An Ancient Truth
Copyright© 2026 by Asa Strong
Chapter 16
Fortunately, the orcs could not regroup before the sun was setting in the west. Kavin kept his harried group moving east, while we provided a rear guard. We would have been in serious trouble if the orcs had pressed us. Kavin and his troops were spent. Their mounts had difficulty carrying their charges; let alone have the stamina to make a charge. Their draft animals were in little better shape. If the orcs had attacked, I’m not sure that we alone could have held them.
By the time we finally stopped, it was late in the evening. Dan’ar had scouted out an elevated crag at the end of a narrow canyon. It could be easily defended, and would limit the number of orcs that could charge at one time.
In the darkness of the night, we helped the people make camp. The men were totally exhausted and were of little use. The women and children were not in much better shape. For days they had been subsisting on what they could eat while on the run. In short order, the dwarfs and elves had campfires going and were helping with the animals. You could see the surprise on the people’s faces. I wondered to myself just what tales they had been told about dwarfs and elves. I’m sure it was nothing like what they were now experiencing.
I was jarred out of my thoughts, “I wish to thank you,” I heard from behind me.
I turned to find Kavin standing behind me. I smiled, “Lord Kavin, the orcs are our enemy as well. We could do nothing else, once Gait reported your situation.”
He nodded and took a seat on a log, next to our cook fire. Without saying a word, Saraid poured and then handed him a cup of tea.
Kavin smiled his thanks at her, and then took a small sip; groaned and then took another. You could see the tension on his face lessen somewhat. Finally, he spoke.
“Donta, I don’t know where to go from here. We have never had much contact with the dwarfs. I doubt that they will take us in.”
I nodded, took a sip from my own cup, and then spoke. “I’m not sure that they really have room or resources in the cavern for all of you. I suspect what we will have to do is retreat back into the Dragon’s Teeth. Hopefully we can find somewhere to either hide, or a place secure enough to defend.”
Kavin looked up, a puzzled look on his face, and asked, “The Dragon’s Teeth?”
I nodded towards the east. “The high mountains.”
“We have no knowledge of them,” he stated.
“Gait and I crossed them not too long ago. Also, the dwarfs have some knowledge of some of them.”
He nodded, and then said, “Donta, can we hold the orcs off long enough to escape to the mountains?”
With concern, I answered, “I’m not sure.”
He nodded, emptied the dregs of his tea into the fire, and then said, “Then, we will most likely find out tomorrow.”
I nodded, and he gave me a crooked smile. Then he spun on his heels and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
It was totally quiet after Kavin left. I sat there in solitude, saying not a word. I was shaken out of my thoughts when I heard Saraid say, “Mornie Utalie.”
I looked at her across the fire, and then asked, “I don’t understand.”
With a sad and tired look, she answered, “It is in the language of the old ones. It means, ‘Darkness has come’.”
I had no answer. I just nodded as she stood and walked away from the fire, leaving me alone.
In the darkness of the night, I was alone. Not only physically, but also mentally. I felt disconnected from everyone and everything. Saraid’s statement had caught me unaware. She was correct that the situation was getting bad, very bad. Could we prevail? The orcs seemed endless in number. How could we manage to not only survive, but to also win this war?
As I sat there in the darkness mulling over the situation, I had no answers.
“She is more right than she knows.” I heard from my left.
When I turned, Alama was standing there, a faint glow of white around his head.
“It has been long since you have visited me, Alama.”
He walked over to the fire, drew a cup from the top log where Saraid had left several, and filled it from the teapot and sat beside the fire. After taking a sip, he said, “Yes, out of necessity, I have been reluctant to contact you. However, now I must. There is great danger ahead. What you do now will affect what happens in the future. You are now at a major juncture that will decide what will come.”
“Alama; why must it be only me who makes this decision? There must be others who can do so.”
Alama nodded, and then looked up from his seat on the log, in the very same spot Kavin had sat earlier. “Yes, there will be others that will affect what happens as well. But, you are the central figure. It is what you do that will have the greatest impact on the future. Without you, there is no future.”
He paused for a moment, and then said in a very quiet voice — so quiet that I almost didn’t hear him. “Donta, it is your destiny to be this person.”
I didn’t have an answer. I walked over and then sat next to him. “Alama, what am I to do?”
He took a sip from the cup, and then responded. “That I cannot tell you; for in truth, I do not know. I will say that I think you would be making a mistake if you return to the Cavern. Your assumption about there being little room there is more accurate than you know.”
I started to ask him why, but he held the hand not holding the teacup and said, “No, do not ask, for it is not for me to tell you.”
I nodded, and went back to thinking. After a few moments, I said, “Then we have no choice but to try and find refuge in the high mountains of The Dragon’s Teeth.”
When I looked up, I could see Alama nod his head and then fade out of sight. In a few seconds, he was no longer there. Only the teacup next to where he had been sitting on the log gave a sign that he had been here.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.