"Yes," said Kirak. "Get Rugg on your side. He may be able to sway Zahruhl to see reason."
"What does Rugg want?" asked Shaluhk.
"That is difficult to say. I barely know him, but Laghul knows him better than I." He turned to his bondmate.
"It is true," she said. "I have met him a number of times. I have always found him to be reasonable enough. I believe he wants what he thinks is best for the Stone Crushers."
"Which is?"
"That is hard to say with any certainty."
"You will have to tread carefully," warned Kirak. "Zahruhl is quick to take offence."
"I found him to be reasonable enough," said Kargen, "but then again, our meeting was brief."
"Yes," said Shaluhk, "but he did end up gaining some of our tribe, a loss we felt keenly."
"They joined of their own free will," said Kargen. "We can not fault them for their choice."
"I think there is a greater danger," said Laghul.
"What is that?"
"If you fail to convince Zahruhl of the wisdom of your plan, he may take more direct action."
"Such as?"
"There is a very real possibility he might kill you."
"Surely not," said Shaluhk. "He is a chieftain!"
"He has nothing to fear from you," Laghul continued, "or from either of us, in fact. His village is walled in stone. We have no means to breach it, even if we had the will."
"That is not true," said Shaluhk. "We saw how the Humans attacked our palisades. Such tactics are not beyond us."
"Perhaps, but he will have no knowledge of such things. In his mind, his people are safe and secure behind his walls. He will see it no differently."
"I see I will have to be careful," said Kargen.
"No," said Shaluhk. "WE shall have to careful. I can not let you go there alone."
"Do you think that wise?"
"Even Zahruhl would think twice about killing a shamaness!"
"Shaluhk speaks with wisdom," said Laghul. "In any event, the task before you will be difficult. There is the very real possibility he will simply deny your request. That would allow us to decimate our own forces fighting the Humans. He could then sweep in and swallow up what remains of our tribes."
"Let us hope he sees reason," said Shaluhk.
"He will," said Kargen. "He has to."
"I wish you well," said Kirak, "but I do not begrudge you your task."
* * *
The next morning found Kargen and Shaluhk once again bidding farewell to Laruhk. Agar ran around the hut, unaware of the seriousness of their trip. Shaluhk found it difficult to part with him so soon. Even after they left, she thought of him, her silence leading Kargen to worry.
"Something is wrong," he said. "You are not yourself."
"I sense we are travelling into danger," she said, "and I can not reconcile it."
"It is not the first time we have travelled under such a threat, nor do I think it will be the last."
"True, but something is different this time."
"Should you have consulted the Ancestors?"
"We can not expect the dead to know the living. Zahruhl is dangerous; that much we know, but what worries me is that our failure may well doom our tribe."
"The tribe will continue without us if necessary," said Kargen. "It has always been so, and will continue to in the future."
"And if we die, what will happen to Agar?"
"He will be raised by his uncle," said Kargen. He laughed. "Then only the Ancestors will be able to help them."
"You jest, but I am serious."
He mellowed his tone. "I am sorry, Shaluhk, but we must be strong. We are on a dangerous mission, you and I, and I do not mean to make light of it, but we are always stronger when together. Just as Athgar and Nat-Alia have their task to complete, so, too, do we. And if we should die, then at least we are together at the end."
"You speak with heart, bondmate mine. So be it. Let us seize our fate with both hands."
"Spoken like a true Orc," he said.
They walked on in silence, the only sound the crunching of pine needles.
"It is peaceful here," noted Shaluhk. "It reminds me of the day we first met."
"It does? I thought we met at your parents' hut. I came to visit Laruhk, and you were smitten with me."
"That is not the first time we met," she said, "and I was hardly smitten. No, the first time we met was when you were out hunting with Durgash and Laruhk. I was sent to find my brother because he was late for his dinner."
"Oh yes, I remember now. You were such a tiny thing back then."
"Was I indeed? And now?"
"Now you are the very model of the perfect Orc."
"Good answer," she replied.
"Tell me, what DID you think of me when first we met?"
"I must admit to some attraction, but you were still young at the time. It was only later when you fully matured that you began to make my heart flutter."
"I am glad you waited. I doubt I would have been a good bondmate back then. Tell me, do I still make your heart flutter?"
She smiled. "Only whenever you enter the room."
Preparations
Autumn 1104 SR
* * *
The headquarters of Lord Deiter Heinrich, the Duke of Erlingen, was a busy place. At some point in the past, the structure had likely housed a great hall, but someone had extended the original building by adding wings to either side, giving the place a more grandiose appearance. Sir Raynald led them into one such wing now, passing through a long corridor where warriors scuttled back and forth, each in a hurry, though, for what purpose, Athgar couldn't say.
When they finally arrived at a door, the knight halted. "This is the waiting room," he announced, "but we'll go straight in to see His Grace." He opened the door, revealing a packed room.
Sir Raynald elbowed his way past a group of burly axemen, ignoring their complaints. "Right through here."
They halted before another door, guarded by a warrior lazily leaning against the wall.
"Ah, Janik, is His Grace in?"
"Are these the two mages?" the warrior asked as he leaned forward slightly and looked them over. "They don't appear very impressive."
"We are in our travelling clothes," explained Natalia, "and have had scant time to unpack much of anything. Is His Grace interested in our magic or not?"
Janik straightened. "My pardon, lady. He is within." Opening the door, he stepped aside to allow them entry. Once through, he followed, closing the door behind him.
Lord Deiter Henrich was an imposing fellow, standing a head taller than Athgar and with a full grey beard. He turned his weathered countenance upon the newcomers with an intense gaze.
"Who is this, Raynald?" he asked.
"These are the two mages I was telling you about last night, Your Grace. Allow me to introduce Natalia and Athgar.
"Greetings," said the duke in his deep baritone. "I trust Sir Raynald has filled you in on the campaign?"
"Not really," said Athgar.
"What my husband means," added Natalia, "is while we are fully aware of the crusade, we are short on details."
"Ah, well, I can provide those." He moved across to the wall, where a crude map had been hung. "This is a map of the area as far as I can ascertain." Deiter shrugged. "It's not very good, admittedly, but then again, we are in the armpit of the Continent."
"My lord?" said Athgar.
"He means we are in the middle of nowhere," explained Sir Raynald.
"Yes," said the duke, "precisely. It's difficult to find maps of the area, so I commissioned this one myself. Terrible waste of coins if you ask me. I mean, look at it." He scowled, then picked up a tankard, taking a sip. "Tell me, are you familiar with the area?"
"Only in the most rudimentary capacity," said Natalia. "Why do you ask?"
He frowned. "I was looking for someone to lead us."
"These are mages," said Sir Raynald, "not scouts, Your Grace."
; "Couldn't they be both?" The duke sighed. "Never mind, I shall have to do without. I'm told the Church is familiar with the area. We'll simply have to trust in them. Now tell me, what kind of mages are you?"
"I am a Water Mage," said Natalia, "and my husband is a Pyromancer."
Lord Henrich rubbed his hands. "A Fire Mage, just what we needed. I should think you'll prove quite valuable, young man."
"Perhaps," piped in Janik, "a demonstration of their power might be in order?"
"Yes, my aide has a good point. What do you say, Athgar? Care to show us what you can do?"
In answer, the Therengian looked around the room. His eyes came to rest on the fireplace, which sat unlit. He pointed. "May I?"
"By all means," said the duke.
Athgar took some logs from where they sat beside the fire and tossed them into the fireplace, stepping back once complete.
"You will note the logs," he said, then closed his eyes, concentrating on his inner spark. Moments later, the fire came to life, bringing a smile to the old man's face.
"Marvellous," he announced. "How about you, my dear. Care to give us a little example of what you can do?"
Natalia concentrated, taking her time to form the words of power. Moments later, the flames died, smothered by frost.
"Impressive," said Lord Deiter. "I can't wait to see what Hargild will make of you."
"Hargild?" said Athgar.
"Yes, Father General Hargild. He commands the army."
"It's not you, then?"
"Ah, I see the confusion. I command the auxiliaries. That is to say, the warriors who do not fall under the Church's direct control."
"His Grace is a seasoned veteran," added Sir Raynald. "He comes to us from his palatial home in Erlingen."
"Where is that if I might ask?" said Athgar.
"It's one of the northern states," said Natalia, "close to Andover if I'm not mistaken."
"You're quite right," enthused the duke. "They are, in fact, our neighbour."
"Well, Your Grace?" said Sir Raynald. "You think them suitable?"
"By all means," the duke replied. "I shall be happy to add them to the list."
"Perchance," suggested Janik, "you might introduce them to the father general this evening?"
"What an excellent idea." The duke turned his attention back to Athgar and Natalia. "We're having a little get-together tonight at the father general's house. I'd like you to be there if that's all right with you?"
"Of course," said Natalia, "we'd be delighted."
"Good. I'll send a carriage for you this evening, shall I? See to the arrangements, Janik."
"By all means, Your Grace."
"Might I ask the reason for our presence this evening?" asked Athgar.
The duke laughed. "I want to rub the father general's nose in the fact that I have not one, but two mages, where he has none."
"Are you sure that's wise, Your Grace?" asked Natalia. "We do not wish to insult him."
"Insult him? Don't be silly; he's a member of the Church. He'll be over the moon to think we have people of your capabilities in the army. No, your presence will merely confirm I am better at raising an army."
* * *
That afternoon found the pair of them sitting in their room.
"What did you make of the duke?" asked Natalia.
"He was a reasonable man. Is that what you mean?"
"Not precisely. I wanted to know what you make of him as a leader. Sir Raynald seemed to think he is quite experienced. That doesn't bode well for the Therengians."
"No," said Athgar, "I suppose it doesn't. Did you see the number of men waiting to meet him?"
"I did," she replied. "It's as if everyone this side of the Grey Spires wants in on the fighting. You'd think the villages were rolling in gold or something."
"Tell me," said Athgar, "do these people really believe they're doing the Saint's will?"
"Some undoubtedly do, but the rest are likely only looking for wealth. After all, soldiers have to make a living too."
"I suppose that's true."
"Listen," said Natalia, "I've been thinking about this evening."
"And?"
"And we need to get our story straight. We've already blurted out our first names. We don't want it to get out that I'm a Stormwind. We need to come up with a false name."
"How about Runell? He was the captain of the Swift."
"Good idea," she said. "It'll be easy to remember."
"I would also suggest you hide that," he said, pointing at her ring. It had been a present from Illiana Stormwind and was incredibly expensive, but what was worse was that it held magerite, a gem that indicated the wearer's power, turning darker on those of sufficient skill. Every member of the family had one, though not always worn as a ring. Right now, sitting on Natalia's finger, it was almost black, displaying her power to any who knew how to read it.
"I hadn't thought of that," she admitted. "I'll tuck it away, shall I?"
"That would probably be for the best."
"What did you make of his soldiers?"
"There were lots of foot," said Athgar, "but I didn't see much horse, did you?"
"No, thank the Saints, but he still has fifty-odd knights. That's more than enough to cause problems."
"Yes," Athgar agreed, "and that's not including the knights from the Church. This is not shaping up very well for Runewald."
"We shall have to find a way to offset their advantage."
"How do we do that?"
"By fighting in a place of our own choosing," said Natalia, "somewhere that will neutralize their horsemen. Maybe we could draw them deeper into the woods?"
"How? Won't they go after the villages?"
"Not if the army tempts them," she said, warming to the task. "It would take some careful planning, but if they see us formed up for battle, their priorities will shift. How many men do you think Eadred can raise?"
"I have no idea. I can't imagine Runewald could field more than a hundred."
"Let's assume the other villages are similar, giving us an army of say, five hundred."
"Plus the Orcs," added Athgar.
"Yes," said Natalia, "but they'll have to leave some of their hunters to guard their own villages. How many do you think that leaves them?"
"Well, assuming all three tribes cooperate, I would say somewhere in the vicinity of another two hundred, maybe three if we're lucky."
"That's seven or eight hundred in total. I think that would be more than sufficient to garner some attention, wouldn't you? We can use that to lure them away from the villages."
"Yes, but is it enough to defeat them? We still don't know their numbers yet."
"True," said Natalia, "but now we have a better idea of what we can field. The Orcs of the Red Hand had those warbows of yours. Do the other tribes have them?"
"No," said Athgar, "nor do the Therengians. They favour spear and shield."
"Do they have any armour?"
"I imagine King Eadred does, and so did Cenric. Some of his personal guards might have some chainmail shirts, I suppose."
"That's not very encouraging. We need something that will defeat plate armour."
"The warbows will work well," said Athgar, "but there aren't enough of them. Our best hope is that the Stone Crushers help. At least they have Earth Mages."
"Yes," said Natalia, "I can work with that. We learned all about the power of the earth. It's perfect for creating defensive works."
"Providing we can lure this Holy Army to the right spot," added Athgar.
"Our biggest weakness is the lack of horsemen. That makes it difficult to keep tabs on the enemy."
"Not necessarily," noted Athgar. "We don't know how well organized this army of theirs is. The duke appeared to take great delight in showing up the father general. Do you think it's a weakness we might exploit?"
"And here I thought I was the tactician. What have you got in mind?"
"We try to sow distrust amongst the leaders, maybe caus
e them to believe that the other seeks to take all the credit for their success."
"That's not a bad idea," said Natalia. "We'll keep our ears open tonight for anything we might be able to exploit. If nothing else, we should be able to get a better idea of their numbers."
Athgar nodded. "It sounds like we have the beginnings of a plan. Now all we have to do is spy on the enemy while avoiding getting killed ourselves." He chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"I was just thinking about what will happen if they discover our secret."
"Which is?"
"They'll try to kill us. I told you coming to the city wasn't a good idea!"
* * *
The estate occupied by Father General Hargild was situated on the edge of town, close to the western gate upon a large plot of land. The carefully manicured lawns encircled a house that formed a solid block of two floors. From the exterior, there was little to mark it as the property of the Church, but once they drew closer, they saw the guards, their distinctive grey tabards easily identifying them as Temple Knights of Saint Cunar.
When the carriage came to a halt, Athgar immediately climbed down. Natalia, however, lingered for a moment at the top of the single step, using the height advantage to see over the other guests.
"Coming?" he asked.
She stepped from the carriage. "Yes, I was just looking for the duke."
"And did you find him?"
"I did, as a matter of fact. He's over to our left, along with a group of knights."
"In that case," said Athgar, "we'd better seek him out. If we want to learn more about the army, that's the best place to start." He took her hand, guiding her through the crowd. There were soldiers here in the livery of the duke, but the rest of the guests favoured less military-styled clothing, preferring instead to dress in their finest clothes.
"I feel a little underdressed," noted Natalia.
"As do I, but there's little we can do about it. We'll simply have to make the best of it. Who are all these people?"
"Likely his knights, though he might have a baron or two who serves under him as well."
"I suppose it only makes sense. He can't command an army all by himself."
Inferno Page 17
