Longshadow

Wulf

The elven camp got rowdier as the night dragged on. Even from the mercenary side, he could make out auxiliaries carrying casks of beer and mugs of ale, drinking themselves dry around cozy campfires. The mercenaries themselves were no less rowdy; there were fierce games of dice, archery competitions and wrestling matches. A bald man with one eye brought a cage of chickens and quickly went about collecting bets on which cock would peck the other to death. There was even horse racing despite the darkness.

Sergeant Athiel was taking the bets, keeping track of the bets in a ledger he paid some dwarf veteran to guard. The races would start at his tent, running three to four men at a time, all of them riding their horses to Orsheim's outer wall and back. They would all but disappear in the shadows, their hoofbeats lingering for a few moments before fading into silence. Eventually one would return to claim his winnings, quickly followed by the others who inevitably disputed his claim. They hurled accusations of cheating; foul play done in the dark where no waking eye could see. Athiel would put a swift end to that rabble, divvying out the winnings and pocketing his gold.

            The losing riders, as well as the poor sods who lost their gold betting on them, would dispute the elf's decisions. But he claimed superior elven vision allowed him to see in the dark, and that he only would hear accusations that he could validate with his eyes. Wulf noticed that all the other elves, be they mercenary or legionnaire, were suspiciously quiet during these disputes. Upon closer inspection, Wulf noticed that most of the riders and betters were human, a race that did not possess the ability to see in the dark. His realization must have dawned on the others, and within the next hour the betting stopped. He watched Athiel, who stayed to talk with the "winners" of the races, all of them laughing over a goblet of spiced wine.

            Rats, he thought, glad he was wise enough to watch before placing any bets. In truth, he shouldn't have been using gold haphazardly. They did not come with much and it was always possible the tiefling failed. The pay for the night was good, but it wasn't enough for him to start gambling. He watched Athiel hand his friends sacks of gold with a sly grin. Elven nobility, he scoffed. The tiefling was one of his creatures, he thought, adding to the suspicion he had when he first met Carrow.

The tiefling had scarcely been gone long before he ordered Gendrick to tail him. The old man was out there now, prowling around, keeping a close eye on Carrow from the safety of the shadows. He was not to engage under any circumstances. If the tiefling failed, they would leave him to die and wash their hands of the matter, taking the same earnings the rest of the mercenaries got before going on their way. If he succeeded, Gendrick was to watch from the shadows and make sure the tiefling wasn't followed. He didn't have to kill any orcs, but he could attack them before fading back into the dark. A few orcs attacked by some shadowy beast in the night would not cause a war. There was a chance Carrow would fail and escape, and then he was to meet with that same shadowy beast out there in the night. A dead mercenary, a tiefling no less, would hardly invite further investigation from either side. His strategy would give them plausible deniability, even from Trawynn, and it would keep Gendrick safe out there. He did not know how dangerous this shaman was and the old man was far past his prime. If he didn't have to risk his life, then he wouldn't.

            He wondered if Trawynn would even pay Carrow. He didn't sign the forms, he thought, chuckling to himself. One of the good things about the Imperium was its predictability. The elves loved to boast of their High Magic, their divine right to rule over the "lesser races." But Wulf saw little evidence for "high magic," unless all of it went into their love of order. Though he begrudged admitting it, the elves' long lives allowed them time and patience to build an empire to last the ages. The Imperium was broken into provinces, provinces broken down into counties, with cities, town and villages all falling within county's borders. They had their High Archons, their Archons, counts and viscounts. Its how their legions dominated the west; no military on Elroth, or even those to the east in Old Tel'Vashar, could match their discipline. But it was the Imperium's love of facts and documents that superseded all. It seemed to Wulf that their magic went into their forms, contracts and treatises instead into the study of the arcane.