The remainder of the night passed with him walking the narrow streets of the goblin city, taking in the sights. From time to time his mind would wander to Jen, but he forced the thoughts from his mind. Though she had taught him to think of the future, at present he needed to focus on the here and now. Every goblin blacksmith in the city banged out a rhythm of ringing clangs, a sound that carried on the wind and echoed off the walls of the city. Smoke rose from hundreds upon hundreds of fires, raising into the sky to be carried aloft by a slow but steady wind. Goblins were everywhere. They wandered about the streets, atop the buildings, and everywhere in between. Two goblins even rolled out of a building, their limbs in a tangle as they bashed each other’s teeth out, blow after unforgiving blow. Then without warning a female goblin stood over them issuing a scalding retort that had the pair clamoring to their feet, grinning stupidly as they sought to please her. The whole place was a surreal mystery.
How many goblins inhabited the small city? Gnak could not help but wonder, as he strode down yet another street. He dared not estimate. They never seemed to stay still long enough to get anything done, yet here was a thriving city of them, filled to the brim. For hours Gnak wandered and watched as the sky lightened yet again as another day claimed Thurr. The day brought with it not only light, but a strange clamor among the goblins as well.
No sooner did the sun break the horizon than the goblins began acting erratically, bounding up the streets shouting and hollering like they had gone mad. It was many long minutes before he realized what it was that was going on. Following the throngs of goblins who rushed the outer wall of the city, Gnak was caught up in the crowd and followed along as he was led away. Upon reaching the wall, the goblins spilled out of the city gate and beyond into the desert. Gnak followed.
Stepping free of the piecemeal city wall, he turned and witnessed as a great silhouette was backlit by the sun breaking free from the horizon. A sand giant approached the city, running as fast as its legs would carry it. Harassing it, and staying just out of reach, a great mass of roiling goblins mounted upon domesticated boars led the giant towards the city. Gnak swelled with hope. The goblins had come through for him.
Like the crowd of goblins gathered around him, he watched as the goblins crashed and bounded through the sand, the immense giant trailing behind them, a cloud of dust in their wake.
It took an hour for the goblins to lead the giant near enough they were comfortable, but far enough he could not damage the city. Then the goblins put on a show that Gnak could not believe.
Rushing this way and that, the mounted goblins paired up with one another and began stretching long ropes out between the boars. As some goblins stopped, to entice the giant to do the same, those with ropes ran their mounts around and around the giant’s feet. So many goblins there were, that boars running in opposite directions collided, sending goblins flying into the air or rolling through the sand. The giant began stomping and kicking as best he could, smashing the goblins and boars beneath his feet with spurts of blood and bodily fluids. But still the goblins sought to bind it. Screams and cheers issued from the crowd surrounding Gnak, but he watched on in silence. Goblins ran amuck beneath the giant as boars darted here and there, the whole scene was pandemonium. And then it wasn’t.
Gnak watched as the entire ploy was then brought to an end, as the goblins all turned and rode out and away in all directions, seemingly fleeing the giant. With them they pulled the ropes, and as they all pulled together in all directions the giant leaned back precariously as the ropes began to tighten. The crowd watching grew silent as they stood gazing with unblinking eyes, but now it was time for Gnak to cheer. And he did. Loudly. The goblins looked at him uncomfortably and slowly put more distance between themselves and him.
Grinning, Gnak watched the giant topple over, the goblins securing their lines to long poles being driven into the ground, before swarming over the giant this way and that, again appearing to move in a chaotic fashion. From no more than two hundred yards away, the Orc who stood among the goblins watched as the small attackers finally relented more than an hour later, climbing down from atop the giant’s still body, an apparent web of ropes binding its every movement. Now came the hard part.
Seeing that the show was over, many goblins rushed out to see the giant, or climb atop its face. Whatever made them happy. But Gnak turned and walked back into the city and made his way back to the king’s home. There he was welcome, and could check on progress made by the goblins on his behalf.
Day after long day passed, the goblins working ceaselessly to fulfill his wishes. Over and over Gnak wandered about the city from blacksmith to blacksmith, watching as they progressed. All day and night the goblins worked to create the massive bindings that he sought. Painstakingly they pumped the billows and heated the iron and pounded it again and again in teams, to form it into hooks and rings and links, and all the while Gnak went from one to the next and so on.
As segments were completed he went to the giant’s side and watched them installed. Each piece was measured from the giant’s body and each was made to be as precise as was possible to create a secure fit. Gnak would watch as the pieces were clamped to and through the great giant, and he would listen to its screams of protest. But he could not go on without rest. Catunga approached, and he had to be physically prepared.
In a room offered to him by the goblin king, Gnak would rest when his body required, though he rarely slept for long and did so at odd hours when progress permitted. He ate what he wanted when he wanted, the king taking care of his every need.
It was late the eighth day when they came to him with his armor. The king’s own blacksmith had been working on it in private for days, only sending his apprentices to measure Gnak with a merciless lack of shame. But seeing the armor as they brought it to him, he decided the occasional groping was likely worth the result.
The armor was now a wicked collection of twisted spikes and blackened iron. Gone was the rust, and the entire surface had not only been re-formed to fit him and then smoothed and polished. No, the goblins had gone further. The entire surface of the black armor had been formed into the likeness of skulls and bones, stacked here and intertwined there to create a metal tapestry of death. The lines and detail work within the armor had been filled with a bright silver metal, and the entire surface had been polished to a brilliant shine. Where his helm had before been a plain cylindrical thing with horns that curved up from either side, now the front had been reshaped into a wicked skull, the visor making a mouth that seemed to roar, filled with pointed teeth and two great tusks. It was a true Orc warrior’s armor and Gnak proudly accepted it and began putting it on.
Minutes later, with the goblins’ help, Gnak slid his helm over his head and peered out through it feeling more at home than ever. He was meant to wear the armor. Still the goblins were not finished.
No sooner was he suited up in his armor than his blades were brought into his chamber as well. Though they had neither been altered in shape nor design, the blacksmith had heated the metal and blackened it to match his armor. In the blades were etched two skulls sneering at each other. The first was that of an Orc. The second was that of a goblin. Gnak accepted the blades graciously, sliding them into two scabbards the goblins had built into the backplate of his armor. If the past few days were any indication, Gnak knew the Orcs could learn a good bit from goblins as well.
Moving and flexing, he strode out into the night to make his rounds with the blacksmiths and see to their progress.
The ninth day came and the goblins sought him out, bringing him to watch something they called a coronation. Following their lead, he approached the secured form of the giant for what he guessed was the hundredth time, give or take. Great bands of iron circled its four arms at regular intervals from pits to wrists. The same on his legs. Around his neck was another great circlet of iron, but he had seen all this already. But as he admired the goblins’ handiwork, a cart issued forth from the city and turning, it was led to
their location. Out from the cart more than two dozen goblins worked in unison to lift a giant iron crown.
Upon the crown hoops circled the band that rose in progressively taller spikes towards the front. The most prominent spikes rose up at least six feet, with a gap of two feet between them. Into the front of the crown was a silver skull. One side of the device was split with the workings of a clasp upon each half, and the other side was hinged. But that was not the wicked part. Inside the hoop of the crown, where it would rest upon the head, were spikes of iron, each two inches long all around the inner circumference.
Placing the crown upon the giant, all the goblins worked to position it in place before they began the process of closing the clasp. Some of the small green and black striped men climbed atop the giant, pounding the crown with hammers as others stomped upon it to drive the spikes into the flesh. Others pried with bars of iron and twisted rope over and over as the two halves of the clasp slowly came together. The giant screamed in pain, but secured as such was unable to remove the offenders. Blood poured from the hundreds of small wounds, but finally flesh and bone relented to the iron and the clasp was closed before a red hot iron spike was brought and hammered into it, smashing both ends wide so it could not be removed. Gnak did not know if the giant had been a king to his kind before, but he certainly looked the part now.
Speaking briefly to those who installed his designs upon the giant, he was assured that it would be completed the following day. Turning back towards the city, Gnak strode in his black armor, passing yet another cart on its way to the giant. This one was filled with thick chain in varying lengths. Anticipation was beginning to set in, but Gnak did his best to remain focused.
Day ten came, and with it Gnak found himself again speaking to the king of the goblins. They discussed the purpose of the giant and Gnak was truthful in his answer. Gnak was assured the giant was prepared and had even been tested for flaws. So it was that Gnak found himself with another debt to pay.
“Now I tell where gold,” Gnak told the king. “Go to mountains. There path to other side. In path many, many dead. Dead have gold.”
“There are mountain giants in that pass,” replied the goblin king.
“No. Giants die. Orc kill. Orc no need gold.”
“Very well, Gnak, I will send soldiers to collect it. Now take your giant and return to your home. May you one day become the king of your people so that I may visit you.”
“You welcome, my home,” Gnak replied, and turning he stalked out of the king’s home to retrieve his giant.
It was both a gruesome and daunting sight, the giant that the goblins had captured for him. Standing upright it looked like something out of a nightmare. Though in reality it had been inspired by a goblin toy. Atop its head the iron crown sat, and from the rings upon the crown great chains had been attached in bundles, stretching down each side where they then attached to the bands on the giant’s upper pair of arms, keeping them straight out to the sides. Between the giant’s upper arms and lower arms, more chains spanned the gap, securing the pair of arms on each side of the giant together. From the bottom of the lower arms more chains were attached, stretching down to the giant’s legs which were similarly bound together with chains. With its legs straight and its four massive arms out to the sides, the chains between them all made the giant appear as a huge spider’s web. But that was only the beginning of the goblins’ work.
All down the giant’s back great iron rings were pierced through flesh and meat all down its spine. But the rings were only a pathway for a higher evil. Through the rings many cables of tightly woven fibers were run, using the rings like pulleys. Various sharp hooks and barbs had been placed throughout the giant’s body and into his flesh to prevent him from sudden movements. Twisting his torso to one side pulled on hooks pierced through his stomach and the other direction did the same on the opposite side. Bending over drove hooks deeper into its flesh on its neck and thighs. Swinging its arms forward pulled upon the rings in its spine themselves, and swinging them back pulled on hooks dug into the flesh of his chest and ribs. Although the giant was standing, it was basically immobile, able only to walk without causing severe and painful injury to itself. Rounding the giant, Gnak used the bands and rings up its leg and then up its spine to climb up and into the crown. For a sand giant the brute was massive, easily thirty feet tall, but even so, Gnak found the crown a bit confining for his liking. Greeting the goblin at the controls with a grunt, he watched as the goblin pulled a lever secured to the inside of the crown. The giant cried out in pain and lurched forward carefully. The goblin pulled a second lever and Gnak looked over the rim of the crown to see where the attached cable being pulled secured to an iron hook in the corner of the giant’s eye socket. The giant turned its head to relieve the pain, and in doing so it gradually turned as it walked. Releasing that lever and pulling another the giant turned the opposite direction. Finally the goblin released the very first lever he had pulled and the giant froze in his tracks. It was fairly simple really. Forward. Left. Right.
Nodding his approval to the goblin, he waited as the smaller man climbed out and down the giant. Now he could think about saving Jen. With a deep breath he pulled the lever that would make the giant move. He didn’t even want to know where the goblins had placed hooks in the giant’s flesh to achieve this reaction. Slowly the giant stepped forward, its bound legs limiting its stride. Even so, at a giant’s height they covered ground quickly, which was good. Gnak wanted to arrive at sunset.
CHAPTER TEN
The sand blew wistfully over the dunes as the sun fell lower and lower towards the world below. A sand dervish twisted up into the air, whipping up the sand as it moved sporadically before vanishing without a trace. Already the moons were in the sky, though no stars had yet appeared. Gnak was now in land he was familiar with, land that belonged to his clan. Removing his helm, he knew it would be only minutes more before he could see his camp ahead, and they would begin to see him as well.
As the camp came into sight he watched intently across the miles, every step of the giant closing the gap between them. Closer and closer they came, the giant’s footsteps absorbed by the sand beneath it. Another mile passed and the camp’s details began to become revealed. So far as he could tell, nothing had changed. His clan members rushed out to meet him only a few giant steps later, each of them armed, thinking their camp in danger. Out they ran with spears and swords raised until they saw him atop the monster’s head. Even Korx had come, and Gnak was happy to see the look on his face when he realized what it was he was seeing.
Realizing that they were not under attack, they cheered Gnak’s return and loped along beside his enormous mount, back to the village. Once he felt the giant was at a safe distance he released the lever that made the thing move, and it stopped quickly in an attempt to avoid further pain. Picking up a length of coiled cable within the crown, Gnak tied it around all three of the levers and tossed the coil over the side, watching as it unraveled. Climbing down after it, he pointed to a young Orc, not yet old enough for Catunga, and motioned the boy over. Handing the boy the cable, he gave his instructions.
“Hold him here. I go camp. You stay, keep giant king here.”
The young Orc nodded, happy for the honor of guarding the king of the giants. Gnak, approaching the camp, saw all the sacrifices lined up outside its meager wall. Each of them was attached to a stake by a crude leather collar and chain. There were animals, goblins, a tall stag, and the pair of humans as well. Though he tried to avoid it, his eyes sought out Jen and lingered there a long moment. She was filthy, covered in dirt and dried blood. She had been beaten and abused, forced to heal herself as proof of her magic. And she was skinny, too skinny. She was not being fed. Her condition angered him and he clenched his jaw, trying to play his role. Seeing him approach, tears streamed down her face but he could show her no sign. Not now.
Instead he strode past the line of sacrifices and into the camp where the shaman awaited him.
&nbs
p; “Gnak, you last come. Some say you not come. You do come. Bring great sacrifice. But Catunga no done. Need give gods blood. Need spill own,” said the Shaman.
“Catunga now?” Gnak asked, hoping once again to buy more time.
“Catunga this night. Moons top sky. Go rest. Eat.”
Gnak grunted his understanding as he turned and strode towards his tent. Crossing the camp quickly he threw back the flaps and stormed inside. It would be several hours before the ceremony, but he could not stand to wait that long. Yet at the same time he wished he could put the ceremony off longer still, and find a way to rescue Jen. He sifted through various plans and scenarios but none of them would work. And then he realized the error in his thinking. Jen saw it, but he had missed it. His understanding of such things so fresh and new he had overlooked it all along.
She had saved his life understanding that he was taking her from her home, probably to kill her. She was not afraid of dying. She knew there was a god in the heavens that waited for her. No, she was afraid of dying alone. That is why she cried. She knew that someone who cared for her would be there when she died. Her tears had been happy. She believed in her god so strongly that Gnak finally saw Jen’s purpose. He thought about it a long time but could not believe it was true. Hours passed and still he debated. There was only one way to find the answer for certain. Rising, he strode back out of his tent.
Twisted Fate (Orc Destiny Volume I) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Page 10