Summer, 1330

The Sabine alliance with the Northerners lasted all of one campaign. If some among the Wood Folk had hoped that by taking the Auxian capital the humans would stop the expansion over the mountains, they were sadly mistaken.

If others among the Sabines were hoping that the Other Men would honor their wishes and leave Compton’s Cove alone, they were also sadly mistaken.

Only four days after the Deluge, General Anhake had called a meeting with the Sabine City-States at the Neutral Ground of Tameon's Pass. A few weeks later, the Grand Warden of the Forest arrived- resplendent in his massive roc headdress lined with the feathers of poisonfeather birds, gryphons, hawks and eagles- along with the Warden of Compton’s Cove and the Warden of the West Woods, with a half dozen guards each. The Sabine guards, in their usual cloaks, bows, macuahuitls and obsidian knives, lined up besides two dozen Other Man Chasseurs in their red-tasseled yaris guarding the large red tent lined with gold. Sufjan uneasily eyed her opposites, clad in ceremonial plate armor and gilt Suji Kabutos.

Inside the tent General Anhake sat with Generals Gremenal and Ewerme at the Grand Strategic Map of Nalbin, littered with small figures denoting the depositions of various military units. As the three Wood-folk leaders entered the tent, the Grand Warden of the Forest raised the Copper Stag plate banner, denoting the peaceful parley among the Sabines, to which General Anhake got up and acknowledged with a bow.

The Grand Warden went straight to the point.

<What is it you seek, Commander of the Men from the Snows? Why did your heralds ride up and down the edge of our woods, requesting that all of our war leaders gather only a month after the fall of the human capital? Was that not enough?>

The Warden of the West Woods quickly translated to Trasgu.

'The situation has changed.' Anhake answered, with Gremenal translating. 'The humans have stooped to levels that even I could not have predicted. They destroyed their own land and killed their own people to keep us from advancing.'

<That is none of our concern.> The Grand Warden snapped. <As promised, we helped you Snow People take the Auxian capital, and in return you agreed to leave us alone. We suffered grievously invading the human lands-for you. We expect you to honor your terms.>

The Commander of the Imperial Armies pointed to the figures scattered about the Grand Map. 'The Deluge wiped out all the main roads South.' He pointed from the Alba coastline to the Back Valley. 'That leaves Compton’s Cove as the only route into the Southern lands. We need access roads for our troops and supplies. The Tassurian Empire can promise to only follow the trade routes South and to make the trip through the Ironwood Forest as quiet and painless as possible.'

<We did not fight at Satrium to allow the Other Men to do what we fought the humans over.> Came the reply.

Anhake shook his head. 'You are all making this difficult.'

<Those were the terms of our alliance, paid for in blood.>

'We will pass.'

<We will fight if you try.>

General Anhake sighed.

'Very well.' The Commander of the Other Man armies got up and lit a candle, before announcing:

‘Colonel, take these Woodfolk into custody.'

In an instant the parley had broken into violence. The Other Men generals stepped back, and the Tassurian guards immediately readied their weapons, while troops suddenly flooded into the Neutral Ground from multiple directions. Like the supposed Chasseurs, these were Gremenal's Hunter-Killers. The Sabines were briefly stunned by the blatant violation of the parley.

General Anhake calmly sat back to his seat.

'We will follow the main trade routes through the Ironwood Forest. We will hold you wardens to ensure our troops are allowed through safely. Nothing must delay our timetable if we are to destroy the Auxians.’

<You! > The Grand Warden uttered in fury, swinging with the Copper stag banner while the Wardens of the West Woods and Compton's Cove drew their macuahuitls, facing off against Generals Gremenal and Ewerme, Gremenal reading his reclining moonblade and Ewerme with his spontoon.

Meanwhile, outside Sufjan had barely dodged a surprising thrust of a yari, while several of her comrades were cut down by the ambush. Rolling to the ground, she drew her macuahuitl, and severed the leg of her opponent, who fell screaming to the ground. She dodged more blows, severing arms, before her weapon shattered itself against the helm of a kabuto, though the broken obsidian shards also entered the helm’s visor cut through to her attacker's face, the Other Man collapsing with the remains of her macuahuitl. All around, Yaris and obsidian daggers flashed out between the guards. With grievous losses, the Sabine guards had dispatched most of their opponents, but now the Other Men reinforcements were arriving.

Where were their Wardens?

Yells and screams erupted inside before suddenly the Warden of Compton’s Cove slashed open the side of the tent and leaped out, bloody and nursing his right arm.

<The Other Men are faithless souls!> The Warden called out. <I must warn the Elders!>

<Defend the Warden at all costs!> Sufjan yelled as she drew her bow and ran over, firing rapid shots at the attackers.

Joined by the other guards, Sufjan formed a protective cordon around their leader. As the Tassurian reinforcements arrived the Sabines fired repeated volleys at the newcomers, but the Hunter Killers blocked most of their arrows with their shields and replied in kind with javelins. Exposed as they were, the Sabines were cut down one by one.

<May they be damned for eternity!> As he fled, the Warden of Compton’s Cove shook his bloody fist at the tent, where General Gremenal stood watching, his guandao dripping with blood.

Running a gauntlet of fire across the open field, the remaining half-dozen Sabine guards exchanged fire with the Tassurians as they led the Warden into the safety of the forest. There, climbing to the trees, the survivors managed to provide a rearguard, holding off the Hunter Killers as they fell back from branch to branch, before breaking off contact and disappearing into the foliage. Sufjan fired off the last two shots of her quiver-one embedding itself in a shield, the other in a Hunter Killer’s face-before she turned tail and fled nimbly through the treetops. As she leaped from branch to branch, one thought burned itself into her mind:

A massive war was flooding over to the Sabines. All that they had fought for previously would now be in question.

The Changing of the Times had finally arrived.

---

Martin Carthy - Lord Randall

Sketch by  Taski_Guru!