Savage by Robyn Wideman Page A

decisions and had done the studies. Her comment about pretending to be a big dumb orc was humorous but true. For whatever reason, humans tended to think of orcs as more beast than man. When the reality was that most orcs were as intelligent as humans and in most cases better educated. Instead of fighting the stereotypes, Bazur used them to his advantage. That Kyra saw through his charade was amusing and not unexpected. She was too sharp to be fooled by anyone, even him. “Where did the attacks happen?” asked Bazur.
    Kayla took out a map Prince Valentine had with his notes. She pointed out all the attacks. Most of the attacks in the badlands had been against caravans. Draisha gained much of its wealth from trading with other kingdoms, and caravans were frequently used when crossing the badlands to reach Azmarin and the orc province of Irri. Bazur studied the map and the pattern of the attacks. “Your notes are missing an attack. There was another attack last week. Here.”  Bazur pointed to a spot on the map that was very close to where two of the other attacks had happened. “I was there for the attack. The bandits were extremely well prepared and organized. They fought well, but their fighting skills weren’t elite enough to make them so successful. I suspect their previous successes had more to do with the quality of planning than the warriors used.”
    “Did the caravan survive the attack?”
    “Yes. The bandits weren’t expecting another warrior outside of the royal guards to be involved. It tilted the battle in our favor. The royal guards suffered heavy losses on the initial attack, but the caravan and all its good were unmolested.”
    “How fortunate for the caravan and for us that you were there. So you believe that the bandits were common, but their leadership was extraordinary?”
    Bazur thought about it. That was exactly what he thought. “Yes. The tactics were precise. Someone with combat experience planned out the attacks. It was only when the time for adjustments came that the bandits failed.”
    “I don’t suppose you killed them all.”
    “No, many escaped, and I doubt whoever organized them was among them. If he was, he was watching from a distance and not actively organizing their attack.”
    “Damn, it would’ve been nice if you’d solved this issue without even knowing it. Well, if you did do serious damage to the bandit’s numbers, I doubt they will be staging any more large-scale attacks anytime soon. We should focus our efforts on Draisha for now. Someone in Draisha knows something.”
    Bazur noted how she continued to use the term ‘we’ instead of ‘I.’ She was assuming he would agree to join her, or she was intentionally speaking like that to make him feel like he was already part of her investigation. Regardless of why she said it, Bazur had not yet decided. He liked Kyra, she was the most interesting woman he’d ever met and she didn’t treat him as a freak as many human women did, but going to Draisha was not something he wanted to do. He was accustomed to being alone with occasional visits to Pera. Draisha was a seas of people compared to Pera. A sea that he might drown in.
    With the light in the cave starting to fade as the evening sun slid away, Kyra put the notes and map away. “That is enough thinking for one night. It is time for sleep, we have a long journey tomorrow. Where can I sleep?”
    “Just a minute.” Bazur got up and went to the back of his cave and grabbed a large bear skin. He placed it on the opposite side of the cave from his sleeping spot. “If that is not comfortable enough, there are more skins in the back. Help yourself.”
    “I’ve slept in far worse places. The bear skin will be fine.”
    Bazur went to his own bed and undressed. Normally, Bazur had no problems getting to sleep. However, he normally didn’t have a beautiful woman sleeping on the opposite side of the cave. It had been a long time since Bazur had shared his bed with a woman and