Page 10 of Storms & Sacrifice
“I didn’t think you guys had wild boars around here.” I’ve never seen one before.
“We do not.” Khazak kicks the body lightly with his foot. “This is not wild; it is feral. It likely escaped from one of the human settlements on the coast and has been surviving out here for some time. Possibly years, givenits size.”
After dusting myself off, we start the walk back to camp. As always, I have a million questions about the new bit of info I just learned. “So...what else can you do?”
“What do you mean?” Khazak tiltshis head.
“Your magic. What else can you do with it?” I really haven’t met that many spellcasters, and the ones I have are all wizards or some kindof priest.
“Ah, well...” He pauses to think. “I can use it to tell what the weather will be like, usually through the next day. I can manipulate a small amount of earth and water and affect the growth of certain flora. I am able to search for specific animals and plants, especially of the magical variety. And in addition to what I did to your leg, I can detect and heal certain poisons. I can also communicate with animals to some degree.”
“You can talk to animals?” That piques myinterest.
“Communicate,” he clarifies. “Animals do not talk. They use body language and sometimes sounds and noises—most that we cannot even perceive. My magic makes it easier to understand one another, even pass along a message to another person. Oh, here is a useful trick.” Khazak pauses, holding his hands out to the sides and inhaling deeply.
“Shhhhhhh...” Khazak breathes out, as if shushing the woods themselves. All around us, the sounds of the forest go silent, sounds I didn’t even realize were there. The wind blowing through the trees, a bird chirping, squirrels jumping from branch to branch. Everythingis quiet.
“Wow,” I try to say, but it barely comes out a whisper. Smirking, Khazak moves forward, motioning for me to follow. Once we’re a few feet away, I can hear the sounds of nature return as well as our voices.
“How did you do that?” I’m hoping for an answer that isn’t just “magic.”
“The spell controls the movement of the wind in the area, stifling any sound traveling within it.” I can tell he’s proud of that, even if I didn’t fully understand that explanation.
“Why didn’t you do that when we were hunting the deer?” Seems like it would have been useful.
Khazak chuckles. “As I said, I do not see the purpose in using magic for something relatively trivial. Besides, if I had, I might not have heard the boar as it approached.”
“Howdidyou hear that?” If he hadn’t, we might have ended up the boar’s meal instead. “More magic?”
Khazak taps one of his large pointed green ears. “These are not justfor show.”
Everyone is awake and milling about when we make it back to camp. Khazak sits me by the fire while he talks to Wu’dag, who then comes over to take a look at my foot. While he does that, Khazak gathers three of the other orcs, as well as what looks like a pallet you’d use to carry an injured person, to bring back breakfast. Wu’dag kneels in front of me, inspectingmy ankle.
“Always getting in trouble, huh?” I roll my eyes as he places both hands on my ankle, and I can feel the warm tingle of his magic flowing into me. “There we go. Should be good as new.”
I flex and rotate my ankle, pleased to find that it doesn’t hurt at all.“Thanks.”
“That is why I am here.” The shaman stands, brushing off his robes. “Cannot wait to see what caused all thetrouble.”
Twenty minutes later, the four orcs march back into camp, the body of the boar carried between them. They stop just after reaching the camp’s border, moving the body off the pallet and onto the ground nearthe edge.
“Damn boys.” Wu’dag whistles as he steps over, walking around the body. “This will feed us all week.Hold on.”
The shaman steps into his tent while Glasha heads for the supply tent. Wu’dag returns with a small pouch, but Glasha comes back with a bunch of knives.Right, we have to actually butcher this thing.She hands one of the knives to Arik, setting the rest to the side. Both orcs stand back while Wu’dag reaches into his pouch and sprinkles a white powder over the corpse as he walks around it, casting a spell. I see the powder start to glow, but then it’s gone, absorbed bythe body.
“What was that?” I ask Khazak.
“Preservation spell,” Wu’dag answers for himself. “Just needs a pinch of salt. A lot of priests and healers use it to preserve bodies after death, to wait for a funeral or in case the body needs to be transported. However, it canalsobe used to stop meat fromspoiling.”
“How long does it last?”Learning all kinds of things about magic today.
“About a week.” Wu’dag eyes the corpse as the two orcs wielding knives roll the corpse onto its side and start making their cuts. “Ugh, I cannot usually stomach this part. I will be inmy tent.”
I quickly realize my stomach shares Wu’dag’s sentiments. I know we have to drain and clean the meat first but...there’s a lot of blood. Like,a lot. Turns out I am more than happy to leave that part of where my food comes from a mystery. I hope the tent walls block out the hacking noises. “I think I’m gonnago, too.”
“I have a better idea.” Khazak smiles, a twinkle in his eye. “How is your anklefeeling?”
“Never better.” I kick out the foot inquestion.
