Despite not understanding the language, the guttural and explosive orchish that ripped from Mazoga’s throat did not need much translation as she turned and stomped out of the hut. That she was angry was easy to see, but she was somehow pleased with the answer despite all of us not understanding the relevance of the bandit’s words.

  “Uh… Maybe someone should go after her?” I said hesitantly.

  Almost as a single entity, the others looked amongst themselves before turning and looking at me.

  “You’re the commander, commander.” Smiled Alexi, nodding in the direction of the doorway.

  “Fine. You lot stay here and babysit this one. I’ll go find out what her problem is.”

  Giving only a momentary glance to our terrified prisoner as he flinched away from how Viconia began grinning in his direction, I quickly made my way out of the room in Mazoga’s footsteps.

  The night, while quieter than it had been during the last hour was still full of activity. The spotfires had been put out where the bandits had attempted to burn homes and the locals were hurrying about to clear the dead and wounded from the village. If the previous days had been any indication I certainly didn’t want to find myself in the village during while the sun was up as the heat and humidity would make short work of the corpses. It was uncertain where the Argonians were taking the bodies as the few I saw were simply dragging them and the various pieces towards the outskirts in every direction. I also couldn’t see what they were doing to the rare few who still lived despite their injuries we had inflicted on them.

  Mazoga was very easy to find and not just because her stature put her head and shoulders above everyone other than Falid. Her voice also carried in the night and I quickly caught up to her where she was gesturing, pointing and almost shouting at every villager that she came across to stop what they were doing and take her to the fort.

  “Mazoga!”

  Her tusked mouth was twisted into a snarl of annoyance as she twisted in my direction and away from the elderly Argonian that she had approached. With both hands gesturing and hissing away like a pot coming to boil it was obvious that he had been trying to either tell her that he didn’t understand her, didn’t want any trouble from her, or both.

  “What?”

  Trying not to similarly flinch away from a hundred and sixty kilograms of orc who was obviously frustrated and struggling to contain her race’s legendary anger, I strode over to her while trying to appear as relaxed as possible.

  “Planning on going somewhere?”

  Narrowing into slits, her eyes burned into me before she shrugged and gestured to the Argonian who was trying to pick up what looked to be the upper torso of a dead Dunmer. “I’m going to the fort.”

  “Alone?”

  “If I need to, then yeah. I will be.”

  “Because this Mogens is there?”

  There was no mistaking the sudden spike of tenseness that ran through her body like she had been on the receiving end of Viconia’s magicka. This time when she turned her attention was fully drawn to me. “Yeah. That’s my business though, not yers.”

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  “Maybe. I just thought that you might have preferred some company before you go charging head first into a group that could be two or three the times the size of this lot.”

  The silence between us dragged out and she stood as still as a statue or as still as Falid did while he meditated. “Mazoga… Are you a knight?”

  My question seemed to shock her and her mouth fell open as far as it could with the pair of tusks growing up from her bottom jaw. “Detane said that there aint such a thing as a Knight without a lord. Yer also said that I aint a knight.”

  “What do you think though?”

  Frowning at me and at the questions she shrugged. “I’m a knight. I swore a knight’s oath so that makes me a knight.”

  “Last time I checked, whether you are a knight or not doesn’t make any difference to whether you can fight or whether you are good or not. Look at Detane, he used to be a knight but that obviously didn’t make him a good person if he was the same back then as he is now.”

  “He aint a knight anymore.”

  Chuckling softly, I nodded. “Probably not the best example, but the point I’m trying to make is that whether you are a knight or not doesn’t make a scrap of difference. What makes a difference is whether you choose to do everything alone or work with others.”

  “It’s been a long time since I had someone watching my back.”

  “Well, you have people watching your back now.” My attempt of a friendly slap on the arm felt like I had struck a boulder, and probably wouldn’t have made much difference whether she had been in her orichalcum plate or not. “Now whatever business you have with this Mogens, you can be confident that you won’t have to do it alone.”

  Her grin this time was fierce, but I could tell that she wasn’t entirely convinced. She was convinced enough to follow me back to the hut where the others awaited, checking their weapons and equipment with the pale faced bandit sitting against the wall looking as though all the blood had drained from his body. He was looking terrified but thankful that he was still breathing for the time being.

  “What did you all find out?” I asked as I entered the communal hut with the towering green shadow at my back.

  “Other than he can be very talkative with the proper persuasion?” Alexi replied with his usual cocksure expression but it was obvious that he was still concerned with how easily Viconia had thrown herself into her ‘interrogation’.

  Standing against the wall holding her dagger that was now gleaming and blood free once more, Viconia grinned but unlike Alexi it was not from optimism or a cheerful personality. “We’re potentially facing anywhere between fifty and a hundred bandits, most little more than the usual assortment of thieves and cutthroats with no training and little equipment. They’ve been holed up in the fort for the past months and somehow Greagious knows that the shield is there.”

  The breath I blew out was long and I rested both hands on my head in exasperation. “What’s the bad news then?” I asked with sarcasm dripped from every syllable.

  Alexi and Viconia looked at each other and Weebam-Na chuckled from his position on the floor where he was busily resharpening a collection of spears to replace those that he had thrown during the battle.

  “That was that bad news.” With a curt gesture to the bandit sitting quietly on the wall, idly rubbing his bloodstained pants where Viconia had stabbed him Alexi continued on. “These lot are about a quarter to a third of their total strength, and we have until early morning before they are going to be missed.”

  I caught on his meaning immediately. “Which means that if we are to have any chance we need surprise on our side. We have to attack them now, if not sooner…”

  “You got it.” His cheerful disposition finally won out over the situation that we found ourselves in and his sarcastic giggle was infectious. “We have to rush into a ruin teeming with bandits in the middle of the world’s largest swamp in the middle of the night in the off chance that they will mostly be asleep and unprepared for us. This is after paddling through said swamps for a week and already being tired from a battle.”

  Strapping his enormous greatsword to his spine Falid rose to his full, impressive height and grinned. “The more difficult the path, the higher the calling.”

  “With words like that to inspire us along our journey how could we possibly fail?” Alexi checked his blade, gave it a few experimental twirls and slid it into its sheath almost without needing to touch it.

  Nodding and feeling my heart begin to race as it always did with the prospect of violence, a gave a smile of my own that I hoped appeared confident. At that point I was trying not to wonder who out of our group would still be alive when the sun rose once more. Judging by the shadows creeping into everyone’s expressions I wasn’t the only one.