The night was coming to an end, dawn was breaking. The attack on the village was about to begin. The grunts surrounding her were getting restless, just like she was. The battle rage was upon them all. Growing until nothing could hold them back anymore.
Mexta was the only fury in this band of Orcs. The only female warrior. One might think that the grunts would disrespect her for not performing her honorable duty as a mother, but that wasn't the case at all. Being a fury would make her all the more desirable when the time came to lay down her axe. Grunts would fight each other to prove their strength and be chosen as her mate to produce strong and brave broodlings.
However, these thoughts were nowhere near Mexta's mind at the time. Her blood was boiling and she was ready to kill. The human's deserved it. They had attacked a small clan, whose grunts weren't even there at the time to protect the mothers and broods. Even if they had been, they weren't even warriors, like Mexta and her companions. They were just miners and blacksmiths.
The humans would have to pay. Just like they had attacked a small helpless settlement, Mexta and the grunts were going to attack a weak village. They knew that the men were only farmers and herdsmen. They weren't warriors, they couldn't fight.
Mexta and others had demanded that they just charge the village and slaughter all of them. Show the humans that Orcs should not be intimidated. Their elder had forbidden it however. Saying that that was not the Orc way. So they sent out a rider to send a message, a warning.
Most men and women will have probably left, abandoning their homes and valuables to save their lives. That was the human way. The way of cowardice. Whoever remained would be the few brave enough to face their death. It was a shame to have to kill such courageous warriors, but they were human after all. They deserved it.
Grodun, who was in charge of the attack, bellowed a guttural command and the grunts were on the move. They stormed out of the woods, over a field toward the village. Mexta was surprised to see that not only had the humans stayed to fight, but they were lead by a large man with an axe. He was shouting something, probably encouraging them and then they did something even more unexpected. They charged.
Mexta had never heard of such a thing. Who in their right mind would charge an oncoming company of Orcs. When Orcs fought each other that was the norm, but whenever the Orcs fought a different kind of being the defenders pulled back, scared off by the Orcs fearsome charge and their battlecries. These humans were courageous, she had to give them that much.
The two fronts crashed into each other. Men and Orcs alike screamed in pain and in glory. The human's were no warriors, they were ill-equipped, but the sharpened scythes, pitchforks and axes cut like any other weapon. And these human's were determined to not die without taking some Orcs with them. Even as the Orcs cut into the heart of their group, they stabbed and hacked, leaving bloodied, dead and dying grunts in their wake.
Mexta took off a human's arm with her axe and then his head. Another one came at her with a pitchfork. He jabbed it at her, trying to keep his distance, but she closed the gap and knocked his weapon aside, leaving her plenty of space for the kill. She looked around for her next victim and saw the giant man with his axe yelling in the midst of the fray.
He was encouraging his fellow humans, shouting obscenities at the Orcs. Mexta heard him shout something about his wife. That they had killed her and that they would pay. The battle whirled on around him. He fought one Orc and planted that big axe in his head. He tore the axe free and fended off a blow from another grunt. With a big swipe, his axe caved in the grunt's ribs.
As Mexta moved toward other human's blocked her way. She cut them down effortlessly. She wanted a real challenge. That beast of a man was to be her foe. But Grodun beat her to it. He was in charge, so she decided not to get involved. It would not have been honorable to fight two against one.
The man's axe clashed against Grodun's shield, one blow after the other. The grunt barely had time to lift his shield up again for the next blow. Mexta could tell that he would lose if he didn't go on the offensive. Finally, he managed to knock one of the giant's blows aside and he swung his sword in answer. The human wasn't only big and strong, but he was fast as well. He blocked the sword with the haft of his axe and the sword stuck. It was a very thick haft. The giant smiled and tore the sword out of Grodun's grasp. A few more strikes with the axe brought Grodun to the ground and a final blow crunched through the shield and into the grunt's chest.
All was silent. Not because, the Orcs were surprised to see their leader fall in battle, that could happen in any battle. It was silent, because the battle was over. Mexta had been focusing on their fight, trusting in her instincts to warn her of an attack, but nothing had come. All the human's were dead, except for the giant.
He looked around, dazed and exhausted. He was surrounded by Orcs. All of his friends and fellow human's were dead. He had led them into this battle and now he was all alone. He tore his axe out of Grodun's chest and shield and lifted it into the air. "I'm dead anyway." He shouted for all to hear. "Just tell me who came into our village yesterday and shot my wife. Who killed her? I want my vengeance. Only then will I stop fighting."
So that's why he was shouting about his wife. Mexta stepped up. The man raised his eyebrows. "You, a female?"
"No, I did not kill your wife." Mexta hated the human language. There was too much tongue clicking and many nasal sounds. The throat was barely used to distort sounds as it was common in the Orc tongue. But this human had proven strength and bravery, she was going to speak to him so that he would understand. "The grunt you just killed was the leader of this vengeful attack, for you humans killed many females and broods in one of our settlements by the mountains. You say you wanted vengeance, well we wanted it too. We've had ours and you yours. Grodun was the leader." She pointed at the grunt's dead body. "It was his duty to give the warning. He killed your wife."
The giant let his axe drop to the ground with a thump. "Good. I've had my vengeance. Then fulfill yours. You can kill me now. I'm done."
However, these thoughts were nowhere near Mexta's mind at the time. Her blood was boiling and she was ready to kill. The human's deserved it. They had attacked a small clan, whose grunts weren't even there at the time to protect the mothers and broods. Even if they had been, they weren't even warriors, like Mexta and her companions. They were just miners and blacksmiths.
The humans would have to pay. Just like they had attacked a small helpless settlement, Mexta and the grunts were going to attack a weak village. They knew that the men were only farmers and herdsmen. They weren't warriors, they couldn't fight.
Mexta and others had demanded that they just charge the village and slaughter all of them. Show the humans that Orcs should not be intimidated. Their elder had forbidden it however. Saying that that was not the Orc way. So they sent out a rider to send a message, a warning.
Most men and women will have probably left, abandoning their homes and valuables to save their lives. That was the human way. The way of cowardice. Whoever remained would be the few brave enough to face their death. It was a shame to have to kill such courageous warriors, but they were human after all. They deserved it.
Grodun, who was in charge of the attack, bellowed a guttural command and the grunts were on the move. They stormed out of the woods, over a field toward the village. Mexta was surprised to see that not only had the humans stayed to fight, but they were lead by a large man with an axe. He was shouting something, probably encouraging them and then they did something even more unexpected. They charged.
Mexta had never heard of such a thing. Who in their right mind would charge an oncoming company of Orcs. When Orcs fought each other that was the norm, but whenever the Orcs fought a different kind of being the defenders pulled back, scared off by the Orcs fearsome charge and their battlecries. These humans were courageous, she had to give them that much.
The two fronts crashed into each other. Men and Orcs alike screamed in pain and in glory. The human's were no warriors, they were ill-equipped, but the sharpened scythes, pitchforks and axes cut like any other weapon. And these human's were determined to not die without taking some Orcs with them. Even as the Orcs cut into the heart of their group, they stabbed and hacked, leaving bloodied, dead and dying grunts in their wake.
Mexta took off a human's arm with her axe and then his head. Another one came at her with a pitchfork. He jabbed it at her, trying to keep his distance, but she closed the gap and knocked his weapon aside, leaving her plenty of space for the kill. She looked around for her next victim and saw the giant man with his axe yelling in the midst of the fray.
He was encouraging his fellow humans, shouting obscenities at the Orcs. Mexta heard him shout something about his wife. That they had killed her and that they would pay. The battle whirled on around him. He fought one Orc and planted that big axe in his head. He tore the axe free and fended off a blow from another grunt. With a big swipe, his axe caved in the grunt's ribs.
As Mexta moved toward other human's blocked her way. She cut them down effortlessly. She wanted a real challenge. That beast of a man was to be her foe. But Grodun beat her to it. He was in charge, so she decided not to get involved. It would not have been honorable to fight two against one.
The man's axe clashed against Grodun's shield, one blow after the other. The grunt barely had time to lift his shield up again for the next blow. Mexta could tell that he would lose if he didn't go on the offensive. Finally, he managed to knock one of the giant's blows aside and he swung his sword in answer. The human wasn't only big and strong, but he was fast as well. He blocked the sword with the haft of his axe and the sword stuck. It was a very thick haft. The giant smiled and tore the sword out of Grodun's grasp. A few more strikes with the axe brought Grodun to the ground and a final blow crunched through the shield and into the grunt's chest.
All was silent. Not because, the Orcs were surprised to see their leader fall in battle, that could happen in any battle. It was silent, because the battle was over. Mexta had been focusing on their fight, trusting in her instincts to warn her of an attack, but nothing had come. All the human's were dead, except for the giant.
He looked around, dazed and exhausted. He was surrounded by Orcs. All of his friends and fellow human's were dead. He had led them into this battle and now he was all alone. He tore his axe out of Grodun's chest and shield and lifted it into the air. "I'm dead anyway." He shouted for all to hear. "Just tell me who came into our village yesterday and shot my wife. Who killed her? I want my vengeance. Only then will I stop fighting."
So that's why he was shouting about his wife. Mexta stepped up. The man raised his eyebrows. "You, a female?"
"No, I did not kill your wife." Mexta hated the human language. There was too much tongue clicking and many nasal sounds. The throat was barely used to distort sounds as it was common in the Orc tongue. But this human had proven strength and bravery, she was going to speak to him so that he would understand. "The grunt you just killed was the leader of this vengeful attack, for you humans killed many females and broods in one of our settlements by the mountains. You say you wanted vengeance, well we wanted it too. We've had ours and you yours. Grodun was the leader." She pointed at the grunt's dead body. "It was his duty to give the warning. He killed your wife."
The giant let his axe drop to the ground with a thump. "Good. I've had my vengeance. Then fulfill yours. You can kill me now. I'm done."
I had hoped that more people would comment and would try to save Big John. Alas, maybe it's too early and there just aren't enough readers that will comment yet.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it was the first try of many more to come in which you, the readers/minions, can influence the story. I hope you keep on reading and keep on commenting, so that the story can go on. ;)
Well. He's not dead yet. If he doesn't die, the question is what will happen with him? There's tons of interesting stuff there.
ReplyDeleteA few thoughts: "Mexta was the only fury in this band of Orcs. The only female warrior." - that second sentence, I would get rid of it. It's too on the nose. Explaining right away what it means is not only contrary to what came before ("broods" and "grunts" weren't explained, either, if I recall correctly), it's also unnecessary. Trust your readers, they'll figure it out.
Mexta's little speech at the end felt a bit forced, and also a bit wordy (vengeful is an odd word to use, but perhaps it's normal in the world you're building - for me, it felt off).
Also, did Grodun really kill Big John's wife? I'm unconvinced, really... Why does Big John simply accept it? It it a sense of honor about Mexta? Is it that Big John couldn't see anyone, even Orcs, lying to his face? Lots to wonder about. Good chapter.
Interesting points you make. I don't really want to make any changes to what I've posted now, maybe sometime in the future, but not yet. The point about the use of the word "fury" and its explanation is a good one. It's not necessary, I just added it while I was writing for clarification, but it reads more smoothly without. Thanks. ;)
DeleteI had some trouble with Mexta's wording at the end. Too bad you noticed. ^^' When I was writing it, it seemed alright. Not super, but alright. now when I look at it, I know what you mean with it feeling forced. Maybe that does deserve a correction. I'll think about that.
And to Grodun really being the rider who shot Marla, that could be a lie. My main thought was to add a little bit more of Orc culture/military customs. But I ended the post where I did on purpose. This way things may seem one way, but can later be explained as actually being something else. ;)
Thanks for the comments!
I'm sure Grodun didn't do the killing himself. He just gave the order... or am I thinking too much like a human? There's hope for Big John yet! Da bin ich aber mal gespannt. :)
ReplyDelete