Chapter 13 - Part 4

Iron Orphan found himself talking to a lieutenant 0039DN within minutes. He patiently explained that to the best of his knowledge he was the only other warforged in the area, yes he knew something of the opposing forces, yes there was a powerful spellcaster in the village, and no he wasn’t going to tell anything more until he could speak to the officer in charge. The lieutenant had made a few half-hearted threats, but Orphan had not budged. He was gratified to see the lieutenant order a temporary halt to the advance. The soldiers were told to dig foxholes and prepare branches for camouflage as Orphan was led by the same four soldiers to see their captain.

The captain came with four other soldiers, and he met the four walking with Orphan in a small space between trees that only just fit the ten of them. The captain looked like the other warforged, with a thick body of darkwood, save for a painting of the Aundarian flag on his chest.

“Captain 7824FB,” said one of the soldiers behind Orphan. “Here is the one we found.”

Orphan tilted his head slightly, looking at the designation number. For some reason 7824FB seemed familiar to him.

“We stopped the advance for one warforged?” Captain 7824FB asked incredulously. “Our orders are to slay all opposition!”

“Am I opposition, then?” Orphan asked. The captain looked at him askance. “Do I appear before you in the uniform of the Reachers?”

“Captain,” said lieutenant 0039DN, coming into the area. “I ordered the halt. This warforged has information, but will only share it with you.”

Captain 7824FB looked at Iron Orphan with impatience, his eyes glowing. “I do not have time for this. We are at war. Speak or die.”

“You are at ‘war’ with farmers, craftsmen, women, and children,” Orphan told him. “You attack those who have no quarrel with you. You murder.”

“What?” Captain 7824FB asked, surprised. “We fight for Aundair. They are rebels. We follow orders! How could you accuse us of murder? This is what you waste my time with?” He drew his sword, and advanced on Orphan.

Orphan spun, ducked, and grabbed 7824FB’s wrists, punching the sword away. It fell to the ground. “Now I remember you,” he said. He somersaulted away from the four who surrounded him and came to rest behind Captain 7824FB. The warforged all turned around to look at him. “You’re 7824FB. You were less sure about dead people when I last talked to you.”

Some of the warforged threw javelins, and Orphan dodged them with ease. Captain 7824FB shouted at his men to stand down. “I know you?” he asked Orphan, carefully picking his sword up.

“I am Iron Orphan,” the warforged monk told the soldiers. He could see other soldiers coming, wondering what the fuss was about. He estimated thirty of them were now watching the little drama, with another sixty to seventy working in the immediate area. “I named myself, escaping from House Cannith.” Shocked murmurs were heard. “What? You believed Cannith when they told you no one escapes, and those who try will die? Maybe you also believe them when they tell you to do evil to innocents, and that you are naught but blameless tools?” He saw the warforged look at each other.

“I still don’t know how I know you,” Captain 7824FB said. “And your fancy jumping won’t keep all of these units from killing you should I give the word. Who are you?”

“You knew me as 4311XD,” Orphan said after a pause. He knew that there was likely a price on his head, and he had admitted to being a renegade in any event. He was dead, and very soon. He just hoped the monk’s belt of the Balanced Palm would enable him to fight long enough to delay them sufficiently. Even five more minutes of time would give Pienna a good chance. “Cannith gave me my body, but life was granted to me, and to you, and to every warforged here, by another power. A higher power of light and law and truth that is not pleased.”

“We please!” insisted one warforged. “We do as commanded, we are good tools!”

“You are more than tools!” Orphan insisted. “You are people! And much evil comes to your hands this day, but you are still not beyond redemption! You can save yourselves!”

“What bilge,” said 0039DN. “For this I halted the advance? I am a fool. Your pardon, Captain 7824FB, I will tell the units to resume march.”

“No,” Captain 7824FB. 0039DN opened his mouth in brief surprise, then closed it. “You were the one who felt bad that the malfunctioning units killed the human.”

“Yes,” Orphan said. “But they did not malfunction. They chose evil. You all have choices.”

“What human made this one with a sweet tongue?” said one soldier, making a disparaging hand gesture. Orphan had seen it before, it was a twirling of the fingers that some warforged made when they belittled the abilities of flesh-and-blood.

“Our kind does not have much capacity for smooth talk and convincing personalities,” Orphan said. “If my words ring true, it is because of the words, not the speaker.”

“We ought to kill him, or Cannith will kill us!” snapped another soldier. Orphan tensed.

“I thought we were Aundair property now,” another one interjected, obviously confused.

“Be quiet, all of you!” ordered 0039DN. “You interfere in the affairs of your superior officer!” At once all the warforged were silent.

“What choices will you make, then?” Orphan said, directly addressing Captain 7824FB.

“Why are you here?” Captain 7824FB asked in a puzzled tone, apparently ignoring Orphan’s question. “Did these people help you escape?”

“I was never in Merylsward before today,” Orphan told him truthfully. “I am here because it is the right thing to do. What you are doing is evil. The people of the town mean no harm to you.”

“They killed nearly four hundred of us!” shouted a warforged. 0039DN swerved around to see who it was, but could not find him.

“In self-defense,” Orphan explained. “That wizard who gave you orders, he murdered many, including innocent infants. Children. Small humans, gnomes, and shifters. Soft things that cannot talk, walk or feed themselves. Hardly military targets.”

“If my Lord told me to kill them, then they are military targets,” Captain 7824FB said. “I can assure you that I do not like it, but I have no choice.”

“Do you really think that?” Orphan asked him. “Do you really believe that you are merely a thing?” 7824FB appeared disconcerted. “And are you sure that your orders are correct?” Orphan pressed, sensing that Captain 7824FB needed a military excuse to justify his unease. “You were told to kill flesh beings, not me, so am I to be taken captive, let go, or killed? You don’t know. If you make your own decision, then you are capable of making your own choices, and you are responsible for evil. If you cannot make your own choices and you truly are blameless property, then you should be taking me to your Aundairian officer and asking him what to do with me rather than advancing on the town.”

Several warforged shifted their weight slightly, suggesting that they were thinking. Captain 7824FB seemed to give no response for a long time.

“Captain?” 0039DN asked.

“What are the fortifications in the town?” the warforged captain finally asked.

Orphan felt his hopes sink, but then he instinctively felt that there was more to 7824FB’s question. “They have been felling trees and making barricades, sending messenger pigeons to druids in the area, and digging pits. They are experienced hunters and trappers who will encircle you without being seen, and you will not breach their fortifications or avoid their pits before nightfall. There are orcs and half-orcs that can see in the night among them, and shifters that can see with a glimmer of moonlight. One such half-orc is an experienced bounty hunter for House Tharashk, and he carries a sword made of adamantine. His strength is such that he can hew one of your men in half with one blow.” Orphan was not very good at bluffing, but when you were selective about what truths to tell, you didn’t have to be. Warforged avoided fighting at night, and were wary of creatures that could see in the dark. Captain 7824FB mulled over Orphan’s statement.

“Captain!” came a cry. A warforged with stripes on his arms came hurrying forward. His number read 0038DN. “Our first scouts just came back, they have found the body of Lo’Paih! She was burnt and hacked to pieces.” Orphan noticed several soldiers give each other significant looks.

“A powerful artificer,” Captain 7824FB said. “And your forces killed her.”

“Only one of our men killed her,” Orphan said. “His name is Thomas, he wields a greataxe, but he can also use scrolls of magic – of which he possesses many."

“We saw him at the battle that slew so many of us,” Captain 7824FB said. “The one with the electrical worm on his shoulder. You were hunting Lo’Paih, or she ambushed you?”

Orphan realized that admitting weakness was not smart now, and he did not want to have to tell them Pienna was incapacitated. Instead he pressed on with a fear that he sensed in the other warforged. “She was your only artificer, wasn’t she?” Orphan asked. “If the townsfolk disable you, no one will save you, and you will be hacked to pieces by scavengers.”

“There are minor wizards with repair spells still attending our commanding officer in another place,” Captain 7824FB replied evenly. “Did Lo’Paih ambush you?”

“Your ‘other place’ is the fishing village,” Orphan said intuitively. He decided it was time for a bluff. “Yes, Lo’Paih ambushed us, but we killed her. And now the rest of the party that killed her is on the way to the fishing village. We were watching your forces, seeing if you were guarding your human taskmasters.” For a moment he thought that he was not believable, but then Captain 7824FB seemed to decide that he could not take a chance.

“You are right that attacking the village this late in the day is not our best option,” Captain 7824FB said. “And I do think that Lord Ibraim needs to see you. And I cannot take the chance that his party will be attacked. His instructions to me were clear, but perhaps in light of the losses we have suffered he would revise them. Sergeant 0039DN!”

“Captain,” was the calm reply.

“I want twenty armed units surrounding this strange warforged at all times. If he jumps about any more he is to be killed immediately.”

“Understood, Captain.” There were a few strange glances at the idea that one-fifth of their number should guard an unarmored unit, but they obeyed.

“Everyone, eastwards!”

Orphan marched without protest, relieved that he had bought the town time. He had no illusions about the mercy of an Aundairian noble, but he was willing to meet his fate.