The Expedition: Chapter Six

A death cultist screamed in agony as a magic blade cut his arm clean off. Amelia stared at the air where the blood still hung, the world around her seemingly moving in slow motion as the female warriors of the tribe blurred into action at speeds so great it did not seem humanly possible.

A darker-skinned female warrior pulled Amelia behind her body, still wearing her incredible chain loincloth and bikini, pulling her away from a cultist's spear aimed at her heart. The woman's curved blade and battle magic sliced the cultist open from hip to face, causing his insides to spill out, red blood covering white sand.

Things were happening so fast that Amelia could not even scream.

The tribesmen, holy warriors who worshipped the goddess Kalaya, held a solid line to the front of their caravan while the women pincered from each side of the men's formation into each side of the attacking force. A few cultists tried to break through and attack the carts and animals, but the dozen or so women left in the middle where she stood killed them as soon as they could step a foot in a circle of death.

Amelia would blink her eyes, and a female warrior of the tribe would rush by in a blur to kill another. Another woman leaped an impossible distance through the air, held aloft by magic, to come down on another cultist to cleave the vile death worshiper in two.

It was madness! It made no sense! This wasn't war! They were fighting with weapons that could kill! Yet death happened again and again! The Mal'a'kai fought like angels against their enemies with nothing more than swords and shields, yet it didn't look as if anyone ever had to attack an enemy twice: there were always plenty of corpses for the living to leap over, stab, hack, slash and chop. And every time someone fell, three more took their place.

She watched a man charge at a warrior armed only with a sword. Her body moved faster than a striking snake when her blade swung around from behind her body to meet his. He gasped and then collapsed back to land several feet away from her. She turned her head and smiled at Amelia, who was still huddled behind her protective arm. 

"Don't worry, child. Those evil ones can never hurt us."

"What are you doing here?" The woman asked Amelia, holding up her sword before answering herself. "You are not one of them, so you don’t know what is happening either. Let me tell you; those people will do anything to have their dark god return. If we fail now, they might win..." She glanced past the caravan and sighed heavily. "Those fools are just too slow!"

Amelia followed her gaze and saw the lead cultists moving across the desert on foot. Their army of more than a thousand marched towards them as the lead elements continued the skirmish. But she also noticed the two other groups of cultists had moved far to each side of them, hoping to surround the Mal'a'kai tribe. It made no sense! Why wouldn't they all join forces and attack together?

"Wait, why are they moving so strangely?"

The woman's smile disappeared into a grimace. "Because they are idiots! They think if they defeat our warriors first, they won't have to fight as hard." A warrior screamed as a magic blade severed a cultist's leg below the knee. Another fell with an arrow through his eye, and another was decapitated when an unseen force ripped his helmet from his head. Suddenly, there were bodies everywhere and screams filled the air.

A battle cry from one of the men caused Amelia to spin around, thinking one of the females had been hurt or worse, but instead, she found herself staring directly at the eyes of a death cultist who suddenly lunged for her throat!

He was about thirty feet away on horseback, but he covered that distance between them in only half a heartbeat. He drove his spear right for her heart...and then died screaming in agony as Kalaya's chosen warrior smashed him in the chest with her shield before thrusting upward with her sword into his brain. He slumped sideways and slid down the horse's neck. The horse stumbled and finally came to rest against the wagon behind them before falling dead onto its side with its rider pinned under it.

Amelia heard chanting, and watched as an old man, one from the tribe, walked casually through the death and violence, holding a string of prayer beads, his chanting growing louder. Every cultist who managed to get near him was cut down, but the old fool did not seem afraid! He was strolling through the chaos as if it were a Sunday market! And each time he passed by some of the warriors, they would glance nervously at the old fool before resuming their deadly dance!

Amelia stood in awe, her mouth hanging open. It was almost as though the old man could see what was happening and ignored it. His chants became so loud it made it difficult to think, and she began to shake uncontrollably. The old man held his prayer beads above his head, and the chants stopped.

And then, the lead group of cultists attacking the Mal'a'kai tribe disappeared in a giant cloud of sand.

The battle grew quiet as the outer flanks of cultists tried to make sense of what had happened.

The desert has swallowed up two hundred men, and Amelia could hear their screams under the sand! The sand writhed and ebbed like a rip tide; somehow, the old man had liquified the sand, swallowing an entire company of men!

The old man, missing a few teeth due to age, turned and smiled at Amelia, his prayer beads still hanging in front of him.

A giant sand golem erupted from the sand where the men disappeared in a massive explosion, the bodies of men, some still alive, screamed from the body of the golem as it charged towards the remaining cultists attacking them! They quickly scattered when it emerged from its shell, running away as fast as they possibly could across the burning sands!

"You have no idea how long I have waited for this day." The old man said with a smile. "I knew that we would prevail against these fools eventually!" He pointed back toward the direction of the second army, which now faced a much smaller force. The enemy looked on in surprise as hundreds of their comrades suddenly vanished into thin air.

Amelia gasped again and stood frozen in shock while staring at the scene in disbelief. Hadaj, the tribal chief, nodded proudly at her, smiling, and then started talking in rapid Mal'a'kai to one of the warriors.

The death cultists melted away into the desert, leaving the bodies of the hundreds that fell scattered around them. The main force of death cultists watching from the hills also melted away. Within moments there were no traces left behind but sand and scorch marks...and dead men!

The Mal'a'kai began treating their wounded with holy magic, and the group began looting the dead and preparing to keep their pilgrimage toward their temple. In a short while, wounds were healed, and the group prepared to travel again, though their white robes were stained with the blood of their enemies and tattered in a few places, which they wore as badges of honor.

Hadaj smiled as he walked to Amelia. "We were blessed to have such a battle to honor our Goddess on our pilgrimage, do you not think?"

Amelia nodded dumbly, still unable to believe what had just happened.

He helped her to her feet. "These men, they were after you?" He asked curiously. She could only nod mutely in reply. "They will try to follow us soon enough if they survive the journey back home." He patted her shoulder comfortingly. "But we can't let them catch up with us." His face looked lost as he looked out at the dunes and sky before speaking again. "Now we know for certain that we are truly safe from harm! They may attack our lands again someday, or perhaps other tribes like them from outside our world might come looking for new converts. But now they must fear our goddess even more than they fear us! They would be fools to return here!"

"Thank you," Amelia said. "I am sorry if I brought this upon you."

Hadaj laughed. "I should say you are a blessing from the Goddess herself! To prove our worth in battle before arriving at her most holy shrines, I should say she has blessed us in a most fortunate way, young Amelia! You shall travel with us until you get to where you belong."

Amelia was surprised by how easy it seemed for Hadaj, a simple chief of a desert tribe, to put his life into perspective and see the good in all things. It made him seem very wise. "Thank you."

He waved a hand and dismissed her concern. "Now go and be with the women of the tribe for the day's trek. We leave shortly. And please don't worry about the rest of those vile cretins. If they dare try again, they'll have to cross swords with my entire tribe...and their god himself will have no choice but to help us then!"

The small force marched east through the morning hours, eventually reaching another road running along their path, which Hadaj estimated would take them directly north toward their destination, which is precisely what happened as soon as the sun cleared the horizon. The tribe stopped briefly at midday for a quick meal of dried fruit and jerky strips before resuming their journey under an endless blue sky filled only with scattered white clouds.

Amelia sat in the women's cart, surrounded by dozens of scantily clad female warriors, some with tribal tattoos, their well-muscled bodies covered with tan skin and sweat, the chain bikinis and loincloths offering tantalizing views of toned female flesh, and Amelia felt slightly lightheaded being around them all.

She was attracted to men and boys, but she never thought she could be as aroused by so many powerful women! She felt embarrassed to admit it, for a woman could never really love a woman, could they? It was wrong! Scandalous indeed!

The women smiled and spoke in their native tongue, pointing at her clothes and laughing at all the little details and brand of style her culture wore. They were beautiful beyond words! There wasn't one among the group that didn't look like a statue from a temple or ancient art museum! And though Amelia had always been short (though not by choice), these Mal'a'kai women seemed tall compared to her tiny frame. They moved with grace, yet power, looking every bit as fearsome as any male warrior on the battlefield.

Amelia was amazed when she heard the chief address them with affectionate endearments such as 'My pretty ones', 'My brave fighters', and 'My wonderful daughters.’ His wife came over several times to ask about Amelia's family and make sure she knew how welcome she was among their tribe and then finally left with the kindest smile she'd ever seen upon her face. His wife was as beautiful as any warrior and said to her, "You have good blood and that you should bring your family here, for we are more than happy to have our new friends in our fold."

Amelia thanked the young woman profusely, for it did feel warm and welcoming in the company of so many women, but at the same time, she couldn't help but think of herself as an outsider.

A few hours later, Amelia fell asleep again while riding alongside Hadaj, who continued speaking to his people all day long. He explained what happened with the death cultists as best he could without revealing too much detail, including what he'd told Amelia earlier, including history! The whole experience was the stuff legends were made from! Everyone soon retold the story, spreading throughout the tribe via word of mouth. Even the older men and women were learning the tale and repeating it proudly. The history of their lands was being rewritten through their actions, and already a heroine was growing up around them that they would tell their grandchildren about one day.

It wasn't until nightfall that they reached their destination, where they camped outside an ancient stone archway leading into the heart of a ruined temple. As the moon rose overhead, casting its silvery light down upon the sands surrounding them, Hadaj instructed the warriors to guard the campsite. The rest went inside to begin preparations for dinner, which had been prepared ahead of time.

The women invited Amelia to bathe with them in the oasis nearby.

As they all began removing their clothing, Amelia stood in shock at the fantastic sight of a few dozen female warriors preparing to bathe nude in the moonlight.

They smiled and invited her to join them.