An Alliance Born

Toland had assumed this morning that the following evening would have been similar to the routine of evenings he had found himself in as of late, maintaining a campfire and sitting around telling stories, waiting for his turn on patrol before trying to get some sleep. However, nothing could have been farther from the truth. The day had been quite eventful, and the Fury was, for the first time, enjoying a moment of reprieve. There was singing and dancing around a bonfire, and many new faces. The sounds of drums perforated the air, cutting across the camp. We didn't care if the orcs heard us coming from miles away, in fact they way Sethrin was playing the drum, it sounded as much a warning to the black orcs as it did a celebration. It was the first time Toland had seen Sethrin smile. Everyone's spirits were high, be they Fury or others. Most hadn't a reason to celebrate until now, but the Fury had finally found the crusades.

The day began like all the others since Toland gave up his vow of nonviolence, helping dissemble a Yurt followed by hours of walking. After a few notably quiet hours, the Fury came upon a large canyon. There was no mistaking the sounds pouring forth, echoing from wall to wall to the end of the canyon. The black orcs were ahead of them. the Fury readied themselves, knowing what to find, taking a moment of those who didn't travel in armor to put it on and for everyone to draw their weapons. Toland gave his bags to Lilibet, keeping only a small pouch slung over his shoulder, and told Hafnir to get ready to run. They ran up to the front of the Fury's march, and grabbed horns from Sethrin and Brinje. "When you hear the horns, charge" Toland said to those in front.

"And if we don't hear horns?" Sethrin countered.

"Then run faster." Toland returned, running off to scout with Hafnir. They ran for a few minutes before they saw any orcs in the distance. Toland reached into his pack and removed his spyglass, trying to judge the size of the enemy force. There were only a dozen or so orcs near the entrance to some caves on both sides of the canyon. They were screaming and fighting amongst themselves, causing quick a racket. Toland handed the spyglass over to Hafnir, who saw a few more orcs leave the caves.

"We have no idea how many more are in the cave, Major. We should wait for the others." Toland chuckled, knowing that if there were no caves Hafnir may have just charged in and killed them all himself. He was a little reckless at times, but a strong fighter, and he always knew when he was truly overpowered. Toland and Hafnir moved no further, waiting for the rest of the Fury to catch up to them, which didn't take much longer. When they were within charging distance, Toland blew the horn.

The two fighters charged ahead of the unit, ready to wet their blades in orc blood. Hafnir swung his mighty hammer into the heads of two orcs, running right past them to the other side of the caves. A few orcs turned to him, but the rest were focused on the fighting force marching their way. Spears pushing forward between a meager number of shields, running into the enemy, Toland moved forward to avoid being caught in between steel and orc.

He sounded the horn again, as the Fury reached their target and began slaughtering orcs. This time, after he sounded the horn, the ground began to tremble. The wall of the canyon to his back has shaking so terribly that Toland was sure that his horn had moved the earth and began a quake. Unfortunately, he was not so lucky, as orcs began flowing forth from the caves before the Fury. Hafnir, trapped on the other side, began sounding his horn and running, hoping to draw the focus of the orcs while his comrades killed the distracted.

The orcs remained focused on the Fury, ignoring Hafnir completely. This didn't bother the Fury too much, even though they were being pushed back from the sheer number of orcs in front of them, they were stilling killing freely without hesitation. Hafnir knew that if he pressed into the orc line that was distancing him from his unit he would not survive. He moved back, hoping to find a way up to the edge of the canyon where he could throw rocks at the orcs to help in the slaughter.

The unit was being pushed back further and further, and the orcs continued to come forth from the caves. Their numbers were now easily a few hundred and they showed no sign of stopping.

"Press on, we shall not lose to the orcs now, or ever!" Sethrin screamed, rallying the troops.

"Press on, for tonight we feast on boar!" Reimus screamed, leaving Toland to wonder if Reimus had taken one too many blows to the head in his travels.

Hafnir sounded his horn again, nearing the other end of the canyon. He pulled out the spyglass to see how the Fury was doing, a quick check before he started his climb to the top of the canyon. At this moment, he felt a hand placed on his shoulder.

"There's no need to worry, I brought a few friends." The stranger said to Hafnir, nearly in shock from the surprise. He turned to see a man with blonde hair dressed in green, with a stripe of ash over his eye. Behind him was a large force, with the heraldry of Hithdor and the Eryndor Crusade flying high. the Fury had found the crusade, and the crusade could not have found them at a better time. Hafnir sounded his horn once more, charging into the orc lines with the crusade following behind him.

Toland, still caught on a small ledge, trying to kill what orc he could reach with his spear, was still separated from the rest of the Fury by two lines of orcs. He heard Hafnir's horn getting louder, and looked to see hundreds of fighters charging into the orc lines, their shields decorated with the Lifetree. Toland sounded his horn once more and pointed over to the new allies joining the battle. With their unexpected reinforcements and a newfound determination, the Fury pushed forward. The orcs had finally stopped spewing forth from the caves, and the remaining orcs fell quickly to the fighters gathered before them. After the last orc had been slain, Hafnir returned to his unit, followed by the ranger who had approached him earlier.

"You fought well, unafraid the scourge of Maegamarth. My name is Mithris, where were you heading?"

A few in the unit laughed, caught between irony and hope delivered. Sethrin looked at the man standing before him, and after the months of travel and fighting, all he could say was "Funny you should ask".