by Gerard Bond
“No sorry, all that I did was manage to see the images and feel his emotions, it was a taxing experience and I will have to rest for a bit, mentally at least anyway. I will try something again later this evening okay?”
“Alright, I guess we are staying the night then huh?”
“Yeah it looks that way, I will go look for his sister and take care of that.”
“I will collect some firewood for the evening, I can cook a hot meal.”
“Sounds good, I will be back soon.”
He gave her a kiss and retreated out the door. Dark too went out foraging for wood.
Later that evening Wollfen once again placed his hands around Justin's head and entered his mind, this time he was more prepared for the images and wave of emotions. It was curious actually, the same set of memories kept playing over and over. The man was in torment. Now Wollfen tried something, he had no idea of whether it would work or not but he had to try something. He called out loudly in his own mind 'Stop!' and the effect was immediate. Justin jerked on the bench and his arms flailed wildly, then he looked wild eyed around the room and cried out diving for the corner of the room cowering. Dark immediately called to him in soothing tones,
“Justin, it's okay, you are safe, Justin hear me, you are okay, you are among friends now. You are in no danger.”
He looked to her with fear and grief in his eyes, tears began to fall. She approached him slowly and put her arms around him. When she did he began to cry, she soothed him with quiet words holding him close and he hugged her back. They stayed there for about ten minutes as Justin cried himself out, finally he managed to whisper to her,
“Thank you.”
He looked around spying Wollfen and stared at him warily, Dark saw him doing so,
“It's okay, he is with me and he helped you come out of your dark place. My name is Darkling Bruadar and he is called Wollfen.”
Justin nodded at him and looked back to Dark,
“How do you know my name?” She replied with a little smile,
“Wollfen is a magic user and he looked inside you and found out your name too.” He looked from her to Wollfen and back again,
“I haven't ever known a magic user before, can you do it too?”
“No, I can't.”
“I lost my family, they are all dead, it was the orcs.”
“I know, we found them Justin, Wollfen gave them a decent burial.”
Justin screwed up his eyes as he remembered, tears welled up again but he didn't cry, then he opened his eyes and looked to Wollfen,
“Thank you for doing that.”
“No problem Justin, my main concern now though is for you. A lot has happened and it has affected you greatly. I know this very well. I felt what you felt.”
He shrugged not understanding,
“So what brought you here?”
“We are on our way to Outrock to join up with some friends, then we intend on setting out on an adventure.”
Justin nodded, it didn't really mean much to him, he was born and raised on the farm and knew no other life. His stomach grumbled and Dark smiled,
“I think you need to get some food into you, we have some meats and vegetables we are going to cook up.” Justin nodded,
“Yes, I am famished, I can't remember when I last ate, I am thirsty too.”
Dark stood up and looked about a bit,
“Wolf, would you mind getting some more water to put over the fire? I will prepare the vegetables and we can fry up some meat.”
“Sounds good, I'll get on it.”
It wasn't long before the food was cooking and the aroma filled the room. Justin's mouth watered at the prospect and he kept drinking water. That was okay, he was dehydrated as it was. There wasn't much conversation that evening, they ate their meals at the table and Justin not surprisingly fell asleep right there, more out of emotional exhaustion than anything. The other two managed to get him to his room and lay him down. Then they retreated back to near the fireplace,
“So where do we sleep?” Wollfen pointed to the floor,
“I will get the bedrolls and bring them in, hey at least if it rains we don't get wet.”
Dark nodded as he made his way outside, she sat back kicking her boots off and sighing, it had been a very long day for all of them. When he came back she made him open one of the bedrolls up fully so it lay on the floor then the second one they used as a blanket. They snuggled in together and were both asleep within minutes.
The sun was high in the sky the following day and Dark was watching Justin walking around the farm, he was tending to the crops and checking on the animals that could still be found. He still appeared listless though she noted, his heart wasn't in it. That was obvious, he probably was doing the chores to take his mind off things. She looked around for Wollfen but he still wasn't back yet. They had agreed early in the morning he would go out on a patrol and see if there was any evidence of orcs still in the area.
Walking over to Justin she touched his arm and he looked up, there were tears in his eyes,
“Hey you haven't eaten all day, you really need to get something in your stomach.” He shook his head,
“I can't, there's so much to do, fences to be fixed, crops to be watered, I have to get it all done.”
He was turning away as he spoke and Dark reached out taking his arm to turn him back, he had a look of almost desperation in his eyes,
“Don't you understand? I have to get the work done, dad will be so upset.”
“Justin,” She looked him directly in the eye, “Justin, listen to me, your dad is gone, they are all gone.”
He stood there swaying for a moment, looking around, he was in danger of going back into his grief again and Dark wouldn't let it. She pulled him close and hugged him tight. He finally spoke in a quiet voice,
“I know, I don't know what to do, I feel so lost. I have nothing left.”
Dark didn't say anything in return, she just took his hand and led him away on a walk, after they had covered some distance she spoke up,
“So Justin, I don't know anything about you, how old are you?”
“Nineteen in the fall, it isn't long off I guess.”
“Have you ever thought of traveling? Seeing the world?”
He shook his head and looked around, they were getting further away from the farm and he was feeling a little anxious but Dark kept him talking. They spent awhile walking along and she spoke to him about her own loss, seeing the death of her loved ones, it helped him some to know she understood his pain. She also spoke at length of what Wollfen had done for her since they met, her rescue and the incident in Outrock. He ended up having a lot of questions about what Wollfen was planning there, she was pleased to see he was interested.
“So tell me Justin, do you know how to hunt?”
“Yeah, I am very good with a bow, I like hunting rabbits from horseback hitting them on the move.” Dark was surprised,
“Wow, that takes a lot of skill, do you do well at it?” He smiled with pride,
“I can bring home a dozen rabbits in a morning.”
“I'm impressed eh? You know that's a good skill to have and not only for hunting.” He looked at her wondering what she meant. “Would you like to come with us to Outrock?”
Now he stopped walking and stared at her, the story she had been telling him had sounded exciting and worthwhile he even toyed with imagining being a part of it as she spoke. But now that he was faced with the reality of it actually happening, well his doubts kicked in and he was feeling very unsure of himself.
“I don't know that I could do that, I mean, this is all I have known, being on the farm here.” He paused in thought again and then went on, “There's so much to do.”
Dark thought about where he was in his mind before speaking,
“Justin, you can't run this farm all by yourself, you need to start thinking about something else, start considering other things.”
He sighed and tears welled up in his eyes agai
n, it all seemed too much right now. She turned around and motioned him to follow, they slowly walked back to the farm and she let him digest everything they had discussed. By the time they got back Wollfen was sitting on the porch watching them come in.
“So how goes it?” He shrugged,
“Nothing to be seen, but it was a pleasant enough ride, did you two have a nice walk?”
“Yeah we did, didn't we Justin?” He nodded quietly, “I told him about why we are going to Outrock and offered him a chance to join us on the ride there.”
“Oh? What did you say Justin? Are you interested in coming with us?”
“I am not sure, I need to think.” Wollfen nodded,
“That's fine, we want to leave tomorrow, just so you know.” He didn't want Justin brooding for too long, that wouldn't help the situation at all.
They spent the rest of the day doing chores about the house and stable, Wollfen checked out the horses he had managed to round up and found them to be fit and in good health. Justin though spent a fair amount of time by the graves of his family, both Dark and Wollfen were concerned he may be too overcome by grief to leave. They needn't have worried, when Justin walked over to them he had something to say.
“I have decided to join you on your journey to Outrock, it is time I moved on, there is nothing let for me here.” They both nodded quietly, “I don't know what I will want to do when I get there, maybe during the ride I will work it out.”
“That's fine, whatever you decide we will do what we can to help you, you may count us as friends.”
Justin smiled at Wollfen's words,
“Thank you. I will pack what I want to take and have it all ready by evening.”
He walked away to the stable and Dark looked at Wollfen,
“So what do you think? Could he be one of the team?” He didn't know,
“It is too early to tell, I think the few days on the road to Outrock will give us a good idea, and if he chooses to join us the adventure against the bandits will certainly prove his worth.”
“He seems to have a good heart, I know from my talk with him he is a moral person if that information is of any use to you.”
“Yes my dear, that is important. It all plays a part in who he is deep inside.”
Wollfen watched him just inside the stable sorting through bridles hanging there, how would he fit in with the other three? Would they get along? Was he too young? Time would tell.
The next day Wollfen watched the back of Justin on horseback as he trotted along at an easy pace, he had asked him to scout ahead as they rode, not because he was expecting any trouble but more so he could watch him in action, trying to get an idea of his skills. They had spent the morning riding since getting up early at dawn, there had been no time wasted in hitting the road. They had been a number of days at Justin's farm and couldn't afford to dawdle any longer.
The ride would prove fruitful though, over the next couple of days Wollfen would work out just how intelligent the young man was and also how quick he was with a bow. He would prove to be a fast learner too and Wollfen wouldn't hesitate in giving him all the education he could by the time they got to Outrock.
So it was by the time they did arrive that Justin had already agreed to join their party of which Wollfen was very pleased, he had expected that they would have to dig up a couple of mercenaries for a one off time, but now they had Justin who would become a permanent member of his team. They were six and he was happy with that.
As they entered the gates of the north wall he looked around and spotted a familiar soldier, he motioned for the man to approach,
“Hello, remember me?”
“Of course sir, we have been waiting for your return.”
“Do you know where Solynne, Kane and Keera are?”
“Yes sir, they are in the courtyard with some trainees, you will find them there.”
“Thank you for that, till we meet again.”
The man saluted as Wollfen turned his horse and the three of them made off for the town hall knowing the courtyard was next to it. It didn't take them long to get there and the three rode in spotting Solynne sparring with another soldier giving lessons to some onlookers.
“Solynne!”
She turned and gave a surprised smile,
“Hey you! You are back!”
She turned to the others and gave them some words and walked over.
“Hello Wolf and Dark, I hope you had a pleasant journey.” She looked at Justin with a questioning look, “And who do we have here?”
“That is Justin a new member to our team, I will tell you all about it later. Where are the other two?”
“Oh, Kane's inside talking to the new Lord about some stuff and Keera took a break, she should be back soon.”
“Okay, I will meet up with Kane and have a chat to Lord Ernust about our plans.”
“You know the Lord already?”
“Yes I met him before I left Cholandra, is he still a grumbler?” Solynne laughed,
“Oh yeah, so you do know him, that man never stops whining about every little thing.”
“Yes, he was not happy at all about being posted here, oh well, I hope he doesn't give me too much grief.”
He slipped off his saddle and looked to the other two,
“I won't be too long, Solynne will be able to show you quarters, right?” He looked to her and she nodded, “Good, I will catch up soon.”
Wollfen walked in to an archway that lead to the hall from the courtyard and disappeared. Solynne turned back to the other two looking Justin up and down,
“So my dear friend, how did a strapping young man like you get caught up in this?”
It wasn't long before the three were talking and Solynne was able to catch up on events.
In the hall Wollfen had found Kane and had announced his presence. They were now in a three way talk between Kane, Lord Ernust and himself. The Lord wasn't pleased by Wollfen's plans at all,
“I don't need you stirring up trouble out in the wilds and making things harder for us here. There is no need to go seek vengeance. We have enough troops here to take care of things and your companions are training a number of people to establish a constabulary for the town too. This adventure of yours would serve no purpose.” Wollfen knew the man would be against him and turned to Kane,
“Have you anything to add?” He nodded,
“Yes, we picked up a bandit in town a few days ago and he had a written list of the troop numbers too, he was obviously checking out how things are here with the idea of reporting back to his colleagues.” Wollfen had expected as much,
“That proves my point my Lord, they are a well organized gang who will not go away so easily, they obviously have plans to come back again, do you want to be the next kidnap victim?”
That set the man back on his heels a bit and he thought for a moment before speaking again,
“Very well, I will authorize you to use some resources to go after them. Just make sure it is a success otherwise there could be consequences.”
“Agreed, I won't need much, mostly food supplies for the journey, other than that maybe two men.”
“Is that all? I expected you to want at least a dozen more troops, well you are free to pick who you want, two will not be problem.”
The Lord spun on his heel nodding to his adjutant to take care of the details and he stalked off to his chambers. He wasn't interested in any small talk.
Wollfen and Kane watched him leave and then turned back to each other,
“So how was the trip?”
“It proved to be interesting and fruitful, we have a new team member.”
“Oh, you will have to introduce me.”
“Yes let's go do that now, I don't want to waste any more time. The sooner we can leave the happier I will be.”
Chapter Six
The Offensive
Blackstorm looked around at his men, they had been grumbling now for awhile, their attempt at kidnapping the Lord of Outrock hadn't
played out and it had cost the lives of five of them. He had promised vengeance for that and had managed to have Lord Hale killed. They had even killed a few others too, but it wasn't enough. These men wanted blood, a lot of it. They all wanted to see Outrock pay for their insolence.
“Listen to me men! Yes they have got a lot of troops in place at Outrock now, but mark my words, they will leave in time. The Kingdom won't keep paying for them to stay, we know this. But let me also tell you something else,” He paused for effect, letting the tension build a little, “When the troops leave we WILL ride in and exact a heavy price of the townspeople! We will bleed them like never before!”
The men roared their approval waving their swords above their heads cheering their leader on, if nothing else this man was good at stirring them up, good at getting their emotions flowing. Was it no wonder he was in charge?
“I can tell you now too, we are the biggest outlaw gang this side of Kassandrea!” Again the men cheered, “And we will grow bigger too, once the word gets around of our exploits with Outrock, every murderer, robber, rapist and more will flock to our cause!”
Once more he paused for effect, letting the men work themselves up, it could only help the situation. Then he went on,
“We will become so strong, so big, that we will own the outlands! No one will be able to touch us!”
Blackstorm looked around at them with a smile. Yes, he was going to lead them to glory and fame, his fame. There was power to be had here and he would take it by force. Unknown to these men he also had grander ideas too. All he need do was prove to be too much trouble for the Kingdom to deal with, too powerful, too expensive to eliminate. Then he would be in a position to negotiate for concessions from them. He knew how they worked, there was a fiefdom to be owned down here and he had every intention of presiding over it.
Now he turned and pointed to two large barrels of ale,
“This is for all for you, drunk up and enjoy, because I promise you this and far more.”
The men cheered again and moved forward crowding around the barrels as the ale started to be poured into mugs that were greedily snatched at.
Blackstorm walked outside of the cave into the night air and looked up at the stars. It was a clear night with the full moon low in the sky, it looked larger than usual.
