He couldn’t imagine doing so, especially if it were happening in front of the other elves, but Korik nodded anyway.
“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Varen added, then turned to walk away. Korik watched him go for a moment; he couldn’t quite place the trepidation he felt in his chest. He had been preparing himself for an argument that never came—he should have been relieved, yet it still felt like adrenaline was coursing through him.
But eventually, he shook himself into action and went to find a secluded place amongst the trees to scout. He’d just have to be more vigilant now that there were more elves around.
It took nearly four days for their group to get back onto the path that Korik recognized as leading to Castle Aefraya. In that time, he’d kept his word to Varen and had used the vision of local birds to scout the surrounding areas, most often in the evening as the elves prepared to set up camp, and occasionally in the early mornings if he awoke before everyone else. There was no sign of them being followed, and no sign of any other groups of orcs nearby. This was historically a territory that few orcs roamed, since it was so near to where the oft-disputed Aefrayan border once stood. Korik hoped it would remain just as empty until they were well and truly into the elven nation.
He had also checked up on both Alwyn and Enriel as much as they would allow. After the second day, Alwyn stiffly told him that he was back to full health and did not need any looking after, so Korik left him alone after that. Enriel, though, seemed eager for Korik to check on her and her baby every day, even when there was nothing new to report.
“Are you able to see if it’s a boy or girl?” she blurted out on the third evening, her voice quivering as if she had been considering the question for days, but had only just now convinced herself to ask him. Korik paused, considering.
“It’s not quite like seeing it, no,” he replied slowly. “But I think I could figure it out if you wanted me to. I could examine its internal organs to determine which it has. Or... I suppose it might be harder to tell, for elves. But I could try if you want.”
Enriel bit her lip, looking down at the slight swell of her belly. Beneath her tunic it was all but impossible to see—Korik suspected the orcs who had captured her hadn’t even realized she was pregnant—but now she pressed her hands to her stomach, pulling the loose cloth taut.
“No, it’s okay,” she finally said, looking back up at Korik with a nervous smile. “It’s just… I’m curious, of course. But I think I like it being a surprise better.”
Korik only nodded—his work was the same either way.
Between scouting in secret and checking up on Enriel before nightfall, Korik hadn’t had the chance to study the paralytic tincture more closely. When he thought of it, he could practically feel the weight of the little glass vial sitting in his belt pouch. Was it something developed by another orc somewhere? He had never seen anything like it, but also doubted that the rebel orcs were working with any outside force for supplies like this. Curious as he was, by the end of the night, he was usually too exhausted to spare the effort to examine it further. Maybe the elves in Castle Aefraya could tell him more about it.
Korik woke early on the morning of the fifth day and considered spending the brief time he would have alone with the tincture to see if he could learn anything about it with his magic. But scouting was the more pressing matter, he knew, so he decided he would deal with the mysterious drug once they were safely in Aefraya.
So he slipped away quietly into the nearby brush to find a secluded place. There was little tree cover, and the land was hilly and covered in all sorts of grass. Finally, he found an overgrown berry bush at the bottom of the next hill and cleared a spot behind it to sit.
He could only find small scavenger birds this time; they would do the job, but it was easier to search longer distances with something larger, like an owl or a hawk. Still, the area had been clear so far, and with so little tree cover, he could see a good distance without needing to get terribly high, so it would do for now.
He had been scouting for only a few minutes when he felt something wrenching his shoulder—not as the bird, but in his true body. For an instant, he was blind with terror, as he dropped his hold on the bird all at once. Had he somehow missed some nearby predator that had snuck up on him?
He could hear voices around him as he came back to himself, but couldn’t make any sense of them for a moment—they were speaking elvish, and he couldn’t focus enough to understand.
“There you are,” Varen’s familiar voice finally broke through to him. He swung his head back and forth until he found the elf, hazel eyes coming into focus until the rest of the world followed suit.
Korik scrambled to his feet; behind Varen, Alwyn was looking at him with a distrustful, nearly hostile expression. He had no weapons, but Korik knew well that the elf had no need of weapons to harm him.
“See? Just as I told you,” Varen said, his tone still light as he glanced back at Alwyn. “Just deep in meditation. I’ve seen him do it a hundred times before. No cause for concern.”
“I—” Korik stammered, still trying to understand what was happening. “Er, yes. Meditation.”
“I’ve sensed his magic going outward every day,” Alwyn replied, his voice cold. “It is no meditation I’m aware of. Commander, I’m telling you, he’s reaching out to something,someone. How can we trust he isn’t some spy giving our location to the same orcs we just escaped?”
Panic rose in Korik’s chest, along with utter indignation—he’d gone so far out of his way tohelpthese elves and still they distrusted him? But before he could protest, Varen scoffed, shaking his head.
“You forget yourself, High Sorcerer,” he said. “Healer Korik is only here because of a request from the prince himself. He has acted selflessly this entire time. Hehealedyou of the poison afflicting you. He swore fealty to King Zorvut as all the orcs of Drol Kuggradh did, and I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that King Ruven himself was the one who gave the orc king his position.Itrust him. That should be enough. If you don’t like it, you’re welcome to travel on your own.”
Korik’s eyes were uncomfortably wide as he stared at Varen in shock. Whatever he had expected the commander to say, this was far beyond it. Something in his chest stirred, his throat growing tight—had anyone ever so vehemently defended him before?
He’d almost forgotten that Alwyn was there until the elf sputtered something indignantly. His face had grown more and more red the longer Varen chastised him, but he had no response.
“Whatever he’s doing, it isn’t just meditation,” Alwyn finally snapped, shooting a glare over Varen’s shoulder at Korik. “I’m keeping an eye on you,orc.”
He spat the last word so forcefully that even Varen seemed taken aback, but the mage stormed off before either he or Korik could respond. When he’d kicked through the bramble back toward the camp, Varen finally turned to look back at Korik with a chagrined expression.
“Sorry about that,” he muttered, his expression darkening. “That was entirely inappropriate of him. When we get to Aefraya, I’m going to figure out who his direct report is and make sure they know how he’s treated the man who saved his ungrateful life.”
“What happened?” Korik asked, running a hand nervously up and down his arm—he realized his hands were shaking. “How did he find me?”
Varen grimaced again. “He came to me saying that he’d been noticing you leaving camp and then felt some sort of magic pass through afterward. I tried to dissuade him, but he was insistent he was going to go looking, so I figured it was better if I went with him. I’m sorry.”
