Chapter 056:

Ivano could barely contain his anger. His anger or his fear. Copious amounts of sweat poured down his face as he hugged the edge of the broken window. Outside he could see the large space between them and the wall, filled with the bodies of their own and the enemy. The Qaiviel soldiers stood resolute on the wall, shields and weapons barred, and stared back at them. Staring like a cornered rat. Which, they were.

The sun light bounced through a fragment of glass jutting out of the window's frame. A brief flicker of his thoughts went to how expensive such a large and smooth piece of glass would have been to make. More than everything in his home, himself included. Thinking about that warm place, with his family, the cold snow, delicious fish and game, made him long for home. Another shout from behind broke his thought.

Zig was pacing uncontrollably on the floor, his boots thumping on the soft white carpet of the Governors quarters. Ivano had expected to find the Governor, or someone of high status or rank within, but only found lowly servants. They had been ejected soon after they stormed the building, but the lack of anyone high born was a little unsettling. If they had one they might be able to trade their way out. Or at the very least, buy themselves a little more time.

Brenna, sitting on an impossibly expensive wooden table that formed the centre of the room, was trying her utmost to try and calm the Orc. For what little it did. It only seeming to make him even more agitated and panicked. Snakha, the murderous Orc he had met before the Maxill assault, sat in the large and ornate Governor's chair. Judging from Zig's attitude towards him, he seemed to be the second highest ranked Orc left in the army. He seemed quite comfortable there, the axe he killed a fellow Orc over resting on his legs. Nothing on his face gave away anything to how much trouble they were in. Ivano thought that the other leader Orcs, that Zig had brought with him into the tent, would attend. Snakha had told him that they had died in the skirmishes in the city, though refused to elaborate on exactly how they died. Memories of what he did to claim that axe came back.

Does he actually care at all? Or, is he like one of those people that actually believes they go somewhere after they die...Or maybe he just doesn't care, and is only in this for a good fight. These damn Orcs...

“It's all gone so wrong.” Zig finally muttered weakly, stopping his pacing near the door.

“Yes it has.” Ivano replied.

“What happened? We....”

“The Grand Fire Mage.” Brenna said, “Took out the army we sent. Then everyone...” she focused on Zig, sweat pouring off his face under her scrutiny. “Refused to turn around and launch an immediate attack on them, while they recovered. Using waves and dispersed-”

“It doesn't matter any more.” Ivano cut in, Brenna lowering her head in respect.

“Doesn't matter?” Zig asked angrily.

“Not like that.” Ivano assured him as best he could.

“So...” Snakha began, leaning forward and getting too close for Brenna's liking. “What do we do now?”

Silence filled the room. Screams and groans of the dying Orcs and Clansmen flooded through the empty air.

“I don't know.” Ivano replied. “I don't know.”

Snakha grumbled, but seemed content with his answer as he lent back into the creaking chair. He seemed quite content and started to peer through the things left behind in the desk. Zig was not happy. Something seemed to have snapped in his mind.

“You don't know?” he asked, moving close to Ivano. “Then why do you think you are in command?!”

Ivano slammed his fist into the wood, a dull reverberation travelling through the air.

“Because if you, you stupid Orc, had been put in charge, we would have spent all our time raiding little villages and hamlets throughout the countryside. Which you did, anyway, after I, very clearly, told you not to.”

“I am in command of the Orcs, not you.” Zig barred his teeth.

Ivano no longer felt anger in himself, only disgust that he had to work with someone like this. Someone who could not focus on their target; to attack the Border Forts in the rear and prepare for the invasion. It was a simple order, and yet this Orc lacked the ability or was unwilling to follow such simple orders.

“What do we do?” Zig asked aloud.

“We could always surrender.” Snakha said, the room turning stone silent. He smiled and righted himself. “I never thought that they would even ask for our surrender. We might want to take it before they change their mind.”

He nodded out the window. Ivano followed his line. Out there on the wall he could see the source of their problems. Amongst the sea of white and green soldiers were three dressed like armoured peasants. Those around them regarded those three as some sort of leader. They always moved for them when they passed and never the reverse. Others were dressed as peasants. And probably were, the army bolstered by the angry and revenge driven peasants he had tried to warn the Orcs about. He could see those amongst the soldiers. They were treated like peasants, leaving those three as the clear outliers.

“That mage they have, Grand Mage or whatever, I'm sure he could burn this place down without risking a single person on their side.” Snakha grumbled.

“So, why haven't they?” Brenna asked. Snakha smiled at her but shrugged. “They might think we have someone of value, like the Governor.”

Ivano forced a fake laugh. “We've set fire to their city and burned and pillaged our way through their lands. I thought they would have just burned us alive.”

The room was silent again. Snakha began to rock back and forth on the chair that could barely contain his weight. It squeaked and groaned with every movement, driving a lance through the middle of Ivan's brain. However it was easier to push that aside than the imminent destruction they faced. It would would not be long before their fate was decided, with or without their consent.

After an eternity, and still no movement from the enemy, Ivano breathed a sigh of relief. He had made his decision.

“Against everything that I've been taught, I think it would be best to surrender.”

Silence greeted him. Brenna looked utterly stunned at him, Snakha sharing the same expression. Zig. Zig was furious.

“What do you mean?” he demanded, his words filled with spittle.

“We cannot win.” Ivano began to explain as simply as he could. He did not want an angry mind to be clouded by complex words. “We wait, we die. We fight, we die. If we surrender, we could live. It's that simple.”

He slammed his boot onto the wooden floor.

“No. It's Not!” Zig screamed back at him. “How am I supposed to tell my father what happened here? That I lost so many Orcs for so little. So little that there's not anything to even...Fuck!”

He swung his fists wildly into the air and smashed everything he could see. Now he just looked like a petulant child. Ivano sighed, knowing that he was not going to get through any time soon. He looked back out again at the soldiers. There seemed to be more of them now.

“Well, we had a good run.” Snakha stood up and leaned an intact window next to him. “But I don't think there's any way out of this.”

“You're just as much a coward as the rest of them.” Zig spat out. His face, and especially his neck, grew more angry with every passing moment. Snakha just ignored him.

Is this the limit of your command?

Zig grew even more angry.

“We will not be surrendering.” A laugh escaped his lips. “I thought you Clansmen were meant to be brave?”

Ivano was not going to rise to the challenge, not matter how much he wanted to punch this Orcs head in.

“You can lead whomever is stupid enough to follow you to their deaths.” Ivano moved away from the window. “But, I am going out there to surrender, with everyone that wants to see their families again. And be done with this wretched land. If you want to live, Zig, you should to.”

“My father-”

“Your father would want you to live.” Ivano replied. “Any decent father would rather have their son in their arms rather than a cold corpse.”

“You don't know him...This was my chance to achieve some greatness. But we might-”

“We'll just die if we stay here.” Brenna cut Zig off, a strange look of terror and fear in his eyes. “There is no honour or greatness here. We might as well surrender.”

“I can't go back like this.” Zig grumbled. “I can't...”

He kept his head hung low as he quivered. There was nothing else to be done now. Ivano began to move to the door. Right now he did not even care if anyone would actually follow him. He just wanted to go home.

“We're not going to win here.” Brenna hopped off the table and started to follow him. “Might as well-”

Metal rubbed on metal, a light cry, and something slumped onto the floor. Ivano turned around first seeing Snakha with both his hands raised in the air, his axe on the floor infront of him. Brenna lay still on the floor, face down into the plush white carpet. Several large gashes were visible on the side of her face leaking copious amounts of blood as she lay perfectly still. Zig stood above her with a small bloodied blade.

“We're not going to surrender.” Zig spoke calmly. The blood continued to drip off his blade. “We're going to finish our mission and burn this city to the ground, and then demolish the Border Forts. That is our mission. And I can alone now can see it through.”

Ivano could not think of anything to say back. He was too stunned to speak. Was she dead? She was not moving, but she might have just been unconscious. Her back moved every so slightly. Though that might have just been his imagination. His anger, the anger he had beaten into him through endless winters, started to boil over.

“And those that want to surrender, like you.” Zig pointed the bloody blade at him, then at Brenna's body. “And her, are the reason we are in this state.”

“You and I both know that's not true.” Ivano replied.

Zig frowned. The expectation of Ivano lashing out had not come to fruition. He did want to kill the Orc, but now he was worried. Brenna was no weakling. It was troubling to see her go down so quickly. Everything he thought about Zig was now in dispute. Now he was worried as to whether he could actually kill him.

“As you said, it doesn't matter. I am going to get my glory. And I will not go back in shame.”

“You're behaving like a child.” Ivano moved his hand to his one handed axe. “And you need to have the snot beaten out of you. More, for hurting my friend. You're not going to get to go home after I'm done with you.”

“Try it, you bear fucker.”

Ivano shook his head in disappointment and readied his axe.

Ivano lunged forward as fast as he could, raising his axe to strike. Zig froze in the spot, blocking his downward strike with his own weapon. He slowly buckled underneath his strength but he refused to go down.

He shouldn't be that strong!

Zig let out a smile. The same disturbing and creepy one he always wore. It distracted him for only a heartbeat, but it was enough.

A tingling, then a burst of pain, came from his left side. He glanced down and saw blood coming from a small wound through his armour. Zig held another small dagger coated with blood. His own blood.

How did he do that?

Some strength began to leave him along with the blood. He had been stabbed before but something was different about this. Ivano relinquished his axe and throttled Zig, using his other hand to hold Zig's left hand and knock away the blade. That did leave a hand free, but Ivano's anger and rage had muddled his mind. Using every part of his strength that he could muster, he threw himself forward and slammed Zig into the floor next to Brenna's body. The other knife flew free.

Clamping down hard with his right hand the life began to leave Zig. He scratched desperately at Ivano's face with his free hand. Ivona did not care for what little pain he could inflict. He was going top see this runt of an Orc dead, not matter what. Despite struggling for breath, Zig called out towards the broken windows. Snakha stood to the side refusing to intervene on anyone's side. Something glinted in Ivano's eyes, coming from Zig. The momentary glance to the side gave Zig all the time he needed. When Ivano looked back Zig had something in his free hand.

There was something metallic in the palm of his hand. A silver disk. It was incredibly ornate and adorned by numerous white crystals and gems, one the size of his thumb in the centre. He recognised it instantly.

“A charm-”

The charm flashed white, Ivano's eyes blinded in the flash. He howled in pain and relinquished his grip on Zig as his hand reflexively moved to cover his face. Snakha gasped in surprised, his feet shuffling about nervously. Zig, going by sound, rolled away, panting heavily.

“Snakha!” Zig roared. The Orc grunted something back.

Ivano felt something wet coming out of his eyes. It was far more thick than tears, his own blood. His vision had yet to recover and did not seem to returning. A terrifying realisation came over him. He was blind. And the rest of his body was rapidly loosing strength.

“Snakha!” Zig roared again, sounding more demented with every word.

“What?” the Orc replied, the fear clear in his voice.

“Throw that traitor out the building. I don't want something like that near me. Now!”

Snakha did not reply. Ivano waited for the inevitable, but it did not come. Heavy steps moved from where he knew the Orc was, heading towards the door.

“Where are you going?!”

Snakha refused to answer. His feet becoming ever more faint as he ran away.

I thought you would have obeyed, or fought. Ivano let out a smirk. Guess I got that wrong about you.

“Fine.” Zig grumbled as he moved to the left of Ivano. "My Father's not going to be disappointed in me again. Never again. I'll be the one to lead us to victory then, since you humans seem so useless at it."

A dull ringing filled the air, coming from Zig. It grew and grew before disappearing. A sudden force crashed into his left, sending his hurtling away. His body smashed into a window before continuing out. Nothing, other than the sensation of falling, filled him for what seemed an eternity as he fell through the air.

The visions of home and warmth against the cold filled his mind.

A brief cacophony of pain, all along his body, then everything turned to an endless black.

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Hello Everyone!

Also that Zig's a mage. Perhaps it has something to do with him being a thrall, and the Orc shamans always wanting them. Hmm...

Shorter chapter than before. But, there you go.

Thanks for reading!