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  “Yup. Me, you, Uldo and the boss will be heading out towards Aldani Gorge with a cage and some of Reed’s men as backup. Boss wanted some of the crew to come, but most of them split after learning we’d have to go to that place afterwards, and Holt needs all the help he can get selling the merchandise and hiring new hands,” Reesh explained. He led the young woman through the camp towards the horses.

  “Everyone seems to hate where it is we’re going,” Dora said, hoping to bait her companion into revealing some more.

  The handyman’s face darkened, though.

  “Anyone who’s ever been a slave knows to hate and fear it. Some even refuse to speak its name, it invokes such bad memories.” He paused, giving Dora a strange look. “I’ll be honest; if I didn’t owe Scar so much, I’d ask to be left behind as well.”

  Reesh looked straight ahead after a moment and strode towards the spot where Uldo was handling their steeds.

  “Word of advice, Dora: don’t ask about that terrible city. If someone wants to explain it to you, they will. But don’t force the issue. They won’t take it kindly.”

  The ex-slave stared darkly off into the distance. “You think you have nightmares, little lady? You’ve never had to wake up screaming or clawing at your own eyes after dreaming about the City of Slaves.”

  .

  “So, this is the Aldani Gorge,” Dora whispered, her breath taken away by the vista before her eyes.

  The half-orc, astride her trusty steed, could barely see the edges of the canyon as it reached out east and west, and it was impossible to spot where the Gorge met the north.

  The World Scar was not a single massive canyon. It was in fact at least five other crevasses that had smashed together over eons, creating a labyrinth of stone walls, spires of rock, and winding dirt paths. Caves and hidey-holes were everywhere, some of them connecting to others.

  Here, the grey that pervaded the Dreadlands was broken up by all manner of striations in the rock formations. Colorful bands of minerals made the Gorge look like an earthen rainbow. And at night, certain veins of luminescent ore lit up under the moon and stars, providing a little bit of light in certain regions.

  But impressive rocks were not the real reason for the landmark’s infamy. Within the Aldani Gorge a traveler could encounter all sorts of rare creatures. Odd, brown, crusty Stone Ooze slid around next to Megalith Snails. Manticores and their female counterpart Sphinxes prowled alongside the stoney-skinned Basilisks, and the bizarre chicken-snakes that were Cockatrice nested at the tops of natural pillars.

  It was dangerous. But the rewards were more than worth it for a careful adventurer. Already, Dora could see a few shoots of Grey Fever and Rockbane herbs growing here and there.

  She, along with the rest of the group seeking out the Golden Mole, had arrived at the entrance to the Gorge late in the afternoon. They had ridden pell-mell from Creidor in order to reach the area before nightfall. With only a smallish cage to burden them the trip was considerably easier and shorter than if the whole caravan had accompanied them.

  The group was currently atop a slope that gently descended into the lower layers. Scarrot was running last minute checks with the container alongside Reesh. Uldo was on lookout with the loaned hunters, leaving Dora to her own business.

  Hopping from her saddle the Healer began to carefully cut and pluck the herbs and plants she could that looked familiar.

  “Anything useful?” Scarrot asked, glancing at Dora. She nodded without looking up.

  “I can definitely use a lot of this. I’m surprised it all grows so close together out here,” Dora said. “But, I won’t look a gift horse like this in the mouth. I can make a few doses of petrifaction prevention medicine, and if I can find some Rippleweed I can make a minor cure against petrified limbs.”

  “Keep up the good work. The further we delve into the Gorge, the higher the chance we run into a monster that’ll try to inflict that affliction upon us.”

  “Understood, boss.”

  Unfortunately, her search came to an end far too soon for her liking. They needed to find a good spot to camp before the sun started to set.

  “Why couldn’t we just set up at the entrance?” Dora grumbled, glancing back at where the slope back up to the surface faded into the distance.

  “Because that’s what other visitors do,” one of the extra hands spoke up. “And most of them are of the similar opinion that just because it’s the entrance means other things won’t come out.”

  “Quite a few of the beasts in this region have a taste for the flesh of sapient beings. And the nocturnal ones will often leave the Gorge at night to hunt. And when they run across a group of idiots who sleep at the entrance without putting up defenses? It’s an easy dinner.”

  “Point taken,” Dora said softly, horrified at the thought of being attacked in her sleep by a hungry monster.

  “So, where will be bunking down?”

  “Not a cave. Unless it’s been thoroughly checked it’s too risky since monsters like to nest in them as well. Also avoid sleeping near the spires since Cockatrice might spot us moving around,” another of the loaned workers replied.

  Dora cocked her head as she thought his words over.

  “Then, what’s left?”

  “There,” Scarrot stated suddenly. He pointed at a curve in the path ahead of them. The wind-carved road was wide enough for the entire group to ride side-by-side through, and where the bend met another fork there was enough space for a few tents.

  “We can keep an eye on the crossroads here for anything trying to sneak up on us. First watch will go to you, Uldo. Dora, come with me. Let’s set up a few wards while the rest put up the tents,” the crippled orc commanded. The pale green-skinned woman rode over beside her boss.

  “What do you want set up? ‘Cause I’m not very good at making stuff like that,” Dora said worriedly.

  “I know. I still remember when you tried last time.”

  “That monkey had it coming! And at least my anti-theft ward worked! Sort of! It can’t thieve without a hand, can it?”

  “All you need to do is fill these rune stones with mana. That’ll be enough,” Scarrot said, ignoring her protests completely as he tossed her a sack full of intricately carved flat discs of stone.

  “OK, I can do that much,” Dora assured the older orc.

  “Good. Now, how’s Reed doing?”

  The young Healer blinked before realization crossed her face.

  “Oh! Well, Mister Reed is in decent enough condition for a man his age,” Dora began. “His hands are quickly developing arthritis, and he has a pretty big cataract in his left eye. Kind of a weak heart, and the dust out here has done his lungs no favors.”

  “How much longer does he have?” Scarrot inquired, his voice quieter than she had ever heard it before.

  “At best, a decade, but it’ll be a painful time for him,” the half-orc revealed. She felt somewhat uncertain speaking about the old man’s health without his permission, but the mayor of Creidor wasn’t really a patient, and she wasn’t really a Healer.

  Maybe if she kept telling herself that, it might make the guilt fade a little.

  “Tell no one else about this. Understood?” the scarred old orc growled.

  “Crystal,” Dora agreed. Scarrot nodded with a huff of approval before he and the half-blood finished setting up the defenses and wards around the campsite.

  The ambient light levels were falling quickly, and by the time the pair were done with their job the stars sparkled high above them in the sky.

  With Uldo standing guard over her and the rest of the group, she found herself slipping quickly into slumber. Mercifully, the dreams did not come to her that night.

  .

  Morning was a solemn affair. Nothing had happened, at least nothing that Dora could perceive, but everyone was tense. Their hands drifted to weapons and eyes darted nervously around.

  “Reesh, what’s going on?” Dora whispered as they mounted up once more.

&nb
sp; “Some of the men on watch saw something. Big, furry, and watching us. No one could tell what it was, though.”

  The half-orc paled at that. “And it didn’t attack us?”

  “No. But that’s worse, in a way. It means it’s smart enough to be wary of people, and wait for a better opportunity.”

  With that sour note to go on, the rest of the day passed by quickly. Once or twice, she’d swear something was following them, and the group agreed on that part.

  Still, there was a job to do.

  Scarrot called a halt in the midst of a cramped path, the cliff sides creating deep shadows all around them, and a few human-sized pits in the ground meant a burrower was nearby.

  “Set out the bait,” Scarrot commanded, and Reesh hurried to obey, carefully placing a lump of foul smelling meat paste near one of the holes.

  “Urgh, that smell,” Dora complained, her sensitive orc senses screaming out at the abuse.

  “Golden moles eat bugs, mushrooms, and moldy, rotting meat. This should attract one if it’s nearby.”

  “And what if something else likes the smell of trash?” Dora countered, staring with annoyance at her boss as he appeared unfazed by the rancid scent.

  “Then we fight it off. Simple as that. But, if nothing shows up in a few hours we’ll move on to a new place.”

  The group moved out in a wide circle, surrounding the baited space. They were far enough away that if a creature were to approach it would not immediately notice the trappers, but would not have enough room to let it escape.

  Four hours came and went, and nothing appeared. None of the other men seemed all that bothered, though. Trapping was two parts waiting to one part hunting.

  “Let’s go, then. Reesh, wrap up the bait.”

  “Aye-aye, boss,” Reesh grunted, holding his nose as he stuffed the foul substance back into the sack.

  Dora let out a pleased sigh as the air cleared up. But, as they were riding off to a new area, she could have sworn that something peeked out of one of the pits to watch their group move on.

  .

  “Nothing! Two freaking days of nothing! What the Hells is going on?!” Reesh fumed, his mood mirrored by the extra crew.

  The group had done a small circuit of the areas closest to the Gorge’s main entrance, trying in vain to suss out a golden mole. But even though the bait was put out each and every time, their prey refused to show up.

  “Is it normally this quiet?” Dora inquired, looking towards to the two large, stoic members. Both Scarrot and Uldo had concerned looks on their face.

  It wasn’t just the golden mole that was absent. Not a single creature had been spotted anywhere. Other than an odd sense of being watched, there were no animals in the Aldani Gorge. Birds refused to fly overhead, and all the dens were empty, as if they’d been vacated quickly.

  “No, it’s not,” Scarrot said. “I admit, finding a golden mole was never going to be a cakewalk, but this is beyond unusual.”

  “Fear,” Uldo intoned, raking his eyes over the area. “The air is thick with it.”

  “So, all the animals ran off?” the half-orc asked incredulously. “What could have scared off even Manticores?”

  “Something worse,” Uldo replied.

  “Off the top of my head, I can think of two creatures which might force an entire ecosystem into hiding,” Scarrot mused. “A dragon, or an Urdrai.”

  “Fling me into the Hells and pummel me with my own severed legs,” Dora swore, her expression becoming frightened. “What should we do?”

  “We leave. Nothing we or Creidor possess can hold up against either of those beasts if they are here. In the morning, we’ll report this to Reed.”

  Everyone went to bed subdued, Reesh half-heartedly putting away the bait bag.

  “Hey, Reesh, the bait is oozing out! You didn’t tie it up properly!” Dora complained as she sidestepped a putrid clump of the gunk.

  “Aw, sorry about that, Dora!” the handyman apologized. “Do you mind taking care of that for me?”

  “Only because I don’t want to be around the stench any longer than I have to,” the half-orc maiden grumbled, hastily tying up the sack.

  It was getting dark and she really wanted to sleep just so the morning could come sooner. As the young woman turned away, she felt something bump into her leg.

  “Not now, Starspot. No extra apples for you,” Dora said softly, shaking her head at the antics of her horse. A whinny from the side caused her to look up as she saw the mare standing away from her.

  She went pale as another nudge was given to her legs. Slowly, she turned around, heart hammering in her chest.

  “Kuuu.”

  “Hey, boss, what does a golden mole look like again?”

  “They’re a mole the size of a dog with golden fur. It’s not the most imaginative name,” the large orc replied from where he was speaking with the loaned helpers.

  “Oh. In that case, I found one.”

  Everyone in the camp spun around to face Dora, only to have their jaws drop when they spotted a basset hound sized mole with golden fur nuzzling up against the half-orc in an attempt to reach the stinky sack of bait.

  “It just came up to me,” Dora admitted, not entirely sure how to react. On one hand, she was pretty sure this was the creature that had been watching them. On the other, it was surprisingly cute.

  “Ildora, carefully bring the bait over to the cage,” Scarrot ordered softly, sliding over to the container in question and laying it on the ground before opening it.

  With careful steps she walked through the tiny camp, leading the hungry animal towards the metal cage.

  It was skittish, and clearly hesitant to be near the humans or orcs around it, pressing up against Dora with clear fear.

  “It’s ok, I won’t hurt you,” Dora promised.

  The golden mole paused when it spotted the open cage, but Dora bent down and stroked its fur to soothe it.

  “Don’t worry. The cage will keep you safe. No one will hurt you if you get inside.” She then tossed the sack into the enchanted container, and though its movement was hesitant, with the half-orc at its side the golden mole walked right inside.

  “The heck was all that?” one of the hired hands complained. “We bust our chops trying to find one, and then it just pops up? What gives?”

  “It was already captured once,” Scarrot commented, staring at the creature. Or rather, its neck.

  A bronze band was wrapped around its stubby neck, though it was dirty and broken in a few places.

  “Dwarf make from the looks of it,” Reesh said, bending down to take a closer look. The golden mole shuffled fearfully in its cage as the lanky human leaned towards it.

  “And judging from its actions, it remembers captivity,” the handyman concluded. He quickly stepped away, giving the beast some space.

  “Why did it approach me, though?” Dora asked.

  “It sensed kindness,” Uldo rumbled, causing the young green woman to frown.

  “I guess.”

  “Take pride in your achievements, Ildora,” Scarrot said, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Not many people could coax a previously captured animal back into a cage. You have a way with animals.”

  “It was probably worried about the bait if it came from us, but was attracted to you for some reason. And you are definitely nicer than any of us. Maybe that’s what it sensed,” Reesh added.

  Dora shrugged helplessly. “If you say so.”

  “Alright, our plans are still the same,” Scarrot said, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention.

  “Hurry back to Creidor, warn Reed, pick up the rest of the shipment, and then onwards to the client. Now get some rest. Reesh, you have first watch.”

  A salute was the only reply, and Dora headed to her tent, keenly aware of the golden mole watching her every move.

  Chapter 6: A dollop of poison, and a prisoner

  “Damn. I’ll have to send scouts to check the Gorge,” Reed cursed. They had arrive
d back at the grey town in the late afternoon, and the aging mayor had come out to greet the returned trappers.

  The orc’s words about the odd activity, or rather lack of it, in the World Scar had brought a frown to his face, but the man was savvy enough to hide his true feelings when in public.

  “Regardless, excellent job catching that golden mole. It took you much less time that I’d thought it would.”

  “We got lucky,” Scarrot growled. He stepped up to the old man and stared down at him. Dora stood at the side, watching over the captured animal nearby.

  “Why us, Reed? After obtaining the Golden Mole for yourself you could have used literally any other group to move the goods,” Scarrot said pointedly, staring at the aged man with distrust.

  “You and Holt are some of the few people I’d trust with a delivery this delicate,” the master of Creidor said, leaning on his walking stick. “And, one of the only slave caravans to have a woman as your crew. It was a stroke of luck that you picked up little Miss Dora when you did.”

  “I assume the ‘person’ our client wants is female, and thus to arrive unharmed in any form,” Holt said, walking over from where he’d been checking on the massive golden-furred digger with the green -Healer.

  “Correct. If she was ‘sullied’ during transit then everyone’s heads would roll,” Reed said, not a trace of humor to be seen on his face. “And who can say what would happen on a long journey with many men around her? No, I will not risk my town’s safety by angering the client. I expect your Healer to keep a close eye on the merchandise.”

  “When will you transfer her over to us?” Holt asked, noticing that his partner was not in any mood to talk.

  “Before you leave tomorrow morning. I will bring her, as well as the artifact, straight to you. Much less chance of anyone trying something in the night.”

  “You really think someone would attempt to steal from us, and by extension you, in the midst of your own territory?” Dora asked, surprised.

  “I may lead, but many would prefer not to follow,” Reed said with a shake of his head. “I have enemies, and so does the client. Better to be safe than sorry.”