CHAPTER THREE
Comfortable darkness was reclaiming the land as Gnak dragged his kill into the camp, circumventing the short wall surrounding it. Those out and about gathered to witness his feat, his peers sneering, obviously outdone by his more ambitious prize. Pretending to keep to his task he peered around at the camp, taking in as much as he could while pulling his sword to begin cutting through the vines that lashed the cage together. Within the camp were the usual suspects. A bear here, a mountain lion there, each roasting upon a spit hung over a fire. A dire wolf was a great prize, and he saw two among the kills now roasting, but only one carcass within the camp was large enough in size to rival his own. At least from this vantage. From here, however, he could not tell just what the other large carcass belonged to.
Turning his attention back to the task at hand, he made a show of cutting the last vines as the boughs relaxed and opened up like a desert flower, spreading to show the ancient bear within. Many nodded in appreciation, a show of respect for the great beast and he the one who slayed it. Putting his sword to the bear’s belly, he sliced it from ribs down between its hind legs to its tail. Reaching within the great creature he pulled out guts and entrails, creating a pile of gruesome flesh in equal proportion to his own body. Once gutted, he set about the task of skinning the great beast with a crowd of onlookers. Most were his peers, the others to enter Catunga with him, but others were elders. These helped him to maneuver the carcass to better remove the hide and head.
When the gutting and skinning was compete, the hide and head were gathered by an Orc woman for tanning, where she would boil the brains and bush the putrid concoction onto the flesh to keep it from hardening or rotting. Gnak did not know her name. Did not care to, so long as she brought him back his hide when the work was complete.
The entrails were gathered by a male for use in crafting weapons and armor, before the giant skinned carcass was run through with a long iron rod and, with the help of his elders, Gnak and three others lifted the great bear and carried it to the center of the camp and placed it upon its supports. There it would be rotated for the remainder of the day, following night, and another day before being consumed by his clan.
It was the role of the strong to hunt, and he had proven to be very strong by providing a great meal for the feast. Such an accomplishment would serve him well at the conclusion of Catunga, for it would be factored into his ability to lead. With his kill roasting upon a spit, liquids already seeping from it to sizzle in the fire, Gnak turned to seek the shaman’s tent for herbs to pack the wound upon his arm with. It was then his eyes fell upon the other massive carcass that was at present being roasted like his own. Had it not been for the head upon the ground near the spit, he still would not have recognized it for what it was. At least not right away.
There upon the ground lay the severed head of a sand giant. Its giant eye had swiveled back into its head, revealing an orb of white crisscrossed with purple veins. Below the eye was a beak-like nose structure, and below that was a great round mouth filled with row after row of razor–sharp teeth. Upon its head were knobby spikes used for bashing, and even now it looked dangerous. It was small for a giant, probably not yet an adult among their kind, but it was a giant nonetheless. Giants were men, and so were thinking and reasoning creatures. They fought with weapons, even the young ones. His ancient bear was not the best prize among the kills this hunt. Not by a long shot. Though sand giants were smaller than their mountain cousins, they were near impossible to bring down alone. Gnak knew only one Orc besides himself that would dare try. Korx. Once again he had been thwarted by his lifetime rival.
Angered, Gnak stomped away from the roasting giant, ignoring the enticing scent of its steaming flesh. Across the camp he strode, yanking the flap aside as he stormed into the shaman’s tent. He had not expected to see what he found within, and it angered him further still. There in the tent sat Korx with the shaman, having his own wounds dressed. Gnak would have to wait his turn.
Turning upon his heel to leave, preferring to wait outside rather than look upon his enemy, he was prevented a clean retreat when the giant killer spoke,
“Gnak kill big bear. Korx kill giant,” Korx bragged.
“Gnak kill biggest bear. Korx kill smallest giant,” Gnak replied with a snort.
“Small giant better kill. Big bear no better. I win.”
“Giant much bone, bear much meat. More clan eat bear. I win,” Gnak replied, knowing the statement was not entirely true. Sure, a bear had more meat, but the giant was obviously the tougher target. Even so, he watched as Korx struggled to piece together a response.
“Bear easy, giant hard,” he finally managed.
Though the words barely created any meaning, Gnak understood them and knew them to be true. Even so, his was a proud kill. There were still two more stages to Catunga, a task and a fight to the death. It would be the task that set them apart. He would focus on the celebration and feast ahead, until his task was given. He still had time to eliminate some competition, though it was not allowed in the camp and as such he could not use this opportunity to kill Korx, though the thought brought a wicked grin to his lips.
“I come back after,” Gnak grunted, and strode back out of the tent feeling Korx’s eyes upon his back.