El-Vador's Travels (53 page)

H
is steps were measured and
controlled, even as his pace was not. The hot lash of his own
insistence hounded him onward at speeds he could only imagine
previously, and from memory he knew the destination long before he
arrived.

The storm had long since passed, outdistanced by a speed
that even the fastest of his mounts could not have matched. He drew
on the energies that were provided him greedily, revelling in this
new-found capability and devouring the miles his feet had already
wearily trodden prior to this.

Even in the sweltering heat he felt nothing awry, the
energies cooling him in his clanking armour and soothing his every
joint from the impact upon his booted feet. They would bow to his
wishes or they would suffer, the necessity of consequence brooked no
argument.

Finally he stopped, the burrow was before him, a less
conspicuous design that hearkened back to the heartlands wherein the
Orcish council resided in towers. He had no need for such a force, to
acquire sufficient underlings did not take an army, merely a select
horde from the outskirts.

He removed his helm and hailed the first of the guard,
bidding entrance to the burrow and the ear of the authority within.

'You are the human.' the guard stated, clearly
recognising both the armour and the face. 'Bring you tidings from
Harg's burrow?'

So they hadn't heard then. A pang of loss hit him square
in the chest at hearing his adopted father's name, but he refused to
let it show on his face lest the guard grow suspicious. 'Of a sort,
yes. I cannot divulge the information to anyone but the chief
within.'

This seemed to satisfy the guard, who let Salvarius into
the burrow with a grunt of acknowledgement and nothing more.
Salvarius knew that this nonchalance was largely an act, receiving a
high-ranking official from another burrow with news was a cause for
commotion. He had no doubt that messengers were already running
through the corridors of the burrow to alert the chief of his
arrival.

It was strange to be kept waiting on the surface, the
aesthetics of the place were similar to the other burrow but somehow
were lacking in ways he couldn't describe.

Finally and without any great ceremony, two guards
appeared from deeper within the burrow and led him down to greet the
chief.

It was not the first time that Salvarius had seen the
great corpulent creature, a rotund and devious
Orc
by the name of Uglag. A more disgusting example of why Orcs should be
hunted into extinction did not exist in the man's mind.

'Salvarius!' he bellowed as he turned in his
specially-made throne and affixed him with his squinty eyes. 'What
tidings bring you from the border?'

He ignored the intentional double meaning of the
question. Uglag wanted to know why it was Salvarius who had come and
not a simple messenger, he wasn't going to get a reason why.

He felt the power well up within him, and perhaps in his
own way the Orcish chieftain sensed it too, but before he could call
for his guards to attack it was too late. It may not have been the
vessel that the voices wanted, but it would suffice for their
ambitions thus far.

The piggish eyes of the chieftain glazed over, but his
guards didn't catch the transformation. His voice was his own when he
spoke, down to the very inflection of gluttonous pleasure. 'Well?
What news have you then? Speak man!'

Salvarius offered the possessed Orc a smile and a
deferential bow to keep up appearances. 'Harg has need of your
forces, a new threat has arisen that our combined armies need deal
with.'

Uglag waved away his guards, at any mention of war or
combat it was important that the leader and messenger speak in
confidence, so that the guards did not spread rumour of discord with
their less than idle tongues.

'We have taken control of this one's body.' the voices
said, sounding strange coming out of Uglag's throat. 'We shall
convince enough forces from this burrow to join your cause, from
there you can explain our greater plans to them and they shall
deliver the message for you.'

Salvarius nodded in assent. Two of the voice's plans had
been completed by providing it with a conduit and an army, now all
that remained was for the death of the Elf.

'You are mistaken.' the voices replied to his thought,
now firmly within his head rather than vocalised. 'this Orc is
insufficient, you must find and capture the one we require.'

There was a shimmering light then that engulfed the form
of the Orc, blinding Salvarius with its blaze and causing him to
recoil.

'I am Mina.' the figure said as the light receded. 'I am
sworn by the voices to aid you in finding my twin.'

Sight slowly returned to his eyes, and he found himself
staring at a pair of gossamer-thin wings.

Few allies have I had in any age, my powers do not lend themselves
to friendships. People of all races come and go like the washing
tides, lapping occasionally against me before departing as nature
dictates.

W
hen El-Vador at last opened his
eyes it was to the sight of booted feet. He shot up into a couch and
drew his blade, which in turn elicited a familiar chuckle from the
man who had disturbed his sleep.

'A most impressive display of power you put on in
cleansing this cave for your rest. A little over-exuberant for my
tastes, as it screams for miles of your location and can attract all
kinds of unwanted attention.'

'What do you want from me, Anacletus?' El-Vador asked,
weary already of the man's smoke-ridden presence. He looked briefly
to the side, wondering why Aliana hadn't warned him of an incoming
presence as she maintained watch. The sleeping sounds of the Pixie in
spite of the assassin's arrival informed him of an enforced
unconsciousness of some kind.

'With your actions you have caused a prominent shift in
the balance for power, leaving many to wonder what it was that
motivated you to do so.' Anacletus said.

'And are you here as their spokesperson?' El-Vador shot
back, knowing better than to trust this snake's words.

Anacletus raised his palms in a gesture of peace. 'I am
not here officially as a spokesperson or arbiter of any sort, I
merely feel that our mutual cooperation with those who oppose the
Brotherhood may benefit you as much as it does me.'

El-Vador stared at him suspiciously. 'When last we spoke
you suggested that we may well be enemies upon our next meeting. Why
would you seek to cooperate with me now?'

'The question on the proverbial lips of those in
attendance was whether you would control the Brotherhood or destroy
it. I knew not whether you would resists the temptations of such a
command, think of how quickly you could have destroyed the Orcs had
you a Brother to send to every burrow.'

El-Vador nodded in acknowledgement of the possibility he
had chosen not to undertake. 'Instead I destroyed the Brotherhood,
because vengeance in my name by another hand is not my vengeance.'

Anacletus traded nods at this assessment. 'Precisely,
you are much more personal with your killing than that. Even the
trappings of the Brotherhood held no great allure for you in the end.
By destroying their sanctuary you have shifted the balance of power
in favour of the forces I now represent.'

He sat down on the floor of the cave then, palms still
outward and legs crossed as if making himself comfortable. 'It will
not be long until they come into this world, Elf. You had best pick a
side, and from your actions I would suggest throwing in your lot with
me, the remnants of the very Brotherhood you destroyed will be hard
to convince.'

'What is it that you offer me?' El-Vador replied, musing
over the situation but keeping his blade trained on the assassin.

'My first task is to exterminate the Orcish race from
this land. I feel this may be of interest to you.'

El-Vador found himself agreeing, those were words he
could get behind. The man had been wronged unbearably in the service
of Sarvacts, he had a legitimate grudge against Orcs as a result.

'My second task is to keep your friend safe from
apprehension.'

Aliana continued to lie upon the cave floor beside them,
sleeping peacefully as if Anacletus had not made a sound.

'Why do you care about the welfare of the Pixie?'

'I could ask you the same question, Elf.'

That stopped him cold. He owed her a debt, that was what
he was going to tell Anacletus, but something stirred in him that
suggested this wasn't the reason he stayed.

'Yes, you enjoy the thought of a companion, inextricably
bound through mutual experiences. It is that, and the debt you owe
her, that our opposition from the Brotherhood looks to use against
you. If they manage to do so then their remaining forces from the
ether will return to kill us both.'

El-Vador offered him a crooked smile. 'That sounds more
like the Anacletus I remember. You care not for prophecy or the
undercurrents of powers or even the people before you beyond saving
your own hide.'

'And you, Elf, care nothing for anyone beyond your own
vengeance, which is why you have never returned to the mountains from
whence you came.'

The naked truth of the man's words struck home harder
than any steel could. He was right, after all this time El-Vador had
never thought of returning to the mountains to find out if any of his
people had survived the Orcish occupation. The thought had lingered
in his head ever since Sarvacts had planted it there, but he had
always pushed forward, always moved on. The possibility that his race
was extinct had only briefly been considered when he had spoken to
Chlodochar in the Brotherhood sanctuary, even then he hadn't truly
believed it.

'Fight with me, Elf. Destroy the Orcs and sate your
needs whilst also saving a world from much greater harm.'

'What's stopping the Brotherhood from simply finding
their way back without seeking to kill me?'

It was Anacletus's turn to smile. 'They are locked in a
constant struggle with the forces beyond the ether, they will not
leave that struggle for anything but a certain goal. To use and
absorb the powers of those trained by the Brotherhood to further
their cause is the only goal worth returning to this plane for.'

El-Vador remained silent throughout, making sure that
the assassin had done everything in his power to convince him before
finally speaking. At least he understood why Anacletus wanted to keep
them both from the clutches of the Brotherhood.

'What's stopping you from sticking a dagger into my back
once you have used me for your purposes? That way neither the
Brotherhood nor my powers can threaten you or your overlords.'

Anacletus let out a laugh. 'You are as mistrustful as I
am, El-Vador of the mountains. I like that quality, but sometimes you
are offered a choice between certain death and a potential death. I
will not reveal every machination to you, and you are free to attempt
your slaying of the Orcs alone as it is still to my benefit. I merely
offer you a compromise that will protect you from those that stalk
you beyond the ether.'

'What of the Pixie?' El-Vador replied. 'Will you not
also have to convince her? She may have no love for the Orcish race
but you would be hard pressed to merit slaughtering them all to her.'

'I don't have to convince a sleeping burden of anything,
El-Vador. This Pixie that you speak of will not wake for some time, I
assure you.'

He knew he couldn't force the assassin to relinquish
whatever hold he had on Aliana without first conforming to his
wishes, and since they fell in line with his own desires it was a
sacrifice of another's freedom that he was willing to make.

'You have a deal, assassin. Take us to the Orcs and we
shall begin the purging.'

Aliana slept on, entirely oblivious to the ones who
stalked her from beyond and the pact that had just been formed
against them.

None
would accuse me of having an innocent heart, but my time under the
enslavement of the Orcs has given me an empathy toward any who suffer
the same plight.

C
oncealed
in darkness, El-Vador and Anacletus watched the Orcish caravan
beneath them. 'Observe their supply lines, Elf. Their outlying
burrows are dependent upon them, lacking the facilities to produce
the food on their own.'

El-Vador
said nothing, he didn't ask why Anacletus knew of the workings of the
burrows so well. The man had previously infiltrated one and had
undoubtedly scouted it out, making him more informed of the Orcs than
any other human alive save Salvarius. He knew of the assassin's
hatred of the Orcs and it was one of the few things that he respected
in this world.

His
keen eyes easily pierced through the smoke that concealed them, he
didn't ask how the dark cloud had returned to the assassin, but it
was undeniably useful that it had. The caravan beneath had no idea
what was about to befall them.

An
Orcish Champion rode on a huge war horse at the head of the
procession, presumably a strong deterrent to any bandits on their
route. These caravans were both much larger and more formidably
guarded than the ones he had previously assaulted. Then again he
hadn't the control over his powers that he now possessed, or the
likes of Anacletus by his side.