The Hundred Year War

Daerela didn't speak for a moment, not until she realized that the Orc had spoken to her. After he finished telling her to not worry too much, that she would mostly be cleaning, she said, "D-Daerela," hoping the stutter wasn't too prominent. Briefly touching the necklace she had, trying to reassure herself, she paused a second in her work. Looking back down at the armor, she realized that she had finished, and had simply been cleaning the same segment again and again. Settling it against the wall, she announced, "I...I've finished."
 
Rogdush put the ale onto the table again and got up. He walked over to Daerela and looked at the armor. "Looks good enough." He said in a flat tone, before grabbing the sword by the handle and holding it up for inspection. He held it in front of his missing eye from pure habit. He sighed slightly, before moving it to his other eye. "Looks good as well." He said after a moment. "Good enough for battle, but not quite enough for times where I need to show off. And I'll make sure you know when those times come." He put the sword against the wall again and walked back to his seat. "I don't know what you've heard of about elves in cities captured by us orcs, but I'm guessing its mostly propaganda. You'll see that we don't keep slaves. We keep laborers. Second class citizens, but not slaves." He said, before taking another big gulp of ale.
 
She flinched as the Orc approached her, expecting the worst, but Daerela was silent as the Orc examined her handiwork. She had never been the servant to handle the weapons, that had been Seregor's job, and she was no where near as good as he had been, but she thought it a good job for her first time. She couldn't help but look away as he said that most of what she'd heard about Orcs had been propaganda. However, as he said that they kept laborers rather than slaves, she looked up, questioning crossing her face.
 
Rogdush looked over at Daerela, who was still sitting on the floor. "Plenty of free chairs here, laborer." He said, waving his hand towards the other chairs around the table. "So I see no reason for you to sit on the floor. Unless you're afraid of me, or something, that is." He said, with a slight grin. "I'd probably be, if I was in your shoes." He rubbed his empty eye again, as the stitches were still an unusual sensation. "And please, do ask questions if you have any. Just try to avoid the stupid ones." He warned her.
 
Feeling like she didn't have a choice, Daerela stood up, moving to an empty chair, pulling it out, and sitting in it, trying to keep her heart from pounding. She didn't look in his eye as he spoke, instead looking down at her hands. The shifting of fabric was heard as she crossed her legs, wishing that it was still yesterday, before the Orcs had been spotted. At least then she had been happy. From his last few words, it sounded like he wanted her to ask something. Despite her instincts, she said, her voice quiet, "What happened to your eye?"
 
"War happened." Rogdush said simply. "For some reason, the wild elves, or whatever they're called, decided to do a counter attack, in a attempt to retake the city. And when they were just out of range for our archers... Their leader decided to show off." He frowned slightly. " And shot me in the eye. From a range where most are lucky to hit at all. And believe me, pulling out a arrow from your eye socket with the eye still attached... It's not a pleasant experience." He once more ran his hand over his missing eye. "But we won the battle in the end." A slight grin crawled onto his face. "And he won't be shooting like that for the rest of his life. Unless he learns to shoot one handed." Rogdush chuckled slightly at the thought.
 
Daerela was silent as the Orc told her about the El'set leader taking his eye. She didn't know him personally, but had heard of how his father, the previous lord, had been so heartbroken when he left to join the tribe. However, her face crossed with worry when he insinuated that he had taken the Elf's arm, but not as much as it would have been had she personally known him. Having nothing else to ask him, she simply remained silent, refraining from speaking.
 
Rogdush looked down into his tankard for a while, sitting in silence. "I might enjoy the thrill of battle as much as any orc. Yet I know that war is a horrible thing. So many die. So many more left without their fathers, husbands and sons. Splitting families and friends." He looked up from his cup. "But now, it seems like it's finally coming to an end. We have the elven capital in sight. The warlord's armies are marching. Soon, I'll be going home to my own family..." He spoke with a tone of sadness, yet the last part was filled with hope of a father.
 
Daerela kept silent, even though she knew the Orc's feelings. Her own parents had been taken by the war when she was very young, and though she hadn't known them as well as others who had lost their family, bu she still felt the emptiness left there. In all truth, she wanted the war to end, but not if it meant the fall of the capitol. Wringing her hands beneath the table, she prayed that the capitol's defenses were better than the city's.
 
"Not much of a talker, are you?" Rogdush asked, looking at the quiet elf. "I'm guessing having the whole city taken over is a bit... shocking." He looked down into his cup again, before drinking the remaining ale in one gulp. "Well, I see little reason to sit here, talking mostly to myself. So I might as well call it a night." He said, putting the cup back on the table. A long day of marching and battle could tire even the most enduring.
 
She didn't answer the Orc, figuring he knew the answer. She supposed she was still in shock from what had happened, but not as badly as Hadiir had been after watching Seregor die. Nodding slowly as he said that he should go to sleep, as she was tired too, Daerela wondered what he might have her do later.
 
Rogdush got up and walked over to the door, opening it to grab another goblin. "Take this servant to her quarters." He said to the goblin, before dropping him back to the floor. He turned towards Daerela again, before he spoke. "Follow the goblin to what'll be your quarters. Or tell him where your old quarters were, if you had any here in the castle." He waved them off, before walking towards the large bed in the room.
 
Daerela told the Goblin where her quarters were, on the first floor of the castle, where most of the fighting had been. Shutting and locking the door behind her, she was relieved to find that it didn't look too different from when she left it this morning. The bed was still in the corner, her bookshelf was looking a little worse for wear, but was still standing, so it didn't matter, her desk had everything she had left there, and while her chest of drawers was knocked over, it wasn't a problem to push it back up. Changing into nightclothes, she lay down, trying to convince herself that it was just another night at the castle, and when she'd wake up, everything would be the way it was supposed to be.
 
Rogdush took off his shirt and cape, and threw them towards his chest. He had a feeling he'd have trouble sleeping this night, with his eye constantly scratching slightly, his wounds from the battle still stinging a bit, and laying in a unfamiliar bed. Yet as he laid down, he fell asleep surprisingly quickly, mostly from being drained by the battles.

The next morning came, the sun slowly rising. The city had calmed down since last night, yet there was still much to do. Yet Rogdush slept inn, enjoying the peace of his new town.
 
When Daerela awoke, it was later than she had woken up in a long time. Deciding to enjoy the silence for a while, as long as she could have it, she remained in her bed, staring up at the cracks in her ceiling. A lot of the dead would be given their final rites, she realized with a start. Seregor, being only a servant, would be one of the first, but no one would start until Erethor showed up. Hoping he hadn't yet, she put on fresh clothes and brushed the tangles out of her hair, wanting to see him one last time before he was gone forever.
 
Rogdush got out of bed and put on the shirt again. He knew there were quite a few things to get done today, as he had to prepare the town both for it's continued existence, and for furthering the campaign. He walked towards the part of the city the goblins had already started making into their part. The houses had gotten slight redesigns, to make more rooms, piles of junk was laying in the streets and goblins were running everywhere. He went to the leader of the goblins, making him send some messengers about his victory back to the capital, before he started walking casually back to the castle.
 
Daerela remained in her room, remembering how she was told not to leave the castle without permission, and not trusting the Orcs in the castle enough to leave. Sitting at her desk, she tried to busy herself with the task of writing a letter to the capitol to report to them the falling of the city. If she could get it to them, they'd know to prepare for a battle, and might be able to defend the city. As she wrote, she tried to keep from crying, the reality of the situation hitting her as she wrote it down.
 
Rogdush entered the main hall, finding Nazhrek there, waiting. "Have you mapped out the city and sectioned it up?" Rogdush asked. "Yes chieftain!" Nazhrek got out a crude map of the city, clearly sectioned up in three parts. "The goblins will be situated in the small area here, the elves will get this, large part, and the main street from the castle and to the gates, and some surrounding are will be for us. Is this good enough, or...?" He asked. "Yes, I think it'll do nicely. Start the preparations. Give the elves their homes back." Rogdush said, before he started walking down the corridors, wanting to see the city from one of the towers of the castle.
 
It took all of Daerela's willpower to leave her room, her heart pounding against the cavity of her chest. Placing the letter into a pocket in her dress, she walked around, already tired of her surroundings in her quarters. She didn't go to the main corridors, not wanting to find an Orc, and instead explored the back hallways, where no one had been in a while.
 
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