Page 11 of Potions & Pints
Instead of moving on, the soldiers started walking towards Vir.
“Vir, we’ve been looking for you,” one of them said. Tan almost thought he could hear a hint of cruelty in his voice.
“You’re to accompany us, either willingly or by force. And I’m warning you, we will not hesitate to use defensive magic if need be. For the crime of escaping military service and abandoning your responsibility to Queen Kiiral, you must face punishment.”
Tan’s eyes widened in the dark. Suddenly Vir’s reluctance to talk about his past and his origins made a lot more sense. He should have known this was the secret Vir was hiding.
Not all orcs were pressed into military service of course, but it was still unusual to see one that didn’t serve. Any orc outside of the North was usually a deserter. And for a lot of them, that decision caught up with them eventually.
Despite himself, Tan found himself torn once again.
In theory this was the perfect diversion — if the Northern soldiers were busy with Vir, Tan could easily slip away into the night. And it didn’t seem like Vir would come into any imminent harm.
But watching the soldiers magically bind Vir, he felt something pang in his chest. He couldn’t deny he’d grown fond of the orc, but was he really considering risking everything to help him?
The thought suddenly occurred to him that that’s exactly what Vir had just done. He’d revealed himself to a troop of Northern soldiers just to save the tavern, even though he must have known what would come of such a move.
Tan felt a small twinge of guilt. Vir had so easily done what Tan himself couldn’t — he’d just made a decision. Maybe that’s what he was talking about when he said he said he chased what mattered, even when he was scared.
Tan looked again into the dark of the alley. The soldiers were beginning to lead Vir away and so much of Tan wanted to step out and help him. But after all he’d done to escape the attention of the authorities, Tan wasn’t sure it made sense to throw it all away for the sake of a new acquaintance. Even if it was an acquaintance he quite liked.
7
Tan stepped out of the shadows. He muttered a few choice elf curses under his breath, then threw in a few orc ones as well.
“Hey,” he called.
“Who is it?” one of the soldiers asked.
“This is none of your business, stay back,” another added.
“It is most certainly my business,” Tan said.
He formed his mouth into a scowl and strode towards them with purpose. He always felt it was best to convey a sense of authority even if you had none. Ditto for confidence.
“Take your hands off the orc,” he barked.
“I’m warning you—”
“He’s my servant. Appointed by Valar, himself. I have information for him. I sent him a letter, but I couldn’t trust that to reach him.”
“Oh, you are looking for Valar?”
The voice came from the back of the group.
“Yes,” Tan said.
His voice didn’t shake but the dread rose up inside him. Tan knew that voice. He watched the soldiers step apart. As Valar approached, Tan bowed his head.
“My Prince,” Tan said.
Valar snorted in return.
“Sir?” one of the soldiers asked.
“Silence,” Valar said. “I’ll handle this. First question. Do you ever stop lying, Tan’ithril?”
He put his hands on his hips and glared at Tan. Behind Valar, the soldiers exchanged looks. Their grips on their weapons tightened. They were obviously confused about what the Prince wanted. When in question, they fell back on their training. They stood ready to fight if necessary.
