“Aye,” Duke Gladios said, “but look, he lives in the southern edges. While you might run into some wood elves or goblins, or even a spriggan or two, he’s not so deep in those cursed woods that you’ll get overwhelmed by foes.”
“True,” I said. “Plus, from what Duke Elfblood said about him, he seems to focus exclusively on illusion magic, which isn’t exactly the most offensive school of magic. If that’s the case, his home might be relatively safe. Anyway, it doesn’t make a difference. If getting to Corvus Gavrus means that we rescue Bella, then I don’t care where the hell he’s hiding, I’ll find him anywhere.”
“I know you will, Gamelord,” Duke Gladios answered. “Now go and check out the shipment of weapons from Silverton. Obviously, you can take whatever you’d like.”
Duke Elfblood, realizing that Homehold could find itself under siege at any moment, was more than generous with the supplies she sent. Sephara ditched her old, iron-tipped spear for a silver one.
At first, I didn’t think I’d take anything. After all, while these silver weapons were effective in a fight, especially against the undead, none of them matched my Dayfire longsword, or even my orcish war axe.
However, we had a decent journey ahead of us. It would take us roughly two days to reach Corvus Gavrus’ hideout. I was certain we’d run into at least a few enemies along the way. Gavrus would then be sending us to Lord Ephemera’s pocket dimension, where there’d be countless undead. Given that, I didn’t want to waste the Dayfire blade’s enchantment charge on lesser enemies, since I didn’t yet have the skills to recharge it. Likewise, I wanted to keep the orcish war axe nice and spiffy so I’d have an excellent backup weapon when I was in Lord Ephemera’s citadel.
I took a weapon and inspected it.
SILVER LONGSWORD
WEIGHT: 12 LBS
DURABILITY 1500/1500
ENCHANTMENT: 0/300
Not the flashiest weapon, but I took it anyway. I was sure I’d get more than enough use out of it before it was time to face Lord Ephemera.
It did occur to me that I could get an enchantment on the weapon. Surely, the high elf Therena would have been more than capable of imbuing the weapon with magic. Yet, after her spat with Duke Gladios, she’d been nowhere to be seen.
No biggie. The weapon was more than good enough for the next few days. After that, we checked our supplies. Sir Lucien had ordered Robbin and Piper to stock us up with food and potions. They looked on nervously as we inspected our packs.
I smiled at the pair. “Good job, guys,” I said. “You both have a knack for inventory management. You packed just enough of everything so that we won’t be over-encumbered.”
Both the squires grinned in surprise at that. Yet, even when taking a compliment, both Robbin and Piper were painfully awkward.
“Thank you, Lord Gamelord!” Piper said.
“Idiot!” Robbin berated him. “The lord says he prefers Lord Mackman!”
Oh geez. I let the two squabble, and me, Pandora, and Sephara retired to my bed chamber. I slept damn well that night, content that I’d spent my downtime wisely.
*****
We set out early the next morning. We were on horseback, with our usual arrangement: Sephara rode on her own while I stuck with Pandora.
Heading on the road south, we remained parallel to the mountains to the west. “Those are the Gray Wolf Mountains,” Pandora explained to me, as up until now, no one had told me the name of that mountain range.
Of course, Darkwood Forest lay on the opposite side of the Gray Wolf Mountains, but we couldn’t cross over until we reached a small pass in the mountains, well south of Homehold.
With the Necromancer’s forces temporarily holding back, Duke Gladios had allowed travel and trade to resume, so the road was busy with traffic. There were farmhouses and hamlets south of Homehold, with whole caravans heading north, where the farmers would peddle their wares in the Homehold market square.
As we rode past them, many recognized us, as they’d heard tales of our exploits. Many stared in amazement at the sight of the two Mananymphs. Earlier, I’d been nervous about having so many commoners spot Pandora and Sephara, but once I saw the travelers, I was confident they’d pose no threat. They were all simple folk, obviously uninterested in making trouble.
Also, Sir Lucien had sent out his patrols again, so Homehold soldiers on horseback were a common sight.
“They’ve got a garrison situated shortly before the Grey Wolf Mountain pass,” Pandora told me. “Depending on the weather, we might want to see if we can stay the night.”
I was confused. In this realm, this was the spring and summer time of year. Like late-April or early-May back on Earth. “What, are we expecting storms tonight?”
Pandora shook her head. “No, Earthman,” she said. She nodded to the horizon, where a mountain range in the distance was shrouded in a haze. “The closer we get to the Frozen Wastes of the south, the more unpredictable the weather becomes,” she answered.
I hadn’t noticed that mountain range until now. From here, it was barely noticeable. But now looking at it made my grit my teeth in anger. “Those are the Southern Mountains,” I said.
Pandora nodded. “They are. Beyond that rough terrain, the Necromancer keeps the bulk of his forces.”
Watching those seemingly tiny mountains, I said a silent prayer. At this very moment, the mighty Gorrok and his orcs were defending their homes from the Necromancer’s forces, which sought to enslave them. I hoped they were making out alright, and couldn’t wait to aid them in their battle against the Dark King.
“The farther south we go, we run the risk of encountering freak storms,” Pandora went on. “Of course, it’s nothing as bad as the weather in the Frozen Wastes, but sudden blizzards aren’t uncommon.”
“Well shit,” I said. “We didn’t pack for cold weather.”
Pandora smiled. “Rest easy, Earthman,” she said. She nodded to an extra pack strapped to our horse. “I had the squires pack us blankets and tunics, among other things.”
I kissed her cheek. “You’re my rock, Pandora, I swear,” I said. But different weather might have brought about different enemies. “Will the freak snowstorms bring any interesting monsters?”
“They could, yes,” she said.
She went on to describe the cold weather beasts that were sometimes spotted north of the Southern Mountains when the weather turned. There were frost elves, for one. They weren’t insane with dark magic like the wood elves from the depths of Darkwood Forest, but they were no friends to men and civilized mer.
“Some of them have homesteads, some even have small villages,” Pandora explained. “But those are only found in the Frozen Wastes. Most frost elves spotted north of the mountains are more likely to be brigands, bandits, or worse: Hunting for fresh meat.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like they’d be hunting deer or pheasant,” I said.
“Oh, they do,” Pandora said. “But they like the taste of man, of mer. They’re all cannibals, of course, with their food supplies being limited in the tundra. However, they prefer to eat prisoners, rather than each other…most of the time.”
The frost elves weren’t the only threat. There were ice tigers and polar bears that sometimes drifted north. Often, bands of orc bandits came north for loot. “And these aren’t the orcs that mighty Gorrok would call friends,” Pandora went on. “These orcs are outcasts, criminals and murderers that the Southern Mountain orcs banished from their villages.”
“Well, there goes my hopes that we’d have a peaceful trip,” I said, because all those threats were only a preview of what we’d find when we ventured into the Darkwood Forest. I’d been looking forward to camping outside but, with all these potential threats, now there was no question that we’d spend the night at the Homehold garrison.
Farther up the road, we heard sounds of a minor struggle. We rode faster to check on the scuffle, but found it was just two traveling farmers. They’d gotten into an argument a
nd a fistfight broke out, but there was a young Homehold soldier trying to settle them down.
He was a friendly-looking guy with a lean build, and he moved confidently in his heavy iron armor. “Take it easy, now,” he said to the farmers. “My name’s Marcus, of the Homehold Guard. Tell me what the problem is.”
I admired the way the soldier conducted himself. Whatever the problem had been between the two farmers, he settled it without force, never once even moving his hand toward the hilt of his sword.
In short order, he had the farmers shaking hands, on good terms now, and they both thanked him before riding off.
As we approached Marcus, he saw who we were and recognized us at once. His young eyes shot open wide, he removed his helm, and knelt down on one knee before us.
“Gamelord, the Champion!” the young soldier said. “It’s an honor to be in your presence, sir.”
“I’m no sir,” I said to him. “And there’s no need to bow.”
“Nonsense,” Marcus said. “No good man of Homehold would behold the presence of two Mananymphs and not drop to his knees! Lady Pandora, Lady Sephara, it’s my honor to see you again.”
“Again?” Sephara said.
The young soldier got to his feet. “Aye, though you could never remember me. I was there the day Duke Gladios revealed you to the city, Lady Sephara,” he said, then nodded to me. “Gamelord, I was there in the fight that day.”
Now that I got a good look at the guy, I did indeed recognize him. He’d been the soldier who’d taken a skeleton’s blade to the belly. I’d healed him up. “Oh, I’m sorry dude,” I said. “That battle had been so frantic, I guess I didn’t remember your face.”
Marcus got up and shrugged. “No need to apologize, my lord,” he said. “I suppose you all are off to fight another lich lord.”
“Yeah, that’s about the long and short of it,” I said. “We’re heading south, toward the last garrison before the Grey Wolf Mountain pass.”
He smiled at that. “Well then, if you’d be so kind, I’d very much enjoy to ride along with you,” Marcus said. “I received word just before dawn that I was to be stationed there, so I’m going that way anyhow.”
Pandora cocked an eyebrow. “Sir Lucien re-manned the garrisons the day before last,” she said.
Marcus slipped his helm back on and rolled his eyes. “Sir Lucien is a great leader,” he said. “I’d die for that man. The officers beneath him, though…” he trailed off. “Well, far be it for me to judge an officer, even if half of them can’t keep their own boots laced properly.”
I laughed, then shot a look to Sephara. She gave me a slight, almost imperceptible nod. Pandora did the same, and that was how I knew they both took the guy at his word.
“Well shit, I don’t mind if you ride with us,” I said. “Nice job breaking up that fight between those farmers, by the way.”
Marcus jumped into the saddle atop his horse and joined us on the road. “Far too many young soldiers join the guard for the wrong reasons,” he said. “Good men, all of them, but many are too quick to unsheathe their blades. Some of them forget that we work for the commonfolk, and not the other way around.”
*****
The traffic thinned out the farther south we got. The road cut through a small patch of unnamed woods, and there, we only bumped into a few traders making their way back to Homehold from the tiny hamlets between the forest and the garrison.
Marcus complimented me on my fighting skills. “Once this war is over, you’d do well to join the guard as an instructor,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, Gamelord, you’d be a fine captain, but the rank-and-file would benefit from mimicking your style.”
“I’m flattered,” I told the guy. “But I don’t plan on stopping once the Necromancer is dead.”
Marcus huffed and spit into the grass. “Aye, Gamelord,” he said, then lowered his voice. “I too yearn for the day when we move on the Imperial City.”
I paused. Pandora and Sephara did the same. None of us said a word.
Marcus took the hint, smiled, and unhooked his breastplate. He unbuttoned his cotton shirt beneath it then pulled the fabric open, showing off a United Rebel Front tattoo on his chest. The tattoo – which displayed Mother Gaia holding a righteous fist in the air – was an old one, with the colors faded. Marcus must have gotten inked years ago.
I breathed a sigh of relief, along with Pandora and Sephara. “Good to have you with us,” I said. “That’s a big risk though, isn’t it? That tattoo, I mean. If an Imperial agent ever saw it, you’d be tossed into prison, or worse.”
Marcus grunted as he put his armor back on. “That’d be fine by me,” he said. “The Empire must know that we’ll gladly die for our freedom.” Marcus looked away, with a tear glimmering in his eye. “Besides, I’d happily go to the life after this one, if only to see my wife and child again.”
I frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that, buddy,” I said.
He wiped the tear away, and the melancholy in his face was replaced by rage. “Back when we lived just north of Silverton, my wife had been part of a fund-raising effort for the rebellion,” he said. “But there’d been an informant among them. One night, while I was off hunting, I returned to find her and our baby boy, cut down and left for dead to send a message.”
I shook my head, then clapped the young soldier on his arm. “Well, we’re going to make that motherfucker pay one day, dude. You can trust me on that.”
Suddenly, as we were crossing through the thickest part of this small wooded area, Pandora stopped our horse, then signaled for Marcus and Sephara to halt.
“What is it, sister?” Sephara said.
“Shh,” Pandora whispered as she slipped on her life detection goggles. She looked around us, scowling, and drew her daggers. “I didn’t think they’d come this far north so quickly.”
“Who?” I asked, drawing my silver longsword.
“Orc outcasts,” Pandora said we heard heavy footfalls coming through the trees all around us. “They’ve surrounded us!”
*****
They emerged from the trees, twelve of them by my count. These orcs weren’t as bulky as Gorrok and his troops. The orcs that had surrounded us were damn hungry by the look of them, yet even on the brink of starvation, even the smallest among them was still quite a brute.
The fact that they were hungry didn’t make me feel any better. A hungry orc was a dangerous orc.
They were scarred. Some were missing fingers. They were wearing stolen bits of mismatching armor and their weapons were quite poor, all save for the warlord.
The warlord wore a scuffed, but fully functional set of the vaguely samurai-shaped orcish armor. The suit was complete, save for the helm. He was obviously the most well-fed of the bunch, easily doubling the rest as far as strength went. On his back, he had a huge, double-bladed, two-handed orcish battle axe that made my orcish war axe look tiny in comparison.
Though it was a two-handed weapon, the warlord showed off his strength but unclasping it from his back, then wielding it easily in one hand. “I told you, boys,” the warlord said in a tone even more gravelly than a normal orc. “If we were just patient, I knew dinner would come stumbling past us.”
“Hey pal,” I said, stepping forward. “This isn’t a fight that you want. We have more than enough food. We can give you a cut of our rations, no questions asked. All I request is that you fellas head back to the south.”
The warlord noticed the Soulguard on my left arm and gestured toward it. “Tell me, puny one, is that the Soulguard you wear?”
“It is,” I answered. “I’m Gamelord, Champion of the Mananymphs. Trust me when I say that I’m not your enemy, and I don’t want to fight today.”
When I told them my name, the rest of the orcs began to whisper amongst themselves, like they’d heard of me. The warlord, though, merely rested his axe upon his burly shoulder and scratched his chin.
“Well then, is it true that you’re the puny Earthman they say battled the mighty Gorrok
to a standstill?” the warlord asked.
I breathed a sigh of relief. While I had complete confidence that we’d win this fight, I really wanted to get a move on. I smiled, because it seemed like the warlord knew Gorrok. Hopefully, they were friends.
“Yes, I know the mighty Gorrok,” I answered. “I fought alongside him and his orcs, after we freed them from the lich lord’s mental enslavement.”
The warlord looked over his minions and grinned his toothy grin. “Well boys, I always wanted to know if I was tougher than that son of a swine named Gorrok. Surely, he must be getting weak in his old age, being bested by some puny Earthman!”
My smile vanished at once. I held my silver longsword at the ready and bared my teeth at the warlord. “Alright, that’s enough talking for now, asshole,” I said.
Marcus, holding his sword, cocked his head. “What is an ‘asshole,’ Gamelord?”
Sephara grinned as she drew her silver spear. “It’s an Earthman term for a petty bastard,” she said.
And then we charged.
Chapter Four
Though she was ostensibly the support-role member of our party, Sephara nevertheless got our first kill. One unlucky orc tried sneaking up behind her. He got a spear through his skull for his trouble.
“Got one!” Sephara shouted as she ripped her spear free from the dead orc’s eye socket.
With Sephara at the rear, Pandora shot out to the right, daggers at the ready. Marcus took the left flank, and I saw at once that he was more than capable with his iron longsword.
As for me, I had my sights set on the warlord.
Now, the big orc wielded his axe in both hands as he lumbered toward me. I thought it would be a good idea to fortify both my speed and my strength, but I didn’t want to drain my mana so quickly. I decided to cast the fortify strength spell then charged him.
Even without my speed boost, I was still much faster than the old orc. He started by slashing his battle axe in a wide arc, looking to decapitate me at once.
Unluckily for him, his fearsome orcish battle axe couldn’t so much as put a dent in the Soulguard. I blocked his opening attack with the enchanted gauntlet and hardly even felt the impact.
Monstergirl Quest Book Two Page 3
