Smitten

Shaghar was carried, still unconscious. Urzoth limped back under his own power. I supported Umog, letting her lean on me. She was in considerable pain, and also disoriented. We had to stop twice so that she could heave up the contents of her stomach.

The rest of the band were all waiting around the Blasted Tree when we returned. Somehow, they'd already learned the outcome of our confrontation with Kurbag.

I have to give them credit: there were no hypocritical displays of belated support for the victors. Nor did they attempt to assure Ditgurat of their loyalty. Instead, they came forward to help carry Shaghar, to assist Coopah, and to relieve me as they supported Umog on both sides.

Ditgurat said nothing; there was no need to say anything. We had Kurbag's head, and the Red Knees could see for themselves that all of the Chieftain's supporters were here - a little the worse for wear, but all alive. Not one of the onlookers could have predicted such a clear-cut victory - not in a thousand years.

I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I wanted to be near Shaghar - only I had no idea what I could do for her, other than to wait for her to wake. Umog, on the other hand, was awake, and in pain.

- "Put them in the forge." I suggested. It was my first useful thought since the fight. If they were close together, then I could keep an eye on both at the same time.

- "Good idea." said Lagakh.

The chieftain's daughter herself helped me settle Shaghar and Umog in my cave. Then she dismissed everyone except me - and my littlest helper.

"Snak - take this bucket, and bring back fresh water."

The moment she was gone, Lagakh turned to me.

- "Thank you." she said. "You were very brave."

I shook my head. "I wasn't thinking. I just ..."

- "You acted - without thinking. It was foolish. But brave." Lagakh took a deep breath. "I see, now, why they love you."

- "Umm ... they?"

- "Shaghar loves you. She wants to bear you children. But you knew that. And Ghorza loves you, too - she knows that you risked your life to protect her. Even Umog loves you, though she may never admit it."

- "

I can hear you

." said Umog, lying face down on a mat inside my forge. She had to be in excruciating pain, with a torn piece of her scalp held to her head only by my torn shirt - yet she seemed to be suffering more from embarrassment.

- "I know." said Lagakh. "It is a day for revealing secrets. You love Smit; he loves you. He also knows my cousin's - and my - greatest secret. And very soon, you will too."

My mouth must have been open. Lagakh smiled at me.

"It will be a relief, Smit, to share some of our secrets. And Umog deserves to know most of them. Did you not see? She risked everything to protect my mother. Next to me, she is the greatest warrior among the Red Knees."

That wasn't bragging; it was a statement of fact. Umog didn't protest.

Snak returned with a bucket of water.

- "Thank you, Snak. Will you defend the mouth of the cave? No one can come in, until I say so."

- "Zug!" My little buck-toothed companion hustled back out, to stand guard.

Lagakh directed me to sit above Umog's head, and hold both of her hands.

- "This will hurt, at first." she said. "I have to wash your hair away from the raw flesh next to your head. But after that, it will not pain you. Trust me, Umog - I want you alive, and well."

Umog glanced up, at me. Then she closed her eyes.

I wouldn't have thought that water could hurt so much. But when Lagakh began cleaning Umog's wound, Umog's grip on my hands tightened alarmingly. After that, however, she relaxed. Whatever Lagakh did from then on didn't seem to cause the patient much pain.

I would never have described myself as squeamish, but I found it difficult to watch Lagakh re-attach the bloody flap of skin to the back of Umog's head. She used a needle and thread.

Did she use her magic? I couldn't tell; perhaps Umog could feel it. Her eyes were on me the whole time. Was she looking for support? Reassurance?

- "There." said Lagakh. "That should hold, as long as no one pulls your hair. Try to keep it clean."

- "

Smit

." said Umog, very softly. "

Leave us - please?

"

I have no idea what they talked about after I left the cave. Neither of them said a word about it to me.

***

Shaghar woke up late that night. I felt her stir, and heard her groan.

- "Shaghar? Are you alright? How do you feel?"

- "My head hurts. Why is everything so dark?"

- "It's night time. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

- "Thirsty." she said. I leapt up and got her a cup of water. She took only a small sip.

- "How do you feel?" I asked again.

- "Groggy. Sore. Everything hurts. Smit - what happened? Where is everyone?"

- "We won. Thanks to you. And Umog. And Shelur and Lagakh."

- "Are they safe? What happened?"

- "Kurbag is dead - and all of his followers, too. It was a complete, total victory."

She smiled, and then groaned again.

- "Who ... who did

we

lose?"

- "No one. No one died. Coopah has a broken arm. Urzoth has a gash on his thigh. Umog was wounded, but Lagakh ... healed her? She did something with magic. Other than that, only a few bumps and bruises. Oh - and Shelur twisted her ankle."

Shaghar took a deep breath, and released it ever so slowly.

- "

Thank you, Kelthala

." she whispered. Then my lover began to cry, very quietly. I took her in my arms, and held her close.

***

Ditgurat did only two things over the next few days.

First, she gave Surak a knife, and a stick.

Surak was the older female that Ghorza and I had used to bait our trap for Kurbag. It was common knowledge that she would have preferred Kurbag as leader. The moment Ghorza appealed to her (and as soon as she saw me), Surak ran to tell our enemies.

Ditgurat gave her a choice. With a knife, Surak could take the honorable path, and take her own life. With the stick, she could take to other paths, and find her own way - alone.

She chose the stick.

With winter approaching, it was probably a death sentence in any case. But I couldn't detect any feeling among the Red Knees that Surak had been dealt with harshly. On the contrary, most seemed to think that Ditgurat had been generous to give the older female a choice at all.

Second, Ditgurat called a meeting of the whole band, beneath the Blasted Tree. She spoke in orcish; Coopah translated for me. The chieftain told her folk what had happened, from the murder of Slagip and the death of Ushug, on the beach, to the final fight against Kurbag and his supporters.

She told them how Snak and I had swum to the wreck, and how Shaghar had hidden us. Ditgurat went on to describe our trick on Surak, and the ambush with the rope. Then she described the 'battle' at the crevice - blow by blow.

Everyone likes a good story - orcs and half-orcs are no exception. The Red Knees listened attentively, drinking in every detail. They admired strength and prowess, of course, but also courage. When Ditgurat spoke of my crazy leap to protect Ghorza, eighty faces turned to look at me. Even as Coopah whispered in my ear, I could feel the wave of approval wash over me.

There was no question about it: Ditgurat used her story to praise my courage and my cleverness. She did the same for Shaghar, and Ghorza, for Umog and Lagakh. Urzoth had his moment, as did Shelur. Snak was mentioned several times, and she positively glowed to be the centre of attention.

That's one way to reward your friends, I thought. It was one more reason why Ditgurat had remained chieftain, despite several challenges.

But then she surprised me.

- "Shaghar saved Smit, on the beach. Then she saved him again, in the final confrontation with Kurbag. You may already have heard how she did these things. If you have not, let me be the first to tell you: Shaghar used magic."

Every head turned; every eye was upon her. Shaghar could only blush, and modestly lower her head.

"She has the talent." said Ditgurat. "It is a blessing. But we cannot ask too much of her, all at once. Shaghar is

not

a shaman. Not yet. She is still young, and has much to learn. Her magic is a boon for the Red Knees - but we must give her time to grow into it."

That was just about perfect. Shaghar had confessed to me that she had absolutely no idea how she had done what she did in the final fight.

- "I truly do not understand it." she said, to me. "It was not something I consciously

did

- it was more ... something that

happened

. I was terrified that you were going to die, and I just ... I just

pushed

the aether. I've never done anything like that before."

Ditgurat shared the secret of Shaghar's talent. It wasn't really a secret, because there was no way that 18 people could keep from sharing what they knew. But the band were pleased that Ditgurat had told them the truth, and they were absolutely delighted to learn that Shaghar was so gifted.

Meanwhile, only a select few knew that Lagakh shared that gift. Her mother and sister. Shaghar, Coopah. Me. And now Umog, if I was not mistaken.

Once the band meeting had been handled, Ditgurat called on me for sex. After the harrowing events of the past week, she was in dire need of some relief. She had waited a few days after the victory because she knew how worried I was about Shaghar and Umog. By now, though, she was fit to be tied.

I could feel the tension in her, and the tightness of her muscles. That was what helped me decide to give her a massage before anything else. Ditgurat heartily approved of my choice.

- "Ohh ... mmm ... oh! Right there.

Right there

." she crooned. "I swear, Smit - if the others fin' out you can do this, they will never leave you alone. No, I won't tell them - 's long as you promise to do this again. Jus' for me."

She was a little rougher than usual, when she rode me, and more passionate than I'd ever experienced with her. Was it because she was pregnant? Or was it because we had survived a mortal combat?

The following night, Umog was especially gentle with me, careful of my scrapes and bruises. I would have described her as 'tender' - except that it wasn't a word I associated with Umog. She even pressed her mouth to mine a couple of times, as if she were trying to kiss me - very carefully, though, so as not to scratch me with the points of her tusks.

And when she did, I caught just a hint of a familiar fragrance.

- "Umog? Is that ... mint? Have you been chewing mint?"

She didn't reply, but I recognized the look in her eyes: she was afraid that I would make fun of her. Umog had been talking to Shaghar. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation! I wondered which one of them had initiated it.

Umog had been chewing mint - to please me.

- "Here." I said. I took her face between my hands, and pulled her close. Very slowly, I pressed my lips to hers. Then I inserted the tip of my tongue between her lips, between her tusks.

I could've sworn that she melted just a little bit.

I felt the tip of her tongue, as she responded. It was a tentative touch - so completely unlike the forceful, even brutish warrior that I had first encountered. We kissed softly, like teenagers with their first love.

When we finally broke apart, I was slightly dazed - and from the look in her eyes, so was Umog. I smiled at her, and she shyly smiled back - and then she blushed.

- "Who are you?" I asked. "What have you done with Umog?"

She didn't understand that at all. I had to explain it, and then to explain it again, in greater detail.

"Never mind." I said. "Kiss me again."

The following night was Shaghar's.

- "You told Umog about wild mint?"

- "She asked me what she could do. If there was a way that she could entice you. I didn't think that you would object. Besides, it took courage for her to approach me."

- "She has always had courage."

- "Not that kind. I think that she truly is smitten with you."

I'd used the word 'smitten' to explain to Shaghar how I felt about her. She'd understood me, finally, but then she'd become enamored of the word. She insisted on using it to describe my relationship with Ghorza, or my entirely different relationship with Snak. She'd even used it in connection with Ogash's persistent pursuit.

"She is just smitten with you, Smit. As we all are."

Shaghar was still uncertain about her new role within the band. Others now looked at her differently, with a type of respect or even awe.

"They don't talk to me normally anymore. It is ... strange."

- "They'll get used to it." I said. "Just as you will. Give it time."

- "You 'got used to it' very quickly. You treat me just the same."

- "That's because

I'm

smitten with

you

."

That earned me a smile, and a very delicious mint-flavoured kiss.

Ghorza didn't want a long conversation. She didn't even want me to go down on her. She simply wanted to be joined with me, as quickly and completely as possible. It was the same as with Ditgurat: the fear that she might have lost me, the exaltation of having survived. Ghorza also knew that I had impulsively risked my life, to save hers.

That gave our coupling increased urgency. She clung to me like a barnacle.

Shaghar had been right; I was smitten with Ghorza, too.

The next night was Lagakh's. She asked if we could meet in my cave - in the forge. That was new, but not all that dramatic a departure. What surprised me, though, was that she arrived alone.

- "Oh." I said. "Where's Shaghar?"

- "She will not be joining us tonight, Smit."

- "Oh?"

Lagakh came and stood directly in front of me. She put her hands on my shoulders.

- "For years now, I have had to be careful, because I knew that I was my mother's champion. We expected a challenge from Kurbag - but not the treachery he resorted to. Do you understand what I mean?"

- "Not ... really. No."

- "There are no more immediate threats. I do not have to fear a challenge - not for years, at least." She looked into my eyes. "I do not have to fear bearing a child. In fact ... I would like to - with you."

I was struck dumb. I'd grown accustomed to our regular trysts with Shaghar, so I was still trying to adjust to the idea of Lagakh coming alone. And now, this ...?

- "You mean ...?"

- "I am not Shaghar, or Ghorza. Nor even Umog. I know that you do not have the same feelings for me. But I would like to experience as much of what you can share with me - as close to what they've had as you will allow."

Wow. Lagakh had courage, too - and not just the kind that shows on a battlefield. She was laying herself bare, emotionally. I liked and respected her far too much to take advantage of that.

I took her in my arms, and held her very close. She smelled of wood smoke (I'd been making charcoal again, and she'd been there, watching and learning), and a little honest sweat.

I stroked her hair.

- "My feelings for you

are

different." I said, softly. "I admire you tremendously, and respect you for what you've done, for the Red Knees. You are strong, and brave, and intelligent."

I could feel her lips move, against my cheek - she was smiling. She didn't move too much, though, so as not to puncture my skin with her tusks.

"Nor am I blind, Lagakh. You have a body that should be immortalized in sculpture, or painting. Words alone could never do you justice. But a statue of your form would intimidate other women, and set far too high a standard - men would see you, and despair. They would know, instinctively, that they would never find a female to match you."

She pulled back a little, and looked me in the eye.

- "I thought you were a smith. You're really a poet."

- "Only where you are concerned."

Lagakh smiled again, and then leaned forward to kiss me. Shaghar had been talking again: her cousin smelled of mint. She was very careful with her tusks - I wondered if she'd been talking to Umog as well.

Lagakh, Shaghar and Umog, discussing intimate moments with yours truly.

There

was a strange thought.

Kissing Lagakh was an eye-opening experience. She didn't attempt to dominate, or even to lead. She was, quite simply, open to the experience, willing to go wherever I led her. That meant more kissing, more tonguing, and my hands on her magnificent breasts.

She wouldn't allow me to go down on her, though.

- "That's not why I'm here." she said.

Ever have sex with a goddess? I have.

***

Ogash became a serious distraction. She was always hovering, watching ... and waiting. If I spent the day making charcoal, she was sure to appear at my cave just as I was washing.

- "Can I help you with that?" she'd say.

She wasn't unattractive. Her large, light blue eyes were very striking. She had the same alluring skin as her sister, without quite the same sheen. She could probably have had any male in the band - I knew for a fact that Urzoth was practically drooling for her. Yet she had set her sights on me, for whatever reason.

My best defence was ... Snak. My little friend had made herself my assistant when it came to making charcoal, or working at the bloomery. She also found time to help Bula with the woodworking, since Coopah's broken arm limited him to giving directions and advice.

Snak attached herself to me, except later in the day, when she knew that I would be seeing Ditgurat, or Umog ... or Shaghar, Ghorza, or Lagakh. Yet she had an amazing knack for arriving to interrupt Ogash's attempts to get me alone.

- "Doesn't the little imp have something else to do?" complained Ogash. "I swear, it's like she's stalking you, or something."

- "Just as you are?" I said.

She didn't like that much. With an offended huff, she went off in a proper snit.

She was right, though. Snak's ability to show up at exactly the right moment couldn't have been sheer coincidence.

- "Are you following me, Snak?" I asked her.

- "No."

- "Really?"

- "I don't follow you, Smit. I follow Ogash."

She was mildly perplexed when I broke into laughter. "Why would you follow her?"

- "Coopah asked me to. Do you want me to stop?"

When I laughed again, Snak smiled back, as if she was willing to meet me halfway.

"Is it funny?" she asked.

- "It is to me. Thank you. You just keep doing what you're doing. And tell Coopah that I said thank you. Never mind - I'll tell him myself."

I did just that.

- "You're welcome." he said. "It was my idea, that you keep her at arm's length. It seemed only fair that I should help you a bit."

- "You're a good friend, Coopah. Thank you."

For some reason, that simple comment brought a tear to the older man's eye. I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder.

- "It's nothing." he said. "Just ... old memories and new ones, all rolled up together."

- "I understand." We sat together in companionable silence for a while.

***

Ditgurat called on me again. Before we had sex, though, she wanted to talk.

- "You have a problem. Ogash."

- "Yes. Coopah and Snak have been helping me, though."

- "I can help. Tomorrow I send Lambug and Ogash to scout. With younger males and females, so they can learn."

- "I see. What about Shelur?"

- "Shelur cannot go. She limps." Shelur was the band's best scout, but she'd twisted her ankle - badly - in the fight against Kurbag.

- "I know."

- "You need a 'prentice. A helper."

- "Yes." With Ushug gone, we'd a tried a couple of the younger females as my assistant, pumping the bellows. None of them had her strength, or her stamina. The fact that they didn't much like the work in the first place didn't help much either.

- "Snak will stay as your 'prentice."

It wasn't such an odd choice; I'd recommended her for the role myself. My little friend was a fixture - she was always present, whether we were making charcoal, smelting at the bloomery, or working in the forge. She was endlessly curious, and always ready and willing - eager, even - to help.