The longer a volcano is dormant, the more time it has to think of nasty things to do when it wakes up. When Oort Peak woke from centuries of slumber it was ready to give onlookers the show of their life… then cook them alive in a warm red sauce.

  The top of the mountain blew off and fell like rain, thousands of obsidian arrowheads pelting the sides of the mountain and triggering tiny avalanches. Molten rock poured out of the top, creating a blast of heat that blew the hovering cloud of ash and dust high into the air, to be caught in a stream of wind and swept northwards, later peppering the jungles with gray snow. The lava cascaded down the mountainside, flooding the valley where the digditchers had begun their ditch.

  The digditchers saw none of this as they fled down the far side of the mountain range. The peaks behind them were veiled in smoke. The only clue about what might be happening was the mighty thunder echoing through the air as the volcano exploded and, unbeknownst to them, a Xenonite Spy barraged the hills with light grade missiles. What they did see, however, was a great army of horsemen riding south on the plain below.

  “Great,” shouted Zartro as he ran down the mountainside, struggling to keep up with the digditchers. “Odoacer’s army must have left the valley and turned north. We’re gonna run right into them!”

  “Those are not Germans,” said Corran excitedly. “They're our own! The army of Sentinel City has finally arrived! Joao, do you agree?”

  “Yes, they bear the banner of Atakala! Our call to Sentinel City was heard, answered at last–but woe, it is too late!”

  “What do you mean?” asked Ulduk from close behind.

  “We did not finish the ditches. The volcano will submerge Oortou in a wave of mud and fire. Even if we have enough strength to drive the Germans out of our land, we cannot save your people.”

  “Some progress was made on the ditches. Perhaps it was enough to spare the city; or perhaps it will give the Arush time to flee when they see the danger they are in.”

  “Let's hope so. Or else the rest of the Arush will never forgive us for destroying their chief city.”

  “If they were going to flee, they should have done it long ago. I see no way they can evacuate a city boarded up as well as their own. They have less than half an hour to break out of their own defenses, as well as deal with that camp of barbarians waiting outside.”

  When the Atakalans reached the plain, Zartro flagged down the captain of the army. “It's about time y'all got here. What took you so long?”

  Dor'buk sighed as he looked down from his armored horse. “You are the King, aren't you?”

  “Sure yam. Get it? My ancestors grew 'em, you know.”

  You're as strange as your dad was. “I am Dor'buk, Chief of War. I was a friend of your father.” Well, acquaintance really. After the first visit to Sentinel City, I made a point to never invite royalty over for tea again. “It has been some time since the capital called on us. But when we received your message, I immediately led a battalion of two hundred men to Tsyanou to aid in your defense. On the way, we encountered the very army you warned about, an army whose size we could not have imagined. We were utterly destroyed in the ensuing battle. Only my guards and I escaped at the last moment, fleeing to Sentinel City. We had scarcely arrived when word came that Tsyanou had been plundered and humiliated, enraging us all the more. Now understanding the true size of the enemy's force, I knew I could not return without five times as many soldiers. It took many days to assemble the men from numerous villages and equip them with weapons and horses. Now tell me, where is this invader, this Odoacer, that I may have his horse as a prize? This time, your army shall not fail you.”

  “They were camped on the other side of this mountain range, just west of Oortou. I'm not sure how long they'll stay put with all the excitement over there. Oortou is being destroyed by a volcano as we speak.”

  Dor'buk surveyed the tired crew of digditchers and leaders. “Forgive me, but I dare not tarry. We will move swiftly upon them. Perhaps the volcano will hide the sound of our coming so we may catch them by surprise. We need all the help we can get.”

  Zartro started to reply, but Dor'buk signaled his men, and the riders thundered off.

  Frank cradled his helmet under one arm and used the other to shield his eyes from the blinding African sun as he looked uneasily upwards. “The rumblings are vorsening.”

  Odoacer swung his spiked club absentmindedly as he watched the smoke thicken over Oort Peak. “Ja, it vill not be long now.”

  “Shouldn't vee sack dat city and move on?” The German looked longingly at Oortou. Somehow he kept seeing visions of bags filling up with gold, despite the fact that the last four cities they sacked had no gold: only a depressingly unending selection of yams and ceramic pots.

  “Absolutely not! Remember what happened to Pompeii. The falleys slope right to that city... vee fill not efen hafe to lift a finger. No, Frank, all vee must do is vait.”

  “If ve're not going to sack it properly, couldn't vee just move south and get a head start on the next town?”

  “You forget vhat our spies found. The varriors vhich defend the southern tribes are garrisoned in this fillage–trapped there betveen us und the folcano. If vee move past, they may come out for battle. Vee might lose men unnecessarily. Vorse, their varriors vould thus be spared from the city's destruction. It is better for us to let nature run its course.”

  Thus the volcano erupted with the German army looking up in expectation, and the denizens of Oortou looking up in worry. The Germans were confidant the city would be destroyed, whereas the Arush were confidant the whole fire and smoke thing was a trick of the eyes, staged by the suspicious crew of digditchers that had come by earlier. The Arush would not be tricked so easily into abandoning their city, though they had sent their mayor and some guards up the mountain to keep an eye on the northerners.

  Deafening explosions rang across the sky as the ground trembled and ash blocked the sun. Minutes later, a wall of fire, mud, and debris could be seen pouring down the side of the valley a half-mile west of Oort Peak.

  The German camp erupted in panic. The avalanche had somehow moved across several mountains, past two perfectly suitable valleys, and found its way to a narrow channel miles overhead but pointed directly at their train of carts and tents. Pandemonium broke out.

  “Abandon camp!”

  “Retreat to the vest, get out of the falley!”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Just leafe the carts... safe your lifes!”

  The Germans rushed west, pushing each other out of the way as the avalanche approached. Most of their weapons were left behind in disarray, their animals were running in all directions, and their tents and carts laden with loot from the trek across Africa were forgotten. In minutes, the camp was covered with a river of lava and mud. At the back of the group, the last man escaped just in time… but at the head, Odoacer and his men stumbled out of the valley to find themselves face to face with a thousand warriors on horses, lined in a great arc around the mouth of the valley, as if they had been waiting for the Germans to arrive.

  Behind Odoacer, the lava had flooded the camp, crossed the valley, and turned west towards his men. He threw down his helmet in disgust before the chief of war.

  “I surrender, okay. Vee hafe had enough of this cursed land. Just let my men out of this falley. Spare our lifes from this fire and vee vill leafe your land.”

  “I do not think you are in a position to demand anything from us. This is only half of our army; the remaining men can be easily summoned,” lied Dor’buk.

  Odoacer’s thick leather boot crushed the metal helmet flat into the earth. “Vee hafe a deal with the king. He granted us permission to leafe his land. Vee have no quarrel with the Atakalans.”

  “The king is not far away. We will see what fate he prescribes for you.”

  Odoacer’s men were corralled and led away from the valley to a spot of high ground at the foot of the hills. Odoacer was brought before Zartro, an angry glare covering his face. He spat on the ground and looked up angrily at the young king. “I hafe had enough. Vee are leaving your haunted nation. Vee are no match for your army in our current state. Can you forget our past errors and let us leafe?”

  “You kiddin' me?” burst Zartro.

  “Wait, Zartro,” said Joao. “We must let them go–they do not belong in this land. The Great One prohibits strangers in Atakala, even prisoners. What’s more, I see a use for their services.”

  “Our serfices?” asked Odoacer.

  Zartro gave Joao a funny look. “What kind of surfaces?” he asked.

  “No, not surfaces… services.” Joao turned to Odoacer. “We will let your army leave this land alive on one condition.”

  “Vhat is that?”

  Joao looked the barbarian in the eyes. “Centuries ago, Atakala was attacked by another army similar to your own, hailing from Rome. We have since learned that while Rome has weakened, it is still ripe with treasures and wealth. Worse, we have heard rumors that the Caesar is again strengthening his army to enlarge the borders of Rome.”

  “And vhat does that hafe to do vith us?”

  “We will let your men leave freely if you agree to head directly to Rome, do not pass go, and destroy it.”

  “Vhat is this go you speak of?”

  “It does not matter. After Rome has been sacked, you are to send a delegation back to us with enough of Rome's treasure to replace what you stole from us and so foolishly left in the path of that volcano. The rest of Rome's treasure you may keep.”

  “Und vhy should vee do this for you?”

  “If the treasure isn't delivered to the gate of Sentinel City in two years, we will personally come to Germany and do to your land what was done to ours.”

  “This is only half of your army, you say?”

  “Not even.”

  Odoacer looked nervously at the thousands of horsemen. “If Atakala is so poverful, vhy did vee so easily sweep across your land, sacking cities and murdering hundreds of defenders?”

  “I'll admit you caught us by surprise. Few armies fight the searing deserts and rocky steppes to sneak in over the Atakora Plateau. Most come directly to our gate, where they are quickly discouraged.”

  “But, but how can vee sack Rome? It is the capital of the largest empire in the vorld,” Odoacer protested.

  “We will help you. Here, take this.” Joao handed Odoacer a small cloth bag that bulged as if it were filled with flour.

  “A gift?” Odoacer smelled the bag nervously. “Vhat is it?”

  “A token of our friendship, and the key to your victory. We can supply you with up to twenty cartloads. With this weapon, you will easily destroy Rome.”

  Corran yanked Joao aside. “Are you sure this is wise? What if they use it against us?”

  “Yeah, no kidding,” agreed Zartro. “We already emptied every shop in Tsyanou, and look what they did with it. If they attack again, we won't have anything left to bribe them with!”

  “Ah, but that is the whole point. Odoacer has seen what little of value there is in Atakala. We have libraries and markets and carts and fish. But Rome… Rome has glory–temples lined with gold, palaces filled with treasure. Why would they attack us, if they suddenly have the power to crush Rome?”

  Zartro crossed his arms and frowned at Odoacer. “Will you destroy Rome and return to us our share of the spoil?”

  “Is such a thing possible? Vhat is this stuff?” The barbarian turned the bag sideways, spilling brown powder onto the ground.

  “Allow me to demonstrate,” said Joao with a grin. “Weapons are my specialty.”

  * * * * * * * *

  Bimi found Ivan and Odatheus deep in the jungle about fifteen miles north of Oort Peak. They barely fit into his x-craft.

  “Thank goodness you came,” said Ivan, squeezing next to Odatheus in the back of the ship. I don't think I could take one more night in that cursed swamp.”

  “Yes, we owe you one,” said Odatheus, surveying the cramped space. “You had to use your own craft… I'm sorry we put you through this.”

  “Don't worry about it,” said Bimi. “I always enjoy a trip to Earth.” He brought the x-craft up out of the thick jungle and they crossed over the Oueme River, speeding west as they gained altitude. “So did you find anything out?”

  “You mean for our mission?”

  “Yes, I understand they sent you here to track down some strange rumors.”

  “They were just that… rumors. We interviewed a native and found nothing unusual. We also watched some Europeans march through, and the tribes here were helpless against them… Germans, I think they were. They turned south; looks like they're sacking every city they come to. So while this land might have a reputation for trouble, I think it's Europe that we should be more concerned about.”

  “Ah, that's good.”

  “Good? Those barbarians are thousands of miles from their home. Definitely seems like reason for concern.”

  “Oh, yes of course… I mean good that this should be the last trip to these remote jungles. And I’m sure Europe will sort itself out. We can focus our resources on more pressing issues. Have you heard what's going on in the Myria System?”

  “No, we've been too busy foraging for food and water. Haven't turned the com-link on in a week, except to check on your progress.”

  “The space-time drive disappeared. It's somewhere on M-13, a planet called Shamonj by the locals. We have a couple Ciri on the ground and more in training, but no one knows where it went.”

  “They lost it? How can you lose a space-time drive? Isn't that pretty much our only weapon against the Usurpers? I’ll never understand why the Council sent it off in the first place.”

  “That's what happens when the Xenonites control the galaxy. They have their own ideas about priorities and best practices. It's a wonder the Vorians haven't wiped them out already.”

  “Well, there's not much we humans can do about it. Our responsibility is Earth. We'll just have to hope the drive is recovered before the Usurpers arrive.”

  “Speaking of priorities, have they made any progress on that Continental Xa?”

  “Funny you should mention it,” said Bimi. “The last time I saw my house, there was a bulldozer parked in the front lawn waiting for me to finish packing. Progress stops for no one, I guess.”

  “I'm sorry to hear that. You're like a human Alexander, just as great as he! I hope they build a nicer house to replace your old one.”

  “I'm sure they’ll try.”

  “So have you heard anything about our x-craft? Did Control figure out why it crashed?”

  “Don't worry, they've ruled out human error. I’m sure they won’t charge you for anything. They believe your navigation system was hacked into and sabotaged.”

  “But we almost died!” exclaimed Ivan. “Who would do such a thing?”

  “And why?” added Odatheus.

  “The Xenonites may seem to act as one, but there's a surprising amount of tension within the United Republic. Ha, Disunited Republic would be a better name. Who knows why someone might have done it.”

  “Well, they didn’t have to try to kill us. We were sent straight into a cliff, you know.”

  “That sounds terrible. You're lucky you survived.”

  “And you're lucky you were on vacation.” Ivan grew sullen. “Not that you had a very good one. Sorry again you had to come rescue us.” He looked out the small port window at the planet Earth far below, growing smaller and smaller as the x-craft raced away.

  “Think nothing of it. We'll be back on Xenon shortly and then I can be off. Have either of you been to Sybesa-11?”

  The Ciri shrugged. “Never heard of it. Is that where you're going?”

  “Yes, it has a desert running the length of the equator, the Olusan. It's unbelievable. Multicolored clouds rise into the sky for miles, constantly blown into new shapes and patterns like a planet-sized kaleidoscope. The Olusan beneath is so flat and smooth that it's a perfect mirror. Thus the magnificence of the heavens is painted upon the surface of the planet. It is a work of art, yet the Xenonites care nothing about it, for the planet itself is unpopulated.”

  “Ah, the joy of being human. There are so many wondrous things to be seen in the galaxy, are there not?”

  “Yes… let us hope we speed through sniper-space without incident, that we may live to see them all!”