章節 32: The Mines
"It seems I missed half the fun?" Percy as he massaged the back of his neck, he had ridden nonstop since he was informed about the orc movement, when he reached Levale mont, Aedrik and Luka had already dealt with the orc group, he took a larger group of troops all cavalry, to reach them before they reached the iron mines,
"We are still missing the real fight, but yeah, you kind of did missed half of it" Luka admitted, he could not help but smiled at the frustration on his cousin, they were inside Luka's tent. It was late in the night, the strategy council had lasted too long, it was not easy to organize their troops, still it was a solid plan.
"I never thought the Auvernier's were like these, a nice addition for house Lunebleau territory" Percy added as he poured a glass of wine for them both.
"We have yet size the land, Percy" They had arrived at the Auverniers this morning, they were travelling at the foot of the main mountain, the rest of the Lunebleau reinforcements joined them at midday. Percy had taken over Beaumont's troops and so had Luka, Sir Remy had come with them.
"I don't think it will be that of a problem, had you looked at the number of soldiers outside the tent? The imperial army could be enough, but if you consider us and the orcs, we are a sight to behold" Luka hated to admit it, but it was true, his uncle Rowan had managed to gather every knight and chevalier, from their lands, and house Lunebleau had committed in full as well.
"Still, we have to be careful, taking the mines should not be a problem, the Storm's Fury response is the real threat, don't mess up tomorrow, we might everyman for the next fight" Luka had learned to trust Aedrik's information, the imperial scouts were good. He had already redeployed them to gather as much information as they could about their enemy, they were on track, but there was still no report on their exact number.
"Is it true what I've been hearing?" Percy dismissed his advice, as he asked with curiosity all over his face.
"What did you hear?"
"They say Aedrik took down an orc who was almost 2.8m tall with his fist" Luka could not understand how Percy was more interested in that, when Aedrik had managed to actually reach an alliance with not less than three tribes.
"It was a one sided fight, Aedrik was too fast and too better a fighter, as Sir Remy said at the joust, he is dangerous" Luka had seen the entire duel, he had truly been worried about Aedrik, but only before he started beating the living crap out of the orc. There was no doubt about his capabilities as a fighter but what truly impressed Luka had been his command. Aedrik was one of the four imperial Marshalls, they could take over command over any military force in the Empire, and he had seen why he was one "He is a great fighter and an incredible tactician, Loire did the right thing in allying with the Empire" Percy opened his eyes wide.
"That means a lot coming from you" Percy added, true, Luka was a good tactician, better than his father and Sir Remy, and much better than Percy, so his compliment meant a lot "What is your take on the orcs?"
That was the thing Aedrik had told them at the strategy meeting in Meury, they should consider the possibility of an alliance with an orc tribe, it would save them a lot of troubles in the future. Luka understood the idea, but like his father, he had serious questions regarding the possibility, but Aedrik had done it, right after he had painted the field with their blood. Aedrik had not only won the duel, but he had also been at the heart of the battle, half naked.
Luka did not understand orcs, perhaps it was the right moment, to offer the alliance right at that moment. The tribes he had spared certainly did not seem to have too much trouble with the result, some were even more eager to get back at the Storm's Fury tribe, that had eased Luka, if they dealt with their enemy, he had no doubt the orcs would honor the promise of an alliance.
The warring hill orcs were smaller than their glacial counterparts, their skin ranged from pale green to a deep black. Male orcs could reach 2.8m the smaller ones were around the 2m, females were shorter, the tallest reached 2.4m and the shortest around 1.8m. Luka had been surprised to be taller than a relative number of orcs.
"I think they are trust worthy, the Sleeping Thunder tribe did us a favor, it is a shame the Ruin Builders sent so few warriors, they could have reinforced the front lines" the orc main advantage was not their size or strength, but their resilience. Their skin was too tough like reinforced leather, they were difficult to bring down, and they recovered quickly from their wounds "Did you saw the thin ones?"
"What's the deal with them?"
"The Sleeping Thunder feared the Fire Eater shamans, so they had them starving. I am not surprised they decided to come and give the Storm's Fury tribe a piece of their mind" Luka had been surprised by the thin shamans, it shows how stupid the Sleeping Thunder tribe was, they had crippled their magic capabilities, because they feared a revolt.
"Why are there so many children?"
"Tribes travelled with their entire people, the Sleeping Thunder took advantage from most tribes, the Book Reader tribe in its entirety wants to see Storm's Fury bleed" Orcs had a lower birth rate than humans, their children grew faster, by twelve or thirteen they could be considered adults, and were almost at the maximum height. The ages of 12 to 14 were important for orcs, if they were not fed and exercised properly, they would not develop properly, their skin would not be though. This had been what Luka had learned in these days.
"Only the young a really old, will not fight, everyone else will. We should pay attention to them, we could use them as allies, or at least stablish friendly relationships with some tribes" These last days had been a cathartic experience for most of the humans, the orcs as well. Only the northern men were not fazed by the sudden closeness with the orcs. Percy's question surprised Luka, he would have asked the same had he not been travelling with them,
"This alliance is an incredible opportunity for both of us, if truly played right, we will forget about raids on our borders, I have talked with Aedrik about what possible lands we could be taking, I like his idea, the Beaumont territory will earn a lot of land and several key positions to create better defensive points, that way, if things go south, you will have a much concise border to defend" Luka had talked about it with Aedrik two days ago, and he liked the idea. They would still need to discuss with the orc tribes, but Aedrik believed they will most likely agree, as there was the space left by the now defunct tribes.
"I was not asking about that, but I do hope you and Aedrik are right about it" Luka tilted his head to the side as he looked at his cousin "What I meant was… I have never had a chance to truly check on female orcs before, I had seen them from time to time on the field, but never so close you know, they aren't half bad, don't you think" Luka was at a loss for words.
"Come now, Luka, have you seen the abs on some of them? I had always liked tall women, female orc has no trouble fulfilling that" Percy said grinning much to Luka's concerned.
"Your mother would skin you Percy"
"True, but be honest, some of them had alluring faces, even the ones with fangs, and there is that tribe which mostly has woman" Luka wanted to be somewhere else, he knew Percy could be dense, but this… truth be told, it had surprised him as well, still.
"You know Percy, you are right and you might have a better chance courting an orc, still don't get your hopes up, they tend to be picky, and if you fucked it up, it would not end well" Luka stopped as he pictured the idea "Forget what I said, I would love to see your ass handed by and orc, go ahead and try it, just keep it in your pants until we have dealt with the Storm's Fury turbe" Percy touched his chest as if Luka had wounded him, and both laughed.
"Honestly, having orcs as allies, I don't know what to make of it" Percy said as he took another drink of wine.
"The same way with the Empire does, treat them like anyone else, that is what Aedrik's being doing, and it works" Percy waited and nodded after a moment.
"Your brother-in-law is something, don't you think?" and that was an understatement, or so Luka believed "This information about the Storm's Fury tribe being the real culprits, how trustworthy is it?"
"More than 20 orcs were interrogated about it, they done it in the open, I have no doubt about the information. They were very thorough; we are certain about the information"
"Good, the death deserves their vengeance. We are still not sure about the leak of information from Loire?" Luka was surprised, Percy was not always so serious, but this was no small manner either.
"No, we don't, that is why we will have to take prisoners"
"It is not that simple to capture orcs"
"I had thought so as well, but Aedrik has a gift for dealing with orcs, we will have some"
"Well Luka, I am off to bed" Percy placed the empty cup of wine on the table.
"If you truly try something with an orc, do not do it with any of the leaders Percy, I saw how Raz was looking at you today, you may think you are his type, but don't end up fucking it" Luka said grinning at his cousin.
"Fuck you, Luka" Percy left the tent.
Luka needed to talk with Aedrik, he had noticed what Percy said, but once he said they would have to address the issue before something happened. The one virtue Percy had, was that he represented in many ways, the common thought any warrior or knight sometimes had, and if he was thinking about it, someone else was also considering the same idea.
He would talk with Aedrik in the morning. He was about the blow out the lantern on his tent when he heard loud noises outside. He grabbed the short sword near him and went outside.
Two men-at-arms were on guard outside his tent, a worried northerner came to address him.
"Lord Luka, prince Aedrik has requested your presence, he is at the orc encampment" there were still some shouts in the air, but Luka could not understand them, they came from the orc encampment indeed. He nodded at the northerners, and saw that Percy was also drawn by the noises.
"What is going on?" Percy asked as he followed Luka, they were heading for the orc encampment. Their tents were placed to a side, not so far from Aedrik's.
"I don't know Percy" they were walking fast, most of the camp, had already gone to sleep but many men had woken because of the noises. Luka saw there were some officials already moving about, calming the men, and ordering them to go back to sleep, the mines were still going to be taken in the morning.
As they were nearing the orc encampment, and passing Aedrik's tent, they saw several soldiers gathered, they were all armed and standing behind Aedrik, with him was Pan, and the mage commander. Almost all of the orc tribes had woken, many were armed, at the front were the leaders, Kirn, Raz, and Erkal trying to call the rest.
As they approached, Luka saw, there was an orc on the ground. He had his hands and legs tied and had been gagged. The noises would have probably come from him. When the soldiers saw them come, they let them trough and they went near Aedrik.
"What is going on?" Percy asked, looking with worried eyes, at the bound orc, and at the other orcs.
"Calm down, I will explain, what is going on, but I sent for you, so that we would not waste time" Aedrik began speaking. Luka noticed the bound orc was a member of the Fire Eaters, one of their shamans, Raz was upset, his fangs bared, Erkal was close to him, he was probably restraining him.
"This orc, here was found, sending a message spell to an unknown location. That is why he was captured, I will speak in orcish because, I want to be clear with our allies of what had happened, soldier Knute, please translate for Lord Luka and Percy, for me" as Aedrik finished, a soldier went near Luka and Percy, Aedrik turned to face the orcs.
"The shaman Sakgu, send a message spell a few moments ago. Mage commander Jivan has placed a trace spell in the entire camp, it would notify him if anyone send a message by spell" the orcs were upset when they heard that but Kirn and Erkal also saw the disturbed faces of Luka and Percy, when they were translated Aedrik's words.
"I did not tell you, because secrecy was the only weapon I had to see if there was a traitor among us"
"And who would keep your mage in check prince?" Shaman Raz almost spat those words
"I also had, advisor Pan, do a similar spell, for every one of our mages" this time it was the mage commander who was surprised, the man looked hurt as he heard the translation for soldier Knute "I understand your concern shaman Raz, but I would not risk anything on an alliance as the one we had, trust is too fragile" the shaman said nothing else.
"We sent several scouting parties to look for the Storm's Fury tribe, each one of those had a member of your tribes, and of our own, as you all know. A day ago, some of these scouting parties started reporting strange movements, from what I can gather, the Storm's Fury tribe found out we moved to take over the iron mines, it was too late for them to prevent us from taking it" Aedrik was calm, and he waited for acknowledgement of what he said by the orc leaders.
"As the reports made little sense to me, I sent another pair of scouts, I informed you all about them this morning, but I sent them out yesterday" the orcs grunted displeased, Percy was starting to get upset, Luka was just surprised.
"They already found two pairs of scouts dead, a third one is missing. They managed to spot several groups or orcs heading for the mines. Before you mistrust this information, I asked you to lend me a couple of your tribesmen, two help with some supplies. They also saw part of these group. With these reports I asked the mage commander and high advisor Pan, to place the tracking spells, a few minutes ago, shaman Sakgu sent a message spell" everyone of the orcs were looking at the bound shaman with rage and disgust.
"The Fire Eater tribe is an ally of the Empire, and as such, I ordered for him to be seized but not hurt. The Empire respects its allies, I had to explain our actions, but now I will for the Fire Eater tribe, to confirm what I've already told you, we need to know what he was doing" the Fire Eater tribe was at a loss, the rest of the orcs move apart from them, trust was a fragile thing. Aedrik waited patiently.
And old orc among the Fire Eater's stepped from the back to where Raz was "The Fire Eater tribe respects your actions, prince, as you said, we will make sure your words are true" Kirn frowned at the orc words, Erkal and the rest of the Ruin Builders kept to themselves.
Raz nodded at the old shaman, he went to grab Sakgu, Aedrik nodded, and the soldiers restraining the shaman let him go. Raz grabbed the shaman by his robe and him in front of the old shaman. Sakgu whirled around desperately, he was trying to say something, but not once did Raz turn to look at him, he tossed the shaman in front of the old orc.
The orc, kneeled in front of Sakgu, who stood still as his elder met his gaze "Look me in the eyes, Sakgu, tell me if what the prince claim is true" the old orc grabbed the head of the shaman, who was almost petrified his eyes locked on his elder "Did yoy sent a message?"
Aedrik saw there was a trace of magic coming from the old orc's hands a delicate trace that went into the restrained shaman eyes, after a minute of silence, the old orc closed his eyes, a tear ran on his face. The old orc jerked his hands away from the shaman horrified expression, his hands trembling.
"You will be telling everyone what you did, Sakgu, you are no longer of the Fire Eater tribe" the shaman eyes were bloodshot, he tried to struggle, but Raz was on top of him, his face a mask.
"Bring me a knife, this orc will spill what he knows" an orc of the Fire Eater tribe went inside a tent and brought a curved knife for Raz.
"I apologize for my words before, prince, and I also thank you for your sincerity, I spoke as Raz, before I did for the Fire Eaters, I owe you and apology, and the Fire Eaters have a debt with you" Raz gave Aedrik a small nod, Aedrik replied with a bow "I will ask for the chance of making this traitor speak, but I would ask for any truth stone, so his words can be confirmed"
"I have one with me" Aedrik, took one from his bag of holding, and an orc from the Fire Eaters went to receive it "Is there anything else you need"
"Bear witness, and ask any question you seem necessary, anyone who wishes can do so as well, this orc will talk. Grab him properly" a couple of Fire Eater orcs came to restrain Sakgu, who was desperately trying to move away from Raz, the orcs were not gentle with him.
Luka and Percy eyes went wind went they saw the knife the orc shaman Raz was holding, turned bright red as if it was being placed on fire. Sakgu was hurting himself as he tried to escape but the orcs held him still.
Raz got up from the orc, his companions made the traitor kneel in front of Raz, who started working on the traitor. The knife seared and cut the skin on the stomach, even though Sakgu was gagged his screams could not be dulled. There was no hesitation on Raz, he moved the knife slowly, the smell of burnt flesh filled the air, Luka and Percy were grimacing, the rest of the orcs did not flinch at the sight, they were dealing with a traitor.
"Why don't they ask something?" Percy said in a low voice to Luka, who like him did not understand.
"They are letting the orc know there is no way around this, they are showing him this is the beginning, they are preparing him, he will give them answers, or true pain will come" one of the northern soldiers answered in a low voice.
Raz had opened up Sakgu stomach with care, none of his organs were hurt "Traitor, that is what you are Sakgu, we will begin our questions, you will answer, then death will come for you. Bring me potions, so we can start asking" another orc of the Fire Eater tribe came and handed Raz a different looking healing potion. Raz began pouring the potion on the stomach, the skin started growing, overlapping, mending, once the gab had been close. Raz opened it up again, that is when he removed the gag from the orc mouth "Now you will answer Sakgu" that is when their interrogation began.
It took almost an hour, Sakgu told them everything. He had made a deal with the Storm's Fury, they would let him live, and they would hand him whatever orcs were left after they have dealt with the humans. They would hand him some men and make him an important shaman in their tribe. Sakgu disliked the humans, but he had done it because knew he could never surpass Raz, and he wanted more, he had betrayed them all for greed.
Raz had made sure the orc death was as slowly and painful as possible. There was a point were even some soldiers had looked away, Luka had as well, Percy endured it disgusted. Aedrik so the entire ordeal without flinching unmoved, so were the rest of the orcs, one of their own had betrayed them, sold them.
When Raz was done, what remained of Sakgu was a mass of gore, when he moved away, everyone's attention turned to Aedrik. From what they had learned, the Storm's Fury tribe was already marching for the mines, they would be upon them in a day, by nightfall, or the morning of the next day.
"We will take the mines as we have discussed, that has not changed. We have yet to confirm our enemy numbers, but we will have an estimate later once our scouts report back. Our original strategy has not changed, we will just have to do it faster. We will end the Storm's Fury tribe at the mines, rest, we march in four hours" that was all Aedrik said, the orcs nodded and went back to their tents. Raz spat at the gore mess of his former 'friend'. Luka and Percy went near Aedrik, so did the mage commander and Pan.
"We all need to get some rest, I am sorry mage commander, and to you Pan, it was my call as Marshall"
"By your orders, prince" the mage commander was too disturbed to say anything else, he gave a military salute, Pan just nodded.
"Luka, Percy, get some rest, we have to little time and a lot of work to do, we need to move fast once we have taken the mines" neither of them said anything else, they nodded, and everyone turned back to their tents.
"What do you want us to do with the body, Nord Stern" the soldier Knut asked looking at the bloody mess.
"A display, Knute, I am sorry but, could you handle it, have some of the man help you" Aedrik said to the soldier, and looked at what was left on the orc.
"Do not concern over it, I see it is done, which way would you reckon our enemies will come?" the soldier asked and Aedrik nodded.
"Southwest, they should be coming from there" with that Aedrik went back to his tent, and were the other soldiers, but Knute had picked two and they stood with him.
"Bring ropes, and wood, we have a scarecrow to build" and he spat at the bloody mess that lied on the floor.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票