Waking the Gods

Chapter 12

The rest of the day passed uneventfully for Vera. She didn’t dare step out of the hut, but she did practice pulling the bow string, and repacking her pack. At one point, she heard some of the orcs yelling, but she couldn’t make out the words. She recognized that they were cheering a lot, and sometimes she thought she heard wood being smashed, but she still didn’t dare come outside to investigate.

As promised, dinner was brought to Vera, this time by an orc she didn’t recognize. He set her bowl near her without a word and left before she’d even had a chance to pick it up. She wouldn’t have thought anything of it, except that he seemed to be going out of his way to never look at her directly.

Even when she muttered a “thank you” just before he had shut the door, he only grunted as he glared at the ground. The door swung shut behind him, and no one else bothered her the rest of the day.

When the sun was going down Vera thought Faroo would visit her one last time, but even he didn’t come. Her continuing thought was that Garluk must be keeping him busy and getting everything ready for his absence, but she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that she wouldn’t get to say good-bye to him.

As she tucked into her furs, Vera wondered about everything. It wasn’t long ago that she had no hope at all. She had spent years being a servant to those who didn’t care about her. She was sold to a man who would easily kill her, and she didn’t doubt it would be soon, and now she was going to be led on a quest that she didn’t understand because of the words of a witch that was dead.

Yet, no matter how she thought about it…nothing mattered! Everything felt new and old at the same time…as though it were just another day, and everything was just another task that she had to go through. She didn’t wonder about where Garluk would take her. He obviously knew enough to start a trek. She didn’t worry about her lost family. They had never cared about her. Why would she care about them? She didn’t think about her fate, what happened would happen…

If anything…she wanted to start now. She thought over the witch’s words. “The Fae? The land will fall to greed? There was a Hunter Black of Heart?” None of it made sense to her, or seemed to point to her at all. Maybe Garluk knew more, but he wasn’t saying anything.

In the end, her entire hope was that she would be able to help Faroo. She may never see him again, and maybe everything would end up being a huge mistake…but she desperately wanted to be helpful to him, if only to pay him back for his kindness.

In her dreams, she wandered an empty castle. There was very little light coming through the windows, making everything dark and difficult to see, so Vera continued down the center of the hallways. She didn’t know where she was going, but she strode with the assuredness of someone who had walked these halls her entire life.

Before long she found herself in front of two large wooden doors that took up an entire wall. They were intricately carved, but she couldn’t quite make out the details. Before she could knock, they swung open, revealing a long hallway. The floor was covered with a thick black rug between two rows of pillars that stretched to the ceiling. On the outside of the pillars were rows and rows of stone seats with cushions spread out every few feet.

Vera didn’t hesitate to start walking on the carpet. With the same confidence, she stepped forward, coming closer and closer to the end. Before her were two tall thrones. They may have been grand once, but now she could see cobwebs hanging off them and trailing down to the floor. They were black with dust, and spikes seemed to be coming off every spare inch, practically screaming “Danger”.

It was so dark, at first Vera hadn’t been able to see the two figures that were seated on the thrones. It wasn’t until one reached out with a bony claw that she realized they were there. The hand reaching for her was almost skeletal, but had rings and bands adorning it and the equally emaciated wrist attached to it.

Vera took a stuttering step back, ready to get away, before a voice whispered to her in the darkness.

“Is it true? We’ve been waiting…so long.” The voice was deep, but barely loud enough that she could understand. It sent a cold shiver down her spine and every instinct in Vera told her to leave, to get out of this horrible place.

Another voice spoke. “It’s you…finally…coming home.” This voice was feminine, and cracked with emotion. The hand reaching for Vera stopped, but she kept her eye on it, just in case.

“Who are you?” She finally got her voice in control to ask. She trailed her eyes over the figures seated on the thrones, before looking back the way she had come. She almost jumped onto the thrones when she saw that the seats on either side of the pillars were now filled by shadowy figures. Each cushion had a shadow on it, and before each pillar was an armored guard. The guards were all covered in black armor, carrying halberds at their side, and all facing her.

“Hurry, child…he’s coming.” The first voice whispered, pulling her focus back to the thrones. “He’s coming…he’s coming,” All around her, the shadows seemed to grow agitated, some stood, and moved toward the center of the room. They echoed the last words of the throne figure and formed a massive, shadowy wall between Vera and the doors she had come through, which were now closed.

In the next moment, a loud bang made the doors shudder. The shadows huddled together, facing the door. The guards were at the front, holding their halberds at the ready. As the banging started picking up pace and ferocity.

“He’s coming…he’s coming! Hurry, child!” The voices all cried out to Vera, as she backed up, wanting to get away from whatever kept banging on the doors. Tears were rolling down her face in her confusion, but the back of her knees hit something and she fell onto a seat.

One last loud bang had Vera sitting up abruptly, her heart racing, and gasping to get breath into her lungs. She looked around wildly, thinking she would see shadow figures, or some monster pushing through giant wood doors.

Instead, she found herself in a small hut, with only a bed for furniture, and one window that didn’t have any light coming from it. The banging was coming from the door, but before she could get up to open it, it swung open, revealing Garluk.

He stood in the frame with a frown on his face as he glared at her. She was still panting, and she could feel cold drops of sweat running down her back and matting her hair, but she tried to meet his gaze.

“Get up, we are leaving now.” Garluk glared at her another moment. “Change quickly, I will bring food.” With that he turned and left her alone. Shaking the remnants of her dream off, Vera stripped and changed into one of the outfits Faroo had gathered for her.

Just as she thought, she ended up having to tie the shirt in different places, and she had to tie the belt instead of buckling it to get it in place to hold her pants up. The boots were uncomfortable and heavy, but she found tucking a sock into the toes was enough that she should be able to walk in them.

Just as she finished, Garluk came back. He sat on the edge of her bed and thrust a bowl at her, before scarfing down his own. They ate in silence, and it was only a few minutes before they were both finished. Garluk set both bowls down and motioned her outside.

Vera grabbed her pack and bow, wondering before following. It was so dark still she wondered if they weren’t leaving even earlier than Garluk had said, but she smiled when she saw Faroo standing near the entrance of the camp.

Faroo returned her smile, while Garluk muttered something under his breath as they moved closer. The giant orc passed his second without a word as he exited the camp, but Vera stopped before him and looked into his face. She wanted to memorize the kind smile he wore, and the warmth in his green eyes while she could, but something made her pause.

“Faroo, are you hurt?” Even in the darkness she could clearly see the signature look of a black eye marring the skin under his brows.

Faroo shuffled his feet and looked away for a moment before answering. “Don’t worry about that. Just…be safe out there. Garluk may be gruff, but he’ll keep you safe…” He looked like he wanted to say more, but a growl came from outside the camp, and Vera was sure the growler was running out of his limited patience.

“Thank you for everything, Faroo…I hope to see you again someday, but if not…thank you for your kindness. I hope everything works out for you and your people.” Vera finished awkwardly. She wasn’t sure what to say in this situation, never having said good-bye before.

He reached forward, cupping her chin to make her look at him before pulling her close to his body. He wrapped his thick arms around her and squeezed before leaning down to whisper in her ear. “Thank you for trying, Vera. I hope to see you again someday as well. Please come back, if you can.” Another growl, louder this time, made him release her, and then he was gone, walking back into the camp.

“Good-bye, Faroo,” Vera whispered before turning to a scowling Garluk, who glared after Faroo. She could clearly see he wanted to say some words to the other orc, but she moved forward and started walking past him.

“I guess we’re getting started,” She said to distract him. After a moment's hesitation, she heard his hulking footsteps following her. This was it, her adventure had started, and come good or bad, there was no turning back.

Even when she wished there was…