Prelude: Do Orcs Eat Fish?
The fisherman leaned against his market stall, huffing in frustration.
Three days, and he had hardly sold half of the fish from his last trip. They were going to go bad at this rate, and the only thing he'd be able to sell them for is fertilizer. He exhaled again, more defeated this time. His wife was going to be furious.
Maybe he should have taken that job in the big city after all. But he hated the city. He hated being surrounded by people. That's why he preferred the boat.
No people to bug him, no wife to nag him, no daughter to complain to him. Just him and the fish. Was that too much to ask for?
He knew that in just a week the market would be bustling with activity. But he wanted to be sold out and far away from town by then.
He wanted nothing to do with it, nasty business it was.
But it kept things running, and kept the rich people happy, up in their manors. He knew how important it was to keep the rich people happy, cheap bastards they were. Always complaining if his fish weren't same day fresh, hardly willing to pay a penny for prime quality fish just because they smelled a little.
You knew someone was rich if they had never eaten a smelly fish. It was just how life worked. You either ate the fish, or you wasted time complaining about it.
At least the elves had the decency to avoid his booth all together, their pointy noses turned upwards. Weirdos they were, they ate no meat at
all
. Not even fish, and fish weren't really meat. It was
fish
.
But try telling that to an elf, with their long ears and wrinkled noses.
He
certainly had.
It hadn't worked, by the way.
He wondered if any elves would be in the market next week. They were usually wealthy, right? They looked rich, in their elegant clothes, wielding finely made weapons. Always gracefully gliding about purposefully when they thought to deign the city with their presence.
He wasn't sure how they made money, hiding out in their woods, living in trees. Probably picking berries all day or something.
Maybe they would partake in the more dubious wares that would soon be available.
He supposed he wouldn't mind buying one of his own, if he could have afforded it. Maybe they could sit at his stall all day, surrounded by stinking fish and dealing with his angry wife while he stayed out on the open water, enjoying the fresh air.
But, again, he
definitely
couldn't afford one.
Maybe if he had taken that job in the city.
He sighed again.
He jolted upright as a huge figure approached the market. It was an orc, or so he thought. Or maybe a kull? She was huge, over nine feet tall, her black hair fanning behind her as her large strides carried her surprisingly quickly to the markets entrance. Gold jewelry glinting in the suns. Her green skin smooth and shiny with sweat.
An orc in the city? He panicked for a moment, but the guards didn't seem interested in stopping her. Just a bit restless. They stared at her intently, their hands on their weapons. But none made a move to approach her. Seemingly content with allowing her to do some shopping.
He supposed there wasn't much a single orc could do, maybe she wasn't a threat?
Well, she
was
. Obviously. But there was only one of her, and a lot of guards in the market square. Even if they were lazy guards who never bought his fish. They couldn't be in
that
much danger.
Maybe she likes fish?
The huge woman explored the market, scanning the area. Her large yellow eyes had a piercing quality to them. So bright that they seemed to glow. She carried no weapons, but if there were danger she wouldn't have really needed one. Her huge hands looked like they could pull a tree right out of the ground. A human skull would be no effort.
She was dressed fairly simply in dark grey robes and brown molded leather armor. Though the armor was so well molded it showed off her shapely figure, despite the majority of her green skin being covered in looser cloth.
It was a bit obscene, honestly, the man thought haughtily.
Not that he was going to say anything.
Her boots were massive, and a bit crudely made, but clearly well-worn. They left deep footprints in the dirt, at least three times as long as a grown mans and twice as wide. But she walked with a somewhat delicate quality, swishing her long hair back and forth, swaying her huge hips. Her long tail trailed back and forth behind her, forming a large figure eight. The tuft of black hair at the end twitching.
She made friendly small talk with the frightened merchants, swinging her large bag back and forth as if it were a perfectly normal day at the market. She seemed unaware, or unfazed, by the humans reactions to her presence. She just smiled pleasantly without a care in the world.
He watched her carefully. Not wanting to be caught staring, but also not wanting to take his eyes off the frightening creature. And he wasn't the only one.
She held her head high with her neck exposed, her chest jutted out slightly. Her large teeth exposed as she flashed a charismatic grin at the vendors, gathering her supplies. She made several purchases, including a large looking one at the booth selling spices.
He
hated
that guy.
He thought his spices were the best in the world, and would charge unknowing customers a premium sum. His spices were adequate at best. Good fish didn't need spices, anyways. But, his booth would sell out, and then he would complain loudly about not being able to keep up with his many,
many
, customers.
What an asshole.
He did deeply enjoy watching the man cowering and shaking before the giant, clearly not wanting to offend his unusually large customer. He doubted the guy was getting premium coin this time, as she flashed another toothy grin and seemed quite pleased with herself. Heh.
She was quite muscular, with huge shining green horns on her head, and two large tusks jutting out from her bottom jaw. Even her fingers ended in long black claws.
Well manicured ones, but still deadly looking.
She also seemed to be asking some of the vendors questions, to which they would shake their heads adamantly. He couldn't imagine what she might be saying, if they could even understand her at all. It couldn't be about their wares, for their fear didn't seem to stop them from eagerly accepting her coin. So what was she asking?
Not for anyones first borns, he thought jokingly.
But then became increasingly concerned as he considered the possibility.
Orcs had been known to sneak into towns and villages, making off with any young maidens they could find. And lone women traveling the lands would seem to mysteriously disappear. He had even heard horrible stories of young women returning to their villages, only to give birth to the orcs cursed green spawn in the cover of night.
He thought it was all nonsense of course. It probably wasn't even physically
possible
. He considered the scandalous line of thinking for a moment and then shook his head of it. She was quite literally twice their size, if not more.
Also, you know. A woman.
There had been a few peace treaties, but they never lasted. The orcs traveled in large herds, and loved war and fighting. Any humans they came across would surely draw swords. In defense of course. A human would only attack an orc if threatened.
It
was
much less common now, and they seemed to keep to themselves, but still. The days of his father, and his father before him had been very different, as they told it.
He thought of his own ungrateful daughter sitting at home, constantly complaining about having to eat his smelly fish. He wondered if the orc would buy
her
for dinner. Not entirely jokingly.
Eventually the orc swayed her way over to his booth. He gulped, terrified, but did not want to offend the grinning giant. She examined his fish briefly, her nostrils flaring at the smell, and her tail swatted at a stray fly behind her. Her long pointed ears twitched slightly as she pondered. They had quite a few gold hoops and studs adorning them.
But instead of reaching for the fish, she looked down at the man and spoke. Surprisingly, in the common tongue.
"Human fish-man." She purred deeply.
"Have you heard tell of a slave auction happening here?" She maintained intense eye contact, her large teeth exposed in an approximation of a charming human smile. Her lips stretched over her large bottom tusks.
The man was bewildered. Why would she be asking about
that?
What horrible uses would an orc have for a
human
slave?
He had a few ideas. None of which he liked. Not that he cared much for slaves, but it was still the principal of the thing. Species solidarity and all that. So, despite his trembling and sweating, he lied. Anxiously.
"No ma'am. I mean, orc, I mean, miss orc ma'am. We don't have anything like that here."
He averted her gaze slightly. She continued to stare at him with her yellow eyes, leaning in slightly.
