The Keep

“The orcs are comin’ back!” Kali screeched, frightened as she frantically started packing her stuff. They were weeks walk away from where the orcs path took them last time, but it wasn’t enough for Kali. Grot looked up from the water, confusion on his face as he watched her pack. Lae sat next to him quietly, her hand lost in his, looking much older than the child she was. All of them did. Their hair was all long and tangled, their bodies scrawny and malnourished, their clothes barely tatters.

Kali looked at them urgently, shouting the order for them to move, tossing all the things she could find into her bag and panting loudly. Grot stood slowly, off balance in the soft earth, and walked over to her on his bare feet, putting his hands on either one of her arms, forcing her to look at him. “Kali, what did you hear?”

Tears formed in her eyes for the first time in months, looking at him and trembling. “They’re comin’ back. Comin’ back through the Modan. Comin’ back, back, back!” She spoke as she bobbed, trying to emphasize her point.

He looked at her sternly, pulling her into a hug, holding his hand on her head. “It’s alright, Kali. They won’t find us.”

She sobbed in his arms as Lae came to her side, hugging onto one of her legs.

The three of them huddled, Kali shaking violently against the two of them until they coaxed her into sitting down, building a small fire, Kali’s face stained with tears. Grot looked over at Lae, who looked concerned, hugging her knees to her chest. He leaned over, whispering in her ear which elicited a small look of protest before she stood up, leaning down and kissing Kali’s forehead, then wandering off towards the water out of ear shot. Grot moved over, sitting next to Kali and holding her hand in his, looking at her, speaking low, “who’d you hear from?”

She frowned, looking back at him, “a Dragonmaw…”

He sighed loudly, looking at her. “I told you not to go near them. That’s going to get us caught, not the army,”

She nodded, frowning deeper, knowing he was right but still unable to stop visiting them. Her curiousity about the orc’s movements and conquests were too deep for her to forget. She had heard of the great battles of the Hinterlands and of Quel’thas, listening with excitement of the trolls, of Blackrock’s leadership, and shivering in terror as she heard of the Death Knights, of Gul’dan, of the capture of the red dragonflight. She retold the stories to Lae and Grot late at night around the fire on the nights that their growling stomachs kept them up, embellishing certain parts.

But the moment she heard of the movement of the orcs, back to Blackrock, and of the defeat at Capital City, she fled… leaving before the Dragonmaw could even get to the part of Gul’dan’s treachery and death.

The terror in her eyes was evident as she ranted on about the enemies they would face in Blackrock. The dwarves, the humans, the elves… all would try to trap them in their mountain, picking them off one by one. Then, the alliance’s search would broaden, looking to kill every last orc on Azeroth. Shivering against him, she once again urged him to leave and come with her, take Lae further into hiding.

“Kali… we’re starving here. We need the dwarven food to eat; we can’t get through a winter without it. If we go further from civilization, we’ll die a slow and agonizing death instead of a glorious one in battle.” He smiled at her softly, proud of the look of determination on her face, considering his words.

She nodded after a few moments, looking back at him. “You’re right. So we go to warn them… and if we fail, we go to fight,” she said determinedly.

He chuckled weakly, putting his arm around her and squeezing him to her. “What are three kids going to do… three starving kids, against an army?” he looked at her, clearly expecting an answer.

She sighed, her shoulders slumping, looking into the fire. “What are we goin’ to do?”

It had been a long time, months, since she last asked the question; the first time in as many months that she honestly didn’t know what to do. Grot, luckily, knew how to deal with an upset Kali and smiled at her weakly, pushing his fingers into his shoulder, grinning at her wickedly as he stood. “Come on, Kali. Bet I can take you down.”

Lae looked over from her spot at the lake at the raised voices, giggling girlishly to herself as Kali stood to the challenge, slightly taller than Grot, pushing his left shoulder with her fingers.

“Go!” he shouted, ducking his body and moving towards her stomach, arms outstretched. She laughed loudly as she jumped out of his way, holding her foot out in front of him. He laughed back, stumbling but not falling on her foot, turning back to face her as she repeated his move. However, he was laughing too hard to dodge her tackle and she landed roughly on top of him with a loud “ooph!” coming from both of them. Lae clapped loudly behind them, running over and jumping onto Kali’s back, hugging her tightly.

Grot smiled up at the two smiling orc females on top of him, unable to laugh, all his air gone from his lungs, throwing back his head in happiness.

They’d stay where they were, but Kali was determined to train in case she was needed.