Blood, Faith, and Steel Read online

  Birch chuckled.

  Celiann brushed by me as she walked past. She pulled the door leading out of the dungeon almost closed, though she left enough room for her head and slim shoulders to look out.

  “Pointy-eared elf smart to guard door. Birch bet Celiann is warrior.”

  I took a moment to observe Celiann. She had that mysterious elf way about her. There was something more, though. Maybe it was the way she carried herself. Straight locks of golden hair cut just above the shoulders, with grey eyes that seemed to absorb everything. Celiann radiated a righteous confidence.

  A snap from my wrists startled me. Elanor had figured out how to open the lockless manacles, and the sour look she gave informed me that I had been caught staring at Celiann.

  The best thing to do in that situation was act ignorant. “Thanks, Sweetie,” I said.

  And of course, I was absolutely not attracted to Celiann in any way.

  Really. I wasn’t.

  Elanor gave me a fixed grin, and I couldn’t tell if it was the “We’ll talk about this later” or the “You’re forgiven” smile. If we got out of this mess alive, I would most certainly find out. Elanor didn’t forget anything.

  Elanor moved to unlock Mina’s manacles, and my thoughts went back to Celiann. I hoped she wasn’t anything like Lelliani. One annoying and bloodthirsty woman was enough.

  Celiann’s gray eyes turned to meet my own. “Someone’s coming.”

  Manacles off, I stepped quietly over to the door. The stone floors were anything but smooth, and I nearly tripped over myself getting there. If I fell flat on my face, Birch would never let me live it down.

  I looked through the peephole. Down the stairs came another orc, armed to the teeth. I turned to see Birch putting on the still-intact chain mail from the prone orc at his feet. He’d also grabbed the scimitar, although compared to his usual two-handed sword, it resembled a toothpick. Still, the scimitar twirled in his hand as if he’d used it his entire life. The barbarian never ceased to amaze.

  It would be easier to take this guard, but stealth was essential. There was no telling what was waiting for us up those stairs. I mumbled an incantation. “Unz Aloxum Viridu Ga.” With a point of my finger, a tiny beam of light shot through the peephole and hit the guard in the chest.

  The guard’s eyes widened. The orc started to move its hand forward, and then its entire body froze rigid. The spell had worked; I had successfully paralyzed the orc.

  “Birch, clean up,” I said.

  Birch opened the door, took two steps to the still-frozen guard and keenly removed the orc’s head with the scimitar. He caught it and tossed it back through the open door. I barely got out of the way as the head rolled into the small hallway and landed right-side up on the stump of what remained of its neck, yellow eyes still frozen wide.

  Celiann gasped.

  “Nice shot, Birch,” Lelliani said. “I love a good beheading.”

  Celiann gasped again, eyes wide at the half-elf. And she appeared to be almost as appalled by Lelliani as was I. That was hopeful.

  Birch dragged the headless corpse inside and deposited it in one of the cells. Lelliani and Celiann declined the use of the rusted chain shirt which the headless orc wore, though Celiann did take the short sword it carried. I pondered wearing the chain mail, until I got a whiff of it. The armor smelled worse than Birch.

  “What now?” Birch asked.

  “Only one way to go. Hey, where’s Elanor?” Lelliani asked as she picked up the decapitated orc head and examined it.

  Berythal guide me, how I could have ever fallen for Lelliani?

  “Scouting,” I said.

  Elanor was fearless and smart. I was certain she was scouting ahead before Lelliani decided to announce our presence to every orc within earshot. A minute later, she returned, wearing her form-fitting leather armor. Her slim rapier was in her left hand. “It’s empty upstairs, except for some crates. They were kind enough to stow our gear up there.” She jingled a bag of coins as her green eyes settled upon me. “You won more at the gambler’s table than you told me about, Butter Mumkins.”

  Birch laughed and slugged me in the shoulder, nearly knocking me off my feet. “Butter Mumkins in trouble.”

  I rubbed my arm. “Uh, I was going to, sweetie.”

  And I really was. Honest.

  Minutes later, we were upstairs, donning our gear. The familiar weight of the mace in my hands eased my tension somewhat, that and being clad in my tailor-made chain mail. Birch donned his hide armor, its rough exterior every bit as protective as my chain. Mina was speaking quietly to her bat, which licked her ear in response. Then Waspy flew off her shoulder and flapped around my head, landed, and nibbled on my ear.

  “Aw, he missed you, Brady,” Mina said.

  I’d made the mistake of referring to Waspy as an “it” once. Neither Mina nor her little familiar liked that reference. Neither forgot about it either, least of all the bat. I was convinced that Waspy held a grudge. My ears were never safe, day or night.

  Lelliani jumped and kicked her feet together as soon as she had her bow in her hands. “Let’s go find some orcs to kill.”

  I could see that gleam of violence radiate in Lelliani’s eyes. She loved that Elven-made longbow more than she ever had me, which in hindsight wasn’t such a bad thing.

  Celiann donned Elven-forged armor that must’ve been sculpted to fit her sleek frame. She strapped a broadsword to her belt and a buckler to her left arm. Emblazoned on her breastplate and shield were the holy symbols of the God Aleh.

  Celiann was a Paladin, a holy warrior whose honor and morals were upheld through her sword arm. Most Paladins tended to enjoy explaining how righteous and wonderful their particular dogma was. Paladins also had some divine casting ability, though nowhere near as powerful as a cleric such as me.

  “We could question that unconscious guard,” Celiann said. “He could give us information.”

  Birch gazed at her coolly. Paladins and Birch generally didn’t see eye to eye on anything. Honestly, Birch didn’t really see eye to eye with anyone. “Uh-uh, first guard not waking up.”

  Celiann’s posture stiffened. “What do you mean by that?”

  Birch shrugged. “Birch clumsy. Orc fall out of Birch’s hands. Neck snapped. Orc very dead.”

  Celiann glared at each of us. When her gaze met mine, I found myself feeling not so much guilty (the only good orc is a dead one, after all) as intrigued by those grey and penetrating eyes.

  I tore my gaze from hers, not wanting to get caught staring again. “We need to find a way out of here.”

  Celiann’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps we’ll find my brother through those double doors.”

  “Birch not take orders from elf,” Birch said.

  “It’s the only way out,” I said. “Birch, follow behind Elanor.”

  Elanor moved ahead of Birch, her eyes intent on the door as she checked it for any traps or alarms. Birch gripped his two-handed sword and fell in behind her.

  Celiann moved to walk beside Birch, but I put a hand on her forearm. She stopped and glared at me. I told her quietly, “Celiann, the five of us have been together for a number of years. We’re not —”

  She grabbed my hand and removed it from her arm. “He shouldn’t have killed that orc. It’s not right.”

  “Did you know Birch was raised by orcs? They abused him, beat him, made fun of him because he was a human half-breed. The only reason he survived was that he grew as big as he did and managed to escape. You really want me to lecture him when he kills orcs?”

  “I didn’t know that, but —”

  The double doors groaned open ahead of us. Celiann gave me one final “we’ll continue this later” look before she readied her broadsword and shield and moved forward.

  Sigh. I was always getting those looks from women.

  We entered a very dark room. No torches were ensconced on the cave walls. Rough and jagged, this underground dwelling had been sloppily constructed, similar to
every other orc-built cave I had explored. That’s why I believed orcs infested keeps and mansions built by others; everything they made was absolutely atrocious.

  Mina sent Waspy to scout, and the creepy bat flapped into the darkness. After a few moments, it came back and landed on her tiny arm and squealed in her ear.

  “The room is huge, but empty,” Mina said.

  “That bat’s handy,” Celiann said.

  Mina grinned. “Thank you.”

  Celiann hadn’t seen that bat tear out eyeballs. I bet the she would just love that.

  I held my comment to myself and cast my spell. Light blossomed from the head of my mace. The illumination revealed an unfurnished room, except for a table that lay on its side in one corner, two of its legs missing. In the other corner, a shoddily-built stone staircase ascended to a trap door in the ceiling. Bits of light escaped from around its poor seal.

  We moved up the stairs, Elanor leading the way. When we got to the top, Elanor guided my light to the trap door. “No lock,” she said. “It’s barred from the outside. I can probably open it with my crowbar once I get it out of my —”

  Birch gently moved Elanor aside and put his huge hands on the trap door. He pushed. The trap door groaned, cracked, and then flew off its hinges. The remnants of the door shattered, raining splinters of wood upon us.

  Elanor pulled wood shards from her hair. “Or, Birch can just smash it.”

  Birch clambered out, his two-handed sword at the ready as he disappeared over the edge. I allowed the ladies to go ahead of me. It wasn’t that I was scared, mind you. I was simply covering our back.

  As I pulled myself over the edge, I realized we were on a pitted dirt road. Tree trunks jutted haphazardly around us, many showing signs of being recently cut. The circumference of the tree trunks were so wide I could lay upon them. They were ancient.

  Lelliani cursed in Elven. I recognized her foul words because she used to direct them at me on occasion. As a Ranger, Lelliani preferred the wilderness to civilization and did not take kindly to the wanton destruction of nature. Seeing the ancient trees she so loved destroyed, she nocked two arrows with a white-knuckled grip, eyes scanning the surroundings with a sneer upon her face.

  My gaze was drawn to a mansion about fifty yards away. Unlike the dungeon, it was an architectural masterpiece. Ornately carved pillars supported a covered walkway that led to large double doors. They were burnished with a lacquer that made them gleam in the sunlight. The well-kept walls were white, and no vines grew upon them. Its ceiling was flat; the ledges around the top of the building held statues of monstrous, evil creatures.

  That was all the sightseeing I was allowed, for four orcs charged from around the corner of the five-foot tall ornamental wall that surrounded the yard of the mansion.

  Celiann started to stride forward. Birch’s arm flung outward, barring her way. “Let orcs come. Stand with Birch.”

  I didn’t wait to see if she followed his order. I was already casting. “Isuthdus Kralidath!”

  A burst of sound shot from my extended hand. The squeal ended in an awful explosion in the middle of the four orcs. Blood spat from their ears. Two of the orcs slowed their charge for the briefest of moments and then charged onward, shaking off the spell’s effect. The other two stopped and grabbed their ears, momentarily stunned.

  Mina stood next to me and incanted her own spell. “Cheetala Zagang!” Her voice wheeled into a high pitch, and I braced for the sound. A thin bolt of lightning barked from her tiny hand, aimed at one of the still-charging orcs. The orc’s eyes widened and it screamed as it dodged to one side. The lightning did not strike it fully, though bits of flame tickled the orc’s clothing. Its greasy hair caught fire.

  Three arrows zipped from Lelliani’s bow in rapid succession. The first slammed into the lightning-singed orc’s shoulder. A second sailed harmlessly between the two orcs, and the third buried itself in the other orc’s arm.

  Then the two were upon us. Birch and Celiann were waiting.

  Birch reacted first. He hit the lightning-singed orc mid-shoulder. The powerful blow severed its right shoulder and half of its head. It fell lifeless, bounced off of a tree trunk and crumpled to the ground. Birch used the momentum of his swing to strike at the other orc, but it parried with its own sword.

  Celiann took advantage of the orc’s occupied blade. She ended its existence as her sword pierced through the creature’s armor into its heart.

  The orc collapsed. Birch cut off its left arm for good measure.

  Amazingly, the other two still charged after they shook off being stunned. One fell with three arrows in it before it ever reached us; the second lost its head, literally.

  And thus you see how stupid orcs are.

  We had just finished them off when the double doors of the mansion burst open. More orcs than I could count charged out of the doors, steel-clad and armed to the teeth. I caught Birch’s eyes, and they glittered with a bit of madness.

  But there were too many.

  “Time to run,” I said.

  “Where are we?” Elanor asked.

  Lelliani sent an arrow arcing over the wall toward the horde of orcs. “About five miles outside of town. I know a small game trail. If we take it, we may be able to get away. Come on!”

  What? Never heard of mighty adventurers running? We fight battles we think we can handle. It’s the reason we’re still alive. Plus, that many orcs in one spot always had someone or something very sinister leading them.

  Just before we left the road, I saw a symbol upon one of the white pillars of the mansion that faced the road. It was made of solid black marble, a red mark engraved in its center. I remembered that Matthias wore that mark on the sleeve of his shirt when he had met with us. From what Celiann described, it was the symbol of the Omega Brotherhood.

  A curse escaped my lips. Orcs in the employ of the cult posing as a charitable organization meant we were in a lot of trouble.

  Chapter 2

  I suppose introductions should be made. We shall shortly return to the “running-for-our-lives” part of the tale afterward.

  Brady Theirot is my name. I am a human cleric of Berythal, Archangel of Love. It is my devout purpose in life to spread passion, to trust and love those around me. One must ask: how did one who worships such a peaceful Goddess come to be running away from hundreds of orcs?

  I was not expecting a life of such adventure. Life in the seminary was meant to prepare me for a life of serving others. After my training, I should’ve been stationed in a comfortable town or village and used my divine power to heal and nurture the sick and wounded.

  I’d only been training in the seminary a little under a year before it was beset by, of all things, orcs. If not for the aid of Mina, Birch, Elanor, and Lelliani, the clerics of the seminary, myself included, would surely have died.

  Those four had arrived a day before and warned us of the danger. And though they pleaded, the elder cleric Father Radrick would not abandon the seminary to be defiled by orcs. The adventurers could have left; instead, they stayed and defended the small stone buildings from the orc onslaught.

  The attack successfully repelled, how did one so refined and talented as I fall in with a group of adventurers? Was it for the glory? Or perhaps the promise of great wealth or power?

  No. I left because of a woman.

  She was perhaps the most stunning woman I had ever met. Her name was Lelliani Alechthia, and her sweet brown eyes and alluring charisma immediately sparked a passion inside me that I’d never felt.

  Well, never felt that strongly, anyway.

  From the time Lelliani and I laid eyes on each other, sparks flew as when flint meets steel. During the three-day siege by the orcs, and in the week the group stayed to help us rebuild the most vital parts of the seminary, she taught me things I never learned in the seminary (though you would think the Archangel of Love would have something taught about that to Her followers). When the four packed up to leave, they offered me a place in the
ir adventuring party. I’d like to tell you I meditated on the decision, and then communed with Berythal.

  It was neither. Lelliani was the only sign I needed. I was in love.

  Then I made the mistake of getting to know her. Berythal forgive me, she turned out to be crazier than a caged tiger. I realized the woman I thought I loved was a dangerous and violent woman. Think of a terrible storm in the middle an ocean full of hungry leviathans. Imagine me on a raft, always wondering when one would eat me.

  That was our relationship.

  Mina was a bit hard to get to know. Her hobbies included things disproportionately disturbing in comparison to her small stature. She was aloof at times, yet very passionate about her very vivid purple and black color schemes. And her pet — well, I tolerated Waspy because Mina used treacherous spells against our enemies. I doubted the little one would hesitate to use them on anyone that threatened her bat. Berythal guide me, one should not be so terrified of the wrath of a halfling.

  Birch was the only other male in our party, though we had little in common. I was a regular-sized human, while he was a towering, powerful half-orc. I healed people. He dismembered them. He liked to inhabit the roughest bars in towns so he could splat his knuckles against people’s faces; I preferred to be as far from run-down taverns as possible.

  I bathed. Birch did not. Sometimes, the stench of a troglodyte was preferable to being downwind of Birch. For those of you unaware, a troglodyte is a scaled creature that radiates stench so awful it can cause you to retch if not strong of stomach.

  Nasal passage offense aside, Birch was a skilled tactician. I was surprised that I found myself looking to him for leadership. So did the others; we counted upon Birch to see us through battles.

  Bless the stars for Elanor. She was a wondrous woman: kind-hearted, loving, and very dear to my heart. I’ve never witnessed a rogue with such precision in her work, nor one as athletic and agile. Her smile was the sun, and I a flower that blossomed under it. She was my light, the nourishment of my soul, and the reason that I still adventured.

  We journey in the land called Zhenlogor. It is also called the “Place of the Dragon”. It is a massive continent, whose bounds it would take a lifetime of travel to experience. In my rather secluded life, I really hadn’t seen much of it until I ventured forth from the monastery. Since then I have slogged through swamps, climbed mountains, burrowed through tunnels, and fought the vilest and most dangerous of creatures.