Black Metal: The Orc Wars Read Free

attack or the need to defend.
    In this manner several score of such vessels made their way down river. A few days down the river lay a port town of men. In ages past the town had been larger and relatively undefended, but as the strength, numbers, and ambitions of the nearby Angir grew the townspeople felt the pressure to build. Now the town of nearly four hundred people conducted its affairs within the protection of high walls and mercenary guardsmen. So far the building of fortifications and the garrison of mercenaries has fought off the small orc raids.
    Little did they know that Ghalik of the Angir had been biding his time, holding off the main assault for reasons far more sinister than fear of walls or hired swords. He had been planning this raid for sometime now.
    He had a fresh crop of young warriors in need of their first taste of manflesh. They were eager to prove themselves, and Ghalik knew that if he did not direct their bloodlust towards real enemies they would turn of each other. Raiding has been slowing down considerably in the last few years anyway. Towns were either being abandoned or becoming impregnable. It wasn’t that Ghalik or the Angir feared to lay siege to these fortified cities, it was that the Angir were few in number compared to the number of towns and their full compliments of sellswords and militiamen. Being such a small tribe was a difficult thing, especially considering the tribe’s ancient custom of the Blooding. Siege required vast amounts of resources and large numbers of troops, raiding however was the perfect method of warfare for the orcs of the Angir. As such, they were masters of hit and run assaults and were crack shock troops. To them siege warfare was the lowest form of combat.
    The Angir were going to have to expand thought the Ghalik as he sat in his boat, the great waraxe of his predecessor lying across his lap. Perhaps they could overthrow the orcish clans in the south, who were large in number and had many strong women for childbearing. At this Ghalik began to think of his own childbearer. A great and bloated creature. He smiled as he pictured her resting her girth upon the mats and pillows that adorned her part of the Motherhut. Surely by now all of the women would be awake, gorging themselves on whatever food was brought to them by their youngling servants. After all, for most of their pampered lives they were eating for seven to ten.
    The Ghalik was the only orc with a woman all his own. While he had the privilege of breeding with her and choosing his heir from his own litters, all other Angir males had to constantly compete for breeding rights. The women would only deign to breed with the strongest and mightiest orcs of the tribe. So it was with most orc tribes, ensuring that the race as a whole moved ever closer to supremacy.
    Ma-Gur also thought of these things as he paddled the boat steadily onwards. Last night he’d had his first mating experience, his bruises from the encounter still fresh and sore. Having had such an impressive Blooding rite, Ma-Gur had been chosen by one of the younger women to share her bed. So after a few days of healing his wounds he had gone inside the Motherhut.
    Orcish women are violent and passionate creatures, often quite dominant during the act of love. Many a tale was told around the campfires of mighty orc warriors being “savaged” by their women. Laughter and a few knowing looks usually accompanied such stories.
    A harsh whisper tore Ghalik from his reverie and Ma-Gur from his bruises. The raiding party had neared the fortified village. The glow from the sentry’s torches could be seen in the distance. The raiding party quietly grouped their boats together, silently moving towards the dock en masse.
    As they neared the docks the orcs steered their boats towards the dockside shore. Once they reached more shallow water they disembarked their vessels, sliding silently into the shoulder deep water. It was frigid in temperature yet no