The Marenon Chronicles Collection

Chapter Twenty-Three





A few hours after the sun had gone down, Coffman stood in front of the small fire as thirty or more slaves gathered around him. They knew they could all be executed for holding a meeting of any kind, especially after working hours. Slaves were not permitted to converse with each other unless it was related to their work. But most of them were ready to die for their freedom, and this was a necessary step.

Two days before, just after Anithistor had declared that Alric, Nalani, and Daewyn would be the first of the Soldiers of the Dead, a man named Ellis said something that caught Coffman’s attention. It was something like: We will die before we let him turn us. When Coffman tried to ask him about it, the man just tried to move away from him. Coffman didn’t let him. He had followed him down an alley and thrown him up against the wall.

“You’re not one of the spies, are you?” Ellis said with a grimace.

“The what?”

“People who act like slaves, but have been put in place to tell the authorities what they overhear.”

“Far from it,” Coffman said, setting the man back down and pointing up. “My friends are up in those cages, and I’m looking for a way of getting them out.”

The man snorted. “Good luck.”

“You said something about being dead before the Soldiers of the Dead could be formed?”

“It’s what I hope,” Ellis said. He looked in both directions and continued with a whisper. “There are a few of us who are talking of revolting, but we don’t have the numbers to support it.”

“How many?”

“I don’t know,” Ellis said shrugging. “I imagine all of the slaves would if they knew we stood a chance.”

That was all Coffman needed to hear. Ellis had told him it would take a little bit of time to gather the people necessary for a meeting, but they were all there now. A meeting such as this was dangerous, not only because they could be seen, but also because there was always a possibility of spies among them.

Coffman looked around at the others, disappointed by the small numbers, but encouraged that many of them were section leaders. Each section leader had about a hundred or more people under his command. All of this was a long shot, but his friends were scheduled to die the next morning, and something had to be done about it.

Ellis didn’t have to call the meeting to order, for everyone was already silent. Fear permeated the small crowd of people in a way that Coffman had never seen before. There was a sense of desperation among them, knowing that at any moment they could be killed. Yet they sat peacefully in front of a small fire, waiting.

“Well, I don’t really know how to start something like this, so I’ll just get to the point,” Ellis said. “We outnumber the enemy ten to one. That includes the recent addition of the Stühocs that came in two days ago.”

“They outnumber us ten to zero in arms,” a man said. “We’ve got no weapons at all. You speak of revolt, but we’ve got nothing!”

“Not true,” another man said. “They aren’t swords, but some of us have hammers and others have sharpened tools.”

“And surprise,” Coffman said. “The element of surprise is key.”

“That’s right,” Ellis said.

“You can’t forget that we’ve only got the thirty of us or so,” a man chimed in. “Even if the people under our command follow us, there’s no guarantee that more will join in the fight.”

“I think you underestimate the desire of everyone out there,” Ellis said. “All of them are ready to fight, with or without weapons. “I wager if they see us fighting, they are going to join in.”

“I don’t think it can be done.”

“You don’t think it can be done without losing lives,” Coffman said to the man. “If that is your thought, then you are right. People will die here tomorrow if we revolt. But if we don’t, all of us will be Soldiers of the Dead. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the Pyramid is complete and the Sphere is ready. They don’t need all of us anymore. What do you think they plan to do with us?”

He let the words sink in, knowing that most had not thought of it that way. A reflective silence hovered around the group. They were in a small area of the slave camp. Their fire probably wouldn’t be noticed since there were many fires dispersed throughout the camp. In their silence, however, the sound of approaching footsteps jolted them to attention.

When the Stühoc appeared, none of them knew what to do. Almost all of them stood ready to fight, though they had nothing in their hands. The Stühoc held up its hands declaring his apologies. Upon closer observation they could see that he wasn’t a Stühoc at all. He was Human.

“Sorry about the disguise,” the man said. “It’s kept me alive for the past couple of days.”

“Who are you?” Ellis called out angrily.

“My name is Dink,” he said. “I came in behind the first caravan a couple of days ago.”

“What are you doing here?”

Dink looked around sheepishly. “I assumed this was your camp. I was looking for some decent food. The stuff they feed Stühocs is barely edible, and it’s all I’ve had to eat for a few days.”

“Sorry,” Ellis said. “No food here. Now be on your way, and tell no one of what you saw here tonight.”

“Wait a second,” Coffman said. “Did you say you came in with the caravan?”

“The first one,” Dink confirmed. “My wife is still in one of the carriages. They’re being given food and water, but I don’t know why they haven’t been released to the camps.”

“You mean the first caravan of Humans aren’t brainwashed?” Ellis asked.

Dink shook his head. “They aren’t from Mudavé like Anithistor’s caravan. These are fresh recruits. The Stühocs have been attacking villages up and down the Midland, taking as many prisoners as possible. They are moving them directly here.”

“The Stühocs will use them and us for their new army,” Ellis said.

“What’s that?” Dink asked.

Coffman briefly explained the weapon and how it was meant to create an army called the Soldiers of the Dead. Dink’s jaw dropped open.

“You mean, they plan to use that thing on my wife?”

“I would say that’s why they haven’t been released yet. They are going to use the Sphere tomorrow,” Ellis said, almost to himself. “They’ll start with your friends,” he nodded to Coffman. “They’ll move on to the caravans, one of which carries your wife, and eventually they’ll move on to us.”

“We can’t stand by and let any of that happen,” Coffman said. “We’ve got to fight before they get a chance to create their new army. If that happens they’ll outnumber us thirty to one. Then there will be no chance at all. It’s tomorrow morning or not at all.”

“He’s right,” Dink said. “I’ve been hearing some chatter about something big happening. I haven’t been able to get in the conversations much, but it sounds like they are planning a massive attack on Jekyll Rock. I suppose it’ll be with this new army of theirs.”

Ellis dropped his head.

“So it’s decided,” Coffman said. “We fight tomorrow, before anyone can be turned.”

“What’s the plan then?” Ellis asked.

No one spoke for about a minute.

“I think we should go for the snake’s head,” Coffman said finally. “Anithistor is going to want everyone to see the power of the Sphere. He might be standing next to it, or maybe Mintuk. Either way, one of them will be standing next to the pedestal, watching the demonstration. If we can kill one of them, or at least attempt to, it could spark mayhem.”

“Which is exactly what we want,” Ellis said. “How can we do it?”

A man stuck his hand in the air. “Hi,” he said shakily. “My name is Darren.”

“Nice to meet you Darren. What can we do for you today?” Ellis asked sarcastically.

“My group is in charge of pulley systems,” he said as though that meant something to anyone else.

Ellis sighed. “What’s your point?”

“Well, we make the scaffolding the builders use to reach the top of the Pyramid. They’re pulled up by ropes. To initially set the ropes in place, we have to shoot them to the top with a grappling gun. We could use it as a weapon A harpoon, if you will.”

“Does it have a decent range?” Ellis asked him.

“It reaches the top of the structure,” Darren answered timidly. “So, I think it would have a decent range.”

“Would you have a way of getting it into the Pyramid for the demonstration tomorrow?”

“Easily,” Darren said. “There might already be some in there.”

For the next hour, the group discussed where each man would be positioned. The Nestorians would have them confined to certain parts of the structure, but all of them were sure they would be able to position themselves in the correct places. Since Darren had the most skill with shooting the hooks, he was selected to be the assassin. The idea was to take out Anithistor with the shot. The hope was that he would be killed, but if Darren missed, it wouldn’t be the end. It was the signal to start. Each department leader would tell his group that during the assembly they would start a revolt. All of them were expected to fight. The hope was that there would be so much pandemonium that the slaves would be able to grab hold of weapons and fall back to the slave quarters. The quarters were situated in such a way that they could not be surrounded, or attacked from behind because of their proximity to the city walls. The Stühocs and Nestorians could only mount a frontal assault. The hopes were that, by the sheer strength of numbers, the captives would be able to take the city. All of them knew it was a stretch, but they agreed that they would rather fight against the Stühocs and Nestorians than become their Soldiers of the Dead.

When the meeting was over, Ellis pulled Coffman aside.

“At the assembly, I want you to be next to Darren. I don’t know if he’ll have the guts to do it. If he doesn’t, or if he gets caught, we’re going to need a second attempt. No signal, no fight, you understand?”

Coffman nodded. He did understand. The signal might possibly be the most important part of the revolt. His friends’ lives depended on it.