Chp.33: Council of war

About two weeks after Sarpa returned to his tribe, all the ogre chieftains gathered to hold a council of war.

What was happening was a rare event: normally the tribes were too divided and it wasn't uncommon for there to be conflicts between them. It was unusual for more than two or three tribes to be allied with each other: the ogres were a race that valued personal grievances too much to form larger alliances. However, in cases of extreme danger, even ogres knew how to put aside their differences and come together to discuss about their common enemy. They weren't completely stupid after all: an enemy powerful enough to endanger all the tribes couldn't be faced individually, or they would have all been defeated, so it was better stay together to face them.

Initially only few ogres responded immediately to Dharon's call; most of the other chieftains had assumed he was joking, since they had had no conflicts with the fairies for several decades. But when their hunters also began to disappear, all the chieftains understood the urgency of the situation. Without a second thought, they had immediately agreed to hold a council of war to discuss what to do.

The meeting took place on a neutral ground: the ogres called it Naraqulian, which translated meant 'no man's land'. It was a clearing of about a hundred meters slightly raised above the rest of the forest and surrounded by large stones, which wasn't considered the property of any tribe. Ever since the ogres had settled in the Karbraland Great Forest, this had been where they had met at every council of war. And now, thirty-two chieftains had gathered there and pitched a large tent within which they held a new council of war.

The matter was rather serious: if indeed the fairies had begun to capture the hunting parties, it meant that they were ready to go to war with the ogres, since they surely knew that the ogres wouldn't have let the offense go unpunished. This worried the chieftains, since the fairies, while weaker in terms of physical strength, were better armed and more skilled in magic than they. Even if the ogres would have been victorious in the end, a conflict would have cost them many losses.

Dharon obviously had brought Sarpa with him, who had to retell all that had happened to the other chieftains. Many questions were asked to him, but Sarpa was smart and had memorized the answers he had to give. When the interrogation was over, no one was in any doubt that the fairies were responsible for what was happening to their tribes. And of course, most of them were outraged.

"So those insects want to kidnap our hunters, mh?" growled a gigantic chieftain named Volgor, that had shoulders as broad as a bear's and fangs as sharp as daggers. "And what is this retaliation due to?"

"Well, you can't say we haven't teased them" retorted another ogre, an old man with a long white beard but still very physically fit. "We too have our faults. The best choice would be to contact the fairies and try to reach an agreement"

"An agreement? Should we come to terms after they challenged us with such impunity?" Volgor roared. "I might have agreed if they'd kidnapped only a group of hunters; after all, I know that we ogres aren't often good listeners, so I too would have taken hostages to force my opponents to listen to me. Maybe I could have been understanding if they had captured even two or three groups. But they kidnapped more than two hundred of our companions! This isn't just a call for attention, this is a challenge! With what face can we leave the matter unpunished?"

"I agree! Those fairies have forgotten their place; it's time to remind them that we are not beings they can play with!" another ogre gave him support, and soon many others joined him.

"Volgor is right!"

"How dare those fairies!"

"We will lose all honor if we bow our heads!"

"Let's crack some of their heads, then we can talk about agreements!"

Volgor smiled proud. He knew he had great approval inside the council of tribes: in addition to being one of the strongest chieftains, he was also the leader of one of the most populous and powerful tribes, the Kathar tribe. This clearly gave him great prestige, and indeed countless other chieftains were listening to what he was saying as if he were a prophet.

But obviously, not everyone was so easy to convince. Another chieftain stood up; he was a middle-aged ogre, with a shaggy beard and long gray hair with hints of white. One of his fangs was broken off and he had numerous scars on his face, a sign of his nature as a great warrior. His name was Hoortar, and he was the chieftain of the Frakuard tribe, another very strong tribe.

Volgor frowned: their tribes didn't get along very well, so he expected Hoortar to try to contradict him. But to his surprise that wasn't the case. "You're right, Volgor. The fairies are clearly defying us. In trying to negotiate, we'll only lose face. Even if we get our companions back, how can we ever pretend respect from them anymore after we've bowed to our enemies so much? We can't leave a such an unpunished event!"

Volgor was surprised, but not so much: Hoortar was no fool after all, and surely he would have known when it was time to put aside their hostilities. "However" Hoortar continued suddenly, "if the fairies are provoking us so much, it is clear that they are sure they can deal with us. Indeed, I believe that more than retaliation, their intention is to provoke conflict. Therefore, we should use all our forces and form a united army right away, but we must not march into their territory, because I'm sure that's exactly what they expect"

"I agree with Hoortar" another chieftain stood up, a statuesque young ogre missing one eye. His name was Ordas and he was the chieftain of the Ghar tribe, the third strongest and most populous tribe in Karbraland Great Forest. "We shouldn't play into their game. I propose that we pay those fairies back in kind: let's raid and destroy the neighboring villages, just like they raided our hunters! Let's show them that they can't fool us! And when they finally bring their army here, outside their territory where they have the advantage, we will crush them!"

Volgor let out a snort from his nostrils and smiled. "As much as you'd rather take my hammer and go teach those bugs a lesson, I have to agree with you. This is definitely the best strategy!"

"Yes, it is!"

"What are we waiting for? Let's do it!"

"Let's take up the axes, the clubs!"

"It's time to ring the drums of war!"

The chieftains who aimed for a peaceful solution said nothing, realizing that they were a small minority. Most of the ogres wanted the war, just as Haku predicted.

Haku hadn't decided of infuriating the ogres at random. In fact, thanks to Ethan's diary he had learned much about the average personality of the two races of the Karbraland Great Forest. In fact, if he had teased the fairies, in all likelihood their decision would have been to send a messenger to the ogres to at least verify if they were guilty, and only after having ascertained this, to open hostilities. This is because fairies were a very calm and rational race. Therefore, if Haku had tried to trick the fairies, his deception would almost certainly have been discovered within a few weeks.

But the ogres were the exact opposite. Haku had found in them the perfect people to manipulate. First, ogres were an extremely proud race: they hated to make deals with even members of their own race, let alone those of others. Second, most ogres were muscle-headed, and therefore resolved conflicts with fists, not with words. And thirdly, ogres of recent generations looked down on the faeries: the fact that for many years the ogres could trespass and steal in fairies' territory without any reaction from them had made them believe that the fairies feared them. Therefore they had absolute confidence that this war would have been won by them effortlessly.

Chieftains were no exception. Among the ogres, being a chieftain seldom coincided with being wise: often it was simply the strongest who took the reins of the tribe. Some were smarter than others due to their age, but they were an absolute minority. Most of the chieftains were young and careless in their decisions, and reasoned with their muscles and not with their heads.

"Let's not waste any more time! I propose that we go to war and remind those insects who are the true masters of the forest!" Volgor roared as he raised his hammer. "Who is with me?"

"Me, of course!" Dharon exclaimed, raising his club; after seeing what the fairies had done to Sarpa, one of his tribe members, he wanted revenge at all costs. Even though Sarpa was a low-ranking ogre, he was still his underling, and hurt one of his underlings means offend him.

"I totally agree. We have a plan and the strength, so I don't see why to waver!" Hoortar said raising his axe.

"I agree too" Ordas said as he raised his giant sword.

"Me too!"

"Of course I am!"

"And why I shouldn't?"

Pretty soon most of the ogres in the tent were chanting a war chant. The few reluctant ones sighed and joined the chorus: even if they had the right to withdraw they didn't want to be branded as cowards. If a chieftain was accused of being a coward, he encountered problems not only among the other tribes but also within his own tribe: when this happened, in fact, the other ogre warriors felt more encouraged to challenge him and overthrow him to wash away the shame from the tribe. Therefore, if all the chieftains wanted to go to war, the opposing ones had no choice but to join them.

Sarpa was listening to everything from outside the tent. He had been asked to go outside as soon as he completed his testimony, but he still could hear the choir singing inside. Having ascertained that the ogres would go to war with the fairies, he left the tent and, being very careful not to be noticed by anyone, walked towards the forest.

He walked for about ten minutes, then, when he was sure he was far enough, he spoke aloud: "They can't see us anymore. We can talk"

"I know, I figured it out thanks to my nose" Rhaegal said emerging from the bushes. "I was just curious to see how far you'd go"

The ogre didn't answer, just swallowed as he saw the little dragon advance towards him. Even if this wasn't the leader of that strange pack of young dragons, it was still intimidating. "You can tell your boss..."

"He's not my boss, he's my brother" Rhaegal corrected him.

"Sorry" Sarpa said quickly. "I meant, you can tell your brother he got what he wanted. The ogres will go to war. However, for now the chieftains only want to attack the neighboring villages..."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of making things more fun" Rhaegal stopped him. "All you have to do is shut up and obey. The rest is in our jurisdiction"

"Of course. I understand" Sarpa said. "What do you want me to do now?"

"For now, nothing. We'll contact you when we need you again" Rhaegal answered. "Rather, did you bring what we asked for?"

"Of course" Sarpa lifted his waist and revealed at least a dozen dimensional bags attached to it. He took them and threw them to the dragon. "I'll get you more as soon as I get the chance"

"Very well, I see you're reliable. Good for you" Rhaegal said taking the dimensional bags. "Did you bring refrigerators too?"

"Unfortunately I only managed to get two" Sarpa replied. "They're in the bags"

"I see. You did a good job anyway" Rhaegal said, then he turned away. "Go now, or someone might get suspicious. Keep working so well and we will be satisfied" and with that words he disappeared back into the bushes.

"Those damned dragons will have the war they wanted" the ogre thought. "I wonder what they're really aiming for… I hope it's not something too burdensome for our people"

Despite his nefarious thoughts, however, Sarpa never once thought of revealing Haku's deception. His faith in the god Baat and his oath bound him. Between the eternal damnation and a senseless war he naturally preferred the latter. In a way, even if he considered the dragons selfish, he was a bit selfish too.