Belly of the Beast Warren Thomas (e novels for free .txt) 📖

black and gray, swords in hand. Tane watched them pass, wishing he could put an end to their foul existence right then and there. If he succeeded in vanquishing Dakar, there was no one able to hunt down and punish them. The mercenaries could just pick up and ride away, with no fear of pursuit. In another city, another land, they could tell any story and be believed. Likely, many would be hailed as heroes, falsely believed to have been fighting Dakar’s host.

            Or worse, being the only organized force, they could install themselves as the rulers of the land.

            “Mixed blessings, our mercenary friends,” Armin muttered.

            “How’s that?”

            Joelle answered, “Their presence means that free-minded men and women exist in the conquered lands, and are accepted by the zombies without question. On the other hand, it means that Dakar has the means to send extremely dangerous forces to hunt us.”

            “At least we know that zombies won’t instantly attack us,” Armin said. “Unless Dakar has some way of telling them what we look like.”

            “Which I wouldn’t doubt He does,” Tane said. Then an idea formed. “What if we dressed like the mercenaries serving Dakar?”

            “Yes,” Armin said, thoughtfully stroking his mount’s withers. “Zombies and priests alike would just see a mercenary, not a threat. Even the other mercenaries wouldn’t realize what we are, at least not at first.”

            “True. Communication has to be difficult, even for a God. The three groups we’ve seen are probably functioning independently of each other,” Joelle said. “We could always claim to be a patrol of another troop.”

            “We’ll need to get the proper clothing,” Tane said, remembering how all the mercenaries wore the same surcoats and cloaks, though arms and armor differed between individuals and units. “We should send Quinn out scouting for a small patrol to ambush.”

            “An interesting idea, but – wait,” she said, tilting her head to hear better. The faint sound of hooves drifted to them on the wind. She closed her eyes and chanted softly a moment. “It’s Quinn and Raven.”

            Once they were all together, Tane told Quinn and Raven his idea, asking if the half-elf thought he could do it.

            Quinn shrugged it off, saying, “I was about to tell you that there is a vast army camped on the other side of the hill. I suspect there will be mercenaries aplenty to rob and loot.”

            “Sounds like fun,” Raven said, nudging Quinn in the ribs. “In fact, I already have a great plan.”

            “Sweet Mother, save us from her plan!”

            “No, it’s really great. I’ll be the only person endangering herself,” Raven said, eyes atwinkle.

            Tane and Joelle exchanged a wary look. She looked to be planning mischief, not a raid.

            “All right, I’ll ask,” Armin said with supreme reluctance. “What is your plan?”

            “This is how it’ll be,” she said. “I’ll go in alone at dusk. You four will pretend to be zombies that happen to wander in behind me. Then I’ll find some likely man, and lure him into the shadows for some fun loving. Of course, the rest of you will be waiting to jump him. Five times, and before you can say ‘Raven is a genius’ we should all be dressed in mercenary black and gray.”

            Tane liked it.

            “We’ll all be dead by midnight,” Quinn said. “That has to be the worst plan I’ve ever heard. Do you have any idea the risk you’d be taking? Not to mention the risk to the rest of us if we’re recognized. Zombies aren’t particularly bright, but their minds are focused. If Dakar has them looking for us, you can believe they will look closely at everyone they pass, day or night.”

            “He’s right, Raven,” Joelle said. “Since we’ve all been entranced by the zombie spell, we can appreciate his argument. I know I was intently focused on keeping Tane working on that Sword of Power.”

            “Oh, rot,” Raven said, but didn’t argue the point.

            “It might not be so bad,” Armin said. “Quinn said an army sits in front of us, meaning we’ll have to make a detour around it. There will be parameter defenses, probably even patrols.”

            “Yes,” Tane said, excited again. “And if we find a small patrol, we can attack them and take their clothes and gear.”

            “That sounds like fun,” Raven said. “I love riding through the snow in blood-drenched clothing. At least my way would’ve gotten them to undress themselves before we killed them.”

            “We can club them,” Quinn said, glaring daggers at her. “The forest floor is covered with potential clubs.”

            “You both have a point,” Tane said before Raven could respond. Turning to Quinn, “How close is the camp? Should we wait until dark before moving on?”

            “Night would be best,” he said. “I don’t know how large the camp is, since Raven’s warning came just as I spotted it through the trees. But it looked big, maybe ten or more thousand. An army that size will have large patrols guarding its parameter.”

            “An army that size will have large gaps in its parameter,” Raven said. “It might be possible to sneak past the guards and waylay a mercenary or five. Or, if we’re vigilant, we can take out the occasional lone sentry along the way, until each of us is outfitted like one of Dakar’s mercenaries.”

            “I like the second idea best,” Quinn said. “It very well might be possible to take down a few mercenaries in the dark. But I advise against doing anything so risky as venturing into the encampment.”

            “You would,” Raven grumbled. “But even if we aren’t given the opportunity to snatch a few mercenaries as we skirt the camp, I’m sure there will be patrols on the road to Treversax for us to harvest. With Quinn’s abilities at night, we shouldn’t have too hard a time sneaking up to their camps late at night and taking what we need.”

            Everyone thought that idea sound enough, though Quinn did