Why Me

Chapter 1

He was somewhat... unsure as to how he had gotten himself into this situation. He had been minding his own business, not bothering anybody, and a war just drops into his lap. Well, nothing can be done about now. Just have to go along with it. Sigh.

It all started when that stupid lord hired a bunch or mercenaries to expand his holdings....

It was a nice spring, the planting had gone well and fast. He was continuing his training as the one who would take over at the local weapon smith's place (he had been training and studying since he was old enough to talk). The fellow who currently owned it went by the name of Jirin, a High Elf. He was an odd sort of fellow (according to most) because he had never married (he was about retirement age for an elf, though he looked as though he were still in his prime). Though there were some people who thought highly of him because he had taken me in when I was an infant.

My parents had died when I was only six months old. They were new to town and had built a bit further away than most people would normally build. That was the problem. When the Orcs of the region attacked, they were the first ones hit. I was lucky, Jirin always tells me, that he just happened to be coming by to deliver an order for my father. Jirin not only knows how to make weapons, but knows how to use them fairly well. Jirin is also fond of telling me that they were exceedingly lucky that most of the force kept on going and that only a dozen orcs stayed behind to have fun with this one house.

To make that long story short, he got there in time to see my father being killed (there were already seven dead orcs laying about the small house), and my mother turning to flee just to get a spear in the back. Jirin caught them by surprise, he says, and was able to save me. I was sure when I was little that he was just as lucky as he claimed to be, but I now know that he is a rather skilled warrior of a unique kind.

Anyway, I digress.

I was continuing my study of weapons craft when there was a call from a messenger hailing from our local lord, Lord Dimitri. The page in the village square was reading the announcement when we got there. To paraphrase (because it was very wordy), it said that Lord Dimitri was calling all loyal men of fighting age to service (conscripted!!) to the castle. Jirin was not too pleased with that. The messenger proceeded to tell the village (in a rather nasal voice) that he would be back in two days with the town registry to pick everyone up, for he still needed to do a few things, he said.

Now that caused a commotion. Everyone was speaking at the same time. The messenger then left with his escort a few moments later. Jirin immediately took me by the arm and dragged me to the shop.

"I have been dreading a day such as this." Jirin said as he quickly went about gathering things.

"You mean that you were expecting something like this to happen?" Joram asked, somewhat confused.

"You could say that." Jirin replied distractedly as he continued to gather things from about the shop and then the attached house. Joram followed.

Jirin went about gathering some of Joram's clothing into a shoulder satchel he had been carrying about with him. He then went to the pantry and took out some of the way bread that he always kept there. He also took out a glass bottle (rather well made, no bubbles in the glass) from way back in the pantry.

"Now, this bottle will never run out of water. It is very useful in case there is no water to be had. Keep it well hidden, for there are those who would take it from you should they learn of it." Jirin admonished as it too went into the satchel.

"Are you not coming with me?" Joram asked, rather confused at this point, and somewhat scared.

"I am of no age to be going to war. I have had enough of that in my day." Jirin replied. "Besides, this is a good opportunity for you to practice what you have learned from me." He finished with a most mischievous grin. Joram could tell it was somewhat forced.

You see, along with the scholarly learning and the knowledge of weapon smithing he received from Jirin, he also learned how to fight and affect things with… his inner energy. Jirin called this energy Chakra. Jirin was definitely not your run of the mill elf that would rather sing and dance than fight. Jirin liked the swordplay.

"Do you think that I will be able to do well?" Joram asked in sincere doubt. Jirin had always kicked his sorry butt around the practice yard....

"What, you think that the rest of the farmers will be able to fight as well as you?" Jirin mocked. "You will be able to fight with the best of them. Of that I do not doubt. Now, be sure not to let anyone see you perform the Jutsu that I have taught you. There could be some rather uncomfortable questions asked should they see you." Jirin finished off rather seriously.

"Don't worry, I won't get careless." Joram reassured his father (for that is what he called him). "I just don't look forward going off to fight is all." That and he didn't know how much time Jirin had left on the mortal plain.

"Again, you will be fine." Jirin said as he finished with the food. He then went off to the small workshop in the back, where he did his more finely detailed work.

"Now, I will give you this." Jirin said as he opened a secret wall panel near the floor to reveal a small chest.

"What is it?" Joram asked, more curious than he had been in a long time. He had not known of the panel before this.

"This, my son, is the armour I wore when I was younger." He said as he took out some shimmering cloth. No, it wasn't cloth, it was elven chain mail. Joram's jaw dropped to his chest. He had never actually seen elven chain mail before. It was so very fine that most people would mistake it for a metallic cloth. It was beautiful.

"But, but… but…." Joram couldn't seem to make it past that. His brain was stuck on the shiny thing in front of him.

"I have wanted to give it to you for some time. I was going to wait until you left on your own, but it can't be helped now." Jirin said as he looked fondly at his adoptive son. "Here, try it on." He said as he approached Joram.

Joram, too stunned to say much of anything, let alone protest, tried it on.

"As I thought, we are near enough the same in build." That was saying a lot for the elf, for Joram was not a small person. True that they were the same height (close to six feet), and near the same weight…. But Joram was somewhat broader in the shoulder and chest than Jirin.

The elven chain fit perfectly.

"You must have been larger in your younger days." Joram said as he slipped it off again.

"Just a little." Jirin said with a grin. "Now, don't let that out of your sight either. This is thin enough that you shouldn't have any problems with putting your bracers on over top of it." Joram said as he took the bracers off the workbench where they were getting their finishing touches. "Now," Jirin said as he was again reaching into the chest, "Here is a keepsake from your mother. She gave it to me before she passed on." He said somewhat sadly at the memory as he gave Joram, what looked like, an armband. There was some dark jewel that he could not identify set into the middle of the band amongst the stars that were the prominent design.

"Wow, it's beautiful." Joram said, again losing all train of thought at the sight of something pretty.

"It is. It was also made to enable the wearer of the band to see as though they were an elf, though better." He said with a depreciating grin.

"No way!" Joram exclaimed. He was going to have fun with this….

"Just, don't do anything rash with it." Jirin said, reading his son perfectly. Joram gave an embarrassed grin as his response.

"Now, you will have to do with this katana until I can finish the one I have been making for you." Jirin said as he stood up and took a katana and its companion wakasashi off yet another work bench. It wasn't anything fancy, just a well-made blade.

"These will do nicely." Joram said as he took them from his father. They were very well balanced weapons, and made for his use. He knew, he made them.

"I just hope that your craftsmanship is good enough to get you back home to get some proper weapons." Jirin jibed. The comment was unnecessary though, because Joram was already an accomplished weapon smith. He was so proud of that boy at that moment that he just about showed it on his face.

"We still have some time before we are taken off. Let's go and play a game of shoji." Joram said to dispel the uneasy quietness that had befallen.

"Good thought." Jirin said as he took the lead out of the workshop, and over to the living area. "You still need another century or two to beat me in shoji though." Jirin wasn't bragging.

Unfortunately, the next day and a half were passed by telling people that they could not possibly make a proper sword, or spear, or dagger, or whatever in such a short period of time. A lot of people grumbled over the fact, but couldn't do anything about it. So, those few that were particularly insistent left in a rather vocal manner. Joram was set to studying when he wasn't out saying good-bye to some of his friends that were too old to go off to war, or too young to fight. There was also Monica. They had been friends since his youth, and she was not happy about his going off when she couldn't go with him.

"…sorry, but they said only the men!" Joram argued. He hated arguing with Monica.

"Then is it only men who can fight?!" Monica shot back in a tone that told him he would die if he said yes'. She could fight fairly well herself.

"No, no, no…. Gah! You don't have to worry I'll be back. Jirin taught me well enough to make sure of that." Joram tried to explain, but a rock in the stone wall across the way would have heard just as well as she did him at that time. It was not the right thing to say apparently, for Monica stormed off fuming before he finished.

"What was I supposed to say?!" Jirin asked himself in exasperation, looking to the heavens for some sort of answer.

"You were supposed to be understanding and agree with her." Someone said from behind him, causing him to jump quite high.

"What do you know about women Cam?" Joram demanded as he rounded on his best friend.

"Just what all the men of the village say after a few years of being married." Cam teased.

"We aren't married!" Joram said heatedly. What was Cam thinking? He was only seventeen. How could he think of getting married anytime soon? Was he mad? "Anyway, don't you have to finish getting ready? The messenger will be here at any time."

"Don't you have any faith in me? I just finished before I came to look for you." Cam said, looking at his friend with a mix of pity and smugness on his face. It was an odd combination.

"What's that look about?" Joram asked sourly.

"Oh, my pa gave me my name day gift early is all…." He bragged.

"You mean that bow he was working on?" Joram asked, he too getting excited.

"Yeah, and you wouldn't believe how nice it feels in your hands!" Cam said with a faraway look in his eye.

"I worry about you sometimes…." Joram said, giving Cam a perturbed look. "I'm glad you like the bow though."

"Sorry. What?" Cam asked coming back to reality.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Joram quickly covered up. "I won't be getting my gift for another month or two, or whenever we get back...." He said, somewhat disappointed. He and Cam had been born on the same day, and always Jirin had forgotten about his name day and given him a late gift. It didn't really bother him unless Cam said something. Like right now.

"Ah, sorry bout that." Cam said somewhat embarrassed. "I was just happy to finally get a new bow."

"Yeah, no problem. I don't know why I care anymore anyway. It happens every year after all." Joram said.

"Well, let's forget about it for now." Cam said.

"Sounds good."

"Besides, we have a larger problem on our hands." Cam continued.

"What's that?" Joram asked, slightly puzzled.

"The messenger is back." Cam replied in a more serious tone.

"That would do it." Joram said as he surveyed the scene before him.

There were many angry parents milling about in the village green. The messenger was there too, though with about a dozen well equipped soldiers. Guess they don't want much trouble. Those soldiers must be broiling in their full plate mail. It's got to be hard being a soldier. He hoped he didn't have to wear full plate like that….

Mr. Brown, in particular, wanted to be heard. The messenger, a fellow by the name of Timothy, was not listening. Mr. Brown then tried to grab Timothy by the coat sleeves, but one of the guards had a different idea. He slammed Mr. Brown up the side of his head with his spear shaft. Mr. Brown went down in a boneless heap.

"Now, if you could all gather together. I will start calling out the names on the register, and I expect the men to step forward." Timothy said in a self-important tone of voice. Unfortunately for him, most everyone was yelling at the same time due to Mr. Brown's treatment. Though a few villagers were smiling smugly. Most of them had wanted to do that themselves. Mr. Brown was a loud mouth.

I still don't like that Timothy guy. He is just way too smug. Joram thought to himself as he sat in camp that night. Though it was amusing to watch him cower for warmth near one of the campfires. He must have soiled himself half a dozen times during that last battle. Though, truth be told, he might have as well had he not been trained at all…. Who would have thought that Lord Yandegal would have teamed up with a necromancer? All those undead everywhere. It just wasn't right. Bringing your own troops back from the dead to fuel your armies is just plain wrong! And it smells!! The major problem, though, was that the dead didn't produce any heat. It made it hard to spot them at night….

So, by later that same day we were en route. I said good-bye to my father and gathered all of the things he had prepared for me. It wasn't a particularly emotional good-bye, though we both knew what the other was thinking. We wouldn't meet again in this life.

I don't know how I knew this, but I knew anyway. I was kind of sad. I guess I had known for a while that Jirin wouldn't be around for as long as I would like. I guess that's life.

Lord Dimitri's castle was five days west of the village. Cam was excited to see the world outside of the village. I had heard the stories from Jirin, and I wasn't as enthusiastic as Cam. The rest of the world was a dangerous place. I just had to keep telling myself that because it wasn't looking particularly dangerous at the moment.

On their second day out, Timothy informed them that they would be stopping by the next village over to pick up some other "recruits". Joram wondered to himself if there would be any more of a fuss over all of this. Ah, well. Such is the life of a peasant.

Sure enough, there was an even larger commotion in this town. It seems that these people in particular were very disgruntled with the rule of the current Lord. Guess that's why we were picked up first. Joram thought too himself as he watched the angered people gathering together.

"Everyone, keep together. This might get ugly." The lead soldier said. He was a nice enough fellow out of uniform, but very strict (and almost brutal) when on duty. The captain let his hand rest on his sword.

The mayor of this village stepped forward to speak.

"We have decided that only those who volunteered to join Lord Dimitri's militia will go with you." He said, somewhat puffed up.

"Who says you have a choice?" Timothy sneered.

The mayor was dumbfounded.

"If the good people of this village do not wish to co-operate, we will just have to add an additional war tax. Say about twenty five percent. That should compensate appropriately for the loss of men from this village." Timothy said in that superior tone of his.

"That is robbery!" The mayor spluttered, his face going red.

"Well, we could just remove all patrols from the region to compensate for the loss of men instead." Timothy mused, still in that superior, nasal voice of his.

This time the mayor went white.

"You wouldn't...." He practically whispered.

Timothy just stood there smiling that greasy smile of his. The mayor turned to, what looked like, his councillors, and gave them a pleading look. They looked just as worried.

"Give us an hour to discuss this." The mayor asked, almost pleaded.

"You have an half hour. We do have a schedule to keep." Timothy replied, now sounding quite bored with it all.

The mayor and councillors gathered up several people and headed for what passed for the town hall (it was really the inn).

"Captain, lets relax for a bit shall we?" Timothy said as he sat back against the apple tree on the village green. The Captain, Kenneth by name, just stood there. Timothy just shrugged.

"Do you think that there will be fighting?" Cam asked, somewhat nervous and excited at the same time.

"Let's hope not. We are severely out numbered. We may be better equipped, but they still have ten to one odds in their favour." Joram said as he examined the crowds gathered around them all. "Besides, don't you have some family out here?"

"Yeah, but they are all from the side of the family we don't like to talk about." Cam replied with a grimace.

"Really? What did they do?" Joram asked, now curious.

"You really don't want to know the answer to that question." Cam said in all seriousness and some.... Disgust?

Joram took the cue to let the subject drop. Instead he focused on the situation at hand. What was that arrogant little twerp, Tim, going to do? He didn't want to have to fight people who were supposed to be on the same side as him. That would just be helping the enemy. How stupid can some people be?

"I'm gonna' go talk to talk to Captain Kenneth to see what might happen." Joram said as he started to head over to the rough looking Captain. Cam started to say something, but let it drop as he followed Joram.

The Captain was speaking with a couple of the lower ranking officers, apparently giving them instructions in case something should go wrong. Joram stopped a short ways away to listen.

"So, if they have archers, head for cover as fast as possible. There, there, and there." He said pointing to a few of the buildings that were closer than the others. "Take a hostage for extra cover if you need to. They won't want to shoot their friends now would they?" He asked in a dry tone of voice. The other three laughed at this, but Kenneth did not. He was still perfectly serious. The other three cleared their throats and once again started to listen to what the Captain had to say.

"Though, if anyone is killed needlessly, I will have that persons' head." He finished with an ominous glare at all three of the officers in front of him. "No accidents'." He finished as he turned to regard the two youths now in front of him.

"What do you need?" He practically growled.

"We were just wondering what we should do if there is trouble." Joram asked innocently.

"You heard didn't ya'? Take cover in the buildings." He started to turn away at that, and then said: "Make sure the other kids know what to do as well. We don't want too many people dieing today." With that said he turned the rest of the way around and headed off to speak with Timothy before the Mayor and the councillors got back.

"Wow. He's crustier than a week old scab." Cam said as he watched the large man leave.

"Thanks for that visual." Joram said as he continued to watch the Captain. "I don't know if he is a reformed murderer, or just very callous. Either way, I'm glad he's on our side." Joram commented absently.

"Like you said, let's just hope that nothing happens." Cam said, now starting to realize how bad this situation really could get. "I'm gonna' go and string my bow. Come on over when you're done staring at Mr. Tall, dark and crusty." Cam said as he headed off to chat with the other boys from X'atur, that being the name of their village. So for the next ten minutes or so, Joram listened to Timothy complain about this or about that. It was weird, but Joram could swear that he shouldn't be able to hear them from that distance, especially since they were talking at a normal level. Ah, well. Some things change.

Just then the mayor came out of the Inn with his entourage. They looked somewhat more composed than when they had first gone in. This could be good. Joram thought to himself. It doesn't look like they are going to do anything stupid. Joram was proved wrong.

"We have decided that we can do without the patrols from Lord Dimitri. With the men that are staying, we can handle it well enough." The mayor said in a, once again, self-assured tone of voice.

"Is that so?" Timothy mused. "Then that will be fine. The tax, be it paid in food or coin, is now twenty percent. A regiment will be sent by at harvest to pick up the extra load." Timothy said with a superior smile to himself. "Just have everything ready by then." Turning to the Captain he said, "Round everyone up, we're heading out."

"You heard the man! Move it you lot of pig swallow!" Kenneth bellowed and he started to round everyone up.

"Cam, we are going to have to watch out. Timothy is stupid enough to get us all killed. We'll have to stick together if there is ever a fight." Joram said as he took Cam aside to speak with him.

"No kidding. Half of these people can't even hold a bow properly." Cam replied in disgust. "Maybe we can find a few who know what they are doing. That could increase our odds of survival."

"That's a good idea. Find as many as you can who can fire a bow without hitting the person next to them. I'll see if I can find any descent swordsmen. We then can see if there are any who would be willing to stick together." Joram finished with a grin.

"Yeah. Stick with us if you want to live'." Cam said with a grin. "I'm sure they'll come 'a' flock'n." At that, Cam did burst out in laughter.

"Yeah, just like that." Joram said, laughing along with his friend. "Start with the guys from home first. You know them better than I do. They also like you better." Joram said, not seeming at all perturbed at the thought of people not liking him.

"Yeah, I'll do that. I don't think that they actually all hate you. They're just jealous that they can't use a sword like you can. That and you beat most of them in front of their girlfriends." He finished with a snicker. "Come to think of it, that is a rather good reason for them to hate you." Cam said, now looking quite serious. Almost. Then he started to snicker again at the memory of how Joram had cleaned house the day those other kids wanted to show off by picking on the loner child Joram. Cam was still fond of the part when the five would be bullies ran home crying like three year olds after they had been… well… spanked by Joram. Joram wasn't well liked by the more popular kids after that. Nobody likes to be humiliated like that, especially in front of their girlfriends. That had been five years ago now.

"Yeah, well, just don't bring any of that up when speaking to those guys. We want to get people together so we won't be slaughtered should anything happen." Joram said, now somewhat tired looking.

"Don't worry, you can count on me." Cam said as he took his leave.

I wish he wouldn't say that. Nothing good ever happens when he says that. Joram thought back to when he and Cam had tried pulling off many a prank on the other villagers when Cam would say that same very same thing when the plans were laid out. Cam would always try and make the plan more elaborate by adding his own little something' to it. As Joram stood there reminiscing, he absentmindedly started to rub his bottom with the palm of his hand. That was where he would always get switched with that cursed willow switch that the goodwife of the village preferred to use in her punishments.

Coming back to reality with a start, Joram realized that most of the troupe had already gathered together. The new recruits' from Anthus (that was the name of this village) were standing in a group a little ways away from the rest of the main body of soldiers. Guess I was out of it for a while. Joram thought to himself as he looked around for Cam. He found him a few moments later standing with a few of the other guys from X'atur. They all had unstrung bows in their hands. Good, Joram thought to himself, maybe he has manager to convince a few people. So with that thought Joram headed over to his friend. About the same time, the Captain called an order to head out.

"So Cam, do you think it will rain tonight." Joram asked as he joined the small group.

"I think so." Cam replied as he looked up to the sky as it was slowly pulling a blanket of clouds over itself. "It doesn't look good for tonight. We'll have to find a good shelter to avoid catching out deaths in that storm that's coming." Cam said as he pointed to the horizon. There was a dark smudge, with a couple of bumps, near the tree line. Guess those might be thunderheads coming. Joram thought to himself as he watched the bumps' get larger.

"Anyway, I was talking with Norm, Terry and Blake here, and they think it a good idea that we should all stick together." Cam said as they all headed out of Anthus. The road wasn't' particularly wide (only two wagons could go abreast here), so the troupe seemed like a winding snake slowly making its way along the road. The guys from Anthus were staying at the rear. Most of them seemed somewhat angry with the whole situation. The Captain had apparently ordered some of his men to take up the rear. It was either to make sure that no roaming monsters caught them by surprise, or to make sure that none of the new recruits ran off.

The rest of the day passed with nothing special going on. He and Cam talked with several people the rest of that day to see if they wanted to organize a small division for mutual protection in case of a fight. They had mixed reactions. Some downright mocked them, saying that they could take care of themselves in a fight. Others seemed confident that the soldier accompanying them would be able to handle anything coming their way. A few others seemed to think it a good idea though. So, by the time they made camp at the end of the second day they had several more people lined up to be in their small division. Yan, Davin, and Kent could all use swords fairly well. Derek and Brom could use a bow, but not amazingly. So that was it at the end of their first recruiting session. Not bad. Joram thought to himself as they made camp that night under a large pine tree. It was fairly warm considering it was still spring. The storm had not as yet broken, for that they were thankful. The clouds were so thick though that everyone, except Joram, was having a hard time seeing without torches.

Now this is cool. Joram thought to himself as he looked around at everyone. They were all glowing different shades of red, orange, yellow, and, in some places, white. The ground was anywhere from black to dark purple. The horses were very bright. Just so long as I don't look directly at fires, I'll be fine. He told himself. Fires were rather blinding. I'll just have to get used to switching from my normal vision to this heat like vision. This would definitely be useful.

"Say, boy!" Kenneth called out to him. "Come here."

Joram just about jumped out of his skin. He had been way too absorbed by his planning to have noticed the approach of Kenneth. So he got up and headed over.

"Do you know how to use those swords of yours?" Kenneth asked him as he led him a short ways away from the camp.

"Well enough." Joram replied with a shrug.

"That's good." Kenneth said. "And do you know how to lead people in battle?"

"I've never done so before." Joram said, wondering why all the questions all of the sudden.

"Well, you should be prepared to lead those boys if you are going to gather them around you like that." Kenneth said, now looking quite serious. "Because if you don't know what you are doing, I suggest that you not set yourself up their as leader."

"We were just getting together in case something happened…." Joram said, trying to think fast.

"Yes, Timothy is a problem. He is too stupid to see that nobody likes him. Too stupid to see that most would rather have his head on a pike. So he just keeps shooting off his mouth, not considering that he is making many enemies of people who are our allies." Kenneth said.

Why is he telling me all this? Does he not realize he's only speaking with a peasant?

"The look on your face tells me that you are wondering why I'm telling a peasant all of this." Kenneth observed with a grin, noting Joram's shocked expression. "The reason I'm telling you all this is because you have gathered many of your fellow villagers together in a way that will ensure your safety should any enemy attack us. That is good. That speaks of forethought. I need you to keep your fellow villagers together until we reach the castle." Kenneth explained. "There have been reports that the goblins in the region have been restless after the long winter. I don't think that there is much of a chance that they will attack, but you can never be too careful. Let me see that sword of yours." He said as he held out his hand. Joram obliged.

"This is very fine steel." He said as he examined the steel in the firelight, turning it over in his hands as he did so. "Very well balanced, though a design I have not seen in some decades."

"My father made it," Joram lied. "I think its elven in design."

"No. Not this. It's from a little traveled region. I didn't think to see another one of these in my day." He mused.

"You've seen this kind of sword before?" Joram asked in mock curiosity.

"Yes. Before I took up service under Lord Dimitri I was a mercenary down south. I ran into a warrior that had swords like yours. Very rare they are." He said, now looking directly at Joram.

"Is that so?" Joram asked, now getting nervous. "Well, I guess it's lucky that my father learned how to make these kinds of swords too."

"Yes, most fortunate. I just hope that you can use them half as well as that traveling warrior." Kenneth said as he re-sheathed the sword and handed it back to Joram. "Now get back to your small camp and get ready for a miserable night. It's going to pour tonight." With that said he went back to his place at the fire. Joram stood there for a little while mulling over what was said. He came out of his musings when the first heavy drops of rain landed on his head.

"Ah, crap!" Joram said as he ran back to his camp under the huge pine. "Cam, I'm really glad that you found this pine. We might actually stay mostly dry tonight." Joram said as he sat by the small fire.

So far only Davin and Blake were comfortable enough being in their own separate group, meaning Joram's group. Everyone else was still with the people they camped with the first night. The group from Anthus was as far away as they could get from the rest of the group while still being in the same camp. They were still sore about what Timothy had done to their village. Though there were a couple of them who seemed friendly enough if they were not in the same company as their fellow villagers. It wasn't long before Kenneth told everyone to get to sleep, or they wouldn't be too happy in the morning if he had to wake them up. He went on telling them what he would do to wake them up in more detail. Joram made a mental note not to sleep in.

The night passed without incident. Though, several people complained about the rain on many an occasion throughout the night. The morning brought a very dark and rainy day. Thankfully the rain wasn't too heavy. They might have had a revolt had Timothy insisted on traveling through the rain. As it was, the complaining was kept to a minimum due to Kenneth telling everyone "to shut their holes", or he would "give them a reason to complain". Nobody wanted to get Kenneth angry, so they kept quiet. The horses just kept on going without complaint. Kenneth pointed this out, and made it clear that they were being a perfect example for them.

"Not going to say anything. Nope. Not one thing." Cam said as he tried very hard not to say something that would certainly get him in trouble.

"That's good. You saw what he did to Davin, didn't you."

"Who would have thought that he would dump a bucket full of cold rainwater on him for sleeping-in just a few minutes?" Cam asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, that's pretty harsh." Joram said with a chuckle. The look on his face was priceless though….

"I'm sure glad we're up early to practice every morning." Cam said. Then with a wondering look on his face, "Who would have thought I would ever say that?"

"I was just thinking the same thing." Joram said with a look of wonder on his face. "Anyway, I just hope that he doesn't get sick. That would put a damper on our practices in the evening."

"Yeah, heaven forbid." Cam said sarcastically.

Joram just kept on going, shaking his head. Cam was always trying to get out of extra work. He was just way too lazy for his own good.

As the morning progressed, Joram kept a sharp eye out for signs of trouble. There seemed to be a bright flashing one over the boys from Anthus. They were still keeping separate from the rest of the troop, staying towards the back. As Joram watched them, he noticed a darker smudge above the tree line from the way they had just come. A sense of dread came over him.

"Cam, do you see what I am seeing?" Joram said, pointing back the way they had come.

"I can't see anything." Cam said after a few moments of searching. "What do you see?"

"I see a whole lot of smoke." Joram said as he took off towards the front of the line.

It didn't take long to get to the front. After all, it was a rather small company. Ken was speaking with Timothy, not looking too happy about it.

"Ken, I really need to speak with you." Joram said, trying to keep the sense of urgency out of his voice.

Ken turned to regard him. Timothy looked quite put out about being interrupted, and looked as though he might object to the interruption in a rather rude manner. "I'll be right back." Ken told Timothy as he walked off with Joram. Timothy looked as though he had eaten a sour plum.

"What is it?" Ken asked once they were out of earshot of most people.

"I see lots of smoke coming from the way we came." Joram said, pointing in the direction of Anthus.

Ken squinted, trying to see what the younger man was seeing. "I can't see anything. Just looks like another storm is heading our way." Ken finally said.

"The wind is not blowing in our direction." Joram pointed out. At this Ken started to believe him.

"How can you see that from here?" Ken asked, now curious.

"I grew up with an elf remember?" Joram said. "He taught me well." He hoped that that load of dung of an excuse managed to convince him. He didn't want to reveal that he had a magical item that could let him see farther than anyone else.

"Yeah, sure." Ken said, obviously refusing not to buy that load. "So, what do you suggest we do, eh?"

"Why are you asking me?" Joram asked, now somewhat nervous.

"Well, you see the smoke, but what should we do about the fire?" Ken asked him, putting on the pressure.

"We can't just leave the people of Anthus not knowing if they are all right." Joram said, growing firmer in his determination.

"That would be quite a hike to get back there to be able to save anyone if it is an attack." Ken said, now giving an air of being thoughtful.

"It doesn't' matter!" Joram said heatedly. He didn't want the tragedy that was his past to happen to any other people. "I'll take my friends and head back to see if we can help."

"And what if I say; no'?" Ken asked.

"Then I would have to ignore you." Joram said, now gaining more courage.

"That is insubordination. You would be hanged once we reached our destination." Ken said, now just pointing out possibilities. "You sure you want to die young?"

"That, I can deal with. I cannot deal with the fact that I could have helped someone, but didn't." Joram said. Now looking back towards Anthus, he asked again, "Are you sure you can see nothing?"

Ken looked again, this time taking his time. A few moments later, he said, "Yeah, I can see it now." Then walked off towards Timothy.

Joram couldn't believe it. Ken had just walked off after finally seeing the smoke! What was the man thinking? Cam had come over once Ken had headed off.

"So, what did he say?" Cam asked nervously.

"He said he can see it." Joram said, still not believing that Ken had just walked off.

Ken was now speaking with Timothy. Timothy did not look happy at all about what he was talking about with Ken. It was quite evident, because he was turning several shades of scarlet. Finally they could hear Timothy yell, "… we are not going BACK!"

The relief that Joram felt at that moment was extraordinary. They were going to help. Screw Timothy and his egotistical arguments, they were going to help. Joram felt as though he was going to bounce away, he was so relieved of the heavy burden weighing on his heart. At that moment, Ken earned some extra points in the area of respect from Joram.

A few moments later, Ken was yelling at everyone to turn around and head back to Anthus. Many people started mumbling to each other about what the reason could be for the change in direction. The boys/ men from Anthus looked happy and scared at the same time. Why were they now turning around? What could this mean? So as the group started to head back the way they had come, several of the men from Anthus went and questioned Ken about the change in direction.

It seems, though, that Ken just told them to get back into line, for most of them left grumbling. Joram was glad that Ken didn't say too much, because they might just wind up running off without any thought to their safety.

"I'll go gather the guys so that we are together." Cam said, and then headed off the find the others. Norm and Yan had just headed over, so that made Cam's job a bit easier.

"Say, Joram, what's going on? We saw you speaking with Kenneth before he ordered the turn around. What did you say?" Yan asked.

"Keep it quiet, though they will notice soon enough." Joram said. Yan and Norm looked confused. "There is a lot of smoke rising from the direction of Anthus." He said, keeping his voice low. "I think that the orcs came a bit early this year."

"No way!" Norm said, looking shocked.

"That's harsh." Yan said, looking at the sky above the tree line. "Do you think anyone will be left? I mean, if we can see the smoke from here that must mean that a large section of their town is burning."

"That is true, but I only noticed the smoke a short while ago. It hasn't had time to build up so that it would be obvious." Joram said.

"True, but it'll take most of a day to get back there. Will we be able to do anything with the people we do have here? I mean, if there was enough of whatever attacked, won't they just be able to overrun us too?" Norm asked, looking somewhat afraid.

"We will have the element of surprise." Joram said, trying to appear confident. It seemed to work, for both Yan and Norm relaxed somewhat.

A little while later, Cam came back with the others in tow. They went over what they had practiced and planned. About an hour after they had turned around, one of the men from Anthus noticed the smoke. It got very noisy. Several of them headed over to speak/ yell at Timothy for not telling them of this, or telling them that they needed to go faster, or telling them that they would go on ahead.

Ken put a stop to their stupidity. He ordered five of his soldiers to stay with the group from Anthus, and got most of the group from X'atur to stay with them as well. Joram's group was ordered to stay with Ken and the rest of the group. As they travelled, Joram began to prepare his sword for the coming fight, using one of the techniques Jirin had taught him. He could use it thrice. He hoped it would be enough.

Ken later asked them if any of them were good at hunting or sneaking around. Naturally both Joram and Cam raised their hands, so did Blake and Brom. Blake and Brom were hunters back home, though Joram and Cam had sneaked around the village a lot with all the pranks that they continually played on the rest of the villagers. Ken told the four of them that he would need them to scout out the area, two by two, once they arrived near Anthus.

Both Joram and Cam were somewhat excited at that, but Blake went a little pale at the suggestion. He was somewhat comforted by the fact that he wasn't to go alone, but still, all the potential enemies in the area gave him a fright.

The pace was picked up to a jog for a mile, then a walk for a mile. This would allow them to cover more distance, and not have them be exhausted once they reached their destination. There were a few of the boys from both villages that had a hard time with the pace, but they didn't complain too much. They knew that they needed to get to their destination with all speed, or the villagers would have no hope of rescue. Nobody wanted to discuss the possibility that none of the villagers had survived. The fires could be seen as they ran.

So it was near sunset that they arrived in the environs of Anthus, the air heavy with smoke and the smell of another thunderstorm brewing. The fires had now burned low, so the light of the fires could no longer be seen. Soon after they arrived Ken sent out both Joram's team as well as Blake's team. Joram went north and Blake went south.

As both Cam and Joram walked, they spoke in whispers.

"Do you think we will find anyone?" Cam asked, looking none too hopeful.

"Let us hope." Joram replied.

It was now full dark outside, and his vision had shifted to the infrared spectrum. The trees were a darkness hiding the light of the burnt down houses, their coals still hot. After a short time, they spotted the attackers.

The orcs were jumping around in a type of dance around one cook fire. There were twelve in all. They were cooking something over the fire. It smelled like pork. He hoped it was pork.

They continued around the perimeter of Anthus, seeing more and more groups of the foul orcs. Soon they had just about made a complete circuit of the village when they happened upon, what looked like, their leader and his cronies. The orc chieftain was sitting on a large armchair he had gotten from someone's house. He was huge. He looked like he might be near seven feet tall. He also had a massive bastard sword leaning against his chair. To his right was his shaman. Joram could tell that it was his shaman because he was covered with feather decorations, teeth necklaces, and other bone jewellery. He was significantly smaller, closer to five and a half feet. There were also six warriors sitting indiscriminately around the fire. They must be his guard.

The chieftain was discussing something with the shaman.

"Cam, you stay hear. I need to hear what they are saying." Joram said. Before he could leave though, Cam caught his sleeve.

"You can understand what they are saying?"

"Yeah, Jirin taught me." Joram said impatiently. "Just stay here and be quiet." Joram said, sneaking a little closer to the fire. Joram didn't worry about Cam being alone; the orcs hadn't set up any sentries.

So he crept on his fingers and toes to get a better spot where he could listen in on the conversation, trying to keep to the shadows. He eventually got to a place where he could hear them.

"We go kill rest of them now." The shaman was arguing.

"No, we eat, we drink and rest. That way we enjoy killing more. The humans can stay in building and sweat in fear until then." The chief stated, brooking no room for argument in his tone. The look of cruelness in his face almost made Joram jump up and slay him on the spot. Though he knew that he needed to get back and let everyone know that there were survivors. "We kill them before sun come." He said, pointing to the village inn. There were a dozen orcs keeping an eye on the building closer up. They looked bored at having guard duty.

At that, Joram made his way slowly back to Cam. Cam was sitting there watching carefully, though it was obvious that he had lost track of Joram, for he was chewing his bottom lip, looking worried. He told Cam what he had heard, and they started back to camp, going a little faster this time. They now had a deadline. Get back there before sunrise.