Stone Warrior
(Part 13)

(Please see my post of 24^th Dec for 12^th part of the story)

Statue of Zoran was installed near Eastern post.  Everyone who saw the statue thought that it was Zoran himself who was guarding the post.

Spies of king of Brasia also got fooled. They promptly reported to their king that Zoran was seen guarding Eastern post. He was not dead. He had survived the wounds suffered in the battle and he was back on the post, defending his country from the enemies.

King of Brasia was wild with anger; he thought that Roock had lied to him. After the battle, Roock had told the king that Zoran had suffered fatal wounds and he would not survive.

After a few days he had informed the king that Zoran was dead, “My Lord, I have some spies in Talavia. They have informed me that Zoran had died even before the King of Talavia could come to Eastern Post. The royal doctor of Talavia did his best but he could not save him.”

But when, after a month or two, news arrived that Zoran was alive and guarding Eastern Post, king of Brasia lost his temper. He ordered that Roock be beheaded for lying to the king.

Roock was arrested. He was in a pitiable condition. He did not want to die. He wept and begged the king for mercy. But king was not be mollified by his tears.

“I will remit your death sentence on one condition. You must personally go to Eastern Post to find out whether Zoran is dead or alive. If he is alive you will have to challenge him and fight a duel with him,” king said in an angry voice.

Roock promptly agreed. He had no intention of going to Talavia to challenge Zoran. But he had readily accepted king’s proposal because he just wanted an opportunity to run away from Brasia .

“Don’t even think of running away from Brasia,” king had read his mind, “A beautiful, muti-coloured bird will keep a watch on you, all the time. If you try to run away, you will be killed.”

Roock was shocked. He did not know that Arwiz, the wizard, was assisting the king.

“Arwiz has given me that bird to keep an eye on you,” king said with a cruel smile on his face.

Roock knew that bird would report everything to the king. It would be impossible for him to escape.  He would have to follow the order of the king.

Roock came to Eastern Post. He stayed in Moon’s Inn in the garb of a merchant. He was hoping that someday Traytur would come there to drink beer. He would then try to again entice him. But he waited in vain for the Talavian soldiers had stopped coming to that inn.

Roock hired a greedy shepherd to spy on Eastern Post. His spy was unable to get any information about Zoran. But he did learn that Talavians had installed a marble statue of Zoran near the post.

“What everyone sees is a statue and not Zoran,” reported the spy.

“Why did they install a statue of Zoran?” Roock kept asking of himself. All this time the beautiful multi-coloured bird was always nearby, keeping a close watch on the activities of Roock.

One day his spy told him that Zoran was actually dead. But king of Talavia had decided that this information would be kept secret. His spy had got this information from a soldier who had served under Zoran. That soldier had since left the army and was now in the habit of remaining drunk.

Roock was overjoyed to learn about the death of Zoran. But he did not know that he was falling in a well-planned trap laid by Talavians.

He immediately left for Brasia. He suggested to the king that it was an opportune time to attack Talavia, “Zoran is dead. Talavian soldiers are demoralised. If we strike now they will not be able to withstand our attack. We will win the battle and capture Eastern Post. Our army can then march into Talavia.”

King thought for some time and said, “We will attack but not with a large army. Just take fifty soldiers with you and raid the Eastern Post.”

Roock was scared of attacking Eastern Post with just fifty soldiers. But he had no option. He had to obey the order of the king.

He came with fifty soldiers to Talavia. It was early morning when they reached Eastern Post. They all hid in a thick grove near the post. Everyone could clearly see the statue of Zoran. 

                                                                        (To be continued)

                                                                              © i b arora

                                    You can read next part of the story here

Stone Warrior
(Part 12)

(Please see my post of 22^th Dec for 11^th part of the story)

Roock, who had cleverly not joined the battle, had been intently watching the battlefield, hidden in a grove of huge trees. Outcome of the battle left him devastated.

Roock could clearly see that every Brasian soldier was terrified of Zoran. “He is such a fierce fighter that these soldiers will fear him even in their dreams. They will never dare to fight him again,” Roock muttered in dismay.

The battle was over in less than two hours. Not a single Brasian soldier could be seen in the battlefield. Most of them had died. Those who were alive had run away.

Many Talavian soldiers had also died. Those who were alive were standing near Zoran, shouting slogans of victory.

“Send a messenger to the King. We need reinforcement. I don’t think Brasian army will dare to attack again, but we must be prepared for every eventuality. And inform the King that Zoran too is dying,” Zoran said to a junior officer.

The officer was shocked, “Why do say that, Sir. The doctor is here and your wounds will soon heal.”

“Don’t waste time; I want to pay my regards to the King before I die. And I may die soon. Let the doctor do his job, but go quickly and inform the King.’ Zoran winced in pain.

A messenger left for the palace. When the King learnt of the grievous wounds suffered by Zoran he became sad. He did not want to lose a warrior like Zoran. He quickly summoned the royal doctor.

“Doctor, you are coming with me and we are leaving now. You have to use all your skill and expeience and save Zoran. We can’t lose him. He must be saved. He is a great warrior. He does not deserve to die,” King said to the doctor.

“If he is critically wounded then we must immediately attend to his wounds. Let us start now,” doctor was ready with his bag of medicines and instruments.

The King and his party left on the fastest horses available in the royal stable. But when they reached Eastern Post they were welcomed by sad news. Zoran was already died.

King was shocked.

“Where have you kept his body?” asked the King.

An officer led the King to the place where the body had been placed. King was surprised to see that every part of the body had received deep wounds.

“How bravely he must have fought? We salute the bravest warrior of our kingdom,” said the King and he saluted in the presence of everyone.

One officer said to the King, “My Lord, before his death Zoran had said that the news of his death should be kept secret. Even his parents should be told that he was alive. He had fought so furiously that the enemy soldiers would fear him even in their dreams. If they come to know that Zoran has died they will forget their defeat and start rejoicing. But if they think that he is alive then this defeat will haunt them for years. They will never dare to attack Talavia.”

“But some day they will come to know that Zoran is not alive?”

 “My Lord, Zoran suggested that we should make his statue and install it near the post. This way we can fool the enemy; they will think that Zoran is alive and is guarding the post.”

While the King was talking to his officers the royal doctor had been carefully examining the body of Zoran. He had also heard what the officer had told the King.

“My Lord, let us honour the last wish of this great warrior,” said the royal doctor. “And if you permit I will take Zoran to my hospital.”

King asked in dismay, “You mean you will take his body to the hospital?”

The doctor just nodded.  King agreed but reluctantly.

After coming back to the palace the King asked the royal sculptor to make a statue. It was to be a majestic statue.

King said to the sculptor, “It should be your finest creation; the statue should look exactly like Zoran; in fact everyone looking at statue should feel that he is looking at Zoran and not at a statue.”

The sculptor did not disappoint the King. He worked continuously for thirty days and then invited the King to his workshop. The King was amazed to see the statue. It was a beautiful creation. The King felt that he was looking at Zoran and not at his statue.

                                                                                  (To be continued)

                                                                                         © i b arora
           You can read next part of the story here

Stone Warrior
(Part 6)

(Please see my post of 9^th Dec for 5^th part of the story)

He knew that he will have to stab Zoran with the magic dagger by treachery. He would have to deceive Zoran. And he would have to inflict just one deep wound; deep enough that his blood should fall on earth. Zoran would change into stone when his blood would fall on earth.

“But how am I going to do this? How can I stab him without going close to him? I don’t want to get killed? He is so quick and clever? I won’t be able to even touch him. What can I do to deceive him?” he kept asking himself. But he could find no answer.

There was soldier in Talavian army who was strong and brave. His name was Traytur. He had fought many battles and won many honours. He had a desire to become Captain of Eastern Post. But the King ignored him and Zoran was made Captain of Eastern Post. Zoran was young and had fought only two battles. Traytur was not happy. In fact he was very angry. He thought that Zoran did not deserve this promotion. Zoran was too young and inexperienced to be a Captain. It was he who deserved to become Captain.

Traytur became jealous of Zoran. Later when he was sent to the Eastern Post to serve under Zoran, he felt hurt and humiliated. He felt that the King had insulted him by sending to the Eastern Post.

Not far from the Eastern Post there was an inn, called Moon’s Inn. Roock was staying there in the garb of a merchant. He had hired a few shepherds as look outs. These people were keeping a watch on Eastern Post, and particularly on Zoran. Two of these look outs were remarkable spies. They had collected a great deal of information about the soldiers in Eastern Post and their daily routine.

But all this information was of no use to Roock because he had not been able to devise any plan. This made him desperate. He decided to challenge Zoran. But his courage kept failing him.

Eastern Post of Talavia was well protected. Every soldier of that post was a brave warrior. All were loyal to Zoran and they remained on alert every hour of the day. There was no way he could go near the post without being detected. Every bit of information that his spies had brought to him had disheartened him.

He was realising the folly of his plan. He could not stab Zoran without getting close to him.

“If I can’t even go near the post, then how can I go near Zoran? My magic dagger is of no use to me. I think I will have to go back to Arwiz. I must request him for such magical power as would help me to kill Zoran without going near him.”

Roock was losing heart and he was now certain that he would fail in killing Zoran.

Lost in such thoughts he was one day whiling away his time sitting in the inn, drinking beer. He was sitting in one corner of the hall. There were a few travellers having their food and drinks. It was quite a busy inn.

Couple of Talavian soldiers were also present in the inn. They were all drinking beer. Talavian king had forbidden use of alcohol by the Talavian soldiers.  He believed that alcohol made the soldiers weak and slow. No Talavian soldier drank when he was on duty at his post. But there some soldiers who could not resist the temptation of drinking. These soldiers would sneak into some nearby inn or tavern and drink.

Soldiers who were drinking at Moon’s Inn were from the Eastern Post and one of them was Traytur. They were drinking and they were talking animatedly among themselves. It appeared that Traytur was a bit agitated and his friends were trying to pacify him.

Roock was sitting on nearby table. He overheard what these men were saying to one another. He could guess that these men were Talavian soldiers and that one of them was angry and unhappy. He could sense that unhappy soldier was jealous of Zoran.

Rock smiled and came to the table where Talavian soldiers were sitting. He introduced himself as a rich merchant who was on his way to Sxandavia on an important business trip.

“Would you mind if I share a drink with you all?” he asked politely.

Talavian soldiers were suspicious of him. But before they could say anything Roock offered them the most expensive drink available in the inn, “This the best that I can offer you at present. On my way back from Sxandavia I will offer you the best wine available on earth.”

Talavians could not resist the temptation of tasting an expensive drink. Soon they were all drinking and gossiping like old friends.

When they were busy talking, a beautiful multi-coloured bird came from somewhere and landed on the window of the inn. 

(To be continued)

 © i b arora

                  You can read next part of the story here

Stone Warrior
(Part 3)

(please see post of 7th Nov for second part of the story)

Zoran had now acquired a formidable reputation. Even in far off countries people knew of a fearsome warrior who was invincible; who fought like ZZaraan the legendary warrior of times gone by; who could not be defeated even by hundred soldiers.

The king of Brasia was wild with anger. He could not believe that his army had been twice beaten by Talavian soldiers. He was angry because the attack had been planned for months. Still his soldiers could not even capture one post. They had all been badly beaten. When he saw his soldiers he was shocked; they did not look like soldiers, they looked like dirty street urchins.

The king of Brasia was thirsting for revenge. He wanted to teach Talavian army a bitter lesson. But he knew that as long as Zoran was guarding Talavia his army would never succeed. Zoran had to be killed before his army attacked Talavia again.

There was an ambitious soldier in Brasian army. His name was Roock. He was not a brave soldier; he was not even well-trained. He had fought Talavian army; but every time he was sent to the battle he had managed to cleverly run away from the battle field; every time he escaped being killed or wounded.

Roock was a wicked and a dishonest person. He wanted to rise in the esteem of the king but did not want to work hard. He did not want to face any danger; he did not want risk his life in the battle field. He wanted rise in the Army by deceit.

He had befriended a wizard, Arwiz, who lived in an old palace in a dense forest. Arwiz, the wizard, knew every type of magic and sorcery. But he was a kind man and did not hurt even a fly. He spent all his time in his forest palace, experimenting with magic wands and magic potions and concoctions and with fiery dragons and what not. He had some faithful and loyal assistants who stayed with him in his palace.

Roock was son of one of these assistants of Arwiz who had, unfortunately, died young. Arwiz had looked after Roock after the death of his father.  But he was not happy with boy’s unruly behaviour and bad manners. He advised and admonished Roock many a time but the boy was not willing to change himself. One day Roock asked him to leave his palace and join the army. He thought that military training and discipline will do him some good.

Roock joined the army. He remained in touch with the wizard. In time, he learnt to pretend that he had become a brave and disciplined soldier. Arwiz was pleased with this change. They became good friends, even though Arwiz was much older than Roock.

Roock visited the wizard in his forest palace. He pretended that he was badly wounded and some rest to recover from his wounds.

“What happened?” asked the worried Arwiz.

“Did you not hear? Our army fought a battle with Talavian army. It was a fierce battle. We had almost beaten the enemy who were trying to capture our country. But then they played a dirty trick. They took help of a vile magician. We fought like true and brave soldiers but enemy fought us with magic and sorcery. All of us lost our vision in the battlefield; we became blind temporarily; we did not know what was happening to us. And soon we were badly beaten. I too was badly wounded. But I refused to give in and kept on fighting till my friends dragged me away from the battle field,” Roock lied smoothly.

“That’s very unbecoming of Talavians. They should have gallantly fought like soldiers. But I hear they have a brave and a great warrior in their army. I think his name is Zoran. Was he there in the battle?” Arwiz asked.

“Yes, and he was leading the enemy. It was he who took help of the magician. No doubt, he is big and stong, but he is not a brave soldier. Now that they have an evil wizard to help them we can never beat them. They can attack us any time they want. They can capture our country whenever they want. It is so disgusting for us, any day our women and children will become slaves of Talavia,” Roock spoke as per a plan.

He wanted to take help of Arwiz. But he knew that old man would not help him to fight an army of brave and chivalrous soldiers. He was too decent to help him in the treachery he was planning. He had planned to deceive Arwiz and take his help in killing Zoran.

Arwiz was fooled by false story that Roock had told him. He thought that Roock was speaking the truth and that made him angry. He was angry for he believed that magic and sorcery should never be used against soldiers in a battle field. Magic could be used only to fight and crush evil forces.

(to be continued)

© i b arora

You can read next part of the story here