Betrayer of Gilgin by Roderick Donatus

Author:Roderick Donatus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Norse inspired epic fantasy, Ragnarok save the world, Militaristic epic fantasy, Chaos dwarves dwarfs, Ancient creatures, Gollem golem, Dwarfs rise from the earth
Publisher: Prince of Spires
Published: 2022-09-18T00:00:00+00:00

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Finn sat at his desk in his apartment, surrounded by two stacks of reports. There were always more of them that needed his attention, about even the most trivial of matters, like the oracle's predictions regarding the summer weather, or a magistrate's ruling on some squabble between two farmers. A fresh spring breeze wafted in through the open window, carrying with it a hint of rain coming this evening.

The oak door flew open, smashing against the wall, and Finn leaped up, his hand going to an axe on his belt that wasn't there. Gudmund burst through the open doorway. As Finn recognized his friend, he dropped his arms and hurried over to him. "Why are you back already?" he asked, alarmed. "What's wrong?"

Gudmund cast a nervous glance over his shoulder, as if checking for pursuers, before answering. His face was deadly white, with sunken, hollow eyes with dark rims around them, as if he hadn't slept in days. "They're after me! We need to mobilize our army!"

"Who's after you?"

"The Ochloroc! There's no time to waste!"

"Wait, what?" Finn reined in his haste. To get anything out of Gudmund, the man needed to calm down first. He wrapped an arm around Gudmund's shoulder. "Take a deep breath. Steady yourself. You're indoors, surrounded by friends. No one can harm you here."

Gudmund took several slow breaths, shuddering. Some of the panic left his face.

"Good," Finn continued. "Now, sit and take a moment to collect your thoughts." He led Elina's brother to one of his chairs. "Start at the beginning. What happened?"

Gudmund plopped down into the chair and closed his eyes for a moment. When he was in control again, he looked up at Finn. "It all began when we ran into an Ochloroc patrol."

"Where?"

"It was —" Gudmund fell silent for a moment as he counted in his head. "Four days ago, so on our third day out of Gilgin."

"That close?"

Gudmund nodded. "The Ochloroc came on us at night. I don't know how they found us. They must have been scouting the forest and come across our tracks or something. I managed to hide when they did. I fled through the forest, but they spotted me and gave chase. I ran for days with the Ochloroc on my heels."

"Where's Kristofer?"

Gudmund stared at his feet. "I don't know. I wasn't in the camp when the Ochloroc attacked. I should have helped him, but there were too many of them. There was no way I could reach him."

"I can't imagine he'd let himself be captured again," Finn said. "Did you see him get taken?"

"No, I couldn't get close with all those Ochloroc around. But I can't imagine he got away."

"He's a resourceful man. Let's hope he managed to escape just like you did."

"Those Ochloroc were really after us," Gudmund said. "They pursued me to within sight of Gilgin. If they chased him like they did me, there's little hope."

"What?" Finn asked, incredulous. A large force of Ochloroc daring to come that close to Gilgin was terrible news.

"I said that there was small hope that he got away.

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