by Gerard Bond
“All I know is he wants to put together a team of six or eight people and train them up to be leaders who are skilled in the arts of warfare and magics. Beyond that he has only given me hints as to what we are to do once that's accomplished, this is early days yet.”
“How many people has he gathered so far?”
“You and me, and it was to be Dark too, but who knows.”
“Oh man, so this is all we got? I thought you were further along.”
Kane shook his head beginning to think he had made a mistake coming here.
“I don't know about that, look at what happened today, we took on what was it? Ten orcs? We did pretty well working together and we only met earlier today, I think Wollfen's choice of people has stood the test.”
Kane had to agree with that, they had worked well together and executed their attack flawlessly, he wondered what they could achieve if they got to know each other better?
Wollfen came over and sat down with three mugs of ale,
“Kels is going to give Dark time off to heal and he is allowing me to stay on with free board too. It's gracious of him to do so.”
The other two sat there, not sure what to say. Wollfen looked out the window staring, he realized very quickly that he cared about Dark more than others, that was surprising considering they had only met the night before, life certainly worked in strange ways.
He decided he would have a sit down with Dark after she had recuperated a little and talk to her about her life and what she wanted to do. He still wasn't sure if she could be a part of the team he was putting together but he was interested in her personally. He looked across at the other two, he could tell there was something between them even if they didn't acknowledge it to each other, well it may come in time. Wollfen certainly wasn't going to force it.
“So you two, you did well today, I am pleased and I thank you both.” The two of them were happy to have done their part,
“Think nothing of it, it's just lucky we were available when we were to make it happen.”
Solynne agreed with Kane's reply. She didn't think they had done anything out of the ordinary really when it came to helping others.
“Do you suppose she will make a full recovery?” Wollfen looked at Kane who had spoken,
“Well I am no expert but the arm injury wasn't serious, the chest wound I'm not sure of, it depends on how bad the internal injuries are, the healer will let us know.”
All they could do was wait and see. The three of them fell silent as they waited for news. It was a little while later when the nurse came in and seeing Solynne came over to their table.
“Solynne? Dark is asleep now and we were able to remove the bolts without any complications, no major arteries were hit and the healer was able to seal the wounds. She will be very weak for the next couple of days but she will recover and be fine again.” Solynne smiled and the others looked visibly relieved too, it was good news.
“Thank you, that is very good news indeed, tell the healer we appreciate his efforts.” The nurse handed Solynne a piece of paper,
“Here are the charges for the work.”
Solynne took it and handed the paper over to Wollfen who grudgingly took it.
“When can we go see her?”
It was Wollfen who spoke up, he wanted to see Dark and give her some comfort.
“I don't think today anymore is a good idea, she needs to rest and build up her strength, tomorrow after lunch would be the best time.”
“Thank you, we will come around then.”
The nurse nodded and left. The three looked around, wondering what to do now.
“It's a relief to hear she will be okay, so what do you want to do Wolf?”
He shrugged and considered his options, they couldn't leave and do any surveying along the border now, he wanted to check up on Dark the next day. Everything would have to wait until then. After they saw her and knew better what was going on he could make a proper decision on what to do and he told them so.
“Let's leave it till tomorrow and make a decision then, in the meantime you are free to do as you wish, I think I will go upstairs and rest a bit.”
The other two nodded as Wollfen arose leaving them to their own devices.
Kane looked at Solynne,
“Want to go for a walk?”
“Sure it's a nice warm day.”
She smiled at him as they walked out, Kane took her hand and she squeezed it in return.
Back upstairs Wollfen was laying in his cot looking up at the ceiling. He was deep in thought about what had happened this morning and the feelings he had seeing her pinned to the tree. The entire ride back his heart had gone out to her, he knew all that had happened would have had a big effect, the orcs had destroyed her whole clan including her family.
And now this, he too was upset and what he really felt like doing was going out and killing more orcs. No, there was no use doing that, for every orc out there there was numerous others and they didn't care who fell even amongst their own. It made no difference to an orc. It was a frustrating situation knowing that these incidents were an accepted thing among people. No one here in the village would bat an eyelid at the story of what happened, that he was sure of.
If it had been a band of outlaws who had done the torturing there would have been posses formed and cries of self righteous indignation with calls for justice. He thought about the message that the elf Aldorn had given him just after the fall of the clans a year ago. Prepare, train and gather a team, be ready for something big. He had heard the message and had decided to do so. At the time he had asked if it was to be about the orcs but had been told no, it was something far bigger but no clue as to what it could be was given.
This past year he had focused on building up his abilities in magics again, his skills had lapsed for many years and it had taken quite an effort to get them back on track. Then Lord Cazzara had approached him about going on scouting patrols along the borderlands to survey for likely placements of wilderness forts to guard against large incursions by orc bands. The orcs had been raiding up and down the eastern edges of the Kingdom in the months that followed the destruction of the Nightclans and they were now recognized as a more serious threat than in the past. But governments being what they are, if it wasn't an immediate danger then spending as little as possible on the problem was their thing. It would take a major attack on some large Kingdom town for the royals in Kassandrea to sit up and take notice. To them the orcs were a nuisance, nothing more.
Oh well maybe they were, after all didn't Aldorn hint at something far more sinister? Something far more dangerous? If only he had some idea of what was to come, he could prepare better. Heck, he wasn't even sure if a band of eight would make any difference as it was. Aldorn had hinted that it was though, well Wollfen didn't like having to work on things in the dark, Aldorn seemed to know more than he was letting on too. What was the point of that? He was acting like the gods in that respect. Do this, do that, you don't have to understand why, it will become clear later. Sure, if you were lucky enough to understand. Most times he didn't.
He looked at the window and noticed it was dark out. He got up and went downstairs, people were already arriving for evening meals and he saw Solynne and Kane sitting in a booth at the back. Going over to them he sat down with a hello,
“Did you lot managed to keep yourselves entertained this afternoon?”
Both Kane and Solynne smiled at each other, smirking like two teenagers. Wollfen immediately understood what they had gotten up to, some tryst out in the woods he was sure.
“Alright don't give me any details, I don't wanna know.” The two of them laughed.
“Hey we ordered you dinner a little while ago, we were going to come get you soon.”
“Oh that's cool, thanks for that, what did you order?” Solynne responded,
“You usual that you like, venison and vegetables, you are pretty predictable with your eating habits.”
“Yeah, okay maybe so.”
Within a few minutes three heaped plates of food were brought out and they all smelled the rich aroma before tucking in. The hot food was welcome and they enjoyed the fare, Kels was a good cook and his pride in his work showed.
After they had filled their bellies Wollfen ordered a round of drinks as the plates were carried away by a barmaid. He looked around leaning back and rubbing his belly, there was a commotion outside and the three of them all looked toward the door in curiosity.
“Shall we have a gander?” Wollfen shrugged, why not?
They got up and walked out the door, a small caravan of wagons were slowly pulling in and at the rear a guard on horseback had three horses in tow, each of the three horses had a body tied to it. The guard pulled up and looked around before calling out,
“Is there a sheriff in this town?”
The guard was a female, Wollfen walked over studying her more closely, she was young too, maybe her early twenties?
The sheriff showed up in quick time and Wollfen was close enough to hear the conversation.
“These three here are bandits that attacked out caravan at dawn this morning, I dispatched them in a sword fight and decided to bring them here. I think there is a reward for two of them, I recognized their faces from posters in the last town.”
The sheriff lifted up each head of the dead men and looked closely,
“Yes you are right, there is a bounty of fifty silver coins owing on these two here, the third one I don't know. I will take the bodies away, are these their horses too?”
“Yes we found them tied nearby after the fight.”
“I will take them too as payment for the cost of coffins and burial if you don't mind.” The woman on horseback shrugged,
“Whatever pleases you, as long as you pay me the silver in quick time.”
“I can't pay you tonight, but if you come by in the morning I will process it then.” The woman was not pleased,
“What am I to do for spending money tonight? I have nothing on me!” The sheriff did nothing more than shrug as he led the three horses away.
Wollfen walked over and stood there looking at the glowering woman who then turned back and saw him,
“And what the hell do you want?” Wollfen smiled, she was a feisty one.
“If you allow me I can pay for food and board for the night if you wish.”
The woman looked him up and down, well he was certainly attractive no doubt and she was sure he would expect some sort of 'payment' with some time in bed.
“And what do you expect of me in return?”
“Nothing more than your company and story of your daring deeds, my companions and I would love to hear how you bested three criminals in a sword fight.” She looked over to Kane and Solynne who were standing close by.
“Sure okay, fuck it, what can it hurt?”
She dismounted and walked up to Wollfen, he was a tall man and stood almost a foot taller than her. She stuck her hand out to him and he took it, her grip was firm and self assured.
“The names Keera what's yours?”
“I'm Wollfen and this is Solynne and Kane who are riding with me.”
She nodded to the other two who said their hellos as they all turned and walked through the doors of the tavern. They sat down at the booth, Wollfen waved his hand for another ale and a fresh plate of food to be brought out.
“So Keera, what are you doing traveling these outlands?”
“I'm a hired guard on this trip, making my way down south toward Port Cholandra picking up work as I go along. Not much to it really, the work takes me where I go.” Kane was certainly surprised and said so,
“You are the only guard for the caravan? How do you manage all on your own?”
Keera looked at him and breathed deep, it made her already large chest stick out even further, Kane couldn't help but look down.
“Did you not see the three bodies at all? I am quite capable of taking care of myself you know? I have been doing guards work and been a mercenary for almost ten years, it's a craft that I am quite proud of. So, if you have finished staring at my tits maybe you can tell me what you do?” Keera glowered at Kane who looked up and was somewhat embarrassed being called out.
“I er, well, I was a blacksmiths assistant until yesterday, I have joined Wollfen's group here to do patrols along the eastern borders.” Keera looked to Wollfen,
“I bet that's an exciting job huh?” Wollfen fixed her eyes with a stare,
“It has its moments truth be known, there are plenty of orcs to tangle with in the outlands.” Keera snorted,
“Orcs, who gives a damn about orcs for crying out loud, they are no bother.”
“Well actually we ran into a band of them yesterday, about ten of them, they had a friend of ours captive.”
“Ten? I hardly think so, orcs don't travel in numbers and if they do it's no more than two at a time.” Solynne piped up,
“Well it was ten, we killed a few of them and the last four fled.” Keera still wasn't impressed,
“Good for you.” Wollfen laughed out loud,
“You sure do carry a chip on your shoulder, drink up and relax, you are amongst friends here.” Keera looked him up and down,
“Among friends? I wouldn't know about that, I never had any.”
Wollfen may have been chatting amicably but the entire time he spent studying her, watching her ways and listening to her words carefully. She was certainly adept at handling herself in a fight from all accounts and sitting here trading verbally showed him she had a sharp mind too. He wondered though, what had caused her to take on such a harsh life at such an early age?
“So Keera I take it you don't have a boyfriend?” She shook her head,
“Why take on such a hassle, I can have a new man in every town, no need to be tied down.” Wollfen didn't mince his words,
“You find that satisfying?”
She just sat there and for the first time she didn't have a ready reply, the silence was telling in his mind and he decided to go a bit further,
“What about family? Are there any around?” This time she shook her head slowly,
“No family, all dead. I am a free spirit.” Again no quick reply, no sharp words, Wollfen could tell it meant something to her.
“You know, I have this little group here, we look out for each other and I plan on developing closer ties between us, people that can count on each other when the going gets rough.” Keera made a smart ass reply,
“That don't sound like much fun.” Wollfen gave a small smile, “But tell me Wollfen, why? Why do you want to put together a team?”
He looked at her a bit thinking, it had to be words that would have an affect, something that might appeal to her, he knew already that this young woman would be a good addition to the team.
“I mean to have a well trained group of people who will ride together working towards a common goal. It will be dangerous work, what I am doing now is surveying along the eastern borders for the Lord Cazzara and there will be plenty of orcs to deal with along the way. That work will go on for another year at least, then well there will be new challenges, I am sure of it.”
Keera sat there and stared for awhile and he could see she was thinking a lot, obviously the words had an affect and she was considering things. The other two had been sitting there quietly watching, letting Wollfen talk. This was no longer a social sit down, he was making a pitch. Finally Keera spoke again with measured words,
“You know I have been doing the same thing for ten years, yes I do like what I am doing but it is starting to lose its attraction. I spend weeks at a time in a saddle and most travels are boring out in the wilderness, nothing happens. This little encounter I had this morning is the first of its kind in over a month. Do you suppose it be will be like that?” Wollfen shook his head,
“I can't guarantee that there will be action every week, but it isn't going to be rare where we will be traveling.” Keera gave a little smile,
“I have a contract
with this trader I am riding with, I have to escort him all the way to Port Volarus which is over a week away. But I am intrigued by your offer, it is an offer isn't it?” Wollfen nodded,
“Yes, I would like to take you on and see how things go, I think you would fit in rather well with us.”
“How about we make a tentative meeting for two weeks from now? Then I can give you my final answer. Where will you be?”
Wollfen thought about that, he expected that their travels over the next couple of weeks would take them south too.
“I am thinking that we could meet at a place called Outrock, it is south east of Port Cholandra, do you know of it?” Keera nodded and sighed,
“Yes I know of it, I have been there twice. It's forsaken place filled with deadbeats and bandits, hardly a worthy meeting place.” Wollfen chuckled,
“Somehow I don't think you would fear treading there Keera.” She smiled at the backhanded compliment,
“Then it's a deal, we shall meet in Outrock two weeks from today.” She shook his hand and stood up, “I am going to go get drunk, find me a man or two and enjoy the rest of the evening, till we meet again.”
They all bade their goodbyes and Keera walked off to the bar with her ale in hand. Solynne was the first to speak up,
“She is a little rough around the edges but she seems to be not only skilled but quick witted.” Wollfen agreed,
“Yes she is one that can certainly take care of herself, all we need to find out now is if she is a good team player.” Kane had to add his five coins worth,
“And she has big tits, that's always a plus.” Solynne backhanded him in the chest for that one.
The evening passed by quietly enough and the three retired for the night, Solynne had paid for another room and both her and Kane went there. Wollfen was thinking of Dark and hoping she would manage to sleep okay, tomorrow he would find out.
The next morning Wollfen was downstairs at a table eating breakfast, eggs and bacon with a couple of bread rolls that he as enjoying. A cold mug of milk stood by his plate half empty. It was some time before both Kane and Solynne descended the stairs and they almost missed out on having breakfast served.
