rumbled. 'Listen to me when I tell you it is useless to strike too
soon. It may take years to happen but within your lifetime you shall
see a day of reckoning with your foe. For now you must simply prepare
and be patient.'
El-Vador
nodded submissively to let his father think that he would wait. All
the while the wheels in his mind turned, planning the downfall of his
foe.
When
Gurgash returned to their initial encampment with a message from his
commanding officer, he was impressed by just how much had been
altered since his departure. The wood he had previously complained
about cutting had genuinely been put to good use. There were several
buildings to house men and the fortifications were looking
impenetrable now.
Gurgash
was accompanied by Harg and two Goblin archers, apparently those upon
high didn't trust him to run a simple errand without getting in
trouble.
His
cousin pointed to wagons dotting the horizon, presumably more
supplies and forces to populate the land.
'Glad there's more bodies on the way,' said one of the Goblins. 'The
ranks are a bit too thin for my liking. Here's hoping there's plenty
of my brethren to stick these Elves with some arrows.'
Soon
they will have dug into these lands so deeply that no Elven counter
assault could remove them, assuming there would be one at all and
they hadn't broken the back of their main force as had been
suggested.
Sentries
at the gate of the encampment gave Gurgash and his comrades a careful
once-over before standing aside and letting them go in. That only
irritated the Orcs and Goblins. Gurgash wondered if the gate guards
feared they were Elven infiltrators in disguise. He laughed at the
idea of saboteurs painting themselves green in the hopes of blending
in.
The
commanding officer he was searching for was located in a temporary
barracks that would soon become the bones of a permanent stronghold.
The hall was well guarded, clearly these Orcs hadn't seen the
remnants of the Elves limp off after being defeated in battle.
The
inside of the barracks was lit by several braziers that hung from the
ceilings, the beds were in perfect alignment and there was a degree
of space that wouldn't have been seen in lesser constructions.
Gurgash
asked for the commanding officer and an Orc at the far end raised his
hand and called him over, apparently he wasn't so high and mighty not
to sleep in the same room as his fellow officers.
'What tidings do you bring, messenger?'
'I
have an urgent letter from my Commander, based in the first Elven
settlement we captured.' answered Gurgash.
'Ah yes.' The Commander smiled, baring a pair of large and crooked
fangs. 'Hand it over then soldier, let's see what it says that's so
urgent.'
Gurgash
handed over the parchment and patiently stood at attention as his
superior mused over whatever had been written there.
'Interesting,' the officer said as he finished reading. 'A most
interesting report. I shall write up a response soon, for now you can
depart with a verbal instruction for your Commander.'
Gurgash
listened on in confusion as the Commander spoke.
El-Vador
carefully picked up his quiver and bow. Experimentally he had coated
one arrow in the quiver with a spot of red ichor from the phial. He
needed to see exactly what this would do before destroying the Orcs
with it. If he could not slaughter Orcs, he would have to make do
with something else, anything else.
He
coursed into the woods near his home as if demons prowled his trail,
so that the Orcs would not be wary of his violation of their curfew.
He needed to find something living that he could loose this arrow
upon, perhaps one of the nearby farmsteads that the Orcs had been
building would provide an ample target for his initial foray.
Assuming that such things weren't already heavily guarded against
such terrorism.
In
the distance, El-Vador distinctly heard the sound of a tree come
crashing to the ground, something was out there cutting wood at this
late hour and it certainly wasn't
soon. It may take years to happen but within your lifetime you shall
see a day of reckoning with your foe. For now you must simply prepare
and be patient.'
El-Vador
nodded submissively to let his father think that he would wait. All
the while the wheels in his mind turned, planning the downfall of his
foe.
When
Gurgash returned to their initial encampment with a message from his
commanding officer, he was impressed by just how much had been
altered since his departure. The wood he had previously complained
about cutting had genuinely been put to good use. There were several
buildings to house men and the fortifications were looking
impenetrable now.
Gurgash
was accompanied by Harg and two Goblin archers, apparently those upon
high didn't trust him to run a simple errand without getting in
trouble.
His
cousin pointed to wagons dotting the horizon, presumably more
supplies and forces to populate the land.
'Glad there's more bodies on the way,' said one of the Goblins. 'The
ranks are a bit too thin for my liking. Here's hoping there's plenty
of my brethren to stick these Elves with some arrows.'
Soon
they will have dug into these lands so deeply that no Elven counter
assault could remove them, assuming there would be one at all and
they hadn't broken the back of their main force as had been
suggested.
Sentries
at the gate of the encampment gave Gurgash and his comrades a careful
once-over before standing aside and letting them go in. That only
irritated the Orcs and Goblins. Gurgash wondered if the gate guards
feared they were Elven infiltrators in disguise. He laughed at the
idea of saboteurs painting themselves green in the hopes of blending
in.
The
commanding officer he was searching for was located in a temporary
barracks that would soon become the bones of a permanent stronghold.
The hall was well guarded, clearly these Orcs hadn't seen the
remnants of the Elves limp off after being defeated in battle.
The
inside of the barracks was lit by several braziers that hung from the
ceilings, the beds were in perfect alignment and there was a degree
of space that wouldn't have been seen in lesser constructions.
Gurgash
asked for the commanding officer and an Orc at the far end raised his
hand and called him over, apparently he wasn't so high and mighty not
to sleep in the same room as his fellow officers.
'What tidings do you bring, messenger?'
'I
have an urgent letter from my Commander, based in the first Elven
settlement we captured.' answered Gurgash.
'Ah yes.' The Commander smiled, baring a pair of large and crooked
fangs. 'Hand it over then soldier, let's see what it says that's so
urgent.'
Gurgash
handed over the parchment and patiently stood at attention as his
superior mused over whatever had been written there.
'Interesting,' the officer said as he finished reading. 'A most
interesting report. I shall write up a response soon, for now you can
depart with a verbal instruction for your Commander.'
Gurgash
listened on in confusion as the Commander spoke.
El-Vador
carefully picked up his quiver and bow. Experimentally he had coated
one arrow in the quiver with a spot of red ichor from the phial. He
needed to see exactly what this would do before destroying the Orcs
with it. If he could not slaughter Orcs, he would have to make do
with something else, anything else.
He
coursed into the woods near his home as if demons prowled his trail,
so that the Orcs would not be wary of his violation of their curfew.
He needed to find something living that he could loose this arrow
upon, perhaps one of the nearby farmsteads that the Orcs had been
building would provide an ample target for his initial foray.
Assuming that such things weren't already heavily guarded against
such terrorism.
In
the distance, El-Vador distinctly heard the sound of a tree come
crashing to the ground, something was out there cutting wood at this
late hour and it certainly wasn't
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