Storms & Sacrifice Ch. 02

I dream again about flying over the ocean. This time is different, though. The storm in the sky is raging, the wind howling as lighting cracks around me. The waters below are anything but calm, waves reaching high into the air before they come crashing down. Between the surge and the storm, it's taking all I have to stay in the air, looking in every direction for signs of clearer skies.

I wake to the sounds of birds chirping, the remnants of my dream slipping away. Haven't had one of those in over a week. The morning air is cool, and it makes me pull one of my legs back under the bedroll. Khazak is spooned up behind me, his arm under the pillow we're sharing. No matter how we fall asleep, we always seem to end up in some other position by morning.

I stretch myself out, making sure to press back against the warm body behind me. I feel a familiar lump against my lower back, one that I'm matching in front. And if we weren't only a few feet away from a bunch of other sleeping orcs, I might be tempted to do something about it. As it is, I shimmy my way out of the bedroll, reaching for my pants so I can step outside and pee. I hear a slight grumble from Khazak as I close the tent flap behind me.

There's a light layer of fog blanketing the forest, the sun still low on the horizon. Glasha is sitting by the campfire, the last one to take watch, which means she's also the first one up. She waves a hand at me as she tosses another log on the fire, which has gotten low over the course of the night. I wave back as I sleepily stumble beyond the camp's boundary, looking for a nice tree to stand behind. By the time I'm finished and stepping back into the tent, I'm greeted by the sight of a bleary eyed Khazak stretching his own limbs.

"Good morning." He smiles up at me sleepily.

"Morning." I crawl back into the warm bedroll. "Ready for our first full day on patrol?"

"Someone is eager." He sits up, stretching once more.

He climbs out, pulling on a clean set of clothes, though not his full uniform. I also finish getting dressed, pulling on a clean shirt and my shoes before we leave the tent together. Glasha is still the only one up, and I'm not sure what time it is or how long she's been at it. When the two of us move to join her by the fire, I notice Wu'dag reentering the camp from the north, a covered basket hanging from one hand. Poking out from underneath the cloth covering is a familiar purple flower, and I'm only just realizing the orc is wearing gloves as he heads over to us.

"Good morning, Captain, just finished clearing the flower patch." He lifts the basket slightly.

"Good morning and thank you, Shaman Bonespirit." Khazak gives a small bow of his head from his seat.

"You brought it back to the camp?" I figured he was just gonna use his magic to wither the plant or even burn it.

"Given that it's springing up a lot this year, I thought it would be smart to keep the antidote on hand in case of any accidents." He points over towards his tent. "I'll be brewing that this morning, so please do not enter my tent until I give the all clear."

"Understood, shaman." Khazak turns to Glasha. "How long until the others are due up?"

"Forty minutes or so," the orc woman answers.

"Perfect." Then he turns to me. "Are you any good with a bow?"

"I'm alright." I shrug. I was a decent shot on the archery range.

"Have you ever been hunting?" he asks as he stands.

"No, not really. Why?" I stand as well, following him back to our tent.

"Because we are on breakfast duty." He grins and grabs his bow.

"Does the shaman actually live in the camp?" We've been walking for about fifteen minutes now.

"He does." Khazak nods to my right. "Each of the patrol camps has a resident spellcaster, typically nature-based, two shamans and two druids at the moment."

"Seems like it would get lonely." I don't think I could handle not living in a city when I'm not traveling.

"I cannot imagine it does, considering there are always at least five other people around at any given time," Khazak reasons.

"Didn't think about that." Now I wonder if he ever wishes he could be alone.

"I have seen him in town, gathering supplies or for the occasional celebration, but he once told me he did not enjoy living in the city." Khazak pauses by a tree for a moment. "He feels that he fits better into the forest. I think most of the camp spellcasters feel that way."

I guess if you're connected to nature the way they are, living in it full time probably isn't that bad. Still not sure I'd want to do it. I'm not even sure I'll be happy by the end of this week, I was just getting used to not sleeping on the ground anymore. What? I've accepted that I'm a little spoiled now.

We keep walking until we come across a clearing.

"This spot will do." Khazak examines the perimeter. "Over here."

He leads us behind some bushes, crouching down low. I copy him, seeing that at this height I can peer through, into the clearing ahead of us. Satisfied, Khazak drops the bag from his shoulder and reaches for the bow and quiver on his back--handing them to me.

"You want me to do it?" Isn't he the hunter?

"Worried you are incapable?" His eyebrow quirks up.

"No." I glare, taking the bow. "What are we hunting?"

"That will depend on what comes along." Khazak bends down on one knee, beckoning me to follow.

He has me move ahead of him to watch the clearing while he moves behind me. Khazak's left hand comes up to cover mine as I hold the bow, helping me to position it correctly. I feel his other hand move down my arm to take my other hand, bringing them both up to grab the string.

"Good," he rumbles low in my ear. "You want to make sure you are steady, but still able to maneuver your upper body for your target."

This is all very unnecessary--the bow might be a little big and I'm not an expert, but I've handled a bow before, plenty of times. But when I feel his hot breath ghosting across my neck, I find myself not caring. He has me practicing drawing the string back, testing its strength. The bow is a little heavier than I'm used to, but I get the hang of it.

"Very good, pup." He sits back in a more comfortable position. "Now, we wait."

I'm not sure how long we're hiding in that bush for, but it's a while. I start to get bored, knowing there's not much to be done about it; we can't talk because we have to listen for our prey and not risk scaring it off. We don't really hunt for our food in Lutheria, at least not most of us. Maybe this is why.

"David, get the bow," Khazak whispers, seconds before I hear the sounds of something in the forest ahead of us.

Grabbing an arrow from the quiver, I kneel up into position, notching it onto the bowstring. I can feel Khazak behind me, not as close as before, trying to watch for the target along with me. There are a few moments of silence, and for a second, I think that whatever we heard may have turned around and left, but then I see the bushes on the other side of the clearing move.

It sounds big. Maybe a deer? The leaves rustle again and I see a flash of brown fur. That's it. I pull back the arrow, aiming for the spot where I expect the creature to emerge. Then I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Wait!" Khazak whispers hurriedly.

What? I turn to look behind me, annoyed, but slowly release the tension on the bowstring, no longer aiming. I look to see what this creature I am suddenly no longer supposed to be hunting is. Then I hear a sharp intake of breath--my own.

What emerges into the clearing is a deer alright, but unlike any I've ever seen before. It's a male, and everything you see about it appears normal--brown and white fur, black nose and yellow-brown eyes--until you get to its head, where it is sporting a set of large, crystalline antlers. The sunlight streams through them, fracturing like a prism and scattering small rainbows across the forest floor. As it stands there, two more deer emerge from behind it, a female and what I can only assume is their fawn. It moves forward on unsteady legs, its mother watching every step. The two of us wait in silence as the happy little family passes through, never noticing the two men watching them from the bushes.

"Wow." My voice is still barely above a whisper, even though the deer are long gone. "Sorry, but I don't think I could have killed that thing even if you wanted me to. What was it?"

"It is alright." Khazak smiles. "Dhur'ovuk. A crystal hart. They are very rare, seeing one is a good omen. And killing one is considered bad luck."

"I can see why." I'm still kind of in awe. "Those antlers were amazing."

"They grow them at the start of spring, and they keep growing until the end of autumn." Khazak explains. "Once they enter their rut, they will use them to compete with other males for a mate, and normally shed them by the end of winter."

"I've never seen an animal like that before." I think that was my first encounter with an actual magical creature.

"Their antlers are a powerful magical regent," Khazak explains. "It is not uncommon to see people out in the forests in late winter gathering them. In the past, we have had issues with poachers, which is one of the reasons we patrol the area."

"Aww, so we're out here to protect them." I pick up the bow and dust off my knees as we stand and exit the foliage. "So, what do we do about food?"

"Come, we will find another place to hunt, and if we still turn up empty, we can try our hands at some fishing." Khazak grins.

"Ooo, fishing I have done before." I hand the bow back to Khazak so he can strap it to his back.

"We have poles and bait back at camp. We can search east of here first before we--" Khazak stops himself, his head turning to look towards some bushes. "David, climb up the tree."

"What?" I look in the same direction he is. I don't see-- Then I hear it. Something stomping in our direction, fast.

"David, tree, now!" Khazak shouts, shoving me towards the nearest tree before starting to climb himself.

I barely have time to grab ahold of a branch before a massive boar bursts into the clearing. I mean it's huge, even on all fours it might be taller than Khazak. Its dark brown fur is heavily matted, and one of its tusks is broken, though it doesn't look any less deadly. It stomps one of its hooves into the ground with a grunt as it looks around, its dark eyes stopping on me and the tree I'm dangling from. With a snort and a roar, the boar charges the trunk of the tree, slamming into it with enough force that I lose my grip and hit the ground with a thud.

"David!" Khazak calls from above as I try to quickly get to my feet, a sharp pain shooting through my right ankle when I try to stand. Fuck, I must have twisted it when I landed. I hear another bellow from the beast behind me and I scramble to get away. It knocks into my back, sending me forward and flat on my face. I can feel where one of its tusks hit into me, though it thankfully didn't break the skin. Yet. I have my sword strapped to my back, but it's so small that I flounder, unsure whether I should try and get up again or just curl into a ball.

Khazak makes the decision for me, whistling loudly as he drops to the ground to draw the boar's attention. Bow in hand, Khazak fires an arrow that lands right in its flank, making the creature squeal in anger. Turn to face its new challenger, it runs towards the orc as he notches another arrow. Khazak leaps out of the way as the boar passes him, firing as it turns around and landing another arrow directly in its side. It's still moving, and now it looks angrier. Standing, Khazak notches two more arrows--at the same time--aiming steadily at his target. With a rage-filled bellow, the boar charges once more. Khazak lets the arrows fly, each landing with a wet and heavy thud, one in its snout and the other directly in its eye. With a final screech, the beast collapses mid-charge, corpse sliding along the ground towards Khazak.

Carefully, Khazak makes his way over to the boar, pulling his longsword from the scabbard on his back and driving it into the body, ensuring its demise. Then after laying the blade on the ground, Khazak moves over to me.

"Are you alright?" He kneels over my prone form, checking for my injuries.

"I think I twisted my ankle when I fell." I hiss at the twinge of pain that comes when I try to move it.

"Let me see." Khazak helps to lay me flat on the forest floor, rolling up one of my pant legs to inspect my ankle. "This may hurt, but I need to check if anything is broken or needs to be set."

I nod, whimpering when I feel his fingers pressing against the injury. Fuck, that hurts. Leg injuries are the worst. How am I going to get around? How am I going to get back to camp? Hell, how am I gonna get back to the city?

"Definitely twisted, but I think that is all." Khazak nods confidently. "Alright, hold still."

He places both hands over my injury, eyes closing as he mumbles...an incantation? I feel his hands start to get warm, and then my injured ankle begins to tingle. Is he casting a spell?!

"What the hell?" I whisper as I watch Khazak heal my ankle. "You're a spellcaster?!"

Khazak looks at me puzzled. "I can use a small amount of natural magic. I thought you knew."

"No, how would I know that?" I move my ankle around carefully. Feels a lot better.

"I mean, I am a 'ranger.'"

"Okay, but I didn't know you meant that kind of ranger." Rangers are typically known for things like scouting, hunting, and protecting forests, and some of those rangers can cast small amounts of natural magic. Sorta like a druid-lite. Look, magic is very confusing. "Does that mean all the other rangers are spellcasters, too?"

"Fair enough. A few are, but most are not." He frowns when I scowl at that reply. "David, I promise this is not something I was keeping from you."

"Feels like it." I thought we were past all the secrets and not telling each other things. "How come I've never seen you using it before now?"

"I did not have a reason to use it before now." I scowl more at the lack of explanation. "David, what I just did to your ankle is about the extent of what I am capable of. I am not that powerful, and also do not generally like using magic for things I am capable of doing myself. Frankly, given the source of my magic, I have even less of a reason to use it in the city. Other than a small amount of healing, everything I can do is related to animals and the outdoors."

I guess he has a point, we haven't exactly been outside much and it's not like he has any pets. Though he probably could have made finding that old lady's dog a lot easier. Or healed my scraped up knees after that first time I ran away. When I think about it, it's just...not really a big deal when you consider everything else that's happened between us. "Okay. I believe you. Sorry for overreacting."

Khazak smiles. "Can you walk?" He stands and offers me a hand up.

"I think so." I tentatively try putting weight on my injured ankle. "Feels maybe a little uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt."

"Good. When we get back to camp, shaman Bonespirit will be able to heal you better than I can." Khazak turns to look at the dead boar. "We can get the rest of the patrol to help carry that back. I would say we found more than just breakfast."

"I didn't think you guys had wild boars around here." I've never seen one before.

"We do not." Khazak kicks the body lightly with his foot. "This is not wild, it is feral. It likely escaped from one of the human settlements on the coast and has been surviving out here for some time. Possibly years, given its size."

After dusting myself off, we start the walk back to camp. As always, I have a million questions about the new bit of info I just learned. "So... What else can you do?"

"What do you mean?" Khazak tilts his head.

"Your magic, what else can you do?" I really haven't met that many spellcasters, and the ones I have are all wizards or some kind of priest.

"Ah, well..." He starts to think. "I can use it to tell what the weather will be like, usually through the next day. I can manipulate a small amount of earth and water, and affect the growth of certain flora. I am able to search for specific animals and plants, especially of the magical variety. And in addition to what I did to your leg, I can detect and heal certain poisons. I can also communicate with animals to some degree."

"You can talk to animals?" That piques my interest.

"Communicate." He clarifies. "Animals do not talk. They use body language and sometimes sounds and noises, most that we cannot even perceive. My magic makes it easier to understand one another, even pass along a message to another person. Oh, here is a useful trick." Khazak pauses, holding his hands out to the sides and inhaling deeply.

"Shhhhhhh..." Khazak breaths out, as if shushing the woods themselves. All around us, the sounds of the forest go silent, sounds I didn't even realize were there. The wind blowing through the trees, a bird chirping, squirrels jumping from branch to branch. Everything is quiet.

"Wow," I try to say, but it barely comes out a whisper. Smirking, Khazak moves forward, motioning for me to follow. Once we're a few feet away, I can hear the sounds of nature return, as do our voices.

"How did you do that?" I'm hoping for an answer that isn't just 'magic.'

"The spell controls the movement of the wind in the area, stifling any sound traveling within it." I can tell he's proud of that, even if I didn't fully understand that explanation.

"Why didn't you do that when we were hunting the deer?" Seems like it would have been useful.

Khazak chuckles. "As I said, I do not see the purpose in using magic for something relatively trivial. Besides, if I had, I might not have heard the boar as it approached."

"How did you hear that?" If he hadn't, we might have ended up the boar's meal instead. "More magic?"

Khazak taps one of his large, pointed green ears. "These big things are good for something."

Everyone is awake and milling about when we make it back to camp. Khazak sits me by the fire while he talks to Wu'dag, who then comes over to take a look at my foot. While he does that, Khazak gathers three of the other orcs, as well as what looks like a pallet you'd use to carry an injured person, to bring back breakfast. Wu'dag kneels in front of me, inspecting my ankle.

"Always getting in trouble, huh?" I roll my eyes as he places both hands on my ankle and I can feel the warm tingle of his magic flowing into me. "There we go, should be good as new."

I flex and rotate my ankle, pleased to find that it doesn't hurt at all. "Thanks."

"That is why I am here." The shaman stands, brushing off his robes. "Cannot wait to see what caused all the trouble."

Twenty minutes later, the four orcs march back into camp, the body of the boar carried between them. They stop just after reaching the camp's border, moving the body off the pallet and onto the ground near the edge.

"Damn boys." Wu'dag whistles as he steps over, walking around the body. "This will feed us all week. Hold on."

The shaman steps into his tent while Glasha heads for the supply tent. Wu'dag returns with a small pouch, but Glasha comes back with a bunch of knives. Right, we have to actually butcher this thing. She hands one of the knives to Arik, setting the rest to the side. Both orcs stand back while Wu'dag reaches into his pouch and sprinkles a white powder over the corpse as he walks around it, casting a spell. I see the powder start to glow, but then it's gone, absorbed by the body.