| |
It was mid-afternoon when they reached the small village just north of Norbrach. The villages surrounding this area were some of the most prosperous areas in Asterion. Shaye had heard reports from Rolland that their friends who resided here had been experiencing a successful start to the season. From the looks of it, that was no longer the case; the crops looked as if they had died the moment they had sprouted. Anything that had grown had not survived, leaving rot on the ground. Although the weather had been agreeable at the start of the spring season, offering plenty of rain, the fields now looked as if they had suffered a drought.
The sight in the village was just as shocking. Carts had been left abandoned on the wide dirt road and houses were boarded shut. Shaye was not sure if families here had left because of the rumors or if they had experienced magical sightings firsthand. Regardless of why they had left, barren fields and missing farmers made Asterion vulnerable.
Shaye watched Sorin. She felt terrible for how she had behaved earlier, but was too embarrassed to bring it up. He was scanning the area with a sad look on his handsome face. Shaye clicked at Finn, bringing him up alongside Sorin’s horse. “Are you okay?”
He paused before answering her. “With trade routes closed, the entire continent will be relying on crops and livestock provided by the farmers in this part of the territory. Without them, we have a nation on the brink of starvation.”
Shaye didn’t know what to say; it was one thing to hear about the state of things touched by the blight, but it was another to experience them firsthand. This is just the start; Shaye contemplated the state of things as she dismounted from Finn. He danced around anxiously, not wanting to be here anymore than she did.
She tried to lighten the mood. “Are you going to share with the class what we’re doing here, Your Majesty?”
The men dismounted and Elijah led the horses to a nearby post. Bron drew his massive sword from its sheath and answered for Sorin. “We’re here to hunt a monster.” He bared his teeth in anticipation.
“And I suppose you, oh gallant Mortal Knight, are going to be the one to slay the beast,” Shaye joked.
“It’s only fair, since you got the last one.” He nudged her in the side, nearly knocking her over from his size.
She shouted as he walked away, “That one was a team effort! You’re just lucky Asterion craftsmen carve such sturdy oars!” He laughed, throwing a hand in the air as he dismissed her jest.
There was a crash from one of the nearby houses and Sorin held a finger to his lips. A memory flashed in her mind of a boy gripping her hand and holding a finger to his lips beneath the shadows of a stairwell. She shook the thought away, pulling the dagger from her belt. She was grateful to be wearing pants instead of a dress this time.
They stalked silently toward the sound. The hair on her arms stood on end as a snarl vibrated from behind the house. From the sound of it, something was feeding. They were only a few paces away when it stopped.
Bile rose in her throat as a grotesque, fanged creature rounded the corner of one of the cottages. Its mouth was foaming and red, and its beady eyes squinted in the sunlight. The beast towered over them, taller than even Bron.
The Mortal Knight did not balk in the creature’s presence. “Hope you practiced your enchantments today, milady.”
She knew he had seen her practicing and failing spectacularly. She held back a retort as Bron’s face lit up. Clearly in his element now, he and the others had chosen to don their armor this morning and now she knew why. She suddenly felt vulnerable in her plain leather jerkin, wishing she had her own set of armor.
“Here we go!” Bron shouted, and with a war cry he spun his broad sword until it was poised in front of him.
The creature roared and beelined for them, making all five of them scatter. It looked around, confused as to who it should go after, but it did not take long before it decided Bron would be the biggest threat out of all of them. It moved in on him with surprising speed considering how large it was.
Shaye recognized the magical creature from books she had read in the palace as a child. Orcs were humanoid monsters who, according to legend, were not the smartest creatures. They were a brutish type of Goblin, one that Shaye had been glad she’d never had the displeasure of crossing paths with before.
Bron and the beast clashed against one another, brute strength against brute strength. Bron smashed an elbow into the monster’s face, dazing it long enough to come down with his great sword. The beast wailed at the contact, but did not go down. Sorin withdrew a sword from the baldrick on his back and jumped the creature from behind.
Shaye watched them fight the Orc with fierce determination for what felt like a lifetime. She looked at the other two knights, Elijah and Anik, wondering why they were just standing there beside her. “Shouldn’t you do something to help them?”
They were leaning casually against a fence post. “Nah, it’s good for them to struggle sometimes. Keeps ‘em humble.” Elijah winked at her and went back to watching his friends battle the beast.
At last, the monster fell to the ground long enough for Bron to run it through. Shaye cringed at the sight of it; when Anik noticed, he attempted to comfort her, “Orcs are notorious for cannibalism. Reports told us this one had killed a family of three in this village before turning on its own kind and eating them as well. Save your sympathies if you can.”
With the beast defeated, Bron and Sorin took the time to wash up before they got back on the road. Shaye fed the horses, and noticed Elijah and Anik grabbing the Orc’s body, rope in hand. She looked at them with bewilderment. They could not possibly be doing what she thought they were.
She shouted for Sorin when she realized they were bringing the beast with them. “Are you insane?” She rounded on him as they strapped its massive body to Bron’s war horse.
“I know, listen, it’s not something I’m happy to do, but we need it to make a deal with a Witch. This is the sort of payment she takes.” He gestured to the creature, then helped Shaye mount Finn.
“This is wrong, Sorin. You are a king, not a bounty hunter.” Shaye blocked his way with her horse. For the first time since they had met, Sorin actually looked annoyed with her.
“I’m doing what I must. The beast’s death was swift and well deserved. He will not be able to harm anyone again. Honestly, will nothing ever please you?” He veered his horse around hers, continuing on his way.
Shaye huffed and shouted at his back, “Nothing you do!”
They rode in silence after that. Finn danced around with adrenaline from the danger he had felt during the fight. Shaye patted his neck and whispered to him, “I know, I know. What have I gotten us into?” He nodded his head as if agreeing with her and they were off again. This time to track down a Witch.