I thought it was about time I came up with something new for one of the Worldbuilding writing prompts. It's been unusually warm here in the UK recently, which always makes it harder to focus on doing online things, even though the prompts are so inspiring !
This story is (very, very loosely !) based on part of a D&D adventure I ran a few years ago. It's kind of an epilogue to it, but totally non-canon and doesn't affect the future destinies of the characters concerned.....
Brother Tostig poked the fire with the bent stick he was holding, creating a small shower of sparks and burning embers. Then he turned to his companions, their faces shadowed by the flickering firelight.
"Let me tell you of the time I met Sergeant Dath, or rather his ghost."
He pulled on his pipe, a distant look on his face.
"Our little band of companions had slogged north, all the way to Fort Malnord at the foot of the Orvag Glacier. Our mission was to try to recover the banner of the Second Royal Jaktan Adventurers, who had disappeared somewhere around there ten years before. On the way there, we stopped off at Magoran, where we found a journal. I still have it here somewhere...."
Tostig reached into his bag, rummaged for a few moments before pulling the object from it. Inside a blue silk cloth was a thin book, bound in soft leather. The thing was worn and badly damaged, one corner scorched by fire and the cover blotched by dark stains and speckles that might once have been someone's blood.
"This is the official journal of the garrison of Fort Malnord. It's written in three hands; the expedition's commander, then his second when he was killed, and the last entry is by one Sergeant Dath. Let me read you a few extracts from it."
5th Browns, 1007
Fort Malnord has been completed by the Northland Dragoons and a contingent of Royal Jaktan Engineers. The remainder of the garrison marched in this morning; the 2nd RJA and contingents of the 1st RJA and Knights of Odin. Formal handover ceremony was conducted at dusk.
7th Browns, 1007
Roll call of garrison:
1st Royal Jaktan Adventurers (1 Company) - 1 RJA - 95
2nd Royal Jaktan Adventurers (Whole Regiment) - 2 RJA - 398
Knights of Odin (Detachment) - KoO - 50
Northland Dragoons (2 Companies) - ND - 200
Royal Jaktan Engineers (1 company plus specialists) - RJE – 120
Total: 863 (of approximately 1100 who originally marched out)
The newly arrived troops took some casualties on their march in, but these were low considering the distance and conditions. The 2nd RJA suffered the most, losing 72 men on the journey.
12th Browns, 1007
Sgt Dath and his patrol return, bringing a good number of polar bear skins. It is only autumn, and already the nights are well below freezing, so these furs are most welcome.
14th Browns, 1007
An orcish arrow was found in the gate this morning, bearing a scrap of hide with a brief message. It read “Leave now, while you can. Stay, and you die”.
21st Browns, 1007
The Ice Orcs appear far more organised than we had dreamed possible. They have appeared in large numbers before our gates. They have started assembling siege engines from parts they bought with them.
6th Ice
I have agreed a brief truce with the orcs in order to attempt negotiation. The remaining Odinites are praying for the success of the mission.
Tostig turned the pages of the journal with care and obvious reverence.
"I have skipped over a few entries, describing orc attacks and the ever-diminishing roll-calls of the survivors after each one. The next section was written after Sir Hardan von Nalara went to see the orcs. It was in the hand of his deputy."
11th Ice
Sir Hardan has not returned from the Orc encampment. He is days overdue, and we can only assume the worst. It looks like we will not be able to withdraw from the fort under a flag of truce. The truce itself has started to break down, with regular but so far sparse harassing fire. As Deputy Commander of the garrison, I, Sir Helmut Vorden, have assumed command.
14th Ice
The orcs essayed a major assault on the gatehouse last night. It lies in ruins. Many good men fought to defend it. If relief does not come soon, we will be unable to continue to hold the Fort.
Turning the page again, Tostig came to one which was only half-filled, scrawled hastily in a third, less formal, hand.
Who knows the date ? It feels like we have been under siege forever.
I am Barden Dath, Sergeant of the 2nd Royal Jaktan Adventurers Regiment. We have no officers left. Sir Helmut died in the last attack of the day yesterday. He was a good officer.
There are less than a score of us left. We are all dressed in scraps, furs and salvaged armour. Only Odin knows who is from which regiment, so I made everyone swear their oath to the Second. Maybe it will help. We were a short-lived regiment, but if we are remembered at all, I hope it will be for our loyalty and courage, and people will remember we died covered with glory. We will defend our banner to the last, but the next attack will be the end.
Long live His Majesty ! Long live the Second !
Closing the book, Tostig looked around at his companions.
"But that wasn't the end of the story. Fort Malnord was a wreck. It was only when we started digging through that we found the parade ground was uneven because of all the bones. Mounds of them. The Second had given good account of themselves before they fell."
"But the Ice Orcs hadn't gone anywhere. This was their land. We were just a small group, half a dozen of us. The Ice Orcs told us to leave, then attacked. Dozens and dozens of them. They pushed us back to the doors of the chapel, where the biggest pile of bones was. When Magnus pulled the axe from the chapel door, that was the act which woke the ghost of Sergeant Dath."
"He rose and reached for the nearest of us, the Sarassid Summoner Tadeosz. Clutching his heart with an ethereal hand, he took control, using our friend's body like a puppet. Then, taking the blackened axe, he threw himself on the orcs like a whirlwind. It was over soon, and we had been saved."
Tostig wrapped the journal in it's cloth and returned it to his haversack.
"Our group recovered the banner. Tadeosz has gone onto other things now, but there is a tale that Sergeant Dath is still around, wandering the world as a ghost with dark hate for orcs in his soul. The story goes that he takes over the bodies of men and seeks out bands of warriors to fight orcs wherever he can find them. Those who don't join him, he slays himself. Can you believe such a thing ?"
His companions around the fire chuckled, amused by this tale of a ghostly warrior roaming the world at night.
That was when Tostig reached behind him and drew a black double-handed axe into the firelight, his face changing.
"There are orcs nearby, my friends. Who will join me and die fighting them, and who will die here, now, around this campfire ?"
"Long live His Majesty ! Long live the Second !"
Images generated in Wombo.art by AI based on prompt - it's one of my favourite tools for creating instant art that is surrealist and weird, but atmospheric and kind of makes sense.