Chapter 108: The Invisible Ambush
With the jars of volcanic resin secured in two wooden carts, the contingent left the Red Forest behind and pressed on toward the entrance of the Ash Valley. The lubricated oak axles creaked softly under the weight of the load, allowing Mark and the former nobles to maintain a steady pace without collapsing from exertion.
Upon reaching the border of the desolate land, the ground shifted in tone, changing from frozen dirt to a vast layer of gray ash saturated with natural saltpeter.
"Halt the carts," said Kellar, raising his hand to stop the march. "Krag, put Mark’s men to work filling the bags with the perimeter’s gray ash. Only when everyone is ready will you run in to fill the bags of black ash. Don’t waste time; you must get out of there as fast as possible. We don’t want to disturb whoever lives inside."
"To work, everyone!" shouted Krag, brandishing his great mallet to hurry the men along. "Fill the bags to the brim! If you want to earn back your rights, you’ll have to fight for them! We don’t need parasites!"
The former nobles, terrified after witnessing the scene with Freyja in the forest, dropped to their knees in the ash and began digging with wooden shovels and their bare hands, filling the cart containers at a breathtaking speed.
While the saltpeter harvesting progressed without a hitch, Kellar called Grok and Brak toward the bottleneck of the pass—the narrow stone gorge through which the Black Skull Tribe’s patrols would have to march to reach the settlement.
"This is where we will prepare the welcome," said Kellar, pointing to the rock walls on both sides of the path. "Mentz designed these clay jars with directional charges. Grok, dig two deep pits under the gravel path, right at the narrowest spot. We will space them out: one halfway through and another at the exit. Keep the fuses well hidden."
Grok and Brak began digging into the earth with raw power, preparing the cavities to bury the containers loaded with the mixture of draconic gunpowder, purified saltpeter, and crimson resin.
Kellar leaned over the jars, connecting the resin-soaked hemp fiber fuses and covering them with hollow reed tubes sealed with beeswax to protect them from moisture and snow. Then, they guided the detonation fuses behind a prominent rock wall thirty meters away—the perfect spot to set the ambush.
"When the Black Skull’s vanguard passes through this point, we will trigger the charges," said Kellar, covering the containers with a thin layer of gravel and loose rocks to camouflage the terrain. "The force of the blast will channel the impact upward and outward, destroying their ranks before they can draw a iron blade."
Brak stared at the seemingly harmless ground with a mix of fascination and fear.
"It’s an invisible trap, Shaman," said Brak. "No one would suspect that the ground beneath their feet is about to explode."
"That is modern warfare, Brak," said Kellar, brushing the gray dust from his hands as he stood up. "Absolute power without giving the enemy a chance to respond."
In less than three hours, the four carts were fully loaded with bags of saltpeter and additional resin jars, while the explosive charges in the defile remained armed and ready for detonation.
"Everything is in place," said Kellar, turning toward Krag and the contingent. "We return to the village immediately."
"Brak, you will stay to watch the area," said Kellar, staring intently at the hunter. "If they advance, detonate everything and run. Your safety is what matters most."
"Rest assured, Shaman, that I will fulfill my duty unto death," said Brak, bowing with resolve.
"Don’t exaggerate, just stay ready," said Kellar, giving him a light pat on the shoulder before moving off with the caravan.
Brak remained alone in the defile as the sound of the carts faded into the distance. Mindful of his responsibility, he began exploring the perimeter with twice as much caution. The last time, they had detected him without his knowledge, and he swore to himself that such a mistake would never happen again.
He silently climbed a rocky slope and covered himself with dry branches to blend in with the environment. In the distance, between the hills of enemy territory, smoke could be seen rising, along with the silhouettes of people moving in agitation. Though he couldn’t hear their words, the savages’ body language made it clear they were furious.
Meanwhile, inside the Black Skull Tribe’s camp, the atmosphere was chaotic. The clan’s shaman was savagely beating a kneeling scout.
"How can you not find Blekgar?" said the shaman, his voice hoarse with rage. "Where the hell did he go? Didn’t he say he was hunting a few rats?"
"I don’t know, Shaman! Forgive me, forgive me!" said the scout, trembling on the dirt.
"Forgive you?" said the shaman, glaring down at him with relentless coldness. "If you can’t do what I tell you, what good are you to me?"
The shaman opened his mouth wide, and a dense green smoke erupted from his throat, engulfing the scout’s face. The man began screaming in pure agony as the toxin devoured his skin, convulsing on the ground until his body went completely still.
"Damn it!" said the shaman, kicking the charred corpse aside. "Bring me my skull!"
Immediately, two of his naked, trembling maidens stepped forward carrying a wooden altar upon which rested a jet-black human skull, featuring two gleaming blue stones embedded into its eye sockets.
Without hesitating for a second, the shaman grabbed one of the women by her hair, yanked her head back, and slit her throat with a bone dagger. Blood erupted over the dark relic. Upon contact with the life force, the skull greedily absorbed the blood until it rose into the air, floating wrapped in a greenish aura before slowly spinning on its axis and aiming its glowing blue eyes toward the position where Brak was concealed.
"It seems he died toward the south," said the shaman, narrowing his eyes as he interpreted the artifact’s vision. "In that direction there is only a handful of weak villages; no one should be able to defeat him... Kaelen, go and find him. Take twenty men with you. If you encounter too much trouble, fall back immediately."