Founding of Deania [8] (Patreon)

"We had to run away." Dean moped. He'd been despondent for hours.

Sam had set him to work hollowing out a small mountain cave for them, quietly gathering branches and hunting small game. They'd set themselves up in the side of a sheer cliff face. It was a very inhospitable cave with a thousand yard drop at its mouth onto jagged stones. Anyone who couldn't fly would have to climb the whole way up with few handholds and many ways to fall. Sam had to fight a next of Golden-Tailed Skyhawks over the nest, but in the end they'd made him and Dean a good dinner.

Sam speculated that only the Bronze Skin orcs would have any chance of making the climb alive. Luckily Sam could flying them both up on his sword without much difficulty while staying out of sight of the orc stronghold.

"Just think of it this way." Sam said with a sad sigh. "Now you're not just rescuing strangers, but our companions as well."

Dean sniffled. "I'll... have to plan an especially heroic entrance."

They'd watched the fighting in the orc stronghold from a distance. Anyatara, Erula, and Yonda battled long and hard. Even with their cultivation half crippled they managed to hold out for hours. Eventually though, the orcs started wearing them down. That orc warchief had activated an exotic hex which wrapped around the group of wizards and left them helpless just long enough the orcs were able to lock golden collars on each of them.

The golden collars were just like the set Erula and Yonda had worn when they infiltrated the orc stronghold last time, only these collars were fully functional. Sam couldn't be sure exactly what they did without inspecting one of them, but they seemed to interfere with the flow of zeal through an elf's meridians, throwing the body's own magic into chaos.

Thrice crippled, the wizards finally collapsed under the constant orc onslaught. Though their stronghold was nearly crumbling to ruins by the end of it, the orcs celebrated like never before now that they'd finally subdued their enemies.

The orcs lit great bonfires as they burned the broken and unsalvagable bits of wood inside their stronghold. All over the settlement, imprisoned elves were already hard at work growing more trees and repairing broken walls. Meanwhile, the orcs looked like they were ten days into a month long festival of celebration. The scent of roasting meat was in the air and orcish alcohol was everywhere as full tankards toasted to victory and there were more than a few drunken brawls.

At the center of it all Anyatara, Erula, and Yonda, trussed up like prized hogs on display. Their gold collars were matched by golden manacles on their wrists which bound them to a trio of pillars that had been hastily erected midway up the outer wall. All three elves had been bound on their knees inside a shrunken version of the same spell-weakening field that had led to their capture in the first place. Bits of gold coins lay at the corners of their platforms, slowly evaporating into dust as they were slowly consumed to power a goldmongering spell that was doubtlessly interwoven with the orc enchantments.

The elves' arms were bound to the poles their platforms were mounted on and their ankles and hips were tied to the platform as well, forcing them into a kneeling position that was enjoyed by every orc who walked by.

Yonda was clearly exhausted and she hung her head limply, eyes concealed by her hair. More than a few orcs were trying to grab at her, but the platform had been intentionally placed too high for any orc to reach.

Erula was awake and there was an orc with a stand set up underneath her selling rotting fruit to throw at the captive elf. The same enchantment that drained Erula's power also acted as a shield that easily repelled the rotting fruit, but that didn't stop the orcs from trying.

Anyatara was the strongest of the three, but she was also the worst off. The orcs had clearly taken extra measures to ensure she was helpless. Each individual finger was bound so she couldn't even twitch. She was clothed only in thin strands of enchanted cloth that seemed to serve as both her bindings and blindfold, cross-crossing around her body.

Interestingly, the female orcs seemed to be the most interested in her and they stood beneath her platform, no doubt hurling insults of their own at the elf who'd nearly brought down their entire stronghold.

"We're fortunate the orcs put them on display." Sam said back in their cave. "If I feared they were being tortured, I might have hastened our rescue attempt. As it is now, we can take our time knowing they are only suffering blows to their pride."

Dean shook his head. "We went too easy on these orcs before. When we get the girls free, we'll do far worse with that warchief than we did with Keergal."

"I'm sure they girls will join you will. But it's our job to get them free." Sam replied. "Now I've finally worked out a way to break the enchantment in the walls. A heavy enough blow to the western wall should knock out its power distribution nodes. That will mean losing energy in some regions while others are flooded with too much, essentially overloading or de-powering most of the field at once. I don't know how that goldmongering spell works, but knocking out the enchantment in this manner should at least weaken the girls' restraints."

"Who do we have to beat?" Dean said, punching his palm with his open hand.

"That's the difficult part." Sam sighed. "I know the girls are slowly trying to build their power reserves back up, but those collars and manacles will certainly be designed to drain them of zeal as fast as they're accumulating it. They look like they're covered in gold from here, but I'd wager an arm that the gold is just an insulator to cover the steel underneath. You know how that can suck zeal up like a siphon and funnel it into an enchantment."

"So even if we break them out they won't be in any condition to fight." Dean growled in frustration. "Which means it will be up to us to defeat seven Bronze Realm orcs." Dean forced himself to relax. "We're strong Sam, but I don't think we're that strong."

Sam chuckled. "It seems there's some wisdom behind that thick skull of yours after all, Dean. Yonda and Erula would be amazed."

"What do we do Sam? We can't fight them head on, especially not in their own stronghold. If their defenses worked on the girls, they'll work even better on the two of us."

Sam rubbed at his chin. Maybe he should grow a beard. It would give him something to stroke while thinking. "What would Theo do..."

"He'd probably come up with some creative plan to exploit that flaw you found in their enchantment." Dean said. "Or maybe he'd find some precious prize to tease the orcs out with, liking hanging a slab of meat in front of a bear's den."

"That's it! We have to lure them out!" Sam leaped to his feet. "Dean, I never thought i would say this, but you're a genius!"

Dean brightened. Sam's praise momentarily shone through the crushing weight of despair that had surrounded him the past few hours. "I am? I mean, I know I am, but I didn't know you knew I am. Was. Uh..."

While Dean scratched his head, Sam explained the plan. "We'll lure the orcs out, just like you said! And we already have the perfect bait!"

"Steak?" Dean asked.

"No, the elf army!" Sam replied. "You saw how those orcs back at the castle reacted when all the elf clans showed up to fight them. They were excited! And the elves are still riding high from their victory! We'll just have to march their army here and have them fight! Maybe we can even try to push a few of their number to true mages to help us deal with those Bronze Skin orcs."

"Our spare aura fragments are with the girls' bags of holding though, and the orcs are probably keeping those under guard with the rest of their possessions." Dean said.

"Dean, we're invisible. And remember, the orcs don't know we exist. We didn't do anything the last time we stole teleportation arrays. They think they're fighting mage acolytes and heartwielders at most."

"They do look rather distracted at the moment." Dean murmured as he looked to the orc stronghold, where the residents were still in the throws of their post-victory celebration.

Sam smiled. "If Theo were here, this would be a proper night out, just like old times."

<Scene break>

Stealing Erula's bag of holding back turned out to be both easier and more difficult. The orcs had already dug through all the bags of holding and spread their contents all over a vast field. Fortunately, orcs didn't seem to have much of a use for true mage aura fragments.

Sam poked a few ornery orcs on the shoulder in just the right places at just the right times and soon enough he'd started a six-way brawl. When the cloud of dust settled, Sam and Dean were already making off with aura fragments, a supply of zeal crystals, and a several spell books.

Sam flew the both of them back in the direction of the original castle. Orienting himself had been difficult since they'd arrived by teleportation array, but Sam quickly found the lay of the land and had them headed in the right direction. They were accustomed to flying with wizards controlling these swords, so Sam's flight speed was considerably slower than they were used to. Even by air it took them two days of to get where they were going.

The flight was difficult, mostly because Sam's flying sword was small, and unlike with their elven companions, the two humans were unwilling to snuggle so close. Still, they persevered through the night and finally caught sight of the army encampment, which was still busying itself prying every bent piece of copper they could loot from the orc castle.

The elves had rounded up many of the orcs themselves. Most were off doing manual labor sorting through the rubble of their own castle while delicate-fingered elves laughed daintily in the background as they were attended to by other orcs who looked even more miserable than their companions splitting stones with their bare hands.

The first person Sam recognized was the Songstone elder. At some point, she'd had a large gilded chair crafted and was being carried around by four orc women, all scantily clad as they hefted the chair and the sunshade above it on their shoulders under the hot sun.

"Elder!" Sam called.

The Songstone elder peered past her sunshade, then blushed when she caught sight of Sam and Dean. She hastily urged the four orcs carrying her chair to set her down and stepped off it.

"Ah, the heroes of the hour!" She cleared her throat. "We've almost finished clearing out this keep of everything worth taking. Of course, you and those wizard companions of yours will have the pick of everything we've gathered."

Sam waved his hand. "Keep the prizes and gather the forces of all the clans. We need you to attack another orc stronghold if we're ever to truly drive the orcs off the face of the world."

The Songstone elder looked surprised, glancing at Dean.

Dean cleared his throat, raising his voice so everyone could hear. "The time for valor has come again! We go to the greatest stronghold of evil, where orcs scheme even now to avenge the loss you dealt them here. Who among you, with bravery in your hearts, will join me for another glorious victory!?"

Many elves recognized Dean on sight, and when he spoke they cheered his name. After he was finished, many pledged to head out immediately, the Songstone elder among them.

The clan elders had been feuding for days over how to divide the wealth they'd collected, but when Dean offered to be in charge of dispersing prizes they stepped aside and handed over all their prizes. Before the hour was up, the army of elves was on the march once again. Sam shook his head at how quickly Dean got them moving. Dean certainly seemed to have a talent for inspiration.

<Scene break>

Marching was far slower than flying, and even elves armed with magic could not march all day and night. The return journey to the orc stronghold would take several days, so Sam flew ahead to keep an eye on the girls.

The orcs kept them on their platforms, on display for all to see. They seemed to take great delight in showing off their elf prisoners, but Sam knew they'd be doing something with the three of them eventually. Transportation off world was expensive, but when planets were close enough Sam knew it could be done with a teleportation array. As far as he knew the orc home world was still far away, but he still worried daily that the orcs would find a way to sweep their three companions away.

When Dean and the elf army finally appeared on the horizon, Sam felt a great weight leave his shoulders. Sam was anxious to save their companions before anything unexpected came up. Fortunately, the orcs spotted the army of elves nearly as quickly as Sam did.

"There's a horde of elves out there! Look!" One or said to another.

"Just when we were getting tired of celebrating the capture of three wizards, a whole horde's worth of elves comes marching our way!" A female orc chortled. "I can't wait to have an elf of my own. How long do you think it will take for the elves from this haul to start volunteering as bedroom thralls?"

Before long, the stronghold was stirring once again. Sam doubled back to catch up with Dean.

"I see you've been traveling in style, Dean." Sam said as he looked his old friend over. He was bright-eyed and smiling as brilliantly as ever, despite the long journey. He sat on the Songstone elder's chair, which rested on the shoulders of the four scantily-clad orc women Sam had seen earlier.

"The clan leaders insisted." Dean said sheepishly. "But tell me the news! Are they still okay?"

"They're fine." Sam confirmed. "But they may not be fine forever. We should move quickly. Gather the clan leaders and we'll lay our plans."

The armies' leaders assembled at Dean's command. The elves caught a few minutes of rest while the orcs on the wall eyeballed them from a distance. Some of the captured orcs set up a tent for Dean to hold a meeting in and a table to go with it.

"We need to draw them out of their stronghold. Inside it they've got special enchantments that reduce the functionality of spells and give them the overwhelming advantage." Sam said. "That should be the easy part. If we just stay here for long enough I'm sure the orcs won't be able to resist the urge to abandon their fortifications and charge us. When they're fighting you, Dean and I can break their walls and disable that enchantment. Then we'll double back to help you deal with the Bronze Skin orcs."

"Understood. You're certain that battle helps with bonding an aura fragment?" The Songstone elder hefted one of several aura fragments Dean had gifted her with. All the clan leaders held one, and the little tufts of energy and the promise of a defined path to true mage were responsible for no small portion of their loyalty.

"They will." Dean confirmed. "It's how I reached true mage."

"Good." One of the clan leaders replied gruffly. "Then I will reach true mage soon as well. Tell me, will your wizards punch a hole through the walls for us again?"

Sam and Dean looked at each other a moment.

"They're... occupied." Sam said. "But don't worry, the other orc castles are already taken care of. This is the last one."

"And how many Bronze Realm orcs are there?" the clan leader said with an undertone of suspicion in her voice.

"Seven." Sam replied. "Eight if you count Keergal. Did you bring him and that tree all the way here?" Sam replied. He'd seen the orc swinging from the same tree again, dangling upside down just like he had when they'd first captured him. He'd become something of a shrine to the elves and Sam couldn't help but be a bit curious.

The Songstone elder shrugged. "It's good for morale."

Sam explained the battle plan and soon the elves were rushing forward, making a fake ploy for the walls before feigning cowardice and falling back. The orcs laughed and jeered each time they made an attempt, but remained vigilant during each feigned assault. Their commanders probably thought the elves were trying to make their troops complacent so they wouldn't react to a real attack. The discipline among the orc commanders ensured that tactic wouldn't work, but the commanders could do nothing against a Sam's subtler taunting.

Two days passed as the elves camped outside the orc stronghold. Each day the orcs became more certain that the elves were too cowardly to attack their walls and only knew how to run away. Sam started relocating a few parties of elves further back and out of sight, so it appeared the elven force was thinning out as warriors lost their courage and deserted the army.

Soon the orcs were like wolves watching sheep slip out of their grasp one by one. Every day they waited meant less elves to capture when the battle was finally fought.

On the third day, the orc commanders could restrain their subordinates no longer. The gates opened and a lone orc stepped out.

"I'm going to capture myself an elf!" The orc woman shouted, axe in hand. "The lot of you can hide behind stone for all I care, but just know there might not be any left by the time you finally grow the nerve to come with me!"

That was the droplet that broke the floodgate, and soon orcs were pouring over the walls in mass. It reminded Sam of when they rushed at the three wizards.

The plan had been set days ago and Sam had to trust the clan leaders would follow through. He and Dean snuck around the western side of the stronghold, targeting the weak node in enchantment that he'd spotted when he first examined the enchantments.

"I've got this." Dean said as he pressed his palms together. The air rumbled and he slammed his open palms against the wall. Dean's heels dug into the ground as a shower of sparks shot out of his hands. A deafening crack rang through the air as the wall split up the center. After attacking twice more the wall crumbled and collapsed into a pile of rubble.

They caught a small glimpse of a pair of enchantments concealed within. They flickered with power uneasily as the steady flow of energy through the orcish magic was interrupted. Soon, the enchantment faded and collapsed entirely.

"Think the girls will be able to get themselves free with that?" Dean asked.

"If their collars were connected to this enchantment then yes. But I have a hunch this warchief wouldn't be so foolish as to have a single point of failure to his wizard prison." Sam replied. "We're likely going to have to break their chains ourselves."

Dean cracked his knuckles. "Good. That means its time for a proper rescue."

Sam grabbed Dean's shoulder. "We have to deal with those Bronze Skin orcs first. We promised them our help." Sam reminded his friend. "Even if only two or three of them came over the walls, that's enough to wipe out our entire force of elves. They don't have any true mages. Without us they'll be helpless."

For the first time since coming to this world, Dean wasn't sure what to do. He needed to save his friends, but he promised to save the elves he'd brought with him.

Sam sensed his companion's internal dilemma and grabbed Dean by the shoulder. "Can you hold the attention of multiple Bronze Skin orcs?"

"When it comes to claiming the spotlight, there's nobody better." Dean said. "Promise me you'll save them?"

"It's a promise. Good luck, Dean."

Note:

Still working on the Spellheart 5 outline. I'm once again testing out a few new strategies that may or may not improve the next book. We'll see!

Also, may those of you who celebrate Halloween have a fun and scary holiday!