City of Fire

The Hunt

The rain slackened as the hunters made their way through the forest, but the light continued to dim. Early tripped over two logs and what Naull thought may have been a hedgehog, but neither Ian nor Regdar would agree to light torches.

"Ian can see the tracks just fine," Regdar said shortly when the wizard brought the subject up for the third time, "and I can see him. The rest of you follow me and we'll make it."

Naull silently cursed her partner's stubbornness, but privately agreed it was the wise choice. Orcs, she knew, could see well in the dark-but only over short distances. If the party lit a torch, anybody within a hundred yards would see them coming.

"He's slowing down," Ian said suddenly, stopping short. Regdar nearly stumbled over the half-elf and Naull bumped into him, her small body banging against the hard metal of his armor. Trebba put a hand out and Early-now well in the back of the party-managed to hold up. "He's stopped fleeing. He's going more carefully."

Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Naull thought.

She brushed her black, wet hair back from her eyes and looked around. Trees, nothing but trees. She didn't like the seeming openness. A human through-and-through, she still preferred "adventuring" in caves. The woods looked open and boundless, but all those trees could be hiding eyes, and bows, and arrows.

"Spread out a little," Regdar ordered.

Everyone, except Ian, who still searched for the fugitive orc leader's tracks, obeyed automatically. Naull couldn't help but smile a little. She'd known Regdar for quite some time, but the others had been with them for only four days. She hardly knew anything about them, and they knew a little about her and her partner, yet they followed his direction almost without question. She'd trusted Regdar for a long time, but why did they? Naull looked over each of her companions in turn as they searched the darkness for signs of their foe.

Trebba, a self-professed thief, picked her way up the slick angle of a fallen tree, probably in hopes of getting a look around in the dim light. She moved gracefully, even over the damp, moss-covered bark. Soon she was nothing but a shadow against the broken trunk.

Off to the other side, a branch snapped and a soft, pained curse followed-Early. The tall man had joined up with them at the village, and Naull knew for certain that he was a local. He couldn't have been more than eighteen years old. He had no beard and chubby cheeks, but he was very, very strong. The "boy" had submitted to a few tests before being accepted as part of the group. Lightly armored and wielding nothing but a wooden shield and an old, plain long sword, he'd nearly broken through Regdar's well-trained guard with nothing but strength and enthusiasm. Naull watched him pick his way around a broken tree limb, trying not to make any more noise. He started looking around, squinting into the darkness, as if foes might leap out from behind any tree.

Green, Naull thought, but Early's actions reminded her she had work to do, too. She did a quick inventory of her spell pouches and sighed. She still had everything she needed to cast her remaining spells, but her "big bangs" were gone, used up in the ambush that afternoon. Her web spell had snared most of the orcs at one swoop-all but their leader, who sacrificed his troops to make his own escape. They were tracking that lone orc through the darkening woods, hoping it would lead them to its lair, what remained of the raiding party, and their spoils.

Scanning the woods, Naull tried to locate Ian and Regdar. She found them both quickly. Regdar, the burly fighter who led the group, was easy to spot in his plate armor. He stood almost motionless over Ian.

The half-elf, on the other hand, was an enigma. Except for his chosen vocation-his woodcraft spoke to his part-elven background-he didn't act like any half-elf she'd heard about or met before. An abrasive mercenary by his own admission, the slight, short man still had a compelling, almost intense, nature. Even his name was strange. Elves, in Naull's limited experience, usually had longer, more sing-song names. "Ian" seemed too plain, somehow.

Ian's light hair and white skin, however, went along with Naull's image of elves. The fact that his clothes somehow stayed inexplicably clean as he searched the dark ground for tracks fit, too. His sharp, ice-blue eyes pierced the darkness and turned toward Naull. He'd sensed her staring at him, she knew suddenly, and he held her gaze for a moment, then turned back to his work.

It never crossed her mind that Ian wouldn't find the tracks, even in the dark, even after the brief rain shower, and that proved a good instinct. After only a few minutes, the ranger stood up again and motioned the party in.

"He's gotten away," Ian said flatly. Early cursed, but Regdar waited and watched the half-elf pause. "Or so he thinks."

A rare smile graced the ranger's features, but it wasn't a pleasant one. The smile was that of a hunter who enjoyed the kill and who knew his quarry had been run to ground.

"I wanted to make sure he hadn't gotten clever, but I'm convinced he thinks we're still back at the ambush site, picking through the wagons and his fellows' gear. It's what he'd be doing, probably." Nothing disguised the disdain in Ian's voice. But the half-elf grew professional again, turned toward a nearby slope, and said, "He paused here and looked around. He didn't hear us coming." A sharp look made Early blush, but Ian continued, "and he couldn't see us. We were just far enough behind to make him feel confident, so he headed down there."

"Back toward the path?"Trebba asked.

"Yes," he replied. "The path probably leads right up near their lair. Nobody comes this deep into these woods anymore," he added. "They didn't have to hide."

Regdar nodded and asked, "Should we go back to the path, or do you want to follow him directly?"

"The orcs obviously didn't think they'd be followed far into the forest. We found the path after only, what, two days of looking?" Ian continued, not waiting for confirmation. "They stayed careful until they got into the woods, but then they relaxed. I'm guessing they got sloppier the nearer they got to home."

"So we should go back to the path," Early drawled confidently, "find 'em quick, and kick some orc tail. Heat up the oven 'cause we'll be back for breakfast."

He patted his long sword and grinned.

"Well," the half-elf drawled, mocking the farm boy's accent until Regdar's sharp glance cowed the ranger. "If we go back onto the path, we'll almost certainly find the orcs' lair-and probably quicker than if we follow the tracks of a single orc through the forest at night, in this drizzle, but then we'd be coming at them from where they expect. As I've already said, this one we're tracking thinks he fooled us. If we go back, we're doing what he expects-and night is orc time."

"So what?" Early asked, a tiny bit of belligerence creeping into his voice. "There's just the one o' him left. We already killed over a half-dozen orcs in the ambush. If you're thinkin' about Yurgen, well, I'm sorry he's dead, too, but he did a foolish thing, charging into the woods alone after this brute. If he'd done like Regdar told him, he'd still be alive. I don't care how tough this orc is, I'm bettin' the five of us can take one more."

As Ian opened his mouth for a scathing reply, he found it hard to talk with two hundred and fifty plus pounds of plate-armored human standing on his toe. The half-elf gasped and Regdar stepped back.

"But consider this, Early," Regdar said as if nothing had happened, "there may be more than just the one we're tracking."

"There certainly will be," Ian grumbled, flexing his mashed toes. "They've been operating out of that lair for a month now. This isn't just a hit-and-run raiding party. I'd guess that at least a couple of warriors stayed behind to guard the other loot, plus whatever others tagged along-young and such. They could still be strong enough to cause us some trouble if they catch us by surprise, or if we just stumble into their midst in the dark." Ian waved back toward the ambush site, several miles behind them and grinned. "Remember how well it worked for us."

Early nodded in understanding and grinned back. Naull looked between the two of them, thinking perhaps the half-elf wasn't as cold as he seemed, and the farm boy wasn't as dumb as he acted.

We all put on our little shows, she thought.

"Hey, Naull," Regdar asked. "What about you? What's our wizard got?"

"Well…" she started, fingers automatically going to her component pouches, even though she'd just sorted them out moments before, "not a lot. Don't worry about light. I can take care of that in a hurry, when we need it. And I might be able to distract one or two with some sounds."

"What about the big stuff?" Early asked impatiently.

She realized suddenly that her web spell may have been the most magic he'd ever seen. A lot of country folk had clerics to tend to their ills, but wizards preferred the city life. Books didn't grow on trees, after all.

She chuckled at her inadvertent joke. Early took it to mean she had something nasty prepared and he nodded.

"Got it. You don't wanna spoil the surprise. No problem."

He gave her a thumbs up and started off. Ian and Trebba already followed the orc's tracks, but Regdar hung back.

"Seriously, Naull," he asked in a low voice, "what do you have left?"

She sighed, "Well, I've got another magic missile, but everything else is pretty defensive. Not everybody can walk around in their own private golem, you know." She slugged his armored side in an attempt at playfulness and was rewarded with a dull clang. "Ow!" As she pretended to suck her knuckles in pain, Regdar grinned.

"Can't blame you for that. I wish we had a healer with us," Regdar sighed. He pulled off one of his gauntlets and put his hand on her back, gently guiding her over and around the underbrush as they walked. "It wouldn't have done Yurgen any good, but…"

He went quiet as the two of them followed the rest of the party.

"You couldn't have stopped him, Regdar," she said. She reached around and gave his bare hand a squeeze. "He shouldn't have done what he did, but he died fighting."

"That's the best we can hope for, I suppose," Regdar said.

"Not me! I'm going to die in a big bed at the top of my own wizard's tower, surrounded by dozens of spellbooks and served by hundreds of apprentices!" She smiled lazily and winked. "Maybe you can be captain of my guard, if you play your cards right."

She ran the fingers of her free hand over her tunic, fingering a few of her component pouches. Naull knew the cut of the pouch belts helped accentuate her modest curves and she was surprised to find herself flirting.

He's my partner! she thought, a little embarrassed, but she smiled at the fighter anyway.

Looking down at her, Regdar answered her smile with one of his own. His close-cropped goatee sometimes gave him a violent, even evil look, but now it nearly made Naull laugh out loud.

"If I have time for it," he said."I figure I'll be a king and you'll be my court wizard… or jester. Depends on if you ever get better at this spell business."

He let go of her hand and raised his arm in mock defense as Naull swiped at him again.

"I guess I'm getting used to this ironmongery after all," he teased as he nimbly avoided another blow. He caught her wrist, lightly, on the third. "C'mon," he said, his voice serious again. "It isn't over yet."

Naull straightened at the change in his voice and she nodded.

Back to business, she thought.

"You're right. Best not wear the crown till they make you king."

It took the party less than another hour to track the orc leader the rest of the way to his lair. Ian was right-the orcs settled in after their first few raids and looked comfortable. They laired in a small valley in the woods, a dell with good tree cover and caves in the northern side. If there were guards, they weren't there now. Perhaps the leader called them in when he arrived ahead of them. Night lay full upon them, and the party moved in a tight, quiet mass.

"Whew!" exclaimed Early. "The smell!"

"Shut up!" Regdar hissed. Early's voice sounded loud in the still darkness. "Everyone, hold up."

Ian crouched near a tree, running his pale fingers up and down the trunk. In the gloom, Naull saw his bright eyes follow his hands, then his whole face turned upward. He pointed and her eyes followed his finger.

Trebba, moving gracefully and silently over the leaf and twig covered ground, came up to Ian's tree and began climbing. The woman moved slowly at first, but seemingly found the going easier than she'd expected. Within a few seconds her black shape disappeared over the object in the tree. A few seconds after that a knotted rope slid down the trunk and into their midst.

Early grabbed the end of the rope and steadied it for Ian. The elf climbed it nimbly and soon he was gone. Naull wondered if she should follow, but at a sign from Regdar, Early and the rope slid up against the tree trunk, putting it between them and the dell.

Ian and Trebba returned after a minute or two, and the party huddled behind the tree.

Regdar turned to Ian and asked, "Could you see the lair?"

"Yes. They've cleared away a lot of the trees and brush down there. We missed a path they use to bring in their loot; it's in the southeast corner. Their leader knows the area well enough he didn't have to head for it," the half-elf explained. "They've got a rough barricade on it, but I guess they anticipated success. Most of it's been cleared away. Near as I can tell from here, they have a couple wagons filled with junk lying on the road now. Two or three strong orcs could move them, but not quickly. It looks pretty muddy down there."

"Trebba?"

The woman shrugged and said, "Ian saw more than I did. It's dark down there. We're all going to need light if we're going in. I don't know as much about orcs as our ranger here-" Ian snorted at the compliment as if it meant nothing, but he didn't interrupt- "but it'd be simple to place a few traps or alarms on the likely approaches. Even sharp sticks covered with leaves'd give 'em some advantage."

Ian added, "Orcs like nasty little foot-and spring-traps, coated with their own feces or whatever poisons they can find. They'll be unpleasant." He waved his hand in a broad arc. "I'd expect they've got surprises littering the slopes all the way in."

"Why? I thought you said they ain't watching out," Early asked. He pointed to the platform above their heads. "No guards. Most of'em went out on the raid, right? They ain't worried about anybody finding their camp, you said."

The half-elf answered with surprising patience, "Just because they don't expect anyone to find their nest doesn't mean they haven't prepared."

"Right," Trebba filled in. "Step on a caltrop or spring a rope trap and you're going to make noise. Whatever we do, Regdar-" she turned to the fighter-"we'd better be careful."

"And we'd best get going," Ian urged. "That leader's pretty steamed, or he will be. He's had a little more than an hour to think about what happened to him and his warriors, and he's going to realize he got away because there just weren't enough of us to take him. He's either going to want revenge or he'll want to get out of here quick."

"How'll he plan revenge? I doubt he'd know where to find us." Naull asked.

"He doesn't have to find us," Regdar answered. "Orcs don't like even fights."

"He'll try to take revenge against the village," Trebba added, dread in her voice.

Early's eyes widened and the big man cursed.

"He's not in any shape to do anything tonight," Naull cautioned. "We could wait until morning."

Regdar shifted uncomfortably as Trebba and Early nodded. Ian didn't look happy, either.

"What?" Naull asked. "Am I missing something?"

The ranger and the fighter exchanged glances.

"He won't try to get revenge tonight, no matter what," Regdar said slowly, "but he might try to get away."

Naull started to say that was fine with her, but both Trebba and Early jumped in.

"Get away? No!" the dark woman said.

"With all that treasure!" Early cried.

Both had their points, Naull conceded. Trebba wanted revenge for Yurgen, and Early,-along with Regdar and Ian, it seemed- wanted what they all thought was the better part of their payment. Their contract with the village was fifty gold apiece, plus any of the humanoids' loot they could recover. Even modest estimates put the potential treasure at well over a thousand gold pieces, based on what they'd heard about the earlier raids. The wizard got a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Surely," she said, "we could at least wait until morning?"

Shrugging, Regdar looked down at Ian. The half-elf delivered the bad news.

"These orcs have been here a while. It would be just like them to have dug out a few more exits from their lair. It's a long time till dawn. If the orc leader thinks we're on his trail, or just doesn't want to hang around now that we've wiped out one of his war bands, they could slip out a tunnel we know nothing about."

No one in the party looked particularly happy with the thought of following the orc leader into his den in the middle of the night, but Naull was particularly unhappy about it.

"I really don't have much more in the spell department," she said again.

"Chances are good," Regdar answered, "that there aren't many orcs left in there. Like Ian said, an orc leader's going to want to keep his warriors close. He probably took nearly all of them out on the raid."

The fighter didn't sound like he'd convinced himself of that, but Naull looked at the faces of the rest of the party. They'd lost a comrade and didn't seem in the mood for rational thought.

"All right, then. What's the plan?"

Ian could see the best in darkness, so he was to head down the slope first. They chose to approach the lair from the southwest, mainly because it looked like the easiest way down, except for the path past the wagons. No one wanted to go that way. If there were any guards, they'd be there. To the north were the caves themselves, and the slope became a cliff that way. They had no doubt that with ropes and Trebba's assistance they could climb down and perhaps surprise the orcs from above, but since orcs could see in the dark and they couldn't, they'd be more likely to be spotted and shot full of arrows before they could retreat.

Trebba would go with Ian. She told the rest of the party to stay back as far as they could and follow their footsteps exactly, but she felt-and everyone else agreed-that she'd have the best chance of spotting a trap before stepping in it than anyone. It would be slow going, but the trees and underbrush provided plenty of cover.

Naull worried about that. What if they were wrong about guards? Orcs could be behind every tree between here and the caves-more than a hundred yards away, if Ian was right-and it would be a simple matter for outlying pickets to let them enter and shut the trap behind them. When she brought this up, though, Regdar's answer was less than satisfying.

"Ian thinks it's unlikely, and we'll have to risk it. I think he's right that the orcs wouldn't leave many warriors behind to guard their loot, just because of the trust issue. If that's true, there can't be more than a handful of warriors down there."

Define "handful," Naull mused glumly.

She was to try to stay in the middle of the party, right in front of Early, with Regdar bringing up the rear. They'd used the last of their coalblack on his plate armor and the two fighters' swords in an effort to minimize any reflection there might be in the dim light, but nothing could cover the clanking Regdar made when he moved at any speed. They hoped the orcs wouldn't notice until the vanguard was upon them.

If I'd known we were going to be sneaking around, the wizard thought sourly, I would've brought along a silence spell.

She made a mental note to ask more questions before she prepared her spells every morning. "Are we likely to be storming an orc lair in the pitch darkness tonight?" hadn't seemed like a pertinent question eighteen hours before.

Despite her sour thoughts, Naull kept her concentration following in Early's footsteps. She let a part of her mind review her spells again, desperate to come up with a combination that might deal with any surprises. Still, she just didn't have anything that would be much help against more orcs than they hoped to face.

Suddenly, Ian froze. In the gloom, Naull saw him grasp Trebba's shoulder and the thief held out both her hands and crouched down. It was the signal they'd agreed upon to indicate "Stop!"

Whether the cloud cover broke a little, letting the moon's light in just a tiny bit more, or whether cold Wee Jas chose to look down with uncharacteristic kindness on one of her less-devoted servants, Naull found she could make out the half-elf and what lay just beyond him. A damp wind blew through the dell. The light continued to grow as the cloud cover moved away. With a start of surprise Naull realized that she could see the cave mouth they were heading toward. It lay to the left, recessed into the northernmost wall of the valley. Naull could almost feel orc archers waiting there in the complete darkness of the cave mouth, but no arrows flew.

After a minute or more of silent waiting and watching, Ian motioned the others forward again. As Naull closed in, she heard Trebba's whisper.

"I want to check it out," the thief said. "There could still be a trap in the entrance, or an alarm of some kind."

Ian shrugged and prepared to go with her.

"Don't ring any doorbells," he joked.

"Go ahead," Naull whispered. "I'll get Early and Regdar to move up. We can get to the cave mouth quickly from here if you need us."

Trebba nodded and moved off into the shadows.

"Be careful," Naull added.

She wondered if it was too late for any of them to be careful enough, but she drove the thought as far out of her mind as possible.