King's Dragon: Book 2 Teaser Preview

Chapter 1, Part 1: Skirmishes

Chapter 1, Part 1 

The Mencadi raiders were arrayed in battle order at the top of the ridge. Although their clothing was as raggedy as their line, their shields were sturdy, and their swords were sharp. Dax surveyed the troop of Endellan soldiers he commanded. They stood at the bottom of the ridge awaiting Dax’s order to advance. To get to the Mencadi, they faced a long uphill climb through brush only tentatively rooted in sandy soil. At the very end they would have a steep scramble up the last few feet to the top—where the Mencadi stood jeering and taunting. Dax’s order to advance meant blood and pain.

The center part of the ridge had the easiest slope, and that was where Dax had assigned B and C squads. They were the weakest and would move the slowest. He had given Squad A the western slope. It was steepest, but he knew squad A’s hard-charging tre would get them to the top just about the time the other squads converged on the steep-sided barrier. At that point, the Endellan attack would come to a halt, and the Mencadi would start to chop them to pieces from above.

Dax took another look at the sun and hoped Scarlet was on schedule. He looked up and down the line. The Endellan were in place. Time to roll the bones. He signaled the guidon to start waving the red and green troop colors, and he blew his carved wooden whistle as loud as he could. The shrill note carried through the wind, and his Endellan soldiers responded the way they had been trained—they all screamed at the top of their lungs, hoisted their shields, waved their weapons, beat them three times on their shields, and began the long slow slog through the tussocky grass at the bottom of the hill.

The Mencadi roared back in response shouting more insults and encouraging the oncoming soldiers towards their line. Several heaved rocks down the hill which rolled and bounced towards the Endellan lines. Most ricocheted overhead, but Dax saw one strike a man and knock him back down the hill. The Mencadi had no archers, and there were too few large stones on top of the ridge to cause serious damage. The Endellans kept climbing.

After his men had gone a short way up the hill, Dax blew his whistle again, and the other squad leaders echoed the call with their commands. The Endellan troops stopped their advance, beat their swords and axes against their shields in slow rhythm three times like they had rehearsed, waited another three beats, then started their advance again. The Mencadi were puzzled, but once his men started up the hill again, they hooted, jeered, and tossed a few more rocks. One particularly bold individual bared his buttocks to them.

They continued the climb, and Dax repeated the procedure six more times. Each time his troops followed the same ritual. The Mencadi stood atop the slope hooted with amusement, and they kept up their constant stream of taunts and abuse. Dax knew the Mencadi were not thinking of the regular pauses as a chance for his men to rest their legs. Their noise making was distracting theatrics. Trudging up the slope along with his men, his own calves burned from the effort of climbing with weapons and armor. As well conditioned as his troops were, the brief rests were welcome.

Where was Scarlet? Eyeing the slope ahead, he figured about two more stops before they would be forced to scramble up the dirt embankment right to the feet of the Mencadi. Dax blew his whistle one more time. After their ritual, his men had just started back up the hill when one of the Mencadi warriors turned around with a start. More heads turned to look, and their raucous howling died away. A faint, “thump, thump, thump,” sounded from over the crest of the hill. Dax smiled. Undisciplined, the Mencadi all turned and rushed back to meet the new threat from behind—a small detachment of Endellans led by Scarlet. Although too few to seriously challenge the Mencadi troops for possession of the ridge, the Mencadi were between two forces—and they were confused.

Now was the time. Dax blew four short, sharp whistles, and his men bolted into action swarming up the remaining distance to the crest of the ridge. A few Mencadi recognized what was happening behind them, and they turned back to contest the top—but too late. A few of his men fell, but most made it to the top of the ridge. Once on flat ground, they quickly joined shields and faced the enemy. Protected in an armored line, Dax’s Endellans closed with the Mencadi, and the killing began.