There was tension in the air. Shel who had been sitting idly finally found the opportunity to put her one talent to use and stood up from her seat.
"Vorgarag, you- Nevermind that" She was about to try and persuade Vorgarag to not take any action but she quickly dismissed the notion as that wasn't her role. She only knew to do one thing and that was fighting!
Her previous thoughts and actions, her attempts to help Ed and the tribe, were well and good. But only an axe made her feel at ease. So as she brandished the axe she carried with her, a barbaric animosity was naturally exuded alongside it.
Vorgarag's body instinctively took a step back. His original body was somewhat adept with close combat but not this one. Herewaruk's body was old on top of that so even if he was a trained man he still might not be competition for the vigorous muscle woman Shel.
That didn't mean he could back off, however. Vorgarag's eyes darted about crazily eyeing each and every member at the table. At this point, Dakgu and even Bulwud had also stood up readying to take him down at a moment's notice.
"Hahaha!" This was the laugh of Vorgarag. Iconic. But the expressions of those that knew him instantly hardened. The mannerism was the same but not the cold eyes that looked at them.
"You are all fools!" He shouted roaringly. Instantly Vorgarag's hand which was cleverly hidden behind his body whipped forward and a spear of water was shot out.
The attack clearly aiming straight towards the head of the nearby and hostile Shel.
"Shel!" Sharog yelled instantly trying to manipulate a shield for her but there was no need, Shel was confident she could take care of it on her own as she was already in a stance to strike out.
She swung down on the piercing spear of water and her orc iron axe cleanly cleaved the spell. Just as the water was about to disperse and send droplets everywhere from the strike, the droplets started to harden and the spear shaft did too. The water had turned to ice.
Shel's axe was now covered by white ice which obstructed her vision. This brief moment made it impossible for her to see the next move coming either.
Fortunately, she wasn't alone. Sharog's barrier of air formed in front of them just as a volatile volley of ice arrows was launched straight towards them. Sharog nearly breathed a sigh of relief before being left awestruck,
"What?!" The arrows which struck at the barrier of air fiercely inevitably pierced right through the hasty spell.
The arrows then pelted Shel's armored body, and within this short interval, a flash of light passed between her and the rain of arrows. Dakgu's figure bolted forward in between them agilely, with a discerning eye, dodged them all of the ice arrows no matter how strange the angle.
The advanced form of the lightning steps which Durgash never had the opportunity to learn was not just about the speed of movement, it was also about the speed of reflexes and thinking capacity.
Vorgarag's figure which has hastily retreating along the wall twitched with anger after seeing the clear-headed displayed by the young orc. But this was only a momentary irking, he had plenty foresight.
With a wave of Vorgarag's hand, the wet ground beneath Dakgu's feet rose and froze over.
"Ah!" Dakgu screamed in surprise before trying to break his fall with his arms. But he was too heavy...
His hands broke through the surface of the thin film of ice cutting both arms. Dakgu gritted his teeth wanting to get up and charge forward once more but the darting blades of wind that flew beside him made him temporarily lose focus.
It was at this point that Vorgarag's expression became bitter and irate. A wall of ice formed immediately in front of him which the blades of wind easily slashed into and then through. This clean-cut however helped no one except Vorgarag.
"Hum!" Sharog who had run next to Dakgu cast a turbulent concentrated vortex of wind that sliced the ice wall that had remained standing. With their view unfettered she and the others barely managed to catch a glimpse of Vorgarag's figure as it jumped down the tall and imposing settlement walls.
The trio of Shel, Dakgu, and Sharog ran forward having being spooked by the suicidal action. Dakgu, whose arms were still lacerated, and bleeding was the first to arrive near the edge. His previous surprised expression was quickly replaced by hostility as a result.
"Da- Damn!" He shouted irate as he saw Herewaruk's body land safely on the ground after skating down a slide of ice. Before he could replicate the action however the slide started to melt and collapse. Vorgarag was thus allowed to flee like a wild rat.
"There really is something wrong with Ed!" Shel said angrily ignoring her bloodied body and using the opportunity to vent.
She had been surprised by Ed's ability to revive; it was a blessing at the time so she dared not try to dig into it lest she finds out it was all a lie, a nightmare within a dream. But he could revive… and for that, she was very thankful.
When she heard of Vorgarag's death however she was resigned to the fact that she would never see him again. Vorgarag could not revive himself.
So when Ed made it happen… she was both amazed and worried. That was because as dumb as she might be, she knew this was not the same. Ed came back in his own body but Vorgarag had used a substitute. If she was still as carefree as before she would perhaps not have noticed this but she had and it worried her.
Vorgarag had died a valiant death. What orc didn't want to go out valiantly in battle? Extra style points for protecting a pretty orc lady. Her anger felt justified was thus justified as this could tarnish Vorgarag's image. Fortunately, few knew that was Vorgarag, their last impression of him would remain a brilliant leader.
"Wha- How can you say that?" Sharog was caught off guard by the sudden mention of Ed and was temporarily unable to analyze Shel's reasoning.
"He tried to meddle in the power of God's and this was the result!" To Shel, this had to be some sort of divine retribution. All tribes did believe in a god, even if not as piously as the now-defeated sacred tribe.
"That's not the point!" Dakgu anxiously intervened with itchy feet.
"We can't let him get away!" He added in continuation. His words were reasonable.
"No hurry, we know where he is going" Sharog responded with narrowed eyes. Vorgarag had not jumped on towards the forest, he jumped down back into the settlement. He was also currently running towards the barracks.
Dakgu seeing his familiar trajectory was immediately convinced, he had to be heading where Sharog wanted them to hide.
"He- Hey- There-! Hu- Humans!" Bulwud who had kept a safe distance shouted nervously from behind the trio, his eyes pointing straight towards the appearance of a man holding a bow. The shining glint of the arrow ready to be fired off had alerted him.
Sharog turned around then but all she saw was Bulwud's figure being shot by an arrow directly in the chest and falling back by the powerful force.
"Argh! Damn…!" He screamed before gritting his teeth. He was fortunate enough that the upwards angle of the arrow had eliminated most of the momentum. The fact that the shot was accurate and painful was only thanks to the mana infused shot.
Sharog didn't even try to approach the opposite edge. She used her wind to manipulate Bulwud's body closer to them instead.
"Don't!" She yelled at Dakgu who seemed to be repressing something while approaching to take a look down. Dakgu's usually meek personality made him instantly halt.
"Quickly, we need to gather the orcs and prepare for battle!" Sharog yelled to Shel who nodded before running for the stairs.
Sharog herself only approached Bulwud and took out an Alivio Healing Potion from her robe. She removed the arrow- "Argh!"1 and applied the potion on the wound.
"You! Go after Vorgarag!" Sharog told Dakgu, he instantly bolted for the stairs with lightning arcing at his feet.
Sharog was left alone with Bulwud allowing her to take a deep breath. Things had progressed too quickly for her mind to follow it all properly. She wasn't even certain that her decisions were correct.
Thinking about it a bit more deeply, Sharog did agree with Shel. Ed was wrong, he was wrong to leave them so often to fend for themselves.
***
"Ah!" A scout screamed while fashioning his bow.
"Eh? What's up?" The other scout who had sneaked up on him asked after seeing him twiddling with his bow and even releasing the arrow.
"F*ck! The power is too low! It won't kill it!" The other one didn't even spare their fellow scout any mind. The only thought in his mind was how he would be chewed out for alerting the orcs.
His plan had been to eliminate this orc wall patrol and take the liberty to then climb up the wall and scout the layout of the inside in advance.
"Did- Did you shoot at an orc?!" The other magician scout asked in utter surprise. His friend sure had some balls!
"Shut the hell up! Now I have to report this!" He said gnashing his teeth.
Orc patrols especially along such tall and long walls were usually lonely or scarce. That meant that taking out the patrolling orc would allow them to scout the area freely but having failed… the plan to advance inward might have to be pushed forward or else the orcs could prepare like they had last time!
"Just so you know, I'm pinning some of this on you" The archer magician said before dashing back towards where the others were camping and resting.
"No- Now hold on!" The other replied running after him.