The Tracker: Book 1 of the King's Hand Series Read online

  Warner showed up a few hours later. Roland’s back side was giving out and he hated ordering ale just to pour it down the hole in the floor. “Wow, you look rougher than you did the last time I saw you.”

  “Well, I didn’t want to be disturbed. It’s my way of warning people off.”

  “So what did you find?”

  “Two days north of here there are seven tribes of orcs camped along the coast. They are about 750 adult males and three shamans. The orcs are bad enough but the shamans could burn down this whole city. They are riled up and I’m sure they are eventually coming this way to destroy the town. It might be a good idea to send some ships north to keep an eye on them. Shadow is keeping watch at the moment.”

  “I didn’t think more than one shaman would lead the orcs at one time. That was unexpected. The number of orcs is what I might have expected. But, we can’t send any ships north. The few that went that direction never seem to return. There have been pirates in those waters as of late. “A look of contemplation crossed Warner’s face.

  “I have a few things that need to be taken care of the next few days. I noticed you were staying at Dagmar’s place. It’s a good place to stay and the food I hear is better than anyplace in town. Stay there and if I need you I’ll get a message to you there. If Shadow sees the orcs coming, go to the north gate and have them close it. I’ll make sure they follow your instructions.” He reached inside his coat and handed Roland a pouch that jingled of silver pieces. “This is for your last mission. Make sure you pay your guild tax.” He got up and left the tavern.

  Roland reached out to Shadow. He was happy where he was. He hadn’t seen any sign of orcs in the area. The salmon were going up the Great River to spawn and he was eating more than his fair share of the fish. He would notify Roland if there was a problem.

  Roland headed back to Dagmar’s place. He cast his normal human illusion on himself. About the only time he ever went anyplace without an illusion was when he visited the Shatris’s. He missed Amelia. He never did figure out what she was doing running on the roofs at night in the capitol. Did she have some type of magic? Well if her mother and her father are mages she has some type of magic.

  The next day with his cloths cleaned and equipment cleaned and serviced he put everything back in his pack so he could go at any time. He opened the leather pouch Warner had given him. Inside was a note saying that the 20 silvers were payment for Roland and Shadow. He went down and had breakfast with Dagmar. He was off to the guild after that.

  As he entered the guild Mateo Damari and Vena were finishing up their breakfast. “Hey, look who finally showed up. Where have you been Roland. No one has seen you in days?”

  “Oh, I got a quick an easy job right after getting here. Now I’m staying at Dagmar’s Boarding house. If you want a nice place to stay and a good meal it is worth the extra cost. She also provides baths.”

  Vena was the first to reply. “Oh, now I could use a bath but the Inns are so expensive. I might go over there after we’re done with breakfast.”

  Mateo replied next. “How did you get a job so quickly? We have been relaxing after the caravan escort. Nothing seems to be headed back to the capitol anytime soon. So far I haven’t seen anything on the job board worth taking.”

  “It was a special request for a tracker. They needed someone to scout the orcs to the north. Sort of up my ally. Mainly staying out of sight and watching. I’m here to pay my tax to the guild and Shadow’s.”

  Damari was looking around. “Where is Shadow? I didn’t think you two went anywhere without the other.”

  “Oh, he is outside the town walls. He isn’t much for spend time in any city. Too many people for his liking.”

  Mateo spoke again. “Hey, if you find a decent job for us we wouldn’t mind joining up again with you. We appreciated all you did for the whole caravan. If it wasn’t for your early warnings, we might not have made it. I had a letter put in your file about what you did. If anyone is looking for a tracker or scout just know we all will vouch for you. But, if you want to join up with us we would love to have you as a regular on our team.”

  Roland was a bit embarrassed. “Mateo, that means a lot to me. I haven’t been in the guild long but being part of your team has been great. If we find a mission just know I’m in.”

  “Great. We are a bit picky who we take in to our group. It’s hard to find people who work well together. The guild has good people but some adventurers are a bit abrasive to work with. Everyone wants to be the leader.”

  “Thank you again Mateo. I’m going to turn this in. Like I said I’m staying at Dagmar’s boarding house. I was told something might be happening soon from a friend of mine. If I get something I will let you know. Are you going to be staying here?”

  “Well if what you say about Dagmar’s is true we might see if she has more room for us.”

  “Ok, I hope to see you later.”

  Roland went up the stairs and turned in his taxes to the guild. He came back down and looked at the job board. Nothing was on the board for caravans. Everything else was a long walk back across the direction they had come. There was one big job listed. It was the head of a Pirate Captain Baal. The Merchant’s Guild was sponsoring that job and it was for 10 gold. They only wanted the captains head. They didn’t want his body to come with it. According to the job he had his two front teach covered in gold. That was how they would identify him. How would anyone catch a pirate when he was on a boat?

  Chapter 10

  Defend Port Orchard

  Roland figured the town would be attacked soon. Would it be right to leave town before it happened? Should he get Mateo and his team out? Should he tell them? What did the king expect of him in this situation? Oh man, did he need someone to talk to about all this. Warner didn’t seem the talkative type and only gave the necessary information. Eli was in the capital. His parents might not be happy about any of this.

  Well the one thing he felt was certain was that leaving town wouldn’t be the right thing to do. They would need every man they could get if the orcs attacked. Maybe the orcs would decide not to attack. Who was he trying to kid. They were going to attack. There were a lot of men in the city. They also had a large number of guards in the city. The king had a large contingent of soldiers in the city too. They might have a fighting chance.

  Roland’s mind was spinning and heading all sorts of directions. He felt lost and completely unprepared for this. What was he thinking when he agreed to be a King’s Hand? He was a 17-year-old kid who was so naïve he didn’t even understand how things worked in this world. Oh, how he wished he was back home now.

  Shadow must have felt his unease because he got his encouragement from him. “You are the alpha. We are deadly we haven’t found any prey who couldn’t be killed. We are the hunters. We will hunt.”

  “Your right Shadow. We are the hunters. Forget about the could be or might be, and concentrate on finding our prey.” It was a big plus to have a mountain wolf in your head.

  Roland headed back to Dagmar’s. He was much more confident. Mateo, Damari, and Vena were all at the boarding house. Dagmar was happy with the extra boarders but Mateo’s group was happy to be back again.

  “So Roland, did you find a job for us. All I found was the job to recover a head of a pirate. It paid well but who wants to chase after a pirate? Seems after we were attack by the orcs on the way here no one wants to take a caravan out. Everyone in town thinks something is going to happen with the orcs but that isn’t good for us.”

  Vena spoke up next. “Last time a town was attacked by orcs was Waterville. The guilds were all required to fight. Not that there was any other choice. But the crown paid the guilds wages and they paid what they would for soldiers. That doesn’t even pay for room and board. If we fight let’s hope the fighting is over quickly. Then we can get back to the capitol. They will probably have a huge caravan.”

  Damari had a look of concern on his face. “They can’t just conscript us into the army can they
? I mean we work for the guild not the crown.”

  Mateo was chuckling. “I hate to disappoint you Damari but the guilds are allowed to exist because the crown allows it. To keep operating in the country of Lancaster the crown can call on all the guilds to give as needed to defend the country. If they were to ever refuse their charters to operate in the country would be revoked. That means all the guild halls would be taken over by the crown and all bank accounts would be seized too.”

  “Oh, that is just down right despicable. I don’t have a lot in my bank account but it’s all I have. That is just legalized robbery.” Damari was aghast.

  Vena was laughing hard. “Welcome to the civilized world Damari. When you have a country that builds roads and defends the people form attack rules are put in place to keep the world from going into anarchy.”

  The rest of the night was spent talking about politics and what has been going on over the last few decades with the crown and how they have helped or hindered the Adventure Guild and the other guilds. They had one of Dagmar’s wonderful meals and they headed off to bed.

  The next morning at breakfast they were all together again when a currier came in with a message for Roland. The rest of the team was curious. It was a short message. Roland, get your pack and meet me at our favorite watering hole. You will be leaving after the meeting.

  “Well everyone I have been summoned to a meeting and I will be going on a job as soon as the meeting is over. I’ll talk to the person who is hiring me and see if he can help you three out too. I wish I could bring you with me but I don’t think that is allowed. I will get with you as soon as I get back.”

  Mateo was upset. “I was hoping we could go as a team Roland.”

  “I know; I was hoping for the same thing but I have made a commitment that I can’t say no to. Like I said if I can get something for you three I will do my best. I’ll talk with you when I get back.”

  The team was upset and Roland was too but he had made a deal and he didn’t want to lose the contract between him and the king. It took just a short time to make good on his account with Dagmar and he was off to see Warner.

  The Vulgar Bard was almost empty except for the bar tender and Warner. Roland went straight back to Warner not wanting to buy that horrible ale just to pour it down the hole. Warner was all smiles as he sat down.

  “I don’t blame you for not getting that swill. You would think they could get something a little better in here. I’m glad you could make it so quick.”

  “Well I was staying at Dagmar’s with the team I came out on with the caravan. They could use a job before they get conscripted.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. Mateo and Damari could be used to fill a hole in the wall with their shields. Then having Vena healing as well they make a good team. I’ll be hiring Odelia too for their team. I will use them to stop any orcs that break into the city. We are sure they are coming soon. They will be hired by myself so they will be paid better than the soldiers.”

  “As for you I need you to get out there and tell me when they are on the move. I want you to take this with you.” It was a clay disk on a string so that it could be put around your neck. The disk itself had a number of runes placed on both sides. “If they start moving towards the city you are to crush the disk. Once the disk is destroyed the mage who made the disk with know it was destroyed. He will contact myself and I will put the city in defense.”

  “You are to trail after the orcs and just observe. If you can do some damage without being compromised, then do it. If they find that they have a surprise for us, then try to get back into the city if possible and warn us. The city is too big for them to surround us with 750 orcs. You should be able to get in using the south gate. I’ll let the gate guards know that we have a man out there who might be coming back in. If you do come in the gate like that just know the password will be “Milk Toast”.

  “If I get back in the city where will I find you? I don’t think you will want to have me sitting in a tavern waiting for you to show up.”

  “Go to the king’s garrison. Ask for Colonel Warner and use the same password. They will lead you to me immediately. Just remember don’t go get yourself killed out there. It is going to be a tough fight but we can defeat them. Or at least repel them. We think you could become a great asset for us and we don’t like losing a great asset to an orc club. Take the disk and good luck.”

  He was met at the gate by Shadow. “We hunt?”

  “We observe and when the prey starts to move…. we hunt.”

  This was the most confidant he had felt in days. The idea of hunting orcs was appealing. They headed off at a fast pace. The Great River was warm and moving at a slow pace. When they got to the far side he cast an orc illusion on himself and he cast a camouflage grass pattern on Shadow. They had a purpose and there wasn’t any wasted energy or wasted words or thoughts. The only thought was how many orcs could they kill.

  They got to the orcs staging are a few hours after dark. They had stopped only a few times to drink water and eat. They kept up a fast jog almost the entire trip. The orcs were still there and this time they found a surprise they never expected.

  In the cove just off the beach were three ships. The flags flying on the ship masts were black, with what looked like an arm holding a sword in white. Roland thought the flag was appropriate but surly they could have thought of a better flag.

  They were off loading supplies on the beach. Roland went down to the beach in his orc illusion and looked around. The supplies were food with some armor and weapons. It wasn’t the best equipment but it was better than the normal stuff used by the orcs.

  On the beach there were a number of large rocks and he was afraid he was going to get told to help with the supplies. So knelt down near a bolder and cast his shadow illusion on himself. Shadow was still above the bluff looking down. He let Roland know a boat with a lot of people in it was coming off the biggest ship.

  Out of the darkness a large row boat came ashore. The three shaman were waiting for the boat and a big pirate jumped out of the boat and greeted the orcs. The pirate had tight blue pants and tall black boots. He shirt was red with a blue jacket and gold colored buttons. He wore a black tricorn hat with gold trim and a large feather that looked like it had better days. He had a big black beard and …. He had two gold teeth. It was Pirate Captain Baal.

  The three shaman approached and it was more like a staring contest to see who would blink first. Roland could tell that they were here together but they would rather be killing each other. Baal was standing there with his chest pushed out and he was trying to suck in his pot belly. The three shaman were growling and acted like they were going to cast any minute.

  Several men jumped out of the boat behind Baal. They had swords and cross bows. They carried a bag with them. Whatever was inside was quite big. It looked to be a standoff at the moment. Finally, Captain Baal spoke. “Ok orcs. I’ve provided you with the extra food and equipment. Are you ready to provide your part of the bargain now?”

  The oldest looking shaman spoke up. “Not everything is ready. You were to provide two magical items.”

  Captain Baal replied. “I have your items. It would have been easier if you would have taken the gold. You could have taken the town months ago if you had taken the gold. You wouldn’t have to be still dealing with me and I wouldn’t have to be smelling you. So I hope this is worth the effort.”

  He waved the man with the bag forward. He reached in and pulled out a shield. It was a dull black thing. It was about two feet in diameter but there weren’t any markings on the thing at all. Just a dull black look. “This is the Shield of Void Magic. It will absorb any negative magic cast at the one holding the shield. The shield as far as we know hasn’t ever been even scratched. It will stop any mundane weapon but it acts like a shield. Magic it seems to absorb if it even gets close to the bearer. Except for beneficial spells.” Baal handed the shield over to the shaman. He handed it over to one of the orcs who were acting as guard
for the shaman.

  Captain Baal pulled a ring off his finger. It was a wooden ring. It looked like the ring had been polished and looked very smooth. The wood was a dark golden brown color. “This ring is the “Gossamer Ring”. If you push some mana into the ring it will make the wearer light as a feather. This will allow wearer to run for a short time incredibly fast or will allow them to jump very high.” He handed this over to the old shaman and he place the ring on his finger.

  Captain Baal spoke again. “This was the best I could do at short notice. I know neither could be used in an offensive way but like I said with such short notice it is the best I could do. Now, have we come to the point where you will agree to attack Port Orchard.?”

  “We will attack Port Orchard. If we break through and take the city the city is ours. Are we agreed on that?”

  “You can have the city but we get the boats. Especially that new ship they are building. You can’t damage the ships. If you are unable to break through the city walls then you attack till we get the ship. Once we get the ship you can either take the city or go back to your grass home land.”

  “We agree. If you have men in the city they will die by our hands. Stay on the dock and in your ships. I can’t guarantee your safety if you enter the city.”

  “Agreed.”

  Captain Baal stepped back onto his row boat and they rowed back to the ships. The orcs were spitting at the humans. “Stupid humans. They pay to have us kill their own. If they haven’t taken that ship by the time we get to the docks. Kill them all.”

  The shaman made the orc who had the shield stand in front of him. He started to cast a spell and the orc holding the shield hid behind it. A fireball came out of the staff with a Lava Stone on it and burst on the shield. The fireball disappeared. It was as if the shield just absorbed it. It was a magic shield.