Keep on the Borderlands

by Ru Emerson - (ebook by Flandrel; Undead)

  She merely nodded, and the mage went on to deal with the wounded. Four men down, Eddis thought, and their provisioner was limping.

  Get control of yourself, she thought. Jerdren would find it amusing, and she wouldn’t enjoy being the butt of his heavy-handed humor.

  Sure enough, there he was when she turned around, grinning across the fire at her.

  “Buck up, Eddis,” he said cheerfully. “We held our own against orcs, and the big cat ran off, didn’t it?”

  She glared at him.

  “It may not have run as far as we would like,” Mead said as he knelt to pour water over bloody fingers.

  “It can’t run as far as I would like,” Eddis muttered. Jerdren didn’t seem to hear her.

  “Ah look, Mead. The animal wasn’t sick, was it? Stubborn, maybe, or just simply hungry, but it did finally run!”

  Mead shook his head. “It is not sick. It was startled, but only when fire actually touched it. The one who controls it may send it back against us. If I am right about why I was not aware of it until it killed, why it came into the firelight, and why it did not flee the noise or my light spell…”

  He shrugged and fell silent.

  Jerdren laughed. “Control? Someone out here in the midst of this gods-forsaken wilderness controls a mountain lion?” He held up a hand, forestalling comment. “Look, we have plenty to do between now and daybreak. If there’s no immediate threat, tell us about this control later, when we re on the move.”

  “I cannot tell, any more than I could sense the cat earlier,” Mead said. “What I felt earlier was the sense of cold, human purpose in the beast. That is gone now, but I am no longer sure that I will even be able to detect that much, if it should return. The spell is human, I think, but turned. Evil.”

  “A black sorcerer?” M’Whan asked.

  “Perhaps,” the mage replied. “But I think the man is not so much evil as mad.”

  Jerdren stared at the elf in visible disbelief.

  “Uh, mage?” One of the Keep men came forward. “It’s said there’s a madman out here in the wilds. Some have it that he was one of the old Lord’s priests, and others that it’s only a tale. No one’s ever seen him, or if they did, they didn’t survive it. But I know men who’ve come hunting out here, and they’ve heard wild laughter.”

  “You didn’t tell us that!” Jerdren said. He sounded exasperated. “I asked for any information that any of you might have, and here you hold out on me… ?”

  “It’s fable,” one of the spearmen said defensively. “Just another of those tales that everyone hears but only children believe.”

  Mead shook his head. “The cat was real, and so is the spell.”

  “Well, never mind,” Jerdren said finally. Another of their guards brought over two heavy leather purses that clinked when he handed them over. Jerdren poured the contents into his hand and grinned.

  “There’s something like—seventeen gold pieces and two red stones in all.” He slid the whole into one bag, tossed the other aside, and snugged down the ties. “I’ll hold this, but we’ll share equally.”

  Eddis stowed her arrows and knelt to roll up her blankets as two of the Keep men went to deal with the body of the man the cat had killed. In the end, there wasn’t much they could do but cover him with fallen oak leaves and take his spear and daggers.

  “Look, Jerdren,” Eddis started, “I see no point in staying here until daylight. Especially after what Mead’s told us. I say we break camp now and move south again.”

  “What if there’s more orcs out there?” he asked.

  “We fight them, what else?”

  “I agree with Eddis,” Blorys said, one hand coming down hard on his brother’s shoulder. “With a mountain lion prowling around here, you can wager there’s no robbers’ camp. Especially if the cat’s under someone’s control. Don’t look at me like that, Jers. We’ve done what you wanted, which was to eliminate this part of the forest first. No one’s going to get any more sleep, and it’s nearly dawn anyway.”

  Jerdren’s lips tightened and his color was high.

  “Look, Brother,” Blorys continued. “Eddis is right, and so’s Mead. You’re just being stubborn, and this isn’t the time or place for it You didn’t know what was going to happen tonight, and no one’s blaming you for picking this hill for our camp. Take a deep breath, relax, and let’s pack up.”

  Jerdren turned to Mead. “What chance you’d be aware of that animal if it came sneaking up on us?”

  The mage shrugged. “I cannot be certain, but the creatures are territorial. It fled north, so the farther south we go, the less likely it is to follow us.”

  “But if it’s under some madman’s control…”

  “It is still a territorial animal, and the farther the lion moves from its master, the weaker the spell becomes, until it loses its power entirely.”

  “Oh.” Jerdren scratched his head. “Didn’t think of that.”

  “So, we should go now, and with lights,” Mead went on. “Because Willow and I can see well enough to avoid trees and pitfalls, but you cannot. I have a spell that should turn aside any small band of orcs or robbers, if we stay close together.”

  Jerdren looked at Eddis inquiringly, his lips still tight. For a moment, she thought he was going to argue again, but he finally shrugged and turned to stuff the orc’s purse in his pack.

  “We’ll do it then.”

  “Thanks,” she replied. “M’Baddah, you and M’Whan keep watch, and the rest of you pack up. Leave those orcs where they are and break out a couple of lanterns. You men, we’ll need the light. Move it!” She cast a sour glance at Jerdren’s back. Stubborn, difficult man. She should have known he’d be like this. Just now she was sorely tempted to thump him one. She turned away and caught Blorys’ rueful smile. Poor Blor, how did he manage?

  M’Baddah had finished sorting his arrows and slung the red-and-black-painted case over his shoulder. Eddis left her bow strung as well, hooking it onto her quiver and freeing up her short sword. Their cook poured sand around the edges of the burning wood, leaving only one thick branch aflame for light. All around, men worked quickly, gathering up their belongings and settling their packs.

  It was still very dark out, and the trees seemed to loom over them. Eddis’ hands were trembling once more, making it hard to get her lantern lit.

  I’d forgotten how much I dislike woods at night, she thought. Sensible people don’t belong out here. I’ll fight just about anything that comes at me, but it helps if I can see it coming!

  Lantern in one hand, sword in the other, she drew a deep breath and tried to relax. Too much had happened in too short a span. Still, she’d made a fool of herself just now, snapping at Jerdren. Good leaders weren’t supposed to act that way, and these Keep men didn’t know either her or Jers well. No doubt they’d both lost face.

  They moved out moments later. It was slow going at first, even with the lanterns and the elves’ keen eyes to lead them around trees and snags. Near the base of the hill, they came across a game trail heading roughly southeast. Jerdren wanted to follow it, but Eddis was firmly against using it, and both Blorys and M’Baddah backed her up.

  “If deer use it,” Eddis said flatly, “so do the things that hunt them.”

  They went on through the woods, but she could hear her co-captain grumbling to himself for some time after.

  The moon rose just as they came back into the area of reasonably flat ground and wide-spaced trees. Willow set a better pace here, and before long, the moon rose. Eddis could tell by the shadows that they were heading east and a little south.

  Mead once asked a for brief halt so he and Willow could check their back-trail.

  “There is no hint of anything or anyone following us,” the mage said as he came back. “And there is no one anywhere near us just now.”

  “Good,” Jerdren said. “Then, if no one objects, we’ll find a clearing and set up camp for what’s left of the night.”

  No one objected.r />
  Eddis bit back a sharp retort. “I agree. Let’s go.” Fortunately for her temper, they found a decent clearing a very short distance on. She took first watch, and by the time she’d made a full circuit of the camp, Jerdren was rolled in his blanket and presumably asleep.

  * * *

  Morning came cool and cloudy, with a stiff breeze that blew smoke and ash everywhere. Eddis woke to the smell of burned porridge and the sounds of men moving quietly about. Nearby, M’Baddah and his son were talking quietly. She yawned, stretched and sat up, shoving loose hair out of her eyes and behind her ears.

  “There’s Eddis!” Jerdren’s cheerful voice smote her ears. “Pleasant dreams last night? No lions?”

  She gave him a cold look from under her lashes, finally shook her head. “What about your watch?”

  “Dead quiet the whole time,” he replied. “Mead didn’t sleep at all, and he said the brute wasn’t anywhere about.”

  “That’s good enough for me,” Eddis said. She took porridge and a mug of hot tea from the cook as her co-captain moved on. Thanks to the wind, the honey-sweetened porridge was covered with fine ash. She shrugged, stirred it in, and began to eat.

  “We need to talk, you and I,” Jerdren was back, map in hand. “Not while you’re eating. I know.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I think we need to move out as soon as we can, Eddis. Maybe even cross the road and keep going south, since it doesn’t seem that—”

  “We need to talk,” Eddis said levelly, “but not while I’m eating. Not unless there’s an emergency. Finding that camp of robbers is important but not an emergency.”

  “But, I—”

  “You’re still talking. Go away, Jerdren,” she said and bent over her bowl.

  Silence. The man sighed and went away. M’Baddah came over to sit next to her. She gave him a smile and went back to her breakfast. M’Whan and one of the guards came in with an armful of dry branches and went out for more. Eddis finished her food while it was still warm and sat, eyes closed. She could hear branches snapping off to her left and M’Whan’s low voice, then the Keep man’s response. They were too far away for her to hear what they said. Somewhere closer, she could hear Blorys talking to Jerdren. He sounded rather exasperated.

  “Jers, relax, can’t you? The last watch needs to eat still, and we need the fire because that mush won’t be edible if it isn’t kept hot, you know that. We can’t break camp yet, anyway. Mead needs a little quiet time to devote to his spellbook, remember? So there’s no use you prodding Eddis this early.”

  Jerdren sighed heavily. “I know that, but if we don’t—”

  “It’ll all get done, trust me. Meantime, there’s a couple men here who can probably help you figure out where we are better than Eddis can. Remember what someone said a while ago about lizard men and boggy ground? We don’t want to stumble headlong into fens and monsters. And you don’t really want to fight lizard men again, do you?”

  “I remember someone talking about lizard men, Brother, but I don’t remember anything about bogs.”

  “Maybe that was something I heard back in the Keep, then,” Blorys broke in. “I don’t remember. Doesn’t matter. Not finding lizard men is important to me. You and I are the only ones here who’ve fought them before. We were part of a full company, with experienced officers, and it was still a nasty battle! That’s not why we’re out here, anyway. We’re supposed to find bandits, and deal with them. Remember?”

  Silence. Eddis sipped her tea, eyes closed, aware of M’Baddah at her elbow. She wondered briefly if Blorys meant her to overhear their conversation, then decided it wasn’t worth worrying about.

  M’Whan’s warning shout brought her to her feet, the empty bowl sliding from her lap, her empty cup going the other way.

  “Yrik!” he bellowed in his own tongue.

  The Keep man’s voice topped the outland youth’s. “Orcs, coming right at us. Between us and the camp. Twenty or more!”

  “Up the tree! Do it now, man!” M’Whan yelled at him. “Father! They’re coming at you from north and south!”

  Eddis dove for her bow, slipped the string in place, and grabbed the three arrows she’d left next to her blanket the night before.

  “Got it!” Jerdren shouted. “All right, people! Half of us over here, and Eddis, you take the north! Three lines deep, just like we practiced!”

  “Got it!” she yelled back and grabbed two of the spearmen as she strode around the fire. Thank the gods they had practiced this maneuver, she thought as she knelt and dropped the sword belt between her knees, so she could fit an arrow to the string. Archers in front, spearmen behind, sword at the rear. It was all they had time for as several massive, ill-clad creatures burst into the clearing. Some carried short stabbing swords and round shields, one a mace, and two of them heavy clubs. She heard Jerdren yelling a challenge as her first arrow soared across open ground to bounce harmlessly off a hardened leather jerkin. You didn’t factor for the wind, she told herself and sighted down her second arrow. At her right, M’Baddah was steadily firing arrows, and to her left, Willow had already brought down two of the monsters.

  “Aim for the eyes and the throat!” the elf shouted.

  Eddis shot again, aiming just at the massive chin of the nearest orc. The wind sent it a little offside and down, but she’d corrected properly this time. With a howl of agony, the brute went down, nothing of her arrow visible in its throat but the fletching. With her third arrow gone—it wounded the orc who was trying to avoid tripping over his dying companion—she let one of the spearmen draw her back through their line and caught her breath. Keep men jabbed at the oncoming brutes, and two of the men fell.

  Remember what you learned the one time you fought orcs, Eddis told herself grimly.

  The man right in front of her brought down his enemy with a mighty thrust to the eye and lost his grip on the weapon. Eddis eased aside for him to retreat from the next orc that was charging straight at them, club swinging.

  “Break—now!” she shouted. The same cry echoed from behind her half a breath later—so Jerdren was still on his feet and fighting. Orcs charged into them, but the humans and elf were no longer a compact fighting group, splitting off by ones and twos. Eddis leaped aside as one orc stumbled over the stones edging the fire pit and fell. One of the Keep men caught up the brute’s club and with a wild yell, brought it down on the back of its head. The orc shuddered, then lay still, its hair and jerkin smoldering.

  “Look out, Blor!” Jerdren yelled.

  M’Baddah pulled Eddis aside as another orc charged across the open at a dead run, a mace clutched in its hand. The outlander spun away from an overhand blow at the last moment. Eddis pivoted the other direction, letting the orc’s charge send it hurtling past her. Her sword sliced through the air and down, biting deep into the backs of its unarmored knees, severing tendons. The brute shrieked and collapsed on its back, one arm and the mace under it. Eddis reversed her grip quickly and brought the sword down two-handed, burying the blade in its throat, leaping back as blood pulsed high. It slowed almost at once.

  Across the fire pit, Jerdren was fighting back one monster with slashing two-handed swings of a club. Blor was still on his feet, but she couldn’t make out anything else. A wordless shout of warning from M’Baddah brought her back around as he brought his curved sword down in a hard, overhand arc across the nape of a fallen orc. Two of the creatures still stood, but neither was moving well, and both were bleeding copiously. Two others came from the trees, but they weren’t running. Getting wary, she thought. They should. There were six of the brutes down and dead that she could see, and one of her people in trouble, so far as she could tell.

  One of the two newcomers went after M’Baddah, who had fallen back with two of the spearmen. The other orc brought up its short sword and charged her.

  She stood her ground until the last possible moment—nearly too late. Its shield clipped her left shoulder hard, and her arm went numb. She pivoted, but already o
ff balance, she went to one knee, lashing out with the sword as the monster passed her. More by luck than intent, the blade slammed into its ankle just above a huge, filthy foot and rebounded, nearly flying out of her hand. Bellowing in rage and pain, the orc came about, sword slashing wildly as it tried to hit her. Eddis fought her way back to her feet and backed out of reach as the orc tried to come after her. The wounded leg wouldn’t support it, and it went down but fought its way back up again. Eddis glanced over her shoulder to make certain she wasn’t heading into the arms of another orc, then backed up, yelling as she went.

  “Someone with a spear—finish him!”

  “Arrow!” one of the Keep men shouted back, and she dropped to one knee, flinching as a bowstring twanged from somewhere close behind her. The arrow, unfortunately, merely creased the orc’s skull, but a half-breath later, one of M’Baddah’s deadly steel sh’kuris sang across the clearing and buried itself in the orc’s throat. The creature sagged, wavered, and finally fell over.

  “Eddis!” Jerdren’s bellow cut through the howls of furious or wounded orcs. “They’re running!”

  “Got it!” she shouted back. Apparently the orcs had had enough. Those who could still move were beginning to back away, leaving their wounded. When they reached the woods, they simply turned and fled. She turned to see two others running from Jerdren and Blorys. The only orcs over there were four wounded and three more dead.

  She kept her sword at the ready and moved around the north perimeter of the camp as M’Baddah called out, “We’re clear here, my son!”

  “Coming!” M’Whan shouted back. He sounded short of breath, and looked it when he and the Keep man came into camp a moment later. “They’re gone, father, across the road and still running. But one of them thought he’d climb into the tree with us, just now.”

  “What were you doing in a tree?” Jerdren wanted to know.

  The youth shrugged.

  “We hadn’t much choice. One minute we two were alone out there, getting wood, and the next they were between us and camp. We got up high enough that the branches wouldn’t have held their weight.”