When I tore into camp running as fast as I could, a couple of members of the company noticed my panicked approach. They stopped talking with one another and looked at me. Others, of course, became curious about what had drawn their attention. Like a rippling wave, conversations fell silent and soon every remaining member of our company was staring at me.

“We have a problem,” I announced. “I was with the Captain when a scout reported to him. Clan Galwick is moving up the mountain in large numbers. The scout thought this force would be outnumbered about two to one. We need to get out of here as soon as we can, even if that means we have to travel at night.”

“Why?” Tikter asked. “We are just a company like any other. We can answer their questions and let them know we are based in Shroud Hallow. They should let us through without issue.”

I heard several murmurs agreeing to his statement.

“And when they get up here and figure out that we have been hanging out with the enemy?” I asked. “What then?”

“How would they even know?” he asked.

“Maybe because our mine site and their campsite are separated by only a couple of hundred yards? And what happens if they found the mage that we exploited to sabotage the gate and he talked about his brand new human drinking companions the night before? What if they have descriptions of the three of us? Do you think any of that is going to be something we can just explain away?”

“Why did you have to go sabotage the gate anyway?” Yahg asked.

“To keep you lot alive,” I spat back.

“We could have escaped,” Yahg countered.

“Like hell you could have,” I said. “I was trying to make the best out of a shitty situation. Unless we got lucky and somehow encountered a Galwick patrol, we would have been run down within the hour. They had an endless wave of people to throw at us. We were heavily laden with refined gold. They had young, well-conditioned soldiers. But what’s past is past. We are where we are. If any of you want to be able to spend the gold that you spent so much effort finding and refining, then we need to pack up and get out of here now.”

Conversation erupted around me. The orcs first talked to their closest friends and allies, but soon that talk spread to the other members of the company. I walked over to Aleyda and Bowen.

“Pack up our share of the gold,” I said. “We are getting out of here tonight, with or without the rest of them.”

“Where will we go?” Aleyda asked.

“I was thinking that we could retreat up to the caves and then exit through that cavern with all the bones in it,” I replied. “That would give us a completely different angle of approach to town. I know that Clan Galwick has a lot of troops, but if they are committing so many to this expedition then the likelihood is that they are spread pretty thin elsewhere. Unless our descriptions are circulating, we should be fine. Even if they are, I can probably make it into port looking like someone else and then contact Captain Clemenzio. I am certain he would send a boat to pick you two up.”

“That sounds like as good of a plan as any,” Bowen said. “Although it might take us some time to find our way back to port. What if they leave without us?”

“Then we use the gold to bribe our way onto another ship,” I said. “You know what this trip was about. Provided the Captain is a man of his word, which I suspect he is given that he wants us to keep working with him, we succeeded beyond anything I imagined when we set out. We saved almost thirty people from either death or imprisonment. I won’t lie. Getting rich out of the deal would have been a great bonus but we will be fine if we can just make it back home alive.”

“I agree,” Aleyda said. “Being wealthy is a nice dream, but we have to be alive to enjoy it.”

As we had talked, the discussion among the other members of the company was winding down. The company seemed split between two different factions. The majority seemed to think that they could talk their way past the army and make it back to port with little hassle. Three of the orcs, however, subscribed to my way of thinking. They were Dregu, Pregu and Yam, some of our gaming friends.

I walked over to the rest of the company. “What did you decide?” I asked.

“I think we are just going to head down towards the army tomorrow morning,” Tikter said. “We are certain they will let us through. We can’t be the only company they have encountered.”

“There are a lot fewer companies on the island now than when we arrived,” I said. “Many of the others have already bugged out. When we were down in town, it felt relatively deserted.”

“It would probably be best if you weren’t with us when we met with the army,” Tikter said. “You being human might raise too many questions.”

“You will still have Gento with you, though,” I pointed out.

“We can vouch for him,” he said. “Four of you would probably be a much harder sell.”

Oh, so that’s the way it was going to be. When times got tough, they were ready to cut us loose to save their own asses. I shouldn’t have been surprised, even though I thought we deserved more than a little gratitude for finding the gold in the first place. That and sparing Tikter’s life. Apparently, though, there was no thanks to be had.

“Sort out our quarter of the gold,” I said. “We will be leaving tonight. I need to go talk to the Captain again.”

“About that,” Tikter said. “Do you really think you deserve a quarter?”

“Yes,” I replied. “Yes, I do. That was the deal. Who do you think the Captain feels goodwill towards. The three of us or the rest of you? While we were out risking our lives to keep the rest of you breathing, you decided we needed to renegotiate things? You’re lucky I don’t trot up that hill, come back with a squad of soldiers, and claim all the gold for my own. None of you would have an ounce of gold if I didn’t lead you here. You would be dragging your broke asses back to port with nothing to show for yourselves. For once in your life, do the right thing. Honor your word!”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Don’t get so worked up,” Tikter replied.

Don’t get so worked up? He came at me like this when I was stressed and angry and then tells me not to get so worked up. At that moment, I very much wanted to stab the bastard.

“We have more gold than we can carry anyway,” I said. “No matter what happens, we will be leaving some behind unless we want to become obvious targets for the other companies left in this shit hole.”

“I guess that’s true,” he admitted. “Come and we will get you as much as you can carry.”

“Aleyda and Bowen, can you get that sorted out,” I said.

I walked over to the two orc brothers and Yam. “Do you want to come with us tonight?” I asked. “I have a plan.”

“We do,” Dregu replied, apparently their leader. “I don’t know what your plan is, but it has to be better than the ridiculous fantasy the others have concocted in their minds. If the soldiers find out what they are carrying, they will kill them and take it for their own. Clan Galwick is not disciplined like this human force is.”

“Alright,” I said. “Grab your share of the gold and be ready to head out shortly. I want to go talk to the Captain one more time.”

I headed back over to the Gremmans camp. When I approached the Captain, he was busy giving orders to his subordinates. They were packing up their camp and preparing to depart. Finally, he had enough time to talk to me.

“You need to get out of here,” he said. “You are of no use to me dead.”

“I know,” I said. “I am of no use to me dead either. My people and three of the orcs are headed out tonight. The rest think they can just waltz through the army tomorrow and walk back down to port.”

“What’s ‘waltz’ mean?” he asked.

“It’s a form of dance in my world,” I replied. “I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if some of them are thinking about selling me out to the Clan.”

“That troubles me,” he said. “Have you thought more about relocating your people in our territory?”

“Honestly, the idea intrigues me,” I replied. “I will have to talk to the others but right now I look upon the idea favorably.”

“That’s good to hear,” he said. “So, what’s your plan?”

“There is a cave system under the mountain and we know where another exit is. We thought we would navigate through the caverns and approach port from a different direction. Provided we survive the journey, we should be able to skirt the main force of the army, make it to our ship and sail back home.”

“Or, you could come with us now,” he said. “I am certain we could sneak you back to gather your people and belongings.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I need to talk to my people first.”

“Fair enough,” he answered. “Good luck on your trip. I hope to see you again soon.”

“Take care,” I replied reflexively, and then I turned and walked away.

By the time I got back to camp, my two human friends and our orc companions were packed up. When I first hefted the sacks of gold that had been set aside for me, I groaned a little inside. They were heavy and that would make for slow going. I made certain they were arrayed in a way that I could easily rid myself of them if it came time to fight. I noticed that the three orcs had been joined by one more. Dumbuk stood with them, ready to depart. I nodded to him, we all hefted our sacks and left camp without a further word to any of those who had chosen to remain.

After we got out of earshot of camp, Dumbuk approached me and spoke. “You know they are planning on ratting you out, right?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I expected that. I am glad you chose to join us.”

“I am as well,” he replied. “The more I thought about their plan, the more flimsy it became. So what’s our plan?”

“When we were up here earlier, we explored some caverns under the mountain,” I said. “We found another exit on a different flank of the mountain. We will go through the mountain to that exit and then make our way back to port. Once we get there, one of you can walk into town and notify the ship that we are ready to depart. If the army starts chasing us, they will be looking in the wrong place. Based upon what you just told me, I have half a mind to ask Captain Clemenzio to depart immediately, but my temper may cool by the time we make it back to town.”

“That sounds like a better plan than most,” Dumbuk said. “I was raised to think that honor means something. Apparently, others weren’t raised the same way. I don’t know how they can work their way past the fact that we would all be dead if you hadn’t done that mission. But when a lot of money is involved, nothing surprises me.”

Even though we were all weary from the labors of the previous day, we also each knew that we were racing against the clock. So, we pushed ourselves hard. In our laden states, we were much slower than we would have been otherwise. We still made it up to the cave entrance in about an hour and a half.

“Someone clearly lived here at some point,” Pregu said, wrinkling his nose at the smell of human waste.

“Yeah, that’s what we thought as well,” I responded. “Hopefully, though, they are long gone.” That wasn’t a lie. I fervently hoped that they were all resting peacefully in a troop transport somewhere. “The first part really is unpleasant,” I said, explaining the bat cave. “But after that, it gets better as long as there are no more of those grubs with their tentacled parasites.”

“Grazzoth worms,” Dregu muttered. “Nasty things. Didn’t you ever see those when you were growing up?”

“Nah,” I said. “We had different sorts of creepy, crawly shit where I am from.”

After stopping to rest for awhile, we headed into the caverns. The air was still heavy and lifeless. The bat cave was no more pleasant. Soon enough, though, we had found our way back to the cavern with all of the bones. There was nobody home again and I once again I was grateful.

“As far as I can tell, we are now on the south side of the island. I have no idea how we get back to port from here but we’ll have to find our path together. It’s still the middle of the night and I would prefer to travel when we can all see. Let’s get a couple of hours of sleep and then head out. Provided the ship is all fixed up, we can sleep our lives away once we get there. I will take first watch.”

I kept watch for about an hour, but nothing disturbed us. I woke Aleyda, who had agreed to stand watch after me and then settled down on the rocky floor of the passage that led to the exit. None of us wanted to sleep in that room full of bones. It was just too ghoulish.

I felt like I got very little sleep, but soon enough Bowen was shaking me awake. I noticed that a weak light was visible through the exit from the mountain. It was dawn and we needed to get moving. I had no doubt if the others made it back to the ship before we did that they would leave us all behind.

I wasn’t certain if the converse was true. If we made it to the ship before they did, would I leave them all behind as well? It was something that I had to think long and hard about. I considered some of the people in the main group to be friends, or at least friendly acquaintances. I wouldn’t want them all to suffer just because they viewed things differently than I did. Of course, some of that group were prepared to sell me out to save their own hides. I was conflicted. I didn’t know what I would choose to do.

“Shall we head to the coastline and follow it back to port, or do you want to try the game trails?” I asked the others.

“The coastline here looked pretty rugged when we sailed in,” Dregu said. “I think we might do better over land.”

“Fair enough,” I said. “We can always change our mind once we get to the eastern slope.”

We exited the cavern through the sound of splintering and crunching bones.