Sarah woke up to the sound of singing birds. With considerable effort, she opened her eyes and found herself lying on a stone bench. Sunlight streamed through the window, but everything from the colours of the modest room she was in, to the smells of trees outside, to the song of the birds seemed muted. Her mouth felt like it was filled with sawdust. She licked her lips to get her saliva glands working, but it didn’t seem to help.

“Ah, you’re awake,” Stanley called as he walked into the room. “I feared the worst when they brought you out.”

“How long was I out for?” Sarah winced. She had attempted to sit up but felt dizzy as soon as she raised her head.

“You’ve only been asleep for a few hours,” Stanley replied. “How do you feel?”

“Strange,” Sarah confessed, “Like I’m missing… something…”

She felt empty like something was missing somewhere in her chest, but she couldn’t put her finger on what. She also felt drained. Even keeping her eyes open was a struggle. She desperately wanted to sleep but at the same time, her curiosity and hope soared. She tried to focus her power but felt none at her grasp. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she muttered a brief prayer to Agni and opened up her hand. Nothing.

“Did something good happen to you?” Stanley asked as a smile spread across her face.

“It worked,” she beamed.

“I still can’t believe you let him cast it on you,” Stanley remarked. “What happened back there.”

A shudder went down Sarah’s spine as she remembered Gareth driving the spear into her chest. That wasn’t how the translation had described it, and she wondered what else had been intentionally mistranslated or left out altogether.

“I don’t know,” she replied at length, “Everything happened so quickly and then I blacked out.”

Stanley studied her carefully before holding up a sheath of papers. “He said you could keep these.”

Sarah held out her hand weakly and Stanley handed the papers over. They felt like they weighed a ton, and she quickly placed them next to her. She looked down and shuffled through the papers awkwardly until she found the runes she had scrawled on one of the papers. As far as she could tell, that was the name of the spell he had cast. Good, he hadn’t seen it. Or if he had, didn’t think there was any harm in her knowing what they meant.

“Water?” Stanley offered, holding up her canteen.

Sarah nodded weakly and took a sip. Even the cool water felt muted in her mouth and did little to clear the numbness in her mouth. She wondered briefly if she would ever recover. Her thoughts were interrupted by the low blast of a horn in the distance.

“What was that?” Sarah asked.

“Nothing good, I’d wager,” Stanley remarked sourly.

She looked worriedly in the direction the horn came from. “What’s over there?”

“The bridge,” Stanley replied.

“We should go there,” Sarah breathed.

Stanley’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t you mean we should go in the opposite direction?”

“I don’t fancy blundering through strange lands while orcs are about,” Sarah stated evenly as she looked Stanley in the eye, “Do you?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The gaunt faced man scowled. “Well, I didn’t see another bridge out of the city.”

“So let’s go while they’re still there,” Sarah suggested, “Perhaps one of them can point out a direction in which we can flee. They probably have boats prepared somewhere.”

Stanley cast a sideways glance at Sarah. “Are you sure you’re fit to walk?”

“I’m not,” she admitted as she struggled to sit upright, “But it’s better to try than to wait for the orcs to find me here, don’t you think?”

Stanley pressed his mouth into a thin line. “Do you think they’ll lose the city?”

“I don’t know,” Sarah replied as she furrowed her brow, “But I have seen what they’re capable of.”

“Fine,” Stanley sighed, “Wait right there.”

He left the room and returned shortly with a small wheelbarrow. “You’re being very generous,” Sarah remarked. “I have to admit, I’m surprised you’ve stuck around this long.”

“Not that I mind, of course,” she added quickly, “But if it’s your debt you’re concerned about, you’ve more than repaid it.”

“Can’t we just be two friends on an adventure?” Stanley ventured.

Sarah smiled in spite of herself. Stanley had gotten along best with Tom and had always been aloof towards her and John. “I suppose we could.”

She paused and hesitated, not wanting to spoil their budding friendship, but feeling she had to get it off her chest all the same. “I’m sorry about Tom…”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Stanley said with a wave of his hand, “I’ve done a lot of thinking about what happened back there, and I can’t say I blame you for how things went down.”

He looked at her an arched an eyebrow. “A fresh start?”

“That suits me,” Sarah grinned.

Stanley helped Sarah into the wheelbarrow that was made from pure white wood. “Sturdy thing,” he marvelled as he pushed her out of the building, “Remarkable if it’s as old as everything else in the city. I’d very much like to bring it home with me.”

“You didn’t take me very far,” Sarah remarked as she saw the shrine not twenty paces up the road.

Stanley shrugged “I didn’t see any reason to.”

“I suppose you have a point,” Sarah allowed, not used to hearing mirth in the lanky man’s voice. The grassy avenues were remarkably smooth as he pushed her swiftly towards the city’s west gate.

“What do you intend to do if orcs are at the gate?” Stanley asked, suddenly back to his usual dour self.

“What else can I do?” Sarah replied, “Keep my head low, and if the elves withdraw, go with them.”

“And if they won’t take us with them?” Stanley ventured.

“Then I suppose we’ll have to deal with that when the time comes,” Sarah replied. “Either find a boat and run for it or lay low in this city and hope they’re just passing through.”

“Neither option sounds very attractive,” Stanley remarked.

“Then let’s hope the elves drive them off,” Sarah replied.

“And if they do?”

Sarah had no answer for that. They continued their journey in silence and soon arrived at the city’s outer walls. Sarah felt much better upon seeing them. They were at least double the height of Corrington’s and were protected on all sides by the lake. The bridge they had crossed was the only way into the city and the elves had a legendary reputation as archers.

“Halt!” called one of the elves from the top of the wall. Sarah recognized him as Pairel, one of Gareth’s guards.

“It’s alright, Pairel, let them come,” Gareth said. Sarah thought she heard a hint of worry in the halfling’s voice, and her concern grew. She could sense the tension in the other guards as they focused on something beyond the wall.

Stanley looked up at the steep winding stone stairs that led up to the wall and frowned. “I could carry you,” he offered.

“No, that won’t be necessary,” Gareth called out from the top of the wall, “Help her into that trough.”

Sarah looked at the ground where Gareth had indicated and saw a stone gutter that brought water in from the lake. Stanley helped her out of the wheelbarrow and into the gutter, where they were surprised to find themselves standing on the water’s surface. Sarah seemed to draw strength from the water and was soon able to stand without Stanley’s assistance.

“Don’t be alarmed now,” Gareth warned.

A moment later, the water spouted up, carrying them onto the wall without so much as a drop landing on their clothes. On the way up, Sarah spotted orcs gathering on the shore of the lake close to the bridge. There looked to be thousands of them, swarming like a nest of black ants.

“That’s quite the trick,” Sarah breathed.

“That man there,” Gareth said, his usual bubbly demeanour gone, “Do you recognize him?”

Sarah looked at where the halfling was pointing and inhaled sharply. “No,” she gasped, “It can’t be.”

Standing in the middle of the bridge was a dark skinned elf with pale hair. He sported a pair of leathery wings on his back, but it was unmistakably Voritor. Standing next to him was the bulky frame of Steven, his half-orc companion.