GoCorral

Chapter 1 – Tereman

Tereman crouched behind the bush and set down his pack. His tall frame was covered by a bronze panoply of hoplite armor minus a helmet. A sheath carrying a steel longsword was buckled to his belt. His pack held various supplies for his patrols in the wild along with a bow and a quiver of arrows for hunting. Tereman kept his face clean-shaven, even while living roughly on patrol. The rest of his body was covered in dirt, but his face was smooth. A roughly carved wooden lightning bolt hung on a string around his neck. He had a sour expression on his face as his brown eyes peered through the gaps in the leaves towards the riverbank.

The Black River flowed by at a slow pace. The river’s course widened at this point which let the water reduce its pace. The river’s namesake could no longer be seen this far downriver from Black Lake. The coal deposits that gave the lake it’s color flaked off at certain points, giving the River a similar color as it made its way towards the sea. Those flakes had long since been deposited into the soil upriver, but the river retained its name regardless.

Tereman looked for the beast he was tracking. The wide point on the river also provided an easy ford for merchants to make their way across. His own family had used the ford many times on trips between cities. He remembered little of those times. His family had sold him to the town guard of Dalleer. As a third son he had been more useful as a commodity than a member of their family.

It had been ten years since his sale and Tereman no longer remembered their faces. He still remembered the two covered wagons they drove. The side of the canvas had said, “Clothes and Exotic Food Stuff,” in fancy script. He’d enjoyed seeing the wagon return to town the first few years of his service, but his family remained cold. To them, he was no longer a son or a brother. So now they were the same to him.

Tereman glanced at the bait he’d laid on the riverbank. A deer he’d slain with a bow. He disliked the bow, but it was necessary for a creature as fast as a deer. He’d shot it in the leg a few hours earlier. The deer had squealed and cried on the ground until he stabbed it in the neck with his sword. Tereman had brought it to the riverbank to lure out his prey on the other side of the river.

He was hunting a Thracian Mare. The Thracian Mares were descended from the Mares of Diomedes. Diomedes had been King of Thrace long ago. Diomedes was slain and his prized Mares were captured by Heracles during one of his Twelve Labors. Heracles had left the foals though. Those foals had escaped and bred in the wild. Their descendants could be found all across Cimmeria. Most were normal horses, but some of them… Some Thracian Mares hungered for the flesh of mortals.

The town guard of Dalleer had received word of a Thracian Mare on the western side of the Black River. A rabid horse had attacked a merchant caravan not far from the ford that Tereman knelt by. It galloped out of the sparse woods on the western bank and bit one of the wagon drivers. Rather than do their duty, the caravan guards fled across the river. The merchant fled with his other drivers and wagons across the ford.

Tereman investigated the wagon earlier. The driver’s bug-covered corpse showed signs of being thoroughly chewed as the Thracian Mare enjoyed her meal. The oxen had broken their yoke to escape the attack but returned to the wagon afterwards, hoping for their master’s return. The goods remained in the wagon. Three barrels of wine, a pile of cloth bolts, and a pile of metal ingots made from what looked like silver. Tereman set down his pack and unloaded the wagon’s goods to preserve the merchant’s livelihood. The loss of a wagon could be devastating to a merchant’s family.

Tereman pulled the driver’s body into the wagon. He took out two copper coins from the pocket tied to his belt. He placed them over the spots where the man’s eyes would’ve been. Tereman retrieved his fire starting kit from his pack. He struck a spark and got a small flame going under the wagon. He fed a few branches into it until the wagon took light. Tereman had watched the pyre with the oxen. He removed the broken yoke from their necks and tossed it into the flames.

Thracian Mares hungered for human flesh and blood. A natural predator would’ve gone for the oxen. The Mare would be hungry again soon. But Tereman was just one man against the beast. He’d have to get an advantage against it. With the Black River close by that was his best option.

With a small cut on his forearm Tereman had created some bait. Drops of human blood on the ground, creating a trail from the burned wagon to the river ford. Crossing the ford back to the eastern bank, Tereman killed the deer with his bow. He’d smeared his blood upon the deer. Hopefully the Thracian Mare would smell his blood. Seeing the deer’s corpse from across the river it might think it was a dead person. The Mare would ford the river and Tereman could strike as it crossed.

His muscles were getting stiff and the sun was setting. The attack on the wagon had been during the day. Had the beast moved on from its hunting ground by the ford? Tereman thought not. The driver’s corpse wasn’t even fully consumed. The Thracian Mare would return for the rest of its victim.

Only it hadn’t. Tereman was less confident of his advantage in the dark. Could Thracian Mares see in the dark like orcs and goblins? He didn’t know. And lighting a fire to see would foretell his ambush from miles off. The sky was partly cloudy and a half moon had risen an hour ago. He could see a bit by star and moonlight. He would keep vigil for moment longer.

Tereman’s patience was rewarded. Across the Black River he could see a four-legged shape. Was it the Thracian Mare? He couldn’t be sure. The creature lowered its snout to the ground. Sniffing the blood he’d smeared there? Tereman felt the excitement building in his stomachs. He shifted his position slightly, getting ready.

The creature lifted its head up and began crossing the ford. What other beast could it be besides the Thracian Mare? A deer wouldn’t cross at twilight. Neither would a regular horse. And what other creature could be that shape? A cow or ox would have a wider frame. It must be the Thracian Mare.

Tereman unbuckled his bow from his pack. He detached his quiver as well and connected it to his belt next to his small dagger sheath on the right side. Drawing one arrow, Tereman prepared to fire. He would strike when it was more than halfway across.

The creature approached. Tereman was no longer looking at it straight on. The diagonal silhouette revealed an equine shape. It was close enough now. Tereman took a deep breath and stood. As he stood he drew his bow. With the arrow by his eye he aimed down the bow. The Mare was 100 paces off. He tilted his aim a mark above the Mare. He released. The arrow sailed through the air. It dropped and struck the creature in the abdomen on its left side.

The horse screamed and fell into the water. Tereman became unsure. Was it the Thracian? The creature thrashed around. The Black River water must be turning red, but everything was monochrome in the dark.

The horse got its feet under it and stood. It snorted and charged toward the eastern bank. A regular horse would’ve run. This was no regular horse. It was the Thracian Mare! And she was coming straight for Tereman.

He drew and nocked another arrow. Take a breath and fire. It was closer now, a straight shot. Tereman breathed out too soon. He released. The arrow flew wide. The creature was too close now. Tereman drew his sword.

The Thracian Mare galloped closer and closer. Tereman took a defensive stance. He couldn’t brace the sword, the horse was too tall. Its teeth were sharp! Not like a horse, but like a wolf’s. The teeth gnashed as it came upon him.

Tereman rolled to the side as the Thracian Mare charged at him. The Mare passed by. As it went Tereman slashed at its back left leg with his sword. A hit! The Mare neighed in pain. It kicked back with the same leg as it passed, catching Tereman on the left shoulder. He fell forwards, tasting dirt and blood in his mouth.

Tereman rolled onto his back and held his sword in front of him. The blade pointed towards the Thracian Mare. The creature gathered her legs under herself as she prepared to charge again. Tereman launched himself to his feet as the monster came at him. It didn’t have speed this time, but that mouth was too close. Tereman stabbed at the horse’s neck. The cut dug into the beast’s flesh, but it kept coming. The Mare’s canine teeth sunk into the pauldron on his right shoulder. Tereman cried out in pain and dropped his sword. The Mare shouldered him aside as it passed. It tried to trample Tereman with its hind legs but he spun away.

Tereman was off balance and without a weapon. The bow was useless this close. The sword had clattered on the ground somewhere in the dark. He could barely see the Thracian Mare, let along his sword. He drew his dagger from its sheath. The Mare had gone to the water’s edge and was turning around for another charge. The arrow remained embedded in its side. A long cut on its neck wept blood. The beast would die with that injury, but not until it took another try at Tereman.

The beast galloped towards Tereman. The Mare’s head was down this time. There would be no bites, Tereman hoped. It was just trying to collide with him. He held the knife in his left hand. He jumped to the left to dodge the charge and stabbed the knife into the Mare’s right belly. It dragged along its stomach before he pulled it out. The Thracian Mare sucked in a deep ragged breath. Blood poured from the wound and the horse collapsed.