10 years later,
A chill wind blew through the dark air that stretched in front of them. Faint shadows of treetops rolling like the black waves of an ocean of foothills, were almost all that could be seen in the starlight from the stony outcrop. The Rampart mountains loomed to the east like a grey hulking shore. A silence stretched on through the empty void of night, until it was finally broken by a low orcish voice.
"Roderick Longshaft," Korboq said.
Roderick sighed and shook his head, smiling despite himself. "Why?" He said, looking over at his green friend's dead-serious face that continued to scan the forest from his lookout.
"Because you prefer to fight with a spear, " the orc replied, furrowing his brow at the obviousness of it.
Rod nodded with a grunt of understanding. "...No," he finally said. "I told you Korb, I don't need a-"
"He who thrusts from behind!" Korboq said with a proud smile.
Roderick facepalmed.
"...Because of your tactics as a general. Besting your enemies so thoroughly that you surround them more often than not," Korboq defended. "It's longer too, but not too long. You humans seem to like longer titles, but they're always too wordy. 'Lightbrew' is better, but that's ours. The humans need to get their own."
"I already have a human title."
"Well it... sucks," Korboq said looking over at him flatly. "Did I use that term correctly?"
Rod smirked, "Yeah you're getting the hang of it Korb. But, I disagree. It's more than my parents ever dreamed of for me. 'Roderick of Highquarry, second-rank general of the King of Andralia's army, Thane to the Duke of Fringeland, and interim overseer of the new allied Orcish territories of-"
"You can't yell all of that on a battlefield!" Korboq interrupted. "You'd be skewered before you got halfway through."
Roderick chuckled, "Well that's why I save my breath for better uses. You and the other orcs can keep calling me Lightbrew, as long as you keep the meaning to yourselves, but we humans don't use 'war names' like you do, we have our own ways."
"You said we should learn to share our ways," Korboq said. "Take the best of what each of our people have to offer and make each of us better. It was a damn good speech Lightbrew. I still remember it. You say the orc's fire in battle is their strength. Well, shouting what we fight for, including our leaders, is a large part of that. So, consider it."
Roderick nodded appreciatively, "That's fair. I'll consider it Korb."
Roderick stared off at the black horizon again and the hint of dim glow from the enemy orc's campfires miles away. He knew their number far outweighed his own now, and more serious thoughts filled his mind again.
"I don't think any of my human counterparts are going to get here in time to bail us out of this one," he said with a sigh. "I don't suppose Bilgruk and his clan might miraculously appear out of nowhere and save us?"
Korboq gave a bitter scoff, "His clan is too far west, even if our messengers reached them. Besides, he himself is off to Rutt."
"Right, you told me, but that was two months ago. I thought that only lasted a week or two."
"The Rutt itself yes, but his mate will be pregnant and he will not stray far from their homestead until well after she births. I told you not to keep his troop at his home village for too long, that's what happens when one spends too long with their mate with too little fighting going on."
"Well, I'm happy for him I guess, and honestly it's a good place for them to stay and reinforce in the long term, if it wasn't for our little pickle we got ourselves into."
"Pickles are one of your most delicious foods. I still cannot see why you use that word for something bad."
Roderick laughed, "It's just the way it is," he shook his head and let out a resigned sigh. "Just the way it is... like so many things. I should head back Korb. Thanks for the talk."
"I'll let you know if I think of any other names while I'm out here. Get some rest Lightbrew. We'll need our chief sharp tomorrow," he said with a sharp-toothed smile.
Roderick winced at the word 'chief', "I know we've been over this, but are you really sure you should be calling me y-..." he stopped himself when he saw Korboq's stubborn face, and decided against starting that argument again.
"Goodnight Korb," Rod said with a hand on his shoulder. "Stay sharp. The Springsnake has out-manoeuvred us three times already. We can't afford another surprise like last week."
"My eyes and ears will drink in the night Chief Lightbrew," Korboq said, enunciating the last two words for effect.
Roderick simply nodded and walked carefully down from the rocky outcrop that served as a sentry tower. The others on watch had mostly climbed trees, which was enough of an excuse to only check in on Korboq. Mostly he just wanted to have a relaxed talk with his big green friend. They had known each other for several years now, and in some ways he felt closer to him than his human compatriots. Roderick continued down the slope, looking over the camp of his army that lay spread out below.
Orcs and Humans fighting together in one army. His army. Mixed by his design. He knew he should feel pride at that accomplishment, perhaps more than any of the lands that they had taken or the battles they'd won. If their territory was tenuous though, so too was the mess of a tinderbox that their shared camp seemed sometimes. Brawls were breaking out less often the longer they fought side by side now, he supposed. He'd had to dishonourably discharge two or three of the worst instigators, but after that things had seemed to settle. One year into his station as a general, organizing his army this way from the start, and he'd had no major disasters. He'd take it as a win.
The other generals didn't see eye to eye. They had their Orcish allies fight their battles with them, but still in separate ranks and legions, never camping together. Simply giving orders and then pissing and moaning when the Orcs didn't follow them to a T or give them the respect they 'deserved'. Roderick was fairly sure that despite the growing-pains, his army still had fewer 'self-inflicted' injuries than theirs. Hopefully he'd eventually prove himself to their pompous criticisms.
However, the only thing this particular campaign was proving, so far, was Roderick's fallibility. He was somehow being out-generaled. Out-strategized by the enemy orcs in a way he'd never seen before. That day he had feared had finally come, and there was now an Orcish general that knew something more than brute strength attacks. The one they called Springsnake, who had driven him back limping towards the mountain pass, that would take him out of Orthalian territory altogether. He could make one last stand there, using the narrower approaches to his advantage, but even a win there would leave this campaign as an overall failure. Unfortunately the rumours he'd heard were that the other generals weren't faring much better.
If this was the new standard, then everything might be at risk. The last 10 years of slow steady advantage that they'd won could all come crashing down. They needed peace. Real peace. Not just the fragile year-long armistices and stalemates that had come intermittently over the past few years. Even before this disaster of a campaign, he had thought they should simply keep what they had, and be happy with it. Stabilize it, so it could last.. It was more than they ever had before, after all.
3 years ago, his human kingdom of Andralia had annexed the two southeastern Orthalian territories, just across the mountains of his home province of Fringeland, around the time when Roderick had just been promoted to lieutenant. Technically they had "joined" and the Crown even had the gall to say "liberated" at times, but Roderick knew it was more complicated than that. These Orcs fought bravely for them, sworn against their previous Orcish queen, but they needed to believe they had their own agency, and leaders that understood them. That's were Roderick came in. The clans had agreed to join with the humans, on the condition that Roderick himself would be their go-between with the King. The humans had begrudgingly agreed, not understanding why, chalking it up to his reputation on the battlefield, and his notorious winning of a particular duel, but Roderick knew the more important reason.
His orcish blood was still unknown to all but a small handful of his closest human confidants. It was an open secret among the orcs though. "Lightbrew" they called him, in reference to his diluted blood, that most orcs who spent any significant time around him could eventually detect through smell, even though it comprised only an eighth of him. It was taboo to talk about openly though, and so the orcs never did, other than subtle hints, almost taking pride in helping to keep the fact hidden from his human counterparts. He always wondered what might happen if the secret got out though. He felt like literally any day it might-...
An arrow whizzed past his nose and thudded into the tree to his left.
In an instant he unsheathed his short-sword and spun behind a tree, scanning the black night for the assassin, almost about to shout, when he craned his neck to glance up at the arrow. It was one of their own.
"If I'd wanted to kill you I would have aimed to do so. You should pay more attention General," said a smooth female voice he recognized.
Rod smiled and shook his head, relaxing and standing up straight. "Thankfully orcs don't use assassins, and if they did they'd never be as good as you, Frali,"
Frali stepped out of the shadows, a conceited smile on her narrow, pale face. Her tall fit female body was silhouetted in the moonlight, dressed only in minimal light armour, for moving quietly. Rod's eyes went to her long muscular legs under her leather skirt, wondering if she had hiked it up higher than usual.
"You should be back in the archer's quarters, getting your sleep like the rest," he said with a sly smile as he walked slowly up to her and pressed his sword tip under the light bulge of her breasts.
She swatted it away but as she backed up away from the trail she hooked her bow around his neck to pull him into the shadows towards her mischievous smile. "I couldn't sleep. Decided to go hunting."
He smiled as she walked backwards pulling him gradually closer. "Did you catch what you were after?" he asked with a confident grin.
