Anku grimaced, pointing ahead Patrol, He grunted, raising his fist.
Patrol, the word was whispered up and down the train, a tense echo. Slowly, the wagons, each covered with the markings of a thousand different Entsav, shuddered to a halt. Multicolored Kayve fluttered in the wind, and horses shuffled in place, whinnying in protest. Slowly, silence fell, as the last crying baby was hushed by anxious mothers.
This was not the first patrol the caravan had encountered since leaving the refugee camps in the south, nor, likely, would it be the last. And yet, the tension in the air could have been cut and served as a filling meal.
Ankus large frame and dark, almost black skin, marked him as an orc of the mountains of the east, was useful when dealing with brigands, but served the opposite effect when faced with the forces of law. He slouched trying to hide his width.
Neki rode up from the middle of the column, where she had been training a group of brats in archery. Her bowed legs and curved talons, a mark of the tribes of the Ganto crags, a land long lost to her ancestors, were ideal for clambering over treacherous cliff faces, but clung awkwardly to stirrups designed for human and elven feet.
Her face was smooth, small incisors peaking up over the lips at the edge of her mouth. Anku had often thought that she must have some human, or even elven blood in her, though had never dared to ask.
How many? She asked.
Seven, eight. No more than ten.
We can take them.
Neki... Anku sighed.
If we need to. She added, a small smirk playing on her lips before vanishing. She looked back at the caravan, at the worried faces peering from behind curtained windows.
Anku nodded. It wont come to that.
Slowly, a group of armored men cantered to a halt before the caravan.The leaders face was hidden by the beaten metal helmet, and his hand rested lightly on the pommel of his sword. The purple orchid of the Thelmar shone on his chest, proud, for the scratchmarks marring its shape.
Hold, Orc He growled, glaring into Ankus face.
We mean you no harm, Neki answered. We simply seek our home. We have no desires to settle in the lands of Thelmar.
There are many of you, and few of us. Our lords are nervous, and we are too. Our wives and children live here.
Neki growled And there are our children behind us. Let us pass, and we will be gone.
The guardsman pulled his helmet off, revealing a greying head of shaggy red hair. A scar cut across his face. He glared at Neki, hand tense on his sword.
Maybe you travel in good faith, I do not know. But you are not the first orcs Ive met. He paused meaningfully.
Neki snarled, tensing to spur her horse, sword half drawn. Anku reached over, his long limbs easily spacing the gap between his perch on the lead wagon and her horse. Peace. He rumbled.
The guardsman nodded, before speaking in the tongue of the orcs
That man who has lost his father, we call an orphan
That woman who has lost her man, we call a widow
But what name is there when home is lost?
No name, for that is who we all are.
Anku answered, surprise in his tone. I did not know the tongues of men could shape the words of orcs, let alone the old psalms he continued.
The guardsman nodded again. You are not the first orcs Ive met, He said again. I rode with the Bosnauk, once upon a time. Nor are you the first caravan Ive come across. You seek Usguthundar?
Anku nodded. Itll be a home for our people. Hundreds of Entsav are gone, and so many more remain only in the memories of the elders. Our people are dieing.
I am Eren, Mendicant of Thelmar. The captain said. We will ride with you north, until the border. I hope you find what you are looking for in the north.
Big thanks to Tolni for doing most of this!
