High risk meant high reward. Xiao had volunteered to be a member of the tribute escort. It was a dangerous job given by the Divine Emperor of the Heavenly Jiefong Dynasty, a dynasty that waned like the moon, soon to vanish completely. The Jiefong lands had been ravaged by war for the past five years and now with the uneasy peace, there were still plenty of dangers on the road. When he and the rest of his five-hundred men returned to the capital, he would get his reward, and it would have all been worth it.

Their five wagons of gold would be expected by Jakha Khan before the full moon, the price of peace with the nomadic Gükhsei horse-lords. By Xiao’s estimation, it would be one more week’s travel. Marching in the column with the rest of his men, Xiao strained his eyes, looking ahead for his out-riders. The scouts had gone on ahead periodically, but they had been gone for some time now. How long had it been exactly? A chill worked its way up Xiao’s spine. “It is fine,” he whispered to himself. “It will be fine.”

The hilly road descended into a broad and grassy plain, perfect terrain for horses. Xiao’s stomach lurched, the outriders should have been back by now. Walking out of line, he let the men march on, waiting to rejoin at the middle with the horse-drawn carts. He heard the rumble before he saw the riders. Shouts echoed through the column.

Drawing his straight-sword, Xiao turned to find his men being surrounded by nomadic horse archers. Arrows rained into his men as they rushed to form a defensive square. Why would Gükhsei warriors attack their own tribute? Xiao grabbed a shield from a fallen soldier and took cover by one of the tribute carts. Fluttering in the wind was the answer, a sky blue banner with a white crescent moon. These were Arüktai warriors.

“Bao!” yelled Xiao to his subordinate. The man nodded. “Charge the enemy, make a hole to the river!” Without hesitation, Bao rallied one hundred men and charged a section of the enemy encirclement. Predictably, the horsemen retreated, loosing arrows and dropping bodies as they rode away. “With me!” yelled Xiao as he ordered the wagons to follow Bao’s charge.

An arrow hit Xiao in the stomach, bending and breaking off some of the small metal plates of his lamellar armor. Feeling for a puncture, his hand came up without blood. His ancestor’s luck might just see him through this.

For what seemed like an eternity, Xiao’s men followed the trail of their fellow soldiers’ bodies to the river, where Bao lay dead. The constant arrows withered the escort down to half their number. Just ahead was the ford where they would cross. “Wagons first!” ordered Xiao, crossing to secure the other side with a handful of men. The first wagon barely made it through the river. The second came too quickly and the axle broke, jamming up the ford.

On the other side of the river, the rest of the soldiers were surrounded in a crescent shape by horse archers. Some started to break and run for the ford. It turned into a full route and the men ran for their lives. The nomadic riders charged into them without mercy.

It pained Xiao to abandon his men but this would be the only chance they had to escape with the only wagon of gold on their side of the river. Arriving with one and an explanation would be better than empty handed. With the ten men that had crossed with him, Xiao guided the tribute wagon into the wooded hills. After mid-day, the troop stopped and rested. High in the hills, it would be unlikely any Arüktai would follow.

Xiao walked to a nearby stream and refilled his men’s canteens. It would be a long way yet and the road would be that much more dangerous with only ten other men to protect the tribute. Nearly anyone could overtake them. There was no choice for him, he would see the gold to its destination

Walking back to the wagon, Xiao saw his remaining men locked in a conversation, their postures were tense. One of them stepped forward as he returned. “There is no way we can safely deliver the gold,” he said.

“Not safely,” replied Xiao, “but we will regardless.”

The soldier looked nervously at the others. “No,” he replied. “We have discussed it, and it would be far...easier...if we divided it amongst ourselves and went our separate ways.”

Xiao dropped the canteens and drew his sword. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this. Back to the car, we are moving out!” The other soldiers drew their weapons and slowly moved to encircle Xiao. “The emperor has charged us with delivering this tribute-”

“What of it?” another soldier interrupted. “Everyone else is dead. No one will know the Arüktai did not take this wagon as well. No one will even know we are alive. Take your share and be done with this.”

“What about our reward?” shouted Xiao angrily. “Some of us have lives that depend on it.”

“This is more reward than we will ever see in our lifetimes,” said the soldier. “I’m not risking my life another day for the emperor.”

“Not all reward is gold,” muttered Xiao. “I cannot let you do this. If I don’t complete the journey, I’ll never see my father again. He was arrested by the emperor. This task is how I end my family’s disgrace.”

The soldiers looked at each other. It was not a story they could not empathize with but the gold was something they could not walk away from. The opportunity was too good. A soldier lunged at Xiao, whose straight sword parried the blow and came back around, slicing his enemy’s face from jaw to brow. The remaining soldiers rushed in at the same time. Xiao moved like the wind, slicing a leg, an arm, and two throats. His nerves were so high, he almost did not feel the sword bite through his wrist.

On the ground next to Xiao’s feet was his prized straight-sword and a severed hand. He stared in disbelief before feeling a sting in his gut. Dropping to his knees, Xiao remained silent, as a soldier withdrew the sword. Blood poured from the hole in his armor.

Xiao watched as the remaining soldiers killed anyone too wounded to walk and divided up the gold. Falling over on his side, he watched as a soldier walked up to him and crouched down. He looked saddened. “Why could you not just take your share?” he sighed.