sure of himself.
The men had just started out onto the steppes when all about them explosions began to take place. These were no small explosions, but enormous thundering ones which tossed earth into the air in tons and sent the horses into a wild charge. It was as if the elves had read his mind. The ground shook and split with the detonations while arrows with more explosives suddenly rained in adding to the chaos. Men just coming out of the pass attempted to hold back but those in the middle of the bombardment could do nothing to help themselves. Then just as it seemed the attack was coming to an end, Kellen sprang up from out of trapdoors all about the field and tore the riders off their frightened mounts, killing them before they reached the ground. The Kellen leaped into the saddle and spurred the horses off. In a few seconds fifty men lay dead and fifty more horses were gone.
“Bartok,” one of the seconds asked. “How can we fight these elves, when we don’t even know where they are? How do we fight what we cannot see?”
“Silence, you sniveling coward,” Bartok growled. “We’ll hold up here until the rest of the forces reach us. With the support of our infantry they’ll think twice before they try anything else. With thirty thousand men those red devils won’t be so brave!”
But the seconds looked at each other with growing apprehension. They had begun to wonder if this was truly a workable plan.2


Bjorn and Melki arrived at the cavern to find Lashir sewing clothes for the babies who slept by the fireplace. But, Ana was no where in sight. Lashir ran to Melki, embracing him and kissing him. “Oh darling, I was so worried for you.”
Bjorn felt awkward and a pang of regret seemed to course through him at hearing Lashir call Melki darling and seeing the little ones asleep there. He still cared for her and the sight of Melki’s family was hard for him. But, he was more worried about Ana and this began to creep into his head.
“Where is Ana, Lashir?” Melki asked before Bjorn had the chance. “That blasted sister of mine won’t sit still for a second. What’s she up to?”
“I don’t know what she’s up to Melki, Bjorn” she bowed to Bjorn gesturing. “She took her flying carpet and set off somewhere. She said she was going to surprise Bjorn with a gift, and went to the Elosian caves.”
“You should have gone with her.” Melki scolded. “Ana has good sense going up to the Elos. Those pirates won’t find her there. If they know you’re here, they might abandon their attempts to take hostages and come after you, here in the caverns.”
“If Bartok came here with a hundred men, he could search for months and find no one, unless they wanted to be found,” Bjorn assured Melki. These caverns go off in a myriad of directions, and without a guide anyone attempting to find anyone would be lost themselves, probably forever.”
“Bjorn is right, husband. There is no place safer for me than right here.” Lashir laughed. “You worry too much.”
“Well, as long as we’re here, where is Bradley?”
There was a sudden crash and rocks burst out of the wall in the drawing room. Bradley climbed through with a sword in his hand, his eyes sparkling. “And when they see this elf they’ll know, he’ll never let a single man go, he’ll take them all with his trusty sword, until his victory is scored.” He stood in the rubble swinging the short sword about in a playful manner.
“Bradley are you out of your mind, what are you doing?” Bjorn shouted. “Were you standing behind that wall all this time?” He walked to the wall and saw a tunnel running off in the rock, freshly cut in the manner that only a Kellen could.
“I asked Bradley to carve out a small tunnel to the underground lake, Bjorn. Forgive me.” Bjorn turned to Lashir.
“Whatever for?”
“The lake is full of crustaceans and fish, and I thought that, if it were necessary, we could always have fresh water and fish, should we need to hold up here in the caves.” Lashir explained.
“Well, I don’t intend to run from those pirates, I can assure you of that. If they come, we’ll meet them. You should see how the men are preparing for them. The Habrien and Kellen are beating them back, slowing their progress and we grow stronger with each passing hour. I only wish Korok was here with his hundred riders. It was a hundred wasn’t it, Melki?”
“That’s the word I received. A hundred mounted Eek will be a powerful cavalry, though outnumbered; they’re much more dangerous than Kensen.”
This was no idle boast and anyone who saw Eek hunters in the field knew it. Korok was only half blood Eek and though he was seven feet tall, he was short by Eek standards. Eek stood nine feet or greater and their horses, bred for centuries by them were giants, standing seven feet at the shoulder. Barrel chested with powerful legs they could easily out distance and outrun any other horse set against them. And, unlike the horses ridden by the Kensen, these horses were trained to stand in a battle by their masters and their loyalty was amazing. The Eek and their mounts seemed to share a kindred spirit few creatures on Atoz shared.
“Well, I hope Korok arrives soon, we need his help badly.” Bjorn said.
Bradley whipped about and shouted. “They’re here.” Bjorn, Melki and Lashir all jumped.
“Who’s here?” Bjorn yelled drawing his axe.
“The gamesters! They’ve come, they’ve come and now we’ll see how well they fight and the pirates flee. When the games begin this time, I know, it will indeed be quite a show!” Bradley rattled on in his silly sounding sing song rhymes, but Bjorn knew who he meant.
“That’s good. The Chili players are arriving. We had better be going. “He turned to Lashir. “If Ana comes back, tell her to stay here. We don’t need her down there getting in the way!”
Lashir smiled. “I’ll tell her Bjorn, but you should know by now, Ana does as Ana wants. And, I doubt she’ll be happy to hear you think she’d be getting in the way.” 3

4

The Chili squads were arriving in droves by the time Bjorn and Melki returned, fresh and ready to take action. This time they weren’t thinking of scoring a victory on a playing field, but taking part in a real battle. Nothing could have pleased them more. The leader was, as Melki had said, Daka, the champion’s champion, the greatest athlete, reputed, in all the games. He was solid as a oak, with enormous arms and powerful legs, a thick neck and long dark curls falling down round his shoulders. His eyes looked like twin spouts of fire and his smile was addictive as all who saw the storied athlete smiled too.
Daka came straight to Bjorn and Melki with a rolled up parchment in his hand. “Ah, gentlemen, I have been waiting. I was hoping we could talk before the battle is joined. This is what we’ve worked up so far.”
Bjorn was amazed at how Daka seemed to take over the situation. He rolled the parchment out. The page was divided up into grids, as though it was a playing field and he pointed out his plan with precision and speed.
“Here is the first line of defense. We’ve decided to build fortifications outward from the village as you see. The original walls here and here and the pits are being added on to as we speak.”
Bjorn glanced up to see Kellen burrowing like moles all over the field ahead of him. The rest of the Kellen had arrived with their mounts in tow and had gone straight to work. Nearly one hundred now tore up the ground like plows and the loggers kept a steady supply of wood and wood chips and oil coming to fill them while other men hauled off the earth and rock and tossing them at the base of the log walls as they went up.
“We have decided to take the castle guards from each team, that’s 36 men, and place them along three walls. That will give us twelve men to a wall. They’ll fight off anyone who makes it to the top while the archers keep the enemy from advancing too fast.” Bjorn knew what Daka was planning. The tower guard of any Chili team was the biggest and strongest man. It was his job to fight off anyone who broke through, even if it meant taking on three men at once. They were very good at their assigned task and he could see how a dozen of these guards along a wall would be able to stop anyone from topping it.
“As you can see, the Kellen have provided us with many pits and we’ve placed stakes in each. They are set about in this pattern. Our men will know where they are, and proceed with the standard forward attack. The Kensen will not and they will forced by our own men into the pits.”
“But, Daka,” Melki interjected. “They are sure to have scouts watching our progress and they’ll report this activity, surely.”
“I hope so, Lord Melki”, said Daka. “We intend for them to think there are many more pits than we actually have. Even with our fine Kellen allies we haven’t time to dig enough pits to stop them entirely, but they’ll be stalled and my men won’t be.”
Again, the idea made both Bjorn and Melki grow steadily more confident. No soldier in all of Atoz was so honed for battle as a Chili player. The amateurs worked all day at their jobs only to train and practice all evening, every day of their lives, hoping to succeed to the professional ranks. When they did get there, if they did, they would face endless further training which included running up steep mountain trails for hours, heavily loaded down with weights, carrying clubs ten times as heavy as their usual playing nets. Hours of drills, working on defensive and offensive strategy, close up combat with brutal techniques designed to put a player out of commission with a single blow, delivered with the net, a fist or a foot. And, always there was more,any who couldn’t keep up would be replaced, for the sponsors would not accept anyone who wasn’t ready to die from exhaustion any more than they would a man who was afraid to die in combat on the field. The Chili players knew this and they learned to go on, ignoring pain and fear. The Kellen, who had spent their lives mining in the worst conditions for generations fully expecting to die any day at any moment from an explosion, a cave in, or from poisonous gas pockets in the mines took a natural liking to the Chili players who they accepted as men of their own stripe. Kellen and Chili players were working now, side by side, at a rate that astounded Melki and Bjorn.5

“Now, this is our plan, Daka was explaining. “The Kellen have supplied us with plenty of explosive stone and my men have their nets.” He picked up one of the long handled nets the Chili used to hurl the ball from man to man in a game. These nets were the perfect weapon as well and men bludgeoned each other to death in wild fights when the games got rowdy. “We’ll be able to throw explosive stone ahead and cover our advance as our forces meet the Kensen in battle. When the Eek arrive, with their horses we’ll be able to clear a path for them and they will charge into the space.” Daka spoke with such confidence it seemed as if the deed had already been done.
“Well, Bjorn, perhaps we’d better return to the caverns and cower with the women, “Melki laughed. “It appears as though Daka has this whole thing in hand.”
“It does seem we have our general,” Bjorn agreed. “Now, if only Korok were here.”
“Oh, you didn’t know? He’s arrived.” Daka said. “I thought you’d already conferred.”
“Korok is here?” Bjorn shouted, happy.
“Indeed brother, and ready to do battle,” the hunter’s booming voice cried out from behind him.” When he spun in his saddle, Korok was seated on his coal black horse, a quiver of spears on his back and one in his hand. But, what he saw behind Korok shocked him. “There were a few more hunters than I had thought, Bjorn.” Korok laughed.6

There on the field behind him, with more pouring in were hundreds of giant hunters. Not just one hundred, but it looked as though a river of humanity was coming his way, all mounted and carrying spears. “Thank the fates, where did all these men come from?”
“Those little blue fellows are to be congratulated”, Korok said. “They went down the river valley and informed every hunting party they met up with. We have at least five hundred hunters coming to join the battle. And, now, we’ll have some fine hunting!”
Korok smiled and grasped Bjorn’s arm. “Brother!”
Bjorn choked with happiness. He could hardly believe the turn of events. The Elos, who the Kensen had regarded as nothing but animals were proving to be the miracle they seemed to need. Now, he thought. Let those Pirates come. We may lose a lot of men; we may still lose, but what a glorious way to die!”7