The determined Captain jumped to another higher stack of barrels treating them as if they were massive stairs. He did not make the jump cleanly to the next and final stack, but he was able to pull himself to his feet in a flash, all with sword in hand. The giant did not immediately locate his speedy adversary. First confusion crossed his massive light blue face and then the expression turned to distress. Fortune was with Victus because Bix Olan Fod turned his back to Victus as he looked for him. Then the behemoth began to turn his head as he heard something behind him.
It was then that Victus Antonel jumped with all his might. As he soared through the air he let out a thunderous scream, a shout for his soldiers, for his family, for his city. As he approached the top of the turning giant’s back, he put all his momentum and weight into a two handed thrust down with his sword. The tip penetrated into the top of the creature’s neck and sunk halfway down to the handle. The giant’s cry was heard by all present at the battle of Southland. He swatted at his own back, delivering a heavy blow to Victus but not knocking him off. On held The Captain, putting all his weight still on the hilt of his sword. Then, with a loud crunch, the blade cut through the top of the behemoths spine and sunk all the way down to the hilt. Bix Olan Fod’s movements suddenly stopped.
Like a large tree cut in the woods, the enormous body slowly fell forward. His light blue corpse crashed lifelessly onto the ground with a loud thump and Victus flew off his back in a tumble. He was dazed and unfortunately landed right to the feet of a shocked orc. The stunned Captain did not have his sword, and sat looking helplessly at the creature. The orc, however, stood staring dumbfounded at the dead body of Bix Olan Fod. A sword then burst through his stomach as a human behind him quickly ended the creature’s life. Several human warriors collected Victus and it seemed as if the whole of The Captain’s army let out a triumphant roar.
The human forces from the east and west converged on the remaining force in the middle. The Faletonian forces were surrounded and outnumbered. The enemy was soon defeated and Victus Antonel had slayed the mighty giant, Bix Olan Fod. The armies of Rogsnelk and Abellard were victorious and had taken the Faletonian city of Southland.
***
Desmund Feon waited at the top of a street in Westland. He looked down the block curiously and just wanted to go and explore while he waited. All the construction was new; each home looked almost identical. They were a decent size and appeared well constructed. He looked around again but there was no sign of the orc he was waiting for. He could hear some orcish children playing on a nearby street. They were play fighting with makeshift wooden swords. They laughed and spoke to each other in the orcish tongue, which Desmund was trying to learn. As their swords clanked against each other’s, he thought he heard the orcish word for human several times in their dialogues.
Finally, he could see Minsheen approaching. The gem that hung below his sternum off of a gold chain seemed to glow slightly. “Greetings.” Desmund called to him.
“Greetings Desmund.” Minsheen held out a large hand, which the human shook with his own. “Sorry for being late.” The orc said with an accent. “There was much to do.”
“No worries at all.”
“Have you had chance to see the street?” Asked Minsheen.
Desmund’s dark eyes scanned down the lane. “No, but I’ve been excited to do so.”
The two began to walk. “You should be. These homes are made good. Perfect for your fellow humans to live. We completed construction very fast as you asked.” They arrived in front of the first home on the block. All of the houses were vacant. They were made of wood with some stone in the foundations. “Most have two bedrooms and some three. The whole street for humans. Can house seventy-five.” The large orc walked to the door and pushed it open. They both entered and toured the rooms.
Desmund was pleased with what he saw. The humans of Faletonia looked to him to secure them somewhere comfortable to call home. These buildings would suffice. The one they entered had two spacious bedrooms. There was a small room for cooking that had an impressive fireplace for roasting food. A pantry was off the kitchen and there was even a small room with a hollowed out corner that had a seat that sat over a deep hole dug in the ground. This was a commode. The interiors of the homes were not yet completed, but it wouldn’t take much longer to do so. The men and women of Faletonia would be able to move in soon and live together as a small community.
When they returned to the street they continued to make their way towards its other end. “Are your kin ready to move into this area?” asked Minsheen.
“Yes.”
“Great. Westland will be a great city. I think it could be finest of Faletonia.” Minsheen said proudly. He was appointed as the city’s leader as it grew. They reached the end of the street and stopped walking.
“We are appreciative of what you’ve had done here, and how fast you made it happen.” Desmund bowed his head slightly in gratitude towards the large orc.
“It is all of our jobs to strengthen Faletonia.” Minsheen replied looking back up the street in the direction they just came.
“Indeed. We have done so very well. It is truly incredible.”
Minsheen nodded in agreement. The sun was setting and casting shadows from buildings nearby. After a few moment of silence, Minsheen began to bid Desmund Feon farewell. “I must be leaving, there are few things to do still tonight.” Before he could turn to depart, the human grabbed his arm gently.
“Please, wait another moment. There is something I must show you.” Minsheen looked at the man’s hand on his arm and then at his face. The human’s expression pleaded for him to stay so he nodded his consent.
“What is it?”
“You will see.”
The orc stared into Desmund’s eyes. His mouth was a straight line across with tusks on each side pointing up. He didn’t want to be bothered with waiting, but he would. Minsheen began to look around and fidget.
“Patience, I beg you,” said Desmund. Within minutes another man entered the streets. He was holding something covered in a blanket in both arms.
Desmund whistled and then called out, “Thomas, we are here.” The man turned and walked quickly but cautiously over to them.
When Thomas arrived, he lifted what he was carrying towards the orc’s face. It was an infant. Minsheen looked to Desmund again. The man’s thin crest of hair that ran down the center of his head showed prevalently as he was turned sideways looking at the approaching man. “Very few know of this, Minsheen. Thomas is my most trusted commander and will keep this quiet. I thought you should know.” Desmund said, his voice sounding as if he was discussing something he shouldn’t be. He jerked his chin towards the child. Minsheen turned to Thomas who adjusted the child in his arms so that the orc could see its face.
At first Minsheen was confused. He looked at the infant and didn’t understand what this was all about. Then he studied its face more closely and, after several moments, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped. “Is this…” he couldn’t get the rest of the question out of his mouth.
Desmund’s face was stern. “Yes. Half-orc half-man. First of its kind.” Minsheen didn’t know what to think. He didn’t know what emotions he felt. He just stared further at the child’s face. Desmund continued, “Her father is human, her mother is an orc.”
“May Zatelboz have mercy.” Minsheen said in his native tongue as he shook his head.
Chapter 16
The bare breasted woman watched the pitcher of wine drip its last drops into the golden cup. Then she put the pitcher down and brought the cup back to the man who was waiting for her at the table. As she handed the cup of wine to him, she took a seat on his lap. Ardius kissed her and then took a big sip from the cup. Across from him was his colleague Sterlis, who also sat with a topless woman and glass of wine of his own. Both men were tired; they had been running about all day. Times were tumultuous and they welcomed a bit of relaxation.
“If the pitcher is empty, there is more in t
he other room,” Sterlis said to Ardius as he waved his arm towards the room and pointed one finger while the other’s gripped his glass.
“Good to know.” The bald man replied and then took another sip. He looked up as he heard the other girl giggle. Sterlis had buried his face in the woman’s breasts and was kissing aggressively. He had a bristly mustache that apparently was tickling her.
“I don’t know, Ardius, we better have fun while it lasts. There is so much uncertainty in this world these days.” He turned his gaze from the pretty face of his lady to Ardius. “I mean thousands of men have marched from the three cities to wage war on a civilization of orcs and goblins…what is happening?” His voice rose. “This has to be the strangest thing in all the realms.”
“And ogres, giants and humans,” Ardius added.
“Tell me more detail of the Faletonian city that you saw. Tell me of its savage splendor.”
The woman with Ardius turned on his lap and faced him. Her humble but perfectly shaped breasts were right before his face. He did not remove his glaze from them as he began. “Well we did not get too close, but the outside was remarkable. Vast irrigation and fields of crops that must have taken full labor, day and night to prepare in the year or so the city has been formed. Walls that could undoubtedly only be built by giants and ogres in the same time period. Beyond the wall loomed enormous buildings, remarkable not in appearance but in size.” He cupped the woman’s breast as he spoke.
Then suddenly three heavy thumps on the door in the next room had everyone alarmed. Ardius and Sterlis exchanged worried glances as silence fell over the room.
Boom Boom Boom came three more knocks.
“Were you expecting visitors?” Ardius asked Sterlis in a low voice. They were spending the night at Sterlis’s apartment, which was one of three in his building.
“I’m afraid not,” said Sterlis in a tone that had the two girls trading worried glances.
Both men nudged the girls off their laps and moved towards the other room. Sterlis picked up a small curved dagger from a table and Ardius pulled out an item from his pocket. It was a copper color and had three curved corners. When he held it in his grip, blades emerged from each corner.
“Who’s there?” Sterlis asked as he stood a few feet from the door.
After a short pause came a surprising response. “It is Pleshil.”
The two men looked at each other confused. Neither man would have anticipated this visit. Pleshil was one of the most senior officers of the Crimson Fox. He was one of the few men to report directly to the leader of the group, a man known only as The Grand.
Sterlis opened the door. There stood Pleshil with a stoic expression. His long black hair was pulled tightly back in a ponytail. His dark brown eyes darted from man to man. He wore elegant clothes with a remarkable pair of black leather boots that met the ground with complete silence when he allowed himself in without being asked. After a few feet he stopped and spun back around to face the men who were putting the weapons down on a small table. Pleshil smirked as he watched them.
“To what do we owe this fine pleasure?” Sterlis inquired with a serious tone.
“Ah, I will tell you…but first the two lovelies in the other room must be far enough that they cannot hear.”
There was no way Pleshil had seen the women cowering in the other room, but both Ardius and Sterlis expected he knew exactly what they were up to.
“Let’s go ladies, you must leave for a bit.” Sterlis said and paused a second before loudly adding, “put a move on it!” The ladies quickly scurried out of the room, untidily putting their clothes on as they exited. “You can come back in half an hour.” Sterlis screamed in a hopeful sweet voice.
Pleshil grabbed one of the young woman’s hands as she hurried by. She looked at him half in shock half in fear. He bowed slightly and, keeping his brown eyes staring into hers, gently kissed her hand and said, “You can return in less than that, fifteen minutes is all I need, my fair lady.” She flushed red, dipped a nervous bow and then left with the other woman. The door closed hard behind them.
All three men sat quiet and still, listening to confirm the sounds of the women scampering away. Pleshil then walked into the next room, or floated so it seemed, as his steps made no sound whatsoever in his boots. He grabbed one of the wine glasses that was on the table and took a large sniff of its contents, then set it down and turned to Ardius and Sterlis.
“As you know the cities are at war…an unimaginable war between man and monster. Ardius, you have some familiarity with the monsters, yes?” Ardius nodded. “Both of you have served well for our business, it is no mistake that you are in command of men yourselves.” Pleshil paused to let the complement sink in. “We are at war. Thousands of men have left Rogsnelk and Abellard to fight. Many will die.”
“Many of our men too presumably,” Sterlis frowned and stroked his mustache.
“Less than you may think my friend,” replied Pleshil. “The Crimson Fox remains strong. The Grand desires now to be a time of prosperity for us, not one of suffering. We will exploit the needs of the cities and the cities’ armies for profit.”
“Pleshil, we do not know the extent of the foe we face. Victory is not guaranteed. Scheming to squeeze profits hardly seems to support our cause. If the cities fall, the Crimson Fox can be no more,” Ardius said. His argumentative tone surprised Sterlis.
“Support? Does Crimson Fox need to support the cities? Do they support us? When they are not working for or alongside us, they usually are trying to shut us down.” Ardius attempted to interrupt but Pleshil stopped him short “But yes… to some extent, as goes the three cities, goes The Crimson Fox. The cities are our host and it would be bad business to allow them to be destroyed.”
He paused for a second and took out two small pouches from seemingly nowhere. Ardius and Sterlis immediately glanced at them.
“Go now… go to your men and begin to find ways to strengthen the Crimson Fox. Control resources, lend money, do whatever it takes. The Grand demands much from me and from you. He will accept no less. The armies need supplies; the city and the wives within need food and support. Go to them, be helpful and profitable, but do not compromise our business. We are here, but not to bail anyone out. War breeds struggles for most, but for the Crimson Fox it can result in success. The Grand will ensure you are rewarded if you get the job done. Consider this an advance.” A smirk crossed his face as Pleshil held out the pouches and dropped them into the men’s hands. “Now get to it, but first have a quick bit of fun with the ladies…. if they actually return.” He turned and walked away. Both men stared at his boots as he left, amazed by what must have been an infusion of magic for again there was not sound with his steps.
When his black ponytail could no longer be seen and the door closed behind him, Ardius shook his head, “harming our host is bad for business? Are we now parasites?” Sterlis only shrugged. Both men then looked down and opened their pouches. Their eyes opened wide in awe as they closed the small pouches and looked at each other in shock and delight.
***
Two dozen orcs loaded up the large sleds with bundles of harvested wheat. They hoisted the bushels as high as they could. The sleds were fifteen feet long and could hold several hundred pounds of wheat. Once full and secure the orcs backed away. The giants, Argorok and Frick, then began to move forward, pulling the massive loads on each of their sleds. Their giant strength made the task, which would have required the whole group of orcs, a rather simple one. They would easily pull the sleds back inside the city.
This was their last load. Both giants had taken on some new responsibilities since nearly all of their kin in Midland had left to join the army from the city of Westland. Only a few giants remained in Midland to work. The others would march on the human attackers near Southland. Once the two giants were within the city walls, they turned the sleds over and dumped the wheat into a pile. More orcs and some goblins came to gather it. Argorok and Frick dragged the sleds to where the
y were stored, just to the side of the city entrance.
The two walked together through the streets until they arrived at Argorok’s house. It was an enormous structure but was a relatively small space for a giant to live. Large housing just wasn’t an option for giants in Faletonia, and they accepted it.
They had labored for hours this day and were glad to sit for a second. “Would you mind if I changed?” asked Argorok. Frick shook his head. When Argorok returned, he sat beside his friend.
“Ale?”
“No thanks,” Frick replied.
“By now our forces from Midland should have met with the army of Westland. I suppose war was inevitable. The humans don’t trust us for a second and the orcs have been licking their chops for a piece of the humans forever.” As Argorok sat beside his friend he let out a relieved sigh. It has been a long day.
“It is a shame that it has come to this. The rumor is that Southland has not held, meaning thousands have died, including some of our kin.” Frick frowned. Due to the fact that giants were sparse in the world, they mourned the death of their kin greatly. It also had something to do with the fact that they considered themselves superior to other races, however that sentiment was to be repressed in Faletonia.
“It is indeed a shame… we did not provoke this. Humans feel threatened so quickly.” A silence lingered and then Argorok continued. “They will not have died for no reason, we will reclaim the city and further establish our power. Maybe we can try and get one glimpse of good news from all this,” this comment drew what seemed like an angry glance from his friend.
Kingdom Come (Price of Power Book 1) Page 19