That did not mean that he would not worry, but that was the price for letting people in. After his family had died he had tried to keep people at arms length. If you did not care, it would not hurt as much. The wisdom of a sixteen year old boy. He did not even know at what point that philosophy was abandoned, but now he could not imagine living that way. The bonds formed during war were as inevitable as breathing. You could not go through the intense, life or death, situations that had been endured without it changing you. The necessity of trusting the soldier at your side or back demanded it. Shedding blood, sweat and tears together in common purpose of defending yourself and those around you could forge a link that years of being neighbors or even a lifetime of friendship could not compare to. He would worry, but he would also trust.
Brody's hand clamping on his shoulder broke Meric away from his inner thoughts.
"Trolls, eh? Sounds like an adventure. You ready?" Brody's grin was infectious, and soon Meric felt some of the tension drain. Trust.
"Just make sure you keep that big head of yours down. A target like that might just be too irresistible," Meric told his friend, and grinned at the return scowl.
Before the big man could respond Meric turned on his heel and fell in next to Alyssa as she was passing. At the amused question written all over her face, he just shrugged and turned his attention back to the city below. The angry calls of the trolls did not let up as they approached the city's edge, but there was still no way to tell where exactly they were coming from.
They reached the two nearest buildings without seeing any trolls and moved forward along the thoroughfare until there was enough room for several squads to form up between the two structures. Without any further need for orders, the squads just coming off of the path split off to either side and began the hunt. Meric wasted no more time, and started to study the building on his right to see if there was an easy way up. Four Dwarves from just behind him moved toward the home as well, heading for the entrance. They would be responsible for clearing the interior, so if he could not find a way to the roof from outside he would follow them in.
Just as he took his first step toward the house, another of the piercing screams split the air much closer than any of the others. The echo had not even died before a troll rounded the corner of the building and charged the group of approaching Dwarves. The four warriors did not break stride as they raised their weapons to meet the threat. Weapons that would not be needed, as the beast tumbled to a stop at their feet, the fire already spreading away from the arrow-pierced head to the rest of the body. Meric was once more thankful for the hours upon hours that his father spent making him do nothing more than pulling an arrow from the quiver and nocking it as fast as he could. Over and over. At the time, Meric had been full of frustration, and sure that it was the most ridiculous, useless part of his training. Now, as he lowered his still slightly vibrating bow, he could not stop the faint smile and silent word of thanks to the man he still missed so much.
All four of the Dwarves looked back at Meric. All four of them scowled at him. Yelic, the most senior of the four Guardians, spoke.
"We'll let that one slide, seeing how a Human might have been startled by the sheer ferocity of the beast, but from now on you'll not be stealing our fun. Got it?"
Instead of waiting on a reply, he grinned and turned back to the house.
#
Alyssa walked over to the beast's still burning body.
"Is it dead?" she asked Dhuren.
"Yes. If the arrow piercing the brain did not do it, then the heat from arrowhead would have."
Alyssa nodded and then concentrated on the energy given off by the flames, drawing it away, and dispersing it safely into the surrounding area. The fire was quickly snuffed out. A light, but steady flow of air kept the smoke and stench clear of her and the others as they gathered around.
When she used her Sight, she could see the accompanying red shimmer of magical energy mixed with the orange tongues of flame; it appeared to intertwine with the flickering heat source and channel it away evenly. Fire, Air and Spirit always seemed the brightest to her, but even Water and Earth shone perfectly clear. Silver for Air, blue for Water and green for Earth. The greater the concentration of any element, the thicker the shimmer, but even without a fire, or breeze, or body of water there was always some trace of each all around. Barely discernible, but there. Earth was a bit different considering it was always underfoot, more subdued and evenly spread out, yet always simmering just under the surface and waiting to be released. Spirit was only truly visible when concentrated in living things, but she could still feel hints of it everywhere. The mist-like yellow shimmer was, however, missing from the troll in front of them. Now, truly satisfied that it was indeed dead, she let her Sight fade and looked back to the others.
The Dwarves, all having seen a troll before, spread out to keep an eye on the immediate vicinity. She noticed that Brody joined those Dwarves, and Meric continued on to the house. It took her a moment to remember that they had both seen one before. Meric still had nightmares about his first experience, once waking her in the middle of the night. Seeing the creature lying before them, she could understand why.
All arms and shoulders, the beast looked strong. It would probably be about the height of a Dwarf if it was standing upright, but even when it had charged them it was hunched over. It used its powerful arms as if they were legs, loping forward on all four limbs. The lower body was squat; a curved spine and short, muscular legs ending in four-toed feet with hooked claws. The entire body had been covered in a thick, matted, black fur that glistened with the oil Dhuren had spoken of, though most of that had burned away. The head would cause anyone nightmares; a slight muzzle full of very sharp, very long teeth was topped by small black eyes set to either side of the head under heavy ridges. The long, pointed ears looked like they belonged on a bat. Sharp claws on hand and feet, sharp teeth and scary speed. All in all, a creature she did not want to see up close unless it was as dead as this one.
"Now, trolls are not too smart... they will come after us even though we are so many. They also do not really work together. They are not really pack hunters, but will sometimes try to attack from your blind side if your attention is elsewhere. Usually though, they just come at you head on. That... is good and bad. It is nice to see the enemy coming, but at the same time they will come hard and very fast. No hesitation." Dhuren was watching the road in front of them as he spoke.
"So we will not have to spend days hunting strays down?"
"No. They will come for us. While they like to charge you, they will also stalk from out of sight if they can and attack fast and violent." Maikus answered this time. "They don't like to share, so they go for the kill and then drag their prey off to feed alone."
"Lovely. Shall we get started?"
"Got one!" Malina's voice echoed sharply.
Alyssa looked over at Malina's perch when she heard her friend shout. The Rennick scout let an arrow fly at something out of Alyssa's sight beyond the corner of a building, and was rewarded with a call full of pain and anger. The screech quickly took on a panicky feel, and a troll cleared the corner moving in the opposite direction of the main road. The flames were rapidly spreading as the creature staggered and loped faster down the path, and crashed into the side of a building. It struggled to get up for a moment, but then stopped moving as the flames consumed it.
While she knew it was necessary to kill these creatures, she would rather not have to go through that every time. The noises it made as it burned would stay with her for a long time. Catching a shaking head out of the side of her eye, she turned to see Dhuren finish the motion with a sad look on his face.
"We try to make it quick... to not let them suffer from the fire, but it is not always possible."
Alyssa just nodded and moved on. She knew that Malina would have tried to make the shot clean, but as Dhuren said; things did not always work out the way you wanted them.
#
Brod
y pushed hard off of the wall he had just been knocked into. The troll that hit him came out of nowhere, and Brody barely had time to get his shield up before the beast slammed into him. The shaggy monster had not even slowed, pushing off of Brody and springing at the others. Fastil turned in time to get his hammer up, but not fast enough to strike. He was able to deflect the troll's attack to the side; the beast's left hand claws scraped on the Dwarf's armor harmlessly, but there was still enough power behind the blow to stagger Fastil. The troll recovered quickly, however James and Nevin were ready by then. Nevin, a Dwarf with shoulders barely reaching Brody's waist and who almost had as much muscle, thrust a wickedly sharp spear into the troll's shoulder and shifted right, turning the troll with him. This maneuver gave James a clear view of its head and, more importantly, the neck. James drove the side of his boot into the creature's knee; causing it to drop to the ground, and lowering the neck to a better angle. A second later, the head separated from the body and rolled to a stop at Brody's feet.
"You sure that's gonna keep it dead? I don't want that head to sprout tiny little legs and chase us." Brody nudged the head with a boot as he spoke.
Fastil opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it. He looked at Brody with a thoughtful expression covering his face, and then shrugged.
"Maybe."
"Maybe? What kind of answ-"
The Dwarf was grinning at him.
"Very funny," Brody said, and scowled at a chuckling Nevin. Nevin also just grinned at him, and then walked over to the head and drove his spear through its eye while a boot held it steady.
"Let's keep moving. We need to clear this area before we move on." Fastil turned and continued on to the building they had been headed to when the attack happened.
As near as Brody could tell, the building had once been a shop of some sort. There was a dusty, cobweb covered sign painted above the door in Dwarven script that he could not read, and the front door opened into a room with two rows of shelves in the center and a counter that was waist high to Fastil at the back. The robin's egg blue walls were bare, and dust covered all of the horizontal surfaces. As his eyes fell to the dusty floor, Brody hefted his axe and reached over to nudge Nevin with his shield. After directing his companion's attention to the many scuff marks and tracks he found disturbing the layers of dust, Brody crept more softly toward the back left corner of the room, and the open doorway that waited. As he moved across the floor he turned his attention up to the rafters, making sure there were no surprises waiting above. The scar on the right side of his face had come from the day he learned that valuable lesson.
Other than more webs (thankfully from normal-sized spiders), some small debris and the musky smell of wild animal, the place appeared empty. The back room still needed to be checked, though. The four of them paused near the threshold to listen before moving in. After a few moments of silence and held breaths, they decided to move in. Nevin went first with Brody right on his heels. Another empty room; only one desk with a chair turned upside down on top of it, two more empty sets of shelves and more dust.
Brody eased his axe back into its loop and started for the exit, following Fastil and James and with Nevin right behind.
"Well, James... did you ever think you'd spend the winter cleaning out dusty old Dwarf shacks?"
"Hey! Watch what you are calling a shack, large one." Fastil did not even try to scowl at him when he barked out the half-hearted complaint.
Brody smirked and turned back to the Captain. James rolled his eyes, and replied.
"Since I have come to know you and Meric, I have learned that there is no telling what you two can get into, and there is no reason to even try to guess. Though... I must say... Dwarves would never have even crossed my mind, regardless."
Brody huffed out a laugh at that.
"True. We have had some interesting times. Well, you should probably start paying attention to all of the cleaning. You don't really think Malina is gonna do all of the chores around the house once you get married, do you?"
"I thought we would hire a maid," James said, and turned back to eye Brody. "You seem to be pretty good at this cleaning thing, and I have seen you wearing an apron at the inn. You want the job?"
"Listen here, little man..." Brody tried to look indignant, but was pretty sure the dust and spider webs in his beard ruined the effect. "I'll have you know, I a-"
"Quiet!" Fastil had just reached the exit, but stopped before leaving.
The Dwarf pressed his back to one side of the entryway, and peeked out. Now that they were all silent, Brody could hear what caught his short friend's attention. Grunting and shuffling coming their way, and doing it fast. The sound of claws clicking and scratching against the polished stone pathway approached, and the four companions ducked back out of sight. Weapons ready, they watched as three trolls came down the road, and then rushed past, ignoring the building they were in.
"What say we go see what they are so excited about?" Brody did not wait for any of them to answer, slipping out the exit and following the trolls back toward the main thoroughfare. If three, or maybe even more, of those beasts came across a squad unaware it would not be pretty.
CHAPTER TEN
Snakes in the Grass
"You expect us to believe in these fairy tales and childish fancies? Whatever your... relationship is with Lord Camden's daughter, I am afraid we are going to need a little more if you intend to go to war with our neighbor. This ridiculous story, imagined by a frightened little girl, is hardly going to sway me. I will not be sending my men out on a fool's errand."
There was absolute silence in the room for the span of two heartbeats after Lord Atwood finished speaking. Lord Barclay Camden sat perfectly still and waited for his King to respond, wondering all the while if Atwood had lost his mind. Outwardly Barclay remained calm and unmoved by the noble's words, but inwardly he was thinking of pitching the man out the window not far behind him. To think that this disgusting little worm would sit there and besmirch not only the King, but Alyssa as well, all while she was Gods knew where risking her life was nearly enough to compel him to turn his thought into a reality. Atwood spent the short moment of silence looking around the room in triumph, and then spoke again before the King could respond.
"I have important matters to attend to... if there is some actual real business to discuss, let me know." The man then slid his chair back as he stood, and moved toward the door.
"Get back in your seat, Lord Atwood, or I will have you placed there." King Roderick Marten's cold, commanding voice cut through the room like the sharpest of swords. "And if you ever forget yourself, and speak to your King in such a manner again... I will show you exactly how much power and influence you truly hold. I am sure Lord Borden would be more than happy to take over Hanover Holdings. What say you, Lord Borden?"
Edward Borden was grinning from ear to ear as he looked from Atwood to Roderic. "I would be honored, my King. I live to serve."
Lord Atwood was shaking and red-faced with anger, but wisely kept his reply polite and short while he eased back into his chair.
"Forgive me, your Highness. I misspoke."
Roderick scanned the rest of the faces in the room, skimming over Barclay without pause, and taking a moment to collect himself. He did not pay any one man or woman more attention than the rest, but Barclay could tell his friend was mentally calculating where each of them might stand.
"I had hoped that this would not be necessary," Roderick said, and then turned to the guards standing at the door and gave a nod.
This statement caused the nobles in the room to stir and share a few confused looks. The presence of the soldiers in the room was already an unusual occurrence, and the cryptic words by the King only heightened the confusion. The senior Guardsman, First Lieutenant Harris, opened the door and stuck his head and left shoulder out the door. The heavy oak door muffled any words that were spoken, but Harris did not take long before pulling back into the room with a thick cloth bag in hand. The other
soldier, Second Lieutenant Ward, heaved the thick door closed with a resounding boom, and turned back to watch the rest of the room.
"Lieutenant Harris, please show Lord Atwood why I am taking this very serious." The King locked eyes with the noble in question and waited.
Lord Atwood had calmed down some and his face was once more taking on the bored arrogance that Barclay always associated with him. That look was wiped away completely when a grinning Harris dumped the bag onto the table directly in front of the noble. Harris was a little too enthusiastic, and the contents thumped on the table and then rolled into Atwood's lap. The man went white as a sheet and let out a high-pitched yell even as he tried to scoot back away from the horror that was now sitting on his legs.
"Oops. Beg pardon, m'lord. Let me get that." Harris reached over the table and plucked the severed Orc head out of Atwood's lap, setting it on the table in front of the noble.
The beast had been dead for several days, part of a group of four that Barclay's scouts had intercepted up north, and the head had already started to decay. The smell, along with the fact that there were maggots crawling all over the thing caused more than one noble to gag. Atwood bolted out of his seat and rushed over to one of the potted plants along the wall. Once there, he emptied the contents of his stomach. The grin on Harris' face was starting to look painful.
"Would anyone else like to have a closer look?"
When no one spoke, Roderick nodded to Harris. The Lieutenant picked up the gruesome trophy and stuffed it back into the bag before heading to the exit. This time he completely left the room and Ward followed.
"Now that we are all in agreement that this is not some childish fancy, we can discuss this seriously. Lord Camden has been drawing up a plan of action, taking all that we know into account. At this time we will not be asking Rennick for aid, but we will send a message to inform them that there have been Orcs found within our borders. Hopefully this warning will give them ample time to prepare for a possible invasion. They may even be able to halt an incursion before it can truly start."
An Adept's Duty: The Scepter of Maris: Book Two Page 8