Page 26 of The Orc's Rage

They had descended slowly, traveling southeast, until a shallow valley came into view. They were farther west than her own village, at least she thought so. The land was low enough in elevation that snow had not even fallen yet, and the sledges all came to a halt at the top of the final descent, where it became mud, rocks, and dying grasses.

Kargorr cursed something in Orcish. He swung off of Liga, leaving Cedar there alone. The cat shot a glare at her over her shoulder, and Cedar wondered if she was about to be thrown off. But the cat must have understood this little human was important to her master, because she merely licked her paw in a way that Cedar could only describe as affronted.

Lord Kargorr and Orgha chatted nearby, both gesturing with animation. Then Kargorr called out a command, and as before, it spread across theparoglike wildfire. He stalked back toward Cedar, and all down the line of travelers, orcs began dismounting and pulling objects from the sledges.

“The snow has not come yet,” he said with a dissatisfied growl. “Everything will have to be carried in by hand.” He lifted her by the waist, off of Liga’s back, then fished some meat out of a pouch at his hip and fed it to the huge cat. Blood dripped down the animal’s lips as she chewed.

Cedar’s arms were stuffed full of furs and leather sacks, and along with the rest of theparog, she carried it down the steep hill into the valley. From what Cedar could tell, there had been a human village here not too long ago. The remains of houses dotted the valley, all of them burned to ash. She did not have the bravery to look inside and see what might have become of their occupants.

Had Lord Kargorr burned this village down, planning all along to take it for himself? The orcs were much closer to human lands here, probably a few days’ ride from the nearest town.

Cedar wondered what he had planned by occupying this place.

Campsites were staked out, and soon the orcs began rolling their huge wooden posts down the hillside. It was arduous work, climbing back up to the top of the ridge to grab more belongings and then carrying them down again, over and over. By the time the sun was getting low in the sky, Cedar could barely lift a pillow, and her arms felt like soggy bread.

Luckily, Lord Kargorr’s tent was the first to be erected, and with ten orcs working on it together, the postholes were dug, the frame went up, and the leather walls were strapped down to the posts.

Suddenly, Cedar had a home again. It was strange to feel that anywhere in particular washome. Lissa’s house had never been home for her. The hovel where she grew up with three siblings and her parents had been barely enough to contain all of them. But now, she found herself immensely grateful to be inside these familiar walls again, and despite her exhaustion, she helped to dig out the fire pit in the middle of the much bigger, larger tent. Then the bed was put together in the back while Cedar and Kargorr ate dinner. She devoured her bowl of soft gruel, dried berries, and meat. Then Kargorr tore some flesh off his drumstick and gave it to her, and while he wasn’t smiling, amusement crinkled his nose as she devoured that, too, and finished by licking off her fingers.

Cedar had never eaten this well in her entire life, and today, after so much laboring, it tasted better than ever.

By the time the initial work of unpacking the tent was finished, she couldn’t stand up any longer. She unfurled the furs and spread them out, then fell forward onto them. She didn’t know if she could even bring herself to roll over to her side of the bed.

Then a large body lay down on top of her. Kargorr supported himself with one arm, letting the rest of his weight push her into the furs.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it, little deer?” he asked in a low rumble, right in her ear. His tusk caught in the hair at the nape of her neck. “You rode well.”

The compliment made her chest feel airy and light. She couldn’t help it when she let out an exhausted little giggle, feeling she had done rather well despite the fact her thighs and butt would never be the same again. When he lowered a hand there to squeeze, she jolted and let out a whimper.

Kargorr sat up, surprised. He slid a finger into the band of her pants and pulled them down, revealing her like a child about to be spanked. Seeing her reddened flesh, he let out a displeased huff and got up to retrieve a leather bag on the floor. From it he produced a familiar jar, and Cedar watched over her shoulder as he returned with it, scooping out the salve with two fingers. He spread it all over her, surprisingly softly. It was quick to work its magic, cooling down her skin and soothing the sore muscles underneath. He pulled her pants the rest of the way off, and soon she found him standing at the edge of the bed, his quickly growing cock positioned behind her.

Cedar rolled onto her back, and her hips lifted in anticipation. With a pleased chuckle, Kargorr slid inside her. But he moved in a new way—slower, gentler, as if he was taking care not to inflame her wounds. She tried not to think about the burned houses, instead remembering the piece of meat he gave her, and the way he’d put her on his lap as they rode.

After he had eked one scream out of her after another, he spent himself inside her. Then Lord Kargorr rolled her up in his arm and sighed deeply.

“There will be much to do tomorrow,” he said, and Cedar wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or himself. “And then it all will truly begin.”

A few days ago, she wouldn’t have said anything in answer. But Cedar had been thinking about that little speck of light in his abyssal eyes, and what it meant, so she ventured a question.

“What will begin?”

His big head angled down toward her while his hand absently stroked her arm.

“The reclaiming.” He tightened his grip around her. “I will take back everything the humans stole from us. I will seize it for myparog, and for all of thegrrosekwho awoke to find their land taken.”

The words didn’t quite make sense.Stole?But the orcs were the ones stealing human land—burning down human villages for it. Still, she kept the thought to herself.

When she slept, Cedar slept harder and longer than she ever had before, as if she were dead.

Kargorr

It would take time and work to fully settle theparogin this strange place where there was no snow under their feet. But Lord Kargorr felt a new, strange kind of optimism for the future. The snow was their old home. This would become their new one. They would soon move even farther south to take more of what was owed to them, which would mean even more foreign terrain.

While theparoglabored over rebuilding the camp, Kargorr held a meeting with Orgha in the new command tent.

“The warriors are worried about exposing ourselves in such a foreign land,” his right hand said, snatching a piece of cooked meat off his plate and tossing it into his mouth. “They’re afraid it puts us at risk to be so close to humankind,kazek.”

Kargorr didn’t like to hear that hisparogwas doubting him.

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