Dirhaël POV:

We arrived in town before sunset. We both concluded that we would not risk waiting until morning. So preparations would have to be before the sun went down, so I convinced Grandma that it was more efficient to divide our tasks to flee.

I would be in charge of gathering the necessary supplies, while she would be responsible for securing our transportation and communicating the news.

As I raced home, the loud squawk of a bird caught my attention. An albatross is a large, strong bird that normally does not leave the seas. As if on a premonition, my body tensed.

Restless I went out into the front yard to walk a few steps and reach a hill with a good view of the northern forest, where the bird was headed. There was something there, hidden in the bushes and trees, down there, and looked as carefully as I could. Something thin was moving frantically, just beyond the edge of the light. Then another, then twenty.

I felt more exposed than ever in my life. Just out in the open at the top of a big hill. Those emotions, that lack of focus, would not save me. As if by instinct, or perhaps by long practice in the life he had lost, he ordered his thoughts. He gave up despair and focused on the situation.

We can't waste any more time.

Grabbing all the supplies he had prepared years in advance, he would have to get something to defend himself with to secure our escape.

I ran after securing the supplies and climbed up the walls of a building whose white stone walls still towered over me. It was the only stone-walled building in town, the food pantry and where the butcher kept his tools.

I walked toward the center of the room with cautious steps. I tried to remember where the tools were kept, walked from one end of the large room to the other, and then went through another door into another room. Until I could see the only chest in the building, without the time and patience, a kick was enough to break it open and pull out what I needed.

A cleaver and a steak knife.

There were more in this building, but the cluttered piles of stored things made it difficult to search and that would be enough. I jumped back over the base of the wall and walked carefully along it. It was as wide as his shoulders, but the top was uneven, requiring him to pay attention. He climbed up where the wall sloped to a corner and took a better look around to locate where Grandma was.

Hordern was not a large village, The inhabitants were known to be descendants of the Orientals who fought for Morrow.

the Orientals who fought for Morgoth in the War of Wrath were defeated by the Host of the Valar. After the war, those who survived became primitive and fell under its shadow, so it was a town that from a decent height you could locate any point of the village.

It was easy to locate the grandma, for an old woman with a cat on her shoulders was not a common sight. Reaching her after returning to pick up supplies, though it was surprising to see her discussing the price with the horse trader. We were buying a horse and carriage that looked rough and had seen better days, but in decent enough condition for the trip we were planning.

“Here you are, you dirty miser, 8 silver coins” Grandma said to him with little patience, after seeing me, noticing the urgency in my gaze.

“What happened?”

“I saw figures in the northern forest, twenty of them, I think we should leave now” I said as I watched the sunset get closer and closer.

“...Do you think they are orcs?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Maybe a large army of them.”

“A recon brigade, well spotted, we won't stick around to see the bulk of their army, hopefully, neither will the others.”

“Ulfang prepare your family, warn the locals, and tell them to evacuate the village, something is coming that could wipe out this village.”

Leaving the man dumbfounded but seeing the seriousness of his words he hurried to run to his house.

“come on Darhiel, we don't have time we must warn as many as we can” With that and a quick movement that defied the appearance of his age he mounted the carriage, noticing my stupefied look "Don't trust my appearance, this old woman still has energy for many adventures".

Once I climbed into the back of the carriage, hid, and secured the cleaver and butcher knife, she whipped the reins causing a fast gallop, while Alaia, the cat climbed down from her shoulders and settled in the back.

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“Well done, I see you packed the essentials, secure the luggage in the cart, and I'll pack the medicines.” Grandma said as she headed to the garden to gather all the useful plants.

It was just over an hour before dusk, not enough time to flee from an army but enough time to reach the next village and hopefully the sight of Ostiriht, filled with a militia of warriors who had trained for hundreds of years.

As I finished getting everything ready and changing the harnesses from horse to cart, dozens of people came to the door of the house, from old men to children, with faces full of curiosity and annoyance, knowing it was time for more extensive explanations, I opened the door.

“hey, what's up, what were you and your grandmother talking about?”. Said a man as he grabbed my arm.

“There are orcs in the northern forest Mr. Roen, hundreds of them, maybe thousands, grandma and I will flee, you should do the same” I told them as, I relaxed his grip and tried to remain calm at his annoying gesture.

“What are you talking about you freak, don't want to infect everyone in this town with your ravings” Replied the man again, Roen, just another town drunk as he tightened his grip.

“We just want to do the right thing, we saw the evidence, it will be dark soon and we don't want to be here once our only protection falls” I replied, as I grabbed his hand and squeezed it in the same way. A whimper was his response as the rage on his face increased and he prepared to hit me.

Fortunately, a figure at my back stopped any ideas in his mind. I had no time to waste on silly fights.

“Well said. You heard the boy, whoever wants to follow us is more than welcome, but we won't stick around to convince every foolish mind, best of luck with your decisions.” He said in a loud and clear tone of voice.

“I'll go” Said certain voices, among the crowd, with the fear that the words of the grandma were true.

“Well, we will wait ten minutes at the west gate of the city, we plan to leave the region, we believe it is dangerous to go with the elves, if you still want to follow us, you must prepare well.” Said the grandma, while unloading the medicinal plants of the whole season in the car. “Now let's go, we have to move fast, we have already spent a lot of time and there is little more than an hour before nightfall.”

With that, she got on the front of the wagon and spurred the horse, we were moving down the road towards Tirharad.

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A small group of men were in the tavern, gathered together because a good part of their acquaintances had decided to leave the town.

“Stupid old woman and her damn freak, spouting madness and fearing these stupid peasants, they will look like idiots coming back to town when they see that there is nothing, hopefully with this they will wake up and realize that this pair should be thrown out” He spoke in a hoarse voice, a consequence of a long life of alcohol.

“Come on old man, he could be telling the truth, his words sounded serious and they have never made a joke before, we should try it we lose nothing” replied a slim blond-haired boy, Olfid, his nephew.

“Shut up, I won't be one of those idiots to be swayed by your dirty words, I'm sure there is nothing in the northern forest, I could go and walk your stupid paths right now with the assurance of my words” with this he paused, ready to keep his word.

“I agree with you Roen, I have spent my whole life in this town and I have never seen a stupid orc in these lands, I will accompany you to the forest, so at least squid my wife, the very gullible one thinks we should leave for the safety of the children” said a man, raising a jug of alcohol.

“I'll go too” Chorused the voices in the tavern, with the bravery of the alcohol driving their ideas.

“Come on-yes, we should calm down, there's no need to go to the forest, it's almost night and if not orcs there will at least be a pack of wolves that could kill us” reasoned Olfid in a nervous voice.

“Don't be a coward Olfid, have some balls, your parents left me in charge of you to make a man out of you, but I see you are still a scared little girl who would like to be in her mother's skirts” said Roen

“I'm no coward, I just worried about you since you're an old drunk” Olfid said.

“Yeah, pick up the pace, little one” Roen said with a slight smile.

With that little discussion, 13 men, emboldened by drink and stupidity, set off to explore the menace of the forest.