“The existence of the Korathi Allied States comes as a bit of an oddity. After the Third Dark Tide, a large tribal migration occurred from the Starhollow mountains as thousands upon thousands poured down from the slopes and ravaged Northern Traxia. Only with the deployment of an entire legion did the tide get stemmed. Ironically enough, one of Traxia’s nemesis, the Lucurian Sultanate also deployed troops to counter this barbarian advance. Meaning that the operation to contain the now Korathi barbarian tribes in their modern territory marked one of the few times that both Traxia and Lucuria weren’t actively hostile to each other. Truly an unheard of thing given that both states now wage what could be termed a silent war against each other, though thankfully there have been no intensive military actions since the establishment of the new norm.”
- Military Analyst Kostian Galmshire, Gratian Military Academy - Axtimos Battalion - “Birth of Korath”
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The sour mood and dire expressions made Mila feel right at home. They reminded her of an inquisitorial briefing, and those always brought some sense of order into her chaotic life. Though this was a tad too ad-hoc for her liking, with emotions running high as stress and anxieties warped its way through the gathered crowd.
Tensions were already running high at the inquisitor’s sudden disappearance, Annalise most of all. Her arrival had elicited a small wave of relief, moments before her news of the orc siege army devastated what little morale was recovered. It had obviously unnerved many of the caravaneers that they were encamped so close to an entire orc army, the merchants eager to get away, the guards even more so. They had brought in the inquisitor and the ranger to debate on plans on how to escape beyond detection range though truthfully, neither of them paid much attention to the ongoing discussion. Annalise was eager to return to Harweald by any means possible and Mila knew that, thus she watched the girl like a hawk, making sure that, if the ranger did try to slip away, that she’d be on her tail.
Annalise was like a warhorse, rearing up and ready to go, only held back by the faint notion that she was also crippled. The ranger looked particularly frustrated in Mila’s eyes, her anxiety likely not being helped by how the caravaneers didn’t even broach the subject of saving the town. Mila didn’t blame them, a single caravan could hardly save a town against an entire army of orcs. But Annalise was ready to pop.
“What about the town then?” Annalise snapped.
“What about it?” The caravan master responded.
“Are we just gonna leave everyone to die?”
“Yes, if it means the rest of us survive to warn other towns nearby, perhaps alert a garrison or two.”
“But all the innocents there, are we to just leave them to the orcs?”
“And what would you have us do?” Fridolph asked sarcastically, “We’ve barely a dozen fighters, maybe a dozen and a half if you include the merchants, but they’re pretty much non combatants. There’s nothing we can do.”
“We have to do something! Didn’t you hear her?!” Annalise pointed at Mila, “The orcs are building a wall around the town, they want to starve the people to death, surely there’s something.”
“Look, we’re people of the land too. We care. So it hurts us just as much to not be able to help them in a time of need. But realistically, us interfering might either speed up the siege, provoke a response, or we die trying. Because tell me, how many orcs do you genuinely think we can bring down before we’re overwhelmed?” The caravan master shot back.
Annalise scowled but accepted the verdict. The head guard had spoken the truth, they were outnumbered and outmatched. The caravan master too, was correct. It was unlikely they could go toe to toe with more than a single squad of orcs before being overwhelmed. Sensing a little less hostility, the caravan master sighed loudly and turned back to the hastily unfurled map on a crate.
“As we were saying. If we take this road here,” He pointed to an area that skirted past the Harweald basin just beyond the south western rim, “we should be able to reconnect with the main road here.” He pointed at another location.
“And the three of us will ride back to Fernsreach.” One of the guards nodded at another and the caravan master’s assistant.
“Correct. You three will ride back as fast as you can to warn the people there and hopefully alert the capital or nearby garrisons for reinforcements. The rest of us will continue pushing hard east to reach the eastern towns and sound the alarm there.” The master continued.
“You have a limited window to get away.” Mila chimed in, her stern voice catching everyone’s attention, “I don’t know how often they check on their patrols but I had to kill two to get up close to confirm. If they find those bodies, then heading east will be a whole lot harder.”
“Mila!” Annalise snapped, but Mila held up a warning finger before mouthing later. An act that surprised the ranger enough to silence her for now.
“Blast. Why didn’t you hide those bodies? The orcs could be swarming all over by now.” Fridolph complained.
“Wasn’t exactly planning a prolonged operation.” Mila snarkily replied.
“Grah, whatever.”
“Enough, as the inquisitor says, we do not have a lot of time. Pack up the essentials and let’s move. I want us ready to go in five minutes.” The caravan master interjected.
“What?” His assistant exclaimed, “But that’s-”
“I’d rather us not be dead. Get moving.”
At that the caravaneers broke their gathering and hastily jumped to their tasks, the camp disassembling around them. Mila found Annalise glaring at her and only beckoned for the ranger to come over, the latter reluctantly doing so.
“What? Gonna rub it in?” Annalise hissed.
“No.”
“Oh? Actually feel remorse for not saving the people? Maybe a little-”
“Enough. Ranger. My village was burned to the ground when I was young, my family slain. I know how those people suffer.” Mila growled.
Annalise paused, her anger now uncertain but not entirely abating, stuck in limbo.
“But enough of me, there will be other chances to discuss that.” Mila frowned, “Do you recall what I said at the meeting?”
“That we need to leave because of you killing orcs? Or that we shouldn’t help the people.” Annalise snarked.
“No, that there was a limited timeframe for us to escape in.”
“Yeah? So?”
“The same timeframe that we have to get in and out.”
At that Annalise suddenly perked up, the anger still hidden behind her eyes but they too filled with more hope than hate. Mila sighed internally in relief but groaned in frustration just the same, I stopped her from blowing up but now we’re just as liable to die.
“Oh…” Annalise finally said.
“Yeah, oh.” Mila grunted.
“So umm…”
“You stick to my plan. We ride in, we ride out. Our only stop is the tavern.”
“But if she’s not-”
“If she’s not there, she’s fucked anyways. We have one shot at this. Once we hit the tavern, we drag her out kicking and screaming if need be. But if she’s not there, we’re leaving at once.” Mila stated, leaving no room for argument.
“Yeah, but if she’s home…”
“Then too bad, or do you really think you can guide her to the horse on that crippled ass leg of yours.”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Annalise visibly recoiled at the harsh comment, the fury bristling in her eyes. But, as their eyes met, Annalise bit her tongue and Mila knew that this was something the ranger already knew as truth, yet didn’t want to admit.
“Look. The window of success is shrinking. Get the horses ready, I’ll rip everything down, okay? The longer we stand here, the less time we’ll have.”
“Fine.” Annalise gritted her teeth.
Mila didn’t even wait for the ranger to begin hobbling away before she turned and hurried to where they had their supply packs placed. Without thinking, she pulled all her strength into lifting the packs and brought them over to their mounts, the horses having been already unhitched by Annalise.
“Where the hells are you two going?” Fridolph’s voice echoed from behind them.
“We said we’re bound for Harweald, we’re going in then out.” Mila responded tersely.
“By the saint damned hells you must be mad.” The guard cursed.
“Maybe, but it’s what we’re here to do and we’ll see it done.”
“Mad, the two of ye.” He sighed, “But, in that case, Astralis’s Blessings upon ye.”
“And may you all be blessed by the stars as well.” Mila replied on instinct.
“Blessed by the stars.” The man nodded, “Good luck.”
Annalise gave him a silent nod whilst Mila hopped onto Ash, the inquisitor giving him a curt nod as well. With the reins in her hands, she traded one glance with the ranger and spurred Ash forward. One chance, we’ve got one chance at this. If Serilda was here, she’d yell at me until I was deaf. Still, may the Goddess watch over us.
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The plan was as simple as they come, a simple distract and grab. Annalise would ride straight for the tavern, doing whatever she needed to extract Kimmie from the town. Mila would meanwhile, ride two rotations around the basin, drawing what attention she could before shaking them off into the eastward forests, hopefully losing them so she could rejoin Anna back at the shortcut. It was so simple that Mila knew something would go wrong. But, there was no time left to doubt, they were too close now to easily retreat, and she doubted Annalise would give up anyhow.
Mila was concerned though, her earlier assessment of Annalise back in Arteria was one of a grief stricken girl desiring to protect what little she had that she loved. Slightly obsessive perhaps, but from a place of genuine care and concern. Yet, when she looked at the ranger now, she saw not the same person as before, but as a girl transformed into someone wholly devoted to her one goal to the point of insanity. The ranger had begun quietly muttering to herself and also offering the one tell tale sign that Mila had identified as the ranger losing her grip on sanity. She would scratch at her phantom leg when stressed, but now, she had eschewed her still attached leg and Mila often caught the ranger scratching at thin air almost incessantly, as if the leg was still there. It was worrying and more so in that Mila had no idea what to do. Her training only amounted to either purging crazy people or taking them into custody for more senior inquisitors, she wasn’t prepared for this.
A soft rustle alerted her to the edge of their patch of trees and she glanced over to the ranger, making sure the girl was paying attention. Annalise looked back and nodded resolutely, she was ready.
“Remember, in and out, don’t fuck around. I can’t keep them busy for long.” Mila reminded her.
The ranger nodded and let out a deep breath, her hand scratching at her missing leg again.
With another rustle, they finally crested the small patch, reaching the edge of the trees and able to take in the entire basin. Area itself looked like a damp, wilting green, the houses looking relatively untouched during the orcish occupation bar ones on the outskirts or near the edge of the basin. What was even more horrifying were the vast orcish palisades that now impeded most access points in and out of the basin. The main roads were blocked and they were now clearing most of the surrounding trees to build more palisades where the thickets were. The entrance that the duo used was one of the few patches of trees that they hadn’t cut down yet. Mila knew that time was ticking and they had to act fast.
“Stay low, ride fast. Try not to get killed and try not to get me killed. We’ll rendezvous back at the campsite hill if we can. If not, just keep riding till you lose your pursuers.” Mila grumbled.
Annalise gave another tense nod. Go time.
“Hyah!” Mila spurred Ash forward and her mount broke into a gallop, breaking past the treeline and into the basin proper.
She could feel the lag time as stray shouts and yelps of surprise slowly echoed between the orcish sentries caught up, their brains trying to comprehend the strange rider that now traversed past their line. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a quick shadow move from where she had started and felt a modicum of relief. She’s through.
The orcs were another problem. After their initial shock wore off, two fearsome warg riders bounded past the palisades and descended to chase her. Their terrifying muscular and powerful mounts snarled at the thought of fresh meat. She could only pray that Ash was fast enough to keep them away, for orcs were formidable foes in melee. She had gotten lucky earlier by eliminating two whilst they were unaware, but these ones were aware, and Mila was uncertain about her chances in a toe to toe melee, preferring to hopefully never find out.
“C’mon Ash, move, move!” She yelled openly, stealth no longer required.
Ash nickered for a brief moment as he continued pressing forward, motivated either by Mila’s frantic commands or the ever hungry jaws of the wargs behind. The wargs growled and howled as they chased after their prey, their handlers letting out guttural grunts. Mila glanced back just in time to see the riders readying some javelins and immediately tugged Ash’s reins to the side, the soft thuds that landed to her left a near miss. Fuck.
Mila responded by tapping Ash’s left neck twice, their established sign for keeping it steady and turned herself around. She quickly drew out a fire sigil in the air and aimed it at the oncoming riders.
“Freings Fletare.” She chanted.
She felt the energy drain out of her body as mana poured from inside her to out, the air around her dried for a but a moment as a small vortex formed where the sigil was. From where she drew the sigil a ball of flame coalesced and warped into a sharp bolt before it launched itself at the riders. The small bolt was guaranteed to miss the warg riders at the speeds they were traveling at, but as it fried the ground in front of a warg, the startled creature reared up and launched its rider off its back.
It was low skill magic, almost entirely human in its creation, but it did its job. Mila quickly aimed to draw another when she spied the other rider lifting a javelin, the rage on his face now evident to her. She hurriedly leaned sideways to shift Ash’s trajectory, narrowly avoiding the next javelin hit. Relieved, she spent the moment cursing herself, her own mastery of the arcane arts shallow at best, no other quick fire spells coming to the top of her mind. All she needed was to distract or delay the rider; killing was unnecessary for now. Yet, all she could throw up within seconds were a plethora of wards and some divine blessings, her ability to use offensive spells being fairly inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
However, the orc was relentless, tailing them after every twist and turn. She gained a momentary reprieve when she yanked on Ash’s reins to drive them through the charred ruins of a barn, the structure slowing down the orc’s pursuit for a few seconds. Unfortunately, as she turned to look at the edge of the basin, she could spy a small handful of warg riders waiting to be let loose, their howls and cries echoing deafeningly throughout the area. Yet, as she looked closer, she noticed something strange in their behaviour. Though they looked eager and rearing to tear her to pieces, they weren’t launching themselves at her. They shadowed her movements, advancing in a parallel ring to her own flight from their errant comrade chasing her. They could’ve cut her off, or just run her down. That they didn’t and were orcs of all things considered, made her worry even more.
When another javelin finally splintered a fence next to her however, Mila realised she had more immediate concerns and focused back on the one rider chasing her. He was’t just good, he was really good. No matter how fast Ash was or how nimble he had been to duck behind some houses, the orc wasn’t far behind. Shit, I need to lose him somehow, the town itself feels like the only way and since the other riders aren’t coming, this might be the only chance. With a sudden tugging on the reins, Ash neighed in annoyance but shifted his body towards Harweald proper. Like clockwork, the dogged orc rider had followed. Damn.
They sped past a few farmsteads and only when Ash leapt past a low fence and landed on the other side, did she sense something wrong. It was as if they crossed a boundary, a line that separated one world from another. The air grew thick and vicious, the light from the sun nothing but a fleeting memory as only a negligible amount snuck through the suddenly foggy atmosphere. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Upon noticing that her pursuer seemed to hesitate, she used the moment and hastily started scrawling out a sigil, a somewhat more complex thing that required her full attention.
“Besdiore Selfeui Heinaotus Helaotux.” She managed to say.
The air around her changed once again, a small shift in her body as the mana was drawn to the sigil. But this time it felt wrong, sickly, and only when the radiant glow of divine light began to emanate from the sigil did she feel a modicum of safety. The warm glow eventually enveloped her and she felt her body grow just that much stronger. She turned back to find her pursuer now lagging behind, a sense of uncertainty coming from both warg and rider. Seizing the newfound opportunity she drew another sigil and pushed the rapidly depleting energy within her towards it.
“Besdiore Dasinod Heinaotus Helaotux.” She chanted and pointed down at Ash.
Once more the soft radiant light emerged from the disturbed mana, now wrapping the horse with a sheen of divine light before dissipating. Ash was thankfully already used to such displays and only winced when he noticed the light envelop him before disappearing.
They were simple wards, holy protection against that which sought to defile the world. She had done them on instinct, her body reacting naturally to the change in the environment. That, she didn’t appreciate. It meant that her senses had already clocked onto something being disastrously wrong here, that Harweald had been compromised by forces of the Dark. That is not good at all.
Her mind quickly flickered to Annalise, wondering how far into the town she had gotten. Mila swore and spurred Ash along once more. Something is wrong in the town, the closer we get the worse it feels and she’s made a mad dash into without wards. Fuck, Goddess preserve us and grant us your divine light. May Gratiax eradicate the corruption with his cleansing flames. I’ve got to get in there.