The Diversionary Tactic
CORNELIUS QUAINT STREAKED through the Bara Mephista valley in hot pursuit of Aksak Faroud's posse. Following the track that snaked its way between the towering, sand-covered mountains, he risked a glance over his shoulder. A gang of Scarabs tumbled out of the tavern, plumes of thick, dark smoke spewing from every window. One thing was for sure: he had blown any chance of getting information out of Faroud now. He followed the dust from the Scarabs' horses up a gentle incline until his eyes lost sight of it. The sky was darkening, and visibility was already poor. He could see the tips of a large mountain range in the near distance, framed against the burning purple-orange sunset, and he urged his horse on further, trying to beat the curve of the hill's rise. As the ground dipped sharply, Quaint saw something that made his stomach lurch.
Only fifty yards ahead of him was a herd of tethered horses, plus a group of four dismounted Scarabs standing on guard outside a large cave at the foot of the shadowy mountains. The incline of the hill had masked just how big the mountain range was and it fell deeply into the low-lying ground, spreading out across the landscape as far as the eye could see.
Quaint dismounted and quickly retreated down the incline to find a better vantage point to observe the Scarabs' movements. He would be of no use to the Professor if he got himself caught. Keeping as low to the cooling sand as his broad bulk would allow, he crawled along the ground on his elbows. Soon, he had circled around behind the men. It was then that he was faced with a conundrum – how was he to get past four armed Scarabs without being seen? He needed a diversionary tactic, something to thin out the odds, and as he noticed the gathering of horses tethered together nearby, a semblance of an idea struck him…
The four Clan Scarabs froze stock still as the frantic neighing of panicked horses filled the air all around them. A maddened herd – tethered together at the neck with their tails aflame – charged across the desert trailing plumes of stench-ridden smoke. The Scarabs stood open-mouthed. Despite their best efforts to translate the sight, an answer was not immediately forthcoming.
'What was that?'
'Demons!'
'Do not be stupid. It was not demons, Mukhtar!'
'But, Temis, they were creatures aflame like beasts from hell!'
'They were our horses, you fool!' said the more sensible of the Scarab quartet. 'If we do not get them back the Aksak will set our tails alight! You two stay here and keep your eyes keen.' The Scarab nudged the arm of a slight younger man on his right. 'Alifah, you can come with me!' The two men sprinted into the desert wasteland, following the golden glow that lit up the dusk in the distance.
From his position, Quaint grinned satisfactorily as he clipped shut the lid of his tinderbox. Now there were only two Scarabs left for him to deal with.
Much better odds.
He moved swiftly, rising from amongst the grasses, smashing his formidable mass into his foes. The dumbstruck Scarabs fell to the ground in a clumsy mess of sprawling limbs. As they dizzily tried to clamber to their feet, Quaint snatched up a discarded sword from the dust.
'You chaps have two choices,' he said, switching the sword from Mukhtar to Temis in time with his words. 'Either you can take a leaf out of your friends' books and run like mad…or you can stay here and tussle with me. But I warn you; I know how to use a sword, and whereas one of you might get lucky, the other one will surely taste the blade. Now, which one of you is going to be the lucky one?'
Mukhtar and Temis swapped nervous glances.
'Horses?' asked Mukhtar.
'Horses,' confirmed Temis.
They scrambled to their feet, and soon were just specks in the distance, their feet pummelling against the sand frenetically.
Quaint looked thoroughly pleased with himself. 'Not bad for an old man.'
In the cave behind him, he could hear whooping and jeering, and he was returned roughly to the here and now. The Clan Scarabs were on a hunt for their quarry and the chase had started without him…