The stars covered the night sky and while the moon had already set behind the horizon. This had to be the darkest moment during the night and suddenly the lonely whistle from behind was answered with a similar one from the front.
The whole caravan instantly stopped and people warily looked around, trying to see in the darkness. Guards even pulled out their weapons.
After two more minutes Clayton whispered, "They're here."
Nick instantly pulled out the bow and a weird arrow that had a big leather ball at the end instead of the usual arrowhead. He quickly lit up a short fuse that was dangling from it and fired it in the sky. While the arrow flew up with a loud 'woosh', he fired two more in succession and then the first one exploded with a muffled bang, creating a small firework explosion, following by another two.
Although the explosions were not big, they still lit up the surroundings and the shocked eyes of the guards and servants saw tens, maybe a hundreds of crouched figures approaching the caravan from all sides, dressed in clothes in a similar color to that of the sand. It seemed as if the caravan was attacked from all sides by a swarm of giant locusts.
"Defend!" Kardiff roared and everyone dropped their goods to form a defensive circle. Steven secured their horses at a bigger barricade as well and then reconvened with Nick and Clayton.
Apparently Nick's arrows caught the attackers by surprise and they stopped their movement awaiting further instructions.
"It looks like it didn't matter which position in caravan we chose, we're surrounded." Steven whispered.
"Mustafa!" Suddenly a shout broke the silent desert, "You didn't think this moment will come those years ago, did you?"
'A Qi master! As I thought, these are not random dune bandits. This is a real problem.' Nick thought to himself.
"Everyone who is not with Mustafa, drop your weapons and leave, I want only him!" The voice shouted again.
After few seconds approximately twenty people, including few caravan guards, dropped their weapons and ran out of the barricades.
"Idiots, come back!" Kardiff angrily shouted.
"We are not with him, we are just regular merchants!" Some were shouting while running, but soon they dropped dead, beheaded by the attackers who stealthily hid in the darkness.
Nick shot a couple more arrows in the sky and after two seconds for a split moment everyone could see the dead bodies of the escapees scattered around.
"They don't intend to leave anyone alive." Clayton whispered, "Even if the leader is here for the revenge, payment for this small army most likely is the loot and no witnesses are needed."
"What do you suggest?" Nick whispered back.
"There are too many variables in case of a fight and there is no one we can trust our backs to." Clayton glanced at his two companions, "We have to leave and figure how to get horses after we're out of the desert. We will be faster on foot in these conditions anyway. When the fight breaks out, we will charge towards them, then, Steven, you get on Nick's back and I'll open the way first and cover you. After three hundred meters I'll take over and, Nick, you will guard us."
"Alright." Steven said, clenching his teeth. He was the one pulling everyone down again and it was a disgusting feeling.
Nick nodded, took out his Wakizashi and grabbed it in a reverse grip – it was the initial positioning according to his self developed Wakizashi style. In this weakly illuminated place no one would notice his weapon, therefore he went for the maximum fighting power from the start. He could've used the bow to shoot few of the attackers if they intended to stay, but now it was useless. His companions unsheathed their weapons as well.
While they were whispering, Kardiff's men started to throw lit torches outside the barricades. More and more attackers were exposed, but the defenders felt the pressure increasing as well. It looked like there were a couple hundred people around them, and, in case they used a simple human wave tactics, the handful of Qi masters wouldn't be able to do much and more importantly – defending side had no idea how many Qi masters the attackers had. It felt as if they were a fish on a chopping board.
Suddenly defenders heard swooshes of arrows and tried to duck behind their poor barricades, horses and camels. Screams and wails sounded when people and animals were hit, few horses got loose and ran away in panic and fear. Some of the defenders tried to shoot back, but there was a minimal effect – the attackers were not cramped in a small space like them and most were still hidden in the dark, while defenders had some lit torches in the sand around them.
Then the second wave of arrows came and few moments later the first attackers arrived as well. Even though defenders were in lesser numbers, they still preferred this kind of fight and jumped out to meet the enemy.
When there were few meters left between the attackers and them, the trio charged out as well and instantly annihilated their opposition.
They were lucky enough to not have any Qi masters in front of them and now they used the momentum to continue and charge further. Clayton was leading and blocked few incoming arrows, and when they got out of the illuminated area, Steven immediately got on Nick's back and their speed multiplied in an instant.
In few seconds they were out of the encirclement and on the way Clayton even took few heads of the surprised bandit archers. Then some curses were heard in the darkness along with a command "get them!", but the trio was already hundred meters away. It wasn't possible to shoot them down because of the darkness and to follow as well because both Nick and Clayton didn't leave any footprints.
While a huge commotion was still happening around the barricades, Clayton already took Steven on his back and they continued to run in a direct line away from the camp.
"Turn east!" Nick reminded and Clayton immediately followed. They sprinted like this for ten more minutes and even if it seemed that no one followed, continued to run, albeit at a slower pace.
"Use all the beast cores you need and say when you want to switch – I'm already recovered." Nick whispered.
Clayton was not only a proud Qi master, his amount of Qi was much larger than Nick's. He continued to carry Steven for twenty more minutes before switching.
"If we go like this, we'll exit this damned place in less than two hours." He said while panting.
Nick just continued to run while Steven – to feel guilty. Time and time again he realized his training was lacking a lot. And while he might be really good with the sword, he lacked the basic physical strength and skills, and the current situation once again proved that the path Nick chose might me the perfect one. Although being good with the sword was important, the sword fights lasted only few seconds, while the rest … well the rest was all the other time he didn't wield the sword.
"How do we figure out in which direction is Anula when we leave the desert?" Steven asked while still sitting on Nick's back.
"There probably will be some signs after we leave the desert. Every caravan comes out in a different spot and there has to be a way for them to get directions. We should've asked Kardiff or someone else before we entered the desert though, this is my fault." Clayton replied.
"I think there will be directions to the logistics center similar to the one on the other side." Nick pointed out between rapid breaths, "I saw some marks on the trees when I went to make the illumination arrows the other day."
"Good, then all that's left is for us is to get horses there and we can start catching up again." Steven got his spirits up.
"I'm not so sure about that. What would you do if you planned to eliminate the largest caravan owner in the region and did it while trying to leave no witnesses alive?" Clayton thought aloud while running, "Would you leave someone to guard against the possible escapees in the only place they could go to?"
"Clayton, please switch." Nick was a bit tired, "I think we should catch our breath first when we get to leave this damned desert and with the first rays of the sun we'll look for the logistics settlement, but not enter it. Probably Clayton will have to check it out stealthily first."
Both his companions agreed and they continued to switch the 'mule' duties from time to time and even letting Steven walk on his own occasionally as well.
When they saw the first trees before the sunrise, Clayton was proven to be correct. After reaching them and settling down in the dry grass, the trio recuperated while drinking water and heaving a light meal. Then Nick passed a small chest to each of his companions.
"It's to tedious distribute the beast cores all the time so take these and use as much as you need. If you're out, let me know. I'll try to stack up with some more in Anula." He said. Both Steven and Clayton didn't say anything, just put the cores in their respective rings.
When the dawn arrived, they inspected the trees that were closer to the desert and, after few minutes, saw marks showing the direction to the closest settlement.
They were not too far from it and after twenty more minutes Nick and Steven were left to hide in the jungle, while Clayton stealthily approached the village. While waiting, both youths were practicing Qi techniques and recovering their strength at the same time. Even if one was fully rested, a Qi practitioner could never have too much Qi and practicing was the best way to get more powerful as well.
Clayton was away for almost a full hour and returned when Nick already began to consider whether he should go and look for him.
"Something is very wrong with the place." Clayton gloomily said, "There are no people or animals inside, at least no living ones and the whole place reeks of blood. I circled around it and approached as close as I could without risking of setting off any possible traps, but I couldn't find out anything. Even though I'm Qi master, I'm a sailor, not a hunter, sigh."
"I suspected something like this would happen." Nick said, "It's possible the two logistic settlements on the both sides of the desert were controlled by Mustafa as well and the person taking the revenge wants to erase him completely or, in case of a failure, do as much damage as they can. If I'm not wrong, the settlement on the other side of the desert is cleaned up as well."
"But we need horses!" Steven got agitated.
"I guess now our best bet is being ambushed by bandits on the way so we can get horses from them." Nick shook his head, "The sun is up, let's start moving. Clayton, what do you think – should we move the first hour or two through the jungle and then go back on the road?"
"That might be a good idea." Clayton nodded, "Steven, now you walk on your own, but hold the beast cores in your hands and keep absorbing Qi and infusing it in your legs even if you don't feel it working or giving any results. In the worst case scenario we'll have to run till Anula and, if so, in the end you'll be as fast as Nick."
Although it should've been a joke, all three of them knew that was a bit of a black humor, without getting horses the route would take two or three days longer.
"But how will we catch up to them?" Steven was almost going crazy.
Nick put his hand on Steven's shoulder, "First, stay calm. Second, remember – there is another route we can take. Maybe we'll be even able to meet them before Rolum. Let's see how fast we can get to Anula first though."