by James Lowder
Torg, who was supervising the packing of his few belongings, frowned. The ironlord's black beard hid the expression, but Azoun and Vangerdahast saw the dwarf's anger in his eyes. "It's no use, Azoun. We're going back to Earthfast. My men won't fight alongside orcs."
The Cormyrian monarch glanced at his daughter. She sat silently at the edge of the tent, her drawn sword resting on her lap. "Your soldiers would fight at my side if you ordered them to, if you allowed them to," the king said harshly, returning his eyes to Torg.
Azoun's tone made the statement sound like an accusation. To Torg, it seemed as if the king was saying that it was only his reluctance-or cowardice-that prevented the dwarves from joining the crusade.
Which was precisely the impression that Azoun wanted to give.
Looking at the sentries outside, the king had realized that there were only two things that seemed important to the dwarves of Earthfast: order and honor. With a little work, he knew that he might be able to show Torg how leaving the crusade was contrary to both of these-despite the troops they had to fight beside.
Bristling at the slightly veiled insult to his bravery, Torg whirled on the king. "We fight only for good causes," the ironlord hissed. "I doubt any cause that draws scum like that to rally to it."
"Indeed," Alusair said from the shadows. "More than that, Father, it makes me wonder what you gave the Keep to secure their cooperation. I hope it was worth it."
"We're not talking about Zhentil Keep or my policies," Azoun snapped. He took a step toward Torg. "I have your word of honor that two thousand dwarves from Earthfast will stand against the Tuigan. Are you going to break that promise?"
The dwarves' actions indicated that they intended to do exactly that, but Torg hedged when confronted with the question. He mumbled something into his beard, then said, "You've broken your part of the bargain, Azoun."
Without hesitation, Vangerdahast pointed a finger at the ironlord. "Far from it," he said coldly. "King Azoun has not broken any such bargain; he offered you nothing in return for your troops but the honor of defending Faerun."
Alusair had moved to Torg's side during the exchange. She sheathed her sword and glared at her father. "This is all political rhetoric. It isn't dishonorable to refuse to fight on the side of … of murdering animals."
Clenching his teeth, Azoun forced back the growing rage he felt within him. "By that logic, Allie," he said flatly, "you'd fight for the horsewarriors just because they oppose the orcs. That's foolish."
Alusair put her hands on her hips. "But it isn't-"
"No, Princess," Torg grumbled, putting a hand on Alusair's arm. "Your father is right." The ironlord narrowed his eyes and studied the Cormyrian king for a moment. "I want retribution for the soldiers who were slain."
"That's reasonable," Azoun conceded. He looked at Alusair, but she would not meet his gaze.
"And I will not allow the orcs to travel with my troops," Torg added. "You will take them down the coast in your ships. We will march the rest of the way and meet you in Thesk."
Azoun had known from the start that the troops from Earthfast would not travel by boat. Some clans of dwarves preferred to keep in contact with the earth, the source of their prosperity, the sustainer of their mining cities. The king suddenly realized that Torg's demand that the orcs be taken to Telflamm by ship was, in fact, something the dwarf could tell his generals he received as a concession from the humans. Though he hadn't yet discussed it with the ironlord, Azoun had intended taking the Zhentish troops aboard his ships from the start.
The king nodded. "Your demands are fair, Ironlord. I will transport the orcs."
"This is all rather absurd," Vangerdahast said. "Why is the dwarven army walking all that way when we could easily provide transport for them, too?"
"You may understand magic, wizard," Torg replied, turning his back on Vangerdahast, "but you don't understand dwarves. I gave my word to fight, so I will honor that." He paused and rattled his birdcage. "To ask my troops to travel by sea is to ask them not to be dwarves."
A dwarven officer entered the tent and kneeled. "We'll be ready to leave by highsun," he reported.
Pausing for only an instant, Torg said, "Tell the troops to prepare for the march south."
The officer started to speak, then thought better of it and stood. "By your command, Ironlord," he said and spun sharply on his heels.
When the officer was gone, Torg sighed. "We can set up the logistics of the march later. Now, I want Vrakk to give me the orcs responsible for the deaths of my soldiers."
Within minutes, Azoun, Vangerdahast, Torg, and Alusair found themselves once again in the field to the east of camp. The sun was high over the hills, close to its zenith. A group of five hundred or so dwarves stood at attention in the hot sun, adorned in full armor. The orcs sprawled on the ground, shielding their faces from the bright sunshine with rat-eaten cloaks, packs, or whatever else they could find. At the center of this ragtag group, Vrakk and his lieutenants huddled around the giant's skull standard, arguing noisily. If they noticed Azoun's approach, the orcs didn't show it.
"Commander Vrakk," the king said sharply when he reached the standard, "we must discuss an incident that possibly involved your men."
Alusair and Torg nervously eyed the soldiers, and both of them kept their hands close to their weapons. Vangerdahast stood behind Azoun, a spell ready in his mind. He tapped his foot in irritation, as well. The orcs were not nearly so concerned with their camp as the dwarves were, and even that temporary resting spot was cluttered with garbage and puddles of waste; the smell alone was making the mage queasy.
A short orc with an especially piggish snout started to speak, but Vrakk kicked him in the back. "What problem now, Ak-soon?" the orcish commander asked, a bit of a whine in his voice. "We want to fight, not sit in sun all day."
"There was a dwarven patrol of three murdered yesterday on its way to the shore," Azoun said, the accusation clear in his voice.
Vrakk nodded. "They attack orc scouts," he responded casually. Grabbing a piece of meat from one of the other orcish soldiers, he stuffed the raw flesh into his mouth.
Torg stepped forward. "I want blood-payment," he rumbled. An orcish lieutenant moved between the ironlord and Vrakk, but Alusair drew her sword. Before the orc could respond, the princess's blade rested at his throat. Two dozen other Zhentish soldiers leaped to their feet and drew their weapons. As Vangerdahast prepared to cast his spell, the dwarven troops began a quick march across the field to their ironlord.
Before anyone drew blood, however, Vrakk yelled a single command in Orcish. Thanks to the spell he had cast previously, Vangerdahast could understand what the orcish leader was yelling. Still, he wasn't all that sure the troops would "stand down" as Vrakk demanded.
"Lower your weapon, Allie," Azoun said, taking a slow, careful step toward his daughter. "We're all dead if you don't."
The princess pushed the blade against the orc's throat just hard enough to draw a trickle of blood, then lowered it. The orcs around Azoun's party relaxed slightly. However, they, too, kept their weapons at the ready.
Vrakk pushed the orc on whom Alusair had drawn her sword. Looking down on Torg with dark, beady eyes, he asked, "What about orcs you kill last night?"
"They were spies," Alusair said. "You killed soldiers assigned to escort King Azoun from his ship."
After gnashing his teeth together for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, Vrakk replied, "OK. I give blood-payment. Then Ak-soon take us to fight."
Torg was surprised that the orc agreed so readily. "The blood of one for each dwarf killed." The ironlord held up three stubby fingers.
The dwarven troops had reached the orcish line by now. Torg's soldiers stood silently as the orcs jeered at them. All along both lines, swords stood at the ready.
"Be prepared to grab Alusair's arm and reach for my hand if anything goes wrong," Vangerdahast whispered in Azoun's ear. "This is far too dangerous for us to chance any longer."
Vr
akk shouted out three names. A trio of orcish soldiers lazily appeared next to the standard. Waving his arms wide to spread his troops out in a semicircle, Vrakk grunted a command. One of his lieutenants took the three ores' swords, then shoved the soldiers one by one onto the ground. The prisoners squealed curses, but didn't fight their captors. They knew resistance was futile.
Grandly the orcish commander gestured to Torg, then to the prostrate soldiers. "These three guilty," he said loudly. "I take blood-payment." Without another word, he drew his weapon-a huge, darkly stained bastard sword-and nodded to the lieutenant.
Vrakk's assistant dropped to his knees on one of the murderers' backs. Another orc rushed forward and grabbed the prisoner's left arm at the wrist and pulled it straight. With a shout, Vrakk raised the blade over his head and brought it down, two hands on the hilt. He hit the prisoner's arm between the shoulder and the elbow, right where the red armband with their god's symbol lay.
As one of the lieutenants raised the severed arm up high, another two rushed forward and the punishment was meted out on another murderer. The orcish soldiers cheered and made bets on who would cry out or who might struggle. Azoun stood grimly by, but he noticed that Torg seemed to be pleased by the grisly scene. Alusair and Vangerdahast simply turned away.
The last murderer did try to stand when his turn came, but Vrakk kicked him in the face, knocking him senseless. A few hunks of meat and copper coins changed hands in the orcish crowd, the wagers won and lost by the prisoner's actions. With a third and louder shout, Vrakk raised his sword and finished the task.
With a sharp nod of approval, Torg signaled his troops to return to their camp. He glanced at the sun, then at Azoun and said, "We march in less than one hour. Stop by my tent so we can discuss how best to unload the supplies from your ships." That said, he spun around and marched through the tall grass after his soldiers.
As soon as the ironlord was out of earshot, Vrakk began to growl a series of orders in Orcish. Five Zhentish soldiers, wearing tattered, long robes instead of leather armor, rushed forward. The orcish commander pointed at the three dying murderers and grunted.
As the five robed orcs started to chant and wave small skull-headed wands over the wounded prisoners, Vangerdahast said "Shamans." Alusair wrinkled her nose in disgust as the priests bloodied the skulls on the severed arms.
Vrakk strode proudly to Azoun's side. "They probably live," he noted in broken Common. "Cut arms only way to shut up dglinkarz. 'Sides, our god heal so orcs fight and make better deaths."
"But they can't fight after this," Azoun gasped. He motioned to the three severed arms that still littered the ground. "Their wounds-"
Vrakk grunted a laugh. "That why we cut left arm. They still fight." He glanced warily at Alusair, then added, "She no tell dwarf. They demand them dead again."
"Don't worry," Alusair said coldly, directing her answer to her father. "If you're going to allow the orcs to break a blood-payment, I won't stand in your way." With that, she stormed off after Torg.
The robed orcs had finished their wild incantation to Lord Cyric. The three wounded soldiers on the ground didn't look much better, but the stumps where their arms had been weren't bleeding as freely. Azoun swallowed hard to push back the disgust he felt. "March your troops to the shore, Vrakk. Find the ships there and wait. You will help us unload some supplies, then board."
The Cormyrian king nodded to Vangerdahast, and the two set out for Torg's tent. The wizard walked with his hands clenched behind his back. Every few steps he glanced at Azoun, who was as silent as the dwarves breaking camp. "I think you did the right thing," Vangerdahast ventured after a while.
Azoun stopped walking. "The right thing?" he exclaimed, shaking his head. "I'm afraid Allie is right. I've offended good allies for the sake of monsters."
"Perhaps," Vangerdahast said sagely. Patting the king on the shoulder, he started toward the tent again. "But you know as well as I that Zhentil Keep will use any slight against these troops as provocation to break the treaty."
Azoun could only agree. The happiness of the dwarves was not worth a war with Zhentil Keep.
Torg was in a fury when the king and the wizard arrived. He shouted at his squire three times as Azoun tried to set up a rendezvous point in Thesk. After one half-hour, however, the spot was decided. The dwarves were to meet the Army of the Alliance between the cities of Telflamm and Tammar, along the trade route known as the Golden Way.
"While you wait, you can drill your troops," Torg told Azoun as the meeting was concluding. "You won't have long. I'll press my men to get them there as quickly as possible."
Torg's mood shifted suddenly, and he smiled for the first time in hours. "Ha!" the ironlord cried and slapped Azoun's arm. "We'll work this out after all!" He stood and gestured broadly. "My troops will be ready for bear when we reach Thesk. Just bring on those horsemen!"
Azoun returned the smile weakly. His hours without sleep were beginning to take their toll. He felt washed out and slightly dizzy. "Come, Vangy," the king said as he stood. "Back to the Welleran. You too, Allie."
"No."
The king stared at the princess. "I'm going with the dwarves," she said defiantly. "I won't travel with the orcs."
"Who said anything about you accompanying us to Thesk?" Vangerdahast snapped. "I think you should go straight back to the palace in Suzail." He dug a handful of spell components out of his robe and turned to Azoun. "I can send her right now, Your Highness. Just say the word."
Before Azoun could answer, Torg slapped Vangerdahast's hand with the flat of his sword. "You'll not be casting spells in my tent," he growled. "Besides, Alusair has every right to decide her own fate."
"I've had enough of this," the mage said sharply, rubbing his hand. He looked at the spot where Torg had struck him; a painful red welt had blossomed there. "And you should be ashamed of yourself, Princess, disobeying your father like this."
"I'm her father, not her master," Azoun noted quietly from the doorway of the tent. "She-" He studied Alusair's face for a moment, noting the hard determination that had settled in her eyes. "She can make up her own mind."
Torg shot a spiteful look at Vangerdahast, as if he were saying, "I was right all along and now your king realizes it, too." The wizard ignored the ironlord, concentrating instead on Azoun and his daughter. They stood a few feet apart, but the distance might as well have been miles. Alusair seemed genuinely surprised by her father's words. The king, on the other hand, looked pained, as if it had hurt him physically to admit his child's freedom of choice.
"Come, Vangy," Azoun said after a moment. "We've got troops to get to Telflamm." He stopped and faced Alusair again. "We'll need to communicate with you," he noted, pulling the signet ring from his finger and holding it out to his daughter. "Take it."
The princess stepped forward tentatively. A sly smile suddenly crossed her lips. "The ring has a spell on it, doesn't it?"
"What else would you expect?" the king replied, his daughter's smile lightening his dark mood somewhat. "And like your last ring, burying this one in a few hundred fathoms of water will negate the spell quite effectively-so be careful, won't you?"
Alusair took off the plain gold band that prevented her from being magically tracked and slipped the signet ring on in its place. "I'll see you in Thesk."
For an awkward moment, the two stood face-to-face. Finally Azoun said, "Be careful, Allie," and turned to go.
The princess almost stepped forward then, almost embraced her father as he left Torg's tent. But she didn't. As she made her way to her tent through the silent, orderly dwarven camp, Alusair wondered why she couldn't make that sign of affection.
The dwarves had been on the march for almost eighteen hours when Azoun finally returned to Telflamm's harbor. The sun was coming up over the city, its first rays casting a pale halo around the high, onion-shaped spires that so characterized Telflamm's skyline. The docks were still aglow with torches, and the myriad of vessels crowding the harbor were spotted w
ith faint flickering lights cast by watchmen's lanterns.
The Cormyrian ships were once again empty, having left their cargo of orcish troops to the south of the city. Azoun and Vangerdahast knew that they had no other choice; the Zhentish soldiers were likely to cause more trouble in the city than they had in Torg's camp. Now, all the king had to do was gather his own forces and begin the march to the east.
That proved far more difficult than Azoun had expected.
Telflamm provided too many distractions for the Alliance's soldiers and sailors, most of whom had never traveled more than a few miles from their own homes. Refugees from the onslaught of the Tuigan-now less than five hundred miles to the east-crowded the streets. Along with the refugees came vice and corruption. Thieves flourished, as did a black market in food, clothes, even human life. Brothels sprang up overnight throughout the city, often right next door to makeshift arenas where the foolish and the brave could battle to the death for a handful of gold. The city watch, sorely undermanned for the task of policing a transient army and a horde of refugees, found it easier to take bribes and look the other way.
"I don't care if the local watch isn't any help," Azoun said loudly. He glared at Lord Harcourt, the commander of the Alliance's cavalry. "Why aren't the nobles doing something about this? We should have some type of military watch." He paced nervously around the temporary command center, located in Telflamm's government offices.
The general shrugged. "Well, Your Highness," he began tentatively. "It's, uh, a, uh-"
Brunthar Elventree leaned back in his chair. "What Lord Harcourt is trying to say is that his men are right alongside mine-passed out in an alley somewhere or spending their day in a whorehouse." The red-haired dalesman smiled. "However, I don't see what the problem is," he added snidely. "If you'll let us fight beside orcs, a little debauchery won't-"
"That's enough, General Elventree," Azoun snapped. "One more insubordinate comment like that and you'll be relieved of your command." He stormed across the room and stood in front of the dalesman. "I need your cooperation, now more than ever. I have accepted the orcs to fight the Tuigan. You will enforce that. Do you understand?"