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

  On the way up he was able to shoot a Snow Goose. He would have good eating for a few days and he liked using the white feathers for his arrows. The combination of black wood from Black Cedar and the white feathers made his arrows look menacing. Or at least he thought they did.

  As he climbed the mountain to the pass he changed his camouflage several times. Depending on the plants and rocks around him. What was neat about his “Change self” spell was that he could change anything that was on his person. His bow and arrows were camouflaged. If he worked the spell right he was almost invisible. What was weird was when he shot his bow the arrow as soon as it left his bow would lose its camouflage effect.

  It was a beautiful day. Roland had passed near a few Red Elk. On the way down he would take one of these animals. Their hide was very thick and it would make a good pair of boots for this coming winter. He also avoided a pack of Mountain Wolves. It looked like one pack was taking over another packs hunting grounds. They were chasing down their own species. He knew the wolves did this type of thing but it was the first time he had ever seen it occur. Well better they are after another pack than after him.

  It was late afternoon on the second day when he got near the pass. He didn’t want to camp right in the pass so he stayed about an hour’s walk from the pass. He found a ledge that went back into a cliff face. It seemed to fit what he was looking for. It gave him some protection if it rained and it was hidden from sight unless you walked along this small section of cliff face. He could go in or out in either direction.

  He was able to start a small fire with very little smoke. He heated up the left over goose and was very satisfied. Before he went to sleep he set up trip wires that would knock down some rocks for an alarm if anything came down either entry way to his camp. From his vantage point he could see across the vast Alondale Forest. It would take an incredible amount of time to travel the distance he was able to see across form his vantage point. The sun was setting and with the orange, purple and blues he couldn’t think of a more beautiful place at that moment.

  The next morning, he was up early. He wasn’t sure why but he always woke up early when he was outside sleeping. At home inside the cabin it was hard to get up early and get going. He had some mint tea with come goose and some berry’s. The breakfast of tough forest dwellers.

  He hid his pack behind some large rocks in his camping spot. He took his bow and both his quivers. He took a small sack with him. If he was going to get some Mountain Phlox, he needed something to carry it in.

  He took down his traps before he left. If anyone walked by his camping spot they would never know someone was camping there. This high up in the mountains it was nippy in the morning. The wind was whipping by fast. It made sounds hard to hear clearly. He would have to be careful. He headed up the mountain for the phlox. He would also be able to look down over the pass and see if any orcs were traveling over the pass. He changed his camouflage to grey with streaks of green. The mountain pass was full of grey granite. Between the granite cracks plants grew in every possible place where dirt would get trapped. Higher up the alpine flowers were everywhere. It was an explosion of color. This had to be one of the best trips of his life time. He loved the solitude with the absolute beauty of the alpine mountains. It didn’t take him an hour before he had filled his sack with phlox. They would have enough to last the year and then some.

  As he was finishing up his herbal collection when he noticed a bunch of mountain goats bounding over the cliffs close to the pass. Something had spooked them. Well enjoying nature time was over. Now to seek out some experience.

  He was disappointed. The mountain goats had been running from a mountain lion. It was a Sabretooth Mountain Lion. It had made a good kill and shouldn’t be hunting again for several days. That was one animal Roland didn’t want to defend against. They were grey in the summer time with black stripes and the winter they turned to white with grey stripes. He considered himself lucky to actually see one that wasn’t trying to eat him.

  He stayed right where he was. His chosen position afforded him the ability to see everything going up or dawn the pass. If he needed to move he could back out without being seen and get down to the pass quickly from behind a wall of granite. To Roland it looked like a huge spike of grey rock exploded out of the ground and was frozen in place. His hiding spot blocked the wind and the sun was warming things up.

  If he wasn’t enjoying the movement of the animals and birds in the area, he might have gotten bored. The pass was teaming with small rodents. Birds of prey were everywhere trying to snag an unsuspecting marmot. Insects were going from flower to flower, and small lizards were soaking up the sun laying out on the rocks. His father had taught him to watch everything. The animals would let you know something was amiss long before you would know it.

  The birds stopped their songs. The lizard’s head twisted and peered down the pass. There it was, movement. It was three orcs. None of them were well equipped. They all had clubs. The wind was strong enough he couldn’t hear them. He could see they were talking amongst themselves. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, and if he could he was sure he didn’t know their language. He would need to be careful. He would track them and hopefully he could find them alone at some time. He let them get beyond his position before he moved. He would stay behind them and hope for an opportunity.

  It wasn’t long before they found the remains of the cat’s kill. The scavengers had started working on it and that was how they found it. Vultures circling the left overs made the kill easy to find. It seemed that orcs were scavengers too. They didn’t seem bothered by eating left overs. They also spent a lot of time breaking apart the bones. They must like bone marrow to spend the rest of the day picking it out.

  The night was closing fast and the orcs weren’t going anywhere. The first of the moons was up early. This would be helpful he would be able to tell what was going on at least for the first part of the night. They didn’t even start a fire. They just leaned up against some boulders. After a good meal they just went to sleep.

  Two of the orcs were in the open. One was between two rocks. They didn’t sleep quietly either. They didn’t snore but they made grunts and would groan a bit. Or that was what it sounded like. It had been over two hours since they were asleep. He was sure none of them were on guard. The two in the open were easy targets. He was sure he could take them down and he would be able to exit the area before the third had time to chase him down. He would shoot two shots. Run to the overlook at the pass and cast shadow meld. He would be invisible in those dark shadows. Then if all worked out he would be able to track the single orc.

  He pulled out two arrows. He placed one on the boulder next to him. He could grab it as soon as he released the first arrow. He strung his bow, took a few breaths to calm his nerves. The wind was still strong. This high up he was happy the wind wasn’t stronger. He would have to adjust his aim. He used his iron arrowheads. They penetrated better and he wanted to make sure they penetrated deep. He didn’t want more than one orc after him. One more breath. Breath out. Lose just before the next breath.

  The first arrow was on its way. The second arrow was picked up. Draw. Release. The eyes of the first orc sprung open as the arrow entered his chest. The second orc opened its eyes to see what was going on when it was hit in its chest.

  The first orc lay without moving. The second was rolling on the ground in agony. The third was up and looking around the area trying to spot the attacker. Roland was backing out of the area and was heading to higher ground.

  Once Roland was back in his hide spot he cast shadow meld. He was invisible. The second orc was pulled by the third between the rocks. They were both out of sight. The first still lay where he was hit unmoving with white fletching standing out in the moon light.

  Roland didn’t sleep. He wanted to make sure they couldn’t track him up the mountain. The orcs stayed out of sight the rest of the night and he wasn’t able to tell if he got two kills or not. He was sure the orc
wouldn’t be able to do much. Not even an orc could recover from an arrow to the chest without plenty of convalescence.

  It was late in the morning when one of the orcs stuck his head out from between the rocks. He spent time looking and scanning the area. Since late in the night when the shadow meld fell away Roland was back in his camouflage. He didn’t move. Movement was always the giveaway, even in while camouflaged. After about 5 minutes of looking around the orc took off running. He headed over to Alondale Forest. Why he didn’t head back to the Great Grass Sea who knew?

  Roland went down and checked on the two orcs. Both were dead. He was able to retrieve one of his arrows. The other had been broken into small pieces. He did salvage the arrowhead and the fletching.

  He started out tracking the last orc. He was moving at a fast pace. Roland marked the tracks in his mind and went back and grabbed some breakfast from his pack. He dropped off the herbs and took some jerky and trail bread.

  The orc wasn’t hard to track. In fact, it was so easy Roland was afraid he was being set up to be ambushed. He took his time making sure the orc didn’t back track or anything underhanded. After about an hour of tracking the orc was moving at a slow steady pace. He must have thought he was out of danger.

  Roland was getting close. The tracks were very fresh. He was heading up a slow slope when he heard yelling and growling. He crawled up the slope to peek over. The orc was fighting over what looked to be a young wolf’s kill. Why was a young mountain wolf by himself? Was the orc incapable of killing for himself? Well he should have expected this from the orc. The orc would rush in with his club swinging wildly. The wolf would back off and after the swing dart in and nip at the orcs legs. This caused the orc to jump back. This went on for a few minutes when the two started circling on another. Time to finish the hunt.

  Roland strung his bow. Pulled out a good arrow and knocked it. Check the wind. He rose steadily up, aimed and loosed the arrow. The arrow sailed true hitting the orc in neck. That was a bit higher than he was aiming. Might have been the shooting down hill and into the wind. Well he was sure it was a kill shot. The orc pulled it out of his neck, only making the arteries bleed more.

  The wolf shot forward and ripped the orcs neck out. Well if the arrow didn’t do it the wolf ensured he wasn’t getting back up. The wolf backed away and stood over his kill. The wolf was immature. He was lucky and took down a young deer. He must have been part of the pack that was being destroyed by the other wolf pack.

  Roland wanted his arrow and to be on his way. He didn’t want to wait for the wolf to finish his meal. That would take too long. So he spoke softly to the wolf and tried to calm him down. He raised his hands showing he didn’t want to harm him. “Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you I just want my arrow. Easy does it.”

  It’s mine, I killed it.

  “Yea, I know and it is all yours. I already ate. You need to eat your hungry…………… Uh. That was weird.” I can feel his hunger. I feel his relief and his enjoyment of the meat. “What is wrong with me.”

  The wolf looked up at him. Why do I understand you?

  This was really getting weird. He could hear the wolf in his head. He knew what it wanted and how it felt. He knew he could get his arrow and not have to worry about attack. So he walked over and pick up his arrow. “Why are you by yourself? Where is your pack?”

  Other pack killed my pack. I ran different direction from pack. I was confused. I’m too young to be on my own. You my pack now.

  Wow the orc had a very strong smell. The deer and blood smell was overwhelming. The world of smell was overpowering. How was this happening? Roland was becoming more aware of the world around him. The wolf was watching out for the other pack. They were close.

  He started back to his camp. If the other pack was near, then they needed to get to a place where they could defend themselves. As Roland started jogging towards his camp the wolf started running behind him. He was being followed and it just seemed right.

  It was like he had the wolf in his head but he wasn’t. His sense of smell to Roland was like opening up a new world. Like a blind person getting sight. It was that dramatic. His hearing was more acute. He knew what the wolf’s concerns were. They would be coming for them soon. They had decimated the only pack the wolf knew. They would find his trail and they would come for him.

  When they got back to camp Roland set up two dead fall traps. One on each side of his camp. If the other pack showed up they could keep them at bay on the narrow ledge. Roland didn’t know for sure how big the other pack was. Wolf didn’t seem to understand the concept of numbers. He did understand packs and it seemed like this other pack was significantly larger than his last pack. It also had a particularly large alpha male. Roland had access to the memories of wolf. That was helpful. He knew what the other alpha looked like and what he smelled like.

  Roland got a camp fire going. He was hoping that in itself would cause pause in the other pack. Wolf wasn’t happy about the fire but he trusted his now new alpha male. Roland also shared some jerky with wolf. He was definitely going to need to do some hunting tomorrow.

  The howls started a few hours later. Roland had thought they might avoid them but no such luck. Mountain Wolves were large and they didn’t hesitate in attacking men. They came down the trail the direction that Roland and wolf came in on. Hopefully they wouldn’t find the other entrance to his camp. Wolf got up and Roland knew he needed to get ready for the uninvited guests.

  Roland picked up both quivers of arrows. One on his hip and the extra on his back. He picked up several pieces of wood that were burning and started a fire on the trail that covered their back. Hopefully if they came both directions the fire on the trail would keep them from attacking in both directions. He also placed a small fire in the direction he was sure they were coming from. The howls were getting louder. Then he heard a thump and a yelp. The dead fall trap took at least one wolf down.

  The wolves were moving in fast, until they rounded the last curve on the ledge and they were faced with a small fire. Funny how animals fear fire. Even if its small. They were bunched up now that their movement was checked. Roland let fly his first arrow. The wolf went over the edge. Ugh, he wouldn’t get that arrow back. He loosed three more arrows taking down three more wolves. They stayed back beyond the line of sight.

  Wolf let Roland know they were coming from the other direction. Just what Roland was worried about. Now that he understood how wolf thought, wolves were very intelligent. By the time he made it to the opposite trail a real big mountain wolf was jumping over the fire. Roland had to act fast. He hit the wolf in the chest but he still came. Wolf hit the big animal from the side taking the attention away from Roland. Wolf was overmatched even with an arrow in the big animal’s chest. He was dwarfed by what must have been the alpha from the other pack. It was enough time for Roland to get another arrow into its heart. The big animal dropped. This seemed to demoralize the other pack. They backed away and left.

  The rest of the night wolf and Roland took turns watching. Roland kept the camp fire going even larger than he normally would. The fire really checked the movement of the wolves so he felt comfortable with a big fire.

  The next day Roland skinned the animals and sent the carcasses over the cliff. They didn’t need to bring more scavengers around this area. Roland decided to find another camp site. They packed up and headed for higher ground. The area overlooking the pass had lots of areas for a camp site. Wolf was the one to find a nice small cave. They barley fit but it worked. They would be out of any rain and a fire could be started without it being seen.

  Roland needed a Red Elk for a thick hide and he needed more food with wolf going through his jerky so fast. He would have tried to get one on the way down but there was a need so they would try for one today. He pictured what he wanted in his head and wolf knew right were to go. Roland had to really run like the wind to keep up. It wasn’t 30 minutes late when the smell of an elk was detectable. How he knew what a Red Elk smelled
like he wasn’t sure. This bond or whatever it was, was working well. Wolf gave Roland the impression to stay still. He cast his camouflage and waited. It was about 10 minutes later when an elk came over the ridge line. Wolf was in hot pursuit. The elk didn’t even see the arrow hit him. He was so concerned about the wolf behind him Roland didn’t even have a long shot to take. Hunting just took on a whole different aspect.

  Wolf was happy. He just laid in the alpine meadow soaking up some sun while Roland skinned the elk. He then made a travois to carry all the meat and hide back to the cave. It was going to be a long haul back home with the wolf pelts and the elk. There were a few areas that still had a few patches of snow in some shadowed areas. Roland placed the elk in one of these and covered it as best he could. He still had several more days and he would like to get some more orcs if possible before going back down.

  It was late afternoon when they were done with the elk. Roland pictured an orc in his mind and that made wolf skittish. He didn’t like orcs. It seemed he had some bad experiences with them. When Roland let him know he was hunting them wolf accepted it but he wasn’t happy. Why hunt when they had the elk. When Roland pictured himself being bigger and stronger in his mind wolf understood. Wolf seemed to like the idea of getting bigger and stronger too.

  Wolf knew where the orcs were. This was his old packs hunting area and it seemed the orcs came up this way into their hunting grounds every year. There was a small valley the orcs stayed in. To wolf the orcs always messed up their hunts. It seemed if the wolves weren’t careful the orcs would steal their kills. Roland had no idea that orcs were just as much scavengers as they were hunters. This trip was becoming a better and better educational trip by the minute.

  They traveled a few hours over a few more ridges. It was getting dark when they came to the valley where the orcs stayed during the summer. It seemed the orcs came up in groups through the pass. Instead of going into the Alondale Forest they went north further into the mountains. There were large herds of elk up here in the summer time. Wolf also warned Roland about the Cockatrice and Yeti in the area.