The Lost Bloodline 1 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“So, what is the plan, Sienna?” the bear-featured man said once Koda and Sienna had crept back into the trees so that the other hunters could talk to them more easily.

The group crowded around, though none besides Sienna got within arm’s reach of Koda.

“I don’t think they’ve started twisting any of the captives. Probably still recovering from being pushed back from the village and mending their own injuries.” Sienna leaned on her spear with the butt planted firmly in the ground, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully after she spoke.

Koda stood to one side of the redheaded woman, keeping his back to a tree while he watched the others. While none of them had menaced or insulted him, Koda thought it best to return their wariness. This also allowed him to keep an eye on the enemy camp in case anyone came out of it toward them.

“What I don’t get is how they managed to get this close to the village without anyone seeing them. The Crooked aren’t cunning enough to be this sneaky,” groused one of the hawk-featured hunters, a woman from the sharp lines of her cheekbones and her figure.

“Enough, Netta. We can worry about how they got there once we have eliminated the threat. Until we deal with that, there are more pressing concerns.” Sienna’s words got a huff of irritation from the feathered woman, but she nodded in understanding.

“We need to save those taken captive. I don’t think I could live with myself if we let the Crooked have them,” grumbled one of the fox-featured men. A series of nods circled the group.

“Obviously. But how do we go about it? We don’t have the numbers to just raid their camp,” Netta said, her feather-hair ruffling in irritation.

“You lot are hunters, aren’t you?” Koda interjected, getting a glare from a few, and speculative looks from the others. “Hunt them then,” he continued. “Harass them when they leave camp. Pick off those that you see the opportunity to. I just saw a group of them return with a deer, so they don’t remain confined to the camp. See if you can’t tempt some into the trees where you can kill them. If we thin their numbers enough, without raising the alarm, we might stand a better chance.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Sienna mumbled, shooting him a glance. “I’ve been thinking about this too much as a stand-up fight. If we have the opportunity to pick away at them, we should.”

“And if one of us gets caught? Do we just leave them to be slaughtered?” The growling question came from one of the others with wolf features, this one with gray fur.

“Clearly we help them,” Koda growled back, his irritation rising. “Why are you acting like a fool? If they spot someone, then those seen should try to drag as many of the Crooked as possible into chasing them away from the camp. This will allow those who remain to have a better chance of getting the captives out. Baiting the enemy alone like that wouldn’t be smart unless one of you has a death wish, but it can make the most of a dangerous situation. And if you look out for those near you, then you can try to lend aid to help the spotted one escape.”

The odd looks he got from the hunters irritated Koda. This was a basic strategy that he’d seen in video games back home, as well as in war documentaries. A small force pokes the larger one, provoking them into chasing after them and into a trap.

A trap… Koda paused to think for a moment. He could feel Sienna’s gaze boring into the side of his face. This group didn’t have time to dig holes and build pit traps, but there might be something nearby that could work.

“Is there a swamp or a fast-moving river nearby?” Koda’s question broke the quiet argument that had picked up between the hunters over the merits of his idea. Sienna had been silently watching him though and was quick to answer.

“Lodestone is the fastest-moving river in the area. Its spring is high in the mountains and splits into several branches in the valley. It’s about a mile that way.” She gestured to his left with one hand, towards the east. “As far as marshes? Not really on that front.”

“What about ravines?” Koda asked intently.

“There are a few mountain clefts to the north,” suggested Netta immediately, her dark eyes widening. “If you didn’t know about them though, you might run right off a cliff into one, since the trees come right up to the edge!”

“That’s a thought then. If we have to prod them from one side to draw them off or if you get spotted, go either north or east. See if you can’t draw them into the river or to fall into a ravine. Hunters trap game all the time, right? We don’t have time to dig pits or build elaborate traps, but use what you have.” Koda saw comprehension dawning on the hunters’ faces, and a few bore wicked smiles now.

“We could see about bringing a few fallen logs to the edge of their camp to throw down on them.”

“Boulders would work, too. Don’t need to be big to cause havoc with how heavy they get.”

“Deadfalls and rope traps would slow them down.”

The ideas flew thick and fast as the hunters chattered quietly until Sienna brought them to a stop with a wave of her hands. Her tail was bouncing happily back and forth behind her, distracting Koda with both the movement and how cute it looked on her. She’d taken the time to do up her shirt and organize her appearance, so she looked far more professional, save for that waving bit of fluff.

“Okay, Koda has some good points. I want us to split into four… no, five teams. Three-person hunting parties. I’ll go with Koda as the smaller team. Each party takes a direction. Begin laying traps and preparing surprises. If you find a patrol or a sentry outside their camp, eliminate them. Take down any stragglers or wanderers that you are confident on, but focus on ensuring you can fall back. Cause trouble if you need to. Use natural features if you can, even if it’s just a field with gopher holes to break ankles. Koda is right. We need to approach this as hunters, not as warriors. Koda and I will roam and move to support anyone spotted or strike at larger groups. Got it?”

Hearing her encouragement, as well as being credited for the ideas, sent a thrill down Koda’s spine, and a warmth settled into his gut. He waited and watched as the hunters settled into teams of three and then vanished into the trees.

Soon, it was just him and the redheaded spearwoman crouched there in the bushes. Sienna turned to shoot him a speculative glance before her gaze fell again to the totemic gauntlet he was wearing.

“I know there is more going on here than you just stumbling upon our village, Koda.” Sienna’s words were slow and measured. When Koda opened his mouth to answer her, she held up one slim hand. “No, not now. When we deal with this problem, we can talk then. I am taking you at your word, though. Something tells me that I can trust you.” Sienna’s eyes darted to the gauntlet again before returning to his face, the question obvious in her eyes.

“You can.” The words slipped out of Koda’s mouth before he could stop them. He grimaced at how eager he sounded. Sienna just smiled.

“Show me.”

<><><>

The hunters set to work with a fervor while Koda and Sienna patrolled in a long loop around the valley camp.

More than once, Koda stumbled across a dead sentry stashed in a bush or stopped at Sienna’s direction so she could point out a laid trap in the form of a tripwire made of a sapling or something similar.

They paused to help carefully carry three different logs close to the edge of the short cliffs that helped conceal the camp, preparing them to be rolled down onto the tents below. Koda even helped heft a boulder the size of an oil drum into place, grunting only slightly at the weight while the others watched on in surprise.

Thera’s blessing is again showing its worth, he thought as he settled the stone into place just a short distance back from the lip.

Sienna darted forward to wedge some smaller rocks into place around the boulder’s base to keep it in position. With that done, they hurried back into the trees.

“How is it that they are dumb enough to not set better sentries when they have to know that we could follow them back from the village?” he asked Sienna after they had finished helping one hunting party take down a group of three Crooked who were dragging a dead doe towards the camp.

“Overconfidence maybe?” Sienna shrugged before continuing. “The Crooked do not think along the same lines as the rest of us. Like their bodies, the dark powers they serve have twisted their minds. Their actions are illogical and should not lead to success, but they do. Likely, they expect to raid us again in the morning or even tonight, counting on the fear and terror to make us cower in our homes. It’s a tactic that works all too well.”

“Why did it not work on you all, then?” Koda’s question was blunt, but Sienna smirked at him, rather than becoming offended.

“Because a loudmouthed outsider provoked a few of us into taking a chance, then got us thinking along a twisty bit of our minds we’d forgotten about.” She shot him a wink, and Koda was glad for the thicker shadows to help hide his blush at the attractive woman’s flirtations.

“Happy to be of assistance,” he said carefully, doing his best to not sound too proud.

“I’m sure you are,” Sienna said dryly, giving him another smile before turning and gesturing for Koda to follow.

The wolf-eared woman had donned a cloak a short while ago, pulling the hood up to cover her red hair and ears, much to Koda’s disappointment. He couldn’t help but watch the shifting appendages and wonder at how soft the fur there looked. The thought helped to keep the disgust at bay from having to kill, though a numbness was taking its place now in his gut.

Am I getting used to killing already? Koda thought while he carefully followed in Sienna’s wake. Has my sense of right and wrong changed? Or is it because Sienna and the others don’t seem bothered by this. Is that helping me handle it?

Koda pondered the question as they continued to circle the camp, springing surprise attacks of their own on small groups or individual sentries when they found them.

The fights were always brief and tense, with having to hide the bodies taking far longer than the actual fights.

Twice, they stumbled upon a sentry that was inspecting bloodstains where their predecessor had once been. A single time, Koda spotted one of the Crooked getting ready to sound an alarm after having found a body.

Sienna had thrown her broad-bladed spear with surprising accuracy and taken the creature down with the weight of the weapon in its guts. Koda had torn out its throat with his claws a moment later to stifle the cry of pain.

The evening was coming in quickly, and several of the hunting parties had reported minor injuries but were in good spirits so far.

Their forces had taken down at least twenty of the Crooked so far, and the camp remained unaware because of their disorganized state.

Many of the ‘sentries’ just wandered into the trees to poke around like they were looking for something or just stared idly into the woods before being taken down by an arrow or a dagger. Their numbers did not seem to be dwindling though, as more Crooked emerged from tents.

Koda was thinking about the fact that none of the enemies they’d faced thus far had any sort of armor on when a distant shout from the direction of the camp alerted him.

The sound was in the garbled language of the Crooked, and several others quickly followed it.

“Shit,” Sienna cursed, her head whipping around to look toward the noise.

Koda saw her hood shift as her ears flicked and turned before she nodded once decisively.

“What happened?” Koda asked, wishing he could understand more of the twisted language to get an idea of what was happening.

“The north team got spotted, and a good portion of the camp is in pursuit. We should go help them. The others will take this chance to hit the camp.”

Sienna started jogging but came up short when Koda caught her right arm with his left and pulled her to a stop. She whirled to him with an open-mouth snarl, about to chastise him, but Koda spoke quickly.

“Sienna, we are on the far side of the camp. Trust your hunters and their traps. If we push with the other three hunting parties, we can hit the camp from behind hard and get the villagers out,” Koda urged, locking eyes with her.

Sienna growled deep in her throat but nodded a moment later.

“Fine. But as soon as the camp is cleared and secured, we have to go help. I’m not abandoning any of my hunters as bait.”

“Never said you should,” Koda whispered firmly, not dropping her gaze. “Now, come on. Let’s make these Crooked regret taking our people.” After saying his part, Koda let go of Sienna and turned to jog into the trees towards the rumbling sound of the camp and the shouts.

<><><>

Sienna followed after him, staring at the black-haired man with his odd clothes and strange weapon.

Our people? she mouthed silently, confusion and curiosity warring with the worry on her face for her friends and neighbors.