Rika stared at Kazok for a moment after his words before her eyes glanced over to the two darklings. “We need t~..” she started to whisper but stopped. His eyes went from the darklings to her yet he struggled for words himself.
Mara’s eyes widened and her breathing became faster “It’s him..”. All three pairs of eyes went to her.
Kazok spoke first “Are you sure?..”. She closed her eyes for a moment as a small breeze entered the red scaled tent. The torches and campfires outside flickered up for a mere second and the Wyvernhorns glow grew stronger with them as rain began to fall. Her mind was going far, blown away with the wind and through the pines to the oak. She couldn’t see but listen to rain, storm and fire and she knew they all answered her the same. It was not a word, not even a whisper, but a feeling. A scent, a memory. It was years of looking up in the cold, yet years of brewing in fury. She knew it was him.
Slowly the young shama opened her eyes again. Her breathing had become heavy but she nodded “I can feel his name in the wind…”
Scarred Kara’s eyes had widened and no matter how much the adults tried to talk around the fact, she knew very well who it was they were talking about. All the goblin fever’s fury was washed away as she slowly realised, there weren’t many paths to victory for them here.
Before she could bend her mind completely around it Kazok spoke it aloud “As long as they don’t come closer there is a chance..” he started, too tense to even snort “But if the tribe should learn that you are already followed then I~”
The tent's entry opened again and Chieftain Scale-Eye looked inside “We are waiting, druid.” he said before he realised the looks on everybody’s faces. He raised a brow “You really took a liking to them didn’t you, Grunt-Heart?”. Kazok tried to smile, and was relieved for a moment. They could still pretend it was merely his heart and not the enemy, yet that hope was shattered as a Wyverns wailing was carried across the pines. Scale-Eye looked to the sky outside, where the rain became stronger with the second, yet he didn’t seem to care. Taking his angry eye back in and to Kazok he asked with a dark angry tone “Where?”
The druid sighed and closed his eyes in defeat yet gave the demanded answer “Tha oak..”
Scale-Eye growled and went outside. Orders were barked and hunters gathered their weapons. Panic started to rise between the four orcs inside and Kazok saw that Rika was about to yell at her Chieftain outside. He held his arm before her in time and shook his head. She grunted with a hint of anger at him, but knew a druid was better suited to disagree with their chieftain. His eyes softened at her angry gaze yet he said nothing and went into the rain outside himself.
The rain had already turned the village's centre into mud, making Kazoks feed wet as he followed his Chieftain.
“Wait!” he barked, letting his voice echo over the village. To his surprise the hunters, including Blood-Beak did and gazed at him in disbelief while Scale-Eye slowly and angrily turned to him. He walked towards him quickly and took his arm. His eyes staring into the amber glow of Kazoks. “Don’t tell me you want their riders among us too!”
“I’m not a foo~..” he stopped himself and shook his head before he started anew “I might be a fool, but I won’t let our hunters die for my foolish hopes of peace!”
Scale-Eye continued to stare at him but waited for more of the druid's words.
“They are here, because of the two that I brought. Don’t let me watch while my mistakes take the lives of our brothers and sisters!”
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Scale-Eye planted a hand on Kazoks shoulder and came in closer before he spoke. “You are a fool..” he said with all the honesty in the world, yet there was a hint of a smile that was infectious to Kazok, letting him grunt with a grin. “But I won’t watch you run into a darklings axe because you are foolish enough to choose so.” Kazok sighed again and looked back at the tent where both Darkling girls and Rika stood. Quickly his eyes went back to Scale-Eye “Let us at least come along, maybe there is a chance maybe we can~”
His words were cut by another distant Wyvern wailing that was almost drowned by the rain.
Scale-Eye turned to the wailings direction before he gazed back at Kazok and spoke again “It’s your home druid. Who am I to say you can’t defend it?.”
Kazok snorted and signalled the darklings and Rika to come along. “But Blood-Beak and his group will come with you..”
Kazok turned back to Scale-Eye, about to protest further but the Chieftain continued “Who are we to not allow them to defend their home as well, right?”
There was nothing more to say and Kazok nodded. He looked up to Blood-Beak and knew they were ready to move as they mounted their wolves. Three hunters, enough for one wyvern, but this wasn’t about a hunt. It was about reaching the enemy first, and avoiding any bloodshed. Be it for the two darkling girls who missed the man they were hunting, or for his own clan to not shred any hopes of a distant peace. That was Rakkan’s wish during his final year. A wish that was shared by his daughter and Kazok would do anything to make it happen.
He walked back through the mud to his own approaching group while he felt the Tribes eyes on him. They all knew how much this night could change. Yet their gaze was cut short as Scale-Eye started to bark orders and they all went to gather their weapons to defend the village.
“What are we doing?” Rika asked as soon as they stood together in the rain. “What can we even do?” Kazok replied desperately.
Mara shook her head before she said with determination in her voice “I need to face him..maybe there is a heart remaining ins~” “I don’t want to fight him…” scared Kara whispered, her eyes wet. She looked down, trying to hide her tears in the rain.
Mara kneeled down next to her, making her pelt robe dirty in the mud and even heavier in the rain. “Neither do I…” she said and tried to smile at her niece.
“What if he just takes me back?..” Kara asked as she looked up, first to her aunt then the other two. “I know you all want to prevent a fight…and want to avoid Aru’Gal’s war…” she shrugged her shoulders “And I know that won’t happen if anyone dies..” The adults around her knew that there was no way to avoid the Khan and his war, yet she was right in her own way. If there was to be any hope of more darklings fleeing from Aru’Gal to the pines, this night had to end without a fight.
Mara struggled and looked down like her niece, and for the same reason. She could not speak, neither did either of the two greenskins, no matter how dire they were on time. “Let me at least speak to him…” Kara continued. Her aunt tried to gather words why she shouldn’t but was defeated as Kara added a pleading “Please…”
Meanwhile Kazok saw Blood-Beak and his two hunters start to ride into the pines. “We need to move, or someone will make a choice for us…” he grunted and the two darklings nodded. Rika gazed at the leaving hunters as well and made a sharp whistling sound, calling the fifth member of their party. Big Wolf Branak rushed down to her and after she ruffled his hair she mounted him.
While she spoke to Kazok, there were no emotions in her voice, a fact that made Kazoks heart drop. “Can you carry her?” she pointed to Mara “Branak already had the little one on his back, that might be easier in a fight..”
Mara raised a brow while Kazok just nodded. He hated what he had to do, but they were short on time. No more words were spoken and Rika got Kara on Branaks back before her while Kazok and Mara rushed for the gate. He seemed unnaturally fast and as they were almost there he threw his axe over to Rika. She caught it while he started to run on all fours. A few snorting sounds were heard as the hair on his skin grew a little more. Snortings that sounded more like pain than anything else. He shifted, shivered and turned as his muscles, hair and tusks grew. Finally he roared in a weird mixture of grunt and voice before he turned to face Mara. Still an orc, still green, yet far closer to the beasts they knew as attackers of the valley.
She stood there in shock for a moment, memories of such beasts attacking the valley, flooding her mind. But there was no time for doubts, and she jumped on his back. He grunted loudly and angrily, before they rushed into the pines.