The early-morning dawn light lit the temporary camp by the river. The deep forest wore a faint mantle of snow, and gray, dusty tents ringed the warm fire pits. Several streams of cooking smoke curled upward; the people, horses, and dogs in the camp were all looking forward to breakfast. They watched the fire pits eagerly—until the most impatient dogs suddenly began barking madly in warning.
"Awroo! Awroo! Awroo-roo!..."
"Ah?! The dogs are barking? Is this... wild beasts, or enemies?"
"Damn it! Grab your weapons, prepare to fight!... Enemies! It's a hostile tribe! They're coming out of the woods to the south!!..."
"Mountain God! How did they get so close? Quick! Grab your bows, shoot them dead!..."
"This is a raid, a planned raid! They came from downwind!... One enemy, two, five, ten... Sky God! They have twenty hands!..."
"Archers, take your bows! Cavalry, mount up! The old, the weak, and the women shoot from behind the tents! Warriors, follow me forward to meet the enemy!..."
"Whoosh!... Whoosh!..."
Fifty Maha Tribe warriors burst swiftly out of the forest, bows in hand. Fifty heavily armored Kingdom Warriors followed behind in silence. The Maha warriors charged for a stretch, ignoring the scattered arrows shot at them, and kept going until they were only forty or fifty paces from the camp. Only then did they creakily draw their great bows and unleash a volley of heavy arrows right into their faces!
"Whoosh! Whoosh-whoosh!..."
"Ah!..."
"The chief's been shot through by the enemy! The chief's been shot dead!!..."
"Whoosh! Whoosh-whoosh!..."
"Warrior A-Da is dead too! Hit by three arrows in a row!..."
"Meet them! Warriors, kill your way out! Cavalry, charge them!"
"Damn it! The enemy dropped their bows—they're charging first with weapons!..."
After the Maha warriors fired two volleys of heavy arrows, concentrating