Regdar gritted his teeth. "Perfectly." He unhitched his shield from his back. He looked at the red dragon crest-the field arms of the New Koratian military-on its front, then let it fall to the ground.
The duke flinched as it crashed to the hard wood floor.
Regdar saluted, turned on his heels, and exited the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.
The duke rubbed his eyes with his calloused palm. He sighed.
"May Pelor light your way, young man. May Pelor light your way."
In the dying evening hght, Regdar paced outside the barrack door. What would he tell the men? If Naull was being held by slavers, then one fighter, no matter how strong, wasn't going to be able to rescue her. He needed their help but he was no longer their captain. He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and marched toward the open door.
Regdar crossed through the first chamber and into the bunk room. Whitman, Tasca, Clemf, and Krunk all looked up from their cots. He looked back.
"Well?" prompted Whitman after a pregnant pause.
Regdar paced the room, thinking about what he was going to say. He stopped and faced the four men, forcing a smile.
"The duke has given us his blessing," he said, nodding.
"Even after what happened last night?" asked Tasca.
Regdar stood to his full height. "The duke has confidence that the New Koratian military and his elite guards can handle the situation, with or without our help."
Tasca shrugged. "Okay then, what are we waiting for? Let's go find your woman."
The men began hefting their already-packed backpacks.
Regdar coughed into his fist.
The men stopped.
"I must remind you that this mission, like many in the past, is undertaken on a volunteer-only basis." He looked each of them in the eye. "You are under no obligation to go."
They all laughed, shouldering their gear and heading past Regdar out the door.
The big fighter smiled, grabbed his own belongings, and fell into step behind Clemf at the end of the line.
The party marched through the gates and down the River Delnir toward the Southern Sea. The moon slowly rose in the darkening sky, and the sound of crickets and the running river filled the soldiers' ears.
"Nice night," said Tasca.
"Only an elf would say that," jabbed Whitman.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, I don't know," replied the dwarf, "maybe you ought to write us some poetry about the moonlight and the romantic crickets. Maybe the pretty little elf boy should have been a bard."
Tasca pulled his rapier from his belt, flipped it endwise, and conked the dwarf on the helm with the bell. The heavy dwarven helmet rang loud in the quiet night, and the crickets stopped chirping.
"Will you two knock it off?" scolded Regdar. "Thanks to you all the bears and bandits know we're out here."
"It's better that way," said Whitman, smiling as he readjusted his helm. "I prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around."
"Duck!" Clemf landed hard on Regdar's back, and the two men hit the ground.
"What the-" Regdar rolled over, ready to curse Clemf for his clumsiness, but found himself staring up at a river troll.
Whitman tumbled into action. Rolling forward, he came up at the foot of the beast. The shiny, dwarven-worked head of his weapon crashed down with a tremendous thud and a crack.
The troll's thigh bone visibly collapsed, and its knee shot out at an odd angle. The creature hissed at the dwarf and swung back. Its claws raked along the side of Whitman's helm. The spine-tingling screech, like the sound of a razor scraping soft stone, made Regdar cringe.
The dwarf, however, seemed not to mind. "That the best you got, you slimy giant?" cursed Whitman.
Tasca winked at Krunk before jumping into combat and slicing his blade across the troll's arm.
A long gash opened up, and dark green fluid poured out, dripping to the ground and splashing on Whitman.
"Damn you, elf," shouted the stout, little man.
"You should be taller," replied Tasca, dodging the troll's backhand.
A second troll pulled itself from the banks of the river. The mottled green beast dived into the fray, but Clemf and Krunk intercepted it before it could reach its companion.
"Must be a female," shouted Krunk, ducking under a clawed fist.
Clemf lunged forward, jabbing his longsword at the green giant. "How do you know?"
Krunk's mace connected with a meaty slap, ripping away a large hunk of flesh. "Because it's bigger than the other."
Regdar shook off his pack and clambered to his feet, then circled behind the first troll. The slash on its arm had already stopped bleeding, and the skin was closing over. Its leg, too, was straightening, but Whitman's heavy blow had shattered the bone so that even the rapidly recovering beast moved slower than normal.
While Tasca and Whitman kept the monster at bay, Regdar rushed in from behind it. The troll saw its danger and tried to squirm away at the last minute, but being pinned between three opponents, it had nowhere to go. Regdar's greatsword cleaved deeply into the rubbery hide.
More green blood flooded to the ground, once again splashing Whitman. The troll staggered around and glared down at Regdar.
"What's this?" Tasca leered at Whitman. "No criticism for Regdar?" He lunged in and his blade skipped from the beast's heavy hide.
"Why would I?" replied the dwarf, bringing his hammer down on the troll's foot. "This is all your fault."
Tasca stumbled back from the troll's backswing and landed on his seat. "Of course," he said, lifting himself from the ground and sneering at the dwarf. "I almost forgot."
The troll limped a half-step forward and swung at Regdar. The claws on its mighty right hand connected with the fighter's ribcage, producing a loud, cracking sound. The blow knocked the air from Regdar's lungs. The creature's second claw swung down, to catch the big fighter on the thigh. Its digits wrapped around Regdar's leg as if it were a chicken wing, then the troll leaned back and yanked. Regdar dropped his sword in the struggle to free himself from the monster's grip. It was no use. The troll had him tight, and the big fighter's flesh tore under the troll's rending claws.
Regdar howled in pain. The monster's claws made a popping sound as they pulled out of his side, then scraped across the metal of his armor. The big fighter fell to the ground, shaken and bleeding. The stretched, ripped skin between his ribs and leg felt as if it were on fire.
The troll seemed quite pleased with itself.
Braced on his hands and knees, Regdar spit on the ground. A long, thin line of red trailed through the center of the viscous saliva, and he growled.
Regdar picked up his sword and got to his feet as quickly as he could manage. "I've had about enough of you," he shouted. Then he stepped forward, covering almost his full height in a single step, and aimed a powerful blow at the troll.
The sudden attack surprised the monster. Regdar's blade bit deep into the troll's side, forcing it to hop back on its broken leg. That brought it nearly atop Whitman, who smashed his hammer against the creature's back. Tasca's rapier flashed in the moonlight. It glanced off the creature's shoulder before spearing deep into its neck.
The troll roared and shook its head. Tasca's blade came free of his hand, its point still stuck in the side of the giant's throat. The monster clawed at its neck and chest, gouging the flesh with its nails.
A huge flash lit the dark sky. Over Whitman's shoulder, the second troll burst into flames. Beside the beast stood Clemf holding a broken glass bottle in his hand. Krunk crouched next to him, his hand in the air, a small, magical flame in his palm.