Chapter 7

Scorched Earth

The temperature plummeted as the miles wore on; the air growing thinner the further they traveled up the mountain pass. Neyra was finally grateful for all the space they had dedicated in the wagon for winter supplies. She would be dead without the extra cloaks and gloves, not to mention the thicker, fur-lined bedrolls they slept in. It turned out that some things were more useful than books, after all.

A thin layer of snow crunched underneath Arv’s boots as he trudged up the road, carrying his family safely on his back. Behind them, Kaida guided the mule with a firm hand, urging it to continue pulling their wagon. That wagon was much lighter now than it was at the start of their trip, but the road had grown more treacherous. The poor beast looked even more tired than Arv.

Neyra uttered a prayer of thanks for her brother. She was quite thankful to have the sturdy walls of the Howdah to break the cold, mountain wind. They offered him plenty of breaks, but he often refused. He said that having the three of them generating heat back there kept him warm. Neyra was pretty sure he was lying (They did little more than huddle together and shiver when they rode) But it was a loving lie.

Ahead of them, she saw Valdora scan the road with keen eyes. They would arrive at the Estate sometime today, and she could tell that he was on edge. He leaned on his spear as he walked up the incline, keeping his sights on the trees ahead. Zarl would be up there somewhere.

Sure enough, she saw a tiny flash of warm green as Zarl removed his hood and pulled down his scarf. The green of his face stood in stark contrast to the darker needles of the evergreens that they hiked underneath. Zarl slid down to a lower branch, waving a hand at Valdora, who rushed over. He perched there like a little bird while he gave his report.

Kaida pulled the wagon to a halt, and the rest of their squadron made their way up toward where Valdora stood. Elwin was the first to reach them, skidding to a halt as Zarl finished speaking. Arv was too far back for Neyra to hear what he said.

Then Elwin broke into a sprint.

“Soldier!” Valdora yelled, hoisting his great spear as he ran to follow her. The moment she crested the hill she came to a sudden halt, and Neyra could see how her knees wobbled before she fell. Arv got them to the top of the hill a moment later, just in time to hear her broken words.

“No…no!”

In the valley before them stood the grand fields and pastures that supported the heart of Lord Nero’s lands. Cattle and sheep laid in pieces on the ground, their throats split and their innards spilled. Fields that should have held hearty, early winter crops were burnt to the ground, nothing but white ash and scorched earth now. Hot spots still smoldered here and there, sending trails of acrid smoke into the thin mountain air. Carrion birds fluttered and cawed as they fought over the spoils. Their movement was the only sign of life as far as Neyra could see.

Further to the North stood the walls of the main estate grounds, the gates blown open wide. Past their threshold, even more smoke rose into the sky, obscuring her view of the once stately home that Elwin spoke so highly of.

Valdora had his spyglass in hand, and was urgently scanning the terrain while Elwin cursed and slammed her fists into the cold, hard ground. Her breath puffed in front of her as she fought to control herself.

“They got here first.” Kaida said, kneeling down at Elwin’s side.

She placed a reassuring hand on her back, and Elwin flinched away with a snarl. Zarl was speaking to the Captain in hushed tones, sparing worried glances for the state of his squad mate. Neyra strained her ears to hear. She caught only pieces. Whatever else he found while scouting wasn’t good. Not good at all.

“We leave the wagon here. I want our approach to go unnoticed. Neyra!”

“Sir!”

“We’ll need some cover,”

Neyra took a breath and nodded. She placed a hand on Elle’s shoulder, urging her aside so she could stand on the center seat of the Howdah. With her head above Arv’s, she now had a full view of the destruction that laid before them. Slowly, she raised both her arms, one palm to the sky, the other to the earth. She began her chant, the arcane words rolling off of her tongue in a melodic whisper. With practiced grace, she moved her fingers and hands, performing the somatic component with precision. She felt the buzz of arcane energy leave her fingertips, following the path that she commanded. Everyone was looking at her. She could feel it. And she tried not to be nervous as she waited.

At first, there was nothing. But then, the small tendrils of smoke that dotted the ground grew, their wispy fingers reaching out to grasp at each other. They stretched and merged and danced in the air until the entire approach to the estate was nothing but a dense wall of smoke clear up to where they stood. Valdora reached out and touched it with a reverent hand.

“Well done, Ney!” Elivera whispered in awe.

“I want staggered column formation. Arv, you take the lead with the Howdah. Neyra, can you part the air in front of us as we move?”

Neyra nodded slowly, and she refocused her efforts to mold the spell. Valdora reached out again, and this time, the smoke parted in his wake.

“Excellent. Now let’s move. I want all flanks covered. You know the drill.”

The group crept down the valley in near silence. An impressive feat, considering the fact that they had a fully armored Hilda with them. The air grew warmer as they descended. They took their time, pausing occasionally to examine the bodies that they came across. As they made their way closer to the gates, those bodies included more humans than livestock. Their throats were ripped out and their spilled blood pooled in the tracks of wolves that covered the ground nearby.

Neyra’s ears pricked as she heard the sounds of guttural voices from up ahead. Elle must have heard it too, because she raised her hand in the signal to halt. Neyra closed her eyes and focused with as much might as she dared allow. The spell still needed to be held.

“Orcish…” she muttered, voice but a whisper. She was still trying to listen. “They’re talking about the smoke. Captain, we have only moments before they come this way.”

“Let’s not give them the chance. On my mark, we attack.” Valdora flashed the signal down the line and readied his spear. And then they charged.

Arv roared as he ran, breaking through the barrier of conjured smoke. Neyra released her spell, willing the smoke to return to its own devices. She had other matters to attend to now. Eight armored figures came into view as her little brother rushed forward. They were caught by surprise, some of them with their weapons still undrawn.

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Arv stowed his trident in favor of his harpoons, and he hefted one in his throwing arm. With a great heave, he threw the barbed weapon at the enemy. It sailed through the air, rope trailing behind it like the tail of a deadly kite, and it landed with a solid thunk in the thigh of the closest orc. Immediately, Arv grabbed hold of the rope and gave it a sharp yank. The beast amazingly held his ground despite Arv’s efforts to pull his leg out from under him. The armored foe roared out in orcish, the words indecipherable even to Neyra’s ears. She supposed the fellow had nothing intelligible to say. She certainly wouldn’t if she had Arv’s harpoon sticking out of her leg.

“Hold it tight, Arv!” Elivera said from beside Neyra. And Neyra watched in horror as her little sister scurried up and out of the Howdah.

“What in the hells are you doin’?!” Neyra asked, her voice drowned out by the sounds of their companions. They were in the grisly process of dealing with the other seven soldiers.

Riza had one pinned on the ground with her spear. Her frills were bristling with fury as she hissed down at the enemy. And with a mighty roar, Cretin came charging over and slammed his mace down onto its head. It split like a rotten melon despite the black helm.

Hilda had hacked off the leg of one creature right at the knee with one great swing of her axe, and she bashed the rest of its body with her shield.

“I’ve got a plan!” Elle said, and Neyra was a bit appalled at the frenzied eagerness on her sister’s face. Ensign Elivera drew her sword, and with a frenzied cry, she leapt off of Arv and onto the tightrope that connected them to the harpooned shadow soldier.

“HEY!” Arv shouted, “THAT’S YOUR PLAN?!”

“And you all call me the crazy one!” Shamil yelled out as she readied her crossbow.

Neyra knew very well that Elivera was the most dexterous of the Tallfellow children, but this was just ridiculous. She was an acrobat of death as she made the crossing in three swift strides, without so much as a wobble in the rope. Her auburn brown hair whipped from its tails behind her as she ran, and her face was a mask of grim determination. She snarled and slashed her blade at the neck of the beast. Her attack was quick, and she spent no more time on her precarious perch; opting instead to tumble through the air and land in a graceful stance behind the foe. And it was in that moment that Neyra realized just how skilled her little sister had become in their years away from home. She was quite worthy of her rank, indeed.

Elwin screamed out with a fury that Neyra had never heard from her. The sound pierced her down to the bone, and it drew her head around to watch her squad mate. Neyra knew that pain. For Elwin Nero, this war had just become deeply personal. Tears streamed out of Elwin’s almond eyes and down her cheeks. Her face, a face that was usually the very picture of composure, was now contorted into a mask of pure rage and raw grief. She swung her sword, connecting with the neck of a soldier. The blade tore through flesh like a hot knife through butter, and the armored head went sailing through the air.

A loud twang rang out from Neyra’s side as Shamil took a shot at the soldier locked into combat with Kaida. The enemy squad finally had their bearings, it would seem. Hilda took hits from another enemy, and Riza and Cretin were rushing to assist. Arv switched back to his trident and was sizing up the rest of the battlefield.

The orc with the harpoon in his leg was bloodied, but still alive. He snarled as he got to his feet, and he turned directly at Elle.

“Elle! Behind you!” Bellowed Arv as he lunged forward at the straggling soldier. Time slowed as Neyra locked eyes on her sister. Elivera was preparing to leap at the enemy who fought Valdora. She had no idea that her blow hadn’t finished the one behind her.

Neyra’s mind was in a state of pure, absolute, and utter panic. Her well of arcane energy was small, and she knew they would face even greater threats before she restored it. That meant that her options were limited. Extremely limited. Her eyes scanned the body of the hurt soldier, looking for anything she could exploit.

The belt of his scabbard was loose, and it drooped precariously around the creature’s hips. One pull could bring it down his legs and possibly trip him up in his tracks. It would have to do.

With an uttered word and a flick of her wrist, Neyra summoned a spectral hand. She willed it to rush forward to the orc that threatened her sister, and commanded it to pull down the belt. But she made a bit of a miscalculation.

The orc yowled out in surprise and jumped into the air. He gained a surprising amount of height, considering how battered he was. And that was because while Neyra was going for his belt, the mage hand grabbed something…else instead. Something that when yanked with a good amount of force (enough force to say…pull a belt down?) would be quite painful. Not to mention incredibly startling.

Elle whipped around in a flash at the sound of the agitated creature, and as he tried to flee, she plunged her sword into his back. Arv’s trident was quick to follow and Neyra watched as her brother and sister made sure that the beast was well and truly dead.

“Did…did you just grab?” Began Shamil, from Neyra’s side. Neyra’s face burned, and she glared furiously at her best friend, who grinned with a bemused smile.

“NOPE.”

“Well, whatever ya did, it sure worked.” Arv wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to look at her. He had a similar smirk on his face. “Just remind me to never EVER piss ya off, okay Ney?”

Neyra huffed and reached her hand out to flick his big green ear. Arv did nothing but laugh and bat her tiny hand away. Curse the boy.

With a final roar of fury, Valdora speared the neck of the last soldier, and soon they all stood panting among the bloody remains of their enemies. From start to finish, the battle had lasted mere moments, and Valdora nodded in approval as he took stock of the scene before them.

“Good work, team,” he turned and looked at Elle, who stood wiping the blood off of her sword, “There’ll be more. And they probably heard all that racket. We need to get inside the building.”

Neyra leapt down out of the Howdah as the command team continued to confer about tactics. She scurried over to one of the bodies and pulled out her notebook. Her hands shook slightly as she reached out to move the armor aside. The body was still sweaty and warm and it stank of gore.

“Here, little miss. Let me help with that,” came the soft, hissing voice of Riza. And Neyra nodded gratefully as she reached a scaly hand out to peel the rest of the black armor off of the corpse.

“Could you turn him over on his front, please?”

Riza nodded and flipped the body over nearly effortlessly. Neyra often forgot just how strong the Lizardfolk woman was. She was working quickly to get the armor completely off of the torso, handing the pieces to Cretin, who stood waiting.

And there it was, the brand. It burned into her eyes as she hurriedly sketched out the details. She flipped the pages of the book, checking and checking again. Exactly the same. At least that much was confirmed for her now. She placed her fingers on the scarred tissue, tracing the rough texture. Nothing else stood out to her, which infuriated Neyra to no end.

Not too far away from where she crouched, the team still debated the way forward.

“We could be walking into anything, with no way out, Captain! Let me check out the place first, at least–” Zarl hissed at Valdora, keeping his voice low.

“I’m well aware of the risk, Zarl. And I understand we need intel. But I’m not sending my only scout in alone. Now as for who to send with you…”

Neyra continued to study the body, and Riza kept removing armor pieces as the leadership talked. Cretin took each piece from Riza and studied them one by one for any damage. Neyra’s heart sank as they finally peeled off the creature's helm. It was indeed an orc. His green skin lacked warmth, and his tusks were yellow and chipped. He had matted black hair and scars that stretched from chin to cheek. But beneath all of that, Neyra couldn’t see the monster anymore. She could only see her brother.

She shook her head and spared a glance for Arv. Her mother’s words echoed in her head, The world might try to make him into something he’s not…don’t let it. Neyra forced a grin as Arv met her eyes. He smiled at her and her heart felt lighter for it. No. The only thing this orc had in common with Arv was his height.

Suddenly, Neyra’s eyes opened wide, and she leapt to her feet. Riza and Cretin gave her curious looks as she snatched the helmet from the armor pile and ran up to the Captain. She had an idea.