Rojuun

Chapter 3

“Tathan, wake up!  Come quick!”  Liselle was shaking him awake.  There was a worried tone to her voice.

He shook the sleep out of his head as he sat up.  “What is it?”

Her eyes were filled with concern.  “Father and Laremy saw a group of men on horseback coming this way.”

Tathan grabbed his sword by the sheath and headed toward the open door.  “What do they look like?”

She answered as they walked.  “Father said they look dangerous.  They have tattoos, spears and dark skin.”

“That’s not good.  They sound like tribal warriors and there shouldn’t be warriors here.”  He picked up his pace and leaped down the last few stairs.  With a few bounds, he was through the main door of the house.

Ellin and Sherrie were standing on the front porch as Tathan passed them by.  Liselle joined them.  Scott had his pitchfork, waiting for the warriors to meet him while Laremy stood with his bow a short distance behind.  Tathan moved to the left of Scott, loosening his sword in the sheath.  Instincts told him this was not going to go well.

The sun was just over the mountaintops in the west, turning the bottoms of spent thunderheads in the sky a reddish hue.  He could see that it must have rained while he slept.  The grass was damp and the air smelled wonderful in contrast to the danger in front of them.  As Tathan studied the riders, he grabbed an item hidden in a secret pocket of his tunic.

The dark-skinned warriors came from the road to Rothton, southeast of the dwelling.  Their hair was in topknots with long braids running behind, indicating they were of desert tribes.  Tattoos covered their faces and necks and Tathan knew the markings would continue underneath the furs the men wore.

He took a quick survey of the weapons.  They had swords with a deeper curve than his.  Each also had a riding bow at his side, but their primary weapons were spears decorated with feathers and bones.

What bothered him most was the looks on their faces.  They were the faces of predators, men who killed and liked it.

The warriors stopped a hundred paces in front of Scott, but they seemed more interested in the women on the front porch.  Scott held a hand up in greeting to the warriors.  “Hello!  It’s rare that we have visitors here.”

The lead warrior glanced at the man at his left who shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.  Tathan knew they didn’t understand the language Scott spoke, nor did they care to learn.  The leader motioned the men to spread out to either side.  The warriors did so, spears ready to throw.

“Get back to the house now!” Tathan yelled at Scott and the others.  “They’re at a disadvantage indoors.”  Tathan hated fighting men on horseback. 

Scott turned to look at him, about to say something.  A spear split his chest all the way through to his back, knocking him down.  Screams came from the porch at the sight of quick, brutal death.  Laremy stood with his bow loosely in hand, stunned at the sudden violence.

Tathan opened his hand to expose the object he had pulled from his pocket.  It was a round ball with runes over its surface.  He spoke a word of power which made the runes glow deep purple.  Then he tossed the device into the air toward the warriors, guiding its path with his hand.  When it was in the right place, he spoke another word of command.  Purple light sprayed in a fan toward the riders.  Many of them turned away from the light.  They were the lucky ones.

He sidestepped a spear one of the warriors had thrown at him. Tathan looked at the riders to see how many would be taken by the device.  The leader had closed his eyes and shielded his face quickly.  In addition, he had turned his horse to save it from the effect.  He was not the only one.  Many of them had done the same thing.