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Back to the previous chapter: Temples
Second Draft
The following morning, as the sun crept above the horizon, Kasey led Farran out of the stables. The warhorse followed Kasey out of the building, wearing no tack or saddle, nor even a halter.
"All right, Farran," the Church Knight addressed the horse. "You can have some time this morning to stretch out. I need you back here by midday, so we can rescue the miners. Okay?"
Farran snorted.
"Have fun," Kasey said as he walked back towards the inn.
Farran whinnied loudly, breaking the dawn silence, then bucked and snorted gleefully before he ran a fast lap around the stables and thundered down the main road through town.
Inside the common room, Kasey found Bilbus sitting at one of the tables, propping his head in his hands.
"Oh, good morning, Bilbus," the Church Knight offered cheerfully.
Bilbus groaned and mumbled something incoherent in response.
Kasey grabbed one of the other tables. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked before he dragged the table towards the front door of the inn.
Bilbus did not answer the knight. Kasey shrugged and pulled the table out onto the wide wooden porch in front of the inn. The Church Knight glanced towards the stream on the far end of the main road, where he could see Farran stalking something in the water. The warhorse looked unearthly, its legs lost in the low fog that still clung to the wide stream. Kasey went back in after another table to make sure there was enough room for all of his friends on the porch this morning. It would be a shame not to enjoy a nice spring morning like this one.
Adria cheerfully walked towards the stairwell. The paste was in a small container tucked into a hidden pocket in the folds of her skirt, and she knew Bilbus was already downstairs. She had heard him thumping and stumbling and cursing to himself in the adjacent room a while ago. The little thief deserved what he was going to get.
Careful! she admonished herself. Act cheerful, and he will be suspicious. It was easy to get into a sour mood thinking of the arrogant thief's manners. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was scowling.
Kasey was also downstairs. Adria felt foolish for being surprised -- the Church Knight rose early every morning. Currently, he was busying himself dragging a table towards the front door. Bilbus was alone at another table, head in hands, staring at the wall.
Adria approached the mountebank carefully. When he made no recognition of her approach, she finally softly cleared her throat. "Bilbus? Can we talk? Outside?"
The mountebank turned to look at her. The distrust was clear on his face.
"Look," Adria said, trying to control her anger, "if I wanted you dead, your body would already be rotting in a cold grave somewhere. Assuming anyone found your body in the first place." She knew better than talking this openly, but Kasey was outside now, and the inn's staff were noisily working in the kitchen.
"Fine," Bilbus said. He stood up, waiting for her to make the next move.
"After you," Adria said curtly as she gestured towards the back door.
Bilbus walked mechanically towards the door. He had none of his usual swagger. Something was bothering him greatly, enough so that Adria started having doubts about exacting her revenge on him this morning. It's not like I'm going to kill him, or even hurt him. I'm just going to irritate him. The little rat deserves it, and more.
Bilbus stopped several paces from the inn and turned around. "What do you want?" he asked. There was a hint of hostility in his voice.
Before Adria could answer, Breanna called from the window of the room she shared with Adria. "Adria?" the mahogany-haired woman asked. "Sorry to interrupt. I need to talk to you." Breanna looked nervous.
"Can it wait?" Adria asked too sweetly.
"Sorry. No. I'll be right down!"
"Don't bother," Adria growled. She went back into the inn. She heard Bilbus following her, but not too closely.
Stupid girl, Adria thought darkly. She realized for a moment that she was not sure whom she was mad at. Breanna, she decided. She got cold feet. Bilbus took her out behind the stables and played swords with her, and now they're the best of friends.
Adria swung the door to her room open abruptly. "Yes, Breanna?" she asked. "What is so important?"
Breanna gulped when she saw Bilbus standing in the hallway behind Adria. "Well, Adria, I realized that my healer's kit was really badly depleted after the orc raid. I was going to looking about the fields here to see if I could find any herbs to replace what I used. Would you care to join me?"
Bilbus leaned close behind Adria. He spoke softly, barely loud enough for Adria to hear him. "I'm sure you two are just itching to replenish your supplies. I could leave my boots in the hallway tonight. Or maybe my jacket."
Adria felt the blood drain from her face. He knew. That miserable runt of a thief had been spying on them. Stupid! I knew he could see through walls. He did it at the orc camp. Of course he could spy on me, too. He was close enough that he could put a dagger in her back, and no one else would be the wiser until she fell to the ground. Adria felt very vulnerable.
Breanna saw Bilbus whisper something, but she could not make out the words. Adria became very pale, and looked like she was going to faint. "Adria?" Breanna asked, worried. She fought the urge to take a step forward. She did not know what Bilbus had just said, but getting closer to those two seemed to suddenly be a very bad idea.
Adria finally answered. "You go ahead, Bree. I'm feeling a little tired. I'm going to stay here and rest."
"Are you ill?" Breanna started to reach for her healer's bag. "I can fix you a tea to help."
"No, no. I'm okay. I'll just lay down for a while."
Bilbus stepped away from Adria. "Was there anything else you wanted to do, ladies? Or may I leave now?" When neither woman answered, Bilbus turned and left.
Breanna caught up with him before he reached the stairs. "Bilbus, I'm..."
"Forget it," Bilbus interrupted.
"It's just that you can be so irritating..."
Bilbus stopped so abruptly that Breanna nearly ran into him. The mountebank turned to face Breanna. He had dark rings under his eyes, and it looked like he had not slept in a week. "Look. Just forget it. Okay?"
"I don't understand either of you," Breanna said, unwilling to stop now that she had him talking. "You are a little arrogant to me, and to everyone else, but you spit acid when Adria is around. She is actually nice, but she turns into a snotty little girl when she is around you. What happened between you two?"
"The promise," Bilbus said. Breanna blinked uncomprehendingly. "You remember when we snuck into the orc camp?" Breanna shuddered. She would never forget. "Adria and I worked well together. We even managed to have a little bit of fun running around pretending to be orcs. As soon as she was back in her dress, she became a monster again. It's the promise."
"What promise?" Breanna asked.
"Her father let her go running off to Londoun, but she had to promise to return to be married off to whomever her father chooses. She is enjoying her freedom, but she doesn't want to have fun, because she knows she will have to go back home and be a model noble wife, doing her embroidery and bearing heirs to her husband's lineage. She wears those rich noble dresses like a silk prison. If I ever meet her father, I'll punch him for raising his daughter like that."
Breanna mulled over what Bilbus had just said. He was utterly convinced that Adria's father was the cause of Adria's problems. Breanna could not find any argument with his claim. Not yet, at least.
Bilbus flashed one of his lopsided grins. "Don't worry about it, Bree. Let's get some breakfast. It's going to be a tough day." He turned and tromped down the stairs.
The other men had taken seats at the tables outside. One of the serving women had placed a platter of hot breads in the middle of the two tables. She quickly went back in to fetch drinks.
Bilbus took an empty seat at one end of the tables. Breanna sat at the far end, near Eric.
"Where's Adria?" the Azirian asked Breanna.
"She's not feeling well. She may be down later."
The server returned with a platter of mugs. She set a mug of steaming spiced cider in front of each of the people at the tables, then went back into the inn.
After a few moments of silence, Breanna turned to Sturm. "Did you say that the witch in the tower was named Axransa?"
Sturm nodded. "Yes. From what we found in there."
Eric added, "Bilbus found that note in the orc commander's tent from 'Axransa' as well. That is not a common name around here. I think we can safely bet they are the same person. Do you think she was in command of the orcs?"
Breanna looked towards Eric, blushing slightly as she stared at his face from such a close distance. She just started to smile, until the events of the last few days beat the pleasant thoughts away. "The mayor was saying something on his deathbed about how Axransa should never have hurt his wife."
At the far end of the tables, Bilbus shook his head as if clearing it. "Just before he said it was never too late to return to the light." He noticed Breanna studying him. He ignored her, glancing at the knights at the table instead. "How are we going to rescue the miners? I doubt that our plan will work twice. Even orcs aren't that stupid."
"I would nae say that," Rishala objected. "Orcs have an old reputation for being little more than mobs in battle. They rely on numbers more than smarts. That was how they managed to bring the Five Crowns Alliance to its knees at the end of the Golden Age."
Across the table from Bilbus, Sturm set his mug of cider on the table. "Orcs are not stupid," he said plainly. "They get careless if they don't have a strong leader to keep them organized, but they are not simplistic mobs. If we assume there is a power vacuum at the mines right now, we will be making a foolish error." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. "A direct assault would be suicide. We do not have the numbers to make it work, and the orcs would have no reason to let the miners live long enough for us to reach them."
Bilbus smiled wanly. "So, we need to be sneaky."
Sturm picked his mug back up and took a sip. "Even with your talents, I doubt we can get close enough to rescue the miners. For starters, we don't really know where they are. We assume they're in the stables. They could be in the mines."
Eric nodded in agreement. "How would we sneak into the mines, anyway? The entrance was not very large."
"There are air shafts," Sturm noted. He glanced across the table at Bilbus. "Do you have any tricks that would let us squeeze through them?"
Bilbus was nursing his own mug of cider. He shook his head slowly. "Nothing I can do would shrink all of us enough to get through air shafts, unless they are really big to begin with." He watched a couple of the villagers walk by, heading out into the fields to check on some cattle. "How about this: We can organized the town into a mob, and have them charge the mines to distract the orcs. We sneak in from the other direction and rescue the miners."
"What a fine idea, Bilbus," Eric said with a tinge of sarcasm. "We can kill off the villagers to rescue the miners."
Sturm set his mug down on the table. "That is not a bad start to a plan, though."
Eric was alarmed. "What?!?"
"Listen," Sturm said. "The archers can approach the mines, attacking sentries at long range and softening the defenses. While the orcs return fire, Kasey and I can charge in to assault the orcs, with the villagers following to mop up the remains."
Eric rubbed his chin as he mulled the plan over. "You're right. That isn't too bad. Coordinating the forces will be a challenge. The archers will need to attack by surprise, with the knights closing very quickly to disrupt the orcs before their archers can organize. We will need to pick an easy way to time everything. Let's say that we plan the villagers to arrive at the mines about sunset?"
Sturm nodded. "That should be easy enough. You can take Bilbus with the archers to provide some screening on the ground in case the orcs close with you."
"Great," Bilbus groaned. "I get to be orc fodder."
Eric glanced at Bilbus, then returned his attention to Sturm. "Who is going to rally the villagers? Rishala?"
Kasey blurted out, "Why not Lady Breanna? She can talk to the smiths' wives. I bet they could organize the villagers. Smiths' wives are pretty tough."
Sturm looked at Kasey, surprised at a sensible idea from the Church Knight. "Kasey's right. It would make sense. The villagers don't blame her for the mayor's death, and she has helped some of their wounded after the orc raid. This is a smithing town, in spite of its size. The smiths' families will be fairly influential."
"Wait," Bilbus objected. "I thought Bree should ride with the archers. That way, when the knights run through the mines, the healer can be close by to help them."
Sturm shook his head. "No. If Breanna goes with the villagers, she will be close to the mines, anyway. And she will be with the villagers, who would bear the brunt of any fighting."
Eric pushed his chair back and rubbed his hands. "I think we have a plan." He looked at Breanna, who sat still, open mouthed, as she realized what had just happened. "Bree? As soon as you finish breakfast, go find the smiths' wives. Talk to them. Recruit them to help us. We need as many villagers as will help, ready to arrive at the mines at sunset, in one force. Anything they can find to use as a weapon, they need to bring."
Bilbus looked down the street towards the stream. Farran was trotting in a high prance towards the inn, water still falling from his soaked body.
"Uhh, Kasey?" the mountebank said. "You realized that your horse got loose, right?"
Farran pranced past the inn, legs soaked and thick mud caked around the hooves. The muzzle of the horse was likewise wet. The tall warhorse flashed sharp teeth at Bilbus as it passed.
Kasey ignored Farran. "Oh, no, I let him out this morning to run around before we head for the mines. It looks like there's some good fishing in the river here."
Bilbus buried his face in his hands as the clop-clop of the warhorse faded behind the inn.
Kasey stood up. "I'll be back in a bit. I need to find a good sapling." He walked towards the edge of the porch, following his destrier. "Farran! Get back here! We need to go find a tree!"
Breanna had steeled herself to talk to the smiths' wives. She had paced back and forth in her small room in the inn for several minutes before she finally left. After several queries, she was told that the women she sought were at the smiths' guild house, across the river. She now stood outside the open doors of the building, looking at the anvil hanging above the doorway on stout chains. Women's voices drifted from inside the building. Steeling herself, Breanna walked under the anvil and into the building.
The women inside stopped talking when the intruder stepped across the threshold. Breanna felt a small panic when she realized that two of the women had muscular arms as large as her own legs.
One of the women coolly asked, "Yes?"
Breanna fidgeted with the folds of her skirt. "We need your help." She managed to keep her voice level. "We went to the mines. I think you already know that. We found orcs there. The knights and the archers tried to get the orcs, but there were too many. So we're going back again." Breanna took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "If you care for your men, help me to get the villagers to come with us. The archers and knights will carry the fight, but we need help to make sure we get all of the orcs."
The brawny woman stared at Breanna for an uncomfortable moment. "Why should we help you? You have not done us any good. Our mayor died, and our town was attacked by orcs, and our husbands were taken from us since you arrived."
Breanna glared at the women, unable to find a fitting retort. She was right. Nothing good had happened to the village since Breanna and her friends arrived. Breanna turned away, looking out the door of the guildhouse, towards the charred remains where some homes had stood just days ago.
The apothecary turned to face to her audience again. Another of the women -- the one who had asked the party to help yesterday -- was in the room as well. Breanna addressed her, instead.
"Yesterday, you came to the inn to ask our help rescuing your husband. Now you and your friends won't help us?" Anger welled in Breanna, and she let the irritation creep into her voice. "I'm from a small town in the Kingdom of the Five Crowns. I don't know your Dalesian ways, but in my lands, the villagers are a hardy bunch who help one another. We lords and ladies help the commoners, and the commoners help us in return. Perhaps here in the Dales, people don't stand up for themselves. Perhaps they are just sheep, willing to mill around in a crowd and bleat piteously when the wolves attack. I must have been wrong about you."
She turned towards the doorway, fists clenched in the folds of her skirt as she fought the urge to scream. After taking another deep breath, Breanna walked towards the doorway.
"Wait!" one of the women shouted to her.
Breanna turned cautiously. The muscle-bound woman who had been the spokeswoman of the wives addressed Breanna. "In the Dales, villages do not see many strangers. We have had some who would rob each and every home blind, had we let them. We have had others who tried to cheat the miners' and smiths' labors."
The second women Breanna had addressed turned to the other wives. "I saw what happened to that knight when the orcs burned the houses. I saw her," she pointed at Breanna, "save him from a wound that by all rights should have killed him. She also helped old Mal. He was hurt by one of the orc arrows, too. She did not have to help, but she did. She was out in the open, not hiding like the rest of us. They need our help, now, Janel. They've helped us, and they still are willing to help us."
Janel, the brawny woman, glared at the other woman. "Very well, Alis. Let's see if we can get the villagers to come with us." Janel turned to Breanna. "What is your plan?"
Breanna relaxed. They were going to help. She gave the women a brief sketch of the plan. "We are going to attack the mines. The archers will soften the orcs, and the knights will charge into the fight. The attack will be late this afternoon. We need to reach the mines by the time the sun touches the horizon. The archers and the knights may not be enough to stop all of the orcs, so we are going to be the rest of the army."
"We?" Janel asked.
Breanna nodded. "My companions thought it best that I travel with you and the rest of the villagers. That way, I would be with the majority of the people, so I could reach the wounded quickly."
Janel stood at last. She turned to her comrades. "Let's organize the townsfolk. We'll need to hurry to get to the mines in time." She turned to Breanna again. "I hope your friends' faith in our help is not misplaced. What is your name, Lady?"
"I am Breanna Ceiturin of Armagh."
"Well met, Breanna Ceiturin. I am Janel Stalsmit of Hillsdale."
"Well met, Janel Stalsmit."
Breanna accompanied the women as they went door to door, rousing every man or woman who could carry some sort of weapon.
Breanna skipped down the stairs of the inn, enjoying the comforting, albeit warm, leather armor she wore. The outfit still had not been broken in, but already it felt flexible and supple. The tanner in Armagh had done a fine job preparing it for Breanna, even though he had been shocked that a noble's daughter had walked into his shop to request a complete suit of leather armor. Breanna had paid well for the work, and she was glad that she did. Even with several pounds of thick leather wrapped around her body, she was able to move freely.
Kasey had dragged the tables and chairs from breakfast back into the common room, leaving the porch empty. Breanna found several villagers already assembled on the dusty road in front of the inn when she reached the porch. The two town watch were with the other villagers, each watchman holding an ancient spear. Both tried to look authorative, but Breanna could see spots of rust on the maille shirts they wore.
The weight of the rapier and the swordbelt pulled on Breanna's left hip, so she leaned her right shoulder against one of the posts supporting the awning over the porch. Trying to at least look calm -- she certainly did not feel calm -- Breanna crossed her arms.
She heard someone approach from within the inn. The person stopped behind her. Bilbus spoke quietly to Breanna. "Looking good, m'Lady. The armor is very becoming on you, and you look very casual."
Breanna felt her face heat up as Bilbus swaggered towards the corner of the porch to peer behind the inn at the stables. Just as the mountebank reached the end of the porch, Kasey walked around the corner, cradling a tall pole in one arm. Breanna saw the glint of a steel tip on the top of it.
"Where'd you get that, Kasey?" she asked.
"Oh, the lance? It's a lot easier to carry the tips and cut a pole when I need it. That way, I don't have to carry the lance everywhere. My proper lance is back in Londoun. I didn't bring it with me, because I was just going to Armagh for a party with Eric." The Church Knight was protesting by the time he finished replying.
"Sorry, Kasey," Breanna apologized. "I was just curious."
Kasey looked back towards the stables. "Where is that horse, anyway?"
Several of the increasing crowd of villagers were staring at Kasey, who looked the very model of a fearsome Javik Raider in his leather armor, covered with golden locks of curly hair. Some of them noticed the dagger on his hip, and a murmur of "Church Knight" soon filled the street.
Farran trotted towards the crowd from the far side of town, his saddle already on his back. The villagers took little more than a glance at the malicious visage of the horse before they cleared a path. Farran ignored the people as he approached Kasey and stopped in front of the knight.
Sturm rode around the end of the inn to survey the assembly. Eric, Rishala, and Adria followed the Sun Knight, all astride their own horses. Adria was wearing her leather armor instead of a riding dress, and she looked self-conscious about letting so many people see her in it.
Kasey studied the well-worn and well-cared armor. "Where did you get that? It really is nice armor, Lady Adria."
Bilbus grinned as he studied her. "Yes, m'Lady. I thought you had nothing but dresses in those endless boxes of clothing."
Adria glared menacingly at Bilbus until the mountebank winked.
Bilbus jumped down from the porch and looked towards the stables. "Acquisition 2, away!" he called. After a moment, he crossed his arms in frustration. "No, over here. Don't you walk away from me, horse." Bilbus stormed towards the stables. His shouts still echoed onto the road. "Stop eating that grass and get over here. Do you remember that talk we had about being a team?"
Breanna giggled as the voice faded, still berating the horse. She then turned to the knights. "I guess we need to be going if we are going to reach the mines before sunset."
Farran rumbled a low snort.
Breanna looked at the destrier. "Yeah. What the horse said."
The villagers looked expectantly at Breanna. The smiths' wives had formed a group at one end of the throng of fifty men and women. Janel nodded assuringly at Breanna.
"Let's go," Breanna said. She found herself at the lead of a ragtag column of commoners, most of whom brandished farming tools.
Eric reined his horse. He was still ten paces from the edge of the forest, close to where he and his companions had scouted the mines two days ago. The sun was nearly to the horizon on the far side of the mines. We should have gone earlier. The sun will be to the orcs' backs, not ours.
The other archers were approaching behind him when he slid from his saddle. Eric quickly tied his horse's reins to a good-sized sapling as Rishala stopped next to him.
"Do you see the orcs?" Rishala asked.
Eric nodded as he squinted towards the mines. "I see a few milling around the stables."
"What are they doing?" Rishala wondered as he looked towards the mines, half a mile away.
"I'm not sure." Eric turned to Bilbus. "Where's your spyglass?"
Bilbus jumped from his saddle and gave Eric a cloth bag. Eric drew the spyglass and extended it as he pointed it towards the mines. The Azirian cursed under his breath. "The orcs have torches. Their two tents are burning, and I can see flame around the edges of the stables." He lowered the spyglass. "They're burning the mining camp."
Eric put the spyglass away, then tossed the bag back to Bilbus. The explorer grabbed his longbow and a quiver of arrows and started running towards the mines. Bilbus ran after Eric, and he could hear Adria and Rishala following as well.
Eric sprinted down the gradual slope towards the mines as if he were going to run the entire thousand paces. Bilbus felt the burning in his lungs as he struggled to keep pace with the Azirian, and he felt a brief flash of dismay when he realized that Adria had overtaken him, and would soon catch Eric as well.
Less than four hundred paces from the mines, Eric slowed to a jog, then stopped. Adria was several paces to Eric's side, stringing her bow as she surveyed the mines for targets. The orcs had not noticed the four humans approaching. Most of them were busy torching buildings, and a few were looking west.
Bilbus leaned over, propping his hands on his knees. "Couldn't..." he gasped. "Couldn't we have taken the horses?"
Eric ignored the mountebank as he strung his own bow. One of the orcs loosed an arrow to the west, then shouted warnings.
"They spotted Kasey and Sturm," Eric said as he raised his bow for a long-ranged shot. Adria did likewise.
"Wait," Bilbus said as he approached Eric.
The mountebank grabbed Eric's shoulder. Eric felt an odd, warm sensation, then watched the world around him slow. Bilbus walked in slow motion towards Adria. When he finally stood next to the blonde archer, he put his hand on her shoulder as well. Adria started moving at a normal speed, while the rest of the world remained slow.
Eric turned back towards the orc archer who had loosed an arrow at the still-unseen knights. The arrow was still sailing upwards, slow enough that Eric had no trouble watching it fly.
Eric grabbed an arrow. He drew the bow back, taking aim at the orc archer. He loosed his first arrow, then reached for another one from his quiver. When he brought the arrow to ready, he realized he could see his first one sailing upwards, far too close. Adria's arrow was likewise slowly clawing its way skyward. Bilbus and Rishala -- both moving at the same speed as Adria -- trotted past the two longbow archers to close range so that Rishala's smaller bow could strike orcs as well. Bilbus had his the black sword drawn to protect Rishala if orcs got close.
Eric kept firing at orcs, sending several arrows at the orc archer that he had targeted. Adria had targeted the same archer. When he stopped to survey the effects of the barrage of arrows, he realized that he could count nine arrows in the air, between those he had fired and those that Adria had fired. A glance towards the noblewoman showed that she, too, had stopped to assess damage. None of the arrows had even reached their marks.
He turned to watch the arrows fly. They arced downwards towards the orc archers.
Six of the nine-arrow salvo found their marks, peppering the orc archer's back with a bristle of stout arrow shafts. A second orc who had been near the first one stood slowly, turning around to find the source of the attack. It slowly extended an arm and opened its mouth to shout warning. Eric raised his bow for another shot. He loosed an arrow shortly after Adria did.
A pair of bouncing heads appeared at the top of the hill beyond the now solitary orc sentry. Sturm and Kasey were racing up the far side of the hill on horseback, moving slowly, like the rest of the world. The two knights charged the lone orc sentry, Kasey with his lance leveled at the orc, Sturm with his sword held well to his side.
The extra reach of the lance made a difference. Eric watched the lance drive through the orc, until five feet of it jutted from the orc's back. Kasey dropped the lance as Eric reached for another arrow. Some of the orcs near the stables had spotted the human archers. Rishala was already loosing an arrow at those orcs, and Adria was readying an arrow for them as well.
As the orcs focused their attentions on the three archers and Bilbus, Sturm brought his horse to a stop and brought his own longbow to bear. The withering crossfire of arrows, supplemented by several glowing darts of Heka energy from Bilbus's fingertips, quickly ended the battle. The few arrows the orcs managed to fire at the archers never found their marks. Those that came close to the archers had slowed in mid-air and fallen ineffectively to the ground, their damaging force spent on invisible magickal barriers Bilbus had placed on each of the archers.
All the orcs were laying on the ground, most of them peppered with multiple arrow shafts. Bilbus was charging forward, sword at ready, as the knights raced forward from the far side of the mines.
Eric jogged forward as well, his mind reeling momentarily as the world sped back up to normal once more.
Bilbus had stopped by one of the orcs, with the tip of his sword held close to its throat. "It's alive!" Bilbus shouted.
One corner of the stables burned wildly. Both knights had reached the large, barred door. Eric could hear the screams of terrified men over the roar of the flames. Sturm grabbed the heavy wooden post being used to bar the door and lifted. Kasey pulled mightily on one of the doors, swinging it open. Several men ran out of the building as a cloud of sooty smoke roiled from it. Kasey and Sturm both rushed into the stables to help the miners and smiths escape.
Eric ran into the burning building to help, as well. He saw Sturm standing in one corner of the building, staring at the wall. When the Azirian got closer, he saw the body of a disemboweled man on the hay in front of Sturm. On the wall, where Sturm was looking, was still-wet markings in the orcish script. The bloody red of the script left Eric no doubt where the orcs had found a paint.
Eric quickly pulled out his journal. He flipped to a blank page and found his charcoal pencil -- he did not want to wait for ink to dry, with the fire raging around him. He sketched the orc script as best he could, until he had a hasty approximation of what he saw on the wall.
"Sturm," Eric gasped. The air was painfully hot, and the smoke acrid. "We need to leave. This barn is going to burn quickly with all the dry hay in here."
"Wait," Sturm said. "I almost have it."
A burning timber fell from the roof, landing a few paces away. It ignited a bale of straw.
"Let's go," the Sun Knight said abruptly.
Eric and Sturm raced for the open door.
Outside, Bilbus crouched near the lone surviving orc. It had been grievously wounded by several arrows, and it rasped painfully every time it breathed. Bilbus had shaped a magickal casting so he could question the orc. He paused for a moment to see Sturm and Eric finally emerge from the burning stables, just seconds before the building collapsed.
Bilbus turned back to the dying orc. "Where are your reinforcements?"
The orc tried to lift its head to face Bilbus. After several body-shaking coughs, it gave up, then answered, "I don't know."
"How many orcs are left?" Bilbus asked. "How many are in the mines?"
Gasping, the orc coughed again. Blood trickled from the corner of its mouth. "We were leaving. We were meeting the reinforcements to pull back. No one was in the mines."
Bilbus leaned closer to the orc as the monster's life started to ebb away. The mountebank glanced towards his companions, making sure none were near. "What does the Great Lord look like?"
The orcs eyes locked on Bilbus's, and an unreadable expression crossed its face. "I have never seen the Great Lord."
With a final wracking cough, the orc fell still. Bilbus stood up as the knights approached.
"Did you learn anything?" Sturm asked.
"These were the only orcs left. Their reinforcements aren't here, so these orcs were getting ready to flee." He looked at the burning mess that was the stables. "I guess they did not want to be bothered with prisoners."
Bilbus felt light headed. The world spun about him, and he found himself stumbling and falling to the ground. When he was able to see clearly again a moment later, Eric was standing above him.
"Are you all right, Bilbus?" Eric asked as he looked at his friend's pale face.
Bilbus pushed himself back upright. "I've never used that much Heka that quickly. I just need to rest for a minute."
Eric nodded to himself. "I can fix you some hot tea. That should help you feel better. Just wait here, and don't move around if you don't have to."
Bilbus rocked back until he was sitting with legs extended. Sturm was standing nearby, looking to the west. "Our reinforcements just showed up."
Beyond the burning buildings of the mines was a crowd of people, led by the familiar leather-clad form of Breanna. She walked quickly, scanning to and fro for orcs, with her rapier brandished.
Sturm watched the villagers approach as he asked Bilbus, "The orc said no one was left?"
Bilbus nodded slowly, waiting for the dizziness to recede. "Yes," he said when he realized that Sturm was not watching him.
"I don't think I'll take an orc's word on it." Sturm looked around for Kasey. The Church Knight had wandered towards the burning tents. "Kasey!" Sturm shouted.
Kasey turned around. "Yes?"
Sturm drew his sword. "Let's check the mines. I want to make sure no one will run out behind us while we're not looking."
Kasey drew his own sword, and the two knights walked towards the mine entrance.
Rishala watched them go, then turned to Adria. "That's not a bad idea. Let's make sure that no one is hiding in the bushes around here, either."
The story teller and the lady jogged towards the bushes on the hillside overlooking the mine.
Breanna noticed Bilbus on the ground. She was worried as she rushed towards him. Bilbus groaned inwardly and forced himself to stand up before she reached him. He was woozy, but managed to stand upright.
Before she could bombard him with questions, Bilbus raised his hands defensively. "I'm fine, Bree. Just a little tired. I used a lot of Heka today."
Breanna nodded, but grabbed his arm to steady him. Eric approached the two with a tin cup in hand.
The Azirian offered the cup to Bilbus. "Careful, Bilbus. The tea is very hot."
Bilbus gladly took the cup, then pulled his arm free of Breanna's grip.
Eric looked over the crowd of villagers milling around their rescued friends. "What should we do with them? The orcs' reinforcements could be here any day now."
Bilbus sipped noisily from the cup. "We should tell them what's happening and let them make their own choice. They may not be nobility, but they still have the right to decide for themselves."
Eric regarded Bilbus. "That is a very noble insight, Bilbus. I could almost mistake you for a lord."
Bilbus glared half-heartedly at Eric. "Now you're just being mean."
The two knights emerged from the mines a few minutes after the sun set. Rishala and Adria returned to the mining camp a few minutes later. The party gathered near the burning stables, where they could use the light to see.
Eric flipped through his journal until he found the hastily-sketched orc script he had copied from the wall of the stables. "Sturm? Did you understand this writing?"
Sturm looked at the copy of the script and nodded. He dictated the translation to Eric as the Azirian wrote it on the facing page of his journal.
"Portals of old and portals anew
Trails of old and trails anew
Allies of old and allies anew
Death of old and death anew"Blood spills upon blood
Great Lord and sun return
Blood mixes with blood
World's hope or Lord's dominion"
Several of the village elders approached the party.
Sturm addressed them. "The good news you've already seen. We saved most of the miners. One of them was already dead, but the others are free."
Eric took over. "The bad news is that there are more orcs coming. Almost forty of them. Sturm sent for reinforcements from the Sun Knight compound in Plainsdale. They probably will not be here before the orcs arrive."
A low murmur rose in the crowd of villages behind the elders.
Bilbus spoke next. "You can stay and fight. You would probably die."
Eric nodded, then added, "Or you can hide in the forests until the Sun Knights get here."
Bilbus hastily interjected, "Just avoid that tower south of here. It's haunted."
Rishala raised his arms and echoed, in a deep, dramatic voice, "Haunted!"
Some of the villagers looked at the Caledonian with a disbelieving expression.
Bilbus quickly added, "And the orcs were going to the tower. Their reinforcements will go there to meet them."
Janel Stalsmit looked at her fellow villagers. "We've had enough dying in Hillsdale, I think. My husband and I are going to the woods northwest of town, near the Plainsdale Road. When the Sun Knights get here, we will meet them and tell them what has happened."
Other villagers nodded and murmured agreement. Soon, the majority of the villagers had decided to evacuate Hillsdale until reinforcements arrived. With their newfound resolve, they left the mines, leaving the party alone near the burning stables.
After a few moments of silence, Eric spoke up. "I think it is time for us to move out, as well. Londoun is still eight days away, and Kieta and the Nomad Steppes are a fortnight by sea from there."
Adria moaned quietly to herself, but no one else appeared to notice.
The archers and Bilbus hiked back to the trees to retrieve their horses. Eric offered his to Breanna as the party rode towards the road to Hillsdale.
It was mid-afternoon, two days after the miners were rescued, when the party reached the edge of the grassy expanse of Eastdale. The burned-out ruins of the farmhouse where the party had fought Inquisitors over a week earlier was now little more than a pile of blackened rubble that scavengers had poked through, looking for valuables. The party rode past the former farmhouse without stopping.
Eastdale was bustling this time. Several merchant caravans had set up tents along all of the major roads that fed into town, and people from outlying villages within the dale had arrived to trade with the merchants.
As the riders got close to the town center, Bilbus suggested, "Why don't we stop at the Cross Inn again. We may as well let someone else do the cooking and cleaning for a day, and we need to stock for the trip, anyway."
Kasey nodded enthusiastically, remembering the large meal that he had enjoyed last time in Eastdale.
Adria turned to Bilbus. "Since we're stopping anyway, I am getting a room for the night. I know some of you like sleeping on the hard ground, or on hay," she added for Bilbus's benefit, "but I would like to have comfortable bedding from time to time."
Bilbus did a mocking bow in his saddle. "M'Lady, thank you so kindly for telling us in advance this time. I am sure the rest of us will be happy to stay the night, now that you suggest it."
When the riders reached the front of the Cross Inn, Bilbus jumped drown from Acquisition 2. He tossed the horse's reins to the first stable boy to arrive. "We are staying for the night," Bilbus informed the hand. "See that the horses are properly brushed down." He then glanced at Farran. "Make sure that horse has fresh hay, and that he has clean straw. He will let you know if it's not good enough."
The stable hand bowed, then looked at Farran. He shuddered and unconsciously rubbed his left arm as he remembered the last time Farran had been stabled at the Cross Inn. As the boy led Acquisition 2 away, the rest of the party dismounted and entered the Cross Inn's common room.
Eric wondered idly, "Do you think the clerk found anything about 'Lord del Cartach'?"
Bilbus paused. "Let's find out. I want to know who that man thought I was."
"I'll go with you," Rishala offered.
"I'll take care of getting rooms," Kasey said as Eric, Bilbus, and Rishala left.
Bilbus strode through the front door of the Dales records building. The clerk inside lifted his head slowly, showing a blank expression that barely changed as he took notice of a visitor. Eric entered behind Bilbus, but he immediately approached the clerk. Rishala stopped next to Bilbus near the entrance.
Eric stopped in front of the clerk, who had once more tipped his head down to look over records. The Azirian shifted his stance to that of an arrogant noble, with one hand on his hip and the other impatiently tapping the counter in front of the clerk.
"Have you found the records I require?" Eric asked impatiently.
The clerk jumped and began dry-washing his hands and half-bowing when he recognized Eric's voice. Bilbus had to suppress a laugh at the man's comical bobbing.
"My Lord, I am sorry!" the clerk said between bows. "I did not expect you so soon. You were searching for..."
Rolling his eyes in a blatantly exaggerated manner, Eric sighed loudly. "Del Cartach. Lord del Cartach and the family del Cartach. Are all Dalesians this incompetent?" He looked meaningfully back at Bilbus, who covered his mouth with one hand while he averted his eyes.
"Oh, yes, my Lord," the clerk offered helpfully. "I mean, no, my Lord!"
"Are you wasting Our time again?" Eric asked threateningly.
"My Lord!" The man stopped bobbing, but kept wringing his hands. He shuffled through some papers on his counter before he found one that had messy scribbles on it. The clerk squinted at the writing for a moment. "The name del Cartach is no longer in the noble rosters. The last del Cartach was the Lord Rolan del Cartach, of Portsdale. He was lost at sea twenty years ago, along with the Lady del Cartach, leaving no surviving issue."
"I see," Eric said. "No surviving issue?"
"The records do not indicate what happened. I found mention of a child born about eight years before the del Cartachs were lost at sea, but there is no record of where he went. I believe he may have died at sea as well."
Bilbus muttered to loudly to himself. "Probably killed by the Javiks, may they rot in the Nine Hells. Especially the Fourth."
Rishala leaned towards Bilbus, and, whispering, asked, "Isn't the Fourth Hell the frozen hell?"
Bilbus shook his head and lowered his voice. "No. The Fifth Hell is the frozen hell. The Fourth Hell was so terrible that it was closed. But, it will reopen especially for the Javik."
"You know a lot about the hells," Rishala commented.
"After what the Javiks did to my family, I wanted to make sure I damned them all to the right place," Bilbus snarled. He then approached the clerk and palmed the signet ring he wore. When the clerk acknowledged him, Bilbus held the ring out. "Is this the del Cartach ring?"
"My Lord, I do not know. I am truly sorry."
Bilbus then held for a second, more delicate, signet ring. "What about this one?"
Eric looked at the ring, then whispered to Bilbus, "Isn't that Adria's signet ring?"
"Shh!"
The clerk looked desperately at Eric, who shook his head.
"Come along, Bilbus," Eric said patronizingly. "We have wasted enough of Our time with this clerk."
Eric left the records office, followed by Bilbus and Rishala. When they returned to the inn, they found Kasey in the common room at a table, dining off of several platters of meats and legumes. The Church Knight waved at the new arrivals enthusiastically.
"Hey, guys! Over here! I can have the serving women bring some more out for you three!"
Bilbus chuckled to himself and took a seat at the Church Knight's table. Eric and Rishala joined the rest of the party at a different, much less crowded table, for their evening meal.
Back to the previous chapter: Temples
Continue to the next chapter: Reports
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Back to the Dark Mysteries Campaign Chapter Index.
Second Draft 26 April 2002
Original Draft 27 December 2000
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