Vesha and I flew as swiftly as we could toward the plumes of smoke with Zaiya and Mara in owl form following us, only to find that everything flammable in the village was either still ablaze or already naught but ashes. Flying in lower for a better view was not reassuring in the slightest; there were bodies down there, as if the village had been the site of a battle. Half a dozen people were lying dead in the street already, from what I could see.

From what I had heard, these people were simple farmers and sheepherders; the fact that those who died had only simple tools like scythes or axes seemed to confirm that. Who could have attacked them like this? That question was readily answered by the people who were searching the hamlet and its surrounding fields and pastures in groups of three or four, armed with swords, axes, and maces. They were humanoid, but I could not make out much more from this height and with an overhead view.

It was fairly clear that they were the aggressors, though, and it looked like a small group of them was holding several of the hamlet’s residents hostage in a field on the south end of the hamlet. Going by the size of the hamlet and the number of people I had been told lived there, though, I guessed that at least two dozen residents were unaccounted for and had managed to hide away either before the attack or while those who were now dead or captured held off their assailants. That explained why the aggressors had spread out to search the remains of the hamlet and its surroundings.

We flew in lower to try to get a better look at what we were dealing with, since I could not sense any magic or Tainted down there. I could sense that Sharai had a spark of suspicion about what these creatures were, and once we were flying above the village just low enough to get a better look at them, that spark ignited into a blaze of fury and loathing. -Orcs!- she spat venomously in my mind.

The Orcs, even their few females, were larger than the average human male and had ugly, boar-like faces, including the snouts and the tusks. They had greenish-gray skin that would have probably looked sickly on any other species, mostly wore some sort of poorly cured leather for armor, and had weapons that looked poorly made. There were a few exceptions among their weapons, including an Orc who bore a huge war axe that looked well-made, as well as a metal chest piece that looked like it had seen many battles with all the dents and rents upon its surface.

We quickly banked upward, before any of them thought to look up, and got above some low-lying clouds to conceal our presence before Vesha began to ask, with a frown on her face, “Were those…”

“Orcs,” I agreed before quickly conveying what Sharai was now telling me for her sake as well. “That is an Orc war band, nearly fifty strong, from how many we saw down there. Sharai says that those with the nicer weapons probably got them by looting tombs or attacking small bands of adventurers, and the one in the metal armor will be their war chief.”

“So, if we take him down, then the rest should be easy?” my lover ventured as a guess, having roughly as much experience fighting Orcs as I did.

-Not quite,- Sharai offered in my thoughts. -He will be looking for a challenge, to prove that he is strong enough to keep his place at the top. If one of you can take him down, in full sight of some of the others, then the other stronger Orcs will try to kill you to take his place. We must wipe them out here. If we do not, the road to the capital will be blocked to us, and these Orcs will set up their camp in the ruins of Solhaven until they have run out of food or Derevik can send a force of soldiers large enough to wipe them out.-

She did not need to elaborate on that because I had a fairly good idea of how things would play out. Not only would these Orcs block travel along the road and attack anyone traveling it, they would be in striking distance of Aikan’s Crossing and could build up their forces to make that their next target if the problem went unattended for a while. I also knew that she was trying to convince us to act, but in my mind, there had already been no question that we would do so.

I had heard enough horror stories about Orcs from Sharai and Alus Cobbler in Loden, that I tended to agree with my spirit guide on the matter. They were a plague upon the world that needed to be cleansed wherever they took root. Given that their food source would not only be the livestock raised by the small hamlet, but also the people of Solhaven themselves, I also didn’t want to leave the people of Solhaven suffering at their hands any longer when we could do something about it.

When I relayed what Sharai had said to the others, Vesha seemed inclined to agree, going by the grim look on her face. “So, if I take him down, I’ll have most of their attention?”

“Aye,” I agreed after Sharai had confirmed it in my mind. “Mara, you should head back and let the others know what’s going on here while Vesha and I do what we can to whittle down their numbers. Vesha, please see what you can do to get their attention on you, my love, and then try to draw them to that empty pasture we saw on the north end of the hamlet. We can go all out there without risking any more damage to these people’s homes. I will attempt to free the captives and get them somewhere safe until this is over.”

Mara let out a shriek in reply before winging westward and back the way we had come to rejoin our troupe. Vesha’s response was a savage grin as she said, “Yeah, I think I can get their attention.”

I followed my intended as she went into a steep dive before leveling off not far above the tallest of Solhaven’s now ruined homes and shops. The speed she had gathered on her way downward had her zipping across the hamlet before I could take more than a few breaths, and yet she still found the time and opportunity to pelt several searching groups of Orcs with fireballs, including the group with the war chief. It looked like she had gotten lucky and taken one of them down as well from the screams of one who was lit ablaze before he finally fell to the ground in deathly silence.

The others were far more concerned with their attacker as they shouted and tried to give chase. The sound of a horn boomed from the direction of the war chief’s group, and the groups searching through the hamlet, fields, and pastures began to move toward the sound. Unfortunately, the group guarding the captives did not, which meant that I was going to have to think of a way to kill what looked like five of them on my own.

Using Joarra’s rune on Neva’kul was not an option, not without endangering the people I was trying to save and destroying their crops in the field. One seemed to be a good ten paces from the others, so perhaps I could target him first, draw the others toward me, and use other abilities to give me a better chance. Sharai had told me that glamours and faerie fire probably would not be useful against them, at least, not as anything other than a surprise, so that left me with my gift and the other abilities from the runes that Neva’kul bore.

I had a rough plan in mind and flew in lower to enact it when I heard a female voice screaming in anguish and pain. It had been difficult to determine what the lone Orc had been doing so far from the others before. I thought that perhaps it was resting or looking for something on the ground from the angle I had, my only clue that it wasn’t dead was that it was moving. Now, I had a fairly good idea of what those movements and the screams meant, and it filled me with a fury akin to what I had felt from Sharai the moment that she knew what we were dealing with.

I covered the Orc in faerie fire, the heat and appearance of the pink-hued flames causing him to panic, pull off the poor young woman he was defiling, and roll to the ground in an attempt to put himself out. Once he was clear of his victim and I dispersed the flames, causing him to stop rolling, I flew in closer and dropped from the sky above his prone form to plunge Neva’kul through his chest and into the ground in my fury. Once, I might have felt that using trickery and sneak attacks was unfair, but the first lesson that Sharai taught me was that there is no ‘fair’ in true combat, where it is kill or be killed. In those situations, there is only survival or death.

The Orc’s five companions, who had been watching in confusion until that moment, now seemed to realize that they were under attack and charged me as I freed my blade from his corpse. Unfortunately for them, I was already drawing mana from the world around me and focusing on Tamisun’s rune to increase my speed and reflexes. Sharai had severely understated this ability; it was like they were barely moving as they rushed toward me.

-You must hurry, Kaelyn. The boost you are receiving will not last long, a few minutes at most,- Sharai’s voice cautioned, prodding me to act.

I sped toward my opponents, my heart racing and blood singing at the energy that ran through me. I was removing my blade from the first Orc’s chest before he even registered that I had plunged it through his heart, and then swung Neva’kul in a vicious arc that removed the head of another from his shoulders. Did this boost my strength as well, or was that just from my speed and the sharpness of my blade?

I was vaguely aware that Zaiya had plunged to rake her talons across the eyes of a third, and while he was struggling with her, I danced out of the way of the fourth’s axe to slash at his knees from behind, dropping him to the ground. The mace of the fifth was moving in a slow arc toward my head, one that was already seeming to speed up as I could feel the boost beginning to fade. I ducked underneath the weapon, using the opportunity to get inside his guard, and thrust Neva’kul through his chest.

By the time I had removed my blade from the Orc’s chest and he slumped to the ground in a dead heap, the world was moving at a normal speed once more, and I was breathing heavily from the exertion. It was no wonder that Sharai only ever used this ability when circumstances were dire. I felt like I had just gone all out during one of my sparring matches with Shava.

Still, I had things that I needed to take care of, so I would not have time to take a breather. I turned to the Orc who was trying to get to his feet, despite me rendering his legs useless, using the haft of his axe for leverage. It did not take long to dispatch him, in his condition, and then I focused my attention on the last of the group.

He was slashing wildly at Zaiya, who was keeping just out of his range, a pair of vicious-looking wounds where his eyes had once been. My familiar was taunting him with shrieks, and I silently thanked her for covering my back and keeping his attention away from me once she had blinded him. The way that he was wildly waving that war hammer of his wouldn’t let me get close enough to finish him though, so I reached out with my gift to grab onto the flailing metallic weapon and held it, and the arm wielding it, still and in a position where it would hurt neither me nor Zaiya while I thrust Neva’kul to finish him off.

With my task complete, I went to check on the young woman. She was mostly naked and sobbing while she tried to somehow cover herself with the scraps that were all that was left of her clothes. Blood and other fluids were leaking from her most intimate area, and I could feel the fury once again boiling inside of me as I took in her condition. She was probably very pretty when her face, and most of the rest of her body, wasn’t covered in bruises, and she had night black hair and a dusky complexion not too unlike that of a Voyager, though she seemed to be tall and lanky like me rather than possessing a more compact build like my Voyager kin.

After taking to the air for a quick look around to ensure that no other enemies were headed our way, I dismissed my armor and weapons, replacing them with the clothes that I had been wearing earlier. Then, I slowly approached, knelt down beside her, and spoke as reassuringly as I could, “You will be okay now. He cannot hurt you anymore, and I swear by my sword that we will kill every last Orc in this war band. My name is Kaelyn Darkbane of Sparrowsong Troupe, and I am here to help. Please, use those scraps to clean yourself up a bit, and you can wear my clothes to cover yourself; you look about my size.”

I was worried that she would shy away at first, especially the way that she was crying, but she allowed me to gently help her clean herself, and then I removed my long, colorful skirt and my modified bodice so she could properly cover herself. I was well aware of the eyes of her fellow captives on us, but I had gotten used to casual nudity with the troupe, and right now, she needed my clothes more than I did. I had to show her how my bodice worked differently from a normal one, but soon she was covered again, and I summoned my armor and weapons back before going to free her trussed-up fellow captives.

The four captive men had been secured with some roughly made chains, though I managed to remove them easily enough with my gift. All of them bore some form of injuries, and one of them, a sheepherder by the look of his clothes, was similar enough to the young woman in coloring and build that I thought he might be her father. He seemed old enough and had barely been released before he ran over to wrap the young woman in his arms, calling out, “Oraine!”

“Is there somewhere you can all hide?” I asked one of the men who remained, who bore the build and clothes of a farmer.

“A-aye,” he responded hesitantly. “There’s a hidden trap door that leads to an emergency shelter beneath the Common Hall. We were all headin’ there from the southern fields an’ pastures when those fekkin’ Orcs caught us. Kept us alive for some reason, but… poor Oraine.” He trailed off with a sad look toward the young woman whose father was trying to console her.

I did not have the heart to tell him that the Orcs were probably keeping them alive to eat later, once they were done feasting on the dead we had seen in the streets. Instead, I told him, “Head there now. Have Oraine’s father carry her if needed. I will make sure the streets are clear by air and cover you.”

They wasted no time in moving after that, Oraine’s father gently carrying her as she held him tightly and sobbed into his shoulder. I wanted to do more for the poor girl, but I knew that the best thing that I could do for her right then was to help Vesha wipe out those Orcs. So, while they hurried to their destination, I once again took to the sky to get a bird’s-eye view of the situation.

It looked like Vesha had led most of the Orcs on a chase to the northern pasture, as I had planned. From the look of the occasional large, smoking bodies on the trio of streets leading northward, she had not made it an easy chase either. I only saw one group of Orcs that had not followed the sounds of horns to pursue her yet, and unfortunately, it looked like they were headed to the village square, just like the people I had just freed.

I landed on the remaining wall of an otherwise destroyed building between the two groups. Thankfully, it was stable and supported my weight, and once I was certain that it would hold, I removed my bow from across my lower back and notched my first arrow. As soon as my targets came within sight in the square, I let my arrow fly, followed quickly by two more. All three found their marks, the first in the throat of one of the trio and the second in the eye of another who had yelled something in Orcish and turned to scan the rooftops to find out where their attacker was. The third found the heart of the last, through his back, as he tried to flee.

After once again taking to the air to ensure that was the only group not following Vesha to the northern pasture, I flew to the north and the distant sound of horns and shouting. I found more scorched Orc bodies to mark my path, and in the pasture itself, Vesha was in her elemental flame form, burning brightly in the center of the pasture with a dozen more burnt corpses surrounding her. The remaining Orcs seemed to be keeping their distance, though, only occasionally shouting in Orcish, which I found a little bit confusing.

-They know that they are no match for her while she is in that form,- Sharai deduced. -They likely believe that it is some form of magical ability, and believe they are being clever by waiting for it to wear off or for her to exhaust herself using it before attacking while she is weakened.-

It did make sense, and Sharai did say that Orcs are not terribly bright, though they were somewhat spread out, so Vesha could not just roast them all at once. Still, it looked like we had whittled down their forces by more than half between the two of us already, and Vesha was keeping them here so I could do what I had to. It was time to finish this.

I focused on drawing in mana, a steady stream of it with each breath I took as I focused on our enemies spread out in the pasture beneath me. Then, as I shouted for Vesha to take to the air, I focused on Joarra’s rune, tracing its shape on Neva’kul’s blade with a finger as I continued to draw in mana. Then it all happened at once; Vesha returned to her physical form and quested skyward with powerful beats of her wings, the Orcs turned to the sound of my voice to point and scream in fury at the sight of a Fae, and I slashed at the air between us with Neva’kul.

As I did the last, a crescent of destructive and blindingly white energy erupted from the sweep of my blade, only growing in both power and size as it descended upon the Orcs below. The impact made the very earth shake below me from the explosion that followed, and an eruption of earth, stones, and dust was launched into the air to momentarily block my view. When the dust finally cleared, the earth below me had been torn asunder from one end of the pasture to the other, forming a deep crevice that was at least the depth of three of me standing head to toe atop one another.

Of the remaining Orcs, the only sign was the occasional dismembered body part or shattered weapon. That was reassuring since I was now so tired that I was having trouble staying in the air. I did not think that I was going to pass out, like the first time I used this ability, but even when I made sure to channel mana properly when using it, it was still exhausting to use. I turned to Vesha, who was flying toward me in concern, and gave her a weak smile.

“I will be fine, my love,” I assured her wearily, “though I could use a little bit of a break until the rest of the troupe arrives. That should be the last of the Orcs, but you can take a look for yourself if you feel the need.”

Instead of doing that, the Salamander scooped me up in her arms so I would not tire myself further. “I trust your senses, now rest in my arms, my deadly little songbird, while I see if I can find the people of Solhaven. They might want to know that they’re safe now, and why the earth just shook.”