The Scout

It seemed that he will have another silent night, like all the ones before it. The white moon was filling almost the entire sky in her full round form. Who would have dared to come with so much light around? Even the orcs, in all their idiocy, would not make such stupidity…

The elf was meditating in the trance state that each scout practices from the first days as apprentice. From the rock he has chosen as observation point he had under his eyes the entire mountain range. Nothing could pass by that area of The Foggy Mountains without his knowledge. And the full moon was making his watch easier. Her cold light was so comforting…

Satisfied with this situation, he left his keen eyes and ears on scouting and turned to his favorite habit while on watch: dreaming at his girl. He was missing Nay`Halli so much! Each day and night he was thinking at her. He imagined himself taking her in his arms, hugging and cuddling her. He imagined himself kissing her. He imagined himself playing with her and spoiling her. He was missing her so much!...

A smile lightened his face. Tomorrow his shift will come and he will be able to go back to his girl. He was so happy. He will run back to her, ignoring the body fatigue and any obstacles. The mountain and the forest will not stay in his way. Nothing would stay in his way. Nothing could stop him to get to his girl. Oh, how much he could love her! And she deserved every bit of love he could give her. Maybe even more…

Suddenly, his mind called him back. His attention was caught by a noise imperceptible for a human ear, but who could not escape the sharp hearing of an elf. Something or someone was moving on the low valleys and seemed to do it without any care of being heard. He listened for a few minutes, trying to get more clues. By daytime, he would have been able to see at that distance, but the night vision was a skill only a drow could master. But the rising of the noises intensity was telling him that the group was approaching him. With the help of the moonlight, he will be able to see them soon…

After an hour, something made him to raise his head from the mountains valleys. His trained eyes have caught a move on the sky. He rose on his feet and focused his look into the moonlight bathed horizon. There were some dark points against the huge white moon. By studying their moving patterns it was clear to him that those were birds. Only that it seemed to be too much of them. Way too much that a usual birds group. And, as the minutes passed, the points started to get bigger, a sign that they were coming in his way. But what was worrying him the most, was that in the same time their number was increasing too. The horizon was full of them already…

The noises in the valleys have become clear by now. He was not able to see them yet, so he supposed that they were at a bigger distance than he thought. That could only mean that those who wanted to pass the mountains, whatever would they be, were in big numbers and they did not cared that they would be seen coming. Strange behavior. The orcs would have not done such a mistake. Even if they were coming with a huge army. Very strange…

A piercing scream made him look at the sky again. It was the calling of one of those birds, now close enough to recognize their shapes. They were zgriptzors. He has seen such beasts in the past. From time to time, one of them was adventuring outside of the marshes of the Nuhr River, gliding above The Foggy Mountains in search for some easy food. He even tried once to shoot one, but the beast was too smart and avoided his arrows...

But now there were hundreds of zgriptzors flying with the white moon in the back. That could not be a migration. Something was amiss. What could have made them run out of their marshes in such numbers? He have heard that the half-orcs that lived in The Dark Swamps have tamed some of them and were able to ride them, but he couldn not believe that those beasts were able of such smart achievement. It looked though that those rumors were true. Only that could explain that huge group of zgriptzors on the night sky…

The loud noises that were coming from the valleys called for his attention. The army march was thundering into the mountains. It was an army for sure, not a small band of thieves. He could even hear the grunting yells of the commanders. They have approached enough to be able to see the shapes of what was moving down there. After his guess, they were big humanoids, tall for about ten feet and carrying some huge clubs in their hands. There must have been a few hundreds of them there. And he was sure they were uriashs. He hasn’t seen this kind of beasts yet, but he has heard enough stories from The Rapax Wars to be able to recognize them from the first sight. And a beast of ten feet high is quite a sight. But what was making them get out of the cold marshes of the Nuhr River, where he have heard they lived now? This night started to look so strange…

On the sky, the moonlight was fading in power and not because the night was ending. There was a lot of time until the sunshine. The moon was almost covered by the huge number of the zgriptzors. They were approaching faster now and they seemed more and more. From that distance he could see them very clear. And what he was seeing was not on his like at all. The zgriptzors were caring on their back half-orcs. He recognized them after their pony-tails that were flickering in the wind. He has heard from those who have seen them that they use to shave their head leaving only a pony-tail or two. Now he had the chance to meet them too. Only that they were too many for his taste…

It was clear that he was witnessing an invasion. There were hundreds of uriashs on the valleys, hundreds or maybe thousands of half-orcs and zgriptzors on the sky. And who knows what other marsh beasts would show up in that night? Grugh`s orcs have invaded Thara a month ago. It looked to him that the Rapax races wanted to break the blockade. And now it seemed that it was the turn of the elven kingdom to face their savagery...

There was no time for watching anymore. The situation was clear enough and it was time for him to give the alarm. He could think at what he has seen while he was running to warn the outposts. And he should run like as fast as the thoughts. The wind was the speed of the invaders...

He took the bow, the sword and the bag from the rock, looking at the darkened moon for a last time. Then he turned to move, only to see a drow looking at him. Shocked, he realized that he has not heard him approaching. He was too focused on the far moves and on his thoughts. Who knows for how long he was stalking him. He could have been dead already. And without the moonlight he may have not seen him even now. His eyes were shining and cold grin was lightening his dark face. The supreme pleasure of the drows was to kill their surface kin: the elves…

For a few seconds, they measured each other in silence, without moving. The drow was in battle stance, with his short swords in his hands. He had his bow and sword in the right hand and the bag in the left hand. He knew the drows are very fast in close fights. Deadly fast. With a sudden move he threw the bag into him, trying to free his hands to be able to use his weapons. The diversion failed. The drow anticipated all his possible moves and with a lightning speed, he pushed the bag away with a sword while jumped forward and impaled the other one into his chest…

He could not see the satisfied grin on the elf face, nor feel the other sword slashing his belly. His spirit was leaving the body and his entire life was quickly running through his mind eyes. He had enough time only to think at what will happen with his family and his friends if the invaders will strike at night. Who will take care of Nay`Halli? Who will protect his innocent kid?...