Free The Fur Trader by Sam Ferguson

city. He said that the best chance for survival was to load as many citizens into barges as they could and sail away while the soldiers prepared the valley to the north for battle, and tried to hold the orcs off for as long as possible.
    “Borean turned and addressed his men, a couple of them many years his senior, with such poise that none of them uttered a word of protest to his orders. Borean said, ‘Gather the city guard. Those of us who have made it our life’s work to defend the city will rise to the task. We will go and prepare the valley before our city, near Aider’s Bridge. That is the one choke point between our city and the mountain pass. The orcs will have to come through it, and it is there that we will cut them down. Go, gather the men and meet me in the fields.’ The warriors left, almost running out of the library. Then, Borean turned to Lazar and instructed the scholar to gather the councilors and flee upon the barges with the other citizens.
    “No one knew the fate of Fort Derengard, or how the orcs managed to overtake it without the soldiers there sending any warning to Oleant. All they knew, was that death was knocking at their door.
    “Lazar spent the next few hours scurrying about the city. He gathered the councilors and had them load the women, children, and men too old to fight into the barges. Lazar instructed all others to grab whatever weapons and tools they could carry and meet Borean in the field.
    “When the barges were full and on their way down the river, Lazar grabbed a sword and spear and led a group of several hundred men to the valley. When they arrived, Lazar saw the city guard busy digging trenches and pits, placing pikes and traps both in and around the holes. Lazar quickly set his men to work, sending a few to aid each group of laborers in the field.
    “Borean objected to Lazar remaining behind, but Lazar stamped the butt of his spear on the ground and told his brother that he would not leave him to die alone at the hands of the orcs. They spent the remainder of the afternoon slaving away in the trenches and pits. Near the rear of the army, Borean was hastily putting together a pair of crude onagers and catapults. They also made tar balls, and toward the beginning of the evening the army covered the pits and trenches. Borean then made his men stand in rank, close enough to the bridge to keep it within range of their archers, and far enough that he hoped to draw the bloodthirsty savages toward him and into the pits and traps.
    “Lazar stood in the forest along the west side of the valley. He was to lead a group of fifty spearmen in from the side after the armies came toe-to-toe and all the traps and catapults had been used. The waiting was the hardest part of the day. Knowing that someone was coming to attack, but not knowing when they might arrive.
    Garrin shook his head then and threw another bit of wood onto the fire. Sparks rose up into the air and he looked back to Richard and continued his tale. “There were no war drums, as are oft mentioned in the old ballads. There were no shouts or screams. The birds overhead still sang their songs and the river continued rushing by. A breeze blew through the valley, but all else was still.
    “The sun was starting to fade behind the western horizon when Lazar saw the first ranks pour out from the northern forest. They lined up along the river bank. Lazar counted each and every dark suit of armor he could see. Before long he started counting by twenties, and then by hundreds. His heart sank and his throat dried when he realized that the enemy was easily several thousand orcs strong. They clanged and pounded their shields with their curved swords and their sharp axes. The cacophony reverberated through the valley, drowning out all else.
    “From Lazar’s place in the forest, he watched as his brother ordered a volley of arrows to be shot. The shafts tore through the air and rained down upon the orcs. Many of them fell, some of the