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side story [The Tale of the Soup-maker]
appendix [a]
gallery [duma] [dale] [dale 2] [beryl] [ugarit] [ugarit 2] [ugarit 3]

Part Seventy-nine

"He looks like he will cry. Orcs do not cry, only Elves!"

"Not only Elves cry," Ugarit whispered.

"Dale is very good at killing, but he does not like that he is. He does not like doing it. He kills, and then he feels sad for those he has killed."

"It must be Elven," Gorghash grumbled.

"It was not so bad," Duma said. "I did not really think I would like it, but they would have killed us, so it was right to do it."

"You should not have to wonder. Of course it is right. Orcs kill their enemies!"

"Even Marduk-Chieftain thinks it is smart to bargain with other races sometimes. We do not always have to kill. There may be other ways," Ugarit said quietly.

"What is he doing?"

"He must have had soap in his pockets. He is trying to get the blood off his skin and hair."

"He will only get bloody again. There must be more enemies before we reach the Wizard."

"It is not bad to wash the blood away," Ugarit said. She had not carried soap, but she had rubbed snow over her exposed hands and face, despite its cold. "It is good that we are alive and defeated our enemies, but…do we have to be happy about killing?"

"You females are different," Gorghash said sharply. "Why should we not be pleased? We live! Enemies do not! That is good."

"Yes! I would not seek out others just to kill, but if they are enemies and fight against us…well, it does not feel so bad, does it?"

Ugarit gave Duma a shove, but she did not really believe it would hurt him.

Duma hissed. Ugarit had forgotten in her distress that Duma had several recently stitched wounds on his left arm. Maybe he was pleased that the new scars obscured the ones his former master had put on him with his claws, but Ugarit had fought hard to prevent the wounds and felt bad that she had failed to prevent those few. Though…in each case, it would have meant she took a serious wound to protect Duma. Those weird Elves had been very skilled fighters and sometimes they had come between Ugarit and Duma…armor on her right arm would have slowed her too much. She was fortunate to only have bruises, scrapes and a sore wrist; Duma had fought hard to keep her from taking wounds. The wrist was tightly bound now, so that she would be able to use a bow.

"How long do we wait?" Gorghash asked. "Our wounds are patched well enough."

Tsuki and Beryl were still lying unconscious and sickly from poison. Fei was only asleep. Dale was near them, but did not really seem to guard as he compulsively scrubbed his skin.

"We did not bring proper antidote. I think they expected beasts, but did not know the Sea might summon them from so far. The spiders are not native."

"But there were spiders in the pass."

"Yes, but not of the same type."

"Perhaps related in ancient times. In Beryl's stories gods and Elves fought many large spiders…Dale!"

I can wash, if I wish to!"

"Dale, sing to them."

"Sing?"

"Sing?" Gorghash echoed.

"In the stories Beryl tells…"

Dale did not recall Duma listening the time he heard that story, but he believed there may have been occasions that Beryl was up to storytelling that Duma had been present, while he had not. "Someone will hear," Dale whispered.

"Yes, but they know we are about anyway, and we have weapons, and maybe Gorghash will not appreciate Elven song, but we will all be glad if the party is restored and we can continue on."

Dale gave a nod and tried to think of an appropriate song. He did know some, even if he often improvised. He knew a song about asking an older Elf not to depart, but to remain and share their knowledge a while longer. Dale had always thought the lyrics a bit suggestive, almost openly offering that the singer would become a lover if the other stayed, but very many of the songs he had learned properly were love songs.

It was Dale's song that woke Tsuki. When he first became aware, he was yet unable to move his body, but his eyes were open. Dale saw this, continued singing, and improvised lyrics. Tsuki felt his body warm as he listened and slowly movement returned to his limbs.

Fei, Ugarit and Gorghash understood little of Elven, but Duma had been taking lessons, beyond even Fei's studies, and he colored with embarrassment when he heard the improvised lyrics.

To the full-blooded Orcs, the sound was eerie. Not quite ugly or frightening, though many Orcs would have claimed it seemed ugly to them. The sound was haunting and strange to them, like something they knew they should have remembered but truly did not. It put Ugarit near tears to hear it and made Gorghash feel angry.

When Tsuki was able to move about, he found some vials in his pockets and woke Beryl by holding a vaporous substance near his nose. The elf woke quickly, and as soon as he was able, crawled toward the lightness of sunlight near the entrance to the cave they had found, where the drifts of snow were broken by Dale's collecting. "Where are we? How long?" Beryl asked.

Dale was occupied in listening to Tsuki swear he did not mind Dale was soiled with blood, so long as he allowed Tsuki to touch him, so Duma answered. "You and Tsuki were both poisoned, so Dale decided it was better, as you yet lived, to wait until you woke, to continue, so that our party might be stronger and have a better chance against the obstacles ahead."

Gorghash growled, as Duma had answered Beryl in the same language he had spoken, being Elven. Duma blushed again, realizing it. He felt he must prove he was as worthy an Orc as Gorghash. Ugarit did not mind. She had heard Duma speak Elven before, and thought his Orcish had a sort of accent that must have inspired his former master to keep him silent. Elf language did not seem pretty to her, but it did strike her as useful to know. She had made certain to learn a few words, such as 'yes', 'no', 'mine', 'give', 'have' and 'ally', though every Elf said her accent was very poor.

Beryl sat and felt his leg with his fingers. His pants had been sliced where a small gap in the armor had allowed the spider's fang to penetrate, but the wound and pants were covered now in relatively clean bandaging. That was one supply they had suffered the weight of gladly.

"Dale," Beryl called, "we should go, now."

"We should go soon," Tsuki said quietly, near Dale, "allow me a bit of water and one of these cakes."

"Quite right," Beryl answered quickly. He stood, took a few steps and then bent again to prod Fei, so that he woke. "Has everyone had a bit of rest and some water at least? Tsuki is right. Only sensible to keep up our strength…body and mind."

Duma yawned and Gorghash rolled his shoulders. They had not slept.

"Take your medicine with water," Ugarit ordered. "Clean water is suitable for Orcs, and Aladima made this batch very strong." Neither Duma nor Gorghash questioned her order.

Dale glared and extended a hand until Duma passed a flask to him. They were on their feet soon enough, stooped as that was within the cave, with Orc liquor to warm them.

"Lay off. Mine!" Duma said, and snatched back his flask, when Dale took a second gulp from it.

Dale hissed and touched the handle of his whip, but did not take it from his belt.

"Follow now!" Tsuki commanded, and Dale and Duma both went after him, as he left the cave.

"How many years does Dale-Chieftain have?" Ugarit whispered to Duma as they climbed to the road, with Dale and Tsuki now keeping watch at the base of the cliff.

"I think 34 by our reckoning."

"You are certain? Do you wonder if Orc warriors would be that way if they lived so long? Sick of killing, even when skilled at it."

"Orc warriors never live so long. It would be rare even a brew master or forge master would live so long."

"Orcs should have what other races have…but I would welcome early death if life meant madness."

Dale was muttering below them, "What is she thinking? Wearing those pants!"

"I really think it is not length of time that caused that! It's what he spent his time doing!"

"Mapleseed!" Dale laughed, and laughed. It sounded mad.

"None of that, I tell you. No mad fits! I need you! Just hold together a little longer, and then we may go home."

"We will be fighting demons before then."

"I highly doubt there are demons remaining to be summoned."

"Dragons! He'll have summoned dragons!"

"I highly doubt…"

By the time Tsuki was on the road, Beryl had already scouted ahead and returned. "Trolls," he said.

"I highly doubt…" Tsuki began.

"I have seen them."

"More than one?" Tsuki asked.

"Three."

"Three bloody Trolls?" Dale cackled. "Is it not daylight?"

Beryl gave a nod. It was day, but the sky was overcast, as if threatening to snow again. "The Dark Lord was said to breed some Trolls or Troll-like creatures resistant to sunlight…"

"It is true. We faced them in daylight, the Dark Lord had darkened the sky, but not so much that it blocked the sun entirely. They were at least resistant, if not entirely able to move in daylight, as the Westerner Orcs," Tsuki said authoritatively.

"Yes, but as I was saying, these do not have the look of those we faced in the war. They are quite average Trolls."

"Three average Trolls. No problem. Tsuki must be able to work a spell to draw the sun down on them, and even if not. They are Trolls. I could take one on my own with a whip and a sword."

"You are welcome to it, then," Beryl said. "They have been positioned by some intelligence. The rock rises either side the road and the space is narrow. They are armed with spiked maces. They may be stupid and slow compared to Elves, but they can kill with a single blow."

"I do not think I have ever been near a Troll," Ugarit whispered, "Is that what I smell there?" She tossed her head toward the upward slope of the road.

"We tamed Trolls," Duma said, "but I do not know how it was done. Probably similar to taming Wolves or making Men and Dwarf slaves to labor."

"If the Wizard controls them, we will not be able to tame one," Gorghash insisted. "aim for the head, and move fast when it swings its club."

"Bows!" Dale called. "Listen, Tsuki's magic is powerful, but he is better with some spells than others. He will drawn down the Sun, but if it does not stop the Trolls entirely, their blind swings will be about as dangerous as aimed ones. I will draw their attention, all of you, use bows. Fei, take mine."

"I am not very good with this weapon," Fei said, even as he took Dale's bow.

"Just aim high. I can dodge arrows as well as maces. Beryl, if you see one looks weak enough, finish it with spears, but let me get in close otherwise."

"They kill in one blow," Duma warned.

Dale laughed. "If I die, Beryl can draw fire from all the Dragons and Demons."

"I highly doubt there will be Demons," Tsuki announced, as he was mixing spell ingredients into a piece of oilcloth.

"Ugarit," Dale hissed, "If the spell works, it may effect Duma. Drag him out of the way, if he falls."

"It should only effect the Trolls this time," Tsuki said. He was trying to convince himself he could work the spell. It was something he had created with Laurel, but her aptitudes made her the better choice in caster. If he believed and set his will, then it would work, but setting his will was proving a challenge.

"Ready?" Dale asked.

"Three moments."

"All right! No heroics! Plenty of time for you to be a hero when we get to the Wizard. Work the spell and then move out of the way and use your bow. Do not come in after me." Dale turned his head to look at Tsuki directly. "Even if I fall."

"Do not fall," Tsuki said simply.

Dale saw that Tsuki was ready and gave a nod. The two climbed the slope and shortly came within sight of the Trolls. They were large hulking creatures, at least twice the height of an Elf, with tough skin and blunt features. These were clothed in primitive garments made of loose-woven cloth and animal pelts and carried, as Beryl had described, heavy, spiked maces, which they had ample strength to wield.

Dale put himself between Tsuki and the Trolls. They did not approach, but clearly gave attention and made bellowing taunts. Dale held his sword in his right hand and his whip in the left. He was not quite as skilled with the whip left-handed, but he intended to use it mainly in distraction.

Tsuki focused his concentration. He lifted his staff, tossed the powdered spell components into the air, gave his staff the appropriate wave, and incanted loudly.

"Loose arrows!" Beryl called.

The sky seemed to clear. One Troll raised it's arms and went still, those with sharpest vision could see its skin seemed to grey. Another Troll seemed to stagger and swing blindly. The third seemed unaffected by magics and now charged at Dale.

Tsuki tore his gaze from the charging Troll and ran to the others, where they had placed themselves at the point where the road began to narrow through the gap. He took up his bow before turning back toward the Trolls and took a position between Fei and Gorghash.

Though Tsuki had missed seeing it, Dale had dodged the charge and the following back-handed swing of the mace. He ran around the Troll again, seeking to draw its attention from the archers and snapped the end of his whip at its ear.

The arrows flew at the Trolls and several struck. "Again!" Beryl called.

Dale made a shallow slice in the Troll's ankle, skidded between its tall, thick legs, dodged the mace of the blind-struck Troll and then circled about again for another pass, screaming wordlessly all the while.

"Good shot, Duma! Again! We need a few more like that!"

"Aim for the eyes or the back of the neck," Tsuki told the others.

Several more volleys flew, and the Troll that had seemed most unaffected by the spell now had the greatest amount of injuries and its head was stuck full of arrows. Dale called for Beryl to stay back and then juggled the sword and whip from hand to hand. He took a running start, leapt to the Troll's knee, snapped the whip such that it secured about the Troll's neck, swung, and drove his sword into the flesh beneath the Troll's jaw.

The Troll fell, and though he was not trapped beneath its bulk, Dale fell also and struck the ground hard. He did not appear to move. "Loose arrows!" Beryl called loudly, and took his spears from his back.

Beryl then ran into the narrow passage and threw the stabbing-head spear at the blinded Troll, which was roaring and swinging its mace. "Elves! I can smell you!"

The spear struck, but was soon worked out of the Troll's gut as it moved. Beryl brought up his slashing spear and advanced on the Troll.

Dale lifted his head cautiously, then seeing the Troll was not too close, quickly got on his feet. The whip was caught about the dead Troll's neck, and so Dale drew his second sword and rushed to aid Beryl.

"Keep shooting!" Tsuki ordered, "Beryl and Dale wear armor. Loose arrows!"

The blind Troll swung, and though Beryl and Dale both dodged, its mace caught Beryl's spear and broke it against the rocks.

"Get back!" Dale yelled. He leaned into his sword heavily in effort to slice the skin behind the Troll's knee, and then danced away again.

Duma's arrow struck the Troll in it's right eye, and though already blinded, the sinking of the arrow into the chamber behind the socket caused the Troll to seize and topple.

"You really are good!" Ugarit cried out.

"Lena drilled me constantly, when we were together."

Gorghash laughed harshly.

Duma colored slightly and smirked. In Orc slang too, a same sounding word was used for repeated practice and for a tool that bore a hole or the motion of the tool, and anything remotely related to seed planting related to breeding and was therefore of interest and a source for determining who was dominant or submissive among Orcs.

"Orcs!" Ugarit said in the best imitation of Elf accent she could manage, meaning she thought the males near her foul.

"Red-blood!"

Ugarit shrieked and lashed out with claws for Gorghash's face.

"Orcs!" Tsuki called. "You Orcs mind your orders!"

There was yet a Troll alive. It was stuck, partially covered in a stone-like crust, but not fully transfigured. It stood in the middle of the narrow gap, and still had use on one arm: the one that held the mace.

"Just shoot it!" Dale suggested, loudly.

"We do not know what we may face afterward. Perhaps we should reserve arrows?" Tsuki asked.

"We do not know that what we face next will be killed with arrows, but the Troll will be."

"Arrows!" Beryl commanded.

The arrows flew, and the Troll sagged, but partially stone, did not fall.

"Is it dead?" Duma whispered.

"Best run quickly in case it has a breath left," Beryl suggested.

They moved quickly past the Troll, and all came out safely on the other side of the narrows. The only large differences were that Beryl had lost a spear, they were low on arrows now, and that Dale, who had previously stayed at the front of the party, now walked at the rear, leaning on Fei and sipping water from a skin. He had recovered his whip, and had not re-coiled it to hang on his belt, but flicked its tail at rocks as he walked.

To account for Dale's absence from Beryl's side, Duma took his place, with Ugarit and Gorghash close behind him. Thus anything coming down the slope had to go through Beryl and the Orcs to reach Tsuki, and Fei and Dale watched his back.

They climbed for some time, up a particularly steep length of road, and had mixed feelings of anticipation and relief every moment they were not yet ambushed.

Ugarit called for a halt and announced that she had heard a suspicious sound from the road ahead.

The party listened. Duma said he also heard something, but he did not know what the sound was, and that it could possibly have been wind on rocks. Beryl pointed out the shifting cloud cover and said a wind had come up, they could all feel it, and that it would soon snow again.

They were agreed to continue on, but as they climbed, and snow began to fall, this sound was heard more clearly, and seemed to draw closer, even when they stopped to listen.

"It may be a sound made by some fell beast," Beryl called softly to the others. "Let us move cautiously."

The party shifted position to travel single file, with Beryl again in the lead and Dale guarding the rear. Beryl led them cautiously up the slope, sometimes gesturing for the others to move to the left or the right, to keep them out of line of sight with any creature that may be above.

"Shields!" Beryl called, when he saw the beasts. He could see three serpentine heads and necks seeking him in the snow. They seemed alike to beasts he had seen before, but not exactly the same as any he had seen before.

Fei and Gorghash were equipped with shields and rushed up the slope to join Beryl, as the others remained behind them. Fei saw the beasts and recognized them. "Are they Dragons?" Gorghash barked.

"Not 'Dragons' as written of in the west, but they may be termed 'cousins' to them in a scholar's bestiary. They are creatures of the east, which we know as 'Lung', which is often rendered 'Dragon' in translation, though the creatures are dissimilar."

"I will only think you smart if you know how to kill them!" Gorghash said loudly.

"We are fortunate to have such a scholar among us," Beryl said plainly, "and any information may be useful to us."

"These in particular are Water Dragons. They do not fly or belch fire, but they can move quickly on land as well as in water and have tough skin and powerful bodies. Their teeth and claws are long and sharp and the humors within their bodies, valued by those who work The Art, are caustic to Men."

"There are more behind!" Gorghash cried out.

"Seven," Beryl said slowly, "that does make it one-to-one odds."

A great, horned head lunged toward them. Beryl spun his remaining spear and drove the sword tip into the gaping jaw and drove it with all his strength into the roof of the beast's mouth. It did not kill the serpent, though it would have mortally wounded a fire-breather, if not killed it and Beryl both. The Water Dragon writhed, breaking the spear shaft, though the blade remained imbedded in its snout. The blood flowed over its jaw and melted the snow as it colored it deep red.

"We will not get through this, unless you allow me to risk myself," Tsuki said.

Dale gave a nod.

"I believe fire will wound them. We will have to use up all the lanterns and oil along with some of my supplies to be effective. All of you, hand over any lamps and oil you possess! It seems Elven blades are sharp enough to wound them, if you find a vulnerable spot. Buy me but a few moments and I may be able to defeat several at once."

They had traveled light, so there were only a few small lanterns and lamps to be found, but these were given over to Tsuki. As soon as they had surrendered the supplies to Tsuki, the others scattered, but for Dale, who remained to guard Tsuki long enough for him to complete his work.

The Water Dragons were terrible foes and those who had spread apart to face them had difficulty dealing them injury. Armor did not seem a large help, as the thrashing of the injured one among the Dragons had knocked several off their feet already, and they were certain that a purposeful movement could dash any one of them against the rocks along the road.

Another danger soon became evident, as Gorghash was trapped by a serpentine body as one of the Dragons coiled about him. "Duma, help. Gorghash is trapped," Ugarit called. Duma heard, but the both of them were fighting not to be bitten or trapped themselves. Ugarit ran to the coiled Dragon and stabbed at its flesh, but her knives, though they penetrated, drew no blood. The skin truly was thick.

"I do not know this creature, but if it is like a serpent…we cannot free Gorghash that way! Ugarit! Attack the head."

"The head," she growled. One of these Dragons might bite her head from her body.

"They must die in any case, and maybe if we kill it, Gorghash can be freed," Duma called.

"We cannot do it with knives!"

Ugarit heard no answer from Duma, who was hidden by the Dragon's body, but she saw him then, atop the Water Dragon's body, running toward the tightly coiled tail. She did not know how he had done it, but he was half Elf.

"Gorghash, give me your sword!" Duma called to him.

The head followed Duma toward the tail and Duma rolled to the ground to escape its jaws.

"Gorghash! We need a sword to free you! Do you live? Throw out your sword!" Ugarit screamed.

Gorghash was unable to help, as the Dragon seemed not only able to coil it's body but to change its size, so that the long torso thickened and pressed in on Gorghash, until he found it hard to draw breath.

Duma saw Fei running past him, fending off fangs with his sword as another head trailed him. "Fei! If you are fast…try leading the head to snap its jaws on another dragon's body!"

Tsuki had finished his work then and ran with Dale to give aid to their companions. He had fashioned several crude explosive devices and threw these toward the Dragons and was shocked that the Dragons opened their mouths to swallow the devices. For a moment, Tsuki feared the small bombs would not properly explode within the innards, but half a moment later fire and Dragon gore was raining down over the area.

Some of the blood fell on Dale's hair and burned it; he was then so angered that he ran his sword into another Dragon's neck.

"I need a sword!" Duma called. He was on the back of the coiled Dragon.
Dale tossed Duma his sword and drew his second.

Duma rushed to the Dragon's head and drove the sword into the neck as heard as he could, then leapt from the Dragon's back and drew the sword down with all his weight, nearly decapitating the beast.

Two dragons remained then. Beryl had finished off the first, Tsuki's bombs had killed two and Dale and Duma had each mortally wounded another. One of the dragons that remained had burns on its body and thrashed about in pain, making it deadly to approach.

Fei managed to lead the other to bite its own tail, which left it distracted enough for Tsuki to approach and take its head with his swords.

"There are jewels inside it!" Duma called. Several round, polished gems had spilled from the neck of the Dragon he had slain.

"Curse you, help me pull Gorghash free!" Ugarit called.

Duma climbed up onto the and gave Ugarit aid in attempting to pull Gorghash from the coiled body.

Tsuki and Dale approached the writhing Dragon together and took its head. They had won.

Gorghash coughed blood onto Ugarit's shoulder as she and Duma drew him up from the Dragon's coils. Ugarit gasped. "Look at his armor," Duma whispered.

"I am well enough. Point me at one of the Dragons. I will defeat it!"

"They are all gone," Ugarit said quietly.

Gorghash collapsed atop the Dragon's back, with Duma and Ugarit crouched nearby.

Dale gave Tsuki a boost and they both came up onto the Dragon to look at Gorghash. He was drooling blood and breathing shallow. His eyes rolled to the corners to look at Dale, and then Tsuki.

"You need patching up," Ugarit said.

"The Dragon crushed him!" Duma said loudly. "Look at him!"

"Orcs are strong."

"I do not need to remove the armor to know his ribs have broken and pressed into his lungs."

"Then do a surgery!" Ugarit insisted.

"It is beyond my skill."

A wet sound came from Gorghash's throat and he reached for Duma. Duma knew that Gorghash wanted to die.

"Don't do it!" Dale yelled, just as Duma drew a knife.

It was not Dale that stopped him, but Ugarit's hand. She held Duma's wrist and slit Gorghash's throat with her own knife. He died quickly and Ugarit howled and wailed over the body.