One of the Keep men caught up the brute’sclub and with a wild yell, brought it down on the back of its head. The orc shuddered, then lay still, its hair and jerkin smoldering.
“Look out, Blor!” Jerdren yelled.
M’Baddah pulled Eddis aside as another orc charged across theopen at a dead run, a mace clutched in its hand. The outlander spun away from an overhand blow at the last moment. Eddis pivoted the other direction, letting the orc’s charge send it hurtling past her. Her sword sliced through the air anddown, biting deep into the backs of its unarmored knees, severing tendons. The brute shrieked and collapsed on its back, one arm and the mace under it. Eddis reversed her grip quickly and brought the sword down two-handed, burying the blade in its throat, leaping back as blood pulsed high. It slowed almost at once.
Across the fire pit, Jerdren was fighting back one monster with slashing two-handed swings of a club. Blor was still on his feet, but she couldn’t make out anything else. A wordless shout of warning from M’Baddahbrought her back around as he brought his curved sword down in a hard, overhand arc across the nape of a fallen orc. Two of the creatures still stood, but neither was moving well, and both were bleeding copiously. Two others came from the trees, but they weren’t running. Getting wary, she thought. They should.There were six of the brutes down and dead that she could see, and one of her people in trouble, so far as she could tell.
One of the two newcomers went after M’Baddah, who had fallenback with two of the spearmen. The other orc brought up its short sword and charged her.
She stood her ground until the last possible moment-nearlytoo late. Its shield clipped her left shoulder hard, and her arm went numb. She pivoted, but already off balance, she went to one knee, lashing out with the sword as the monster passed her. More by luck than intent, the blade slammed into its ankle just above a huge, filthy foot and rebounded, nearly flying out of her hand. Bellowing in rage and pain, the orc came about, sword slashing wildly as it tried to hit her. Eddis fought her way back to her feet and backed out of reach as the orc tried to come after her. The wounded leg wouldn’tsupport it, and it went down but fought its way back up again. Eddis glanced over her shoulder to make certain she wasn’t heading into the arms of anotherorc, then backed up, yelling as she went.
“Someone with a spear-finish him!”
“Arrow!” one of the Keep men shouted back, and she dropped toone knee, flinching as a bowstring twanged from somewhere close behind her. The arrow, unfortunately, merely creased the orc’s skull, but a half-breath later,one of M’Baddah’s deadly steel sh’kuris sang across the clearing and burieditself in the orc’s throat. The creature sagged, wavered, and finally fell over.
“Eddis!” Jerdren’s bellow cut through the howls of furious orwounded orcs. “They’re running!”
“Got it!” she shouted back. Apparently the orcs had hadenough. Those who could still move were beginning to back away, leaving their wounded. When they reached the woods, they simply turned and fled. She turned to see two others running from Jerdren and Blorys. The only orcs over there were four wounded and three more dead.
She kept her sword at the ready and moved around the north perimeter of the camp as M’Baddah called out, “We’re clear here, my son!”
“Coming!” M’Whan shouted back. He sounded short of breath,and looked it when he and the Keep man came into camp a moment later. “They’regone, father, across the road and still running. But one of them thought he’dclimb into the tree with us, just now.”
“What were you doing in a tree?” Jerdren wanted to know.
The youth shrugged.
“We hadn’t much choice. One minute we two were alone outthere, getting wood, and the next they were between us and camp. We got up high enough that the branches wouldn’t have held their weight.”
“Thanks to you, I’ll have that story to tell, lad,” the Keepman said. “Boy pulled me right up there with him, and me half again his size.”
M’Whan shrugged that aside, but his color was high as he wentto help his father pull dead orcs from the camp.
Jerdren looked around, then raised his voice. “What damage,people?” he asked.
“A few ugly cuts and bruises on our side, and not muchworse,” Eddis said. “M’Baddah, we can use you here, dressing cuts! Anyone who’snot badly injured, help drag those brutes out of here.”
“Search ’em first,” Jerdren called out, as he looked up froman examination of one of the dead orcs hear the fire. “Remember what we foundlast night!”
“Orcs,” Eddis muttered with distaste. She wasn’t ready tosearch through one of those greasy leather jerkins. Fortunately, no one else seemed to share her feelings. She sheathed her sword and winced. Her left arm was beginning to ache in earnest where that shield had slammed into it.
Jerdren came up moments later, grinning cheerfully, a heavy purse swinging from his left hand.
“Well!” he said cheerfully. “There’s one way to wake up thecompany, right, Eddis?”
“It’s hard on the porridge,” she replied dryly. “Why don’tyou get that pig out of the fire pit? The fire’s going out, and the last watchhasn’t eaten yet.”
He tossed her the purse and bent to drag the smoking orc away. Eddis gazed at the bag with mixed feelings. It was heavy, but it was also soaked with blood. She dropped it on the ground and rolled it in the dirt and left it there for the moment. She clapped her hands together to get the men’sattention. Her arm throbbed in protest.
“Anyone who’s hurt, even a scratch, you know which of us hashealing potions! Poisoned blades, remember? A dirty sword cut can kill you just as dead or cost you an arm! Those of you who haven’t eaten, do that now! Rest ofyou, let’s finish searching the dead brutes and get the bodies out of camp, andas for any orcs still alive-well, you know what to do. Let’s get it done!”
She turned to look for Jerdren. “Jers, do we have someone onguard?”
He nodded.
“Good. I’ll help M’Baddah clean wounds. You finish searchingthose creatures, if you don’t mind.”
“Didn’t realize you were squeamish, Eddis,” her co-captainsaid. His glance flicked toward the filthy pouch under her toe.
“I’m not. I’m being practical. It’s poorly tanned hide, andnow it’s soggy with orc blood. You put that in your pack, and the whole thing’llsmell like rotting meat in a day or so. I’m letting the worst of the mess soakinto the dirt before I pour out whatever’s in there and count it, if you don’tmind.”
“Oh.” He blinked. “Didn’t think of that.”
“No, you were thinking of gold and gems. Remind the othermen, will you?”
“Good point.” He turned away as Mead came back into camp.“What’s still out there?” he asked.
“They are gone,” the elf mage said. “Still running, as far asI can tell, but at this hour I have only charms to assure me of that.” He pulledhis book of spells from its leather shoulder bag.
“That’s good enough,” Eddis said. “You’re exempt fromcleanup, of course. You’ve got your own important task.”
He merely nodded and settled close to the fire on his blankets once again, book open.
Blorys had come in and was watching her, she realized. “Letme worry about cleaning cuts, Eddis. Your arm is hanging limp, and I can see the pain in your face whenever you move it. Go, get M’Baddah to fix you up.”
She nodded and he smiled suddenly. “You paid attention towhat I told you back in the Keep, didn’t you? I just happened to turn when youtook down that last monster, and when you could see he was still a threat, you didn’t try to finish the job yourself. Sensible swordswoman, that’s you.”
Eddis could feel her face redden. “Sensible swordswomanwouldn’t be out here, fighting nasty creatures twice her size. But thank you.”
“Of course. Stay sensible, swordswoman. Get M’Baddah to tendto that arm, will you?”
She nodded and watched him walk over to help Jerdren pull the dead orc from the fire pit. His words warmed her. Sensible, hah, she thought. Well, see you stay that way, Eddis. Because by this time tomorrow any of you- including Blorys-could be very dead. A wise swordswoman would think of anyfighting companion as sword-fellow and friend, but nothing more.
