Fleas - Songs of the Gnolls I

WORLDS COLLIDE 8.3

The vastness of the fields, the scent of the flowers, the dandelion seeds swept away like beautiful snowflakes. If it weren't for that huge castle in front of him, everything would be perfect.

The siege went on too quietly. The orc riders kept the two halves of the army together. The bulk of the army was at what must have been the main entrance. There, some of the most powerful warriors, including himself, waited patiently. Éwik, Fizkwik, Kkelea and Zeppel waited in the other. Although he was not pleased to share the same front with Helirah, he had to admit that since the two hyaenid tribes had merged, she had shown more restraint and civility, only shedding those false manners in battle.

"Tasty plants?" Zanarah asked.

Scourge swallowed and looked at her listlessly.

"Hey, take it easy. I didn't mean it like that. I like you," she sat down beside him.

Scourge was disturbed by the smell of blood coming from her snout. Zanarah looked at the wall.

"Don't you find it strange that they haven't attacked us yet, not even with arrows? It's been three days since we besieged them."

"Yes, but there's nothing else we can do at the moment. Gosh, how I wish I knew what's going on in there. If only Kkelea's scream had lasted a little longer... The avians would have made our lives much easier."

"She's young," she chafed, "she hasn't mastered her emotions yet, and on top of that, she lost her mother in a horrible way. We are the big ones, we were wrong to depend on her."

"I don't blame her, I just think about what could have been..."

"That is a waste of time. What's done is done. What matters is what will be done."

Scourge thought for a moment. An insect with a round red shell and black spots walked shamelessly along his forearm. It seemed to understand neither the size of the creature beneath its legs nor its power. Would the same thing happen to them and that castle?

"Who do you think it was?"

Zanarah wiggled her fingers like Helirah.

"I've thought about it a lot, and my first suspicion is the only one that makes sense. It must be, because I don't think Kkrya, despite her age, would fall for someone who was unaware of her abilities."

"Then you hold that tought. If we could prove it, perhaps we could bring peace to the little girl's troubled mind."

"And win the battle," Zanarah scolded sarcastically.

Scourge shook off the insect and got to his paws.

polished weapons. They stopped a few steps away from them, as if they didn't mind dying.

"You must be the taurid leader," the older human said, crossing his arms. "Wow, you are big. And is any of you Zeppel?"

Did the human know about Zeppel? How was that possible?

"No, we are her daughters. I am Zanarah and this is Helirah."

The human scanned from left to right the rest of the army that had gathered behind them.

"Many rebels, mostly gnomes. And the birdmen? Did they all die? Because I thought they'd be the first to try to contact the slaves inside."

Helirah stepped forward.

"We have been kind enough to give you our names, you lowly human. Respond with at least the same kindness."

The human did not look afraid. Why not?

"My name is Dannke I, and I am the new Emperor."

Helirah lunged forward without hesitation, but Zanarah reacted and grabbed her tail before she could sink her teeth into him.

"What are you doing, stupid? If we kill him, that will be it."

"Maybe, but after I'm gone, they'll raise the bridge, and before you get inside, they'll install a madman as the new emperor who'll murder all the non-humans inside. Including... well, I think I'll save that information for later. Allow me to elaborate: I recently assumed the throne. Previously, the powers that be responded to the threat of an uprising by killing every non-human. I have freed them, and soon they will all be on my side. That includes the gnomes who joined you in the last battle."

"They exterminated every human in their respective homelands before joining us. Why do you think they would accept anything from you, Your Majesty?" He asked superbly.

The Emperor raised an eyebrow.

"Did you see them kill every human, or was that what they told you? Slaves or free, human or non-human, we all learn to live together. Isn't that what you're doing with this ragtag army?"

Scourge's face changed. He clenched his fists.

"Get to the point."

"I want to live, taurid, just like you. I don't like it when crimes go unpunished, but if you turn around now and return to your homelands, we can negotiate a peace treaty. One where people live and slaves are free. Where we work together, or where we don't have to see each other, but tolerate each other's existence. That is my offer. And it expires at dawn."

"We need to discuss..."

"No," Scourge interrupted Zanarah. He stepped forward until the older human's head almost collided with his abdomen. He looked down at him. "My counteroffer: Surrender now and die painlessly. Be that as it may, humanity will fall. Today, tomorrow, or a hundred winters from now."

The Emperor stepped back, took one last look at the rebel army, then turned and disappeared behind the grid. Then the bridge rose again.

"I usually don't mind taking the initiative," Helirah complained, "but when we have an emperor, we should consult him on important matters."

Scourge did not respond. That human, that confident face, why wasn't he afraid? He scratched his wrists. For a moment, he seemed to feel the shackles.