Week 18: There’s Orcs in Them Thar Trees!

The group rested for the night. In the morning, Kyamu was tapped on the shoulder by a muddy-faced girl of about 12 or 13 who introduced herself as Sowila. She’d escaped from the camp while Umar’s group was away and the camp guard was down. She told the group that her brother was still there and enlisted their help in freeing him.

Sowila and Lefty led the group to the camp, where they found a number of huts high in the trees over the swamp. Kyamu overheard a couple of the guards talking:

“You hear what happened to Umar? He took a crew out to look for that deserter, Takka, and got attacked by blood serpents.”

“Yeah, and I haven’t seen Yolianna around here for a few days. You think she even knows what happened to Umar? Or cares? I hear she hasn’t been at the main camp either. I think she’s been in that creepy tower again. Grez said he saw her heading that way through the woods, alone. He said people have noticed in the camp. They’re starting to talk, getting restless without her presence.”

“She better keep those sheep in line – or we can do it for her.” (Grins as he fondles the handle of his weapon or thumps the handle or his axe/war hammer against his palm). “I didn’t join the Glory Guard to babysit a bunch of healers! Where’s the fun in that?”

“You wish you’d been with Umar, then? You want to fight some blood serpents?”

“No.”

“Maybe just enjoy the easy coin, eh, Krahv? You know Itzal’s back, right? He got that thing, but none of the other Salters came with him this time. I get the feeling those teardrop freaks are gonna join up with the Maal. Things might get bloody around here soon enough.”

“I guess. Might be better for us to switch sides too, though. I wouldn’t want to wind up on the losing side in a war.”

After some scouting and deliberation, the assault began. At first things looked easy: a well-placed fireball among the tents followed by vicious spike growth eliminated 4 guards quickly. But the leader Banaz and the warcaster Arkhal proved tougher to handle, with Kyamu and Armen nearly dying at their hands. And a sniper in a crow’s nest was a persistent pest. As Banaz called for Etienne — Itzal — things began to look grim for the group. Aiden managed to paralyze both Etienne and Banaz, though, and the group was able to dispatch them before they overcame the effect. Itzal disintegrated into smoke when he was slain, his clothes and equipment falling to the floor. The sniper fled into the swamps.

Tobias’ brother Culpokek, Sowila’s brother, and 4 other children were rescued, and the group headed back south to rejoin with the boats. Around dinner, Culpokek described his ordeal:

They sent a kid about your age – well, your age at the time – to bring my food. Karris. I realize now that she chose him to remind me of you. And it worked. I thought he was my friend. He brought good bread and warm soup and told me how she had rescued me by buying me from that guy, Itzal. Karris said she does that sometimes, when he has young people, so they don’t wind up getting sold to the mines or the fishing ships . . . or worse. He said he had been ‘rescued’ the same way two years before. He said I wasn’t a prisoner, that they just kept people locked up at first until they could explain. Then they let me out of the cellar I’d been locked in. But I was still in their camp, surrounded by their mercenaries, in the middle of nowhere. I’d had a silver sovereign and 4 copper crescents in my coin pouch when I was taken. But I guess Itzal took that. So I was stuck.

I guess they were hoping I’d just forget about my family or something. I could tell Karris was annoyed the first time I asked about getting back home. He couldn’t hide it. At the time he said he just wanted me to understand how important Yolianna is and how important the Menders – that’s what they all themselves – are. But if I still really wanted to go home in a fortnight, he’d talk to her about it. I felt kinda guilty, like I’d insulted him after he had been so nice to me . . . which I realize now is messed up, since he was basically a guard who brought food and talked to me. But, like I said, they picked him for a reason. He did kinda remind me of you, a little, and I felt like I could trust him.

I’m not proud of it, but I got distracted for a while. I lived in a hut with five other boys, including Karris. I went to hear Yolianna speak. I did chores and lived a daily routine. Even learned a little about healing. The thing is, they say she’s a guardian, stopping the second coming of the Profane. And when you meet her . . . well, there’s something about her. I used to think she was beautiful, but Broog says that the reason her eyes are two different colors is because one of them isn’t hers. Broog. He’s a hobgoblin. One of her guards, but not like the rest. He helps kids escape. He was going to get me out, back when I was starting to realize things . . . but I made the mistake of saying goodbye to Karris. Luckily, I didn’t mention Broog was helping me, or anyone, and the guards grabbed me before he showed up to our rendezvous. So I think he’s still safe. He’s trying to find where she moved the kids who she’s taken eyes from.

The group debated their next plans, deciding to head back to the river mahksi village and ask if they could watch the children for a day or two while the group investigated Typor Citadel. They also debated what to do with the purple cloak, which Aiden had packed away in his backpack: having failed to recover Itzal’s head when he died, they thought they might use it as proof that he was dead. Tobias argued that it was Lefty’s by right and should be returned to him. No decision was reached as the group went to bed, ready to head up river to the mahksi village in the morning.