The Adventures of Dremron and Company
Chapter Eight
Carrion for Dinner
It was a long hike to the palace of Norgot. The hot sun beat on the faces of Elora, Dremron, Behedroth, Gildroan, Tholoman, and Crowin as they stumbled up the mountain. Dremron was having an especially hard time walking in shackles. The hobgoblins had taken his staff along with their weapons when they were captured and he wasn't used to walking without it. Dirt clung to his green cloak, and sweat dripped down his wrinkled face.
The furry orcs prodded them with spears to keep them moving, resorting to whips, as Behedroth had found out first hand, if they refused to move. So they slowly hiked up the mountain pass, shackled by their hands and feet to the same chain. The regiment contained more hobgoblin than Dremron had predicted. There were at least five hundred of them, with Norgot at the head of the march. They had seen none of this Hobgoblin Lord, Norgot as of yet, though he didn't meet many of the people he captured as slaves, and if he did, it was to watch their execution.
"I vow with Hischlach* as my witness that I will decapitate that bloody bastard on the first chance I get," muttered Gildroan, glaring at the spear prodding orc behind him.
"Shut up!" grunted the hobgoblin, pulling out a sword with his other hand and hitting Gildroan in the back with the fat of his blade.
Gildroan grimaced, stumbled and fell with a groan. Next to him, Elora knelt down quickly and tried to help him up, which wasn't easy with her shackled hands. Another hobbo came up and the two prodded Elora and Gildroan their backs to get them to get up. The dwarf and elf got up together and stumbled on with the others.
"I should have stayed, damn my thirst for adventure," mumbled Tholoman
regretfully.
"I'll see your head on the tip of a pike someday soon you foul hobbo!" cried
Elora angrily, spitting in the hobgoblin's direction.
"I'd kill y' fer sayin' that, but it will be much more fun for me to watch you suffer working as slaves. Your gonna wish you was dead." said the hobgoblin howling with laughter.
As day crept into night, they wearily marched on into a forest near the top of the mountain they stopped, set up tents and built fires. Three hobgoblins came to Dremron and the others and brought them up to a wide oak tree. They took the end of the chain that held their shackels and put a hook on it. Next they fetched a mallet and drove the hook into the tree. Dremron sighed; they would not be able to escape this night.
Four hobgoblins came and brought them some meager food, some kind of black, fetid-smelling meat and a red-tinged liquid. Everyone but Gildroan declined the food. "Hey I have to keep up my strength don't I?" said the dwarf in defense as he shoved the food in his mouth, and cringed. "Nasty tasting stuff, if I say so myself. Hey, you there, hobgoblin," Gildroan said gesturing to one of the guards who turned and look at him angrily. "What is this stuff, carrion?" he asked jokingly.
"Why master dwarf, how did you know?" grunted the soldier mockingly.
"I, uhh.that is I don't suppose you know what this is?" asked the green looking dwarf gesturing to his clay cup with the red liquid.
"Watered-down blood," said the orc who then walked over, picked up the cup and guzzled its contents. "Ahhhh.. refreshing," said the orc, blood dripping down his furry chin. He got up and walked away.
Finally Gildroan couldn't hold it back, he leaned to the side and retched,
vomiting the vile carrion out of his system, he hoped. They were in for a long
night.
.