Smitten Ch. 04

Oag countered with his knife, but Ushug slapped the blade aside with her bare hand. Then she attacked again, and crushed at least of two of the orc's ribs as she drove her axe into his side.

Ghorza, meanwhile, had been thinking - much more swiftly than I had. I was weaponless, and slow. It was unlikely that I could outrun all of the onrushing orcs. Snak would be caught before she could get off the beach. Ghorza, on the other hand, was perhaps the fastest member of the entire band. Shaghar had warned me, more than once: if I tried to run, Ghorza would easily catch me.

We couldn't fight, either. Ushug and Ghorza against ten or more enemies?

She came to a swift decision.

- "Swim, Smit!" She pointed to the wreck. "Go! Take Snak."

- "What about you? You can swim."

- "I go warn Ditgurat. You swim." Without another word, Ghorza turned and ran down the beach, angling for the trees.

She was cleverer than I was. Of course Oag - and these other orcs - wouldn't have dared to attack us unless it was part of a plot to unseat Ditgurat. They didn't have the courage to issue a formal challenge. That would have meant facing Lagakh in single combat. So they were striking by surprise, to eliminate three of the chieftain's trusted supporters, and two of her best fighters: Slagip and Ushug.

- "Ushug!" I yelled. "We have to swim!"

She was past hearing me. Her blood was up, and she had only one thought: to finish Oag off, to kill him for his treachery. And that she did. Another blow to his shoulder effectively broke it, and then Ushug roared as she planted her axe in Oag's forehead.

A moment later, the onrushing orcs reached her. She didn't try to run, or evade them. Instead, she attacked, without any attempt to defend herself. Her heavy axe smashed into an opponent's forearm. I could've sworn that I heard it snap.

But Ushug paid the price. A spear struck her in the breast, and then an axe blow to the head knocked her to the ground. Four assailants surrounded her, and began raining down blows on her.

They hacked her to death.

Meanwhile, I had lifted Snak into my arms, and carried her into the water.

- "We're going to swim." I told her, speaking as calmly and soothingly as I could, given the circumstances. "Ghorza has done this. So has Lagakh. You can, too. You just have to trust me."

Her big orange-red eyes were fixed on my face. She nodded.

"Lie flat on your back." I said. "I'll pull you across the top of the water. Keep your mouth closed. Breathe through your nose. Close your eyes, too. And trust me, Snak - I won't let go of you." I was talking too much.

She was a brave little trooper. She obediently stretched out on her back. The first wave that splashed over her face must have terrified her - she flinched, and choked as she inhaled some water - but she didn't panic.

I launched us into deeper water, lying on my side, with one arm around her.

- "I've got you." I reminded her. "Breathe through your nose after the wave passes."

Four of the orcs chased us into the sea, but they couldn't reach us before we were in water too deep for them. Thank all the Gods that they couldn't swim.

Ushug died on the beach, and our unborn child with her. I was trying not to think about it. I concentrated on swimming with one arm, and used scissor kicks to propel us further out. Snak sputtered and spit as the waves struck her head and face. She clutched my arm with both hands, but she seemed to be concentrating on lying flat, which helped enormously.

- "That's good." I said. "You're - doing well. Very brave."

It was not a swim that I would care to repeat. The wind and the waves were much too strong, and I was terrified that Snak would begin to struggle. If she did, I wasn't certain that I could keep us both afloat.

Somehow, though, we reached the shelter of the wrecked stern. The effect of the wind and waves diminished almost to nothing. The last few yards were much, much easier, and I was able to reach out and hold on to the remnant of the bulwark.

- "We're safe." I told her.

Snak opened her eyes, and squeezed my arm with both of her little hands.

I manoeuvred us both inside the wreck, where we were even more sheltered from the wind. I propped Snak up so that she could rest both arms over the bulwark, and support her own weight.

- "Ushug is dead." she said.

- "I know."

- "I liked her. She was strong."

- "Yes, she was." I suppose that was a fine epitaph for a half-orc. I was heartbroken. I couldn't say that I'd loved Ushug, but I certainly liked her a great deal. She was gone - and our child with her.

- "They are yelling at you." said Snak.

There were nine orcs (and half-orcs) still on the beach, facing us - and three bodies lying prone on the sand: Slagip, Oag ... and Ushug.

- "I can't hear them." I said. It was partly the wind, of course. But they were also yelling in orcish - and I still only understood about fifty words in their language. "Can you tell what they're saying?"

- "They want us to come back. They say they won't hurt you." she said.

- "Huh."

- "You should not go." said Snak. "What Oag did was ... ur'gora. All of this ... is ur'gora."

Ur'gora. Not-honor. She was right, there. Oag had murdered Slagip. His friends had killed Ushug - and they all knew that she was pregnant. The entire band knew that.

I saw movement further down the beach. Two more orcs, walking back to rejoin their comrades. And with that, my spirits rose just a little. They hadn't caught Ghorza. She was too fast for them. There was a chance, then, that she could reach Ditgurat, and warn her.

Unless ... unless there were more orcs who were part of this conspiracy - whose designated role was to kill Ditgurat. And Shaghar ...

Where was Umog? She wasn't among the orcs on the beach - but could she be leading an attack on Ditgurat right now? It could already be over.

No. That made no sense. If that was their plan, they would have kept their fighters near the Blasted Tree. Remove Ditgurat, and there would be little that my crew could have done. Slagip, Ushug, and Ghorza, against a dozen?

We would've been largely helpless until Lagakh returned - and the plotters could have taken measures to disarm or imprison my friends - or even kill them. No ... far more likely that this was the opening salvo of their offensive. Deprive Ditgurat of her best support while Lagakh was away. With that done, they could then strike at the chieftain herself.

- "Who is their leader, Snak?"

- "Kurbag." she said, her voice full of loathing. "He is the one yelling."

- "Let him yell." I said. "Tell me what you know. Who supports him? How many? Is Umog on their side?"

- "No!" said my little friend, quite emphatically. "Umog likes you. She wants your baby."

Or did she want me all to herself? Could this be a way for her to eliminate all of her rivals? Once again, I felt adrift when it came to the competition among the Red Knees for precedence and rank.

Snak tapped my elbow.

"They say we can go to shore. They will not hurt us."

I looked the little orc in the eye. She was old beyond her years. I didn't know what to say to her.

"They are lying, Smit."

- "I think so, too." I said. "But what should we do?" Play for time, I thought. Every moment that these brutes stayed on the beach was another chance for Ghorza to get back to Ditgurat. I had no idea what was going on at the Blasted Tree, but if Shaghar needed another minute to escape, then I might be able to help.

I pulled myself up on the bulwark, and shouted as loud as I could: "KUR-BAAAG!"

"You're a reeking omelette!" I yelled.

I know - that made no sense. But none of the orcs and half-orcs on the beach would be able to understand what I was saying. It was unlikely that they would leave until they'd deciphered what I was shouting at them.

- "Pregnant olives!" I screamed. "Friendless toenail clippings!"

- "That makes no sense." said Snak.

- "I know. Keep yelling."

I have no idea what Kurbag hoped to gain by yelling at me across the water. I only knew that every moment he stayed on the beach was another moment that Ghorza could find Ditgurat and warn her.

Snak learned some very bad words, as I got carried away and began screaming insults at Kurbag. My throat grew raw. The orcs on shore persisted a while longer, and then waved their arms, inviting us to return. I gave them the finger in return.

Even orcs recognized that gesture.

Finally, the traitors turned away. Snak and I clung to the wreck, our only shelter from the wind and the waves. But there was no defence against the cold.

Kurbag and his confederates left the beach. At least, they appeared to. I couldn't be sure that they weren't waiting, just inside the tree line. If Snak and I swam to the beach, we'd be too tired to evade any enemies.

But it was damned cold, clinging to the wreck.

When Snak started shivering, I grew worried.

- "Come here." I said.

I tried to pull my buck-toothed little orclet out of the water, as far as I could. I rubbed her little arms with my free hand, to keep her warm. Then I did the same for her legs.

I found it difficult to think clearly, to decide on the best course of action.

The longer we stayed in the water, the colder we'd become. More tired, too. I would have to swim back to shore, towing Snak. Or could I get her to hang onto my back? Would that be better, or worse?

I wondered if Kurbag would have left a few of his accomplices to wait for us. If they were hidden just inside the trees, and we came ashore, they would have no trouble capturing us - there was no way that I would have the energy to swim us back out here again. Even with a weapon, I didn't think that I could put up much of a fight.

Wait - I did have a weapon.

- "Don't worry, Snak - I'll be right back."

I dove into the wreck of the stern, to the spot where I'd embedded a knife into the ship's planking. The hilt was made of bone; it wouldn't be too waterlogged. The blade wouldn't have rusted much, either. I was able to pry it free without too much difficulty.

When I surfaced, Snak did a double-take when she saw what I held. She was quite intelligent: she knew instantly that I hadn't just 'found' the knife. I'd known exactly where it was, which meant that I'd been keeping it in reserve all this time.

- "You are clever." she said.

- "Not clever enough." I replied. "If I'd been paying more attention, I could have warned Slagip in time. Ushug would still be alive."

- "We were all surprised. All of us."

Maybe. It was probably useless to dwell on what I might have done.

Snak grew more talkative. She began to ask questions about the ship, and how it moved, and how we had steered it. She was curious about the other sailors, and whether they'd been friends of mine. I had to explain the concepts of passengers, and travellers.

That led to more questions: where had I been going? Was I still trying to get there?

- "No." I said. "I'm happy where I am. Well - I was, until today."

- "We are happy to have you here." said my little assistant.

She then progressed to querying me about Portoa, and my life there.

While we talked, of course, I kept an eye on the beach and the tree line. I still couldn't tell if Kurbag had left any of his confederates behind. Somehow, I doubted it: if he meant to overthrow Ditgurat, there wasn't much to be feared from Snak - or me. He would probably want all of his fighters close by if he was going to fight the chieftain.

Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to gamble both of our lives on the chance that my assumptions were correct. However, we couldn't stay here much longer. The conversation kept us occupied, so that we didn't focus on how cold we were. But we were going to have to move. And we would have to do so while we still could.

I gave Snak the knife to hold. There was no need to tell her that she couldn't lose it. I arranged her on her back again, and swam on my side.

The waves were pushing us in the right direction, but it was considerably more difficult than I'd expected. Snak was stoic, and tough, but she wasn't able to relax enough to float properly. I had to support her weight and tow her through the water.

She probably weighed a little less than 35 kilos, but it was still like pulling a piece of wood through the waves. I was stiff, cold and tired. My muscles were slow to respond. All I knew was that it would be a very bad idea to stop - I might not be able to get started again.

I began to count my strokes, in multiples of five. I'm not sure if it helped me at all physically, but I was too busy counting to worry about all of the negative possibilities.

Then a punishing wave caught us, and drove us both underwater. It was terrifying - but then my knee struck the sandy bottom.

It was a sandbar. We were still fifty or sixty yards from the beach, but I could stand. The water was still over Snak's head, but I could easily support her with one arm as she wrapped her legs around my waist.

- "Almost - there." I gasped. "Just a - short rest."

I scanned the tree line once more. There was nothing - or, more properly, no one - that I could see.

That brief rest, with the knowledge that the shore was so close, was all the encouragement I needed. Snak and I made it the shallows, and then - though we were knocked over once by the waves - to the beach itself.

I knelt on the sand, breathing heavily, and gave a short prayer of thanks to Tomuun, for letting me come out of the sea alive a second time, and to Kelthala, who must have been looking after Snak. I also promised to pray more often.

- "We have to move." said my little friend. She was right, of course.

Ushug was completely unrecognizable. They had hacked her to death, and then continued striking blows long after she was dead. I didn't need to go closer; she wasn't there any longer.

My clothing was still there, but Kurbag's party had taken all of the weapons and all of the food. They had left the rope, though. I didn't think that I could carry the whole thing, but a piece of it might come in handy. It was an awful job for tired, sore fingers, but I finally managed to undo knots holding the two pieces together, and wrapped one thirty-foot length around my body.

Snak and I followed the mess of footprints which led to the path. Only then did we slip under the trees. We went a good fifty yards off the path, until we found a little hiding-place.

We were cold, hungry, and tired. Exhaustion won: we fell asleep.

*****