“Thanks,” I said. “But now there’ll be a price for me to pay.”

  “Someone bring him some food,” said Ulrich.

  I frowned. “That’s strange.”

  “What is?” asked Captain Orin.

  “Well, when I was hurling the shards around, I didn’t feel any drain. But the moment I let them go, I almost collapsed with sudden fatigue.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “Interesting… That’s not something I’ve heard of before.”

  Ulrich frowned. “Then you will likely have to keep an eye on how hard you push yourself until you have an idea of what you can handle.”

  I nodded. “Understood. Any idea how far we have to march?”

  “I’m not sure.” He looked to Captain Orin. “Sir?”

  Captain Orin shrugged. “The hells if I know. D’rorthar’s instructions ended at taking this camp. I had assumed he would have made an appearance after we’d taken care of his dirty work.”

  Katrina laughed. “Probably waiting for the right moment to make some spectacular entrance.”

  Cristof and Oswald chuckled.

  D’rorthar appeared just behind Captain Orin. “Simply saving my strength for the battle to come, my dear friends.”

  Everyone jumped.

  “Well done taking the encampment. You have all done exceptionally well. I am honored and proud to call you allies.”

  “Took your sweet time,” said Captain Orin.

  D’rorthar shrugged. “Everything is going according to plan.”

  “So, what’s next?” asked Ulrich.

  D’rorthar chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Captain Orin.

  D’rorthar raised a hand and pointed toward the ocean. “That.”

  “Ships ahoy!” bellowed someone from the shore.

  “Oho!” yelled Captain Orin. “Well, I’ll be…” He grinned. “Looks like we have some more friends joining our little get-together.”

  “Friends are good,” said Ulrich. “I’ll take all the help I can get in the coming fight.”

  “Indeed,” said D’rorthar. He looked away for a moment and arched an eyebrow. “If you will excuse me, I have a matter I must address posthaste. I shall return before the sunrise to discuss plans. Be ready to march. Having the sun at our backs would be advantageous.”

  Captain Orin nodded once and D’rorthar vanished in a swirl of shadow.

  “Wow,” said Ulrich. “They even brought the Orcs. This is turning into quite the event.”

  “Yes, it is,” said Captain Orin. “And I’m quite happy for it.”

  Legions of green men with tusks, who I guessed were the Orcs, stepped off one of the boats. Human infantrymen, armored from head to toe and wearing colors the same as Ulrich, came ashore as well. Most of them bristled with more than one type of weapon. The most common weapons were a sword and dagger. There were still quite a few people wielding maces, hammers, bows, and all manner of projectile weapons.

  It took about forty-five minutes for the ships to come ashore and the forces to disembark. Soldiers marched in formation from the coastline toward us. When they arrived, one man with fancier armor than the rest stepped forward and slammed an armored glove against his heart.

  “Your Highness.” He took a knee before Ulrich. “I beg your forgiveness that it took us so long to find you.”

  “Stand, Captain Ashford.” He turned to address the gathered crowd and raised his voice. “I want it known to all that no man, woman, or Orc is to bow to me. You are all allies, and you owe me nothing. If anything, it is I who am indebted to you for joining us. We are all brothers and sisters in the face of the enemy.”

  Cheers erupted from all sides. When things settled down, the soldiers moved on to inventory the gear they had brought as well as what could be salvaged from the enemy camp. I didn’t understand enough about military procedure to know what I was supposed to be doing, so I just stood by Ulrich and watched things unfold.

  “Julias!” yelled Katrina. She rushed past us. Captain Ashford turned toward her, and his face lit up.

  “Katrina!” The two ran at each other and hugged. “How did you end up here of all places?”

  “Is it a crime to want to see my brother?” She laughed. “I’ve also taken a liking to pretty boy here. He knows his way around profit and doesn’t have his head up his ass.”

  He gasped. “You refer to the prince as pretty boy?”

  “Damned right,” she said. “And he’ll deal with it if he knows what’s good for him.” She grinned.

  Captain Ashford stood there stupefied and shocked. His face turned bright red. Ulrich placed a hand on his shoulder. “Easy, Ashford.”

  “But she can’t—you’re a prince—she can’t—the disrespect—” he blubbered.

  Ulrich laughed. “Titles don’t have much meaning out here. But loyalty, loyalty is everything.”

  The captain grinned and nodded. “Damned right it is. All right, my sister’s bad manners aside, I think she and I need to catch up.”

  “Agreed,” said Ulrich. “I’ve a few errands to attend to. We’ll catch up soon as well.”

  “As you wish, Sire.” Ashford bowed and marched off with his sister at his side.

  Ulrich turned to me. “As for you, let’s get you taken care of as well.” Ulrich put me up in one of the wagons for a nap after I had eaten a few pieces of fruit and bread.

  Surprisingly, I only slept for about five hours. Dinner was being served when I left the wagon. As I approached the crackling fire, I was quickly handed a bowl of stew and sat quietly to listen to the soldiers and Orcs trade war stories. Everyone’s spirits were high, and they were all excited and in the moment.

  I looked around as I ate. Patrols marched along the outer perimeter of the camp. Short of teleporting, there was no way anyone or anything would be sneaking in.

  Ulrich plopped down next to me. He was also holding a large steaming bowl. “Did you get your reserves recharged?” he asked

  “I think so,” I said. “I don’t feel anywhere near as exhausted as I did earlier.”

  “You did very well in that fight. I was impressed.”

  “Thanks. I’m just glad none of our team got hurt.” I looked over at the fifty-foot meat-mech towering over everything. “And then there’s that thing… I have to say I have never seen anything like that.”

  Ulrich laughed. “Just be thankful it’s on our side.”

  “Oh, I’m thankful. Very much so. Disgusted…but thankful.” I shook my head. “Those kids are something else.”

  Ulrich nodded. “Indeed, they are.”

  “So, what’s the plan?” I asked.

  Ulrich grinned.

  45

  Taenaran

  Screeches echoed across the forest rapidly moving toward us.

  “Perhaps we should speak of this at a later time,” I said. “It seems that company has arrived at last.” I focused lightning to my arrow and held the spell at the ready. Somewhere behind us, a thud caught my attention. Then another. And another.

  “Do you hear that?” asked Agamor. “It sounds like—footsteps. Really big footsteps.”

  The pounding came again. This time, I felt it through the ground. “I—yes.” I turned to Sai. “Could it be them?”

  “It is possible,” he said. “We never found their bodies.”

  Twin beams of green lightning raked through the enemy lines. Spiders exploded by the thousands. Concussive blasts of fire crackled throughout those who made it past the beams. And still, the pounding footfalls grew ever closer.

  “Warriors! To me!” someone bellowed. The sounds of many armored bodies running echoed around the forest accentuated by the thundering footsteps.

  I looked up at the towering behemoth as it cleared the tree canopy. Cristof and Oswald, bound within the confines of their construct, faces tight with concentration, stepped into the battlefield. Standing upon the shoulders of their construct were two people. On the left shoulder was a young man in a royal knight of Laencaster’s armor. It gleamed brilliantly in the afternoon sunshine. Upon the other shoulder stood—

  “Ashley?” I grinned. “What fortuitous timing!”

  “Hello, Taenaran.” She grinned back. “A little raven said you could use some help.”

  “Much obliged.”

  “Prince Ulrich,” she called. “After you.”

  He nodded once and leaped from the monster’s shoulder. He landed in a crouch but spent little effort absorbing the blow. He is quite powerful.

  “Greetings,” said Prince Ulrich. “I trust we arrived in time?”

  “Impeccable timing, Your Majesty,” I said. “Thank you.”

  “You’re most welcome,” he said, grinning. He looked out at our enemy. “They seem pretty intent on taking the pretty rocks.”

  “Indeed,” I said.

  Sai jumped back and fell to his back as thousands of globules of sizzling spider webbing fell upon us. There was a whomp, and the splattering of gallons upon gallons of webbing caught on a wall of glowing blue energy.

  “Hello, Ryosuke,” called another person.

  We turned to stare. A man dressed in leathers and wearing a huge grin stood with one hand stretched out and another on his leg as he knelt.

  “Jack Bell?” gasped Sai. “But—how?”

  Jack smiled. “Perhaps another time.” He gestured at the sizzling spiderwebs sliding off the wall of energy. “Can’t hold the shield forever, you know.” He thrust his hand forward. The shield blurred through the air, redirecting the webbing back to where it had come from.

  Through the trees came the growls and footsteps of a legion of Orcs and human infantry. To my surprise, they were led by Captain Orin, Captain Ashford, and a woman who struck a mighty close resemblance to him.

  “D’rorthar?” I called.

  “Yes?” he asked, grinning.

  “Is this your doing?”

  He nodded. “Indeed.” He took a step forward and raised his voice. “My brothers. My sisters. My friends. My kin. Come. Join us in glorious battle. Heed my call that we might fight for our freedom!”

  All around us, Firstborn shadow warriors appeared out of nowhere. Hundreds upon hundreds of them. A handful of necromancers stepped out of portals to join the shadows. Firstborn, necromancers, humans, Orcs, Dwarves, Elves, and Battleforged Constructs stood shoulder to shoulder, ready to face the gathered horde.

  I grinned. “Perhaps the day is not lost after all.”

  “No…” said D’rorthar. His face grew deathly serious as arcs of black lightning and shadow began to envelop him. “Now, the battle truly begins.”

  THE END

  The adventures continue in Book 5 - Trials of the Firstborn!

  A note from the author…

  Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’m really looking forward to writing the fifth installment, Trials of the Firstborn.

  * * *

  If you would be so kind as to take a moment and leave a review, I would be extremely grateful. Reviews are the only real way for new, self-published authors to be seen on Amazon, so your positive comments will help immensely.

  * * *

  Feel free to visit my website to sign up for the reader group to receive updates on upcoming releases, as well as receiving our “starter library”, a collection of prequel novellas for each series, as they become available.

  Jeremy Fabiano

  About the Author

  Information Security Analyst by day, father and creator by night.

  * * *

  Jeremy Fabiano is an emerging author of several exciting genres, which include: LitRPG, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Medieval Post Apocalyptic, and Non-Fiction.

  Join him as he descends into the depths of his imagination, bringing you the exciting adventures he discovers along the way.

  * * *

  Jeremy Fabiano read his first fantasy book at fourteen years old. An old ratty copy of “The Hobbit.” Tolkien forever dominated his imagination as he fell prey to every RPG game out there.

  * * *

  At sixteen, a friend from school introduced him to his first multiplayer RPG: A M.U.D. or multi-user dungeon. This ancient construct required the player to use a terminal program to connect to a remote text-based system. No pictures. No animations. It paved the way to being enthralled by World of Warcraft, where he saved the world countless times over the span of half of a decade.

  * * *

  In mid-2018, he reached out to several authors seeking advice. Shayne Silvers was among the first to respond. He encouraged and inspired Jeremy to work harder than he ever had before. Shortly after, M. D. Massey also gave some much-needed advice, eliciting even more changes in the aspiring author.

  * * *

  By the end of 2018, he had teamed up with T.M. Edwards and co-authored “Roger” - a book in Edwards’ “Tales Of Courage From Beyond The Apocalypse” series. This would be the first of many books published by Jeremy Fabiano.

  * * *

  Keep reading. Keep learning.

  Never be afraid to reach for your dreams

  To get in touch:

  www.jeremyfabianoauthor.com

  www.amazon.com/author/jeremyfabiano

  Acknowledgments

  Words cannot express my gratitude. But, I’ll attempt it anyway…

  * * *

  There’s an old saying which I’m going to carelessly steal half of: It takes a village.

  * * *

  Writing a book does indeed take a village. And I’d like to thank some of those wonderful people who made my dream a reality. The people below have supported in one way or another throughout the entire project. From writing advice to marketing theory, from reality-checks to late-night conversations that last until sunup, you are the reason this book is possible.

  * * *

  Shayne Silvers. I’ve loved your stories from the get-go and can’t wait to catch up on the latest. Thank you for always pushing me to do better. For never letting me be mediocre and complacent. I might not have had the balls to go forward with this project if you hadn’t believed in me and encouraged me to do better.

  * * *

  Kim and her team at Deranged Doctor Designs. I was literally brought to tears when I woke up and checked my email when the first rough drafts were delivered. The story might be good, but the artwork makes it real. I can’t express my satisfaction with how great the images came out. http://www.derangeddoctordesign.com

  * * *

  Kelly Hartigan, editor at XterraWeb. I’d always thought my editing and writing skills were pretty decent. I sent you my best work for my sample edit, and you showed me just how far I have yet to go. Thank you for making my writing better than it ever has been. http://editing.xterraweb.com/

  * * *

  My World of Warcraft© friends: Heather, Brad, Doug (and his wife Becky). Thank you all for the wonderful adventures we’ve shared and continue to share. I was more than happy to create characters based on your toons in homage to our shenanigans and friendship.

  * * *

  There’s a whole slew of others that won’t fit on these pages, but need mentioning in no particular order. M.D. Massey, Ian Lahey, R.L. King, Edward Brody, Jennifer Stowers. There’s a ton more, but I can’t remember them off the top of my head. I apologize for anyone I might have missed.

  * * *

  Jeremy Fabiano

 

 

  jeremy fabiano, The Stones of Hygeia: Tempest Chronicles Book 4

 

 

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