Discovery, Orc Gathering

The Sand Serpent turned towards Balok and darted at him. Both beastfolk were caught off guard, Balok was horrified, feeling like his backside was on fire, and he turned and ran... He had only come to watch the commotion, never expecting to be discovered by the magical beast, only to become the prey himself. The most surprised was Shaman Norman, who had already given up hope on this reckless beastfolk child. As a shaman, while he had means to protect himself from magical beasts, it was difficult to prevent them from attacking others, which was why he had come to this sparsely populated mining area, far from the tribe, to set up the lure to attract the Sand Serpent.

But what he didn't expect was that this beastfolk child being chased by the Sand Serpent was incredibly fast, even faster than Norman himself, leaving the magical beast far behind. As the only shaman for hundreds of miles around, Norman was initially stunned, then his whole body trembled, showing a face full of ecstasy... This child was blessed by the spirits of nature; he had the talent to become a shaman! Almost immediately, Norman rushed towards the Sand Serpent, roaring hoarsely, directing Balok where to run, losing his previous calmness: "I am Norman, child, quickly run to the west, you will see a totem pole standing there, hurry over and stand beneath it." There was only one Norman for miles around, and Balok knew he was the shaman of the Lizardfolk tribe. Following his guidance, Balok changed direction to the west, his sharp eyes quickly spotting a black totem pole standing on a relatively flat gravel ground, and he ran towards it.

Norman's [Stalagmite] hindered the Sand Serpent's speed, and then he rushed to the totem pole after Balok, blocking him behind, firmly planting his staff on the ground, spreading his arms wide, chanting ancient totemic spells. Even in the daylight, the dark totem pole began to glow, slowly spreading a circle of light that extended more than ten meters before dissipating. Balok stared straight at the totem pole... A circle of light and shadow appeared on it, swirling upwards, just like what he had seen last night, except that the light and shadow on his tribe's totem pole were a wolf, while the light and shadow on this totem pole were a snake, or rather a Sand Serpent! The nature spirit attached to the totem pole had been awakened by Norman, communicating with its soul. The Sand Serpent, which had already pounced over, stopped more than ten meters away from the totem pole, slowly coiling around, its cold eyes fixed on Norman and Balok. Balok didn't know how the shaman communicated with the magical beast Sand Serpent, which was the mystery of shamanic arts; he was eager to explore this mystery.

Staring at the light and shadow on the totem pole, then turning to focus on the standoff between the man and the snake, he vaguely seemed to understand these unfamiliar things. The feeling of being a wolf on Balok had disappeared, and the rotation of the light and shadow on the totem pole became faster and faster. Norman was sweating profusely, his grey fur soaked. The Sand Serpent, which had already stopped outside the outer circle, seemed to be in poor spirits, no longer as ferocious and fierce as before. When the light and shadow on the totem pole suddenly spread out and disappeared, the Sand Serpent actually turned around and left, slithering away. Norman was panting heavily, but he was overjoyed. When Balok looked at the totem pole again, he found that the thick black wooden pole seemed even more profound in color. After resting for a while, Norman walked over and pulled the totem pole out of the ground. Balok was shocked by his strength. The old shaman, with wrinkles all over his face, was quite old, but unexpectedly strong. The wood of the totem pole was special; this thick thigh-sized, two-meter-high pole weighed several hundred catties. Carrying the totem pole, with his other hand on his staff, the old shaman glanced at Balok and asked, "Are you from the Bata tribe?" Balok nodded, and the old beastfolk left without looking back, only saying from afar, "Three days later, let Bata bring you to the Lizardfolk tribe."

... On the way home, passing by the mining area, he picked up the dropped copper ore, and by the time he returned to the tribe, it was already dark. He was severely scolded by Bata, and the tribespeople also complained about his recklessness, but fortunately, he had returned safely, which was a great relief. Balok was somewhat absent-minded, his mind filled with thoughts of the shaman, the totem, the light and shadow, the wolf... He was impatient, wishing the three days would pass immediately. He told Bata about Shaman Norman's words, and Bata was puzzled, wondering why the respected shaman would want an orc child to accompany him to the gathering of orc tribes in the southwest region of the gravel wasteland. Suddenly, the miraculous speed Balok displayed during the day flashed in his mind, and an unbelievable thought emerged, causing his heart to beat faster. "Balok, you ran really fast during the day," Bata asked tentatively. This child was very clever and had his own ideas. As the tribe chief, Bata respected him.

Orc nights were actually quite boring; the tribespeople had all gone to sleep, leaving only Bata and Balok sitting by the campfire, with Bacwor and Barotan also staying. Balok didn't know how to explain, this was too miraculous. He looked at the totem pole in the tribe, which was only emitting a faint light at this time, and the wolf-shaped light and shadow had not yet appeared. He didn't know if it was just an occasional occurrence last night or if it would happen every night. After all, such strange occurrences had never been seen before. "Let's wait for a while, if you're not sleepy, you guys can sit with me for a while longer!" He planned to wait and see if there would be any anomalies by midnight. Bata nodded, sitting by the campfire in silence. Seeing Balok always staring at the totem pole, he couldn't help but turn his head in that direction. Bacwor and Barotan curiously stared at the totem pole. "Balok, is there anything strange about this black wood? I can't see it," Bacwor muttered. Balok didn't answer, his eyes brightening, and the wolf-shaped light and shadow appeared again! "Look, the light and shadow on the totem pole!" he pointed to the pole, saying, and Bata's three stared at the totem pole, looking puzzled.

"What are you looking at? Balok, what did you see? Besides the faint glow, there's nothing there," one of them said. "Can't you see anything?" Balok exclaimed in surprise. He ran to the base of the totem pole and pointed at the wolf-shaped light and shadow circling around, saying, "There's a silver-gray wolf running in circles, reaching the top of the totem pole... damn, it's blocked by the skull of the Great Sand Lizard, and it's dispersed." Balok picked up a wooden stick and knocked down the skull of the Great Sand Lizard. The second circle of light and shadow indeed flowed unimpeded, leaping onto the totem pole and then the wolf's head appeared again, crashing into his arms. He shivered all over. "Here it comes again, it's so cold!" Balok sat down under the totem pole and fell into the dream of being a wolf again. Bata and the others didn't notice anything and watched Balok dance around and then sit under the totem pole, seeming to fall asleep! "Uncle Bata, has Balok lost his mind? Was he scared by that Sand Serpent today?" the two youngsters asked worriedly.

"Go back to sleep, even if Balok's brain is broken, he's still smarter than you two," Bata cursed and drove away the two youngsters, standing behind Balok who was immersed in his dream, guarding him. Faintly, he noticed a chilling breath emanating from Balok, like the bone-chilling wind of winter. Perhaps he had some understanding of why Shaman Norman wanted him to bring Balok to the tribal meeting...!

... Apart from the initially refreshing chill that quickly dissipated, Balok spent the whole night peacefully. Even sitting under the totem pole all night, he wasn't frozen, sleeping very comfortably. It was Bata who had stood guard all night, his lips turning purple, shivering all over. Over the next three days, they continued to pick up copper ore at the mine. The small mine discovered by Balok turned out to be safe, and Bata and the others followed suit. The harvest over these three days was considerable, equivalent to what they used to gather in half a month, amounting to six or seven hundred catties. Bata planned to go to the human town of Black Sheep for trade after attending the tribal meeting. It seemed that he would have to get a weapon for Balok this time! Finally, the day of the tribal meeting arrived, and Bata set off with Balok before dawn. The Lizardfolk tribe was more than forty miles away, so they needed to set off early. Bacwor and Barotan envied them greatly, repeatedly reminding Balok to bring back something delicious for them.

The tribal meeting was actually a trade fair where the orcs exchanged goods with each other. Most of the orcs from various tribes would bring some items to exchange for what they needed. Their small tribe was simply too poor, and the most precious thing in the entire tribe was only that iron pot and a few weapons, so besides each having a rusty iron sword for self-defense, they didn't bring anything else. The road to the Lizardfolk tribe was relatively safe, so they walked quite fast. By the time the sun rose to mid-sky, they finally reached the gathering place of the Lizardfolk tribe. The gathering place of the Lizardfolk tribe was by a dried-up small lake, although the water was gone, there was still a spring at the bottom of the lake with abundant water. In the arid gravel wasteland, this was the most important wealth and the reason why the Lizardfolk tribe chose to live here.

People from other tribes had arrived one after another, but they were all hovering on the outskirts, already displaying the items they had brought and trading with other orc tribes who were willing to exchange. A circle of thorny wood fences was erected around the spring, with dozens of animal skin tents, which were the homes of the Lizardfolk tribe. They had nearly three hundred people in total, with many adult orcs. When it came to fighting, they could gather a hundred-person orc army, plus Norman, the shaman of the tribe, who deservedly became the leader of the surrounding tribes.

Bata and Balok were the last to arrive, and Balok stayed outside while Bata, as the chieftain, entered the interior of the Lizardfolk tribe. Only the chiefs of the orc tribes had the qualifications to participate in the meeting. It's worth mentioning that although the Lizardfolk tribe also had a chief, the one who always had the final say here was Shaman Norman, and the chief was actually just a warrior leader. Actually, a group of orc tribes that seemed weak and poor to outsiders, totaling less than a thousand people, what major issues could they discuss? Balok had also heard Bata mention several times about the process of the meeting, which was actually quite boring, mainly about recounting their own difficulties, seeking the shaman's guidance and help, plus complaining about the exploitation and bullying of the cunning humans. It didn't have much to do with him, and Shaman Norman wouldn't come to him for the time being. So Balok wandered around outside. Seeing some orcs selling dates, he was amazed by how cheap they were and bought over ten pounds of them in a small leather bag for a copper coin, going back to let Bacwor and a few other kids enjoy them.

Although the orcs traded by bartering, human copper coins were more popular, after all, they all had to go to human towns for trade, so they could come in handy. This copper coin was awarded to Balok three days ago for his hard work in mining, specially rewarded by Chieftain Bata. "Balok...," Chieftain Bata suddenly emerged from the meeting tent, didn't see that kid, and shouted loudly into the crowd, his expression somewhat excited! It's Shaman Norman who's looking for me... Balok thought so and immediately walked over. "Balok, Shaman Norman is summoning you. Hey... you won't believe it, he wants to teach you shamanic arts! May the spirits be above, am I not dreaming?..."