Sorrith (2)

Sorrith watched from the shadows of the cave, ensuring her figure was always out of view from the human. She did so despite being hidden as she had noticed something odd about the trespasser, it seemed he could see in the dark.

Well, not exactly... It seemed he could somehow make out the figures of the lumbering trolls, despite being in complete darkness. As far as she was aware, normal humans could not accomplish such feats

It was another thing she took note of, making sure to stay out of his line of sight at all times. However, this was not the only thing she took note of. For some reason, it seemed as though his movements were... off.

Yes, that appeared to be the case. She spotted him barely react in time to a blow that had been slow and quite uncoordinated. It was like he could see their presence and their general movement, yet not their limbs. Like an outline that fell into its greater whole, unable to be seen.

Though it seemed that this only slowed him down slightly, he still dodged the blows gracefully. His movements still precise and languid. His thrusts and slashes with his fake claw still devastating to any troll who got in his way.

Perhaps if he was born as one of the Arctic Kin instead of as a human they could have hunted together. He would have made an excellent den mate. Not to mention the fact, that even with his fake claw, he still managed to deal as much vicious damage; he would have made an excellent sparring partner, he came close to her level of skill.

Sorrith prided herself on her ability to kill. She often compared herself to the best the Arctic Kin had to offer. Though she was not arrogant enough to say she was the best. She was always seeking the approval of her queen, always trying to become better.

Nevertheless, she would make sure to make use of this should a time arise when she had to face him head-on.

Though she would much rather kill him stealthily. It would save her the time.

Pushing aside these thoughts, she moved her attention to her and the human's mutual foe; the ice trolls. They were the colour of any other ice troll, an odd deep aquamarine. Despite the colour they wore on their skin they were brutally far from beautiful. Their lips pulled back into snarls that flung globs of spit from their mouths.

She also looked at their armour. It was quite dull and held not a speck of glimmer or sparkle could be seen on its surface. Nonetheless, it told of the importance of these guards, though their performance could be said to be subpar.

She expected more from the ice trolls that were supposed to be the elite. Though skill was never the main goal of their leader.

The ice goliath that ruled over the trolls preferred quantity over quality.

With overbearing numbers, any foe could be surmounted. Or at the very least this was what Sorrith had decerned about the ice goliath's beliefs.

She had seen it numerous times on the battlefield. For the longest time, the two factions had been fighting, in this time there were more than enough battles to make out their core strategy. In almost every skirmish she had taken part in, they always outnumbered the Arctic Kin, at least two to one in every battle. They used their superior reproduction speed to the maximum. As soon as a troll could hold a weapon they were sent onto the battlefield. This more often than not gave them an edge in battle.

Though the Arctic Kin fought with experience and training behind their backs. This usually allowed them to even the playing field.

Sometimes Sorrith wondered how much longer the fighting would go on.

The feud between the two factions was entrenched in their culture. Like it was expected for them to sharpen their claws and go to war. Though Sorrith didn't particularly care, she would fight against the trolls as long as her queen willed it.

Though sometimes she felt bad for the hatchlings who had their parents taken too soon. She was one of them after all.

Pushing aside these mushy thoughts, she returned her reflections, as well as her focus to the dull plates on the trolls' bodies. They had to be protecting something. Perhaps they were protecting a sizable portion of gold. While she didn't find the value in little bits of shiny metal, her queen seemed to. Always wanting a few more bits of the metal. Though she often shared her hoard with the community.

Or well, with those who were willing to accept her gifts. Not all Arctic Kin wanted to have the responsibility of caring for their own hoard.

Regardless, if she could make her queen happy she would be willing to do anything. She had always been there for her so it was only right to return the favour.

Another reason for the guards' presence could be an armoury. If she could bring back intelligence that told of the position of an armoury, it would allow them to cut off and destroy a backup of the enemy's tools and armour.

In future conflicts, this would weaken the trolls significantly. And while armour was indeed sparse, simple spears with stone heads could make a difference in battle.

Though the Arctic Kin found the use of these spears revolting. They took pride in their own claws and wouldn't resort to such tricks in order to secure victory.

One more possible reason for the elite trolls' presence could be that this was the current location of the ice goliath. The horrid tyrant seemed to move an awful lot. This was a key reason why her queen hadn't put the beast down.

He was too much of a coward to face her queen in combat head-on. Always resorting to cheap tricks. Constantly relocating his home and throwing soldiers into pointless battles.

She wondered what that scum tyrant was doing at that very moment.

And though she knew the time it would take her queen to lay her eggs would be a vulnerable one, she failed to see the deeper machinations that were buried beneath the mountain's grey exterior.

Machinations and schemes Sorrith couldn't imagine would soon come to light.