REMEMBERING MY LIFE Chapter 15 part 1 of 2  

REMEMBERING MY LIFE Chapter 15 part 1 of 2

Every few days I managed to kill a deer or antelope as we came out of the hills and down onto a lightly wooded plain. We moved through the plain easily following an old trail that gradually widened into a road. Several times we found large farmsteads that had been destroyed but the tracks always led away to the north.

Ellie was silent each time we found the farmsteads. It was a week before we walked around a thick stand of woods and saw the small city, it had high walls and towers. The city was across a wide, deep river rushing through it. We went through the gate and the way led to the left and around towards the stream.

Ruin and wreckage was scattered everywhere, and the stench of death was almost overpowering. We were to a body strewn bridge when three orcs emerged from a building. There was no hesitation, my rifle came up and I shot the first in the chest and then the second. The third turned to run and I put a bullet through the back of its head.

I looked around before reaching back to pull on the horses, “make sure Little One and Charles are in the wagon.”

Ellie went to look in the wagon as we reached the bridge and started across. I could see tall wooden gates on the other side of the bridge with what looked like hundreds of orc bodies. The horses resisted going closer, but I kept pulling until they followed. I finally had to stop and pull bodies aside before we could move forward.

I could see men above the gate on each side. When Ellie made a noise, I turned to see a half dozen orcs trotting towards us. I knelt and started with the ones behind and worked my way up to the last one as it got close to the wagon. I put a single bullet through each orc’s head and stood when I was done.

I went back to moving bodies and a second later the gate opened, and a dozen men came out to help. When it was clear Ellie led the horses through the gate as I fell in behind. One of the men, a tall wide shouldered man walked with me, “I do not know how you made it through.”

I shrugged, “they have been ahead of us. These were the first we have seen.”

They closed the gates, and he shook his head, “the first we knew they were climbing the outer walls and overrunning the guards. We barely had time to reach this side of the river.”

I glanced around at the few people, “they have not tried to reach you very hard.”

He shook his head, “they are too busy with those that did not make it.”

I continued to follow the wagon as Ellie led the team through the city. The man shook his head when we stopped in a stable yard by the other gate, “most of the people left out this gate already.”

I went to help Ellie unharness the horses, “let us look around?”

He nodded, and I looked at Ellie while working. She smiled and glanced back, “not many orcs are going to attack anywhere but the bridge, they fear water.”

I smiled, “unless they find another way across.”

She nodded, and we collected Little One and Charles before heading back to the gate blocking the bridge. From the wall beside the gate, we could see into the city as orcs moved around. I finally gave Little One to Ellie and aimed the supper long before squeezing the trigger. There was the crack of the bullet as one of the orcs head exploded.

I nodded and began slowly picking targets. More orcs saw what the noise was, but they did not seem to connect the sound with them dying or with us. Ellie snorted, “so gorged they cannot think.”

I killed two hundred before I stopped, “I need more ammo.”

Ellie grinned and turned to climb down. She was back thirty minutes later and there were already a hundred orcs across the bridge looking towards us. She helped load magazines from the bullets in the wooden box. It took ten rounds before they began to understand that the sound and the dying orcs were caused by something we were doing.

They slipped away into buildings and the few streets, so I was left with nothing to shoot. I reloaded and smiled at Ellie, “Dinner?”

She smiled and rubbed my shoulder, “they will try again tonight.”

I nodded as I moved the box of ammo closer to the wall under the firing port, “I know.”

While I continued to watch she went to make something to eat. The man that had let us in sat and yawned, “That weapon sure makes killing them orcs easier.”

I nodded as I thought about all the farmsteads we had seen on the way here, “There has been a lot of orcs moving around.”

He nodded, “we should have listened to the party of mages that came through last month.”

I looked away from the bridge and at him and he shook his head, “They said the orc breeding cycle had ended.”

I kept looking and he shrugged, “when they stop breeding it is time to expand and they all seem to gather into one great army.”

I gestured towards the bridge, “that is not a great army.”

He shook his head, “we heard rumors of something happening to the north.”

I looked at Ellie when she returned, “you know about orc breeding cycles?”

She looked towards the bridge and after several moments nodded, “that would explain a lot.”

She sighed, “the city of Calef is two days away.”

I looked at her as she turned to face the man, “you will not be safe here.”

Ellie nodded to the box of ammo, “we need to leave while we can.”

I bent to lift the box and the man began calling to people as we went back to our wagon. I was thinking of our trip through the forest and sighed. After putting the ammo away, I started harnessing the horses while Ellie packed everything away. People began joining us until the man by the gate pushed through, “this is everyone.”

I shook my head, the city must have had a thousand people but there was maybe two hundred here. I bent to pick up Little One and set her on the wagon seat with Charles before moving to lead the horses towards a gate in the outer wall. I glanced back a few minutes later to see Ellie lifting small children and putting them in the wagon.

Several minutes after that she was walking beside me and reached for my hand. I squeezed it as I thought, “we will stop at midnight and continue after the sun rises.”

She nodded, “I put the smaller children in the wagon.”

I smiled, “did you tell Charles and Little One to watch them?”

She laughed and glanced back, “they think they are in heaven.”

I stopped for breaks every hour to let people rest. When I stopped at midnight men and women moved together to lay down. I unharnessed the horses and let them rest as I brushed them before laying with Ellie to watch the night sky. The next day was more of the same except a few men ranged ahead to hunt and scout.

We stopped after dark and built a few fires to cook on before putting them out. Noon of the next day we walked over a low ridge and saw the large city of Calef. There was a high solid looking cliff behind the city with a wide river flowing through it. The outer walls were at least fifty feet tall with many crenels and arrow slits.
There were people working in the fields and they stopped to watch as we passed. At the gates Ellie had me stop while the small children were lifted out of the back. I smiled when we went through the gate to see a second curtain wall inside the first. We went through the second wall and Ellie started leading me through the streets.

We crossed the river on a stone bridge and continued to the south until we reached the sloop leading up to the cliff. She grinned and nodded to a grassy area, “park there.”

After stopping and putting the horses on leads Ellie took my hand and started climbing towards the cliff. When we reached the cliff, she grinned and pointed to glyphs carved in a wide arch. I looked and she grinned, “an illusion.”

She touched the cliff under the arch and suddenly a set of tall, wide doors replaced the granite of the cliff. She grinned and pushed on one side, it opened slowly, and she led me in, “I had a mage build this when he was still here. Of course, I made a large house for him where I was, so we are even.”

The hall was very wide and tall and went to a huge room with couches and comfortable chairs around a huge fireplace in the back wall. I grinned and squeezed her hand, “this is big enough to entertain a dragon.”

She laughed and nodded to the doorway on the right, “the kitchen and dining area.”

She pulled me after her to the left and through another doorway with steps that led up. Above were several floors with large bedrooms, each with a small fireplace and fire as well as a bathing room. We returned to the wagon and started moving everything but stopped to make dinner and eat.

We were sitting together on a couch when there was a knock on the door. Several older men stood looking anxious when I opened the door and gestured them in. I led them back to the fireplace where Ellie was waiting and sat beside her, “you need something?”

One nodded, “I am Henry Dodson. We were told you had a weapon to kill orcs.”

I smiled, “I have a weapon.”

He cleared his throat, “we have several elven scouts that have reports orcs gathering to the north. They say it is a vast army.”

I looked at Ellie, “I cannot kill thousands.”

She bit her lip as I looked at the men, “I will think about your problem.”

After they left, we climbed the stairs to a large chamber with a big bed. There were several narrow deep slits in the wall to let in the night air. Somehow Little One and Charles had found their way and were already stretched out across the bed. As I lay holding Ellie I was thinking and knew I could not make enough weapons to stop a whole army.

I had dozens of ideas that I discarded as fast as they came. I was up early and dressed before I left and walked across the city after feeding the horses. The guards looked at me as I went through the inner curtain wall and looked at the wide gap between it and the outer wall. There were three outer gates and two inners.

I climbed steps and looked out at the fields beyond before walking all the way from the river and around to where it met it again. I did the same with the inner curtain wall before walking the streets and then checking the three bridges over the river. I found the marketplace and went looking for what I needed to make more ammunition.

When I returned to the cliff Ellie was outside brushing the horses down. I watched before walking up behind her and putting my arms around her, “I wish I knew how large this army was going to be.”

She leaned back with a sigh, “thousands.”

I looked at her and she turned to touch my face, “this is the end of a major breeding cycle.”
I looked across the river, “they might slow them but...”



Every few days I managed to kill a deer or antelope as we came out of the hills and down onto a lightly wooded plain. We moved through the plain easily following an old trail that gradually widened into a road. Several times we found large farmsteads that had been destroyed but the tracks always led away to the north.

Ellie was silent each time we found the farmsteads. It was a week before we walked around a thick stand of woods and saw the small city, it had high walls and towers. The city was across a wide, deep river rushing through it. We went through the gate and the way led to the left and around towards the stream.

Ruin and wreckage was scattered everywhere, and the stench of death was almost overpowering. We were to a body strewn bridge when three orcs emerged from a building. There was no hesitation, my rifle came up and I shot the first in the chest and then the second. The third turned to run and I put a bullet through the back of its head.

I looked around before reaching back to pull on the horses, “make sure Little One and Charles are in the wagon.”

Ellie went to look in the wagon as we reached the bridge and started across. I could see tall wooden gates on the other side of the bridge with what looked like hundreds of orc bodies. The horses resisted going closer, but I kept pulling until they followed. I finally had to stop and pull bodies aside before we could move forward.

I could see men above the gate on each side. When Ellie made a noise, I turned to see a half dozen orcs trotting towards us. I knelt and started with the ones behind and worked my way up to the last one as it got close to the wagon. I put a single bullet through each orc’s head and stood when I was done.

I went back to moving bodies and a second later the gate opened, and a dozen men came out to help. When it was clear Ellie led the horses through the gate as I fell in behind. One of the men, a tall wide shouldered man walked with me, “I do not know how you made it through.”

I shrugged, “they have been ahead of us. These were the first we have seen.”

They closed the gates, and he shook his head, “the first we knew they were climbing the outer walls and overrunning the guards. We barely had time to reach this side of the river.”

I glanced around at the few people, “they have not tried to reach you very hard.”

He shook his head, “they are too busy with those that did not make it.”

I continued to follow the wagon as Ellie led the team through the city. The man shook his head when we stopped in a stable yard by the other gate, “most of the people left out this gate already.”

I went to help Ellie unharness the horses, “let us look around?”

He nodded, and I looked at Ellie while working. She smiled and glanced back, “not many orcs are going to attack anywhere but the bridge, they fear water.”

I smiled, “unless they find another way across.”

She nodded, and we collected Little One and Charles before heading back to the gate blocking the bridge. From the wall beside the gate, we could see into the city as orcs moved around. I finally gave Little One to Ellie and aimed the supper long before squeezing the trigger. There was the crack of the bullet as one of the orcs head exploded.

I nodded and began slowly picking targets. More orcs saw what the noise was, but they did not seem to connect the sound with them dying or with us. Ellie snorted, “so gorged they cannot think.”

I killed two hundred before I stopped, “I need more ammo.”

Ellie grinned and turned to climb down. She was back thirty minutes later and there were already a hundred orcs across the bridge looking towards us. She helped load magazines from the bullets in the wooden box. It took ten rounds before they began to understand that the sound and the dying orcs were caused by something we were doing.

They slipped away into buildings and the few streets, so I was left with nothing to shoot. I reloaded and smiled at Ellie, “Dinner?”

She smiled and rubbed my shoulder, “they will try again tonight.”

I nodded as I moved the box of ammo closer to the wall under the firing port, “I know.”

While I continued to watch she went to make something to eat. The man that had let us in sat and yawned, “That weapon sure makes killing them orcs easier.”

I nodded as I thought about all the farmsteads we had seen on the way here, “There has been a lot of orcs moving around.”

He nodded, “we should have listened to the party of mages that came through last month.”

I looked away from the bridge and at him and he shook his head, “They said the orc breeding cycle had ended.”

I kept looking and he shrugged, “when they stop breeding it is time to expand and they all seem to gather into one great army.”

I gestured towards the bridge, “that is not a great army.”

He shook his head, “we heard rumors of something happening to the north.”

I looked at Ellie when she returned, “you know about orc breeding cycles?”

She looked towards the bridge and after several moments nodded, “that would explain a lot.”

She sighed, “the city of Calef is two days away.”

I looked at her as she turned to face the man, “you will not be safe here.”

Ellie nodded to the box of ammo, “we need to leave while we can.”

I bent to lift the box and the man began calling to people as we went back to our wagon. I was thinking of our trip through the forest and sighed. After putting the ammo away, I started harnessing the horses while Ellie packed everything away. People began joining us until the man by the gate pushed through, “this is everyone.”

I shook my head, the city must have had a thousand people but there was maybe two hundred here. I bent to pick up Little One and set her on the wagon seat with Charles before moving to lead the horses towards a gate in the outer wall. I glanced back a few minutes later to see Ellie lifting small children and putting them in the wagon.

Several minutes after that she was walking beside me and reached for my hand. I squeezed it as I thought, “we will stop at midnight and continue after the sun rises.”

She nodded, “I put the smaller children in the wagon.”

I smiled, “did you tell Charles and Little One to watch them?”

She laughed and glanced back, “they think they are in heaven.”

I stopped for breaks every hour to let people rest. When I stopped at midnight men and women moved together to lay down. I unharnessed the horses and let them rest as I brushed them before laying with Ellie to watch the night sky. The next day was more of the same except a few men ranged ahead to hunt and scout.

We stopped after dark and built a few fires to cook on before putting them out. Noon of the next day we walked over a low ridge and saw the large city of Calef. There was a high solid looking cliff behind the city with a wide river flowing through it. The outer walls were at least fifty feet tall with many crenels and arrow slits.
There were people working in the fields and they stopped to watch as we passed. At the gates Ellie had me stop while the small children were lifted out of the back. I smiled when we went through the gate to see a second curtain wall inside the first. We went through the second wall and Ellie started leading me through the streets.

We crossed the river on a stone bridge and continued to the south until we reached the sloop leading up to the cliff. She grinned and nodded to a grassy area, “park there.”

After stopping and putting the horses on leads Ellie took my hand and started climbing towards the cliff. When we reached the cliff, she grinned and pointed to glyphs carved in a wide arch. I looked and she grinned, “an illusion.”

She touched the cliff under the arch and suddenly a set of tall, wide doors replaced the granite of the cliff. She grinned and pushed on one side, it opened slowly, and she led me in, “I had a mage build this when he was still here. Of course, I made a large house for him where I was, so we are even.”

The hall was very wide and tall and went to a huge room with couches and comfortable chairs around a huge fireplace in the back wall. I grinned and squeezed her hand, “this is big enough to entertain a dragon.”

She laughed and nodded to the doorway on the right, “the kitchen and dining area.”

She pulled me after her to the left and through another doorway with steps that led up. Above were several floors with large bedrooms, each with a small fireplace and fire as well as a bathing room. We returned to the wagon and started moving everything but stopped to make dinner and eat.

We were sitting together on a couch when there was a knock on the door. Several older men stood looking anxious when I opened the door and gestured them in. I led them back to the fireplace where Ellie was waiting and sat beside her, “you need something?”

One nodded, “I am Henry Dodson. We were told you had a weapon to kill orcs.”

I smiled, “I have a weapon.”

He cleared his throat, “we have several elven scouts that have reports orcs gathering to the north. They say it is a vast army.”

I looked at Ellie, “I cannot kill thousands.”

She bit her lip as I looked at the men, “I will think about your problem.”

After they left, we climbed the stairs to a large chamber with a big bed. There were several narrow deep slits in the wall to let in the night air. Somehow Little One and Charles had found their way and were already stretched out across the bed. As I lay holding Ellie I was thinking and knew I could not make enough weapons to stop a whole army.

I had dozens of ideas that I discarded as fast as they came. I was up early and dressed before I left and walked across the city after feeding the horses. The guards looked at me as I went through the inner curtain wall and looked at the wide gap between it and the outer wall. There were three outer gates and two inners.

I climbed steps and looked out at the fields beyond before walking all the way from the river and around to where it met it again. I did the same with the inner curtain wall before walking the streets and then checking the three bridges over the river. I found the marketplace and went looking for what I needed to make more ammunition.

When I returned to the cliff Ellie was outside brushing the horses down. I watched before walking up behind her and putting my arms around her, “I wish I knew how large this army was going to be.”

She leaned back with a sigh, “thousands.”

I looked at her and she turned to touch my face, “this is the end of a major breeding cycle.”
I looked across the river, “they might slow them but...”

To be continued