They stood at the edge of the table as Lohke set down the letter. It was probably the third or fourth time he'd read it and he finally leaned back in his chair. He'd read it out loud to them when they arrived, read it who knew how many times beforehand. Erinne watched him for a long moment before she reached for the letter and skimmed over it herself. She took in every word and sighed, laying it down and moved to a chair. Cold Hammer remained standing, the first to speak in a long time, "So they want blood for blood?" He questioned low in his throat.
"They want Chief Gussten's blood." Lohke murmured in response, covering his face, wiping his hands down and then sighing. "I cannot give them a chief. If I do nothing, I risk the treaty officially coming apart. It's barely holding on."
"I'll write to Wren again." Erinne said but Lohke shook his head.
"It has done little. The families of the two men killed insist they would have never done said crimes. I have orc witnesses that say otherwise. Wren's suggestion could come at a terrible cost. Putting our orcs on their side of the border to discuss what happened, bear witness...the humans are already up in arms over this. I fear they would disagree and kill whatever orcs I send there."
"Then let me go." She said softly. "I am human in their eyes, I've helped with these matters before."
"They will not hold you in high esteem. You were there, they will demand to know why you didn't stop it."
"I know, and I'll answer truthfully, but if we do not solve this soon there is going to be war. Six months of correspondence between leaders is driving both sides mad. The orcs are up in arms, they're ready for battle if the humans should cross the border. The humans are damn near crazed enough to do it. Trade has stopped between our two races. For three years it flourished, we can get it back to that."
"I worry it will never return to that, Sheobulf. I fear for the future."
"We all do," Cold Hammer said, "but Erinne is right. You can't keep sending letters back and forth to King Wren. It's taking too much time. The families of the two humans grow ever anxious for what they see as justice, they're rallying more humans to their cause everyday. Wren is not his people. If they decide to break from his rulings, they'll cross our borders and the treaty will be broken anyways. You and Wren need to act."
"Agree to the meeting, Chieftain, but tell Wren in place of orcs, you're sending the human who bore witness to the execution."
"The families will be there. Are you prepared for what they may say to you?"
"Traitor, orc lover, orc whore..." She shrugged. "I have heard these things before. I will be fine."
Cold Hammer snorted and added in the words he had often been called, "Traitor, human lover, pet, coward." They both knew the insults, both heard them from both races.
Lohke looked troubled over that. "Pardon? People say that to you? Orcs say that to you?"
Cold Hammer snickered, "Did you expect everything would be perfect?"
"She is a Killerfrost. Who dares question you and her?"
"Killerfrosts accept me just fine," Erinne rejoined the conversation. "Other clans, not always so much. It is not a big deal, Lohke. We have learned to ignore it and move on. Besides, most orcs quit throwing insults when he grabs his hammer. They still fear him. It's easy to insult someone from a crowd and he can't pin point who you are, less easy when he just threatens to take on the whole crowd at once. That usually shuts them up."
Lohke looked even more disturbed, "Orcs have done that to you? Both of you?"
"Yes," Erinne nodded, "we visit a lot of clans, it's bound to happen."
Cold Hammer said, "For awhile there was little of that, but now that tensions are rising between orcs and humans again, it's been occurring more frequently." Ever since Chief Gussten executed two humans six months ago.
Lohke stood up, "I don't want such talk happening at all. Sheobulf is ours, she is one of us. If anyone questions her, or your pairing, as your chief and Great Chieftain, I want words with them."
Erinne laughed, "We appreciate it, Lohke, we really do, but it is fine. The last thing we need is more fighting over a human. Leave them be, one day they may see me for who I truly am."
He sighed, but he didn't look happy at all as he agreed. "Fine, I'll leave it be. Back to the matter at hand. Are you sure you wish to go?"
"As you said, an orc crossing the border right now would be in danger with every footstep. Let me go, if I can settle matters, we may yet have them join us. Write to Wren, tell him I'm coming. We will end this matter before next month's end if I have my way."
. . . .
Erinne was vaguely nervous as she walked into the tavern. It wasn't until she crossed into human territory that she'd realized danger lurked for her here just as much as any orc. Her clothes were entirely orc made and it showed. They were different than the finer linens that humans wore. The humans noticed, too, staring at her, giving her threatening glares. She'd had to remove her hood just so they could see she was human. Still, they gawked. Even as she rode into a town where orcs had done a lot of trade, they kept their eyes on her with mixtures of hate and curiosity.
As she glanced around the inner cabin, she spotted a man behind a counter and made her way towards him, her cloak drawn tightly about her to ward off the chill in the air, made warmer by a fireplace burning hot against one of the walls. As she reached the counter, the man looked at her and narrowed his eyes on her clothes before she spoke.
"I am here for the meeting with—"
"I know who you are. They've been expecting you." He motioned behind him. "In there." She swallowed at his curt tone but moved around the counter, hiding her discomfort as she swept aside the curtain that blocked the back room.
As soon as she pushed it aside, there were eyes on her and her discomfort grew. She was far less welcome here than she'd thought she would be. They were all humans here, after all, she'd expected that would give her some leeway in feeling welcomed. The last six months hadn't been well for the mindset of both races. Once again, she started to feel like she was stuck somewhere in between them, a feeling she hadn't had since the start of the treaty.
She took in the people in the room as she let the curtain fall closed behind her, nervousness flitting in her gut, but then she laid eyes on two familiar men and a smile spread across her face. "Khash," she greeted him, trying not to show too much joy in the wake of the reasons for this meeting. It might offend the others that had come.
Khash was quick to return the smile as he made his way to her. "Lady Erinne," he grabbed both her hands in his, squeezing until she could feel the warmth of him sinking through her gloves. The second man she reocnized from Wren's own king's guard, Farswar, who had never been her greatest friend, but she was pleased to see him nevertheless.
"Farswar." She acknowledged him with a gentle nod but Khash had yet to release her as he brought his cheek to hers and then stepped back, still clutching her hands.
"It has been too long, milady."
For a long time they'd caught up regularly at towns and villages looking to establish trade with the orcs. Wren often sent Khash in his stead when he couldn't come himself, which was more often than not. It'd been much longer since she'd seen Wren than when she'd last seen Khash. The warlock's abilities were highly valued when they were attempting to build and develop trade.
"It is good to see you," Khash told her, "I have missed the good converstion."
"It is good to be seen." She replied but as she looked around at the unfamiliar faces, she saw a lot of disgust reflected her way. "Where is King Wren?" She'd written him herself, he was supposed to be here.
Farswar looked away and Khash gave her an apologetic smile. "Wren sends his regards, he is disheartened he could not be here, but he has fallen ill."
"Ill?"
Farswar answered, "Our king has been sick for some time, some days worse than others. You would know this had you spent more time with your people than with the orcs."
She eyed him cooly as understanding sank in. She had but one friend here today and that friend was Khash. Farswar had always provided cutting remarks here and there when he could. Khash gave the kingsman a threatening look that bade him be silent before saying, "Wren had every intention of coming, he does miss you and this is a serious matter, but alas, here we are."
"Here we are." She agreed solemnly.
"Are we going to stand around greeting each other or are we going to begin?" A woman spoke from across the room and Erinne looked away from Khash as he finally released her hands. She found the speaker, an older woman with deep grooves in her face that might have been wrinkles at some point in her life, made worse with age. Her silver hair was dull in comparison to the sharpness in her words and eyes. "You are Lady Erinne?"
"I am."
"I am Dawn. Dawn of Golad, Mother of Hersten, whom you saw fit to be executed."
Erinne felt her heart skip a beat but fought to remain calm. She had expected a fight, the distaste that showed on every face, and even personal attacks. She was mentally prepared for this battle. She forced herself to take a deep breath and move forward to a table they were all loosely gathered around, though Dawn had long been seated, and took a seat herself. It was clear the disapproval stretched to every human in the room except for Khash.
She folded her hands calmly, keeping her back straight, and said, "I have thoroughly explained every inch of detail of the events of that day to King Wren himself in letter correspondence, I do not need to explain myself to you," she stared at the woman evenly, "but I understand you have lost something precious to you and I do not hold your words against you, Lady Dawn. No amount of words or apologies can bring back your son's life, but I do wish to offer my apology and to offer any comfort I can in the details that I do have."
She lifted one eyebrow slowly and a man moved closer in behind her, a personal guard or relative. Erinne couldn't be sure, the man wore the Golad family crest either way. The old woman seemed to take comfort in his presence as she glanced at him before saying, "I must say, I expected a savage, not a diplomat. You have my ear, for now at least, but where is the chieftain? We asked for the orcs that killed our boys, we asked for the chieftain that chose to end their lives, we asked for Lohke to come as well. None of them are here." She looked around and the others in the room murmured their agreements.
"Lady Dawn—"
She was cut off before she could continue, "The bastard's too much of a coward to come himself and face punishment for his crimes?" She didn't know if he meant Lohke or Gussten but the man speaking brazenly unsheathed a dagger. "I would cut off the beast's head."
Being a diplomat wasn't always easy. She wanted desperately to give him hell for that comment. Orcs weren't beasts. Evil men and evil orcs were. Evil dwarfs or elves. Beasts came from within them all. She had to fight to keep her tone normal as she continued facing Dawn of Golad, "That behavior is exactly why no orc came. Too many people wish to see all orcs dead right now. Sending any of them into human terriroty in the middle of this dilemma would surely end badly. Getting here safely without being attacked would be an issue. Being here safely for this meeting would be an issue. War would surely follow any criminal acts against them. We are trying not to start a war here, we are trying to settle it before it gets out of hand."
She hoped her words got through to them, prayed that they listened, and was relieved when Dawn curled her lip at the man waving his dagger around, "Sit down and put that away."
"My brother was only in orc territory for trade." A man only one chair away from Dawn spoke up. It was the first time he'd opened his mouth and his eyes were sunken back into his head. He looked sickly and weak. "Guivez was not a violent man. I relied on him for all my trade and without him I do not know how I will fare." He was sickly. He was hinting at some illness she didn't know of that kept him in need of a brother's assistance.
"Khash." She turned and Khash stepped closer to the table.
"We can provide you assistance. It does not replace the loss of your brother, but it will help."
Dawn shook her head and said, "Look, all we ask is for justice. They kill Hesten and Guivez in the name of justice but will give us none?"
"Their execution was justice for their crimes."
Dawn scoffed loudly, making a guttural noise in her throat that showed the first true hint of her upset, fire blazing in her eyes, "Don't insult us. That was not their job. King Wren would have imprisoned them, not killed them. You know that as well as any of us. Even if death was to be their sentence here, it was not their place to execute our people, let alone my son and his brother."
"Insult was not my intent." Erinne replied softly. They all looked surprised by her answer. She sighed heavily, "I was there when the treaty was written. I helped bring it to be. Do any of you think I like what has happened here? I do not wish to see the treaty broken." She had a family to protect, a broken treaty left little room for her family to grow.
"They said you bore witness to their deaths."
"I did."
The brother stood up, his chair tipping, and roared, "Then why didn't you stop it?!"
Farswar stood up, too, hand on the hilt of his sword. "Stand down." He told him. "This is to be as peaceful as possible. We are here to see what the other side has to say. To see if we can reach an agreement."
"Exactly," Erinne agreed gently. "We need to settle the war. We have had peace for three years, minor skirmishes in between. We can return to that."
The man that had pulled out his dagger earlier slammed his fist into his other hand, "I'd personally rather see all orcs dead, including orc whores like you."
"What stake do you have in this? Why are you here?" Erinne demanded. "If truly your only purpose is to threaten the orcs, then leave."
He glowered at her, "I'm here for my cousin." He motioned to Guivez's brother. "To see that our family has justice."
"Sit down." Farswar's hand was still resting on his sword as he watched intently. The man sat slowly but she could see it in his eyes, he wasn't done. She was thankful Wren had made sure to send kingsmen in his stead.
They waited until the man was fully seated and for Farswar to step back before she finally spoke again, looking to Dawn. "Milady, what is it you want from this?"
"The death of the orcs that killed our boys."
Erinne shook her head, "We cannot do that. They were acting under orders."
"Then we want the head of the orc that gave the order."
"To give you a chieftain would start a war. We cannot do that...Lohke will not do that."
The man interrupted again, "Then maybe we should storm over there and take Lohke's head!"
"Get out!" Dawn snapped at him and the air seemed to rush out of the room as they all waited in tense silence for his reaction.
He looked surprised, but then Guivez's brother seconded her words. "Leave."
The man snorted and left the room hastily. She sighed and met Dawn's eyes again. "Milady, clans run on their chieftain's words. They are loyal to their chieftains, they love their chieftains. If they do not, he is challenged and replaced. The Swamp Orc Clan's chieftain has not been challenged, they love him. He is still a new chief, however, prone to mistakes."
"Are you saying my son was mistakenly killed?" She demanded.
"I'm saying he did what he thought was best for his people. I could not stop the proceedings, though I begged for their lives, for reason. He believed reason was execution for their crimes. He feared if they were not executed, that Wren would do nothing in the way of punishing them...he took the law into his own hand and that was his mistake. He should have trusted in the treaty, in what Lohke and Wren both put in place but he did not. He broke the treaty by doing so and Lohke has already held him accountable for his crime."
"Lohke has held him accountable?"
"His actions were unlawful."
"In what way was he reprimanded?"
"Dishonorment."
"What does that mean?"
She took a moment to try and think about how to describe Dishonorment. It was one of their worst punishments. Far worse than broken bones for broken laws. "Orcs who are given Dishonorment are stripped and beaten and any mark of honor they have is taken. Because orcs believe that scars are badges of honor, the beating is done in a way that their skin is not marred. Except for one. They are branded with the mark of Dishonor, but if they survive, that becomes their badge, their pledge to do better in the future. After they are branded, they are left in the Oreni Desert to walk out without clothes, food, or water. The walk takes three days. Some orcs do not return from it. If they do, they may begin restoring their honor anew."
"That's savagery."
"And human gallows aren't?" She demanded of Guivez's brother. "Dungeons aren't? Every race has their own way of handling things. This is one of theirs. It is a serious matter to have Dishonorment. He bore the burden for his entire clan with dignity and returned to them a better orc."
The room was quiet for a long moment before Dawn met her gaze. "This Dishonorment, is it bad?"
"For an orc it is one of the worst punishments enacted."
"What is the worst?"
"Being banished from one's clan, but only an offense against the clan can warrant such. Dishonorment I would count as the next worse thing. Living with the same of Dishonorment is, to some, worse than death. A warrior greets death like an old friend, dishonorment...it is shameful."
Dawn glanced at the brother, "I would ask Dishonorment for the two orcs that enacted the execution. What say you?"
"They deserve to die. All of them." He said slowly.
"I agree, but...I do not wish a war. I am old, I have seen many a war, it is not good for anyone. There would be ten times as many wrongful executions on both sides and no justice, ever." She took a deep breath. "I feel we should end this without a war."
He swallowed and looked disheartened, but then he said, "I will agree to Dishonorment."
A pit was sinking in Erinne's gut at their words. "For the orcs that followed their chief's command?"
"Yes!" Dawn said sharply. "I will see everyone involved punished." She glared at her, "The only reason you are spared for having witnessed it is because our king writes to me and bades me wish you no ill will."
"I had nothing to do with what happened." She said quietly. "I would have stopped it if I could."
"Your service record with our kingdom suggests a history of well doing. For that, I believe you, but I do not forgive you, Lady Erinne."
Erinne sat back in her chair, her heart feeling heavy inside her chest, like it was the very pit that sank in her gut. Dishonorment for two innocent orcs acting on their chieftain's orders. It riddled her with guilt and once again she could do nothing. She'd begged Gussten six months ago not to proceed with his actions and they were all facing the consequences. The orcs wouldn't be happy with this, but Lohke would do it in the hopes that it stopped war. He would be forced to send two innocent orcs into the Oreni Desert for Dishonorment.
She knew in her heart they were going to lose the support of the Swamp Orc Clan. Having a united nation was important for a Great Chieftain. This wouldn't sit well with anyone, including her, but her hands were tied. This woman was grieving and she wouldn't back down.
She swallowed, but this was the best they got. She wondered if this was how Cold Hammer had felt, deciding that the humans' lives were not worth trying to save that day by the stream. For the sake of those around him, for his family and the fact that they were outnumbered, he'd remained silent and that's where she was now. War would harm her family. This could both end the war or create more disarray.
She wasn't Cold Hammer and her son wasn't being held at arrow point right now. She stood up slowly, smoothing out her dress and met the woman's eyes and said, "I want you to know, that day, the chieftain made it clear that nothing I did or said would save the life of your son or your brother...and I want you to know, that you are doing the same thing to me now. You wish punishment on two innocent orcs following orders, just as they wished to perform their own justice on two men. What makes you better than them?"
Guivez's brother slammed his hands down and stood, the breath going out of his frail body as he stared at her, but Dawn stuck her hand out, setting it on his elbow. He didn't move or speak, but Dawn whispered, "You dare speak to us that way?"
"You do not like my words because they are true...and you know it."
"You know nothing of our pain."
Erinne curled her lip and felt Khash set his hand on her shoulder, silently warning her, but she still said, "And you know nothing of mine. Whatever your heartaches, I assure you I've faced more, but I have forgiveness in my heart. I brokered peace for it. You say you do not want war, but you push for it anyways. I never pushed for war, I protected against it. I helped build a treaty that would keep us all safe. Your actions today will help tear it down."
She waited, hoping against hope that this woman would change her mind. They stared at each other, time beating away with her heart until, finally, Dawn broke the silence. "We cannot all forgive as easily as you. I will see everyone involved punished."
Her words hung heavily in the air and Erinne knew, in her heart of hearts, that this would be the next step towards war, not peace. From this point forward, there would be no going back. War was coming. The two orcs deserved better and she hated herself for her next words.
"I will speak to Lohke, we will meet with the orcs and Dishonorment shall follow for the executioners."