Chapter 3

Cloak and Dagger

The road was easy to travel, which was lucky as it was going to be difficult to catch the orcs, who had a big head start. Even though Zanian had supplied the three companions with horses, they would be hard pressed to catch up.

Despite their evil and chaotic nature orcs can be quite remarkable creatures, even though they have a stocky, heavy build, they have the ability to travel great distances in very short amounts of time. The companions knew this, and had been riding hard, but the orcs were still no-where in sight.

It had been a very uneventful ride across the plains, at this time of the year the nomadic tribes can usually be found close to the mountains, following the herds of deer they hunt. Which means that most of the caravans took the north-western road, where as the companions were heading south-west.

They rode for three days before reaching the forest, only stopping for short periods of time, to sleep and eat. This wasn’t exactly to Roscoe’s taste, as he had gotten used to the easy life of three meals a day, four on some days, he was also used to a full nights sleep, not just the couple of hours the companions could afford to have.

Finally they reached the edge of the forest, they hadn’t seen the orcs since the night in the bar, but they hoped that it would be easy to pick up there trail when they entered the forest, orcs may be able to travel quickly, but being discreet is not one of there strong points. These orcs would not be able to travel through this forest without leaving an easy trail to follow.

Travelling through the forest wasn’t going to be easy, the companions would not be able to take the horses with them, as they would slow their speed greatly, making it even harder for them to catch the orcs as they would still be able to keep up their quick pace, even through the dense woodland.

Adokas was the first of the of the companions to enter the forest, he spent a short time examining the forest, looking to see if he could pick up the orcs trail. Roscoe and Thoril started to unload the horses. It didn’t take Adokas long to pick up the orcs trail, they were following exactly the same route Roscoe had drawn on his map.

“Can you tell how much time they have on us?” Thoril asked as he walked up to his elven friend.

“About an hour, we have been gaining on them,” replied the skilled ranger.

“Can you tell how many there are?”

“You don’t want to know.” By now Roscoe was stumbling over to where Thoril and Adokas stood.

“What don’t we want to know?” He asked, trying to compose himself slightly.

Both Adokas and Thoril looked to each other, neither wanted to tell the little bard what odds they were facing. “We should get going.” Thoril suggested.

Adokas took the lead through the forest, following the trail left by the orcs. He occasionally asked Roscoe if they were heading in the direction of the ruins, which they always were, in exactly the same way Roscoe had shown on his map.

Their pace had slowed greatly since the trio had entered the forest; Adokas was still able to travel at high speed, having spent most of his life wandering his woodland home. Thoril and Roscoe however were not used to this type of terrain, although both had done their share of travelling in the past Roscoe much preferred country lanes, and Thoril spent most of his time experimenting with his magic in the luxurious mage house.

“Hold up,” called Adokas from a little way in front of Roscoe.

“Be quiet, do you want the orcs to hear us?” snapped Roscoe, more than a little worried.

“Don’t worry so much my little friend, there’s only one orc likely to have heard me, and he is quite dead.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Thoril, who was bringing up the rear.

“I’m talking about the poorly hidden corps over there.” replied Adokas with a grin. Adokas pointed over to his left, where there was a large pile of freshly ripped up foliage, half covering the corps he was talking about.

“What do you think happened?” Asked Thoril as he took a closer look.

“Does it matter? Its one less orc for us to worry about.” chuckled Roscoe.

“It matters because someone or something killed it, and although it may be intelligent enough to try to hide the body but isn’t too bothered if it is found.” explained Thoril.

“Perhaps it was just killed by the other orcs, as punishment for something,” suggested Roscoe.

“No, if that was the case this poor soul would have been strung up for everyone to see, as a warning to others, no he was probably a scout of some kind, killed by someone who doesn’t like orcs much.” said Adokas, “By the look of his injuries it was an experienced swordsman who did this, they knew exactly where to strike so the creature died quick and easily.”

“Well if it was someone who doesn’t like orcs then that’s a good thing isn’t it?”

“Not necessarily my small friend, there are many things in this world that dislike both orcs and Halflings alike.” chuckled Thoril.

“We should keep moving,” said Adokas, “About how far are we from the ruins?”

“We’re getting close.”

“That explains why there was a scout; he was probably keeping watch for us as the others searched the ruins.”

The three companions continued through the forest, now trying to move much quieter than they had been, hoping that they could sneak up on the orcs, hoping that the orcs hadn’t found what they were looking for.

It didn’t take the companions long to find the ruins, but they did not expect what they found. The ruins were in the middle of a large clearing; there was a surprisingly small amount of plant growth in the area, even after the centuries this place had been abandoned. The only vegetation that thrived in this area was a thick green vine that covered the crumbled foundations of the ancient temple.

It wasn’t the lack of foliage that surprised the companions when they caught their first glimpse of the clearing; it was the large number of orc corpses. By the looks of things all of these orcs were killed by only two men, the two men who were still in the clearing, and the two men who were still fighting against what looked like overwhelming odds.

The first of the men was a knight of some kind, he was wearing full plate mail armour, the sun was shining off of his large polished silver shield and his blood stained sword. The second man was cloaked and hooded; he was wielding a long slender sword in one hand, and a curved dagger in the other.

The three companions slowly took a few steps into the clearing, staring in disbelief at the scene before them. By the looks of the amount of orcs there, these two warriors had been against an entire orc tribe, and by the amount of these orcs that were already dead, they were winning.

“It would appear we have an audience.” called the hooded man.

“If we ask nicely they may be kind enough to help,” replied the armoured man, in a low gruff voice. It didn’t take long for Adokas to pick up on this hint, with lightning speed he had his bow in hand, and by the time the closest orcs to where he was standing had turned to face him, one of them already had an arrow in his neck.

The three companions now found themselves in a fight for their lives, and so dropped their packs, and prepared to face the orcs. After Adokas had killed the first of his new foes he drew his sword and charged into battle, Thoril raised his staff and began chanting the beginnings of a spell. Roscoe however retreated back into the woods slightly, knowing he would be no good in a straight fight, so he decided that he would be better suited to stay away from the main action and use his crossbow.

From Roscoe’s position he had a good view of the entire battle, he spent the first few moments looking to see where his crossbow could be put to the best use. He first thought to help the two strangers, as they had quite plainly been fighting for a while, but after a few moments watching them he realised that they in no way needed his aid. The hooded man first appeared to be in the most trouble, as there were a great deal more orcs around him than any of the others, but upon closer inspection Roscoe saw that he was in complete control of his situation. His swift movements and the precise strikes of his blades meant that he was more than a match for the orcs, each swing of his sword; each thrust of his dagger either maimed or killed one of his enemies.

The armoured man also appeared to be handling himself well too, although he was not as efficient in his fighting style as the hooded man was, he was still having little trouble dealing with the orcs he faced. His fighting style was very methodical, and precise, he looked as though he had been trained in one of the great knight schools.

Roscoe now turned his attention to his companions; Adokas was using his speed and agility to run rings around his opponents. Thoril however was having a little bit of difficulty.

Thoril was not as well trained in close combat as the others; he needed more space so he could cast his spells. This was the reason Roscoe decided to try to keep the orcs at bay from Thoril. It had been a long time since Roscoe had used his crossbow in combat, but he proved on this day that he had not lost his touch. Each bolt he fired hit its target, although he was not as accurate as Adokas with his bow, he did drive the orcs back away from Thoril, most were just clutching at painful wounds, but it gave Thoril the chance he needed to put his powerful magic into action.

The battle raged for quite a time, swords clashed, bolts flew, and magic was thrown. The numbers of orcs fell swiftly, which made Roscoe’s confidence grow greatly. As his confidence grew, Roscoe began to move closer to the fighting, as he tried to get a better aim at his enemies. This extra confidence Roscoe gained meant that he began to be less cautious, which almost became his undoing.

Roscoe had completely left his concealment by now, and was still taking aim at the orcs closest to Thoril. There was a loud grunt behind Roscoe, and with a quick glance over his shoulder Roscoe realised the folly in leaving his concealed position. The halfling spun around as swiftly, aiming his crossbow at this new foe. He was not fast enough though, the orc just laughed, and knocked the crossbow from Roscoe’s hand, and sent him sprawling backwards.

Roscoe saw the orc advancing on him; the orc raised its large serrated blade, the halfling closed his eyes tightly as the orc brought its sword down in an arc, “Hashnay!” he cried as he expected to feel the orcs weapon to strike, but to his surprise the blow never came.

Roscoe opened his eyes to see what had happened, and he was surprised to see the hooded warrior before him, arm extended.

“That was close my small friend.” said the hooded figure as he helped Roscoe to his feet.

“I’m just glad you arrived before he finished his swing.” Roscoe replied gratefully.

“Yes, thought you would be,” said the man, sounding a little confused. They both now turned their attention to the rest of the fighting. Most of the orcs were now dead, and many of those which did remain looked as though they would be dead shortly, the rest were beginning to make a hasty retreat into the forest.

After the fighting was over everyone made their introductions Roscoe took a moment to have a closer look at the two men, it was at this point that he realised that because of their clothing he could not actually see any part of either of them.

It was the hooded man who introduced himself first, “My name is Solaris,” he said as he lowered his hood to reveal a pale-skinned face, with long fiery red hair, on the left side of his face there was a tattoo of flames, this tattoo came up from his neck, and went up around one of his pale yellow eyes.

The armoured man now stepped forward and introduced himself. “I am Jamaan, son of Jameel, paladin of the highest order of Vanola.”

“Well met, my name is Thoril Serpenthelm, and these are my companions Adokas Loreweaver, and Roscoe Thorngage.”

“Many thanks for your aid, but what brings you to this remote place?” asked Solaris.

“We were actually tracking these orcs, hoping to find an artefact which they were also searching for,” replied Adokas.

The main conversation started to dwindle; Adokas and Thoril began to search the crumbled foundations. Jamaan started to pile up all of the orc corpses at one end of the clearing. Solaris took this time to speak with Roscoe.

“Tell me Roscoe, what does Hashnay mean?” he asked.

“Excuse me?” Roscoe replied, slightly confused by the question.

“Hashnay,” clarified Solaris, “you called it out when that orc was attacking you.”

“I don’t know, I didn’t realise that I had said anything.”

“Interesting.” Solaris seemed slightly preoccupied for a moment, “I think your friends may need a little help in their search.” Roscoe looked over to his two companions.

“You’re probably right,” he said, not knowing exactly how much use he would be, but he still went to offer his services.

Roscoe had almost reached his companions by the time Solaris heard the voice from behind him.

“You are not welcome here.” came the voice.

“I proved your people could trust me a long time ago.” Solaris replied.

“But they have not, the wizard digs too close to that which is hidden, and we cannot allow it to be disturbed.”

“They will not disturb the gateway, I promise you this.”

“How can you make promises for people you have just met?”

“Do you doubt my word?” asked Solaris as he now turned to face this man.

“No, I doubt your judgement.” At this point everyone in the clearing, bar Solaris and the man he was speaking to, found several swords pointed at each of their throats, these swords were held by what looked like elves, who appeared from no-where.

“What is the meaning of this?” called Jamaan.

“Is this really necessary?” asked Solaris.

“Why do you draw swords against your own kind?” asked Adokas.

“You are not our kind.” Spat the man closest to Adokas.

“You deny you are elven?” asked Roscoe, more than a little confused.

“Look at there eyes Roscoe.” called Solaris from where he stood. Roscoe did as instructed and noticed that there was no iris or pupil; they were entirely silver in colour.

“Etharii,” muttered Adokas.

“Etharii?” asked Roscoe.

“They are very rare, related to elves, but they live on the ethereal plane.” Explained Solaris as he approached the others.

“You are trespassing in our lands, we are bound by an ancient oath to protect these ruins, and that which is hidden within them.” said the etharii which had been talking to Solaris.

“We are sorry to trespass, but perhaps you could help us,” started Adokas.

“And why should we help an elf? You never helped us when we needed it,” asked another of the etharii bitterly. There was a long silence after this, and the tension began to grow.

Solaris eventually broke the silence, “I was wondering if you could tell me where the Bolt of Vanola lies?” he asked the etharii he had been speaking with. The mention of this fabled weapon caught the attention of Jamaan, and Roscoe’s two companions.

“Jovan’s bow no longer lays here.” was the reply.

“Where is it now?” asked Thoril urgently.

“It was taken by the orcs, along with Malkay’s sword.”

“You would let orcs lay their filthy hands upon Jovan’s mighty bow? How could you let them take it?” Asked Jamaan, sounding more than a little angry.

“The bow is no concern of ours, we were only charged to protect the gateway, anything else that was left here matters not to us.”

“How long ago did they take the bow?” asked Thoril.

“Why are we answering their questions?” asked one of the etharii.

“Because they are with a trusted friend to our people.”

“If it was the orcs who found the bow, won’t it still be hear somewhere?” asked Roscoe.

“Not necessarily, do you see that leader who was in the bar?” replied Adokas.

“If you are searching for the bow, then it is no longer here, which means you have no reason to remain.”

“If we leave quickly we may be able to catch them.” Adokas suggested.

“The quicker you leave the better.” said another of the etharii.

“You will not catch the orcs, they have used some strange magic to speed up there escape. They are already far from the borders of our forest,” informed the man who had been speaking to Solaris.

“Then our mission has failed.” said Thoril.

“We should still go to seek Nasgaroth’s council.” Suggested Adokas.

“Fanell,” started Solaris as he turned to face the etharii he had spoke with earlier, “Tell your men to lower their weapons; there is no need for any violence here. I would speak to you privately.” The etharii thought for a moment, and then turned to his men.

“Lower your weapons, but stay on guard,” Fanell then turned back to Solaris, “They have not yet earned our trust.”

“That is fair, now can we speak?”

“Certainly.” Both of the men walked to the far side of the clearing and began to talk.

The etharii backed off from the others, who all moved in closer together so they could speak.

“Tell me Jamaan, who is this Solaris, and why does he seem so friendly with the etharii?” asked Adokas.

“I’m not too sure, I only met Solaris a month ago, and he does not speak too much of himself.” Jamaan explained.

Roscoe was only half listening to the conversation; he was watching the conversation across the clearing, which seemed to be becoming a little heated. Adokas and Thoril began to plan what they would do next.

“Do you wish us to leave you back in Calamshan Roscoe?” asked Thoril.

“Well, yes, I guess so.” Roscoe replied. At this point Solaris returned to the group, Fanell went to speak with his men.

“He has agreed to aid us.” Solaris began, “You know Roscoe I think you will enjoy meeting Nasgaroth, it is quite a unique experience.”

“I’m not going to the meeting; I was only guiding the others here.” Roscoe explained.

“No, I think that you should come with us to the meeting.” said Solaris.

“You will be joining us?” asked Adokas.

“It has been a long time since I last saw Nasgaroth, and I think it could be an interesting trip.” The etharii now started to disappear, as they began to return to the ethereal plain. Fanell approached the group.

“Our steeds will take you as far as Calamshan, but no further.” he said.

“Many thanks, it will cut days from our journey.” said Solaris gratefully as four griffins appeared as if from no-where. Each of the griffins had one etharii rider, and looked to have room for one passenger.

“The halfling will have to share a mount,” explained Fanell.

“He can ride with me,” said Solaris before anyone else could make an offer, “Perhaps I can take the time to talk him into joining us on our visit to Nasgaroth.” The now five strong party mounted the griffins. It took them only mere hours to reach Calamshan on the griffins.

When they arrived in Calamshan the companions dismounted, and the etharii took no time in shifting back to the ethereal plain and set off back to their woodland home. The companions decided that they would stay the night in Calamshan, and set out to see Nasgaroth in the morning. Roscoe spoke to Zanian and got the party some cheap rooms in the Cattle Shed. During the trip back to Calamshan Solaris had succeeded in talking Roscoe into travelling with the rest of them to see Nasgaroth, so he turned in early, realising that he was in for a long and interesting journey.

Next Chapter: Chapter 4 - Friend or Foe