Chapter 5: Realization

Roland was having a small mental breakdown. It had been several days since he had 'logged on', and even though he had tried his best to tell himself that this was all just a cut scene, he was having more difficulty with believing and trusting in his own thoughts as time passed.

'An entire week has passed and there seems to be no end to the cut scene. I've been unable to pull up the game screen even once during all that time, and not once have I seen a description window open when looking at or touching any of the items around me. The only thing I can think of that would explain my currant situation, would be if I was dreaming, but a seven-day long dream is just too unbelievable.'

While Roland had been having mental conversations with himself, he hadn't forgotten to pay attention to everything happening around him. As a veteran gamer he knew full well that it was very much possible for there to be a minor item or thing just laying around a room, that often times ended up being very important to making progress down a quest path at a later time. 

Years of gaming had already trained his observation skills to the point that it was a second nature to him. 

Thanks to that he was able to notice a few interesting things about his currant situation. 

At no point during his time here, had he been able to leave the tent.

Now, that in and of itself may not have seemed odd, but unlike a regular human child, it appeared that Orc children matured at a much more accelerated rate. It had only been a few days, but both he and his brother had started crawling around the hut. With how fast they seemed to be maturing, it wouldn't be strange if in a month or two they were running around the place. 

So given how quickly they were maturing, and given the nature of Orc's as a race, it was odd that they hadn't been out of the tent even once. Not only that, but at no point did anyone else enter the tent besides the chief. After the birth was carried out and his mother had been cleaned up from childbirth, the old orcs that had been assisting with the birth had all left the tent. Since then, none of them had even checked in to see whether he or his brother were doing well.

No visitors also meant that their mother hadn't eaten anything during this time either. There was clearly food to be had, since the Chieftain had once entered the tent with a massive piece of meat in his hand, but for whatever reason, no one bothered to bring any for the new mother to eat. 

That made Roland think that this might have been a punishment for his mother for defying the orders of the chieftain. His message to his wife was crystal clear, there would be no food for her until whatever he had wanted done took place. It was only a matter of time before he and his brother would face the thing that their mother was trying to shield them from. 

Speaking of his brother, the guy seemed unable or more accurately unwilling to leave him alone. Whether it was because the oaf saw him as competition, or because his young brain was unable to understand the concept of a sibling, he always tried to interfere with Roland every chance he got.

Roland was examining some scroll that he managed to find pushed under the chieftains bed? His brother was there to pull at the scroll in an attempt to get them away from Roland. 

Roland was trying to practice standing on his own? His brother was right there to either pull him back down to the ground or topple him over with a good push.

Roland was being forced to nurse on their mothers breasts? His brother, who would often time be nursing on the other breast, would kick at him to disturb his meal.

Roland had already thrown a few fists with the stubborn boy so as to get him to leave him alone, but that only seemed to fuel his ambition to put Roland in his place in the pecking order, below him.

Putting his brothers annoying habit of trying to one up him in everything they did aside, another reason for his frayed nerves was his mothers insistence on breast feeding him and his brother practically every two hours. 

While he was more than able to do just about anything if absolutely necessary, he was very much a mature man, and constantly being forced to suckle from his mother was anything but a necessity as far as he concerned. He had tried to protest against his treatment by refusing to take the offered breast, but that only resulted in his mother spanking him until he relented. 

Thankfully though, his torcher seemed to have come to an end.

Once again there was the sound of approaching footsteps, and the chieftain soon walked into the tent. Similar to how he had approached them several days prior, he once more pointed to Roland and his brother while covered in his red aura. Roland wasn't surprised to see him as he had noticed the Chieftains waning patience from day to day. Clearly, he had had enough and was going to go through with his plan of action regardless of how much their mother begged.

Surprisingly though, when the chieftain pointed towards Roland and his brother, their mother didn't fuss and fight against his request. In fact she called both boys to her side and stood to her feet, preparing to take them out of the tent herself. 

The complete change of heart seemed to surprise the chieftain as his aura seemed to falter for a few seconds before becoming stable once more. He didn't stay dazed for long though as he quickly resumed exuding his authority as he lifted the tent flap and guided them out of the tent and out into the settlement. 

This was the second time that Roland had seen the settlement since his arrival, but the first time that eh was actually getting to walk through it and see things up close. The little Orc village seemed pretty extensive and more complete than he would have expected. There were other tents and such structures littered all over the place, with many of them having fire pits right next to the tents. 

There were many paths throughout the settlement that showed which were the more well visited areas and it didn't take Roland long to notice that he and his family where walking along a particularly well-worn path. 

As they passed the different Orc's on their little stroll, they would all look at the Chieftain and his wife, before looking at Roland and his brother with interest, before putting down what ever they were doing and falling into line behind the chief. 

In no time at all, a long procession of orcs could be seen as they followed behind the Chieftain and his family as they made their way throughout the settlement. It didn't take long before their destination was revealed though and Roland couldn't help but gasp in surprise. 

They had arrived at what could only be described as a battle pit. It was a large depression in the ground that was surrounded by wooden poles upon which lay a variety of skulls. Roland was pretty sure that a few of the skulls in question belonged to Orcs given that there were clearly spouting tusk but decided not to focus on them for now. 

The Pit reminded Roland of the roman Colosseum, as it was surrounded by stands for the crown to sit on and see everything that happened within. The top of the pit had been covered by a metal covering, most likely to prevent anything from flying out of the pit once placed within. It was like a cage ring where wrestlers fought, but the discolored sand that littered the floor of the pit served as a vital clue that allowed Roland to know that the fights in this cage were fatal in nature.

Once the chieftain arrived at the pit, he made his way to one of the large thrones made of wood, bones, metal, and all sorts of other things. In any other context, the thrones would have looked out of place, an amalgamation of random items thrown together in the shape of a chair, but here placed on a high platform overlooking a pit that stank of blood and death, they seemed right at home.

Surprisingly Their mother didn't join the Chieftain as he sat on his throne and though that troubled Roland sightly there wasn't really anything that he could do besides continue to stand with his mother and brother next to the Chieftain who was sitting and watching as the other Orc's filed into the pit.

"Argh!!" 

Once more Roland couldn't help but shake his head at his inability to understand what the Orcs had been saying all this time. So he stood next to his mother and brother as the Chieftain spoke to the other orcs with his booming voice. 

He watched on as several of the larger Orcs seemingly pulled out a few large drums from out of thin air and began to play them at the command of the Chieftain. The boom of the drums reverberated throughout the crowd, who only seemed to become more frenzied the longer the drums were played. They stomped their feet and clapped their hands while shouting and laughing, making a ruckus the likes that Roland had never seen before. 

The beating of the drums continued as more and more Orcs form within the settlement made their way over to the pit, soon filling all of the available space. They also joined in with their fellow Orcs slowly adding to the revelry that was unfolding.

The festivities didn't last long though, as the Orcs soon stopped shouting and hooting and settled into a more somber mood. They still stomped their feet and clapped their hands, but now they seemed to be chanting the same words over and over again. It was almost as if they were singing, the way their voices blended together in harmony causing all those present to almost fall into a trance of sorts.

The sun had already begun to set, and slowly the Orcs lit the torches that were placed all around the pit. It was like they were waiting for something, or more accurately, someone.

Roland noticed a slight disturbance in the crowd and looked over. The crowd of Orcs were parting to either side of the approaching individual and for good reason. The approaching Orc was very different from the other Orc's, the most obvious difference being the color of its skin. While all the other orcs were various shades of green, this Orc's skin was grey.

Yet the differences didn't end there. Unlike the other Orc's whose bodies would have put most professional body builders to shame, this orc was smaller and looked almost frail. His body trembled ever so slightly as he approached and the only thing seemingly preventing him from falling over with every step, was the ornate staff that he held in hand and used as a support. The staff in question was adorned with feathers, gold pieces and the skull of some sort of bird given its obvious beak protrusion.

As the orc approached, Roland was able to notice the various patterns that were carved into the staff and for a moment he could have sworn that the carvings were moving. The staff wasn't the only odd thing about the Orc though, as he was covered in a huge cloak that was made from the pelt of a bear. The bears head was still very much attached to the cloak and the approaching Orc was using it as a head dress.

Just like the Chieftain this Orc's hair, or what little of it was still visible, was also decorated with various ornamental pieces, though his seemed to be more numerous than the Chief's. He also had similar tattoos carved into his face that stretched all across his body, though his looked quite different to the ones on the body of the Chief.

Once the approaching Orc reached the elevated platform, he didn't say anything and merely bowed to the chieftain who grunted in acknowledgment. Once the greetings were over, the Mysterious Orc sat in the other unoccupied throne. 

As soon as he sat down the beating of the drums ended with two quick beats and the chanting and stomping followed suit. The sudden silence was jarring, but it didn't last long as The chieftain once more stood to his feet to address his people.