Risha Chapter 31

Risha stood up, stretching. The spiderlings that had snuck back onto her spidersilk cloak stretched and yawned with her. 

Klaz’zks waited for her nearby, her long legs curled around her humanoid form. On the other side of camp, Diel handled the newcomers and prepared them for a further retreat. 

Risha motioned for Klaz’zks to wait a moment as she made her way to Kolo.

Kolo sat next to a female orc in one of the hastily prepared healer beds, speaking to her in whispers. He paused and stood up as she approached.

“Kolo, are there more people like yours being hunted by the humans?”

“Yes, Grand Mother.”

“Can you convince them to come to us?” Risha looked at the orc. He was younger than she first thought, his bloodied fortitude giving him age. A small scar marred his chest, visible through the worn leathers he wore for clothes, and his hair was cut short. Risha recognized the paints of an orc warrior on his face, even if she didn’t know their full meaning. Looking over the other orcs around him, she saw the respect they looked at him with, a similar look to the one given to her by her own people. 

He bowed his head low, “The western clan is all but destroyed by the humans, but I’ve heard of more survivors. The eastern clan will not bow their heads, but…” He paused, a thoughtful expression on his face, “I could convince some of them.”

Risha nodded. “You’ll do well.”

Klaz’zks stepped forward and Risha turned to her, but she looked at the young orc, not at Risha. “Take one of my spiders and a Spider Tamer Goblin with you, they will ensure that any warbeasts follow you, even without their chains.”

Kolo looked at the woman in awe, then bowed low to both of them. “For the clan.” 

“For your people.” Risha said, turning away from him.

“For the Grand Mother.” 

Risha walked towards the prisoners, Klaz’zks a step behind her. 

“Smart to use him like that.” The Spider Queen said once they were out of earshot.

“He knows the local clans.” Risha said,

Klaz’zks hummed, “And he wants to prove himself to you.”

Risha looked to the spider, but did not respond right away. Her hand moved to one of the spiderlings in her cloak, petting it gently. “I have to make hard choices, Klaz’zks.”

“I follow you, as always.”

“Do you think I’m weak?” Risha asked, “For not killing those I should?”

Klaz’zks laughed, and shook her head, “Grand Mother Risha, you are anything but weak. No, there is a strength to you that I envy.”

Risha smiled. “You’ll make Risha blush.” 

Klaz’zks chuckled.

“What did you want to ask me, Klaz’zks?” 

“How far will you go, Grand Mother?”

Risha stopped, turning to the spider.

“When will you stop? What if we must go farther and farther to save more goblins and more spiderlings?” Klaz’zks tilted her head, her eyes predatory.

Risha considered the question for a long moment before responding, “The world never stopped for for me. Why would I stop for the world?”

Klaz’zks smiled, her expression almost proud.

Nothing more was said as they approached the bound prisoners.

Risha looked them over. They’d quieted since the last time she was here. She looked to the elf who had spoken earlier. “I will let your people go, and you will keep your word.”

The elf bowed his head. “Yes, Grand Mother Risha.” 

“You will tell the humans of me, and you will tell them to retreat if they want their humans back.”

“Yes, Grand Mother Risha.” 

Risha turned to Klaz’zks, “Take the elves out of camp, and release them to return to their people.”

“What about us? What are you going to do about us?” A human called out. This one she had not looked at before, but he was younger than the others, with brown hair and green eyes that reminded her of Glo.

Risha looked at them with an unreadable gaze. “You will be useful to me.”

***

The scout who followed the elves returned. Risha looked at the kobold, waiting. Only a single sentence was said, but Risha knew that there was no other path.

“The humans march on.” 

Kolo left camp with two other orcs, a High Goblin, and an Ice Spider. 

Once they’d left, camp was quickly packed. Klaz’zks and the Ice Spiders had fun tying the humans into trees and surrounding them with the freezing ice webs of the Ice Spiders. Risha hoped that the humans would stop to rescue their comrades. 

The truth of their numbers had already been given away by the elves, so there was no point in killing the humans, and unfortunately, they worked all too well for a plan of Risha’s.

Risha’s spiderlings were used to carry the young and injured, leaving only Kliks in her cape of webs. 

She placed her helmet on, and felt at the pommel of the sword at her waist. Five days, ten at the latest, that’s how long she needed to stall until Glo arrived. 

She watched Diel as he organized the escaping people, then turned back to Klaz’zks and Leaf-Watcher, standing at the head of her warriors.. 

Risha looked beyond them, tied to the tops of the foliage. “Leaf-Watcher, you know what to do.” 

“Yes, Grand Mother.” 

Leaf-Watcher turned back to her pack, and signaled them to begin. The wolfpack ran to keep track of the approaching humans, while orcs and goblins hid in the underbrush. Again, their objective was to slow down the humans, that meant killing as many of their warbeasts as they could, then retreating through several corridors of webs. 

The sounds of the wounded caravan disappeared, leaving only the sounds of the forest. A bird whistled to its mate, relaxing now that the warriors had gone quiet.

A howl in the distance, the signal they were waiting for.

Risha crouched low to the ground, and Klaz’zks threw a web of leaves and branches over her, then the black spider climbed up into the trees, her black carapace hiding her.

All was silent.

The sounds of arrows, 

Kobold’s ran past them, howling and yipping to each other as they slipped through the preordained paths. 

The humans followed a moment later, many bloodied with arrows. They rode on their warbeasts, the tall horses huffing. 

Then Risha saw it, only because her eyes had moved to her fellows in the branches. Far in the distance, flying through the air, was a large bird covered in scales, an armored human riding it. She focused, her [Hunter] skill activating to increase her sight, four- five more, still far in the distance.

That complicated things, even if they’re not here yet. 

The muffled screams of the tied up humans cried out, and Risha focused back to the ground. 

The contingent of humans slowed as they approached the webs of their camp, not daring to follow the kobolds through the icy webs of the snow-spiders. Their gazes were drawn to the tied humans in the trees, their muffled cries trying to warn them of the trap that was soon to spring.

Risha waited, knowing that they would not be able to resist their comrades. Voices called to each other, and another group of riders arrived. 

Twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty. It’s more than she’d like, but if they’re fast enough…

Risha pulled an arrow from her quiver, doing her best not to disturb the web that covered her. 

They aimed for the horses.

She drew back her arrow. 

More humans dismounted. 

Risha did not like what she was about to do. This was not the fight for food, or the battle of two predators that Risha so enjoyed. 

She removed her covering and loosed her arrow. 

A horse fell.

Arrows loosed from the trees and the underbrush. 

Magical shields were quickly raised, protecting the humans from the arrows, and Risha mentally marked the two mages of the group. The shields blocked the next wave of arrows, but the damage had been done, and the horses fell. The spiders fell from the trees, startling the humans. They loosed magic that ricocheted off of the strong carapaces of the spiders. They fell into further disarray at the sight of evolved spiders, but couldn’t do much as another barrage of arrows kept them in place. 

The spiders ran through the forest, orcs and goblins jumping onto the beasts as they retreated into the forest. 

Kliks jumped from Risha’s shoulder, expanding into her full size. Risha jumped onto her and rode her into the forest. 

Risha looked back at the humans. It was her last warning, and a peace offering of sorts. Only a few humans lay dead, and the humans in the trees had been spared. If the humans left now, Risha would not follow. 

But something told Risha that the humans would not give up now.

And unfortunately, she soon found her instinct to be right.

***

Ambush, retreat, ambush, retreat. The cycle repeated itself, with the kobold pack harrying the larger human group whenever the goblins or orcs became weary. 

Every battle saw the humans losing more people than Risha, but she did not have infinite people, and every loss was one that made Risha question her decisions. 

Was Risha right to lead her people to this side of the mountain? Could Risha have done something different?

Risha only saw the flying warbeasts once more, again in the distance, following the larger human army. 

Days passed like this, and the goblins were the first to flag, not built for war like the orcs. They inched closer to the mountains, and Risha considered having her people fully retreat through the pass, but once they did, she wasn’t sure they could fight their way back through. If the humans gained control of this side of the pass, it wouldn’t matter how large Glo’s army was, there’d be no breaking through the chokepoint. Her promise to protect the orcs of this side of the mountains would be broken.

And it would all be for nothing.

Risha did not let herself rest. She rode with the wolf pack, and saw the effects of her efforts as the humans slowed in their advance, no longer risking horses in their engagements. She ambushed with the goblins and orcs, slaughtering the humans in their traps. 

On the fourth day, one of Leaf-Watcher’s scouts led Risha down a path through the hills, stealth of the utmost importance.

The got low as they came close to the ledge, and sheltered underneath large ferns. From there, they crawled forward to peek over the ledge.

This was the closest Risha had ever gotten to the human army, and she looked out over it with a mixture of emotions that stirred her stomach. 

There was still some distance between them, but Risha’s sharp eyes could pick out the hundreds of humans at they mulled around their wagons. Their horses were few, with most of them being used to pull large wagons. She watched them for a long moment, until the kobold scout with her pointed towards the wagons at the rear of the army.

She watched for a long moment, before she saw it. A line of them tied together walked out of a wagon to be fed.

Shackles wrapped around their legs and arms, tying them to wagons, and Risha wasn’t able to see their features, but she recognized their forms. 

Orcs, goblins, and another humanoid creature she didn’t recognize were held in chains by the humans. 

Anger sparked in her, reigniting the fire that she’d fought these long days with. Her blood pumped, and if she were ruled by her instincts, she would jump down there to kill the monsters that enslaved others. 

But she was the Grand Mother, Empress of her people. And she was not ruled by instinct. 

So she pulled back, following the kobold through the undergrowth.

It was as usual, until a piercing cry rang out over the forest. 

Risha looked up to see one of the scaled flying beasts diving towards her. 

Kliks jumped from her web of cloaks, spinning webs as she expanded. 

The scaled monster crashed through the webs, but they bought Risha and the kobold enough time to jump out of the path of its claws. 

It crashed into the forest, and Risha spotted its rider watching her with angry eyes. 

The rider lifted their hand, and fire gathered to it in a spear.

Risha stood up, pulling one of her enchanted arrows from her quiver. Whatever magic this human wielded, it burned with heat beyond her shamanic magic.

Kliks stepped out of the tree, large behind Risha.