Read A Warrior's Path (The Castes and the OutCastes) for Free Online

people – until now, Rukh included – the Sil Lor Kum were a legend.  They were a handy means to scare misbehaving children or explain away whatever inexplicable calamity happened to befall someone.  And as far as Rukh knew, not a single member of the Sil Lor Kum had ever been discovered in all of Ashoka’s existence; nor had even the rumor of membership ever been raised for even the most degenerate of people, but that alone didn’t mean the Sil Lor Kum didn’t exist.  It only meant their existence was somewhat unlikely.  But given what was happening to the caravan, Rukh thought his hypothesis made a horrifying kind of sense.
    Farn seemed worried about it, also.  He was subdued and pensive.
    “My Nanna always figured they were real,” Rukh said.  “I suppose I just closed my eyes to the possibility, and I sure never expected to come across proof of their existence.”
    “You still haven’t,” Brand said.  “All you have is an answer to a question.  But I’m with Keemo.  I think he’s right: the Chims got lucky.”
    “But it wasn’t just one or two or ten of them who snuck up on us,” Farn said.  “It was seven thousand .”
    “And also, remember this: these Chims managed to skirt around our scouts from three different directions.  When something happens once, maybe it’s luck.  Twice…maybe real lucky, but three times…three times isn’t luck anymore.  It’s knowledge.  They had to know how best to avoid our scouts.  Where they came up with the knowledge is something else.”
    “I still don’t think…” Brand began.
    “Time’s wasting,” Rukh interrupted, not wanting to talk about it anymore.  He wasn’t trying to be gruff or pull rank.  He had said his piece.  It was enough.  The Sil Lor Kum didn’t bear thinking about right now…not when there were so many other pressing matters.  “We can talk about it later.  You heard the lieutenant.  We need to gather our gear and get ready to go.”
    “I’m already packed,” Keemo said, gesturing to his bulging saddlebags.
    “Same here,” Farn said.
    “Brand?” Rukh asked.
    “I’m ready.”
    S uwraith’s spit.  The lieutenant would skin him if he were the last one to have his gear together.  He was a corporal for Devesh’s sake.
    The caravan consisted of Captain Bosna, four lieutenants, each with three sergeants and beneath them , two corporals, commanding ten privates apiece; a total of two hundred eighty-one warriors.  Virgins were almost always privates, as were many veterans, but in Rukh’s case, he’d been bumped up to corporal because of his status as Hume Champion, who, by tradition, was never a private.  And it didn’t matter if Rukh was only a corporal because of his victory in the Tournament.  He was still expected to act like a veteran.  And a veteran showed up before his unit.
    “Then I guess I’m the only laggard in this group,” Rukh said.  He nodded to the others and led his horse to his gear.  He quickly packed it away and attached it securely to his saddle, taking special care with his bow case, quiver, and round ironwood shield.  Wouldn’t want to lose his equipment due to carelessness.
    He saddled up and heeled his horse into a canter, guiding him toward Lieutenan t Pume.  With a slight lifting of his heart, he realized many of B Company had yet to arrive.  But of the six corporals, he was the last one to make it to muster. 
    “Nice of you to join us, Shektan,” Lieutenant Pume noted as he rode up.
    There was no good answer to that.  “Yes sir,” Rukh replied, hoping the lieutenant would drop the matter.
    The lieutenant made a noncommittal sound before turning away.
    Rukh breathed a sigh of relief and glanced around to see what else needed to be done. The wagons and their supplies still burned, sending a thick plume of smoke into the air.  If the Chims didn’t know where they were before, they were bound to know now.  Some of the smoke drifted his way, and the horses shifted