Beyond the Dragon’s Teeth
Copyright© 2026 by Asa Strong
Chapter 10
I turned to Gait and said, “We need to help. You’re the warrior, what is the best way?”
Gait, in a grim voice, said, “Ride them down. They are afoot and there is plenty of room to turn the horses.”
He then took another look at the mayhem and carnage in front of us, and then pointed towards a side draw in the gully. “We can force them into that draw. That will give the two on the top of the gully a way to get down.”
I never had a chance to answer. With a loud war cry, Gait spurred his horse towards the orcs with Dan’ar closely at his heels. I quickly glanced at the mules and saw that they were milling around, back in the corner of the gully. I then drew my sword, kicked my horse in the flank, and followed.
By the time I reached the mass of orcs, Gait had already cleared a path through them—his great sword laying waste as he attacked. Dan’ar followed, his war hammer taking its toll on the confused and milling orcs.
I passed through the tangled mass; my sword dispatched numerous orcs. When I reached Gait and Dan’ar, Gait hollered. “They are confused; we must charge them as one and force them into the gully to the right.”
Dan’ar took the middle; Gait was to his left, and I on his right as we spurred our horses forward.
Our charge broke through the center of the orcs’ mass. When we wheeled our mounts, utter confusion followed, and chaos ensued.
When we wheeled our mounts after the charge through the massed orcs, we stopped to regroup for another charge.
I noticed that the orcs trying to reach the top of the gully had turned and started back down the side, but the huge troll was following them, tossing them aside as broken, bloody hulks. The elf covered the troll’s advance and killed several orcs as they tried to circle around behind the two.
By the time the elf and troll had reached the bottom of the gully, they effectively blocked the north exit. We covered the east side of the gully. This left only the exit to the west as the only option for the orcs to escape. They could either retreat or face us.
As we started to gallop towards them, they broke for the only exit open to them. We pursued them down the gully, killing many. Gait’s sword flashed in the sunlight as he mowed down the orcs in front of him. Dan’ar on his right bellowed his war cry as he swung the dwarf war hammer.
I followed them, taking a bloody toll on the orcs, until the gully narrowed, and we could not pass unless we broke our formation.
Gait hollered, “Hold, they are broken, and we know not what lies beyond!”
With Gait leading, we turned our horses and returned to where we’d left the elf and troll. We found them, finishing off the few orcs that had not taken flight down the gully.
As we approached the two, the troll finished off the last of the orcs by crushing it in his huge hands. He then turned to face us; the look of battle was still upon his gray, mottled face. The giant troll stood there glaring at us with blood seeping from a dozen wounds. Clearly, he was ready to continue the battle with us as his enemy.
The elf maiden gently touched his arm and said something in a voice so quiet that I could not hear. The massive troll looked at us and then the elf. He shook his great shoulders and took a couple of steps backward.
The elf wiped off her two sword blades on the dirty cloth of a dead orc at her feet. She then sheathed her blades and walked toward us, stopping about ten feet away.
She gave a small bow, and then said, “I am Saraid. My companion is Torg. We thank you for your help.”
I found the lyrical sound of her voice to be most pleasing. I turned to look at Gait, and he sat in the saddle, mesmerized by the sound of Saraid’s voice.
I returned my attention to the elf in front of me and said, “We are most happy to have been of assistance.”
She gave me a small smile, and was about to say something, when the troll collapsed. Saraid rushed over to him; I dismounted and followed.
When I reached the side of the troll, Saraid was carefully examining him. I could see huge rents in his skin, where orc swords had slashed through the tough hide. There was also quite a bit of blood flowing from some of the cuts.
As I knelt down, Saraid said, “He has lost a lot of blood. I must find somewhere that is safe so he can recover.”
I nodded my head and then shouted towards Gait and Dan’ar, “The troll Torg is injured badly! We need to find a safe place to hide!”
Gait nodded and said something to Dan’ar; he then turned his horse down the gully and was quickly out of sight. Dan’ar nudged his horse and followed. Dan’ar soon returned with the pack mules. He led them to the far side of the gully, and then climbed the gully to where the elf and troll had made their stand. At first, I didn’t understand why, until I realized that it gave him a wide view of the intersection of the three gullies.
When I returned my attention to the troll, Saraid had opened a small pouch and removed a needle and some thread. For the next 20 minutes, she sutured the gashes and cuts in the troll’s hide. She also applied a sweet-smelling ointment to the cuts as she worked. Torg never uttered a sound. Only his dark, black eyes showed the pain caused by the elf’s ministrations.
Saraid had just finished the last stitch in Torg when the sound of a horse was heard coming toward us from down the gully. I stood up and unsheathed my sword, and the elf did likewise with her two blades.
Dan’ar hollered from the top of the gully, “It’s Gait!”
By the time we sheathed our swords, Gait had arrived.
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