The Gate - A New Breed of Orc (The Gate Series Book 1)

by B. N. Crandell

  They had reached the edge of the grove in short order. Jethro didn't dare wait for the young soldier that he sent back to Arthea to return, and so they had set out right away, one man down but two boys replacing him. Jethro didn't like the idea of the boys coming along; he thought they could well prove a distraction for Gerard and Jeff, but he was just happy to have the two men with him. They both appeared focused to him now, and if Gerard's grip on his own neck was any indication, he almost pitied these orcs.

  "From here on, we move as silently as possible," ordered Jethro, "hand signals only." All dismounted as ordered and followed Jethro into the dark grove.

  A short time later Jethro held up his hand, ordering the men to stop. Gerard came up beside him and looked to where Jethro was looking. Jethro watched Gerard as his eyebrows rose and the large man turned back to him and gave a nod of approval. He felt good that he had so surprised Gerard, for what he had seen could easily have been missed.

  The night was bright, but in the grove surrounded by trees it was still quite dark in patches. The moonlight filtered through the leaves of the birch trees and the other larger trees that were scattered throughout the grove.

  Up ahead, Jethro could just make out the silhouette of a large orc. Obviously on watch, the orc appeared substantially more alert than most orc watches he had experienced.

  Jeff came up and stood next to Gerard and quickly noticed the same thing. Master Pilk came up on Jethro's other side. Gerard looked at the wizard and made a gesture, cupping his two hands together, followed by a second gesture of one finger poised vertically over his partially closed lips. Master Pilk nodded his assent and cast a quick spell.

  "It is now safe to speak. I have cast an orb of silence over our posi-tion," declared Master Pilk, still in a whisper.

  "Thank you, Master Pilk," said Jethro also in a whisper, then turning to Gerard, he said, "We need to kill this orc before he can alert the camp." Gerard nodded his agreement.

  "The young lads mentioned that only ten orcs came through the gate. If no more have arrived, we should have no problems, for only eight should remain. Why not then just charge the camp and overwhelm them quickly before they can call for reinforcements through the gate?" enquired Master Pilk.

  "Because of that 'if' word you used Master Pilk. If they have already reinforced, then we could be the ones heartily slaughtered," answered Jeff.

  "I agree," started Gerard. "These orcs seem a bit more organised than any orc I have come across. We had better play it safe and learn what we can about the camp before charging in."

  "Oh, very well," replied Master Pilk. "Spoiling all the fun with your careful manoeuvres as usual I see, Gerry."

  "Those 'careful manoeuvres' kept three of us four here alive, where your 'charge first, ask questions later' tactics would have had us dead many times over," whispered Gerard. Jeff gave a sly smile at that, likely recalling some of the encounters Gerard was referring to.

  "So, any ideas as to how to bring this brute down without waking the entire camp?" asked Jethro.

  "That sounds like your specialty, Jeff," answered Gerard.

  "I thought you'd never ask big fella." Jethro observed the two men and saw no hint of the despair he saw in their eyes a little more than an hour earlier. They almost looked like boys at play in this setting. Not for the first time he was genuinely glad these two experienced soldiers were with him. He watched as Jeff crept of into the darkness. A minute later he couldn't even see him. He turned back and observed Gerard talking to the two boys.

  "I want you both to remain at the rear of the squad. Do nothing daring. If an orc comes at you, stand your ground and fight him together, do not fight them one on one. If they have an axe, do not try to block their swing. That will only result in a broken sword and a numb arm. Dodge and attack. If things go badly here and you see a way to escape, do it. Head straight back to Arthea as quick as you can and tell General Kehar what transpired. Do you understand?"

  "But fath..." began Vik.

  "Soldiers do not argue with their superiors. That would get a lot more men killed in battle. Do you understand?" said Gerard again.

  "Yes, sir," both boys said in unison. They were both unofficially now in the army, on a mission they would not have experienced until their second year in training, three years away for Trent and four for Vik, had circumstances been different. They both set off toward the rear of the squad. Jethro turned back to where he had spotted the orc. The orc was gone.

  * * *

  Once Jeff was out of sight of the squad, he set off in a roundabout route to take him inside the perimeter of the orc guard. In his experience, those on guard duty spent the majority of their time looking away from the camp to observe any threat. It was a rather arrogant view they held of themselves, believing that no one could penetrate beyond their guarded area and attack them from behind. It was also instinctual. You were set to watch for danger and so you watched the only direction you thought danger could come from, away from the security of the camp.

  Jeff had caught himself doing it a number of times as a young soldier. Being given many such assignments as the one he held now, he quickly learned to look all around him when he was on guard duty. He was hoping that this orc didn't have that experience and so he quietly ducked in and out of trees, keeping a mental image of where he had last seen the orc and which direction he was heading. Finally he was inside what he assumed to be the guarded perimeter. He could see no sign of the camp except for an eerie purple glow filtering through the trees up ahead. He began to circle around in the direction he had last seen the orc.

  A few minutes later, looking back in the direction of the squad, Jeff noticed the spot they had first seen the orc. He wasn't there. Not that Jeff expected him to be, for it was obvious that the orc was on a patrolling guard. Unsure of how much further the orc would continue in the one direction before turning around and retracing his steps, Jeff continued on.

  A moment later, Jeff's heart almost leapt out of his chest. An orc passed by only metres ahead of his position, coming from where he assumed the camp to be. A second orc? Could he have been unlucky enough to come across the orcs at the changing of the guards? He thought to himself. It appeared so, because there is no way this could be the same orc. If he had been seconds earlier, Jeff would have found himself right in the path of this orc and he was surprised at how stealthily this large orc travelled. He would have to stop underestimating these orcs right now; there was nothing normal about them. What to do now, though. He had two orcs to deal with. Even Jeff couldn't take out the both of them before they shouted an alarm. He decided he'd just have to sit tight and wait.

  He waited for what seemed like an eternity but was only in reality about five minutes. Another orc came by, heading off towards the camp. Jeff was that close to him, he could tell that it was a different orc than the one that walked by him five minutes earlier. He was right; it was just a changing of the guards. He'd still need to be careful though, for that meant that the majority of the camp, if not all of them were now awake, if they hadn't been reinforced. He waited another five minutes before he set off again. A few moments later he came within sight of the new guard. He slowly withdrew his dagger which was sheathed on his hip and proceeded forward with caution.

  * * *

  Gunther was on his way back to camp after being replaced on watch by Car'kas. He had heard the occasional movement in the grove. He didn't become second in charge of the scouting group by being unobservant and careless. He instructed Car'kas to be extra vigilant. He didn't want to alert this enemy, and so he simply walked back to camp and went directly to Feygrus's tent, who was wide awake as it was the changeover of the watch. He told Feygrus his suspicions and then began walking straight back to where he left Car'kas as quietly and quickly as he could.

  Feygrus sought out Zether calmly in case they were being watched. He instructed Zether to go back and seek out the general and start bringing the company through the gate. Zether set off at once.

  *
* *

  The orc was in a small clearing which presented a real problem to Jeff. He had no doubt he could take the orc down one on one, but he had to do it quickly and quietly to prevent the orc alerting the camp. The orc stood about five paces from the nearest tree. Although the ground was still quite firm and twig free here, the orc would still no doubt hear him coming in plenty of time to sound the alert.

  He could throw his dagger, but the orc's leather armour had few weak spots and he would need to be extremely accurate. The orc seemed to be stationary as well, instead of patrolling as the other orc did, and Jeff didn't dare wait too long. He had to work out the quickest way to kill this orc.

  While he was still mulling this over, he quietly worked his way around to the closest tree. He was about two paces away from the tree, when the orc turned all of a sudden and sprinted for him. Jeff realised at that moment that he had underestimated these orcs once again. This orc knew he was there and that was why he wasn't moving. A split second later he realised how badly he had underestimated the orcs, as a second one came running up behind him. All stealth gone from the mission now, Jeff yelled at the top of his lungs, "Attack!"

  * * *

  Gerard started moving as soon as he heard Jeff yell. He knew his friend must have been discovered for him to yell out like that, so he set off in the direction of Jeff's shout. Jethro was about to chase after him until Master Pilk grabbed him by the shoulder. "Those two can handle themselves, trust me, we need to head toward the camp, oh, and let me make the first attack before giving the order." Jethro nodded and got his squad moving behind Master Pilk at a quickened pace.

  * * *

  Jeff didn't fancy fighting these two giant orcs in the open where they could circle around him. Normally he wouldn't have cared, for he could take on a number of orcs at once, but he was tired of underestimating this new breed, and so as the orc in front of him neared, he jumped in behind the tree he was heading for, circled around it and came in at the side of the charging orc. This meant the orc behind him had to circle around a few trees in order to get to him, giving him a chance to dispatch the other one before he arrived.

  Any thoughts of a quick kill with this orc, though, quickly flew out of his mind as the orc abruptly stopped his charge and turned to face Jeff quicker than he thought possible. Jeff now had his long sword in his right hand and his dagger in the left. He took a chance and feigned a throw with his dagger. It paid off as the orc lifted and turned his axe to block a projectile that wasn't there. Jeff was then able to circle around the orc a bit more so that the two orcs were squarely in front of him.

  The orc gave him a wicked smile, followed by a number of swinging attacks. Jeff couldn't believe the speed in which this orc wielded a large axe. He didn't dare try to block it with his sword, although he did manage a minor deflection at one point, which prevented him losing half his arm. Even that small impact, though, sent painful shivers through his arm.

  He had not even managed an attack of his own before the second orc came to the edge of the clearing. This orc was even bigger than the one he was currently facing, if that were possible. What did these orcs eat? Jeff wondered. Probably small humans like him, he thought. The second orc came on at him further around than the first. They seemed to know how to work together. They gave each other plenty of room to swing their mighty weapons.

  Jeff settled into a dodge and attack routine on the second orc, but his worry was that the first one was working further around to his right. He then decided it was a time for a change in that routine. As the second orc finished a major swing at his head, Jeff stepped forward as quick as he could, stabbed out with his dagger at the orc's right shoulder as he turned a half circle to be facing toward the orc's back. It was a risky manoeuvre, but it paid off. His dagger dug into the orc's shoulder, although not very deep, but the big advantage now was the first orc was well out of position. Jeff didn't slow but rode the momentum, scoring another hit on the orc's back before he was able to turn around. Two hits, although minor, gave Jeff some confidence.

  * * *

  As the trees thinned and the clearing opened up, Master Pilk's eyes opened wide. For once Gerard's stealthy attack hadn't paid off where his plan may have been a lot more advantageous.

  In front of him was the clearing, made bigger by a few recently felled trees, with five medium sized tents erected near its centre. On the far side he saw what he mainly came to see. It was as large as the boys had stated it to be, perhaps even larger. Part of him believed that the boys had exaggerated its size as boys tend to do, but they hadn't. It was huge and as dark a purple as he had ever seen a gate be, glowing eerily in the bright night.

  But what really made his eyes go wide was the orcs streaming through the gate. This is exactly what they wanted to avoid, but here it was, happening. Master Pilk didn't dwell on that for long though as he saw fifteen orcs running in his direction. He wasted no more time and unleashed the spell he had prepared as he was approaching the camp. He pointed toward the centremost orc and a stream of fire poured from his finger. When the stream hit the orc it exploded into a huge fireball, encompassing the entire group of orcs. A cheer rose up behind Master Pilk as the squad saw the fifteen orcs hit the ground.

  The cheer was cut short though as half the orcs regained their feet and started charging again. Of the seven on the ground, four would never rise again and the other three were seriously injured.

  Jethro's squad quickly overtook Master Pilk and started to engage those orcs charging him. Master Pilk swiftly backtracked until he found the two boys and then started toward a relatively safe location with a good vantage point for his next spell.

  * * *

  Gunther couldn't believe that this little creature could score two painful hits on him in such quick succession. He spun quickly so that he was once again facing his enemy but now had to fight him one on one until Car'kas could work his way around again. He swung his axe in a downward chop that would have split a small tree trunk in half. That proved to be a big mistake as his opponent side stepped the blow and struck out with that fragile looking sword, jabbing him hard in the thigh. This cut was deep and severe. Gunther knew that if he didn't tend to that wound soon, he would die from the loss of blood. But for all his trying, he just couldn't hit this warrior. He was far too quick.

  Car'kas came up on his left hand side once again and made a succession of quick attacks, forcing their foe back a few paces. But it didn't last for long. Soon Car'kas was taking a step back, and it took Gunther a minute to understand why he had come back so quickly. It was only when Car'kas hit the ground hard with a dagger protruding from his eye that Gunther realised the movement wasn't voluntary.

  * * *

  Jeff thought it about time that some luck went his way. He threw the dagger almost as an afterthought, but realised he couldn't keep retreating backwards from these two orcs. The throw was perfect and obviously unexpected as the orc didn't even try to block it. As the dagger imbedded itself deep in the orc's right eye, Jeff saw the life leave the orc's other eye even before he began to fall. But he still had to dodge the reflex reaction as the orc threw his arms back, and his axe barely missed Jeff's head as he flung himself back. This caused him to lose his footing on the rocky ground and he soon found himself lying on his back, looking up at the approaching orc readying his axe for a killing blow. Jeff knew that even if he managed to dodge the falling axe, he was at a major disadvantage with this massive foe, and his time was short. But the axe never came down. A sword point protruded through the orc's torso and the orc stiffened and dropped his axe on top of his own head. The orc fell to his knees before Jeff, revealing the wielder of that sword.

  "Took your sweet time, didn't you?" asked Jeff as Gerard extracted his sword and let the orc fall all the way to the ground.

  "I took a wrong turn. Noise travels differently among these trees," said Gerard as he offered his arm to Jeff.

  "You're sure it's not old age affecting your hearing?" teased Jeff as he rose to his fe
et.

  "Never! Now do you have some fight left in you, coz I'm sure our friends could use some more help."

  Jeff didn't answer but set off at a swift pace toward the noise of a battle he had just noticed. Gerard was hot on his heels.

  * * *

  Jethro sped by Master Pilk and charged the first of the orcs to regain his feet. The fire blast, although not killing the entire group, did manage to split the group up, making them easier to attack. It also served to at least partially injure those near the blast. Jethro was sure glad of that, for he had charged in so fast he had left his squad a good few metres behind him.

  The orc before him swung from right to left, endeavouring to cleave Jethro in two. Jethro easily stood back out of reach, and in that instant noticed the smoke still wafting up from the orc's arm and the tentative grip the orc had on his axe handle. It was a laboured swing and Jethro was easily able to step in behind and jab his sword into the orc's throat. The orc fell hard, but Jethro didn't have time to see if it was a killing blow as the next orc charged in at him. This one didn't wield an axe, though, but held a large falchion in his right hand. Jethro favoured the long sword and dagger combo that was common in the Arthean army. He noticed a slight limp on this next orc, but he still looked quite menacing. The orcs all wore half plated armour, covering their torso and shoulders, but with chain mail protecting their arms; Jeff had never seen an orc wear metal armour before. It was well made and didn't show too many obvious weak points.

  Jethro's squad were mainly clad in heavy leather armour, freeing their movements, but giving scant protection from the weapons the orcs were wielding with such ferocious strength. So Jethro was determined not to test the strength of his armour and blocked the first wild swing, with the intent of scoring a quick jab to the orc's right shoulder with his long dagger. The force of the blow, however, was harder than Jethro could have believed and knocked him off balance. He was lucky that the next in line of his squad arrived just then and was able to stab the orc in his exposed side. He didn't have time to even notice which soldier had come to his aid before that soldier was launched back, taking the full blow of a large crossbow bolt. Looking off in the direction the bolt came from, Jethro's heart sank.