You want stealth? Be a rogue in 'World of Warcraft'. - John Romero

Three days had passed since the pirate ambush, and the caravan had lost at least fifteen more men: thirteen ponies and two mercenaries. The deaths came mainly by poisonous snakes and assorted other animals. One from an infected wound and a second one would most likely soon follow.

Today they would cross Ynnyk, the last major river they would need to cross until they reached the Mossus.

“Son of a bitch, these pirates are annoying as hell!” Locust exclaimed as he landed next to Karl.

“What happened?”

“Can’t you see it?” Locust stated, angling his head to give Karl a better view of the deep dent in his helmet.

“Arrow or stone?”

“Arrow, but I have some from stones too if you want to see them.” Locust said, exasperated.

“Nah, I have some of my own.” He patted his helmet with a matching dent in it.

“Blasted love shield. If that useless Captain and Whatsherface Cadenza hadn’t managed to get together, then right now I’d be living a good life in Canterlot with plenty of pony love to feed on. But noooo. Here I am, a wanted criminal serving as a scout in one of most the barbaric parts of the world getting shot at on a daily basis!”

“I feel for you man.” Karl replied, Locus grumbling something in return.

“Still; being defeated by a pink shield of love is pretty freakin’ funny.” Karl chuckled a bit at the thought of a big pink love shield blasting Locust halfway across the country.

“Yeah, yeah. Wait until *you* get blasted by a ‘pink love shield’. I want to see how you would feel after it.”

“I would be dead. Either through impact, which could be quick due to a vital impact or incredibly slow from something like a lung puncture, or my body would just melt while I’m alive until I die from cardiac arrest or major organ failure.” Karl stated in an emotionless tone.

Both continued scanning their environment in silence.

****
An hour or so later…

Karl was sitting in a boat operating one of four oars together with Zōlak, Khan and Taka. The others intensely scanned the opposite bank trying to see any hidden Skôkak warriors. Their shields hung on the side of the boat to protect against projectiles. Rearguard and vanguard had switched out. Not exactly a welcome transition, but someone needed to secure the beachhead and it could do everyone some good to get fresh eyes on it.

The boat was almost on the shore where the dirt road continued, when the accompanying scouts bounded ashore.

“Anything?”

“No sir. A few animals, but no sign of the Skôkak.” The commander of the Scouts, a creature that looked like a flying squirrel about the same height as Locust, replied.

Karl and the other rowers had by now pulled the boat to shore and were busy gathering their equipment from the boat.

“Form up men! I want this location secured as soon as possible!” Turok ordered as he joined his men.

Contrary to nearly everyone’s expectations, there was no ambush waiting for them.

The company continued uneventfully until the crossing of the second river which went just as smoothly as the first.

Karl was again assigned to his normal spot on top of the Earth pony’s carriage. He was tired from having to be on constant alert, but the fear of attack gradually faded into a vague apprehension as hostiles continued to remain unseen. He was relaxed for a while, but it eventually just got worse as he began to realize that the Skôkak or pirates could quite easily be anywhere around him.

‘This must be how the Vietnam vets felt in the jungle.’ he thought to himself.

He was grateful when Taka signaled him it was time to switch. Some walking might wake him up a bit. He hoped that he didn’t have to be sentry tonight a good night’s rest would help a lot.

****

Karl awoke at the sound of a blasting horn and some officers yelling.

“Wake up! On ‘yer feet! Ambush!”

Immediately Karl was awake and scrabbled to his feet along with the others in the darkness-induced chaos. He put his mail armor and helmet on before quickly grabbing his belt with his sword and dagger, followed by his shield.

He headed towards the battle lines, proceeded by Boulder (how that pile of rocks could move so fast Karl had no idea) and Caine.

The mercenaries formed a shield wall around the encampment as they saw how various pony soldiers were locked in battle with Skokak that were pressing ever closer.

“It won’t do any good to fire at their front ranks! We have to thin the rest of the herd so that they have no backup! Take aim!” Turok ordered, and the mercenaries retrieved their pilae.

“Throw!” A rain of the deadly projectiles ripped into the rear ranks of the Skôkak.

“Forward!” The shield wall started to advance towards the Skôkak lines. Karl was the positioned to cover Khan. Karl aimed his spear at the enemy, searching for any openings that a Skokak might take advantage of. The Skôkak had learnt their lesson from the last battle and fell back as the shield wall advanced. The ponies were attacked brutally with no hesitation, but the mercenaries were treated like they were infected with the Black Plague.

“Spread the men out! Hell, we need to guard the damn *guards*!” Adler ordered, his bloodied sword gripped firmly in his right talon.

Turok started barking orders for the men to relocate until only he and Adler remained.

“Sir, they are spreading us out thin. This can’t be a coincidence.”

“I know that Turok, but if they break through the pony lines, ours are bound to fall as well. Those stubborn fools won’t leave any of the carriages undefended!”

“Damn them. Good luck. Let’s show those overgrown snakes what we’re made of!”

Turok gripped Adler’s free talon and gave it a strong shake before they both separated and joined their men in the fight.

****

The Skôkak seemed to be throwing everything they had into this fight. They’d tested the limits of the men and now they were using that knowledge to their full advantage.

“Take cover!”

Karl didn’t know who yelled it, but he hid behind his shield, and not a moment too soon: a fireball whizzed over his head and hit a carriage behind him setting it ablaze.

“Oh, fucking *great*. More magic fire.” Karl cursed as he scrambled to get back in position.

To say that the pony guards were in trouble would quite possibly be the greatest understatement of the decade. By the time the mercenaries had arrived to back them up, the Skôkak had already broken through the line of guards, forcing the mercenaries to, again, form their own defensive line. They still couldn’t make up for the space lost by the guards, with some carts falling behind enemy lines.

The ponies fled through the mercenary ranks to the newly created safe zone (for a given value of safe).

Karl was doing his best to fight off some skirmishers when Titus took position next to him.

“What’re you doing here?”

“Reinforcing. You need all the men you can get and I figured I might as well keep my friend company while I’m at it.”

The Skôkak mages fired another two fireballs at the ranks, both of which missed, coming down behind the line.

“For an amphibious species they sure seem to love fire.” Karl mumbled.

“If you think that’s strange, wait till they start using lightning bolts.”

Karl paled at that thought.

Titus and Karl formed up, aligning their shields next to each other when all the guards had passed through the opening, or at least the surviving guards.

Some of the dead ones, and even one living guard, were dragged away from the battlefield.

“I don’t like ponies, but you have to be sorry for that one. Poor fool probably gonna wish he could use his balls to drive a dagger through his heart.” A mercenary somewhere on Karl’s left stated.

Karl didn’t really know what the Skôkak did to their prisoners, but if that statement alone meant anything, it didn’t sound very good, and he didn’t intend to find out any time soon.

“Take cover!”
Karl *again* managed to raise his shield just in time to find cover from various rocks that were shot their way. A couple of mercenaries were hit and after the barrage was over they were dragged behind the line to safety.

The Skôkak let out a loud shriek before they all rushed the line (Karl didn’t know a snake could charge). Karl braced himself and said a last prayer to whatever god was willing to hear him out. The first Skokak ran himself through on Karl’s spear, but the impact still pushed Karl back. The Skôkak threw all of his weight on the shield whilst trying to stab his sword into Karl’s torso. Karl used his shield to redirect the sword, making it come down behind his shoulder. He twisted the spear so the point caused more internal damage. The mercenary behind him pressed his shield in Karl’s back, giving him the extra force to throw the Skôkak back from his own shield.

Karl needed to focus on not getting his spear pulled out of his grasp as it was still stuck in the falling Skôkak. He had just enough time to pull his spear out and aim at the next Nāga who, unfortunately for Karl, managed to break the spear. The Skôkak threw himself at Karl, certain of it that the mercenary before him had been disarmed and wouldn’t have time to draw a sword.

Unfortunately for the Skokak, Karl’s secondary weapon wasn’t a sword, but his claws with which he stabbed the completely exposed stomach of the Skôkak warrior. The Skôkak gasped for air, confusion written on his face. Karl twisted his claws inside the Skokak’s body for optimal damage. It felt just like it sounds.
He pulled back and the Skôkak clutched his stomach in pain, but before Karl could finish him off he heard the signal to switch out with the second rank and he fell back with the rest of his companions as reinforcements filled the gap. He immediately headed over to a weapon cart to replace his broken spear.

He took a new spear and looked to the chaos all around him. Everywhere he looked there was fire and corpses. Mercenaries and ponies tried desperately to hold the various lines against the Skôkak warriors.

Titus touched Karl on his shoulder.
“Karl, it’s high time we get the girl and get out of here.”

“Maybe you didn’t notice: we’re kind of under siege here.”

“Haven’t you noticed that there is no one near that ridge over there?” Titus signaled to an unoccupied ridge that lead to lower ground.

“That’s rather convenient.”

“The Skôkak don’t expect anyone to try escaping. Even if they do, that would only be in their advantage. They wouldn’t bother going after a couple of deserters, at least not right away. Follow me.”

Karl didn’t like the feeling of deserting his fellow fighters, but he knew that this could be their only chance to make a clean getaway, so he did as he was ordered. Titus led him to a metal carriage and after checking for any prying eyes, he jimmied the lock open and opened the door. Within lay the Nāga girl and she looked downright sickly.

Her violet scales had now taken on a dirty, pale pink colour. Her blue skin looked the same as it had, but her breathing was uneven. Karl could barely tolerate standing near the tank due to all the magical material in the water.

Titus had no trouble picking open her cuffs and dragged her out of the water. He grabbed two buckets, one for himself and one for Karl, and took some water from a nearby pool and splashed the water on her. Karl was worried about her complete lack of reaction to anything. Titus grabbed a towel and cleaned her off before splashing water over her again.

“Good?” He asked Karl.

He didn’t feel any magic anymore from her or at least not enough to bother him.

“Yeah. I should be fine now.”

“Okay. You take her upper body and I’ll take her tail. You can call your Changeling buddy now.”

“His ‘Changeling buddy’ is already here.” Locust stated, startling them both as he appeared behind them carrying some of their bags.

“Wow. She looks a little, uh… ill.”

“More than a little.” Titus stated as he grabbed his stuff.

“Locust you’re our lookout. Give a shout if you see anyone following us.” Karl ordered while taking his own backpack before lifting the Nāga girl’s upper body as Titus picked up her tail, commencing the slow process of moving her to safety.

****

They crossed the ridge to the lowlands and had been walking for a good half hour and they needed to rest. Neither Dog nor (mutated) man seemed capable of carrying an adult female Nāga for more than that period. They found a small cave with a pond in it in which they laid the Nāga. She obviously liked the clean water as she seemed to form a smile and curl up a bit.

“You think the Skôkak are going to find us here?” Locust asked Titus.

“I don’t know. If we’re lucky, they’re too busy and content hauling off their loot to search for escapees like us.”

“Let’s hope. I don’t feel very confident in fighting those guys with our current odds. I don’t even have my shield.” Karl complained, upset about leaving his faithful shield behind.

“I agree. Let’s just keep quiet and hope that they don’t find us. I’ll take the first watch. Karl you’re second and Locust you’re third.”

“Fine by me.” Locust replied.

“Ditto. A (hopefully) good night to both of you. I hope she’ll be capable of moving on her own tomorrow.” Karl replied as he searched a comfortable spot.

“Don’t count on it.” Titus replied.

“A man can hope.”

Author's Note

Hello everybody!

I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter and I apologize for the long wait. I have been busy with a project that unfortunately proved to be a complete waste of time. Oh well from mistakes you learn I guess. I hope that you all will keep on supporting the story and I will be sure to get you guys more of it.

Editor: Vlasislas32
Author: TheShadowOfZama