“When are you going to get some pants?” Millie grumbled behind me, “nobody wants to look at your big green butt all the time.”

I slid my lower two hands down over my cheeks. I was standing out front at the top of the hill looking out at the vast orange valley below. Campsites spread along the canyon on both sides. I looked to the left and right, both the canyon and the enemy camps were a gaping wound in the earth for kilometers. Straight through or chance weeks walking to get around it.

Thurnar stood to my side keeping me between him and Khan. The large dingo had been trampling him the whole march up. Mido and Dredge had tried clubbing the dog, but it treated them like small children and dropped down low wagging his tail. “How do you plan on getting past all of this? Can’t smash our way through this one.” Thurnar said not taking his eyes off Khan.

I surveyed the scene. Most of the soldiers slept in their tents. Watchmen walked with torches at the front and back of the lines of tents, watching both the canyon and the forest for an ambush. Catapults sat loaded on both sides, but no one fired. On our side, there were thousands of spears standing along with the tents. There were torches and tall heavy shields. Trenches were dug deep just before the canyon. The trench was filled with a dark pool of liquid.

On the other side, there were towers all along the canyon edge. Each tower had a long walk board tipped up to its face. Rope bridges hung between the towers tying them all together. There appeared to be no one down on the ground but guards could be made out marching on the rope bridges between the towers. Each tower had a stick-built cabin on top with a wrap-around porch cantilevered out around it. They each had a straw roof and windows without glass in them. They stood on thick poles like wooden stools with houses built on top.

I studied the flat plank that stood up in front of the towers. It looked tall enough to drop across the canyon, but it didn’t look sturdy enough to support men. They also didn’t appear to have any campfires on the other side. I looked beyond the towers and saw a wagon trail leading back from the towers and into the brown hills beyond. They were receiving rations from neighboring towns.

“We have to get to the other side of the canyon. I don’t know what kind of enemy we are dealing with, but they have carts. If we can take the carts, we will have supplies and wheels. We’ll make better time with carts.”

“So, you want to get closer and watch for carts? Then what climb down the canyon and up the other side?”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead Thurnar. First, I have to get pants.” I bent over and ignored Millie’s groan and Shia’s whistle. I drew a circle on the ground and tossed the soil up over my head.

Phantom Cloak

Mana: 08

I started walking down the hill. “What do you want us to do?” Thurnar called after me looking around but not at me. He was yelling too loud assuming I was further away than I was.

“Wait here watch for a signal,” I said, and his eyes fixed on a point above my shoulder.

I took off running. I looked for a clear opening between guards' routes and slipped into the first tent I came to. A man was sleeping inside, dressed like he was a priest of the Middle Ages. He had on long black robes and sandals. He had another robe laying across a chair that was thicker with leather on the chest and shoulders. A sword with a sheath for a sword leaned up against the chair. The sword was gripped in his hand.

I pulled out the shade tail and crept up to his cot. Gripping the end of the tail I drove the blade into the Adam’s apple of the man's throat. His eyes popped open, and he gargled up blood, but he was staring at an empty tent. His eyes saw only air and darkness. I was invisible to his dying eyes. Though my spell would break to my adversary on contact there was a slight delay. He wasn’t alive long enough to see me appear.

I picked up the black robe with the leather sown on it. It was too small. I needed a much bigger man to steal clothes from. I slipped out of the tent and into the next one. This man was even smaller than the last one and had brown robes. I killed him anyway. As I came out of the tent I stood up and looked around. Were all of these men small? I looked deeper into the camp and saw a large tent. It could be the tent for strategy sessions, or it could be a higher-ranking officer. I thought to myself.

I tiptoed past a drunk soldier and slipped into the big tent. I saw a long table filled with fruit, nuts, and meats. Tall jugs of wine sat beside two half-full cups and one tipped on its side with a soaked spot on the tan tablecloth. There was a locked chest in the corner and a dividing curtain beyond that. Two yellow and white cockatiels in a gold cage sat to the side of the curtain. The divider flap opened just beside their cage. They shuffled in their cage, and I could smell the bird dropping that gathered beneath the cage. Little feathers dropped to the ground as the birds resettled after I dropped the exit flap behind me.

I walked slowly toward the birds letting my heel touch the ground first and rolling my foot to my toes so that my boots didn’t pat on the packed-down dirt floor. I breathed shallowly. I knew the birds couldn’t see me, but I was afraid they would hear me and alert the occupant on the other side of the divider. After seven tense steps, I reached out careful not to brush the cage, and peeled back the flap.

No one shouted from inside at the gently rising flap and the birds slept on unaware. When I had pulled the curtain back far enough, I ducked inside and found my prey sleeping on a large pallet with fat stuffed pillows. He wasn’t alone. Three women lay naked across the fat man’s legs and chest. He had his sword and spear laying out of reach on the floor. I stepped lightly over one woman, then knelt down beside the fat naked man. I lowered the tip of the shade tail blade right behind his ear between the jaw and skull. I stayed there a moment and watched each of the women’s faces to see if they were truly asleep. Then I thrust the blade all at once up into his head.

His legs flinched and his hands clenched the blankets. His mouth dropped open, and I froze waiting for a scream, but the fat man died quietly, and his muscles relaxed. As I pulled out the blade blood poured out on his sheets. I pulled one of the puffy pillows over his face and stepped back over the woman.

In the darkness, I saw a large red robe with wood and leather sown into it. There were jewels sewn into the shoulder pads and a gold chain belt sat beside it. I slipped on the robe. The leather armor on the shoulders stretched over my shoulders and there was a gap in the leather on the sides of my ribs. I cut the cloth below my arms along the ribs to allow my lower arms to slip out. I picked up the gold chain belt and hooked it around my waist. The excess chain hung down to my knees.

I found a helmet made from an elephant skull. Red rubies were set in above the eye sockets to look like furrowed eyebrows and gold trim curved around the sockets and the base of the helmet. I slipped it on my head as well. Lucky it was a fat man, the helmet fit perfectly. I could see through the sockets and the gold trim even diverted more light to my eyes, making my night vision even brighter.

I scooped up the women’s robes. They were a thicker, softer material with a white silk robe underneath. They had laces from the naval to the breasts. One of them had a hood as part of the outer fabric. I tossed the robes over my shoulder and stepped back out past the birds. I managed not to awaken the cockatiels. Then I stepped back out of the main flap.

A guard walked past, and his torch light lit up the tents around me, but he was watching the forest and not the camp. I would no longer be invisible anymore. My new robes and helmet had not been part of the spell. I glanced around and saw one of the catapults nearby. Grabbing a torch near a tent entrance I walked over and set the burning torch inches away from the trigger release of the catapult and walked away.

A guard had turned around to march back, so I dropped into the shadow of a tent and waited for him to pass. Then I slipped between tents getting some distance between me and the catapult. I Took a new torch and lit the base of a tent then darted through the shadows and lit several more.

Dropping the torch, I sprinted staying low to the ground. I made my way back over to the first two tents where I had killed the small soldiers. I looked around me to the guards in front of and behind me. When they had all turned at an angle to leave me in their blind spot I stood and waived my four arms in the dark. I knew that half my crew could see well in the darkness, and I had to be the only four-armed man around. A loud snap behind me made me duck. I looked back just as the boulder crashed into the base of one of the towers. The tower teetered but didn’t fall. The noise was incredible though and soon there were men screaming from the flaming tents further into the camp.

Trumpets sounded on the other side of the canyon and men poured out of tents on our side. I heard women screaming and turned to the big tent. Three long-haired, bare-breasted, butt-naked, beautiful women ran through the startled soldiers.

Some of the soldiers ran toward the fires with buckets, others ran to the catapult, and most watched the naked screaming women run past. The guards stopped their march and stared back at the chaos dumbfounded. Then arrows from the other side of the canyon began to fall in the midst of the camp.

Mia dropped in beside me first stopping her sprint by landing a hand hard on my shoulder. The elves were right behind her, and Shia was next. Goar pounded the ground when he ran, and I signaled for them to get in the tents of the dead men.

“What now?” Thurnar caught his breath with one hand on his knee and the other on his hammer.

“Take your boys and pillage tents. Take advantage of the chaos to get us all uniforms. I got some for the women and a couple of the elves, but we need some for the rest.

The blond elf smiled and looked down at the dwarf. “No offense Thurnar, but that sounds like a job for the elves.”

“Fat chance Veagon.” Thurnar pulled back his grey braided beard and spat on the ground. “If you and Elrindel can pull half the loot as me and my boys, I’ll cut my robe into a knee-high skirt and wear it the whole time we are in camp.”

Veagon’s blue eyes twinkled. “Deal.” He whistled to Elrindel and darted off into the camp hunched down, the dark-haired elf at his heels. They ducked against a tent as soldiers ran past and both laughed at something Veagon said.

Thurnar ground his molars and snapped at his son’s “c’mon boys.” Then the three dwarves ran in the other direction into the chaotic camp.

“What about me?” Verim said and I looked up and up until I saw the centaur’s long black hair and short beard. “I am not going to blend in well, with just a robe.” He pointed at his horse lower half.

“Get to the front lines and start firing arrows across the canyon. The soldiers will see you firing and assume you are an ally. Once the camp calms down we will be able to establish your backstory a little easier. Just keep your words minimum and make them like you. We may be here a while.”

“I’m goin wit em.” Millie started marching after him.

“Wait Millie, I got you something. Put this on first.” She glared at me but when she saw the expensive robe, I held out she grabbed it from my hand. I pointed to the tent, and she ducked inside.

“There a dead man in this one.” Millie complained.

“There is one in each tent Millie, make due.” I answered back.

“He lookin at me.”

“Shut his eyes Millie and be quiet.”

I stepped away and handed a robe to Agatha and the hooded green robe to Mia. Mia ran her hand over the soft fabric and flipped it to look at the leather laces on the front. She smiled at me.

“What about me?” Shia said after Mia had walked over to the tent and gone inside. I could hear the three women inside fussing and helping each other into their new clothes.

“You don’t need anything flashy. You make your own clothes.”

Shia raised her brows, and her thick bark began to recede revealing more flesh. I choked a little and diverted my eyes to the battle I had caused on both sides. “You like me better this way?” Shia cooed.

“I was thinking you grow out your armor a bit, we are about to have to fight,” I said not looking back at her now bare breasts. I could see them from the side of my eye, and it was making it difficult for me to concentrate on the battle building around the canyon.

“You have us in all these disguises, so you don’t think we will be fighting these men. You think the others are going to cross over here?”

“I’m counting on it.”