AUTHOR's NOTE: Sorry for the delay in this chapter. Its been a hectic month with pretests and preparation classes for getting my black belt in Wado-Ryu karate, as well as being busy at work with some projects. Not as much time to devote to writing, unfortunately. Hopefully I'll have more time in the near future.

Dagger of Souls

*** Chapter 22 ***

The huge flames rising up from the remnants of the orc fort began to subside, as the sun reached its zenith. The ashes and embers were all that remained of the orc camp. The soldiers along with Jaceira and Arden monitored to the blaze to make sure it didn't spread to the surrounding wilderness. Keltar watched from the south side of camp as the flames died down and then turned back to face the orc chieftain.

Cera grabbed Keltar's arm that was holding the dagger and pulled it away as she moved to stand in front of him. "You can't just kill him. He's unarmed and tied up."

"You must be joking. He has ordered his men to kill the people of Stalford in cold blood, capture and torture prisoners and send innocent young women to some horrible fate. He is guilty and deserves death at the very least. Out in the wilderness there are no magistrates to settle disputes. As a messenger to the Lord's of Waterdeep, I am the closest thing to an official and I say his actions warrant execution. I will grant him a swift death for giving us information, and forgo torture as he did to the village prisoners."

"But you are not a judge. The town leader should decide his fate after hearing him speak in his defense."

"We cannot carry him back to town, we don't' have time. I doubt he would even try to walk there. Lives are at risk in Red Larch and we must get there to warn them."

"Jaceira and Arden can go and warn them without us."

The rogue warrior threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "Well what do you propose? Do you believe he is innocent and should be released? He said himself he wants to die. Why are you being so difficult?"

"Killing in defense is one thing, but someone tied up and unable to move is another. My duty is to protect the helpless."

"Helpless. Take a look at him, he is anything but helpless. He could kill three soldiers without even batting an eyelash."

"Not while he is tied up. Let him go. He cannot return to the others without shame, he said so himself. So he can just wander somewhere and find another tribe or something. You heard him that he was forced into this situation by the threat of death for him and his clansmen. Even if he did return to his superiors, I'm sure the Dark One's men will find out soon enough the base has been destroyed, so there's not much information he can give them. He was doing what he needed to do to protect his men, just as you would have in the same situation."

"No, I would have fought against the Dark One and not succumbed to his plotting. I would not have agreed to attack innocent people to save the men who served me. When you cast your magic and caused one of the orcs to be frozen stiff, he was completely helpless. Yet you bashed his head in with your mace because you had to protect your allies. It is no different here. This orc chieftain did not surrender to us, he tried to kill us all and they went after the innocent villagers even when they thought that we would defeat them."

The knight sighed. "Cera, I understand your points, but Keltar is right. I serve a righteous god, and I know the law of the land. I settle disputes in the region so I do have the authority to decide here as a member of Halls of Justice. He sacrificed other innocent lives to save his people. This was his choice and he must suffer the consequences of his actions. He will be lawfully put to death and the gods will judge his soul."

"Fine. Do what you want. I don't want any part of it." The priestess whirled around and stalked away.

The messenger looked at the knight and shook his head. "I can't believe her sometimes. Letting this monster go?"

Sir Dural glanced at the prisoner and back to the rogue warrior. "If should never be easy to kill another being when not in self-defense. If it is you need to take a hard look within yourself."

"These orcs are barely more than animals."

"No, Keltar, they are not animals. They have intelligence enough to learn and understand our language and carry out tactics far beyond any animal. If not for the war-like nature they could become a real civilization one day. Because of his crimes against these villagers he will be put to death. It should neither be easy or enjoyable. It is simply performing an act of justice."

"Then I will enjoy seeing justice done. The parents of these young girls that he ordered to be taken and sent away will enjoy seeing this bastard get his due." Keltar approached the mountainous orc and stared at the beastly warrior, which had its eyes closed resting or trying to avoid seeing his camp's destruction. The orc suddenly raised his two bound boots and managed to kick out and trap the messenger's knife in between the ropes holding his two boots together. He yanked hard pulling the rogue warrior down and then kicked him with both boots, sending him sprawling on his back side. The orc began to twist at his boots with the knife trapped between the ropes trying to sever them enough to get his legs free.

The knight spun around and drew his sword as soon as the attack took place. The chieftain tried to force the ropes holding his hands above his head up so he could stand. The knife fell away but he managed to chaff the ropes enough that he was able to break them open. The orc's hands were still bound securely above his head and he kept pushing it up so he could stand. The sergeant approached from the side so he couldn't get kicked and then thrust his wide blade into the ribs of the huge orc. The blade went through its side and straight into its heart killing him instantly.

Keltar stood up and wiped the blood from his lip away as he watched the orc.

The paladin looked over to the messenger. "He wanted to die fighting, and I guess he found a way to do it. Are you alright?"

The messenger nodded. "I'll be fine. All this talk of helplessness distracted me." He flashed a scowl at the sergeant, as he recovered his knife. "You should have let me finish him off."

"Justice was served, it should make no difference. Besides he may have succeeded in somehow getting the ropes free and hurting someone else."

"Fine. It's done. Now let's get out of here."

Sir Dural nodded and turned away and stopped as he noticed the elf wizard reading something on two silver bracers that were worn by the orc leader. "Einlan, what did you find out about those."

"These are some type of magical shield that prevents missile weapons from hitting the wearer. They should come in very handy in the future for us."

The knight looked at him quizzically. "It would be nice, but it doesn't appear that would fit anyone here."

"These are created with magic. They will adjust to fit the wearer of any size once it is worn."

Sir Dural raised his eyebrows. "I see. Since you have no armor for protection and could be a target of anyone with ranged weapons to stop you from your arcane abilities go ahead and use them."

The wizard gave a grin and a nod and slipped the two silver objects over his hands. The arcane engravings glowed as the bracers shrunk to fit around the elf's slender wrists. "They are not exactly my style, but they will be useful."

The sergeant ordered the soldiers to douse the remnant flames with buckets of snow to extinguish them and make sure the hot embers wouldn't blow into nearby brush. Once that was completed they gathered their equipment and returned to the village.

* * *

"It's the Heroes of Waterdeep," cried out a husky man holding a crossbow near the entrance to town from the dirt covered road. He blew the guard horn with several blasts in the direction of town. He waved to Sir Dural and the rest of the group excitedly. As they approached to within speaking distance he gave the sergeant a clumsy, but hearty salute. "I'm guard watchmen Merle sir. Welcome back."

The paladin looked back at the zealous villager and gave a nod. "Thank you Merle. Did Klenn make it back safely with the captive villagers?"

"Yes, sir they arrived over two hours ago. You shoulda seen all the commotion from the families that got to see their loved ones. It was a sight to see. We heard that you defeated them orc beasts without losing anyone. Kicked them in their green arses. The town is ready to hold a big celebration in your honor, sir."

The knight gave him a slight smile. "I really appreciate that, but we will be leaving tonight. The danger for Stalford may be over, but there is trouble on the horizon for Red Larch and we must get there and warn them of what is coming. And you don't have to call me sir. As a citizen of Stalford you help pay taxes to Waterdeep that pays us soldiers. We work for you, sir."

Merle's grin disappeared and his eyes widened. "More trouble? Are you sure we aren't in danger?"

"We don't believe so, but you should remain vigilant anyway. We've been informed thousands of orcs are prepared to attack Red Larch. The orc fort here was a forward operating base they were going to use to attack the reinforcements from Waterdeep. We destroyed their fort and the clan that was there, so the danger for you should be minimal from this war. I'm sorry but we have to talk with your town leader and then depart."

Sir Dural and the others pressed on to the center of the village. People emerged from the cottages to cheer, clap and shout out to the group to praise them in the victory over the orc clan. Klenn and the other soldiers came over to meet them in the middle of town. The paladin waved them over. "Klenn. Good job getting the captives back home. I need you to come with me to meet the town leader."

"Yes, sir. I know some trails that can help you get to Red Larch faster than using the roads."

"Excellent. You will come with us and guide us to the town." The knight craned his neck to look back at the lanky senior soldier behind him. "Wylan, take the rest of the soldiers and go and get some rest and a bath. In two hours pack everything up and get ready to move out. I'm going to talk with Holtin and see if they can provide us with horses so we can ride to Red Larch as quick as possible."

"Yes, sir. Thank you sir. We'll be ready in two hours."

As the soldier walked away, a small bird flew down from a nearby rooftop and fluttered over Einlan, while holding a rolled up parchment tied with thick yarn in its talons. The wizard held out his arm and smiled as the avian creature landed. "Elyria. Its good to see you." The elf glanced at the holy warrior. "It looks like Waterdeep has sent a response to us."

Sir Dural moved over next to the wizard. "Great. But they don't know half of what's going on now. What did they say?"

The wizard untied the scroll from around the sparrow hawk's talon and handed it to the sergeant.

The knight unfurled it and scanned the parchment carefully, as the others in the group gathered around. He finished reading it and shook his head. "They will send a garrison of fifty troops to help secure Stalford and the surrounding area, but a treaty will Red Larch prohibits them from sending troops unless specifically requested by the town council. Until then they cannot send anyone to help them out, especially with only the word of a single druid as the only evidence of a pending invasion."

The priestess looked concerned and sighed. "But we have more evidence now. The chieftain's confession that we all witnessed confirmed their plans to attack Red Larch."

The paladin nodded in agreement. "Yes, but they don't know that yet. If this treaty is true then they would be violating the terms to send troops anyway. I'm sure it was probably the town's idea to make sure Waterdeep didn't interfere with their affairs by keeping a garrison of troops there to influence their decisions. We must convince the town of Red Larch to send the request and quickly."

The rogue warrior fiddled with his daggers as he listened to the news. "Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll find out their fort was destroyed and call off the invasion."

Einlan shook his head. "I doubt it. I know enough about orcs to know their bloodlust. That many clans travelling from their homelands to wage war on humans aren't going to just turn around and go home. They'll be out for someone's blood. They'll either kill each other or attack the town. I'm sure this Dark One that has organized this war will not abandon his mission for one setback. They still have a big advantage if they have the support of a dragon."

The knight nodded his agreement. "Well said elf friend. We can only hope they fight each other, but we must be prepared that they will start this war and soon. They may already be on the march to the city. We must make haste and get to Red Larch and warn them."

Jaceira frowned and gazed at the sergeant. "They won't listen. Their town council is stubborn and ignorant."

"They only heard your analysis of the situation. I am a sergeant and a paladin of the Halls of Justice and Keltar is a messenger to the Lord's of Waterdeep. I believe our testimony of the orc chieftain's own interrogation will be enough to convince them. It has to be. Now let's go secure some horses and prepare for a hard ride to Red Larch."