Krag paced
slowly across the floor of the orc house.
His gunshot wound hadn’t completely healed yet, but he was running out
of time. He knew Set was planning
something, but he didn’t know what it was.
His allies were dwindling, now that he couldn’t trust Tej anymore.
Krag
grunted. “Krag nor makr hapenr. (I do
not know what to do.)”
Arj watched
his chieftain, never having seen him worried before. “Leder whor ar Krag alir? (Chieftain, who are
your allies?)”
Krag threw
his arms back in exasperation. The
movement tugged at his wound and he cried out in pain. “Grrlplp!” he swore, clutching his
chest. “Wat. Hooman! (Wait! The humans!)”
Thok said,
“Hooman stinkr likr dethr? (The human
that smelled like death?)”
“Yesr! (Yes!)” Krag said.
The orcs
arrived at Mike the Elder’s house an hour later, with the help of Minion’s
cargo van and Andre in the driver’s seat.
Mike stood
in his door way, “You want to do what?”
Krag
cleared his throat. “We want to use the
dagorhir warriors to fight against Set.”
Mike
stepped forward out onto the porch.
“Look, I’m all for finding a portal to your plane so you can get back,
but I don’t think I can condone this kind of thing. They have never fought in a real battle
before. They could be killed if they are
using real weapons.”
“We have
armor,” Arj said. “We have been
collecting it and forging it ourselves in our back yard. The nearby humans have been mistaking it for
something called barbecues.”
Minion
spoke up. “Mike, I feel like this is
something we can do. How much bigger are
the Torxanian humans than we are?”
Urr turned
to Minion. “Torxanian humans are as
large as orcs. They needed to be this
size to match us in battle.”
“Oh,”
Minion said, eyes downcast.
Krag said,
“But you are all faster than they are.
We do not need you to be aggressive, just distract them long enough for
me to kill Set.”
“And Tej,”
Arj said.
“What makes
you think you can beat Set?” Mike asked.
“You failed before.”
Krag
winced. “Yes, I realize that. But before we did not have a magic user
allied with us. Now we do.”
Mike
coughed. “I don’t know if I can handle
that kind of pressure. I am nowhere near
that level. I found a portal spell, but
I haven’t been able to open one yet. It
takes a lot of energy and I don’t know if I have that kind of power.”
Minion
asked, “Is there something we can do to give you more energy, more power?”
Mike
coughed again. “It’s getting really bad
inside. I don’t know what can help me.”
Krag put a
large hand on Mike’s shoulder. “Come
with me. My orcs will teach your humans
to fight. You and I will heal. Together.”
Krag turned
to Minion and Andre. “We will need you
to impress upon your dagorhir comrades the importance of this battle. I know you can do it.”
To Andre,
Krag said, “Once this battle is finished, I will be out of your mother’s life
forever. I am sure it will make you
happy.”
Andre
sighed. “Man, it ain’t like that no
more. I know you’re a good, m-...
you’re... you’re good for her. I know
she cares about you. It’s been a while
since she’s had that. Her happiness is
what is most important.”
Krag’s
hideous smile almost shone. “Thank you.”
Krag looked
around the outside of Mike’s house. “Do
you have anywhere we can go to be alone, connected with nature?”
Mike nodded. “I have just the place, come with me.”
Andre and
Minion met in the backyard with the 20 or so dagorhir players unsure of why
they were called on a nonbattle day.
Once they noticed the three orcs standing behind Andre and Minion, they
knew something was up that was bigger than they, both literally and
metaphorically.
Krag and
Mike walked deep into the forest surrounding Mike’s house and field. The sounds from the practice field faded into
the distance. Mike brought Krag to two
large flat shale rocks next to a stream.
“This is where I come to meditate,” Mike said.
Krag said,
“This will be perfect.”
Andre said,
“Guys, look. We have some trouble coming
and Krag needs our help. The dudes
behind us... if you haven’t figured it out yet, they are....”
Minion
burst in. “Orcs! Can you guys freakin’ believe it!”
Minion
turned around and punched Arj in the shoulder excitedly. Arj looked down at him in annoyance. Minion turned to the rest of the group. “Look!
He didn’t even feel it!”
The group moved
forward and surrounded Arj, Urr and Thok.
The curious humans touched the now uncomfortable orcs.
Andre said,
“Sorry guys, this is new for them.”
Rant said,
“So what does Krag need from us?”
Krag sat on
one of the shale rocks. Mike sat on the
other. Krag said, “Orcs tap into a part
of themselves that I think people in this realm have forgotten. But I feel as if you can do this as you are
able to control magic that shouldn’t exist here.”
Mike said,
“What is this?”
“We call it
‘preeemaaa,’ our history, our ancestry.
For those who can harness it, they can call on their fallen family to
bring them power in battle. Some orcs
just go through the motions, I am sure, but others take it seriously and you
can tell on the battlefield. The ones
who tap into it the most become our shamans.”
Mike
nodded. “So how do I do it?”
Krag
shuffled in his seat, shrugging his shoulders.
“Close your eyes and think of all of those in your life whom you loved
and passed away. See them with your
mind. Bring them to you until you can
smell them. Ask them to heal you. Ask them to bring you energy and power from
the other realm.”
Mike closed
his eyes. “Okay.”
Krag closed
his eyes and immediately saw his father.
The
dagorhir players all held wooden weapons as they fought against the orcs. The orcs also held wooden weapons. The point, as it was explained was the orcs
would try to clock the humans. The
humans goal was just to stay alive and defend themselves. They didn’t need to kill the Torxanian
humans, just distract them long enough for Krag to kill Set.
When Wrench
lost concentration and was spun head over heels from a hit by Urr, the whole of
them knew there would be a lot of work to do.
<i>Fater,</i>
Krag said in his mind. <i>Krag
nedr Goor helpr fitr Set.</i> (Father, I need your help to fight Set.)
Goor
reached out and touched his son. Krag
felt the warmth of his father on his forehead.
His bullet wound felt as if it were being poked by tiny needles. He resisted the urge to scratch it.
Mike didn’t
know who to call upon at first. Everyone
he had lost before were not that close to him.
He imagined letting his energy drift into the aether without guidance,
exploring. He saw his spirit form walking
through the forest around them as it recognized a figure wrapped in a vibrant
brown and green. He pushed himself to
approach it. The figure reached out to
Mike and wrapped around him.
In his head
he heard, <i>This time will not cure you, but I give you my
strength.</i>
<i>Who
are you?</i> Mike asked. <i>God?</i>
<i>I
transcend definition,</i> the figure said. <i>Gods are something different. Open yourself. I will bring you the strength you need to
help your friends.</i>
<i>Okay,</i>
Mike acquiesced. He inhaled deeply, then
exhaled as much air as he could, visualizing a set of double doors in his chest
opening. The figure moved forward,
stepping inside of him.