It was a cold autumn day. Some may even say winter had already started.
The sky was clear of any clouds, and the sun was pleasantly shining on the land below. The birds' usual happy songs were nowhere to be found, as most of them had already migrated south, evading the harsh grasp of winter.
Contrary to the serene atmosphere, my heart was beating like never before.
I laid on the cold ground, covered by a thick coating of fallen leaves. The leaves were prickling my skin, and all I could do was try to not think about it.
These distractions were forgotten at the moment though, as all of my attention had shifted elsewhere.
I could see five small figures move about in the distance. And if I could, I would bet everything I owned on those five being goblins. My mortal enemies.
Due to my increased heart rate, my breathing grew quicker and louder. That was a problem, and I refocused all my efforts to calming down and staying as still as possible. Having my position discovered now could very well be deadly, and would most certainly ruin the plan.
I wasn't the only one hiding here, after all. Three more orcs, Thok being one of them, were concealed in a circular formation. We were positioned on the well worn path leading to the river bank. Based off of the footprints around the area, we deduced they come here every single day, most likely for water.
Five more orcs, archers, were concealed in the trees trees far behind us. They had to be in a standing position in order to fire an accurate shot, so having them closer was out of the picture. The goblins had great senses, and were not to be underestimated. The downside of this, obviously, was that the archers weren't guaranteed to hit a shot from that distance.
The group of goblins slowly started approaching our trap. They were carefree, chatting with eachother. They were barefoot and only wore a loincloth, so they had to be freezing.
Perhaps this was the reason that they started walking faster, to return to their warm home as fast as they could. Opposite to what we were expecting, however, was that they seemed to be quite well fed, at least for gobllin standards. Where were they getting all this food from? It didn't make any sense.
They strode past me, blissfully unaware. And the moment the first of the goblins walked past a huge oak tree, towering over the other ones, five arrows were shot.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Three of them hit, one of them ramming directly through the head of the first goblin. The other two arrows swished past, harmlessly embedding themselves into the dirt. Immidiately, we sprang into action.
The goblins barely had time to react as we attacked. Thok immediately impaled the goblin closest to him through the head, while his brother, Thak, finished off another one that already laid on the floor, a well aimed arrow sticking from his gut.
In a matter of seconds, only two were left alive. I saw the one closest to me about to yell for help, so I swiftly ended his life with a decisive thrust to the neck. The last one got skewered from two spears at the same time, dying a gruesome death.
We had achieved victory, yet no one cheered. These were living beings after all, and orcs were not so dumb as to think that every goblin was a crazy murder machine. Who knows, maybe a few of them were actually really nice.
That being said, the orcs still thought of themselves as better, superior beings, ones blessed by the gods. And yet, that didn't stop most of them to have at least a tiny bit of compassion towards them. Ordinary ones, at least, like these five lying dead on the ground. I don't think any orc has ever shed a tear over killing a goblin warrior. Those were a different story.
We hung their corpses on the trees. This was about sending a message.
----------------------------------------
That night, we held a party in the village, the first one in years. The chief decided he needed to raise the people's spirits. He even danced a bit himself, which took a lot out of him.
His health had been worsening, but he still wanted to look good in front of his people. I admired him for this, as the village needed a strong leader in these hard times.
We mostly drank, as food was still scarse.
We had a brewery in the village, which mostly produced Suu'tak, a strong liquor made from fermented fruits and honey.
The orcs didn't let their kids drink it, but more so because they found it annoying, than due to health concerns.
I never enjoyed drinking too much, so I went to find Mok instead of partying with the other hunters.
I found him near the fence, surrounded by children. He was waving his arms around, enthusiastically telling them about our most recent exploints.
'And then I fired the shot, and hit one of the monsters directly through the heart!' He yelled.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. He hit one of them directly in the toe. At least he didn't miss completely like two others.
I felt weird watching him tell these stories. Not even five years ago, Mok was one of the kids listening. He was always the most immersed one, and would believe anything they told him.
The kids dispersed, and I approached him.
'What are you doing, talking like you're a veteran, huh?' I said, slapping him on the back.
'Yeah, Yeah. Let me have my fun, Rak. Besides, at this pace, we will have more experience in fighting than half the fucking elders by the time we get to our coming of age ceremony!'
'Hah. Isn't that good news for you? I thought you wanted to become the greatest hunter that ever hunted?'
He chuckled. 'Maybe I should get a different goal. I, Mok the mighty, shall become the greatest fighter that ever fought!'
He held his arm up, spilling half his drink.
Well, he clearly had too much to drink. I decided to leave him be, though.
'I'm sure you will become just that.' I said with a thick coating of sarcasm. Not that he noticed, anyway.
He had a terrible hangover and puked all over me the very next day.