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"Oww!" Ted squirmed out of his grave. "That's my leg. Watch those nails of your's."
"Out of the way." Emiel pushed Ted aside and began digging furiously into the mound of muddy oerth. "There..." he exclaimed and triumphantly drew forth his severed arm.
Ted cringed and turned away while Emiel placed one raw end of arm to the other.
Hair sprouted from Emiel's skin. His flesh writhed, his body hunched and shifted beneath his clothes. The severed bone rejoined as he fought back a howl of pain. After a few agonizing moments Emiel straightened and rubbed filthy hands over his leather vest. A thick scar, rough and dark purple in color, ringed his arm where the two ends had met.
"All done?" Ted asked, clearing his throat to mask his discomfort.
"Your squeamishness amazes me." said Emiel. "I want to find some water and wash away this muck." he rubbed again at his vest. "Then we need to see what that idiot barbarian has left us. Do you see our packs?"
"He might have buried them?" hazarded Ted.
"He didn't bury the horses." Emiel replied. "It looks like he stripped the orcs of anything useful." He nudged the mound that had covered Ted and a small shield poked through the top layer of dirt. "I'll just bet he looted our things as well."
Ted made a sound that might have been a chuckle, but he did not look happy or amused.
"Look at all this foul gear." Emiel reached down and pulled a curved sword from the pile. A coat of steel rings was caught in its notched blade. He separated them and weighed the rusted mail in his hand. "We might find a use for these."
"Oh no." moaned Ted. "No more playing at orcs again. I wanna get clean."
"We are already wearing half the costume." said Emiel, gesturing with his hand to indicate their mud-caked clothes and bodies.
"I thought we were going after Camilla?" Ted played his only card hoping to dissuade Emiel.
"Camilla." Emiel stared off into the distance for a moment then shook his head to clear it. "Do you wish to go back to the Rat's Nest and search it?"
"No, not there." Ted said quickly.
"There were no messages left at the farmhouse, none at the Nest," Emiel gestured still holding the chain shirt, making it clash like a pouch half-filled with coin, "and it is almost a days march north to the refuge in the forest. I will not abandon her, but I do not like abandoning the barbarian either."
"He is none of ours." said Ted.
"He is here to fight the giants." said Emiel firmly. "Ours or not, he fights our enemy. I would like to see him succeed."
"He saw us die. He buried us." Ted's voice had taken on an unpleasant whine. "He'll tell, or fight us if he knows."
"We will tell him it is magic." said Emiel. "He might even want to join the family."
***
The sun said that it was more than halfway toward evening. Dark came early to Geoff. Twilight was short, the mountains cut off the light and the night followed quickly on the end of day.
Ragnar had traveled and fought under the moon and stars many times, but darkness favored the orcs, the goblins and their wolves. The giants and ogres saw no better than he did without light, but their verminous minions would be abroad, along this very road no doubt, once the sun had set. A fight would be a relief, he was tired of walking, but he wanted to kill the giant chief and not waste his strength on wolves and goblins.
To either side the land had turned to marsh or fields of mud. This time of year the waters ran high and there seemed to be no dry land but for the road. No where to go but back or ahead, or wade into the mire.
'Goblins be damned.' Ragnar muttered to himself. He shifted the grip on his axe and stalked off down the road heading west.
***
"He didn't touch my saddlebags." said Ted.
"My horse must have escaped," said Emiel, 'and my pack and kit with it."
"What about Ragnar's?" asked Ted.
"Stripped clean." Emiel rubbed his hands on his vest. He did so without thinking, so often that a bare spot, free of the clinging mud, showed through.
"Speaking of clean..." Ted began.
"Alright." Emiel relented. "We've spent too much time in Hochoch. I can't stand this filth any longer. We can always find orc clothes if we need."
"Too right." Ted agreed.
"We will find a spring or pond on the way then." said Emiel. "We'd better find that barbarian before he gets himself in trouble."
"I don't care if it's ditchwater." Ted muttered. "And that barbarian is welcome to all the trouble and leave none for us, I wish."
* * *
(To Be Continued)