Noble By Deed - Casting Off Convention - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Damn women got no business out here. Should be sucking my prick or making me dinner."

Christi growled as she overheard the whispered comment from somewhere behind her.

Rochelle gave her a playful punch in the shoulder and advised, "Just ignore them. They're all green. Once you've saved their hides a couple of times, the ones with any sense will get over it. The rest won't last long, anyhow. There are a few that aren't joining in the muttering."

Christi blew out a blast of air from between her lips and responded, "The ones that aren't muttering are just trying to figure out how to get in my pants."

Rochelle laughed. "You are a smart girl. It does get better once you proven yourself, though. I've been there... remember?"

Turning to her, Christi asked, "How long have you been doing this?"

Rochelle answered, "Since I was fifteen. I got lucky and had the opportunity to prove my worth on what should have been a lazy caravan parade. I killed three bandits myself; standing on the board with a merchant who was sitting in a puddle of pee and screaming like a girl. Once we drove them off and got into town, he was busy telling anyone who would listen about how I saved his life. He had a big mouth, and he made my reputation in one day."

"I was sixteen the first time I went out with one of my brothers. There have been a couple of times I've seen trouble, but they've always decided the fight wasn't worth the prize and backed down without attacking," Christi confided.

"Sounds like you'll get a chance to draw your sword on this trip. You do know how to use it, don't you?"

Christi smiled and replied, "I can whip all five of my brothers, and father trained them."

"Good! Don't let me down Crimm. I've got faith in you." Rochelle looked up ahead and said, "Looks like we're about to meet our employer."

The company had just topped a rise, and when Christi looked, she saw a small encampment. A man dressed in fine looking leather armor paced back and forth at the front of the camp, and when he noticed the company approaching, he stopped to face the oncoming group.

Once the company was close, the man stepped forward at a brisk pace and stopped in front of Raptor. "We need to hurry. You trust these men to save my sisters?"

Raptor replied, "And women, I figured that might make you feel a little better about your sister's virtue, if we had some women along. The group is green, but I know some of them by reputation, and the lot of them look solid. They'll get the job done."

The man nodded and addressed the company, "My name is Cordain Garravan. My sisters were passing this way, returning home, and encountered a group of orcs. My sisters escaped into a series of caves, but were followed inside. My older sister can use magic, and thus has been able to hide them near a source of water and contact me. They have been hiding for two days, and my sister grows weak from lack of food. We must find them before she becomes too weary to maintain her magic."

Raptor then addressed the group as well, "You heard him. The caves are just over that hill there, and we're going in. We're going to have a fight right from the start, because the stinking orcs were smart enough to leave at least a couple guarding the cave entrance. Get geared up for battle, because we move in five minutes."

Raptor then moved to confer with Cordain and a pair of his men that he had chosen to keep with him for this job, while the new company adjusted gear to prepare for a fight. A man came around collecting packs, tents, and other items that would provide nothing but encumbrance, to store them in the camp while the company penetrated the caves.

Christi adjusted her sword belt and sheathed daggers one last time, then tightened the straps on the various parts of her leather armor. Rochelle donned a chain mail shirt, and she was shrugging her shoulders to get it to settle properly when the call came to move out.

Upon reaching the top of the hill, Raptor turned and told his new recruits, "There's no way to sneak up, so we're just going to walk right in there." Pointing out three men and his two proven lieutenants, he ordered, "You, you, and you, first in the caves with Cartan and Erris." Turning to Rochelle and Christi, he said, "You two stay close to Cordain. He can use that sword he carries, but you're the insurance for our pay. Keep him safe."

Christi and Rochelle nodded to indicate that they understood, and Raptor instructed the rest of the company, "Once we're inside, stay together and don't try to be a hero. Protect each other's backs, get the job done, and we'll all walk out alive to earn our pay."

A few battle cries erupted from the company and Raptor called, "Move out!"

They moved forward at a brisk pace, and saw one of the orcs just inside the cave entrance as they drew closer. Another appeared for a moment, and then turned to run off into the darkness beyond the range of Christi's vision.

Christi had heard of the creatures, of course, but this was her first time to see one. The orc obviously possessed great strength, evidenced by its muscular form. A dark mop of unkempt hair topped a brutish face that sported long tusks. The creature wore a hodgepodge of cast-off armor, carried an ill-kept woodsman's axe in one hand, and a crude spear in the other.

Raptor ordered, "Shields up and ware."

The warning proved to be quite valid, because as soon as the first men were within the creature's long throwing range, it hurled a spear. One of Raptor's lieutenants caught the weapon on his shield, the loud clang echoing through the valley as the company continued toward the cave. The orc moved back into the darkness of the cave, hoping to utilize its ability to see in low light to good advantage against the human attackers.

That hoped-for advantage proved to be false when the two lieutenants entered the cave, each hurling a globe above his head that hovered and shone noon-bright light throughout the cave. Christi could hear screams of surprise and pain coming from several orcs as the bright light assaulted their eyes.

"That's handy," Rochelle grunted as she and Christi hurried to enter the cave to join the battle that they could already hear underway.

"My magic," Cordain explained, "The bright light will be to our advantage at first, although it may serve as a target later. We will need the light, and better something that may blind our foes as it reveals our location."

The three passed through the curtain of cool air into the cave a moment later, and Cordain leapt into the battle with a growl. Rochelle and Christi hurried to join him, a little surprised that he had jumped into the fray so quickly. Perhaps fifteen of the dangerous orcs lurked in the first large chamber of the cave. Christi could immediately tell that the monsters were trying to flee, now that they realized that they were outnumbered.

Cordain stabbed a creature that managed to successfully defend against two of the other mercenaries, killing it as the two women reached his side. By the time Christi and Rochelle turned to seek other foes, the battle was over. Ten orcs lay dead in the chamber, and the rest had managed to turn and flee. Trails of blood leading into a passage that penetrated deeper into the cave revealed that not all of those that had escaped had done so unharmed.

Raptor called out, "Anybody wounded?"

Grunts and answers in the negative came to the Captain as the men gathered around him.

"Good. That's ten down. Even though the rest will be warned now, they'll be warned that a large, dangerous group is coming toward them. They may just flee, not thinking two females are worth the fight. Any who do remain are going to be cautious, and are going to try to attack from ambush. Check out any side passages carefully, watch out for large rocks, and anywhere one of the damn things could climb. Men with shields to the front, because they'll probably try to use our light as a target for spears."

Raptor walked over to Cordain and asked him, "You have a bearing on your sister?"

Cordain raised an amulet to his forehead for a moment, and then gestured off to the right, deeper under the earth. "That way. There is but one passage, so until we find a branch, we simply follow the only path." "Move out!"

Continued in Chapter 3