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[Roger de Clare]

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The King rode his steed Bucephalus through the forests and fields about Stormhaven to check on the welfare of the people. A small company rode with him; a harper, a mage, and a tamer. Presently they espied a man, unkempt and bloody, staggering along the trail.

"What ails you, sir?" Finian asked. The harper jumped down from his horse and offered the man water from his flagon.

The man dropped onto a log and gratefully took the flagon. "Orcs!" he wheezed, catching his breath. "They assailed us as we approached the pass to the west of Rivendell."

"Rivendell?" The king pondered. "That is in the alternate world Felucca. How did you come here?"

"Could I expect help in Felucca?" the man asked. "We were on the western side of the pass and orcs attacked our band. They slew all but myself and my wife. She they took alive and told me to raise 500 thousand 'shinies' within three days or they would kill her...kill her after doing other things. Please take me to Stormhaven. Pray god they'll help me!"

"What sort of orcs were they?" the mage asked, pulling his beard.

"We are Stormhaven," the king said at the same time.

"Thank god!' the man exclaimed. "I am Samson de Norville. I have money and I'll pay a reward. Give to the church, whatever! Just rescue my wife..."

He started to weep. "What are they doing to her!"

"What sort of orcs were they? Stormreavers?" the mage asked again.

"I don't know," he blubbered.

The king nodded to the harper. "Take care of him, Oliver, and get all the information you can. Damarcus and I will ride post haste to the pass and investigate."

(continued)

[Roger de Clare]

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They rode into Fell, the king and the tamer.

The whole atmosphere changed abruptly from Summer to a cold fall or winter. They rode towards the pass and soon came upon a man holding a bloody sword and sitting on his horse over two dead men.

"These fools tried to rob and murder me!" the man said by way of greeting. He stepped off his horse, grabbed a dead man's shirt, ripped it off the body, and began cleaning his weapon with it.

The Stormhaven party looked sharply about for more robbers, not even sure if the man still living was as innocent as he'd had them to believe. They rode on.

Through Rivendell they met no one except herdsmen and in the pass they saw only a lonely hard working miner. None of them claimed any knowledge of orc raiders though the miner said he had seen a bloodied man stumbling by earlier.

"Tis a common enough sight hereabouts, " he remarked. "I thought little of it."

They rode on through the cold day, staying on the road to a fork whereat they took the northward way towards Yew. By and by they came to a tower where some fighting left the guards there hurt and in need of assistance. Orcs, they said.

"Stay here with these, my friend, " Finian told the tamer. "Your healing skills will be of use. Meanwhile I will ask the Stormreavers if they know anything about the lady's kidnapping."

"But sire..." he protested but the king raised a hand for silence.

"We are at peace with them and I ride patrol there often. I will be safe."

After another long ride he approached the Stormreaver fort located near what they called the goblin fort. Several goblin fighters and mages attacked him and quickly paid for their impudence.

He hailed the fort and two orcs he did not know rudely asked what he wanted. He inquired if they knew aught of the kidnapping but they denied any knowledge.

One of the orcs especially demanded the Stormguard leave or die. This annoyed the king, but he had not come to fight so he left as he had intended anyway.

As he rode away the orc's insulting manner rankled him more until he turned back to see if he could amend that one's manners. They saw him coming and two orcs raced to meet him.

One orc hurled an energy blast at the king which scorched him somewhat, but Finian dug in his spurs and attacked the mage with a kryss. In a trice the orc was on the ground mired in his own blood. Finian turned to face the other orc who made no move to attack. Satisfied, the Stormguard king nodded and rode back to the tower.

(continued)