Send a spelling or grammar correction to: Tracy Johnson
Back to Empire on the HPe3000 Home Page
vi. Nev Ironbar listened closely to Dennis O'Berrin and Cylene Saxinus as they delivered their report. The rest of the group had paused and were trying to listen in. "... Maybe about... six orcs, three bugbears. A couple of hobgoblins..." Dennis was finishing. "... and I think there were a few others. We couldn't find any around the glade without revealing ourselves," Cylene added. "You did the right thing," replied Nev Ironbar. "THE RIGHT THING!" Clarissa almost screamed. This pair had gotten so close they could have taken out a few of them quite quietly. And they had dragged her along! What were they thinking!? "Melina here did pretty well, you know." It was Dennis (of course.) Nev Ironbar was silent. He didn't even look at Clarissa. To his side, Ehlranth stirred, "What do you think? Should we take the shot? We could go around..." with this last bit, he was looking toward the two ranger scouts. They nodded, but were looking toward Nev Ironbar. Indeed, all eyes were now on Nev Ironbar. Nev Ironbar was silent for ages. "Say something will you! Or I might just storm off!" thought Clarissa. Finally, Nev Ironbar spoke. "Dinizael?" he said. "I doubt very much that this is the group that you... that we are looking for." replied Dinizael. Nev Ironbar was silent again. With his one eye, he wasn't looking at anyone. Clarissa could see that Ehlranth was looking very impatient. She then looked over to Dennis and Cylene. They looked perfectly relaxed. Romanar spoke, "well? The afternoon is getting along..." "Very well... we will take the shot." "Hoorah!" thought Clarissa. Nev seemed to gain a bit of strength with this decision, and turned to the ranger scouts. "Are you two ready to ride again?" "You bet we are!" Cylene almost jumped out of the saddle. "Very well... Ehlranth? Get the group organised... Shall we say, scenario three?" "No problem." replied Ehlranth. Clarissa thought that the elf was about to smile... there, it is almost on his lips... no, it's gone... "And Melina?" "Yes, Mr. Ironbar?" Clarissa put on her most cheerful false face. She almost saluted. "You'll sit this one out." Clarissa wasn't really surprised by this. Dennis and Cylene looked a little disappointed. "To the blazes with you then!" thought Clarissa. She had already turned her back on him when he and the two scouts rode off back down the trail. She was riding toward the group and could hear the elf following hard behind. "All right people, just like we rehearsed... we will head back to the glade back here and we will be assembling for a splice manoeuvre, so I will need Lav and Aridena up front. Mahaern should be behind..." Clarissa could see the group start to break up and change their order as they started to ride back a short distance. As the three clerics passed, Mahaern flashed her a smile. Clarissa's head spun with all the movement around her. "Behind you we should have... Walker, Tobey and Gleeson..." Clarissa saw two of those nameless warriors move up with the stern cleric of Trithereon. "We should have Westbury and Granduur toward the back. The rest of you assemble in the middle," said Ehlranth as the group continued to move and assemble at his direction. vii. There was much movement as the troop continued to assemble under the direction of the elf. Clarissa found herself in the middle of the rear guard. "Did you enjoy the ride?" Clarissa turned. It was Tafcho, and he was speaking to her. "Where you talking to me?" she asked. "Oh yes! You thought perhaps I had taken a vow of silence?" Clarissa thought that this was an odd question. What was that supposed to mean? "Let me begin again, for I have startled you. I was asking if you are feeling a little more relaxed about being in the group?" "Maybe... I..." Clarissa was lost for words. "Yes?" "I am still not sure what I am doing here or where I am going." "Ah, you have discovered the nature of adulthood and the essential question that one must ask if one is to begin looking for the answers that one seeks." Clarissa found great meaning from this. She turned to Tafcho. "What are you doing here Tafcho?" she asked. "I am on a great pilgrimage and I am indulging my curiosity of the Eastern Lands. Zeif just... bored me." Clarissa was suddenly entranced by this one. Could he be the only sane person in the group? "Are you really from Zeif? I have heard that it is a place that is beautiful, and that there are palaces there that are actually made from gemstones." "Perhaps not quite that grand, but yes, it is beautiful..." replied Tafcho, his eyes looking suddenly very distant. "Why are you in the group?" Clarissa asked again. "I am travelling with Gleeson and his comrades. Though I feel that there is much that I could teach them about discipline and self control, they seek to combat the evil of slavery. I agree with that cause, and I have come to face the evils for myself. I have heard of a great and evil organising power behind the front of the organisation." "Do you think that Nev Ironbar is a Slaver?" Clarissa risked the question, curious to hear what Tafcho would say. "His face is blank and not easy to read. I sense he is a man of some honour, but I am not sure if I fully trust him." Clarissa thought about this. She was going to ask another question, when they were both disturbed by noises coming along the path ahead. Around her, a great many bowstrings were suddenly pulled taught. Looking ahead, the noises suddenly ceased. Clarissa could hear her heart pounding. She felt Tafcho place his hand on her shoulder and she was able to relax. The people around her with bows started to get fidgety. Up ahead, something came around the glade corner... It was Nev Ironbar. He saw all the bows drawn and smiled. The bowstrings loosened, and the bows were pointed downward. "I wouldn't get too relaxed," he said to the group, "We will soon be joined by a very excited Dennis and Cylene!" "Why is that?" asked Lav Kivelar, who was at the head of the group and ready for battle. Nev Ironbar grinned, "I am afraid that they seriously underestimated the numbers of the humanoid force ahead..." viii. Dennis and Cylene came flying around the corner. Their eyes wild, they moved at such speed that anyone else would have fallen from their mounts. Nev Ironbar casually followed them and took up a position to the side of Mahaern. He looked toward Ehlranth and casually tossed his head to the side, glancing briefly at Clarissa. Ehlranth turned without emotion and rode over to take a place next to Clarissa. She saw Nev Ironbar begin to assemble a very ornate looking bow and he carefully selected an arrow from his holder. Clarissa looked around her. Everyone was a bundle of nerves and excitement. The only faces of calm belonged to Nev Ironbar, Ehlranth, Romanar and Tafcho. Tafcho whispered to her. "You have nothing to fear, Remember that." Clarissa tried to calm herself, as noises were rising along the trail ahead. Off to the side, Dennis and Cylene had already recovered their composure and had calmed their mounts. Their bows were at the ready. Around the corner ahead came a mass of ugly and raving monsters. They all carried evil bladed weapons and shields with ugly paintings on them. Clarissa was aghast. They were of all shapes and sizes. Some were bigger than the tallest men, and in the middle were two monsters that were bigger than Lav Kivelar, the tallest and strongest of the group! Clarissa tried to describe them in her mind, there were small dog faces, slightly larger pig faces, very tall ugly elf-ears and giants with shaggy faces. She was not sure how many... just lots of them! Clarissa head a voice ring out, "WAIT FOR IT!" The monsters drew closer. They saw the group of armed warriors but they didn't break the stride. Suddenly, the air was full of arrows. A group of the monsters at the head of the group fell face down, some of those behind stumbled and fell. The rest moved on and around the fallen mass. Clarissa drew her blade, impressed that none of the lead three were hit by any of the arrows. She almost dropped the sword as she was shaking so hard. All around her, warriors were either drawing forth new arrows or putting their bows away and drawing bladed weapons. Clarissa felt very afraid and small. Then she felt arms around her... It was Tafcho. Why was he giving her a hug? "No... calm, reason, control." He had taken gentle hold of both her wrists and was almost willing them to stop shaking. He then moved her arms in an impressive whirl with the blade. He let go with one hand and Clarissa was holding the sword with one hand, guided by the calm arm of Tafcho. "Experience and practice is only a part of what you need to know. It all comes down to knowing your own flexibility. Think of the sword as a part of your arm... Now let go." Clarissa did as he said. The sword spun in mid air about three times before she caught it with ease. Tafcho wasn't holding her wrist this time. "Now watch ahead and be calm." Clarissa looked ahead and saw that Lav Kivelar, Aridena and Mahaern had dismounted and were directly in the path of the charging horde. Mahaern had drawn a long and pointed sword and dagger, Aridena had a sword in each hand and Lav was holding a sword that was longer than he was tall. He seemed to have no problem wielding it, despite the size. Clarissa could see that Mahaern was shaking gently. Arrows flew around and over them and more monsters ahead fell. Mahaern stopped shaking, the gallant three changed their stance, and met the charge. ix. Clarissa was speechless. The arrows had stopped firing, but the monsters fell even quicker. Mahaern was striking out and dealing horrific wounds to the monsters and barely getting a scratch. He was a good fighter, Clarissa thought, but what really was amazing was the other two in action. None of the monsters could get near Lav Kivelar with the length of his weapon. He charged one of the shaggy faced giants and Clarissa could hear him shouting something. One swing, and the giant fell in two. Another swing, three smaller monsters went flying in pieces. Near to him, Clarissa could see Aridena swinging her blades. Amazed, she watched as Aridena threw one in the air and it spun in a circle for a whole minute, carving up three of the monsters that charged her while she still fought with the other blade. It was if the spinning blade was being wielded by a ghost. Aridena paused and a big monster with elf-like ears pushed past her and charged the middle of the party. Aridena continued fighting with her blade and without looking at what she was hitting, she retrieved the spinning blade and threw it at the running monster. It must have been 20 feet away from her and it hit the monster square in the back. It fell face down, dead. Aridena turned and found herself facing another of the elf-eared monsters and it struck her with a massive iron ball on a staff. The party let out a cry of anger and Clarissa was among them. She turned to look at Nev Ironbar, ready to yell at him to help the stricken Aridena. Nev Ironbar was watching the battle calmly. As Aridena fell, he saw Mahaern falter and take a blade in the shoulder from another monster. He had dropped his sword but swung with his dagger. The monster that struck him fell violently, and no others would come near him as he yelled oaths at small dog faced monsters nearby. Some of them ran from him. Nev Ironbar looked at the elf-ear that stood above Aridena, as it raised its weapon to strike her again. Clarissa saw her try to grab her sword, but it was out of reach. Nev Ironbar started looking through his arrow holder. Clarissa was ready to scream at him to do something. She saw him select an arrow and he seemed to draw the bowstring back before he had loaded the arrow. He fired, and the arrow struck the monster with such force that it fell backward, landing safely off of Aridena. Clarissa observed this, and thought that he was a pretty good shot, for someone with only one eye. Dennis and Cylene charged forward. They both leapt off their mounts and landed safely on either side of the wounded Aridena. Their mounts had already turned and were making their way back to the party when Dennis drew two swords and Cylene held her trusty hand axe two handed in a threatening gesture. Lav was still busy fighting off a horde of smaller monsters, and having difficulty with the size of his sword. He cursed when he saw that the two rangers were being stalked by two of the shaggy faced giants. He yelled a warning, and Dennis and Cylene turned. They had not a look of fear on their face, and stood ready to protect the fallen Aridena. An arrow flew between them, and hit one of the giants. It fell dead. Nev Ironbar again... Two horses rode, and Clarissa saw Gleeson and Walker ride to join the valiant rangers. Clarissa was smiling now and she wanted to cheer them on. Dennis was wanting to charge the giant but Cylene looked uncertain. Gleeson, still on his mount, waved them both back. Clarissa saw him yell something. She understood the words "BY THE POWER OF THE SUMMONER" but couldn't make the rest of it out. The monster recoiled as if it was struck by a large weapon. There were no wounds, but it was having trouble standing, and was swinging as if it couldn't see. Walker charged forward and struck the monster with his sword. It staggered some more. Cylene threw her axe and it hit the monster in the face. It fell dead. Gleeson dismounted and was looking at Aridena. Clarissa saw a look of great concern pass over his face, and he said something to the others. They formed a circle around him. He was gesturing and passing his hands over her wildly, speaking as he went. A colossal roar came from ahead, and two more of the shaggy faced giants came around the corner. Gleeson continued the gesturing as the noble warriors stood guard. Clarissa saw that Lav Kivelar couldn't keep the smaller monsters back, and they swarmed over him, heading right toward the group that Clarissa was with. "Zog this, I'm bored!" someone said behind Clarissa. She turned to look, and saw that it was Alupo. He was pulling something out of his pack, and was looking directly at Clarissa as he was doing so. "Y now, sometimes you just need to send in the experts straight away." Clarissa could see that he had pulled out a wine bottle and was loading a bit of cloth into it. Do you see this? This is the finest vintage I carry! He was conjuring a flame and lighting the cloth as he spoke. He was still looking at Clarissa, Still, there is nothing quite like accepting a better drink from someone in your debt, eh?! He made some sort of gesture in the air in front of him with his free hand. May Olidammara guide my aim." He winked at Clarissa and charged his horse. Clarissa watched him go in amazement. Nearby, the dog faces were getting nearer. Some of the warriors and Romanar tried to fight them off but many charged right past them. Clarissa saw Alupo ride past and right up to where the circle was guarding the fallen Aridena. Some of the guards seemed to be about to say something when Alupo put a finger to his lips, and they all remained quiet. He turned to the giants, and waited. The cloth seemed to have burned dangerously close to the neck of the bottle. They giants drew closer and then Alupo hurled the bottle. It struck one of the monsters and suddenly it was in flames. Clarissa could have sworn she saw it screaming, but she heard nothing. He and Mahaern were looking at each other and grinning. They turned back to the monsters and began gesturing. The flaming giant seemed to stumble and fell toward the second giant and they were both alight. They seemed to charge toward the guard circle when they both stumbled and fell. They fell into a large pile of leaves and the flames engulfed them. Clarissa watched all this with awe. She was surprised when her horse reared up and threw her. She landed heavily and found herself facing some of the of the dog faces. She was so entranced by the battle ahead that she had forgotten them! One of them charged her. She felt arms around her and suddenly the sword she held was swinging wildly. The charging dog-creature was hit by the sword a number of times and ran wildly. Two more charged her and she felt her other arm being directed to her waist and her hand was on top of her knife. Oh! She exclaimed and drew it. Suddenly she was fighting two handed with the help of Tafcho behind her. The monsters couldn t get near her. The arms let go and she continued fighting, finding confidence in herself. Tafcho was by her side now. He still didn t have any weapons in his hand. He seemed shorter and thinner than her out of the saddle and up close. "Don't you need a sword?" asked Clarissa. "No." he said, and smiled. A dog creature charged him and he swung quickly, catching it in a backhand slap. The creature fell and did not move. Another charged him. It fell short as it was hit simultaneously by two punches and a kick. It fell as well. Clarissa couldn t believe this! Who were these people? Two more charged Tafcho. He side-stepped as one tried to skewer him with its short-sword. Tafcho caught the sword arm hard and twisted it, the monster turned with it. The second one ran straight onto the sword! Clarissa gasped. Tafcho put his elbow around the monster's neck and gingerly turned its head. The monster fell lifeless. Clarissa s eyes bulged in amazement. She looked to Tafcho and saw a look fo concern on his face. A final batch of monsters were charging them. They had slipped past all the defences and had spears ready to throw. Clarissa looked around for cover. Tafcho held a hand up for her to be still. Ehlranth was beside them, still in his saddle. He looked to Clarissa and Tafcho. Stay still, he said, but he wasn't looking at either of them. He closed his eyes and spoke words that Clarissa couldn't understand. She turned back to the monsters and saw that there were eight of them. Clarissa felt angry with Dennis and Cylene. How could they have underestimated these numbers? Maybe it was good that they didn't provoke a battle earlier on! One of the monsters was an elf-ear, and the other seven were pig faced... orcs. She knew of them, she just had never seen one before today. Looking at them now, she felt that she would just as soon never look at one again! The orcs swung back and unleashed seven spears directly at her and Tafcho. Clarissa yelped and tried to run while Tafcho stood motionless. When nothing happened, she turned and saw that the spears had fallen well short of them both, and many had shattered. Clarissa looked back to Ehlranth, and saw that he was still chanting. Just near him, she saw Dinizael, who was also chanting. Amazed, she drew closer to Ehlranth... his chanting was melodic, even beautiful. He opened his eyes, and Clarissa could hear the orcs scream and squeal. She looked and found that they seemed to be standing in a black bog... a bog wasn't there before. With horror, she saw all sorts of black snakes and tentacles erupt from the bog and engulf them. It seemed as if the orcs were being eaten. Some of them managed to free themselves. She heard Dinizael shout and saw what looked like three flaming arrows fly forth from his fingers. The arrows hit the orcs and they fell dead. AMAZING! He didn't even need a bow! Only two orcs were left now, and one was yelling all sorts of vile oaths at Dinizael and Ehlranth. Dinizael looked as if he was still concentrating, and Ehlranth was staring at the orc, unmoving. Clarissa looked back at the orc, and could see Romanar suddenly behind it. Romanar was small, probably even smaller than Tafcho. He was moving quickly, and struck the orc from behind. It stiffened and fell. The other orc charged him, but went flying as it was struck by an arrow from Nev Ironbar. Clarissa saw Romanar wave at Nev, who waved back. Romanar drew a longsword very quickly as he waved and held it to the chest of the elf-eared giant, which didn't move. ...And it was all over. All the monsters except the elf ear were dead. Clarissa looked around, and gasped, as she saw that there was a small force of fighters and clerics that hadn t been involved in the fighting: The other two from Dyvers and the rear guard of warriors. Tafcho put his hand gently on her shoulder. "Nothing to fear... you see." In spite of herself, she embraced him warmly. Clarissa saw over his shoulder that the two clerics of Trithereon had started to ride forward. They were met by Mahaern, Lav, and amazingly Aridena. She looked dazed but otherwise all right. The wounded three were being helped by Gleeson, Alupo and the two brave rangers. Mary Hunter and Eremanay dismounted and went up to the wounded to give aid. Clarissa saw that the six other warriors were divided, guarding both ends of the party, and looking as dangerous as they were unhurt. Nev Ironbar rode over to Romanar, and Clarissa saw Ehlranth ride over to join them. Clarissa watched this small group, uncertain what was now happening. She listened hard and watched their lips move. She understood it all. "Astounding! The best group yet!" It was Nev Ironbar speaking. It looked to Clarissa as if he was about to burst into song, and something about him that Clarissa could not describe made her think that he had a wonderful singing voice! "Hmmm. A brave and capable group! O'Berrin and Saxinus seem as capable as you described. I am still not sure about that mob from Dyvers, and if they will be of any use." This from Ehlranth, still not smiling, though Ironbar certainly was. "You let me worry about that! Why don t you and Romanar go off and see what this bugbear has to say for itself?" With that, Ehlranth and Romanar moved off beyond the front guards, bugbear at sword-point. The guards let them pass without question. Everyone else's attention was focussed on the wounded who were now being healed. Nev Ironbar came closer to Clarissa, who tried to look confidant in his face, but suddenly felt very afraid of him... again. She looked him directly in the eye, not sure what he was going to say. "Well done Melina, well done! Maybe one day you might come work for us!" Clarissa felt a chill at this, but felt better for it. She started to relax, and saw that Nev Ironbar was humming a tune to himself. He strode past and went to speak with Dinizael. Clarissa saw Alupo come over. He shook Tafcho s hand and said something to him that Clarissa couldn t hear. He turned to her and spoke. "Are you hurt, Melina?" he asked. "No, no, not at all!" Clarissa smiled at him. "That is good! It just wouldn't do if you weren't at full strength for the party ahead! He put his arms around the shoulders of Tafcho and Clarissa, gently leading over to the group of boisterous warriors and clerics. Clarissa felt her spirits rise, and she didn t notice when Ehlranth and Romanar returned shortly after, alone... To be continued (in a few days): Revel in the Woods (Everyone has fun except Clarissa, and a tax collector comes calling)