Page 21 of X'nath

I glanced over at the women huddling together near the wall of the cave. Some were sitting, exhausted and broken, while others stood watch, keeping their heads down. We all knewbetter than to rest too easily. In this place, you never knew when something would jump out of the shadows.

A few of the younger women murmured amongst themselves, their voices too soft for the orcs to hear, but I caught snippets of the conversation.

“We could just stay here,” one whispered. Her voice was hesitant, but there was a certain relief in it, as though the idea had been creeping into her mind for a while. “They’re strong. They’ll keep us safe.”

Another woman, her face pale from the journey, nodded in agreement. “It’s better than facing what’s out there. These orcs, at least they’re strong. They know how to protect themselves. And us.”

I stayed silent as I listened, watching the women’s faces. I could feel the weight of their words. They were tired, scared, and they had no idea what the future held. The safety the orcs provided, however temporary it may be, was comforting. I couldn’t blame them for considering staying.

But I wasn’t ready to settle into this false sense of security.

“Maybe it’s not a bad idea,” one of them said, glancing at me. “We’ve been through hell. Maybe we just let them protect us for a while.”

I clenched my jaw, trying to stay calm, to keep my own reservations to myself. I wasn’t one to speak openly about these things, especially when I had no clear answer to give.

The orcs were powerful, yes. But trusting them would be dangerous. They hadn’t asked us to stay, not yet. They hadn’t even said what they planned to do with us after all this. Their motives were still unclear, and until I understood that, I couldn’t let my guard down.

I caught Vakgar’s voice from across the room, speaking with Greag and the others in their usual low tones. They were planning, talking about what to do next. I was beginning to pickup more of their orcish tongue, the same way they began to pick up ours. Despite mixing both tongues in sentences, things were becoming easier to piece together. I couldn’t hear everything, but I didn’t need to. The atmosphere was thick with unspoken expectations. They had been kind to us in their own way, but there was always a price. What would they ask for? How long would this ‘safe haven’ last?

It wasn’t enough to simply escape danger. I had learned that much the hard way. It wasn’t the threat outside that worried me—it was the threat that came from within.

“What happens after we rest?” I heard one of the women ask quietly, her eyes shifting nervously to where the orcs stood. “What are we supposed to do then?”

I didn’t have an answer for her, and frankly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. So, I stayed quiet, listening as the murmurs of the other women grew louder.

We weren’t finished with the danger. Not yet. I had to be ready for whatever came next. Because in a world like this, nothing was ever as it seemed.

As the orcs continued to prepare for the next phase of whatever plan they had in mind, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were walking into the unknown once again.

The weight of silence hung in the air as the men finished their preparations, their movements purposeful and sharp. Every so often, their eyes would flick over to the women, checking if we were ready to move. We were all physically exhausted, the journey taking its toll on every one of us, but the longer we stayed in this cave, the more I could feel the tension building, an unspoken sense of urgency that we couldn’t ignore.

Greag, always the one to speak first, turned toward the women with a soft chuckle. "It’s been a journey," he said, his deep voice breaking the silence. "How are you feeling? Ready to get moving again?"

His tone was teasing, but there was something gentle in it that made the air around us feel a little lighter. It was clear he was trying to put us at ease, to make us feel like we had a choice in the matter. That we weren’t just being pushed forward at their command. It worked, to an extent. I could see a few of the women relax, even if just a little.

One of the younger women, still wary but clearly appreciative of his kindness, nodded. "I think I’m ready," she murmured, glancing around at the others. "We don’t have much of a choice, do we?"

Vakgar, ever the gruff but protective one, grinned. “Choice or not, it’s time to get moving. This mountain’s not going to climb itself, and we’re not about to let the danger catch up to us.”

I caught his eyes for a moment, and his smirk was both comforting and unsettling. He was trying to keep things light, to make the journey feel less like a burden and more like a choice. But I could tell from the tension in his shoulders that even he knew the stakes.

Karg, never one to back down from an opportunity, added with a wink, "Besides, we’ve got a warm place waiting for you at the heart of the mountain. You’ll get the chance to rest, and then we’ll figure out what happens next. Trust me, it’s better than out there in the swamp."

The women, for the most part, seemed to take comfort in that, their understanding of the mixed languages growing, just as mine was. They nodded, shifting on their feet, preparing for the journey ahead. Even I felt the anxiety ease a little, the uncertainty pushed back as the men’s reassuring words settled over us. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make the next step seem possible.

“Alright, let’s move out,” I said, feeling the weight of my own decision. It wasn’t easy, knowing we were stepping back into aworld I wasn’t sure I understood yet, but it was the only option we had. “We’ll stay together. Stick close to the men.”

The deeper we moved, the more I began to notice the changes in the environment around us. The air grew warmer, and the scent of fire and metal filled my nose. We were no longer in the cold, damp recesses of the cave. No, we had entered what looked like the bustling heart of their clan’s domain.

The further we went, the more it became clear just how different this place was. There were orcs everywhere, moving with purpose. They worked on various projects—some hammering away at large, mechanical contraptions I couldn’t begin to understand, while others were fixing weapons or tending to large, firelit furnaces. There was a rawness to everything, but there was also an undeniable, almost industrial energy. It was like a cross between something ancient and something new—a primal, yet steampunk-like vibe that made my eyes widen in awe.

The walls of the cavern were adorned with crude but effective engineering—gears and chains meshed together in a way that defied expectation. I wondered how long it had taken them to build such a place, how much work had gone into making the mountain feel like a home. Part of their clan seemed to have made its home inside the mouth of the mountain, with the rest of them working and living on the opposite side. It felt like a world unto itself, contained and bustling, yet hidden from the outside.

I heard the women around me gasp quietly, their eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and fear. "What is this place?" one of them whispered, her voice barely audible as we moved forward.

"This… this isn’t what I expected," another murmured, awe and caution in her words.

I stayed quiet, trying to take it all in. There was so much happening all around us, so much that was completely alien. But even with my wariness, I couldn’t deny how impressive it all was.The orcs weren’t just survivors—they were builders, creators, and thinkers in their own way.

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