Behind him, hat over his chest, Melegal sniffled.
Joline’s sobs shook his heart.
Kam’s tears broke it.
“I didn’t think he could die,” Melegal said over the body of Georgio. He wiped his nose on his sleeve. “I thought he’d always be a pain in my arse.” He took a knee alongside Venir and turned to gaze at Lefty. The tiny halfling seemed so helpless and small. “I thought he was already gone. I don’t want to see him dead again.”
Venir’s chest hurt. His thoughts were emptied out.
Kam and Joline continued to cry. Even Jasper was in on it.
Venir’s inner fires from all of the fighting were extinguished. Solemn as a stone, he shifted from his hands and knees and sat. Bish was taking its toll. It was bound to catch up with them. All of them. His heart ached.
Kam walked over and leaned on his shoulder. Her body shuddered against his.
“It’s that dwarf’s fault,” Boon said. The old wizard was standing nearby, leaning on a stick. “He told them what to do.”
Lifting his head, Venir said, “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about Pall. The blood ranger. He made that ludicrous suggestion.” Boon’s mustache twitched. “The little one. The halfling. He just wanted to help his friends.”
Venir’s blood stirred. “Where’s this Pall?”
“He’s been gone since dawn,” Boon replied. “Moves like a ghost, that one. Odd. Not like the rangers you’ve known.”
“I feel my ears burning!” a deep voice blurted out. A grizzly-haired ranger stormed straight for the group. “Who dares!”
Venir recognized the blood ranger for what he was immediately.
Thickset and blood-red-bearded, the burly ranger strode right to them all and spat. “I’m not a child sitter. Those two jumped in rather fast. Honestly, I thought they’d make it.”
“You had to have known they wouldn’t make it!” Venir shouted. “I’ve never known of anything but a blood ranger to gut one of those things!” He slid out his knife. “You knew better!”
“There’s a first time for everything,” said Pall, squaring off against him. “And they aren’t the only ones who died. Look around.” He waited.
Venir looked again at the rows of graves. At all the dead striders and jung.
“Death takes us all. That’s Bish.”
Even as he tried to stay angry, Venir felt himself nodding in agreement.
The blood ranger’s eyes glimmered with wisdom beneath his bushy brows. “They fought. They died. Don’t dishonor it.”
***
Night fell.
The songs of morning sang.
Jung and strider carried a strange tune together. Little wooden pipes and drums. The friends were alone together in the comfort of the odd and cheerless sounds.
Melegal sat alongside Venir in front of a lonely campfire, picking the dirt from his nails. “That fuzzy faced dwarf is right, you know.”
Venir sat, stone-faced and staring into the fire.
“His words even got me thinking,” he continued. “It’s not really our choice when we live and when we die. Venir, when we were children, even then I never felt sadness like this before. I hate to admit it, but I’m going to miss Georgio. And Lefty, I wish I could have been there for him.”
“We can’t all live forever. Death happens.”
Melegal checked the small bolts in his dart launchers. “I never gave death much thought until now.” He scanned the night sky. “Not sure why it has more meaning now.”
Venir tossed a stick in the fire. “I’m sure someone wiser than us can figure that out. In the meantime, it’s high time we took out these underlings. I like the outlands, but I miss Bone. We need to get it back.”
“Well, we’re going to need a much bigger army.” Melegal took a sip from a wineskin and shook it at Venir. “Drink?”
“No.”
“Good decision. This jung wine is horrible.”
“It’s made from goat piss.”
Melegal spat the wine out into the fire. “Tell me you’re jesting!”
“That’s what I was told long ago.”
Melegal turned around and faced the sandcastle. Its walls and turrets had started to deteriorate. “Perhaps they have some of that underling port tucked away in there.”
Venir didn’t reply, so Melegal kept speaking. “What are you going to do about Fogle and Brak?”
“And Jubilee.”
“Yes, and her too.”
“I don’t know. I feel like they could be anywhere. And I suspect that Fogle and Boon could locate each other if they had to. We’ll just have to see what happens.” Venir tilted his head at Melegal and gave him the eye.
Hairs raising on his arms, Melegal faded away.
Never seen that look before.
“I’ll go search for some port.”
***
Venir awoke with half of his face in a pillow of sand. Groggy, he sat up and stretched his long limbs. Dusting the dirt from his face, he found he was still at the campfire and all alone. A handful of jung were up and breaking down tents. He yawned.
Something’s amiss.
He located his pack and sauntered over to the graves of Lefty and Georgio. The bodies were gone. He grabbed a jung fighter who was walking by. “What happened to the bodies?”
The jung spun out of his grip, laughed, and walked on.
Melegal appeared from behind a sandy berm, fixing the cap on his head. His eyes enlarged on the graves. “I didn’t see or hear anything.”
Venir stormed through the camp and stirred everyone.
Everyone but Pall. He was gone, and there were no tracks either.
Buckling on his sword belt, Billip said to Venir, “Let’s start the search. No one could make it far.”
“Let’s armor up,” Venir said, unbuckling his rucksack. He reached inside, and nothing filled his empty fingers.
The mystic sack was gone.
CHAPTER 32
By the time the final head count was made, Boon’s army was down to less than fifty fighters. It was hardly a match for any underling force they might encounter, so they moved. Two days through the outlands they marched. Quiet. Long. Hot. They winded through the barren steppes and narrow passes, avoiding underling forces at all costs.
Boon paired himself up with Venir, near the front. The warrior had been on point most of the time. Boon was eager to see what was on the man’s mind. “You like it out here, don’t you?”
Venir scowled at him.
“That’s a fine outland smile. I’ll take that as a yes.”
“You know what I like about the outland?” Venir said. “The solitude.”
“Oh, I as well. Perhaps we can share it together.”
Venir rolled his eyes and trucked on forward.
Boon struggled to pace him, leaning on his walking stick from time to time. For the first time in his life, he felt old. The spring in his step was no longer there. Something about Bish had changed, or suddenly he had. “Just pause a moment, will you? We need to talk.”
Venir did.
“Good. Well then. My goal is to raise an army. Battle these fiends to the death. I think you share in those same desires.” He smoothed out his mustache. “Hmmm.”
“The women and children need sanctuary.”
“They’ll be safest with us.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” said Venir. “And I thought you were going to raise more of an army. Didn’t you mention the giants? Something about using them against the underlings. What happened to that?”
“I’m working on it. But the giants are quite scarce these days. Many things have changed. Have you not felt it?”
“I feel something. A burr stuck in my hide. Maybe it’s just you.”
“You and I have much in common. I possessed the sack once too, if you remember. I know what it’s like to be without it.” Boon’s eyes flashed. “Leaves you fragile.”
“It’s come and gone before. I’
m used to it.”
“That’s a curious thing too. The sack has come and gone how many times and returned?”
“Two.” Venir started to walk away.
Boon grabbed his arm. “Venir. What do you want to do?”
Venir glared down at him.
Boon didn’t release him.
Finally, Venir said, “Kill underlings.”
“There’s plenty of them to keep you busy, that’s for certain, but you and I, well, we need to realize that we can’t put an end to this menace on our own. We need a better plan. One they aren’t expecting.”
Venir kneeled down and made a circle in the dirt. “Bone is the lynchpin. We need to take it back. Control the Everwells.” He traced some eyeballs in his circle. “The Royals can’t be trusted, however. That’s the problem. They just stopped fighting.”
“They have their price, and the underlings paid it. Perhaps it’s time a new line of Royals stepped into the fray and inserted themselves.”
“You have to have the blood in your veins,” Venir said. “They’ll know otherwise.”
“Some of us do. Kam has the blood, and from her, Erin does. Jubilee has blood too.” Boon looked back over his shoulder toward the remnant of soldiers that had survived. “Now it’s time to build an army, and we’ll need a leader they can relate to. Who they respect.”
Venir finished drawing the face in the dirt. It was a horrible version of Georgio.
Boon tossed something over the image. It was the stitched-up leather sack.
Picking it up in his hands, Venir said, “How?”
“There was a deep slumber in the camp last night. Heavy eyed, I managed to stay awake. I think my burning desire for the power within got the better of me, so I took it while you slept.” Boon shook his head. “I envy you, Venir. I truly do.” His eyes on the sack were filled with lust. “I reached within and felt nothing.” The gleam in his eye went out. “It crushed all my hopes.”
Venir grunted. “What of Georgio and Lefty? Do you know what happened to them?”
“They were gone before I even started in on my misadventure.”
Venir got up and slung the sack over his shoulder. “It’s no wonder mages are never trusted.”
“No one should ever be fully trusted.”
CHAPTER 33
Venir and company marched another day southwest until they came across the small town of Gronstok. It was a well-fortified city built into the belly of a rocky series of hills. It served as an outpost for supplies between the City of Three and Hohm, the City of Mist. Some greenery and livestock thrived in the area, somehow escaping the outland heat.
Now, this sanctuary stank of the dead.
“This is horrible,” Joline said, covering her nose with a handkerchief.
Leading up to the city, bodies were buried in holes headfirst with the legs protruding out. It was a mix of people too. Men, women, halflings, orcs, and dwarves. Inside the gate it was even worse. The dead lay in the streets. Gutted, headless, and bloody.
Vultures circled.
Vultures ate.
Rats feasted as well.
“There’s nothing to gain here.” Melegal fought back a gag as a vulture plucked an old man’s eye out. “Where to now?”
Venir, Billip, Nikkel, and Tarcot the strider were scouring the area and talking amongst one another. The jungs and other striders picked through the dead and sifted through the buildings for any supplies that they could muster.
Jasper interrupted Melegal’s thoughts. “I never imagined they were so brutal.”
“They are black-hearted fiends. I tried to tell you that.” He hopped off of Quickster and extended his hand. “And to think, those precious do-gooders back in Three defended them. It’s like this everywhere, Jasper. Just imagine what’s about to happen to that fair city when the underling truce gives out. The streets will be rivers of blood.”
The petite black-haired sorceress pulled her hand from his and remained in the saddle. “I’m fine right here.”
“So am I,” Joline said.
Melegal eyed the women. “I suggest you stay outside the walls. Help the men set camp. It might smell, but there should be safety here tonight.”
Leaving Erin with Joline, Kam got off her horse and hung by Melegal’s side. As Joline and Jasper rode away, she said, “You see this all the time, don’t you.”
“Me? No. I’ve been trying to avoid such things all my life. It’s just caught up with me.”
Covering her nose, she said, “It’s caught up with all of us.” Looking where Venir stood near the entrance of an abandoned stable, she added, “But him. He’s seen this all his life, hasn’t he.”
“As I understand it, but he’s not the only one. There are plenty of outlanders. You and me, we’re city folk, Kam. We take our cushy lives for granted. Look.” He held out the palm of his slender hand. “I have calluses.”
Laughing, her haggard face revealed her buried beauty. “Only you could find the humor behind such horror.”
“Humor?” he said with surprise. “This is not a jest. I’ve got hangnails.”
Kam waved her stump hand at him. “Oh, I miss those pampered days. I guess I should get used to it.”
“You’ll never get used to sand and stone after you’ve slept in a feather bed. There’s nothing like soft linen shared between two. Never take those moments for granted.”
Kam’s face creased as she watched Venir approach. Chin up, she faced him with a faint smile.
Looking into her eyes, he covered her shoulders in his hands and said, “What?”
“Find a horse,” she said. “We need some privacy.” Taking his big hand in her two, she led him out the front gate.
He owes me one, Melegal thought, fanning his face with his cap. No, he owes me two. And I didn’t even mention scented candles. He turned on his boot heel a full circle and crept outside the gate to find Jasper. Rubbing his hands together, he made a bee line for her. There’s nothing like soft linen shared between two. Ha ha. Let’s work that magic one more time.
CHAPTER 34
“It’s an odd plan,” Billip said to Venir. He was looking through a spyglass, and it was just the two of them. They’d been traveling three long days, and the days weren’t getting any shorter. Lying low, the small army managed to avoid any underling troops. It was easy. They just followed the destruction the underlings caused. Caravans. Nomads. Small remote villages. The marauding underlings mutilated everything. Crops. Herds. The youngest and oldest of people.
“But I like it.”
“Of course you do. You seemed to enjoy yourself quite well the last time we were there.” Billip chuckled. “Just don’t say anything in front of Joline. She’s pretty needy, and it’s been to my advantage. I’d hate to spoil it.”
“You’re the envy of all the camp,” Venir said.
“I’m not alone in my status. You and Kam seem to be doing well for a change.”
“She picked a fine time to like me again, I’ll give her that.” Venir took the spyglass from Billip. “But I’m not complaining.”
“I don’t think she is either. She’s actually been smiling.” Billip pointed his finger toward a distant village on the horizon. “What do you make of that?”
Putting the spyglass to his eye, Venir followed the direction of Billip’s finger. The small clay building still stood. He didn’t pick up any movement either. “Odd,” he said. “Nothing smokes or burns. It’s possible they fled long before the underlings got to them. Or the underlings could be on to us and it’s a trap.”
“Maybe we’re close enough to Dwarven Hole that the underlings don’t venture here.” Billip cracked his knuckles. “Eh?”
Venir turned around and faced the army. It moved slowly, at least two hundred yards behind them. The setting suns were against their backs. The men were weary, the supplies low. They’d scrounged up what they could in the towns and cities. That wasn’t all that they found either. Every place they went had a small remnant of survivors, most wo
unded but living. The jungs wanted to put them out of their misery, but Venir had none of it. So the small battered army trudged along, getting bigger, slower, and weaker.
“Venir, do you think anyone else wants to fight, aside from us?”
“Sometimes I wonder if there is anyone alive but us.” He collapsed the spyglass and tossed it to Billip. “We’ll know soon enough. The jungs sent for more of theirs. The striders did the same. It’ll be interesting to hear what the dwarves have to say about it.”
“It’ll be interesting if they even talk. Aren’t you going to be on the outs without Mood around?”
Venir’s chin dipped.
Seeing Mood go that day at Outpost Thirty-One had been a kick in the gut. To make matters worse, Chongo was still gone too. The two-headed dog he missed the most though. The giant bull mastiff was a friend unlike any other he ever had. His instincts, tracking, and loyalty were irreplaceable.
“You’re right, Billip. Worst-case scenario, we might have to venture into the Mist. The underlings probably won’t find us there. I just don’t know how we’ll survive it.”
“The Mist!” Billip shook his head. “I think I’d prefer death, based off what you told me.”
“It wasn’t so bad.”
Billip frowned at him. “Heh. You’re full of slat. I know better than that.”
Venir slapped him on the shoulder. “That you do.” He stared off into the distance. “That you do. So what do you think?”
“About what?”
“Do you want to scout that little village ahead together, for old time’s sake, or should we let someone know?”
“You mean to tell me you aren’t going to run off all by yourself? You’re actually asking?”
Venir dropped his pack and pulled out the sack. He hadn’t even bothered trying to withdraw Brool and the armament. There hadn’t been a need yet, even though Helm certainly offered plenty of aid. Instead, he kept his long knife on one hip and Georgio’s sword of the long vanquished Tonio on the other. He ran his fingers over the tiny jewels encrusted on the pommel. “The unknown,” he murmured.
“What was that?” Billip said to him.
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