Rise of the Horde

"Get the Drakhars to find out their identities and their purpose," Sakh'arran ordered. He had already evaluated the danger level of their captives and among the only ones who gave out a dangerous vibe was the woman with jet-black hair and hazel eyes. Although they were captured, the woman still radiates a dangerous feeling. "Be on guard against her."

Sakh'arran then went towards Trot'thar who was still on the lookout on the enemy fort. The frequency of the sudden illumination from the side of the defenders was starting to slow down and little by little he was able to find out details of the enemy's defensive arrangements.

"How much longer?" the mage directed his gaze towards Barika who had a confused look on his face. Them being able to see their enemies was a big boost of confidence for them and the question of the mage gave him a feel of unease. "I can't keep on throwing Flare spells forever. I don't have infinite mana," the mage complained.

"I guess it is now my turn then," one of the other mages who were on standby stepped forward and patted his fellow mage on the shoulder. The other mage then raised his staff and mana began gathering upon its tip as he began reciting his incantation.

"With crackling might, illuminate the night. In skies above, unleash your electric light."

Dark clouds began rolling in and gathered right above the battlefield. The massing of black clouds was accompanied by the roar of thunder from time to time. The sudden shift of the weather from a tranquil clear night sky to a stormy one made almost everyone puzzled about the oddness of the situation. There were no early signs of a storm happening.

"Lightning Flash!"

The mage called down upon his spell and a thunderous roar accompanied by a sudden bright light snaking through the dark clouds came. The snake made out of light lasted for a few seconds and gave off enough light for the defenders to see where the orcs were at.

Upon hearing the news that there was a group of women that had been caught by the Verakhs, Adhalia's curiosity got the best of her. She wanted to find out the identity of the people who got captured.

"The Horde Chief requests that the Drakhars get them to talk," a member of the squad of Verakhs led the captives towards one of the tents near the center of the camp. Khao'khen observed the group of women and he was quick to feel the dangerous aura that was being emitted by one of them. He was then confused on how did the Verakhs managed to capture her easily without any casualties or wounds.

Khao'khen can't quite figure it out but the shadows near the woman gave him the impression that they were on guard and ready to retaliate at any moment if needed. His very own shadow also gave him a feeling of unease.

He then moved forward, "What are the orders for them?" he asked as he showed his face to the leading member of the Verakhs while the others tailed behind the group.

"Greetings chieftain," the orcish warriors saluted to the chieftain of their tribe in unison. Khao'khen just nodded his head in response and directed his gaze toward the captives that were being escorted.

"The Horde Chief wants to find out their identities and their purpose," the leading member of the Verakhs responded swiftly. Not far from where they were was a group of Drakhars who were informed of the situation and the task that they were given.

"I will come along," Khao'khen said then tagged along with them. The group then proceeded forward and headed toward the designated tent where the interrogation was going to happen.

The leader of the Verakhs then nodded his head to the leader of the group of Drakhars that were tasked with the interrogation and his counterpart did the same in response. "Leave them to us."

The captives were then escorted inside the tent while the Verakhs went out on their way to continue with their given responsibility. There was a visible trembling from the other captives and fear was apparent in their eyes except for that one woman. She was even curiously looking around as if she was out on a nightly stroll and not amongst their captors who could inflict them suffering or even outright kill them at any moment.

Khao'khen kept his guard up and continued observing as the interrogation began.

"Please, spare the children. We mean you people no harm…" one of the women begged while breaking out in tears as she clutched a child in her embrace to protect her.

"We will spare you all…IF…you tell us what we wanted to know," the leading interrogator gave the captives a friendly smile trying to calm them down and to show them that he meant them no harm.

"So tell us what we wanted to know before things get ugly!" a threatening voice came from one of the Drakhars. The man sat in one dimly lit corner of the tent while sharpening his blade which gave off a glint of danger as it reflected the light from the fire that provided light inside the tent.

The woman with jet-black hair was still looking around curiously, seemingly not affected by the fear that had gripped the other captives. Khao'khen couldn't help but feel intrigued by her demeanor. He had never encountered a captive who was so calm and collected, especially one who had just been caught by their enemy.

The interrogator continued to coax the captives into talking, but they remained tight-lipped. Khao'khen could sense that they were hiding something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Suddenly, the woman with a child in her arms spoke up.

"We are a group of refugees fleeing from the war," she said calmly, her voice ringing out clear in the quiet of the tent albeit the trembling of her voice. 

Khao'khen raised an eyebrow. It was a plausible story, but he had his doubts. He decided to probe further.

"What are your names?" he asked, his voice low and menacing.

The woman kept her head down and didn't say another word after getting a gaze from the woman with the jet-black hair.

There was an awkward silence as the captives simply kept their mouth shut while the fearless woman stared at their interrogators with no fear.

Khao'khen studied her for a moment before nodding to the interrogator. "Take them to the cells," he ordered. "We will continue the interrogation tomorrow."

The captives were escorted out of the tent, and Khao'khen watched as the woman walked calmly alongside the others, the dangerous aura still radiating from her. He couldn't shake off the feeling that she was hiding something, and he made a mental note to keep a close eye on her.

As he turned to leave, his shadow seemed to move of its own accord, and Khao'khen felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The war had brought many surprises, but this one felt different, and Khao'khen knew that they had to be prepared for anything. There was no telling if this was a ploy of the enemy commander to catch them off-guard or just a mere accident.