Rise of the Horde

Khao'khen shook his head as he heard the noise of battle from behind the boulders that were blocking his sights. The actions of the trolls on top of the boulders cemented his suspicion that the life of the escaping Ereian was forfeited .

Shrugging his shoulders, he turned his attention to the skinny but tall man on the ground, who was looking at him with fear in his eyes.

"Don't be scared... I won't hurt you... Unless you do something that endangers my life and the life of those who are with me then you have every reason to fear me as I will make sure that you will suffer the most painful and gruesome death that you could ever imagine...." Khao'khen said before displaying an innocent smile on his lips as he reached his bulky hand out to help Siroh to his feet.

Siroh stared at the vein filled and muscle packed arm of the orc in front of his face who was offering his hand to assist him. After some deliberation, he slowly reached his hand forward and grabbed the enormous palm that was offered to him.

Khao'khen pulled back his arm after securing a grip on the hands of Siroh and tugged him forward. He noticed the grimace of pain of Siroh after he pulled him towards him. Khao'khen quickly released his grip and scratched the back of his head while muttering his apologies before chuckling.

Siroh massaged his right arm, which was grabbed and pulled by the green, hulking creature in front of him. He suspected that his right arm wasn't far from being torn off from his shoulders after the aid of the orc in front of him as he assisted him in getting up. Stretching his right arm a bit with punching motions in the air to drive away the pain that was assaulting his senses.

"Ohh...sorry... I wasn't able to control my strength..." Khao'khen muttered as he displayed a guilty smile on his face. He really didn't mean to apply that much force. His new body, he was still not very accustomed to its new capabilities just yet since in almost the things he had done, he never used measured the strength that he was applying. He was going all out almost all the time.

"No worries..." Siroh replied as he continued massaging his now sore arm after what just happened. It was his first time experiencing such an event in his life. He had experienced being assaulted by drunkards in his profession, but never did he experience such strength that he couldn't fathom like the one just shown by the green creature in front of him. He might be thin, but he could still overpower many others despite his body size. Many had fallen victim to his hands after underestimating his strength, mostly during scuffles in some dark alleyway in the capital after he was done with his job as an entertainer.

Khao'khen left Siroh who was still massaging his right arm and went towards the Ereian who had his right side almost completely destroyed by his previous attack. Grabbing the length of his spear, he jerked it backwards, which was followed by the innards of the now dead man. Guts, intestines and blood quickly flowed about from the gaping hole in the side of the corpse after Khao'khen retrieved his weapon, which was plugging and preventing most of the insides of the corpse from spilling out.

"Wat do wi do now mon?" Skorno asked as he stood beside Khao'khen and stared at the mangled body in front of them. Khao'khen scratched his chin while steadying his weapon beside him as he started thinking. It took him a few moments of silence before an idea finally popped up in his mind. He waved towards Badz who quickly jogged towards him like a loyal mutt who was waiting for his master to give him his treats.

"What was the purpose of your people in venturing to this place?" Khao'khen questioned as he was curious about what was the reason that the Ereians travelled this far.

Badz gave out a sarcastic chuckle before looking towards Siroh who was slowly walking towards them. The skinny man was still busy massaging his arm as he continued to display a pained expression on his face.

"Well.... We don't know the real reason, big guy... We are just normal people who were conscripted into the army. The original purpose of us being enlisted into the army was to defend the kingdom from the monsters that were wrecking havoc in our lands that came from the north, in this direction. But now, we no longer know. We were just following the Bulwarks of the Sand after we were assigned to him by the prince..." Badz explained, then shrugged his shoulders, as he really did not know what was the purpose of their adventure here to the north. He wasn't paying attention most of the time to the gossips that were being passed around in their camps as he was more interested in their meals, his mind was preoccupied most of the time with food.

"If I may... I have an idea why a portion of the army was sent here..." Siroh chimed in as he tried to raise his sore arm but quickly brought it down and continued massaging it after the sudden spike of pain that he felt after raising it.

"Let me hear it..." Khao'khen quickly responded as he turned his attention to Siroh who was still a few feet away from them. Looking around the area, he spotted the trolls who were sent to standby in some key points around their place of ambush to make sure that none of their enemies can escape their assault. He spotted one group of trolls carrying a somewhat porcupine looking thing on their shoulders and Khao'khen and because they are still far away from him and the torrential dust that was still dancing through the air, the range of his vision was shortened.

"Well... We suspect that the prince wants to conquer your lands and bring it under the rule of the kingdom under the pretense of exacting revenge against your previous attack, which was the horde of monsters that ravaged our lands for some time. His other reasons, we no longer know... perhaps to further his own ambition to gain more merit and power and cement his claim to the throne after his outburst against one of the noble families of the kingdom which greatly impacted his reputation." Siroh explained, then also shrugged his shoulders after noticing the odd stare of Badz and Khao'khen at him.

"How did you know all of these things?" Badz curiously asked as he stared at Siroh with eyes full of curiosity. He really wanted to find out how his companion knew such details.

"Well... If you work in my line of work, then you are bound to hear some juicy news from your clients." Siroh informed them, as he gave them an innocent smile.

"Hmm...." Khao'khen thought for a few seconds, then stared at Siroh again.

"And what is the stance of the common people like you in this campaign?" he asked Siroh as he wanted to find out if they are all committed to the task assigned to them by their prince.

"Most of us don't want to take part in this adventure, but what else can we do. We don't have the courage to disobey the order of the prince and even the king now supports his decisions. We are just common people." Siroh replied, then turned his attention towards the many trolls who were approaching them.

Khao'khen nodded his head, then stared at the two of them with all seriousness. He had decided to spare as many of those that he can spare who no longer want to take part in this conflict.

"I have a task for the two of you." he said, which prompted the two Ereians to turn their heads towards him with questioning eyes.

"Return to your fellow Ereians and spread the word that we, specifically me and my tribe, will spare anyone who would surrender. Only break the word to those that you can trust, as your own safety is in your hands. You guys should wear a white piece of cloth on any of your arms and weapons to help us identify you from those who we should kill." Khao'khen instructed with a voice filled with authority which prompted the two Ereians to just gulped a mouthful of their saliva after feeling the domineering aura of the green creature in front of them.

"Well... You guys could also ignore it and save your own lives but...hehehe... Good luck surviving the trip without proper supplies." Khao'khen chuckled as he stared at them.

*****

"Yu trust em to quickly mi mon." Skorno commented beside Khao'khen as they watched Siroh and Badz walk away from them. The trolls were just silently watching the two Ereians as they were ordered by their chieftain to leave them be.

"It's a safe gamble Skorno... If they follow my words and spread the news, then we win big time, but if they don't, then... We have nothing to lose..." Khao'khen glanced towards the leader of the troll skirmishers.

"And besides... It's easier to do a divide and conquer since they still don't know much a out us and our numbers..." Khao'khen continued as a confident smile was plastered on his lips.

"It's yur decision mon...." Skorno replied as he walked away after shrugging his shoulders.