3-Orks of Course

appy got them up before dawn the next morning and they had a light breakfast of bread and dried fruit. It was very painful putting the pack on her back, but Galranwyn used the handkerchiefs again and they helped some. Almost before she had a chance to become fully awake, they were walking again.
Walking was easier today than it was yesterday. The land they were traveling over was much the same as the terrain they had seen the day before and the terrain Galranwyn had been used to all her life. The road was still a muddy mess, but she was more attentive to her feet and avoided stepping in puddles.
Cappy and Krom were walking ahead as usual. She was surprised when Cappy turned his head and asked her,
"So Galranwyn, what kind of magic do you know?"
"A little of this and a little of that. I am an Alteration specialist if that means anything to you."
"Not much I'm afraid. I never did learn any myself."
"You could say I am able to change things."
"Like changing me into a bear?" asked Krom.
"Well, I can't do that yet, but that is the sort of thing I guess."
"You'll have to show us something."  Cappy added. "I remember once seeing a magician make scarves out of thin air and pull gold pieces out of this woman's ear."
Galranwyn sniffed. She would never admit that she was prone to sniffing at things she thought were beneath her, but she sniffed none the less. "That is NOT magic. That is slight of hand and takes little knowledge and much dexterity. It is known among mages as Thief Tricks. Real magic is a combination of semantic, material and verbal components that align the arcane power and channel it in predictable patterns controlled by the caster."
"Really?" said Krom in a bored voice. "Hey pop, is it time to stop for lunch yet?"
"No. Damn Krom." Cappy spoke with a sharpness born of an over familiarity with the question.  "I know you have a hollow leg, but do you have to keep reminding us of this? I'll tell you when its time for lunch."
They walked in silence for some time after that.

The road they traveled was not paved, but was simply an unmistakable path through the wilderness. The plants and trees along the path had been cut back and the ruts of wagons and the imprints of footprints as well left little chance that one would lose it. However, there were places where it was less obvious than others. In spots it wound erratically around large trees and stands of rock that was hard on the hoofs of horses. It was in one such spot that Cappy suddenly stopped them with a sudden gesture and a whispered "Hissssss".

A moment later, they were attacked by one of the most aggressive and common species of humanoids in the realms; Orcs.
There were 5 of them coming out of their hiding places behind the trees. The sound of the two swords being pulled from their scabbards was a single metallic hiss. Cappy pointed at a spot to Galranwyn left and Krom stepped to the spot and crouched to meet the rush of the attackers. Galranwyn was scared. But not so scared that she forgot what she had worked so hard to learn. Her movements were sure as her fingers began the intricate dance that preceded the casting of a spell. One of the horrible humanoid creatures was jumping over a small bush to get at her when her finger pointed at the creature.
"Hobali Cotandi!" she said and a small ball of energy sprang from her finger and struck the creature in mid-leap. With a deep "huhhhh" the creature fell heavily on top of the bush crushing it to the ground.
The other orcs rushed the group from either side moving quickly, but carefully. With a crash of swords, Krom and Cappy met their charge. Cappy was a careful fighter. His first few sword thrusts were purely defensive until he had an idea of how to best attack the ork. Then with a fearsome suddenness he went on the offensive and the first Orc went down with two sword wounds in the abdomen. Krom's style was completely different. He went on the offensive immediately and used this as his defense. The second Orc attacking Krom was somewhat tentative in his attacks; he waited until he saw an opening then struck Krom in the thigh. This seemed to enrage Krom rather than making him afraid. He re-doubled his attacks on his opponent and ignored the one who had struck him. The Orc he was attacking withstood the blizzard of blows for only a few moments before falling to the ground with a head wound and a hand only attached to the arm by a thin bit of flesh.
The last of the Orcs attacked Galranwyn. The one she had cast her spell on stayed down and this gave her some encouragement, but not enough that she went on the offensive. She sought only to protect herself. She was able to meet their attacks with her staff and deflect them.
Cappy and his last enemy circled each other for a moment; neither wanting to suffer the fate of the fallen Orc. Then Cappy noticed Galranwyn fighting and swung his sword in a vicious circle that was only barely blocked. He ducked under a thrust at his throat and took the orc in the left armpit with an upward thrust. It must have found the Orc's heart as the creature dropped to the ground without a sound. He then leapt to Galranwyn's side to attack the orc menacing her. Cappy gave her the confidence she needed and she went on the offensive. She struck the Orc on the elbow which slowed his next parry of Cappy overhand stroke. The slowness cost the orc his arm which was severed just above the place where Galranwyn's blow had struck.
Cradling his stump in his hand the Orc turned to run. Galranwyn was glad he was running away and did nothing to prevent his departure. But Cappy jumped forward and plunged his sword into the back of the retreating Orc. It tumbled forward onto the ground and became still. When Cappy and Galranwyn looked around, they saw two bodies lying at Krom's feet. Krom was breathing like a bellows and grinning like a fool.
"Hah!" he said. "Boy were these guys stupid. Couldn't they see who they were robbing? Maybe next time they'll think twice before they think to prey on folks like us!"
Cappy was inspecting the fallen Orcs. He lifted up the head of one of the fallen then let it fall. "These won't be preying on anyone again." The knife in his hand moved across the throat of the orc and a feeble red flow of blood soon pooled in the dirt.
Galranwyn was shocked. She ran over to Cappy and grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing? They can't hurt us again, so just leave them alone!"
Cappy stood up suddenly and whirled to face her with his eyes flashing in anger. But the next moment, he face softened.
"I suppose you want these killers to go before a judge eh? A trial before the magistrate with the officials doing the honors of execution?"
"Yes! That's the right thing to do."
"So. I guess that means we either take them with us, and guard them and feed them and hope they don't manage to escape and kill us while we sleep?"
He head lowered, Galranwyn shook her head.
"So. I guess we should just let them go and hope they mend their ways and stop attacking innocent people?"
Galranwyn was now looking Cappy directly in the face searching for any sign of mocking. She didn't see it. After a moment she shook her head again.
Cappy wiped his knife on the orcs clothes and put it back in it's worn scabbard. "Your concern does you credit you know. It's not that I don't care about life, it's just that there are not so many choices when you are alone in the wilderness. The first time I was ambushed like this, I thought a lot about it and decided that the situation made me into a kind of temporary magistrate." He shrugged and pushed the body with his foot. "I found them guilty of attempted murder and executed them."
The battle over, Galranywn began to suffer badly. She felt sick and began to shake. Slowly, she began to sit down.
Cappy held her up by her upper arm, keeping her upright. "No, you can't sit down yet. Not here. Krom, are you done yet?"
Krom sheathed his dagger and knelt on the ground. "Not quite yet. I still have to uh, search them."
"Hurry it up then." Cappy led Galranwyn over to a tree and propped her up against it. "Breath deep and blow it out quickly. It's just the battle wobbles. It will pass in a few minutes. That's right, breathe. Good, you'll soon be right as rain."
"Got it!" announced Krom, his arms full of weapons and a large leather bag.
"Right. We march friends." and Cappy set out at a lope leading them quickly away from the site of the battle.
A hour later and mile away, he stopped and said "This is better. We can rest here." He swung his pack off his back and began setting out food and drink. The others sat on the ground around him. Krom was grinning widely, his un-handsome face looking incredibly young.
Galranwyn was angry, angry at herself. She had protested the killing of the orcs without thinking and revealing her soft heart. How could she call herself an adventurer when she actually felt sorry for creatures who sought to take her life. Seeing Krom's wide smile, she was sure he was having fun at her expense.
"What are you grinning at muscle head?" she said angrily to Krom. Krom didn't even notice her tone.
"Now is the fun part." He turned to Cappy and asked "Right?"
"Right son! Empty it out."
Krom grabbed the leather bag and dumped the contents on the ground in front of him. There was a selection of crude knives, several small pouches and a few smaller items. He grabbed each of the pouches and shook them. The two that had a metallic sound he shook out onto the ground. Coins mixed with sling bullets and bits of food fell out. Once the bags had all been searched, a small pile of coins were gathered at his feet. He scooped them up and handed them to Cappy. "You do the honors pop."
Cappy hefted the coins and smiled. Seeing that Galranwyn was still fuming, he sighed.
"Galranwyn, you will get a share you know."
"Don't bother. I would have been gutted if you hadn't helped me out."
Cappy shrugged. "So? Didn't you take out the first one? That was some spell you know. I'll bet the sod never knew what hit him. And when the other one attacked you, did you panic and run. No, you took him on. Even scored a hit if I remember correctly. You fought your first battle and won. There is no shame in getting help. If you think you owe me something, fine. Next time, you can save my life OK?" He smiled. "You did just fine."
Galranwyn sniffed and sat up straighter. "You weren't ashamed of me?"
"Hell no! I took your coin to protect you and only did my job. I didn't expect to find you a help in a battle. Chances were good that you would be useless, but you took out one and helped with another. And now, you will share and share alike as is the law for us."
Cappy sorted the coins by type and threw the coins into piles before each of them until Cappy's hand was empty.
Krom picked them up and whooped. "This will pay for a hell of a meal!" He dropped them into his money pouch one by one.
Cappy gathered his and dumped them into his pouch. Seeing that Galranwyn was just looking at hers he said to her "You earned them you know."
With a wry smile, she picked up the coins. "I guess I did at that." She dumped all but one of the coins into her pouch, then began to take off a boot. She put the last coin in the end of the boot and put it back on again. Answering Cappy's questioning look she smiled and answered "My first booty."
Cappy's face cracked into a smile, then he began to laugh loudly. Krom hadn't paid any attention to Galranwyn and didn't know what Cappy was laughing at. But he began to laugh along, happy to see all was well and his pouch was heavier. Galranwyn's smile grew into a quiet laugh and then, into a louder one that only made Krom laugh even harder.