Dagger of Souls

*** Chapter 15 ***

Einlan scanned the cloudy grey sky above as a sleek bird descended toward him. The sparrow hawk fluttered its blue-grey wings as it came in close and landed gracefully on the elf's slender, outstretched arm. The bird let out a series of chirps and whistles. Its black pupils swirled inside golden eyes with streaks of orange as it scanned the other people standing near its wizard master. The elf turned to the paladin as he pointed east where the bird flew in from. "The orcs are coming from that direction, and they are getting close."

"How close?" the knight asked anxiously.

Einlan shrugged his slender shoulders. "My companion cannot comprehend precise time or distance as we would understand it. Best I can say is that they are close."

Sergeant Dural turned and signaled to his men waiting nearby. They motioned their acknowledgment and cocked the strings of their loaded crossbows so that they were ready to fire the steel bolts that waited in the grooved chamber. The soldiers split up into two groups of three and headed in opposite directions, disappearing behind the small cottages and barns to the east. After the men were sent to their positions the holy warrior turned to face the wizard. "Thank you for the information, good elf. It is a great help to know at least where they are currently, provided they don't change course again. Could you send the bird out to fly over the orcs again and then return here directly? We can make a better estimate of the distance and make sure that they are still headed in the same direction."

The elf gave a nod and began to speak with the sparrow hawk in his native elvish language. The bird seemed to understand his words and chirped a response before it took off towards the woods to the east.

The knight checked that the wide bladed sword in the scabbard at his side would pull free easily and adjusted the polished steel shield on his arm. He looked at the man next to him clad in tightly fitted studded black leather. "Keltar, are your traps ready along the eastern side of the village?"

The messenger gave him a devious grin, "I had enough time with the help of several villagers to set them all around the perimeter of town. There are a few in that general direction, although as you know they will have to be sprung manually."

Dural thought it was very risky to rely on manually setting off the traps, but they didn't want to set trip wires that could be set off accidentally by the villagers or their children. The town elders had insisted on that, which was a fair precaution, though it made it much more difficult for them to execute their plan.

The rogue warrior checked the knives and his short sword to make sure they were secured properly, then turned to head out toward his position.

The priestess caught a hold of his arm before he left and spoke to him softly. "Keltar. May Selune watch over you my friend. Be careful and just remember that I may be able to heal the wounded, but I cannot raise the dead."

A wide smile spread across the man's lips, partially concealed by the long, dark bangs that hung over half his face. He was touched by the genuine concern in her melodic voice. "I don't plan on joining the spirit world just yet. I wouldn't mind seeing your pretty face again, so I promise not to do anything too foolish."

Cera blushed at his direct comment, something unusual for the brooding man. She flashed him a grin as he departed to carry out his part of the battle plan. There was nothing more she could do but wait, so she began to pray to the moon goddess for their divine favor in the coming encounter.

The sparrow hawk returned after a few minutes and landed on the wizards shoulder. It began squawking and chirping wildly. It seemed to be very nervous about the orc invaders, which was a sentiment shared by most of the people defending the town.

Einlan relayed the information quickly. "They are coming in the same direction and moving at a brisk pace. Based on how fast she can normally fly and the time it took her to return, I would estimate they are about five or six minutes away from reaching us."

The knight had figured the east would have been the most likely ingress point since the woods in that direction had the most evergreen trees and thick underbrush which would best mask their approach. The fact that they were using that tactic further convinced him that they were aware of the soldiers in town. He had hoped that their military presence would catch the orcs completely by surprise but at least the wizard's pet helped give them an advantage by being ready for their attack, while the marauders still believed they were closing in undetected. With the number of seasoned warriors in their raiding group, that advantage was critical. "It is time to get into position in the eastern facing cottage."

Dural turned to Klenn who was pacing behind him. The knight had asked the farm boy to be the liaison to the other villagers that volunteered to help with the ranged assault using the bows they had made over the last several days. "Go and get the villagers set up along the cottages to the east. Make sure they do not fire until I give the signal." After that he led the priestess and wizard into an empty cottage where they opened a window shutter in the back room to look out into the wilderness where they expected the orcs to approach. The knight scanned the tree line looking for any signs of movement. He pulled out the hollowed out bone tusk they used for an alarm horn and kept it at the ready to signal his troops.

A loud yell suddenly echoed through the cold air, which made all of their heartbeats quicken instantly. It sounded to be human, most likely from the messenger but Dural had never heard the man yell before. The sound was followed by orc battle cries and other loud commands in the harsh, guttural tongue of the brutish humanoids. The sound of boots crunching against the packed snow, along with twigs and branches snapping began to rise to a crescendo before they began to see the movement of bodies through the trees. The battle for the defense of Stalford had begun.

Keltar darted swiftly through the trees as he headed toward their position. He was being chased by four orc warriors. The roguish warrior kept himself about five paces ahead of his pursuers as they approached the gap between fences that led to the cottage where Cera and the others were waiting. The paladin was chagrinned at the low number of orcs following the messenger. That meant that the orcs held back the rest of the raiders from the pursuit. They were probably going to see how the town reacted to the advance warriors, a tactic he would have probably used himself. "Einlan we need your bird to scout out the remaining orcs and find out what they are doing now," he requested urgently.

The elf relayed the message and sent the bird out of the window again on its assignment as the messenger emerged from the trees into the clearing behind the cottages. Keltar continually glanced back to keep his pursuers at the same distance behind him as he ran down the gap between fenced in fields. He came to a spot between several short, wooden posts and seemed to trip and fall to the ground face first. The orcs kept their axes ready to strike as they barreled toward the fallen man, three of them in front and a straggler a few paces behind the others.

Keltar dug at the snow and pulled up a rope up that was hidden just beneath the surface. He yanked it hard just before the marauders reached the wooden posts. The rope was connected to a rectangular wooden assembly buried face down in the snow that snapped up and locked itself against the wooden posts, creating a wooden fence about the height of the orcs' thighs. The three beams running horizontally had sharpened wooden stakes jutting outward toward the woods, where the humanoids were closing in. The three warriors leading the pursuit watched in horror at the trap that sprung up in front of them. They could not stop their momentum in time and slammed into the barrier. The low position of the fence caused them to flip over the trap. The sharpened stakes tore at their legs and ripped off huge chunks of flesh, muscle and sinew as they tumbled forward. The messenger rolled out of the way of the falling mass of thick bodies. Several of their bones snapped from the heavy impact of hitting the cold ground awkwardly and rolling end over end. They left a trail of brackish colored blood in their wake before they skidded to a stop a few paces away. One orc's head was twisted at such a grotesque angle that his beady black eyes stared up lifelessly into the grey sky while the rest of its crumpled body remained face down. The other two had several badly broken bones that jutted out of their green flesh and appeared to be rendered completely immobile and unconscious. The fourth orc was able change direction to avoid the trap but slowed down as he viewed the gruesome damage that was done to his brethren.

The beast's entire face twisted into a sneer of rage at the sight of the carnage. He turned to face the human who sprung the deadly trap on them, its jutting tusks fully bared in a vicious snarl. Keltar repositioned himself so that the bodies of the fallen humanoids remained between him and the enraged orc. He taunted the green skinned invader as he took a few steps backward, "Come and get me, you ugly bastard!"

Cera started to move toward the door with a worried look on her face, but Sir Dural grabbed her arm and held her back. "No. He will be alright. We don't want to make a move yet to alert the other orcs."

The priestess gave him a frustrated glare, but refrained from going outside as she watched the large humanoid sprint toward the roguish warrior.

The orc did not slow down as he ran at the messenger but had to hop to avoid the twisted bodies between them. That maneuver at the speed he was moving caused him to lose his footing and fall on his side as he slid across the snowy ground. Before the orc could recover from the slip, Keltar pounced on him and plunged his short sword deeply into the creature's ribs. The orc marauder howled in pain as the messenger twisted the blade before yanking it out. Its screams ended a few moments later as its body went limp.

The messenger glanced back at the other three injured orcs to check if he needed to finish them, but was satisfied their massive injuries were fatal. He wiped the thick, brackish orc blood covering his blade on the dirty fur tunic the creature was wearing, then returned it to the sheath on his back.

The small sparrow hawk dove down and landed gracefully on the window sill in front of Dural and Einlan. The wizard knelt down and put his hand on the window allowing the bird to walk up his arm. The avian creature began to chirp and cluck as its small head and curved black beak jerked from side to side looking around the room. It raised one wing up and held it out. Einlan nodded and translated the report. "They stopped when they heard the human yelling. They split up when some of the orcs started chasing the human. The ones that didn't give chase turned and headed north. One of the green humanoids moved closer to the village but remained in the trees."

The knight smoothed his thick mustache as he listened. "A scout no doubt. Ask your companion if he can follow their main group from a distance and come back to us when they turn back toward town."

The elf turned to the bird and began to relay the orders from the paladin. It let out a loud screech as it flapped its wings quickly and took flight. The wizard turned to Dural and narrowed his slanted eyes and crossed his hands over his chest. "It is not a he, it is a she and her name is Elyria."

The knight blinked a few times staring at the upset wizard. He realized he was probably treating the bird like a tool instead of a living creature. "My apologies, Einlan. I didn't know her gender. Elyria is a very nice name and be sure to give her my thanks for her invaluable aid, when she returns again."

The elf seemed to be satisfied with the statement and nodded. "I will pass her your sentiments."

Keltar approached close to the window but did not look in. "The rest of the force is waiting about fifty to sixty paces into the trees, I think."

Sir Dural shook his head, but realized the man couldn't see him. "Not anymore. They are moving north, except for one orc who moved closer, most likely a scout that came to watch the result of your successful attack. Einlan's sparrow hawk," he looked over at the elf and added, "Elyria, went to follow them. Now they are down to eleven, a much more comfortable number of opponents. Great job with those traps, they were very effective."

"Actually they are down to only ten. I snuck up and slit the throat of one as they passed my hiding place in the woods. That's when they started to chase me. I was hoping all of them would follow when I screamed at them, but their leader held the rest back."

The paladin was encouraged to hear that the number of enemies had dwindled considerably without any loss or injuries, but he also knew the remaining orcs wouldn't fall for their tricks so easily next time. The knight held the horn up to his lips and blew three quick blasts that carried through the cold air. "Let us regroup outside and wait for a report of their location."

Within a minute the two groups of soldiers emerged from between cottages and mustered together in front of Sergeant Dural on the snow covered dirt road that ran through the tiny village.

The knight stood tall and proud as he prepared to address the soldiers, as Klenn, Einlan and Cera waited behind him. "Men, this is what we have trained for. They are moving north now. We will utilize the same flanking defense that we planned. Do not attack until I give the signal, and stay well hidden until then. Thanks to Keltar, they now have four less warriors to use against us."

As the soldiers began to cheer at the good news, the elf's avian companion flew into their midst, flapping its wings like mad to slow its rapid descent which flung small blue-grey feathers in the air. It landed on the elf's shoulder and began squawking hysterically and pointing its feathered wing. Einlan looked a little troubled as he relayed the message. "Orcs are coming fast from the north. She says they are holding sticks of fire. They are much closer than before."

The paladin released a frustrated sigh that created a long line of mist in the cold air. "It appears they have changed tactics. They are going to try and burn the village."