Surprises
Jack Toben sat thoughtlessly in his encampment outside Baerlon. There had been recent Trolloc activity in these parts, which is why the new Queen had ordered him and his battalion here. In truth, the activity of the Trollocs here was nil to nothing. They had not seen anything and only rumor kept the idea of Trollocs fresh on the lips of the towns people. Nevertheless, Jack sat quietly at his post.
For the past three weeks Jack had reported to his post at the north end of the encampment. He had had no leave to go into town because the Queen had ordered the men to be alert at all times. On occasion though, townsmen would come out to ask for news of the Trollocs and would sometimes bring a cask of ale or sour wine. It kept the men from becoming too discouraged. After all, news from the borderlands said that the Trollocs were pushing ever harder into the more civilized lands. The bloody Dragon Reborn had to send his precious Aiel to secure those places. He couldn't send the regular troops into combat. Even those stationed outside Amadacia were getting more action than Jack and his men were.
No matter though, Corbin was coming to relieve Jack now. It was time to sleep. When Corbin approached though, it wasn't to relieve him. Corbin said, "Commander. We have a problem."
Jack looked at the man, distressed and impatient, "Well, what is it?"
Corbin replied, "A patrol is late coming back. They aren't just a few minutes late either, it is an hour past their due."
Jack got up and ordered, "Okay Corbin, assign someone to this post and then gather Selma, Harigus, and Sal and meet me in the battle tent."
Finally some excitement; sure, losing men is bad, but it was a sign that they weren't assigned to this post for nothing. Jack walked quickly to the battle tent and waited. It was only ten minutes later when the group of soldiers arrived, swords and armor strapped on. Jack could feel as well as see the anticipation on the faces of his men.
"Okay, I have been informed that one of our patrol squad is well over due. It could be Trollocs, or it could just be that they are just messing around. Light knows how boring this post has been. But in case it was a Trolloc attack, be ready for the worst."
His men's faces brightened a bit, but at the prospect of losing some of the troops remained grim for the most part. After his warning, Jack pulled out a map and showed the company the route they would take, and then they were off.
On the way out of the camp, Jack found his Second and told them of the plans. Normally the commander of a regiment would not go out on a mission as small as this, and his Second questioned this. Jack merely shook him off. A normal commander would not fraternize with the lower ranks, but Jack thought it prudent to know the moral of his men first hand instead of relying on everyone else to tell him of it. No, Jack was not a normal commander; besides, he was bored and what better than a mission such as this to divert him.
Jack walked cautiously through the thinning trees south of Baerlon, his four men following silently. The Mountains of Mist were to the West and open plains to the East; and there was only a small group of villages to the south known as The Two Rivers. It was where the Dragon Reborn had grown up and eventually left for his higher glory. Jack knew he was a fool for cursing the name of the Dragon, but the man thought so little of Jack and his troop that he sent them where they were least likely to get in a fight. It was destroying the moral of the men and Jack knew that they couldn't stand it much longer, which was the reason this mission to find his missing men was so important. It was be a sad thing if they were killed by Trollocs or other Dark Friends, but it would be even worse if they had just deserted. Not only would Jack have to execute them, but it would also mean that these men were not the only ones considering desertion.
Corbin suddenly stopped, which brought Jack out of his thoughts. "Did you see that Commander?" Corbin whispered.
"See what?" Jack and his men crouched low to the ground to avoid being seen.
"Over there," He pointed to the foot of the mountains, "I saw something moving through the trees."
Jack immediately snapped into the mindset of his command. "Fan out and move on the position quietly but quickly."
At his orders, his men spread out about fifteen paces between them and they all approached the place that Corbin had pointed to. About thirty paces away, Jack saw it. It was a dark shadow that blended from tree to tree, then disappeared back into the shadows. So, Jack slid his sword out of its sheath slowly as he silently trotted upon the shadow's position. His men kept perfect order as they approached, and they had apparently seen it too and began closing in the ranks as they approached.
It was about five paces away that Jack made out clearly what the creature was. It was indeed a Trolloc, but unlike any he had seen. Instead of black mail armor, it wore black leather armor and a short sword at its side. It also wore a hard leather skull cap, yellow eyes glinting brightly out from underneath. By the time Jack made out its figure, the beast had seen all of them and charged directly at Jack.
It was much more agile than Jack had anticipated and he took the first blow of combat. The short sword the Trolloc held swung around hard and collided with Jacks thin plate armor. It penetrated the armor for sure, but the only pain was from the impact of the blow; no blood. Jack recovered quickly and brought his sword up defensively. They began circling and Jack could see his comrade coming to help. Before they got there, the Trolloc managed another hard blow, which Jack blocked with his own sword. The beast was incredible. It controlled its attacks instead of going wild with a big club or ax, unlike any Trolloc Jack had ever seen.
What happened next amazed Jack even more. Corbin and Harigus were first to arrive and attack. Both attacked at the same time, and the Trolloc swung both of them aside as would a master swordsman. Jack managed to cut through the leather armor as the beast was busy with the other two, but instantly, the Trolloc rounded on Jack and began fighting all three of the at once. Its agility and speed only held them off for the time it took for the group to re-estimate the power of their opponent, then they began working their way through the beast's defenses. It was slow work and Jack was beginning to wonder where Sal had gone off to when a plumed arrow pierced the beast through the throat, which at impact, the thing froze. Another arrow pierce the beast through the heart and one more through the throat again. On impact the last arrow, the Trolloc stumbled forward, then fell face forward.
Jack was worn and had a few nicks and bruises, as did the other two men. Harigus was the first to break the awed silence. "What in the Light was that thing."
Sal replied disgustedly, "No man, not in the Light. Then of course, that was no ordinary Trolloc was it?"
It was more of a statement than a question. "Search him for any sign of our missing comrades. If the patrol ran into a group of these, I think they might have had a bit of trouble." The good new was that the regiment was not here to stay out of trouble, there really was a threat here. If it took them so long just to take down one, Jack could only wonder at how they would take down an entire army. No, he would need to think of that later.
"Form up men, we have a patrol to find." Jack ordered.
Corbin spoke up next, "Sir? Shouldn't we go back for reinforcements? I mean if we come across two or even three of these beasts, we could be in real trouble."
Jack considered it, but then said, decidedly, "No, our patrol group may not have that long, if they are even still alive. Light willing they will be and we will be home before dark."
With that, they were off, Sal leading the group this time. He was the tracker in the group and could follow the footsteps of an ant if need be. The footsteps of this particular Trolloc were as the Trolloc itself, unlike any other of its kind. Some how the Trolloc had managed to leave only slight traces of its passing through the brush covered hill near the foot of the mountains. But still, Sal could keep track of them. They followed Sal's lead for about an hour before finally coming across a burnt out campfire. It was a small fire, and there were rat bones littering the campsite. This could mean only one thing. The Trolloc who attacked their group had traveled at least a day from his main encampment. The sun was already growing darker and would be setting in a couple of hours.
It was a hard decision, either they travel a bit farther and make camp, or they go back for reinforcements Both way, there was a risk that someone was going to die. Jack had brought the best of his camp with him and they could probably defend themselves from an attack by day, but if there were more Trollocs lurking around in the brush and trees, they would have no chance at night. It was a critical moment. By the looks his men gave him, Jack knew that they all, all except for Sal, wanted to go back and start with a larger group. But a larger group would never be able to sneak up on a Trolloc encampment, especially not a camp full of Trollocs like the one that had attacked them. Sal could obviously see the reckoning on his face because he said, "I think we should go on and make camp. If we go back now, our comrades will certainly be killed. Plus, a larger group will just mean a larger feast for the Trollocs, at least we would have a chance not to be seen."
Jack smiled at the man, but his smile was wipe away we he heard the familiar sound of a blade being drawn behind him. So he whipped around, sword in hand. There were three of the black clad Trollocs slowly advancing on them. Two had short swords out and the other had a arrow knocked and ready to fire. What puzzled jack was that they hadn't yet fired. It was completely unlike Trollocs. It shouldn't have been a surprise with all the other oddities about these Trollocs, but one of them spoke… and Jack understood it.
"Lay down your weapons."
Sal sounded as amazed as Jack himself was when he said, "What in the bloody Light is going on here? First they fight civilly, and now they talk civilly?"
"Lay down your weapons, we have a proposition to make you."
It was unthinkable! The bloody Trollocs wanted to make a deal? Trollocs! But Jack replied, "What kind of deal?"
The Trolloc at the lead said, "We will exchange your soldiers and your own lives for a peace treaty."
"A treaty? Are you out of your bloody mind? A treaty with your kind can never be trusted!"
The Trolloc standing behind the leader growled, but the leader said, "I know your distaste for my kind, but we are a different tribe that you and your Dragon Reborn has never even seen. We only just came out of hiding because we thought you may consider a truce."
First they capture my men, then they come at us with swords. Now they want a treaty? Trollocs! It is unthinkable. "Show me that my men are safe and I will consider it." At that, the Trolloc with the bow turned and ran in the opposite direction.
Sal drew close behind Jack and said harshly, "You aren't considering it are you? It would be foolishness. Besides, what if the Dragon himself hears of this treaty, he will come here personally and burn you and the rest of use to cinders."
"I know, but I also know that we cannot fight all three of these off and escape with our lives. If there is any hope of that it will be in this supposed truce."
Sal nodded resignedly, but still showed his disagreement as he walked away. The man was always wanting a fight. Nevertheless, a short time later, the Trolloc that had left returned and was followed by four men. They were all blindfolded and were only wearing their undergarments. "Here they are" Said the leader.
Jack was amazed at their civility, and said, "Well, I guess we should get to that treaty."
The Trolloc pulled a rolled piece of paper from a pouch at his belt and also pulled a thin piece of coal from it. Then he said, "Sign this at the bottom, so we have record of your agreement."
It was against everything the Creator had set in order. These sorts would be hated by all men and Trollocs alike, yet Jack was about to sign a truce with them… it was completely unthinkable. The Trolloc laid the paper and coal on a nearby stone, and motioned for Jack to come forward and sign. Jack walked forward and looked down at the paper. It read:
I solemnly swear by the light and by the Creator himself to never raise a hand against the tribe 'Ma Mael' or any of its members. Nor will this tribe 'Ma Mael' raise a hand, paw, or otherwise against the humans unless further provoked.
Signed, Jargos Ma Mael
Jack signed the treaty, and was amazed at one thing in particular. The name of the tribe was in the Old Tongue. In and of itself, this was not so important, except that for the tribe to have some knowledge of the Old Tongue, would mean that at least their leaders are literate. It was something most intriguing.