MERCS:

Jaelin ‘The Explorer’ Topolski | Trent Wade | Christoph ‘The Bowman’ Gerd

They’d spent the night in their blankets, out in the open. Christoph had taken the first shift, gazing through the darkness towards the hillfort, where his aunt, Ashlyn, and Mila, were being held. It was a relief when Wade replaced him—he’d already come close to dozing off.

When Jaelin woke them, it was morning. He gestured to where the greenskin force was gathering. Most of Brid’s army was leaving. They stayed still as the goblin riders set out. The Explorer looked relieved when they had gone, after being worried the beasts would catch their scent.

Then the main column left. Christoph peered at the figures who followed the wargs southwest.

‘In the middle,’ Jaelin said, pointing.

Christoph could make out three smaller figures, walking together amongst the much larger orcs. Relief flooded him—he hadn’t realised just how nervous he’d got. All three were alive. They knew where they were. It could have been so much worse.

‘We’ll wait here a good while,’ Jaelin said. ‘Might as well take your breakfast and relax. We’re not setting off until I’m sure we can’t be seen. Or smelt.’

Christoph did as he was bid. He had no doubts The Explorer would be able to pick up the trail of so many crossing the landscape.

His faith in The Explorer was justified. The passage of such a large war band was easy for the scout to follow.

Christoph picked up some of his methods as they walked. Depressions in the ground and damage to plants were easy to spot. Across rocky terrain it was harder, but Jaelin would follow the most logical route and they would soon pick up the trail again. Orc and goblin faecal matter was pungent. Jaelin also showed him the signs of warg riders coming back to the main column to report, which they did regularly.

There was even a discarded physical item every now and again. They noticed white cloth peeking out from under a rock. It was a roll of bandage, from one of the medical packs. His aunt had probably left it there to be found in case someone was following them. The idea of that improved their mood. Wade held onto it as they walked, as if something that had once belonged to Auntie Femke brought him some comfort. It made Christoph realise just how much his aunt meant to the thief, and the misgivings he’d held about the relationship disappeared.

For his part, he imagined Ashlyn walking this route, and what her thoughts would be. He knew she was brave—braver than him. But he desperately wanted to contribute to her escape. He was sick of the role of the useless boy with the bow and arrows. He knew he couldn’t singlehandedly break into an orc dungeon and heroically rescue them, while killing the orc queen.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

But gods, let me do something.

They came upon Darkspike Dungeon. It was a mountain. Facing east, about two thirds of the way up, was a small lookout tower, built from the rock. Facing south, at ground level, was a cave entrance. This was where the tracks led.

‘Now what?’ Christoph asked. Ashlyn was in there somewhere. He was desperate to get her out.

Jaelin turned to him. ‘You’re going to have to be patient. We can’t afford to be seen, or we’ll have wargs after us. We can’t just wander through that entrance; there’ll be an army of orcs waiting for us.’

‘What’s the plan then?’

‘We go to the other side of the mountain, out of sight. You two sit tight. I explore every inch of the thing. Somewhere, there has to be another way to get inside.’

‘We can explore too,’ Wade said.

‘No, you can’t. Not like me. Look, I agreed to you both coming. But I need to work alone on this. For the sake of those we came here to rescue. I promise, when I find something, I’ll fetch you.’

Christoph thought Wade would argue, but he relented. He looked tired; looked a bit like he’d already lost.

Waiting, it turned out, was the most excruciating thing in the world. Christoph would have bet money on it being sowing seeds, or ploughing, or cleaning out the pig sties. But no. He’d have paid good money to clean out a pig sty or two, instead of just sitting there, waiting for day to turn to night, then back to day again.

Somewhere up the mountain, The Explorer toiled, looking for a way into the dungeon. At least, Christoph hoped that was the case. He hoped he hadn’t fallen down a ravine and broken a leg. That, he had to accept, would be worse than waiting.

‘I know you can’t have been happy to hear about me and your auntie,’ Wade said.

‘Well. It’s her business, not mine.’

‘Good of you to say, Christoph. But no. I’m a thief: a good for nothing. With a boy in tow.’

‘Eden is a good lad. A hard worker.’

‘True. I’m the issue. But I want you to know, Christoph, I only care about Femke; and Eden. I’d do anything to get her out of here. When this is over, we’re going to your family’s farm. Your aunt will be safe. Eden will be safe. Nothing will change my mind this time. Certainly not Stiff.’

Christoph nodded. ‘Good. I don’t want my auntie doing this any more. I don’t want Ashlyn doing it, but I don’t fancy my chances of persuading her to retire to a farm.’

‘Maybe. But you’ll never know unless you ask.’

At last, Jaelin returned. ‘I’ve found a way in.’

They followed him up a steep slope that never seemed to end. It took them about a third of the way up, where cold winds buffeted them. The slope levelled out, and they kept going, walking around the side of the mountain, where trees and bushes clung. More than once, the rock beneath Christoph’s feet gave way, sending a small slide of rocks tumbling down. Jaelin glared at him. All he could do was apologise, and hope he didn’t get carried down with the rocks next time.

They stopped at a crevice. It was pitch black inside.

Jaelin gestured at the ledge they had been walking on, and pointed to a slope on the other side of the hole. ‘The water from this side of the mountain flows here, and then goes underground.’ He pointed into the crevice. ‘I think if we go down there, we’ll find ourselves inside the orcs’ dungeon system.’

‘Why?’ Christoph asked.

‘Brid probably has hundreds living inside this mountain. For that, they need lots of water. I think it’s likely they can access the water flow down there. An underground stream, or pool.’

‘Well, only one way to find out,’ said Wade. He tied his rope to a nearby tree. ‘Who’s first?’