The conversation continued until the orcs and men arrived to work. There was no time to linger on the devastation, and soon everyone had a task to do. Warriors alongside conjurers. Orcs alongside men. None noticed their differences as they pulled together to right the wall.
“It’s unusual for you, isn’t it?” Trinia asked him as she clasped his hand. “Having a mixed community like this.”
He nodded. He’d never seen the like before, not in all his years.
“This is why the peace is so important,” she said quietly. “Because in times like this, when hardship inevitably rears, it takes all of us to right things again.”
That he could agree with wholeheartedly.
“Hold that steady!”
“Shit, it’s too heavy!”
Brovdir jerked around to find two conjurer orcs trying to bring down a huge tree. It was cut partway through already but leaned dangerously toward the wall where others were working. They struggled against its weight as Brovdir ran over.
Hendr got there first and pushed the tree back toward the forest with one hand while slicing through the remaining bark with another. Toj caught it as it came down and hoisted the huge trunk on his shoulder as the conjurers stared in awe.
“They’re... really strong.” Trinia’s voice was breathy with shock.
Brovdir blinked down at her, considering this level of strength was fairly typical for warrior orcs. He noted that most of the warriors had no trouble moving the trees on their own, while it took two or three conjurers to lift them.
As the work continued, the shock gave way to determination and the repetition of building the braces became routine enough for light conversation. Humans and orcs arrived with food, all of which was put in a central location and shared. The orc sons were relieved of their duties and ran off to play with a few of the human children who’d joined their parents to help. As he listened to their laughter and looked into their smiling faces, he could see that the brush with death had left no lasting mark.
The sun had begun to set when they finally got the last brace into position. It wasn’t perfect, but it was stable, and the humans seemed content with it. Goodbyes were shared and thanks were given, and the relief was palpable.
“This is what we needed,” Headman Gerald said quietly as he joined Brovdir at the edge of the sinkhole. Most everyone was already heading off into the woods. “There’s been too much tension of late, too many unknowns. Pulling together like this is exactly what our peoples needed to get back the sense of community we had before.”
“Apologies,” Brovdir managed despite the pain the words brought him. “Was the warrior’s arrival that brought tension.”
But Headman Gerald shrugged his burly shoulders and shook his head. “It was, but the only constant in this life is change. There will always be new challenges, and it will always be up to us, as leaders, to pull our people together and see them through the hardships.”
Headman Gerald looked to Brovdir, met his eyes expectantly.
He took a breath and nodded. “Yes. Agreed.”
No longer would he stand aside and hope that another would step into the role given to him. No longer would he allow his judgment to be waylaid by the opinions of others.
He would be chief of these orcs, warrior and conjurer alike. From this point forward, he would put the peace of their communities first.
Headman Gerald smiled knowingly. The creases at his eyes became more pronounced and his age showed. This male was as wise as the elders themselves.
“Tomorrow,” Brovdir said. “I will tell you all. Start fresh.”
Gerald’s smile widened, and he gave Brovdir a nod before heading off toward the group of humans that remained. “Let’s head home.”
Home. Brovdir looked up to search for Trinia and found that she was already coming over to him. Her clothes were a filthy mess, and her curly hair was disheveled, but her expression was nothing but warm.
She was breathtaking. He loved her with all he had in him.
Trinia held out her hand, and he took it in his, soaking up her warmth and infusing her with his own.
“Let’s go home,” she said, and he found himself smiling, because with her at his side, he already was.
Chapter
Forty-Three
TRINIA
