Chapter11

"Since when does Papua smell even worse than usual?" Jwilson nearly gagged as he materialized outside the Papua Bank.

"I dunno... but damn, it's awful. Smells like... like..." Axel couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Burning flesh?" Jwilson offered up, staring palely over Axel's shoulder.

"That's it! Burning flesh... like after someone gets Flamestriked or something. Phew!"

"Um, Axel... I think that guess is pretty damn accurate..." Axel turned to see what Jwilson was staring at and nearly retched right there on the spot.

"For the love of the gods..." Axel and Jwilson were staring at a pile of bodies that seemed like it nearly touched the sky. The burnt bodies of the townspeople of Papua were still smoking acridly in a funeral pyre of immense proportions. Shadow iron clad warriors were still heaping more bodies onto the pile. As the two thieves looked about wide-eyed, they noticed for the first time that all of Papua was burning. Entire huts were ablaze, and still others were being lit up by mages casting Fire Fields on their roofs.

"Defilers..." Jwilson recognized their outfits.

"Yeah, they're defilers! I mean, look at what they've done!" Axel was still choking back his breakfast.

"No, Axel... 'Defilers' as in Followers of Minax. We've gotta get outta here..."

"Not so fast, gentlemen... Enjoying our macabre display, are ye?" Axel and Jwilson started and spun around to face the deep voice behind them. A huge Knight, bearing the mark of the Lady Minax on his shield sat menacingly atop a black steed. His shadow ore armor seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. "I believe you two gentlemen have seen enough for one day, no?" He chuckled, then dismounted.

"My name is Halon Stormwind, General of the armies of Lady Minax." He paused to let this sink in before adding, "And your imprisoner..." Axel and Jwilson looked at each other, before turning to run. They didn't get very far. As they spun around, they found themselves staring at an entire phalanx of Minax Defilers brandishing spears and halberds . "Take them to the Stronghold. We can't have them alerting Lord British before our work is complete, now can we?" The phalanx advanced, and the two members of BUB allowed themselves to be taken into their custody. But not before Jwilson managed to lift a flask of oil from one of his captors' pouches.

"Fingers is really going to be upset with us this time, methinks." Axel nodded somberly.

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The blue portal shimmered in the late afternoon sun. As Kendrik and Kendra stepped out, they were greeted with the grunts and war cries of a dozen orcs, all lined up outside the gate.

"Holy Hythloth, sis! When you said near the fort I didn't think you meant in it!" Kendrik took a glancing club blow to the leg and winced. "Ow!"

"Git da hummies!! Clomp em guda!" An orc captain was waving around a battle axe, shouting orders to his fellow orcs, hoping to get a good meal and some shinies out of the unsuspecting travelers.

"Whoops! Run!" Kendra whirled about and took off for her house, Kendrik close behind. On horseback, they easily outran them and made their way to a cabin nearby. Brother and sister burst through the door, locking it behind them.

"Sorry, Ken... forgot I had two runes to my place..." Kendra smiled sheepishly. Kendrik simply laughed.

"This is twice, ya know..." He smirked as he led Schmendrik to the back of the cabin.

"We'll have to keep them here inside tonight. Let's just hope they don't try to climb the stairs and break a leg or something." Kendra similarly led Misty to the back, tying her reins to a sturdy chair that was bolted to the floor.

"It'd be just our luck," Kendrik joked. As he tied Schmendrik's reins to the chair, he looked about the interior of the home. From the outside, it looked like a typical cabin. Cold and drafty as all hell, with creaky wooden beams and floorboards. But inside, Kendrik was surprised to see a self built fireplace crackling happily to one side. A set of bookshelves blocked off the back part of the house where the horses were resting peacefully. There were decorations and paintings everywhere he looked, lending to an overall cozy feeling to the place.

"You'll have to sleep down here, there's a bedroll in that chest over there. I'll be just upstairs if you need anything. Oh, and um... make sure that door stays locked. Don't want to have to worry about little orcish visitors that go clomp in the night." With that, Kendra ascended the stairs leaving Kendrik alone with the horses.