Chapter Five

The Orc Encampment!

After tailing the Orc Rear Guard for most of the day, it was a peculiar sense of relief and apprehension when the Orc encampment finally became visible. With the sun setting, a makeshift wooden stockade surrounding many tents was silhouetted against the dark orange sky. There was a gap in the fencing, presumably the front gate since four Orcs with spears guarded it. Through this gap there were many more Orcs visible. A multitude of noises came from within the camp?s walls: cracking, slurping, belching, shouting, and laughing.

?Feeding time,? whispered Herman, wrinkling his nose.

?I?m going to climb a tree and get a better look into the camp,? mentioned Jack, ?Keep an eye out for any patrols!? Keeping low, he moved away into the trees.

A few moments passed, and El-Shad spoke up, ?This is bad. Clearly we are ill prepared for a full on attack.?

Ivan shook his head, ?That was never our objective. We were to investigate the potential of the threat, that?s all. We should not stay long, for if discovered it will be the end of us. We?d probably get eaten for supper? or worse!?

As the implications of that last statement hit home, Erica gulped, ?Why don?t we leave now?? she asked, eager to get out of danger from these impossible odds.

?We?ll wait for Jack, then get out of here,? stated El-Shad, ?But keep your eyes open!?

Even with everyone watching out intently, it was quite a surprise when Jack appeared suddenly out of the darkness. Herman would have yelped in surprise had it not been for Erica clamping a hand over his mouth. ?I saw about twenty tents,? reported Jack, sounding a little out of breath, ?as well as other things of note. But let us not overstay our welcome and get out of here quickly!?

With furious nodding, Erica led the group away from the encampment. Scrambling over the broken tree stumps and uneven ground, everyone kept as low as possible to avoid detection. After a few minutes of retreat Jack continued with his observations, ?Each tent looked like it could have space for two or three Orcs each. There was one large tent, decorated with an assortment of feathers, and another tent with what I think was four shrunken heads impaled on spikes outside the entrance.?

?Not your cutting edge of fashion,? quipped Ivan, trying to make light of the situation.

?Indeed no,? replied Jack. ?I?ve not seen this kind of thing before, which is quite worrying.?

?What could it mean?? asked Erica, appearing if she didn?t really want to know the answer.

Herman was the first to speak up, ?Tribal societies quite often are territorial and thus may be constantly attacking one another, mostly to avenge some real or imagined wrong. It has been known as a discourager for traitors and such. Some say that displaying them is nothing different than having a trophy on the wall.?

Herman seemed unfazed by everyone?s gawking and continued, ?Shrinking a head involved an elaborate ritual. After the butchering is complete, the head is carried back to camp, either by the hair or by a strip of bark passed through the mouth and out through the neck. They prepared the heads by slicing down the back from crown to neck, and then peeling off the skin just as a stocking is removed from a foot.?

Ivan grimaced, but Herman kept speaking, ?The skin is cooked in special pots, after which the incision and other openings are sewn up or plugged. A long process of taxidermy follows in which the head is tanned and stuffed, resulting in a trophy that faithfully reproduced the appearance of the original head, only one-third the size. Quite often they are discarded after a while, as their novelty wears off.?

After Herman finished his discourse, he looked at everyone in turn. ?What?? he asked after a period of silence.

Erica simply answered, ?You?re not right in the head.?

?Anyway,? Jack exhaled, ?There were a few other things of note. I saw many packs containing tools such as hammers, spikes and axes. I think I also saw a disassembled bolt thrower.?

?What?s that?? asked Erica.

?It?s like a catapult, but fires spears. A very effective weapon for killing lots of attackers,? Jack continued, ?The last thing of interest I saw was a very large pile of chains.? Confused glances were past around. ?I don?t know either,? said Jack, ?But let us push on through the night and put more distance between us and the camp! The last thing we need now is to be discovered by any patrol!?

Everyone moved with haste keeping the riverbank in sight to maintain a true course. Each person mused on the effects this sighting of an Orc War band would mean to the Kingdom, and what the response would be. The time required to mobilise a suitable force would be significant. Would there be enough time before the Orcs achieved whatever it was they had set out to do?