Lorik The Defender (The Lorik Trilogy) by Toby Neighbors Page A

he? He didn’t know, and he couldn’t promise himself that he would ever know. He shook his head and smiled bitterly. He would probably be dead soon and all of his anxiousness over Queen Issalyn would be for nothing. Dangerous times lay ahead; Lorik felt certain of that. He could sense a darkness approaching, the way an elderly man could feel a change in the weather deep in his bones. And Lorik wasn’t sure he would be able to weather the storm.
     

Chapter 6
    It took more than a week to reach the refugee camp that was set up along the border near the Wilderlands. Lorik had spent most of the week scouting back behind the large group from Ort City. He wanted some distance from the queen, who continued to seek him out. Lorik liked Issalyn, but he was afraid of losing his focus at a time when he needed to remain vigilant.
    The camp was busy and growing. Many of the northern towns had been razed by the Norsik invaders. The survivors had joined Lorik’s camp near the Wilderlands rather than going and immediately trying to rebuild their cities. Everyone had heard the rumors of an army of monsters marching north. Refugees from the southern cities brought tales of the Leffers, which only added to the growing fears among the camp. But there were also stories of how Lorik rescued the captives who had been taken into Norsik. The stories of his adventures among the forest elves grew with each telling, as did the final battle with the Norsik raiders. These stories tempered the growing fear of the refugees, many of whom were women and children whose menfolk had been killed or taken south with the king.
    The Drery Dru were never seen, but they brought food from their high kingdom among the canopy of the massive redwood trees that filled the Wilderlands. Each morning a cache of food was found near the base of one of the huge trees. The children of the refugees had made searching for the food a game. The Drery Dru couldn’t be relied on to provide for all the needs of the refugees, so groups of men and women went out daily to scavenge among the ruined cities and farms for food. It might have been easier to move the camp away from the Wilderlands, but Lorik feared that he might fail to turn back the massive army the wizard had warned him of and he was hopeful that in the worst-case scenario that the women and children could take shelter among the mighty trees of the forest.
    When the crowd from Ort City arrived at the camp, they were welcomed and given a place to make camp and rest from their journey. Lorik had left nearly fifty men in charge of securing the camp. They had found weapons and horses easily enough from the spoils of war left by the Norsik when they were driven out of Ortis. Vera had a group of women who had inventoried all the supplies and made sure that everyone had some form of shelter.
    Trinad, a man with experience in the King’s Army as a quartermaster, had been left in charge. Both the security force and the camp organizers reported to Trinad. He was an older man who needed a staff to lean on to get around, but his mind was as sharp as ever and he had a knack for settling disputes peacefully, which made him the perfect overseer of the camp.
    Lorik came into the camp after everyone else; even Stone had stopped trying to keep up with Lorik. By the time Lorik arrived, the newcomers were settled and one of the camp guards informed Lorik that Trinad was waiting for him in the big central tent.
    Vera had gotten the idea to piece together a larger tent, which she had delegated to some of the women who were skilled at sewing. Now the patchwork tent was raised up on poles in the center of the camp. It was large enough for a group of twenty five people to meet in. It had a massive roof, and walls that could be rolled up and fastened to let in sunlight and air. Some of the nicer artifacts that had been taken by the Norsik raiders had been placed in the tent. There was a large carpet and several chairs with cushions and pillows.