Fleas - Songs of the Gnolls I

WORLDS COLLIDE 8.1

High, immense, and dotted with blue droplets, the wall was beautiful in its own way. Behind it, humans lived their lives at the expense of other species. The orcs returned from circling the wall and found that there were only two entrances. They counted many towers, too many, but six were larger and more fortified than the others. They were equidistant and where the wall curved at an angle, they formed a hexagon. The trolls could create an entrance with their magic, if not for the existence of this huge water pit that surrounded the city and seemed too deep. The idea of digging a tunnel had been rejected by the wise rockfolk for fear that it would flood halfway through. It was natural for them to be afraid, Kkelea thought, since they could not swim with such bodies. Of course, only a few savannah species were able to, but they had a better chance of survival than they did. Unable to penetrate the defenses, they had only one option left: to lay siege to them. Sooner or later, their food would run out and they would have to fight directly. With only two drawbridges, it was easy to divide the forces. The only risk was that reinforcements would arrive.

Zeppel tossed a deer leg to her paws and sat down. Drops of blood fell from her snout as she licked her lips.

"Eat, you'll have to be patient, little shield."

"Don't call me that. I'm nothing now."

She had tasted her scream, but now it didn't last two blinks of an eye. The storm in her mind had taken away the mysterious calm she could summon to protect others.

"Because of Kkrya, I suppose."

Kkelea opened her mouth and closed it without saying anything.

"Your heart will not find peace until you find the murderer. That's what you think. I'm not one to give you advice on how to forget your grudges, but remember that I almost let my daughter die when she needed me the most. She told me it was you who pushed her to talk to Zanarah, and she then talked to me. For too long, I let my anger take her away from me."

Kkelea pounded the floor.

"And what should I do? Find the killer and forgive him?"

"I never said that. Sometimes anger is good, as is hatred. The important thing for those of us who use the power of our voice is not to let those feelings control us. If you can't use your scream, that's okay, too. Sometimes we are not able to do things that at other times would be a piece of zebra. I'll tell you something: I'm called the Beast not only because of my brute strength, but also because of my rage in battle. But when I was pregnant with Helirah, and also with Zanarah, I was very afraid. I lost my scream and my desire to fight. I remember once being surrounded by three lionesses. Lionesses that I would have turned into a fur coat any day. But with Zanarah in my belly, I dropped my hammers and called for help. You see, this scar was given to me before Kkrya arrived and saved me."

"If you cannot dispel or tame this anger, use it. If your shout cannot protect, let it destroy. A shield can also be used to strike."

Kkelea stood and clenched her fists.

"Show me how."