Lifting the girl off of his shoulders, he lowered her to the ground and led her to the nearest pile of bones. Shock showed plainly in her face at the discovery, her own vision not nearly as keen as his in the darkness. But he then carefully picked through the pile, removing a small leather belt with a pouch attached to it. Opening the pouch he poured its contents into her small hand. He watched as the small metal disks poured into her hand, her eyes widening in excitement. Then the unthinkable happened.
Along with the valued disks that poured from the small pouch into her waiting palm were a collection of small cockroaches, one of which scurried up Jen’s arm, causing her to scream suddenly. From miles away, after nearly a minute, a giant roar echoed back at them. In the still silence of the night Gnak could already detect the faint vibration of the stone around him. Jen had awoken the giants, and they were coming to find the intruder.
Knowing time was limited, Gnak locked his eyes on the girl.
“Work fast, get many. We hurry, we go.”
“You got it,” she replied, her hands already digging through the pile, her face just inches from it, trying to see in the darkness what lay before her.
Gnak turned to the next pile of bones and discarded items with a collection of purposes. First he sought a large bag or pack to collect all the disks and stones they found. Next he sought the small pouches used to hold the human and goblin wealth. But so too did he seek for himself. Digging through the piles, he sought armor and weapons that would fit, or could be altered to fit.
Tossing small pouch after small pouch in Jen’s direction, he dug through the pile quickly before moving on to the next. Various weapons and armor he pulled free from the piles, discarding the vast majority of them. It was several minutes before he found a large leather pack that, although stiff and old, was sturdily made. Inspecting it for holes, he quickly took it to his companion and, scooping up the growing collection of small pouches, he dumped them all in as Jen moved on to yet another mound.
The vibrations grew stronger and stronger as Gnak selected a large mound, nearly as tall as he, to begin digging through. With no further need for silence he thrashed through the pile, spreading it out and looking it over, pulling from it every pouch he saw, but so common were the pouches that they were not what caught his eye. Instead, near the bottom of the pile were the remains of a being clad from head to toe in armor. Though the pieces were all in a jumbled pile, the suit appeared to be complete. It was only blackened iron, and most was coated entirely in rust, but Gnak knew he could clean the armor with animal fat. The man who had worn it was large, but obviously not an Orc. A discovery he made when dumping the skull out of the horned helmet. Nonetheless, trying it on, every single piece fit him. Some pieces of the armor were not tightly securable enough to make them practical, the straps having mostly rotted away, or been eaten by rodents, but he knew he could repair them.
With no means to carry the armor, he simply put it all on. Using discarded belts and thongs of leather, he tied the pieces in place the best he was able. The giants grew nearer and nearer still, roaring again as they came. The ground began to shake as the piles of bones clattered and small flakes of stone rained down from the chasm’s walls.
Selecting yet another pile, he watched as the tiny healer dragged the pack she filled onto a new pile of her own choosing. It was already too heavy for her to handle. He grinned. Digging, he tossed pouch after pouch in her direction, the feel of his newly acquired armor alien and yet comforting. He supposed he looked quite the warrior in it, but now was not the time for Orcish pride. On and on the giants came, but together he and Jen continued to collect, with time growing ever shorter. He would wait another few minutes before collecting the girl and her wealth and fleeing back towards her home.
Knowing his sword alone was insufficient to fight or hunt with, Gnak rummaged through the discarded items left by the dead, hoping to find a spear, but was having no luck. It was not until those final moments that he made an unusual discovery. Uncovering the edge of a blade, he grasped it and pulled it free of a pile. It was unlike anything he had ever seen, and another of its kind slid down the pile as he inspected the first. It was peculiar because it was longer than a sword, but was nearly all blade. Both ends were tapered to points, the handle intersecting the blade at the middle, where a long section was not honed sharp.
Holding the blade this way and that, he established that it was meant to be held along the outside of the arm, turning the forearm into a weapon, as well as the blade that extended away from him. He could slash or jab an enemy from the front, slash with his forearm and elbow, or even jab to the rear with the blade that ran back along his forearm. It was a smart design, and Gnak could see the advantages it held over his sword.
Removing his crude Orc blade from his belt, he discarded it among the piles of bones. Picking up the pair of odd blades he shoved them into his belt, one on each hip. If he had not been wearing his newly acquired armor, it would not have been possible to carry them in such a manner, as even in his belt one blade from each weapon faced up and impeded movement of his arms. There was no help for it, and with the new weapons in his possession and the giants growing nearer by the second, he decided it was time for them to leave. Except his decision came too late.
Around the bend in the pass ahead ran a pair of Orcs, leading their prisoners, directly towards him. Immediately Gnak recognized Korx, and was not surprised the Orc had come this far to find a sacrifice. The Orc with him was the other twin, either Kunk or Burl, whichever one he hadn’t kill just little more than a week ago. The pair led one of the armor-clad human warriors and a Troll, each upon a leash. Both parties spotted each other at the same time, and in his armor his fellow Orcs did not recognize him. He watched as Korx raised his spear, still running towards him to evade the giants that followed. Stepping between Korx and Jen, Gnak did the only thing he could.
“Gathos!” he grunted loudly, raising a hand to his chest, announcing them as members of the same tribe.
Watching as Korx lowered his spear, growing nearer with each step, he could not look back to Jen lest he betray his secret. He could not back up to her side, lest he be seen as backing down from Korx, pride demanded he hold his ground. The approaching Orcs and their prisoners slowed.
“Is you, Gnak?” Korx grunted, his head cocking to one side.
“Is me,” Gnak replied.
“Good. Now we three. We kill giant,” Korx said.
Gnak’s heart sank. Once the words were spoken, the decision was made. To offer another option would be seen as cowardly.
“Giant?” Gnak asked. “Was more.”
“Korx kill big female. While sleep,” Korx grunted proudly, banging his fist on his chest.
“Kank kill youngling giant,” the other Orc replied.
Gnak was somewhat relieved that the young giant and its creepy songs were silenced. It answered his question, two actually, now that he knew which of the twins he had killed. But now there was no more time to discuss the matter as a great sucking sound issued from ahead and the giant rounded the corner, eyeing the trespassers.
“You armor, you charge first!” Korx shouted again, binding him to a duty by pride.
Gnak realized that perhaps Korx was not as dumb as he seemed, using pride and tradition to his advantage. It was something he would have to keep in mind if they survived.
With no other options available, he stole a glance towards Jen as he turned to face the giant. His clan-mates shoved their bound and gagged prisoners to the ground, issuing them orders before turning to watch his charge. Ahead of him the giant came to a stop, a cloud of dust trailing it from around the corner of the pass. With a trumpeting roar that showed its rage plainly, the giant thrashed its four immense arms, swinging the large club he had seen days before in one of its massive hands. Gnak pulled his new blades from his belt and tested the feel of them for only a fraction of a second, before he leaned forward and charged the giant beast. The giant charged as well.
Ra
cing ahead, the ground seemingly bouncing beneath him as the giant came, Gnak could feel the makeshift bindings on his armor begin to loosen. His breastplate and backplate began to bounce with every stride. His pauldrons began to shift uncomfortably as well, but it was one of his shin guards that failed him.
Twisting to one side, the shin guard slipped down from the inside of his calf, its metal edge catching upon the stone of the chasm’s floor. Over Gnak went. He knew he would not recover from the trip. All he could do it try his best to make it look graceful, purposeful, and spare himself later ridicule.
Tucking his shoulder, he met the stone with a jarring clang as his ill-fitting armor clattered with him across the stone. Using his momentum to roll off of his shoulder, he watched as the great club of the giant passed by him, only inches to spare. The fall had saved his life. Rolling back to his feet, amazed he had managed to retain both of his blades, he leapt towards the feet of the rushing giant.
Stabbing one blade into the enormous ankle of the beast as it passed and holding fast, he was whipped around the creature by momentum and carried up into the air as it continued in its stride. Holding on for life and limb, as his weight carried him around the heel of the great creature, he lashed out with his other blade, all but severing the main tendon at the back of the beast’s leg. Dismayed, his blade had not been long enough to cut through the beast’s thick flesh and sever the tendon in entirety. Then down he came with the foot, and Gnak swung away from it as he smashed bodily to the ground, his blades coming free of the giant’s flesh.
A great roar erupted from the giant and Gnak watched as the remaining strands of the creature’s tendon gave way beneath its weight, its calf muscles visibly snapping up into its leg as blood sprayed out of the wound. Over the giant went, its ability to remain upright destroyed. Smashing to the stone floor of the chasm the giant roared, trashing its limbs as a great cloud of dust rose from the impact.
Scrambling to his feet, Gnak watched as the Orc he now knew as Burl leapt into the fray, thrusting his spear into the giant neck of the beast, to little effect. The giant thrashed and kicked, attempting to raise itself off the ground, while trying to swat the two Orcs now near its face. Rounding the creature, Gnak lashed out with his blade, slicing through the unprotected wrist of the giant that it was using in an attempt to rise. The flesh split open, revealing ligaments and more. The giant roared out in anger. Stabbing the point of his blade into the open wound, blood sprayed him from head to toe like a geyser as he punctured the blood vessel within the creature’s wrist, but still the giant did not relent.
With a movement that was as much crawling as sliding on its belly, the giant ignored the Orcs and turned its attention to the other beings in its domain. Gnak watched as the prisoners tried to flee when one of the giant’s hands shot out towards them, but none of the trio reacted fast enough to escape. Gnak’s heart dropped in his stomach as he watched the great hand swing out towards his small human ally. One smack of the hand would crush her tiny body, and there was nothing he could do but watch. But the blow was never landed.
Just as it seemed all hope was lost, the giant’s arm crashed to the ground, sliding to a stop just feet away from the Orc’s prisoners. Turning, he watched as Korx thrust his hand deep into the oozing eye of the giant, twisting his arm this way and that, as if searching for something. Grinning, the Orc pulled his arm free, dragging his spear out from the wound. As the giant twitched in its death throes, the prisoners moved away from its hands to avoid being killed by the dead giant. Korx strutted around the dead giant, obviously pleased with himself.
Though it was Gnak who had brought the giant down, it was Korx who would be heralded as its slayer. He was beginning to see a trend in Orc logic that made him uncomfortable. Even so, he had bigger things, even than dead giants, to worry about.
CHAPTER EIGHT
No sooner was the giant slain, than both of his clan-mates moved to collect their prisoners. Moving to do the same, Gnak willed his mind to think, but could not find a solution. There was no way to talk his way out. There was no way of simply letting her go. Not yet, anyway. If the other Orcs realized that she was not his prisoner, his chances for making a change for his people would be lost, Jen would be killed, and so too would he. He had to keep her from talking. She was smart. She would understand.
Rushing to Jen, he snatched her up, clasping a hand over her mouth. Turning to hide their faces, he shouted at her in a menacing tone, trying to convey his true emotions upon his face.
“You human no talk. You talk, you die. You walk only.” Growling, he snatched two leather belts from the ground and lashed her arms with one, and used the other around her face as a makeshift gag. Though she was obviously not comfortable with the change, her eyes showed that she understood the predicament and trusted in him to find a solution. Tightening up the temporary lashings upon his armor, he quickly shouldered the bags of supplies and human wealth, pushing Jen out in front of him, one hand on her shoulder to guide her.
“Stupid humans,” Gnak grunted to no one in particular. “No can walk in dark.”
“I have human, you have tiny girl,” Burl said, laughing at his insult.
“You have human warrior. Good sacrifice,” Gnak agreed. “And Korx have big brute of troll. His better than you.”
He watched as his words elicited an approving grunt from Korx, the three of them leading their prisoners side by side, before he continued.
“Me catch tiny girl. It talk to human god. Belong to human god. Does human magic,” he stated, puffing his chest out.
Both of his fellow Orcs made effort to put more space between themselves and the small human girl, but neither voiced a reply to his words. Magic was not known to the Orcs. It was not trusted. Gnak would use it to his advantage. Already his plan was working, and he had just begun. Thinking ahead, he knew he could use magic as an excuse for Jen’s escape while the other Orcs slept. He could then go after her to recapture her once more and take her home instead. Then things would be back on track. He just needed to wait for the opportunity. With Catunga coming to an end, however, he could not wait long.
He knew not if one of the Orcs would try and kill him, and claim Jen for their own. He also did not know if they would simply kill her, in order to make their captures look more enticing. He dared not attack them for Jen’s sake, but could not flee them either without appearing a coward. Again it was Orc logic that made him a prisoner to his situation. With no other option, all he could do was be vigilant. On he guided Jen through the winding mountain pass, steering her clear of obstacles with one hand on her shoulder and the other on the handle of one of his new blades. Just in case he needed it.
It was slow going with the prisoners, and as such was late morning when they reached the other side of the mountains. They had passed the other two giant corpses less than an hour ago, and now they stood overlooking the desert that stretched on to the horizon. Had it been only the Orcs, they could have ran and made it home by nightfall, but with the prisoners they would need to rest and travel slowly. It would take at least two nights of travel, resting during the day.
“For us bring good sacrifice, humans need rest,” Gnak stated, eyeing their surroundings, his peers simply looking at him for explanation.
All around them lay the picked-through carcasses of what just more than a week before had been goblins. Flies buzzed everywhere, their sounds filling the air as if the whole world pulsed with it. Each piece of ruined flesh was covered in a roiling layer of maggots, and the stench pervaded everything. Though all three Orcs fought to maintain their resolve, both humans vomited. The troll seemed not to note the smell.
“See humans,” Gnak pointed. “They weak. Need rest.”
His point made, his clan-mates nodded their approval and they sought suitable ground to rest. It took little time for them to find an outcropping of stone along the mountain’s face where they could shelter out of the sun. It did not provide any real protection, but back in a land they knew, the Orcs fear
ed little. Except for Gnak.
While he led Jen up to the outcropping Korx had discovered, he sought out the easiest route for her to escape. Putting some resistance on her shoulder, he slowed her, letting the others put some distance between them.
“Hear my words. When time, I make free. You go back through mountains. You hide. I come take home,” he whispered, to a responding nod.
Good, then the plan was made. Climbing the rise to the temporary camp site, Gnak sat Jen away from the other human and troll, and made a big show of binding her to a tree. There she was safe, out of the sun, and she had plenty of room to stretch out and rest if she could allow herself to. Removing the two bags he carried, he pulled open the supplies and rummaged around inside the pack. Pulling out what he now knew as bread and cheese, he began to prepare her a sandwich, another word he had learned, layering in a piece of the dried meat as well. She would need her energy. Handing her the meal, he sat the remainder of the water skin at her feet, to drink as she felt was necessary. Without a word he rose, and turned to find his fellow Orcs staring at him.
“Young humans dumb, no can feed self.”
Kank seemed to accept the explanation, turning back to securing his own human and kicked it twice for good measure. Not Korx, though. He seemed distrustful, and watched both Gnak and Jen like a cornered predator. Gnak knew Jen would not be safe with his rival alone and had no plans for resting himself. If he took the first watch, and the other Orcs went to sleep, he could free her and set his plan in motion.
“I watch first, you sleep,” Gnak told his fellows.
“I watch first too,” Korx replied.
Gnak gnashed his teeth, his jaw clenched to keep from cursing. Again Korx had thwarted him. It made sense, if considering both Catunga and Orc tradition, if two were awake, one could not kill the one that was sleeping as the other would see it as a cowardly action. Eliminating their rivals had to be done in a proud way. This prevented any of them from killing each other in this instance, as no two among them would work as allies. Or would they? Korx and Burl had been together. Had they met in the pass by chance as he had come to join them? The question made him even more paranoid. Not that it mattered. Now that he would never be alone with Jen, he had no chance of setting her free.
Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Page 147
