Escape from Bloodtusk!

[bimble]

Evika loved to sit on the wood and earthen rampart of Booldtusk and watch the
movment of her people come and go through the cities unbreakable gates. Being
so high up above the cities landscape flooded the senses. The sounds of families
fighting. The clanging and banging of metalsmiths making weapons for the warriors.
Smoke from cooking fires, carrying the smell of cooking meat wafted over the wall,
along with the acrid smell of workers burning and tearing at the forest that surrounded
the city - killing it, moving it back from the walls so all within Bloodtusk could see
who approached. From a top its walls one could feel the pulse of the City of Orcs.

A entire childhood was spent here, waiting on enough sunlight to scan the forest
edge. Waiting on her father to return with the Raiders of his clan. And later, waiting
for him to leave Bloodtusk, to follow him on his bloody raids - to assist and learn.
During that life of a youngling no one ever dared cross the burnt and torn boundry
of forest to approach Bloodtusk. Childhood was a thing of the past now. The leader
of Raiders she idolized was gone now, taken by the human the orcs knew as Red-Tail.
Regardless she sat on the wall, scanning the forest edge in hopes her father might
return from the dead and leave the shadows of the forest to return one last time.

Females of her tribe had no place other than to bear male younglings for the spring,
for the spring was the time of war and hunting. The death of her father weighed
heavily on her, she wished for his return - for with it she could continue her training
in his shadow to become a Raider and break the shackles of her sex. Any day now
she would be called from her youth to fulfill her duties as a birthing age female.

Evika had spent months scanning the morning for months, to no avail. She languidly
reclined over the wall's edge dangling a leg over it - watching the guards on patrol,
when she caught the first hint of something from the corner of her eye. A fluid almost
liquid movement on the blackened edge of the forest. She raise her snout to the wind
and tasted it with her tongue - and smelled the lightest hint of the copper taste of
fresh blood on the wind. Death was on the edge of the forest. Death was common in
the Orc world, it rushed headlong into a life and extinguished it like a small fire. This
was a death of different sort, a mystery. It was graceful, intelligent - and worse yet
staring right at her. Evikas hackles answered in response. Calming herself she strained
once again to see into the forest's edge, but the darkness within it seemd to dance
away from her eyes.

She was about to alert the guards, when with a thunderous crashing a ogre as fat
and large as her wood and dirt home came bellowing from the forest and charged the
gates of Bloodtusk. The impact of that bulk rocked the gates and naerly knocked her
off her perch! The magical gates of Bloodtusk held the assault, rebounding the ogress
back several feet where she landed flat in the mud with a immeasurable splash.

Evika knew right away that this creature could never move like a placid lake of
darkness within the forest, she looked back to the spot and saw that whatever was
once at the forest's edge had since retreated. Leaving only the ogress to be seen
and targeted by the bows of swarming Raiders on the walls of Bloodtusk.

Much more quickly than one would imagine the ogress clambered to her feet and
bellowed at the gates. "BLOODTONGUE"!

A thousand bows had reached the walls, and thousands more were swarning in
greater numbers running to the walls to defend the city. With one almost single
sound of leather stretching countless black hafted arrows were pulled tight and
aimed at the eyes and groin of the insane giantess. Ready to let her blood flow
on the ground she stood.

"GUTS and EYES!" screamed the Ogress almost unaware of the peril she was in.

Evika watched with interest, how hard was it to kill a ogre she wondered?

The ogress took several steps foraward and pushed against the gate with great
strength - "FOOK NILAN!" she bellowed. "You never told me the WORD!" For
a brief moment she calmed and looked back at the forest, "Give Ambar da WORD!"
she screamed at the forest.

The most senior warrior called out to the walls, and a volley of arrows fell like rain
all around the ogress - a warning to move back. Almost as the last black arrow
struck the ground in a blinding flash of blackness - a small delicate figure in jet
back hood appeared beside the ogress. A collective gasp escaped all on the wall,
for nothing could move past the perimeter of Booldtusk without being seen, yet
here stood the dancing death Evika felt in the forest's edge. No part of this new
appartition was visible to onlookers or exposed to the mornings light.

With a sneer and a whisper it uttered a single inaudible word.

The result was familiar to all in Bloodtusk, the gates of the city began to move and
open on thier own accord. The stranger was no stranger at all, but knew the secret
of Bloodtusks magical gates! Anyone with the word was granted passage into the
city - for only orcs or the allies of orcs had the word.

Few of her fellow orcs caught the joke between the travellers on Bloodtusks
doorstep, the lessening battle rage along the walls prevented them fron noticing
the giantess poking her smaller companion and muttering, "funny not!". Evika stared
intently as the pair strode through the gates unmolested, yet still the bows followed.
Did her Raiders notice that the immense ogress followed the slight hooded figure
not like a protector, but as the protected?

Evika rose to change her angle to view within the hood and see the face of the stranger
that smelled like blood and death, only to be stopped by the dry and wrinkled hand of
Gruk the Witch on her shoulder.

Evika shivered at the rasping voice next to her ear, "Time is not to watch the events of
the morning. Time it is to roll your bones and find your fate. Today is the day of your
blood. Time of the bones and blood it is."

Gruk hooked a crooked finger into the many metal rings in her ears and drug Evika from
the wall, north - always north to the hut of the witch. Covered in valuable human skins,
decorated with the noses and ears of elves. Home of the fates, and the first step to
seeing all her nightmares realized.

Gruk hated Evikas serrated ears, cut with a bone knife and bleed and scarred in the
fields of battles - the marking of raider of Evikas clan. Evikas father and all his clan
had ears as hers - raiders ears. Before reaching the Hut of Fates Evikas ears bled
once again.

Inside the simple dwelling Evika felt the full weight of the magic that infused this
mystical place. Lives of orcs, of clans or hordes were decided here - generations had
be born and fallen to dust within this place.

Evika dropped and rolled too a sitting position as Gruk threw her to the floor of the
Witchs hut. Black candles of human fat burned, low burning fires boiled expensive
iron pots in the only stone fireplace in Bloodtusk.

Gruk dropped a bronze metal plate before Evika. With creaking joints Gruk sat before
Evika and without delay opened the leather thong on a small bag and dumped several
bones on the plate.

"What see you Evika in the bones?", Gruk asked.

Evika looked into the plate and saw bones, some whole, some broken - but to her it
looked like a battle. Raiders on wolves riding about a single prey, darting in and
flashing out. Swords flickering like snake tongues, killing quickly.

Looking into Gruk's eyes Evika felt resignation set in, "I see slavery, and pain, I see
a fate broken and see a revenge not repaid."

Gruk cackled with delight. "Young one you are much too smart for your fate, for your
fate is one of babies to be born to death in war!" "Have you any sign of the witches
the grew from you past? for this is the only way you can change your fate." Laughing
with mirth, Gruk beamed at Evika, "You are denied the right of revenge against the
Red-Tail, your fathers weapons are lost to the tribes and clans of Bloodtusk and you
are born female!" "I ask again, what see you in the bones?"

Slowly Evika replied, "I see Red-Tails death."

Gruk flashed a broken toothed smile at Evika, "Too many things lost from your family.
You fathers weapons were valuable beyond reasoning, his daughters skills lost on
a female and now you are blind to the bones!" "You shall stay in the hut of the first
warrior of the ShatterBone Tribe to ask you. The time to bear young is on you!"

"Now Go and help prosper the orcs of Bloodtusk", Gruk said spattering spit upoun
Evika.

Evika marched south through Bloodtusk slowly, thoughts screaming through her
head at a furious pace. She could not, be the mother to the hordes as the Witch
has told her. She was a Raider by birth! She would leave Bloodtusk, with her father
gone she had nothing but the honor of her clan to uphold, she would renounce
that honor for a short time and leave - to seek revenge on Red-Tail and on killing
the human she would regain her honor and return to Bloodtusk not as a mother
of the hordes but as a Raider. As she put the final touches on her plan she found
she was at her Father's small dwelling, the sun was begining to set and somehow
a day had disappeared as her troubles had grown.

Time was short.

From the doorway of her hovel she could see the fires around the ShatterBone clan
burning bright. Loud drunken voices, and the sounds of fighting arose from close by.
The warriors of ShatterBone had been given the word of her visit and were already
fighting for the right of use of her. The daughter of a great raider she would bear
many skilled sons.

Hurriedly Evika packed the few things she owned - no weapons, nothing of value. A few
scraps of food, a bone knife and some skins. The sounds of fighting were dying out
a winner would soon be chosen, panic was beginning to set in when fate stepped
in to save her for the moment.

"Fight Fight! Fight is fun!" she heard the ogress bellow as the lumbering giant stumbled
on the ShatterBones fight. From the increase in tempo the orcs were finding thier new foe
a tremendous challenge. Battle calls of victory were soon changed to screams of pain.

Evika whirled around, small pack in hand ready to make to the walls to escape.

And found herself face to face with the dark creature from the morning. The dancing Death!

She dropped to the ground and rolled backwards, drawing the bone meat knife from under
her belt and braced for the intruder to fall upoun her. But where the creature once stood was
only darkness, a small lingering odor of some human perfume on the wind.

From her left, the shadows grew thicker and a carefully controlled voice said, "If by chance
I was here to kill you, would have been bled dry by now." The calculation in the voice was
terrifying, Evika knew better than to move again. "A promise kept is a companion served."
"Your father died in battle, not ambushed. He was bested." Evika's rage began to rise. "He
served me well at the time, his raiders did not ravage his corpse or battle over his wealth."
"It lies hidden along the Road near the human city of Waterdeep. Hidden at his request for
is heir - or maybe his heiress?"

"My business on Bloodtusk is done."

And the room was empty, Evika could feel the prescence disappear as the words faded in
the air.

The road to Waterdeep.

Evika called on her skills and calmed herself before fleeing towards the walls, leaping over them
like a farmers fence on a hunting raid.

Evikas freedom was on the road to Waterdeep!

[Clan Blindhammer]

<B>The ogress took several steps foraward and pushed against the gate with great
strength - "FOOK NILAN!" she bellowed. "You never told me the WORD!" For
a brief moment she calmed and looked back at the forest, "Give Ambar da WORD!"
she screamed at the forest </B>

I fell out of my seat. Not from the force of Ambar's blow, but from laughing. That was hilarious Loved the story. I say, FOOK NILAN too!!

------------------
King Artikerus Blindhammer
Patron of Clan Blindhammer
Fallen Priest of Shimmergloom

[Ashiwi]

Very well done, love the characterizations!

[Silvine]

Poor Nils, scaring lil orcs now. Great characterization, good job



------------------
The realization of destiny is at hand.

[Nilan]

Very nice story Enjoyable read.

Heh, Stabby just got a bad rep *wink*

Better to keep me alive.

Keep up the writing, your very good

Nilan
aka
Stabby

[Ambar]

noone but phatty would try to doorbash BT gates


thank you great read



------------------
Ambar -= Beloved Matron =- Crimson Coalition