The sun reached its zenith when Vallyn returned, a grim look on his face. Kraggs stood immediately, wincing as his injury throbbed, knowing something was wrong. The orc took up his halberd and placed it in the special sheathe at his back.
"What is it?" the orc asked.
"They are too close," the elf answered. "Perhaps little more than a mile from our position and closing fast."
The elf moved quickly to the three sleeping forms. He shook them gently, but urgently, until their eyes opened and they blinked away the sleep. Vallyn knew the number of pursuers wouldn't be a problem for Kraggs and himself, but the children needed to be kept safe until they were back in the small town of Little Step, where they had been taken from.
"Stand and be ready to flee," Vallyn said.
The little blond girl, Anya, obviously the youngest of the three, burst into tears. As Dalric hugged her close and she buried her face in his shoulder, the boy looked at Vallyn. The elf saw fear in those bright blue orbs, but he also saw determination and hope-the hope he placed in Vallyn and Kraggs to get them safely home.
"Can you swim?" Vallyn asked. "The current is not strong, but the water will be deep for you."
"I can swim like a fish," Dalric said, but only a hint of pride entered his voice. He was too afraid for any more. "Mariella just learned, but Anya stays close to the river bank when we play."
Vallyn nodded, expecting as much. Though they lived near a river, the people of Little Step didn't utilize it for much more than a water source. They rarely had any trade, so the people were self sustained with gardens and fields and livestock. It was a wonder that highwaymen even bothered with taking the children of the three most prominent families in Little Step hostage.
The elf stood and turned to Kraggs. The orc nodded after hearing every word exchanged, and approached the four. Vallyn pulled the children to their feet and to the side as Kraggs neared the tree they had been resting under. It was a lone elm, younger than the others in the forest, but still twice as tall as Kraggs. The orc lifted his halberd from his back and held it in both hands. Squaring himself up with the tree, he swung mightily at it near the base. The halberd encountered little resistance, its keen edge spelled to cut through almost anything. The tree toppled over with a crash and Kraggs set to work trimming the branches until none remained.
Meanwhile, Vallyn turned once again to Dalric.
"Do you know the bank across the river?" the elf asked.
"My dad takes me fishing just over there," Dalric said, pointing downstream and across the river to a small rocky shore. It looked as if it had been used often as a fishing spot, because rocks were strategically placed near the water to sit. Vallyn's keen eyes even spotted a few fish bones where they must have cleaned the fish on the spot, perhaps for a quick meal.
"Good, then you know how to get back to your home from here," Vallyn said. "When you get across the river, take Anya and Mariella and run. Do not look back. Do not stop. Kraggs and I will be along shortly."
Dalric gulped and nodded. He was young, but he was intelligent enough to realize that Vallyn and Kraggs were going to fight. A small part of the boy wanted to stay and help, but that part was quickly overruled by his fear. Besides, he told himself, he had a job to do. He had to protect Anya and Mariella.
Vallyn liked the boy more and more. The elf knew the boy was afraid, but he hid it well for the sakes of the two little girls. It also saddened the elf to know that children so young had to face such danger. Vallyn stood, clearing those thoughts from his head to focus on the task at hand, and turned back to the tree Kraggs had felled. The branches were cut down until the tree resembled a large knobby stick. Vallyn nodded his head toward the gently flowing waters of the river. The orc sheathed his halberd and lifted one end of the tree, dragging it across the ground.
"Grab on to the log and do not let go until you reach the other side," Vallyn commanded the children. He turned his hazel gaze to Dalric. "Understand?"
The boy nodded, his mouth set in a determined line, though his eyes still shone with fear. Vallyn and Kraggs held on to the log in the water until the three children were settled-Anya straddling the log and hanging on tightly while Mariella and Dalric hung off of either side to guide it across. Vallyn and Kraggs let go and the log drifted easily along the current. Dalric, with his left arm slung over the log just behind Anya, kicked his feet and bade Mariella to do the same. Together, the two managed to safely guide themselves across the expanse of the river and to the rocky shore where Dalric and his father fished. Dalric glanced back at the two rescuers before taking the hands of the little girls, tugging them into a run along the familiar path toward home.
Vallyn and Kraggs didn't see that final look, their attention was on the forest around them-though Vallyn certainly made sure the children made it to the other side. Kraggs clenched his hands around the halberd's long handle. Vallyn took a few steps away, wanting to give the orc plenty of room for when he started to swing that deadly blade, and tugged the bow slung over his shoulder over his head. The elf felt the quiver at his back, counting the arrows with his hand. Only half of the arrows he had set out with the previous day remained; the rest were buried in the bodies of a score of highwaymen.
Yet, more than twice that had been left alive. Vallyn frowned at the troubling thought that such a large band of highwaymen were around. Still, the most troubling thing was the insignia painted on the banners around their camp. The dagger stuck through an eye symbol on the red background was not unknown to the elf. No, Vallyn thought, he had seen it once before, near Heliogabalus in the Bloodstone Lands. They had stopped briefly to gather supplies before taking the road south. The Vengeful Watchers, or so they called themselves, had set an ambush that Kraggs and Vallyn easily defeated. Only a dozen men had faced the two seasoned warriors, and a dozen men had been left dead on the side of the road.
Nearly a year had passed, the elf noted. How could the band of highwaymen they had wiped out on a whim be not only alive, but growing? Were they part of a bigger guild? Or was this just a coincidence?
Vallyn didn't believe in coincidences. They had to be part of a bigger guild or some religious followers under the command of some fanatic getting his kicks from stealing children. The elf wondered if they could possibly capture one, but threw that thought out. This band of Vengeful Watchers-if that was what they were-would be lucky if any of them walked away. Vallyn knew Kraggs wanted blood for being wounded. The orc's pride demanded it, and Vallyn had no reason to stop his friend from seeking it.
So as the first man revealed himself from behind a tree, Vallyn took aim and fired his bow, planting an arrow in the man's neck before he could even lift his sword. The answer to his attack came in the form of a dozen arrows and crossbow bolts flying from the trees. Vallyn ducked and fired six more arrows into the forest. He was rewarded by half a dozen cries of pain and alarm-at least two of those cries of pain turned to gurgles of death.
Kraggs ignored the arrows and bolts that slammed into his plate armor. They bounced harmlessly off his chest plate and fell to the ground. The orc paid more attention to the forms darting in and out of his sight between the trees. His great halberd was too big for fighting in close quarters with trees. He looked to his left where Vallyn was taking out the archers one arrow at a time. When the arrows ran out, the elf dropped the bow and drew his short swords. The blade in his right hand burst into flames while the one in his left hand glowed with an eerie, pale blue light.
"At least two score more approaching," Vallyn said, quietly. He grinned at the orc and slid into a defensive position. "I think we can handle it."
"You're fighting?" Kraggs shot back with equal mirth. "And here I thought this would be difficult."
The highwaymen charged from the trees, weapons high. Trusting that the elf had his back, Kraggs gave a mighty roar and charged forward to meet the line of men. He stopped short and twisted his body, letting his halberd swing wide as he twisted back around. The few on the edge of the strike managed to avoid the deadly axe head, but the unlucky men directly in front of the orc were all but cut in half. They fell dead, causing their companions to trip and fall. Kraggs turned the blade back around and took a step forward as he swung back the other way. The wide, feral smile on his face showed his enjoyment.
Vallyn stayed well away from those devastating strikes from the halberd. Once that horizontal pendulum started, it was hard to stop it. Instead, the elf leapt toward the edges of the fight, quickly dispatching anyone who thought to flee or circle around. The flaming sword in his right hand, Run'sta by name, lead the way as he engaged an opponent. Though the man blocked the blow, his wooden club was engulfed in consuming flames. The man dropped the club and scrambled back. Vallyn spin in pursuit and let the cold bite of Khel'sta, the frostbrand in his left hand, quench the heat of the burning club as the elf kicked it toward its owner. The club smacked into the man's chest, knocking him back on his heels. He scrambled out of his tunic, which burned with the flames from the club, and tried to tug his shirt off. When the man finally threw the burning garment on the ground, something slammed into his back. The breath knocked from him and his lungs refusing to draw any more air, the man looked down to see the red blade protruding from his chest. He had little time to ponder the blade's curious red shine before it burst into flame and he was consumed. His dying scream was loud, but short lived.
Vallyn pulled his sword from the man's back and spun around, Khel'sta slapping against the blade of an axe aimed for his back. He brought Run'sta around and slashed at the highwayman's head. The man ducked the blow, just as Vallyn had wanted him to. The elf kicked the man in the face and launched himself into the air, avoiding another attack from behind. As he twisted his body into a flip, he thrust his blades down and into the shoulders of his attacker. The man screamed and fell to the ground, writhing in agony as he died.
He landed nimbly and dashed around to the back of the line where the highwaymen retreated. As he stabbed and slashed at those around the edges of the force, Kraggs advanced, roaring and swinging his deadly horizontal pendulum. As the retreat headed into the trees, Kraggs let his halberd swing one last time before bringing it up into a downward chop onto one unlucky man's head. The orc charged after them, running them into the forest where Vallyn, who had dashed through the trees to one of the archers he had taken down, took them with arrows. The orc continued his seemingly reckless charge, cutting down three more before he stopped and turned around to go back to the river.
Kraggs wiped his blade clean on one man's shirt and sheathed it. The ground was covered in bodies-or parts of bodies for those who were in front of Kraggs. The orc began to search them for anything valuable or worth keeping. He was still searching, having come up with little, when Vallyn emerged from the forest with a full quiver of arrows. He picked up his dropped bow and slung it around his shoulder.
"Any left alive?" the elf asked.
Kraggs snorted at the absurdity of anyone surviving. Vallyn shrugged and started looting as well. When they were sure they had gathered anything worth keeping, the two sat at the edge of the river and rested a moment.
"We should get extra for wiping them out," Kraggs said, offhandedly.
Vallyn laughed and clapped his friend on the back, wondering if they had indeed wiped the Vengeful Watchers out.