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Yet another sunrise came, ending the orcs nightly march, and bringing them within one more such march of the Mountain of Gundabad. Grūglach let out a growl of a sigh as he observed a pinkish hue spreading across the sky from seemingly a certain point along the horizon. The serenity of it disturbed him. An uncertainty grew in his mind as the sun rose and they again made camp. It seemed Skagrun knew these mountains and the land surrounding them as he did the blade of his knife. And he was quite familiar with all of his weapons, so they soon found formidable shelter, even for all the troops.
Soon tiring of making patrols of the camp, listening to the many grumbles and growls and finding no one that deserved a slit throat for a crime, Grūglach decided to meet with his lieutenants. He would focus himself on what lay ahead, and on scaring Gorurk out of his wits. As long as his mind was occupied the feeling that something was about to go wrong was subdued. He had everything under control, held tightly in his clutches. Staring down the orc officers under his command gave him the confidence that things would continue to go his way. They had never gone any other way, and he was not planning to allow them to.
For now, Grūglach sat back and let Skagrun do the talking, trusting that he would have the same interests as his Captain, as he was smart enough to know that was what kept him in such good health. This made the cruel lieutenant a formidable second in command, certainly at the Captains right hand, yet still in his grip. Grūglach would never loosen his grasp on anyone, and he continually tightened it on Gorurk. And before he reached Gundabad and a battle that might just have the greatness to decide Grūglachs fate, it was time to crush the incompetent lieutenant and display once more his power.
It is time to crush
The orc Captain was pulled out of his thoughts as Skagrun seemingly voiced them.
the race of Men and their newly declared lordship over the lands. We have lost much that the Master worked for; we cannot stand to lose anything more.
But we will stand whether we win or lose! barked Urknash, a particularly large and rabid orc, who managed to make a relatively competent officer because of his fierceness, leading particularly well in battle. Grūglach put up with the orcs often blatant stupidity because of the certain amount of respect he gained for adorning his belt with the fingers of his enemies. Urknash had always been particularly proud of the few elf fingers he had collected, and the Captain could not help but find them a bit fascinating himself.
Well spoken, Urknash, Grūglach said, and the great orc clearly looked pleased with himself. Howling with a gargling laugh, he gave Gorurk who sat next to him a hard slap on the back, causing the considerably smaller lieutenant to double over. He sat back up nervously, rubbing his back and eyeing the big orc next to him. The Captain almost laughed as well at Gorurks discomfort, but any more laughter was sure to distract Urknash for a much greater amount of time than Grūglach or any of them had.
Well, Gorurk, what do you think? the Captain continued, ignoring the few chuckles of laughter that had yet to fully cease. Considering you will lead a part of the forces yourself once we reach Gundabad.
Grūglach watched with pleasure as the sniveling lieutenants eyes widened and his mouth gaped slightly. It was not long before he dropped his eyes to stare at the ground, avoiding the eyes of his cruel superior. I think
he began, muttering slightly. I think we will
show them what were made of. He received another clap on the back from Urknash for these words, while Skagrun openly sneered and Grūglach smiled slightly.
He kept that image of Gorurks face in shock with him the rest of the day, as he was once again forced to wait till darkness by the wretched sun. But the uncertainty that had been in the orcs voice was now in Grūglachs mind. And just as the uneasiness grew to an extent that the orc Captain had never known, Skagrun disturbed him. Sir, Gorurk has made an escape.
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