Chp.23: Unrest at the ogre camp

"So, you really don't know what happened? You just threw yourself against the door and this new strength surged through your veins?" Dharon asked with a serious look.

Sarpa sighed. After what had happened, he had returned to the ogre military camp, along with Volgor's army. The chieftain was completely mad and as soon as he arrived he gave the order to gather every single soldier belonging to the Bolvek tribe because he intended to march against the fairies. Obviously, this news had not been welcomed either by the soldiers of the Bolvek tribe, let alone by the other chieftains. Attacking the fairies directly would have been a foolish strategy and would almost certainly have ended in failure.

Unfortunately, however, Volgor possessed a very large part of the army, therefore no one could force him to stop. Hoortar and Ostar, the only ones who could match him in terms of troops, had tried to reason with him, but the negotiation had ended in nothing. Volgor would have marched against the faeries, with or without the support of the other chieftains.

However, the soldiers also had more to talk about than Volgor's madness: when they returned, in fact, the warriors of the Bolvek tribe had told all that Sarpa had done to protect the population and how he had strenuously defended the tunnel. The story hadn't taken long to spread and countless variations had already sprung up: in some, Sarpa collapsed the passage and buried the fairies, while in others, he even opened the door and fought alone against over two hundred opponents.

If a high-class ogre had been doing those things, then no one would have cared so much; but since a normal private had done it, the whole army was talking about it. For the soldiers, Sarpa was like an example to follow: he was one of their own, but he had done something only those of the upper class would have done. His fame had been massively magnified in just a few hours, and would probably have been even more so in the next few days.

Even if they didn't mix with ordinary soldiers, the upper-class ogres soon learned of the story as well. And of course, the chieftains knew it too, especially Dharon. He had been quite surprised, remembering how Sarpa until a few months ago was hardly just a hunter. Therefore, he had decided to investigate and had asked some questions around very discreetly. However, all of Sarpa's companions had claimed that they had never seen him train more than the other soldiers or ever show extraordinary skills, and even the blacksmith he often went to, Orborog, had confirmed that on his axe there were no signs of a greater strength on the part of the user.

Not knowing what to think, Dharon had decided to ask Sarpa directly for an explanation. However, Sarpa himself said he had no idea what had happened. He said he had acted on instinct during the attack and rushed to defend the goal, and suddenly he had felt an enormous force within him. Dharon was loathe to believe it, but that seemed the only viable explanation. Sarpa had no reason to keep his increase in strength a secret, since it would have guaranteed him a place among the high-class ogres. After all, he thought, perhaps Sarpa had always had a latent power hidden within him, and this extreme situation had been enough to bring it out. "Evidently the great Baat protected you" he said in the end. "Do you know what level your strength is currently?"

"I haven't had a chance to measure it yet, chieftain" Sarpa replied ruefully. Of course, Dharon couldn't imagine that Sarpa's sudden increase in strength was due to the many runes that Haku had taught him and that he had drawn all over his body.

The chieftain sighed. "Well, let's check it out then" he said raising his arm. "Let's have a short game of arm wrestling"

Sarpa knew that Dharon actually aimed to know if his strength was still the greater of the two of them. If it had been the contrary, Sarpa might have made a claim to the position of chieftain. "Okay" he said, and grabbed his opponent's hand.

As soon as their palms touched, the game began. Dharon's power exploded and Sarpa could feel his grip grow as strong as iron. However, he had taken his precautions: on his forearm, just at the level of the muscles, there was a fortifying rune. Through it, his strength was greatly increased. And in fact despite the enormous effort he managed to stand up to the chieftain, even if only for a few minutes: after that time, his strength failed him and he gave in, giving the victory to his opponent. However, it had been a hard-earned victory.

Dharon was happy to have won, but still he was sweating a lot from his forehead. "I say you have reached the initial stage of level gold" he said. "You can be happy about it. From now on you are no longer just a hunter, but a true warrior of our tribe; and in this army you are no longer a simple soldier, but a commander"

In ogre society, personal strength determined an individual's position in the hierarchy. The hunters, those who were common soldiers in the army, had strength no greater than the level silver. The warriors, who served as commanders of small groups of troops in the army, were in the initial stage of the level gold. Dharon and most of the other chieftains were in the mid to late stage of the level gold. Finally, Volgor, Hoortag and Ostar were at level diamond. Therefore, now that Sarpa's strength had grown, so had his social status.

Sarpa bowed her head slightly. "I am honored, chieftain. I will do my best"

"Good for you, because soon we will have to fight. Volgor wants us to join him" Dharon said.

Sarpa had obviously foreseen that twist, but he pretended to be shocked anyway: "What? Why on earth?"

Dharon let out a snort. "Volgor may have gone mad, but he knows how to force us to follow him. He waited for me to find myself among the soldiers and there he accused me of having recommended an inadequate emissary"

"But I have..."

"I know that you have done nothing wrong, and indeed that the Bolvek tribe still exists thanks to you. I have informed myself. The whole army knows it. But Volgor doesn't care about this. He accused me of having willfully undermined the interests of the Bolvek tribe, and having 'deceived' and 'trick' him. Then he ordered me to follow him into battle to wash away the shame suffered. I was in a public place... I couldn't refuse"

Sarpa nodded. According to ogre traditions, if someone accused another one in front of everyone, then the other ogre's honor was tarnished. At that point that ogre would have had only two choices: to refuse the other's conditions and face him to prove his innocence, or to admit his guilt and accept the sentence decided by the other. If he didn't do one of these things, his honor would have been tarnished, even if everyone knew he was right, and that could have dire consequences, especially for a chieftain. Since Volgor was stronger than Dharon, the leader of the Shack tribe had no choice but to accept his terms.

"He didn't just do it to me" Dharon continued. "He forced many other chieftains to promise to follow him in this way. Volgor unfortunately has a good memory and was able to recall offenses that happened decades ago. At least a third of the army is now forced to go with him on his suicide expedition"

Sarpa feigned indignation, but inside he was gloating: that was exactly what Haku had planned. "What do the other chieftains say? Hoortar? Ostar?"

"They won't do anything. They've already tried to convince Volgor and failed. Trying to stop him will only make things worse. They don't like the idea of ​​losing a third of their army either, but they've decided to step aside" Dharon replied. "The only thing they have promised us is that they will move the camp closer, so as to allow the survivors to find refuge more quickly"

Sarpa had expected it. The ogre army wasn't a united group: it was a collection of various tribes that shared a common goal. It was already getting everyone to follow the same plan in normal times, but now that Volgor was out of his mind, it was impossible to keep him in check. "Even if they move it, they won't move more than a kilometer. They won't dare get too close to fairy territory" he said. "Even if we retreated immediately, basically all of us will die"

Dharon nodded. "I know. But unfortunately we're in this now. We have no choice but to go and pray that Baat will assist us"

Sarpa put a hand to his chin as if thinking. "Maybe not. If nobody helps us, then we have to save ourselves"

Dharon was a little surprised by those words. "What do you mean? Do you have a plan?"

"I think so" Sarpa replied, his voice unsure as if he had just made up what he was about to say. "Do you think you can convince Volgor to let us march in the back row?"

"I don't think he would even notice. Volgor will surely march in front, and all the other tribes behind him. I don't think he cares about position" Dharon said. "Why? So we can retreat faster?"

"Yes… and no" Sarpa responded. "Maybe I have an idea. When I was in the tunnel, in the city of the Bolvek tribe, I saw how easy it was to defend it. Maybe we can do a similar thing here. Listen..."

Sarpa very quickly explained 'his' idea to Dharon. When he was done, the chieftain's eyes were wide with amazement. "It can work" he said. "If we act carefully and very quietly... yes, it can be done. Nice idea, Sarpa! It seems that you will be a good commander!"

Sarpa pretended to be flattered by those words. Obviously Dharon couldn't know that this plan hadn't been invented by him but by Haku, and that he was only a spokesman. "Go now; I'll take care of everything. And make sure no one knows anything. We must act with discretion" Dharon said in the end. Sarpa nodded and then stepped out of his tent.

As a new member of the upper class, if he wanted he could now go to the center of the military camp and get better food or a better place to sleep; instead, he headed to the outfield. After all, he had to go to the forest. While he was doing this some ogres came towards him. They were his old comrades in arms. "Hey, Sarpa! You're on everyone's lips!" one of them exclaimed. "You were great! By now the entire army considers you a kind of little hero!"

"Little? I might be offended" Sarpa laughed. "I was great, don't you know?"

The ogres burst out laughing. Then, another one snorted. "We heard how Volgor treated you. Not only that, but he also belittled you. I don't know if you know this, but he used you to force Dharon..."

"... to fight with him. I know, he told me. I'm now back from his tent"

"From Dharon's tent? You're not in trouble, are you?"

"No, Dharon knows that Volgor is unjust. He's not mad at me"

"Thank goodness. You are right, Volgor is really unjust! You saved his tribe. He should reward you with praise and gifts, certainly not with insults and beatings... if this can console you, even his own soldiers are ashamed of his behavior; just few minutes ago they came to apologize to you, but you weren't here so they left"

Sarpa nodded. Apparently, the discontent of the soldiers was growing. After all, knowing that the hard work of a 'little hero' had been paid that way greatly lowered the moral of the troops, but Volgor was too enraged to notice. Which was flattering for Sarpa, given what he wanted to do. "If they come back, tell them I don't hold a grudge. Now excuse me, but I have to go do some things. You know... I'm a commander now"

The other ogres looked surprised, but then they smiled. "At least you got a reward! Good for you. We'd be happy to let you lead us into battle!"

"I'll make sure you all get home alive, that's a promise!" Sarpa said, and then he walked towards the forest.

It didn't take long to reach the prearranged meeting point. There, Haku was already waiting for him. Sarpa hurried over to him and said, "Everything is going according to plan. We..."

"You'll explain it to me later" Haku stopped him. "Now we have to talk about something else"

Sarpa immediately fell silent. "What is it about?"

"Keep calm, you'll like it. You know, until yesterday I was thinking of increasing your strength using only runes..." Haku lifted his paw, revealing a small wound from which a few drops of blood were dripping. "... but now I've found a better method. A much better method!"