Twenty
The Darkwood
Autumn 961 MC
By Anna's reckoning, it would take five days to cover the distance from the Orc village to the edge of the Darkwood. Chief Urgon led the party himself, accompanied by the Shaman Kraloch, and six hunters. They came out of the hills, crossing the vast plain that stretched to the edge of the Darkwood itself.
Their hosts said little during the march, for only Urgon and Kraloch could speak the common Human tongue, and their pace left little energy for discussion. Only in the evenings, as they rested, could conversations be carried out and even then, they were usually too tired to say much.
They set a fast pace, and four days later the Darkwood came into view; an extensive green forest stretching for miles in either direction. As they drew closer, the pace
