Chapter 13 Point of No Return

Homer attacked every Nubian ship and campsite he saw but not one revealed where the base was located. Dracon was surely getting closer to Kara so he needed to keep more Nubians from attacking other shorelines. Blythe has a long seacoast so another invasion could be anywhere. Then he ran into an Ithacan ship with frightened human cargo and he got his answer. One passenger looked oddly familiar, a small boy with hastily chopped up hair. The boy was guarded by a nurse and an old man with a walking stick. Gazing upon the passing captain, the old man was suddenly relieved and altered into a young man with elf ears.

“Uncle Homer, it is us.” spoke the gangly youth.

“Patrix! How wonderful to see you.” shouted Homer.

“Mariah?” asked Ilio to the boy with hastily chopped hair.

“Yes, we were so afraid you were Nubians or worse.” replied Princess Mariah.

Homer could not think anything worse than Nubians, but listened intently to their story. The Nubians sacked Ithaca after his visit there and the king hid his ransom seeking crew, who just escaped the new king of Nubia trying to torture them into giving up the location of Vassily. The Nubian ambassador demanded His Majesty’s support in his attack on The Firefox and his allies to rescue the queen. When the king explained his treaty with the pirate can not be broken without severe consequences for his people, the Nubian navy attacked incoming ships and the army invaded the island. Patrix barely escaped the palace with Princess Mariah and the ransom crew to search for his protection on the Mermaid Islands. They just slipped passed a convoy of Nubian ships based on Marinara Island to the south of Kara.

“That’s their base, Marinara Island where only small fishing villages are entrenched there. The humans were probably killed or made into slaves.” deduced Homer.

He sent out mermaids to gather his ships there. The ship carrying Mariah and Patrix was allowed to sail on to the Mermaid Islands. At dawn, Homer’s fleet of fifty-nine ships struck Marinara and sunk most of the ships, taking control of the rest. Fire ships filled with quicklime, tar, wood, and coal set aflame and aimed at the armada proved invaluable to obtain surrender. Homer confiscated all their animals, weapon stores, and food supplies. They waited patiently for the next ships to arrive from Nubia and assaulted the soldiers as they touched dry land. Homer’s men, elves, and mermaids packed up everything the boats could hold to leave the prisoners on the beach without any food or tools. Homer told his men to let them starve. At dusk, Homer’s fleet sailed away to Kara to help Dracon win his battle. They spotted a blockcade surrounding Kara so the seige was still under way. They met the Blythan navy heading towards Kara to distress the blockade. Homer was free to allow his sailors join the land battle. He dropped excess cargo and passengers at his fortress to pick up elves waiting to fight. Mermaids returned to the sea with their babies as the reaping of the harvest concluded so unmarried mermaids and mermen came to the surface to fight the war. Layla was put in charge of the battle mermaids. She took every weapon she could find in the island towns. The mermaids and mermen boarded fishing boats that could be set aflame if needed. Ishtar and Serena were left in charge of the island’s defenses and patrols.

The next day they followed the Blythan coastline to find abandoned villages. A fishing boat full of quicklime grenades informed them the King Dracon had ordered indefensible villages abandoned and villagers moved further inland. The noble manors and fortresses began housing the displaced villagers and their livestock. Most of them are busy making arrows and spears for the soldiers. Varricks and Grassland nomads had joined the forces with their fearsome horse archer bows and padded saddles under promises of iron tools. Kadacians and faraway Blythans rushed to join the counteroffensive. Prince Eiras of Lotan brought back Blythan troops guarding Lotan forts along with many Lotans and Grassland Nomads looking for spoils. Homer’s sailors released highly arched flaming arrows to receive no response.

Homer began to worry where his friend was. Along a river marsh, he learned from sea cows of many land creatures crossing the river upstream on pontoon bridges and rafts that frighten them back to the sea. A pair of river otters agreed to guide their canoes upstream to the noisy soldiers. He sent out a flaming arrow across the river and finally received a reply. His friend Dracon was nearby. Two elf scouts appeared to guide them to Dracon’s base camp outside the coastal city of Tamnais further west. The stolen supplies were transported to the harbored fortress Dracon was residing in. His ships returned to assist the Blythan navy with the blockade with fisherman from Tamnais. Homer’s pirates and merpeople joined the horse archers with their Somers Isle and Nubian horses. Dracon had been waiting to supply all the people who would join him. Homer made a fortune selling off his well crafted confiscated wares. Carts arrived daily full of long bows, arrow bags, spears, armor, leather, leather oils, and food rations from the manor lords eager to impress the king. Homer thought the quickly made weapons were inferior but the aspiring soldiers had little choice on the matter. The poor peasant farmers with homemade hunting bows and city dwellers who never seen battle traded the best they could to arm themselves. Their best hope was to obtain stolen Nubian armor if they could from Homer’s ships. For once he felt pride in his pirates trading only for arrow bags and spears. They have the best armor they could steal already on them.

Rich sons of lords came with chariots and their own bronze weapons to be sent east with the advancing camp. The nomad horse lords brought their own weapons wearing leather breastplates and tall boots that were tough as wood with a leather circular shields flung across their backs. Their horses carried padded leather saddles and rawhide reins. They carried peculiar shaped unstrung bows made of three layers of wood and horn that are much shorter than the usual short horse archer bows and long bows of walking hunters. Their heads held up no helmets. They sat by copper cauldrons that were surely traded for as well as their iron tipped arrows and spears. In the midst of this chaos, Homer found Prince Eiras. He just arrived with his Lotan nomad trading partners to help fight the Nubians. Fully armed with a herd of goats, they were welcomed by Dracon and given canvas tents with sleeping wolf dogs. Homer and everyone else was curious about Prince Eiras’s iron chain mail covering instead of scaled plates tied to leather jerkins. His father offered five hundred gold pieces for improvements in armor and weapons. Smiths everywhere experimented with mixtures of steel and creating chain links that well protect against sword slashes. A few made much better steel swords and battle axes. Homer traded a string of pearls and shell beads with the metal smiths for arrows and spears. He gave a nomad woman a few iron kitchen knives to gain an extra padded saddle and a three layer horse archer bow that falls apart in water but excellent weapon on the dry grasslands. Soon he was summoned to a war council inside Dracon’s tent. A peace pipe was passed around the leaders sitting in a circle around the central fire. Dracon began with his strategy of ranks and battle lines to defeat the Nubian army surrounding Kara. He asked for volunteers to head his planned columns. Eiras was first to stand to volunteer his allies to the right flank and his soldiers to the right column of the infantry. The Blythan nomad chief Homer traded with get his saddle and bow stood next to volunteer his men to the left flank. Homer stood up next declaring his pirates will aide the left flank and the mermaids will take the left column in the infantry. Then the Varrick chief stood stating his horse archers will join the Lotans in right flank. Other generals and war lords took turns standing positioning themselves to the rear column archers and chariots along with the front and center columns of the infantry. Dracon seemed pleased as he offered wine to his guests. The council came to an end as a scout entered reporting no sign of the enemy ahead. With his Somers Isle horse, round leather shield Ilio made, round wooden shield Ishtar made, Nubian tin greaves, Minos bronze helmet, Blythan iron scaled breastplate and back plate tied together with leather straps, Ithacan iron vambraces, Kadacian hunting long bow, Nomad horse archer short bow, Vinland ivory bracer, Lotan iron battle axes, and Caledonian steel blade, he was ready for battle on land. He spent his days fixing the arrows and spears into straight lines so they hit their target better. His men and merpeople soon advanced with the nomad horse lords and swapped stories by the campfires. Greaves interfere too much with his horse riding skills so he stashed them in a bag for infantry fighting, his leather boots would plenty of protection. His wooden shield was also stashed inside his tent ready for foot combat and swung his smaller leather shield over his shoulder to add speed with less weight for his horse.

Well provisioned, Dracon marched four days to the walled city of Kanisha upstream from Kara. He heard many villagers tell stories of Nubians eager to take in the newly reaped harvest to discover the peasants bury their food in underground caches instead of storehouses like many wealthy landowners do and forced to use hunting dogs to find these caches. Sadly, these caches are covered with clay to keep them sealed and then covered with ashes, dirt, and brush to disguise them. Peasants had been attacked by neighboring lords fighting over borders, nomadic raiders, and mermaids causing reluctance to keep their sustenance in plain view. Peasants had their homes burned and heads bashed in when they refused to guide the hungry soldiers to their caches. King Dracon recruited several as guides and warriors. He also heard of women and children escaping Kara in the middle of the night as the soldiers slept. They are tied to a rope and lowered down the city wall. They sleek around the tents and hide in shadows from the sentries. Then they follow the river to Kanisha. Dracon believed he could communicate with the Lord of Kara of his arrival in this manner.

The next morning, they continued on to know they were close to the Nubians when a herd of screaming peasants ran down a dirt path leading to a clouds of smoke. King Dracon’s army followed the smoke to a burning village with the slower villagers being hacked to death. Dracon ordered battle lines formed. Foot soldiers with spears were placed in the center with archers in chariots behind them. His flanks with Varricks and Lotans on the right with Blythans and Somers Isle pirates on the left. He ordered horse archers and chariots forward to rescue the last of the fleeing peasants. They will be loaded into the supply wagons driven by refugee peasants traveling in the rear and escorted to Kanisha. Homer was selected as leader of the rescue party. He shouted for two colums, front with chariots to grab the fleeing peasants and rear with horse archers to continue their arrow barrage to keep the Nubians back. They were to surround the peasants and assist who they could. Then horse archers were then to swerve around the chariots to the front to provide protection for the retreat back to the army setting up battle lines. Dracon just climbed a hill for better viewing of the Nubians in the village. He signaled there were only foot soldiers with any horses tied to wagons. Suddenly, Homer felt another person sitting on his horse behind him. Ishtar said she felt his fear as her own. She gave him a kiss and slid down his horse. She whistled and a horse with saddle, quiver, and axe attached. She slung a leather shield over her shoulder and jumped up on it. She pulled out a pole under the quiver and strung her bow. Homer lifted his arm straight up, made a circle in the air, and jerked his arm forward as the signal to withdraw.

Homer’s elves, merpeople, men, and wife rushed out fully assaulting the Nubians chasing the frightened peasants. Homer rode further than anyone to knock over a Nubian with his horse who was about to hit an old man with his axe. The old man had his arms covering his head to relax when realizing he is not being injured. Homer jumped off his horse to slam his own axe into the shoulder of another Nubian. He grabbed the man’s arm and he stood up. The frail man stepped into Homer’s folded hands to climb the horse. A Nubian hit Homer’s helmet from behind and he swung his axe to hit the Nubian’s armored chest. An arrow hit the Nubian’s neck and he fell over like a rock. His horse with the old man clinging to the mane rode off towards the retreating rescuers. A horse archer came to extend his arm for Homer to be hit with a spear. He jumped up onto the horse to retreat with the rest of the rescuers. He then did something no Nubian or Blythan had seen before, he turned around to fire his arrow at the spearman before taking off on the horse. The spearman who had killed the horse archer stood in shock and admiration that he did not feel the arrow penetrating his heart, or says Homer reciting the rescue to the tavern patrons inside Kara. Dracon had his flanks and center positioned quickly to meet the gathering Nubians making a semicircle battle line on the edge of the town. When Homer returned to ranks, the attack horn blew.

Homer joined the Varricks as they advanced towards the shields and pikes of the foot soldiers, then made a sharp turn to the right to reform the line. The foot soldiers advanced to the line with shields protecting the chariot archers behind them. After the archers took out many Nubian foot soldiers, the Varricks advanced in full gallop with the chariots at their side. Hit with arrows and spears, the horsemen rode on to clash with the shields of the Nubian foot soldiers. Helmets and breastplates shined in the bright sunlight as the Blythan foot soldiers caught up. Soon the overwhelmed Nubians retreated and the archers picked off every one. Dracon had everything seized and split among his soldiers. The dead bodies of the Nubians were saved in their complete armor for display purposes when he met the Nubian army. He ordered the Nubians beheaded and heads with helmets set on the spearhead. Bodies were impaled further down the spear pole in their clothes and armor. Every place they camped they displayed the bodies on the edges of the tents as a warning for any Nubian scouts passing by unnoticed. The Varricks and grassland nomads were very interested in the bronze armor and weapons of the Nubians since they have to trade or raid to obtain anything made of metal. They gathered helmets, greaves, chest plates, back plates, axes, vambraces, bracers, wood shields with an iron center, iron tipped spears, and iron tipped arrows. Anything of value was stripped of the fallen soldiers and the dead villagers. Only the armor and helmets were placed on the dead Nubian pikes at night when the army rested.

Layla grabbed an archer’s ivory bracer for herself, a wooden shield and a bronze breast plate for her husband back home. Fletcher grabbed a bronze helmet and bronze scaled chest plate. Ishtar enchanted a horse with colorful leather quivers attached to the blanket saddle. Valnar grabbed an expensive bronze helmet with horsehair sticking out and scaled bronze chest plate and back plate. His son Hathor tied on bronze vambraces and tin greaves. Homer grabbed a well crafted bronze sword possibly stronger his iron one and enchanted three horses. The Blythans and allies were buried in a mound outside the village. Their armor and weapons not taken were melted down for arrowheads and spearheads. Homer and Ishtar walked around healing the wounded. Elf medicine seemed rather strange to the Blythans and Varricks, but very effective in stalling wound sickness that killed many soldiers. Homer first dipped a sponge into a bowl of water held by Donovan and squeezed water over the wound to wipe away all the blood. Then he rubbed a cake of soap on the wound to wash the injury. Next he dipped a linen scrap in a cup of wine held by Almar to rub that into the wound. This stung but important to help guard against evil spirits. Afterwards he pulled yarrow out of his herb bags, placed it on the wound to stop any bleeding, and when it did, wrapped the wound with linen strips to protect any evil spirits from being tempted to enter the weakend man. Finally, he dropped a bitter willow bark powder into his mouth and gave him a canteen of water to help swallow it.

Ishtar sang as she followed her husband’s healing practice with Almar and Donovan. She discovered the horse archer who held out his hand to Homer during the initial rescue. The young man now lay on the ground moaning covered in scrapes from being trampled and unable to move with a spear sticking out of his abdomen until Ishtar jerked it out. Homer removed his helmet and it was his old pupil, Prince Eiras. Homer held his hand and gave him pain medicine as he spoke of hearing the banshees sing. Then his eyes rolled back into his head as he gasped for air calling for his mother and he breathed his last breath. Homer screamed curses at the Nubians for killing his student. Other healers walked around using herbs on wounds and singing prayers. A couple archers came by and carried Prince Eiras on a cape for burial. Another wounded man Homer found was Argos, the minotaur he had saved from Monster Island. Argos thanked Homer for letting him die as a man instead of an ogre. Homer closed his eyes telling him to go in peace and Argos released his hand as he died. The wounded were taken to the temples inside Kanisha in carts while the rest of the army set up camp along the burnt village. Dracon demanded Prince Eiras’s armor to be given to him and he laid it inside a trunk to send to his parents. He decides on Valnar’s adopted son Hathor to deliver the trunk when the war is over for Hathor was appointed Eiras’s valet when he arrived. The Wizard and Ricky came after the battle to help heal the wounded in Kanisha. Soon the Varricks and other nomads were curious about this elf magic and sent over young apprentices to learn it. Homer gladly showed them how to make his magic potions. The soldiers rejoiced in the easy victory over the Nubians and rescue of the Blythan villagers. Dracon nor Homer joined in the drinking feast and songs. They knew this victory over two hundred Nubians with part of Dracon’s ten thousand was too easy. Meeting the full Nubian forces on the outskirts of Kara will be much more brutal and grueling. But how large was this army? Dracon insisted on Homer entering Kara over the wall as the city dwellers try to escape to report the enemy’s strength and how long can the city last until King Dracon breaks the seige. Homer proudly takes up the challenge.

Homer sets off at dusk as the soldiers make camp near the next burned out fishing village confiscating everything they can get their hands on. A few villagers that returned protested all this foraging until Dracon offered to go home and the villagers can fight the Nubians on their own. Homer rides with Almar and Donovan as his escort. They ride all night to Nubian scouts in the morning light and a hand full of raiders behind them camped out in charred houses with horses tied to stakes. Evading the enemy, they continue all night and another day to reach the great Nubian army along the shore. Their ships covered in canvas tents to house the king and generals contrasted with the shade arbors guarding the wounded soldiers from the sun as they lay on cotton blankets dirty with sand. Domed tents covered with tree branches housed the lesser soldiers singing and cooking next to fires burning within large metal bowls. He estimated the full force to be fourteen thousand men and six hundred horses. The Karans must have killed many of the Nubian horses to have so few. Chariot count seemed around two hundred, but then that would leave only a hundred horse archers since Nubians do not have padded saddles. Dracon has four thousand less men, but his horse archers are his main weapons.

They found a good hiding place near the river and waited patiently for the first of the city dwellers to flee Kara. A young widow carrying her baby in a sling appeared with her finger in the infant’s mouth to keep it quiet. She explained several women have been caught trying to escape behind her so the Nubians are alerted to the escape strategy. Homer saw an opportunity to deliver a message. He wrote out his note of his presence and tied it tightly to an arrow. They slinked into the dark encampment avoiding notice of the men teasing the captured women. Donavan loosed the arrow over the wall and it bounced off the stone to land on a roof. A guard climbed down to the solo arrow wrapped in leather along the terra cotta shingles. He exclaimed to take the note to the Lord of Kara. Bird calls were whistled and Homer replied. He changed Almar and Donovan into tiny finches and carried them on his shoulder as he climbed the lowered rope. He figured trying to fly up as a falcon would be more work. He was pulled up over the battlements and sat down for a rest on the wall walk. He changed Almar and Donovan back into people to demand speaking with the lord. Dressed in a robe thrown over his bed clothes, the lord met the trio in his great hall full of villagers sleeping on fur and wool blankets on the stone floor with small boys stoking the fire in the center. He guided them into his private sitting room with a reed mat floor, tapestry wall coverings, table, and wood chairs. He discussed the note declaring the king is three days march away and they are here for information to aide the king. Homer asked if he could hold until the king diverted the army outside his walls.

The Lord of Kara assured his food stores are strong with the departure of many women and children over the wall. Their cisterns collecting rain water off their roofs is enough to get by after the Nubians destroyed their aquaduct. Eager to take advantage of the Nubians departure away from Kara, he ordered every cart, wagon, and saddle bag towards all three gates to scavenge the army camps when they leave to fight King Dracon. No morsel of food, hay, or knife is be be left behind. Every human and animal is to be brought into the city. The lord assigned bed chambers for the visitors and ate their morning meal with them in his bed chamber. News came of smoke to the west and the Nubians leaving towards it. Their covered ships were quickly uncovered and set sail off the shore. The surrounding area was soon scattered with Karan scavengers tossing anything and everything into the vehicles while cows, goats, and women were being herded into the city gates. A few injured soldiers explain there was a report of King Dracon setting a grass fire in midst of a skirmish between Nubian raiders and Nomad scouts. It was said the scouts encountered the raiders leaving with spoils of war and took off. The raiders pursued them across a river cutting them down with arrows. One man shot from his horse had a tattoo on his wrist with Chloe’s name written in Nubian letters. The commander of the raiders believed the man had bewitched the captured Nubian queen and ordered him beheaded in view of distant approaching troops. When King Dracon reached the Yishay River and his beheaded scouts, he sent canoes over to torch the grasses on the other side waving their capes and shields to enlarge the flames. He remained on his side of the river as the winds carried the greater and larger fires east across the foothills of Tirzah. The raiders ran towards the next creek to wait the fires to pass by. They came directly to the camp following the river to report the arrival of the Blythan king. Smoke filled the sky as the farmland to the south of Kara was scorched causing the Nubian king to withdraw from Kara to fight the encroaching army.

By midday the fires swept all over Tirzah to the gates of Kara. The enemy army camp burned along with surrounding villages. Wildfires burned for several days until they reached intersecting rivers, marshes to the north, or the sea coast. Then freezing rain came and river floods brought to end the wildfires from spreading further north. During this time, Homer, Almar, and Donovan circumvented the wildfires by going through the Lake Shakira marshes to the north returning to Dracon waiting patiently for the enemy army to come for him. Shocked and appalled at King Dracon’s barbarian tactics of destroying his own people’s homes and livelihoods just to assault a few raiders, King Ajax of Nubia pressed his men on to conquer the savages. Dracon’s plan worked out perfectly. The king had to save his men and supplies from being incernerated and moved away from Kara to the north where marshes full of poisonous water snakes and ogres were located. The colder temperatures pushed the men on. After days trampling through the untamed wilderness the Nubians came south to King Dracon waiting for them situated on the highest hill. Every dead Nubian killed thus far was impaled on spears in front in the Blythan army along the Nubian side of the stream between the armies. Dracon’s question on whether the Nubians really want to fight this barbarian king was soon answered. King Ajax sent a messenger over to inform the Firefox that he will continue his invasion of Blythe until he gives back Queen Chloe. King Dracon answers that she is not hiding within his realm and the Firefox uses magic to guard his home so no one in Blythe can find it. He added at the bottom of his reply that the Firefox sends his regards. This infuriated the king and sent back the messenger to relay his demand to converse with the Firefox. King Dracon replied they can meet in the center of the field where the creek hooks. King Ajax took an escort as did Homer and Dracon.

“I expected you to be taller, Majesty.” spoke Homer as King Ajax drew near.

“And I expected you older, pirate.” retorted King Ajax.

“So you called this meeting to salvage the queen’s honor because you believe she was bewitched by my sailor Fletcher with her name on his wrist,” smirked Homer.

“So that was his name,” replied Ajax.

“My sailor Fletcher befriended the queen ill with seasickness so your queen really is the one who bewitched him.” asserted Homer.

“Enough! I will disallow any elf to insult my sister and future second wife! And I will search every island in the North Sea to find this Vassily of yours, if it is the last thing I do!” shouted Ajax.

“You will never find it because there is no Vassily! It is not a name of a place, it is just a description we elves use! Vassily simply means home!” shouted back Homer.

“You lie, evil sea snake born from sea foam. I heard from the King of Ithaca there is such a place the sailors named Vassily and you have hidden the queen in Kara to keep me from attacking your fortress full of sand. I demand her return immediately or I shall decimate your army.” declared Ajax.

“Then shall we fight a duel for the queen. You win, I return her and you leave Blythe. I win, I receive 5000 gold pieces I have demanded or equivalent in goods and livestock and I return your queen.” negotiated Homer.

“I am not dueling a magician. Your use of magic is highly unfair to me. I will choose your champion to fight.” answered the king.

“I do not think so, for that is unfair to me. Besides, you have magical protection yourself.” replied Homer.

“I certainly do not,” retorted Ajax.

“Oh really,” spoke Homer as he clapped his hands and a bolt of lightening came from a clear blue sky to scorch the prairie grass surrounding him to leave the king and his horse unharmed. “My point exactly.”

“Men,” asserted Dracon.

“You did that on purpose, vile cockroach. I should have your head for that.” ranted Ajax.

“I’d like to see you try, jackal.” answered Homer.

“I just might, barracuda” asserted Ajax.

“Excuse me,” asserted Dracon again.

“Then what are you waiting for, pathetic excuse for a human?” reacted Homer.

“You think you frighten me,” asserts Ajax.

“I know I do or you would be fighting me right now.” replies Homer.

“Excuse me!” shouted Dracon at the top of his lungs.

The shouting match ceased and all the adversaries turned to Dracon as if a schoolboy just asked a teacher to speak.

“You are in my country razing my land and devastating my people. If there is to be a champion for the pirate king it will be me!” declared Dracon.

“As you wish, Majesty.” answers Homer with a nod.

“Very well then, who do you choose to be the champion of the wicked shark?” asked Ajax.

“Myself, full armor and weapons, and one chariot for each contender to withdraw on. If a king withdraws, there is no pursuit and the winner declared. Are we agreed on that?” commanded Dracon.

“The King of Piranhas will cheat and kill you anyway,” claimed Homer.

King Ajax sneered at Homer.

“Shush, Homer. I’m handling this.” whispered Dracon causing Homer’s eyes to open wide at the sound of his name spoken in front of his enemies.

“You two know each other?” asked one of Ajax’s escort.

“Agreed, King Dracon and Homer.” grinned Ajax.

The foes separated to their armies.

“You had to say my name in front of that toadstool,” disapproved Homer.

“I’m sorry, it slipped out.” whispered back Dracon.

The contenders approached in chariots and stopped. Dracon jumped out to stride away from his chariot. Ajax stopped his chariot, but then took off towards Dracon. Dracon rushed back to his vehicle and prepared for the assault. He dodged arrows flung by Ajax and hurled a spear to also miss. Closer they came and Ajax pulled out his bronze sword from its sheath. Dracon followed in kind with his steel. As the chariots raced to each other, gray misty clouds began to roll in behind Dracon from the west. The temperature suddenly dropped as the sun disappeared behind the mist. Believing in black magic was about, Nubian troops huddled in fear watching their king charge in his chariot. Swords clanged and Ajax’s bronze weapon broke. Surprised, Ajax tossed his handle aside to draw out a bronze battleaxe. The chariots turned around and the kings faced their opponent on foot. No shields protected them as their battle axes and Dracon’s steele sword blade occupied both hands. Bursting with hatred Ajax slashed, lunged, and thrust at the defensive Dracon dodging into a somersault to stab from behind. Dracon blocked the axes with his weapons, but Ajax’s anger overpowered him. Then he jabbed his sword into Ajax’s shoulder after blocking his lunge. Gaining confidence, he sliced at the king’s knees after he knelt blocking a axe cut by holding his sword over his head with both hands for he dropped his axe. The king parried the next thrust from Dracon and slashed back twisting and turning to get a better position. Finally picking up his dropped axe, Dracon was on the offensive and when Ajax fell over, he tossed charred grass into Dracon’s eyes. Blind from the pain, Dracon fell with a cut dug into his shoulder. Outraged at his king being cheated, the charioteer Hathor picked up the spear Dracon had missed Ajax with and hurled it into Ajax’s back. He carried his blind master into the chariot and the other was returned to his men. Homer rushed forward on his horse with Ishtar shortly behind. Hathor drove the chariot through the army ranks and set Dracon down on the charred grass overlooking the battlefield. Dracon whispered to sit him up to watch the battle over the roar of his soldiers. Hari the wolf scampered over to his master whimpering and licking his face. Ishtar demanded Homer go back to his horse archers and she will stay with Dracon. Hathor jumped up on Ishtar’s horse to join Homer. The Blythan general shouted at his troops to make the Nubians rue the day they heard of Blythe.

Both armies raged on the violated agreement and prepared to attack with horns blowing into the wind to sound the charge. Dogs with spiked collars were released as the archers began to fire. Infantry charged ahead with spears drawn and shields at their sides. Archers in chariots behind them gained speed and added arrows to the hurled spears. Flanking the infantry were the horse archers ready to cut down any fleeing enemy. The infantry then combined their shields creating walls with spears held out in front to resemble a porcupine. Closer contact revealed the wall suddenly removed and soldiers crashing into each other. Horse archers and chariots joined the fight to fire their arrows and hurl their spears at close range. Horse archers collided swinging battle axes and swords. Homer aimed at the men holding the horse archers’ reins while the chariots hurled their spears at the horse archers. Chaos ensued without any indication of who was winning. Nobody dared think of retreat. Homer focused hard on his duty to ignore the screams from killed men. As he ran out of arrows, he looked at riderless horses returning to camp and reformed to attack again grabbing arrows out of abandoned saddlebags. The horse archers charged again into the wall of shields. Homer drew his battle axe whacking the daylights out of grounded men poking their spears at him and kicked several in the face. Soon the exhausted men retreated behind their shields walking backwards to avoid getting shot in the back. Dogs returned to their masters and spiked collars removed. Many carried men back on their capes with a shielded foot soldier standing guard. The horse archers shot their last arrows and retreated across the creek.

Chariots and men with capes picked up wounded. The wounded moaned, the dying cried for their mothers as the banshees collected their souls, and the healers sang. The dark clouds came closer as the men caught their breath and cleaned their weapons. A small group went out to the battlefield to pick up arrows. A messenger came to the Firefox to say King Ajax was badly wounded and the general vowed revenge against this treachery. Homer replied he will never get his queen back until he receives the ransom he has demanded. The general refused to retreat and planned the next day’s battles. Homer divided the booty who divided it with their troops while Ishtar healed Dracon’s wounds. The impaled and beheaded Nubians were taken down by their countrymen while both sides collected their dead for burial. Homer was hesitant announcing Hathor had been killed with a spear during the battle, but a guard asked Dracon who will deliver Prince Eiras’s armor to Lotan since Hathor was dead. Homer volunteered to take the treasure. The dead were buried and wounded taken to the tent temples by the wagonload. Then darkness lay upon the land before nightfall and white flakes fell from the sky. The terrified Nubians were convinced it was black magic cursing them as they noticed the Blythans enjoying it. Blythan boys stuck out their tongues trying to catch flakes. Harsh winds pounded on the tents and sentries stood next to campfires to keep from freezing.

The next morning the Nubians forced to wear clothing from dead soldiers and peasants over their lightweight linen tunics and kilts shivered in the Blythan snow. Homer is certain they are regretting burning all those peasant houses now. Many wrapped themselves in their cotton blankets like a cape. Leather sandals rotted in the dampness of the marshes so the men wrapped fur and cloth around their legs. Their bronze helmets, plated jerkins, tools, and weapons covered in frost had to be wiped off and reheated to sharpen again. Many workers at the Nubian campfires were fixing the dented bronze armor and weapons. Many Nubians he noticed confiscated iron weapons from the dead Blythan, Varrick, Kadacian, and Lotan soldiers. Though he doubted they understood iron tools just needs a grinding stone to sharpen and a little oil to stop rust. Across the creek, the Blythans tossed snowballs at each other covered in leather gloves, fur hats, knee length wool cloaks or fur coats, knee high leather boots edged in wool or fur making heavy tin greaves unnecessary, bright wool mufflers around their necks and covering their faces, wool tunics under their iron scales tied to leather, leather sword belts over bright sashes, and wool pants the Nubians believed so barbaric tucked into their smoked then oiled leather boots that never rotted in the dampness of snow. The horses had wool blankets draped over them while the wolf dogs enjoyed the warmth of the campfires. Homer sitting in his sealskin boots and coat sharpening his weapons took comfort in the obvious confusion and bewilderment of the hot desert Nubians dealing with North Sea winters.

The merpeople with winter clothes the Mermaid Island elves spared despised the cold snow, but never left their leader Layla cause she would never tolerate any break in the alliance with Homer. They huddled inside their tents with their wool wraps and sharkskin jackets sharpening their iron weapons and oiling their leather ones. Their jellyfish gloves protected them from the cold as well as people. Layla burned a wooden Nubian shield to increase the warmth of their campfire. Homer called his men to his tent and appointed his supply quarter master Trevor to first mate, sail maker Trent to quarter master, and sail maker assistant Ilio to sail maker. The Blythan general ordered a charge to drive off the suffering Nubians, perhaps they will be more inclined to leave this cold and strange place. The freezing and hungry Nubians put up a good fight before retreating to the coast to be harassed by horse archers all the way. Wounded enemies were simply beheaded and left to rot on the open grassland to the horror of Nubians who believe burial is vital to travel into the underworld. Many prisoners were taken and made into slaves divided by the Blythan general to his top warriors. Homer refused all slaves citing it was not elf tradition, but he would accept three men to assist his wife in her healing duties to set them free later when he releases Chloe. Dracon remained in his tent with Hari watching over him as Ishtar assured him he will be around to fight another day. Homer decided to give Dracon a starfish life stone as his homage paid to the king the other chiefs were presenting earlier in the day. He explained his life force is connected to the starfish and he will appear before him whenever the starfish touches a liquid, wine, water, tears, or cider. Dracon thought it was better than all the helmets, bows, and swords he was given by the other chiefs.