Assured that all proceeded as planned, he climbed down from the pinnacle of his city. Down the steps that had been carved for him to crest the temple being carved from the highest peak in his realm. Here his people could call out to Ishanya and be heard. So close to the heavens, here their prayers were sometimes answered. Here, Gnak knew, is where his destiny led. He awaited the future with open arms.
* * * * *
Gnak arose feeling more refreshed than he had in weeks. With a grin he climbed from his bed and began strapping on his armor. He had not had a dream. No. It was entirely too real to be a simple dream. It was a vision. Such visions were sent from the gods and his was a good one. It meant that he was on the right path. He could almost taste his victory already. Jen would be happy to hear it.
Donning his armor, he strode from his tent as two of his captains quickly fell into step behind him. It was later than he had anticipated. Both moons were already far across the sky, marking it at near the middle of the night. He had slept much longer than he had planned, and it angered him. Though the fact that he had not been awoken said much about the time that had passed as he slept. As of yet the big chief had not come, but perhaps his elation was a tad premature.
From the northern edge of camp the alarm was sounded as Gnak turned and ran to the edge of their makeshift home, as figures began appearing upon the dune immediately outside camp. Gnak knew them to be Orcs, but with the moons bright in the sky and the stars behind the Orcs he could not see anything but their silhouettes against the backdrop. Down they came, bounding down the dune, their number appearing to be but a few. Then more silhouettes appeared atop the dune, and he realized all too soon that these other figures were not Orcs. Something was amiss.
Drawing his blades, his captains followed suit and together Gnak and half a dozen men rushed out to meet those first down the dune. Having been expecting retaliation for his treatment of the big chief’s Orcs, his clan rushed in behind them, and it seemed all were ready for a fight. All except those bounding down the hill.
Gnak watched as the Orcs came to an immediate stop, each of them raising their hands and calling out into the darkness, calling the name of the Gathos clan in greeting. Gathos. They were his own men. But that still did not account for the others.
“What this?” Gnak shouted, raising his hand to point at those still atop the dune.
“Goblin king take Gnak deal. Fix armor. Send goblins help bring armor,” one of the Orcs said. Gnak recognized it was one of his captains, and listened on as the Orc continued.
“Goblins come war too. Goblin king come with troops. Want talk Gnak. Goblin king think good, Gnak chief.”
Gnak could not help but smirk into the night. The goblins marched to war too. It was an interesting discovery, assuming of course that the big chief was not gathering his forces to attack the goblins. That could make the understanding he had with the goblin king much more difficult. But without such knowledge, he could not help but wonder how many troops the goblin king commanded. He knew the small man had a large city filled with goblins, but was clueless as to how many served as soldiers to their goblin leader. Deciding he was more or less happy, the goblin king had come, and just as he had promised, he would make the goblin welcome in his home. Even if it was only temporary.
Looking up to the top of the dune where the small contingent of goblins remained, Gnak shouted so that they might hear his words as well.
“Come, bring Gnak armor. Tell goblin king come. He talk Gnak. Goblins welcome Gnak camp.”
The gasps from his clan were audible, and though none spoke against his order, murmurs were plentiful and he knew and expected many of his clan to be hesitant to accept such a visit. Even so, he waited patiently along with his clan as the contingent of goblins pulled carts atop the dune and began to drag them down behind them.
Gnak watched as cart after cart topped the rise and began to descend in his direction. These were not the crude carts of his people. No. These had wide wheels wrapped in leather and did not dig into the sand as much. They were smaller, in proportion to the race that had created them, and each had a harness that strapped about the goblins’ waists and shoulders. Gnak recognized the harnesses from his vision. They were of the same make the giants had been using to haul giant slabs of stone in his vision.
Down they came, nearly two dozen carts of goblin design, each pulled by a pair of the small agile men. But it was the contents of the carts that had even the most skeptical members of his clan leaning nearer to see just what treasures they held. Piled high into the carts were stacks of plate armor, each piece identical to the one below. Gnak was impressed. He had hoped for, and asked for, the goblin king to have his many blacksmiths alter and repair the odd collection of armor his men had gathered, but instead the goblins had used the material to create entirely new pieces from the old. Gnak was excited, an odd feeling for an Orc, but even so he wondered just how many of his clan he would be able to outfit with the new armor. No sooner had he had that thought, than a cart of blades was rolled before him. He recognized the design, as it was the same as the ones he personally carried. The goblins too had reformed every blade brought to them, and recreated each to mimic the one the goblin king had seen him carry.
Raising a hand to silence those who spoke amongst his clan behind him, he watched and patiently waited as the goblins removed themselves from the harnesses.
“Good goblins, Gnak thank you. Go now. Bring you king. Tell king armor make Gnak proud. Proud know goblin king. Proud talk goblin king.”
The goblins, respecting his position of authority, each bowed slightly before they turned and fell into four ranks of twelve before they marched back up the hill. Even with so few, the goblins’ precision was impressive and Gnak was glad for it. His clan was witnessing the display, and now they would see with their own eyes how working together with such perfection inspired awe. It demanded respect. It instilled pride. Now it was time to address his people.
“Mighty Gathos, good goblins bring us gift. No touch gift. Gathos wait, goblin king come. Goblin king bring people. Goblin king good. Goblins good. No kill goblin king people. Yes?” Gnak began.
Heads bobbed here and there, and were punctuated by many a grunt of approval. Patience was not a strong trait among Orcs, but they were beginning to trust his ways. Setting off across the camp he motioned for his newly returned captains and Bota to follow. Within minutes he was back in his tent and hearing the details of their trip. Within an hour he knew all that was needed to know, and he sat patiently listening to their tale.
It seemed they had reached the pass through the mountains without incident, but found the southern mouth cleared of all useful materials, except of course the many pouches stuffed with goblin currency he had hidden there weeks ago. Traveling through the pass they found it still empty, the great carcasses of the giants nearly picked clean by flocks of large black birds. Fortunately the northern mouth of the pass was another story.
The Orcs told him that they had found all they could carry with their large carts and still left much behind. They gathered all they could carry and struck out for the city of the goblin king immediately. Without time to rest, they had hauled the equipment day and night until they reached the city of the goblins and, once there, they were met amongst the dunes by a scouting patrol. They surrendered themselves and their wares to the goblins, telling them what Gnak had ordered them to.
Brought to the city, they were met by the goblin king who was happy to receive them. He fed the Orcs, allowed them rest, and set his armorers and blacksmiths to task as he prepared his own troops to march. For three days and two nights the goblins’ forges blazed heat, and thousands of hammers clanged steel relentlessly until the job was complete. Returning, the Orcs marched with the goblin king and his small army, detaching themselves the previous day to rush ahead and announce his coming. He would arrive near morning.
Gnak took in all the information as it was given. He rested quietly for several minutes, thinking to himsel
f. Planning. Then he spoke, giving his orders to Bota, who could then delegate them to whomever he wished to carry them out.
“Go count clan. Gnak want know number. Send hunt. Big hunt. Goblins come, we feed. Give honor goblin king.”
Dismissing them from his tent, Gnak followed them out and watched as they dispersed to carry out his orders. Turning, he strode between the tents back the way he had come earlier, and reaching the southern edge of the camp he looked upon the carts of weapons and armor. A guard had been set to protect the armor from outsiders who might be looking on from the dunes beyond. Gnak had no doubt they were there, watching his clan’s every move. But he did not care. Let them watch.
Striding among the carts he found that they were all similarly filled, and reaching within one he pulled from it a blackened iron breastplate. It was not an overly ornate thing, but neither was it plain. Shaped in the form of the Orc body, it lacked the definition of muscles and such, but was thick and solid. The edges were turned up and rolled, to make them smooth. Leather straps clung to the plate from behind and attached to them a simple back plate had been created with built in slots to hold the newly formed blades. Though the design was simple, it allowed a wearer to easily slide it over their head, pull the straps tight to secure it, and they were ready.
Turning the piece back over once more, he touched his finger to the design etched upon the blackened metal, tracing the image. It was a large skull that wore an immense crown. Standing within the crown was an Orc, with chains in his fists. The goblins had made Gnak the very image his clan would wear. Orcish pride demanded that Gnak approve, and so he did… with a large tusky grin.
Replacing the piece into the cart he turned and strode away. A king was coming to visit him. A king he had been working to emulate. He would prepare as best as he was able.
CHAPTER SEVEN
With the morning came the goblin king, though naught announced his arrival but the drumming of hooves and eerie song that carried over the dunes from the south. With light breaking the horizon, the sky transitioned from black to purple and then finally blue as the sun rose, streaking beams of yellow and white light through the clouds. After another hour, war drums could be heard, beating in rhythm with the song. Climbing the nearest dune, Gnak and Bota both looked out across the desert and watched the goblins come.
Though he had received the count of how many Orcs he commanded sometime in the middle of the night and found it impressive, the force that marched with the goblin leader dwarfed his by more than ten times. Gnak’s nearly five hundred seemed quite small by comparison. Even so, his many hunters were still returning with whatever animals they could gather to feed the goblin horde. The feast would range from everything from bear to wild boar, and even several dozen of the small foxes they had hunted days before.
Over the dunes the procession came, near four thousand foot troops accompanied by almost another thousand goblins mounted on domesticated boars. Louder and louder they grew, until at last Gnak could make words out of their dark and foreboding song, and listening he began to piece it all together, only to find himself astonished.
Once was an Orc, a mighty Orc.
who traveled across the sand.
Defying the desert and his race,
he came with gold in hand.
To the goblin king he came,
with plans to lead his kind,
Capture a giant from the sand,
was what he had in mind.
With the goblin king his friend,
together a giant they bound.
The Orc Gnak, with message to send,
rode the king of giants, once crowned.
Return to his home, the Orc did go,
and slay the giant by right,
Sworn to a god Orcs did not know,
he was blessed by the goddess that night.
A mighty Orc, could raise the dead,
some say it was beyond belief,
But again he returned, and removing his head,
he slayed his father the chief.
Now called to war, the new chief strode,
with his clan to go and fight.
And to his side a goblin king rode,
to join together their might.
Gnak it seemed, the mightiest chief,
would claim the Orkin throne,
In him the goblin king had belief,
having had a vision of his own.
So on the goblin forces marched,
to join with the Orkin clan.
To drink some blood, their throats quite parched,
and help Chief Gnak with his plan.
On and on the goblins repeated the tune, growing louder and louder by the minute. Gnak listened time and again, his head not believing his ears. He watched as the mounted contingent broke away from the rest of the goblin horde and split into two, the mounted goblins circled out in both directions, both east and west, vanishing among the dunes as the main force stayed true.
Gnak was filled with so many questions he found it hard to focus, and instinctively reached within himself to find Jen. With her presence soothing him, he stood atop the dune until the goblins finally arrived. When they did, he was again surprised.
Marching to within feet of him the goblin army halted, both their song and drumming ceasing. To the fore of the goblins came a man he recognized, carried across the sand in a two-wheeled cart pulled by a pair of the trained boars. Standing tall, Gnak watched the goblin king come. He was a small man with the same ruddy green skin of his kind, striped through with browns and blacks. He was not overly large, not even for a goblin, yet he was impressive.
With a golden crown upon his head and golden barbs through his ears, he was covered in baubles that many races found to have value. He wore odd armor, that resembled the layered feathers of birds, only each feather was gold and silver. In one hand he held a goblin blade, though his was a fine creation encrusted with sparkling stones in various hues. In the other he held a scepter similarly encrusted. But the display of goblin wealth meant little to Gnak. It was the goblin’s eyes that made him impressive. The intelligence and cunning that shone there were not hidden well by the smile the king gave. No. The goblin king did not mean him harm, but it was obvious he was not a man to cross. No matter how small his stature.
Approaching the small king, Gnak was caught off guard when the goblin leader stepped from his chariot and knelt before him in the sand. Every single goblin echoed their leader’s move, and not knowing what to do in return, Gnak nodded, lowering his own head in respect to the king. Gnak watched the goblin king rise and appraise him, before the small man talked.
“My friend, Gnak. We haves much to discuss,” said the goblin king with a toothy grin.
“Come. Goblins make camp,” Gnak replied turning to point back down the dune behind him. “Have food. Goblins eat. Get rest. We talk.”
Having invited his ally to join their camp, Gnak turned and walked across the sand with the small king. He watched the man at his side as the goblin raised a hand and gestured with his fingers as goblins behind them began shouting orders. Down the side of the dune they walked, Gnak taking smaller strides than was natural, allowing the smaller man to keep pace. It was not until they approached the base of the dune, with all the Orcish clan having come out to witness the arrival of the goblins, that the goblin king began speaking again.
“Me sees you gots the armors,” he said gesturing to the heavily laden carts still unpacked at the edge of camp.
“Yes. Gnak think is good. Gnak thank goblin king for armor. Gnak no understand why goblins come. Want know what goblin music say. What goblin king vision?” Gnak said, voicing his concerns aloud.
“Yes, we talks all this in private. I tells you what me sees in vision. What me thinks it means.”
And with that the two walked into the Orc camp. Gnak paused only momentarily to instruct Bota to have the Orcs help the goblins in striking camp, and extending it in the way the Orcs had begun. He also gave the order to see to it
that as many Orcs as possible were armed and armored with the new equipment. Before even walking away, Bota was delegating to the captains their own sections of the camp in which to lead the Orcs in assisting their apparent new allies.
Before Gnak and the goblin king could make it through the camp to his tent, the mounted goblins rode in, both contingents becoming one as they closed in upon the north side of the camp, opposite where they had begun. Gnak watched out between the tents as the goblins dismounted, and working together they dragged to the edge of the camp several Orcs bound by ropes.
One of the goblin’s apparent captains came running down the isle of tents, and dropping to a knee before his king he spoke.
“We catches spies. We brings them. Whats we do with them?”
The goblin king did not even respond, instead turning to Gnak for an answer.
“Keep tie. Hold spies. Gnak talk goblin king first.”
Up the goblin sprang before sprinting back the way he had come. Shouting orders, the goblin pointed towards the sand outside of camp and within seconds poles were being driven down into the sand, the prisoners being dragged up to them and lashed round and round their bodies, holding them still. Gnak admired their efficiency.
Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Page 157
