Chapter 3
Most of those present volunteered. It had been a long night for all, and everyone was eager to see something of the new world beyond the temporary camp. Veren suspected they were also reluctant to believe anything on Kalimdor could be worse than what they'd left behind.
In the end, Veren chose Shel'yin, another warlock, three raiders including one who knew the way to the site, and three grunts.
"I should come with you," Kerd Bladeleaper said.
"No," Veren said firmly. "I need someone to stay and keep an eye out here, and you have the most experience after Lev. Besides, you've been riding all night."
"You have been walking," Shel'yin pointed out.
"Shel'yin," Veren said wearily. "Shut up. Let's go."
Strange sounds rose around them as they moved quietly through the woods. Redmorning was glad he had left his banner behind. The undergrowth was scarce, but they often had to duck under low branches.
"Know what that is?" Veren whispered, as a high twittering noise rose on their left.
"Birds," Shel'yin said. The warlock's steps were quiet, for someone so large.
Must be a whole bloody lot of them, then, Veren thought. The sound seemed to increase as the sun came up, many small voices singing all around them. Occasionally, Veren caught the sound of rustling in the scant grass and bushes, and once or twice he saw small creatures like the ones the scouts had killed. There is more life here of all kinds than there is in Outland.
He could have made himself invisible, of course. Mana seemed thick in the air here, though its taste was unfamiliar. But nobody else here can windwalk, and I'd look like a coward for leaving them all visible.
The terrain they passed through was more or less level at first, but gradually it began to slope upwards. Large rocks lay strewn around on the soft ground cover. Veren heard the stream well before they reached it. The raider who rode point signaled a halt at the edge of the water. Veren moved to the front to have a look.
The raider pointed wordlessly. Veren carefully moved a branch covered in green needles out of the way and peered across the stream.
Great. He should have known better than to assume Kerd was exaggerating. The ground was indeed covered with web, and bones lay on and under the carpet of pale weaving. And the spiders…
Veren Redmorning swore quietly. Kerd had been accurate about those, too. And we've found the first thing here that looks like it belongs in Outland. The spiders were red, and most had black or purple markings on their backs. They stood very still in the cold morning, but he could see their abdomens pulsing.
He did not see Lev Darksun, but no doubt the warrior lurked somewhere close by. Veren drew back, gesturing the others to come closer.
"I'm going to try and cut us a path through the webbing," he said quietly. "Don't attack until I do. Warlocks, try and burn up some of the stuff on the ground. Understood?"
The Orcs nodded variously in reply. The air grew denser as those who could began to wrap themselves in mana. Veren did likewise, slowly at first. This mana is different than in Outland. It doesn't feel right.
Veren Redmorning drew his swords with care, to avoid making a noise. Then he called up his spell. A blue haze descended on everything around him, lending an unreality to his surroundings. He moved forward, and the tree branches offered no resistance as he ghosted through them and across the stream.
Then he woke up lying on his back, and not at all sure how he had arrived there. Veren squinted up at the bright sky between the tops of trees. He tried to move his head, and discovered he was held firmly in place by a fine but very strong net. Then he took a deep breath, and encountered the stabbing pain in the right side of his chest.
"Aargh," said Veren Redmorning.
An Orc's head loomed into his view, blotting out the sky. "He's not dead yet," Shel'yin said, in a tone of voice which indicated he could be dead at any time.
"Hold on, Chieftain," said Lev's voice, and then an axe descended toward Veren's face. He held quite still as it parted the strands in a straight line from his head to his toes.
"A knife would have made more sense," Shel'yin said. Veren agreed with this silently.
"Ha," Lev said. "No knife is as sharp as this axe. I shave with it all the time."
"You shave with an axe?" said a raider's voice from out of Veren's view. "Is that what happened to your nose?"
Veren got up to his elbows in time to see Lev stride over and cuff the surprised Orc out of her saddle. A second later, she vaulted over the wolf's back and hit Darksun squarely in the chest with both feet. She landed on her hands and somersaulted neatly back onto her mount as Lev staggered back a step. Another wolf rider snickered from her own mount.
"Now I see why you need the axe," the first raider announced. "You hit like an Elf. But you kill spiders pretty good. I think I like you."
"Hmph." Lev hooked the axe onto his belt, eyeing the other Orc speculatively. "You've got a big mouth, for somebody short as a peon. What's your name?"
"Gedu Pouncefaster," she said.
"Mostly Gedu Talkfaster," said the other raider, and Gedu laughed at what was clearly an old joke.
Shel'yin snorted and turned back to Veren. "Don't sit up yet," he said, and started twisting the discarded spider web into a band. "I think you've got some broken ribs."
"Upper right side," Veren said, trying not to breathe deeply. "What happened, exactly?"
The warlock started to wrap the web tightly around Veren's chest. Redmorning made an effort to look as if this did not hurt.
"Let's see," Shel'yin said. "You cut a few yards of web, then you became visible all of a sudden. Then the big spider threw a web over you."
"I remember that part," Veren growled. He was discovering aches in parts of his body which he was sure hadn't hurt before. "The stupid local mana gave out. What happened after that?"
"Then I threw a pair of firebolts to clear the ground around you," Shel'yin said. "And we attacked the spiders. I think some of them ran over you. You're lucky the large one only stepped on you once." He used the word with obvious enjoyment.
"Thank you so much for pointing that aaargh."
"Don't try to get up too fast."
Redmorning glared at him as he bent over his knees, trying not to gag. After a couple of seconds, he fumbled around for his swords and sheathed them. Raising his arms hurt almost as much as breathing. When he could speak, he spent a minute or so inventively cursing mana, spiders, warlocks in general, and Shel'yin in particular.
Shel'yin looked down at him thoughtfully when he had run out of breath.
"I don't believe that last one is anatomically possible," he said.
"Shut," Veren paused for breath. "Up." He looked around more slowly. The ground seemed to be strewn with dark blood and parts of spiders, including the neatly disemboweled body of the largest. A good half of the webbing had been scorched from the ground, leaving it black and bare. "Anybody else get hurt?"
"Lev Darksun and I were burned slightly," Shel'yin said. "One of the spiders was spitting something corrosive. You were the only serious injury. Lev sent one of the raiders back to get everyone else."
"Good." Veren looked more closely and saw a patch of webbing stuck onto the warlock's arm. If the size of the bandage was any indication, the burn must be fairly large. "Where'd the others go?"
"The grunts and the other warlocks are patrolling the area for any more spiders," Shel'yin said.
"Help me up," Veren said.
"Hm." The warlock looked at him for a second. Then he reached forward, hooked his fingers into the straps of Veren's sword harness, and stood up, lifting him easily onto his feet. He let go when he was sure the smaller Orc was not going to fall over.
He spent far too much time with Nel'hesh, that much is clear, Veren thought. Too bad the old warlock couldn't leave him without confirming his suspicions.
"It's full daylight now," Veren said. "It doesn't seem any warmer."
"I believe we've arrived at the beginning of winter," Shel'yin said. "I observed no frost, so it's remotely possible we will not freeze to death before we can build a settlement."
"Un huh," Veren said. He limped over to the outcrop of rock, stepping over spider limbs, and leaned his back against the cold stone. "See if you can encourage that remote possibility by gathering up as many bones as we can use for building." He paused to breathe again. "Have the raiders help you, if you can distract them from flirting with Lev. All right?"
"Of course, Chieftain," Shel'yin said. "If you start to see double, call me."
"Can you do anything if I do?"
"Probably not," the warlock said with grim satisfaction.