Noah woke feeling groggy. It had been a long night. The first interruption to his sleep had been a false alarm when the sentries spotted nearby monsters that didn’t attack. Then he was woken again by frantic yelling and the sudden onslaught of fantasy-world snakes. Noah despised snakes. Their fangs had dripped clear fluid, illuminated by the firelight which delivered a painful toxin that took hours for Un’Dal to purge. He shivered involuntarily as he remembered the poor orc that had been bitten. Now Noah found himself staring into the face of the well-meaning but ill-timed orc, Di’Ma.
“What can I help you with Di’Ma?” Noah asked as he got his bearings.
“Well, no one else is awake and I was hoping to get started on sparring for the day. I already meditated, otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered you.” Di’Ma explained.
“I see. And you decided that I would be the best to wake?” Noah asked, blinking his eyes and shaking his head. Di’Ma smiled.
“That’s right.” He replied. Noah sighed and got to his feet.
“All right, lets spar.” He said as he picked up his hammer and made for the eastern exit. Di’Ma hurried after him and they were soon in a cleared-out patch of earth, made a ring by the surrounding snow. Noah didn’t give any indication before he swung his hammer. Di’Ma barely managed to block the first strike and was knocked to the ground. His eyes went wide and he grinned.
“I knew that you would be the best sparring partner!” He said as he hopped back to his feet. Noah’s brow furrowed at his response. And he responded by knocking the orc on his back again. I need coffee. As much as Noah wanted to be irritated, it was just too hard to stay mad at Di’ma. Every time he was knocked over, disarmed, or otherwise pummeled he would literally grin and bear it. He would even laugh! Eventually, Noah returned his smile and forgave the orc for the rude awakening. Throughout the first hour of sparring orcs trickled by, finding their own areas to exchange blows. Noah felt a surge of pride as he noted that a large majority of the tribe had joined them. Unlike his fellow humans, the orcs desired to push themselves and grow stronger. After they finished sparring, Noah gathered the rest of Group 1 and ran them through mock battles with five warriors on either side. His favorite part of training was when he challenged the nine of them to fight him at once. He had been surprised by their ability, some of them possessed far more weapon skill than he did, but in the end, he thoroughly crushed them all. It primarily served as an ego boost, even if he presented it as practice for taking down a superior foe.
At lunch, they munched on roasted snake and discussed their hunting plans. They would travel due north, running all out for an hour or until they encountered a beast. At which point they would take their time coming back, combing the area for any signs of prey. Noah took a moment to finish chewing the jerky-like meat and turned to look at the strongest member of the group. She had the familiar reddish skin but lacked the tusks common among the orcs. Her dark hair was kept in several braids that ran down her back, and she wore a fur dress not too dissimilar to his own. Well here goes.
“I’m sorry, but could you remind of your name?” He asked sheepishly. She gave him a funny look but complied.
“I’m Ne’Ja, my chief.” She responded, with just a hint of mirth. He shook the hand she offered and was glad to be past the awkward bit.
“It’s good to officially meet you, Ne’Ja. What do you think about being my second in command?” He asked, not missing the irony of his statement.
“I would be happy to, what does that entail?” She replied. Noah pulled on his beard as he considered it.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Well, the primary role I have in mind is to lead the squad when I am not present or if we break into smaller groups. We could talk about more responsibilities as they come up.” He shared. She thought about it for a moment but eventually nodded.
“Alright, I’ll do it. When do I start?” She asked.
“Right now.” He replied, getting to his feet.
“Everyone, Ne’Ja will be my second in command. I expect you to obey her commands like you would mine.” There were several grunts of understanding, and once it was clear that no one would question his choice, he continued.
“We will be breaking into two groups as we go up the mountain. Ne’Ja will lead one and I will lead the other. Di’Ma, Ga’To, Me’Zin, and Shu’La will be with me, the rest of you will follow Ne’Ja. Gather what you need and meet me just north of the fissure.” Noah said. Already having his gear, he made his way to the meeting place. He had chosen the weakest four for his squad and was hoping he could help them catch up to the others. Soon they were ready to leave and they began their run up the mountain, staying just within visible range of the other squad. He pushed them to a dead sprint, and he heard them huffing for air within the first several minutes. If they were going to travel with him they would have to learn to keep up.
The snow came down in small dry flurries as they ran, making the landscape appear two-dimensional from the lack of contrast. It would make any roaming beast stand out, but it was also wearing on his eyes. If not for the constant slope it would have been easy to lose his sense of direction. Their run continued for the full hour, and they saw no sign of passing monsters as they went. They gathered with Ne’Ja’s squad and passed around water as they considered their next move.
“I am beginning to doubt that we encounter anything today.” Noah said with a frown. Ne’Ja nodded.
“Perhaps.”
“How much further do you think the peak is?” Di’Ma spoke up. Noah shrugged.
“Who knows? The scouts ran for several hours yesterday and never reached the next phase of the mountain. For all we know there is another essence-rich area like this one, or perhaps it really does go on forever.” Noah commented.
“You’re no fun. I think it is only a couple of hours more. At this pace, we would probably reach it before dark!” He said. Noah chuckled.
“We’re not going any further today. How bout this, once you reach copper then we can run as far as you want.” Noah joked. Di’Ma seemed to chew on the thought.
“That sounds fair.” He decided, growing quiet.
“All right, lets head back.” Noah announced, already leaving. They had been running for only a minute before an odd noise interrupted them. Noah raised a fist, bringing them to a stop. It was a sound that Noah recognized but couldn’t place. They strained their ears to listen, hoping to catch a distinguishing sound. Not good. The sound finally resonated with Noah, bringing a memory from months ago to mind. This was the sound he had heard when he hid under a carcass while the beasts fought to the last. He waved at Ne’Ja, calling her over.
“I believe there is a large monster swarm ahead. From the sounds of it, they are in the middle of a frenzy. I don’t think we’re prepared to get in the middle of it, let's circle around to the west. They took a long detour before cutting back down the mountain only to find their path similarly blocked. They ran closer to the swarm, hoping to confirm their suspicions, and were shocked by the view. For as far as they could see in either direction there were pitched battles between all kinds of beasts, and the snow was red with blood causing a thin fog to form as the warm fluid touched the snow. It was a disturbing picture, and Noah grimaced as he bit back the bile forming in his throat. The others stirred uncomfortably beside him, clearly disturbed as much as he was.
“Now what?” Ne’Ja asked.
“Now we wait.” Noah sighed.
“Wait?” Ne’Ja asked, frowning.
“Yep. We’ll let them narrow themselves down and strike when we see an opening.” He explained. “Though from the looks of things, it may be a while yet.” As if to emphasize this fact, he sat down in the snow and got comfortable. After a moment of hesitation, the rest of them followed suit and they watched the carnage unfold. After a particularly brutal battle, a massive bear-like creature rose on its hind legs and scanned the vicinity for its next prey. Its eyes passed over the surrounding beasts, as if unsatisfied by their presence. Noah’s stomach sank as he watched the beast slowly turn its gaze toward them. It squinted directly at him. And smiled.
