Captured in an Orc Raid

Captured in an Orc Raid

You're in a sack! How did you get in a sack?

Your memories are blurry, all of fire and shouting and cries of terror. Now the world is dark and stuffy and it smells faintly of apples. You're being jarred constantly as you bump along, toted by your captor.

A rough voice calls out in a harsh language you cannot understand, and another answers, then another. You realize there are multiple creatures in the group that has pulled you away from your safe, warm home and they are now carting you goodness knows where to do goodness knows what.

fire

You shudder.

With a jolt, the sack topples end over end. You grunt and gasp as it clatters onto the ground then finally stops. Your knees are now above your chin, your back in an uncomfortable bend.

Drat it all.

The cruel laughter becomes raucous as someone pokes you through the sack, their long-nailed finger digging into your side. You wriggle, trying to get yourself untwisted, only to have the sack upended.

You roll out onto the cold, hard stone of a cave floor. Firelight dances among stalagmites and stalactites casting eerie shadows. Above you stands a massive goblin, his pointed teeth yellow, his skin gray as the rocks around you, his eyes shining red in the glow of the fire.

cave and the moon

Beyond him his companions stand around the blazing fire, snickering at your discomfort. Upon the fire bubbles a large black cauldron, bigger than any you've ever seen for sure. Sickly green smoke rises from it, carrying a putrid aroma.

You scramble backward, bumping up against the wall of the cave. Beyond the goblins you can see the mouth of the cave, taunting you with the promise of freedom, but the monsters are in the way.

Desperate for anything to protect yourself, you feel about on the floor around you. You find rocks, old bones, and some sticks and leaves, but nothing large enough to use as a weapon. You are just about to despair and resign yourself to the cooking pot when your fingers touch something cool and smooth. You find your hand gripping a glass vessel from which rises a delightful fragrance, overwhelming the stench of the goblins and whatever noxious concoction is brewing within their cauldron.

candle in hand

You whip it before you and a flame ignites within it. You now realize it is a candle, mighty and fragrant. The goblins cower before it as you race from the cave and into the night. The candle chases the darkness away as you sprint through the trees, knowing the foul beasts will not dare to pursue you.

You are safe. Home awaits.

Orc Raid is part of our Monster-Themed collection.

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