Chapter 76

The Sea of Ogo.

Ogo

The smell of success and orc sweat was in the air. It was a salty smell that brought me joy. My orcs had been hard at work, logging and building the port. The wood planks were thick and splintered, but it would soon weather. The drills were disassembled, massive cleats were installed, and my captains surveyed the dock for defects and weaknesses.

“It’s been a long week,” Haf said, coming down the gangway of his ship. “The orcs are happy to have been put to use. They’ve been well fed, promised due compensation, and are content for the meantime.”

“This couldn’t be a better opportunity,” I said.

Haf and I discussed our trade route. He had things on his mind and wondered if we’d expand our route to deliver to other orc cities. If the profit was generous, then why not? We recruited Buto and Ugu in the deckhouse on my ship to discuss the potential trade routes we could take. We deliberated on an expansion.

We abused my maps at length with our discussions. We drank our bitter orc ale and shared our excitement for tonight's delivery of goblin spit beer. We would share everything among the orcs as a celebration.

“We’ll host a tournament on the dock while we watch from aboard our ships,” Buto suggested. “Strongest orc earns two barrels of spit beer to themselves.”

“If we’re all onboard with that idea, let’s put it into motion,” I said. “Tonight.”

There was no debate. The orcs lived for a fair fight and we sent a messenger to notify them to prepare. The prize was the highest incentive.

“Will you be fighting?” Haf asked me.

“No, no. With a prize like that, I’d rather the orcs earn it. None of you should fight either. Unless we fight each other for show.”

“Won’t be a bad way to kick things off,” Buto said.

We grunted our amusement and accord in tandem.

The tournament began at dusk.

Orc and goblin ships had gathered nearby. Goblin ships cast bonfire light upon the dock and reflected on the softly surfing sea that gently broke on the pilings. Lanterns hung on the taffrails of orc ships and wavered in the reflection of the water. Goblins filled the evening with hellish cacophony.

I kicked off the tournament by fighting Haf with bare fists. Our knuckles met repeatedly and cracked like lightning. Our fists buckled each time under the impact. Our bodies slammed to the dock and our skin found fresh splinters the size of goblin daggers. Our throats wore raw with rage and fury. Eyes blackened. Ribs cracked. Tusks strained against jaw and skull as we threw each other into pilings.

The fight was over when Haf lay unmoving. His chest undulated and he groaned in the brief silence before the crowd erupted with cheers and with boos. I carried the orc to his ship and his crew carried him off to his cabin.

Buto and Ugu fought viciously until Ugu lost consciousness in a firm headlock. He was carried off as well.

“Let the tournament begin!” I bellowed with a widening neck, popping eyes, and a reaching tongue.

I watched through one good eye, and saw blood in the other until it swelled completely shut. The fights lasted late into the night until the dock was stained with the blood of orcs. The goblins squealed for more, but the winner had been announced.

“Congratulations, Zik,” I said, shaking the beaten orc’s hand.

“Commander,” Zik said. “I’ll be drinking all my prize tonight!”

“Good, and you’ll be the one escorting the goblins to Hawkin’s brewery,” I said.

“I would be honored. I’ll try not to step on them.”

“I’ve had enough of GloomGlower for a while, I don’t want to hear that he’s lost goblins which are stuck on the bottom of your boots as proof.”

“Aye aye, commander.”

“How do you feel?” I said, guiding him along the dock to the gangway of my ship. “That was a good fight.”

“I feel alive!”

“I’ll keep you in charge of the deliveries every week. The first delivery will be thirty barrels. I’ll give you two gold and ten silver to pay Thrush.”

“Aye aye, commander. You can trust me.”

“Thrush is the monster. He’s a little taller than a goblin.”

“So I’ve heard. The goblins have been sharing rumors about him. They say he took two harpoons through the heart and took down an entire goblin ship as revenge.”

“I don’t believe any of the stories I’ve heard,” I spat. “Nothing survives a harpoon through the heart. It’s nonsense. We built the harpoons GloomGlower uses. It’s impossible.”

“Do you believe that he lifted sunken ships from the bottom of the sea?”

“Of course not,” I scoffed.

“That’s the most consistent rumor out there. I spoke with one of the goblin captains who said he traded most of his hoard for one of those ships.”

I grunted.

Zik wouldn’t leave without being dismissed, and I intentionally kept him around while I pondered. Zik made small talk as I absently grunted my responses. When he had no more to say, we watched the goblins switch shifts for the task of bailing their hole filled ships.

“They’re so dumb,” Zik said.

“That’s why I deal with them,” I said. “You can always trust dumb goblins to be dumb. It’s something I’ve been able to count on before, and something I’ll continue to count on again and again.”

“Is it true about the animals?” Zik said after a few moments of silence.

“It is. I went on a hunting party and found no trace of animals. I’ve spoken with my captains. We’re under the impression that Hawkin is using magic to keep animals and unnatural beasts at bay.”

“Fish is going to get boring.”

“My hunters are going as far as they need to go to bring something back. It will take time, but we’ll have red meat on the table eventually.”

My attention had been needed to maneuver one of our ships around so that the goblins were unobstructed to transport a dozen carts upon the dock. The goblins knew what the deal was, but they went on ahead of Zik. I passed him the money and told him to catch up.

The day wasn’t yet over for me. I would wait until Zik returned with our spit beer. There was another round of celebration to be had. Every tankard we could find was brought out to the dock. The orcs sprawled out on the port and waited with mellow mirth.

The stars were out. The night was cold and I stood to peer as far as I could between goblin ships. There was still a lot to do and a lot to occupy our lives with while we waited for Hawkin to increase his output. It may take many more months than I was comfortable with, but wealth was in my future. Through wealth, I would expand my trade route and control the sea as my territory.

The sea of Ogo. Now that has a nice ring to it!