“Your deeds are worthy of legend. They will sing about this for generations to come.” Said Hemust. “I just don’t see how we’re suppose to feed them all.”

  The yawning cave roared with laughter and blazed with the light from a thousand fires. Sparks danced up toward the ceiling like fireflies, mingling with the smoke. Koruk’s party sat with the Rock Crusher leader and several wizened members of his council around one such fire.

  Koruk sipped from his cup of ale, thinking it strange that he was now included in the council of the leader of a nation he did not belong to. Stranger still, was that after all that had happened, it felt very mundane.

  “During the Age of Fire, Orcus sheltered our people in these caves. There must have been something to eat in here back then. Maybe there still is.” Semthak offered.

  “I never really believed those old stories.” Said Moktark. “You know, the time of myth and heroes and magic and all that.”

  “You’re living in such times.” Said Semthak. Moktark nodded, and took a swig of his drink.

  An orc approached the fire, and knelt, covering his heart with his fist.

  “Warchief, there is news.” He said. Hemust nodded for him to continue. “One of our scouting parties has returned from Zernthod. They say the city still stands!”

  A collection of gasps and murmurs erupted around Koruk.

  “How is this possible?” Hemust asked.

  “Their walls are thick, and the humans are few. The humans bombard the walls from afar with barkers. I fear they cannot hold out for long.”

  “We must go to their aid!” Said an orc Koruk hadn’t learned the name of. Hemust shook his head.

  “How can we? We have few warriors, and many hungry mouths to feed. We’d need an army.”

  “You have an army.” Said Koruk. Hemust looked at him inquisitively as Koruk gestured to the fires flickering about the cavern. “Out there.”

  “Beats waiting to starve in these caves.” Said Semthak. “They’re happy now, but as the rations start running low…”

  “I watched those people crush the human garrison of Brittle Teeth while half of them could barely stand. I watched them endure a march that seemed impossible. They’re heroes, each and every one. You can look in their eyes and see it. They can fight.”

  “Then they shall. You can start organizing them into warbands in the morning.” Said Hemust. “For now, I say they can enjoy themselves. They’ve earned it.”

  “Me?” Koruk asked.

  “It’s your army after all. You led them here and they follow you, as the Rock Crushers follow me.” Hemust said. He smiled to himself. “Although the way the ‘Giantkiller’ legend is spreading, I might find myself without a tribe soon as well.”

  The big orc laughed, and his council joined in a moment later. Koruk smiled, and took a deeper drink of his ale.

  The next morning Koruk awoke to shouts of alarm. He jolted up from the fur he was laying on, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes quickly, and went go to see what had happened.

  A crowd of orcs had surrounded something. As Koruk pushed through them he saw that it was a body, laying stone dead on the rough floor of the cavern.

  “What happened?” He asked.

  “Found him like this this morning. He hasn’t got a mark on him!” One of the crowd said.

  “It’s the water. Told you we should boil it first. Who knows what’s in these caves.” Said another. More voices chimed in their own opinions, all talking over each other.

  “Enough!” Koruk said in an even tone. He didn’t need to raise it. “Get Semthak and a doctor. If it was poison we need to know.”

  Several members of the mob broke off to do his bidding, and Koruk knelt down to look at the body. They were right though. It didn’t look like he had a wound on him. Sometimes this happened, Koruk knew, mostly to the elderly. After an orc started to turn grey and withered, they often just died without reason. He’d never heard of it happening to a man so young and seemingly healthy.

  Semthak appeared, flanked by two women. He knelt down beside Koruk, examining the body for some time.

  “Hmm, curious.”

  “Could it be from the poison the humans gave them?” Koruk whispered.

  “Maybe. But I doubt it. Look.”

  Semthak raised the chin of the corpse. It was hard to notice in the dim light, but there was a long bruise along his neck, close to the line of his jaw.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Something attacked him?”

  “Strangulation, I’d say.”

  Koruk tried to imagine a human strangling an orc in the night. He quickly dismissed the thought.

  “The food is gone!” A voice called.

  “What?”

  “The ration pack we were saving. It’s gone!”

  “They found five other bodies, at five other camps. Stuff stolen from all of them.” Semthak said.

  “Murder.” Moktark said. The orc spat on the ground, and leaned back against a stalagmite. “They knew the food wouldn’t last, so they decided to take a bit extra for themselves.”

  “Orcs wouldn’t kill that way. It’s shameful.” Koruk said. Moktark shook his head.

  “They aren’t normal orcs remember. These guys from Brittle Teeth, they’re more imp than orc. Some of them are still wearing the robes.”

  “My people would not do such a thing.” Kiwai said defensively. “This is not our way.”

  “Has there been any tension between the imp camp and ours?” Semthak asked. “We got their leader killed.”

  “No.” Kiwai said firmly. “They see Aiffi’s death as an act of martyrdom against the sky demons.”

  “It wouldn’t be them.” Koruk said. He noticed Kiwai breath a sigh of relief out of the corner of his eye. “They’ve been sharing their supplies with us. Why would they steal them back again?”

  “Yeah, guess you’re right.” Moktark said.

  “One of ours then. Unthinkable.” Semthak sighed.

  “We’ll have to assume that’s the case. Start asking questions. See if there’s a pattern between the five camps.”

  Ultimately though, it proved fruitless. The story was the same at every camp. They had woken up, and noticed one of their own was dead. There wasn’t even a pattern with the deaths. It wasn’t like they were guarding the food. If someone had wanted to snatch it, there was no reason to kill anyone first.

  Koruk sighed, mulling it over in his head. Moktark tossed a pebble off into the distance, where it bounced away into the darkness of the cave. The noise made Koruk jump.

  “I wish you wouldn’t…” Koruk began, but halted mid sentence.

  “Sorry. Just thinking ‘bout stuff.” Moktark said.

  “The darkness.” Koruk whispered.

  “What?”

  “All the murders were near the back of the cave.”

  Moktark grunted, withdrawing an axe from his belt.

  “You think there’s something out there?”

  Koruk peered into the blackness beyond the perimeter of the fires.

  “I don’t know.” He said finally.

  The good mood amongst the refugees turned army had evaporated quickly in the face of the silent killings. Koruk had ordered sentries be placed near the rearmost camps, and organized every group to sleep in shifts, keeping watch. There were no more killings, but morale plummeted as paranoia swept the camp. Orcs began to hide their food, and fights had begun breaking out over unfounded accusations.

  It was only a matter of time before things exploded, Koruk realized. He had to do something.

  Koruk gathered the refugees together, near the centre of the cavern, and addressed them.

  “I know you are angered by the murders. I know in your hearts many of you are afraid of this place. There is no shame in that. We were made to stand tall under the red sun, not hunched over in these dingy caves.” Koruk began. A few heads nodded along. So far so good, he thought.

  “But if you think we’ve come here to hide from the humans, you’re mistaken. If you have fear in your heart, conquer it, because there is work to be done. Scouts have brought word that Zernthod still stands against the humans and their engines of war!” Koruk said, pacing back and forth on the outcrop of rock. “And they will not stand alone. I intend to go to their aid.”

  The crowd murmured amongst each other. An orc stepped forward.

  “How can we? If we step outside into the sun, the sky will rain fire on us! We have already lost so many.”

  “We will not travel under the sun. We will travel under the earth. Just as Orcus led our people through these caves in eons past, I would have us do the same.” Koruk said. He then drug the huge barker he had taken from the human warrior onto the makeshift stage, and hoisted it above his head dramatically. “I would have us take up our weapons, and show the invaders that we will not be slaves! We will not roll over and die like dogs! Who will join me!?”

  The crowd roared in approval, and lifted their weapons, makeshift or otherwise, in support.

  “Excellent deflection.” Semthak muttered as Koruk stepped off the stage. “That’ll keep their minds off the murders and lack of food for awhile.”

  “It doesn’t solve the problem though.” Said Koruk. “The next time a dead orc materializes we’ll back to square one.”

  “Then we’d better find this killer, and soon.” Moktark said. Koruk nodded.

  “I want you to start organizing them into warbands. You know the ways of war. Teach these people to fight as one.”

  “You got it little brother.”

  “And I think we should integrate imps into those bands, as trainers. If the orcs get used to working side by side with the imps, it will help to reduce suspicion between the groups. Something tells me we’re going to need each other down here.”

  “I can try to persuade the imps to go along with it.” Kiwai said. “But they won’t like it. My people dislike working with outsiders.”

  “All the more reason for it. I don’t want us having to watch our backs down here. Something is out there, stalking us in the dark. The more we can trust each other the safer we’ll be. Semthak, I want you to organize work teams. We need to make weapons for these people.”

  “I’ll do my best. Maybe there’s something worth salvaging down here.”

  As his friends headed off to their respective tasks, Koruk was left alone on the stage. The crowd had departed, and the torches had begun to burn low. Koruk gazed out into the darkness beyond them, and wondered what he was getting himself into.