to her hair. "Gold. Follows…" She tilted her head and finally held ten fingers up.
A golden-haired man named Samor, tall for a human and leading ten men. He could tell she was as annoyed as he was but she did a good job of providing the information.
He nodded. "How much for the boat I came in on?"
"No coin.” She shook her head. “Only…trade."
It took him a moment to understand that and when he did, it made sense that they were interested in something more useful than gold or silver. He nodded, unhooked the ax from his belt, and ignored a dozen or so crossbows being drawn around him as he turned it carefully and slowly to offer it to her handle-first in a non-threatening way.
Her eyes narrowed as she took the weapon from his hand. Her grasp was firm and experienced but after a moment, she handed it to one of her lieutenants, who examined it as well. He nodded after a few test swings and returned it to her.
The chieftain focused on Skharr and gestured to show that more was needed. He narrowed his eyes, shrugged, and lowered his pack. The sword he carried and its paired dagger were not anything he would use to redeem a small boat, but something he carried would have to be.
Finally, he paused and drew a deep breath before he withdrew a small, simple wooden box and handed it to the chieftain. She looked curious and opened it carefully to see a handful of corked vials with powders, dried leaves, and other assorted spices.
"DeathEater spices are famous enough that even you must have heard of them," the barbarian said. "They'll stop the food from spoiling and it will taste better once eaten. Perhaps not enough for your whole tribe but they are certainly worth more than the boat we arrived in."
After a moment, her eyebrows raised and a smile appeared on her lips around the thick tusks as she handed him his ax but kept the spices.
He would regret making the trade but he didn't have the time to haggle. It was all he had to offer and he doubted they would take the trap he had found either. Orcs would have little need for it.
"Now?" she asked.
Skharr nodded. "There is no time like the present."
"What…will do?" the chieftain asked and still struggled with the common tongue.
"Do you mean when I find Samor and his merry band of pox-spawned idiots?"
She nodded.
"I will kill them. Every last one. Some will have to die quickly, I suppose, but Samor will likely be at the back of the line, away from the fighting. I'll kill him slowly."
"How?"
That was a good question and one he had considered during his walk through the swamp. "There is a practice in the north among humans called drawing and quartering that might serve. But perhaps I'll squeeze his throat until he has no strength left and gut him with a dagger. I might cut his manhood off as well."
"Manhood?"
"His cock and balls."
She grunted.
"Done right, he'll be alive for the whole process as I pull his guts out and put them on a fire in front of him. It won't take him long to die after that but he'll know what his entrails smell like being cooked over an open flame before he goes to whatever hell he has waiting for him."
The orc laughed and nodded in approval, and as others translated what he said to those who didn't understand the common tongue, a few mutters and laughs followed.
Skharr didn't know if it meant they approved or merely thought it a funny way to kill someone. Either way, it was irrelevant to the matter at hand.
The chieftain continued to chuckle as they approached the beach where all the ships were kept. They had been dragged out of the water to rest on the black sand and he soon located the small dingy he'd come in on. He paused while a handful of the orcs piled in a few extra supplies of dried fish and sea salt for the journey, which he took as a good sign.
The barbarian put his belongings aboard first and, with a little help, pushed the boat to the water. He climbed in smoothly and took hold of the oars.
"Gods…watch you," the chieftain said from the beach as he began to row out into the murky water. Without any mist, it was easy to keep his little vessel from running afoul of the rocks all around the island even