It has been two years since my father's death.

The shaman passed away too, only the gods keeping him alive for as long as they did. Only months before his death Zharra realised that his time is limited, and started spending more time learning from him. I tried convincing her of doing this sooner many times, but she did not listen. She was just a child, after all.

The chief started growing weak as well. He put up a strong front as always, but I could tell he did not have much time left.

People grew wary, jumpy and aggressive. With more and more hunters dying, there was also less and less food. Even Ghor, who retired years ago, decided to help the hunters from time to time.

For me, however, this was a time of opportunity. The hunters were desperate for new members, and both Mok and I were only two years away from reaching adulthood. They had no other choice than to let us join.

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I sat on a boulder in front of the village gate, waiting for Thok and the others to return.

Although I made sure to appear confident and calm, I was very nervous at the moment. I could not afford to mess this up. The more I tried to convince myself this was going to work, the more I thought the opposite.

Here they come.

I heard the footsteps of orcs nearing the gate. I could tell they didn't catch anything again, as their pace was too quick and their steps too light.

I calmed my twitching leg, wiped my sweaty hands on the rock and cleared my throat, so that my voice does not betray me once I begin speaking. That would be terribly embarrasing.

'Hey, Thok! Mind if I talk to you about something?'

He turned his head towards me, acting confused. I'm sure he knew what this would be about.

'What's up?' He asked, while giving me a slap on the shoulder.

The orcs tended to initiate a lot of physical contact while conversing. Hugging, slapping and lightly punching one another were standard procedures for orcs, and I had to grow accustomed to this growing up. Orcs in the position of power, especially, tended to touch their underlings often while telling or ordering them one thing or another.

'Listen, Thok… I thought about this for quite a bit, and I think it's about time you let me join the hunter team. I'm as ready as I can be.'

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He wanted to protest, but I cut him off.

'I know I'm young, and by tradition only the adults hunt, but please be realistic. You need all the help you can get, and me and Mok are perfect candidates.'

'Haaaa.' He sighed and rubbed his temples.

'Maybe I can set you two up to work in the second team, but not the first. You won't convince me of that even if you bribe me, Raknar.'

I clenched my jaw. I did not like the way this was going.

'Do you mind explaining to me why not? People are going to die, Thok. I mean, look at yourself. You look five pounds lighter every time I see you. And putting us on the second team won't change anything. They have too many members already.'

I felt quite bad making Thok's day harder than it already was, but it had to be done.

'Please, just trust me on this.' I pleaded.

He laughed. 'Trust you? Are you kidding me?' He dropped his act.

'Listen. You're a great kid and I'm sure you would do well, but no oath would convince me that you wouldn't charge the goblins the second you saw them. I can't trust you, you understand me?'

My jaw started to hurt from how hard I was clenching it.

'I can't trust you, not after what they did to your father.'

I tried to calm myself down. For all he knew I was just a young orc seeking revenge. His point made sense, as much as I did not want it to.

'Listen to me. I managed to convince some of the second team members to join the first. That would make enough space in the second team for you and Mok. Well, if the chief agrees, anyway.'

He turned around and started jogging to catch up with his companions, to keep me from further

'Thanks.' I said, to nobody in particular.

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Both me and Mok ended up getting a spot on the second team, and I deeply regret how childishly I acted while talking to Thok. I apologised to him the next day, but he just brushed it off.

Right now, Brutta, an older hunter was telling us how things operated in their team.

She told us to follow her and try to remember the location of all the snares. Checking them for any small animals caught was a big part of the second team's job.

'Ay, look at this.' She said, and pointed at a nearby tree.

A circle was carved into the tree bark, with two straight lines running across it.

'Memorise how it looks. This rune means a snare is nearby. We usually carve these on multiple trees around the snares or other traps, so that we don't accidentally step in them or get lost.'

'Checking these will be you guys' job for now, as it is simple enough and hard to mess up. Just remember to reset any traps that catch anything.'

And with that, we were assigned our first real job. We were in charge of all of the traps on the eastern part of the second team's territory.

The territory was divided into the eastern, western and southern part, the last one being the most extensive. Only the southern part contained any larger animals, however it was difficult to traverse in due to the more mountanious terrain.

We quickly memorised the layout of the forest, and grew more efficient at the task. The process could be handled much faster, if not for the chief forbiding any one hunter to go out alone.

The forest here was terribly compact, so traversing through it was quite a hassle. Many bushes, shrubs, and other undergrowth dotted the ground beneath the trees, slowing anyone who dared to roam these woods, save for the narrow beaten paths of the hunters.

While trekking around the forest, I devised many plans on dealing with the goblins together with Mok. We thought of everything, from throwing dirt in their faces to blind them, to luring them close, acting like we were injured.

We were just talking of learning to effectively throw our spears as a suprise tactic, when the nearby bush rustled.

I slowly turned my head towards the unassuming bush, and squinted, trying to see what was hiding inside it.

Two yellow eyes peered back.