HSASWT Short

[sabremeister]

It's been a long time since I wrote anything in the HSASWT-verse, I need to make sure I haven't lost my mojo.

A Little Something About Orcs

The cave was packed with warriors, and lit by pine torches, that gave off a not-unpleasant scent as they burned. The heat in the massive space was sweltering, even in the cool spring. The Captain solemnly tied the cloth insignia to the new Sergeant's arm, and stepped back.



"So, Sergeant Megnil, how does it feel?"

"It ... feels good, Captain. I like the feel of being a Sergeant."

"Good! I'm sure you'll make a fine one!"

"Thank you. But, I wish it didn't come at such a price."

"It's not a price, Megnil!" one of the nearby Orcs told him. "I needed to step aside, and you were the best to take my place."

"Grayza is right, Megnil, it is not a price." The Captain put his hand around the new Sergeant's shoulders and started steering him to the ale barrels. "She is with child, and she is sensible. A Sergeant needs to be focused on the job, not on a child. Many females who are Sergeants step aside when they become with child. It's not always permanent, and it doesn't always happen, but a good Sergeant knows when a particular battle can't be won with the forces at hand. And Grayza was a good Sergeant."

"I hope I can fill her boots, Captain."

"You have your own boots, hunter!"

The gathered warriors laughed at Grayza's joke as the Captain dipped the first tankard into the barrel and formally handed it to Megnil. He took it, held it still as he looked first Grayza in the eye, then the Captain, then quaffed it down in one.

"Ahhh! He will be a good Sergeant!" the Captain bellowed. The tradition was that the best Sergeants would need only one swig to empty their first tankard after their promotion.

Megnil returned the tankard to the Captain and raised his arms in triumph. "Long Fang Tribe! I am your new Sergeant!" The forty-odd warriors present, just under half of them female, cheered. The tribe's other Sergeant, an older female, clapped him on the back.

"Maybe in a few years you'll be congratulating a junior Sergeant of your own!"

"I hope not, Zalax - you and the Captain are too old for more children, so that would mean we'd have just buried you!"

"Hah! He's a thinker this one!" Zalax beamed in approval to her mate, the Captain. "He will do well!"

"He will," the Captain agreed, but his brow had darkened.

The party got properly under way. There was plenty of ale for everyone, and promotions were a good cause for celebration. The Long Fang Tribe were good fighters, but they were small. Promotions were rare, but not quite as rare as deaths.

A few hours later, the Captain pulled Megnil away from a group of newly of-age males who were pumping him for tips on how to be as successful in battle as he had been. For Megnil's rise had been fast. He had only come of age himself eight years ago, and in the normal course of things could just be being expected to buy his first coat of scale armour from the tribal smith. Sergeants were usually made so no sooner than twelve years after they came of age, with their second coat of scale. Megnil was very talented at war, though, and even without this promotion he expected he would have been able to buy his second coat of scale, from a human smith, within the next year.

"Megnil, we need to talk about the future."

"Captain - if I gave offence with my remarks about your age earlier..."

"No, nonono, that's not it at all. I am well aware I am past my prime. There's life in me yet, but ... there's more behind than there is ahead."

"When you go, it will be with honour."

"Of course it will! Of course it will." The Captain looked troubled. "But after I do? Then what? What happens to the Tribe?"

"Captain Talyn, I understand that as a Sergeant you would confide in me about these things, but I did think you would wait until tomorrow!"

"Ah, things move fast when you're in command, sometimes you can't wait for tomorrow. As it happens, I have been giving these matters some thought over recent months, and for what needs planning, it is never to soon to start."

"What do you mean, Captain?"

The Captain gestured at a nearby alcove in the cave, the contours of the floor changing enough to make a comfortable place to sit. "Sit, Sergeant, and talk with me of the future of our Tribe." They both sat, Megnil a half second after the Captain. The Captain was silent for a while, but Megnil knew that it was merely so the senior Orc could fully marshall his arguments, not through any hesitation or trepidation about the subject matter. "What happens to the Tribe when I am killed?"

"We elect a replacement of course."

"Who from?"

"Me and Zalax, obviously - and any other challengers."

"And between you and Zalax, you will wipe the floor with them."

"Almost certainly, yes."

"So: Can you beat Zalax?"

Megnil had to think about that. "I don't believe I can. I may be good, and fast, but she's been a warrior longer than I've been alive, her knowledge of battle, her experience of fighting - I can't compete with that."

"What about in, say, ten years time? Her hair will be silvering, her skin will be wrinkling, and she will be even slower."

"I can't beat her now. But in the future ... yes, I may be able to."

"So you will become the next Captain."

"It is likely, yes."

"No - it is certain. That is my wish." He shook his head. "A Tribe going to the marriage-bound of the old Captain, unheard of. A Tribe going to the control of a female, rare!"

"A Clan under the control of a female - unique!" Megnil reminded him.

"The Blade Clan are a long way south, and Warlord Grakna is a very determined Orc. But, we have to look at the state of our Tribe."

"What do you mean?"

The Captain gestured out into the cave, at the members of the Tribe who were all enjoying the celebrations. "We are small. Grayza is the first female in two years to become with child."

"That's not so - Lishel gave birth last solstice."

"And the child had one lung, and died within a month. Her mate was her cousin, and both their parents were each others' cousins. That sort of thing happens in small tribes, and before long, we won't have enough warriors to be called a Tribe any more."

"But, Captain, we are good at what we do! Under your leadership we have grown, we have expanded our territory, we have increased our numbers! We have had victories!"

"Our victories came only after you first put on armour. Our numbers have increased because young warriors in other Tribes heard of your exploits." The Captain shook his head. "Megnil, like it or not, you are the driving force behind this Tribe's success. I need to make sure you continue that success."

"Or the Tribe dies?"

"It could well do. Or it could be absorbed into the Sharp Fang Tribe, or conquered by the Black Horn. They are both considerably larger than us, and their territories are close by."

"We have beaten the Black Horn before."

"Yes, but at the moment we have plenty of warriors. What if, in ten years, after skirmishes and raids have taken their toll, with you newly at the head of the Tribe, the Black Horn decide to strike?"

"We would fight them!"

"And they would win."

"Then we will die like Orcs!"

"And so will the Tribe."

They were both silent for several moments after that.

"Do you really think the Tribe will end?" asked Megnil.

"It is very probable," the Captain replied. "Unless steps are taken, the Long Fang Tribe will soon vanish."

"What steps?"

The Captain grinned and clapped his hand down on Megnil's shoulder. "How long have I been encouraging you to go hunting in Sharp Fang territory and find a mate?"

Megnil rolled his eyes. "Not that again?"

"Yes! Megnil, you are our best warrior, and that is known for leagues around! You are the youngest Sergeant in two score years, a good hunter, and tipped to be the next Captain of this Tribe! Megnil, you need a mate, and you need one from another Tribe. You are going to be a very good value marriage-bond, and if you lead the way in seeking a mate outside the Tribe, others will follow!"

"Very well. I will change my hunting territory." Captain Talyn smiled and nodded. "But someone will have to take over my current patch. There are good pickings to be had there, we shouldn't let them go to waste."

"I will see to it that someone takes care of it. But you know that you won't be able to stay away from the Tribe as often as you did?"

"Yes, a Sergeant's place is with the Tribe, ready to command. My hunting trips will be short and to the point."

"But not so short that you don't have time to hunt for a mate!"

Megnil laughed. "Yes, Captain, not so short!"



Six months later, at dusk Sergeant Megnil stopped at the top of a hill overlooking the entrance to the Long Fang Tribe's cave. Beside him, a slightly-built (for an Orc) female peered into the growing darkness.

"Is that it, love? Is that home?"

"Yes, Pella. That is your new home. I hope you like it."

"It looks good so far. Very defensible, and a pretty view."

"This isn't the best view in the territory."

"Well, after our ceremony, you will have to show me the better views." She reached over and kissed him on the cheek.

"I will, don't worry." Megnil turned and captured her waist in his arms. "The waterfall to the south is spectacular at dawn. And then there's the two peaks, and the pool at Ghr'onlo ..." he tailed off.

"What is it?"

"Just ... a fond memory."

"Well, I'll be giving you lots more fond memories of that pool, won't I?"

He grinned. "Oh, I hope so," he said, and kissed her.

Some time later, they made their way down to the cave entrance. The sentry there intruded on their mobile cocoon of happiness as they went in.

"Sergeant, someone came to see you."

"What?"

"Sorry Sergeant. Someone came to see you. They arrived about two hours ago."

"Who did? The only people who'd need to see me would know I'd be back tonight and they'd wait for me. So who came to see me, and why?"

"She didn't give her name, Sergeant, but she said you'd remember her. We put her in the guard room until you got back."

"The guard room? Right. Pella, I don't know what this is about, but it shouldn't take long."

"Don't worry, I know the sort of things Sergeants have to deal with."

They went into the cave. A few yards down on the left there was another sentry, standing at the entrance to the guard room. The sentry nodded at Megnil and stepped aside as he approached. Megnil nodded back and went in.

"Hello Megnil."

"Gisele!"

"I'm afraid Port Retter didn't work out. They didn't like our son." She pointed to the small form sleeping next to her, its' green-tinted skin and flat-faced features clearly discernable even in the torchlight.