The Vordalyn 2

by Michael T Payne

  “Leave him where you found him. He’s just a beggar, probably a thief too?” The guard came back with a blanket and handed it to the man.

  “I’m Jeremiah, and the grumpy ogre over there, is Hobert.” The man introduced himself, “We are farriers on our way to Dwerma to ply our services. I can offer you a ride with us, but you’ll have to pull your own weight. I can feed you and give you some clothes, when we get to Dwerma, you help us set up and we’ll call it square. What do you say to that?” Jeremiah asked. Darius looked at the wagon’s behind Jeremiah then over at Hobert, who snarled back at him.

  “You have a bargain.” Darius said then stuck his hand out and shook Jeremiah’s hand.

  “That’s quite a head wound you have there, were you attacked by a bear?” Jeremiah asked looking at Darius’s skull. “Seems to be healing nicely, thank the gods for that at least, eh?”

  “The gods.” Darius said shaking his head in disgust.

  “I imagine it’s hard to praise the gods when you’ve suffered so.” Jeremiah could understand Darius’s disgust.

  “A man did this to me.” Darius said as he and Jeremiah climbed up to the seat of the lead wagon, “And a man will pay for it!”

  “Well, climb in the back there and find what fits ya, justice can wait til you’ve come out the other side, to better days,” Jeremiah said, “I’ve several hats to cover that, protect it from the sun. I hear the weather in Dwerma is hot right now, lots of sun, no doubt.” Jeremiah reached back and opened the wagon cover so that Darius could climb over the seat to the back of the wagon. Darius went through Jeremiahs clothes and found a large baggy shirt and a wide brimmed hat.

  “Why Dwerma?” Darius asked from the back of the wagon as it began to move.

  “The wedding, of course!” Jeremiah exclaimed with a laugh.

  “The wedding?” Darius asked himself confused, “Whose wedding?” He asked louder so that Jeremiah could hear him.

  “Why Prince Dracon, and the queen from the outer region, her highness Venalina of something or other, I can’t recall her full name, I’m sure it’s on my invitation. I hear she’s a real exotic beauty.” Jeremiah said as he whipped the reigns, urging his horses to a quicker pace, “Then, on to Urixis for the coronation.”

  “The prince has returned? Is it the truth this time?” Darius climbed back through to the front seat to join Jeremiah as he asked his question.

  “Yes,” Jeremiah laughed understanding exactly what Darius was talking about. There had been many rumors about Dracon’s return almost the entire time he was gone. “His palace is full; his men are returning to his side. Have you not seen the heavy troop movement throughout Ganlin as they prepare for his wedding, to take a knee before the king? The whole country has been in an upheaval of reorganization at his highness’s pleasure.”

  “His highness’s pleasure.” Darius spit in disgust making Jeremiah give him a sideways glance.

  “Have you no respect for the man that freed us from war, from Terrax himself?” Jeremiah asked.

  “For that, he does have my gratitude, but if he’s anything like his brothers and sister during peace, I imagine were all in for a surprise.” Darius said giving Jeremiah a sideways look right back, his disgust still all over his face.

  “Did they wrong you? Was it one of them that gave you that?” Jeremiah nodded at Darius’s head.

  “Not directly. Who are you to receive an invitation to the wedding?” Darius asked. Jeremiah laughed.

  “We’re all invited, the whole of Ganlin has been invited. Furthermore, all transgressions will be forgiven should we come take a knee before his highness!” Jeremiah said then cackled again.

  Hobert rode alongside the wagon on Darius’s side staring at Darius matching the speed of the wagon. “What are you looking at?”

  “Mind your tongue about the king, beggar, it isn’t wise to offend a helping hand,” He said almost growling, “You might find a knife in your gut!” Hobert snapped the reigns of his horse and rode ahead of the three wagons tethered together.

  “Don’t mind him, he rode with his highness at Shadow Creek when Prince Torak and his forces were under siege. Prince Dracon saved a lot of men that day, Hobert being one of them. Hear tell it was a dire day.” Jeremiah explained. Darius watched Hobert as Jeremiah spoke then nodded to Jeremiah.

  “I know about Shadow Creek.” Darius said, “Trapped, boxed in a dead-end canyon.”

  “You’ve heard the tale?” Jeremiah asked.

  “I was there.” Darius sat back in the wagon seat, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to rest my eyes a bit.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Satana, Thikuf and their new friend the Nail of the North, Grik Forgeson, scaled the ridge on their bellies. It was a slow climb. All three crawled quietly to the top of the ridge. The rest of their troop were two miles behind them, three ridges over. The top of the ridges edge fell to a straight drop into a canyon with a small stream, so small it couldn’t feed enough life around it to turn any of the ground green. The three peered down into the canyon at the prey they followed, cautious and quiet. It was a group of twelve bugbears of varying sizes, the largest and most dominant, ordered the others around with strikes and growls, speaking a language that was so guttural in nature, only others of their kind could understand it. Mostly, it was vicious attacks on its companions than any kind of words, that conveyed its orders.

  “Where do they come from?” Thikuf asked rhetorically.

  “I’m more concerned about where they are going.” Satana added. She looked at Grik, “South?” She asked in Grik’s native tongue and motioned across the canyon, along the path the creatures seemed to be following. Grik nodded yes.

  “Do you know what lies that way, girl?” Grik asked making Satana narrow her eyes at him, then look back down below at the creatures eating and setting up a camp of sorts. She said nothing, wondering if she wanted to address him calling her a girl, or, ignore it and answer his question.

  “What did he say?” Thikuf asked.

  “They look like they’re heading south, toward Ganlin.” She answered. Grik perked up, then started to slide back down the ridge from where they had come. Satana and Thikuf did the same, a moment or two later, after sizing up the creatures below them. At the bottom of the ridge, once rejoined with Grik, he offered his own opinion.

  “We must attack. End them before they reach our dark lord.” Grik said.

  “Our dark lord? In that, I hope you mean the colors of his banner?” Satana responded to his surprising words, “How did he become your lord?”

  “I serve you, as payment, you serve him, thus, our lord.” Grik smiled.

  “What did he say?” Thikuf asked again, not understanding the dwarven tongue the two were speaking.

  “He suggests we take them out.” Satana said still eyeing Grik suspiciously. Grik looked at Thikuf and nodded.

  “What are they?” Thikuf asked.

  “I don’t know, maybe leftovers from Terrax’s army. Roaming around, looking for plunder?” Satana asked unsure herself, what they were, or where they came from.

  “They don’t look like anything Terrax ever led to me?” Thikuf questioned her assessment.

  “I agree, but then what are they?” Satana chuckled.

  “Rungraya.” Grik said getting both their attention.

  “What does that mean?” Thikuf asked.

  “I don’t know, I’ve never heard the term before.” Satana said looking at Grik curiously.

  “Bu.., Bugbear.” Grik said. He had an awkward sounding accent as he tried to speak the common tongue. It made Satana smile at him then glance at Thikuf to see if he thought it was as funny as she did the way he tried to sound out the word phonetically. Grik could instantly see her amusement with his awkwardness, making his face scrunch up in a scowl. It turned Satana’s smile into a laugh. She was all too happy to have fun at his expense for calling her ‘girl’ all the time. They had a combative relationship, Grik and Satana, yet, a mutual respect. Thikuf was
constantly worried they would kill each other because of the frequency the two would start talking, then end up in hand to hand combat. It worried him. But to Grik and his men, it only made them respect her more. Thikuf did not understand that, because he could not understand what was being said among any of them. He looked at the pair confused. Grik turned away from her and stomped off, back toward their own camp.

  “I don’t understand, what did he say? What’s so funny?” Thikuf asked completely unaware of the exchange between the two. Grik could be heard grumbling as he walked further away from them.

  “Bugbears. He said they’re called bugbears. I’ve never seen one before.” Satana said still unable to stop smiling.

  “We are at his mercy out here, Satana, I suggest you not taunt him. We don’t know him, or what his motives are, and thanks to your careful planning, we are accompanied by only his men.” Thikuf said unnerved by the whole situation. He was still upset that Satana would not allow anyone else to travel with the group.

  “I told you, Thikuf, none of ours will die on this expedition.” She said no longer smiling, “How do we accomplish this?” She paused then said, “By not bringing them. You have your horse, if at any time you wish to return, I’m sure I can talk them into giving you an escort of a few dwarves.”

  “And end up dead, never to return home again?” Thikuf grumbled.

  “Let me handle these men, I understand them. Do you trust me, Thikuf?” Satana asked looking back over at Grik, who stopped and was waiting at the base of another hill they needed to travel over to get to where they left the rest of the men.

  “You’re not the issue here, Satana, they are. I do not trust them. They are a mystery to me, as is their reason for wanting to meet your king.” Thikuf started to walk to where Grik waited. “Just stop needling him every chance you get, that would make me feel a little less paranoid that they may be fed up with us and kill us in our sleep.” Satana watched Thikuf a moment, then glanced over her shoulder back up to the ridge behind her. She considered Grik’s desire to kill the bugbears. She agreed that it would be wise, but she wanted to capture one and find out why they were heading to Ganlin, if that was indeed their destination. She went after Thikuf and caught up quickly, then passed him.

  “You worry too much, Thikuf.” She said as she passed him, bumping her shoulder into his, playfully. She didn’t get far ahead of him, maybe a few steps before Thikuf matched her pace, after first catching up to her. He would not let her out of his sight, nor would he let her be too far away from him, that he couldn’t rush to her aid, if she needed him. He did not understand Grik’s language and was in a constant state of high alert around the forty dwarves and their one human, who acted as a translator. Satana and Thikuf came to refer to him as the broken man. Grik turned to walk up the hill as they approached. “How do you propose we attack?” Grik stopped a moment, thinking. Satana also stopped, waiting for him to turn around. When he did, he had a grin, like he was about to get her back for laughing at him.

  “You need me to make a plan for you?” Grik asked folding his arms over his chest, gloating.

  “You’ve lost your mind, if you think I need you.” Satana chuckled in common tongue and mimicked his stance, folding her arms over her chest, “You pretend to know these creatures, I thought you might have some insight in a way to approach them. I can handle it, if you don’t have any useful knowledge.” Satana started walking up the hill, “Come on, Thikuf, Grik knows nothing of strategy and battle, it’ll be up to us to plan the attack, as usual.” Thikuf had stopped, again confused, not understanding what was said between them. “He’s a coward, too.” Grik snarled and spun to his left as Satana was passing him. His axe flew to his hand as he swung at her. Satana expected the attack and punched him in the face before he could land his blow. She grabbed his axe and twisted it, freeing it from his grip. She ran a couple of steps away from him, axe in hand, but the axe magically yanked her back and dragged her to Grik. The axe was once again in Grik’s hand, even though Satana still had a hold of a part of the handle. Grik looked down at her and laughed. Thikuf ran at the two of them with his sword out.

  “Don’t you touch her!” He yelled thinking Grik was about to attack her again. Grik let go of his axe and it flew from both his, and Satana’s grip, back to his waist. Grik put his hands up, still laughing and took a step back from Satana. Thikuf put himself between them and offered his hand to Satana helping her to her feet.

  “It’s ok, Thikuf, were ok.” Satana said dusting off her backside. Grik nodded chuckling. “Do you have something to offer now?” Satana asked Grik.

  “It will be night soon,” Grik said still smiling, Satana too, had a smirk on her face, “Their eyes are better suited for night. We need to act now. Get the others and plan our attack. We should be ready to go at dusk, the in-between time, it will favor us and make it hard for their eyes to focus. If we try to wait for dawn, there is a good chance, they will come across us in the night and attack us. They are active in the night, some will go out hunting. We have one chance to attack, now. Or, we run away and hide, then hope to pick up their trail again another time, maybe not at all.”

  “What’s he saying?” Thikuf asked.

  “We need to act before it gets dark and we lose our advantage.” Satana said, “Let’s get back to camp and make a plan, quickly.” Satana started to jog up the hill. Thikuf eyed Grik, who smiled back at him, then Grik jogged up the hill after Satana. When they returned to camp, Grik immediately started giving orders and drawing on the ground with a stick. He described the area where the bugbears had setup camp. All the while, Satana translated for Thikuf, who was irritated he didn’t understand what they were saying. Grik eventually gave way to Satana, who began to lay out a plan of attack. The dwarves listened intently to Satana, it wasn’t the first time she took over before a fight since they had been in the expanse of death, nor were the bugbears the first creatures they had come across. She had earned their respect as a soldier and leader.

  “Thikuf, you’ll be with me.” Satana said then addressed the dwarves, “We’ll split into four groups, one on either side of the canyon, here and here.” She pointed to the drawing on the ground, “Here and here, on the top of both ridge lines will be the remaining groups. We’ll begin our attack with these two groups, those of you on the ridge line will wait until after we engage the enemy before you join the fray.”

  “I’ll meet you in the middle!” Grik announced and slapped his axe to his chest, the rest of the dwarves chanted in unison Grik’s name, then prepared to go in a matter of seconds.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing, Satana?” Thikuf asked as the Dwarves were getting ready to move out.

  “Trust me, stay with me, we’ll move when everyone is in place.” Satana addressed the dwarves again, “Those of you on the ridge move out now, we need to be in place before the sun leaves the sky,” She looked at Grik, “How long do you think we have?”

  “Hour, two if we’re lucky.” Grik answered.

  “Let’s move then.” Satana pulled her hair back and started braiding it. “Let’s go, Thikuf, we’re going to attack from the south entrance of the canyon, Grik and his group will start the attack from the north.” Several dwarves fell in, behind Satana, as others went to their groups.

  “I am completely dismayed, Satana. I want to know what they are saying, it is disconcerting to go into battle with men I cannot understand!”

  “I understand, Thikuf, but you’re the only one who can change that. Do you think it is an accident I can speak their language, or maybe, one day, I too felt as you do now?” Satana looked at the nearest dwarf in her group and nodded, then he and the others began to move out. “Get smarter, Thikuf, or stop complaining.”

  Thikuf grimaced, watching Satana lead the dwarves away. He stood in place, scowling angrily, thinking on what she just said. He didn’t like the situation one bit, furthermore, how was he going to learn their language. He glanced back at the other groups, who had already made the
ir way out of their temporary camp. The broken man, Notter Van Musken, stood in the center of the entire group, where dwarves left a pile of their belongings at his feet, for safe keeping. Notter spotted Thikuf staring at him and gave him a small nod of respect. The act was one of respect, but his eyes told Thikuf, he was despised by the man. Why?

  The four groups moved to their positions and each had a line of sight to their allies. The bugbears were in a heightened state of chaos, completely oblivious to their surroundings. Fighting amongst them had reached just shy of an all-out brawl, with all but the largest creatures taking part. Grik and his group began the attack, creeping as close as they could to the bugbears, before standing up and charging at them, with battle cries the fighting bugbears couldn’t hear at first. It was the largest one who spotted the impending attack unfolding. It let out a bellowing roar that ceased the fighting among his own and focused their attention instead, on the rushing dwarves. The bugbears joined their leader in roars of battle, running to meet the dwarves head on.

  “Go!” Satana said to Thikuf as she popped out from her hiding place and ran to the rear of the unsuspecting bugbears. Thikuf joined her but Satana was faster in her run than her entire group, leaving them some thirty paces behind her in the blink of an eye. Thikuf was in awe of Satana. The leader of the bugbears had a long stride and became the first to meet Grik’s group. He swung his stone club in a sweeping motion down at the attacking dwarves like a broom. Some dove, others ducked, but a few took flight from the club, whose head was so large, that if not already near its outer edge, there was no escape. Grik let fly his axes, one after another, striking adversaries, then returning to his hand, in a rapid succession. The bugbears were resilient, and no one attack from the dwarves could fall the beasts. Grik’s dwarves attacked from the ridge lines. From behind, Satana joined the fray. It was she who made the first kill, her sword impaling a bugbear from behind, making it cry out a warning to the others of the attack from their rear. The leader of the bugbears stopped and scanned the area around his clan, seeing the dwarves surrounding them, roaring into battle. He bellowed again in anger. A dwarf struck the bugbear with an axe, that pierced its flesh, but could hardly go deep enough to truly hurt the beast. It reached down and snatched up the dwarf by the head and held him, he bellowed again, squeezing as hard as he could, until the dwarfs head popped under the pressure, then he let him drop to the ground. He turned behind him and saw Satana making quick work of yet another bugbear. She above all the others, was killing his kind with great efficiency, eclipsing what the dwarves could do with their weapons, the bugbears were simply too big to be hurt by their smaller axes and bolts. Satana’s sword, however, was long and could reach the core of any one of them. The largest bugbear bellowed again and charged after Satana, swinging his club, again sweeping dwarves and bugbears alike, knocking them to the ground or sending them flying from his path, as he charged at Satana. Grik tried to yell to Satana to warn her but he could not make his voice louder than the sounds of the battle around him.