An Ancient Truth
Copyright© 2026 by Asa Strong
Chapter 5
Later in the evening, Sin’al, Tag’ar, Ceneal, Torg, and I met in council. Tag’ar was the first to speak.
“I have talked with Donta, and he feels that there may be many more orcs than we believe. After some thought, I am inclined to agree. It seems that if this is to be a war, the orcs would go all out, sparing nothing. The question is, how do we prepare?”
Sin’al was the first to answer. “It makes no difference; we will kill as many as they send!”
Torg responded, “Sin’al, that sounds like a good way to get all of us killed. Also, if we don’t hold the orcs here in the North, they will roll over the rest of the dwarf kingdom until they reach the Cavern. Given enough of them, they can overcome that as well.”
Sin’al didn’t bother to answer. He sneered and spat into the fire.
Ceneal then spoke up. “We elves have fought them. My father and the other elders gave their lives that the rest of us could escape. It is entirely possible that they could overwhelm us.”
Ceneal then shook his head, cleared the tears forming at the edge of his eyes, and in a cold, firm voice, said, “There will be more orcs come than you can possibly imagine. To dismiss them out of hand is a dangerous matter, Sin’al. Do you wish to see those of your clan die because of your disdain for the ability of orcs to fight?”
Ceneal’s words seemed to reach Sin’al. He snapped his head up and asked, “You think that they can beat us. We are dwarfs, we do not die easily.”
Thankfully, Torg interceded. “Sin’al, if we plan for the worst that can happen, we will lose nothing. If we don’t take Donta’s concerns into consideration, and there are many more orcs than we can handle, we will fall here. To prepare for the worst costs us nothing, while assuming that the orcs present no problem could cost many lives.”
Sin’al looked around the fire and could see that all agreed with the words Torg had spoken. He said nothing, but finally nodded his head in acknowledgment.
After much discussion, it was decided that the women, children, and elders would immediately travel to the Cavern. Without having them to worry about, our forces would be free to deploy as needed; rather than trying to defend them.
It was also decided that we would send out several large scouting parties. They would scout all of the approaches where we could expect the orcs to travel. Tag’ar was put in charge of the overall defense while Sin’al would direct the advance scouting parties. Ceneal was to use the elves as archers and help fortify North Park. My role was that of an advisor, for which I was grateful.
After the council, Torg and I relayed what had been accomplished to the rest of our companions. After a short discussion, we found our beds and retired for the evening. We all were still tired from our exodus from the forest.
I was woken the next morning by the sound of the scouting parties leaving camp. There were six different units, each consisting of about twenty-five. I also noticed that interspersed within the different groups were several elves. It looked like someone had realized that the elves would be an asset. They are a hardy race and have the ability to move like the wind; one very seldom saw an elf that didn’t want to be seen.
After an early breakfast, the elders, women, and children were organized and departed for the cavern; escorted by a small troop of dwarfs and elves.
I spent the next few days with Tag’ar as he directed the construction of several fortifications. He explained that he wanted to try and stop the orcs as they came down the canyon trail. This was the only route into the canyon for a great distance. The canyon ran north to south, and as you moved further south, the canyon narrowed. It eventually opened into the Great Hills, about a three-day march from the Cavern.
On the afternoon of the third day, the scouting parties started returning. All reported several different orc army locations. Ceneal’s prediction that there would be a great host was confirmed.
When the first group returned, Sin’al and I were there to meet them. As the group leader dismounted from his shaggy pony, Sin’al asked, “You have found the orcs?”
“Yes, a great many of them. We found them in the plains; they are traveling towards us at a rapid pace.”
“Did you gauge their numbers?” I asked.
The old dwarf nodded his head. “I would say the group we spotted was about four thousand strong.”
The old dwarf had been long in the saddle, and Sin’al gave him and his troop leave to eat and rest.
After the old dwarf had departed, Sin’al turned to me. “Donta, this is only one group of many. You may have been correct. Even here in the canyon, we will not be able to hold them long.”
I just nodded my head. There was little I could add to his statement.
Over the next two days, more of the scouting parties returned, and we now had a better picture of what we were facing. From tallying the numbers, it appeared that there were at least thirty thousand orcs. All were headed towards the land of the dwarfs.
Again, we met in council, with Tag’ar explaining our plan of defense.
“First,” he started off, “we cannot hold the canyon for any great length of time. There will be more orcs than we can possibly kill coming down the trails. What I want to do is form a fighting withdrawal. Our mounted troops will engage the lead element of the orcs, while those afoot withdraw to the south and take up a defensive position. When they are in place, our mounted troops will disengage and retreat.”
As I looked around the council, I could see that the dwarfs were uneasy with withdrawing in the face of the enemy. Finally, Sin’al stood. “You mean we will run from the orcs?”
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.