"Well, Commander, your men are safe, I'm still your prisoner, and now a troll is going to travel with us. Happy yet?" Darael’s tone was harsh and mocking.
"I did what I've been trained to do. Protect my people and help when I can,” Jale said, refusing even a glance towards the criminal.
He didn't mind the way the warlock spoke to him, it’s not exactly like he could blame the hostility.
His prisoner scoffed and muttered under his breath, angry curses that bore no harm.
Awaiting Tesk and Roon to gather their things, the pair of humans stood in the shade under a tree. It hadn't reached noon yet, which was good. They would travel with the sun and rest with the moon, no need to travel tired in the unforgiving darkness.
"All set!" Roon called as he approached.
The short zerdal had a well-crafted zerdalian bag secured to his back, full of supplies no doubt. Made from leathers and metals not found here, the pack stood out among troll crafts.
Hey, zerdalian supplies… That gives me an idea. "Roon, have you been to The Market yet?" Jale asked.
With a shake of his head, Roon opened his arms to gesture to the village. "This was the first place I came across after landing here. I decided to learn the troll way since we don't have any Trollish towns on my homeland."
"Well, you won't be disappointed, we'll head there first. We need supplies and I know the zerdals will have everything we could need."
Darael scoffed at the comment. "We have to cross not only the Golden Pastures,” he sneered, “but also the Dry Sea? Are you trying to get us killed?"
The commander laughed at him. "I could drop you off at Selude first if you'd like?"
Going silent, his prisoner crossed his arms and looked away. Childish maybe, but did its job of getting his thoughts on the journey across.
Roon's tail wagged in a light amused manner. "Such interesting behaviors. Is this exclusive to human friends?"
"What do you mean?" Jale asked, though as soon as he did he squared his jaw in realization. "We are not friends."
The short man only seemed to gain more amusement and delight at the statement. "Oh, I see!"
"No, you don't. In case you missed it, I'm a criminal.” Darael tilted his head. “Do you have those where you're from? I'm supposed to be on my way to punishment right now, but mister 'I must help' here is going to drag me across the continent to help the trolls." He spoke with a low tone, almost a snarl.
Confusion swept over the zerdal's face, and he tilted his head a touch, lowering one ear. "What could possibly be worse than death?"
Walking over to the shade, Tesk spoke up. "Humans are fragile, their mental strength isn’t high enough to handle torture to the mind. It breaks them down and drives them more insane than pain could ever hope of. Spiritually weak too, soul harming is just as dangerous.”
"What did you do to deserve such a punishment?" Roon questioned the warlock, his eyes scanning the man.
A soft chuckle escaped the ginger. "Killed my teacher, a lord of the mage council. Isn't that right, commander?"
Jale scowled at him and rolled his right shoulder before marching off. "Come on, we're losing daylight."
He led his small group out of the village, finding the road with ease, or luck. The three behind him remained silent as they headed down the hardened and bare path. Wagon tracks had carved the road over many years of driving along it, but the drought had made the road solid and easy to walk upon. At least it would make traversing out of the marsh easier.
After almost an hour of quiet walking, the zerdal perked up with a question. "Jale, may I ask how you became a commander?"
"What do you mean? I worked for it." The tall man responded.
"Well, you said human hybrids are... Not allowed to live, so how did you make it?"
It took Jale a few minutes to pick his words, secretly hoping if he didn't answer the inquisitive man, he would stop asking questions. But, zerdals were made to learn, and it was his nature to ask when he wanted to know something. Besides, if they survived this dangerous journey, someone had to tell the tale.
"I don't know. All I know is my birth parents died because of me and my aunt raised me, I had to find work to support her after my uncle died. Military is always hiring in Bogsgate and they promised support for family if you joined. Like I said, I worked for it."
This only prompted more questions from the zerdal. "Is your aunt taken care of then?"
Jale sighed over his shoulder, the blue and brown eyes tracking him while he searched for the warlock. His prisoner remained behind him with the troll, though he had his head down.
Returning his gaze forward, the commander finally gave a response. "Yes, she has a house and is given a part of my paycheck each week. Her children also help her, which helps in the long run."
Darael hummed in a soft, curious manner. "That's not true... The military didn't want me."
Stopping in his tracks, the commander turned to face the ginger. "Now, why would the military refuse an unstable, dangerous man who hates authority and could destroy a town if one person made him angry?” His right hand found the hilt of his sword. “Sounds like the perfect person to join the military that represents the Selduian kingdom."
His prisoner came inches in front of him, meeting his harsh glare with an unconcerned and contesting look. "Why would the military accept a lying, illegal, mutant in their representation?"
Jale narrowed his eyes and straightened his spine to tower over the warlock. Both men could easily end the other’s life, but this didn't deter either from staring down the other.
Roon reached his snout up to whisper to the troll, who chuckled softly before stepping forward.
Pushing the humans away from each other, Tesk growled. "We don't have time for this. The Market won't be on the western side for long. If you two want to fight over nothing, wait until we're resting at night." She scolded them, marching past to lead the way.
Jale scowled a deep frown before following the troll. I hope the king's elves tear him apart. A fate worse than death suits him, undivine monster. His poisonous thoughts swirled around his head, fouling his mood even more than the dried marsh or heat. It wasn't good to wish such harm onto another person, but this warlock triggered his anger like nobody he's ever met before.
The sun seemed to hunt them as they traveled along the path, the scent and pressure of a promised storm had faded away without even a drop. Divines must have cursed the land, and he wouldn't have blamed them if they had.
No matter what had caused the drought, the drained and withering plants seemed to bow before the sky in prayer for moisture. Each leaf wrinkled and curled, their faded green-brown color never failed to remind everyone how bad the wetlands really were.
Behind him, he could hear the zerdal quietly chatting to the shorter human, not close or clear enough to understand what he was saying. But he knew by the tone what they were talking about, Roon sounded as if he attempted to calm the warlock.
Tesk dropped back a few steps so she walked beside the commander, though she remained silent for now. But he knew what she was doing.
"What do you want?" he asked after a few moments.
The troll snorted a Trollish phrase before looking up at him. "Can you hunt?"
Though caught off guard by the question, he nodded. Of course, I can hunt, but what do you want from me?
She returned his nod. "Good. Sun is highest now, we should stop and get some water. Do you wish to hunt and eat now, or later?"
Jale brought his eyes up to the sun, squinting at the light before returning his attention to his companion. "Right now the animals will be resting right? We could try to find some hiding in the shade, but I don't want to spend too much energy hunting hidden creatures."
The woman nodded. "There's a spring nearby, we should rest there. Let your prisoner get out of the sun and soothe his burns."
"Leave him unwatched?"
"Roon can watch him, besides do you think he'll run? Does he know where we are? Can he survive the bog?"
She had a point, the warlock hasn't attempted to get away even with the chances he's had. The young man must not have enough survival skills to confidently run away from them.
"Fine." Jale reluctantly gave in.
Tesk gave a nod and pointed towards a treetop that peeked through the other vegetation. "The spring is behind that tree, let me tell them what we're doing."
He studied the tree, it had been brighter and appeared to be happier. Leaves perked up and shone with a healthy blue tint, definitely a sign of water. As the troll dropped behind him, he turned off the path and headed through the bushes.
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A small game trail led through the plants and towards the green brush, as Jale walked through the small path he saw the greenery growing brighter. Faint trickling brought attention to a small natural fountain, it couldn't be far now with how happy the plants looked.
Sure enough, under a large tree sat a clear pool of running water. The liquid had been rising from the ground, before flowing down a small decline and towards a creek that ran away. Surrounding the little pond was thick vegetation that created a green wall of privacy and protection.
A beautiful spot for a midday rest, I just wish the rest of the marsh still looked like this. Jale commented to himself before unsheathing his sword, the red-tinted blade cut some of the branches off with ease. He took the branches and piled them neatly, planning to use the leaves to rest the food on. By the time he had cleared a circular area for a fire, the rest of his party had shown up.
After the camp was made, Tesk took the commander to bring back food. She had given a spare bow to the man, though smaller than he'd had liked he could and would use it. They chose to head down another small trail, and he let the troll lead the way.
"Can you track?" she asked once far enough away from the camp.
Looking up from the ground at her, he gave a hesitant nod. "Sure, but from what I know trolls are the best trackers in the world."
Though appearing flattered, the woman shook her head. "We are, but I want to see what you can do."
Jale didn't know how to feel from that. It made sense, but also worried him, why did the skilled tracker want to see his skills instead of leading the way to find an animal easily? Seemed like too much of a risk to him.
Passing the female, he guided his companion down the path. Watching the ground for signs of an animal, they moved for a good while before he found anything. In the hardened dirt were a set of scratches, about three markings that looked like something had dragged a foot over the ground in a limping motion.
The tall man crouched down to examine what he found, his finger traced the shape formed in the soil. Triangular shapes with a long point spaced pretty decently apart— perhaps two feet. Curious, definitely an animal but the question was, which one did they belong to? Deer wouldn't weigh enough to leave a track in the hard ground, but boars shouldn't be that small and alone and elk or horses don't normally wander this south.
Observing his surroundings, he spotted a broken branch from a bush. Moving closer, he could tell it had been bitten, not snapped, the edges were too shredded. That eliminated the deer idea, elk and horses could still be an option though, and the most likely. Boar.
"Not a deer, I think it's a boar trail... Unless a horse or elk wandered too far south of course," Jale said, standing back up.
His company watched him with a neutral expression. Even without an expression, he could tell she was judging him.
Give me some sort of acknowledgment... Tell me I'm wrong or something. He quietly pondered her reaction before moving down the path once more. Eyes trained to the ground for more signs of the beast they were now tracking, finding more impressions as he walked.
Stopping at the edge of a thicket, Jale peered into the thick bushes; into the side where a hole had been forced through the vegetation. An obvious sign that something had gone into the thicket to hide.
Not much to do other than inspect the plants to see if something was in there currently. Crouching down once more, he stared into the thicket. It took him a good moment before he saw it; a large dark figure that blended perfectly into the shaded cover of the bushes, the creature had its head down to hide its identity.
With quiet and slow movements, he removed the bow from his torso. He could feel the movements the troll behind him made, even without seeing her he knew she readied her axes.
Trained on the hidden creature, the tall man took an arrow from his hip quiver. His skilled hands notched the feathered stick along the bowstring, a fluid display of strength as it was pulled back. Tension vibrated through the weapon while he aimed the sharpened tip, laced with a film that glistened menacingly.
A slow inhale filled his lungs, the dry air a harsh but familiar sting. He steadied the arrow onto the shape, and with a carefully balanced position, he turned his foot. The thick heel in his boot scratched the dirt with a dull crunch, causing the beast to lift its head to investigate.
His fingers let go.
With a violent and harsh squeal, the figure burst out of the thicket; crashing into one of the trees before rushing into the clearing.
Jale sprang up and used every extra inch his mother gave him to travel across the ground and chase his prey. His companion reacted when he was already up and moving, it would've reminded him how great his reflexes were. If he wasn't already focused on the hunt.
In the sunlight, he could see the creature had indeed been a small boar, perhaps a young one. The various shades of brown shimmered under the sun, glistening an angry flash of red. Large boils grew and bubbled along its body and when the boils shrunk they appeared to melt along the boar. Dark brown armor solidified on the previously normal animal, embracing its body and even covered under the soft belly. An extra plate stretched over its large head, covering the throat and snout.
Tesk joined his side, staring down at the angry beast. Sticking out from the neck the arrow had been infused with the armor.
"Good luck hurting it now." The woman grunted, spinning one of her axes.
He didn't have to look at her to see the disappointment, she thought his move to shoot the boar had been a bad one.
"We don't have to, just don't get hit."
As he spoke, the animal threw its head and charged, its hind leg barely moved and dug into the ground. The long tusks jutting from its face were sharp and stained from previous stabbings.
Jale used his bow to smack the top of the boar’s head, it created a thud that rang out, but the creature didn't flinch. It threw its head at the weapon and the commander used the force to propel himself over the beast. His bow creaked a warning but didn't snap.
The troll laughed at the way the animal slid to a confused stop, though it died down when she became the target. Although the boar squealed a sharp warning and charged again, this one had been sloppy. It stumbled over its front legs and missed the troll by several inches.
Standing there, the creature wobbled and gave a weak croak-like grunt, turning towards the commander with hate in its brown eyes. A single step forward caused the beast to fall onto its belly.
Jale crept over to the fallen animal, it wheezed and struggled, but could not rise. He put his bow down as he approached, with a single hand resting on the boar’s snout, he removed his dagger and slid it into the creature's eye.
A sickening squelch signaled the blade reached the soft target. With this simple movement, the animal fell limp and its life drained away.
He couldn't shake the pressure in his head, but he ignored it. Instead, he muttered a soft thanks to the Divines and removed his blade. Now dead, the meagikal armor faded off the boar, allowing him to take his arrow back.
Tesk approached him. "Well, you surprised me. I didn't know humans used poisons."
Jale looked up at the troll. "I find it's easier to poison the beasts here than attempt to fight with brute strength."
The woman gave an amused huff. "Smartest human I've met."
He wiped the blood and juice off his blade with a small cloth before returning it to its sheath. Grabbing his bow, he stood, bringing this boar back would be hard, even if it was small it still weighed at least 300 pounds.
"You don't get to train and command the military without some intuitive thinking. Now, how are we taking this back?"
The woman put her own blades away before crouching next to the beast. With a soft grunt and a Trollish curse, she lifted the creature onto her shoulder.
"Easy enough. We didn't go far."
Jale watched her for a moment. A very impressive display of trollish strength, a reason any sane person feared them. They're capable of ripping you limb from limb, why he doubted her ability to lift a small boar he had no idea.
With a nod, he led her back down the path to the camp. They walked in silence which didn't bother him, it allowed him to ponder the hunt and in turn his pressing headache. Figuring it was from lack of water, he settled on drinking when they got back even if he didn't feel thirsty.
A glance at the sun would tell him they had been gone an hour, the hottest hour of the day passed already and would encourage traveling after lunch. He just hoped the others would want to move. Darael would probably not, he seemed like the type to enjoy luxury and hate the life of a traveler. That thought only made him set his mind on getting back on the road after they ate, and as they stepped into their makeshift camp he knew it would happen.
Roon had made a fire, and one of them had made a small bench-like object to sit on. But no building or shelter, which told him the zerdal knew they needed to keep moving.
"Oh my! That should keep us fed for several days!" The small humanoid exclaimed.
The warlock gave a glance but didn't express his thoughts on the boar or even Tesk's impressive strength. He had been sitting on the stone slab with a stick in his hands and looked rather annoyed at their return.
"It should. If we ration it right I think it'll keep us happily fed for at least half a week," Jale said.
Roon perked his ears. "You think it'll last five days?"
The troll placed the beast on the leafy branches with a small sound, then she turned to the men and nodded. "I agree, boars are dense and full of edible meat, and heavy bones that make good soup."
"You expect us to eat the bones?" Darael asked in dismay.
Jale turned to the shorter man. "Yes. Unless you want to leave the bones behind and hunt for us next time."
"You think I can't hunt?"
The commander gave the man a hard look over, wide shoulders and a strong build said he should've been a great warrior. Warlock talents and pure entitlement told him he was not a good fighter. A taunting smirk filled his lips as he met the green gaze once more.
"I know you can't hunt. You'd be too loud, too clumsy... Can you even pull a bowstring back? How about throw a dagger? Say you could, which I doubt, are you quick enough to dodge a raging beast if you didn't kill it with a well-aimed shot?" He berated the ginger without hesitation, hoping to put him in his place.
Roon stepped off to the side, crouching next to the boar with the troll. Quietly observing and staying out of the humans' behavior while helping Tesk skin and prepare the beast.
Darael tilted his head a touch. "So, because I was gifted with energy that you're jealous of... I can't hunt? Or from what you said, fight at all?"
"Have you had to do anything even remotely hard? If I gave you a sword could you put up a good fight?"
"Oh, pardon me mister 'had to get a job young to support my poor family' if I grew up in a better place than your mutant ass. I still had to work, I still had to learn life skills. Besides... We both know you wouldn't dare give such a dangerous criminal a weapon."
The commander snorted in anger, his hand wrapping around the handle of his sword. "So, you learned good skills then wasted all your time and efforts by resorting to thievery, maegik manipulation, arson, threatening, assault, and murder? I'm sure your parents are very proud of what you did with your life."
"I wasted my life? At least I have fun. I don't spend my entire life being stern and strict and forcing unreasonably high standards. My parents love me... Can you say the same?"
Jale pulled his lips back in a snarl, forceful steps brought him up to the warlock. "My parents died so I could live. Yours sent you across the ocean to get away from you."
"I chose to move here on my own! Because great kingdom Seludance is full of ways to help me.” With both hands, the ginger shoved him back. “But instead, I found control freaks who can't stand anyone with an ounce of natural power."
Gritting his teeth, the commander released his sword, only to lunge and grab the smaller male's shirt collar. Pulling him close and off-balance he growled into his face. "Don't hit me."
Though fear sparked in the green eye, Darael hissed back. "Or what."
Flexed fingers strained the cloth in his hands, but the tall man paused to think over what he could do to display dominance without really harming the guy. He released his grip and brought his hand over his own shoulder, tension rippled through his muscles for a second. A snap sound accompanied the movement his hand made, the back of his hand hit the sun-burnt man's red face.
"Don't hit me," Jale repeated before backing off to get some water.
The warlock turned his head away at the slap, keeping his eyes away from all the other people. An angry mark was prominent on his already burnt skin.
The commander scowled to himself as he settled on the shoreline a good few feet away from the camp. This has to be his doing, fucking warlock is probably trying to get into my head… Maybe that’s what this headache is. Not dehydration, but a manipulation spell. I can’t wait to be free of him.