The Iron Teeth

Written in Blood 2

It only took them a few hours to get back to camp. There had been no real reason for Saeter to travel further than that. He had simply wanted some space and isolation while he trained Blacknail, so that no one got accidently murdered.

"Well, I'm glad this little adventure is over with," Varhs told Saeter as they approached the camp.

"Consider your debt paid," Saeter replied as he walked.

"Oh, I do. I'm just glad this crazy hobgoblin idea of yours hasn't gotten us killed, yet," Varhs said.

"You volunteered," Saeter reminded the other man.

"I wasn't going to let you wander off into the deep green alone for days on end, with no company but a hobgoblin. Besides, I was curious to see if you could pull it off," Varhs told him.

"I did," Saeter answered gruffly.

"...probably," Varhs added with a backward glance at Blacknail.

The hobgoblin was walking along behind them with his hood still up. He liked how the hood concealed him, even if it was a little hot. The way it hid his form was an advantage he could use. He had been thinking a lot about how to act and what to do when he got back to the rest of the tribe.

Blacknail had been following the conversation between Saeter and Varhs with great interest. Over the past few days he had noticed that it was much easier for him to understand the human language. He had learned quite a bit simply from listening to Varhs and Saeter speak, but he wanted to learn even more. He looked up and returned Varhs' gaze.

"I thank-ss you for the training. I owe you-ss a debt," Blacknail told him in his hiss like voice.

"Um sure, no problem," Varhs replied as he blinked in surprise.

Blacknail smiled at Varh's response. He planned on trying to fit in, so he could eventually take on a higher position within the tribe. Blacknail had absolutely no intention of staying at the bottom of the hierarchy anymore.

Just because he couldn't climb it by challenging the other members of the tribe didn't mean he couldn't do it at all. First, he would try making alliances, and if that didn't work he would find another way. Obstacles could be removed.

As they walked they came across a sentry, who looked up but made no comment as they passed. He apparently saw nothing odd about the two scouts returning to camp with another cloaked person in tow.

Varhs looked like he really wanted to say something to the man, but stopped himself. Blacknail just smirked to himself in amusement. He could have walked right up to that sentry and bitten him before the man even realized anything was odd.

As they entered the camp proper Varhs said a brief goodbye, and they split up to go to their respective camp sites. The camp itself had changed a fair bit since Blacknail had seen it last. The timbers that had been lying around before had now been put to use. Lean-tos were steadily being replaced by crude log buildings.

Saeter and Blacknail passed quite a few people on their way through the camp. Few of camp's residents gave the pair a second glance. In fact, a lot of them were unfamiliar to Blacknail.

"Herad must have really been pushing the recruitment while we we're away," Saeter commented as he observed the people around them.

"Yes, I see and smell-ss many strangers," Blacknail said in response. He had decided to work on his human by talking as much as possible.

"What in all the hells? Someone is camping in our spot!" Saeter suddenly exclaimed angrily.

Blacknail looked up to see that his master was right. Where Saeter's tent used to stand, and some of their gear still did, another group of humans had set up their own stuff. Blacknail's eyes narrowed as he eyed the humans that had entered his territory. That was a challenge.