Read Fallen Crown (Orc Destiny Volume II) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) for Free Online Page A

severed his head.
It had to have been the physical contact that had triggered this change in him.
Gnak wondered what else might have changed. Now he really needed to
experiment. Once again, Jen had been right.
     
    It was shortly after sunset when the tear down of camp was
completed, and took only minutes this time to form his clan into ranks and
begin across the sand once more in the direction of their destination. Gnak had
his captains send nearly a dozen Orcs out into the dunes to capture as many of
the small desert foxes common to this region as they were able. They were
instructed to not harm or kill the animals. He wondered if the Orcs would be
able to manage such a task. It was against their nature not to kill their prey,
and even Gnak was uncertain how best to manage capturing the nimble beasts.
    It was only three hours after they set off, when the first
of the Orcs he had sent out for test animals returned. Rushing towards Gnak the
Orc came, but his captains were taking no chances. Stepping to guard him, they
guided the Orc slowly before the chief where it presented its catch. In the
Orc’s rough hands were a trio of the foxes he desired. The largest had been
struck in the leg, breaking the bones there, enabling the beast to be captured.
The others were a pair of young that had remained with their injured mother and
were said to have given little trouble once she was bound and subdued. Gnak congratulated
the Orc, happy to have that which he needed to learn more about his gift. With
swelled pride, the Orc returned to the lines of marching Orcs, and the foxes
were placed in a cart that had been altered into a series of makeshift cages.
    Only two more foxes were brought to him over the following
hours as all of the hunting Orcs returned, but it was near midnight when Bota
noted a trail in the sand that brought the clan’s procession to a halt, and
Gnak to Bota’s side to investigate.
    In the sand were a collection of Orc footprints, broken only
by two pair of deep ruts in the loose grains of sand. Two heavy carts had
passed here, and recently. Gnak grinned to his second in command.
    “They get what Gnak send them to,” Gnak grunted.
    “You think Orcs safe, no Gnak take self?” Bota asked.
    “Gnak think good. Orcs say know Gnak, Orcs be safe.”
    Though he believed the words he spoke, he hoped they were
true. He had sent out the pair of captains with extra handlers for both muscle
and security, in hopes of retrieving any weapons and armor that had remained in
the mountain pass where just weeks ago he had helped in the slaying of the
giants who held the pass as their home. He had used the knowledge of the
deceased giants to his advantage when hiring the goblin king to capture a sand
giant for him, but he did not know if the goblins would collect all of the
items in the pass, or just the gold that the goblin king sought. Here in the
sand was the answer he needed. The carts his Orcs pulled were heavily laden.
But this was the easy and safe part of his plan. Now the Orcs he had sent to
retrieve the items would have to put themselves in harm’s way to complete their
task. He hoped he judged their circumstance correctly.
    With nothing to do but wait and see, he gave the command to
continue the march, though again he purposely slowed their progress in hopes of
buying yet more time. This night his captains had been instructed to press the
clan into a tighter and more precise unit as they marched, and again it had
been difficult at first, but looking back Gnak was impressed with the clan’s
progress. Though too, he found himself looking back just as frequently at the
small spheres of power floating within each of his clan mates. He felt an odd
draw to them, and simply could not help himself. He was anxious for day to
come, and as such he felt within himself and stroked Jen’s essence to calm his
anxieties.
     
     
    With the arrival of morning a halt was called, and in half
the time of the previous day the camp was