Death Or Fortune

by James Chesney

  Orcs were being slaughtered all around him. Not just in front but from behind as well. He saw a man in blue armor with a dwarf attacking from the right flank; to his left he saw what appeared to be a pair of Halflings. He shook his head, telling himself that this wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. He had failed his company, he had failed his clan and he had failed the dark one. "Argon!" he said to no one at all. "I have to warn him." Stone Tongue knew they were doomed, he had to escape. With a quick look around, he knew he had to run but which way. The human forces were ahead of him, he did not like the look of the man in blue armor to his right. With a single grunt, Stone Tongue knew which way he had to run; right towards the Halflings who were fighting a pair of his men. Stone Tongue could feel the humans closing on him, he knew it was time. He put his head down and started to run. Stone Tongue felt bad about leaving his men to die but this was more important. He had to warn Argon, he had to warn his father. As he ran towards the Halflings, he took his sword in hand, wanting to at least take one of them out. Wanting to give his men a fighting chance, give his self a fighting chance to slow down the humans that were bound to chase after him. He focused on this target and the world began to slow.

  A step forward, his arm lifted his sword.

  A step forward, must time it right he thought as he tightened the grip on his weapon. While Stone Tongue had practiced this maneuver several times, never has he tried to hit a target so small.

  A step forward, his arm whipped forward, letting go of his sword.

  Stone Tongue watched as his blade flew through the air before him, like a great spear. He watched in grim satisfaction as the blade struck the body of one of the Halflings. It's body driven back by the force of the throw. As the blade struck the ground, it reminded him of one of the many creatures Argon had in his lab back on the island they called Well Spring. Pinned down to the table for him to study. As he ran past his men, he started to cut north, hoping to avoid the humans. Digging deeper as he ran, he pushed as hard as he could. Not even noticing the screams coming from behind him anymore. Not even that high pitched scream that split the night like a bolt of lightning could slow him down. Stone Tongue just kept running, trying to cut north the more he ran. When he saw the road before him, he knew he had cut all the way around the humans. As his feet first hit the road, he was sure he would make it to the tower on time. He never knew how he was caught. He just knew that something hit his feet.

  Crashing to the road Stone Tongue landed hard, nearly knocking the breath from his lungs. As he looked up he saw a single figure standing before him in the road. He looked at the leather boots first, soft deer leather covered with strange writing. From there up he only saw the blue scale armor. As he got to his knees he knew the man in blue armor had caught up with him but he did not know how. As he looked to the man’s eyes, he knew that this wasn't just a man. He had seen eyes like that a hundred times before. They looked on him with such pride before but now all he saw was hate. Stone Tongue knew his father’s eyes. The feeling of love started somewhere in the back of his brain, something that he didn't even know was there.

  The last thought Stone Tongue ever had in his life was of his master and his message. He did not even have the time to form the words before the half elf rammed his weapon into his chest. No one heard Stone Tongues last words, he wasn't even sure he said them as the burning steel blade was pulled from his chest. "My General..." was all he said to the dusty, dirty road.

  88. Gem

  When we set out that night, I expected that we might lose a person or two. I also expected that from the slaves we freed that we might gain a few more allies. It was a gamble and truth be told, I could not have asked for a better outcome from a strategic stand point. Michaels and I lead the Arcadian troops who had taken to calling their selves The Dead Squad. Mostly because one of their number died before we even left Arcadia. The men took a liking to Eli, even if he was a little strange and distant. Soldiers are strange at times, when they found out that one of their brothers had been dead for months, they all started to joke about their own fate. Wondering if any of them were really alive still. Since we landed on the island, nothing seemed to go our way until that night. We hit the camp, caused a bit of pandemonium and were able to cut the Orcs numbers in half before they were able to organize at all. By then it was too late for them.

  I had seen the Orc commander running around, trying to get his troops in line. I saw as he pointed towards Michaels and me. Telling his men where to attack us. The next time I saw him is when the screaming started. It was a scream that will haunt my dreams for many years to come. Not because it came from some horrid beast but because it came from my best friend. There were no more than a handful of the Orcs left standing. We cut them down like wheat in the field, when Pare let out that anguished scream time seemed to slow. I saw the orc commander running and I could see Windfall was close behind him, chasing him down. I knew he wouldn't get away from the half elf. I put him out of my mind and started to look for Pare, his screaming had not stopped. I found him not far away from a pair of Orcs, one still had a dagger sticking out of its chest, the other had his nearly lost his head the cut in his neck was so deep. When I saw Pare standing there covered head to toe in blood I felt my heart stop for just a moment. It was then that I looked down at his feet.

  Miri Rivermyst, halfling from the city of North Hembers. A respected bounty hunter in small circles yet respected just the same. She came to the capital of Arcadia to find a criminal vigilante, only to have her own heart stolen from her. Yet, I happen to believe that she gave it away freely. The sword entered her body just below her rib cage. It did not hit bone until it passed through her spine. She was impaled to the ground with her eyes were open wide, looking off to the stars above. I ran to my friend and got down on my knees, checking to see where he was hurt. He did not have a single scratch on him. Every ounce of blood on him came from the Orcs. I took my hands and held his face, making him look away from Miri, making him look at me. 'Darmot' was the only word to come out of his mouth that I understood. His knees started to give way and I soon noticed that I was holding his entire body up by his head. I pulled him close to me and held him there while he cried. When Miri coughed, it made us both jump. I looked over at her, blood was running from the side of her mouth but she was there, looking at us.

  Pare let go of me and got down next to her. 'Yer gonna be ok Miri, we will take real good care of you.' It was painful to watch her shake her head at him, telling him no. 'No, listen, it will be ok. Michaels can fix you up.' I looked around for the paladin to see he was directing the men, keeping them away from us. I called out to him and waited for him to come over. Pare had pulled out a clean rag from somewhere and was cleaning her face, talking to her, telling her that everything was going to be alright. 'See, Michaels is coming right now. He is gonna take good care of you.' She just kept shaking her head at him, telling him no. When she reached up and pulled him down to her face I looked away. I could hear her speaking in a low pained voice but only Pare knows what it is that she said. I have never asked him, he has never told me. Michaels came over and ignored Pare and I, looking at the wound and the blade. I watched as he pulled back the cloth and looked at where the sword entered her body. I then watched as he put a hand under her, feeling where the sword came out on the other side. He then felt for her heart beat, placing his fingers at the side of her neck. He then stood up and told me to follow him.

  'I have clerical powers, gifts from my god. This is beyond me, to heal her I have to remove the blade from her body. Once I do that, she will slip away from us. There is nothing I can do.' I asked him one time if he was sure, he could only nod his head at me. The two of us together, turned back towards Pare and Miri. As we approached the pair I stood on the left, Michaels on the right. Pare was sitting there with Miri's head in his lap, stroking her short curly hair. When he looked up at me, I could see where his tears had washed away some of the Orc blood on his face. I tried to talk but found the words faile
d me, they were stuck, somewhere between my stomach and my heart. 'She knows, she is ready.' I looked at him and asked him to say that again. 'She knows she is going to die. She is ready.' His voice was hollow and empty yet when he looked back down at her, he could only smile while he stroked her hair. Michaels reached out and put his hand around the handle of the sword. I knelt down beside them and waited. She looked at me for one small moment and tried to smile. When Michaels pulled the blade from her body, she kept that smile until the light expired from her eyes.

  I stood up and looked around to avoid looking at the dead halfling. The men had stopped their work of collecting the Orcs bodies. Michaels had told them to pile them all up in one of the tents. There were also several of the freed slaves standing about watching us. They were all at a respectful distance but they were watching just the same. I tried to ignore the paladin behind me saying a prayer over the halfling. I tried to push all emotion aside, we were running out of time and we had another fight to get ready for. I then walked away from my friend and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I looked at the men. The entire lot of them looked like I felt. I told them to gather around. I looked at them and told them to go pay their respects to their fallen companion and then they were to get back to work. We had a lot to do before the sun came up. Bryce and Ebbit were standing near one of the tents, I wanted to speak to them but had to see to the crowd of slaves that had gathered around. As I approached them, one man stepped forward. His chest and arms were covered in scars from the beatings he had taken. Some of them were newer than I liked.

  'My name is Balon. I would like to thank you for setting us free. That man over there, is he really one of the gods chosen ones? He is one of the gifted?' I looked to where was pointing, I should have known it was Michaels. I turned back and looked at the man, telling him that Michaels was a paladin of Solarth. A warrior devoted to the god. 'I understand what a paladin is, even if they are only in the stories of long ago. Very few of our people are ever chosen. Only two in every generation, when they were killed I did not think I would ever live to see another.' I looked at the newly freed slaves and all of them had their eyes locked on Michaels. I asked Balon what he meant by that. I had assumed that on an island filled with people devoted to Solarth, that there would be many clerics among them. 'Every generation, one is chosen from the Melkor and one from the Othos. The two of them together live in the Temple of Hope. When it is time they chose who it is that will replace them. That has been our way since the beginning of time. When word went out of trouble in the north, they both went to the Othos village. They did not return.' I was shocked because every village we had passed through had a temple of Solarth in the dead center of town. I even asked him about that. 'The village elders reside in the temples, yet they do not have the power of healing.'

  The entire time I was talking to them I could not get Miri off my mind. I had grown to like the halfling over the time she was in our lives. I could feel the pain Pare was in, I think of what I would feel if Jasmin had shared the same fate and can only shudder. For the most part, Pare is the same as he has always been; a free spirit without any boundaries. Yet at times, I see the sadness in his eyes. It isn't something he talks about with me. I give him his peace on that matter. When Michaels came over to me all of the former slaves dropped down to one knee, bowed their heads and remained silent. Michaels had started to speak and stopped, mouth hanging open, looking at them. I asked him what they were doing and he just said 'I don't know.' I told him to say something to them. He stepped forward and said 'stand up my brothers and sisters.' They all stood as one and surged forward to surround him, to talk to him, to touch him. In the process they pushed me out of the way. It was perhaps the only thing I smiled about that day. The only thing that gave me any joy at all.

  I looked around the camp while the men were busy stacking the Orc bodies in one of the tents. Bryce and Ebbit were helping with that so I left them alone to go back and see to Pare. He was still there, with her head on his lap, eyes closed as if she was just taking a nap. He had cleaned all the blood from her face and had even tried to clean it from her lips. I said nothing to him. I just placed my hand on his shoulder to let him know I was there. When he looked up at me, his tears had stopped but there was something else on his mind. 'Will you help me bury her?' he asked me. 'They might kill us all and eat us but they will not have her, they will not have my Miri.' I could only nod my head and I went off to find something to dig with. I made quick work of the hole and wrapped her body in a tunic one of the men had given me. Michaels, free of the Melkor people said a prayer as Pare and I covered her body with dirt. We stood there side by side for some time, ignoring the fact that there was another company of Orcs headed our way. This was a time for Pare to mourn the loss of his love and it was time for me to stand by my friend.

  As the sun started to brighten the eastern sky he looked up at me and said something I will never forget. 'I was going to give her a ring when we got home. Not something I found, something that I paid for. Jasmin helped me pick it out. Next to you, she was the best thing that ever happened to me. I will never forget her.' He showed me the ring once after we got home. It now rest on a chain around his neck, next to the silver dragon scale. As the distant sun started to show over the trees Bryce came to me. 'Twenty of their men are going to stay with us. Help us fight, rest of them are not fit to carry a weapon. We gave the ones who are staying bows. Our men are going to hide in the empty tent, the Melkor are going to hide in the tall grass east of the road. If they are on time, the sun should be in the Orcs eyes. When the next company gets here, the Melkor will open fire, then we move in. I figure they will be looking to the grass for a fight then we hit them from the blind side.' It sounded like a good plan to me and the odds were much better than what we were facing several hours before. Pare took one last look to the little grave where we placed Miri and came to join us. He was the only one who had the common sense to ask about the one thing I had failed to notice. 'Hey, where did Windfall go?'

  89. Steps

  I remember standing in that tent with the rest of the men. Thinking we would have an advantage. A small strike force that picked at the enemy bit by bit until they were next to useless. Just simple hit and run tactics. It never dawned on me how much of an advantage we had. The Orcs had been on the island for a long time, they were comfortable. They encountered next to no resistance from the locals after the big fight to take the main Othos city. The Orc company that was coming towards us that morning was beyond comfortable, they were stinking drunk. The simple fact that they could walk at all was a testament to their strength. When we could hear them marching down the road I took a quick look out. They were coming down the road in two columns, marching behind the wagon that was supposed to carry away their food stuffs. Two huge war horses were pulling the wagon and the Orc driving the wagon looked to be sleeping. Beautiful creatures they were, reduced to pulling wagons. I turned away and told the men to ready their weapons.

  I looked around the tent for Pare. I was shocked to see he was still covered in blood. He had cleaned away some of it from his eyes but there wasn't a part of him that wasn't covered. Some of it Orc, some of it I guessed belonged to Miri. He had a grim look on his face that scared me. I wasn't sure if I should let him take part in the attack or not. Not that I would have been able to stop him had I tried. I took one last look at the approaching Orcs as they were nearly to the end of the road. I looked at Bryce and told him to watch for runners. With Windfall missing or dead, we couldn't afford to have our presence announced to the rest of the army. 'None of them will get away.' I looked back at Pare who had spoken. 'Not a single one' he said to me in a low quiet voice. I just nodded at my little friend. I had no idea what to say to him. I wish I could have done something then to ease his pain. It isn't an easy thing to do, watching someone suffer while you can't do anything at all. As the Orcs started to slow, I waited and watched for the attack to come. When it did, I threw open the tent and gave the atta
ck order. We caught them off guard and the next few minutes of my life became a blur.

  As we ran towards the Orc ranks, Pare ran ahead of all of us, dashing between the two war horses that had been demoted to draft labor. Deftly dodging between the legs of the large beast, he scaled the front of the wagon. The wagon driver was dead in less time than it takes to tell. I am not even sure he opened his eyes long enough to see the blood covered halfling that was about to cut open his throat. The Melkor archers were more than good, saying they were very good isn't giving them enough credit. There were very few wasted arrows during the attack. Each shot they fired seemed to draw blood. We hit them quick, hard and before long the battle was over. I only saw Pare a few times during the battle. After he jumped off the wagon, into the ranks of the Orcs he became a small agent of death. Moving quickly from target to target, no motion wasted, every step he took was geared towards hurting the Orcs. When it was over, he stood in the middle of the road watching them. Looking for any signs of life that he could end with his blades. There was darkness on his face that I had never seen before. I hope I never see it again.

  The Melkor were pleased with the victory. Soon after the fight they were all gathered around Michaels again, looking for guidance. I started to look around for Bryce when I noticed Ebbit cutting the ears off the dead Orcs. When I asked him why he was doing that he just kinda laughed at me with that deep voice of his. 'Well, the pup likes to chew on them. Just need a few more for the road.' I looked at the wolf sitting there watching his master, his snout was covered in blood. I just shook my head and told him that while he was at it to check the bodies for any papers we might be able to use. Any information about the enemy that we could use. Not that there was anything to be found. Looking at the carnage, I started to think about the next move. Where to go next. Bryce was asking me the very same questions I was asking myself. 'Do we continue on like this or try to go back to the original plan. Split up and hit the two targets at once.' I just shook my head, splitting up was no longer an option to me. Not at the moment, maybe not ever. 'Well how long do you think we will have before they notice all these guys are missing?’ I just shook my head again and told him we had maybe a day or two at the most.