The Wood Knot Warrior Pt. 02

Putting such thoughts behind him, Harris collected his prize and retraced his steps, ever wary of patrols, traps, or randomly intersecting with others in the woods. He took his time to slip free from the Tanglewood and crossed the section of natural woods to find the encampment where they'd left the horses and supplies for the return trip.

He was surprised to see that one of the five had escaped and made it back to camp. It was unfortunate for the man that he'd stepped on one of the booby traps Harris left behind. His ankle was broken and mangled in the jaws of the trap.

The man surfaced from his fevered state and jolted when he saw the mud man standing over him. He didn't shout, which raised him in Kess' estimation once more.

"Fuck. Kess," he said as recognition set in.

"Maccan," Harris said in greeting.

"You bastard. This trap is yours, isn't it," the injured man said.

"Yes."

"You never intended to stay with us. We were just a distraction," Maccan said as the truth settled into his mind.

"Yes, but you made it out," Kess said.

Maccan nodded weakly. "Yeah, I did. That a problem for you?"

"Surprising? Yes. A problem? No," Kess replied and drove his blade through the man's chest, piercing his heart.

Maccan died with a look of disappointment and hate on his face.

The rest of Kess' plan continued the theme of expediency.

He emptied the packs of everything he didn't need and left behind all the saddles except for the one he'd use. Then he linked all the horses together and set off for Portoa.

On the first day, he maintained a quick but not brutal pace. He changed horses as they tired. He repeated this pattern day after day, gradually increasing his speed until the horses were approaching their limit. This cut his return time in half, but the horses began to succumb to exhaustion. He cut them loose to survive their last days in the wild as the rest continued on.

When he reached Portoa, he was left with only one spare horse, but neither were in great shape.

Kess immediately went to meet Magus in the secret room in his suite.

"What do you have for me?" the patriarch asked as he accepted the trap into his hands. With a gleeful smile, he expanded the web by tugging on the top and bottom until the orb was as wide as his shoulders. They heard the soft groan of the pixie inside as she allowed herself to decompress for the first time since she was contained. They could see her through the gaps in the threads, and she was weak but alive.

"You've done excellently!" Magus said to Kess as he inspected the tiny being. "She's young like mine, so she'll make an excellent source for Devlin."

Kess looked to the silver cage where Magus kept his Pixie. She was full-size but stared at him dully. A fading bruise on her cheek told him her master got a little rough during his last treatment. His eyes went to the Pixie in the orb, and he could see the horror in her eyes as she stared at the other Pixie.

Magus' wizard approached and accepted the trap from his master. He smiled at the Pixie inside.

The patriarch returned to his imperious tones. "I want her packaged in a Warrick courier pouch and sent by expedited delivery to Devlin tonight. He's waited too long." The wizard nodded.

Harris frowned. "I thought I'd be delivering the package personally."

Magus shook his head with a scowl. "You've been away too long, and your absence hasn't gone unnoticed. I've been fending off my family's interference as well as threats to my life for the last few weeks. The latest rumor is that the cursed warrior from Grennesh was hired to do the job. I need you here with me!"

"If this fabled Grennesh warrior is on his way, sending me there would let me catch him on the road. I guarantee he wouldn't survive the meeting." Kess was eager to test himself against the man said to wield a magic sword. He was confident he could find his weakness and defeat him.

"No! I haven't had a good night's sleep since you've been away. I want you here. If the warrior does come here, you may dispatch him any way you like," Magus snapped testily, so the assassin nodded.

"I will make the arrangements for the courier pouch. I suggest we include a security detail with it," Kess suggested.

"Fine, fine," Magus said as he turned his attention back to the Pixie in the trap.

"I would keep you for my own if I hadn't already made a deal with Devlin. You are so very lovely," he said softly and smiled as the Pixie shuddered in fear and disgust.

Magus smiled as he knew she had no choice.

Chapter 4

Commander Falco, leader of the Grennesh Guardsmen, had a strained relationship with Dell and Eryllis as both had refused to surrender weapons of significant power. Weapons, which at one time, had been cursed. He was slowly getting past his reservations about the two, partially because neither had abused the power they now wielded. They'd also come to his assistance over the years from time to time.

As a man who valued the rule of law above all else, he'd begun to accept the benefit of having these two allies to assist with maintaining the peace where laws were not respected. To date, he hadn't had any reason to regret asking them to intervene.

As he sat at the table across from Jessa, Dell and Eryllis' youngest, wearing a party hat and singing a birthday song for the two-year-old, he wondered if it wasn't too late to begin regretting.

Kharza grinned at him as the song came to an end. "It's too bad you missed Ket's second birthday two weeks ago. I would have loved to see you participate in the battle cries. You have a good voice!"

Falco smiled weakly at the happy Orc and caught the grin on Karter's face. Once more, the commander wished he'd arrived just an hour later.

Truthfully, he'd been surprised at how large Ket was for a two-year-old, but Kharza proudly explained he got his size from his father. Ket was destined to be a tall and strong Orc.

Finally, the celebrations were complete, and Kharza and Maevria gathered the children and took them upstairs to get them ready for bed. It brought a smile to his face to see an Orc and a Dwarf cooperating so peacefully together.

"Thank you for waiting for our celebrations to complete and thank you for participating!" Eryllis said with glee.

"That's quite all right. I didn't mean to interrupt your family festivities," he replied, and Dell just shook his head with a smile.

"What can we do for you?" he asked.

"I was hoping I might request your assistance dealing with a group of bandits attacking travelers on the trade route from Portoa to Grennesh," the commander asked. "We got a report from a solitary traveler from Portoa who was camping off the side of the route. He witnessed the bandits ambush a wagon from Portoa. He indicated there were roughly ten bandits, and they weren't taking prisoners. After they dragged the wagon and victims off the road, the traveler waited for dark then ran the rest of the way to Grennesh."

Dell frowned. "How far are they from Grennesh?"

"Close by. Approximately two days out," Falco replied.

"Why didn't they rob your witness if he was also coming from Portoa?" Eryllis asked.

Falco shook his head. "We asked him how he got past them, and he said he walked right through the ambush point, and he saw no sign of them. Maybe they didn't think he was worth their while. They must not have seen him dip into the woods to set up camp."

Dell looked at Eryllis, and she smiled at him. "Feel like taking out some bad guys?"

Seeing the big green female return from upstairs, Eryllis looked at Dell. "I think we should bring Kharza this time." She knew her friend was itching for some action.

Kharza's eyes lit up immediately. "What's going on?"

"Bandits on the trade route to Portoa. A bunch of them, and they're killing travelers," Dell explained.

"So we get to fight and kill them?" Kharza asked excitedly, and Dell nodded with a small smile. "Yes!" the Orc cheered.

Falco felt uncomfortable with the Orc's bloodlust. "You could take them prisoner."

Dell gave him an incredulous look. "They aren't going to surrender to us, and you seriously expect us to march prisoners back to Grennesh? We aren't a troop of Grennesh Guardsmen," he scoffed. "They're bandits who are murdering innocent travelers. I think it's best if you leave how we deal with them to us."

Kharza's grin was especially toothy as she envisioned the glorious battle to come.

"Next question, how do we get there quickly to prevent further deaths," Eryllis asked Falco. "Dell's too big for a horse, and I don't like to run," she glanced down at her chest self-consciously, "for reasons. Do you have a wagon we could use?"

"Wagons and horses are too noisy. It'll give away our location," Dell insisted.

Falco suddenly recalled seeing something that might work. After news of the ambush leaked from his headquarters, he'd been summoned to the Warrick estate this afternoon. The gossip network in the city was the fastest communication channel they had.

He'd been taken to see Devlin Warrick himself, and the man had been almost frantic that he send someone to collect a family courier pouch he was waiting on from Portoa. He was worried the bandits might have stolen it. Falco informed the patriarch he'd already planned to send someone to deal with the bandits. He said he'd ask them to collect the pouch too. This seemed to ease the man's mind somewhat.

On his way out, he spotted Devlin's daughter riding in something that would serve Eryllis quite well yet remain silent enough for Dell's purposes.

"I-I have a solution for that. I'll need to collect it from the Warrick estate. They'll loan it to you as they've requested you find a magically sealed family courier pouch. It is coming from Portoa and might have been stolen by the bandits. It's—"

"Red," Dell said automatically, then glanced over to see suspicion flash in the commander's eye. Dell looked guiltily at his father's raised eyebrow. "I saw one before—during my years as a street rat."

Karter rolled his eyes, then looked to Falco. "If you can bring this solution by the inn tomorrow morning, they'll be ready to head out after breakfast."

Falco stood and nodded to Karter, then to the rest before he exited.

He climbed on his horse and headed back to the city. He'd drop by the estate tonight to make the arrangements.

From his meeting with Devlin, Falco was sure the man would agree to his request.

There was desperation in his eyes.

Chapter 5

Dell and Kharza took turns running between the long poles that led back to the two-wheeled cart where Eryllis sat in shaded comfort on a suspended seat. The bumps and ruts on the road were largely isolated from her.

The commander delivered the one-person wagon first thing this morning. Immediately, Dell and Kharza began arguing about which of them would get to pull it. Dell said it was almost effortless for him and Kharza claimed running between the rails helped support her, so it reduced the pounding on her feet. This made running easier for her, and she could keep up with Dell with less effort.

Eryllis was just delighted by how smooth the ride was. She tried to disguise her reasons, but Dell and Kharza traded knowing looks. While Eryllis' large breasts swayed and bounced, it was a gentle motion, so her supporting undergarment didn't have to be worn so tightly. She was very grateful she didn't have to run.

They made phenomenal time and began to worry they might charge through the ambush point. They began pausing at each blind turn to get a visual of the next stretch to see if it could be where the bandits waited to pounce on travelers.

Kharza was the one who spotted the wagon tracks in the distance leading off the trade route. While it might have just been some travelers pulling off to spend the night in the privacy of the woods, there were some suspicious dark spots on the ground at the turn off.

They tucked their small cart in the woods and ventured forward on foot just inside the trees to remain unseen.

Eryllis reached forward with a spell that tapped into the senses of the animal life in the area. This was fairly light, due to the proximity to the road. What she linked up with had been disturbed by recent violence, and the woodland creatures were hiding. She reached out a hand to touch Dell's arm.

"Violent activity ahead and recent," she whispered. Dell and Kharza nodded.

Dell glanced up and saw the sun would be setting soon, so they'd have darkness on their side. If Eryllis detected violence ahead and they knew the bandits weren't taking prisoners, there wasn't much chance of there being survivors to rescue. This meant they could take their time and study their enemy before defining their plan of attack. This was how Kharza had been successful against superior numbers when she hunted the Orc troop that killed her people.

They crept forward until they spotted the first sentry. They confirmed he wasn't in the line of sight of another guard. He was facing the trade route and looked incredibly bored, bordering on being asleep. Dell nodded to Kharza, and she grinned widely for being given the honor of the first kill.

She knew how to move silently through the woods as she'd had plenty of practice. She slipped up behind the man and quickly pulled him to the ground, silently choking the life from him. She propped him against the base of a tree, and it looked like he was catching some sleep.

They moved forward again and heard the camp ahead. Circling around it, moving deeper into the woods, they found no other sentries until they were on the north side of the bandit's hide-out. Again, there was one man, bored and facing the road. Kharza took him down as well.

They inched closer until they could get a read on the targets, the size of the space they'd be fighting in, and Eryllis guided them back to the west side of the camp, and they huddled to speak.

"The two I took out had Grennesh Guard tattoos, but they were old and faded," Kharza offered.

Dell nodded. "Likely retired and looking to make some cash." He looked into Eryllis' eyes. "Can you cast that poison hedge spell around the entire camp? I don't want any to escape into the woods."

Eryllis nodded as she contemplated the scale of the required wall, as the camp seemed quite large. "We're going to be on the inside, yes?"

Dell nodded with a grim expression, and she returned the gesture.

"Okay. What I'll do is launch the spell to create an outer perimeter following the road and the circle we made of the encampment. It will grow inwards until it reaches the clearing of the camp."

Kharza looked from their position to the light they could see through the trees from the fires burning in the site. "That's a very thick hedge!"

"I'll let the outside edge die off to keep it no thicker than a few feet. That will be enough to deter anyone from pushing through the barbs. That and the poison," Eryllis said.

Dell nodded. "I'll start at the north edge and work my way south."

"I'll go from the southern edge and meet you in the middle where Eryllis will be."

She nodded. "Should I extinguish the fires in the camp, too?" she asked.

Dell smiled. "That would be helpful."

She nodded. "When I step into the light, I'll snuff them out."

"Let's go!" Dell said, leaning closer to kiss both ladies, then rushed off to the north as Kharza slipped away, heading to the southern edge.

Eryllis reached for the spell and defined the massive ring of thorns, which suddenly sprung up from the ground behind her and linked to the others to encircle a wide area. As she rushed straight for the camp, she was aware of the sharp and poisonous ring constricting around their target.

So far, so good. She hoped Dell and Kharza didn't encounter any surprises.

-=-

Kharza felt her blood pumping through her heart and rushing through her body as the battle was on!

She burst into the open at the south edge of the camp where their animals were stored. She scowled as there were no targets to fight. She saw the thorn hedge reach the forest's edge and simply stop. She was so impressed with Eryllis' control over magic. While she was still uncomfortable with magic, she'd come to appreciate what it could do... but only when Eryllis was the one casting it.

She grinned as three men surged out of the tent just a few feet ahead. They heard her footfalls as she rushed forward, and weapons were drawn.

Her grin widened as sparring with Dell had honed her skills to their peak, but real battle was a delicious present.

The clang of colliding metal, the deep wet thud of her axe biting deep into her opponent's body before she kicked him free, the whistling sweep of a sword blade passing over her head, leaving her enemy's chest and side open to her hand-ax or her bare knuckles, these were the notes of a song sung to celebrate the intensity of living life to its fullest.

Kharza continued further into the campsite as three bodies cooled behind her. She was already wearing the blood of her victims making her white-tusked grin seem all the more feral.

A huge brute of a man turned to hear her charging forward, and for just a moment, he hesitated. As she closed the distance, she knew he would fall as well as she'd seen hope die in his eyes.

She would show no mercy for those who murdered the innocent.

-=-

Dell burst out of the trees close to the northern edge and found himself facing a group of ten bandits sitting and standing around a campfire, with five more a short distance away. "Shit."

He felt the warrior spirit in the enchanted sword expand within him, and his confidence surged. There was a sudden scramble to unsheathe swords and lift clubs. Dell spotted three men at the back desperately trying to restring their bows.

Then the campfires and torches across the camp suddenly extinguished, dropping everyone into almost complete blackness.

Most of the bandits were Human, already night blind from looking into the bright flames. Their poor night vision doubled their terror as they could hear a long blade slashing through the air and bodies very close by. Only the truncated cries of their companions meeting that deadly steel gave away the position of the big swordsman, but he was moving fast.

Two men desperately swung their heavy clubs and struck each other's skulls.

Dell saw the bandits with better night vision scatter to the edges of camp only to cry out in pain as they encountered the deadly barbs on the hedges.

They were trapped.

-=-

After Eryllis snuffed the light in the camp, she reached out with her senses to identify life around her. There were three in a large tent a short distance ahead. One felt... odd.

Two bandits rushed out of the tent and turned to face her in the dim remaining light. They drew their blades, but before they could run at her, vines erupted from the ground at their feet to coil around them.

They tried to hack at the tough material but were soon wrapped up and screaming as the plants constricted, shattering their bones.

A sputtering fireball burst out of the tent flaps, aimed directly at her head. She increased the power to her fire suppression spell, which popped the orb before it reached her.

The tent's flaps pushed open as a tall man wearing a hooded robe strode out to pass the two crushed bandits. He stopped and shoved his hood back to glare boldly at her.

She saw the slim braids at his temples and his long grey beard with streaks of white in it. Combined with the robe, she assumed she was facing a wizard. His long fingers were adorned with many ornate rings. He was presenting an image of strength, but there was a frailty to his body, so she wasn't sure he had the power to back it up.

"You're working with the bandits?" she asked.

"And you are worthy of being their judge and executioner?" he snapped in return.