“
Are you sure?” She nodded in the affirmative.
“
Yes I have given it a lot of thought and I am sure. I want to be by Loranda’s side, I have no wish to see the Enchanted lands. I just really need some time out.”
Wollfen looked at the table in thought and considered his options. He didn’t like having to lose one of his best but if that was what she wanted then he would not stand in the way.
“
Very well, you can go, I won’t stop you.” She smiled.
“
Thank you, I owe you a big one. I’ll make arrangements to journey back from hence we came. I am sure that once I get to Windere my father will give me an escort.” Wollfen shook his head.
“
No, you don’t need to do that. It would take you so long to get back and even with an escort there will still be dangers. I will take you now using the crystal.” Night’s eyes widened.
“
We can do that?” He nodded.
“
Of course. I can focus on Loranda’s beacon to get a bearing. It won’t take much at all. When I have got you there we can say our goodbyes and I can return to Dark’s beacon.”
“
That’s wonderful! I hadn’t thought of that!” Night sprung up all excited. “I had better prepare my stuff, we can go soon right?” Wollfen nodded again.
“
Yes as soon as you are ready.” Night dashed off to prepare her belongings and he turned to Dark. “I think that’s the happiest I have seen her in a long time.” Dark winked.
“
Oh if it was me I’d be happy too knowing I was returning to my lover’s arms.”
It was only a few minutes before Night stood with her bag ready and Wollfen went to the bedroom to get the crystal. He came out fully dressed and wearing his sword. Approaching Dark he spoke to her.
“
I am going to see Raz while I’m there and pass on some information. Also I’ll see if there have been any developments around Port Cholandra that might affect us. I shall be a day at the most. Is there anything you would want me to ask of him?” Dark shook her head.
“
No just say hello, but take care won’t you?” He smiled.
“
Of course I will.”
He gave her a big hug, as did Night. She looked at her and whispered in her ear.
“
I will miss you.” And they kissed.
They stood back and Night took Wollfen’s hand. He closed his eyes and a bright rectangular door structure appeared then they were gone. Dark sighed and looked around. Without the two of them there it was very quiet all of a sudden. When Wollfen got back things would seem a little duller without Night she thought.
In Port Volarus Loranda was sitting quietly looking out over the Verandah of her quarters. It was afternoon and the shadows were making interesting patterns across so many new buildings. Then all of a sudden Wollfen and Night were standing there beside her. She jumped up after gasping and grabbed the both of them around the neck getting a gagging sound from them as she hugged tightly.
“
Night, Wolf! What are you doing here?”
Night dropped her bag and without a word took Loranda in an embrace and shared a passionate kiss with her. Again Loranda gasped when they pulled apart.
“
I am never going to leave you again my love.”
There were tears in Night’s eyes as she spoke and Loranda couldn’t help but respond in the same way. They hugged and whimpered together for a minute as each of them felt the emotions flow.
Wollfen coughed and they broke out of their reverie. Loranda turned to him and gave him a playful pinch on his cheek.
“
Thank you for bringing her back wolf boy, I have missed you both but her most of all.”
“
That’s no problem, Night has been nothing but a pain in the ass to me all along. I’m glad to be rid of her.” Night punched him in the arm with a smile.
“
Bastard.”
“
Bitch.”
“
Sheep lover.”
“
Hey!” The two girls giggled, “Listen you two, go on, you know you want to go to bed. I’m going to go see Lord Raz, will he be in?”
Loranda nodded as the two of them held hands and watched Wollfen go. He turned and walked off in the direction he hoped was the main hall and the two girls went back inside giggling.
After about half an hour of wandering around a bit Wollfen managed to get his bearings and found himself in front of the hall. He entered and announced his presence. He was quickly ushered in to find Raz still sitting at his desk as always poring over paperwork and giving an attendant a hard time. Raz saw him come in.
“
Hello Wollfen, how have you been?”
“
I'm good Raz, I bring news.” Raz wasn’t sure he liked the way it was said.
“
You didn’t say good news. I was really hoping for that.”
“
I’m sorry Raz, but there is a war on you know?
“
Oh really? Do tell.”
Wollfen smiled and then began relaying all the developments that he knew including the latest information on spies selling information to the Isogorreans. And after he was done Raz shook his head.
“
You know, this winter is allowing us down here to be a whole lot stronger for when the thaw comes, but by the sounds of it the north is finding it very hard to deal with the situation.”
“
Yes they are in dire straights, but if I manage to convince the elves to send an expeditionary force south, I believe we can tip the balance. All Kassandrea has to do is hold on. That shouldn’t be too much trouble. Other than the supply problem, the Isogorreans seem content to sit and wait them out, that is to our advantage.”
Raz accepted his view on the situation. Things had been quiet all over, that of course wouldn’t stand true in the spring.
“
So how long before you get to the enchanted lands?”
“
It will take me another week to get to the garrisons on the edge of the high mountains. Maybe a day or two there then it’s a three week journey.” Raz thought for a moment adding the figures up.
“
That will cut it close won’t it? I mean if the Elves mobilize straight away they will only get back to Kassandrea two weeks before the thaw. The extra troops of Isogorr will have been in place by then for two weeks, they will be set and ready to go.”
That did present a problem, it would have been better to catch the Isogorrean columns coming to reinforce the siege before they reached their destination.
“
I think I will have to come up with an alternate plan. I just may go directly to the elvish lands via teleportation after all. I did want to use the journey through the high mountains to see what state the peoples were in there as well as look at the orcs. But that may be a luxury I can’t afford.” Wollfen considered what options he had right now before making such a decision. “What I’ll do is go to the garrisons of the mountain edge and seek what intelligence I can from them. They should be able to give me a good outline of how things are before I need to go on. Yes, I’ll teleport from the Garrisons directly. By then I will have gathered as much information as possible before talking to the elves.”
It was decided. They would have more time in the enchanted lands too to get things right this way.
Back at Loranda’s quarters, Wollfen let himself in and stood there listening. There were no noises coming from the bedroom so he went over and knocked on the door.
“
Come in.”
Wollfen entered and found both Night and Loranda sitting up in bed. Night was modest enough to cover herself but Loranda had her breasts exposed.
“
Hello girls, and yes Loranda, you are still a total tease.” Loranda gave a big smile.
“
But of course, did you expect anything less?” Night giggled.
Wollfen came over and sat on the edge of the bed next to Night.
“
I will be leaving now, you two are happy?”
They both nodded without hesitation. Night leaned up, put her arms around him and gave him a big hug. She whispered into his ear.
“
Thank you for everything Wollfen, even the bad has been helpful.”
He nodded and as Night pulled away a little she stopped, then leaned in again and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“
Where’s mine?”
Wollfen rolled his eyes and nodded again. Loranda slid out over the sheet and climbed across Night’s legs planting a big one on his lips. She then pulled back licking her lips.
“
Yup, you always taste good,” she winked. Wollfen looked at both of them.
“
I will see you people soon okay?”
They nodded as he stood with the crystal in his hand, there was a bright light and he vanished. Night couldn’t help but feel a little sense of loss, she would miss him.
BETRAYAL
The farmer watched out through a crack in his boarded window as the orcs surrounded the cabin they were in. His wife and five children were there as well as the four farmhands. The orcs had shown up early in the morning as he had begun walking the cows in to milk them and now a number of the animals were lying dead. The orcs had opened up from a distance with arrows as they had approached. It had given the family enough time to get inside and secure the doors and windows.
The orcs were gathering around the building and watching on. There were so many. The farmer couldn’t understand what was going on. Orcs hadn't ever attacked established farms before. If you were alone or maybe one other person with you out in the middle of nowhere, sure, but this? Orcs didn't ever travel in these numbers either. None of it made any sense.
“
Dad?”
His teenage son and daughter were behind him, he turned and accepted the proffered weapon.
“
Hey Josh, thanks for the crossbow. Mary will you stay with the other kids and watch over them in the cellar?” She gave a grim smile.
“
Yes dad.”
Off she went. He called out to two of his farmhands watching the back.
“
Let me know of developments of any kind!”
His wife was watching out the next window across. He looked at her holding her own crossbow at the ready, she was a tough woman who would put up a good fight especially with the children's lives at stake. One of the farmhands looking out another window to the side called out.
“
There are riders! Look!”
They all stared out at a line of four riders galloping line abreast parallel to the front of the house. They were all holding crossbows and firing as they went. A number of orcs went down and a small group gathered in the center stood their ground as the horses bore down on them. The riders didn’t hesitate in running them over and there were loud shrieks as the orcs were trampled. Two of the riders turned and rode back firing again at three remaining orcs and two went down, the third was trampled by a rider who had blonde hair flowing out behind. It was a women screaming and yelling as she backed the horse up and continued to stomp the last orc into the ground.
The other two riders were chasing the other fleeing orcs cutting them down with swords as they went. One of them was a large man and particularly ferocious. Each time he swung his blade an orc would lose a limb or his head. The orcs were routed. Those two riders turned and trotted back towards the house, pulled up at the front verandah and dismounted. The other two followed suit.
The farmer went to the front door and removed the beam of wood across it to allow it open. He pulled the door back and was greeted by the largest man of the group, tall with wavy brown hair and a light scar on his cheek. The rider extended his hand to the farmer and spoke,
“
Hello, my name is Wollfen.” He shook his hand and welcomed the people in.
“
I must thank you, you could not have come at a more opportune moment. Please come take a seat and let me introduce you to my family and workers.”
The four strangers sat down, nodded and gave welcoming hellos between them all.
“
This is my wife Ambelynne and that is my son Reeve and my daughter Jolynne.” He pointed to the three young ones in turn, “And that is Faelynne, Kara and Brons. My four farmhands here are Koror, Anders, Regnart and she is Lisett. My own name is Karls.” Again polite hellos were exchanged and it was Wollfen’s turn.
“
May I introduce my partner, Darkling Bruadar of the Nightclan Berengah. That is Vaughn of Port Cholandra and last but not least Sergeant Burkhard of Port Volarus.” Karls took note of Darkling, he had believed that all Nightclans people were dead.
“
I thank you all for having come and saved us. We are not equipped to handle such aggression. The orcs have never traveled through these lands in numbers before and have always steered clear of any farms.” Wollfen looked around at them all.
“
We are only too happy to help. Unfortunately we cannot stay though. We are on a mission to the enchanted lands to seek assistance from the elves. In view of the circumstances that are revealing themselves here, I think it would be prudent for you and your family to make a serious decision on whether you should stay here or not. The orcs that came here today is not an isolated incident, we have heard and seen evidence of this becoming a much more common thing.”
Karls and Ambelynne looked at each other and then to the children.
“
What do you suppose would be our best destination?”
“
I believe you should head south to Windere. It is well suited to families and will be able to give you the protection you need for now.” Again the farmer looked to his wife who nodded.
“
You are probably right, but we fear that the siege of Kassandrea may go badly, what then? I would expect Windere would be a target after that.” Wollfen nodded.
“
Yes that is always a possibility, but even if such an improbable thing was to happen you would have time to move on and possibly make your way to Oceania. They have a strong garrison there and also have access to the sea.”
“
We shall move out today and take what we can with us. Is there anything we can do for you right now?” Wollfen looked to the others and could see they were hungry.
“
Would a hot meal be too much to ask?” Ambelynne jumped up.
“
Of course not! I will prepare a broth already simmering on the fire for you.” They all got busy.
The children ran and sat on the lap of their dad as he made himself comfortable, the eldest daughter went to help her mother. The son made his way out with the farmhands. There was much work to do before they could leave.
Later that day Wollfen and the other three were riding along again heading for the garrisons of the high mountains. They had seen the family off on their two wagons with a couple of extra weapons for defense. Wollfen didn’t think they should have too much trouble getting to Dark’s old village at the very least. From there it would be easy going for them. Vaughn and Burkhard were talking to each other with Dark sitting quietly beside him as they rode along. The excitement that morning had broken up the ride of the last five days from Dark’s village and it had felt good to make a difference in someone’s lives. Vaughn spoke up and addressed Wollfen after a while.
“
Wollfen, can you tell us of orcs and their history? Both Burkhard and I haven’t had any experience of them until this journey.” Wollfen turned in his saddle a bit.
“
It’s a bit of a story but I’ll do my best. Over a thousand years ago, the elven communities were many in number and were spread out across the lands of this world. There were probably five communities on this land alone. One was south of here inland of where Port Volarus is now. The one north of here that we travel to and another three dotted in the far east. It was normal for these communities to not have contact with each other for a few years at a time.
Anyway one community in particular in the very far east was quiet for a number of years and it took another couple of years before the other elven communities became concerned. There simply was no contact and when messages were sent for a centennial gathering of their leaders no reply was received. Scouting parties were sent out after that to reestablish contact with the Elves of that community but when they got there all they found amongst the ruins of the city were orcs. Up until then no one had ever seen an orc or even knew they existed, it was the first contact of that kind.
The troop drove the orcs out of the city and began an inspection of it looking for what may have become of the elves. Over the next year or so they delved into the records there and did a lot of detective work. This is where it gets creepy, turns out that the elves never left, the orcs were what remained of the elven community. The elves were the orcs that were driven out. And having driven the orcs out they spread into the mountains and since then have always existed. They have continued to breed amongst themselves and be a bane on the land. For the last thousand years or so they have done their own thing and have only ever clashed with other races whenever they have come across each others path. They have never formed societies or established any armies at all, simply been out there and existed.
The elves spent many centuries dedicated to finding out what happened to that community and helping their brethren, but what became clear after awhile was that they are totally lost. They have no soul and obey no gods. They are an aberration of life, an existence that has no meaning or purpose. The elves finally accepted that they could not be saved and since then whenever they have been found there has been no hesitation in killing them. No one has ever been able to establish how the elves fell as they did, how it was that they became those orcs.
Now we come here to today and things have changed. Orcs are banding together in numbers and have even worked together to defeat a target. It was only a few years ago that the Nightclans of the wilds beyond the high mountains were eliminated in a concentrated push by the orcs. It should have rung alarm bells but no one has appreciated the ramifications of that incident. I believe they are changing. How and why I do not know, but the fact that they are becoming more active here in these lands and in numbers too speaks of bad to come.”
They all sat there riding along quietly, Dark lost in her thoughts of her old Nightclan and the other two behind mulling over the story.
“
So really, they are nothing but a scourge on this land right?” Wollfen nodded to the question.
“
Yes why are you concerned?” Vaughn showed a side of himself that surprised Wollfen.
“
I have thought that maybe they could be negotiated with, that maybe they had a right to exist too. I thought maybe if agreements could be made that somehow orcs and people could get along together a bit better.” Wollfen turned to him.
“
That is a laudable attitude Vaughn. In fact if it were any other race, any other beings at all I would say kudos’ to you for saying so. But when it comes to orcs, they have no interest whatsoever in parley or cooperation. When they see you, two things enter their mind, are you dangerous and what would you taste like as food? They have no other interests in us beyond that.”
Vaughn let out a big sigh, it was simple view of an entire race but somehow it made things more complicated.
“
You would think that an intelligent race would naturally be able to think with reason.” Wollfen turned in his saddle again and looked him in the eye.
“
Yes one would think so eh?”
The afternoon passed without any more deep conversation and evening came. They made camp and had a quiet time eating beef jerky before bedding down. Two of them would stay up watch at a time. The orcs of the morning made them more aware of the dangers that lurked out in the darkness here.
They awoke to a moderate snowfall that morning and packed their supplies on the horses. There was one more day to the main garrison and if this snow continued, the idea of being there was a welcome thought indeed. They set off again and rode steadily through the morning, it was about an hour before midday when Vaughn spoke up quietly,
“
Off to the right, distance about two hundred yards, small band of orcs shadowing us.”
Wollfen nodded without replying and he gave a sideways glance. There were maybe four of them, this sort of activity was highly unusual. He very carefully turned the horses direction ever so slightly, so the orcs wouldn’t notice. The gap would close slowly and Wollfen would have to gauge an attack based on when he thought the orcs would realize they were getting closer.
The gap closed to one hundred and fifty yards when Wollfen gave the order and they jumped into a gallop making a beeline for the four orcs. It was about two seconds before the orcs realized they had been spotted and took off in the opposite direction away from the oncoming party. Wollfen and company took all of twenty seconds to run them down, swinging swords as they went past and cutting them apart. Black blood sprayed across the snow and only one managed to cry out. They reined in and went to the fallen bodies, wisps of steam rising from the open wounds.
Wollfen dismounted and went over to the body of one. It smelled bad and he had to hold his nose even in the cold. Turning the orc over he inspected the creature and searched pockets but Wollfen found nothing. They looked like normal orcs to him. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for, something, anything out of the ordinary. He stood up and scanned the outlying forest. There didn’t appear to be any others either. Mounting his horse Wollfen signaled for them to move out. At least these orcs wouldn’t be giving anybody trouble anymore.
Later that afternoon the snow was still falling and they spotted the main garrison. It was a four-walled stone fort standing in the middle of the open, it held maybe a thousand men. There were smaller embattlements every half-mile and they each held about one hundred men. Most of the men inside were on rotation with the other smaller embattlements with this fort basically being an R&R station and headquarters.