CHAPTER 17
The stalks of grass reached over the heads of the party. That’s what Belar was calling it. To be honest, she wasn’t half wrong, Kel’Van thought. They decided traveling through an off beaten path to avoid Holmgren patrols would quicken their pace. Which had them led to walking around the strange flora of the depths. Most of the tall grass was speckled with flowers reminiscent of daffodils. But these ranged from purple to white, and even yellow. As they trampled through, white seeds sprinkled in the air like leaves blowing in the wind. Even Voresh took the time to admire the sights while keeping low, trying to scout tracks and the enemy.
“This dark place certainly has its own type of beauty,” remarked Voresh. The white floating seeds flew about his head as he looked around, attempting to keep them out of his nose. Waving the seeds away from his face only intensified the orcs sneezing.
“By Gaea’s tears, these things are everywhere!” spewed Fer’shad in frustration. The orc had been inhaling the seeds in both his nostrils and his mouth. It had gotten to the point he was hacking the floating things the whole way through the weeds. Their captain could only laugh inwardly at his companions’ discomfort. The winds were getting more directional, so they had to be close.
“Have some patience Fer’shad, we’re almost there. Then you can eat some meat in plant-free air soon my friend, “consoled Kel’Van. He patted the orc on his back, which seemed to the maligned orc to count for something as he smiled back at him.” Captain, I can’t wait to be relieved of this place.”
“I don’t know,” said Belar. “I ‘have come to enjoy these caverns. It is beautiful, and you cannot say that you have been bored here.”
“We have grown here, that is for certain,” admitted Voresh.
“I would like to keep growing, but that might not happen if we can’t refrain from talking as if we’re taking a stroll around the park,” their captain said quietly, “We have already passed enough patrols already and would hate having to fight our way out now that we are so close.”
The group quieted down. Just in time it seemed, as another patrol passed by only 30 meters from their position. They didn’t seem to be very attentive. At least in the way of patrols that they passed before were. There were only three in all, opposed to the four to five-man patrols they have met regularly since leaving the two ambushed gray orcs from earlier. The patrols’ gear was definitely a grade better than the ambushers were. These orcs were in what looked to be tough leather armor from head to toe. All three carried large two-handed weapons. One bearing a double-bladed ax, the shorter of the three carrying a spear. The last one, a large barrel-chested orc with a bald skull, held a large sword sheathed on his back.
They walked another 20 feet away from their position in the tall weeds. Then they suddenly stopped just a short distance from the front of a cavern made up of what looked like dried volcanic rock. Exactly where the wind came hollering in almost a gust was coming from.
“Therein that cave lies our exit.” thought Kel’Van with this patrol unit standing in the way. He wanted to give the order to rush them quickly. So intense was his need to reach the surface and be done with these endless caverns and see the blue sky again. What held him back was again the nagging feeling of wrongness from this patrol. What they were saying he couldn’t hear, nor did he care, but the fact they were just standing nonchalantly bothered him.
“Should we not attack captain?” asked Fer’shad. He was already anxious to move with these seeds flying in and out his mouth and nose.
“No, this feels wrong,” he said. “They don’t seem to be on guard. Not in the slightest. Too relaxed.” He looked at the clearly bothered orc and felt a bit of pity for the big guy. “Sorry Fer’shad, get as comfortable as you can because we are going to wait a bit and see what’s going on here.”
Fer’shad closed his eyes and inwardly groaned. Voresh and Belar both tried their best to hide their smirks underneath their hands and weapons. Kel’Van merely shook his head and sat back on his haunches as quietly as possible as to not ruffle the tall grass around them. Overly relaxed patrol or not, he wasn’t going to draw unwanted attention by being careless.
They did not have to wait long; shortly, another group of grey tattooed Holmgren made their way out of the black cave. The newcomers numbering four, joined the other three in discussion and laughter.
“They weren’t patrols at all. They were guards,” whispered Kel’Van. As the Holmgren continued to talk, Fer’shad got closer to his captain. “If we had attacked” …. Fer’shad trailed.
“We would have been fighting seven Holmgren instead of three, “Belar interjected. “They probably would have been attacking from our back as well.”
“True enough,” stated Voresh. “But what is it that they are guarding in that cave?”
“The way out as far I’m concerned,” Kel’Van whispered
“So, what do we do now?” asked Belar
“It looks like a shift change,” he uttered. “If that’s the case, soon they will change posts, and then the three will go into the cave, while the other group leaves. If not, we’ll figure it out then. Either way, we are going to have to wait a minute before we take action.”
Fer’shad, waving seeds from his face, just grimaced
Shortly after some laughs and finger-pointing, three of the warriors that emerged from the caves started walking away from it, and four started walked into the cave. The only holdover was a grey orc from the original cave group with black and white streaks in his short-cropped hair. He carried twin swords on both sides of his hips. Then the four all vanished into the dark depths of the cave. Kel’Van’s eyes though, were on the three that were leaving the cavern. As soon as they disappeared amongst the rocks and large weeds, Kel’Van turned to his party.
“I’ve had my fill of this place; let’s kill these Holmgren and go home…”
Voresh as usual, led them in. The levels they had gained in dark vision were beginning to pay dividends as they trekked through, avoiding potholes in the ground. They felt the gust and smells of something burning, mixed with the freshness of pine waifing through their noses. Yes, thought Kel’Van, the exit out was near. They could also hear the sounds of the Holmgren talking further up. He kept his team a way back so as not to alert them to their presence but still close enough to be able to hear their incessant complaining.
“Why do we even bother to come here,” one of them whined. “No one has ever bothered coming through the surface from this direction.”
“We wouldn’t know if they ever did either,” cried another. “The thing down there eats everything whole and burns what’s left.”
“We know nothing of how powerful those surface orcs are or what else may be living out there.” An authoritative voice thundered. “To assume because we haven’t been able to beat the creature in here doesn’t mean it’s not possible for others.”
“If someone is capable of beating that horror, then they deserve to come through,” said the one with the whine to his voice.”
“You think they deserve to be able to mount an attack on our back door Holmgren?” The authoritative voice asked, raising its tone. “Though it may be unlikely for someone to comes through this way, we will do our jobs if for nothing else to maintain vigilance to our sect. Now get to your stations, and I’ll go back pretending that the two of you have a backbone.”
Kel’Van could hear some shuffling and mumbling from where they had perched to stay a good distance from being detected. But after a short while, all was silent in the cavern.
Kel’Van shook his head at the normalcy of it all. No matter what branch of the military you were in, human or orc, you always had people who complained more than they worked. It didn’t matter that they were being paid to do a job, or even to have some type of pride in doing said job. These whiners would always try to do the least amount of work and complain while doing it. He had to put up with it then, the same way whoever was in charge of these pukes had to put up with it now. He
very well sympathized with the person telling them to man up and do their job. Kel’Van decided if he could figure out who was in charge, he would kill him last. Just out of courtesy.
Disgusted, Kel’Van pulled Voresh close to him. “We need to see if we can find out where these orcs are stationed so that we can come up with a plan of attack. Do not engage, understand?”
“Yes,” he said quietly. Voresh lowered his body closer to the ground and began to track where these grey-skinned orcs went.
Waiting for his scout come back, he began to look at his D.S. The way his stats were looking, he should be level 7 probably after this fight, depending on how high level these Holmgren were. He was still putting 1 into health and mostly into magic. But after 10 maybe he needed to spread it out. Maybe 1 for each stat. He still wasn’t sure that he could be a shaman class as his spirit was not high enough yet for him to have an elemental. Or should he start dumping most of his points into magic? His group's closest thing they had to ranged damage dealer was himself. At 10 his spell heatwave becomes operable. It was a better ranged fire spell that hit multiple targets at one time. Granted, it had a 3-second cast, but the payoff is the spell can be cast at a distance with 20-meter radius. It will go a long way in providing cover support and damage to help his party attack and stay alive. Not to mention the damage over time or (D.O.T.) that comes with the spell. Kel’Van shook his head in thought. He would make up his mind about where to drop points when he actually makes level 10.
Belar tapped Kel’Van’s shoulder, bringing him out of his own thoughts. “Voresh is returning,” she whispered.
Voresh, with his body low to the ground, made his way back to the group quietly. “If Belar hadn’t pointed him out, I might’ve not seen him till it was almost too late,” thought Kel’Van to himself.
“There are two that are relatively close together. One on both sides of what looks like a glowing mirror, ”Voresh reported.
“Glowing mirror?” questioned Belar
“That is what it looked like to me; it may turn out to be something else up close.”
“Noted,” stated their captain. “What of the other two?”
“One is watching the path that separates them all,” said Voresh “Though he rotates from watching the path and watching the other two at the mirror. The one who seems to be in charge seems to walk the whole path from the front of it, only a few meters from here to the mirror and then back again.”
Kel’Van sat on his haunches, thinking the situation through. Then he tapped Voresh with a hand on his shoulder. “How long does it take for the orc patrolling to get back to his original position?”
“The trail is not that long. I waited until he returned and began again before I came back if that helps captain.”
It took almost 30 minutes for Voresh to come back, so the patrol must have taken 20 min to make its rounds. So, if they wanted to effectively kill these guys, they would have to be stealthy and eliminate each one of them at precise moments. The quietest among them was Voresh. It was best if they attacked as usual with him in front and then assist him as we take them out one by one.
“Everyone, this how we are going to go about this,” explained Kel’Van.
CHAPTER 18
Melak was sick of this post.
He had first got volunteered for this job as a means of making rank quickly.
“Do enough guard duty in important places, and it will lead to something great!” said his father.
What he didn’t foresee was going to the same job, performing the same thing every day. His cousin was at least part of the fighting force here, defending against the weekly incursions in their territory. Not that he was eager to get chopped into bits, but at least that orc wasn’t bored to death.
“Rather be bored than dead,” he said aloud.
Melak ginned to himself. Sometimes he did seem to miss the fact that he is getting paid to guard a gate that no one is most likely to use.” Maybe Sol’saa really does help the unfortunate and fools,” he said aloud to no one in particular.
He was about to turn back towards the path again when a hand covered his mouth, smelling of earth and metal. Before he could grab his weapon from his scabbard, something cold and sharp found it’s way into his bowels. His eyes began to bulge as another larger weapon quickly slashed across his neck. Malek was laid gently on his back on the ground as another sword was plunged into his chest. The blood was pouring out of him too quickly for him to hold in with his free hand on his throat.
“Sol’saa must not think much of you then my friend,” said one orc standing over him, his large sword covered in his blood. He had enough time to raise his arm before the darkness took him and Malek of the Roosar sect was no more.
“Good work people,” said their captain. “Let’s loot this body and wait for- “
“WWWWOOOONNNNNGGG” ranged outward in the air.
“What in the world was that?” gasped Kel’Van Bending down and looking around for which direction it came from. Halfway down the path, towards Voresh’s “mirror,” was the Holmgren with the peppered streaked hair blowing a horn.
“Intruders!” pointed the grey orc towards them with his sword.
“So much for stealth,” groaned Kel’Van.
“Surface dwellers,” mumbled Corok.
The weathered warrior has seen years of action, yet this was the first time he’d seen the green-skinned orcs in the flesh. There could be only one reason they were here. To get through the portal. Instead of running forward to meet them, he raced back toward the portal and what was left of his watch. They were outnumbered, but Sol’saa may yet bless them with victory…
The party watched as the Holmgren made his way back to the portal. With the element of surprise now a memory, they made their way down at a crisp walk. No need to tire themselves out for a battle that was inevitable.
“We’ll loot the body when we get back,” motioned Kel’Van as his team marched forward. He eyed the three combatants as their leader readied them for combat. Their levels were comparable to theirs, but the black and white-haired Holmgren was a different sort. He was a level 9 and undoubtedly would be the most trouble, so he needed to get the other two out of the way first.
“Fer’shad, you and Voresh continue upfront. When I say go, you make a hole for me to start spraying fire into all three of them, then concentrate on the old guy,” said Kel’Van. “Fer’shad, stay in front with your shield while Voresh strikes from behind it. That seasoned orc may be dangerous. We’ll join you as soon as we kill the other two.”
They advanced, taking their time. The three grey orcs formed a triangle formation with their leader in front and the other two Holmgren flanking at his sides behind him. Sweat visibly glistening their brows.
“Steady Holmgren,” Corok yelled. “They cannot get past this gate!”
Bringing both swords to bear, he held them both on either of his hips. One, a mist of cold permeating off its edges, the other with flames cascading from it as if doused in oil and was lit aflame.
“Gaea’s tears,” croaked Fer’shad, looking at the display of power in front of him by the dual-wielding warrior.
“Don’t let it split our focus Fer’shad,” stated Kel’Van “Stay on him and behind that shield.”
As soon as they were within distance of his flame capabilities, Kel’Van yelled’NOW!”
Kel’Van strafed to the side, spraying his flames in a cone encompassing all three of the Holmgren. Fer’shad along with Voresh, rushed to attack the lead Holmgren.
When the fire spewed forth, Corok was only momentary surprised. He did not see an elemental accompanying the surface orcs, so having one blast him with flame was a shock. But being the veteran that he was, he knew that his team’s only of survival was getting rid of the elf-like magic user first. He eyed the direction the flames were burning him from and activated one of his skills.
“Cross-cut!” yelled Corok. Then he leaped from the blaze burning himself and his men, holding his sword arms a
cross his body from the torrent of flames, then releasing his swords in upward x formation against the fire-wielding orc in front of him.
Kel’Van’s glowing red hand was pouring out steady flames and heat. He was closing the distance to quickly dispatch the two-lower ranked Holmgren with quick slashes across the necks, then help his team-mates with the level 9. Then a scream cut across the roaring blaze, which grabbed his attention and might’ve saved his life. “Cross-cut” was the only warning he received and on instinct, he jumped to his left. The level 9 came flying out of the fire. His armor and hair still aflame as he flew towards him, arms crossed as if he blocking his body from punches. Then he uncrossed his arms in an upward slash. If Kel’Van hadn’t already leaped to his left, the grey orc’s twin-bladed attack would have eviscerated him, leaving his guts and arms on the ground. Though the attack did not kill him, Corok’s “Fire blade” actually raked across his chest and shoulder, knocking him backward and hitting the ground with an audible thudding of his back.
“AAAARRGGHHH,”
What Kel’Van wanted to do was grab his chest and cast heal, but even with his eyes clinched in pain, he saw his attacker was only a few feet away. His glowing swords at his sides and his feet already thundering forward to finish the job. Then Belar rammed him with her shoulder from the side. The Holmgren reflectively swung one of his swords backward while stumbling forward, but it sailed widely above her head as the tackle was aimed waist-high.
Kel’Van took the precious seconds to cast heal on his chest and shoulder.
Kel’Van cast heal for 35 HP…
Curiously where the blade cut, it almost cauterized the wound but left a burning sensation where it struck. This did nothing but rack up the pain he was experiencing. But he had to grin and bear it, or the Holmgren was going to turn Belar into tiny pieces…
Corok was trying to get his balance when his legs were kicked out from under him. He fell backward, slamming into the ground. He tried to slice in the direction where the kick came from while he was on his back, but she was already gone. As he stood upon his hand and knees, he saw her try to kick him in the face, Corok then swung his ice blade at the incoming foot, knocking it away, and the swords innate magic kicked in as she stumbled backward to catch her footing.
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