BXBX NOVEL Chapter 105: Orcs
Last night, a strategically placed rockfall had nearly crushed their prized hunting boar, leaving them with a meager breakfast of stale bread and dubious stew.
Exasperated, the orcs had spent the day following a trail of muddy footprints, a deliberate clue left by Neveah. The trail, however, ended abruptly at a rocky cliff face. Exhausted and frustrated, they were on the verge of giving up when a deafening crash erupted from the direction of their water well.
Grog and Drok exchanged a panicked glance before charging towards the source of the noise. They found a scene of utter chaos. The well, their only source of fresh water, lay in ruins, its heavy wooden cover splintered to pieces. Shards of ceramic water jugs littered the ground, and a thick, muddy slurry oozed outwards, slowly engulfing the surrounding area.
"What in Gruug\'s name is this?" Drok roared, shaking his fist at the sky.
The orcs, already on edge, erupted into a cacophony of angry shouts and accusations. With their water supply compromised and their frustration at an all-time high, the orcs redoubled their efforts to find the culprit. This time, they were determined, their bloodshot eyes scanning every shadow, every rustle in the undergrowth.
Neveah, perched high in a nearby tree, watched the scene unfold with a smirk. He\'d left another trail, a series of disturbed leaves leading deeper into the forest. It wouldn\'t take them long to find it. He chuckled, a low, chilling sound that sent shivers down the spine of the nearest orc who happened to glance his way, though he dismissed it as a gust of wind.
The game was on. Neveah relished the chaos he\'d sown, the growing desperation in the orcs\' eyes. He wasn\'t aiming for a quick kill; he was breaking them, turning their once-proud village into a boiling pot of fear and paranoia. And as the enraged orcs stormed off, following his latest trail, Neveah knew it wouldn\'t be long before he unleashed the next wave of his playful torment.
A chorus of whimpers and whines echoed from within a makeshift wooden cage, a stark contrast to the usual boisterous barks that came from the orc village\'s guard dogs. Neveah, concealed by a veil of shadow, peered at his captives – the three hulking female hounds, their bellies visibly swollen with pups.
A cruel twist, perhaps, but an undeniably effective one. He\'d infiltrated the village under the cloak of night, using a combination of swiftness and the chaotic energy to bypass the orcs\' weakened defenses. The male hounds, sensing his approach, had launched into a frenzy, their frantic growls and barks serving as an unwelcome alarm.
But Neveah, with his newfound abilities, had managed to subdue them with a surge of disorienting gravity, rendering them helpless bystanders.
The commotion, however, had woken the orcs. Groaning curses and the clatter of armor filled the night air as the twin orc warlords, Grog and Drok, emerged from their hut, their rage palpable. But rage quickly turned to panic as they saw the empty kennels and the agitated state of the male hounds.
"The brood mothers!" Drok bellowed, his voice thick with a mix of fear and fury. He gestured at the distraught hounds, their whimpers escalating into a mournful howl. "They were heavy with pups!"
Grog, his single eye narrowed, scanned the ground. He spotted a telltale sign – a series of deep drag marks leading away from the kennels. A guttural growl rumbled in his chest. "The intruder," he snarled, his voice laced with a murderous intent. "He took them."
The orcs, their suspicion towards this unseen tormentor now a burning certainty, rallied around the warlords. The frustration and annoyance of the past few days had morphed into a singular, primal desire: vengeance. They would find their brood mothers, and they would make the intruder pay dearly.
Grog, the more strategic of the two, pointed towards the drag marks. "Follow the trail," he commanded in their orc language, his voice heavy with grim determination. "Find him. And when you do…" he trailed off, his single eye gleaming with a savage glint, "leave nothing but bloody dust."
" But wet dust forms mud, sir." Said another orc.
" Shut up don\'t you have somewhere else to be stupid?" Asked Grog.
" Not until dusk, sir." Said the other orc amd Grog gave him a gut punch and went away fuming.
Neveh, watching the scene unfold from the shadows, felt a flicker of satisfaction. He\'d taken a gamble, targeting something precious to the orcs, something that would not only disrupt their guard detail but also evoke a raw, emotional response.
As the orcs, fueled by fury and desperation, charged into the forest following the trail, Neveah melted back into the darkness, a phantom predator leading them on a merry chase. He was toying with them, manipulating their emotions, turning their once-formidable defenses into a desperate scramble.
The game was far from over, but Neveah, fueled by the chaotic energy coursing through him, was reveling in his newfound power and the fear he was instilling in his primitive prey.
The orcs, a snarling mob led by the twin-headed warlords Grog and Drok, followed the drag marks with a vengeance. The forest floor crunched under their heavy feet, their guttural shouts echoing through the silent trees. The male hounds their whines turning into a desperate chorus of barks, leading the orcs deeper into the woods.
Finally, the drag marks ended abruptly at the mouth of a dark cave, its entrance barely visible beneath a tangle of twisted roots. A wave of unease washed over Grog, a prickling sensation on the back of his neck that he couldn\'t shake. Still, the sight of the cave, a potential den for their captured brood mothers, fueled their rage.
"There!" Drok roared, pointing a bone-tipped club towards the cave entrance. "They must be inside!"
Without waiting for further orders, the male hounds surged forward, their eagerness to reunite with their mates overriding any caution. Grog, however, felt a cold dread grip him. He raised a hand, his booming voice barely audible over the excited barks. "Wait!"
But it was too late. The lead hound, a hulking beast, had already disappeared into the darkness. A sickening snap echoed from within the cave, followed by a loud, desperate yelp. Grog\'s premonition solidified into a chilling certainty. Trap.
A strangled scream ripped from the darkness as a series of taut wires hidden within the cave entrance snapped with a metallic twang. The ceiling groaned in protest, and with a horrifying rumble, the entire cave entrance caved in, tons of loose stone and dirt collapsing inwards. A horrifying silence descended, broken only by the choking coughs of dust-covered orcs.
Drok, his face contorted in rage and grief, roared a primal challenge. The remaining male hounds, sensing their mates\' and future children demise, howled in fury. Blinded by rage, they charged towards the collapsed cave entrance, intent on digging their fallen comrades free.
Their desperation proved to be their undoing. As the first hound clambered over the debris, a hidden tripwire released a cascade of horrors. Spiked tree trunks, precariously balanced above the entrance, plummeted down, impaling the unfortunate hound in a shower of gore.
The chaos triggered a domino effect. More tripwires were activated, sending a series of deadly projectiles flying – sharpened logs, jagged stones, even a couple of small boulders strategically placed for maximum damage. The air split with the sickening thud of bodies and the panicked screams of the orcs.
In a matter of seconds, the entrance to the cave became a macabre tableau of death and destruction. The remaining male hounds lay twitching amongst the fallen orcs, their bodies riddled with spikes and crushed by falling debris. Grog and Drok, miraculously unscathed, stood amidst the carnage, their rage replaced by a cold, horrifying realization.
They had underestimated the intruder, their primal emotions blinding them to his cunning. This wasn\'t just a tormentor anymore; and they were not hunting a prey, they were being hunted and Grog was furious. The game had taken a gruesome turn, and the orcs, for the first time, felt a flicker of fear in the face of this unseen enemy.
A macabre ballet of death unfolded before Neveah\'s crimson eyes. Orcs, once his targets for controlled chaos, now lay strewn about the cave entrance, victims of their own fury and his elaborate trap. The twin-headed mutant, a grotesque aberration with four arms wielding massive clubs, stood defiant amidst the carnage.
Each club swung with brutal efficiency, deflecting a hail of the continuously incoming spiked logs and jagged stones.
Neveah watched with a detached curiosity. A satisfied smirk played on his lips, but a flicker of concern lurked beneath the surface. He\'d gotten a handle on circulating this chaotic energy, navigating its unpredictable currents within him. However, unlike mana, it wasn\'t readily replenished. He had a finite pool, he was sure not every orc will be killed by these traps.
" I\'ve also wasted too much time... She\'ll be furious... But I wasn\'t confident in taking these people head on."
The mutant orc, finally clearing the barrage, roared a challenge, a guttural sound that reverberated through the forest. It was time to end this, to experiment further with this volatile energy.
Taking a deep breath, Neveah focused. The chaotic energy within him pulsed, a storm waiting to be unleashed. He closed his eyes, picturing ice, the same way he dealt with mana, its frigid stillness a stark contrast to the chaotic energy he wielded.
With a mental push, he attempted to channel the chaotic energy, not to disrupt or destroy, but to mimic, to twist its essence into something new. A cold sweat prickled his skin as the energy crackled in response, resisting his inexperienced command. But Neveah persisted.