The sun was lighting the sky above Gnak when he made the decision to take up his actual course. Turning to his left, he was careful not to leave a trail alerting any that followed that he was actually traveling north. Though if any found his trail here, more than forty miles out of camp, they would assume he was seeking the mountain giants that were known to inhabit the pass through the mountains nearby. The very pass he hoped to make by midday. Whereas Orcs were primarily nocturnal, giants were more active during the hours of sunlight. How they dealt with the burning sensation in their eyes all the time, Gnak was unsure, but if they were too dumb to sleep during the day it was their own fault.
Either way, he hoped to locate the pass and slip by the slower-of-thought giants unaware. Once beyond the pass, he believed he could travel fairly unimpeded into the lands of the humans. He did not know precisely where the giant black castle was, but if it was as large as stories would have him believe, it would not be difficult for him to locate.
Deciding his trail had been obscure for long enough, he gave his steps no further thought and began running northward with the searing sun baking his right side. The day was expectedly uneventful, with nothing of note other than a few goblin tracks and the growing mountains before him. The more miles he crossed, growing ever nearer to the base of the Rancor range here, the more obvious the pass through them became. At first it was a subtle change in the ground, the soil becoming packed and hard beneath his feet. Then an obvious path began to emerge where all plant life had been destroyed, leaving only a dusty trail that wound up through the hills ahead into a great chasm between the mountains. Once he reached the hills, the pass was even more obvious, and he began to realize that his plan would not be as simple as he had hoped.
Peering off into the distance from atop a rise, he could see the bodies of smashed and splattered goblins all along the mouth of the pass. The sounds of screams echoed out from its stone confines, and the clangs of metal carried their high pitched tune across the day’s stagnant air. Gnak reevaluated his plan.
Not only were there giants within the pass, but goblins too. All the more eyes to see him. He could try and find another way through the mountains but time was limited. Catunga only lasted one moon cycle. He had twenty eight nights. No more.
After a few moments’ thought he supposed that if the giants were busy with the goblins, then perhaps it could work to his advantage. If nothing else, goblins regularly entered the lands of the humans and often carried weapons and armor stolen from other races. Perhaps he could scavenge something useful from their corpses.
Decided, he changed course again, moving off the trail in order to stay out of sight as much as was possible. It was only an hour before he flanked the mouth of the pass, and nearing it he bent low to appraise the nearest goblin corpse.
They were a small race, growing less than half his height, and weighing only a fraction of his bulk. They had small wiry bodies in shades of green and gray, striped through with patterns of darker hues. Their small heads were angular with a mouth filled with small razor sharp teeth. Though much of that was obscure with this particular specimen.