An Easy Day's Journey

We've spent the day walking back towards the under-land, and the closer we've come the more I've realised that I really have missed the place.  I'm excited about the prospect of returning to my home.  We're not making quick progress, though, and that's probably a good thing.  My legs still ache after the exertions of the past two days chasing down that Gurgam column.

On the journey I asked Barr if he didn't mind explaining a little of his 'special' dice techniques.  It's not the winning of money that is interesting to me, but the challenge of understanding the mechanics of it and knowing things that others do not that I have such an interest in.  He agreed, and we dropped away from the main group a little while he began instructing me.

Before he started teaching me he made me swear on oath to not go blabbing about the methods to all and sundry.  I easily obliged him - if I can become only half as good as he is I'd just throw my knowledge away by telling everyone the secrets.  I do not think it would be helpful to leave too much here in the record of my adventures.  All I will say is that the methods do not relate solely to the dice, that is just one aspect of it.  And it revolves around mathematics, which is something that I've learned well from my dealings with the Dzarraf engineers over the years.  He's promised to give me quite a grounding in the use of playing cards, dice, and a couple of games of rigged chance involving some cups and a pea.

Tonight we're staying in a small Gnaeblin town called Burrussina, and the Hznaman and I have been given proper beds to sleep on.  It's luxury compared to what we've endured recently.  I am going to have a bath!

An Invitation to Sanvell

We has a good celebration last night.  These Hznaman were something of an attraction.  The Gnaeblin do not often see visitors from their lands, and they were full of questions and calls for stories and songs.  They did not disappoint.  Kenner, once the beer had kicked in, was entertaining in the worst possible way - and he is paying for it this morning with an almighty headache.  He was quite a draw for many of the Dzarraf, whom he insisted on trying to out-drink.

Barr seemed to drink very little, and in the end of the night he was running a dice table.  Several hardy Gnaeblin and a couple of Dzarraf were in good spirits despite being fleeced quite badly by the gambling expert.  The others seemed keen to try and keep their profile a little lower, especially Mullory who seemed at pains to keep his beer intake to a gentle level.

Hushmaz and Daran took turns at telling tales of their battle, and at one point I was called upon to relate my time spent at the hands of the gruesome Gurgam.  I'm not normally a storyteller, but there was silence when I recounted my tale of suffering and final joy.  I let Daran relate the end, of how we assaulted their lair and defeated them.  He and Mullory shared this part of the tale between them.

We all rose late this morning, and I sat with Elenhugh and the others over breakfast.  We were discussing what to do next; in the heat of the battle Barr hadn't claimed enough bounty ears and he was a little concerned that their income was going to be less than they'd hoped, so they were discussing a plan which lead them back east to try and pick a few bonus Gnaeblin up.  Right in the middle of this, Hushmaz came to join us.  He was accompanied by Gallanarre who had arrived only a couple of hours ago, while we were all still asleep.  I was overjoyed to see him again.  He had been riven with guilt since my disappearance, he had been blaming himself, thinking that he shouldn't have left me there on the ground when we did badly in the fight I fell in.

I forgave him everything - I really do not know how he could have done more.  But he wasn't just here to renew his acquaintance with me, he was almost grinning when he told me of an invite me back to see Banneghenn who is rewarding his most faithful friends in this whole dirty matter.  My Hznaman friends were invited too.  When Barr explained what they'd been planning, Gallanarre pointed out that Banneghenn is the one paying their bounty, and he was in a very generous mood.  He suggested that it may pay them to talk to him directly.  They quickly changed their plans.  This is good news, I will be able to spend much more time in the company of people I've become very fond of.

The overland route is only two days journey from here to the gates of the under-land, and from there only another day to Sanvell.  There's no need for any night watches, either - we'll be journeying with Hushmaz's troops, and these, he said, will be an honour guard for heroes.  I think he's playing this up far too much.

A Mass Battle

We tailed the Gurgam column as it marched down the hills towards the Gnaeblin village.  Elenhugh kept us a mile from the column, and down wind of them as we were taking no chances.  We heard the fighting start up ahead, and we closed up behind the ranks of the enemy.  There, at the back, were the Ogruks, driving their slaves on into battle.

The idea was not to become involved straight away, we wanted them fully focussed on their enemy when we joined in.  We sat back for ten or fifteen minutes, and watched them slowly press on into the village.  Half the Ogruks had departed off to the west, round to the side of the battle away from us.  Elenhugh carefully picked his moment.  Barr went in first, he sneaked over to the Ogruks, as he killed the closest one Daran and Kenner ran screaming at them.  We caught them on the hop a little, another two fell to the brutal attacks of the warriors, while to the side another fell to Barr's nifty blade.  That was four Ogruks taken care of, there were only three left, but now we had the attention of the Gurgam just in front of them.  But with fewer Ogruks to control them some of the Gurgam had ideas of their own, a dozen or so turned and tried to flee back up the track where they'd come from.

The Ogruks tried to keep the Gurgam on course and at the same time defend against Kenner and Daran.  It was at this point that Mullory and I marched forward and engaged the Gurgam from the side, under the cover of Elenhugh's magic as i passed overhead and into the rank of Gurgam closest to us.  I'm not an advocate of violence but it was wholly fulfilling to be chopping away at these horrible enemy. I might have become a little carried away, I picked up a couple of hits that I ignored (and which were mostly deflected by my new armour anyway) but I think I finished off half a dozen of them before I backed off again.

Mullory and I had pushed a big gap through them, and we had gone a long way in.  I could hear Kenner and the fighting that surrounded he and Daran to my right, but they were out of sight behind a wall of Gurgam.  Some of the enemy were giving up and trying to run away, but I gathered by breath and went back to the fighting.  Then we were through, we'd pushed through the entire column, and ahead of us we could see the Gnaeblin and Dzarraf pushing them back towards us.  Then I heard a voice that I'd not expected and it was filled with surprise.  It was Hushmaz.

It was really good to see him.  For a moment we forgot about the fighting, which was dying down around us, and he came over and we embraced.  He was truly pleased to see me, he couldn't believe I was fighting in my woollen day clothes.  But I think I went up in is estimation once again.  We returned to fighting, which was now looking like it was almost over.

It took just a few minutes more - we soon had the Gurgam scurrying for the hills; our scouts reckoned that only twenty or so made it away alive.  There is to be something of a celebration tonight, casualties on our side have been light, and it's a good victory in military terms.

I introduced my new friends to Hushmaz, and I told him of their spectacular help in aiding me as I escaped the Gurgam and in attacking their lair only a few days later.  He told me that he'd used my disappearance as a rallying call back in the delve, so it's only fitting that my new friends should be invited to join in the feast in honour.

Hushmaz and I broke away from the main group and walked separately for a while.  The first thing he said to me was that he thought I'd lost weight.  I looked fitter and sharper than I had when I left.  I took that as a compliment, but it's a result of my constricted diet and heavy effort, especially in the last few days where we've covered a huge distance.  He really wanted to talk of the recent military happenings, though.  He told me that 5 days ago, in response to the news of my disappearance and a new call for volunteers, we had 500 new Dzarraf troops on hand.  The day after they had arrived, he joined them up with a thousand Gnaeblin who had gathered from the towns that has beaten back assaults, and they've gone away to the east, up into the mountains to slaughter as many Ogruks and Gurgam as they can find.

His assessment is that, with the huge losses inflicted on the Gurgam over the past few weeks, any current immediate threat appears to have abated - this column that we'd just fought was the last big one they've seen.  As far as he is concerned the main fight is now over, and with the attack pushed back onto the Gurgam, the war is considered won.  The fighting will officially be over when the troops return, until then everyone is staying on alert but he feels there is nothing more to be worried about.

We'll be joining in the my new friends in a few minutes, and I've managed to find some clothes that might fit me.  There are a lot of Dzarraf here in the camp from whom I could scrounge.  All the twenty mercenaries that the scout told us of survived, and there is Hushmaz' own column of troops who it seems arrived at dawn this morning.  It's almost like being at home again.

An Unexpected Visitor

An eventful night has drawn to an end with us quickly packing down the camp and heading out as quickly as we can.  The column started moving before daylight, and we need to be out of here and behind them when they move.

During my watch, which the first part of was shared with Barr, we heard some rustling off in the bushes to the south of our camp.  It didn't sound like anything big, but it was moving past our camp along the top of the rise.  We both quietly moved up there to see what it was, we weren't intending to be gone for more than a few minutes.  We were quite surprised by what we saw, though.  Sneaking through the bushes was a single Gnaeblin, dressed in leather armour, but only carrying a small sword for defence.  He didn't even have a shield.  When we saw him (actually I saw him, Barr couldn't see anything in the dark) he wasn't aware of our presence.

I had to whisper very closely to Barr, this Gnaeblin was only twenty feet or so from our position.  Barr then moved up the hill towards where he thought the soldier was.  He was so silent, even across the undergrowth of matted old leaves and brambles.  There was a faint 'unnng' noise, some whispering that I could barely hear, then quietly two figures returned to our location; Barr still had his hand clasped over the Gnaeblin's mouth.  I introduced myself and told him we were on the same side, then Barr let him go - I'm not sure how he would have reacted if I weren't here.  We all kept quiet as we went down the slope and closer to our camp.

Barr woke Elenhugh and we talked to the scout.  His name, he said, was Fegulian, and he was working as a scout out of Bilgrut, a town only five or so miles from here.  He told me that they'd been watching this column for the last day as it approached, and that they were preparing for an assault.  They wanted detailed numbers to help plan their defence better.  We'd already counted them, so we told him - and Elenhugh offered our help, he was quite up front about the bounty that they were chasing (but he didn't tell him how much the price per ear was).  Fegulian seemed relieved that there were more experienced warriors willing to join in.  As far as he was concerned we could have all the ears we wanted, as long as the Gurgam were dead.

He, like many who lived in these outlying villages, had been expecting a visit from me and my team a couple of weeks ago, until the news that I'd been involved in an attack and had been pronounced missing presumed dead.  Fegulian told me how he'd met Hushmaz only a week ago, and that the old campaigner was absolutely horrified that I'd gone missing in a fight that he could have been involved with.  He'd even summoned more Dzarraf forces to help fight as a result of my disappearance.

He told me that only a couple of days ago twenty Dzarraf had arrived in the village for precisely this attack.  He'd never seen such a blood-thirsty bunch in all his time; they're really angry about the Gurgam, and seem to have become quite feral.  He relayed to Elenhugh the general layout of the village, and where the column were expected to attack from, the lands give them a few options to attack from, but they thought they had it all covered.

He spent about an hour with us talking over these things before heading back to his village with some good news.  He could see my armour plight, so he took off his leather shoulder protection and his gauntlets and handed them to me - they're just about the only armour he's wearing that come close to fitting me.  I even tried his helmet, but it's far too small.

He has more available in the village, he said, but he was worried that I had nothing for the fight I was about to join in with.  I objected that he still had to journey back to his home, but he was adamant - there is nothing about that could be a danger other than the enemy, and he's fully aware of their presence.  This is fortunate - the equipment is quite tight, but it's far better than just simple woollen clothes.  I will return these items when we get to the village and the fighting is over - hopefully later today.

So Close We Can Smell Them

We're within a mile of them now.  We chased them down all afternoon and we tailed them closely for an hour, but they stopped when evening came, and we don't yet know why.  They're definitely Gurgam, and they've got Ogruks behind them with whips to keeping them moving.

I know now that we're very close to the lands of the Gnaeblin, and I'm feeling somewhat torn.  On one hand I know I could slip down to their lands and warn them about what is happening, but on the other hand I know how many scouts we sent out from the villages when I was with them.  I even gave recommendations about how many to send out and where to send them to, so I know there is little I could tell them that they shouldn't already know.

Our camp site is at the top of a rise, amid some low bushes and a few isolated trees.  We're just beyond the slope away from the column to their south-east.  Our camp is a little inadequate, the plan is to be able to pick it up quickly and move out with little notice when the Gurgam move.

We've assessed their numbers, there's probably one hundred and fifty Gurgam here, and maybe another ten or fifteen Ogruks.  That's too many for the six of us to take on in one go so the plan is now to tail them until they attack.  Then we can scout around the back picking up small clumps of them and working with whoever else is fighting them.  Kenner and Elenhugh were discussing the tactics earlier, as usual Kenner just wanted to wade in, but Elenhugh finally convinced him that the bounty is only good if you get to spend it.

We're on double-watch again tonight, and I'll be on the darkest spell across the early hours of the morning.  That's good, I can sleep and rest my weary legs for now.  How my thighs and calves ache from the continuous, relentless speed we've been moving at for the last two days.

Distant Forces

We've had a quiet night, and that make a bit of a change.  We awoke to a little bit of frost, but the sky was cloud-free.  It stayed cold until the sun peeped over the mountains to the east.  I dislike this frosty cold, the chill hits deep inside, stabbing like a blade unlike the sodden cold of yesterday in the rain.  Strangely the others seemed to be refreshed by it.

It didn't help that we had a cold breakfast, but Barr told me that he cannot hunt for food for a while - he's trying to preserve his arrows.  I mentioned my snare that had been successful several days ago, he said he'd never really liked using them before - they're a bit hit-and-miss, and he prefers to kill his prey without any suffering.  In the circumstances, though, he's quite happy to use them for the time being; he doesn't like the idea of eating badger though, how odd.

Mullory seemed especially cheered by the weather, especially once the sun reached us.  He was humming somewhat tunelessly as we walked along.  I suspect that what the Hznaman take as being music isn't anything like the expressive, deeply thought-provoking stuff we enjoy in the under-land.

We strode over a rise in the hills and there before us was a level plain, stretching away into the distance.  It falls away from here into the west, and rises to the south, rolling and tumbling over this high moor as it goes.  It's very green, and is dotted with woodland and seems to be crossed haphazardly by rivers and streams fed by the mountains behind us and off to our left.

We took a first proper look at the lands ahead of us, the low cloud of yesterday meant we couldn't really see well.  We can see now far across the wide rolling plateau, and many miles away we can see the smudge of a line - and it seems to be moving.  Our best guess is that its a large force of soldiers, but it's hard to see it clearly.  It could be fifteen miles or more away.  Its hard to say from here but it seem to be heading mostly west and a little south.

We aren't sure if its safe or not - it could be Gurgam, and I'm pretty sure that's what Barr thinks it is, the look of greed that flowed across his face when we saw them was unmistakable, he sees it as income.  If they are Gurgam then we have a problem with their numbers.  Personally, I'm hoping they're Dzarraf who can lead us back to the lands of the Gnaeblin in safety.

We set off after them, though.  Elenhugh asked us all to up our pace.  I think he wants to try and catch them up before they reach the civilised lands of the Gnaeblin.

Tracking All Day

I'm feeling really weary.  We've marched hard all day, mostly skirting around the lower lying ground to keep ourselves out of sight of the land below us away west.  I think we're being a bit ambitious about that - there's little chance of them picking us up at this distance, we could only see them because there are so many of them.  But we've made good progress, we've clearly cut the distance from them, it's probably only half what it was this morning.  If they're Gurgam then they're making poor progress, you hear stories of them making huge journeys across open land with so few stops.

By mid afternoon we crossed their path.  It's quite a wide trail, but they don't appear to be marching in any order, it's more of a rabble than an organised army.  Based on the tracks Barr thinks these are mostly Gurgam, but there are several Ogruks along with the group.  He's judging this on the length of the stride and the weight of the creatures, and to me it looks like it could be Gnaeblin and Hznaman footprints we're seeing.  He is an expert though.

I'm not the only one who has problems with weariness, I'm glad to say.  We struggled to find a place to camp tonight, we needed somewhere hidden enough so we couldn't be seen by the group we're tracking, but where there is water and shelter.  I wanted somewhere with some protection from the frost, of course.  I didn't get it - we found another small group of trees at the bottom of a ravine, but we're camped at the edge down by the noisy stream that runs along here to the north.  If it's clear tonight we'll be covered in frost again.  And it's going to be another cold camp, Mullory and Elenhugh are convinced that a fire will have them coming to look for us.

I've set my snare for the night, though.  I also pulled some fresh bark strips and made another.  We set them not far from the camp and baited them with some berries that are growing around the woodland.  I've eaten a few of these over my journey of the last week or two, and Barr tells me they're called 'blackberries'.  They're wholly new to me though, and I really like them.