[v2] Chapter Eight – In which an Orc cannot help but be pulled into changing tide of fate orchestrated by a certain minty goblin.

[v2] Chapter Eight – In which an Orc cannot help but be pulled into changing tide of fate orchestrated by a certain minty goblin.

~~** Interlude | ??? **~~

“IGNUL ZA YAKT!!” *(PRAISE THE SUN)

By the time any of us saw the two goblin children making their strange pose, our fates had already been sealed. The Moon had barely risen high enough in the night sky to see between the plentiful foliage of the forest’s canopy we had entered. While Orc eyes can see well at night, there is no telling what creatures prowl the lands on this side of the stream. Before we even had time to judge whether those two goblin children were a threat to us, the sun was plucked from behind heaven’s starry veil and dropped in the small distance to be found between us.

“FALCON PUNCH!!”

I recognized words in the human tongue just then. The responding voice that groaned in pain accompanied by a loud snapping sound was most certainly from an Orc nearby.

“OUGI! SHUN・GOKU・SATSU!!”

It was quickly followed up with gibberish I couldn’t understand, but meaty smacks of fist on flesh and cracking sounds gave my ears all the information they needed which my eyes could not. My eyes recovered enough to see a tall green goblin standing with his back to me, some strange symbol glowing blood-red on its back before fading to black. Only one of the two orcs who had been chopping down the tree we were going to use to make a proper fire with was visible at first. He was face down on the ground next to that goblin, the axe no longer in his hand.

It was a bit further away that I saw the other, and I rather wish I hadn’t. His body was snapped in half thanks to the tree it crashed into which did the same. Judging from how his head lolled limply, there was no point in worrying about him. He was already dead.

But, those few seconds would be the least chaotic.

At least a dozen goblins burst out from behind bushes and trees, armed with spears, axes, swords, bows, and other manners of weapons I wasn’t too familiar with. We were quickly set upon, the whiz of arrows could be heard preceding a number of roars from the orcs in my group. While an arrow or two could be endured, that didn’t mean they didn’t hurt like hell!

“What are you doing you foolish child?”

Orga Luth, an old orc who had been looking out for me since before we set out as a group, quickly grabbed hold of my shoulder and pulled me away from the fighting. Both of her Shadow Wolves had their hackles up, but neither of them rushed into the fray.

“Wait, Orga Lush, we need to help the others!”

Orga Lush whistled and her pets, Missy and Bandit both came running around us from behind, taking up a defensive position but not attacking any of the goblins. Orga Lush continued to pull me back until we were far enough away from the fighting that she could show me the idiocy of my words.

Aside from the tall goblin who didn’t do anything else after the initial opening to the fight, I watched on with a terrifying fascination as I saw this group of almost entirely female goblins—goblins who I had always heard were ridiculously weak creatures—tear through the males of our group with little effort.

One with a spear who was certainly more capable with it than I was with mine had already left bloody gaping holes in two orcs who wouldn’t be seeing the morning come ever again. One with a muscular figure swinging an axe had severed an arm and a leg on another, not even dealing a killing blow to it, moving straight on to what it saw as the next opponent. A skinny, medium-sized one with tan brown skin having what looked like hands in the shape of a claw and a knife brutally slashed and stabbed at one of the biggest orcs around, a fine mist of blood forming a cloud in the very air around her.

A pair of small goblins, one of them a red-skinned one holding a flaming whip that had wrapped around the body of Ugosh and was burning his skin was laughing gleefully as the other, a green-skinned one with the color of a mined gemstone was using some kind of wind magic to control the fire, turning it into a snake that was then made to devour him completely.

A goblin with black skin who had what looked like a spider made of bleached white bones sitting on her head and a taller skeleton next to her had raised her hand over the corpse of one of the already-slain orcs and the bones from within it exploded out of the flesh and into the air, she took aim and swung her hand through the air, and they flew straight at one of the orcs with a large sword moving to engage the tall goblin who had started the attack, killing it instantly.

The skeleton next to her, strangely, was staring right at Orga Lush and myself... no. It was staring at the two Shadow Wolves in front of us.

Three goblins—one, a tall one wearing some kind of stone armor plate, was singing some kind of war-song as she danced around another orc and dealt many quick and powerful strikes to it with her feet, sending it into another one nearby who yelled something and then flipped upside down onto its hands and extended its feet outward, spinning so fast with each strike that it looked like a stationary moving shadow. There was also something like a baby goblin holding on to that one’s neck while standing in the backpack it wore.

The last ones were another pair of what looked like goblin children. One was a dark green color, and the other had skin the same color as a human mining slave might have. The one with the dark green skin had a strange sword and was taking a defensive position in front of the other, who was holding a long staff in one hand and raising it high into the air, chanting something ominous.

Gwato, a crude orc who had been suggesting that my plump ass would be ideal for bearing many healthy children who he would be more than happy to be the one to sire, was being held off by that young goblin’s skill with the sword. A disgusting orc like him wasn’t the type to fight fairly with weapon alone, and so when he tried to catch the young goblin off-guard with a powerful front kick, his body was suddenly swallowed up by the land itself before a round stone fell from the sky into the newly created hole and a loud boom came from within the opened ground along with a bright flash of fire and a few chunks of flesh and blood flying upwards out of it.

This had given the other goblin being protected enough time to finish work her magic. A swell of light began to wrap around her body and upwards towards the tip of her staff. Words from the human tongue spilled out from her mouth.

“MAY THE LIGHT OF THE GODDESS PURGE THESE WICKED ORCS FROM THE WORLD—HOLY SMITE!!”

Orga Lush and I had managed to stay out of the fight, but whatever magic that one used, didn’t see us as non-combatants. To all the remaining orcs who still drew breath, a searing light struck us, and we hit the ground instantly.

The last thing I saw was that strange skeleton stepping over my immobile body before my eyes shut... possibly for the last time.

~~ A little while later... ~~

When I awoke, my whole body ached. Was I somehow still alive? I tried to move, but my body was tied up with a rope. I was being dragged by the tall goblin who had started the attack on my group. Looking around, Orga Lush also appeared to be alive and in the same situation as me. The tall female goblin with the spear was holding onto one end of the rope she was tied up with at the other. The skeleton was walking behind us, holding on to the ropes attached to Bandit and Missy, the two Shadow Wolves. No other goblins appeared to be anywhere else around.

I didn’t have a good feeling about where things were headed. Orga Lush and I were the only female orcs in the group which stayed behind. There were two others, but they went with the other group who went ahead to scout the area for the rest of us.

Did these goblins also have the concept of war-brides? Or were we going to be used for some other purpose, perhaps as sacrifices?

Orga Lush was old, probably past the age for purposeful mating. I, on the other hand, was at the prime age for it. In fact, that’s why I was traveling with this group. I had refused to become a mistress to the new War Chief, Thazok Gruk, who, having risen to the position the same way almost all War Chiefs do, was looking to establish his rule for a long time. Taking in many women and having plenty of children just being the normal way of doing so.

It’s not like I didn’t consider it. My mother was a war-bride, and the only unfortunate thing to happen to her was that I wasn’t born a male orc. It’s not like female orcs don’t have value or anything, I mean, who else is responsible for increasing the number of orcs in the world but a female orc?

Still, I wanted a life with a more to it than just being responsible for my cave or yurt and all the children within... not that I have any yet.

After a while of being dragged along the forest floor, eventually the trees broke into a clearing. It was only a bit longer before me, Orga Lush, and the Shadow Wolves were deposited by a large fire-pit.

A few of the goblins had brought... parts of other orcs and began to eat them at the same time, their faces and bodies became coated in blood where they already weren't. Was this a victory ceremony then? Was the one above me being rewarded for being the strongest female? Were the fingers she held up the number of my kind she had... slaughtered?

The male goblin had grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head backwards, lifting much of her front upwards in the process. I could see the shape of his... thing... pressing outward against her flesh from inside her body as it too his shape while moving in and out of her.

She was in a state of mating euphoria. The tall goblin bit her hard on the shoulder and she growled in pain... I think. The hand that had a dagger attached to it reached out towards my face, but she wasn’t looking at me. She couldn’t. Her eyes had already rolled back into her head.

The male goblin growled once more and then thrust wildly into her before gently letting her fall, holding her by her hair the entire time, until she was resting, limply, on my body. I could feel something wet and warm spilling out onto my belly.

His... whatever it was called... was coated in some white fluid. He leaned back and exposed his entire front, his arms extended low to his sides and a god-awful screech bellowed forth.

For... a while... he went through a great many more of his women. I concluded from what was going on that he must be their tribe’s War Chief. The big female with the spear, a skinny one with a bone staff, two who had bows, and finally, one with an axe. Not even one after another, but at the same time, he conquered their bodies in a most profane manner.

Then he sat down next to me when not one of them remained mobile.

“Do you have a name, Orc?”

I was reluctant to say it but did so anyway.

“Rushk. Are you the goblin’s War Chief?”

“War Chief?”

The goblin laughed frighteningly loud.

“I am just a captive here. All these fine goblin females call me Husband and use me for my seed.”

Was he fucking with me by saying that so casually?

“I don’t expect you to believe me. But I am not lying to you.”

He reached out and touched my cheek with the back of a finger.

“I’ll leave you alone so that you may have further time to consider my offer... but answer me something first. Are there more orcs who will try and enter our domain to find out what happened to you?”

I shook my head.

“No. We are outcasts—expelled from our camp.”

“Then... the last question. Do you prefer your meat cooked, or raw?”

“Cooked, preferably. I’m no barbarian.”

The goblin male grinned at me.

“Neither am I. I’m a most civilized goblin, as you will find. My name is Ark.”

He pulled his finger away from my face and brought his hand down to stroke the head of the goblin he had mated with earlier still laid out over my body.

“This is my pride and joy. My eldest daughter, Diana Artemis. She’s of the mind that she’s an adult, but she’s still nothing more than a cocky child who I've failed to discipline properly. Still, she holds a special place in my heart so I can't help but love her, regardless. Just as I do all of my wives and children. We may not always understand each other, but if there is any chance harm may befall them... nowhere in the world will be safe to hide from my wrath for whomever dare tries.”

He looked over to some of the remaining goblins, all of them children.

“Button! Glace!”

The pair of small goblins I recognized as appearing moments before the light brighter than the sun was plucked from the heavens had both come over at his call. He said a few things to them, and then stroked the head of the blue-skinned one carrying the backpack with the smaller one inside of it.

“Husband Iktik. Orc Rushk. Nokt kokk. Gobgik ak. Berry, Ivory, Truffle, Pepper... gip sid gobogobo. Yek Korak-omcha!” *(Husband has things to do. The Orc is Rushk. Don't kill her. I'm going inside Goblinhome. Many many big-seed to give Berry, Ivory, Truffle, and Pepper... make strong-ones!)

“Gapi Dak Ark! Button nokt gip sid?” (*Tricky Husband Ark! Not going to give Button big-seed?)

“Guum.” He said with a foreboding finality and then got up to leave, ruffling her hair before walking away and disappearing into the cave nearby. (*Soon.)

I tried speaking to the other small goblins around me, but it seems none of them understood me, or cared enough to engage in conversation.

What a night.

Out of twenty-three orcs expelled less than a week ago, there were now just us four females and two Shadow Wolves remaining, captured by unnaturally strong goblins.

I hoped Orga Lush would wake soon. I had much to talk with her about...