Ru Emerson - Keep on the Borderlands

“Thanks to you, I’ll have that story to tell, lad,” the Keepman said. “Boy pulled me right up there with him, and me half again his size.”

M’Whan shrugged that aside, but his color was high as he wentto help his father pull dead orcs from the camp.

Jerdren looked around, then raised his voice. “What damage,people?” he asked.

“A few ugly cuts and bruises on our side, and not muchworse,” Eddis said. “M’Baddah, we can use you here, dressing cuts! Anyone who’snot badly injured, help drag those brutes out of here.”

“Search ’em first,” Jerdren called out, as he looked up froman examination of one of the dead orcs hear the fire. “Remember what we foundlast night!”

“Orcs,” Eddis muttered with distaste. She wasn’t ready tosearch through one of those greasy leather jerkins. Fortunately, no one else seemed to share her feelings. She sheathed her sword and winced. Her left arm was beginning to ache in earnest where that shield had slammed into it.

Jerdren came up moments later, grinning cheerfully, a heavy purse swinging from his left hand.

“Well!” he said cheerfully. “There’s one way to wake up thecompany, right, Eddis?”

“It’s hard on the porridge,” she replied dryly. “Why don’tyou get that pig out of the fire pit? The fire’s going out, and the last watchhasn’t eaten yet.”

He tossed her the purse and bent to drag the smoking orc away. Eddis gazed at the bag with mixed feelings. It was heavy, but it was also soaked with blood. She dropped it on the ground and rolled it in the dirt and left it there for the moment. She clapped her hands together to get the men’sattention. Her arm throbbed in protest.

“Anyone who’s hurt, even a scratch, you know which of us hashealing potions! Poisoned blades, remember? A dirty sword cut can kill you just as dead or cost you an arm! Those of you who haven’t eaten, do that now! Rest ofyou, let’s finish searching the dead brutes and get the bodies out of camp, andas for any orcs still alive-well, you know what to do. Let’s get it done!”

She turned to look for Jerdren. “Jers, do we have someone onguard?”

He nodded.

“Good. I’ll help M’Baddah clean wounds. You finish searchingthose creatures, if you don’t mind.”

“Didn’t realize you were squeamish, Eddis,” her co-captainsaid. His glance flicked toward the filthy pouch under her toe.

“I’m not. I’m being practical. It’s poorly tanned hide, andnow it’s soggy with orc blood. You put that in your pack, and the whole thing’llsmell like rotting meat in a day or so. I’m letting the worst of the mess soakinto the dirt before I pour out whatever’s in there and count it, if you don’tmind.”

“Oh.” He blinked. “Didn’t think of that.”

“No, you were thinking of gold and gems. Remind the othermen, will you?”

“Good point.” He turned away as Mead came back into camp.“What’s still out there?” he asked.

“They are gone,” the elf mage said. “Still running, as far asI can tell, but at this hour I have only charms to assure me of that.” He pulledhis book of spells from its leather shoulder bag.

“That’s good enough,” Eddis said. “You’re exempt fromcleanup, of course. You’ve got your own important task.”

He merely nodded and settled close to the fire on his blankets once again, book open.

Blorys had come in and was watching her, she realized. “Letme worry about cleaning cuts, Eddis. Your arm is hanging limp, and I can see the pain in your face whenever you move it. Go, get M’Baddah to fix you up.”

She nodded and he smiled suddenly. “You paid attention towhat I told you back in the Keep, didn’t you? I just happened to turn when youtook down that last monster, and when you could see he was still a threat, you didn’t try to finish the job yourself. Sensible swordswoman, that’s you.”

Eddis could feel her face redden. “Sensible swordswomanwouldn’t be out here, fighting nasty creatures twice her size. But thank you.”

“Of course. Stay sensible, swordswoman. Get M’Baddah to tendto that arm, will you?”

She nodded and watched him walk over to help Jerdren pull the dead orc from the fire pit. His words warmed her. Sensible, hah, she thought. Well, see you stay that way, Eddis. Because by this time tomorrow any of you-including Blorys-could be very dead. A wise swordswoman would think of anyfighting companion as sword-fellow and friend, but nothing more.

It took time for the men to haul the massive bodies away. Bythe time Jerdren and the others returned to the camp, their provisioner had a fire going once more and the last of the porridge reheating. The men who’d beenon guard when the orcs attacked ate as the others began packing up their blankets or retrieving what unbroken arrows and other weapons they could. Mead turned the pages of his book. Eddis sat cross-legged on her blanket, counting out the contents of the orc’s purse Jerdren had tossed her-most of the weightcame from copper pence and a small bar of silver that gleamed wetly in the early morning sun.

There were also two odd little bundles of sticks and string. M’Baddah, who sat close by bandaging one of the injured, looked them overcarefully and suggested she give them to Mead.

“I think they are fetishes, but he may know what they areused for and if they are dangerous for us to keep.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Eddis said. She dropped them atopthe dust-coated bag and wiped her hands on her breeches.

It was quiet for some moments, except the crackle of the fire, and the faint groans of one of the spearmen who’d received a nasty crackon the back of his head. Fortunately, his helm had kept him alive.

Jerdren came back into the clearing and knelt at the fire to pour hot water over his bloody hands. None of it seemed to be his blood. He blotted them on his shirt and grinned at Eddis.

“There’s one way to work up an appetite!”

“Not my favorite,” Blorys replied. He’d come up behind herand settled down next to her. “Arm better, Eddis?”

She nodded.

“Good for your reflexes, a fight like that,” Jerdren said.His grin faded. “We need to talk. The few orcs we left alive ran, and from whatI saw, I’ll wager they’re still running. Maybe it was just our bad luck to picka place to camp where we’d cross paths with ’em. Still-is it possible there’s ahold of those brutes around here?”

The Keep men eyed each other. “There’s no rumor of a hold,”one said finally. “Now and again, hunting parties’ll see prints that might beorcs or other such creatures. And they’ve been seen at a distance-but only a fewof ’em at a time. Fewer than we fought here.”

“But you don’t send patrols eastward, do you?” Jerdren asked.“And you don’t hunt this far into the wilds, so would you even know?”

“I would know if there was a hold close by,” Mead said. Hewas stowing his book in its case as he came up to join the others. “I testedthis area for evil before agreeing we should camp here, if you recall, and I made sure none of the orcs we fought last night had followed us.”

“Oh, right.” Jerdren rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It justseems odd, as much wilderness as there is, that they just happened to wind up where we are.”

“We didn’t travel that far last night, and we weren’t exactlybeing quiet, this morning,” Eddis replied dryly. “And there’s the fire. Withthis wind, they could probably smell the smoke for a long ways. But if you ask me, it doesn’t matter if these orcs were part of last night’s bunch, or ifthey’re a completely different troop.”

“It might matter,” Jerdren said. “Because if there are bandsof ’em wandering around out here, that just might mean we’re close to a den. Wearen’t out here to battle orcs. They’re big and nasty, and cursed few of ’emcarry what I’d call a decent pocketful of coin. Besides, if there’s orcs allover the place here, what chance is there we’ll find that band of robbers in thesame area?”