Page 9 of The Orc Outcast's Conquest

Ergoth’s words blistered through his mind. Words spoken before the whole of the clan.

“Go and bring these women back. One will surely play conquest for you. And four other orcs will also be blessed with sons. The Fades smile upon us this day.”

He barely withheld a growl as his rage spiked. Was his father delusional? Had Tavggol’s death warped his mind?

Or did he despise Govek that much?

Govek gripped the tie of his pack and knotted it.

“You plan to martyr yourself, then.” Her tone was hushed with reproach.

He had no intention of going anywhere near Estwill, but he had not the energy to explain his true plans to Viravia.

“You can’t mean to leave right now,” Viravia said as he moved past her and out the door.

Autumn swirled around him. The trees of Rove Wood were colored orange and red, flooding the land of Faeda with the last gasp of beauty before winter rendered their world dark and still.

Govek glanced toward the flickering firelight of his clan and breathed in the wood smoke and roasting meat.

Elk meat. His mind’s eye flashed with the memory, seeing the prized elk he’d fought cooking over the fire in the Rove Wood Hall.Its flank slashed by deep gouges. Govek had worked so fucking hard to take down the elk quickly and painlessly while also ensuring not to damage it so every bit of the meat could be used, and then his father handed it over to a novice butcher who had ruined it.

“Govek, please,” Viravia cried loudly. Her voice broke the stillness. She was trying to draw attention, but it was useless. There was no one around to hear, even if they could. Govek’s dwelling was too far from any other clan member’s home.

“Govek!” Viravia rushed forward, though she stopped short of touching him.

His eyes lingered on her rounded stomach. His thoughts turned to the future. “Goodbye, Viravia. I truly hope you and your son find the peace you crave.”

With those parting words, Govek turned away and set out on his journey. He left his clan behind without a farewell and embraced whatever trials lay ahead of him, knowing at the depths of his soul that he would never return to Rove Wood Clan.

The first two days of travel were a blur. Govek knew these woods better than he knew himself. They were his most steadfast friend and greatest ally. They had kept him safe for all his seasons.

Then he reached the end of their safety.

The autumn had fallen hard on Rove Wood.

It was far too soon. It should have been at least another moon cycle, another thirty days, before the oaks and maples turned completely. The trees surrounding Govek were tinged with their brightest colors. Gold and red and orange, beautiful but unsettling.

The hunting had also become difficult. When Govek had first taken up the mantle of hunter for the clan, it had been easy to find large game. Now, ten summers later, the only thing left in abundance were the many fish in the Spring of the Fades.

The blight had reached Rove Woods despite its ancient history as the purest glen on the surface of Faeda.

But the Fades slept on, uncaring that the beings they created were in peril.

The Great Rove Tree, a relic of the Fades themselves, twined its roots with the other plant life. Extending its magic and protection for many leagues, but it could not touch all of Faeda.

Govek spent far too much time at that edge, staring down at the soil as if he might see the roots beneath. He was well aware of what it felt like to cross the magical barrier and was not looking forward to doing it again. Especially knowing these were his last moments in its sacred space. It was not like his journey with Karthoc, taken a full season ago, when Govek had known he would eventually return.

This was truly the last time.

The pull to return to Rove Wood, to go back to his clan, back to the Great Tree, was almost too much to endure. It sang in his veins, blistered up his spine, burrowed into every corner of his mind.

But he couldn’t. He would not go back. And no amount of hesitation would make leaving easier.

Govek forced himself on, working past the prickling under his skin and the bone deep dread that flooded his mind, and crossed into the outer forest.

His senses felt stifled. Colors dimmed before his eyes. Red and yellow trees were muted. Evergreen bushes grayed. The light too. It was as if midday had plunged into late afternoon. Even the chill in the air felt harsher.

The blurring numbness punctuated by the sharp pain of each heartbeat drove Govek to distraction.

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