Read Online El-Vador's Travels by J. R. Karlsson - Free Book Online
Authors: J. R. Karlsson
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Elven.
As
he progressed further into the woods the sound of chopping increased,
he knew from the direction he had headed that he wasn't far from the
fortification that the Orcs had raised outside the town. Perhaps
someone had forced them to work through the night. Irrespective of
that they were going to regret being out here alone in the woods with
just El-Vador for company.
Judging
from the sound he was very close now. There was little light in this
place, El-Vador certainly wouldn't have risked hacking down large
trees in this darkness. Perhaps the Orcs had little care for their
servants.
The
clearing in the woods came suddenly, El-Vador halted and observed a
solitary Orc cutting away at a stump outside what looked to be a
farmhouse.
'Who
goes there?' the Orc asked, peering out into the tree line and
startling El-Vador, it had spotted him.
Seeing
as how he couldn't put an arrow through the Orc reliably in this poor
light, El-Vador paused, not knowing what to do.
'I
am El-Vador.' he said, hating that he had ended up having to speak to
this thing.
'You
speak my language?' it asked him, seemingly surprised.
'I
speak a little bit.' he said, not wanting to be drawn into a
conversation.
'I
am Mugrab.' said the woodsman. He beckoned to El-Vador to come over
out of hiding and speak to him face to face.
He
hesitated, then strode forward and stood at some distance from the
Orc.
'Were
you going to shoot me with that?' Mugrab asked, eyeing the bow as
El-Vador came froward.
'Yes,
I was.'
'Why would you want to shoot a simple farmer?' asked the Orc, more
confused than scared.
El-Vador
grew increasingly uncomfortable the more he found out about his
potential kill. 'You don't belong here, the land you farm is stolen.'
The
Orc shook his head. 'This land was won by right of conquest and was
not being used by any of your people.'
He
was beginning to lose his patience with this chatty green-skinned
creature. 'The right of conquest is no right.'
'Then why were you going to shoot me? Was it not to take back this
land for your people through conquest?' Mugrab replied. 'Must it come
to bloodshed? Can we not live together?'
El-Vador's
hatred of the creatures bubbled up again. 'Live together?' he asked.
'Your people butchered mine in an unprovoked attack, you were the
ones who started this bloodshed.' He found he had put the arrow onto
the string and partially drawn it, sighting it on the Orc. 'I will be
the one who ends it.'
Mugrab
offered him a smile. 'Then do it.'
IV
Questions started to rise then, my true helplessness had been
exposed by the might of something beyond my power that I could not
understand. I had been set a task that was not beyond the scope of my
lust for vengeance but one I felt was undoubtedly beyond my
capabilities. Perhaps if I had not been so hesitant in trusting the
creature, things would have been different. I think naught of it,
regrets would swallow me otherwise.
T he
mountainous Elven lands were subjected to the worst of the winter
season. O ne storm
after another, and blizzards
that piled the snow in thick drifts that left trees so covered in white their greenery all but disappeared.
Hunting was hard as game was scarce, even scarcer with the addition
of the Orcs. Winter was a bleak and torturous time of the year, the
time when folk lived on what they had brought in during the harvest
and hoped they could surv ive
long enough to see spring dawn once more.
For
El-Vador and Cusband, winter was an even chancier season than for
most others. With his father growing weaker than ever before,
El-Vador had taken on all his labour. In spite of this their efforts
had been undercut by the Orcs, who had been willing to spare wood for
the Elves in exchange for less grain than Cusband had previously
demanded. They had suffered together through hungry winters before,
this looked like it could well be their last thanks to the
green-skins.
Despite
the drifted snow, El-Vador went hunting whenever he could.
As
he progressed further into the woods the sound of chopping increased,
he knew from the direction he had headed that he wasn't far from the
fortification that the Orcs had raised outside the town. Perhaps
someone had forced them to work through the night. Irrespective of
that they were going to regret being out here alone in the woods with
just El-Vador for company.
Judging
from the sound he was very close now. There was little light in this
place, El-Vador certainly wouldn't have risked hacking down large
trees in this darkness. Perhaps the Orcs had little care for their
servants.
The
clearing in the woods came suddenly, El-Vador halted and observed a
solitary Orc cutting away at a stump outside what looked to be a
farmhouse.
'Who
goes there?' the Orc asked, peering out into the tree line and
startling El-Vador, it had spotted him.
Seeing
as how he couldn't put an arrow through the Orc reliably in this poor
light, El-Vador paused, not knowing what to do.
'I
am El-Vador.' he said, hating that he had ended up having to speak to
this thing.
'You
speak my language?' it asked him, seemingly surprised.
'I
speak a little bit.' he said, not wanting to be drawn into a
conversation.
'I
am Mugrab.' said the woodsman. He beckoned to El-Vador to come over
out of hiding and speak to him face to face.
He
hesitated, then strode forward and stood at some distance from the
Orc.
'Were
you going to shoot me with that?' Mugrab asked, eyeing the bow as
El-Vador came froward.
'Yes,
I was.'
'Why would you want to shoot a simple farmer?' asked the Orc, more
confused than scared.
El-Vador
grew increasingly uncomfortable the more he found out about his
potential kill. 'You don't belong here, the land you farm is stolen.'
The
Orc shook his head. 'This land was won by right of conquest and was
not being used by any of your people.'
He
was beginning to lose his patience with this chatty green-skinned
creature. 'The right of conquest is no right.'
'Then why were you going to shoot me? Was it not to take back this
land for your people through conquest?' Mugrab replied. 'Must it come
to bloodshed? Can we not live together?'
El-Vador's
hatred of the creatures bubbled up again. 'Live together?' he asked.
'Your people butchered mine in an unprovoked attack, you were the
ones who started this bloodshed.' He found he had put the arrow onto
the string and partially drawn it, sighting it on the Orc. 'I will be
the one who ends it.'
Mugrab
offered him a smile. 'Then do it.'
IV
Questions started to rise then, my true helplessness had been
exposed by the might of something beyond my power that I could not
understand. I had been set a task that was not beyond the scope of my
lust for vengeance but one I felt was undoubtedly beyond my
capabilities. Perhaps if I had not been so hesitant in trusting the
creature, things would have been different. I think naught of it,
regrets would swallow me otherwise.
T he
mountainous Elven lands were subjected to the worst of the winter
season. O ne storm
after another, and blizzards
that piled the snow in thick drifts that left trees so covered in white their greenery all but disappeared.
Hunting was hard as game was scarce, even scarcer with the addition
of the Orcs. Winter was a bleak and torturous time of the year, the
time when folk lived on what they had brought in during the harvest
and hoped they could surv ive
long enough to see spring dawn once more.
For
El-Vador and Cusband, winter was an even chancier season than for
most others. With his father growing weaker than ever before,
El-Vador had taken on all his labour. In spite of this their efforts
had been undercut by the Orcs, who had been willing to spare wood for
the Elves in exchange for less grain than Cusband had previously
demanded. They had suffered together through hungry winters before,
this looked like it could well be their last thanks to the
green-skins.
Despite
the drifted snow, El-Vador went hunting whenever he could.
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