Hi all
Her is another update of Vetitum Nemus. Be sure to read @zakludick's update before you get started on this one!
Gorma dug into a pouch at her side to pull out a piece of material. She pressed it to her forehead with a grunt. Magna followed suit with her own medicine kit. The orc warrior seemed to grin and said, “Let me guess, your mother insists that you always have healing herbs on your person too.”
“How’d you guess?” asked Magna sarcastically.
Gorma chuckled, “I think our mothers could gossip for days!”
Magna couldn’t help but feel a kinship with Gorma. It had been so long since she had a friend, a female friend no less, that she wanted to hold onto this feeling at all costs.
“Though I doubt our fathers would see eye to eye, especially with blood being spilled between us already.”
“We don’t have a father anymore.” Said Adrian as he dismounted from his horse and led it as he walked next to his sister.
Gorma seemed to sneer, and her tusks were revealed. Yet, it wasn’t a sneer, Magna felt this was how orcs showed concern.
“My brother was attacked, had his soul stolen and our father defended him with his life.”
“Good! That is what fathers should do. Protect the new generation.” Gorma slapped Adrian’s back hard.
Adrian stumbled forward and had to cough to hide a small squeak of pain. Gorma looked at her hand and then back to Magna.
“Your brother doesn’t have warrior sturdiness?”
The blush returned to Adrian’s face and Magna immediately felt that she needed to jump in to defend him. However, she paused, waiting to see if he would defend himself first. Adrian straightened himself up and tapped his staff against a stone close to them. From the stone sprang a small, albeit multi-coloured flower, each petal a different colour.
Magna watched Gorma step back, at first concerned that orcs didn’t view magic the same way the goblins did. Yet, the orc princess surprised her once more by grinning, bending over to pick the flower and add it behind her hair.
“While I don’t understand magic, I can enjoy the beauty of it. Thank you for the gift.”
Adrian was about to splutter and answer when Magna elbowed him and whispered, “Just accept it or the flirting will get worse.”
Adrian, with as much tact as he could, bowed.
“We should not tally. There is a lot to discuss and I feel that the entrance of two wolves in camp may cause a stir.” Said Gorma.
The party continued their way to the camp. Magna couldn’t help but notice an array of creatures she didn’t know and a few she had seen in books.
“Imps, annoying little shits, constantly causing problems with horses and other mounts. But they’re great at getting information if needed, so we get them to toe the line.” Explained Gorma.
She then pointed to what Magna had thought was a boulder, only for the thing to move.
“Trolls, from the mountains. They’re not too bright, but with simple commands, they are amazing fighters and can hurl rocks with the accuracy of a trebuchet.”
“Amazing.” Said Gorox as he slid from his horse to look around the camp. “I have never been in a greenskin camp without having them try to kill me.”
Gorma snorted, “We ran into what you refer to as greenskins. They are savages and I can barely understand what any of them say.”
“It’s likely Gorma’s people and those who live now have developed separately for a long time.” said Noxus who opted to stay on her horse.
“The thing is, I don’t remember anything after falling asleep in my bed to awake in the mountains surrounded by the rest of our tribe. If I hadn’t been told that time had passed, I would have been none the wiser. We didn’t develop but rather these savage orcs devolved.” Gorma inclined her head to a set of paddocks. “Leave the horses here, please. We will accompany you to the main tent, where you will talk to Lockjaw.”
“Your father?”
“Yes, but he is one of many chieftains here. He is only using his voice for this meeting. Please consider him to be the voice of all of us in any decision to be made.”
Magna felt nervous but pushed it down. Her mother had given her a task and she was going to complete it to the best of her abilities. She was startled from her musings by an armoured hand that landed on her shoulder. She looked up to see Mortis looking at her through his visor.
“You have all the training you need. You’re fine. You have your mother’s advisor here as well as all magic and might with your brother, myself, and Gorox.”
“Thank you.”
With the horses set loose in the paddock, the group was escorted to a large tent that looked like it was made up of hundreds of pelts, but only if you stood close enough to it. The stitching was immaculate. The entrance was guarded by two large orcs with tusks that almost curled from their mouths. They were either older or a different subspecies.
The one looked at Gorma and then Magna and groaned while rolling his eyes. He whispered something to the one standing next to him and he seemed to laugh. He then turned his attention to Magna, as she had positioned herself so that they knew she was in command.
“I would ask that you tell your companion that he removes his helmet.”
The party stopped dead. While magic didn’t seem to be an issue, no one had thought to bring up Mortis’ affliction. Magna looked at him to see how he would react.
“We’ve seen many an ugly mug here. You have nothing to be concerned about.” Joked Gorma.
“It’s not that he’s ugly…” started Magna.
Without warning, Mortis gripped his helm and removed it, exposing his ever-grinning face. The atmosphere changed immediately. The friendliness seemed to disappear, and hands went to weapons. Gorox didn’t miss this and readied his own weapon.
Gorma put herself between the guards and Mortis and asked, “Can you speak?”
“I can speak, I can reason, and I can fight. Do you need to know anything else?”
Shock rippled through the orcs and even Gorma seemed shocked. She looked at Magna and asked, “What is that?”
“That is my guardian, Mortis. Wherever I go, he goes.”
“Did you disturb his rest?” demanded Gorma as she turned to Adrian, suddenly fury descending on her.”
Adrian raised his hands and shook his head, “My skills don’t include necromancy. Anyway, Mortis is here of his own free will. We don’t compel him to do anything. His sleep was disturbed when my father laid his life down to save me. We haven’t figured out how to put his bones back to rest.”
“The boy speaks true Gorma Thunder Splitter. The King’s death woke me to a land full of curses. It is with my hope that by destroying the curses on those of the land and that of the land itself be lifted one day, allowing me to rest.” Said Mortis.
One guard entered the tent, and within seconds a massive orc with what appeared to have ritualistic scars and battle scars all over his body stepped out of the tent. He was only dressed in long leather pants while the rest remained bare. He seemed to look Mortis up and down for a long time before he finally grumbled, “Bellum preserve us, a revenant.”
Back to you Zak.
Here is an explanation of Chain Stories and here is the current Chainstory Library
Mortis Custos
Sanguifex
Vetitum Nemus
| by @lex-zaiya | by @zakludick |
|---|---|
| Part 1 | Part 2 |
| Part 3 | Part 4 |
| Part 5 | Part 6 |
| Part 7 | Part 8 |
| Part 9 | Part 10 |
| Part 11 | Part 12 |
| Part 13 | Part 14 |
| Part 15 - You’re Here | Part 16 - Incoming |
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