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30 __th_ Day of Xenar_

128 I.E.

"This is a bigger camp than I thought it would be," Aiden whispered to Dane as they looked at the mixture of stone and wooden homes that dotted the horizon. "They look like they've been established here for a while."

"Makes you wonder how long Northpine has been harassed by them," Dane muttered.

The sun was starting to set behind them, and despite the sparse covering of the trees, Dane was hoping that the glare from the sun would help conceal their approach.

"What's the plan, Lieutenant?" Elizabeth asked.

Dane hadn't thought that far ahead due to the glaring lack of information provided to him by both Digran and Nicoli, and the tight time constraints placed upon him by his CO. Had he a day or two more, he could have scouted the camp more thoroughly and devised a more efficient method for dealing with the orcs. Now, it appeared that a frontal assault might be the best option.

Dane sent a scout further ahead to survey the area, but he had yet to hear back from the man. Now that he saw the camp, a few ideas were brewing in the back of his mind, but none of them screamed at him like a truly great plan would.

What kind of leader am I if I can't even come up with a plan for a simple extermination operation?

"I've got my ideas," Dane replied, trailing off as he thought.

"Ideas?" Elizabeth snapped. "We need a plan, sir, not ideas."

Yeah, I know, he thought while nodding his head. Well where should I start? Maybe I should begin with what I know will work.

"Aiden, how well read are you on magic that alters the weather?" Dane asked.

His portly friend produced his spell book from his pack and began flipping through the pages. Dane had a book of his own, too, but he didn't have a chance to focus much on spells that conjured storms or froze the air. He was counting on Aiden to have done a bit of studying in that regard.

"Well," Aiden began, his finger tracing beneath each line of the spell. "I can conjure a small rain shower, but that would make the ground too slippery for us and take up too much energy. A dense fog might work best, but it won't last long enough for us to approach the camp unless I get your help focusing the mana for the spell."

"We'll just have to do what we can. I want something to cover our initial advance, that's all," Dane said, "I'll lead the charge with my own magics, and hopefully this kind of approach will be so quick and sudden that they won't be able to mount a proper defense against us. How long can you maintain the fog cloud?"

"Probably not more than a minute or two."

"That's not a lot of time."

Aiden gave a shrug of his broad shoulders. "Doing this involves conjuring water and condensing it over a large area, then containing it low over the ground. That consumes a lot of mana, and sustaining it even more. I can't keep it up for long before burning out."

"How long can you give me?"

Aiden thought about it for a moment, counting off his fingers, and said, "Probably sixty seconds. Maybe more, maybe less. I can probably squeeze out another thirty seconds if you help me with the spell."

"Why don't we simply wait for night?" Elizabeth asked, looking between the two sorcerers. "That should be enough cover."

"Nighttime will help us, but I'm looking to make their torches useless," Dane said. "Even if they manage to light some, the fog will be so dense they won't see us coming until the Corporal's spell has faded."

"And how do you plan on us seeing where we're going?"

"I don't," he said pointedly. "If it's not an orc, you kill it. We'll approach in a wide, single-file line. There's no odds that we'll bump into each other until after the fog has lifted."

"I don't know about this..." Elizabeth said. She was trying hard to keep her unease from showing, and bit lightly at her lower lip.

Dane eyed her curiously, wondering what had the usually confident woman feeling so uneasy. It wasn't the first operation that she'd participated in with Dane, and it likely wouldn't be the last. On any other occasion, Elizabeth would be rushing to offer her opinion and suggestions to improve the odds of victory, but this time she was strangely quiet except for her questions.

He then recalled their conversation the night before, and wondered if she simply didn't trust him or Aiden any longer. If that was the case, then that would prove to be an issue. She wouldn't be able to perform to her fullest if doubt clouded her mind, and she might be more likely to report them to their commander.

"It's a basic strategy, Sergeant," Aiden said as he continued to look at his spell book. "Our professor at the academy has used it successfully in several of his own operations, so we know it's sound."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching from the rear. Dane turned to find the scout coming up from the south.

"Scout Willard reporting sir!" He said, saluting Dane.

"What did you learn?"

"Not much, sir. I couldn't get close enough to observe their combat strength, and many of them are currently in their huts. Their camp doesn't extend any further than this, from what I could tell." Willard said. He grabbed a stick from a nearby tree and began to sketch into the ground how the camp was laid out. It was mostly circular, with a fire pit in the middle and huts gathered around it. There was a watering hole nearby on the northeastern side of the camp, and the beginning of a forest to the east that stretched out into the foothills.

"Not much more information than what we originally had, huh?" Dane thought out loud.

"No sir."

"That's fine. You're dismissed Scout." Dane turned back to Aiden. "Alright, I'll help you with the spell. I can't offer much though, but hopefully it'll be enough."

"Fine with me." Aiden said, shrugging again.

"Time to go brief the troops." Dane looked back to the soldiers that had traveled with him. They'd hung on to his every command so far, and in previous operations they never questioned him. But this would be the first real operation that would rely on their magics entirely. If they couldn't get the spell to work, they would likely sustain more losses.

"Alright men, listen up!" Dane drew this sword and began sketching directions around the crude map in the dirt, marking their current position with an X. "We're going to be moving out in a few moments, so pay attention. The Corporal and I are going to conjure a fog cloud to cover our assault on the camp. It will be dense enough to cover our advance and prevent the orcs from becoming aware of our charge until it is too late. If successful, it'll increase the time it takes for them to mount a defense and reduce our casualties."

He continued to draw a line parallel to the camp and several arrows pointed towards it. "We'll advance single file so when we finally reach the orcs, we won't have to question whether we're striking an ally or one of them. As we reach their camp, I want us to fan out to 'tighten the noose', as it were. After that, we attack at will until they've been wiped out." Dane looked up from the ground and said, "Any questions?"

"Is magic really that reliable, sir?" Surrel asked, "I know we've worked under you and Corporal Philem for some time now, but we've not seen anything like changing the weather. Can we depend on it?"

"Magic is only unreliable in the hands of a novice who can't control the energy they are working with. The Corporal is one of the best mages to come out of the R.A.A.S. Have confidence in him."

"Yes sir."

"Once everything is ready, I'll lead a charge into the orc's encampment, and hopefully we'll wipe out the majority of their forces while they're still unaware of our presence," Dane finished explaining. "Any other questions?" He waited a few seconds, but no one spoke up.

Aiden had his book in his hand, and was taking time to memorize the spell. It was one so rarely used that he'd forgotten the words of power necessary to make it work. In addition, the somatic aspect prevented him from holding his spell book, so he couldn't simply read from the pages. Little globes of mana flitted around his fingers like a rainbow of fireflies as he traced the words on the parchment. His eyes had a dull sheen over them as he worked the memorization spell.

A tense few moments passed as the soldiers waited for the go ahead to move. Every minute that ticked by was another minute they risked being seen, but they needed to wait for the spell to be completed.

"Are you ready, Corporal?" Dane asked as he approached Aiden.

The other man didn't respond until after the mana dissipated and he closed the book. "Ready. This will work without a problem."

Dane nodded, and held his hands out towards Aiden. Though he couldn't see the tendrils of mana that were gathering around his arms and cascading towards his fingers, he could feel them. Dane hadn't gathered much by the time Aiden cupped his hands and closed his eyes, focusing as he chanted the words to the spell.

"Ath risi Abyss toh Zephyr, gird ex rexa toh xin," Aiden began, his voice low and monotone. He released Dane's hands when he was confident he had enough energy to work the spell, and began to weave his hands in the air, leaving a bluish-white stream of light trailing behind them. Runes began to form along the trail, floating in midair. "Ath burash uth tarew toh gibeon favria. Fou Seif!" Aiden thrust his hands towards the orc's village, and for a moment, nothing happened. Dane began to wonder if the spell had even worked until he saw a thick, white fog settling around the huts like a blanket. The dense cloud swallowed the camp, preventing the soldiers from seeing it from where they stood.

Dane and his troops donned their helmets and drew their weapons. The operation would be quick, and then the orcs would be wiped from the foothills once and for all. Dane smiled to himself despite knowing what grizzly work waited for them. He could finally get the orcs back. He'd been waiting years for this opportunity. His hand gripped the leather-wrapped handle of his sword in anticipation.

"Aiden," Dane began as he looked to the knorian boy leaning against a tree trunk, "When you're rested up, join us in the assault."

"I'll be along shortly." Aiden panted. The spell had taken a lot out of him, but that was to be expected of a mage just a year out of the Academy.

"Move out!" Dane swung his sword in the direction of the orc village and started his sprint across the field with his troops close behind him.

As they closed the distance between the forest and the camp, Dane evoked a pair of lightning bolts that struck simultaneously, arcing and hitting buildings in multiple sites. Thatch and wooden roofs caught fire within seconds. They broke past the perimeter of the village and began their assault. The first group of orcs they came upon were scrambling to put out the fires, and they were cut down before they could alert the rest of the residents to the presence of the Rogarian soldiers.

Dane's sword crackled and shimmered as mana gathered around it and lightning danced along the blade. As his sword cut through their flesh, the electricity transferred from his weapon into his opponent's body, discharging and electrocuting them from the inside out. It didn't take much, as even a shallow cut had the potential to be fatal if he channeled enough energy into the blade. He sliced his way through a group of orcs while his soldiers spread out around him and ventured further into the village.

He began to lose himself in the carnage and he could feel his vision tunnel. This is what he had waited years for. He had waited so long to finally get the orcs back for what they had taken from him. These orcs were all that remained of the Fleshgorger tribe that destroyed Tran, and his heart raced at the prospect that he would be the one to finally wipe them out. They would pay for everything they had done to him. It was the only thing that Dane could think of. In that single moment, it was the only thing he wanted.

A wordless shout came from behind, and Dane spun to find an orc clad in armor right in his face. He couldn't bring his sword around fast enough to counter attack, and would've lost his head, had it not been for a geyser of water erupting from the ground beneath the orc and throwing him up into the air with explosive force.

"Thanks, Aiden." Dane shouted.

"Glad you're okay. Nearly lost your head there," Aiden said as he rejoined his friend in the heat of battle.

Dane chuckled, "And here I was making fun of your water magic all this time."

"You shouldn't, it's making this much easier on us." Aiden gathered a globe of water in his hand then ignited it, firing a stream of super-hot steam in the direction of a group of orcs. Their skin blistered and burned as it came in contact with the spell, and they clutched at their seared faces as the magical assault continued.

The pair worked quickly, using their magic in unison to quickly wipe out the camp while avoiding their comrades. Had they been ten years more experienced, they could have wiped the village off the face of Galria with nothing more than a gesture.

All that matters is that they're dead. He drove his sword into an orc's stomach, and watched as it fell to its knees. Blood left the orc's mouth, and Dane kicked the thing's body away.

The fog began to clear, but there was no more need for it. The village lay in ruins and as far as they could tell, no orcs remained. The smell of burnt flesh hung in the air. Dane felt exhausted, and had used more of his magic than he had realized. He turned to look at Aiden, and was surprised the man wasn't still exhausted after conjuring such a dense fog cloud and utilizing his own magic in combat.

He did always have better stamina than me.

"Looks like we're done here." Aiden said as he gazed over the destruction around them. He seemed almost sad that the situation had turned to violence, and he quietly muttered something to himself silently as he wiped the blood off his sword with a cloth. "Let's go meet back up with the rest of the troops."

"Yeah, sounds good to me," Dane said. He was about to join Aiden when he heard a large group of orcs fleeing away from the camp in a flurry of crunching boots and frantic screams.

He whirled to face the sound and he saw a large number of orcs running for the forest. Many more than they had originally fought. Dane clenched his fists, and tried to call down a bolt of lightning but found that the magic would not come to him. He'd exhausted himself too much. Once again he was left powerless to destroy the orcs. His fist clenched the leather-wrapped handle of his sword until his hand hurt, but the pain felt far off, like a distant memory. There was only one thing on his mind right then and there.

In a fit of rage, Dane called out to his troops, "After them! Let's finish them off before they can return and harass Northpine again!"

Elizabeth was quick to chime in with her opinion. "Sir, they're routing. They're probably mostly women and children."

"So!?" Dane shot back, his eyes burning with a fury that neither she nor Aiden had ever seen before. He couldn't believe they would think to argue with him now, not at such an important juncture. Couldn't they see that the orcs were a threat to peace in the region? They had to be exterminated to protect not only this province, but neighboring ones as well. No one should have to fear an orc like the people of Tran did that night. "An eye for an eye! They took innocent lives, and we shall take theirs! After them, now!"

No one moved.

"We can't allow them to get away!" Dane shouted, pointing towards the foothills where the orcs had fled. "We can't let them escape, or they'll come back for Northpine!"

Still no one made a move to follow his orders. Elizabeth hesitantly stepped forward and said, "Sir, we have no proof that they'll come back to harass the loggers. For all we know they might resettle somewhere else."

"They'll come back all right, just like they did after they destroyed Tran. And even if they don't, what will they do if they resettle? Terrorize other villages? Other farmsteads? Other logging camps?" Dane asked in a fury as words left his mouth faster than he could think. "We have to do right by Northpine and exterminate those damned red skins, so that bastard in Northern HQ doesn't take advantage of the loggers again!"

"Dane, this has gone far enough," Aiden said, "There's no need for us to get worked up over it any longer."

Dane shot the man an icy glare that would've chilled the bones of any normal person. Aiden was doing his best to be understanding of his lover's outlook on the situation, and he wasn't going to back down because of another emotional outburst from him.

In Dane's mind they were wasting time. They could have easily overtaken the retreating orcs by now if they'd moved as soon as he'd ordered them to. Now they'd likely have to wait until dawn to pick up the trail. He growled and kicked at a loose stone in the dirt, watching it bounce along the ground harmlessly away from him.

"Sergeant Vedray, take the entire unit with you and begin searching northeast of here. Fan out to cover as much ground as possible," Dane ordered, trying to regain control of his emotions and calm down. "Willard, Locke, and Aiden will come with me. We'll head southeast and search for the orcs there. We'll be able to move faster with just the four of us."

"The sun is setting. We'll never find them in the dark, sir," Elizabeth said matter-of-factly.

"I'm not going to give up just because it's night time," Dane said. He knew what he was doing. He'd hunted plenty of animals before when he was a child when he was living with his father, and many times they'd done so with little to no light to guide them. Following a large pack of red-skinned beasts wouldn't be any harder.

"Fine. If we don't find anything in the first few hours, we'll break for the night and pick up the trail in the morning," Dane relented. He had to admit that his men would likely be tired if they were up all night, but he didn't want to give the orcs a chance to get away from them. They already had a fairly large head start as it was. "Let's get moving. You have your orders."

Elizabeth hesitated a moment more before she took off, leading a number of Dreadnaughts with her to chase after the retreating orcs. Dane swung around to gather the remaining soldiers under his command to join the hunt. When his eyes met Aiden's, he saw that the man looked terrified, and was looking at him like a child would regard a stranger.

"Aiden, I have waited a very long time for this," Dane said before the other man could say anything. He sheathed his sword and stepped past him. "I will make sure they pay for what they did."

"Are you doing it for yourself, or to protect Northpine?" Aiden asked with sadness in his voice.

Dane never answered him, and began taking the lead ahead of Willard, Locke, and Aiden as the two groups split off in separate directions. Dane moved with careful, practiced steps as he looked for the orcs' tracks. A conjured ball of flames hovered over his palm as he moved it around to illuminate the area.

When it became too taxing to maintain the spell, he snapped off a low-hanging branch from a nearby tree and set the tip of it on fire. The makeshift torch wouldn't last long, but he hoped it would be sufficient for finding the orcs.

"Sir, if I may ask," Willard said, "Do you even know what you're doing? You've never once gone out and tracked our quarry by yourself."

"I used to do a lot of hunting in this region. I know how to track my prey," Dane said simply.

"Have you ever hunted orcs before?" Locke asked. Dane shook his head, and no one said anything further.

Soon Dane came across sets of deep boot prints in the soft dirt. The ground was slightly damp and that made it much easier to track down the orcs. Once he spotted the tracks, he took off down a valley. He reached the bottom and looked behind him to see the others just barely cresting the top of the hill.

"Come on, hurry up!" Dane shouted. He didn't care if he was making a lot of noise shouting and crashing through the bushes. The orcs wouldn't be able to outrun him forever, no matter how loud he was.

"Dane, we need to rest," Aiden said.

"No!" Dane snapped. "We can't let them get away."

"Who cares if they get away? I've had enough of this nonsense," Aiden yelled back with equal ferocity. "We're tired and we haven't eaten since we left Northpine. We've been up all day and we need our rest." He tromped down the hill to stand right in front of Dane. Willard and Locke remained a safe distance away, near the top of the small valley.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Dane snarled between gritted teeth.

Aiden didn't reply. He turned to the two men behind him and said, "Go back over the hill. This could get ugly." Both of them saluted and ran off, fearing what the two sorcerers were about to unleash on one another. They'd seen plenty of times what they could do to an enemy. What would they end up doing to each other?

After the two soldiers were out of sight and, hopefully, out of hearing range, Aiden said in a lower voice, "What's gotten into you, Dane?" The anger in his voice was plain as day, but it was hidden beneath an eerie veneer of calm. "I can understand your unease about coming up north so close to Tran, and I can understand the indignation you've felt about how Nicoli's men handled the situation, but I can't understand and I won't tolerate being yelled at because of whatever's going on in that head of yours!"

"You think I have no right to be angry?"

"I think you have every right to be angry, just not with me. It's not fair to me, and it feels like you think I don't understand what you're going through."

"What would you know of what I've felt since we left Rogust?" Dane said, jabbing Aiden in the chest with a finger. "You have a family to go back to. A nice home waiting for you once your service in the military is done. What about me? I'll probably be in the army for the rest of my life because I have no where to go! I don't have a home, Aiden!" He thrust a finger towards the east. "It's because of those bastards that I have nothing to go back to!"

Aiden was shocked and his mouth hung open for a moment. "No where to go?" he repeated, as if the words were foreign to him, "What about moving forward with me, to be by my side? Don't I matter to you? Or is your quest for revenge more important to you than the future we had both envisioned for us?"

Dane couldn't answer him, even though he knew what he wanted to say. Aiden was far more important than any grudge he had against the orcs or against the Rogarian military. He'd been in his life for so many years and he cherished Aiden's companionship more than any other in the world. But in his anger, all he could say is, "I don't know!" while throwing his arms up in the air, defeated.

Aiden was playing with the ring on his finger, an act that Dane was scarcely aware of. Without saying anything further, he stormed back up the hill and shouted to Willard and Locke that it was time to get moving again. When they came back down, the glow from Dane's torch was nothing more than a faint glimmer showing between the trees some distance away.

Dane kept an even pace ahead of the other three men, watching the trail and lighting a second torch when his first one began to dim. Dane was doing his best to stay focused on the task at hand and to not think about the distractions that plagued his mind.

How much further could they have gone before they stopped to rest? Dane thought as he continued to follow the seemingly endless trail of boot prints. They would have had to stop at some point. Why haven't we seen any signs of them besides their tracks?

Willard came huffing up alongside Dane, leaving Locke and Aiden behind. "Sir, I don't think we'll find the orcs at this rate," he said, "With all due respect, you've been leading us in a circle for the past while."

"No I haven't been," Dane replied defensively. He was as sure of his tracking skills as he had been when he had hunted with Jon years ago.

"Then why is the moon at our backs when it should be in front of us?" Willard pointed up, at the white orb that hung above them. "Do you actually think we've been out here so long that it's nearly morning?"

Dane looked up and then cursed under his breath. The scout was right. It'd been a long time since Dane had tracked anything, and he had to begrudgingly admit after Willard pointed out his error that his skills were lacking. Did that mean the trail had gone cold, and that they wouldn't find the orcs after all?

His anger began to fade and was replaced with an entirely new emotion as his shoulders sagged: disappointment. It wasn't towards being unable to fulfill his dream, but in himself.

What the hell am I doing? He was exhausted, and looking at his men, he realized they were all tired too. He had forced them to come this far for no reason, and as far as Dane was concerned, he was no better than that tyrant Digran.

By the time Dane spoke, both Aiden and Locke had caught up to them. "You were all right. This search was a fruitless endeavor. We should rendezvous with the rest of the unit and return to Northpine." He fell backwards as a wave of exhaustion overcame him and he leaned up against a tree. "For all intents and purposes, this mission is over."

He looked to Aiden, but the man refused to meet his gaze.

How could I have treated Aiden like that? I've never yelled at him before. Dane took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

Aiden conjured a few small globes of water and was giving the hovering orbs over to the other men. They hung in the air, floating just over their palms. "Now, before the spell breaks and it gets you all wet, drink it up," he brought the orb close to his mouth and slurped the whole globe in all at once, "just like that."

Willard tried to imitate the action but couldn't drink it all before the spell broke and the remainder of the water splattered his hands and most of his leggings. Locke on the other hand, pulled it off with ease.

"Sorry, if I had any kind of container I would've summoned the water into that instead," Aiden said, handing a handkerchief to Willard so he could wipe up.

"It's fine, really. It's better than no water at all."

While Willard busied himself with cleaning up, Aiden walked over to Dane and stared down at him. With the weak lighting from the torch that Dane had propped up in the dirt, Aiden looked like a monster. His face was covered in shadows and his eyes held an orange shine as they captured the fire's glow.

"I suppose you're here to dispense with the 'I told you so's huh?" Dane asked, "Well come on, let's have it then."

"Stand up, Dane," Aiden said. The man stood back up with a groan. A hand flashed across his face and backhanded Dane in the cheeks. The move took him by surprise and he lost his balance, nearly knocking him to the ground.

Dane looked at the other man with wide eyes. He couldn't believe that Aiden just slapped him. His glanced over at Willard and Locke, who were watching intently at what was going on. "Aiden stop, we're not alone here."

"Ignore them. I don't care anymore, and you should have stopped caring a long time ago. I love you so much Dane, but what you're doing is only going to get yourself killed, and I don't want to be around to see that happen. You need to grow up."

Locke coughed and shifted uneasily from where he sat. Dane looked warily at him, but the man's expression was unreadable in the dark. It was bad enough that Sergeant Vedray knew about his and Aiden's love for each other, because she was probably the only one in Digran's entire unit that would enforce military law to the letter. He didn't want the other troops to know about it though, and he didn't know whether the two men listening to their conversation would blab to the rest of the unit. "Am I important to you?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Then show it. Stop this whole damn chase and show me that you care!"

Acting entirely on an impulse, Dane lunged forward and startled Aiden as he wrapped his arms around him and pressed his face into the crook of his neck.

"I'm sorry Aiden," he whispered. He no longer cared about the presence of his subordinates or what they thought of his actions."I swear I'll do anything to make it up to you."

Locke snickered. "Well, we had heard only rumors about you two, but I guess this confirms them. No wonder you two always shared a room out in Mullead. Welshy was always making remarks but I didn't believe him." He chuckled and looked at Dane, but then cleared his throat and said, "My apologies, sir."

"We can talk about it some other time," Aiden replied. "Right now though, I'm cold, I'm hungry, and I'm tired. Let's just return to Northpine and get this all over with, alright?"

Dane gave one final squeeze, pressing his body against the bigger man's and saying, "I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Aiden said, clapping him on the back and turning to the west. "Now, how do you suppose we let the others know to return to camp?"

Dane thought for a moment, then said, "Let's head back towards where we split up and fire a flare spell into the air, and hope one of them sees it."

Aiden nodded his head and said, "Sounds good to me." He looked to the other two soldiers, and both of them looked uncomfortable. "Problems, soldiers?"

"None what-so-ever, Corporal," Locke said and saluted.

Willard, however, had something on his mind. "You know you could get into a lot of trouble for this, Lieutenant."

All Dane could manage to do was roll his eyes and groan. "Yes. Sergeant Vedray has been quick to tell me what I've done that breeches military code. I don't think I need anyone else reminding me."

"As long as you're aware of the potential consequences of your actions, then that's fine, sir," Willard said, saluting. "Besides, it's not as if I'd say anything to anyone. I don't want to cross a man who can make lightning and fire with his bare hands."

The four men spent the next half hour retracing their steps, ducking and weaving through the forest to return to the orc camp. After a while, they crested the last hill and when they looked out to the west they could see the still smoldering ashes of the tents and buildings. A small plume of smoke rose into the air and blotted out the stars in the sky.

"I think this is far enough," Dane huffed before he raised a hand into the air. A ball of brilliant red flames appeared and it flew up into the sky, exploding in a shower of sparks that rained down around them. The forest around them was illuminated by a soft red glow from the flare, and then it faded away.

"Think they saw it?" Locke said, staring to the northeast.

"I hope so," Dane replied. "Let's just rest until they get here."

Dane sprawled out on the ground and watched the twinkling stars above. He could hear footsteps approaching as Aiden sat down beside him. Casting a glance over to his friend, Dane smiled, even though Aiden didn't return the gesture. It'd been a while since he'd had a chance to simply sit back and admire his mate's body. He loved every ounce of him, every single rounded curve and especially the soft face covered in a thin beard.

"You know," Aiden began as he too laid on the ground, "You've been a real pain in the ass to look after lately. You know that right?"

"Yeah," Dane replied, then went back to staring at the sky. "I had kind of hoped the smoke from the fires would've cleared by now so that we could get a good look at the stars."

"We'll get a chance to look at the sky once we return to Rogust."

"Yeah, but the view isn't as nice in the capital as it is here," Dane mused out loud.

The four of them waited a bit longer before they heard the sounds of something rustling through the bushes behind them. None of them made a move for their weapons, as each of them thought that it was just the rest of the 81stcoming to join them.

Dane slowly sat up and looked behind him. He couldn't see them yet, but he could hear them. They must have been crashing through the bushes at a quick speed to make such a racket. He figured they must be wanting to return home even more so than Dane originally thought.

"It took you guys long enough," Locke said as he too sat up.

The twang of a crossbow sounded and a bolt struck Locke in the chest, knocking him back down. The other three scrambled for their weapons as volley of crossbow bolts began to rain down on them.

"Aiden, we need cover!" Dane cried out as he scrambled for cover.

"I know," he replied, and together both men raised their arms to create a thick wall of ice to protect their position.

The orcs must have seen the flare spell and chased us here. Damn it, this is all my fault for letting our guard down!

Dane could hear the ice wall cracking as it was struck by a few bolts, but the sound quickly stopped. They had to think fast before the orcs charged at them. He looked to the west, and though it was dark out, it was a solid run from the mountains to the woods and the entire time they would be sitting ducks. He then regarded Locke as he lay wheezing on the ground, holding a hand firmly over the wound in his chest. If he didn't get the bolt removed and his wounds properly treated, he could die, and quickly.

"Aiden, let's shatter the ice to create another fog cloud," Dane said, hoping that it would be enough to conceal their retreat. He didn't wait for Aiden's affirmative to go ahead with channeling the mana necessary for his spell, and an orb of fire began to form in his palms.

"Sir, what about Locke?" Willard asked. He'd grabbed his bow and readied an arrow but with the ice wall up there was no way for him to be able to strike at their attackers.

"Grab him and go. Find the Sergeant and the others and get him some help. Aiden and I will take care of the orcs," Dane said, loosing his fireball and causing the ice to explode and shatter into a glittering cloud of dust. The obscuration the mist provided only halted the crossbow attacks temporarily before they resumed again as the orcs began to fire blindly into the cloud, hoping to hit them.

"What now?" Aiden said. He looked over his shoulder to see Willard trying to drag Locke away from the battlefield. Fortunately, no bolts were landing near them. "I don't have a lot left in me to keep using my magic."

"Me either. So we need to make this count," Dane began to call down a bolt of lightning, the streak of light illuminating the forest around them and striking a tree dead on, causing it to catch fire. In the distance he could see the shadowed silhouettes of the orcs moving through the trees. The spell had missed his targets, but the flaming tree gave him another idea.

"Torch the forest!"

"Dane we can't do that. It could spread and harm innocent people."

"What other choice do we have? They know where we are, but we know nothing about their own movements. Getting rid of the trees will at least remove their cover and reveal them to us."

"You're right... but I still don't like it."

"Alright, on three," Dane said as he felt a crossbow bolt whiz past his head. "One, two... three!"

Together, the two men evoked a stream of fire from their hands, each of them taking a side and setting fire to the forest around them. Within seconds, the air was filled with the acrid stench of burning wood and they could see everything around them. Not more than twenty paces in front of them was a group of orcs fanned out in a semi-circle, several of them armed with crossbows. There were children among them, and Dane figured they must have been intending to return to their camp.

"I'm out of magic Dane. I can't cast anymore," Aiden panted, drawing his sword.

"I might be able to get one more spell off without hurting myself. Shield your eyes, because it's going to be bright." Dane summoned another flare and launched it into the tree line. He closed his eyes tight and even as he heard the flare explode, he could see the luminous red glow through his eye lids. "Now!"

Springing into action, Dane and Aiden closed the gap between them and the blinded orcs. By the time the orc warriors had realized what was going on, Dane had taken down two of their archers while Aiden worked on a third.

His sword cut into another orc's stomach and he kicked him away, then turned and leaped at another one, jamming the blade down into his skull. Dane pulled his sword out and punched another one in the jaw to set him off balance before following up with his weapon.

Even without their magic, the two warmages were more than capable of taking on a small, disorganized group of orcs. With a kick, Dane knocked one into a tree then thrust his sword into his chest. He backed away and bumped into something. On reflex, he spun around and swung with his blade, but it was caught as Aiden parried it. Dane's heart leaped into his throat as he realized that the two of them had nearly struck each other.

"Behind you!" Aiden shouted, and without questioning the man's warning, Dane ducked. He could feel the air shift as Aiden swung his sword at his attacker, and blood spattered against his back, the warm liquid seeping through his armor. It made him shudder to think that he was covered in an orc's entrails.

The loud roar of a horn sounded in the distance, and the orcs began to retreat once more. This time, Dane only watched as they fled. There was no longer any need to chase them. They couldn't hope to have enough power to face them again after this last battle.

"We better check on Locke," Dane said. As he turned, he saw a red blur come out of the tree line from behind them and strike Aiden in the back with an axe. The blade bit into his armor, and before Dane could help his mate, the orc swung again and this time struck Aiden's spine.

"AIDEN!" Dane tackled the orc and brought his sword to bear, plunging it into the orc's chest. He left the sword in the orc's body as he got up and rushed to Aiden's side. "Oh Gods, Aiden, not you too!" Dane sobbed as he uselessly tried to think of something to keep his friend alive. There was nothing he could do though. He knew no healing magics, and there was little chance of it being possible to heal such a wound if it wasn't tended to immediately. "Don't go! Hang on, stay with me! We'll get you to a healer. We can fix this!"

The knorian boy coughed and a line of blood seeped out from between his lips. "It's too late Dane... I can't even feel my legs anymore." His friend could only lie on the ground while he choked and sputtered and coughed on his own blood. He managed to clear his throat and say, "You know... despite the last few days I'm glad I knew you Dane. You brought me so much happiness. I'm sorry we fought so much today... but please, don't blame yourself." He coughed a few times, his breaths becoming more labored and raspy. "I get to die happy, knowing that we were together in the end." Aiden's hand gripped at Dane's tightly as tears rolled down the side of his face. His grip loosened as the life drained from him.

In one final act, his shaking fingers began to trace something in the soft dirt, trying to get something out before he expired.

LOVE YOU

After that, Aiden went limp and his body slumped over.

"Gods no... don't leave me... Aiden!" Dane wailing turned into a fit of rage as he slumped forward and sobbed into Aiden's chest. "Why did you have to leave me, too? Why did they have to take you away from me?"

There would never be a future with Aiden. They would never be able to go out and help people together like they had always said they would do. Now it was just Dane, all alone in the world once more. He'd had the closest thing to a happy life that he could possible have dreamed of, and it was snatched away from him in an instant. Images and memories that he had hoped to one day share with the man vanished from his mind in a flash, leaving him empty and longing to go back and change things.

It's my fault. If I hadn't gone on this stupid chase he wouldn't have died! Gods damn it!

Looking down at Aiden's hands, Dane could see the matching ring that he had. Dane gently slid it off the dead man's fingers and looked at it as it rested in the palm of his hands. It was stained with a bit of Aiden's blood. Dane clutched the ring and held his close to his chest, crying loudly.

"Aiden!" he shouted, his voice succumbing to his sobbing halfway through.

He could hear heavy footsteps from somewhere close by, and when he looked up he could see a small number of the orcs' remaining warriors moving towards him with weapons drawn.