[h1][center]A Stir In The Water[/center][/h1]
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[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6evQu3U.jpg[/img][/center]

	It was a cold and quiet night out at sea, the wind was brisk, but balmy. The pirates that had been successful at raiding Khalai vessels – ships that carried goods such as food, weapons, and even riches had been gutted for all their worth, their crew laid to rest at the bottom of the ocean. The Orcs weren’t let off easy though, some had chopped off limbs from the earlier fights, some had maul marks on their faces, and some had deep claw wounds that nearly compromised the contents of their guts. It was true that the Khalai were strong willed, it was true that even the civilians were fearsome, that was a fact they were willing to overcome – they just didn’t know the price of their lessons. 

	[b]”These beastkin are mighty ferocious! Look what they did to Ralagos! He’s wounded very badly, their claws, their bite, even their tails are mighty! I felt like I was fighting wolfkin again!”[/b] one of the orcs exclaimed. The others looked to him and scoffed, [b]”Since when have you fought wolfkin? I thought you left the rest of the green horde like the rest of us."[/b] the orc that had claimed he fought a wolfkin answered with disgust, [b]”I was captured by a pack of human rogues – I thought I was dead, but no, they were barbaric little ingrates. They captured beastkin to make them fight in an arena for profit. I was an orc, but we orcs have a bad reputation for being bloodthirsty and cruel. Betrayed by our own history...”[/b]

	The other orcs who weren’t listening at the time gathered around to listen to his tale of woe, [b]”I was given a new name and a new title, [i]”Karrow the bloody”[/i] – they didn’t even care that I was a live person, I was just merchandise to them. Eventually, I learned to accept that I was nothing more than a slave to these people who call themselves a [i]”civilized race”[/i]. It was a terrible fate for so many proud and noble people.”[/b] a moment of still silence descended upon the crew with only the gentle slosh of the waves crashing upon the wooden hull of their ship which ached, moaned, and croaked at even the tiniest amount movement.

	[b]”How did you get out?”[/b] the orc formally named [i]”Karrow”[/i] turned to face the person who asked that question. His eyes settled on the stairs that led down to the crew quarters and up into the open deck – the orc that stood there was none other than their captain. He gathered his words and answered frankly, [b]"I was able to pry one of the bars to my cage loose. That night I killed them all and burned the place to the ground. I let the others burn, they were already lost.”[/b]

	Again the silence fell, only to be interrupted by a yell from the hourly watch, [b]”Captain! The other boats! They’re not responding to our light signals!"[/b] the crew rushed to their positions and waited in the dead of night, they couldn’t see a thing. That was just another thing the Khalai had that they didn’t – they could see in the dark, they can smell you from miles away, even see your body heat. There were originally seven ships with them, now only four are responding. The lookouts scanned the horizon until their eyes settled on a faint silhouette of a small Khalai naval ship, just one in the far distance and called it out to the rest of the crew below.

	[b]”Take us closer to our ships, that Khalai vessel won’t be able to fire upon us yet.”[/b] the rest of the crew loosed their sails and began to blow out the lights in the ship. As the ships got closer to their supposedly friendly vessels, a light appeared on their decks for only a split second. They sailed closer and closer, until they realized that the ships were facing them bow first. As the first two ships got close enough to board, they made the observation that all the ship’s crew members were missing, but as they were going bellow decks, they notice a small trail of burn marks going to the gun powder store. As their eyes followed the trail, the last thing they ever saw were the sparks going into the barrels full of gun powder as they were engulfed in a great big explosion. The other two ships that were around fifty meters away from the ships that were investigating them followed soon after.

	Pieces of timber flew everywhere, hitting crew and setting fire to the Orcish pirate vessels. The first ship that was close enough to board was gone, its hulk destined for the bottom of the sea. The one Khalai vessel had maneuvered behind them, firing at their exposed backsides disabling their rudder and further shattering the orcish morale as the orcs bellow deck were covered in splinters or were missing chunks of flesh. The night was noisy and the sea stirred, the Khalai had struck back with a fearsome blow, a single ship in the dead of night against seven of theirs. The ships that could still sail could no longer steer and the ships that could still steer could no longer sail. The barrage of cannonballs rained on them, shattering timber, flesh, bone, and morale.The orcs were known for never surrendering, but if the orc emissaries were anything to go by then these orcs may surrender yet.
	
	The Khalai stopped their assault as they sank the second to the last ship and asked them to surrender. The last ship was [i]Karrow’s[/i] ship, or rather it was his at that moment. The remaining orcs that were still fit to fight raised their weapons, every orc except Karrow. [b]”Brothers, it is over, be sensible – think of our dead and dying. Surrender and we may yet find live to fight another day!”[/b] Karrow’s words fell on deaf ears as his so-called [i]”brothers”[/i] mocked him for being a coward – no, Karrow was smart, he had fought long enough in those barbaric arenas to appreciate having the choice to live. Karrow took one of the orcs and forced them to look down into the galley where many of their wounded and dying had piled up, the doctor didn’t have the knowledge nor the time to help them all. 

	[b]"COWARDICE?!"[/b] Karrow shouted, bearing his voice into the open air for all to hear, [b]"How dare you? Dooming your own comrades to their deaths? We may be pirates, but before we are pirates, we are people - living, breathing, bleeding, suffering people. We may yet save them, they do not deserve to die like this. To fear [i]shame[/i] in the afterlife is cowardice in itself, we must help those who are still alive.”[/b]

	The rest of the orcs looked down upon their dead, their dying, their wounded, the Khalai surprise had left them broken, this was their chance to surrender and so they did. [b]"We understand, but [i]’they’[/i] may not."[/b]

	The Khalai drifted closer and through the smoke and ashes came fifteen more vessels, they were outmatched from the start. The Khalai were respectful to those they defeat, the Orcs were treated with care and were given battlefield first aid in exchange for information – they didn’t expect to get anything of value, they weren’t against torture, but they weren’t at war. The ship that the orcs were previously on were then sunk, there would be no evidence of what had been done here as survivors would be picked off by Khalai waiting bellow. The person that had captured them was none other than the legendary Iron Claw Kaz, the Khalai that had slaughtered hundreds of pirates before them. He was known for not keeping prisoners, but times have changed.

	Kazah stepped down into the brig where the prisoners were held, [b]”What is your name?”[/b] he pointed his question towards Karrow with his claw. Karrow replied, [b]”I am known as Karrow, I no longer remember my old name.”[/b] Kazah didn’t hesitate one moment to ask, [b]”Are there more of you? Do you know their plans?”[/b] Karrow took a moment and answered honestly, [b]”Yes, there are more of us. Our plan? Raid and pillage, plunder and gut every ship that passes through these waters – or so we’re told.”[/b]

	Kazah took note of this orc’s careful choice of words, [i]”or so we’re told”[/i] indicating that this may or may not be their end goal. [b]”How many more are you?”[/b] to which the orc answered, [b]”Our ships number in the hundreds.”[/b] Kazah eyed the orc carefully and determined he wasn’t lying, [b]”What ships are they bringing to bare?”[/b] the orc answered again, [b]”They bring ships like ours – modified fishing and cargo ships along with other bigger warships that we were able to make our own.”[/b]

	Kazah got what he wanted, but wanted to ask the orc one more thing, [b]”Why are you being so honest with us?"[/b] Karrow looked at Kazah straight in the eyes and stated his reason candidly, [b]"You would torture the rest of my kin for this information – giving you what you want would ensure that we go torture free."[/b]

	Kazah then made his way up to his quarters, he wouldn’t have tortured them immediately, but he figured that most of them wouldn’t have given up the information so easily anyway, he was surprised to learn that  it was the opposite of his expectations. He had already deduced that the enemy was coming from the east – that much was clear, just looking at the ships that had survived and where the attacks have been concentrated in, they were heading westwards towards the lonely isles. Kazah would have to unload prisoners, but in this case, the prisoners were at least cooperative – he was a gentleman, a dirty gentleman, but a gentleman nonetheless. He would reward these prisoners for their cooperation, perhaps, reuniting with a few of their comrades in the Isle markets would get them to see the errors of their ways – under keen eyes of course. One orc in particular could prove useful – Kazah knows battle scars when he sees them. Karrow would be an interesting study, an orc that can’t remember his origin, an orc that can’t remember his name. Kazah sees Karrow as an orc – no, a man who’s willing to start anew, why else would he become a pirate.

	[b]”Who would be best to look out for these greenskins? Hmm… The fox will have to do.”[/b] Kazah wrote a letter of special request to Altaz, he was a keen one, he would know what to do with the greenskins for better or for worse.