Dark Brigade: Dorwin’s Gold
By D. N. Tomblin
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Copyright © 2012 by D. N. Tomblin
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Dark Brigade: Dorwin’s Gold
"Filthy humans." He snarls as he walks away from the corpse. The beast-like creature wipes the blood from his blade. His sizeable nostrils flare as he breathes.
The moon seems to evoke a more greenish tint as the air becomes thick enough to chew, as they feel another presence. They hover over their just unearthed treasure, which contains more wealth than they could have ever imagined. More wealth than anyone could have. No one was going to tear it away from them.
"We've earned this, day after day, week after week," he reminds his brother Finneus. He stands, a true marksman, yet merely bones compared to his brother Gildar. They nod in agreement.
"Show yourself you coward," shrieks the smaller goblin, knocking an arrow.
A shadow emerges from the tree line, noticing the prize, standing in awe of its lust. Gildar runs toward it, long sword at the ready. "Tell me your business or I shall kill you, just like your comrade!”
"I'm- I'm not with him. I was just out hunting boar and heard a racket," he pleaded, crippled with fear. "Please! Let me go!" He knows it’s too late for him to pull off a spell. “These guys are serious, and lucky,” he thinks to himself.
"Why would I do that? So you can follow me and steal it?
"I can help you if you let me go."
"A weakling like you? Help me?" He laughs.
"I can heal your wounds."
"How?"
"Magic."
"What is this magic you speak of?" He states, lowering his long sword.
Taking a sigh of relief, the orc lowers his shroud. He holds his head high. Unsure, they allow him to proceed, still defensive, ready at a moment’s notice.
The sky darkens. A bright red aura grows within the creature’s claws as he raises them into the air. He chants an indecipherable language. The aura now becomes a cloud, which senses the brothers before engulfing them. Feelings of weightlessness and rejuvenation overwhelm, the cloud now turning a dull greenish color as it wears off and they land. What was this new experience, this “Magic?”
Their hunt had taken them far from home. Not wanting to test the extent of his abilities they thank the wizard whom they later discover is known as "Zero of Elnar."
Realizing what stands before him, Zero takes his leave. Treading his way back to path he picks up his boar carcass as he mutters. “How do I always find myself in the right place, at the wrong time?” He knows no one is going to believe that the legends were true.
-
Gildar snatches his map out of his makeshift backpack. Dismissing the main routes he decides they need to cut West through the woods, knowing running into anyone would present a problem. Who wouldn't do anything to get their hands on Dorwin’s gold? They attempted dragging the treasure chest full of joy-inducing emeralds and gold along the ground, but it proved to be far more difficult than they had anticipated.
Being the smarter of the two, Finneus swaddles his way toward the clearing, leaving his brother to guard the treasure. He sees farmland, and thinks maybe he can find something useful. He approaches a crude, dilapidated shed. In it he discovers a small cart, probably for harvesting crops. Pleased, Finneus grabs it as he starts heading back, but not before picking some berries and stocks of corn to take with him. Making it home could get rough.
They were able to use some pieces of firewood they had gathered from earlier in the night to
hoist the treasure chest into the cart, to which they affix their food and supplies. Gildar takes off his shroud, and covers it up the best that he can. It was obvious they were moving something, something that they didn’t want anyone to know about.
Their voyage home to Torythe seemed to present little challenge. Avoiding main trails, sleeping in shifts, pondering what they were going to do with their new found fortune.
“I shall build a palace,” remarks Gildar, “With a drawbridge and a moat, to protect me and my only, with dozens of servants to do my bidding!” His brother chimes in, “I shall build a hundred palaces, with a thousand servants!” They continue on their way, staying alert.
-
Zero returns to the site the next evening, only to find the corpse, human, and wheel tracks leading to the west. “What was a human doing all the way out here,” he thought. “Hey you,” shouts the approaching farmer, also an orc, but quite a bit older than Zero. “Why are you digging up my land? What did you do with my cart?” Growing angrier by the second, he notices the corpse as Zero takes a step back. “What is going on here?”
“I uh… I didn’t do this. I saw two goblins out here last night though. I was hunting out in the clearing, that way.” Zero didn’t want to tell the truth, but it just oozed out of him as he was caught off guard.
“HOGWASH! You are to be charged with murder!”
“I think they said they were from Torythe,” Zero exclaims.
“Why would someone from Torythe be all the way out here? Come with me! You are going to jail!” The bulky farmer reaches out his arm, as to restrain the wizard. Zero reaches up to the sky, an aura swirls into a spinning cloud.
“I told you, I saw them last night, Gildar and Finneus of Torythe,” he states as he ascends into the air. “They found Dorwin’s Gold, it was buried right here, in your farm. And then they killed this human who was following them.”
The farmer, not intimidated by magic, continues his allegations. “You killed this human and were going to bury him in this hole! Dorwin’s Gold is just a tall tale.” “Call the guards, there’s been a murder,” he shouts to his son, who stands near the shed. The son takes off on his father’s steed.
“I speak the truth sir,” states the wizard who is now floating backwards, “Once the guards show
up I’m screwed,” he thinks. ”If the farmer doesn’t believe me, why would anyone else?” He makes up his mind, he runs.
Zero turns to the west, to very woods that the wheel tracks led into, he takes course. Flying faster and faster, there was no way the farmer and his son could ever catch up to him, even on horseback. The wheel tracks disappear within seconds. He is on the run, for being in the “right place,” at the “wrong time” yet again.
-
Finishing off the last of his rations, the feeble, lanky goblin Finneus rides on top of the cart while his brother drags it along. They’ve grown somewhat cocky as they’ve had good luck at hiding their findings. Passers-by have proved not to be very inquisitive about their large, blustering barnacle. They decide to take main trail back into Torythe. No one from their home town would ever cross them, the well socialized, adventure seeking brothers.
The pitter-patter of hooves evokes from the trail ahead. It swells into the sound of multiple pairs of hooves. They decide they should probably get off the trail, just in case. A simple scan of the landscape reveals a boulder, more than big enough to hide them and their belongings, twenty feet to the right.
“Humans, in Torythe? Gildar softly bellows, un-noticed as he peers at the cavalcade of humans trudging along trail. Humans and goblins rarely get along. Each race loyal to their kind, and generally stay away from the opposite race. “What could they be after,” he thinks, as he is starting to feel uneasy. Once the trail is clear, they continue, concerned about what the humans could possibly be doing in their beloved home town, so far away from their own land in the north. Bewildered, they continue on their way.
They start recognizing familiar points of interest along the trail, the fishing stream, trees the town’s children carve their i
nitials in. They knew they were getting close. Dripping with excitement, they hurry along, now only hundreds of meters away. Gildar, counting the seconds until he can finally hold his only once again, and make all of her wildest dreams come true, moves increasingly faster. He pays no mind to the fact that the shroud has become askew as the treasure chest is now obvious. The rickety cart creaks along the way.
A crowd forms around the goblins as the town’s people greet them. Many familiar faces welcome them home. The natives dance to a merry pan flute song. A celebration ensues. No one from Torythe has ever reached such an amazing achievement.
Reaching the door of their shack, Gildar takes a deep breath. Holding the treasure chest now,
ready to present it to his only, Finneus opens the door, revealing a trail of blood. The trail leads to the back corner of the shack. Dropping the treasure, he runs to her side. A fresh chest wound. He cradles her lifeless corpse as he starts to weep. “Nooo! I did it all for you, WHY!”
He roars as he runs outside. The music seems to dissipate and all eyes are on him as he demands. “Who did this? I want names!” He pulls out his sword and waves it at the crowd. No one says anything, it’s dead quiet. The local barkeep reports seeing the caravan of humans. “I vow to kill every last human until I find out did this!” Gildar screams, bellowing to sky, dropping his long sword to the ground.
“We have to save her,” looking at his scraggly brother, bearing a long face, feeling beaten. “There has to be a way…”
“There could be a way.” Finneus replies, looking down at the treasure. He grabs Gildar’s backpack and stuffs in as much gold as it can hold. “We shall seek Zero of Elnar. Perhaps he can return life to her with his magic. Did he not heal us?” Having nothing to lose, Gildar agrees. They wait till the sun goes down and bury the bulk of the treasure under their shack. Gildar dresses his lady in her favorite, most beautiful gown, and places her in the back of the cart. Once again, they set off, this time on the main trails.
After bearing the hot sun all day, the corpse starts to stink of rotting flesh, and they decide to stop for the night. Gildar heads off into the woods to gather fire wood, as Finneus climbs a tree from which to track a doe in the distance.
-
Zero had taken shelter in a cavern, to hide, to ponder his next move. “What can I do?” He thinks. He knows he can’t return to Elnar, the modern, hustling bustling city, where wizards and magic were the norm. Wizards had been advised not to leave Elnar, as not all of the creatures in the land would be as accepting of their mystical ways. Those that did were known to be accused of witchcraft, sometimes being burned at the stake, (those unresistant to fire anyway) or even beheaded. He didn’t want to be pinned to the murder of the human back at the farm, but what he really didn’t want was to be executed…
He takes a step out of the cavern. He sees a doe to the left. He squats down, one foot inside his home for the eve, and thinks about how he should attack it. He hasn’t eaten in days, let alone experienced such a feast that this size an animal could provide. THWACK! An arrow hits the deer and it falls to the ground. Someone is nearby. “They’re tracking me, someone is. They must be.”
He decides to go on the offensive. A quick chant and he develops a green protective aura, and then a second one begins to grow within it, purple. He rises within the midst of the now swirling, multicolored cloud. The illuminated landscape reveals the two goblins who committed the treacherous deed that has landed him in so much hot water, and their cloak covered cart. “You are the goblins that killed the human, which I have been accused of, and now I shall take my prize,” he announced angrily. He reaches his arm out and exudes a stream of magic towards the back of the cart. To what turns out is not a treasure at all. As he lifts it into the air, Gildar’s nostril flare as he roars, “Unhand my love you evil creature! She is already gone!”
“What have you done with the treasure?” Zero asks, still hovering. The corpse is now sprawled out upright in the air, floating above the goblin brothers.
Finneus jumps out of the tree, and opens Gildar’s backpack. “We have come seeking you, Zero of Elnar,” he shouts, showing him the gold they’ve brought with them. “We need you to use your magic to heal her, to return life to her. The filthy humans have slain her in retaliation of the death of their own.” Gildar interrupts, “And we shall kill every last one of them until we find the ones that did it.”
Zero lowers himself and the corpse to the ground. Gildar runs to the corpse and holds it as Finneus proudly engages the wizard. “Help us and we shall reward you with the gold you see here.” Zero looks closely at the bag, he knows it’s enough gold to make him as wealthy as he could ever imagine. He decides to help.
“I cannot return life, for I am merely a wizard, not a necromancer.”
Gildar runs to him, sword at the ready, “Then what good are you? You are the one who gave the humans our names! It MUST have been YOU! YOU are the reason she is dead,” he snarls wildly. Holding his blade to the wizard’s chest, he looks to his brother for approval. Zero quickly starts chanting up another spell as Finneus yells, “Brother no, wait, what are necromancers?” He signs to Gildar to lower his sword.
“I can only preform midrange levels of magic, as you see… Necromancers can perform one of the highest levels magic, pertaining to souls, and the dead. I did NOT give up your names to the humans. It must have been the farmer who owned the land where you found the gold. He accused me of killing the human so now I am on the run. I shall lead you to a necromancer, if your offer still stands that is. There have been talks of them residing in the Forgotten Woods.”
“We could not make it through the Forgotten Woods. Legend has it that those who enter never return,” Finneus states.
“Ah, but none of those who speak of the legend had a wizard with them.” Zero playfully zaps the deer carcass and it disappears, reappearing in front of the brothers. He grows more confident as he can tell the goblins are still impressed by magic. He knows he still has a chance to get a piece of Dorwin’s Gold.
Their journey now takes a sharp turn to the south, towards the Forgotten Woods. Zero leads the way, elaborating on the ways of wizards and necromancers as they pay close attention. The brothers grow weary from the hot sun. They decide take rest as they prepare themselves for the journey that lies before them.
“Turn back, brother. You don’t have to do this,” Gildar says to his brother, stirring the campfire with a stick. “There’s no guarantee that we will make it out.”
Offended, Finneus stands up. “You are my brother. You need me, as I need you, and that shall be the end of this.”
-
The sky darkens as the reach the edge of the woods. They corpse now well-rotted, adding a distinct foul odor to their unhopeful mission. By this point, Zero has abandoned all thoughts of treachery. “Where would I take it to anyway,” he thinks. He knows that his best shot is to befriend them. Standing towards Gildar and Finneus, his back to the woods, he wizard has an announcement.
“There’s one thing we need to do before we enter. I need you to take off your armor and weapons and lay them here, on the ground.”
“Like hell! You are just trying to leave us vulnerable, so you can make off with our gold.”
“I have been here before. You cannot face the peril that lies within these woods with your crude weapons. I need to enhance them, making them far more powerful!” He explains as he floats into the air. “You must do it,” he shoots lightning into the sky. “Now!”
They proceed to gather their weapons and armor, and lay them out on the ground. Finneus is intrigued by the notion of having more powerful weapons, while Gildar is still skeptical. He doesn’t like being without his blade. He breathes deep and slowly as he stares at the flying wizard, having a look in his eyes that seems to say something about the rage that lies within him. Zero conjures up an enchantment spell. It grows bright blue, reflecting in the pitch black sky. It picks up each weapon individually, and the blue sp
ell seems to engulf them. Then glow red hot, and then fire rolls over them. They grow in length and thicken. They have been forged
anew. Once the weapons have been enchanted, Zero, still floating in the air proclaims, “From this moment forward, we shall all be brothers! We must rely on each other to make it to the necromancer we seek. I hereby declare us brothers three, as the Dark Brigade of the North.”
Gildar’s newly enchanted long sword gently floats into his hand. He looks at it, and notices the newly formed emblem that has been embossed onto it. DB. He grins and swings it in the air. Finneus anxiously reaches out for his bow, and grips it for feel. He finds the same DB emblem. They all grin as they all take a look at each other, and step into the woods.
-
A couple of hundred meters in, the path seems virtually nonexistent. They decide to leave the cart. Zero and Finneus take what they can carry, and Gildar picks up his lady, easily carrying her as they make their way. Little could stop him from getting what he needed.
A screeching sound, almost deafening, emits nearby. Finneus knocks an arrow, and takes a stance. Gildar lays the corpse on the ground, so he can crouch along with Zero. Finneus shoots an arrow, and is amazed by the sparkling magic trail that follows it. The arrow hits nothing, but the glow from the trail is enough to see the colony of bats in the distance. Not just any bats, giant ones, big enough to put the fear of god into anyone who might encounter them. Overwhelmed, he knocks another one, trying to start lessening their numbers, so that the group of goblins could continue on.
“Wait,” Zero quickly states as he touches the tips of the arrow, setting it ablaze.
He shoots the arrow, and it lands it the wing of one of the bats, one to the right of the colony. It shrieks horribly as is spins its way toward the ground, fully ablaze. The colony erupts, flying straight towards the trio. “Follow me!” Finneus exclaims. He noticed a hole in the ground a few meters in front of them while the second arrow was in flight. He runs forward and dives into it, followed by Zero. The colony gets closer and closer with each second. Gildar isn’t sure that he will make into the hole by the time the bats get to him. He picks up his beloved wife with his left arm, and with his right, he pulls out a dagger and leaps
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