The tent flap flew open and several guards with blue, glowing spears entered the room ready to strike down Sane, but Korok waved them away. “Our leader mourns for his lost tribe,” was all the magikan said, but this was enough of an explanation for the guards who nodded to the magikan and left them alone.
“Grand Commander?” Korok asked as Zakux sat staring at his own fists lost in thought.
“They must have been waiting for our men to leave! I bet they even waited until night fell and our women and children were asleep before attacking the village! Cowards! There were dead bodies littering our home, but not many. Most of my tribe was taken away.
“We followed the kidnappers trail for two days and it became clear that they were headed towards one of the few safe passages through the Dread Marsh into these mountains. My tribe knew the Marsh well and cut through it to catch up to them before they could escape. On the third day we found the kidnappers along with our imprisoned clans people. It was a group of humans and dwarf bandits that held my people!
“Our rage was unleashed as we attacked and fought like mad beasts, but we were sorely outnumbered. It quickly became clear that we would be overwhelmed, but my tribe honored their ancestors; they never wavered or showed the slightest fear in the face of defeat.
“As we fought, I was wounded when one of the humans put a sword in my gut. As blood left my body, the shock of the injury overwhelmed me and I fell to the road as darkness closed in around me.
“When next I woke it was in a dark cabin as Korok was grinding some herbs and adding them to a bubbling pot that hung above his hearth. The cooking fire was the only light in his single-roomed cabin.”
“I was making some stew,” interjected Korok with a weird, toothy grin.
Zakux let out the dry chuckle of one who was racked with personal anguish and must choose between laughter and shedding tears. “That you were and it was very tasty,” Zakux let a thin smile cross his lips for a moment before continuing with his tale. “Three days passed since Korok found me among my dead tribesmen before waking in his home. My stolen tribe was long gone by then. I would have no hope of venturing into the human lands and finding them alone. So Korok and I began traveling from village to village along the border looking for aid and discovered that my tale was not mine alone. Disappearances were happening at a number of villages, but mine was the first to be attacked directly.
“It was then and there that I began to form my army. I convinced other tribe leaders to follow me- at times with my words and at others with my sword in single combat, but my army grew and we began to raid the human settlements on the opposite side of the Dread Marsh as we searched for our missing clans people and gauged the human’s strength.
“All this time Korok traveled at my side, but I never knew what he really was. Then one day he came to me and said that he could be a great aid to my army. ‘You are already a great aid,’ I told him not understanding what he meant.
“Then Korok surprised me by calling a gust of wind and lifting himself off the ground like a bird. As he hovered above me he looked down at me and said, ‘My friend, I am a magikan and I know of others that would join your cause if you asked them.’
“As the next months passed, my army grew far larger. Our high tribes master, similar to what you call a king, Tsuxar Greatscream, heard of our people’s plight and was so enraged that he sent many, many orcs to bolster our army nearly tripling its size along with a promise to arrive personally with thousands more brave warriors at his back once we take this human city. In addition, Korok’s friends, two more magikans joined with us for a promise that I would speak with the high tribes master on their behalf should we be victorious and they fight with honor.”
“And once your army was assembled, you began your attacks on the mining towns in earnest in hopes of finding your missing kinsmen,” Sane guessed.
“That would be a great thing,” Zakux agreed, “but I hold little hope of finding them. I will kill all of the humans here and go after the dwarves of the Mainor Mountains and kill every last one of them. Only once I know that all of those responsible for my tribe’s deaths and kidnappings are rotting in the underworld will I be satisfied.”
“That puts me in a difficult position,” Sane told them.
Zakux retorted, “It is only difficult if you are without honor, Sorcerer Sane. If you are a virtuous human as Korok believes you to be, then you will join us in the destruction of our enemies or at least turn your back on them and stand aside as we reap our rightly due vengeance.”
Honor. The idea felt foreign to Sane at that moment. The kingdom had betrayed him and he, in kind, turned his back on Aurelia. Why did he fight for them even now? “Because they are innocent,” Sane answered his internal question. To Zakux, he said, “Those people were not the ones that took your clan, but maybe they can help find out who did. Let me set up a meeting with the ruler of Everec, Dame Marian Lightfoot. She is a person of high moral standing and I believe she has had dealings with your people before under more… friendly terms.”
“No!” Zakux barked angrily. He stood and slammed his hands on the table looking down at Sane. “Do not misunderstand your role in this, magikan. It is Korok’s vision alone that has spared your life up to now, and I only told you of my people’s woes so that you may better understand that we fight justly with Vailon’s blessing. This is not a negotiation. You will join us whether you desire to or not!”
Sane stood and mentally prepared himself to cast a spell, knowing that Korok was doing the same. “Your grief blinds you, Zakux. There is nothing honorable about killing the innocent.”
The sorcerer did not see Zakux’s lightning fast fist as it smashed into the side of his head. Sane was vaguely aware of a feeling of falling and encroaching darkness. Then there was emptiness.
Chapter 16
The orcs were coming. They swarmed into the city like angry hornets from Marian’s vantage point at her manor overlooking the quickly overwhelmed battlefield that was only a day earlier streets and homes.
After Sane was taken away Everec’s defenders had a brief respite from the orc invasion and Marian used it to her greatest advantage. She immediately began moving soldiers back to the manor house leaving enough of her army behind to harass the enemy as they advanced into the city.
When the fighting began again the catapults were the least of their concerns as the orc magikans who were no longer being kept at bay attacked in full force against the southern wall. The city wall bent to their will and collapsed in upon itself in a matter of minutes allowing the orc company of four thousand to march into the streets.
Everec’s defenders were a combination of soldiers, farmers, and townies, but they fought without thought for their own lives despite being outnumbered at greater than ten to one odds and the threat of orc magic users looming. Bowmen fired from windows to kill a few orcs before retreating to another building a street over and attacking again. Pole men and warriors staged ambushes using their knowledge of the city to great effect, but it was all just a dance to hold the orc horde back as long as possible.
Faced with overwhelming odds, Marian made the only decision that she could to save as many lives as possible. She was going to give the orcs the city.
“This is my fault,” she admitted regretfully, “If I had been here…” She trailed off.
“Do not blame yourself, my lady,” said Donovan overhearing her, “There is nothing you could have done against a magician- orc or otherwise. If you need to find someone to blame, then start with that magician, Sane. He betrayed us and is letting these pig-men overrun us.”
“Sane is likely dead now,” was Marian’s cold response, “Your efforts would be better spent helping in the evacuation.” There was a hidden tunnel that led from the mansion under the city and exited out of a hidden blind a mile away and far from the invading orcs. Marian called for her remaining defenders to fall back to the manor house to make a last stand as the evacuation was underway. The tunnel was built for the
city’s ruler and her loyal servants to escape should the unthinkable happen and they needed to flee quietly. It was not designed for a full scope evacuation as Marian intended, but there was no other choice. It would have to do.
***
By sundown the orcs had taken most of Everec and had the manor surrounded from three sides, the fourth being against one wall of the city. The fighting was limited by design to slow the attackers down without much direct confrontation in order to allow for as long of an evacuation as possible. Marian had hoped for more time. She thought the orc commander would come forward demanding their surrender or an offer of parley, Marian would have willingly sacrificed her life if it meant allowing the people under her charge a chance to get out of this alive, but their commander never showed himself and no demands were ever made.
“It is time, Marian,” Sari told her, “We must go now or face death.” The elf was uncharacteristically pensive in the face of so many lost lives, yet another blame for Marian to set down at her feet. A part of her wanted to stay and die protecting her men. She was a noble after all and that would have been the noble thing to do, but she found she lacked the courage to do even that.
“Let us go, then.”
The tunnel was hidden inside the barracks and until today was known only to a select few. When they arrived, Marian and Sari found Councilman Aldyd waiting along with Donovan and Chance.
“Our group will be the last to pass through the tunnel,” Aldyd told them, “but before we go I would like to take a moment to say a prayer to the twin goddesses.” Seeing Chance about to remind him that they were in a hurry, Aldyd held up his hand and assured him, “I will be brief.”
“Dear goddess, Ashura, please guide us and all those who fight at our side to safety. May they know your blessing and your mercy, and dear Kassani, please usher those who protect us and die for us even now into the underworld in peace and tranquility and bestow upon them our love and gratitude for their ultimate sacrifice.”
A loud boom of falling rock could be heard from the main entrance to the manor house.
“Their magicians will be upon soon,” warned Chance, “It is time.”
“Of course, young man.” Aldyd lead the group into the tunnel. Each person had a torch to get them through the tunnel. Aldyd lit his on a sconce at the entrance and made his way into the darkness turning to ensure that the others were not far behind. When the last of them was in the tunnel, Chance released the mechanism that held the hidden door open and slid it back into place so that from the opposite side it would appear as just another section of paneled wall. He then barred the door to prevent pursuit effectively condemning the men still fighting to die, but knowing there was no other choice.
The darkness of the tunnel weighed in on them adding to their already defeated mood. However, they ran into no trouble from orcs coming after them or vermin that may have inhabited the tunnels. The thousands of people who already passed through on their way to salvation would have driven any creatures living there off hours ago. Marian took little solace in the fact that her decision would save all those lives at the expense of the city. They may have their lives, but these people lost everything else.
Eventually, the passage opened up leading into a rocky pass. The moon lit their way out of the tunnel and the group extinguished their torches. The pass would lead to an expanse of trees a few miles to the north that would eventually lead into the area known as Black Wood where the group would pass through on their way to Silvering. Everec may have fallen, but Marian still had a responsibility to report to Warlord Nightwind. He would want to know that an entire region of his territory was lost.
“Where is everyone?” wondered Marian trying to put the thought of reporting to the warlord out of her mind. People were killed for failures far less than this.
“They would have already left heading north, my lady,” Donovan assured her, “It would not have been safe for everyone to stay here and moving in small groups-“
“They could move more safely and be less likely to draw attention,” Marian finished for him. This business of governing may have been too much for her to handle, but she was a capable ranger by anyone’s standards.
The walls of the pass quickly fell behind them and as they reached a more open plain as the mountains gently sloped down Marian took one last look back at the city she abandoned, some miles away. Everec stood undisturbed against the moon’s faint light. There were no signs of the war that had just been waged there as if none of it had even happened at all, but the city was lost all the same.
At the touch of a hand upon her shoulder, Marian turned to see Donovan looking at her. “I lived in Everec most of my life. To lose my home and my friends is no small thing, so believe me when I say there was nothing you could have done to stop this.”
Marian forced a smile and thanked the man for his kind words, but she could not bring herself to look him in the eye and gauge if he was speaking the truth.
The group traveled through the night until they came across a small makeshift camp set up by some of the survivors who had left before them. There they made their tents and rested. It would be a long journey north to Warlord Nightwind’s palace and Marian dreaded telling the man that she had lost one of his cities more with every step that drew her closer to him. He had entrusted her to put an end to the orc raids and instead she lost the southern mountain region to them with barely any struggle. She could have fought to the last man, but that would have accomplished little more than driving up the death toll. Hopefully Lord Nightwind would see it that way.
Sari sat alone brooding just outside of her tent. Marian knew well how much the elf considered life to be a gift. Even on the occasions when it was necessary for her to kill, Sari was clearly aware of the heavy cost being paid. The fact that they had to leave many brave men and women behind must surely be weighing on her mind.
“A copper for your thoughts?” Marian asked trying to sound casual. She took the elf’s measure and tried to ignore Sari’s sudden depression.
“I was thinking about Sane. Do you think he is dead?” the elf looked up at Marian with tears in her big oval eyes. “He would never have abandoned me knowing that I was in danger. It just isn’t in his nature.”
The thought of Sane killing Bertran right in front of her sprang to Marian’s mind. “Sometimes people can surprise you,” she said without thinking. When she saw the hurt look in Sari’s eyes, Marian hastily added, “I mean I am sure he is still alive even if he was unable to help us.”
“Do you think so?” Sari perked up at the thought. “Perhaps I can sneak back into the city using the tunnel and rescue him!”
Marian’s mind raced looking for a reason that the elf would accept for not going back into Everec without telling her that Sane was probably dead. Fortunately, Donovan came to her rescue.
“That would be foolish,” he announced coming to sit beside them, “The magician is either dead, fled, or in league with the orcs. Any of those scenarios means that he does not need your help.” His words were harsh, but Marian was glad that she was not the one who had to say them. Seeing the elf’s face begin to twist in sorrow at his words, Donovan added apologetically, “I am sorry if my words cut you, but I would not see you throw your life away without reason.”
“Nor would I,” Marian added.
The elf nodded, clearly disappointed.
It was nearly noon when the camp broke and they continued north. Sari spoke to no one for the rest of that day.
Chapter 17
The powerful melody of The Tale of the Undead Isle emboldened the tired warrior’s weary spirit as Tomlin’s fingers danced across the neck of his ever-present lute. It was the song of a mighty berserker called Targan and his quest to save a beautiful maiden. As the story goes Targan traveled to Winterbane Isle on a perilous journey to rescue the lovely maiden from the home of a powerful necromancer and his army of undead walkers and spirits. Armed with nothing more than his mighty, but still agile great sword and his unda
unted spirit Targan fought his way through the hordes of undead monsters and slew the evil necromancer, saving his ladylove in the process. Kellen felt the song wash over him like cool rainwater reinvigorating him. In his current condition as prisoner of the Collective he imagined himself as Targan and knew that he would somehow find a way to be victorious over his captors.
“Thank you for that, Tomlin. You truly have a gift for song,” Kellen offered his hand through the cell bar in appreciation.
Tomlin reached out, but thought better of it and pulled his hand away. “We must not forget our places, prisoner,” Tomlin emphasized the last word, but his voice was touched with kindness.
Kellen withdrew his hand, but kept his eyes on the bard. “I told you before that I am not your enemy and I meant that.”
“You keep saying that…” Tomlin trailed off. His eyes showed indecision and he cast his glance at a wall where a small window allowed natural light and fresh air to come into the partially underground dungeon. When Tomlin turned back to Kellen he said worriedly, “They’re going to kill you if you don’t tell them what they want to know.”
“They will kill me either way,” Kellen said with surety. “The longer I can hold out, the longer I live.”
“It does not have to be that way,” Tomlin pleaded, “If you tell them what they want to know, then I will speak with Alia on your behalf. She is the head of the Collective and will listen to me and Byrn is on our side as well. He does not want to see you die either.”
“Byrn Lightfoot is a betrayer,” Kellen answered flatly, “He has betrayed his former master, his kingdom, and now me. Do not trust him. He will betray you too if it serves his purposes.”
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