COTN House of Judas Part 4

4. Challenge

The news of the death of the sorceress and the fight in the castle spread fast among all of us. The most interesting part of the rumor is that the General escaped and he is now a fugitive. His whereabouts unaccounted for and the guards are searching for him. Everyone has been questioned but no one had the answers; only speculation.

Jedi also roused up the members to search for the General. The warriors mounted up once again this morning and was to ride to out when the General arrived at the camp entrance with three of his guards. Behind the General is another two dozen warriors. These are Elves; the people of the Nation. They rode past the stunned warriors of Judas to stopped in front of Jedi.

"It was difficult to find you but you forget I was an elf before. In the House of Genoe, I was a Jhitai. I come to seek sanctuary from you." The General looked fine but of his three guards, one of them has bandaged wounds on the left arm and shoulder.

" Do I get accepted? I seek the Khutbah Rule." The General put forth her request.

The Khutbah Rule is the sacred law of the Nation before. Its means sanctuary for those who seeks with the others. It was used in wars between the Houses, and the refugees or the defeated can plea for the Khutbah Rule and they are to be offered sanctuary. It cannot be refused in times of war. Refusal to offer it may result in immediate death on the one who refused.

"We are not at war with your House anymore. The House of Judas does not exist anymore. The people of Judas are not of the Nation anymore. The Nation kicked us out. We are outcasts now. So there are no Khutbah Rules with us." Jedi pulled out his sword and aimed it at the General.

"General, you are no more an Elf, but a Man now. You are only here as you failed to kill Lord Netsu."

"If there is no Khutbah Rules then we are leaving then. I came to a wrong place. I thought you were all rebuilding the Nation." The General and his guards turned to leave but the warriors all stopped them. The General turned around to looked at the leader.

"Is that saying we can stay?"

"This is our camp and you rode in without our permission. We cannot allowed that or more would come and go as they pleases. You bring in the people from the House of Genoe. I can see from their emblem they are Jhitai warriors. A strong rival to us, the Elite Guards." Jedi walked to one of the warrior and looked at the spear carried by the warrior. "A fine weapon wield by an expert. Tell me why do you ride with a Man?"

"I am no Man, Jedi. I am a true Elf like you. More to your ranking, I was a Jhitai Senior. These warriors followed me as I can lead them to rebuilt our House. They been waiting for me since I left. I came here to join forces but you rejected us." The General looked back to his men. "The Elite Guards looked too good for us, Jhitai. Perhaps they forget that it was us who taught them a lesson in the Battle of Marte." The battle of Marte was one during the early days of the war. It was the start of the war and the Elite were filled with raw recruits then. It was the motivation for the Guards to excel themselves till their disbandment. But the word of Battle of Marte, the warriors of the Elite Guards drew on their weapons to faced the Jhitai.

"Hold your emotions, Elite Guards. We would not feed these grounds with the blood of the Nation." Jedi controlled his warriors. The General laughed out in a mocking manner.

"The blood of the Nation? You just declared that your people are no more of any House. The House of Judas does not exist anymore. You said so, and now you declare that you are with the blood of the Nation. Shallow words to suit your speech. You are a pathetic leader, Jedi." The General turned his horse to marched out.

"Leadership! That was your motive to ride in with them. You came here to mock me. You did not come here for sanctuary. You wanted to lead my warriors. A Jhitai leading the Elite Guards; never in my lifetime." The General threw a dagger at Jedi but it was deflected by Nikite with her long handle sword.

"No, that was never our arrangement." Nikite looked at the General. She stepped in between the two leaders and with her back to Jedi, she raised her sword above her head.

"I am for General Darren. His real name is Kenbi; a Genoe Jhitai Senior. He can lead us to more gold and more victory......"

"Nikite, face me. You are a traitor to the Elite Guards." Jedi has his sword at the back of the female warrior. If in a duel, he would not had hesitate to kill her now but this is not a duel.

"Face me, you back stabber. I sent you to check on him and you followed him now."

"Those of you who believed in Kenbi, ride with us when we leave this camp." Nikite ignore her leader and took to her own horse to mount it.

She rode to the side of the elf named Kenbi. They rode out together followed by the Jhitai Warriors.

A dozen more of the Elite followed suit in the rear. Jedi looked at the remaining warriors.

"We fight for gold now and later for the House. Then come last is the Nation. You choose." Another five more followed suit to follow the departing warriors.

"I thank you for believing in me. The Genoe lied to you. He is not what he is displaying here. I believed he is leading them to their death."

"So do you not bring them back, Jedi?" Jedi looked at the one who has spoken. He is Dern, one of the newly appointed warriors.

"No, not yet. They would continue their training under the Jhitai. When I know they are ready, I would bring them back. Only those who deserved to come back." Jedi replied and walked back to his chamber. He turned to see Dern riding off to followed the others. He sighed to himself, that the young warrior is too rash in his decision.

By morning Jedi find his warriors down to only twenty from more than fifty. He told them to continue their training. It was by late day, when he saw Dern riding in. The young warrior jumped off his horse to run up to Jedi.

"They were all trapped in a clearing by Lord Netsu' guard. The Jhitai betrayed them.They are coming here now." Immediately, Jedi asked the men to disperse into the hills or forest. They would meet in a week at the designated place.

He grabbed Dern and they rode for the nearby forest. Once they reached the forest, they took to cover at the tree lines just in time to see the column of Red Guards came riding in to the camp. It led by the one they know as General Darren. Jedi and Dern took them far into the forest, and made their camp deep in the forest.

It took Jedi and Dern two days to track the prisoners whereabouts. Jedi looked at the outpost set by the stream where his surviving warriors are kept prisoners. The outpost has a column of a hundred and fifty warriors based there to guard the two hundred odd prisoners and also to watch out for Orcs. Among the prisoners, the labor group include the surviving members of the Guards. According to the report from informers, there are twelve of the Guards here, while the rest had died. Jedi intend to rescue them from this camp.

The outpost comprises a square wooden rampart camp with its wall twice the height of Man, and a wooden gate that opens up to admit six in a row. Around the rampart are spiked poles facing outwards, and on each corner of the camp there are sentry towers. The prisoners camp is outside the camp area to the right of the Outpost with no building structure inside it but some low shed cover where the infirmed would rest. The rest of the prisoners are at the four fires places in the prisoner area. The prison camp is surrounded by a deep moat with spike poles on its edge.

The only way to cross is by a drawbridge that is controlled by the guards. There are also ten archers who would patrol the perimeter besides the other armed guards.

"There is no way we can rescue them. They are well guarded, and those are Border Guards. They are merciless and are recruited from the scums of the society." Dern looked at Jedi for his reply but the senior asked the young warrior to ride with him. They rode down the stream and then proceeded across it.

"Jedi, that is Orc lands. Are you mad? They would kill us if they find us." Dern held tight to his mount watching the senior take the crossing. They both crossed over and rode in deep. As it was late into the day, Jedi then rode further in with his warrior following him.

"Jedi, we are being watched. Should we not move in the way we are trained?" Jedi did not reply to him but continue on until they came to a clearing. There Jedi dismounted and proceeded to set up camp for the night. He asked the young warrior to do the same but they know that the Orcs are watching them. During the night, Jedi whispered to the young warrior.

"Pack up the things leaving only the bedding. Prepare to leave on a short notice." The senior warrior then crawled up to his bedding to rest. It was when the moon reached it zenith that Dern find himself sleeping next to an empty bedding. Unknown to him some time back, Jedi has slip out of the camp and is now on his way to the Orc caves nearby. He evaded the two Orcs who was watching them. He ran the path to the caves and cautiously evade Orc' patrols and guards.

Orcs are like the Man, but they inherited wider cheeks and protruding foreheads on their facial structure. The body frame is much wider and shorter limbs with large hands made them look more like apes. Their mental ability varies by individuals but most of them are followers of the more intelligent ones. Jedi crawled up to the cave mouth sentry and killed it. He pulled the body into the bushes before he proceeded into the cave. It was lit with torches in some places but the elves have sharp vision from their hunting skills in the dark forest. He came to the correct cavern and found his target. He crawled forward on his body and took the prized item of the Orc' here. He went out the same way but he left some marks on the dead sentry. He found his way back to the camp and he woke up Dern.

"Move now." Jedi did not take much to mount his horse and start riding for the way back to the stream. Dern followed and soon they were at the stream. They reached there faster and without rousing the guards. Once they crossed the stream, Jedi slowed down and start the trod towards the camp.

On nearing the camp, Jedi asked the young warrior to go the spot where they used before. Jedi dismounted and make his own way to the prison camp. He slowly crawled towards the perimeter and stopped at about a fifty paces from it. There he waited for dawn when the guards took to change at that time.

When he saw the guards walked back to the outpost camp, he got up and unwrapped the small package on his chest. He hang the package on the spike and loosen the bindings. He then ran away as fast as he could. He made it about a hundred paces before he stopped. He turned back and unslung his bow. He nocked in his arrow and shoot at the package. It hit the package and a large cry was heard. Then Jedi ran on till he reached his horse. He only look back when he has mounted on the horse. The guards are alerted and the archers are running towards him. Dern is shooting his arrow at them as Jedi rode towards back to the prison camp.

"Its a Orc." The guard who picked at the wrapping at the stake. "Its a child. Its dead."

The forest edge across the stream burst out with Orc coming in force to avenge the death of a child of theirs. Jedi ignored the Orcs and the archers as he rode to the drawbridge. He cut the ropes to release the bridge and then he rode over to the prison gates. Jedi cut the locks on the gates and shouted.

"Elite Guards! Join me at the Creek. The Orcs won't be merciful with you. I killed their baby. " They know what it means; death by any means is preferable to being caught by the Orc'.

Ten survivors of the twenty who was sent there including Nikite arrived at the designated area named the Creek. There was also another group consisting the other prisoners; elves, dwarfs, Man and also goblins.

"Welcome back, for those of you who are still alive from my old warriors. You may leave now. I have no need of you anymore." The one I expected to make some remarks came forth.

"Why did you rescue us then?" Nikite is always challenging me, and still do.

"I did not. I only wanted to get more recruits. You were just in the way." Nikite did not like the reply and she looked to the rescued prisoners.

"Ride with me and we would get our own golds." She rode off with the ten warriors which Jedi had rescued. She would probably formed her own squad and be an enemy one day. Among the other survivors, Jedi found seventeen elves which he could trained to be Elite Guards. He told the rest they can stay but he won't trained them; they be working guests for the food and shelter. None of them strayed and they left for their own lands.

At the new camp, Jedi find the men he send off are all back and he has in addition to the seventeen elves from the prison, another twenty five just joined them. The New Elite Guards is back to half the strength but they lost a lot of their equipments in the last camp.

"We would get our own back from the Red Guards."