Chapter 12

There was a loud, thunderous sound and the ground beneath her trembled. Rayne's eyes flashed open as the chaos outside of her tent roared around her. As she stumbled to her feet, doning on her armor, the flap to her tent flies open, revealing Gideon standing in the way. He already had his armor on and his sword drawn. She hadn't spoken to him since his drunken behavior earlier, so seeing him so suddenly with the crazy, bloodthirsty look in his eyes she easily recognized, she was left a little speechless. He closed the flap behind himself, picking up her sword and past it over to her after she finished lacing up her armor.

"It's Ravnyk's men. They teleported in." he informed her as she threw her hair up in a ponytail. She ties on her bracers and adjusted her boots before clenching the hilt of her sword. He lead her out of her tent where the Elf Warriors were running about, not the least bit organized to deal with their enemy in the middle of the night. How could they have known that his men would just appear so suddenly and in the exact area of where they were located?

"How many are there?" she asked him as leaving her tent behind and froze. Seven large Orcs walked through their camp, swinging their axes and clubs wildly. They knocked down tents, cut down any Elf that was within range. A lone Dire Wolf tackled one of the Orcs, burying its fangs into the Orc's chest. The other Orcs surrounded it, slashing away at the poor creature.

Rayne swept her gaze through the chaos, trying to find where Mel-Darion had disappeared off to when Gideon placed a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her gaze up to his, seeing the determination set in his blue eyes. He moved his hand to her neck, pressing a finger to her throat.

"I need those specialized in close combat focused on the Orcs that have invaded the camp!" her voice boomed over the yelling and the screaming. She watched as several Elf Warriors nearby focused in on her voice and turned their attention on the six Orcs that were demolishing their tents and supplies. They attacked the group of Orcs relentlessly, using their agile skills to deliver deadly blows.

"Those specialized in ranged combat, focus on the outskirts of the camp and Barboulder. Do not let a single one of these ugly bastards near the town!" she shouted out. In the distance, she heard shouting in return in the distance and only hoped that her words reached out to them.

"It's our turn." Gideon said as he pulled his finger away from her neck, turning his back on her and charged into battle. She had no time to worry about him, not when other lives were at stake here. She gripped her sword, turning from the inner fight and ran toward Barboulder.

She watched as more of the beasts tackled and fought against the Orcs, teaming up with one another to take down the brute force that was their enemy. When she finally made it out of the camp, she finally found Mel-Darion alongside Valka and several of her citizens wielding their own weapons and fighting off against the horde of Orcs that had suddenly appeared. The image of Valka holding the obsidian box crossed her mind, the familiar pressure made itself known as it nestled in the back of her head where she shoved the dream. She needed to focus right now.

"Rayne." a deep, guttural voice boomed from behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck rose up as a chill ran down her spine. She rolled out of the way as a large battle ax sliced down in the space she had previously occupied. She jumped to her feet as an Orc in heavy played armor lifts the ax back up and rests it on his shoulder. She didn't recognize this Orc, but compared to the others and her history fighting them, this Orc's intelligence was far higher than the rest.

"You must be the general." Rayne exclaimed, spinning the weapon in her hand as she circled him. He matched her pace as they circled one another.

"Ravnyk sends his regards." he said before lunging forward, gripping the shaft as he swung the ax downward on her. Rayne side stepped it in time, flipping her grip on her sword and slams the hilt into his hand. The general yelled out, his grip on his ax loosening for only a second before gripping hold once more. He wasn't going to be easy to cut down.

She stepped back a few paces, eyeing him carefully as they circled one another again. She hoped that Mel-Darion and Gideon were handling the fight well without her. The general huffed heavily as they studied one another. He wasn't fast, she can take that into consideration, but he could use his brain unlike most Orc brutes she's fought in the past. His speed may be his weakness, but his intelligence may win him this fight. She'll just have to out think him.

"I'm surprised. For an Orc with such great intellect to submit and obey to a mere human such as Ravnyk." she said to him, shifting her feet as she dashed forward. He brought his ax around from the left side, but she dropped to her knees, bringing her sword back and thrusted it forward, slicing his upper thigh. He yelled out, stumbling back to gain distance from her. She rolled back, jumping to her feet and jumped forward, bringing her sword down onto his arm, but one of his hands released his ax and snagged out, taking hold of her collar and slammed her into the ground. Rayne grunted, keeping a firm hold on her sword as she attempted to swing at him once more, but he took the ax and pinned her arm down with it.

"I bow nor kneel to no man, especially a man like Ravnyk. We are equals." he told her, spit dripping onto her face and clothes when he talked. He lifted her slightly by her arm before slamming her back down. She gasped, a throbbing pain in the back of her head from the impact.

"Is that what you keep telling yourself? How pathetic. You've seen his work firsthand, yet you believe when all is said and done, you'll be at his side with him." she said through clenched teeth. His eyes hardened and narrowed, his hand letting go of her collar and gripped her throat. She gasped, releasing her sword to pull her arm free and grips his arm. He only tightened his grip. The edges of her vision started to blur, and the noise in the background began to blend together.

How many times do you plan on dying?

The voice she started to become so familiar with slithered through her mind as if to taunt her. She blinked the blurry edges away, staring up at the monster that was trying to kill her. She couldn't match his strength, sure, but she couldn't match the strength of the Guardian either. Yet she managed to finally beat it.

Come, Champion.

Rayne focused her weight on her legs as she wrapped them around his, tangling in them until she was able to knock him off balance. He wobbled for a moment, his hand releasing her throat. She inhaled deeply, replenishing her lungs. Rayne sat up, grabbing his arm that was just strangling her and twisted it. He let out a yell, letting go of his ax to push her off, but that was all she needed. She forced him to the ground as she rolled atop him, bringing her hand back. She shifted the force from her legs to the palm of her hand as she thrusted it downward and slammed it against his nose. He let out a grunt before going still suddenly. As she pulled her hand away, blood oozed from his nostrils and streamed from the corners of his mouth. His dull eyes glazed over lifelessly. Rayne looked around as the battle continued on, even with their general dead below her. She casted her eyes back down on him and finally took notice of a small rolled up scroll attached to his belt. She took it from him and stashed it inside her armor before getting to her feet.

"Rayne!" Mel-Darion called over to her as she collected her sword once more. His hair came loose from the braid had originally tied together, dirt smudged on his usual clean features. His eyes roamed over her quickly before looking down at the deceased Orc.

"Is the town safe?" she asked him as he finished inspecting her.

"Yes, Valka ordered her citizens to evacuate to the inner marketplace. It took a bit of convincing though, why are Dwarves such stubborn fools?" he asked with a sigh before collecting himself. Rayne focused her attention back on the camp once more.

"Let's join the others. The faster we get rid of these ugly bastards, the faster we can tend to the wounded." she told him. Mel-Darion gave her a firm nod and joined in once more in the fight.

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Gideon stabbed his sword through the last of the Orcs his squadron came across. He panted, taking a moment to catch his breath and observe his surroundings. He couldn't deny that he felt pained seeing some of the Elf Warriors dead at the feet of the enemy, but luckily for the rest of them, they managed to take out this invasion before it escalated.

"Sir Gideon." a scout walked up to his side, blood splattered on his armor, his curved blade coated in Orc's blood as well.

"What's the death count?" he asked him as they walked toward the center of camp. Several of the Elves took it upon themselves to cast magic on the fires, either reducing their size until they were mere embers in the grass, or throwing a water spell over it to put it out.

"Ten Elves did not make it through the onslaught." The Elf informed him sadly, his shoulders slouched a bit. Gideon slapped him on the back gently, taking the Elf by surprise.

"They fought with bravery and honor, so don't let their spirits see you look sad for them." he told him when he noticed Rayne and Mel-Darion speaking with a few Elves. He felt relieved to see that she had made it through the fight with little to no injury, but he wasn't at all surprised either. She glanced his way and for a moment he wanted to believe that nothing else that was happening in the world mattered.

"What's the total count?" Mel-Darion spoke up once they were within range.

"Ten dead." the Elf stated solemnly, but he kept his head high.

"That's actually better than I anticipated. No offense." Rayne said as she crossed her arms over her chest, "There's another ten that are injured. Some spell casters are taking care of them as we speak." she filled them in. Gideon watched her carefully. Something felt off about her, but he couldn't place it yet.

"What do you want to do? Do you wish to send the dead back to Arakhora for proper burial?" Gideon asked Mel-Darion. Mel-Darion inclined his head thoughtfully.

"I would have to spare some of my men and beasts to do so. Will that be alright? Will Ravnyk launch another assault as soon as we wear our forces thin?" he asked out loud to the group. Gideon couldn't respond though. The Prince was right. Ravnyk could just teleport another small army at any given moment to finish them off.

"Do it." Rayne spoke up when no one else did. "Ravnyk did what he wanted. He slimmed down our numbers, sure, but his main goal was to deliver us a message." she reached into her leather armor and pulled out a rolled up scroll.

"What is it?" Gideon asked her, but she only shrugged.

"I haven't looked at it yet. We were still in battle when I pulled it off of their general." she waved it around.

"For now tend to the wounded. Gather a few other Warriors to separate our dead from the enemy and have them ready for travel." Mel-Darion ordered his Warrior.

"What of the dead Orcs?" he asked him. Gideon watched Mel-Darion's eyes darkened before he responded.

"Burn them."