It's the Murloc Life for Me [A Warcraft Isekai]

Chapter 5: One Shell of a Day

Not much had happened in the few days since the chieftain and Mrgglr had left the village. No further attacks or accidents, not even a sprained ankle. Smooth sailing on the macro level for our small community.

But on the third day, a new variable was thrown into the current mix of threats. Our gnoll prisoner had woken up from his coma and was very upset about his situation. Or at least I think he was. We didn't speak the same language, so I had to work off his gestures and general tone. Still, it's pretty hard to misread screaming, thrashing, and snapping at my face.

Although the fact we couldn't communicate threw a wrench in my plans. Maybe not a full monkey wrench, but a wrench nonetheless. With no common language, I couldn't interrogate or bribe any information out of him. Torture would do even less, as nothing he could say would mean anything to us. It would just be a slow execution at that point.

After making sure his bindings were tight and reminding his guard to feed him, I stepped out of the indent we were keeping him in. The village didn't really have a jail, so they just tied the prisoner to one of the support pillars of a hut and kept him underneath. Murloc huts are elevated, so he had just enough space to sit up straight.

As I walked towards Mrgglr's hut, which was quickly becoming my personal study, I noticed something peculiar happening in the village center. A good amount of the adult population was crowding around one spot, and I could hear shouting and cheering, along with what resembled the scrapping of spears against shields. But one voice cut through all the noise and chaos even at my distance, a voice that I recognized.

With the chieftain and Oracle absent, control of the village ostensibly fell to the most capable Tidehunter present. There were only two fully-fledged Tidehunters in the village, and it was a father-son duo. Unsurprisingly the father, Glrmgrlr, got his son Mrlgrgr to support him and took over as temporary chief. He was not a terrible man, dedicated to the protection of the village, but he wasn't the most qualified to lead any collection of people beyond his immediate family. He was too focused on being a tidehunter, on exterminating threats and on finding the next meal. Short-term things. He often left for days on extended hunting trips to try and find the largest game to bring back, ignoring less prestigious prey.

I managed to squeeze between the wall of murlocs and got a clear look at what was happening. Glrmgrlr was standing in the middle of a hastily erected circle of stones, facing off against a giant turtle. It was a bit taller than Glrmgrlr and thrice as long. He seemed to be making a show out of the fight, constantly stabbing at the turtle's shell with his spear, then ducking away from a retaliatory bite.

The turtle looked pissed, and rightfully so. Every step it took caused vibrations to radiate out through the soft dirt, but Glrmgrlr was always able to stay out of its range. I tried calling for calm, but the crowd was too invested in the fight to hear me. After another couple minutes, Glrmgrlr seemed to have had his fun for the day and nodded to his son standing just outside the ring. Mrlgrgr stepped in, along with four other murlocs who threw large, weighted nets over the turtle. It struggled against the ropes, pulling them taught and snapping at them with its jaw, causing a few of the cords to fray, until Mrlgrgr thrust his spear into its leg. It gave off a pained cry, then appeared to settle into a subdued state of shock. The crowd slowly dispersed, allowing me to walk up to the Tidehunters.

"Why are you doing this Glrmgrlr? You know Mrgglr is away with the chief. If you got hurt, I would be the only one who could help you, and I can't do half of what Mrgglr can."

Glrmgrlr waved a dismissive hand at me. "You worry too much, this beast wouldn't be able to catch me even if I was sleeping."

As he talked, the turtle turned its head and started to stare at me, a low rumble coming from his throat. "Well, why are you doing the whole dance and stab thing with it? The poor thing gotta be in a lot of pain."