An Ancient Truth
Copyright© 2026 by Asa Strong
Chapter 4
At first, my mind refused to focus. “I must have slept the sleep of the dead,” were my thoughts as I woke.
With a shake of my head, I forced a semblance of consciousness into my head. I sat up from where I’d fallen asleep last night and could see that a few of the others in the camp were up and about yet.
With another shake of my head, I forced myself to stand. As I stood, it seemed as if every joint in my body protested. The past few days had been hard, not only on me but on all the others as well.
I saw Saraid sitting by one of the fire pits, so I made my way towards her.
With a nod of my head, I greeted her. “Good morning.”
She returned my nod with one of her own and then produced a cup, which she then filled from the teapot on the fire.
“Good morning,” she said, handing me the cup.
I took a look around the camp as I sipped on my tea. All of the children were still asleep, as well as most of the adults.
“Do we have any guards out?” I asked, hoping that someone had had enough sense to make sure we were safe.
“Ceneal assigned several of the elves,” Saraid answered.
Saraid then looked up at me and continued, “Torg took off in the middle of the night. He wanted to make sure that the orcs were routed by the fire.”
“Has he returned?”
She shook her head, clearly indicating he had not.
I spent the next hour wandering the camp. Most of the elves were struggling to meet the day. I wanted to get a sense of how well we could travel as a group. My conclusion was what I originally feared: Most were tired, and some of the older elves were actually exhausted. If we were to continue on our forced march, many of them would not make it.
I found Ceneal doing much the same as I; trying to assess our ability to move on.
“I don’t think we should venture to move today,” I said, as I approached Ceneal from the other side of the camp.
He turned around, “Yes, most of the old ones are spent. Many will die if we try to move too soon.”
“Has anyone seen anything of the orcs?”
Ceneal shook his head, “No, but that doesn’t mean they are not close.”
I nodded my head, “Hopefully, Torg will bring us more information when he returns.”
Ceneal gave me a strange look. “Torg—what is he up to?”
“Saraid said he took off to scout the orcs. I guess he left sometime last night.”
Ceneal and I talked for a while and agreed that we would have to stay another day. We could only hope that the orcs had been beaten back by the fire.
Torg showed up later in the afternoon. He came into camp covered with soot and ashes. He joined Saraid and me at the firepit and asked for a cup of tea. As Saraid poured him a cup, he gave his report.
“I traveled as far back on our trail as our last camp. It seems that the forest fire caught the orcs by surprise. There are so many dead that the smell is becoming quite strong. Many of those I found were Black Orcs. From what I could see, the fire must have seriously reduced their ranks. The only fresh tracks I could find were leading to the north and west.”
I thought for a moment, and then said, “It seems we have a reprieve. Let’s make sure we make the most of it.”
Torg nodded, and then said, “Donta, they will return. The orcs are many; like trees in the forest, they are uncountable.”
We broke camp the next morning. Thankfully, the weather cooperated, and considering the poor shape of the older elves, we were able to make steady progress. We could only travel for about six hours before the children and elders tired. I was concerned that the orcs would catch us on the open plain, but our rear scouts reported that no orcs were following us.
The next six days were the same. We would break camp early and travel southward. By the early afternoon, when the sun was at its peak, we would stop and make camp. The elves somehow managed to kill enough game to keep us fed, although it was meager. No one had a full stomach.
On the seventh day after entering the plains, we were close to the river that bordered the dwarf’s homeland. We had stopped to make camp early in the afternoon, when Ceneal came running to where Saraid and I were standing.
“Donta, a huge dust cloud is coming from the south!”
I looked to my right, and could see a large dark cloud on the horizon. I also saw two figures on horseback heading our way.
I turned toward Ceneal and said, “Put everyone in a defensive position, and make sure that the elders and children are placed somewhere safe.”
As the camp came alive and the elves took up bow and sword, I kept my eye on the two approaching riders. As the two riders came closer, I could identify them.
I turned towards where Ceneal was standing with his archers and hollered. “Hold, the two coming towards us are Dan’ar and Jarraid.”
Dan’ar and Jarraid slowed when they neared the camp. Once inside the perimeter, they dismounted.
“The dwarfs are following us.” were the first words Dan’ar said.
“How many? I asked.
Jarraid answered me, “About five hundred that are mounted and another couple of thousand on foot, several days behind.”
By this time, Ceneal had made his way towards us.
“Is Tag’ar leading them?” I asked Dan’ar.
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