Song of the Ascendant

26. Valley of Sorrows

Fourth of Frostmaire

As promised, the combined forces of Lustria and the Tios Principality, aided by Brimur's reinforcements, had begun their assault on the valley early on the second of Frostmaire. They had struck at dawn, the Third Guard Corps leading from the western flank. The first hour had been uneventful, just a nervous march through the mist that had covered the land. Jacque Mieur could still remember the moment that they had heard the first chittering through the mirky air. He had kept his company moving forward until the elf, Brimur, had called him to stop. Minutes later they had faced their first enemy, savage insectoid creatures lacking eyes and hunting by sound. They had been trapped for a day fighting them off, facing a foe that burrowed through the earth searching for prey. They soon knew that they had entered a valley of horrors. For the next two days they fought no human, no elf, and no feral orc, but only grotesque monsters that seemed to be born of a madman's nightmares. Deformed humanoid creatures, birds covered in scales, and heavily armoured six-legged beasts with trunks lined with pincers seemed to burst out of the mist and cut through the Lustrian lines before they could reform and mount a proper counterattack. Even the orcs and mages seemed to struggle, taking heavy losses as they forced their way forward. Only the occasional runner from Valliers gave them hope that beyond their shrinking lines anyone else was still alive and fighting.

Jacque rose on the morning of the fourth with an agonised groan. His whole body ached after the physical and emotional punishment of the two days' fighting. His company was down to forty men, most of whom bore some injury. There were no seriously injured among them. The fighting had been fierce enough that if someone was brought down by their wounds, they didn't live long enough to need help. This was another level of warfare to anything that Jacque had been trained for. As he forced himself to his feet, he let his mind fill with images of Shontelle standing in wonder on the riverboat, capturing his heart with her beauty and innocence. Every fight he survived was one step closer to returning to her. If there's still a world outside this mist, he thought, and every thought of the woman he loved vanished into the distant sky.

"Another day in hell," a deep feminine voice said. Jacque looked over to Barilax, the huge orc clothed in boiled leather that did nothing to hide her rippling muscle. She hefted a battle axe in her hands and gave him a toothy smile. By now he no longer cringed at the sight of orcs. Out of sheer necessity, he had accepted them as comrades. "At least the mist is lessening."

And it was, Jacque realised with a jolt. He could see a few yards now, though all he saw was blackened grass and bloated corpses. Still, he would take any form of good news by now. Barilax grunted as she looked out at the landscape.

"Death is death, Lieutenant," she said. "It doesn't matter if you're caught by an arrow or a bug. You're still dead."

The orc was right, he knew, though it seemed of little comfort as he saw what remained of those he'd lost in the fighting. He stood still as the wind pushed against him, forcing the mist further back. It was a small comfort to know that the dragon was dead, killed the day before as it attacked the southern front. The thought of facing such a beast made him shiver, and he forced it out of mind as he watched his men assemble for the next push.

"You should let us lead today," Barilax said softly so no one else heard. "Your men are exhausted."

It was almost tempting. The orcs had proven to be an unstoppable force, as did the mages who had come with them. When Jacque's men had tired, Barilax's forces had given them relief and crushed what enemies remained.

"No," he surprised himself by saying. "This is our land. We must lead."

The orc's mouth turned upwards ever so slightly, almost as if she were giving him a sign of respect. The moment was short-lived. Brimur and his friend, another orc named Arak, came close with weapons drawn.