[coronatiger]

The first orc reached Grogg and parried the maul. His counterattack missed the troll. As did my knife when I hurled it at the orc. The dogs tried to surround Grogg and me, clearly intending to attack from behind. Grogg smacked the orc backwards with a wet thump to the chest, but he came forward again to attack; Grogg retreated out of the way of the axe, however.

I pulled my other long knife and prepared to defend. One of the dogs launched itself at my side, but I whirled around and parried, the poisoned blade scratching the dog’s face. The dog was dead when it landed.

Grogg gave the orc another solid smash, but took a blow from the axe in return. The second orc swung at the troll, too, but missed. I ran over to the closest orc, but missed with both knives. Grogg stomped heavily on the dog that was nibbling on his leg.

The orc didn’t have room to swing his axe at me, so he headbutted me instead. That hurt a lot, even through the hidden cloth armor covering my torso. The other orc moved after the retreating troll. I prepared to dodge, and moved close to the orc to prevent him from using the axe. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a dog with an arrow in its side tried to limp around to my back. Grogg landed another hit on his orc, who refused to go down. My orc dropped his axe and tackled me to the ground, the unexpected maneuver taking me completely by surprise. He landed on top of me. Desperate to finish the orc before the dogs could get at me, I tried to skewer the orc’s neck from both sides, but the shock of having the air knocked out of my lungs caused me to fail spectacularly; I strained my left arm and lost the grip on the knife in my right hand.

Grogg finally sent his opponent crashing to the ground, and I heard a whimper as he stepped on another dog. The orc on top of me tried to break my nose with his forehead, but my bad luck had run its course, and he missed. I chomped on his throat, extending my fangs and injecting venom. The orc shuddered and died. I pushed him off me with my good hand and heard a splash. Ander had jumped into the water to save Xipil from drowning; the lizard man had retreated into the water to escape the dogs, but his injuries caused him to faint.

I picked up the knife I had dropped and stood up. Grogg felled one of the dogs with his throwing axe, and then there was only one dog still standing; Lunari chased it through the shrubbery. Lunari ran supernaturally fast and stabbed the dog with his spear. I sheathed one of my knives; my left arm was useless at the moment. I looked for the knife I threw at the orc at the beginning of the combat.

Just as I was picking it up, Lunari turned around and came back to Grogg and me, calling in a low voice that there were more foes. A shriek of pain followed him. I sheathed the knife, and Grogg told me to move, for I was between him and the sound. I retreated towards him while aiming at the female orc who came out of the forest. She was frothing at the mouth, and her eyes were just as bloodshot as her fallen friends’ had been. Grogg threw his hatchet, and it stuck in her chest. I flipped my knife at her throat, and she crashed lifelessly into Grogg. Ander put his arms up in celebration and declared “Guling!”

I retrieved my knife, watching Ander run to give first aid to Xipil, who was lying on the raft. I determined that the orcs must have used some kind of drug to drive them into such a frothing frenzy. They had also filed their teeth, which might have impressed someone else. I agreed with Lunari and Grogg that the dogs had to be trained to hunt and attack humans.

Ander seemed to have Xipil’s wounds under control, so I offered my services to Grogg, who was staggering towards the raft. He refused, which I respected. I washed the orc blood off my face. I didn’t bother to get my mirror to have a look, but I must have been quite the sight.

Xipil was unconscious, and Grogg and I clearly injured, so Ander gave Lunari a pole, but he threw it in the water. Ander used his own pole to get it back, and tried handing it to Lunari again, but I grabbed hold of it with my good hand. Grogg decided that Lunari needed no protection, and stuck his magic needle into his own neck. He fell asleep immediately.

When Xipil woke a minute or two later, I made a comment to him that I don’t care for men who can’t handle their poles. Lunari protested wildly at the insinuation, and complained again about having to kill someone. I ignored him. He hadn’t attacked anyone, let alone injured or killed them. A fleeing dog didn’t count, rabid or not.

Once my left arm had rested for a bit, I regained the use of it. With two hands, I was more effective at helping Ander push the raft. The sun was setting when we returned to the main river, and I saluted the dying day, in Your honor. Ander pointed questioningly at the needle in Grogg’s neck, but Lunari forbade me from telling him about it, so I just had to say that everything would be all right. The needle purportedly has healing powers, but it didn’t save Kraa from dying. I’m not sure I believe Lunari’s claims, although Xipil has confirmed them.

Proper medicine was what Xipil needed. We landed near an orchard, and Ander instructed us to wait before walking into the night. I grabbed a handful of soil from the orchard, and asked Lunari to confirm that he was uninjured. He lifted his shirt and told me he had strained a muscle when skewering the dog. He still was the halest among us, so I asked him to spit into my hand. I mixed the spittle with the dirt in my other hand and sat down to work on Xipil. The healthy saliva replaced Xipil’s injured fluids when I massaged the skin around his wounds with my dirt. Xipil told me things had maybe gone more smoothly, had Rhuk prepared us – that is to say, Lunari – about what was going to happen. But I don’t think Rhuk knew.

Ander returned and took us to a small cottage. Lunari expressed worry that there might be angry orcs in there, but I took Xipil inside and confirmed that it was safe. Grogg got his needle back from Lunari and lay down, sticking it into his neck again. Ander produced some food, and told us, “Eat, sleep, Guling!” Then we went outside and closed the door. Xipil told Lunari that the more cooperative he was, the sooner we’d get to Guling. He tried to entice Lunari with the promise of “party-elves”.

I ate and pretended to go to sleep, but actually, I lay down to pray, asking You for fresh venom in my glands. After an hour, I could spit some poison into the little vial. After four hours, the vial was as full as it could be, but I still needed another hour to restore the glands, so they’d be ready for use again.

O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will.