A couple of months later, Nogryl was sitting in The Sleeping Boar Tavern after his shift, together with his colleagues, the militiamen from the Lindenrow, a small group of ten guardsmen that he was assigned to lead.
The fire was crackling, and the people were drinking that evening, as usual.
"We saw nothing but the tracks this time." The off-duty militiaman proclaimed.
"Indeed, there was no open action ever since they kidnapped that young woman a couple of days ago, nothing except the petty theft,“ the other replied. Nogryl did not seem to be concerned with that, but he was obviously furious that they could do nothing.
"She is probably already dead,“ Lynda said as she carried a couple of flagons of ale and placed them on a table before the group. The militiamen grabbed the drinks and toasted them, but Nogryl just looked the other way and kept thinking with a grim look on his face.
He could not imagine that his comrades cared so little about what happened, because for him, no cause was already lost. He could not simply declare her dead and let his mind wander off the subject. There was something that he could do; he just did not know what.
The thought of just sitting and drinking his day off bothered him, and he grew more and more restless with each passing minute. He stood up and proclaimed,
"There is still something we must do“ before leaving the tavern. His fellow militamen stood up from the table and followed as they quickly realized that he was waiting outside. As soon as they saw him, he continued walking down the road at a quick pace.
"Do you really think we will rescue that woman?" One of the men questioned.
"Yes, let's get your weapons from the barracks and just follow me.“ The men shrugged and did as he said. Even off duty, they followed his authority as their commander. The party walked through the Lindenrow village, to the village gates and beyond, down the road and off into the forest, as the night was slowly setting. Nogryl walked first, rising his step high through the tall grass, covered in armor and with his sword by his side.
"At least we will reach the forest before the sun sets.“ The group approached the woodland entrance, and it was already dark under the canopy of the woods. The party lit their lanterns as the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon and haze came down from the mountains.
Soon after, the night was full, and the group walked one by one through the thick woodland, surrounded by the sounds of the crickets and the night birds. Occasionally a spark of a firefly would appear here and there and then quickly disappear into the deep darkness of the forest.
The drinks were slowly wearing off, and the boldness and warmth were being replaced with the fear and the cold. One of the men, young Henry, shaken by the fear and cold, took a skin of wine from his belt with his trembling hands and started mumbling some words. And soon after, the rest of the men recognized the song and started silently chanting and humming through the dark forest:
"The sword may shine in sunlight pale,
And lasting seem the shield,
Steadfast be the knight on horse,
That in battle those will wield.
But timeless steel, shaped and wrought
The rust will slowly eat,
And oaken boards, though hard and strong,
The blows will slowly beat.
For stoutest man in flame of youth
one day will ring the bell,
Yet of bravest deeds in courage bound,
The tales will ever tell.
Of mighty knights of Xorael,
The mortal men in ranks of God,
With Alofyr they rushed in fray
To spill the evil blood.
And of the one that's clad in red,
Mighty Elen, Dragon's bane
That Madurak the Elmrane's dread
In Elensfall has slain.
And many more the legends say,
Left battlefield to halls of gold,
And glorious to this day
They still live in tales of old
When drinks are poured and flagons clashed
In name of those that fell,
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
They might look down from realm of gods,
For there now they all dwell.
Up in Valgorn the gilded halls
With open arms for us they wait,
So let go of fear, brave your soul,
And embrace the Hero's fate.”
The wine and chant drove away the fear, and the group continued boldly into the darkness of the unknown, with no guarantee that they would return or find what they searched for, yet still following their trusted leader and a friend.
As the men sang and chanted through the deep forest, a creature lurked among the branches, spying on them with its yellow eyes, waiting and planning its evil plan. It was an ur'glun with a black hood, leather armor, shoulderguards with a bow, and two black swords.
His face was grim and serious, and among many sharp teeth, he had one black tooth. He silently watched as the men passed, carrying their lanterns that shun like torches in the dark, yet unable to see farther away than where the lantern's light would reach.
It was a rare sight to see a group of men walking into the woods so carelessly, yet there were too many, so the lurking ur'glun decided to leave and alert the others of their presence.
"Did you hear that?“ Young Henry asked, "Something just moved."
"Haha, don't be afraid, kid, Drink some of this; I heard it cures the lack of bravery,“ answered one of the older guards as he pushed a bottle of wine against Henry's chest, and the whole group laughed.
"Lack of bravery...“ Henry thought as his face grew grim and grudgy.
"They'll see who's a coward." The young man drank a couple of sips and returned the bottle to the older guard. The hours have passed, and the party continued wandering deeper into the woods.
Far away, in the old woodland, deep where the trees became larger and their canopies thicker, unseen by a man or alike, the creature moved ahead of the party, restlessly running through the woods.
Moments later, the ur'glun passed through a thin entrance between two large stones that leaned against a mountain and found himself in a dark tunnel that led to a dimly lit cave. He entered the cave and yelled,
"The men have found our tracks—a small patrol of ten together with their leader!“
The rest of the ur'gluns looked at him and started laughing with crooked and ugly smirks on their faces.
"Men in this hour?" one of them added, and the rest found the situation amusing.
"You must be seeing things; the tall-folk never leave their filthy walls after the late hours; they are blind in the dark, like chickens!"
The whole group of vile goblinoids started laughing and mocking the hooded ur'glun in dark leather armor.
"Silence!“ A loud shout echoed through the halls of the cave, and soon everyone kept their mouths shut. Loud steps could be heard, and from the dark appeared a large creature, human-like but deformed, slightly taller than most of the men, and clad in dark iron armor woven of thick scales.
"Let Nal'zuk speak!“ the creature yelled. The hooded Ur'glun bowed his head and said,
"A party of eleven humans is following our tracks! Most common city guards!“
"Eleven of them?“ The creature asked in surprise.
"Why should we be concerned about a single patrol?“
"Ten of them, led by Nogryl himself!“ Nal'zuk replied. The tall creature clenched its crooked teeth and let a single growl through it's jaws and spoke,
"Nal'zuk, the lone wolf... a renowned hunter and great fighter...“ The creature said and slowly walked through the shadows.
"I see why nobody ever witnessed your deeds! You are nothing more than a liar! An outcast!“, He continued; "It's not been long since Nogryl killed my brother, and as soon as I claimed the position of a new chief, you decide to play with my patience?“ He added,
"But if that bastard was truly trespassing our woods, it'd be a mockery for me! An insult to the injury!“
"Well... chief, I suggest we should search for him, and if my claim is truly a lie, have me beheaded in front of this very crowd!“
Nal'zuk replied and left the room, and the rest of the beasts looked at their chief.
"What are you looking at? Arm yourselves!" He yelled, and the whole pack rushed to equip their weapons and armor, screaming and growling with their bloodthirsty voices.
Nal'zuk went deeper into the earth, through the tunnels that led to the underground, beneath the mountain chain around the cursed black mountain.
There he entered a dark chamber, where neither the light of the sun nor the torch could be seen. But it was far from empty and deserted, as he could hear the sound of steel cutting through wood, the sound of cracking oaken boards, and the splinters hitting against the stone.
But the darkness did not bother Nal'zuk, for ur'glun eyes could see even in the deepest darkness.
There he could see a pale figure with swords slashing the targets made of wood and hay, spinning and cutting with two black swords made of the dreaded black steel, the valkrulnal.