El-Vador's Travels (43 page)

'Place your palms face down upon the stone.'

The stone felt cold and unyielding to his touch, what
was he supposed to do with it, tear rock out with his bare hands and
hurl it at the towers?

Then he sensed it, the darkness seeping out of him and
pooling about his fingers as if painting a thick outline of his form.
It didn't stop there though as it trickled its way toward the ramp on
invisible rivulets in the ground, more of the black substance soon
joined it and El-Vador felt the lively power being slowly drained
from him. Twin rivers now gushed forth over the ramps and into the
towers, forming unstoppable black waves that somehow crashed higher
as they entered the guard house.

He heard no screams and saw no effect of this torrent
until one of them came staggering out, ablaze with that same fire as
his previous victims, what was left of the Orc hurled itself from
upon high and was devoured mid-way through his fall.

A grinding sound issued from the doors as the darkness
retreated back into his outstretched palms, still planted firmly face
down upon the surface of the cavern. The gate swung open ponderously
and as soon as the darkness had dissipated, El-Vador stepped through
the opening and out of the burrow.

The Orcs
were a headstrong and foolish race, I had learnt that much growing up
amongst them under the occupation. Little did they realise that such
exposure would slowly hone a warrior capable of playing their every
weakness against them.

H
arg stared into space with a tired
emptiness. His gut sense had warned him about it, his dreams had been
plagued with ill omens and still he had dismissed them as fancy. He
was a rational being and had never seen the black arts in his time,
thinking them exaggerated tales to keep the troops in line. The
common view of the soldier, even if it had been called into question
by the explosion in the mountains.

Yes, it was pertinent that he think of that moment in
time now, he should have seen it earlier and would now have the live
with the consequences of his self-neglect and deception. As would
many others.

He had seen many atrocities committed in war, often by
those on his own side. Never had he seen such a callous disregard for
life, even in the most far gone warriors there remained a spark of
decency that may arise on occasion. In this single barbaric act and
subsequent escape, the Elf had proven himself beyond all redemption.

He knew it was the Elf that had killed every young child
in the night. He had no way of proving it but deep down he knew that
this beast had somehow accomplished the deed.

Harg did not believe in evil, in spite of the brutes he
had served in the past that raped and pillaged their way through
life. That lack of belief was being sorely tested now.

The familiar knock came again, this time he noticed it.
'Enter.' he grunted at the door, knowing in truth the report he was
about to receive even before it was given to him.

Salvarius entered the room clad in full armour, as if
such unnecessary protection would shield his soul from the burden of
reality. Harg beckoned him closer and asked wearily for the man's
report.

'You were correct in your assumption, General.' the man
reported, the disbelief clearly written on his face. 'The Elf has
vanished and all the guards that were guarding his path to the gates
have vanished save one, who was clearly killed an arrow at close
distance.'

'Their families report no trace of them at all since
their sentry duty?' Harg queried.

'No sir, it is as if they had simply vanished.'

This was no coincidence, it couldn't be. Every child in
the burrow found lifeless within their cots and the escape of the Elf
happening in the same fateful morning?

'Call a gathering amongst the people, I will address the
issue personally.' the General said, straightening up with purpose
and anger blazing in his eyes.

Salvarius took a step back and nodded his assent before
turning heel and escaping any further comment from Harg.

The gathering did not take long as the grief-stricken
Orcs filed into the main chamber of the burrow. It was a vast
cavernous affair, but Harg's voice rang true as he beckoned to the
now-assembled horde to listen to his words.

'We are in dark times, my brother and sisters. Our most
sacrosanct birthright has been stolen from us by a demon, our very
lifeblood has been purged by a monster we sought to contain. I may
have no children to call my own, but I come from a proud Orcish
family just as you do. I will not rest until this demon is caught and
slain, none of us shall rest until we can each taste the torn flesh
of vengeance upon our foe.'

His words echoed in the heart of his people, they gave a
great cry that reminded him of the bloodthirsty conquests of his
youth. They were ready to do as he bid, whatever that may be in order
to claim retribution.

Holding a hand up to gain their attention, he continued
to bellow over the top of them in his best imitation of Generals
past. 'There will be no stopping our tide of wrath, no relenting to
our efforts until we have flushed out the traitor from the plains.
For there he is and shall remain, he has no mount and thought he
could simply stroll out our front gate. He was wrong, and his
insolence will be paid with a blood price for all that he has done.'
His voice rose to a roar then, almost cracking under the strain. 'You
ask why we failed in the north? There stands the reason why, a demon
in Elven form that must be purged should any of us wish peace again.
He butchered my comrades, he has stolen your children's lives and he
has defiled our burrow. Enough! I swear on the blood of my ancestors
that he will be captured and brought to justice here for all to see!'

A huge roar of concurrence swept through the crowd as
they reached frenzy-level, the unified purpose permeating through the
throng of blood-thirsty berserks.

'Arm yourselves fit for the great hunt, my comrades, all
who are able and willing to give their lives to the cause. This day
we set out on the heels of the demon that has accursed our people and
this day we shall slay it!'

With another roar, the crowds dispersed, leaving
Salvarius and Harg in attendance.

'With the sheer number of volunteers, we will have no
issue canvassing the entire plains. Do you wish to send mounted
scouts ahead to see if they can pinpoint the Elf's location first?'

Harg nodded. 'I will lead one of the squadrons myself,
we will empty our stables and send our men riding far and wide,
should any not return we know then where the Elf has gone.'

So it was that the great gates were flung open and Harg
went storming out with several of his finest champions in formation,
Salvarius soon followed with another group, their horses champing at
the bit in their eagerness to stretch their legs upon the great
plains surrounding the burrow.

So blinded were they by blood lust that they did not
notice the figure that slipped into the sewers that were now
unguarded, nor did they come across it as it strayed deeper into the
burrow.

The Elf instinctively knew what it was he had to do as
he crept up the chain from the now-permanently lowered cage. It was
as if his own thoughts were supplemented by the coercions of the
voice and it troubled him that he could barely discern the subtle
difference.

No matter, there was a task at hand greater in scope
that the concerns of his own petty mind. It was clear what he must do
and how he should set about it. He could feel the power growing with
each passing moment, the lives he had taken bolstering its awakening
at a greater pace.

Placing his palms down upon the floor of an abandoned
corridor, he let the waves of oily darkness exude from him and out
into the burrow. The lights were dimmer as he shut off his sight and
began to depart his form, but the augmented power pinpointed them and
sent the darkness forth at a staggering speed.

Just as he felt the force of his efforts beginning to
wane, another light would wink out and re-invigorate his powers,
fuelling him to keep pushing the darkness forward to engulf
everything in its path.

Soon there was nothing left.

El-Vador sat still in the darkness, knowing vaguely what
it was he had just done. This was no longer a burrow that he sat in,
it was a tomb.

Forcing himself to his feet unsteadily, he staggered
deeper into the winding corridors to implement the final phase of his
plan. He could feel the energy sapping from the very core of his
bones, it had been a huge ask for him to project so much of it forth
into the burrow.

He needed to do this though, to make a final and
complete statement to the Orcs that had gone racing out in pursuit of
him.

Dragging himself onward, he made his preparations.

Few
things hold terror for me any longer, but the concept of being
trapped in a place beyond my control is one that I cannot suppress a
shudder to.

H
arg
squinted out at the horizon, all that greeted him was the endless
plain of barren waste. He had agreed that the scouts should reconvene
at the burrow by sunset, unless one of the companies was to detect a
trace of the Elf, in which case their pursuit was indication enough
as to the direction they should hunt.

Behind
them were many capable warriors, decked out in fighting gear and
surveying every section of the plain for potential intruders. A more
thorough sweep compared to their initial scouting within the confines
of their lands, but as it spread out it would begin to lose its
effectiveness.

A
light breeze wafted across his face as he continued to scan the
barrens for signs of life, he knew in his heart that while this may
be unfamiliar territory for an Elf of the mountains, the foe he dealt
with was still a master of disguising himself. It was unlikely that
he'd make the mistake of appearing in plain sight if he could help
it.

The
cloud cover was poor and his men suffered for it, their initial rage
subdued somewhat by the heat of the blazing sun overhead.

'No
sign of the Elf thus far, General.' Salvarius informed him uselessly,
he shared not the passion and rage that the others Orcs had felt.
Harg knew that the man held no love for his adopted people but he had
expected a response from his Captain other than perfunctory planning.
This was no hunting expedition, the Elf had desecrated the lifeblood
of an entire future generation. That Salvarius seemed almost
nonplussed by this caused the rage to come bubbling up within Harg's
calm exterior once more.

'Keep
searching, damn you! The Elf is more suited to the frozen north than
these plains, he cannot have gone far.'

'Yes
sir.' Salvarius replied, turning as if to carry out the commands.

'I
am not finished speaking to you, Captain.' Harg snapped at him,
causing the man to face him once more, clearly not wanting to witness
the wrath of his superior.

Harg
looked around, most of his forces were canvassing the area and trying
their best not to listen in to the conversation. Good, he had a few
things he needed to say and he did not want them to travel overly
far.

Trotting
his mount up alongside his Captain, Harg stared down at the man. 'I
have seen the look in your eyes.' he hissed down at him. 'You do not
feel as my kind feel, you care not for the deaths of our young and
the pain it has wrought.'

To
his credit, Salvarius did not deny the accusation, they both knew it
was true the second it had left Harg's lips. Instead the man remained
silent, knowing that the General had more to say.

'Why
are you still here, Salvarius? Why do you not go back to your own
kind and carve out a life for yourself instead of remaining an alien
among a people you neither care for nor understand?'

Salvarius
straightened up even further, clearly smouldering at the implication
now that it was out in the open but hiding his anger under a thick
cover of servitude. 'I swore an oath to you sir, the day that you
rescued me. I shall not recant upon that oath and I shall remain by
your side in all matters until it is fulfilled.'

It
wasn't the first time Harg had heard this and he snorted in disdain.
'Your words of duty fool me not, for I have seen that your heart
yearns for something greater. I give you a choice, Salvarius. Leave
now and I shall consider your oath fulfilled, or continue to serve me
and bury the conflict within you out of my sight.'

Salvarius
rapped a hard salute that clanged off his breast plate, and
wordlessly continued to search the plains with nothing more than a
quiet noise of assent.

Harg
shrugged, the man had made his choice, there were far greater matters
to attend to than the feelings of his subordinate. Harg's own gut
feeling was that their journey would prove futile, they were
travelling in entirely the wrong direction.

The
results of the continued search appeared to agree with him. Nothing.
They had found absolutely nothing out here, not a trace of the Elf's
departure that would even hint that he had been covering his tracks.

'We
have gone too far out for the Elf to have escaped if he were hiding
his trail.' Harg observed bitterly to his second in command. 'Spread
word to cease the search and head back to the burrow, we shall see if
any of the other groups succeeded in locating him.'