DORULL SAGA - SWAMP OF DEATH
----------------------------------------------------
The mere sight of a terrifying shaman, was enough for even those hard headed, stubborn orcs to join in cheering for the new king. It wasn’t long before the news spread throughout the entire fort. Feeling of disbelief was ever so present, showing even when the half-orc arrived in the royal hall. Even when he sat on the throne, wearing the crown.
Everyone was requesting the reception. They all wanted to see him with
their own eyes. Grodish hated it, but was obliged to follow the procedure, per
shaman’s strict instructions. It was customary, and half-orc knew he had to
play his part. Because at the end, the reward was more than enough reason to do
everything he was expected to.
For almost
a full hour, Grodish received over a thousand orcs, willing to congratulate, or
wish him well. Few of them even went as far as wishing for a long reign. Some
were just curious to see who this young warrior was. Who managed to
triumph over their king? Was it a ruse? Was he really that powerful? Grodish
knew, all of them came to decide whether he’s worthy or not. Perhaps even
thinking of issuing a challenge themselves. But seeing this enormous half-orc,
convinced them immediately, there was no fluke in his victory.
To his
right, sat Roshnak. He too was the cause of much interest. Probably even more.
Shaman’s legend was known to probably every living orc. Presumed to be dead for
quite some time, but he was here and now, in Zhinnaeg. Truly surprising, jaw dropping
event for most of them, and quite an honor. Seeing this, Grodish had a bit of a
regret, not asking more about the old shaman’s life. Not that he didn’t. Truth
was, Roshnak always avoided talking about it. He was hiding something from him,
but what? And why?
Half-orc
also noticed a distinct change in every single orc demeanor towards him. This
was surely a shaman’s doing. He wasn’t expecting to be accepted this fast, if
ever. Every orc he trusted, bar Roshnak, was dead. Others were chasing him
away, or were simply avoiding him. They hated his mixed blood, and everything
it represented. So, how could he now believe these, who were bowing before his
feet. Grodish was yet to understand that by defeating the king, he had gained
the respect.
It was
their first rule, their code of honor. With the defeat of Broolg, half-orc not
only gained his crown and throne. Not only the ruling of Zhinnaeg and its
armies. He earned all of his titles, feats and accomplishments, and all of
those that came before him. So will someone, someday, inherit the Grodish’s, by
beating him in the duel.
Broolg’s
name will never be mentioned again. Former king will be buried with all of the
honors. His weapons will be presented on the walls of the royal hall. His
legend will be written and stored in archives for all the generations to come.
Orcs respected their kings equally, and because of that, Grodish could finally
loosen a bit. He felt accepted. A strange feeling for him. For just a second,
it turned his mind off the task, as he decided to try and enjoy this, for at
least a couple of days.
Several
hours later, the reception ended. Roshnak and Grodish could now head towards
their chambers. Followed by a couple of half naked maids, they ventured through
the long, straight corridor. Almost half of the town was dug and carved into
the rocks. Grandiose undertaking, that must have lasted at least several
decades. Seeing how deep underneath the mountain, the town stretched, Grodish
realized why Zhinnaeg was renowned to be unconquerable.
They stopped
in front of double, wooden, heavy doors, reinforced with iron spikes. Couple of
large rooms, connected by small hallways, led into a commanding chamber. A
place only highest ranking orcs had a privilege of entering in. They were in
the exact center of the complex. Behind the large stone table, sat three older,
frowned orcs. They were drinking some alcoholic beverages, and drinking a lot
of it. Sudden arrival of a shaman and the new king, made the old orcs jump, as if
they were caught in some wrongdoings. Grodish smiled, albeit he wasn’t trying
to provoke them, far from that. And by their apparently angered faces, he knew
the tribal elders didn’t miss his imprudence.
“Forgive
my boy.” Roshnak said fast, sitting at the table “Just like every other young lad,
he will learn from the lack of experience.”
“It wasn’t
my intention to offend you.” Grodish coughed, “I’m hoping we could help each
other in making this magnificent town even stronger.”
“Certainly
my king. But first, let me introduce us.” large, old orc bowed before Grodish
“My name is Wallug, head of the elder council of Zhinnaeg. This is Snikork.” he
pointed his finger at the thin, slender orc “He is my procurator, and
also the mercantile steward.”
“In truth,
I oversee only a couple of caravans per year coming from Chaygor.” Snikork
said frankly “I wish it was a real trade.”
“Who says
we couldn’t become competitors to those human cities.” led by shamans
instructions, Grodish knew exactly what to say “We let them have the control of
this area for far too long. And because of that, they became too greedy. Just
look at what happened with goblin town, when they went to return that small
shipment of ore.”
“But what
could we do?” Snikork asked “Where should we start?”
“We don’t
own any mines.” Walug said “Besides, orcs are not miners.”
“Then
we’ll find one.” Grodish retorted “We’ll learn to mine.”
“And we
need to do it fast, before humans decide to turn their eyes on us. Before they
stop us in our intentions to grow.” Roshnak added “Before we are to share the
goblin’s fate.”
“I was in
the hall, when you tried to reason with Broolg.” Uggut whispered “He was wrong
not to trust you.”
“If the
threat is real, we do need to act fast.” Snikork added “What are the spirits
saying, Uggut?”
Tribal
sorcerer, sitting aside, suddenly jumped from his chair. With his right hand,
he tossed several, small, animal bones on the table. At the same time he took a
handful of brown powder with his left, from a small, leather bag. Cloud of
reddish smoke rose over their heads, as he tossed the powder. Sorcerer closed
his eyes, raising his hands in the air. His body began to shake violently. It
seemed as if he was trying to make contact with something, but Roshnak couldn’t
feel any flow of energy. Uggut, the tribal sorcerer, was a fraud.
“Spirits
of kings are among us.” he looked around the chamber, with it trying to
acknowledge their presence “Bond between our two worlds is strong. They are
ready to answer your questions.”
“How
serious is human threat?” Wallug asked silently “What are we to do?”
“Men from
the south bring darkness and destruction.” the sorcerer's entire body shook, as he was trying to seem possessed. “Their greed has no end. Humans must be stopped.”
“How are
we to do that?” Snikork looked at the sorcerer with awe.
Roshnak
was proficient with similar rituals. Knowing Uggut wasn’t receiving any kind of
energy stream, but still acting as he did and in the process doing them a
favor, intrigued the shaman. Uggut could’ve easily messed with their plans, but
was surprisingly helpful. And there was something else, Roshnak noticed it
immediately. Uggut used the real chants, he moved in a certain way. He knew of
things only the true wielders of magical powers could. Where did he learn that?
And why was he not actually using his powers?
“Spirits
can not answer to that question.'' The sorcerer looked completely exhausted
“I’m losing them… I can’t…I…”
His body
jerked violently once more, making him yell and scream some strange, inarticulate
sounds. Two tribal elders moved a couple of steps back, terrified for their
lives. Suddenly, Uggut fell to the ground. His body calmed down. He was weeping
silently.
“Let me
help you my friend.” Roshnak moved towards the sorcerer, but he was already up
on his feet.
“No need,
I’ll soon be quite fine.” Uggut brushed off the dirt from his tunic “Talking
with spirits, weakens my body only temporarily.”
“You are
very powerful.” Roshnak faked amazement “Similar rituals usually keep me in
sleep for more than two days.”
“Uggut’s
magic is very strong.” Waalug cheerfully said, tapping his shoulder “He surely
deserves some rest now. So I suggest we continue this meeting in the morning.”
Roshnak
nodded, but was still looking straight at the sorcerer. He had to know why he
was helping them.
“It would
be an honor, if Uggut would join me in the meditation.” Roshnak said.
“That’s a
terrific idea.” Wallug clapped, missing the sorcerer’s hateful look “Good night
my king.”
Grodish
nodded back, he couldn’t wait enough for the elders to leave. He had so many
questions for Roshnak. But the shaman invited Uggut to stay, perhaps wittingly,
thus avoiding the young half-orc’s questions. To his enormous surprise, Roshnak
grabbed Uggut’s neck, lifting him up in the air with no effort at all. Nothing
told him, this was going to happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment