I stood beside Autumn and Brook, watching as our patriarch sent his weary gaze across the gathering.

“The orcs attacked yesterday unprovoked and without the logic and honor expected of them.” Rain continued. “Before we begin our discussion, I would invite Wind to give his account of the last few days.”

All eyes turned to the Vul’heli ranger who began his tale.

“I left to seek out the orcs as we decided, and found their camp some ten miles north of here. I watched them from a distance, and immediately sensed something off. They seemed… angry, fighting amongst themselves in fits of rage only to snap back to forceful silence as if someone had cracked a whip. There was no camaraderie: only the mechanical actions of sentient puppets pulling against their strings.

“In their bouts of anger I heard them speak about finding prey and of how the scouts spotted suspected elvenoids within the old Heli ruins. When they broke camp and began heading towards our own, I decided to try and lure them away. I showed myself - and dashed away through the trees. For an entire day they followed me like mindless beasts only to inexplicably change directions. By the time I realized, it was all I could do to chase them here. You all know the rest.”

Murmuring broke out only for Earth to raise her hand. We fell to silence.

“We took a prisoner in the scuffle yesterday.” She said, her face grim. “And while we got no coherent words from the orc, Fig, Carmen and I examined him thoroughly. Fig believes the mindless rage comes from the overuse of a rare herb known to increase strength at the cost of sanity. More importantly, we also believe these mindless creatures were under the control of someone else. Someone with some type of… marionette master path.”

I heard several sharp intakes of breath at this announcement.

“Given the actions of this group of orcs, Rain and I find it highly likely that they were the dregs of a larger horde, possibly an entire clan, tossed away after outliving their usefulness.”

“But why attack us?” Someone asked.

“I don’t know.” Earth said. “We may simply be victims of circumstance. It’s safe to assume that any information we have of the northern tribes may no longer apply.”

“We have laid out what we know, but now must decide how to respond.” Rain addressed us again. “Our options come down to this: We either tuck our tails between our legs and head south before the snows make travel impossible, or we stay here and fortify a new position against these unforeseen dangers.” Rain paused, his gaze sweeping across the circle. “If we leave, we return empty-handed and another tribe takes our place next year. If we stay we risk facing the might of an entire northern orc tribe. If the latter comes to pass, we will not win that fight.”

“What if we fortify ourselves on the plateau?” I heard one of the inscriptionists ask. “It would only take a few to defend the ramp against greater numbers.”

“That would work as long as their path levels are within range of ours like last night.” Wind answered. “If any are high enough, a ramp will mean little. It’s a risk.”

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I frowned at this. With hundreds of feet of sheer stone between the plateau and the forest below, I had a hard time believing that the orcs could endanger our position even with superior numbers and levels.

“What if we petitioned the council for soldiers and resources?” I asked the gathering. “Would they send more to help fortify our position?”

“We’re too isolated.” Rain said, dismissing my idea. “Even if Wind heads south alone, winter and the heavy snows will be upon us before help arrives. The council won’t risk sending more tribe members until after the spring mana floods.”

“That’s if they would at all.” Earth cut in. “The council can ill afford to send resources under the gaze of the States of Dorin or the Hazzen Empire. They would be more likely to request our return.”

“Do we have no allies who might help?” I asked.

“There is Kroll, but betraying our plans to another empire before our work has even begun is ill-advised. The council will not approve.”

I sighed. That sounded like politics. I hated politics.

“Do you not have the authority of acting matriarch to request aid from others during this expedition?” Autumn asked, speaking up beside me. “What is it you fear from the Kroll? What about our Shadowclaw tribe? Is our survival and success in this expedition less important than some political maneuvering?”

Earth gave Autumn a flat look. “The Kroll will act in their own self-interest, not ours. Their aid may cost more than the help they give. Moreover, I will not act against the council. Our Shadowclaw tribe is not strong enough to weather their wrath. Not anymore.”

At these words the circle broke into heated discussion that continued until Mara silenced the gathering with the loud metal gong of her ladle against the cauldron.

“We will postpone this discussion for a later time.” Rain said. “If we cannot guarantee aid, it cannot factor into whether we stay or leave. With the threat of the orcs and their proximity unknown, we must decide a course of action. I would like to call a vote.”

The gathering muttered and nodded.

“All those who would head south, raise your hands!” Rain called out.

Perhaps twenty of our number raised our hands, including me.

“All those who would stay, raise your hands!”

The rest of the tribe raised their hands as one.

“So it is decided!” Rain roared. “Pack what you can. Tomorrow we head for the plateau.”

*********

A pyre was built beside the river In the dark hours of the following morning and the corpses of the orcs were tossed upon it. The expedition gathered as Kar’ktar cast a spell and the base of the pyre flickered into flame. The flames grew and grew until they roared into the heavens and we retreated back from the heat. We watched in silence for the hour it took for the logs to burn low and the bodies to turn to ash. When the last flame turned to smoke, the first reds of the morning sunrise mixed with those of the Rift still looming just above the horizon.

An hour after that the entire expedition stood ready to move to the plateau. The great beasts were harnessed and stacked high with gear, while every one of us carried a pack that weighed down upon our shoulders. At Earth’s order we began the short march, our breaths frosting in the still morning air.

It hit me then how much I felt like I was just along for the ride, striving only to survive while I followed the expedition through this strange world. My agency seemed… fake. Like I was trapped in a prison while my future was directed by the whims of Earth and Rain. They meant well, or at least Rain did, but I needed to grasp that future with my own hands. I needed to be strong enough to stay with the expedition of my own volition and not because I was too weak to venture into the Heartwood. That would never happen if I spent all my days studying inscription with Wind and Wolf while gaining a pittance of experience. I needed to grasp that future and mold it into something uniquely mine.

I needed to take some risks. And not the get-murdered-by-orcs type of risk.

I glanced over to the splint on Autumn’s forearm and swallowed down a tinge of uncertainty. When Autumn healed, maybe I could convince her to join me in the ill-conceived plan taking shape in my mind.

When we reached the plateau, Rain realized the beasts wouldn’t make it over the broken ramp so we instead tied them to the trees down below and lugged everything up by hand. Rain and a few others marked out a grassy area nestled just inside the wall beside the ramp. Tent by tent the camp took shape. Mara scavenged blocks of the old wall for the fire pits in the center of camp, Kar’ktar set his anvil down next to the inscriptionist’s tent (much to their annoyance), and the command tent rose at the edge of the communal space.

Rain directed several expedition members to build a cistern of sorts by stacking stone bricks in a circle some five feet tall and ten feet wide. He then waved his hand and a pile of hardened dirt wedged itself into the spaces between the stones. I helped the others fill it with clean snow to melt into a source of fresh drinking water.

The expedition finished the bulk of camp setup by the time dusk fell and so we gathered for dinner in the new communal area where we ate ourselves near to bursting while whispering to each other about the days to come.