“Did any … Were there any survivors?” Master Pilk finally stuttered.
“Some made it into some nearby trees. They fought fiercely and courageously. Many of those were injured so I’m not sure how many, if any survived. Thanks to their efforts in the battle, our own defence held strong and I’ve had word today that our enemy now flees with much reduced numbers.” Pilk could tell by the tone of General Krak’too’s voice that he was not pleased with the way the captives had been used.
“The knowledge that you have of us came from interrogating some of those captives?” asked Duke Angus
“It was an exchange of knowledge. An agreement was made with the first six captives to share knowledge about the other’s culture equally. The fierce one agreed to release all captives after a time if those six cooperated. Obviously he planned this from the beginning and didn’t expect any of those released to survive. It was those six that taught us your language,” explained Krak’too.
“Traitors!” King Buster slammed his fist hard on the table. “I be hopin’ those ones died a painful death for their actions.”
“I noticed one of those men at least run into the trees. He was hard to miss. The largest of them all and one of the fiercest fighters I have seen,” said Krak’too.
“That sounds like Gerard, my lord.” Pilk looked at Duke Angus as he spoke and the duke turned to acknowledge his comment. “If he shared knowledge it likely would have been because he expected to escape and return to us with that knowledge — he is no traitor. He would have been selective about what he shared, I’m sure.”
“Indeed his name was Gerard, a mighty warrior.” Pilk noted immense respect in the orc general’s tone.
“It was his family you slaughtered and his friend’s wife.” Duke Angus spoke through gritted teeth. Pilk noticed the shock on the orc’s face. Obviously Gerard had not mentioned that detail to them. “It may also be that you now hold his son captive and the son of his friend along with a girl, Master Pilk’s own niece.”
“They were indeed discovered, not too far from our city we call Gnash. Unusual for you to be sending out scouts so young, is it not?”
Master Pilk’s stomach lurched. How was Cressida going to take this news? He saw though, a possible chance to negotiate their release; the orc general appeared reasonable and it was obvious that he was entirely happy with the current situation.
“They acted alone. Have they been harmed in any way?” asked Duke Angus.
“One of the boys was hit by a crossbow bolt. The wound no doubt would have been fatal had the girl not been there to heal him. She has substantial healing power for one so young. Now knowing she is related to your wizard here does not surprise me. Very few escape alive once confronted by Great Shaman O’tukka and yet Master Pilk was able to do just that.”
Master Pilk looked at the orc shaman and could see that he was not impressed by the comment.
“After tasting the strength of his magic, I have little doubt he would have won the battle had it continued.” The shaman relaxed slightly. Pilk found himself very curious about this shaman; something was very different about him.
“Let’s not get distracted here,” said Duke Angus. “I would have those children released, general. They are young and innocent and certainly no benefit to your fierce one’s plans.”
“They killed two of my own warriors. Their innocence is questionable, duke. While they may not suit my fierce one’s plans, they may prove to be of use in my own negotiations.” A little agitation crept into the general’s voice.
“Then tell me of your plan, general, so we can begin these negotiations.” Duke Angus’s voice was firm and controlled.
“I seek an alliance with you,” said General Krak’too calmly.
King Buster jumped out of his seat and slammed both fists down on the table.“Ye ‘ave go’ ta be kiddin’ me!” He roared. “Attackin’ us without bein’ provoked, killin’ women ‘n’ wee little ones, takin’ our soldiers captive ‘n’ usin’ ‘em as fodder. Now ye be wantin’ to be our friends? Even yesterday I got word of one of me patrols goin’ missin’ in the mountains. Where be those dwarves now?”
Duke Angus reached over to put his hand on the furious dwarf’s shoulder but King Buster pushed it away firmly.
“Calm down King Buster, and let me continue.” General Krak’too’s voice carried a threatening tone. “As I explained earlier, my actions to this point have been under orders. I no longer wish to follow those orders which involve a huge risk on my behalf. I believe you can help me reduce that risk in exchange for my help. As to the dwarves that went missing yesterday, that was not of my doing.”
“If not your doin’, than who’s?” The dwarven king was still standing and looming over the table.
“Another tribe called the Ta’zu. Great Shaman O’tukka knows more about them I believe, which I was unaware of until last night.” The orc general glanced at his shaman curiously.
“They be usin’ your magic hole or be there another we not be knowin’ about?” King Buster was shaking and looked ready to jump the table and throttle the orc where he sat.
“They used our gate with the aid of Great Shaman O’tukka. It seems he is of that tribe or at least working for that tribe as a spy. Much of the plan I wish to put to you is his idea, for he wishes to be free of them.” Krak’too leaned back in his chair, obviously not intimidated in the least by the angry dwarf in his magnificent armour.
“And ye be just lettin’ ‘em through without opposition?” shouted King Buster.
“The leader of that tribe is most powerful and it was she who came through and took the captives,” said Great Shaman O’tukka in his shrill voice. “She likely would have torn this fort apart and still escaped had we stood in her way and then she would have started marching her armies this way. That is a war we don’t want and I assure you, you do not want her armies coming through to this world.”
Pilk was stunned. He couldn’t believe this powerful shaman was so fearful of another. She must be a powerful creature indeed.
“The Ta’zu is led by a female orc?” asked Duke Angus.
“No!” answered O’tukka flatly. “She is a human, who wields a dark magic.”
“Necromancy?” asked Pilk. The great shaman nodded. Master Pilk’s thoughts turned to the book he was currently reading — it couldn’t be. But he had to know. “What’s her name?”
“Her name is Sylestra, supreme mistress of the Ta’zu.”
Pilk grabbed hold of the two chairs for fear he may collapse. “That’s impossible,” he whispered after a moment, “she must be thousands of years old.”
“I know not her true age, but the Ta’zu has had no other leader. She is very old, but remains youthful with the aid of her necromancy. Though I see you have some knowledge of her.”
Pilk could see clearly that the shaman spoke the truth and he now understood his reluctance to confront this woman. From his readings and from what Grand Master Reibeck had told him, this woman was responsible for the destruction of an entire world. It was obvious that the books he was currently reading were the truth.
“I am currently reading some of her history,” said Pilk after a moment’s silence.
“So I am sorry, King Buster, but I can offer little help to those captured dwarves, only perhaps knowledge of what the Ta’zu do with them.” General Krak’too did indeed look sorry about the situation and that seemed to calm the angry dwarf.
“Go on then, tell us wha’ ya be wantin’ and what ya can offer.” King Buster finally sat back down, albeit on the very edge of his seat.
“Firstly we will have to see about closing down the Gate. While it remains open, my risk is great indeed. Great Shaman O’tukka can be a big help in closing it, but he cannot do it alone. Too much power has been added to it by too many other shamans. Your wizards could help with this.
“Once the link between our worlds has been severed, those of us remaining on this world could help you clear Fort Lowmount of the little orcs. I kno
w I would take great delight in doing this. However, once it is recaptured I would like to move my forces there and control it. I believe this would be in your interest. You have lost many and would lose many more in retaking it without our help. Then you would have very few left to defend it. With us in there, your border would be secure. Once that is done we could begin trade between our nations.”
Pilk was surprised by the proposal but couldn’t deny the potential benefits of it.
“A very well thought out plan, general. You would become the ‘fierce one’ of this new tribe?” The general nodded. “So you have much to gain from it then. However, I see a few problems. One, it is not my land to give away and so I would need to discuss that with King Cassien and two, do you hold the loyalty of the orcs under your control?”
“Fort Lowmount is not under your control at all at the moment, duke. I’m sure your king will be wise enough to see the benefits of others acting as guardians of his border, particularly when it’s more than the little orcs threatening that border. Regarding your second concern, it is by far the riskiest part of my plan. While I believe I have the loyalty of the majority and can likely convince many others, it only takes the words of one to bring it all undone. It may take some time to win the loyalty of all under my control and I will need to be very careful during that time.”
“And what of the captives? Both those who remain alive after being used as fodder and those of the children,” asked Pilk.
“The children will be let free the moment you agree to the negotiations. As for the others, I do not know where they now are or even if they live. I could have some search for them and will listen for any news of them, but I cannot make any guarantees. They have some time before we will be in a position to close the Gate, so they may be able to make their way back or be aided back by then.”
“And wha’ if we decide to just crush you here’n now, then close th’ stinkin’ hole oursell’s and be rid of ya race fa good?”
The fury had been lost from the dwarven king, this being his normal bluster.
“While I don’t doubt you could win here today, I assure you that you would not ‘crush’ us and in such a conflict I could not guarantee the safety of your three children.”
The threat was clear and Pilk held little doubt that the general would see it through.
“Also you would never get the chance to search for your captives on our world as our fierce one would send more warriors here to punish you and likely prevent you from closing the Gate in any case. Not to mention the trouble you still have with the orcs now controlling your fort — your losses here would soon be known to them and how long do you think it’d be before they attacked you again?” Krak’too leaned forward threateningly in his chair eyeing King Buster and Duke Angus in turn.
“You make a strong case, general. I agree your plan sounds like it has some merit, but I cannot give you a decision without speaking with my king.” Duke Angus rose up from his chair and the other three all followed suit. “We will remain under the white flag of truce until I have spoken to him and return with my answer.”
“I understand, duke. How long do you expect it’ll take?” asked Krak’too.
“I have a wizard who can get me there instantly, although I have to find him first. How long it’ll take King Cassien to make a decision, only the gods know.”
Duke Angus chuckled and Pilk noticed a brief smile from the orc general.
“Then I will await your return in the fort and promise no action against your forces. Return to the tent when you have an answer, I’ll have someone watching at all times.” Krak’too gave them all a nod, unbuttoned the tent door and walked out with his shaman following close behind. Pilk unbuttoned the door, and they all returned to the safety of the trees.
A King's Decision
They made it to the cave moments before a torrential downpour. It was scarcely large enough to fit all seventy-seven of them. One bonus with the heavy rain was that they were able to refill all their canteens from a constant stream of water descending over the mouth of the cave. While they waited for the rain to ease, they ate their scant rations and made a few more canteens from the wood they had been carrying with them.
On inspection of the cave they surmised that it was well used and possibly the home of the creatures that had attacked them. Claw marks clearly covered the dusty floor of the cave and there were some large scratches on the rear wall. The cave also had a distinguishable reptilian smell to it, but it was dry and hopefully all the residents had been dealt with, making it as safe as they were ever going to find on this hostile world.
The continual rain did very little to raise their spirits and it looked as though it was set to continue for the rest of the day. Gerard guessed that they were half way between the edge of the forest and the city the orcs called Izlalek, a well-fortified city. While in their long history, the Ta’zu tribe had rarely attacked them, they still kept it well guarded in case they ever did. He was hoping that no scouts or patrols from that city were out in this weather, or if so they were still under orders not to harm them.
He sat down next to Jeff and leaned against the wall. He unwrapped the cloth bandage, which was a torn sleeve from his top, and inspected his wound. The dwarven cleric had done a good job in sealing the lesion and keeping it free from infection considering how overworked he was. He had been exhausting his healing magic since their escape and would try to get some sleep every time they rested to restore his power. Gerard could scarcely see it now so he decided to leave the bandage off. His leg still ached and throbbed a bit and he couldn’t put his full weight on it, but it was healing up fast.
“Do you think the Gate will still be there by the time we arrive, Gerry?”
Gerard turned to regard his good friend and noticed that even his spirits were being sorely tested. “It was still open a few weeks back as that’s when the dwarves were taken and it sounds as though Duke Angus has his hands full dealing with the orcs of our world, so I’m not sure if he’ll be in a position to push the Black Skull back now without a lot of help and I’m sure the fierce one will do everything in his power to keep it open.” Gerard rolled up his bandage and put it in his pants pocket.
“Yeah, well, that’s not really good news for us either, is it? If he has the Gate surrounded by hundreds of orcs, how do ya s’pose we’re gonna make it through?” Jeff picked up a nearby twig and started scratching the rock beneath him.
“We fought our way through an army of thousands yesterday with very little time to prepare, I’m sure we can come up with some plan to get us through. For now we just need to focus on getting there.” Gerard gave Jeff a friendly push in the shoulder and almost tipped his friend over.
“Yeah we haven’t made much progress so far, have we? Are we doing the right thing heading for the canyon Gerry?” Jeff’s eyes remained lowered as he stared blankly at his doodling.
“I’m not sure. I think about it myself sometimes. We have no idea if we’ll be even able to get down inside it and then we have to be able to navigate it without getting lost. But it won’t be heavily guarded or watched and water should be plentiful all the way along. If we head southeast, it’d be a lot quicker, but we’d have to navigate our way around cities and settlements. I doubt very much we could make it undetected.” Gerard thought that if the group was entirely human they possibly could have gone that way without being noticed. Travelling with dwarves is almost as bad as travelling with a circus.
“I guess you’re right,” replied Jeff with his head down, still scratching away at the rock. “What do you s’pose our boys are up to?”
“No doubt causing mischief.” Both men chuckled. “But not a moment goes by that I don’t think about them and Elly, Marley and Adrianna. I keep thinking that if we had’ve done something different they would all still be alive. But then I think about young Jethro’s advice of not blaming myself for what happened. It’s a night I won’t ever forget.”
“He was quite a young man, wasn’t he? Wise
beyond his years, courageous and very good with the blade. His fall was a huge loss, but we lost so many good men and dwarves in that battle. It was a miracle any of us made it out alive.” The fact that he avoided talking about Adrianna’s death was not lost on Gerard. He knew his friend missed her dearly, but he would always avoid talking about it. Gerard put it down to the fact that he was dealing with his grief differently.
“Well we’re free for the moment. We just need to make sure we stay that way. One of us at least needs to make it back home to share what we know with Duke Angus.” Gerard stood up again so that he could stretch out his legs.
“Perhaps we should send someone on ahead to do just that. One person can move a lot quicker and with more stealth than all of us.” Jeff’s voice was a little more excited.
“You know who that person should be don’t you, Jeff?”
Jeff’s face looked thoughtful for a moment, until he slowly nodded at Gerard. “You think it should be me?” Jeff asked, obviously seeking clarification.
“You’re one of the few that are uninjured, you received a lot of the knowledge firsthand from the orcs and you have always been skilled at moving undetected.” Gerard could tell from his expression that he was a bit conflicted about this scenario. Gerard understood this; his friend would be eager to return to their home world and be reunited with his son, but would hate the thought of leaving the rest behind, Gerard included, knowing he may not see them again. Added to that Jeff would be a bit irritated with their current slow pace. He was not too pleased with it himself but knew there was little they could do about it.
“I guess if it was for the greater good, I would go,” said Jeff after a moment’s silence.
“Well perhaps we’ll leave it up to Major Isak then, ey?” Jeff nodded, albeit reluctantly.
The Gate - An Ancient Connection Page 13