IDWTBTHQ Chapter 84 - First Contact

For the thousandth time, Jones the telemancer wished he had found a better excuse to avoid the current mission. He had thought that drinking a whole bottle of snakevine oil would have been enough, but sadly Father Hiram, the marquis's chaplain, had proven to be a better healer than he had thought, and Jones had been quickly cured of his “accidental” poisoning and sent to liaison with the rest of the guards in the new Ashwood Hills outpost, which happened to be located within the ruins of the monastery where the Vex had set up their nest.

Once he had arrived, Jones had discovered that the mission was even worse than the rumors had suggested.

It wasn't just having to live in the middle of a forest, far from the comfort of his house in Brettholz, that made it unbearable. Nor it was the fact that he didn't have a warm meal or a decent bath in weeks, or even the threat of an upcoming orc invasion looming on the horizon. No, what really ticked him off was having to endure all the above while being surrounded by huge, creepy insect-like creatures.

He tried to tell himself that the Vex were technically allies and that it was their presence that kept this part of the forest relatively safe, but to no avail. Something about those creatures made his skin crawl. It wasn't just their appearance, but rather the way they moved and behaved... more like puppets that like actual living beings, and yet with an uncanny, instinctive coordination that gave the impression that they were part of a single complex organism. And to top it all off, having to live in the middle of their mold-wax encrusted hive made Jones feel as if he was sitting in the maw of a huge predatory creature, a feeling that deeply disturbed him and made him all the more eager to get back to Brettholz.

The only good things that Jones could find about his current situation was that his tour of duty was almost over and that the wyvern-like Vex drones that the marquis had given them would make the trip back much quicker and safer than travelling on foot. Also, despite all of his complaining, Jones had to admit that as unpleasant as his stay had been nothing really dangerous had happened. The Vex kept the other animals of the forest at bay, and there was no trace of these theoretical orcs the marquis feared, so all in all the telemancer could consider himself lucky. He just had to endure for a couple more days, and then he could be back in his comfy bed in Brettholz.

As it often happened, his expectations for the future were about to be completely demolished.

It was evening, and Jones was having dinner —which was just dry meat and bread, since they couldn't risk lighting a fire— with the other guards in the mold-wax covered cloister, where they had set up their camps, when sudden the Vex all around them let out alarmed screeches and started running frantically outside of their nest. Obviously this alerted the Brettholz guards, who immediately grabbed their weapons and cautiously headed towards the edge of the ruins in order to see what this ruckus was all about.

Jones, on the other hand, decided that whatever was going on was above his pay grade and instead approached the wyvern-like Vex drones that were tied to a pole at the center of the cloister, in order to quickly escape in case the situation got dicey.

“I'm not a combatant... I'm just a telemancer.” He justified himself in his head. “My orders are just to report back whatever happens here and that's what I'm gonna do. If I see an orc or any other monstrosity entering the cloister, I'll take this wyvern-thingy and get out of here. I mean, it's my duty to survive in order to warn the marquis about whatever danger is approaching!”

However nothing happened, and Jones just stood next to the wyvern drones for a few minutes until one of the guards entered the cloister and called for him.

“Jones!” The guard shouted. “Come here! There is something you need to see!”

“What is it? The telemancer asked, feeling reluctant to leave his only safe mean of escape. “Can't you just tell me?”

“Sorry, but per regulations, you need to personally confirm contact with the enemy.” The guard replied. “You're the one who need to make the report, after all.”

“Contact with the enemy!?!” Jones cried in a panicked tone. “Do you mean the orcs? They're here?”

“They were, but the Vex managed to drive them away.” The guard said in an annoyed voice. “Now come. Better be quick, in case they return with reinforcements.”

Knowing that there were actually orcs nearby, Jones felt all the more reluctant to leave the wyvern behind, but his orders were clear: if possible he had to personally witness the presence of the orcs before reporting it, in order to make his testimony legally undisputable.

So he gulped nervously and followed the guard outside of the ruins and into the mold-wax covered territory that extended around the hill. As they walked they crossed paths with a few Vex getting back to their hive while carrying pieces of bloody, scaly meat even a couple of their own dead with them, and most likely taking everything to their larder. The thought made Jones shudder in disgust, but he forced himself to ignore the cannibalistic, scary insect things and just follow his guide.

After a minute or so, they reached the site where the fight had happened. A few Vex were busy taking the rest of the corpses with them, while the Brettholz guards all stood around a single body to prevent the bugs from taking it away as well. The leader of the expedition, an aging veteran called Roen, saw them approaching and gestured for the telemancer to get closer.

“Good. You're finally here.” He said, moving out of the way and pointing at the corpse behind him. “Come and get a look at this body before the bugs take it.”

Jones nodded, and approached the corpse laying on the ground. It had been badly mangled by dozens of savage blows but it was still perfectly recognizable as a dead orc.

The telemancer felt a chill running down his spine. He hadn’t really bought into the story of the orc army —in his opinion it was a ploy used by the goblins to avoid repercussions for their invasions— but right now he couldn’t help but giving a terrified look towards the edge of the forest, half-expecting a horde of wild, bloodthirsty orcs to charge right out of it.

Which was all the more reason to hurry up and do his job before getting the hells away from there.

“W-what happened in here?” He asked with a quivering voice. “A-are the o-orcs coming?”

“Who knows.” Roen shrugged. “All I can tell you is that thirty-two orcs came snooping around from the forest and the Vex immediately attacked them.” He made a nervous half smile. “Gotta say, after seeing that I’m glad that the bugs are on our side. They were all over the orcs like a living tidal wave made out of talons, fangs and hate, and they shredded the scaly bastards before they knew what hit them.” He pointed at the mangled remains of the orc that they had been guarding. “This one is the most intact one we managed to find. All the others were literally hacked to pieces.”

Jones looked at the nearby Vex, and had no trouble at all picturing the gory spectacle in his mind. He shuddered and tried to think about something else.

“These orcs…” He asked. “Are there any survivors or were they all killed?”

“Well, two or three managed to run away.” The old guard replied.  “But they were badly wounded and the Vex were chasing them, so I wouldn’t bet too much money on their survival.”

“Understood.” Jones said, starting to calm down a bit since it seemed that there was no immediate danger, at least at the moment. “Then I’m going to contact the marquis and tell him that we found the orcs.”

“You do that.” Roen nodded. “Meanwhile, we’ll be on the lookout for more orcs. If they show up again in large numbers we’re out of here.”

“Good.” The telemancer replied, feeling a sudden pang of relief coursing through his body despite the dangerous situation they were in. Sure, now they had proof that the orcs were coming, which was bad news for the province of Brettholz and the kingdom in general, but for Jones personally it meant that he had accomplished his mission and therefore could finally leave this wretched place. And after he got back, he could surely find an excuse to leave Brettholz for a more safe location, far away from the border of the Caligare Forest.

With this plan in mind, he hurried up to the camp to pack up his things and contact the marquis. If everything went well, by tomorrow night he’d be able to sleep in a real bed.