A little over an hour later, Max was harnessed to a cart that had been sitting in the warehouse. As a result, neither Lanek nor the elves were required to haul any weapons on themselves. Unfortunately, once the cart was loaded with enough weapons for the freed slaves, there wasn’t enough room for any of the leather or padded armor. This would prove to be a blessing as Max was still able to maintain a reasonable pace with just the weapons.

  As the party left the garrison behind, Lanek reached out to Sanguineus. The wolf simply sent a sense of caution, but without any feelings of urgency. Lanek hoped that meant that the gaunt horde was still bogged down some distance from his allies.

  “So, while we’re traveling to the camp, mind if I ask a few questions of my own?” Lanek asked Cithrel. The blonde elf nodded and gestured for him to continue.

  “Thanks. What were you looking for when you set off on your scouting expedition?”

  “We were one of several expeditions sent out to look for potential allies or a place to fall back to. While Ivareon was still standing strong when we left, my people have been getting worn down for so long that every assault on our walls is that much harder to repel. My party was tasked with investigating the mountains to Ivareon’s south and the dwarf holds that had once been our allies. The council’s thinking was that we would either discover a populated dwarf hold to aid us in our fight or the ruins of a hold that we could more easily defend.” Cithrel explained.

  “I see. Is Ivareon being attacked by gaunts?” Lanek asked.

  “Yes, although those are the not the only foes attacking us. Creatures of the Void have been emerging in vast numbers every few years to test our defenses. If we’re lucky, their attacks will coincide with a gaunt assault and they will fight each other before the survivors throw themselves at the bastion. Sadly, that doesn’t happen very often.”

  “We’ve had to deal with our share of Void creatures as well, but thankfully nothing approaching a horde. How about the rest of Kaheris? Do you know of any other surviving settlements?” Lanek asked hopefully.

  “The council believes that there is likely a surviving city on the southern coast. It was well-known for its fortifications, but we’ve not had contact with them in centuries. Even if we could contact them, they are too far away to aid us as the distance between Ivareon and the southern coast is vast. I fear that we may be truly alone.” Cithrel said quietly.

  “I’m sorry, Cithrel. It doesn’t sound like there is much hope left anywhere. Maybe there are people still holding out on Shisato?”

  Cithrel thought for a moment. “Possibly. My people never dealt very much with the empire, but they were feared for a reason.”

  “Maybe we’ll find out one day, if we can ever figure out how to cross the oceans safely. First things first, though. We need to get these gaunts away from my people. What are your plans after that?”

  Cithrel shrugged before responding. “I was hoping that you would allow us to accompany you. The three of us have been isolated here for far too long already and we don’t have the numbers to force our way through the ratmen. Also, I would like to see the village where your friend Liv hails from, if for no other reason to see that some signs of civilization aside from Ivareon still stand.”

  “I don’t have any objections to that. If we manage to survive this gaunt horde, I was thinking that we would take some time to rest at the garrison while we figure out our next move. My people can get themselves some armor and maybe get some training in.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “I agree that that would be the wisest move. Do you have any ideas for getting past the ratmen?” Cithrel asked.

  “None. I haven’t really thought too much about it, I’ve been focused on the gaunts. Maybe we can find a way around them, but we can look into that after the gaunts are dealt with.” Lanek explained.

  “Agreed.”

  The group made good time on their way back to the river island where Lanek’s company were sheltered. The return journey lasted two days due to the slower pace that was a result of Max pulling the loaded cart. Thankfully, none of the creatures dwelling in the forest seemed to care for the idea of attacking such a well-armed party and the small island came into sight around midday.

  Lanek paused to allow the party to rest as he surveyed the encampment. Duristor and the former slaves had been busy while he was gone. There were now several elevated shooting platforms in addition to a series of spikes driven into a horizontal log resting across the entrance to the island, clearly in place to help break the charge of the gaunts. From his position, Lanek was also able to see groups of people training with the wooden practice weapons he had crafted.

  The dranrid was happy to see that his people were also being quite careful with security as it took very little time for him to be spotted. A few moments later, a familiar face had exited the camp and approached his position.

  “Welcome back, Lanek. I was beginning to worry that you had forgotten about us.” Kinat said with a grin.

  “HA! Not after how much mana and time I’ve already spent on you lot.” Lanek retorted. “It’s good to be back. Please let Liv and Duristor know that I’ve returned with a few new friends and some much needed equipment. We’re going to need some help getting it across the river.”

  Kinat’s eyebrows rose as he saw the elves and the cart laden with weapons. “I can see that. It’ll be good to have some real weapons in our hands.”

  Lanek and his new companions took a leisurely approach to the encampment as Kinat ran ahead. While they were approaching, a flurry of activity began shortly after Kinat crossed the river. Within minutes, orcs had moved the spiked log to one side and began laying precisely cut logs across the river, providing a makeshift bridge large enough to accommodate the weapon cart with room to spare. As soon as the bridge was in place, Lanek’s orc bodyguards scrambled across the bridge to watch the treeline while Duristor and Liv came out to help move the cart inside the makeshift walls.

  “It’s about damn time, Lanek.” Liv grumbled. “Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?”

  “Aww, you care about me.” Lanek teased.

  “The hell I do. I was more worried about what Lira would do to me if I came back without you.” Liv said, glaring at him for a moment before grinning and thoroughly surprising Lanek with a hug.

  “Seriously, don’t take off for that long again unless you take me with you.” Liv whispered into his ear. The embrace lasted for several moments before a loud cough caused Liv to jump away from Lanek, turning a deep shade of red as Duristor’s laughter boomed behind her.

  “Look, I don’t mind if you want to canoodle some more, but maybe wait until Lanek catches us up on what he’s been up to and introduces his new friends first.” The dwarf said, eyeing the elves.

  Liv only grew more red and began sputtering in response, apparently unable to form a proper response in her embarrassment. Lanek enjoyed the sight for a moment before stepping in.

  “Of course, Duristor. This is Cithrel, Athas, Alanah, and Isaac. Let’s get everyone across the river and I’ll let you know what I found.”

  A short while later, Lanek sat around one of the campfires with his companions having just finished relating the events of the last few days. Cithrel and the twins were more than a little surprised when they discovered Isaac’s true nature, as were Liv and Duristor. However, Garik, the orc in charge of training immediately asked if he could take Isaac aside to help with the training and distributing the weapons. Since Isaac clearly didn’t mind the idea, Lanek waved the pair off.

  “Ratmen. Damnable creatures.” Duristor growled. “This is going to be a problem. We don’t have the numbers or the training to force our way through their territory.”

  “I agree, but the only options we have to reach my village is to cross their territory or attempt to swing around the hills. Unfortunately, we have no idea how long that would take. This mountain range is vast and none of us knows what we might run into if we attempt to bypass the hills. For all we know, there could be something worse out there.” Liv said.

  “Well, we’ll have time to figure it out after the gaunts are dealt with and we are safely inside the guild fort. For now, we need to get everyone trained up as quickly as possible. I don’t know what the gaunts are waiting for, but it can’t be good for us. Cithrel, could you have Athas and Alanah help Kinat organize and train what archers we have? We have more than enough bows to go around now.” Lanek said.

  “Of course.” Cithrel said, nodding at the twins who immediately set off with the ranger. “Those two have seen more than their share of battles, they should be able to teach your people well.”

  “Thank you. Now, we should get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.” Lanek said while looking into the distance. What’s going on with Kazuma? Is something wrong with his evolution? The evolutions have never taken this long before...