After I’d convinced the orcs to join me so we could set out to make a deal with the people of Everspring, they were quick to strap on armor and pick up weapons and shields. Bristling with gear, the war band was ready to go in minutes.

We led the orcs away from their camp. They left behind a small contingent to stand guard in case the bandits came that way, but Urzan told me no one bothered them. I didn’t blame bandits. Who’d want to pick a fight with these green maniacs when they had a poorly guarded village to take advantage of?

Lady Churl guided us back along the path we had taken earlier, skirting the wagons we had passed. A few cries rang out from the encircled caravan, but we quickly moved far enough away to avoid any unwanted attention.

We set a fast pace for the next mile as we closed the distance to Everspring. I noticed flickering lights in the distance. "That's a fire," Zyn informed us, his ghostly eyes narrowing.

"We should hurry," Garin advised. His spectral armor glinted in the moonlight.

Lady Ophelia seemed uninterested in the Everspring's plight. "Who cares about the village?" she scoffed. "Let's go adventuring, instead! Varix, you should change to your old form and practice some magic. I'll help you learn."

I shook my head vehemently and said under my breath, "I have no interest in any powers the old dark lord used to have, and I especially have no desire to live in Morthisal's body in order to learn magic. I would be killed." I hoped my tone left no room for argument.

“You reside in the body of one of the most powerful necromancers who has ever lived, and you want to cook for orcs.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” I said quietly in case the orcs might overhear. All I needed was for them to think I was more crazy.

I had felt what Morthisal's body was capable of, and it was disgusting, like drinking cursed black motor oil. To embrace his powers, I would have to essentially live as him since the pendant worked as a disguise and muted his evil magic.

“I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed so much as highly amused, darling. I'm certain there are many juicy corpses buried in the dirt. You can call them to you. They will do your bidding. Happily, so."

“Pretty sure they wouldn't happily do that.”

To emphasize my point, I quickened our gait, breaking into a fast walk that soon became a jog. Garin grinned, keeping pace beside me. "Good to see you exercising and building endurance," he remarked. "I can train you to be a fighter, you know."

“No, thank you.”

“Lemme know if you change your mind, lad. You have the build to learn the sword or spear.”

I shook my head at him again. What an image that would make for any observers. Me training with an invisible paladin, flailing around with a sword, while asking questions of the air.

At least Zyn managed to keep his mouth shut when he was around. He was ahead of us most of the time, looking for threats. Or he just wanted alone time. Zyn was a weird dude.

As we pressed on towards Everspring, Lady Ophelia's incessant chatter filled the air. She was going on about some arcane ritual, but I wasn't really wasn't listening.

"Shush," I hissed at Ophelia, holding up a hand to silence her, as I heard a strange sound.

Lady Churl hadn't left my side; she glanced in the direction of the ghost. I couldn't read the goblin's look. She was probably wondering when I was going to have my head examined.

My feet pounded over hard-packed earth as I ran. Ahead, the unmistakable color of orange flames lit the night sky above Everspring’s walls. Straining my ears, I realized that the sound was unmistakably that of combat. Clashing metal, shouts, and screams carried on the night air.

We crested a small rise, and the sight before us made my blood run cold. Everspring was under attack. It had been attacked the night before, but I felt like that had been a feint. This was the real deal. Flames licked at buildings, and figures darted along the village's perimeter.

"Son of a–! I hope they aren't burning down my new tavern! I mean, or anything else. But especially my tavern!"

Zyn materialized beside me, his ghostly form barely visible in the darkness. "Varix," he said urgently, "there's a large group of bandits straight ahead. They're making their way towards the village's east side. It's a flanking maneuver."

Garin let out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush. "Damn it all," he growled, his ghostly hand instinctively reaching for a sword. "If only I could join the fight!"

I turned to Urzan, who was watching the scene with growing excitement. "Urzan!" I shouted, pointing towards Everspring. "The bandits are right ahead. Can you see that bunch of them?" I pointed in the direction Zyn had indicated.

Urzan's large mouth split into a grin, exposing his long tusks.

"Orc miss fight! Orc ready for fight!"

"Yeah, buddy. You might even be able to rip off a few heads. You said you like that, right?"

"Urzan love rip off head!"

Some of the other orcs grunted loudly in agreement.

"You do you, buddy. But only the guys in black, okay? Don't hurt the people."

Urzan shrugged and shouted something in Orcish that got the others fired up.

"Seriously. Don't hurt the regular people. Just the bandits."

"Fine! Orc say fine! Mean fine!"

The group had trotted before. Now, they took off in a rush. There were only two dozen of them, but they were like cattle on a stampede, based on how they ate up the land and made it quake.

Weapons appeared in green hands, and I realized I had a problem. The orcs could easily be mistaken as a second part of a raid. I had to get to Everspring right away.

"Oh, shit. Feet don't fail me now," I muttered and broke into a sprint.

"You know, if you used your powers, you could cast a simple spell of alacrity on you and your warband. Wouldn't that be a lovely way to start the fight, dear?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Panting heavily, I said. "No. Spells. No. Magic. Shut… up, Ophelia."

Lady Churl kept up beside me. "Boss. They're about to demolish them bandits. They ain't got a clue what's about to hit 'em."

"Good. Serves them right."

Everspring also didn't know what was about to hit, which was a problem. For a moment, I considered Ophelia's offer to teach me a spell so I could get to the village before my stamina ran out.

Gasping for breath, I added more speed as the partially burned wall came into view. It was on fire again! A couple of archers had taken up position behind a pair of huge rocks, launching flaming arrows into the air.

I came up short, and Lady Churl and I dove to the side into a small copse of trees for cover. Shit! We needed to stop these two archers not only from setting more buildings on fire, but to also stop them from shooting me. I would be in the open the rest of the way to the Everspring. A perfect target.

"You shoot one. I'll sneak up and slit the other's throat real quiet like."

"Uh. Cool and gross."

I pulled the arrow back, sighted the target, and lowered the bow. Lady Churl stopped and turned to me. "Was wrong, boss?"

"I can't shoot someone in the back. It's not honorable."

"That's a first," Garin said.

"Gimme that," Lady Churl said and grabbed the bow out of my hands before I could protest. "They's got no honor. Hiding and shooting flaming arrows."

I stood, then crouched, then stood, unsure what to do.

"Go, boss. I gots these."

I glanced at Lady Churl. She thrust her chin at Everspring and said, "Go."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Stay safe, Lady Churl."

"Yeah. Yeah. I gots this."

Taking a deep breath, I stood and launched myself forward, trusting Lady Churl to keep me safe from the archers.

I sprinted toward Everspring. Off to my left, the orcs were clashing with the bandits. I ignored the mass of angry green and raced as fast as my feet would carry me.

The wall came into view, and the warriors that protected it. They were spread thin, but more than one of them were armed with longbows. Oh, that's just great!

I waved my hands over my head and yelled. "It's me, Varix! Don't shoot me!"

Alic's voice rose above the din: "Varix! Hurry!" He turned and yelled, "Hold your fire. He's one of ours."

I didn't slow down and continued to race as if my life depended on it. Behind me, the two archers had stopped firing. I guessed Lady Churl had taken care of them, or I likely would have had an arrow in my back by now.

I reached the palisade, its wooden logs rising high above me. The smell of smoke filled my nostrils, and shouts echoed from inside the village. Alic grabbed me by my jerkin and yanked me behind the palisade. I leaned over. Hands on my knees, I gasped for breath.

"Varix! What in the hells were you doing out there? Everspring is under a full-scale raid. You're lucky one of those archers didn't get you. There's a mass of them right out there."

"Took them out," I said and sucked in a few more breaths. "The archers. There were only two. I had help."

"Nice work, friend."

"It was all Lady Churl."

"Who?"

I waved a hand dismissively.

I was bent over, hands on my knees, gasping for breath. My lungs burned, and my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. I'd never sprinted so hard in my life, and now I was paying the price.

Alic turned to his men, his voice ringing out with authority. "Get the skirmishers ready! We need to probe whatever's happening out there."

The soldiers scrambled to obey, but before they could move, Mira and Doan appeared. They were both decked out in full armor, looking like they were ready for war. Doan hefted a massive blacksmith's hammer while Mira had her trusty longbow at the ready.

They hurried over to me; concern etched on their faces. "Varix, what the hells were you doing out there?" Mira asked, her eyes wide.

I held up a hand, still trying to catch my breath. "Orcs," I managed to gasp out. "They're attacking the bandits."

"Orcs? Here?" Doan stood tall and scanned the battlefield.

"Orcs!" Alic scoffed. "If there are orcs out there, we'll take care of them as soon as we've dealt with the bandits."

"The amnesty. You can't engage with them. Keep the peace. Besides, I made a deal with them."

"A deal? Have you lost your mind, Varix?" Alic demanded.

I shook my head vehemently, finally straightening up. I grabbed Alic by the arm, my grip tight. "Listen to me! They're here to help us."

Alic looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "Help us? Orcs? Madness!"

I turned to Doan and said. "It's Urzan. His warband has been working as caravan guards. I found them and worked out a deal. They're going to fight the bandits and drive them off."

Doan laughed and held up a hand in front of Alic. "Hold. Urzan and his friends are known to us. Remember when we told you about Varix cooking for orcs, and they not only brought us meat but paid for the stew?"

Alic lowered his sword. "Uh. Yeah."

"That's them." Doan pointed at the clashing figures. "They love Varix. If he says they're here to help, he means it."

Alic stepped out from behind the barricade and yelled up at the watchtower. "Colin! What do you see?"

"Colin has the eyes of an eagle," Mira informed me.

"Something strange, captain," Colin called back down. "It looks like the bandits are being routed. An unknown force is attacking them."

"What'd I tell you, Alic? They're getting their asses kicked."

"We should give chase." Doan grinned.

"Aye. Give the word, Alic. It's high time we went on the offensive," Mira added enthusiastically.

"I have to agree with that one," Garin interjected. I didn't bother to acknowledge him.

Ophelia stood off the side, inspecting her nails. There was no sign of Zyn.

Alic crossed his arms and stared into the distance. He frowned and then gave a little shrug like he'd been having an internal dialog.

"Right," Alic murmured, then raised his voice. "Everyone, listen! Muster here! We have the upper hand. Time to take the fight to them!"

"Yeah!" some of the soldiers yelled.

At least twenty warriors appeared. Their weapons and armor gleamed in the torchlight. A cool night breeze carried the sounds of the ongoing fight toward us.

Alic shouted to the men and women who were still mustering. "Fight the bandits. Do not fight the orcs! They're helping us. I repeat! Do not engage with the orc!"

Shouts of "Aye!" were accompanied by more than a few questioning looks.

Doan couldn't wait any longer. He pumped his hammer in the air and yelled, "To battle!"

The fighters formed a wedge, with Doan in the lead. A number of men and women with bows, including Mira, formed up behind them. They set off at a jog while more soldiers poured out of Everspring.

Caden came racing around a corner and nearly ran into his brother.

"Is it true? We're going to take the fight to them?"

"Thank him," Alic pointed at me. "He found some orcs and talked them into fighting the bandits."

Caden laughed heartily, slapping me on the back. "Varix, you silver-tongued devil! I swear, you could talk an orc into giving up his favorite axe. How do you do it?"

I couldn't help but grin at his praise. "What can I say? I've got a way with words."

My gaze drifted towards the ongoing battle, the clash of weapons and shouts of combatants filling the air. It was a chaotic scene, and I couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry for my newfound orc allies.

Caden noticed my concern and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Stay here, Varix. If there are any wounded, they'll need your help."

“I’m on it,” I told Caden.

Alic pointed toward the middle of Everspring and said, "Others are on the way. They were mustering down by Palow's shop. They’ve been fighting fires, but now half the village is up and bucket lines are already forming. The flames should be out in no time.”

Caden and Alic drew their swords, the blades glinting in the flickering light of the nearby fires. With a nod to each other, they raced off to join the fray, their battle cries echoing in the night.

"Wait!" I called after them, suddenly remembering something important. "If you see a goblin out there, don't hurt her! She's the one who took out those flaming archers!"

I wasn't sure if they heard me. I had to trust that Lady Churl would stay out of the way. She'd survived this long out in the wild.

While I lent a hand to the wounded, Garin paced around me, his sword in one hand, and shining shield in the other. He grumbled and cursed while the battle raged without him.

I tried to keep my mind occupied, but I couldn't help but wonder how in the world I would pull off my side of the deal with Urzan and his warband. That was going to be a lot of hungry green mouths to feed. If I wasn't careful, I could end up penniless before I even got the tavern up and running.