Oathbreaker

XIV: Prisoners of War

The rusty metal shackles dug into the prisoners' ankles, causing them to bleed as they walked across the stone path toward the temple. A trail of blood was left behind in the wake of each marching band of prisoners, their feet whittled down from days of walking barefoot along the cold, rough stone. Each band had five prisoners lined up single file, with a keeper to the rear of them, usually holding a whip or cane. Some had bugbear keepers, some were kept by goblins. One in particular, had a massive orc, whipping his prisoners with a merciless bull whip at any sign of slowing. A dwarf in this marching procession was second from the front, a young, pretty human woman lead the band, while two wood elves and another ancient looking human made up the rest of the band. The human to the rear was a monk, and the orc has struck him so many times with the whip that his robes were torn and blood soaked through the tatters that hung from his shoulders. The two elves seemed to be twins, both looked identical to each other, and even acted like it.

The band of five had been marching through the forest towards the temple of Mylak for nearly three days straight. Whoever had taken them prisoner seemed to have checkpoints span out across the road they walked down. Once they'd pass a checkpoint, their old keeper would drop off and a new one would take the whip, keeping the band marching without so much as a minute of rest. This orc was their third keeper, and by the look of it, he was beginning to grow slumberous.

"The orc grows weary. We may strike soon." The elf behind the dwarf whispered to him. The band had been moving so slow, the rest of the prisoner bands had disappeared from view, and there were no bands behind them. If the five of them could somehow overpower the orc, this was their chance.

"Wait for a yawn, a sneeze or something to distract him. Once he does, pull the right chain twice and we'll pounce on him." The dwarf whispered to the elf behind him.

"SHUT UP!" The orc yelled, snapping the whip forward towards the dwarf, the tip of the weapon bounced off the ground in front of the dwarf, almost taking off a toe in the process. The dwarf lowered his head and kept walking.

It was just after sunset. The sun had sank under the western mountains and cast the sky in a brilliant orange hue. The twinkling of the first stars shined through the darkening sky, and a nightly chill had crept over the forest air. The human in front of the pack had a rock in her hand, she'd been carrying it since the trading of the keepers earlier that day. She moved the rock from side to side in her hands, the cool stone relieving some of the ache in her hands. She turned and glanced behind her, seeing the orc's attention drift off and he stared straight down the path. She gathered the rock to her fingertips and gave it a fling, sending it careening into the forest off the opposite side of the path. The orc turned his head in the direction of the rock as it ricocheted off a tree trunk with a loud thud. She kicked her right left twice and watched as the entire band turned toward the orc.

In one swift motion, each prisoner leapt toward him. The dwarf went for his legs, the elf twins each grabbed an arm, the monk began pummeling the orc's ribs with punches, and the lead woman ripped the whip from his hands. She stepped around the orc, wrapping the length of the whip around his neck and pulling tight. He coughed and choked, struggling against his attackers. He was able shake both elves off his arms and tried to grab at the whip around his neck, his thick fingers grasping to no avail. The monk turned his attention to the orc's face, letting his aggression towards the beast unleash in a furry of punches to his face. The orc pushed the monk back, causing all the members to fall forward a bit as the chains around their ankles still bound them together. The orc, seizing the momentary lapse in the assault, kicked the dwarf from his legs and managed to get a hand under the whip pressed against his throat. With a mighty push, he forced the whip from his neck and downward toward his chest, making the woman holding it behind him crash against his back. He reached up with his free hand and grabbed her by the hair on her head, pulling her head over his shoulder. He turned his head towards the woman and chomped down on her ear. The woman shrieked in pain as the orc tore her ear from the side of her head with his jagged teeth. She dropped the whip and brought her hands to her stinging head, the orc dropped her from his back and brought his hands up toward the monk. He thrusted his hands at the monk's neck, managing to get one hand around the old man's throat. He brought the monk closer, lifting him by his throat to be face to face with him. With his other hand, the orc reached for a short sword that hung from his belt. As his hand felt downward, it landed on an empty sheath where his sword used to be. It was then that he felt a sharp, cold pain shoot through his body. He dropped the monk and looked down to see the dwarf, holding onto the hilt of the sword that he'd just thrusted into the orc's abdomen. The dwarf pulled the sword out of the orc, brought it back and then forward again, this time striking the orc in the chest with the weapon. The tip of the blade sank deep into the orc's racing heart. He stumbled back, then collapsed onto the stone path. Blood pooled around him as he bled out on the road. The dwarf, amazed and shocked at what he just did, ripped the sword from the orc's chest. He managed to break each set of chains binding the five former prisoners together with the sword, and before making a mad dash into the forest, the band searched the orc for anything useful. He had a pack on him consisting of a few daggers, some food and a couple torches. The elves took the pack, the woman grabbed the whip from the ground and wrapped it around her. The dwarf grabbed the orc's that the swords sheath hung on, and after the keeper was fully searched, the five tore into the forest like a herd of crazed deer. They ran for what seemed like forever, until they came across an empty clearing in the forest that a stream passed through. The five collapsed into the thick, luscious grass of the clearing and tried to catch their breaths. The woman sat and held her hand to the side of her stinging head where the orc had ripped her ear off. The dwarf tore a length off his tunic and walked to the woman, where he wrapped the fabric around the her wound. She began to sob loudly, and the dwarf pulled her head to his chest and gently caressed her, trying to sooth her. One of the elf twins came to her after finding a scroll of a weak healing spell in the orc's pack. He unraveled the scroll, spoke the incantation and pressed the manifested magic in his hand to her head. Her sobbing calmed as her pain dulled to a soft ache. She wiped her face and smiled at the two as the dwarf let go of her head.