"Jureno? I hate to bother you, but I wanted to enter a contest. We have to find our favorite tutor in the whole world and write a story about him. And guess whom I chose!"
"It never gets old," Jureno thought to himself. "I must have heard that line twenty times and they keep using it."
With a sigh he leaned back in his chair and began talking. "It was a very cold day. I remember it clearly, for I saw the sun sink straight into an ocean of fog, the crimson rays struggling out of the clouds like fire out of an apprentice's hand, piercing through at points, but then subsiding and trying again.
"Whatever it was, if I were the mentor of that apprentice, I'd beat him within an inch of his life for letting that fire go out. Night however, ignored my plight, and soon all that was left was the fading glow of dusk. For days, an orcish tribe leader named Bloodeyes was ruthlessly hunting down our caravan. Finally, our commander tried a desperation tactic. We would venture into Dark Blizzard Pass, the coldy of all coldies as we used to say in my time, and set an ambush. To ensure that the enemy would follow us, I was told to lure them with any methods necessary and run back to the ambush site.
"We had a few hours to spare, and we scouted for a good bottleneck in the pass, so that we might overwhelm them. A suitable site was found, but it was nearly a mile deep into the pass. The commander, Reageleb his name was, asked me if I could run that far. I didn't answer him, for I was unsure myself. But out of our men, there came a voice. 'Jureno, take this.' Saying that, he walked over to me and put into my hand a long-necked bottle. Inside it was a glowing red liquid. 'It will give you strength to run, for its powers are very great.' I thanked the man generously and tried to give him all the money I had. He refused, and with that he went back to his duties. Turning around, I told Reageleb that I could make it, and we agreed upon the ambush spot. The few remaining Wizards in the group hasted me as much as I could take, and with that I ran out of the pass.
"I continued running until I was at a fork in the road and set myself in front of the path, which we needed Bloodeyes to take. I found a thick bush to hide behind and readied a fireball spell, ready for my cue. And it came. An orc scout was jogging by, following the tracks left by our wagons. He was very tall, with spiked armor all about him. At his side was a great sword, and in his hands was a longbow.
"I knew at that point that my chance had come. I jumped out of the bushes, giving the runner just long enough to call for his friends, and, with a wave of my wand, sent a fireball at him. Not wasting time to find out if my spell had made its mark, I ran into the pass, as fast as I could, without stopping. After a while, my lungs were burning and my head dizzy. I stopped and turned around. The fastest of the orcs were just in sight, so without any more rest, I summoned my strength and ran further into the pass. A little later I was doubled up in a small crevice, choking and coughing until my breath came back. I pulled out the bottle that the soldier had handed to me, but numbness was in my fingers, and before I realized what had happened, the bottle slipped from my grasp and crashed onto the freezing ground. I groaned in agony, but knew I must press on if I wished to save my companions and myself.
"But before I had managed to get up off the floor, three figures burst into my hiding cubby, tearing me out forcefully and into the arms of Bloodeyes. 'We are always searching, aren't we Jureno?' I lay on the ground, too weak to move let alone reply. He continued. 'I searched high and low for happiness. Much like many of my kind, I found no happiness in honesty and hard work. Can you guess what I found happiness in, Jureno?' Before I could answer, he sent a swift kick to my ribs. 'Pain!' With that he kicked me again, sending me sprawling on my back. 'It really is a simple thing. You tell me where your little friends are, and I let you slip past my guard back to safety.' I raised myself to my feet. I couldn't think right then. Anger blinded me.
"I ran at him, intent on killing him. I was too weak. I tripped before I reached him, and he pulled out a long club. In one swift movement he brought it crashing down upon the small of my back, and I felt a sharp spasm rip across my spine. He turned me over on my back, and spat in my face. 'You humans, you weaklings. No one can beat me! I will hunt down your friends, with or without your -- 'He paused in mid-sentence and began breathing through his nose. His men began sniffing the air, trying to get a scent from the thin, frosty atmosphere.
"'It's not human boss, it's more like pig.'
"'You fool, there aren't any pigs nearby!'
"'Yeah, I know, boss, but it just seemed like --'
"'Yeah, well, keep your mouth shut!'
"I strained my ears, trying to hear what the orcs were smelling. I put my ear to the ground, and listened for a moment. Thud, thud, thud, thud. I had been in these mountains before, and knew exactly what I heard. Looking around, I saw what I was expecting. Out of the dark crevice where I had been hiding, a pair of glowing red eyes peered out at me. Bloodeyes stopped talking to his men, and turned to look at me. Following my gaze, he spied the same pair of eyes. 'The cave! There's something in the cave. Kill it!'
"Immediately the orcs ran to the cave, and suddenly there was a roar and a large furry creature burst out, sending the orcs tumbling. 'Ice troll,' I murmured to myself as I willed myself to my feet and began running. Behind me I could hear the screams and shouting as the troll tore through ranks of orcs.
"It turned out that the ambush site was only a few rods more, and I soon rallied the men and we stormed down the pass. Halting only a few yards away from the orcish army, we came upon a scene like no other. The ice troll was blurring his way through the ranks of men, tearing them in half before they could even strike. But so great was the orcish number that they still rushed at us with a sizable force. Fireballs and Zap spells crisscrossed through the air, and arrows flew so thick that they obscured the little moonlight we had to fight with. With great battle cries, our swords were drawn and we each met our man. A great hulking brute came at me, and I thought I was doomed.
"As luck would have it, I managed to dodge out of the way at the last moment and deal a strong kick to the back of his knees. He fell to the ground and I seized the chance, running up on top of him and slaying him with my dagger. I stood up and looked about. A little way off I saw the ice troll dead, but its assailants were now engaged in battle with a lone mage. Nearer to me I saw my commander's body, ran through by a spear. As I turned around I saw a raised sword swing down at me, and suddenly things went dark.
"I awoke in a sickbed, soft yellow light coming from a nearby window. In the bed beside me was Reageleb. The door across from me opened, and a young lady in green robes walked to my side. 'Where am I?' I asked her.
"'Welcome Jureno, to Moorgate. My name is Syrania.' At that exact point, I knew where I wanted to live for the rest of my life. I have never been told what exactly happened in the battle, but I have pieced together things from the surviving caravan members. When the battle looked its bleakest, apparently a powerful mage came to our aide, and soon the tides had turned. He or she then took as many of us as possible back to Moorgate, where we were resurrected. But I really must get back to finding these quest items, so scoot, you rascal you, RutenBerge!"
RutenBerge left the room, amazed at what he had heard. Jureno, a caravan member in Dark Blizzard Pass? He looked like such a meek fellow, the kind you could walk all over and not hear a sound. Was he really? RutenBerge opened the door and looked into the room. Jureno was staring at him, and gave him a quick wink and smiled, a wizened grin crossing his face.
Alley back to the library foyer.
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