Lieutenant Griff

"You are not seriously asking me to do this?" I said, trying to keep the frustration from my voice.

"You agreed," General Draves said.

"I agreed with the initial script that we came up with. This. This is suicide. If I read this, I will have fifty arrows in me before I can blink."

"You will be under a white flag."

"And you think they will care if I bring their religion into this? Even if they don't shoot me, they will capture me and take me to the fort, which is as good as suicide."

"If you do this, they may all leave the harbor by tomorrow," Draves said firmly.

"If this whole plan even works," I said skeptically.

"Look, the bottom line is we need as many of them to flee as possible. They brought many more than we thought they would bring. Even when we do this, it will leave a large number of raiders behind. Putting the fear of their god in them may make them flee."

"Why am I only being told now?"

"Less time for you to complain."

I ground my teeth. "Fine, but I want a raise in my salary after this and the name of whoever came up with this plan so I can punch them in the face if I survive."

The general coughed and gave me a stern look. "I don't think you will be getting that raise if Lord Bicman finds out you punched Lady Paper in the face."

"Lady Paper! How did she come up with this crazy plan?"

"Apparently, she is friends with Tumlus and found out a lot about their religion. She let me know about it."

"Great, I can't touch either of them. May the Endless One save me."

"If you cause the raiders to turn back, I will make sure you get knighted."

I scoffed. "Forget knighthood; I want a barony."

I traveled down the small road we had built to the Marsh Fort at the cove. It was not much as far as roads go, a little more than a trail to get Marsh Fort up and running. Cutting a road through the marsh was probably the hardest thing I had ever done, and everyone had grumbled because Draves was rushing us to get the walls of the fort up. We thought we had more time. Now that the enemy was already here, we were all glad the general had pushed us so hard. Not that we would tell him. Now, it was time to see if our gamble worked. Another week or two, and we would have had traps laid and more men in position.

Ten men on horseback. That was all I had to face down the horde of men who now found themselves in possession of our fort. We were in the best armor North Cove had to offer. Our scouts had been sent out beforehand to make sure the way was clear. We ran into men about a quarter kilometer from the fort. The men were short and stout with bows drawn. We had a white flag out, and I tried to sound confident as I requested that we be allowed to speak with their leader.

It appeared that their Falmoren was pretty good, even though they had the thick Rabiss accent.

"Come, we will honor you parley." A large man with dark copper skin and black hair pulled up in a top knot.

That was a good sign. These men were a bunch of thugs, but from what I understood, they took honor very seriously. At least, I hoped that was true.

The sun was about to set as we approached the side of the fort that had had the missing section of the wall. The Rabiss almost had it back up into position.

Out of the gate came a large man who could have passed for a shorter version of Amos if not for his darker skin and sharp features.

He got straight to the point. "What have you come to discuss?"

I squared my shoulders as I sat upon my horse. As loud as I could I shouted. "I have come at the request of my lord. But there is a message I am to pass on. He is Malitouma's Hand of Justice, and he will execute that justice if you are not gone by morning."

The faces of the men around the leader who understood my words began to shout in the Rabiss tongue. Men began to draw their swords or raise their spears. But their leader held up his hand.

He said something in Rabiss and then turned back to me, laughing. "If it were not for the parley, some of the men who hold to the old belief would be killing you right now. As it is, to appease them. I will not stop them from raping your women as they please."

I tried to maintain my calm as I responded, "You have been warned. Many of your men will be wrapped in Malitoma's handless embrace. Turn back from your wicked ways, or you may not see the sunrise."

I paused for a moment as I stared into the cold eyes of the men who came to destroy our peace. These were men who embodied evil. It appears that other then the murmurs of the men there was nothing more to say. I turned and left. We were back at the point where we first met their scouts before my shoulder blades stopped itching. I was sure that I would feel an arrow pierce my back and any moment.

One of my men spoke. "If I had known you were going to insult their religion, I would have refused to come."

Another spoke up and said, "Nah this is going to be an awesome story to tell to my kid. We spit in the eyes of the Rabiss Raiders when they came. What I am interested in is how Lord Amos plans to make good on that threat. Do you really think the whole fort will be destroyed?"

Rand, Third Company, First Platoon

"Oh my gosh, this stuff stinks. I need to get out of here fast, or I am going to pass out."

"Then work faster," Greg said as he smeared the coal tar all over the floor around the barrels.

"I would be glad too if I could see."

"You guys want me to bring this lamp in there so you can see better," Evan said from the exit to the cellar. Well, it really wasn't a cellar unless you consider storing black powder under an almost accessible false floor a cellar.

"Don't you dare move!" I shouted. I had seen how quickly flame spread across this stuff, and I didn't want to be anywhere near it when it caught fire. We had also been given a small demonstration of what this powder could do, and I was highly doubtful the extra pay would be worth the risk. I am sure Mary would ring my neck if she knew what I was doing. I know they had tested dozens of ways to set the powder off, but spreading a trail of coal tar to each barrel, then covering it with the oil left behind, was the best. It would have been done before these raiders got here if they had gotten here later. Now, we have rushed to implement this plan.

We had already made the trails, but then Greg had the idea to spread the remainder of the tar everywhere we could. So now most of the floor was covered in the stuff, and even if the black powder didn't work, there was no chance that this whole place wouldn't burn down.

At least we were getting hazard pay, as the lord called it.

"Shut up, you two, before they hear us," Greg said.

"Relax, there is a layer of wood, dirt, and sand above us. Nobody can hear us. You could point one of the lord's megaphones straight at the ceiling, and no one would hear you."

"How would you know you have never shouted through one?"

"No, but I have been on the receiving end of when the lieutenant used one."

"I did," Evan said, "you should have seen the lieutenant jump when I shouted through it."

Stolen story; please report.

"Which is probably why you're stuck down here with us," I said.

"Remind me why we are letting him hold the lamp?" Greg said.

I was about to laugh when there was a cracking noise from above. Looking up, I saw a small bit of bronze sticking out of the ceiling. Suddenly, it was removed, and light filtered down from above. All of us froze, not even breathing. A few seconds later, a pick tore through the ceiling, causing splinters of wood to shower down from above. Without saying a word, Greg and I started scrambling for the exit. Evan was already crawling down the tunnel, his lamp left behind.

We were just past the entrance when we heard voices coming from the hole, and more torchlight filtered in. The cramped tunnel we were crawling through made it almost impossible to move quickly. When I got out of this thing, I was going to have to complain to the lieutenant about this design. Suddenly, the chamber behind me lit up.

Yik of the Sea Dogs

"Yik, get over here and look at this," Camus said.

I grunted as I set down a barrel of water. This was ridiculous. This was not how a raid should be done. We hopped off boats, grabbed people and goods as fast as we could, and sailed away. We didn't make camp and give the enemy time to prepare. Also, they should have told us that the settlement was two days inland. How were we supposed to get everything back on the ship? The only viable route they had found through the swamp was little more than a trail. Personally, I thought that the people who hired them had scammed our leaders. No amount of money was worth the effort this raid was taking.

The worst part was that everyone was blaming someone else for it. Most were upset with Nibilum for dragging them all here, but he blamed it on his employers. They had been told there would be a settlement here and that the lord of this land had been specifically told to build a city here. All they found were a bunch of towers and this fort. Maybe they just hadn't gotten around to the village, but that meant they had to go farther in to round up people.

They had also been promised that there would not be many soldiers left because they would be called up for war. If that were the case, then why build this fort to house so many soldiers? At least I could be glad that I would get to use one of those nice beds. Sleeping on the floor of the ship for so long had made everyone irritable. Lots had been drawn for who would get to sleep on the beds and we had to rotate.

"Yik, come on."

"Fine, I am coming, just let me set down this barrel. If the first mate sees it just sitting here, he will have me on latrine duty."

"No, he won't. They already got latrines all set up for us."

"Then it will be something else."

After setting down the water barrel, I walked over to where Camus had been dragging a beam across the ground.

"If you called me over just so I would help you with this, I am going to kill you."

"No, I was dragging the beam across the ground and found wood underneath," he said.

I could see the trail left in the dirt by the beam and the spot where he dropped the beam. I saw he had cleared more of the dirt and sand away to reveal a plank of wood. It was hard to see with only the distant light of the torches, but there was no doubt about it: there was a wooden floor under the dirt."

"Do you think they are using the dirt and sand to help keep it cool, or are they trying to hide something?" I ask.

"Food or weapons, either one could be good."

"It could also be that new alcohol, they said, gets you a buzz with just a mug."

"I want to try some of that stuff. The greedy captain just loaded it up on the ships without letting us try any," Carmus grumbled.

"I don't blame them; each of those barrels is probably worth a good slave to the right buyer."

"Well, how are we going to find the way down?"

"You go find the first mate and let him know. I will look around."

Caemus made a face. "If we let them know and there is alcohol down there, they'll take it all for themselves."

"Don't be an idiot. What do you think will happen if they find us with a barrel of that stuff? Especially since we would be neglecting our jobs."

"Yeah, on second thought, I will go get the first mate," he said as he left.

I started to scrape more dirt away as I tried to figure out what might be under the floor. I had not gotten far when the first mate came over with a few other people. Carrying torches over, you could see how tightly the boards were put together.

"Find the entrance to this place," the first mate said in an eager tone. Immediately, men began to scatter in different directions. Every square inch of the fort was searched, waking up the entire camp. After every inch of the place was searched and it was apparent that there was no hidden entrance within the fort, a few groups were sent around the outside.

I came back up to the first mate and reported my lack of success.

"Look, if it is outside, we will have better luck finding it in the daylight. What do you think is in there?" I said.

"Since there is no entrance inside the fort, it probably isn't something they need in a siege."

"Why don't we just make a hole somewhere and send someone down there? It's not like we'll be here very long," someone said.

"Good idea. Someone go get an axe!" Yealled First Mate.

A few minutes later, a grim-faced slave came running up with an ax.

The first mate pointed at the floor and said, "Chop."

The ax came down and made a cracking sound. "This is good wood. Give me a fraction," the slave said apologetically.

Soon, we had a small hole, and a few of us were peering down into it.

"Can you see what is down there?" the first mate said.

"Not much," a guy from one of the other crews said. "It smells awful, though. It looks like black mud." The guy dropped his torch to see if we could get a better look. The moment the torch hit the ground, flames shot upward. The pain of having my face melted was only temporary, though, replaced by a more excruciating pain that only lasted a moment.

Dustin of Pine Grove

The wind coming off the cove was cold as Orvil, Harvey, and I sat looking through the bushes at the seven ships out on the water. They had pulled away from the shore just before the sun had set. I grinned as I thought about what everyone would say when we came back.

"Alright, let's get the raft into the water," I said as I stood up. Harvey followed me out from behind the bushes. Looking behind me, I noticed Orvil still quaking in the bushes. I sighed, "Come on, Orvil, you aren't seriously chickening out on us now. We have been planning this all winter."

"Yeah, but that was planning. If we get caught, those guys will kill us," He whined.

Harvey rolled his eyes. "There is almost no moon, we're in black clothes and painted our faces black. Even the raft is black. They won't see us."

"It's still too cold out. We will freeze on the lake. And what if our parents find out?"

"I hope they do. We will be heroes. We are the only ones that can pull this off. Just think what Robin will say when she finds out what you did," I said. I am sure his face would have been beet red if it weren't for the black paint. "We need you, Orvil. It will take all of us to make sure the raft is steady when we get to the boat."

"What if they look over the railing and see us."

"They won't. Now, are you coming or not? If not, then Harvey and I will be the ones getting the credit."

Orvil finally stood up and gave me an annoyed look. "Fine, but if we die, I'm blaming it on you."

"Stop grumbling and just help us push the raft into the water."

After about five minutes, we were all situated on the raft with our barrel of oil. Using a few short planks of wood, we began paddling out to the nearest ship we could.

The water was much colder than in the daytime, and this time of year, the wind was bitingly cold. My body was becoming numb as we made our way closer to the ship. The only thing that kept me going was the fire pumping through my veins.

A couple of times, we stopped paddling and lay flat as a person on deck became visible. Maybe this was a stupid idea. Fortunately, as we got closer, we made our way to the rear of the ship, where we were covered from view.

We had talked about doing this hundreds of times. Ever since, Orvil had overheard one of the soldiers talking about how they had discussed doing this very thing in one of the planning sessions. I don't know if they decided not to do it, or if they just had other things they were getting ready for and ran out of time. Either way, we had built our own raft and snagged a barrel of oil.

We got to the rear of the ship, and Orvil and Harvey grabbed hooks from their belts. They pushed the hooks into the wood of the ship to help hold us steady. A hammer and spike would not have broken through the side of the ship or made too much noise, but we had stolen something better. Lord Amos had designed something he called a manual drill, and when you twisted it, it would help bore a hole in wood. We grabbed the largest and longest bit we could find, and I began to drill. It was not as easy as I thought it would be to drill. With the unsteadiness of the raft and my two friends trying to keep us close, it felt like I would never make it all the way through. Each second longer it took meant we were more likely to be spotted. None of us spoke, even though the lapping of the water against the boat sounded like thunder in our ears.

Finally, the wood gave way, and I felt the long drill go all the way through. The next problem was that the funnel we had made wouldn't fit in the hole. So, as I held the funnel, Orvil tried to pour the oil. Half of it ended up on me or the outside of the ship. Hopefully, the small cask would be enough to start a fire. Soon enough, we were out of oil, and I shoved an oil-soaked rag in the hole and then tried to get a spark with the flint and pyrite. It took ten tries before the rag caught fire, and we all sighed with relief.

We frantically began to paddle back to the shore. Silently praying that they wouldn't notice us. We were sore, and our muscles were strained from the work, but our hearts still pumped with excitement. We were about twenty-five meters out when we heard a shout, and we knew our prayers had not been answered.

An arrow landed in the water next to us, My heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest. Orvil screamed. Soon, we heard more shouting, and two more arrows hit the water near us. The darkness of the night was helping, but the next arrow landed between me and Harvey. Now we were all screaming at each other. And it was a few more before Harvey let out a scream that was definitely not just panic. He rolled off the side of the raft.

I jumped into the water after him as I heard Orvil shout out, "Endless One, help us!"

Suddenly, a noise like thunder ripped through the air. As I grabbed Harvey, I looked up at the shore towards where the fort was and saw smoke and flame reaching skyward. Suddenly, we were forgotten, and Orvil helped me pull Harvey back onto the boat. Harvey's calf had a gash in it, and Orvil took off his wet shirt to bind it.

"What was that?" Orvil said wide-eyed.

"I think the Endless One answered you," I said in utter disbelief. "You. You may be Chosen."

Soon, we were distracted again by shouts from the ship as smoke began to pour out from the lower deck. It shook us from the spell we were under and we realized we still had to get out of here.

As we paddled back to shore, we heard shouts and the splash of people jumping into the water.

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