The next few moments in time seemed to move slowly for Artirius. He walked out, a menacing figure to those outside of the gates. They did not know how to react, were not sure that it was real. Artirius breathed in deep and bellowed loudly, a cry that nearly shattered the resolve of those in front of him. They regained themselves when the dwarves began to pour out from behind him. They packed the area tightly. It was like an arena full to the teeth with combatants fighting for survival. The berserkers made a great distraction for the barbarian. He fought in the midst of the battle for only a handful of seconds before he slipped away.
Down the corridor he ran. The others were not far away at the base of the stairs. Up they ran, the door was pushed open, and they moved low and quick, the fighting below being a sufficient distraction. They saw a wave roll down the hill as more attackers filled the chasm. They broke through some of the dwarven lines and seemed at first to consume them. In the midst of all the fighting were Daelin, Norrak, Browlie and Olie, laying down all that came their way. The berserkers reformed the line with the defenders. Some were down and not moving, most likely dead in the fighting. Artirius's heart could not bear to look for too long and he quickly focused ahead on the ledge. They found the corner and turned it quickly. They moved along away from the fighting and noise. They approached the end of the ledge. Balic peered out using his superior sight in the darkness and motioned that it seemed clear ahead. Artirius jumped down and landed softly fifteen feet below. He looked up and waved to the others. Balic jumped down and Artirius easily lowered him to the ground, he repeated this with Tressnou.
As soon as they were down, they were on the move again. Balic lead the way, his sight their guide. Tressnou was able to make out well enough in this night, but without at least some moonlight he was not much better off than Artirius. The area before them was mostly open ground. Behind them the fires of the enemy encampment were visible. They looked back toward where the mine would be. All of their hearts sank a little, but they knew this was best for them all.
The tree line grew closer and closer to them. Around twenty yards from the forest, Balic held them to a stop. He pointed to the ground near a few rocks and some taller grass and they all fell down behind them. As soon as they did they heard the patrol. By the sound of it, an orc and a gnoll were walking just on the other side of the rock. They waited calmly and quietly. Then the two stopped. They heard as the two slumped down opposite them taking a rest on the same rock.
They did not have much time to waste. Tressnou looked at Artirius, who nodded. He slowly turned and rose, stepped onto the large rock, and jumped down on the unsuspecting patrol. They fell quickly and quietly, little match for Artirius. Tressnou and Balic slid around joining Artirius. After a cursory glance no more patrols were seen and it seemed no alert was made either. The group, once satisfied, made for the forest.
They hit the brush and moved several hundred feet into the wood before stopping again. Balic looked about, “We seem to have made it well off. The northern trade road is to our left about forty yards. As far as I could tell no one made it after us.”
“Good, let’s move on then, shall we? The more distance we get under the shade of night the better,” Tressnou looked to the others and they all agreed. One last look was taken by them all in the direction they had come from. Of course they longed to be with their friends, they desired to help them now, and were afraid they would not make it out of the mine alive. Their sacrifices would not be in vain.
Turning away, they moved as quickly and quietly as was possible. They wanted to cover as great a distance as they could. Of course the road would have been faster travel but the forest concealed them more and they were wary to run into any unwanted company. In general the beasts would keep to the forests for ambush but with a great number of them rising up lately they would not be afraid to travel the open road more freely. It was likely, as well, that many were massed in other locations, perhaps even besieging key points of trade or power in the region.
As they traveled they stopped periodically for small rest breaks through the night. It was getting colder at night now as the harvest season was upon them and moving kept them warmer. The dawn lights came in what seemed a short time, but it had been many hours since they left the mine. The daytime sun was welcome to Artirius whom made out where he traveled better now. The trees were mostly hard woods, oak to be exact. Underneath them the terrain was mostly smooth and even, with the occasional bush or other wild growth. It was possible to be very much unseen from the road traveling as they did, but they were still able to make out most of the business being carried out only a few dozen yards away. It was seldom, but passersby came by here and there, usually on wagons. One or two were lone on foot. As the road headed north it steadily rose. The incline at this portion of the road was not too noticeable. It would be a few days until they reached the mountain portion of the road which would take them to Valtenberg.
On occasion they would come to a crossroad and it was necessary to leave the concealment of the forest. Luckily, there were few of them, and only one major one, which, by the middle of the day, they were well past. The travel in this manner continued on smoothly the entire day, with no signs of being followed. It was actually very peaceful, so much so it nearly made them all forget they were in troubling times. That was, until they found some trouble.
A carriage was surrounded by orcs just a few hundred feet away. From inside screams could be heard as someone valiantly stabbed at the attackers with a small sword. The drivers were in their seats, both very much dead. The group did not speak. They just ran. Within moments they were only ten feet from the carriage. All in all maybe six orcs were present, three to each side of the carriage. Artirius was the first to act, rushing in and obliterating the hip of one orc with his mighty hammer. Balic slid past him and danced with his daggers, finding the second. Tressnou, out of the forest, thrust out a hand and with an invisible spell lifted one from the ground and brought the creature down hard on his allies on the opposite side of the carriage. Artirius moved around the back while Balic slid under the carriage. One orc still stood and was swept away some dozen feet by the swing of Thunder's Fury. The three that remained were on the ground, one of course being thrown by Tressnou's spell, the others being knocked down by their comrade. Balic's daggers were swift and accurate and the three orcs were both dead in seconds.
The fighting now over, they all turned to the carriage. The small two seat vessel was simple and worn. It was stained dark so the wood was unknown by look. There was a single door on either side with a window covered by a sheer fabric of some sort, it was red in color. The carriage seemed undamaged as they looked it over, the two drivers most assuredly were dead. The horses seemed in good shape. There were two, but they were scared by the commotion. If it could be called lucky, it seems that when one of the drivers died a handbrake had been engaged which could explain why the horses had not simply run off. Artirius looked to the animals and calmed them, as a barbarian he understood somewhat how the wild beasts thought and felt. They were secure and none of their equipment was damaged. While Artirius attended the animals a somewhat comical exchange was being held between Tressnou and the occupants of the carriage.
“I assure you, we are not going to harm you, the ones that...” Tressnou was cut off by a shrill woman’s voice.
“NO, NO! Don't open the door, we have a weapon. Go away now, shoo. We do not want any more trouble.”
“My dear woman, open the door. I am not an orc, nor do I sound anything like that. Why would I harm you?”
“Why would they hurt me? I had done nothing wrong to those beasts and they have never attacked me before. How do I know you are not behind their attack?”
“Now see here, I would not associate with the like of their kind. Vile and filthy creatures that they are, I would not have any interest in them or their help for that matter. Now I am here to help. I mean well and promise as the High Wizard of the court of Alastrial that I will not harm you. Will you open this door?”
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There was a brief pause in the argument then the voice from within whined, “Well if you are a wizard, let’s see a trick then.”
“Madam, I am not a cheap parlor magician.”
“Well how do I know you are a wizard?”
Artirius and Balic by this time had begun laughing quite hard as they watched.
“O vary well what do you wish to see?”
“Hmmm, make it snow.”
“Very well, but recall that you asked for this,” shaking his arms back and forth in a downward motion Tressnou used a spell to conjure snow right inside the vehicle. The woman let out a shrill a screech and jumped out of the door and into Tressnou's unsuspecting arms. She was followed by a young man who also let out a cry in shock and alarm but did not find his way to Tressnou.
The two were well enough dressed but not terribly wealthy. They were perhaps from merchant families. They were young by their looks, perhaps barely twenty years of age apiece. The girl wore a simple white dress, with lace fringes and woven back, that an aid would have had to assist in tying. Her hair was a light brown color draped down her back and her eyes matched well, setting perfectly on her round face. She was pale in complexion. Around her neck was a simple pendant of an oak tree. She was plain, yet quite appealing to the eye.
Her companion wore a bard’s hat with a single feather from a peacock. His hair was short and blonde. He had deep blue eyes that seemed to look far off. The rest of him was clothed in the garb of an aristocrat. His tunic was black and had golden buttons. He wore a white silken undershirt. His trousers were straight legged and black as well. He wore dress shoes that also had golden buckles. All in all, he was a handsome man.
Then Artirius looked at their hands. “I am sorry that your blessed occasion has been tainted this way. Safe times have sadly passed over us it seems.” Tressnou looked to Artirius who nodded to the rings adorned on the hands of the young couple. He understood immediately. Artirius continued, “If you would allow us, may we take you to your destination?”
Tressnou leaned toward Artirius and whispered “Do we have time for such errands?”
Artirius responded, “They seem to be traveling north, it may be better for now to travel with them. They would be at a loss if they were attacked alone by any account, and I could not consciously leave them.” Tressnou nodded in agreement.
The young couple had been talking amongst themselves unsure as what to do, the young man looked up, “Thank you, and it would be much appreciated. We are actually not far off, up ahead is a crossroad. We are heading to a small town just a few miles from there to the east. We should be there well before dark if we get moving.”
“It is settled then,” Artirius smiled at the newlyweds.
“We thank you again kind sirs for our rescue. My name is Rosa and this is Scott. By all accounts we should be dead. I am sorry I did not trust you, good wizard.”
“Quite all right, now we are in a wood apparently full of more dangerous things than normally found there. Let us get on our way. Wait, where is Balic?”
“Sorry boss nature calls, you know. I took the liberty of disposing of the orcs bodies. They had the mark on them.” He paused briefly, “I went ahead and put the bodies of the drivers on top of the carriage, I imagine they will be needing a more proper burial.”
“Yes, yes they will,” Rosa, teary eyed, ran back to the carriage and closed the door behind her.
“I would never have wished this upon her, to see things like this. I wish now that perhaps we never left home and just spent our honeymoon there.”
“It is not your fault, son,” Tressnou patted the boy on the shoulder, “see to your wife in the carriage and we will get going.”
At that Scott smiled at the elf and walked back to the carriage. Balic took the reins and Tressnou and Artirius followed on either side. For the most part they did not talk much. Galmatros spreading up this far meant no good news to the travelers. In fact, it may likely mean that after these two people were dropped off at their home the entire village would be destroyed and murdered off. They may have simply delayed the fate of the young love that was in the carriage.
It was not wise to divulge the knowledge they had of the demon king seeking to do harm to the world. In telling Rosa and Scott all that could come of it was harm to them, and fear to the others that they would inevitably tell. For now quiet was the best idea. Let them feel at peace with one another. If trouble were to come it would be soon enough and many people would know of it when it did.
They encountered nothing else on the journey to the village. They dropped off the wagon and the couple near the gates and wished them well and consoled them in their losses. Artirius, Balic and Tressnou did not waste time at the village, though the newlyweds protested their leaving. As soon as they were out of sight they made their way back into the woods and traveled north again. They closed the distance on the trade road and fell in near it again. They were able to see the road, but no one from the road could see them. From the village they were only able to travel a few hours before the sun waned away and night fell on them again. They had not slept for over a day and they decided that they may need to make camp for the night. They moved farther into the woods and made a small fire. The night was cool enough that the warmth was needed. They ate a small meal and covered themselves with the blankets they had packed in the mine. The group fell asleep quickly, the fatigue of the escape finally affecting them.
Only two had peace in their dreams. Artirius tossed and turned seeming to go in and out of deep sleep. He felt nearly awake then relaxed as though he was falling into a dream just to be jolted from the deep slumber he craved. Eventually he found deep enough sleep to dream, and it was of course the dream. He was back in the mountains, the constellation loomed over him. The snow was blanketing everything around and the voices were all around him. As always, it slid away. As it did he called to Atriel, “Do not leave me Atriel!”
“So that elf's name is Atriel is it,” the voice was Pyr's, and it did not come from the dream.
Chapter 12