“What have you been thinking about?” Zorvut asked him as they sat on a log a bit of the way off the road, sharing a loaf of bread and a handful of dried meats. Though it was all tasteless in his mouth, Taegan dutifully ate the portion Zorvut handed him. Clearly the half-orc had been sensing his turmoil.
“Nothing,” he said faintly, shaking his head, and took another bite of bread. Zorvut looked at him for a long time with an unreadable expression, but did not press the issue. They ate the rest of their lunch in silence, and were back on the road soon afterward.
By the time the sun was going down and they were looking out for a place to camp amidst the wet marshy lagoon, Taegan’s thoughts were clearer and he had a better idea of what they should do. Finding a dry spot was tricky, but eventually they set their tent up, tethering the horses to a small wiry tree to graze.
Zorvut still seemed tense, but when Taegan spoke as they sat in front of the fire and ate dinner, some of that tension visibly drained from him.
“I’ve been thinking about what we should do when we cross the border,” Taegan said unprompted, staring into the flames. His emotional stability still felt tenuous, and he knew if he looked at Zorvut as he spoke he very well may start to cry again, which was the last thing he wanted. “Obviously the mountain pass isn’t heavily guarded, so that is still our best bet. Once we’re in Aefraya, I’m not sure how close to the capital we’ll be able to get, but if memory serves, we’ll pass by three estates owned by land barons. I think checking in with them will be the best option. They’re far enough out of the way it’s unlikely they’ve been affected by a siege, but they’re likely to give us a better idea of what might be going on if nothing else.” He wanted to add that maybe they would know where his father was, if he was indeed in hiding, but could not bring himself to say it.
“That sounds like a good plan,” Zorvut said softly. “I’ll follow your lead on this. You have a better grasp of all this than I do.”
“Yet I have no idea what I’m doing,” he said with a sharp bark of a laugh, but the bitter words faded quickly to the same nervous silence that had hung between them since the morning.
“No one would know what they’re doing with something like this,” Zorvut murmured after a beat, reaching over to gently squeeze Taegan’s hand. “We’ll take it day by day and go from there. The only way out is through, but nothing is set in stone. Let’s plan on that for now, but we’ll keep an eye out on the road for any news, all right?”
“All right,” Taegan answered with a nod, still unable to look away from the flickering campfire. Staring directly at it was hurting his eyes, but something inside him couldn’t bear to turn away.
He was certain he would be in for another sleepless night, but when their bedrolls were set out and he laid down, the weariness of the road and his lack of sleep the previous night seemed to catch up with him all at once, and he felt almost dizzy with exhaustion when he closed his eyes. Faintly he could feel Zorvut’s hand on his back rubbing small, comforting circles, but soon that too was swallowed up in the relief of darkness.
Though he dreamed, it felt like fragmented thoughts, bits and pieces of events in a nonlinear order. He saw his father being cut down by massive greataxes, a bloodstained throne, a burning castle. But then his father was alive, searching for him with wide eyes, calling out for him as if he were a missing child yet when he tried to shout back, every muscle in his body froze in maddening silence. Hrul Bonebreaker stood over the crumpled, still body of Zorvut, laughing as he looked down at Taegan with a cruel glint in his eye. It was the vision of King Ruven laying deathly pale next to the mangled form of Taegan’s other father, King-Consort Alain, each in a pool of blood, that finally forced Taegan awake with a stifled sob.
He pulled his blanket up to his mouth to quiet the wail that escaped him, and he felt Zorvut tense beside him, stirring awake.
“What’s wrong?” Zorvut mumbled, reaching for him. Taegan could only shake his head for a long moment, gasping for breath. His whole body was damp with sweat.
“A dream,” he finally stammered, but before he could speak again Zorvut’s hand was clamping over his mouth.
Quiet!Came through the bond, as clearly as if Zorvut had said it aloud, and he looked to see Zorvut’s golden-yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness, now wide-awake. And then he heard it—the stamping of footsteps, unable to be muffled in the muddy, wet landscape. He nodded in understanding, and Zorvut released him to reach for his sword. Taegan had not even realized it was in the tent with them, but Zorvut unsheathed it slowly and quietly before shifting into a crouching position and inching forward to peek through the tent flap.
Their tent was facing out toward the road, but as a twig snapped in the distance Taegan knew that whoever was approaching was coming from behind. Zorvut’s head whirled around too, seemingly in recognition. Their eyes met, and from the bond Taegan had a sense of his bow, a quiver of arrows—he shook his head. He had been so consumed in his own thoughts, he had left his equipment with their horses, in Ember’s saddlebags. Zorvut paused, then nodded once, held out his hand for Taegan to stay, and pushed the tent flap open all the way. Taegan lurched toward him, wanting desperately to follow, but he stayed put as Zorvut stepped outside and glanced around.
“Quickly,” the half-orc whispered, leaning down. “Go get your bow.”
Taegan stumbled to his feet and ran to the horses, barely glancing around as he went. But the sound of footsteps was closer now, and as he reached Ember and fumbled with the bag to pull out his bow and quiver, he heard Zorvut call out.
“Who’s there?” he shouted, facing the darkness. The sound of footsteps briefly paused, then a voice called out in orcish, saying something Taegan couldn’t understand. His heart dropped in fear—how could an orc party have made it so far past the border? And why?
Zorvut seemed to hesitate as well before shouting out again in orcish, then glanced back at Taegan and gestured for him to come closer. “Can you see them?” he asked, barely above a whisper. Taegan looked out into the night, eyes straining for any glimmer of light that might reveal who approached them and from where.
“No,” he whispered, but then a faint movement caught his attention. There was a shimmer of something, like magic dropping away, much closer than he would have expected, and suddenly two glowing orbs of torchlight were visible about a hundred feet beyond their tent. In the flickering light, he could just make out two large, hulking forms—and between them, a smaller, slimmer shape.
“Don’t come any closer,” Zorvut called out, spotting them as well, but they continued walking. He held up his sword in a defensive stance, his mouth pulled back into a snarl. “I said don’t move!”
“You know, we really don’t have to fight,” another voice called out, this time in elvish, sounding strangely familiar. Taegan frowned, glancing at Zorvut who was looking at him with an equally confused expression. But their moment of hesitance allowed the group to draw closer, and as they approached, Taegan could see the smaller form between the two orcs was a human. An older male, with short hair and some stubble—
Recognition sparked in his memory, and in shock he blurted out, “You’re the human from the tavern!” His brow furrowed in confusion before the words had left his mouth. Who was this man? Why was he here?
A faint laugh answered him, and the three were now only twenty feet away if that.
“I am,” the human responded, a slight smirk playing at his lips. “And I’m here to help, Taegan.”
The man’s form shimmered and almost seemed to melt off of him in the same way the surrounding darkness had melted just a moment before, and standing in his place was a taller figure, draped in a loose robe with long, dark hair and pointed ears. Kelvhan grinned at him and extended his arms as if to display his handiwork.
Rage erupted from the bond, and even as Zorvut growled audibly he glanced over at Taegan as if waiting to gauge his reaction. Taegan’s mouth worked wordlessly for a drawn-out moment, and finally he stammered, “How long have you been following us?”
“That’s no way to speak to your knight in shining armor,” Kelvhan chided, folding his arms across his chest. “Well, I would say that, but I think we both know why I’m here.”
“Whyareyou here?” Taegan called out, holding out a placating hand to Zorvut before he could speak. If they could just buy some time, maybe, he hoped, they could avoid coming to blows that seemed inevitable now.
