‘To light the explosives, we need some sort of
flammable rope.’ Terrol explained, ‘And to ensure that
the flame reaches the explosive material, we need
something for it to feed through, in this case were going
to encase the rope in hollow reeds. That way, we can be
sure that it’ll light.’
  ‘That’s brilliant!’ 
  ‘Yes, it is.’
  They set to work straight away. The baskets were half
filled with pitch, and then the explosive powder was
added. To keep the powder together, they stored it in
vases, then stuck the wick and hollow reed into it. Then
the rest of the basket was filled with the vase, powder,
and wick buried within.
  ‘We’d better do this one at a time.’ Iikin explained 
filling a vase with powder. ‘I think it best to light 
these things at exactly the same time. If someone lights
their’s a little early, and explodes before we give the
command, we could be in serious trouble. I suggest we
demonstrate with each operator, to give an example for
each, regarding what timing’s required.’ 
  The engine operators gathered around, as the first test
run was set. Wralio lit the wick and waited a few seconds
before sending the ball of pitch through the air. It fell
though the trees in one, great big clump. A loud bang was
audible. Screams of terror and agony rang through the
tree tops, as did bits and pieces of black offence after
the explosion. 
  They sent the rest of the explosions through the
canopy, each with split second timing precision, mostly
on the part of good judgment. On the last explosion, 
several great howls pierced above the human screams.
Terrol saw movement, then at the base of the wall, a
hideous creature running blindly, came crashing into the
moat. The creature was ape like, standing at least eight
feet in height with arms dragging on the ground behind.
He had a long, bushy mane of blue hair, like that of a
lion, with tough, grey skin. It’s face bore the sharp
tusks of a hog, the mouth of a hyena, and red, glowing
eyes of a creature new to human life.
  ‘That’s how they found us.’ Terrol gasped. ‘He’s
repulsive.’
  Iikin looked down over the edge. ‘Is that a Charm?’
  Terrol nodded. ‘Looks like it. The descriptions I’ve
heard match. He’s absolutely reprehensible, and we can’t
do anything about it.’ Slowly, a grin crept onto his
face. ‘This has nothing to do with those hunters down
below, Wralio, but I think I have another idea.’
  ‘What’s that?’
  ‘What if we lined the catapult basket with the river
gravel you talked of, then filled the rest of the basket
with the pitch and explosive and all that? The pitch
should be sticky enough to hold the stones on the way
down.’
  ‘Oh, I see.’ Wralio admitted with a smile. ‘It’d be
like shooting a dart through a tube.
  ‘Also, we could set fire to the pitch just before we
let it go.’
  ‘So that would mean,’ Wralio added. ‘we’d have flying
fireballs, flying bits of boiling pitch, and flying bits
of river gravel.’
  ‘And the fire won’t explode the powder prematurely
because it’s encased in a vase.’
  Wralio laughed deviously.
  The first of the newly designed explosives was set off.
With an boom, tiny fragments of rock and fire spurted in
every direction. No one was left un - scaved. There was
only a little trouble loading the basket each round, but
the job, overall, was a success.
  ‘Not a very well thought out siege, is it.’ Terrol
laughed. ‘I was once in the military, and I know how dumb
some our those men could be, but our opponents today make
us look like scholars.’ 
  ‘Keep the catapults loaded.’ Wralio told them. He then
turned to his two guests. ‘It’s early. Let’s go and get
some breakfast.’
*  *  *  
  They returned to a great hall, a giant table in the
middle of it. Several fireplaces lit the room. A quick
meal was whipped up by the cooking staff, and, although
it didn’t take them long to make, it had some tasty
flavour.
  ‘Somehow, I feel that the opponents we met today were
but a few of the cult members.’ Iikin murmured as he
finished of his meal. ‘I mean, that old guy was scared by
something big, and it seemed that only a very small
minority of the Revolution attempted the siege. I imagine
there to be a greater force still gathering somewhere
else in this forest.’
  ‘We’ll keep an eye out for them.’ Wralio promised. 
  ‘Do you know where abouts the Korutianian army is at
the moment?’ Terrol asked. 
  ‘They were on the far western coast of Assarii about
two weeks ago.’ said Wralio, ‘Almost dew west from here.
The last I heard, something came up just a few days
before you two showed up, and it looks as if they’re
headed towards Guranai. Do you know at all why they’re in
this kingdom?’
  Terrol pushed his finished bowl away. ‘About eight
months ago, a group of Korutianians were taken hostage by
a band of rebel cult members. A couple of them were very
high powers in he government hierarchy. The cult members
had been arrested by Korutianian officials for the charge
of attempted murder of the Cathedral high priest in
Salla. Not long ago, their escape was by means of
hostages and demands. One of their demands was a ship to
sail to western Assarii. So, the Korutianian army
leaders, gathered up most of their forces, deciding to
try meet them at the intended destination. It seems that
this kidnapping has sparked an international incident.
The last thing that I heard from them was that they were
going to the western shores in Neekkent.’ He leaned back
in his seat. ‘Do you know why the army may be going to
Guranai?’
  ‘There are unconfirmed rumours, that this army of yours 
is now being controlled by the cult. I don’t really know 
how reliable this information is though. It’s said that 
they are travelling up to Hadui, then east to Ono, and
then further east into the forest at Guranai. If they are
controlled by the cult, they just maybe going back over
to the Korutianian continent to cause a little more 
trouble.’
  ‘But why would the cult forces be here to attack you
when they may be needed to help the army - if that rumour
is true.’
  ‘Well maybe the rumour isn’t true. Either that, or
they’re needed here for something. What if they were
trying to take over the Neekkentian Forest. That would
explain why the cult is attacking us.’
  The attack on the strong - hold, Terrol thought, was
due to the fact that he’d broken away. They were trying
to regain what they had lost - lead by the Charms. Thus,
the siege, was actual Terrol’s fault. But he dared not
admit it.
  ‘They could also be planning a mass strike.’ Iikin
explained. ‘Those rumours could be just that, rumours.
The cult kidnap a few of the Korutianian government
powers, and request a boat to travel to Western Assarii.
The Korutianian army build up their forces and head to
Western Assarii to head them off, leaving the Korutianian
continent under - defended. Now, the army, instead of
been captured and taken across land, could in fact be
headed back for home before the Revolution decide to
attack.
  Wralio thought it over, ‘How would they get the
government hostages back, though?’
  ‘You never know these days,’ Terrol answered, ‘they
might have been part of the cult as well, and may have
just been part of the act. You know what politicians are
like. Everybody has a price.’ 
  He laughed. ‘But what would the cult demand for in
exchange for these highly regarded men?’
  ‘Their worship to Thanatos.’
  ‘Is a politician really worth that?’
  ‘Maybe not the politicians, but the land might be. If
the cult does take over the Korutianian continent,
they’ll be free to convert who ever they want.’
  ‘So what do we do about it?’ Wralio asked.
  ‘There’s nothing really we can do.’ Iikin pointed out.
‘We’re but three commoners. What can the three of us do
to half a continent of followers?’
  ‘Maybe we should tell someone about this.’ 
  ‘Who would you speak to?’ Terrol questioned.
  ‘I could go north to the Great Tower of Krestia, or I
could go even further north to Plako. Your a Korutianian,
Terrol. I’m sure you’d know who to tell about this.’
  ‘What would we tell them?’
  ‘The truth.’
  ‘They wouldn’t know what the word means.’
  ‘Then, we’re just going to have to teach them.’
  ‘Wait a minute.’ Iikin interrupted. ‘This is just
speculation. We don’t exactly know that this is going to
happen. Is there any reason to go to these great
lengths.’
  ‘It’s better to be safe than sorry.’ Wralio replied.
*  *  *
  The unsuccessful siege went on into the night. The
Revolution hadn’t made any attempts on the castle walls,
as they weren’t given the chance. The siege engine
operators continued their work on the skies, until the
foot soldiers were allowed beyond the castle walls to
finish the job. Many had been either burnt or fried with
the pitch. But the majority of them had been killed with
the small bullets of gravel. Portions of stone were
etched deep into the human flesh. Many heads and faces
were cut severely.
  Only a few of the Charms had been killed in the fury.
Their penetrating eyes were dim, with no life in them at
all. Wralio’s men looked on at them in horror, more at
their size than their deformed bodies. There were a few
of them still alive, but squirming. 
  Iikin and Terrol stayed one more night at the well
defended fortress, then left with an escort the following
morning. 
  On Wralio’s insistence, they followed the road south,
eventually veering east towards the River Firestream. The
Neekkentian Forest was bound to be a death trap, thus it
was only logic to avoid the bad situation.
  The escort consisted of about fifty men, all armed to
the teeth with metal. Iikin left his wagon train behind,
and resorted to horse back for the trip. Riding, he found
was uncomfortable - even un - natural. His endless
complaints, however, went unheard. 
  It took about two weeks to reach the inland most tip of
the River Firestream. The good weather held it’s posture,
but the natural cold chill of winter persisted. 
  The river began following a rickety boat house. Here,
the escort left them. They only just caught a ship
prepared to take off, and with a bit of financial
persuasion, were able to coax the owner to letting them
on board. 
  The ship wasn’t really worth what they had paid. With
the only room below deck for the horses, the two new
passengers were forced on deck with the rest of the
sailors. They spent their nights with their mounts, the
hay providing more warmth than the cold, hard wood above.   
  After leaving the River Firestream, they began their
north - eastern journey across the Neekkentian Gap to
Walium, north of the peat bogs. 
  ‘Where are we going to find these officials you spoke
of?’ Iikin asking Terrol, as he leant up against the wall
beside his sleeping horse. 
  ‘I think it’d be best if we went to the heart of the
nation.’ Terrol replied.
  ‘Where’s that?’
  ‘The Cathedral. Everybody goes there for some reason.
It’s a major tourist attraction. We’re bound to find some
officials there. If not, we can just send for one.’
  ‘I heard that the government was going to put a fee on
that place for anyone who wished to enter it.’
  ‘So did I. The public rallied against it, and
eventually won. The government could have made a lot of
profit out of it too.’ 
  They continued towards Walium at a stately pace,
travelling at an average of thirty miles a day. After
about two weeks, the waters turned savage - more
unrelenting actually. The boat rolled, almost flipping
over at times. 
  The dreadful weather continued as they reached the
shore. 
  ‘How far to this Cathedral?’ Iikin asked, mounting his
horse once on solid ground.
  Terrol checked his map. ‘If we ride hard, it’ll take us
about four or five days. If we just take it at a walk,
we’ll get there in about a week to a week and a half.’
  He had predicted correctly. It took them four to five
days of hard riding to reach their intended destination. 
  Lightning flashed dangerously overhead, as they peered
at the ancient wonder in front of them.  
  ‘Oh my goodness.’ Iikin said in shock.
  ‘It’s magnificent isn’t it.’ Terrol said, staring up at
the building.
  ‘I wouldn’t say that.’ Iikin replied. ‘Look’
  The hills around them were lined with many towering
creatures, standing shoulder to shoulder, howling for
blood. Literally thousands watched on closely.
  ‘What is it?’ Terrol asked.
  ‘The Charms, thousands of them. We’re in a lot of
trouble.’