Chapter 3: Hunters in the Night
Matthis and Camilla checked the Ranger's eyes for humour. They found none, and spurred on by the Ranger's drive, the two slaves decided to take the path they had been too scared of only hours before.
"Do you have a plan?" asked Matthis.
"The beginnings of one," replied Alledmir. "I figure I could hunt down many of the orcs by stealth, and you could assist me. With luck, we could reduce the number of guards substantially - enough to ignite a popular uprising in the camp."
"How do you intend to slay the orcs?" asked Camilla.
"I have nineteen arrows left," said Alledmir. "I will be able to salvage some from the dead orcs. You can obtain swords from our first victims, if the bodies of my previous kills have been removed."
"I suggest we begin our hunting spree tonight," said Matthis. His co-conspirators looked at him in surprise.
"We have stayed up late tonight throughout the orcs' search," said Camilla. I doubt we'll be much use at this hour."
"I fear many of my arrows might miss their mark if we strike tonight," agreed Alledmir.
"No, you don't understand," said Matthis, his voice pained. "He... he is coming in two days. We have to escape before then."
"Excuse me, but who do you mean?" inquired Alledmir.
"His name is Lartzgàsh," said Camilla, "and he is very powerful." The look on hers and Matthis's faces told Alledmir that he would get no more answers.
"Well, the weaker the enemy, the better," said the Ranger. He rose from the ground. "We may as well start our operation now." The two slaves nodded, and the three hunters left the hut.
In the darkness of the Mordor night, it was very hard to see, but this gave the hunters near immunity from the sentries on the wall. The sentinels relied on the torches of the patrols to see. As long as they kept from the perimeter until the ambush, they were safe.
Numerous patrols marched along the hut village's rectangular wall. The sentries were still deadly if alerted. Multiple orcs manned the guardhouses at both the village gate and the gate separating the fields from the rest of Núrn. Finally, a troop of orcs defended the Guard Quarters where the day shift slept. In all, there were around 350 orcs to contend with.
Alledmir's four victims and their weapons had been removed, so the hunters had to rely on Alledmir's own arsenal. Weapons in hand, they took up crouched positions next to three huts on the village's outer perimeter. They stared at the wall as they waited.
Camilla carried Alledmir's knife. She was to serve as the spotter and rear guard - alerting Alledmir when a patrol group was passing by along the wall, and hopefully catching any who ran backwards from the ambush.
Two huts to the side was Matthis, clutching Alledmir's short sword. He would skewer any who ran forward along the wall.
In the middle was Alledmir, bow drawn tight.
Soon, Camilla noticed the torchlight of an incoming patrol in the distance. She counted six - a larger number in an effort to impede the escaped Ranger. She signalled to Alledmir.
The Ranger watched from the shadows as the patrol passed in front of his hiding spot. Immediately after, he leaped onto the patrol route and shot at the orcs. Of the six, only three were still standing by the time they realized what was happening. One raised its head as if to yell, but Matthis leaped out and impaled it. Another was shot by Alledmir, and the last vainly attempted to escape the way it came. Camilla stabbed at it with her knife and wrestled it to the ground. Matthis ran over with his short sword to see the orc biting his mother's exposed left arm. Angry, he grabbed the creature by the throat and held its head to the ground before decapitating it.
Alledmir collected the three unbroken arrows, and the hunters admired their handiwork. All six orcs were dead, and they had managed to silence the only one that tried to call for help. They dragged the bodies off the patrol route. The torches were stuck into the ground in an approximation of the orcs' formation. The sentries would eventually notice that the torches were not moving, but Alledmir figured it couldn't be helped.
Matthis noticed the bite on his mother's left arm. The flesh had puckered up and become bright red, and blood flowed from the wound. Presumably, the orc's filthy mouth had infected the cut.
Camilla's left arm was her sword arm - a wound like this could end the hunt.
"Can you keep going?" whispered Matthis, concerned.
"Wrapping it in some grass will do fine for now," said Camilla, gritting her teeth. "There's no reason to end our hunting yet." A mad glee came into her eyes. It both startled and frightened Matthis. He had always thought of his mother as firm and strong-willed, but never bloodthirsty.
Maybe it's different for her, Matthis surmised. She's seen the world outside Central Fields Camp - I haven't. And when the Serpent sold my father out to Lartzgàsh, I lost a parent I loved dearly. But Mum lost someone who meant everything to her - she told me as much.
Again, Matthis thought of Lartzgàsh and the Serpent. They will pay, he vowed.
The patrols proceeded clockwise. To ensure they would eliminate the next patrol before the dead orcs were discovered, the hunters shifted their positions by several huts counterclockwise. Now, Camilla wielded an orcish short sword pinched off one of their kills, as did Alledmir. Camilla thought that hopefully, with a proper sword, her first real kill would be as clean as Matthis's.
The attack followed the same tactics as before. This time, one of the orcs retreating toward Matthis pulled its sword on him, but its blows were clumsy in its surprised state. Matthis easily dispatched the orc once he saw an opening. He killed the other one fleeing this way as well. Alledmir, meanwhile, felled three of the orcs, and Camilla defeated the final one in a surprise attack.
The three hunters were ecstatic at this second victory. Even Alledmir, a hardened Ranger, was pleased with their progress. They proceeded counterclockwise to the next killing zone quite confidently.
It was this boldness, perhaps, that can partially account for what happened after.
The hunters' next quarry proceeded along its route. Camilla signalled as before, and when the time was right, Alledmir crept out and shot at the group. The night had taken its toll on the Ranger, however, and while two orcs were defeated, another two of his arrows missed, buying precious time for the patrol to react.
One of the orcs charged straight at Alledmir, whose hands were encumbered with the bow. The Ranger reached desperately for the sword he had stolen off an orc's body, but his attacker was too quick. He was slashed across the chest, his sword and bow were viciously wrenched away from him, and he was forced into a kneeling position. Cold steel pressed against his neck.
One of the orcs saw Camilla out of the corner of his eye. As he ran at her, he screamed a warning to the sentries posted above. The orc's torchlight finally gave the orc archers the light they needed, and a poisoned arrow buried itself into Camilla's chest.
Matthis ambushed one of the orcs, slaying it with a clean thrust of Alledmir's short sword. But when he looked for another target, he found not an orc, but a man; a slave just like him. His mind raced frantically - was this person a friend or a foe? If he was a foe, should he kill him? Could he?
Matthis had no qualms about killing orcs. Most orcs are quite stupid; little more than animals. They were cruel, remorseless creatures who pillaged and murdered for pleasure.
But people... even the most sadistic and corrupt had good in them. As much as Matthis hated the Serpent, he had promised not to kill him. Surely this stranger deserved the same consideration.
It was this hesitation that let the other slave stab Matthis through the ribs. The pain was so intense that the young man crumpled to the ground.
The hunt was over.