Corwin Benedict
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Risha Chapter 20
🕑 Added 2025-04-27 07:00:08 +0000 UTCDilo gasped for air as he brought his head out of the water. Kyra came up a second later, spluttering as she gasped for air. He held on tight to her while wedging a foot into a rock so that they wouldn’t be pulled away by the fast moving current.
Dilo turned in a slow circle, looking for the orcs that had been on their trail for the last two weeks of running. His eyes pierced the darkness well thanks to his Scout evolution. He heard the sounds and saw the lights of the army in the distance, but his enhanced eyes didn’t see any of their pursuers.
They left the water onto the opposite bank of the army. They both shivered, their malnourished bodies unable to fully recover from the freezing cold river.
Kyra motioned them towards a small deer path. During one of the many encounters with orcs, she’d reached level 20 and evolved, turning into a High-Goblin Assassin With her evolution, her skin had turned so dark purple that it almost looked black, while her eyes were a dark void with tiny lights like stars inside of it. Her arm had a large scar in it from her injury, but her evolution had stopped the infection from fully taking her life.
Dilo followed her through the underbrush, stepping lightly and keeping careful watch for any webs that they might’ve missed.
They moved quickly, their movement warming them up. Dilo was just grateful that the rain had stopped, allowing them to dry. They didn’t have time to stop and make a fire, not that they could even if they had time, the smoke would’ve drawn the orcs to them like thirsty animals to a river.
Dilo stopped, grabbing Kyra’s arm. A moment later, even Kyra could hear it. The sound of many boots crushing through the undergrowth.
Dilo immediately made his way up a tree, while Kyra practically disappeared into the darkness.
Moments later, orcs passed beneath them. They carried long-thin boats, and no torches. They walked silently, without the light. Dilo counted them as they passed underneath him. Twenty groups of ten.
They were on the wrong side of the river from their army. What were they doing here?
He waited until they passed him, then dropped to the forest floor. Kyra emerged from the darkness beside him. She grabbed his arm tightly, her grip tightening to the point that it hurt.
“We have to hurry!” She whispered to him.
He looked at her in confusion.
She growled in frustration, “The sounds of fighting we heard yesterday! The boats! They’re crossing the river at night. If the Grand Mother isn’t ready…”
Dilo finally caught on, and he stiffened.
He looked back across the river they had just crossed. They’d been lucky to find a spot that was possible to cross, but even then it had been a close thing. If they didn’t reach the Goblin army before the boats did… Dilo didn’t want to consider the option. But how were they supposed to cross the river and reach the goblins in time?
Dilo was at a loss.
He shared a look with Kyra, then they ran after the party of orcs.
The trail the orcs left wasn’t hard to track, but they still had to be careful, since if either of them were caught, everything would be over. Kyra practically disappeared into the undergrowth, while Dilo had to be careful with every footstep.
The orcs traveled in complete silence, only the occasional grunt audible until they reached a part of the river directly across from the Goblin camps.
Kyra and Dilo watched as the orc set their boats down next to the river. They left a single orc with the boats, then gathered into a large group a little bit away. Dilo heard whispers as they discussed something..
Dilo and Kyra knew they wouldn’t get a better chance than this. Dilo held back to let Kyra work. The orc who was watching the boats, kept his eyes on the woods, but it would take a skilled tracker to notice Kyra when she wanted to stay hidden.
With two swift movements, Kyra used her knife to slice the orcs throat, then cut through his spine.
As the orc fell to the ground, its fist caught Kyra in the eye and knocked her to the ground. She fell into a boat knocking it into another boat and creating a racket that caught the attention of the group of orcs.
Dilo ran towards the boat she’d fallen into. He grabbed an oar on his way, barely ducking out of the way of an arrow as the orcs ran towards them. He pushed the boat she was in into the water and jumped in. Another arrow whizzed past his ear, cutting through the tip.
The boat was quickly caught by the current as more arrows flew by them. The orcs stayed quiet as they got into their own boats.
Dilo wondered at the silence until he realized how close they were to the Goblin camps.
Dilo stayed low as he pushed towards the other shore with his oar. As loud as he could, he shouted “The orcs cross the river! Wake up!”
The river caught most of his voice, but Kyra joined in a second later as they repeated the warning.
They reached the other side, orc boats just a few seconds behind them. But their shouts worked.
Waiting for the two goblins, were a unit of Goblins hastily armed. They quickly pulled the two goblins out of the water, then prepared to meet the crossing orcs.
Realizing that the element of surprise was lost, the orcs roared as they engaged the goblins in the shallows and on the shores of the river.
Mud and blood mixed with the river as the battle devolved.
Dilo didn’t care as he dragged a mildly confused Kyra away from the battle. She was bleeding from a wound in her shoulder and had a confused look in her eyes as a bruise slowly formed where she was hit.
Dilo looked at the battle and his heart stopped as he realized that the goblins were losing the battle on the river.
They were pushed back as more and more orcs crossed.
Dilo heard skittering and turned.
From the trees, purple spiders swarmed out, pushing the orcs back. Behind the spiders, a tall figure in purple chitinous armor stood, a sword sheathed at her side, and her bow drawn. She drew back, her arrow glowing a light blue.
Dilo saw a goddess of war, a spirit that glowed with her divine power.
The arrow loosed and orcs died in droves as the arrow exploded into blades of wind. The spiders descended on the river then, their chitin blocking spears and swords as their legs and fangs easily punctured the skin of the orcs.
It was a massacre.
***
Risha watched on as goblins and orcs were dragged from the river by healers and support. They’d timed their attack well. They’d launched a simultaneous attack on the cliffs, forcing Glo’s attention there. It was pure coincidence that Risha had been with her spiderlings when news had come that they were crossing the river to attack the camps from behind.
Risha shuddered when she thought about what would’ve happened if a couple of goblins night fishing hadn’t heard the screams of Dilo and Kyra.
The two malnourished goblins had been hurried off to tents by the healers to rest. They’d had multiple weeks-old injuries that would take time to heal.
Risha finally turned her attention to the biggest problem ahead of her. Ten orcs kneeled with their heads down, their hands and legs tied with spider-silk ropes. Risha’s first instinct had been to feed them to the spiders when they’d surrendered.
But Klu’s words held her back. She wished that she didn’t care, that she could just execute them hear and now, and then wash her hands of the decision. The other goblins expected her to do as much, and were surprised when she’d accepted the surrender. Now they pulled more than just injured goblins from the water, but injured orcs too. Perhaps it was foolish of Risha, but she didn’t know what the right thing to do was.
Her spiderlings watched them now, making sure they didn’t move. Risha was surprised to see that the orcs feared the evolved spiders. She would’ve assumed that they would be used to the warbeasts on their side.
It makes sense, considering how easily they had massacred their way through the orc troupes. Even Risha had been surprised by their effectiveness. Only one had suffered a minor injury, a cut through her eye from a stray spear.
Risha walked up to the largest orc. Scars marked his torso, and a large cut over his left eye still bled. He’d been the first one to surrender, and had convinced the other nine with him to do so as well.
He kept his head lowered, but she could still feel his attention on her.
“Look at me.” Risha ordered.
The orc obeyed, raising his head so that their eyes could meet. Some part of Risha was intimidated by the orc’s strong gaze, and she bared her teeth at him before she could stop herself.
The orc lowered his head, resigned for the torture or death he expected from her.
“I said look at me.” Risha growled.
The orc quickly raised his head again.
“Can you speak for the others?” Risha asked.
“Yes. I am their Death-Bringer.”
Risha didn’t know what that meant, but she accepted it as good enough. She ran her tongue over her teeth as she thought about what she wanted. She wouldn’t trust him even if he said that he would serve her, but she did not have the numbers to keep watch over the imprisoned orcs.
“I am Risha. I am the Grand Mother of the goblins and the spiders.”
The orc wasn’t sure what that meant, but he could tell from the way the goblins and spiders respected her that she held great power with her people. “I am Diel. I evolved into a Death-Bringer two seasons ago.”
“I don’t know what to do with you, Diel Death-Bringer.” Risha paused, “It would be much easier for me to have all your people killed.”
There was no fear in Diel’s eyes as he responded, “If that is what you desire, Grand Mother. But…” Diel knew he had her attention as he continued slowly, “we could be useful to you.”
“How so?”
“Many of us would like to see the chieftains dead. If you prove yourself against Chief Loklok, I could convince my clansmen to fight for you.”
Risha held the red eyes of the orc for a long moment before she turned to a nearby goblin.
He stood straight as her gaze landed on him. She motioned for him to come closer and he obeyed. “Grab Klu for me.”
The goblin bowed his head, then ran towards the camps.
Diel quickly hid a look of surprise as she turned back to him.
She looked Diel over one more time before walking towards the healers. Goblins and orcs lay on furs as the goblins worked hard to save lives.
Risha felt her skill [Mother’s Care] taking effect as she stood among all of the bleeding creatures.
While she waited for Klu, she spoke with Tya and one of Glo’s lieutenants about the injuries. There were ten more orcs among the injured that the healers had managed to heal. They suspected that there might be more washed downstream, so they sent a few hunters to search the banks.
It wasn’t much longer before a goblin warrior led Klu to her. He turned to look at the tied up orcs then met her eyes.
Tya and the lieutenant backed off to give them space.
“Klu. You asked me to show mercy.” Risha said. “I hope you’re willing to take responsibility for your words.”
“Yes, Grand Mother.”
Risha led the large orc over to Diel. Diel’s eyes widened as he took Klu in, while Klu masked his own thoughts as he studied the other orc.
“Can you take responsibility for them, Klu?” Risha asked.
Klu stayed quiet for a long time, the silence extending as Risha waited.
“Diel. Do you dare take a different path?” Klu asked.
Risha stepped back as a red line of energy extended from Klu’s hand, then wrapped itself around the neck of Diel.
“Mystic Klu-”
“Quiet.”
Diel’s mouth snapped shut.
“Diel, I unbind you from any oaths. Your choice is yours alone. Will you swear to serve the Grand Mother and her children?”
Diel gulped, and for the first time, Risha saw fear in his eyes.
“I swear on my title as Death-Bringer. It is my pride to serve the Mystics again.”
The red energy seeped into the throat of the orc, then the rest returned to Klu’s palm.
“He is yours, Risha.” Klu said, turning to her.
