The Gate - An Ancient Connection Read online

  A barking voice in the distance alerted her of the returning guard. With a sigh she finished up the few stitches she was working on and tucked her work back into its hiding place.

  * * *

  The army wasn’t waiting for long before the five companies of dwarves marched into view. Decker realised that they would have covered ground a lot quicker than the army from Arthea. The dwarves in Arthea had been busy and had designed and constructed some mobile war machines, that had to be collapsed in order to cart them through Bilwarks Grove.

  Half an hour after the army was reinforced, they began to navigate their way through the tightly packed birch trees. Staying in formation proved to be almost impossible at this stage but the soldiers did their best.

  The going was slow and despite the shade of the trees from the early afternoon sun, the heat still took its toll on human and dwarf alike, but it wasn’t long until Major Hillsworth called a halt. Decker positioned himself near the front of the army with Cressida by his side. Being a ranger and not officially in the army he had not been made to fit into formation. As the most skilled archer among them, he had chosen to be close to the archer companies who would rain down death on the fort before any charge took place.

  Cressida volunteered as a warrior cleric and had been allowed to stay by Decker’s side. Evidently Major Hillsworth, who was commanding the human soldiers due to General Kehar’s unfit state, was smart enough to realise he had little chance of ordering her elsewhere and knew her services to the army would prove valuable. He had mentioned that she would be good protection for the archers should they need it.

  The army had halted well back in the tree line. Decker could see small portions of the newly constructed orc fort up ahead.

  “Aye, should we giv’em their terms then?” King Buster asked Duke Angus as the ruckus died down.

  “Just let me do the talking please. Your diplomacy skills are a little lacking, I fear,” replied Duke Angus. This triggered a hearty laugh from the dwarven king.

  “It’s your land, me lord. As ye’d have it,” said King Buster once he’d calmed himself. Duke Angus turned toward Decker and beckoned him forward.

  “I’d feel much better with you by my side Decker,” said Duke Angus as he neared. “Keep that bow of yours loaded until I command you otherwise.

  “As you wish, my lord.” Decker bowed his head.

  Soldiers with large tower shields then led the three of them into the clearing. A white flag hung from the pike of the centremost soldier which flapped around slightly in the gentle breeze. The soldiers marched ten paces in, followed the worn path to the gate, stopped and planted the large shields in the dirt with a thud. Decker, Duke Angus and King Buster walked two paces behind.

  Orcs lined the low wooden wall with weapons held tight at their sides. The obvious leader of the orc army stood with a stern looking shaman by his side near the gates of the fort.

  “I am Duke Angus, charged with the care of this land by King Cassien of Lertia. I demand you leave these lands immediately, return all prisoners taken and close down your magic gate.” The large orc on top of the wall laughed loudly and mockingly which triggered all the other orcs to start laughing also.

  “And why would we do that, Duke Angus?” replied the orc in halting, but clear Ka’tonian Common. Decker could see the surprise on the duke’s face upon hearing the orc speak the common tongue.

  “Coz if ye don’t we’ll squish ya like bugs ‘neath our feet,” shouted King Buster. The duke sighed and Decker found it hard not to laugh.

  “And you must be King Buster of the Goldfist clan, I imagine.” The bluster of the dwarven king visibly faded at the mention of his name and the title of his clan.

  “And who might ye be who be knowin’ so much about us?” Duke Angus put a steadying hand on King Buster’s shoulder.

  “I am General Krak’too of the Black Skull tribe who has recently taken control of this land on behalf of Gilkan the Fierce One.” King Buster laughed loudly at the mention of the title, but Duke Angus remained nonchalant.

  “Fierce one? What sorta title be that? If he be so fierce, why’s he not here chattin’ to us?” At the shake of the duke’s head, Decker had to turn away to hide his smile.

  “The title is equivalent to your title of king, but enough of this shouting. Would you be willing to come inside for a more private conversation?” The shock of the question could have knocked Decker off his feet. He saw it had a similar effect on the duke and dwarven king.

  “And what guarantee do we have that you would not take us prisoner the moment we entered?” asked Duke Angus, obviously determined to get a word in before King Buster.

  “You have my word, but I understand your hesitation. I have already had some dealings with your local orc tribes and I trust them very little. If I had a tent erected between the trees and the fort walls, would you be willing to converse with me inside?”

  Duke Angus and King Buster faced each other and the king whispered to the duke loud enough for Decker to hear, “He be stallin’ us til he gets more reinforcements.”

  “Perhaps. But that fort is a death trap to them. You can see that as well as I, I’m sure. I’m curious as to what he might say.” The duke’s whispered reply surprised even Decker.

  “It be a nasty trick I tell ya. Orcs aren’t ta be trusted.”

  “Then I will meet with him alone and if he tries anything you can crush the fort and all inside.”

  “Bah! I can’t have ya meetin’ the smelly orc by yaself. I’ll come with ya and leave General Ludko in charge of the crushin’.” Duke Angus stood up straight and faced the wall once more.

  “Very well. Set up your tent, but be quick about it. We will not harm any orc involved in the setting up. We will remain twenty paces behind the line of the trees. Call out to us once you are ready.”

  “Your terms are acceptable, Duke Angus. It will be done with all due haste.”

  Duke Angus turned and returned to the trees. Decker and King Buster followed while the soldiers backed away, keeping their shields facing the fort.

  * * *

  The going was slower than Gerard thought it would be. The men and dwarves were haggard from the events of the previous day. Some of the injured had deteriorated and needed frequent rests. The countryside proved to be hillier than expected and they had come across small communities that they had to circumvent.

  They were nearing the Ta’zu border and he wasn’t too keen about that thought. The stories he was told of that tribe were enough to give anyone nightmares. But he saw very little choice, they had to keep making their way to the Gate or die trying.

  They traversed the quite rough and rugged terrain, with many rocky outcrops scattered around the hilly landscape. Dense black clouds gathered overhead which had them searching for some safe cover. Some of the more agile had been sent ahead to scout out any potential places, but as yet none had returned with any good news.

  A commotion over the next rise had Gerard instantly on guard. Jeff who was walking along next to him had his sword in hand a split second later, followed soon after by all in the group who were physically able.

  One of the forward scouts came into view at the top of the hill soon after and ran toward them fast. Major Isak urged them into a charge to come to the scout’s aid from whatever it was that was pursuing him.

  Even Gerard hesitated slightly when he caught sight of the creature bounding after the soldier. It was perhaps half as tall as a man again and looked to be hopping along on one thick leg. A head resembling that of a large lizard, only with rows of sharp teeth bared into a snarl, sat upon a long solid neck. The body was short and the creature appeared to keep its balance with a long muscled tail. Its single foot was wide and long, housing some menacing looking claws.

  It didn’t take Gerard long to realise the creature was not alone. It was the largest of the five but barely. The hopping creatures were gaining rather fast on the scout and Gerard realised they would be upon him before they arrived in
support.

  A moment later the lead creature leaped forwards and butted the man hard in the back, forcing him to the ground. Thinking quickly, Gerard reached down and picked up a rock as he charged forward as best he could on his injured leg. He threw it with all his might, but it still landed a few paces away from the creature.

  It was enough though as the creature took a small jump back and looked to where the rock had come from. Catching sight of them, it hissed loudly and began to bound forward. It had been long enough though for the scout to regain his feet and strike his sword out at the fierce animal. He hit the creature hard, but the scaly skin must have been quite tough as he scarcely drew any blood.

  The soldier was unable to press his attack as the other creatures were upon him so he had to dive to one side. It had been enough though as now the first of the charging soldiers reached the creatures. Gerard had fallen slightly behind due to his injury and the fact that he had slowed his charge to pick up the rock.

  As he was making his way around beside a beast, the creature next to it lurched his head forward and clamped his jaws over the head of an attacking soldier. The man cried out in a blood curdling scream, cut short as his head was removed from his body.

  Gerard could see the soldiers were struggling to hit the beasts as they couldn’t get close enough to the bodies without the head striking down at them. While the creature he was approaching was distracted with a few men, Gerard circled and made a desperate dive in from the side and jabbed his sword into its body putting all his weight behind the strike.

  His sharp sword dug in deep and the creature jerked away weirdly, ripping the sword from Gerard’s grasp and then collapsed in its final death throes. Seeing Gerard without a weapon, the beast that had killed the soldier a moment earlier turned on him. Having witnessed their fierce downward strike, Gerard had no intention of giving the creature an opportunity to score another kill so he leapt to the side back toward the attacking soldiers.

  One of those men attempted the same manoeuvre as Gerard by jabbing the beast’s side, but he had not been able to plunge his sword in as deep before the creature spun away and lashed out at the man’s arm, taking a firm hold on it. The man screamed out and dropped his sword. A dwarf jumped over Gerard as he began to pick himself up and chopped down hard with his axe. The axe bit in wickedly and sliced the creature’s neck wide open. The beast collapsed instantly and began to spasm until it lay completely still. The soldier with the mawed arm fell to his knees trying to stop the flow of blood with his left hand.

  By then Gerard had regained his feet and taken a look around noticing only one creature remain. Having it surrounded, the men and dwarves wasted little time in killing it. Only then did Gerard notice the creature’s dark green blood.

  Aside from the five dead corpses of the strange looking animals, two men and two dwarves had also died in the fierce battle. The news got worse as they returned to the group of those too unfit to fight finding another dwarf finally succumb to his injuries from the day before.

  After burying their dead with the help of a nearby ditch and plentiful rocks around, Major Isak announced some good news to the group. The scout who had been pursued by the creatures had discovered a shallow cave not too far away. He was returning to report his findings when the creatures had bounded out of a copse of trees. So after saying their farewells to the fallen, they ploughed on heading for the cave.

  Then the sky lit up and the rain began to fall.

  Negotiations

  The army did not sit around idle while the tent was being erected. The dwarves used the time to begin assembling their war engines, making sure they remained narrow enough to be pushed through the remaining trees, which had been thinned out this close to the orc fort. Obviously the orcs had needed the lumber.

  While the captains oversaw some warm up routines, Master Pilk met up with Major Hillsworth, Duke Angus and King Buster to refine tactics.

  “If the orc general brings his shaman along to the meeting, I want you by my side Master Pilk,” said Duke Angus during a lull in the conversation.

  “Of course, my lord.” Pilk replied without hesitation. He had felt the power of that shaman before and would not want the duke anywhere near him without some sort of magical protection. Pilk wasn’t sure that he’d be able to best that shaman if it came to a spell battle, but he could certainly provide a quick exit if the need arose.

  A shout from the distance informed them that the tent was ready. Duke Angus had Major Hillsworth return to the army, while Master Pilk and King Buster began following him toward the orc fort.

  Reaching the edge of the trees they could see the medium sized tent clearly. It had a large door facing them which had been left wide open allowing them to see right through the tent as the rear door of equal size was also left open. In the centre of the tent a table had been placed with two chairs on either side.

  Waiting outside the fort gates were the orc general and his shaman. Upon seeing them, they started walking toward the tent and Duke Angus followed suit, leading Master Pilk and King Buster.

  Once inside the tent, the orc general ordered his shaman to close up the tent door on his side and Duke Angus asked Master Pilk to do likewise on their side.

  “I apologise Duke Angus for only setting up two seats for you. I wasn’t aware you’d be accompanied by a third.” Pilk heard General Krak’too say as he was buttoning up the tent door.

  “I understand General Krak’too. Forgive my continued mistrust, but upon seeing you accompanied by a powerful shaman, I felt the need to seek some magical protection of my own. This is Master Pilk and I believe he has met your shaman on a less formal occasion.” Pilk finished buttoning up the tent door and went to stand behind Duke Angus and King Buster who were now seated and noticed the grin on the orc general’s face.

  General Krak’too was the largest orc Pilk had ever seen. He was there when the squad of soldiers had initially attacked the orcs coming through the Gate and noted the size of them then, but he had not been this close to any of them and from what he had observed on the wall of the fort, this orc was larger than average.

  The intertwined purple, red and yellow ribbons hanging from the breast of his leather cuirass was obviously a symbol of his rank. The black skull imprinted on the centre of his breastplate was clearly the symbol of his tribe.

  His long black hair was neatly brushed and tied back into a ponytail. The murky green skin of his face looked like leather that had seen too much sun and the hair hanging from his chin was braided into three separate sections. His large brown eyes were scrutinising each of them in turn. Large white tusks protruded upwards from his lower jaw reaching to the bottom of his wide flat nose.

  In stark contrast, the shaman now seated beside him was the size of an average man and had finer facial features than any orc Pilk had seen. His tusks were small, barely rising above his upper lip, and had no facial hair at all. His head was bald except for a small tuft of black hair in its centre.

  He carried with him a tall staff with a polished purple gem at its top, held in place by a crooked hand carved from the same wood as the staff. A fine red robe hung from his shoulders with gold trimmings and vertically curved black lines, while he wore a ring on every finger and a heavy gold chain around his neck.

  “This is Great Shaman O’tukka. But we are under the white flag of truce, which I understand in your culture means no violent action can be taken. We have a similar system in our own culture. Your wizard may remain however, as I trust you.” Pilk looked at the shaman seated beside General Krak’too. The shaman returned the look maintaining a stoic expression and nodded slightly. Master Pilk did likewise but had to focus quite hard to prevent his knees from shaking. He could sense some great power in the shaman’s black eyes, but whether due to a magical device, enchantment or inherent ability he could not tell.

  “The orcs we are used to dealing with have no such system, but I see that you are vastly different to those we know. Understand though, that the buildin
g of trust takes time.” The orc general nodded in acceptance of the Duke’s words.

  “Blood does not need to shed this day, Duke Angus. I have a proposal to put to you that I did not wish others to hear yet. It may be that we could be of great assistance to you.” Pilk gripped the backs of the two chairs tightly, hardly believing his ears.

  “Since you have arrived here you have been responsible for the slaughter of innocent families” — Duke Angus held out his right hand in an upturned fist and counted off each point by uncurling his thumb and two fingers as he made each accusation — “you have killed and taken prisoner humans and dwarves alike, and assisted our enemy in capturing one of our forts. So forgive me if I am somewhat amused by your comment.”

  “Some regrettable events, no doubt. The slaughter of the innocents was due to some careless scouts. Those scouts paid for their mistake with their lives when they confronted two of your warriors. As for your other accusations, I have been acting under orders from my fierce one, but due to some recent events I’m now exploring other options.” Pilk detected some annoyance in the orc general’s tone and found himself very curious as to what had caused that annoyance.

  “And just what were these ‘recent events’ that you speak of?” A tinge of anger seeped into the duke’s voice that had Pilk scratching his head while noticing some hesitance in the orc general.

  “My mission here was to take as many human and dwarf captives as I could. The purpose of those captives was not made known to me. Early yesterday morning on my home world, my fierce one finally showed me firsthand what those plans were. He released them all in the middle of an invading army, effectively using them as fodder.” King Buster sagged in his seat. Duke Angus bowed his head and balled his hand into a fist on the table. Master Pilk thought about all those that had been captured — his good friends Gerard and Jeff, Major Isak and Major Sarkis along with all their brave soldiers. Then there were the hundreds of dwarves that had been captured on the way to aid Arthea. His knees weakened and he suddenly wished he had a chair to sit on.