No Man's Land in Zelhinan Chapter

Seven days passed since the first wave of Gantronese advanced into the ruins. There the defenders of Zelhinan waited in various hiding places for the first wave to enter their territory. Zema Ilam sprung their ambushes on the Gantronese flanks from alleys, buildings, and walls. Vestrisian Soldiers would mow them down if they were too thick for the ambushes. Most of the Zema Ilam used swords and spears as they attacked the Gantronese. Hundreds died on the first day when the defenders launched a ruthless ambush on their enemy as they entered their part of No Man’s land.

These attacks would occur twice a day as the Gantronese sent entire divisions in to crush the Zelhinan defenses. On one day the Gantronese sent in a hundred thousand against the defenders. When the Zema Ilam attacked they were nearly stunned by the numbers sent in. The Gantronese had more men this time and a battle had to be fought to repel this wave. Among the defenders in the ruins there was not a single Zema Ilam who wasn’t involved in that battle. Aveth and her fellow defenders felt overwhelmed by this large force of that was concentrated on their portion of No Man’s Land. They were located in the middle portion of the defensive flanks. The Gantronese had a plan to overrun a single portion of the defenses and flank the rest as they advanced deeper into the ruins. If their strategy succeeded they would even push on to the free part of Zelhinan.

That same day reinforcements from the Queen’s army arrived. Her arrival boosted morale all across the defensive lines of Zelhinan. Even though their morale increased and they fought with more ferocity, the Gantronese still overwhelmed them. Aveth fought for an entire day killing as many Gantronese as possible. Everyone around her fought for their lives as more and more Gantronese poured into the fight. Aveth must have killed well over a hundred enemies by the time her sword arm began to ache. She grew used to the pain over time and did not stop to let it rest in this battle. The streets became packed with Gantronese, Zema Ilam, Inatu, and Vestrisians who joined the dead in the afterlife. Aveth was so close to the enemy she could smell his breath among the stench of death and other odors that filled the air. Both forces were in close quarters that Zelhinan defenders died just as much as the Gantronese. It was a battle she would never forget for as long as she lived.

Aveth recalled what had saved them from annihilation. Tanks and machine-gunners who had rushed to the front came in and helped her comrades repel the Gantronese wave. At the time they were spared it was already dusk and the streets were getting dark. Very few Gantronese survived the slaughter and even fewer defenders survived that day. Even though it was a few days ago Aveth could still remember the smells that filled the air and events that unfolded before her eyes. Those memories were vivid to her that it seemed like they were happening again.

On the next day they heard that the Gantronese forced their way through the siege lines. This time the Gantronese were led by the Vearxal who cut their way through the Queen’s forces and allies. It was on the fifth day of the battle when this happened. According to various reports from the battlefield, and those who watched, the Gantronese had the upper hand. Many witnessed the Gantronese break through Zema Ilam, Muzad and Vestrisian ranks. Under the leadership of the Vearxal the enemy butchered its way to the settlements. Nothing went well for the Eastern flanks until someone stood up and led the defenders against the enemy.

That one figure was rumored to be a Zhenrai Knight among the Vestrisian Vanguard. His name was Corporal Chiecra Gwynor of the Vestrisian Vanguard. This Corporal Gwynor killed a few of the Vearxal and led his fellow defenders to victory. The Gantronese lost the Vearxal and retreated back to their defenses losing countless men on the way.

Yesterday they spent more time building up their defenses on every front. Today they had just repelled another small wave of Gantronese troops, which were remnants of the previous attack. This wave was the smallest wave Gantronese troops to attack their positions in no man’s land. All they had to do was wipe them out with a machine-gun. Half a dozen Gantronese managed to survive the massacre.

Aveth stared down the ruined street flanked by crumbling buildings and piles of rubble that used to be buildings. In her view she saw corpses of Gantronese troops all over the street stretching as far as the next few blocks. No one considered returning to the original plan of setting up ambushes. That was decided by the commanders after that one day the Gantronese overwhelmed them. Now they had more troops and could set up barricades and fortifications. During one of the previous attacks they lost a commander. Aveth was promoted to his rank and assumed control over the defenses of what used to be a complex of apartments and homes next to them. Most of these buildings were nothing less than rubble and ruins. There were a few structures that were still partially intact. Constant bombings and shelling brought most of these structures down to ruin. The defenders used the second or third stories of the structures. If they used any of the higher levels the ceilings would crumble from the weight. Anyone would just fall through the holes already formed from the shelling and bombing.

Under Aveth’s command the defenders reinforced their positions with barricades building walls of sandbags and using some rubble from the ruins. Extra supplies and reinforcements were shipped to them just before the morning attack.

“Do you think there will be another attack, Commander?” a soldier asked.

“There will always be another attack!” Aveth yelled at him. “The Gantronese are still here and continue to occupy Zelhinan!”

Her voice echoed allover the ruins of Zelhinan. Everyone around them stopped what they were doing and turned to her direction. Most believed her voice would draw the enemy to their positions. Aveth looked around her seeing everyone had stopped working.

“What the Mervice, I have not given orders to stop working! If the enemy hears my voice then let them hear it!” She shrieked in the direction of no man’s land. Her voice carried all across the ruins.

A young private approached her and tapped her on the shoulder. “Um…Commander, Are we moving into No man’s land?”

“No Private. Our Superiors advised us to hold our ground here.” She said rubbing his chin.

“Commander, the enemy comes again!” a soldier shouted. Aveth turned away from the young private and saw Gantronese banners up the street.

“Men get to your positions!” Aveth ordered.

Hundreds of defenders took their positions as hundreds more poured in and out of buildings taking defensive stances at windows, and walls. Others brought in extra ammunition and weapons up the front. Artillery teams rushed to their posts as tank crews fired up the tanks. Zedelets drove back to the free parts of Zelhinan to pick up any reinforcements or supplies. Aveth observed those under her command running towards their posts and bringing in weapons and ammo. She watched crewmen haul artillery rounds to artillery pieces and fuel to the back in case the enemy shot those. She ordered the fuel tanks to be spread out to reduce the size of the explosions in case any of them were hit.

Aveth turned the private. “Get me a rifle and be quick about it.”

“Yes Commander.” The private rushed to a weapons crate and picked uup a T.M. 13 rifle. He grabs some extra clips and returns to Aveth. She took both from him and loaded the rifle.

“Artillery opens fire!” She ordered as she placed the extra clips of ammo into her belt. Once she placed the last clip into a belt loop Aveth joined her troops with the private trailing behind her.

“Don’t hold back or give them any ground! Your duty to the Queen and Zelhinan is to hold this line!” Aveth yelled to the men under her command. Everyone that was in the artillery teams waited for her orders to fire.

Artillery rounds pounded the areas around the advancing Gantronese killing a few here and there. Several buildings collapsed from the impact. One mall building was destroyed by the artillery. The defenders under Aveth’s command heard shooting from other parts of the Zelhinan defenses. Aveth gave the command to machine-gunners and snipers of o unleashed a hailstorm of bullets into the enemy ranks. Through her sights Aveth watched hundreds fall and even more dive for cover as the artillery and defenders bombarded them.

“Riflemen, fire when the enemy gets close!” she ordered.

Behind her a radioman rushed up to her. “Commander, we have some reports!” he shouted above the artillery and shooting.

                         “What are they?” she yelled back even though he is next to her.

“What?” he asked confused.

“The reports!” she screamed in his face. Moments later the rest of her command opened fire with some return fire coming from the Gantronese. Aveth grabs the radioman and takes him to  a nearby shelter that used to be a vault to the sewers. It is now used a shelter and a commanders office with enough room for housing a few scores of troops. They went through a tunnel that led into the hall where men would be quartered. At the very back it was sealed by debris falling from the ceiling. It cut the tunnel off from the rest of the sewers. There was another chamber from the cave in, which was transformed into office space. As Aveth descended down to these quarters a Forsythan appeared from the office.

He walked up to them with haste. Aveth stopped in the middle of the room to let the Forsythan approach them.

“What is it Commander?” he asked coming closer to them.Both Zema Ilam could see a red birthmark covering a portion of his face from his forehead to his upper lip and trailing along the bridge of his nose. It was the width of his eye.

“Sergeant Gen I need you to take my place as commander for a while.” Aveth handed the large warrior her rifle and he ascends the tunnel to assume command over her troops.

Aveth returned her attention to the radioman. “Now tell me those reports. What are they?” she demanded quickly.

“The enemy was launchd their entire army into Zelhinan against our forces along the defensive lines, including here.” He answered her.

“How many are we talking?” She asked.

“About a million or so Gantronese.” He responded.

‘So they send a massive wave against us.’ Aveth thought. That many troops at once could break their defenses or deplete their numbers through constant fighting. This would turn out to be a battle for survival. Even though they had reinforcements they could still face defeat. The main bulk of her Queen’s armies were still besieging the Gantronese at the walls. The other half of Zelhinan’s defenders were at the wall.

“Are there any reports from our other defenders and the Queen’s armies?” Aveth asked as artillery kept firing above them.

“They’ve just repelled an assault led by the Vearxal-“

“That is old news!” she cut him off.

“Well Commander…the Queen’s forces have begun to clear out the Gantronese forces at the wall. It should take another week to clear them out.” The radioman told her.

“Good! Is there anything else?” she asked grabbing his arms.

“Yes, we’ve received reports from Dorntalla and Nevkamuu. Vestrisian Armour are gaining ground and forcing the Gantronese out. An entire army of tanks have crossed into Dorntalla to join the others there in a large tank battle all across Dorntalla. The Vestrisians are also assisted by the resistance there.” The radioman told the commander.

Aveth looked up and laughed with joy. “This is great news; soon the Gantronese will lose their grip over Zekmar.” She looked at him. Her smiled disappeared when she looked at him and saw the radioman’s face. His face didn’t share the same enthusiasm as she did.

“Commander.” He said in a quiet voice. Artillery and machine-gun fire could be heard outside. “The Gantronese… the Gantronese have…they have sent more troops into Zekmar.”

“How many men have they sent?” she hollered in disbelief.

“Another one million have been added to their garrison in Zekmar. That entire army alone is headed straight for Zelhinan!” He closed his eyes expecting her to kill him. She didn’t, Aveth let go of his arms and turned to the entrance.

“Return to your station and report to me asap if anything new comes up.” Aveth left the radioman in the vault alone.

Their defenses held off the Gantronese forcing them to take positions a mile away from their front line. No Man’s land shrunk to just a mile and a half width, depending on where the Gantronese forces stopped. That night both forces sent in patrols and raiding parties in small squads. The patrols found each other and mistook the other for a larger force. Every patrol sent one person back to report enemy movements. All the patrols were caught in a shoot out where most patrols died and the survivors fall back to the base. The opposing patrol would give chase to the remaining members of the retreating patrol. Some would be successful and shoot them as they ran from the scene. Others would chase them down to the opposing side. Those who’d chase the enemy down would face snipers and machine-gunners. Most patrols retreated back after losing most of their men. Some would die to the last man. There were occasions where both patrols would engage each other and kill the other off. It would come down to the last few or last man before one side gave up. The last ones would either flee or hold their ground against the enemy. Some did this knowing reinforcements would be coming this way. Most would return to base to bring more men the next day.

Each patrol that stayed put found shelter in a crater or under a building that still had some portions of a sturdy roof. It was a picky choice since they were looking for structures with roofs that weren’t on the brink of crumbling or collapsing. They’d often greet patrols who were lost on their way back to base or some stray animal roaming the ruins. Because of the positions of some patrols no man’s land shrank even more.

At dawn Commanders along the front would send in snipers or other patrols to break down the enemy and lost patrols. The patrols would be greeted by an enemy who was waiting for them or a fellow soldier camped out in a ruined building. Snipers discovered the patrols and hid among the ruins. Some attacked the enemy without warning. Others took a hidden position and waited for an opportunity to strike. Zelhinan’s No man’s land lit up with gunfire from snipers and patrols on both sides. For the entire day bother snipers and patrols hid and hunted the enemy down.

On the next day a group of raiders were sent in at dawn to attacked the encamped snipers and patrols with other snipers in the area. These snipers backed the raiders as they moved through the ruins. In response to these raids the other side would send in raiders after them or nearby snipers would pick them off from their hiding places. Some times the snipers would harass them for hours and attack their prey from different directions as they moved around. Skirmishes sparked up as both sides sent in squad after squad of raiders. It grew into a stalemate as skirmishes became heated battles. This forced both sides to bombard the area killing both enemies and comrades. Few returned to the safety of their fortified positions. Many survivors criticized their Commanders. Aveth and others allowed this while the Gantronese had their own men executed for failure. 

Arachnid's Lair and part of Chiecra's Enemy Chapter

Darkness covered the steps down the tunnel. The torch lights blew out from a gust of wind through the tunnel. This did not stop the Vestrisian Vanguards as they continued regardless of the pitch black. With each step down, the Vestrisian-Vanguards drew closer to wherever the tunnel took them.

The company decided to split up, thirty others went back up to stand guard and see about in coming supplies. Thirty-seven of them remained in the tunnel. The Vestrisians walked down these ancient stone steps. Their heavy boots thumped on the stone as they descended the long tunnel. Each man with his night goggles on had no need for a flashlight. Their multiple footsteps tapped and thumped on the stone steps, but not a word was ushered from any lips.

Chiecra soon spoke in a whisper. "There's something I don't get?"

"What's that?" Ilkez replied. The group stopped and faced the cadet. All eyes were upon him.

"What's on your mind cadet?" the Major demanded.

"What were the Nazdar using to turn people into vampires? What chemicals were made or mixed to create such horrifying results to convert people into blood thirsty monsters?" The Cadet asked the Major.

"We have no time to discuss this now! Major, sir our mission is what's important! Not some chemical weapons used by the Nazdar." said a soldier agitated at Chiecra.

Kouthra spoke for the Major and his brother. "Our mission is both the Nazdar invasion and the chemical weapons, private!" The captain merely growled at the incompetent private.

"Let's move out! The sooner we force the enemy back the better!" proclaimed the Major. He towered over the private, staring him down.

A soldier who went ahead of Chiecra a few steps piped up. "Sir I've found something!" The soldier stood up holding what looked to be a collar. It appeared too big for a dog, and it had a crescent shape. Chiecra remembered seeing one of these on a smuggler he had shot, back in Udraine. Before anyone started talking or asked questions Liviscart approached the soldier taking the object from his hand.

"Sir, this is a voice modulator." He replied holding the object to the Superiors.

"A what?" several Vanguards asked confused about what this object was.

"It’s a Voice modulator! It goes around the base of your neck at the collarbone. It somehow changes your voice." Liviscart explained to the platoon of Vanguards.

"Excellent find, the only thing we need to know about this is who was wearing it and why." said the Major grabbing the modulator from the Sergeant to examine it for himself.

"There's some blood on it." Chiecra said as he observed the object. All gathered in closely to see the thin bit of blood.

"The blood's covering something.” One soldier said pointing at the spot covered in blood.

"I doubt anyone can make out what it says on there." One of the soldiers said doubting anyone’s eyes.

The Major wiped the blood off with his sleeve revealing the name Curtian. He sighed, "Apparently there's something that our Corporal Curtian has to explain."

Kouthra looked at him shocked. "You mean that Curtian is hiding some truth from us?" Kouthra asked him. The Major nodded in response to the question.

"Keep moving, the longer we stand here the more likely our comrades are dead!" The vanguards started to move again, ascending the stone steps. Chiecra was in the middle and looked up at the ceiling of the tunnel as they moved further down. He noticed the rough stone structure of the ceiling was disappearing under some strange substance. This substance looked very web like. It covered the stone entirely. It didn't take long for others to realize the difference the way the tunnel walls looked. Most including Chiecra already had a feeling of where they were headed.

A dim light started to appear at the end of the dark spiral tunnel. The vanguards were getting closer to their objective they could feel it. Kouthra and the Major led them toward this light at the bottom. Chiecra noticed the web like substance getting thicker and thicker with each step downward. An opening to a large cavern appeared before them. Major Hawke lifted a hand signaling to stop. Every one of them stopped in their tracks obeying orders. They kept themselves hidden by staying clear of the entrance. Major Hawke gestured for four men to come forward. "Liviscart, Gwynor, Brutius get over here!" Ilkez, Liviscart, Viktorov and Chiecra came forward.

"I want you four to clear this room quietly and quickly. There is a group of guards doing nothing but eating and drinking. Some are awake but are not paying attention to the cavern and have their backs to us. Go in there quietly and kill them all. Do I make myself clear?" He said in a whisper.

Liviscart was put in charge of their team for his people of the Nachadian nation were masters of stealth attacks. They only took blades and pistols for this little operation. All four left their boots, rifles and other gear behind. Chiecra and the other two were equipped with bayonets, while Liviscart had a long tribal knife.

Chiecra followed Liviscart a the four Vanguards went in silent as mice. The cavern turned into a massive chamber full of sleeping Nazdar. Moveable, cordless lamps lit the cavern. There lay thirteen sleeping Nazdar on each side of the cavern. The walls were decorated with red Nazdar flags. Five Nazdar guards sat around table playing cards, paying no heed to the four Vestrisians coming to kill them. Next to the five guards was a pillar, tied to this pillar was a damsel dressed in a Vestrisian uniform. Chiecra recognized the long brown hair he glimpsed earlier. She contained a gorgeous feature with a small body and developed breast. From the way she looked that Nazdar already took advantage of her. They had ripped open her uniform revealing her bra and corset which dangled from the ropes that bound her. Her legs were bare and normal sized for a woman her height. A trickle of blood could be seen flowing from her neck.

The five Nazdar got up to harass her even more. Taking turns the heathens brutally assaulted the poor dove. Chiecra turned away angered he would show no mercy to his enemy, not now not ever. On the ground he spied a small bronze nametag with the name "Curtian' etched onto it. Chiecra picked up the name tag and showed it to Liviscart. The Nochadian signaled for two submachineguns. The two Gwynors were given the sub-machine guns. The cadet covered one end and Viktorov the other.

Liviscart sprung into action. The Nachadian warrior went after the five heathens stabbing his first victim on the back. Ilkez slit the throat of one Nazdar nearest the table. Liviscart killed the other three yanking them off the woman one at time stabbing and cutting them. The two gwynors filled their targets with bullets. Both did not stop shooting until the ammo was finished. They no longer cared for a covert operation, the vanguards made so much noise they expected more hostiles to arrive. No enemies came encouraging the rest to come see what the had done. The cadet and other three Vanguards retrieved their boots and rifles. Major Hawke ordered the soldiers to untie the female Curtian and give her medical attention. His orders were followed and the damsel was wrapped in a tapestry ripped from the wall.

Major Hawke observed Curtian's face. "What's your name madam?" She did not answer she was still traumatized from the assaults she endured. "Get her out here."

"Sir. What about -" Private Mascerd tried to remind the major but the Major cut him off.

"Damn it Mascerd I order you to carry this woman out of this pit!" Mascerd wanted to question the woman, but the Major urged him to follow orders. "That's an order! Follow them!" Several vanguards took the female Curtian up the tunnel. Chiecra took time to snoop around the cavern. Looking behind a massive banner, he found another tunnel.           

"Major, sir!" Chiecra drew their attention to him. All the Vanguards turned to the cadet. "I've found another tunnel that leads deeper into the underworld." Chiecra said showing them the hidden passage. He pulled the tapestry down revealing to them another tunnel leading to unknown chambers and caverns.

"Holy Zeuxis, how far down do we have to go to end this invasion?" a soldier complained.

“How ever far down we need to go to complete our mission.” Ilkez wisely replied. By twos, the Vestrisian went through the tunnel. Each Vanguard skimmed along the walls with a man next to him. Ilkez and Viktorov were both at the head of the pack. Chiecra was directly behind the zenhrai as the group of vanguards slowly krept along the walls. They came across an entrance to another cavern on the left side of the tunnels. The entrance had no door or tapestry to cover it. All the vanguards stopped and crouched down. Twenty-eight Vestrisian soldiers were about to commence another assault.

Chiecra was eager for more action and loaded a new magazine into his sub machine gun. He and the same trio, Ilkez, Liviscart and Viktorov approached the cavern. Two positioned themselves on both sides of the entrance. Before the warriors carried out another attack, Kouthra spotted more caverns ahead along the tunnel.

 "Major, we should clean out these others as well." Everyone heard him address the Major and turned to him. Major Hawke agreed with the captain. Over a dozen soldiers rushed ahead and split up into fours. Each group covered one cavern, but there were still a few remaining.

"Sadly we don't have the man power to cope with all the Nazdar scum down there." Ilkez whispered to Chiecra.

Major Hawke sent one of the remaining men back up to retrieve reinforcements. In moments the soldier was already halfway through the tunnel in the direction they came. "Perhaps we should've brought more men with us." Kouthra said to the Major. As soon as the runner disappeared, the commanders signaled for them to storm the dens.

The four valiant warriors stormed into a cavern full of Nazdar soldiers. Hesitating was not an option, nor did it cross their minds. Mercy was not present as Chiecra and his comrades shot every Nazdar present. Though greatly outnumbered the four Vanguards managed to outgun dozens of enemies. Bullets flew all around hitting everything including the Nazdar. The constant spray of bullets overwhelmed the Nazdar. It seemed impossible for a few men to storm a den packed with twenty-three hostiles.They each caught the enemy off guard. As they stopped killing the Vanguards grew aware of their new surroundings. Blood flowed all over the ground from the corpses that littered it. Banners and Nazdar corpses were not the only things in this den. Stacks of Crates and stockpiles of weapons lined the walls. The four Vanguards stood in the center of the den surrounded by ammunition and weapons.

Viktorov took the nerve to observe the dead Nazdar. "Look", he said and the others joined him, "See how they're lined up." Viktorov's arm pointed out to the others.

"It's as though they knew we were coming." Chiecra said bending over an officer with a whistle in his mouth.

"Yes, and they were just about to attack when we did." replied Ilkez. The four Vanguards stood in the middle of the den, mute and still as statues. The only sounds they heard were the shots of their comrades shooting the enemy in their assigned dens. They waited for the shooting to quiet down before stirring a muscle.

Chiecra was the first to move and knelt over the dead officer to claim the whistle as a souvenir. Observing it, Chiecra noticed it was a bronze military whistle connected to a golden chain. He placed it around his neck and began scavenging for more spoils and prizes. None of them bothered Chiecra as they watched him with blank expressions on their faces. Liviscart began chanting a tune in his own tongue mumbling it to himself. As Liviscart and Chiecra carried on with their own tasks the other two checked out the crates all over the den.

Chiecra was enjoying himself, pick pocketing the dead bodies. Taking badges, watches and a few knives, he felt like a thief in his own heaven. He placed all these spoils in a sack he had found. Something at the back of the den caught his eye. Looking up he noticed a path behind the wall leading to a secret chamber. From the looks of the back wall it was unclear that there was another passage. The cadet took the chance to check out the back wall. It formed an inward pattern that was wide enough to hide another passageway. This overlapping illusion could fool anyone since it almost fooled Chiecra. This illusion was made by nature herself but not well enough for Chiecra. The cadet prayed to the gods the Nazdar hadn't discovered this yet. What lies behind this wall? What dwells in the other passages? Were there more dangers, and more Nazdar? If there were any left they would have come out by now.

Looking to the left he found a secret passage while he looked to the right nothing. He only saw stone covered with the web like substance, which concerned the cadet. He remembered the same substance earlier in the tunnel. Have they entered the Arachnid's Lair? His attention was switched back to his comrades when one of them called him.

"Cadet Gwynor." Chiecra turned to see Ilkez looking at him. "What are you doing?" asked the zenhrai.

"Nothing!" he replied, but the zenhrai did not buy it.

"Yeah, you're doing nothing alright. Help us crack open these crates." He ordered. Chiecra placed his weapons against the wall. He was handed a crow bar found amongst a pile of tools near the entrance. The four began prying open one crate at a time, until others came to see what they were up to.

"What in the name of Carcossa are you fellows doing, eh?" A voice asked behind them. This voice did not sound familiar to any of them at all. None of them recognized this voice. They each froze and turned their heads, before them stood three Nazdar troops. The middle Nazdar was a high ranking officer, a Marshall in the Nazdar Army.

"Drop them!" he commanded the four Vestrisians. They did as he commanded them.

The Nazdars fixed their weapons on the four of them. Each of them raised their arms in surrender. Chiecra felt that their mission had failed. He was ordered to stand next to his fellow Vestrisians. Each man knew what was coming, the swift end to their mission. Only a miracle could save them and the others. Then Chiecra remembered something the others nearly forgot. Reinforcements were coming down to bail them out of this captivity. The Nazdar officer observed each of them in turn including Chiecra. He got into Chiecra's face giving him a queer look.

"This one's too young. Take him to the back with the other prisoners. He'll be a fortune maker if we sell him. No doubt he'll make an excellent worker in the factories." The marshall said and the other Nazdars smirked at this. Moments later a group of shadows dashed past the den. Several more figures appeared behind the unsuspecting Nazdar, leading the figures was a female. Chiecra could tell from how short she was compared to the males' heights.

"The tables have turned against you, Morphose." a feminine voice spoke. The Nazdar Morphose was awestruck caught off guard by this woman’s appearance. He had no clue what happened or what to do next. In panic Morphose tried to kill his four prisoners. Morphose fired a few shots hitting Liviscart's leg before he and his lackeys were gunned down. The three vermin twirled around receiving the bullets all over the body before falling to the ground with three tremendous thuds.

"Are you boys alright?" the female said in a comprehensive voice. None of them spoke a word, the three gazed at the woman before them. She was the same person they thought who was Curtian. This woman had disguised herself as a man. Her brown hair had slight curls. It went over her shoulders by a few inches. Her body was short, but perfect, her legs long and strong, her face gorgeous as an elf. She was almost Chiecra's height, which was considered the average height of a woman. Chiecra was awestruck that this woman had posed as a soldier, a male soldier for reasons they were about to learn.

"Most of us are okay. I'm not sure about our friend Liviscart." The Cadet finally spoke for the team of Vanguards. He then turned to help the Nachadian and he noticed something strange about Ilkez.

The woman ordered the others to help Chiecra. "Get him to a medic quickly; I don't want a vanguard to bleed to death." They silently obeyed their orders and carried the wounded man off. As they carried a wounded Liviscart the woman kissed him on the cheek. She sighed and placed a hand over her chest. Under her breathe she whispered.

"What a noble warrior he is." Only Chiecra heard the phrase. She turned her attention to the other three Vanguards. Chiecra stared into her hazel eyes. Something about her eyes looked oddly familiar. It was as though he had seen those eyes somewhere. Had he seen them somewhere? Had he seen this feature somewhere? Then it hit him, his memory jogged up where he had seen her face. He soon remembered a family tree Arctice showed him one time. He remembered in the corner of a large family photo next to the Furd Antalace. She was Arctice's cousin Athenere Greymir. Chiecra returned to the present as he set his mind to the current task. He did not see the other two working fast to open the crates. The other Vestrisians who came in helped them crack the crates open. This Athenere stood next to Chiecra and studied him.

            "Chiecra isn't it?" she asked him.

            "Yes." he said nearly raising his voice above normal.

            "The others told me you can handle yourself, right?" she asked.

            "Yes." he answered once again. She looked at the back of the den.

"Will you help me with something?" Chiecra would have felt foolish not helping her. He immediately said "Yes." a third time.    

He followed her to the hidden passage.  When they got further in the passage, Chiecra jumped ahead of her. It may have seemed rude, but he did this to ensure she didn't face any dangers first. Chiecra drew the knife meant for the Nazdar earlier. He cautiously led the way through the passage. Through the passage they came across another cavern, which was darker than the others. Somewhere in the dark, they heard someone crying.

            "Do you hear that?" Athenere asked placing a hand on Chiecra to stop him.

"Silence my child, or the Arachnids will come, hush, hush." A faint voice whispered in the dark. Chiecra knew this to be bad. Arachnids were flesh-eating spiders, especially of humanoid flesh. Lights were turned on from behind Chiecra. Athenere found the light switch. The lights illuminated an even larger cavern, which formed a long oval shape with a wider middle. On the other side was a massive hole two feet off the ground. All about the walls were more prisoners. Most of them were female with a few males here and there. A fourth of the women were aviators and pilots, the rest were just pilgrims and students. Amongst them were four small girls and two boys nearing their teen years. There were only five men, one Vestrisian soldier, two scholars, a professor and a half-dead Zhenrai Master. To their right in the center of the group was the crying child in her mother's arms, and her mother trying to calm her.  

Chiecra knew why the girl was crying. She was crying for something sitting in the middle of the room. In the middle sat a small cage harassed by a dog-sized spider. Acting quickly the cadet threw the blade at the eight-legged creature. The knife struck the creature and it curled up in a ball with the knife in its side. Chiecra retrieved his blade, pulling it out did not seem difficult since the skin of the Arachnid was soft but scaly. He wiped orange goo off the blade in disgust. Chiecra kicked the corpse away from the cage. Kneeling down next to the cage to see what was inside. There cowering in a little ball was a red brown Finx with a white stripe on its head. A Finx had the appearance of a ferret crossed with a small monkey. It looked up at Chiecra with its light brown eyes in a hopeful way. He grinned opening the cage as he reassured the little Finx. "It's alright its safe." In his mind Chiecra hoped everything was alright. Quietly it stepped out of the cage and rushed to the girl crying. By some miracle she stopped crying.

"Thank you noble soldier, there is hope after all. We left the mountains to seek a free life in the Vestrisian Republics." She said to Chiecra.

"I'm just doing what I was trained to do for the Republic. Justice has to be brought down upon these slavers." Chiecra replied to the mother. The cadet got up to cut the ropes that bound the prisoners to the walls, but Athenere was already ahead of him. She had already cut the pilots loose with her knife. They embraced and thanked her and Chiecra with much gratitude. He did not care who listened to their little chats. The cadet made quick work of cutting the ropes. The Vestrisian soldier thanked him and stood up to stretch his limbs.

"Are there more comrades?" asked one soldier.

"Are there any more prisoners?" Chiecra asked instead of answering the question.

"Not just them but have you come with more soldiers?" The soldier asked Chiecra again.

            "You answer first." Chiecra insisted the soldier to tell him feeling persistant.

"Yes, we were aboard a convoy of Emetef cruisers transporting pilgrims, pilots and refugees from Ulfhineu. The convoy was attacked and many of the soldiers aboard were killed and the rest like myself taken prisoner. What about our rescue?" The soldier asked him.

 "I'm with a party of nearly seventy men led by Major Hawke and Captain Gwynor. If you want to, we could use a hand with some crates." He told the soldier.

"Those crates are filled with our own weapons from rifles to sub-machine guns, and shotguns. Those vermin meant to use these weapons against us or something like that." the Vestrisian explained. Kouthra, Major Hawke and Ilkez stormed in with half a dozen Vanguards.

 "Get these people out now! Everyone who is not a soldier please get to safety through the tunnels and up the stairs. As for the three of you here are some weapons." Chiecra and the other two were given a rifle and shotgun. The cadet was given his own rifle back plus a new toy. One of the scholars happened to be a Vestrisian veteran taking time off. The other prisoners rushed out for their own safety.

"Kouthra what's going on?" Chiecra asked his brother forgetting about rank for a moment.

 "Just be ready for whatever comes out of that hole!" His brother replied and gave him a stern look over Chiecra addressing him as Kouthra instead of Captain. Kouthra then turned to Athenere.

"Senator Greymir, your father would want you away from this fight. I'll have to ask you to please join the other refugees. Or stay clear of the action." She obliged running off to join the other prisoners. Major Hawke and Kouthra made quick plans.

 "Captain you stay here with these men and kill anything that comes out of that hole! I'll be leading the assault to gain more ground in the other caverns. You defend our flanks right here."

"Good plan sir, all of you gather around." They gathered around the captain. He had what looked to be metal earplugs in his hands.

"Put this in your right ear just like this." He demonstrated sticking one in his right ear. Each soldier took one and repeated the same procedure he did. "Pull this antenna out." Kouthra pulled on a piece that stretched out to his mouth. "This is a new radio commlink, which will be used in future battles. It's better for communication across the field." Once the men did as he had done, Kouthra prepared for another enemy assault. They heard movement from the larger tunnel and took defensive positions. With plenty of ammo, the Vestrisian soldiers were ready to defend this spot. Arachnids poured out the hole like a swarm of mice. They seemed numerous to the eye, but the Vanguards were not intimidated. Chiecra had heard stories about spiders being the size of dogs or bigger. Chiecra stood guard alongside seven others. The eight defenders fended off the eight-legged pests. Shotguns and assault rifles tore the creatures apart. Some spiders exploded from the impact of bullets while others fell to the ground. A pile of Arachnid bodies formed bellow the hole. The hole was big enough for six spiders to come through at a time. Chiecra and his comrades took advantage of this by taking turns shooting. Their strategy was simple three or four would each shoot into the hole until they needed to reload while the others covered for them. This strategy went well from the way they lined up in front of the hole. The cadet hollered above the shooting as he reloaded his shells next to Ilkez.

            "I noticed you seemed bewitched by Athenere." Chiecra asked him.

            "What's your point?" Ilkez asked paranoid at the spiders and the question.

            "So you do like her?" Chiecra asked as he reloaded.

"Yeah, I sort of like her." Ilkez admitted like he was still in his academy years.

"Don't be a teen, Brutius tell her you're in love with her!" Viktorov yelled blasting a spider that was climbing upside down on the tunnel ceiling.

"Okay, I will!" the zhenrai hollered shooting down the eight legged pests.             

Chiecra watched with obsession and disgust. He obliviously enjoyed shooting these eight-legged kegs with eyes. Feeling the heat on his hands from the barrel of his shotgun Chiecra had no shame in killing these monsters. With each shot the shotgun grew hotter in his hands, but he did not care. The shooting from their weapons was nonstop. While the Arachnid bodies were piling up so were the shells from their bullets.

"It looks like we have a new enemy!" Viktorov commented still unloading his shells on the pests.                                   

"A determined enemy or a stupid enemy?" a Vanguard asked him.

"Does it really matter what kind of enemy they are?" another vanguard asked, reloading his sixth set of shells.

"Yes it does." argued the first vanguard jokingly. This little squabble of words continued as the vanguards blasted every single arachnid that came through the hole. Whether the body fell rolling over the other bodies now forming a mound of corpses, or exploded leaving orange goo all over the tunnel. The arachnids soon crowded in the hole, the vanguard noticed as they pushed each other forward. The pests were also coming through in larger sizes. As the spiders came in bigger sizes their numbers shrank. Large bodies rolled down the mound of arachnids. Several nearly knocked the vanguards down. One body came hurtling towards Chiecra barely skimming him. The body count of the spiders began to fill the hole creating a roadblock to the others coming through. From each dead arachnid, the hole was clogged up to where one could come through at a time. This made the task even easier. For every time one popped its head through the narrow gap a vanguard would shoot it. Once each man fired a round or two taking turns, one arachnid got stuck in the gap. They then chose to stand down for now. They checked their ammo, most were all out. The others had at least one or two rounds left.

"I'm all out!" viktorov cried.

"Same here!" said another.

"Yep I am out." Viktorov said fingering his pockets for more ammunition.  

"Definitely empty." Ilkez replied, checking his shotgun.

"Yeah, I'm out." Kouthra exclaimed in disappointment.

"That just leaves you three!" replied Ilkez, pointing at Chiecra and the other two. The cadet checked his shotgun he had one shell left. The other soldiers only had a few left. They happened to be two of the soldiers amongst the captives he rescued. One was named Vinco Barzini, the other Terc Gelteze. They stood watching the Arachnid squirm trying to gets its fat body through the narrow gap.

"All yours kid." Vinco said, urging the cadet on.

"By all means go ahead." Terc concluded. Chiecra aimed the shotgun at the squirming creature and he fired the last shot. He lowered his weapon it was now smoking from the barrel, the metal part felt hot as a stove. He placed it on the ground to cool down his hands from being burned. Sitting down Chiecra observed the mound of dead Arachnids. Ilkez also observed the dead creature with strange interests.

"These arachnids seemed to be running away from something rather than going after food wouldn't you say Chiecra?" The zenhrai asked with a crave for some form of an answer.

Chiecra did not notice the way the arachnids were approaching. He paid no heed to the appearance of these creatures, nor their eyes. He took the nerve to stare at one staring back at him. It had six hideous eyes the shape and size of a grenade. Its fangs were much like the front teeth of a lion. Fur covered its entire face and upper front legs. The anthrax was big as a pig, and scaly like a lizard. A shotgun shell had shot this large spider, for the top of its anthrax contained a huge gash. Though the creature itself was dead the eyes were still alive but lifeless. Pulling out his pistol the cadet began shooting the eyes out. The eyes burst from each shot leaving a gruesome mess. Before he fired a fourth shot Kouthra grabbed his hand, which wielded the pistol. His foolishness made a lot of noise. 

The Goddess Ipsul sketchwork