Dan Decker's Blog, page 43

War of the Fathers – Chapter Nineteen

This week’s episode features Chapter Nineteen of War of the Fathers.  Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

Jorad hadn’t seen Adar or the Hunwei for half an hour. He hadn’t been able to keep up, the pain in his back made it tough to run. If it weren’t for the mountain towering in front of him, he wouldn’t have had any idea which direction the road lay. He stopped, planted the tip of his sword into the ground and leaned against a nearby tree as he tried to catch his breath. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up at the sky, trying to guess what time it was. It had cleared up for a little while earlier, but now the clouds had returned, more ominous than before. It had been hours since they’d first come across the Hunwei, and he figured it was late in the afternoon.

Did some of the Hunwei break off to go back for the others? Was Soret even still alive?

Jorad took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the matters at hand, and was startled by the sound of a blast. Melyah, those things were loud. He gripped his sword and moved in the direction of the blast.

In moments, he faced a small clearing. Jorad crouched. Crossing it was out of the question, but maybe one of the Hunwei would. They didn’t take much care to hide. Why would they? Human weapons bounced off them with no harm. Confound it, they were in trouble.

He listened, hoping for more sound to indicate which direction he should move. After several minutes of observation failed to reveal anything, he moved to the right and circled around the small meadow. He was almost to the other side when a Hunwei walked into the opening. Jorad froze but it was too late, he’d been seen.

The Hunwei pointed his weapon in Jorad’s direction and fired. Jorad dove to the ground, rolled, turned to run and found himself face to face with the Hunwei they’d disarmed earlier. He was glad to see that the Hunwei still hadn’t retrieved the blaster as he burst into a sprint. That hopefully meant that Adar was still alive. The Hunwei grabbed for Jorad, but he twisted away, lost his footing and fell. His sword slid out of reach.

He crawled towards his sword, but there was a flash of pain in his side as the Hunwei kicked him. The air went out of his lungs, and he struggled to breathe. The Hunwei kicked him again, this time hitting the burn on his back. The scream that erupted from his throat caused the Hunwei to gurgle with laughter.

Jorad charged into the cackling Hunwei’s legs, grunting in pain when he made contact and taking them both to the ground. He could smell the creature. It was the same stink from the night they followed the shadows outside of Neberan. It was strange that he’d only now smelled it again, but perhaps that was because his mind had been so wrapped up in other things. He grabbed one of his daggers and stabbed down into the face of the Hunwei, refusing to die without a fight, no matter how futile his efforts.

To his surprise, the dagger plunged into the Hunwei’s eye, causing him to scream. Jorad pulled it out and stabbed the other eye, as the creature convulsed beneath him. Wrenching the dagger with both hands, he twisted and pushed it to the hilt. The Hunwei screamed again and wriggled beneath his legs. He pushed it in as deep as he could, pulled it out and stabbed into the neck repeatedly. Blue blood covered his hands when he stopped. He stood; shocked that he’d been able to kill a Hunwei.

http://dandecker.podbean.com/mf/web/8jqwpj/Episode16-64kbps.mp3

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War of the Fathers – Chapter Eighteen

This week’s episode features Chapter Eighteen of War of the Fathers.  Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

“Run!” Adar cried. The order wasn’t needed as Jorad had already turned and was sprinting away, praying as he did that Soret and the others would be okay. They’d done what they could to distract the Hunwei, now it was in the hands of the gods.

Jorad slung his bow over his shoulder as he ran. The arrows, like his dagger and the ax, had bounced off the Hunwei as if their skin itself had been made of armor. An arrow had been turned away by a bloody eye. If they were that tough, why did they bother to wear armor at all?

As Jorad passed a tree, it burst into flames, and a hole the size of his head emerged in the trunk. Adar sprinted ahead and turned up towards the mountain. As Jorad followed, the full gravity of their situation fell upon him. They were going to die, and the certainty filled him with dread.

More trees around him burst into flames, and a blast of heat rushed over his head. He ducked without thinking and chanced a look back. The Hunwei were right behind, and his eyes were drawn to one pointing a blaster at him. The Hunwei pressed a lever, and a blast exploded from the end.

Jorad hit the ground as the blast went just over his head, singeing his hair on its way. Scrambling back to his feet, he plunged ahead and hoped that they could outrun the Hunwei. Their armor should slow them down.

Several minutes later, he came across Adar leaning up against a tree trying to catch his breath. Jorad slowed to a stop while gulping down air in great heaving gasps. The Hunwei weren’t visible, but he could hear crashing coming their way. At most, they had a few minutes. He was glad that they were able to outrun them. Whether it was because of the dense forest or the weight of their armor, he didn’t know.

“We need to get to higher ground.” Adar panted.

“We’ll end up like a treed cat.”

“I want to see what happens if we can push one off a cliff. Maybe we can crush one with a rock. Besides, with all these hills, we have a better chance of hiding.”

Jorad thought Adar might be joking, but one look at Adar’s face showed he wasn’t. They were facing certain death, and he wanted to test the vulnerabilities of their armor, never mind their blasters.

“My arrow bounced off that Hunwei’s eye.”

“They’ve got to have weaknesses, this isn’t magic. Come on, we have to keep going up. If they get close, try the Ou Qui dagger.”

“Suicide.” Jorad gulped for air. “This is suicide.”

Adar grinned, if Jorad didn’t know any better Adar almost looked happy. “This isn’t the first time we’ve danced with death.”

“Hopefully, it won’t be the last.”

“Pray to the gods.”

http://dandecker.podbean.com/mf/web/q6mc9z/Episode15-64kbps.mp3

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War of the Fathers – Chapter Seventeen

This week’s episode features Chapter Seventeen of War of the Fathers.  Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

“I’m Kinib Jemmir,” the Ou Qui said.

“I’m Adar Rahid, this is my son Jorad.”

Jorad was surprised that Adar had used their proper last name. In fact, Jorad couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever been introduced as a Rahid. He supposed it didn’t matter now since the people they’d been hiding from had found them. He wasn’t uncomfortable, but he did realize that it was going to take some time to adjust to openly being a Rahid. Had there been a flash of recognition on Kinib’s face when he heard the name Rahid?

“When was Neberan attacked?”

Jorad was taken aback. Ruder had asked the same question, but that now seemed part of another lifetime. So much had happened since then that it felt like it was years ago.

“Nearly a week ago now,” Adar said. “When was Wasat attacked?”

The Ou Qui grimaced, or at least it looked like a grimace. The mud on his face made it hard to tell. It was either that or a smile. Jorad doubted Kinib had much to smile about.

“You are well informed. Wasat was indeed attacked several weeks ago. The ships that took your people went north too?”

“Yes, all the ones we saw.”

“In the past, my people have been at war with all and it kept us strong. While we hunt the Hunwei, we can’t afford to be distracted. Please accept my gifts and promise. While we are in your lands hunting the Hunwei, we won’t harm you.”

It happened fast. One moment, there was nothing. The next, two black handled daggers quivered in the ground before their feet. Without hesitation, Adar responded in kind with one of his own daggers. He looked at Jorad until Jorad contributed one as well. Jorad missed sticking the blade into the ground, but a patch of grass kept it from skidding. He felt a little embarrassed but put the thought out of his mind.

“Please accept our offering of peace.” The Ou Qui put his hands out, both palms up.

http://dandecker.podbean.com/mf/web/qfjb2d/Episode14-64kbps.mp3

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War of the Fathers – Chapter Sixteen

This week’s episode features Chapter Sixteen of War of the Fathers.  Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

Jorad didn’t know how long he lay on the floor of the guardhouse, but when he opened his eyes, everything was quiet. Had he been knocked unconscious? His arm and ribs hurt from where he had hit the wall, and there was a bump on the back of his head. He got to his knees, checking to make sure he didn’t have any broken bones. As he stood, he found that his leg hurt but was still functional. He twisted his head to either side to stretch his neck. It didn’t help, and he still felt stiff afterward. It was painful to twist it too far in either direction.

The fire in the hearth had burned down and cast the room in shadows. He could smell oil from a lantern that lay broken near the stool where he had sat earlier. The last time he’d seen that lantern, it had been lit. It was a lucky thing that the guardhouse hadn’t caught fire.

The two corpses were his only company. The bodies of Lel and Thon’s friend filled him with sadness. Lel didn’t deserve to come to this end. He was a decent guy who had volunteered to keep Neberan safe. His body lay in the middle of the floor, and his staff was in two pieces with a large chunk missing, either end was burned. The upper right half of Lel’s shoulder and neck were gone as well as his head. It was as if a large animal had taken a bite. The other body had a big hole in the middle. The smell from the dead made him nauseous.

How many more will die? Jorad asked himself as he turned away. We could have done a better job to warn Neberan. The thought bounced around his mind, and he did his best to ignore it.

The sound of smaller explosions peppered with much larger explosions came from outside the destroyed doorway. He walked to it, afraid to look out and see the terror that had engulfed Neberan but knowing that he needed to get moving because he had to find Soret and Adar.

People ran in every direction. Fireballs—that wasn’t quite the right word, but he couldn’t think of another term—burned through the air. A group of Hunwei was herding some of the townsfolk, prodding them with their weapons.

War of the Fathers – Chapter Fifteen

This week’s episode features Chapter Fifteen of War of the Fathers. Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

A man’s body fell in front of Adar, and a large armored figure loomed above him in the smoke. The Hunwei glanced down at the corpse, looked away, and brought something to his shoulder. Fire erupted from the end, illuminating the Hunwei’s armor. Adar frowned, wondering what his chance of survival was if he were to attack the Hunwei. He decided to do nothing because the Hunwei didn’t appear to have noticed them. The light from the blasts and the nearby burning buildings reflected off the Hunwei’s helmet and the rest of the armor. It was the first real look that Adar had gotten of the Hunwei. The creature towered over him, and the helmet obscured most of the head, but Adar could see there was a faceplate that allowed the Hunwei to see. The light reflected off of it, making it seem to glow and completing the Hunwei’s unearthly look.

Melyah! Adar should have dragged Jorad to Rarbon months ago, back when he started feeling uneasy. He’d been angry with Jorad for not telling him about his encounter with the Ou Qui, but Adar was actually angry with himself. He’d had a premonition that this was going to happen and he’d ignored it.

The Hunwei fired repeatedly. Each time the blast from the end of the thing he held to his shoulder lit up his armor. After several more explosions from his blaster—what else could it be?—the Hunwei moved away from them.

Similar explosions came from all around as Adar examined the dead man several feet in front of him. A hole had been burned all the way through his chest. Light from a ship passing overhead showed the ash, mixed with blood, flesh, and bone that covered the ground where the man had fallen.

http://dandecker.podbean.com/mf/web/ubtks3/Episode12-64kbps.mp3

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War of the Fathers – Chapter Fourteen

This week’s episode features Chapter Fourteen of War of the Fathers. Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

Jorad had just reached his sword where it hung on the wall when the door opened beside him. He put his back against the wall and turned Gorew toward the door.

“Don’t come in or I’ll kill him.”

Thon walked in. “Kill him or not, it doesn’t matter, you’re a dead man.” He was followed by three men, one of whom held a coil of rope with a noose tied at the end.

Jorad pushed the dagger tighter to Gorew’s throat who in turn cried out in terror. It reminded Jorad of the first time he’d slaughtered a chicken, and he almost vomited. This wasn’t Gorew’s fault. It wasn’t even Thon’s.

The look in Thon’s eyes dared Jorad to slice Gorew’s throat. Jorad pressed the dagger and strengthened his resolve; he wished that he’d acted sooner. He shouldn’t have spent so much time letting his thoughts wander while the guards had settled down.

“Thon, don’t let him kill me! Please–”

“Shut up, Gorew!” Thon said.

Jorad was trying to decide what to do next when somebody kicked in the door. His first thought was that it was Adar coming to his aid, but he realized that something was wrong when the end of a black stick was shoved in through the doorway. An explosion filled the room, and a mist of blood, chunks of bone, and bits of brain matter appeared where Lel’s head had been.

http://dandecker.podbean.com/mf/web/4abn8w/Episode11-64kbps.mp3

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War of the Fathers – Interlude One

This week’s episode features Interlude One of War of the Fathers. Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

Here was Rend’s only opportunity to right this wrong. He’d never be able to find what ship his son was on or where they’d taken him, but he could ensure that any of those Hunwei ships that returned home would find their planet gone. Much the same as what they’d left to the few human survivors.

“Besides,” Rend whispered to himself. “This war isn’t over.” There had been no declaration of truce. He had a distinct feeling that the Hunwei would one day return.

“If it isn’t, why’d they leave?” Jbyte materialized as she spoke and Rend looked up from the holographic display. Her image was that of a serving girl in a tight red dress. He recognized the face but couldn’t put a name to it. An actress from before the war? The holograph bowed low, an act of respect that had been out of fashion for years.

Rend winced and wished he hadn’t. Jbyte’s sensors picked up the smallest things. She enjoyed it when she got to him. Unfortunately, if Rend ignored her, she’d do the same, and he still needed her help. For now. She was his only way of knowing what was happening with the fleet because Joner wasn’t very forthcoming and rarely answered a call.

“We’re not done until they’re all dead or they’ll haunt us forever.”

http://dandecker.podbean.com/mf/web/bttw4j/Episode10-64kbps.mp3

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War of the Fathers – Chapter Thirteen

This week’s episode features Chapter Thirteen of War of the Fathers. Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

“Melyah!” Karn drew his sword and stepped away from the dying man while Adar looked back down the alley. There weren’t any witnesses to the event and if they moved quickly they could get away. “Killed him pretty quick, didn’t you? Don’t you want to know why he was attacking you?”

Adar grunted. He hadn’t recognized it earlier, but the coat told him the dying man was from Colonipo. He searched the man’s pockets and pulled out a worn piece of paper, which he handed to Karn.

“Already knew what he wanted.”

It was unlikely the man had found them without help, Colonipo was a long way away, and Adar had been careful to cover their tracks. Neare had mentioned a poster the other night, and Adar wondered if Neare had helped the man find him or perhaps even sent for him. Adar retrieved his daggers and cleaned them on the bounty hunters jacket. Somewhere a woman screamed, but it didn’t seem to be connected to his kill as the alley was still empty and nobody had walked by on the street.

“Why you got a bounty hunter on your trail?” Karn asked.

“Caught a man doing something he shouldn’t and he didn’t survive my lesson. Grab his legs. I don’t think anybody saw me.”

http://dandecker.podbean.com/mf/web/d48vid/Episode09-64kbps.mp3

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War of the Fathers – Chapter Twelve

This week’s episode features Chapter Twelve of War of the Fathers. Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

“Bram is dead,” Thon said. That took Jorad by surprise. Who was Bram? Thon’s face contorted as he continued to speak. “Stabbed a dozen times. Take him.” He motioned to the other guards who grabbed Jorad from his chair, one of whom snatched away his sword. Jorad allowed it to happen without a fight; it would only make matters worse if he hurt the guards. Erro was probably hoping Jorad would do just that. It wouldn’t matter if it came out that somebody else was this Bram fellow’s murder if Jorad cut up half the guard when they tried to take him into custody.

“I haven’t killed anybody.” Jorad didn’t know who this Bram fellow was, but Erro’s jealousy was insane if he was trying to pin this man’s murder on Jorad. Perhaps it was Erro who had been the one that killed Bram.

Jorad saw the swing coming and tightened the muscles in his abdomen. Thon’s punch took Jorad in the stomach. Melyah! His arm was like a battering ram. Soret yelped as Jorad doubled over, gasping for breath. The guards continued to hold him though Jorad saw looks of disapproval on several of their faces. Whether it was aimed at Thon or him, he didn’t know.

Thon hit him in the head, and he saw stars. It was quickly followed by another to his gut again. Jorad struggled to breathe and felt like he was about to pass out. After several painful seconds, he was on the cusp of panicking when he managed to get some air into his lungs. He breathed again. It felt like everything else in the world was pushed away as he struggled for another breath. Nothing matter more than being able to suck in another lungful of air.

http://dandecker.podbean.com/mf/web/cpxwfi/Episode08-1-64kbps.mp3

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War of the Fathers – Chapters Ten and Eleven

This week’s episode features Chapters Ten and Eleven of War of the Fathers. Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

“Tere, we can either come to an arrangement,” Adar said addressing the man that Jorad had almost killed, “or we’ll kill you. Your choice.”

Tere snorted and set his jaw. “Returning Jorad to make his claim is paramount to killing you. What are your terms?”

Soret gasped. This wasn’t how Jorad wanted her to find out. He’d dodged Soret’s question about what he would do after Zecarani and now he wished that he hadn’t. Strangely, the anger had left her face. That wasn’t the response he’d been expecting. Well, truth be told, he’d expected that she wouldn’t have believed him.

Adar looked at Jorad. “Put your sword away.”

“Not as long as they’re trying to kill us.” Did Adar expect Jorad to go with them to Rarbon? He wouldn’t go at the point of a sword.

“Not us, just me,” Adar said. “Do it.” Jorad did as Adar asked. Tere motioned to his men and they put away their swords as well.

Without his sword in hand, the anger left Jorad as if he’d been plunged into cold water. He shivered as he realized how close he’d come to killing another person. What would that have been like? He knew that Adar sometimes had restless nights when memories of the men he killed tormented him. When Jorad joined the Radim and made his claim to become Ghar, it was inevitable that he would kill and be responsible for the deaths of many. Jorad wasn’t sure if he could live with that or not. One night, in a rare moment of openness, Adar had shared with him the visions that haunted him. It hadn’t been a comfortable conversation.

“I need to talk with my son.”