Lucius Orlock spurred his horse on. He needed to meet the Countess and her friends before they leave. It had been a shock to him when Princess Theanore had said they were going to the dungeon of illusions.

Lady Esmer had been furious. Her fury was a silent one, and thus even more dangerous than most. She had berated her daughter for sending her court wizard and his friends there, but the Princess had said something about a lost Naga and an elf.

Now, Lucius had not stuck around. But he had ridden quickly, with only a note send to his father instead. He had claimed he would be going to the forest of plenty to retrieve the Orlock lost sword: Bright Flame. What he wanted was to protect the countess.

Diana Raskovic had saved him when he had thought that he would remain as a frog his entire life. She had asked for nothing in return. And so, Lucius wanted to protect her from the Ogres and Giants of No Man’s Land.

He reached the biggest port town this side of the continent and entered through a side gate, just in case his father had sent someone after him. Then he went straight to the stalls.

If the countess had horses, and she must, for how else could she have gotten here in such a short time? Then she kept them in the stall. He approached the farmhand and showed him a gold coin.

“It is yours if you tell me if you have the horses of two Raskovic and one Denrivir.” Said Lucius, placing the coin on the table, just out of reach of the farmhand’s hands.

“Raskovic? You mean these three children who tried to get on a boat to the forest of plenty? They left and went inside No Man’s Land just an hour before. Probably they are dead by now.” Said the farmhand with a shrug and then pocketed the coin.

Lucius stood as if stung, and he mounted his horse again and spurred it towards the border. They wouldn’t go inside the dangerous lands in a mad gallop, he tried to calm himself. They would use the forest as cover, hopefully.

He travelled for an hour, and he put the last border castle behind him. Here, the only patrols were Ogres and Giants, Orcs too, if he was unlucky. He looked at the ground for hoof prints and saw them heading towards the beach. So, the group had wanted to go along the sea and reach the forest of plenty that way.

Which was foolish. Everyone knew that the biggest settlement of Giants was on the beach, two weeks away from the borders of the Empire of the Dawn. Did they not know? He needed to catch up to them and warn them.

He got the horse in a trot, so he could still see the prints, and with a spell, he made the soil behind him cover them. The soil was more mud than anything. So, it was easy for Lucius to work the spell.

So far, Lucius could see three sets of hoof prints on the ground. Which meant that the three had foregone a carriage and were raiding. That was smart. A carriage was too nosy. It would have given them away.

Lucius kept going until he saw fire before him. He spurred the horse to a gallop and hoped this was not a campfire of something that he would need to fight. He saw the three facing an Ogre. The Ogre was surrounded in fire.

“What are you three doing?” Asked Lucius over the fire. The Ogre looked at him and raised his club, threating at him.

“We are trying to make Gob here see reason.” Said Diana. “He wanted to eat us when we refused to pay him a million gold coins. So far, we are negotiating for three gold coins, but he is stuck wanting a thousand.”

“Gob smash! Gob eats nosy children!” Said Gob. Lucius pulled out his sword and got off his horse.

“Release the fires, court wizard.” Said Lucius as he walked calmly towards the Ogre. Ogres were big, but they had one weakness. Their heals were really easy to slice through. To compensate for this, the rest of their skin was rock hard.

“We are not killers! Gob will see reason. Gob, how about four gold coins? And a cup of tea?” Asked Elmar. Lucius looked at him incredulously.

“You are joking? You can’t negotiate with this! Just let me kill it before it calls the rest of its kind.” Said Lucius.

“That is a good idea. Gob in danger! Brothers, help!” Screamed the Ogre. They heard thunderous feet coming their way. Lucius gripped the sword harder.

“Do you see what you have done? How many brothers do you think this thing has?” Asked Lucius. Two Ogres came from the forest, and they beat at their chest.

“Gob, brother! Hob and Bob are here to rescue you.” Said one of the Ogres. It looked wounded, but it still moved towards the fire.

“Sir Ogre, I can heal you. Let us pass and escort us to the forest of plenty and I will make you healthy again.” Said Elmar. The wound was dire, Elmar paled when he saw an intestine pocking out. What could have done this?

“Little man heals Bob?” Asked Gob. He waved his club at his brothers. “Little man will heal, Bob.”

Hob and Bob stopped and turned to Elmar. Elmar stepped forward with his staff and touched the tip to Bob’s wound.

Mother of the flesh,

Daughter of the blood.

Listen and make right that,

Which the world had made wrong.

Heal this Ogre, oh wise mother.

For he is a friend and in pain.

Murmured Elmar. His staff glowed and the wound healed right before the Ogre’s eyes. Bob petted his bald, green, head and smiled.

“You Bob’s friend now, little man. You no food.” Said the Ogre. Elmar released the flames and turned to Gob.

“How about I heal your burns, and we call it even?” Asked Elmar. Gob smiled and nodded. Lucius sheathed his sword and looked in the direction the two Ogres had come from.

“We should go before more come.” He said, and he went back on his horse.