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After rescuing a group of elves, Dean liked to spend at least a week letting them thank him. Besides, Dean couldn't very well leave a group of bruised and battered elves alone. That was a point he often insisted on.

Dean spent the next few hours putting out the rest of the fires and helping the villagers repair walls and cover roofs. The mage acolytes from the Songstone Clan didn't intend to leave without the two of them, which didn't surprise Dean. They'd want to thank him as well, and Dean wasn't so cruel that he'd deny them their chance.

With a few earth mage acolytes from the Songstone Clan, repairs went quickly and easily.

Sam had recently started trying to learn some of the elvish enchantment script. He hadn't quite figured it out yet but he was able to put together a few magical beacons that would light up whenever they were crossed. That would at least give the villagers a bit of forewarning if anyone was approaching their settlement so they could take a look for themselves.

By the end of the day, the village was in better shape than it was in before it was attacked. The elves were very thankful and renewed their oaths of loyalty to the Songstone Clan, though the way they looked at Dean specifically suggested they would be more loyal to him than than anyone else.

The villagers insisted on pampering their saviors for a night. Sam tried to talk his way free but Dean was quick to accept. The Songstone mage acolytes camped outside the village and by morning Sam noted that there were twenty more Songstone clanswomen in addition to the ones they'd saved.

"If you're here for the orcs, you missed them." Sam chuckled. He'd spent the night interviewing the green-skinned prisoner they'd captured. Sam had getting anything out of her to be difficult, but she'd seemed almost eager to please him. He'd learned her kind were called orcs.

"Oh... uh... we're here to... secure the area." The Songstone Clanswoman said awkwardly. She shifted from foot to foot and wouldn't meet Sam's gaze.

Sam chuckled again. He knew these guards weren't here to chase orcs. They were here to find Sam and Dean and make sure they got back safely. Their clan elders were likely still terrified at the thought of three wizards returning to find their companions had vanished.

Sam's opinion of the Songstone Clan had just tilted to the positive, so he didn't want to cause them undo worry, even if their worries were for nothing. He'd already gotten a message through to Anyatara so she'd know what he was up to in the event that things went horribly wrong.

"I appreciate your efforts." Sam said. "If you wouldn't mind, I'll have to ask you to escort us back to the Songstone Clan. We'll have to take advantage of your hospitality for a few more days until our companions return from their tour of the area."

The Songstone clanswomen brightened visibly and she finally lifted her gaze to meet Sam's eyes. "Of course! We'd be happy to lead you back."

To the disappointment of the villagers, Sam was finally able to drag Dean away and start heading back. They returned to the Songstone Clan with their orc prisoner in tow. Sam insisted that she was his prisoner rather than the Songstone Clan's and insisted they clear out a guest room instead of a cell. The orcess deserved some consideration considering how cooperative she'd been.

Sam continued to interview her and as he did so he learned a lot about these orcs. They hailed from a place the called The World of Struggle and Strife. They'd landed a small invasion force in a ship that could travel through the void with an extremely potent teleportation array on board. From there, they started bringing over equipment and resources as they fortified the the lands to the south. Based on what the orc told him, Sam imagined they already had more than enough in the way of forces to overrun the Songstone Clan and any other force in the area. Despite this, the orcs seemed content to send out small groups of relatively weak orcs, taking captives one small village at a time.

It took him a while to figure out why, though the explanation seemed obvious to the orc. They were training their weaker tribesmen. Apparently, capturing an elf was something of a right of passage, in addition to being a way to make a good living. Elves were highly sought after on the Ten Thousand Worlds for their natural beauty, their resilience, their useful spell craft, and the fact that they were easily transported in wisp form.

The girls returned the night after Sam and Dean returned to the Songstone Clan. Sam requested a private room for them to talk in which the Songstone Clan happily provided. They were still joyous at Sam and Dean's return, and especially happy when they heard the stories of Sam and Dean crushing a raiding party of orcs at their borders. News of the Songstone clan's new guests would spread and the Songstone would certainly use their presence to scare off their rivals.

Sam set up a sound-proofing ward formation he'd picked up in more civilized lands and set it up around the room. There, the five of them sat with their orc captive to discuss what they were going to do.

"So they have entities as strong as true mages?" Yonda asked. "Then why haven't they overrun this entire region?"

"The chiefs do what the chief's will." The orc explained in broken elvish for the dozenth time.

"From what I've gathered," Sam began, "the orcs practice something they call body cultivation. It makes they physically stronger the longer they practice. They have some limited ability to use zeal outside their body, but it's negligible at best. Their primary power comes from their physical abilities. Bronze Skin orcs are the level equivalent to true mages."

"We've beaten true mages before." Dean said. "What are we waiting for? Let's go kick some ass!"

"To what end?" Anyatara asked. "This is not our home. Why should we fight to defend it?"

Dean slapped a palm against the table. "No, but it's the place where our buddy Theo is going to awaken. If he woke up, do you think he'd rather find himself in the clutches of a group of beautiful elves with soft breasts and warm thighs or a group of muscle-clad orc brutes?"

The orc seemed offended at that and puffed up her own chest as though heaving her admittedly large bosom in Dean's face.

Dean stuck out his tongue at the bound prisoner and squeezed Yonda and Erula's waists. The bound orc responded with a mocking expression of her own.

While Dean and the prisoner competed to see who could wear the least intelligent look in the room, Sam started sketching on one of the maps the Songstone Clan provided to add new information while explaining the situation.

"The teleportation arrays are here. The major orc groups in the invasion foce are the Yellowmountain tribe, the Redmarsh tribe, and the Blackgorge tribe. All three of them seem to utilize some aspect of earth zeal in large quantities, so they've taken the best region for cultivating earth zeal in the area, directly to the south.

"They send raiding parties to the elf villages all around them. There doesn't seem to be any distinct border, and a small group of low level orcs can make their way pretty much anywhere in the region. They take elves randomly and and seem to prefer raiding untouched villages filled with elves who've never seen them before and are caught completely unprepared.

"My analysis is that they aren't a threat to Theo's safety. The group we ran into would be eaten alive if they tried to march into the Devilbeast Wilds. The same goes for any Bronze level leaders they might have. They'd need to have a group at least one level above that to survive a trip through those deadly woods."

Erula tapped her finger against the table as she leaned on her palm. "Hmm... I hate doing nothing. I know Dean wants to attack them and they might be good practice for the two of you. After all, even if you kill someone really important we can just retreat to one of the continents with an elf demigod and be safe from any retaliation."

"And the fact that they're able to send orcs all over the continent without any sign of airships in the sky indicates that they have some method of rapid transportation." Yonda added. "The Bronze Skin orcs and above likely get around by teleportation array, which means they're probably well stocked with teleportation array kits. If we had a few of those we could set up a network all throughout this area which would save us a lot of time with how often Dean intends to visit his friend."

"That does sound tempting." Anyatara said. "It seems like a risky move, and I hate to get involved in the affairs of others, but the risks may be worth it."

Sam nodded. "Very well then. But if we're going to do this at all we should do it smart. We'll sneak in under cover of night and get the lay of their camp, then capture someone important to figure out where the teleportation arrays are being stored. If we get lucky, there may be some cultivation supplies to steal and some elf prisoners to liberate. We'll enrich ourselves while simultaneously crippling a major invasion force."

"Yeah!" Dean shouted, rubbing sore facial muscles as the captive orc glowered back at him. Her face had gone slack before his, which Dean took to meaning he'd won. "Here we come to rescue some elves!"

<Scene break>

The Songstone Clan was sad to see them depart so abruptly, and their elder insisted that if they were ever in the region again they'd be welcomed back as guests. Dean's room in particular would be kept exactly as he'd left it. That was probably for the best, as no elf could live in it now that it had been redecorated by Dean.

Thanks to the Songstone Clan's maps, and the speeds at which a trio of wizards could soar through the air, the group traveled quickly over empty stretches of barren land.

"According to the map," Sam said, "the orc encampment should be just around the corner."

"I see a village down there. Let's go ask for directions." Anyatara said.

"We don't need directions. The map says they'll be just around the corner." Sam protested.

In the end, they flew down to the village to ask for directions. To everyone's surprise, it was completely empty. There were tracks leading out of the village.

"Orcs." Dean cursed as he squinted at boot prints and wagon wheel tracks on the ground.

"You can tell by those smudged prints?" Erula asked as she bent over to look at the tracks as well.

"No, but it would be cool if I could." Dean said, still nodding thoughtfully as he pretended to be a master tracker.

Sam was better equipped for tracking than anyone else. The group dug around for objects damaged in the attack and quickly found a door that had been split through the center. Sam pressed a palm against the splintered boards and focused until he had a good image of past events.

"You're right. It was orcs." Sam confirmed. "I'm guessing it happened recently. Maybe earlier today."

Dean thrust his fist in the air victoriously. "Onward! Time to go charging to the rescue!"

"I don't know tracks, but if we find enough broken branches or trash I should be able to keep us on their tail." Sam said.

The group flew low to the ground, stopping periodically whenever Sam spotted something he could examine. The orcs turned several times to throw off anyone tailing them from the village. Sam was certain that if he was tracking the orcs in any normal way, he'd long since have been thrown off by one of the false trails they'd left behind.

By flying through the air, their group quickly caught up to the batch of ground-bound orcs. The moment they were in sight Dean leaped off his flying sword and dived towards the ground, landing like a meteor that left a crater in the dirt.

By the time the rest of them landed, the orcs had already scattered and Dean was giving one of his usual post-victory speeches and basking in the attention of the elves he'd just rescued.

"No need to repay me." Dean assured them all. "Just remember the name Dean the magnificent! Hero to the people, defender of the weak, savior of the imperiled, just and righteous destroyer and evil!"

"I hope this experience has enlightened you of the need to learn how to defend yourselves." Yonda said.

The elves headed back in the direction of their village. Dean had chased away or killed all the orcs without capturing any to question, but in their flight they'd left enough of their equipment behind for Sam to look at. While these orcs had been well trained in traditional forms of deception, Sam's aura fragment helped him quickly determine the location of the orc encampment the group was heading for.

"This encampment is under the control of the Yellowmountain tribe." Sam said. "They have a Bronze Skin orc leading them, but that should be the limit of their strength here."

"Excellent." Anyatara said. "Their leader should be familiar with their teleportation array system. We'll capture him, figure out the orc's plans, and then see if we can liberate a few teleportation array kits for ourselves."

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Note:
I've commissioned the cover art for Spellheart 4 and sent copies off to beta readers. Depending on what I hear back I'll hopefully be able to start the next book soon.