Skirmish (Fangdarr): Chieftain
Follow along each week for Skirmishes of characters of the Orcblood Legacy Series. These are real events that take place during the story’s timeline but are not detailed in the book.
“What you want?” Fangdarr growled as he wraps his fingers around the shaft of his weapon.
The troll stepped toward him with confidence, smiling around its long tusks. Fangdarr took note of the collection of bones tied together and worn as loose armor. With each step the intruder took, they rattled together making the orc wonder how the troll had managed to sneak up on him without notice.
Though a pair of daggers stuck out from the creature’s belt, its arms hung limp with no sign of aggression. Fangdarr could tell by the sheer confidence that the troll needed no time to produce the blades at the first sign of trouble. His eyes stayed narrow as the unwarranted visitor closed the distance. Yet, the orc made no move to stop him.
Stopping an arm’s length from the orc, the creature cracked its mouth into a wide grin. “We have been watchin’ ya, orc.” It had been so long since Fangdarr last encountered trolls that he had forgotten their odd accent, causing his face to twist in confusion. The troll caught his expression. “Ahahah, don’ be shy, now. Whacha doin’ out here in ya lonesome? Why ya ain’t with ya other kind?”
Fangdarr gripped his axe more tightly. He was not fond of the pressing questions from one who had just entered his home.
Upon seeing the orc tense, the troll patted the air with a relaxed smile. “Alright, alright. No need for dat.” His eyes shined deviously. “Me name Raz’ja. I’m da chieftain of da trolls. All of dem. Who ya are?”
Refusing to release the tenseness in his shoulders, Fangdarr held his gaze. “Fangdarr.”
Raz’ja grinned at the lackluster response. “Are ya with da Zharnik clan?”
“No. Me father was chieftain, long ago.” The orc didn’t know why he added the detail about his father. Perhaps pride or foolishness. He cursed himself for revealing too much. But Fangdarr realized that if the troll chieftain had wished for his death, he would have simply flooded the cave with a horde of trolls. The orc’s body relaxed in slight.
“Ah, there ya be,” Raz’ja began, seeing Fangdarr unfurl his defensiveness. “And what about ya? Ya goin’ to be chieftain too?”
Fangdarr laughed aloud at the thought. “No, Fangdarr not going to be chieftain.”
“Why not? Ya are strong, intelligent. Ya father were chieftain before ya. What stoppin’ ya?”
Pursing his lips in irritation at the incessant questions of his path, Fangdarr quickly discovered he did not have an answer to the question. Why not? he asked himself. After pondering in silence, he met Raz’ja’s expectant and sinister gaze and shrugged. “Don’t know how to become chieftain.”
It was the troll’s turn to laugh. “Ah, don’t ya worry, orc. I can help ya with dat. What say we strike a bargain, ya?”
Fangdarr’s eyes narrowed dangerously once more. “What bargain?”
“Raz’ja help ya become chieftain of ya people, as ya father were. In return, ya form an alliance with da trolls. Together, I think we can do great things, ya.”
A moment of silence passed as the orc considered the agreement. He searched for any sort of downside yet came across none outright. If he was to truly become chieftain, wouldn’t an alliance with the neighboring trolls be much better than as enemies? With humans to the north and west, trolls to the south, and dwarves to the east, the orcs were surrounding on all sides. An alliance would only serve to aid them.
Fangdarr extended his hand, ready to seal the agreement. Rather than meeting the orc’s hand with his own three-fingered grip, Raz’ja let out a cackle of laughter. “No, orc. In my culture, agreements cost ears.” When Fangdarr raised his eyebrow, the troll laughed harder. “Ears. Humans, dwarves, or elves. Any of dem will do. An agreement typically cost one ear each. But dis be an alliance between chieftains. We must collect a hundred together—just by ourselves—to seal the alliance. So, will ya hunt with me?”
Retracting his hand, the orc eyed the chieftain in front of him. He could see the lust for the hunt on Raz’ja’s face, savoring the thrill to come. Fangdarr recalled the way his mother was hounded through the forest, hunted like a rabid animal, by humans. Slowly, his own smile started to show.
“I hunt with you.”