Roderick and Gorlana Pt. 05

He wasn't given much time to brood on it as he was spotted by the rest.

"There he is!"

"We found someone for you!" Yendell said with a smile.

A massive green hug knocked Roderick back as Korboq lifted him briefly off his feet. Roderick laughed and slapped his back three times along with him and shook his shoulder with a smile.

"My friend! Too long you leave me to sort out how you kept us Southern-Orthalians unified and satisfied all this time. I was all too happy to leave the damned council hall and run away into your human lands when the time finally came. What has leadership turned me into?"

Roderick laughed again, "You'll get the hang of it."

The drinks flowed and the night wore on in loud celebration as the humans and orcs mixed and mingled. There was no hostility, even with the Rechlingers around, mostly brooding around their own table, but nor was it all simple lighthearted fun. Talk of politics inevitably came up here and there, and Roderick was surprised that the most tensions seemed to be between the Southern-Orthalians and those from Orthanhall.

Darganya had arrived with Korboq and his entourage, her chiefdom now a part of the northernmost border of Southern-Orthalia. Roderick had already predicted that she would hold a tenuous, but potentially powerful position as the bridge between their northern and southern lands. Would she be a buffer, to ease them back together, or a spark point to light their tinderbox of animosity? He still wasn't sure.

What he was fairly sure of though, despite his nose, was the presence of what was perhaps an inevitable tension of ex-lovers that seemed to flow between them. She spoke with him in a somewhat flirtatious way that seemed to grow with both an interest and irritation, and Roderick wondered whether his lack of response to her scent was throwing her off. Though with how she spoke, she actually seemed more interested in how Valessa was doing rather than him, and mentioned she was looking forward to attending their wedding.

Gorlana had been glancing at them progressively more often and finally with a thinly-veiled bothered look had come up to insert herself into their conversation. After a few overly polite responses, Darganya found an excuse to step away with a side-eye to Gorlana.

Roderick had been eager to speak with her again anyway. She had been enjoying the ale, much as he had, and was giggling and friendly. She said the inn's common room almost felt like a smaller low-ceilinged clan-hall and that she was much more comfortable with their human parties then she thought she would be. Roderick was happy to hear it, though he warned her again that Andrapolis would be a good deal different than Fortspring. They got in a playful argument about whether Fringeland was more different than the rest of Andralia, than Southern-Orthalia was from the rest Orthalia. They exchanged a couple of playful shoves and ended up standing even closer.

Suddenly Carthala was there inserting herself into their conversation with some longer than natural looks at Gorlana and some pointed glances at Roderick. She brought up Valessa almost right away, asking if he could help prepare them to meet her with proper decorum in Andrapolis so as not to insult her. The Mayor had attended the evening and drifted into the conversation, oblivious to its nuance, saying he had already been giving etiquette lessons to Korboq at his request. He said the orc wanted to impress Valessa's cousin Dabirra at the palace and that he was impressed that Dabirra and Korboq were worldly enough to know each other. Roderick made a mental note to have another conversation with his friend later.

Gorlana drifted away from the tangential conversation. Roderick watched her go regretfully, and knew Carthala's concern was well-founded. Even without a scent to drive his attraction, Gorlana put all of the human women in the tavern to shame, he thought, as he watched her long green legs and round muscular ass flexing as she tried in giggling delight to learn a dance from some of them.

He could see he wasn't the only one thinking it though. Men's eyes were taking in not only her, but some of the other orc women in the tavern as well. Zurgana, surprisingly, was the one to have attracted the most attention, though seemingly on purpose. Her leather top was unbuttoned far more than before and her long lean muscular green leg extended to tease the knees of the gentleman across the table from her, smiling a toothy, almost predatory grin back at him. Roderick asked Carthala if Zurgana seemed to be having trouble choosing between the three men around her showing interest as they talked, one orc and two human. Carthala replied with a wink that she didn't think she had any plans to have to choose at all. Faringoll surprisingly was cold to the few men that approached her. Though she had asked Roderick more than once where Yendell had snuck off to, and Roderick suspected that sneaking away from her indeed was what he may have been doing.

He was about to approach Gorlana again, convincing himself it wasn't out of attraction but from polite friendship. Yet, as he began to find his way across the room, he saw Traulch next to her, standing menacing in front of a bar patron who evidently had been too 'friendly' with Gorlana. The drunk patron shoved at Traulch, but only shoved himself back from the Rechlinger's stony stance. And Traulch's deadly swift arm snapped out to grasp the man's throat. He panicked and was lifted briefly off the ground before being left to scurry away, unhurt. The man was stocky for a human and had likely never before been made to feel so threatened. Roderick stopped approaching and watched forlornly as Traulch grasped a thick-muscled arm around Gorlana, squeezing her ass and holding her next to him from that point on. She didn't seem to mind. Roderick once again was struck with the painful dilemma of not knowing whether it would be better to see her happy or miserable in her Rechlinger lover's embrace.

It soured the rest of the night for him, and though he distracted himself with more jovial stories and conversations with Andralians and Orthalians alike, when he eventually saw that Gorlana and Traulch had left together, he found himself gulping his ale more generously than he needed to.

...

2 days later they departed from Fortspring in the morning. Gorlana had reassured Roderick that she could find excuses for them to remain longer if he needed more time to ensure his grandmother was looked after. He knew she was well taken care of now, though. She had already seemed to perk up a little and was eager to get out of the hospital. She even walked on her own to the carriage that brought her to his parents' house.

He also didn't want to sour the good will they had achieved by spending too long in close quarters. The Rechlingers had been better behaved than he had expected, almost to his disappointment in the back of his mind. Traulch had killed a would-be thief, instantly, with his bare hands, in public. Afterwards, Roderick admitted to himself that he might have been the one trying to make a bigger deal out of it than anyone else. The scene hadn't turned into chaos though, after the initial shock, with the city guards identifying him as a wanted criminal and letting the matter go.

Everyone was getting along well, although perhaps too well. Zurgana had ended up sitting with three different men at the end of the next night as well and eventually slipping away unseen, though not unheard. There were always some more noisy human patrons lost in drunken passion in the wee hours of the night, but the orcish noises drew more notice. Roderick had laughed along with those who talked of it, but couldn't when they mentioned that the Queen and her Rechlinger chief were among the loudest. They had agreed that at least it didn't last for a long enough time to be worth complaining over, though it did not numb the inevitable sting he felt.

It was time to move on.

They set out with Korboq, Darganya, Nardill and the rest of the Southern Orthalians now along with them, to cheers and an honoured farewell from the mayor and his delegation. It was all going better than he could expect. As they approached the border with the inner provinces though, his optimism faded, and he was less sure of what to expect.

...

Spears, and an army in not-just-ceremonial armour met them, at the border with Platenia, as they descended the escarpment and the rolling half-forested hills of Fringeland ended. Now, the flat endless farmland that spread out from the road like an ocean had immediately drawn wonder and discomfort from the orcs that had would never have seen such a treeless plain in Orthalia. They would be even less comfortable with this 'greeting' party, Roderick thought, as he bid them to halt and trotted forward with nervous annoyance.

"Greetings Duke Talandi!" he called out with voice that tried to balance friendliness with authority. "We and our orcish guests are honoured by your grand welcoming party."

The flat-faced leader stepped forward with a stern nod, "Duke Roderick. We welcome you and your honoured soldiers to Platenia."

"Then show us welcome and hold your men's spears to the side, my friend." Roderick said with a chuckle.

Talandi didn't return it, "YOU and your soldiers, we bid welcome. Though we were unsure who was approaching until your faces came into view, given your completely insecure formation about your orcish threat."

"I assure you, there is no threat-"

"You are the Duke of your province though, and can put your citizens in as much risk as you like, I suppose," Talandi continued. "I am the Duke of mine, however, and will have my men take over security as I see fit, from here on out."

"Talandi, please, consider for a moment-"

"You have no authority here. You are no longer First General and not yet the Prince, you are the Duke of Fringeland and your lands ended two miles behind you. Just because you've endured enough battle and mayhem in the wilderness across the mountains to make you numb to the presence of these green giants doesn't mean the rest of us have to follow suit."

"They've come to negotiate in good faith. You put us all at risk if you drive that good faith right into your fertile soil," Roderick warned, with a lowered voice.

"They will not be bound or mistreated, don't fret. Your fantasy of a lasting peace will not be undone by MY actions at least. They will simply travel surrounded and broken into smaller groups. Not... whatever this undisciplined intermingling is behind you."

Roderick stood silent with dark eyes for a long moment before finally deciding that going around Platenia would take too long, and explaining to Valessa too difficult. He acquiesced, but made sure Talandi could tell he wasn't happy about it.

He explained it to the others who took it better than he thought they had a right to. After an explanation of their route, which would bypass all but the smallest of towns, for security purposes of course, they set off.

This more truly represented the Andralia he knew he had to work with. The same type of derogatory superiority as the most staunch, war-proud Orthalians or the Rechlingers themselves, only from the other direction. He prayed that Valessa was as good a negotiator as he thought. ...Or did he? Would she broker a deal that would only please those like Talandi? He had argued with her that both sides needed to prosper for peace to last, but her reluctant agreement seemed to always imply that was an unrealistic dream.

"I'm not offended," Gorlana said suddenly, trotting her horse up next to him, as the flat fields slowly drifted by.

He turned in surprise, not having noticed her. He was already riding between her group of orcs and the surrounding Andralians, but veered inwards away from the other soldiers to speak with her, though they weren't really paying much attention anyway.

"You're getting a lot better at riding. I didn't even hear your horse whinnying or stomping as you approached," Roderick said with a smile.

She gave a squint-eyed playful scowl, "You looked so deep in brooding thought I considered taking out my sword and tickling your ear, or slicing off another lock of hair."

He laughed for a split second, but the thought of the lock of hair made him settle quickly into discomfort. "Did you lose the other one?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"No," she said quickly, seeming to catch herself and realize her mistake in bringing up an emotional subject, then quickly changed it. "As I was saying though, I'm not offended at Platenia's behaviour, making us ride in this type of escort. I had told my warriors to expect as much from the moment we crossed the Ramparts."

"It still isn't right," Roderick said sourly, but turned it into a soft smile to her, "but thank you for understanding."

Gorlana shrugged with a smirk, "If this is the worst I have to deal with on this journey I'll consider myself lucky. As long as we all... behave, it's simply a more boring way to travel. Though there isn't much to explore or discover in these parts anyway, compared to Fringeland. I don't think I'll find any interesting herbs or other forage around here," she said, seeming reminiscent as if she already missed it.

"Yes, well, it's not as interesting, but it certainly brings prosperity," Roderick said.

"Of course. It's impressive really. Did they... cut down all the trees that were here?" she asked with a careful concern looking out over the flat fields as far as the eye could see.

Roderick shook his head, "No. Or... at least as far as I know there weren't many trees to begin with. It was always grassland, with a few copses of trees or bushes here and there."

"Why wouldn't there have been trees?" Gorlana asked, "It's not dry like the steppes, if it can grow grasses this lush..."

"Well these days it's because they till the soil, but even before... I think it was partly because of grazing animals, and partly because of fires. A Sage could explain it better. I should introduce you to Professor Beleros in Andrapolis. I suspect he'd be eager to meet you too." He saw her eye him doubtfully and said, "He's one of the good ones. Don't worry, I'll help you to know who to trust and who to be careful around."

Gorlana smiled but then seemed to force it from her face, then paused a moment, "You overdo your duty as host. I still don't know why I deserve such favour."

"I could say the same to you, with how you helped me... with-"

"Yes but that was not plain to those around us," Gorlana said more quietly but more urgently, looking over his shoulder at the soldiers riding only a short distance away.

"Even if they can hear us," he said, lowering his voice as well, "They'll assume I'm simply buttering you up with good graces to trick you into signing a more favourable treaty."

"Are you?" she asked with a hesitant smirk.

"I think you're far too intelligent to fall for that," he said.

"Oh I don't know, "Gorlana said. "A few barrels of pickled carrots and I might feel ready to give up the western Ramparts entirely."

Roderick chuckled, "You know we do that just to preserve them, they're still better fresh."

Gorlana scoffed, "No. Here I was about to compliment your intelligence in return, but you go ahead and suggest something ridiculous like that. I WILL decree that the recipe with the precise seasonings for those delicious things be part of ANY deal that is struck."

"I'll tell Valessa not to skimp on the salt tariffs in that case."

Gorlana swatted him with a smile, gradually fading as they both seemed to sober up at the mention of Valessa.

Roderick finally said, "She's travelling out to meet us on the road in a couple days, once we cross into capital province."

"Good. I'll be glad to meet her under better circumstances finally." Gorlana said, with a placid tone.

Roderick resisted squinting at her and simply nodded.

Gorlana asked, "Do you think she'll be more like this Duke, or more like... you?"

Roderick thought hard, and replied, "I'm honestly not sure. I know she genuinely wants peace. But, even though she's a good woman, she's going to be a good Queen as well, and that means representing her people, their will, and their interests. I've underestimated her intelligence and ability to get what she wants, more than once."

"As I might have presumed," Gorlana said, staring straight ahead and seeming more rigid now. "I'm glad to hear you think so highly of her, and you're fortunate to have such a woman as a mate. At least I would hope you would be happy with such a woman."

Roderick paused longer than he should have, but answered, "I am."

He could feel her eyes on him and finally looked, only to see her staring ahead again. He looked at her face for as long as he dared before turning away. He would not have dreamed to ask what he wanted to, but to his surprise she brought it up herself.

"I'm happy enough with Traulch as well, in case you worried," she said, nonchalantly.

He met her eyes only briefly, then couldn't bear to, staring ahead and focusing on the line of mounted soldiers and warriors ahead of them. He had been feeling like the scentsfoil truly had been an unexpected blessing, but in that moment would have killed to have it cleansed from him, to try to read her honesty.

She continued, "I know you have little respect for him, but he has come around in his acceptance of Orthalian honour-codes and the placement of his loyalty, and his clan does make us stronger. I had never expected to have a long-term mate, so to have one such as him, with his strength and dedication, how could I not feel grateful?"

Roderick wanted to spit. Even if what she said was technically the truth. He wanted to let his pounding furious heart take over his body and say any number of ill-conceived things, but he resisted and simply nodded, telling himself that with their blunted senses he could at least assume she was lying, and kept staring straight ahead, not even daring to meet her eyes.

"I'm glad you have found a mate that you think so highly of as well, then." he said, somehow keeping the words calm and smooth.

They rode on in a numb silence for a time, until finally drifting away from each other.

...

"My Darling!"

The regal air of Valessa's approach had been shed the moment her feet touched the ground. Her high pitched girlish voice seemed to sting Gorlana's ears. She glanced away as the princess' lithe running body melted into Roderick's strong embrace.

"Did you miss me?" Roderick asked jokingly with a wide smile.

Two kisses and an affectionate whisper later, she regained her poise and introduced herself politely to the others around. Gorlana was standing further back than she should be, and perhaps may have taken a step back when Valessa approached, but she stepped forward to try to avoid looking as avoidant as she felt.

"An honour to meet you again, Queen Gorlana, in what I hope is the start of a new, better relationship," Valessa said, with a short but respectful curtsy.

Gorlana nodded and decided to give a more orcish half-kneel in return. "You as well, and I... wish the same," she said, seeming to forget what she had been planning to say, and stepping back again, hating that she somehow felt smaller than this tiny pale princess.

As Valessa moved on to greet the other notable chiefs and lieutenants, Gorlana calmed herself. This princess wasn't flaunting her love with Roderick in front of her deliberately, she tried to remind herself. Valessa had no idea of their past, she was fairly certain. She had been becoming almost, fairly convinced, that it was in the past...

Gorlana stole a couple of glances at Roderick, catching him perhaps stealing a glance at her as well, before Valessa made her way back to him. She had thought that without that triggering scent, without that bodily instinctive sense of sexual impulse, and carnal desire distilled, to have that swept away and have his presence mean no more than any other person, she might be free.