People on horseback thundered into the baled field, milling and stamping in the bright noon sun. A helmeted soldier on a sturdy brown was quickly surrounded by riders wearing crimson leather armor and riding leggy grey horses, the soldier used his shield to block a strong bow and his horse lashed out with its hind legs. Horse and rider bit and kicked their way out of the press of bodies and raced toward the fence. The crimson riders pursued for a few paces before they were called back to the milling group near the center of the field.

The solitary rider rode warily in the direction of the two people standing near the road. He stopped his horse a good fifteen feet away. “Gods’ blessings be upon you.” He had the deepest voice Jes had ever heard. “If you are not with the empire, and I suspect you are not, I would suggest we move away. They will begin securing territory as quick as you like.”

“Who are you?” Rock asked as he looked up at the soldier.

The rider’s head tilted a few degrees to the left, almost imperceptibly. “Company Commander Hadrian Tien at your service.” He bowed slightly as he guided his horse toward the low fence. The horse jumped it almost lazily and the rider dismounted on the other side. Jes looked between the single commander and the crimson soldiers. “What in the hell is going on here?” She muttered as she followed Hadrian.

“To be quite honest, miss, I am not entirely sure myself.” Hadrian’s deep voice was calm as he reached up to remove his helmet.

A wiry black beard, neatly trimmed, but large, puffed free of the helmet first. His bottom lip was thicker than the top lip and his chin jutted a little forward. The tips of two large fangs stuck up in front of his top lip. His nose was wide and a little flattened, his skin was olive, more green than brown. It was his eyes that caught Jes’ attention more than anything else, framed by thick, black brows his eyes were more red than brown. One of his wide, pointed, greenish ears twitched as she stared in silence. “Is there an issue, miss?” Both ears flicked back flush against his head for a second before they seemed to deliberately rise again.

“What are you?” Jes’ voice cracked.

“That is a rather pointed question,” Hadrian began, his red-brown eyes flicking from one puzzled human face to the other. “Have you really never seen one of my kind before?” Again his eyes searched, his brow furrowing. “I’m orckin, from Ogrekall. Who are you two?”

“Um… I’m Jessenia Nolan and this is Alan Stone.”

“I’m pleased to make your acquaintances. What can you tell me of this place?” One gauntleted hand gestured widely, taking in the baled field filled with milling redclad soldiers and the highway with its occasional zooming cars.

“It’s, well,” Jes felt at a loss, “Well, it’s Iowa.”

“Iowa.” The deep voiced orckin seemed to be tasting the word, turning it over and studying it as he said it twice more. “This is a place that I haven’t heard of, strange.” He huffed out a breath, ruffling his bushy facial hair.

“Where did you come from?” Rock asked, crossing his arms and shifting from one foot to the other.

“Ogrekall, of course.” Hadrian still seemed confused. “We were near the Wild Weave, attempting to stop the Azmaellan Empire once and for all time.” He waved a hand dismissively, looking toward the red-clad soldiers again. “They’re still coming so the moment has not passed. I see none of my men, living or dead. I’m afraid I’ve been separated from the army, stranded here in Iowa.” Again he seemed to be tasting the new word. “I could charge in there and try to make it past them, but for now they seem content to let me be. I should probably take advantage of that.” His last sentences were but a murmur as he watched the crimson soldiers through narrowed eyes. He took a moment, taking stock of his equipment, making a note of what he had with him. It didn’t seem to be much. The armor he was wearing, a pair of small belt pouches, saddle bags, a sword, a shield, and a hammer.

Rock was eying the red-clad soldiers warily as they seemed to be setting into a rough perimeter around something in the middle of the field, leaving a large empty space. A large, red, tent was going up as far from the three interlopers as possible.

“Do you think they’ll stay there?” Rock wondered aloud.

“That farmer’s going to be furious if they do.” Jes mused. “At least it was after he baled the hay.”

Rock snorted. “What the heck are we supposed to do?”

Jes lifted one shoulder in an absent-minded shrug. “Why are you asking me? I just got out of the hospital.”

Rock’s brow furrowed as he looked down at her, “It seems like something you’d know about.”

Jes laughed, clutching at her sore chest. “I guess it is a little up my alley.”

The orckin stood apart from them, watching but not interrupting as they tried to find their feet in this strange and new situation. He felt more than slightly off balance himself.

“We should probably move off a ways.” Jes said at last. “They seem pretty hostile.”

Quite a few of the red-clad soldiers were giving the trio less than friendly glares.

The orc-kin gave a mirthless chuckle. “I almost think I should make a run for whatever that is that brought us all through. I’d rather be back with my people.”

“Seems dangerous.” Rock said as he glanced back toward his truck. “The didn’t look very friendly in the first place and now there are a lot more of them.”

“Thousands.” Jes’ voice was almost a whisper. “What are they doing here?”

Hadrian climbed up into the saddle and took up the reins. “What their kind always does.” There was something in his deep voice so cold that Jes shuddered.

“What?” She asked.

“Make war. Come, Miss Nolan, I can at least help you escape this area before they start shooting.”

“What about me?” Rock asked, his voice sounding almost hurt.

Hadrian gave him an arch look, towering over him on horseback. “Forgive me, I thought you were a man.”

Rock yelped a protest, but Jes broke down into rich peals of laughter. She hesitated only a moment before taking the orc-kin’s hand. He seemed trustworthy and they certainly were outnumbered by the red empire.

“Let’s get back to the truck.” Rock pointed. “We can move much faster once we get there.” He jogged along side the trotting horse as they left the strange field behind.