An Orc Learns Daggers (mod)

[Rushnak Orog]

10th Brightening of Immanis, Spring, Era XIV (pf)


The brightenings had been long recently. His stomach rumbled and yearned for nutrition and his throat was in a constant need of refreshing. The water he could obtain easily. The food, on the other hand, was more difficult. The large orc knew how to use his giant body and massive weight to fight, but that alone could not catch him dinner. Rushnak was in desperate need to learn how to effectively use this dagger he had been carrying around.

And yet another problem faced the young, lonely orc. Who in the Empire could actually help him learn the only weapon he was armed with? And an even more difficult question was who in the Empire would help him? The current times have pushed orcs away from civilization, so only another of his kind would be a likely candidate for a teacher. If chance landed himself and another orc together in the wilderness, luck for Rushnak may very well be taking a turn... as slow and gentle as that turn may be.

Luck was something the orc had been lacking. He had no coins and only the dagger as a weapon. In order to even think of risking going to buy another weapon, he would need to acquire the crowns used by any store. At one point he had actually gained possession of some fine silks he could sell, but they were ruined and destroyed quickly afterwards.

Rushnak was also alone, so another orc who could join him would strengthen his chances of being able to raid a merchant traveling by and actually get something from him. But yet again, luck ran any other of his race away. Things would need to change if he were to eventually create a horde large enough to finally stand up against the civilians of the Empire who chose to raid and hunt his race. And they would need to change fast.

[Soldier]

The open road was always an easy escape from the city. The presses of people, the large groups of smelly animals, the rule of law… all of it on the road was no more. As the Orc tramped down the road, the last vistiges of civilization passed into the background, leaving Orog alone in the wilds. That is, until he heard the grunting and groaning of a large creature in the trees next to him. The creature cursed loudly, bellowing to the Gods about his being cursed with fools for companions, and obviously cared little, if at all, that anyone could hear. Orog would have to go into the trees if he cared to see what was going on.

[Rushnak Orog]

Getting as far from any city as he could would only improve his chances of finding what he wanted. Rushnak hated cities and only felt comfortable in one, but even then he always had to watch his back. The orcs, as a race, needed a place they could gather where they could actually be relaxed for periods at a time. Orckon seemed to only be a distant memory of orcs long killed, but the idea lived on, at least in his own mind.

Traveling away from civilization meant relaxation for some and adventure for others. Rushnak hoped it meant more of the latter for him, as long as stealing weapons and coins during raids and learning how to use those weapons was considered an adventure. To him that description seemed more like simple, everyday living for a real orc. The dream never left his mind, it seemed.

Hearing a noise off the path did not startle him, but the orc stopped and turned to listen more closely. The grunts and groans did not touch his nerves, but instead activated his curiosity. He gently stepped towards the sounds and sharpened his naturally exceptional eyesight as he neared. Either the sound was from a very close origin or it was so loud that it seemed that way. Regardless, Rushnak crept closer until he could get a visual confirmation of what made the noises.

[Soldier]

A swift path through the trees found Rushnak coming through the woods into a large clearing. The center of the clearing held a tiny cottage, more a hut, really, with a Human man lying near the front door. The dead man was young, probably in his early thirties, and a broken sword and a pool of blood told the Orc that he had defended this house fiercely. Even so, the three burly Orcs coming out the front door with two Human women slung over their shoulders were laughing loudly. A fourth Orc stood off to the side, yelling obscenities at the three as they set their captives on their feet.

One of the women was most likely the dead man’s wife, as they were close to the same age. The other was a younger version of her mother, about nineteen. Each glared viscously at the Orcs, as though they would happily slit their throats and dance in their intestines. The bellowing Orc finally called out “Did we get ev’ryt’in’?” The other Orcs nodded happily, their hands too busy roaming over the struggling females for them to answer properly. It would seem the Orcs hadn’t noticed their guest in the trees yet.

[Rushnak Orog]

Rushnak carefully made his way through the trees and the bushes and saw what was creating the commotion. Realizing there were orcs made his eyes widen as he made sure not to miss anything they said or what they were doing. The dead man and the struggling women made his heart pump harder as he yearned to be involved. In fact, the only part of the scene which made him angry was the fact that the raid was already over.

Seeing that everything was under control and the commander of the mob seemed to ready to wrap up the raid and collect the booty, Rushnak decided it was time for him to move out. This would be the best time because they were about to move out and he could catch them and help if they had anything else to finish. Moving out of the brush, Rushnak ran towards the orcs making sure they realized he was not there to threaten them by keeping his hands in clear view while he approached.

Once he was close enough, he slowed and greeted saying, "Mesa help." Rushnak did not bother addressing the other orcs, only the commander. Chances were good that the others did not have the capacity to understand the situation when a single orc approached a mob. A male orc coming up to a mob of this size either wanted to take over or join, and appearing nonthreatening would make them assume the latter, he hoped. Rushnak was smart for his race and knew that in order to eventually take over, it would probably be best to join first. He only hoped the commander was wise enough to realize he could use all the help he could get the way things were in the Empire right now.

[Soldier]

The Orcs were rather startled as yet another Orc came waltzing out of the woods and up to them. They stared with bloodshot eyes, the females forgotten as they watched to see what would happen next. The women, on the other hand, were fully prepared to take full advantage of the situation. A stomp on the arch of a foot and a swift kick to the shins sent the Orcs holding the women howling in pain, the women running full out for the forest. The Orcs started to go into pursuit, but the Commander held them back. “He want help, he catch females. Females hurt… He dies.” With that, he crossed his arms, waiting for the newcomer to make the next move.

[Rushnak Orog]

The orc turned his head quickly towards the females as the suddenly wrenched themselves free from their captors. Rushnak narrowed his eyes after them and heard the commander speak. He did not have to look back or respond to get his feet moving- only an accepting grunt to let him know his intentions. He started in the same direction the females went and pumped his legs as hard as they could run while he still had the open ground and nothing to maneuver around.

While on the move, Rushnak had to shake the thoughts of the two dumb orcs away. How worthless of an orc did you really have to be to let two females escape your grasp? One thing he learned was that if you want things done right, you have to do it yourself. This was the case, at least, until you had worked with smart orcs who shared the same goal as you from the beginning. Rushnak knew he was far from that position, though, so he focused solely on the two targets he had to run down.

The plan was to gain enough ground to take one female and grab her tightly around the waist. Losing her companion would hopefully make the other female at least stop. The human female was a creature not hardly understood by himself or many other orcs, but Rushnak did realize that they cared about each other, especially when they were closely related. The concept escaped his imagination, but it was true and he planned on using that weakness against them.

Pushing his muscular body to gain ground quickly in order to conserve energy later, Rushnak sprinted and hoped his larger strides and quicker legs would help him catch his prey fast.

[Soldier]

The females vanished into the trees, blending into the shadows as they fled their captors. Rushnak found himself inside the trees himself quite quickly as he gave chase, having to slow down to prevent himself from running face-first into the tightly packed trunks and branches. The women had seemingly vanished, nowhere to be seen. That was why it was such a surprise when something flashed in front of his face, drawing blood from a tiny nick in his nose. There was a solid thud, and a small throwing dagger quivered in the trunk next to him, thrown by the nineteen-year-old girl who stood under a tree about ten feet away. She looked terrified, searching frantically for another blade hidden somewhere on her body.

[Rushnak Orog]

The trees slowed him down, but the greenskin was not about to give up. He pushed himself as fast as possible without hurting himself or tripping over a fallen branch. What was frustrating about the situation was that the girls disappeared. Gone. Living in the wilderness had apparently taught them many lessons and they knew this area very well. But them just disappearing in front of him was baffling. Orcs naturally excelled in the dense woods and he started to slow in order to find some sort of clue-

Thud.

The dagger nicked is nose before slamming into a nearby tree. Instead of worrying about his nose or the weapon, he immediately found where it had originated. The girl seemed worried and not paying close attention to Rushnak. Narrowing his eyes, the orc decided to close the short distance between them before she should react. He set off sprinting towards her, ready to dodge another dagger if she was able to come up with one in time. His plan was to be ready to grab her arm if she did come up with a weapon while simultaneously grabbing her around her waist in order to keep her from running or causing any further damage.

[Soldier]

The girl backpedaled, turned and sprinted off, dodging trees and branches, staying just out of her pursuer’s reach. Even so, Rushnak was gaining… until he tripped over something stuck in his ankles, and went sprawling on his stomach. Something hard and sharp pressed into the back of his neck, threatening to slip in and do serious damage if he moved. His periphrial vision showed the older woman standing just to his side, the long stick she used to trip him held at the back of his throat. A knife had been tied securely to the end that now dug in his skin, making it a crude, but very deadly weapon.

The younger girl giggled when she returned, speaking softly to her mother. The mother nodded and turned her attention back to her prisoner. “No one tell you not look at one thing when hunt?” she asked in very crude, yet passable Orcish. “You not see other hunter to side!” The knife pressed harder into the back of his neck, dangerously close to piercing the skin.

[Rushnak Orog]

Rushnak ran, narrowing in on his prey and gaining every moment. As soon as he went flailing through the air and towards the ground he thought, What?! How could I have missed something? He slammed into the ground and immediately felt the prick on his neck. Knowing the woman was next to him, he had to think quickly. Pinned against the ground, it would be difficult to move fast enough to trip her before she had the opportunity to shove the sharp end of her weapon into the back of his neck.

When the girl ran up and started to giggle, Rushnak began to feel embarrassed. Orcs had a great sense of pride and when they were ridiculed and laughed at, that pride welled into a fierce anger which gave the green beasts even more adrenaline than usual. He furrowed his brow and thought hard. He could not determine if the girl had any sort of weapon, but he had to assume she had another dagger to throw at him. She would if she was smart, at least, he thought, planning his next move.

No matter what he did, he did not want to the leader of the small mob of orcs to see him like this. Rushnak was tough by nature and knew that force was usually a better tactic than diplomacy in situations like these. At least that was the case for his race. He judged the distance the woman was standing from him with his peripheral vision and decided on a course of action. She could not be too far, even with a stick and a dagger at the end. But no matter what he did, he had to be fast.

After catching his breath and ignoring the broken words of the woman, Rushnak moved. As quickly as he could, he rolled towards the woman's feet to take away the advantage she had with a long weapon. He also rolled quickly in order to avoid any sudden throw of a dagger the girl may try to make. He would try to wrap his arm around the back of the woman's legs near the knees and shove his weight into her by rolling. This should easily knock her down, and if successful, he would take away her weapon and get on the opposite side of her than her daughter. The close proximity of him and the woman would make the girl think twice before tossing a dagger their way. The orc knew he could out wrestle either of them, maybe even both at once, so he had to take away any advantages they might be able to gather.