Aaralon just glowered at the pixie before lowering his head slightly. “No” he grumbled.
“That’s what I thought. Now let’s get moving. The camp is somewhere off to north of this clearing, so we need to go find it soon,” Siena said, point her finger in the indicated direction.
As Aaralon began to walk, he was surprised to notice how much territory a minotaur could cross at a brisk walk (‘Trot?’ he wondered idly). Looking at Siena flying in front of him, he asked her “Hey, why don’t you just fly up really high and spot the camp for us, so we can get there sooner?”
Siena shook her head sadly. “Unfortunately I can’t. Not only is it shielded from distant observation by magic, I’m also not allowed to go more than 20 feet away from you at any time.”
“Wh-” Aaralon began, but Siena cut him off with a warning glance. “It’s a punishment, all right? Sareth caught me stealing from the school once and. . . It’s just ancient history, allright?” she finished with a sigh. Knowing she was hiding something, Aaralon decided to leave it be.
The sun had almost completely disappeared from the sky when Aaralon suddenly froze. His instinct had just kicked in as the scent of orc reached his nostrils. He opened his mouth to tell Siena but she put her miniscule hand to his lips to silence him, pointing to her head with the other. ‘I can read your thoughts and communicate telepathically, dummy’ she said inside his mind.
‘Bitch’ he thought back at her. She stuck her tongue out at him and made a rude gesture with her hands. ‘Now get moving, you loaf.’
Nodding, Aaralon advanced cautiously through the thick forest, amazingly quiet for such a large beast. Holding his sword out cautiously, he moved onwards. Following his snout, Aaralon eventually found the source of the smell. It was a small camp thick with the scent of orc and smoke. Aaralon spotted a single lone tent, improperly erected but surprisingly large and ornate.
And in front of the tent sat a young orc female trying to keep a pitifully small fire going. Her clothing was finely maid and tailored, but was not made for life in the deep woods. Her embroidered skirt was torn and soiled, while her top had a number of small tears that told Aaralon that she was most definitely not used to moving through forests.
She had her rich black hair tied back into a long ponytail that had gold decorations along it’s length, along with the odd twig or leaf that had hitched a ride, and a number of elaborate jewelry pieces on her wrists that Aaralon was sure were worth quite a bit.
Aaralon could tell the girl was out of her league as she got down on all fours and started to blow into the fire, trying to coax a bigger flame out of what little tinder she had fetched. She was fighting a loosing battle, and the desperation was written on her face. “C’mon, don’t go out” she begged the fire, blowing harder. Aaralon was stunned by the orc girls face; this was no hairy brute but a beautiful woman, very similar to human females. The orc’s green skin and more pronounced canines, just made the girl look exotic.
“There we go! Please stay lit!” she pleaded, adding more sticks to the fire, cautious optimism entering her voice “Just a little bit longer!” Getting up, she crossed to the far side of the tent and out of Aaralon’s vision.
‘I think we need to sneak in there when she falls asleep and check to see if she has any maps’ Siena thought to Aaralon, “or if that fails, we can capture her and pump her for information. She has to know where the camp is.”
Aaralon just snorted softly. ‘That’s only if she remembers the path back. She looks completely lost.’ |