Once again his old bones ached. The thought of retiring from his position as the chieftain of lizardmen was at the back of his mind constantly, but for now it wasn't an option.
The lizardmen chieftain sat upon his throne. The cavern used as the throne room wasn't particularly lavishly decorated, but then again, his kind wasn't particularly keen on luxury in the first place.
With the weapon of the chieftain, the Water Vortex Spear, in his hand, a dark cloak on his shoulders, and a headgear with a single gem in the middle of it, he still gave the aura of strength and authority.
The next in line was his son Gabiru, the only named lizardman. With being named came not only additional might, but also a certain amount of arrogance. He was the champion amongst his kind, but it didn't make him a good leader.
His daughter would be a better option, but lacked political support compared to her much more popular brother, who was especially revered among the youth. She was by no means disliked by his people, but the rather stoic guard captain was looked upon as someone who would follow a strong leader, not take a leader's position.
Every day she stood by her father's side, armed with a spear and ready to strike down anyone who dared to threaten the chieftain.
The already colossal task of planning the supplies for the winter months was interrupted by a runner from the western border. A strange withered creature had entered their lands and requested an audience with the leader, claiming to be an envoy from Tempest.
Not much was known about the happenings in the goblin lands, but what little details they had painted a rather grim picture. The goblins had all but disappeared and were replaced by hobgoblins riding monstrous wolves, and all kinds of unseen creatures have been observed replacing them. The most likely scenario was that this was the direct work of a Demon Lord. Only beings like that could command the powerful creatures roaming the former goblin and direwolf territories.
Gabiru had requested permission to personally investigate what was happening, but the Chieftain turned down his request each time. His hot-headed son would only cause a conflict and put their kind in danger.
'What would they want from us? Outright surrender?' The single creature on his way to speak with him clearly wasn't meant as a subjugation force. The various species living in Jura rarely engaged in diplomacy, and all the trade was done by kobolds.
"Is there any other news about Tempest?" The chieftain asked one of his advisors, hoping to get some insight on the situation
"Some of ours that worked for the kobolds have recently returned; they claim Tempest took over kobold lands and ended their contracts."
"I want to know more before the envoy arrives. Call any of them in."
"At once, chief." the advisor said and hurried off, returning with a young lizardman by his side. The youth kneeled before him, silently awaiting an order.
"Rise, young warrior, and tell me what you know of Tempest."
The youth stood up, facing the chieftain with fear swirling in his eyes.
"They are very powerful. Before I left, there were talks that the ones serving the Lords could kill ogres with such ease that the kobold council had no other option but to bend the knee."
Outwardly, the chieftain remained calm, but knowing monsters from Tempest could kill ogres with ease shook him to the core. He quickly and forcibly calmed down, not showing even the slightest sign of weakness, and asked in a calm voice
"Why did they let you leave?"
"One called Lord Peroroncino told us they did not need mercenaries, but he honored the deals the kobolds had made with us and let us go once our contracts ended."
'That doesn't make any sense. If they are so strong, why keep contracts? Why let go of warriors that could be forced to serve?'
"Is there anything else you can tell me, young one?"
"They told us that Tempest was blessed by the Storm Dragon's protection."
The chieftain involuntarily gulped, but he kept his composure.
"That will be all, young one. You may go."
'If they have the forest God's blessing, there is nothing we can do. We either submit or face the fate reserved for proud fools.'
While he silently contemplated his options, his daughter had called more guards into the throne room, afraid that the coming creature might try to kill the chieftain. Most were the older generation, battle veterans who had earned the honor to guard him, but among them were a few younger faces as well. Only the young ones that showed extraordinary talent or might had earned this honorable position.
Finally, the creature arrived, coming into the throne room with a fluid motion, as if floating above the ground while its long dark robe moved over the uneven cavern ground with ease. It stopped a proper distance away from the throne and bowed.
"I have come on behalf of the Supreme Overlord of the Tempest Hegemony, Momonga Tempest, your highness."
"Just chieftain will do. What does your master want with us?" the chieftain asked with a calm, authoritative tone
The creature was clearly a deadman and a powerful one at that. His daughter made the right call in increasing the security.
"My master sends an introductory letter." the deadman said, taking out a sealed letter and holding it with an extended hand.
The guard captain approached the deadman, took the letter from its hands, and returned to her position by the throne, handing the letter to her father.
The chieftain quickly broke the seal and started to read it, which proved a difficult task. He knew the world's written language well enough, but a lot of words written in this letter were unfamiliar.
'Is this how demon lords write letters? Such unnecessary, long-winded prattle.' At least he understood most of it. Tempest had claimed most of the western part of Jura under the blessing of the Storm Dragon Veldora. They had no intention of expanding their territories by conquest and offered to open basic trade and diplomacy.
"Tell your master we agree to trade and do not want hostilities. Your merchants can enter our lands, provided they do not attack our kind and do not take what is not theirs to take."
"Thank you, chieftain." the deadman said and then suddenly disappeared in the shadow he cast.
The chieftain let out the breath he was holding in.
"Increase patrols on the western border. Don't let their merchants roam around without our escort."
"It will be done, chieftain!" the guard captain said.
If they had Majin that could kill ogres with ease, his kind didn't have any chance if a war broke out. Why Tempest just didn't openly invade the lizardmen lands and make his kind servants remained unanswered.
‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›
It is during the hardest of times when the pressure put on a ruler is the heaviest. How well he knew that simple truth. The orc king walked among his people looking at their starved frames. Freshly dug shallow graves by the huts painted a particularly grim picture. People were dying in droves, especially the children.
With the drought, the land had become barren and unable to sustain its people anymore. What made things so much worse was the orc's natural response to the high mortality rate: an explosion in birth rates. His own wife had given birth to several children and died due to complications in the process.
He gave away his rations to them once again as their little pig snouts greedily dug in what little he could offer. The King's oldest son shook his head, watching from the side and approached him once the king was far away from his siblings.
"My liege, you shouldn't give them everything. We need you to be strong, to lead us."
The Orc King chuckled without any humor in his voice, "Son, you have been doing the same when you think I'm not looking."
"I do not matter as much as you. We need a leader now more than ever."
'Leader. What good is a leader who can't get his people out of the pit they are in.'
The orcs were stuck between two bad options. Either slowly starve to death, even by resorting to the unthinkable and eating their own, or invade surrounding territories. The problem was that to the south lay the territories of demon lords and they would wipe his kind out without any effort should they foolishly enter their domain, and to the north lay the forest of Jura, a vast fertile lands owned by the Storm Dragon himself. Should they foolishly enter them without permission, surely the wrath of the godlike being would be too much for his kin to bear.
"What my people need is a miracle." the orc king said flatly, noticing a messenger running towards him as fast as his starved, weakened body let him.
"My liege – pant – an envoy is coming – pant – from Jura." the messenger managed to get out while trying to catch his breath.
"Lead him to me!" the orc king responded hastily. There may be some hope after all. He quickly retreated to the largest hut, which served as the gathering of clan leaders, and sat at his chair at the end of the table awaiting the envoy.
Orcs were practical people, so even their king didn't have a lavish lifestyle and preferred to eat the same food and sleep in the same type of bed as the common people.
The envoy took him by surprise. Although the deadmen were not that uncommon in the rest of the world, in Jura they weren't exactly easy to find. The envoy stopped at the other end of the table and bowed.
"I have come on behalf of the Supreme Overlord of the Tempest Hegemony, Momonga Tempest, your highness."
"Ahm, yes. Welcome, honorable envoy. What does your master want with us?"
"My master sends an introductory letter." the deadman said, taking out a sealed letter and holding it with an extended hand.
The king's son quickly walked over, retrieving the letter and bringing it back to him. The king broke the seal and tried to read it.
'What are all those words? I can't make any sense of it beyond the gist of Momonga Tempest wanting a friendly relationship with orcs and open trade. I can't look foolish; I will have to go with what I understand.'
"Tell me, is Tempest willing to trade food with us?" he asked the envoy.
"I apologize, but I am not authorized to make trade deals. All I can offer is to relay a message to Lord Momonga. To my knowledge, Tempest does have excess food supplies that could be sold. What would your highness offer in return?" the deadman said with a raspy voice.
'If I offer a workforce it may be seen as me selling of my people to slavery. Who knows how they would be treated? Maybe they are in need of iron? It should be rather hard to find in a dense forest.'
"We can provide iron ore in large quantities."
"I will deliver your offer to Lord Momonga, your highness. I would recommend gathering samples of the raw ore for appraisal."
"Of course. The samples will be provided. How long would we have to wait for a deal to be made?"
"I apologize, I can't give a precise estimate. A month at least."
'A month. Thousands will die by then. At least it is better than nothing.'
"I will await an answer, but do not take us for fools, we will ask a fair price for the iron."
"Of course. Tempest does not wish to rob its neighbors." the deadman said with a bow and disappeared into his own shadow.
"My king, what are your orders?" his son asked.
"Gather the strongest men, survey the lands and find the best mining spots. We need to have the ore samples as fast as possible. Our people might have a chance of survival after all."
The younger orc bowed and left the building in a hurry.
The orc king slowly stood up from the chair and walked out as well. Sitting inside the building made out of clay may have provided some protection from the heat, but he needed to be seen and needed to be seen strong. If the king would give up then so would his people.
With a heavy heart, he walked towards the main food storage. The portions needed to be made smaller so more orcs would survive. The order to not reproduce was not particularly effective after all. Their very nature acted against it.
Edited by Edgy.