Haku, king of all dragons

The journey from the military camp to the nearby headquarters of the Bolvek tribe was not long, and the ogres' legs were very strong and muscular: within a single night, Sarpa had already arrived. As the morning sun began to rise, the ogre was placidly waiting a short distance from the door.

The city was called Bolvek, the same name as the tribe; this was normal, since it had started as a nomadic tribe and then as a village, and only after that had it become a proper city. From the outside it didn't look much different from a normal ogre village, except that it was much larger in size: the wall was made of wood and the houses beyond it were also made of wood. After all, if there was one material that was not lacking in a forest, it was undoubtedly the wood.

Sarpa had to wait for the sky to clear completely before the sentry stationed above the tower beside the main entrance spotted him. Seeing him run off to warn his companions, Sarpa grunted in satisfaction, knowing he had been recognized, and he cleared the few meters between him and the door.

The door opened after a few minutes. Five large ogres appeared in his field of vision, each carrying a club or an axe. But Sarpa wasn't intimidated: he could tell at first sight that they were nothing more than recruits. The way they moved and held their weapons was clearly the one of inexperienced soldiers. "Who are you? You don't belong to our tribe" one of them asked.

"My name is Sarpa. I come under the order of the chieftain Volgor" Sarpa replied, reaching into his pocket and taking out a colored stone with a ram's head, symbol of the Bolvek tribe: it was the proof that he really came on behalf of the chieftain. "I must speak to whoever has been left to command you"

The five ogres looked at each other, clearly confused, but they recovered quickly: "I understand. So allow us to escort you to our chief in charge" the one who had spoken earlier said, gesturing for Sarpa to follow. As soon as he entered, the door slammed shut behind him.

Sarpa walked down the main street of the city. As he'd expected, it was no different than normal ogre villages, just much larger. The houses were made of solid wood and sometimes even of rotten wood and straw, while the streets were nothing more than leveled earth and the grass had been mowed (a job done badly). Several ogre children played in the street or in front of the doors of the houses, and ogre women wandered around carrying crates of food, jugs of water or animal skins. Occasionally he could see an elderly ogre sitting in front of the door of his house or leaning out of a window, intent on observing the city with his old empty eyes.

Sarpa felt a little sorry to think that all those people would have soon lost their homes and possessions, and that some of them most likely wouldn't have survived, but he quickly suppressed the feelings of guilt. After all, he was doing it to safeguard the existence of his people. If he didn't do as the dragon told him, the ogres would have disappeared from the Karbraland Great Forest within a few years. That thought was enough to ease his conscience.

And after all, he had already bargained for the safety of at least part of the population, so he couldn't expect anything else. All great things required sacrifices: hoping to be able to change ogre society while safeguarding everyone was pure utopia. Therefore, Sarpa was willing to agree to sacrifice that city to 'pay' the dragon for his help.

A little part of him was still wondering why the dragon had been willing to help him so much instead of just ordering him to do as he said. Perhaps, Sarpa reflected, he didn't believe that his oath to the god Baat would have been enough to keep him from betraying him. And maybe he was right. Sarpa was a staunch believer in the god Baat, but he doubted that he would have been able to let the dragons destroy a city just because he had taken an oath. In a way, he would have preferred eternal damnation. But now something greater was at stake, so his resolve was unshakeable even in the face of such an atrocity.

Eventually he reached a huge house in the center of the city, the only house built of solid stone. It was the chieftain's house: it was always located in the center of the city or village, since the chieftain was the center of the whole tribe. Once they arrived, the five ogre guards opened the door for him and waved him inside.

Sarpa entered the stone house. It was very welcoming: the rock walls caught the heat well, making the temperature quite comfortable. The floor was wooden and so was the ceiling; Sarpa suspected that the house had another story above it, because he noticed a stairway leading up. There was only one room, divided only by a few curtains from time to time to maintain privacy: it was clear that normally many people must live in it. In the center of the house was a sort of large stone throne, upon which sat a massive ogre holding a sword at least two meters long in his hand.

Sarpa approached and bowed: "Greetings, Goroth, chief in charge of the Bolvek tribe" he said. The title 'chief in charge' was an honorary title that the chieftain gave to a subordinate when he had to leave the tribe for long periods; basically, that ogre was chieftain in all but name.

The ogre on the throne leaned forward. "My subordinates told me my father sent you. Is that true?" he asked.

Sarpa smiled. He knew that Goroth was the eldest son of Volgor: he had told him before he left, while he gave him the stone symbol of the tribe as proof of being his envoy. Stone that Sarpa showed again to prove his sincerity. "I'm coming on his own. Well, actually on all the chieftains' own; it was a collective decision"

Goroth nodded upon seeing the stone. "I understand. Forgive my abruptness, but I had to make sure of your identity. With my father and most of our soldiers away, there are not a few who would like to take advantage of the situation to cause havoc in the city"

"I fully understand, chief in charge Goroth, and I don't blame you" Sarpa replied.

The other ogre looked satisfied. "Thank you. So why did my father and the other chieftains send you here?"

Sarpa looked up and his eyes met those of his interlocutor. "Chief in charge Goroth, I'm here to warn you of a possible great danger. We believe that some fairies have sneaked into your territory and there is a possibility that they will attack you!"

Goroth literally jumped up and threw his weapon to the ground. "WHAT!? Tell me everything immediately!"

Sarpa briefly explained to him what he had discovered… or rather, what he had pretended to discover and the play that he and Haku had artfully planned. When he was done, Goroth looked a little more relaxed. "So these are just guesses. They aren't certainties"

"No, I told you. However, the danger exists" Sarpa replied. "I was sent here therefore to warn you to remain on your guard and to improve your defenses, in order to be able to handle a possible attack"

Goroth nodded, clearly calmer this time. Evidently knowing that there was no security of an attack was giving him hope. "I think we are enough prepared to handle a danger of this magnitude. From what you told me, there shouldn't be many fairies in our territory. I have more than 300 soldiers here in the city, I can handle a little group of fairies"

Sarpa shook his head. "While I have no doubts that you are a great warrior, and that all your soldiers are great warriors, I strongly believe that you should improve your defenses"

Goroth narrowed his eyes. "Don't you think we're protected enough?"

"I don't think you are organized enough" Sarpa answered without batting an eye.

Normally Goroth would have been enraged at those words, but not this time. Since he was the son of a chieftain, he knew when it was time to listen to the advice of others. After all, the ogre in front of his eyes was the one who, at least from what he said, had discovered the plan of the fairies, so he must know what he was talking about. "How do you conclude that we aren't organized enough?"

"From the fact that I arrived here almost an hour ago, yet only when the sun rose one of your sentinels spotted me. I was just about ten meters from the wall and yet no one saw me" Sarpa replied. "Try to imagine what I could have done if I had been a fairy. I could have killed your sentinels without being noticed, or infiltrated the city directly"

Goroth was ashamed of that shame. "I will have the sentinel on guard immediately sought out and punished"

"That's not the problem, chief in charge. The problem is that your troops are too inexperienced" Sarpa explained. "Without experience, your soldiers would be overwhelmed in any fight, even if they are very strong. By the way, what is the level of strength of your troops?"

Goroth found that he was listening to Sarpa much more attentively than he usually did to people who normally spoke to him. It looked like that ogre knew exactly what to do and was just sorting out the details. He really seemed like a good strategist; perhaps that was why his father had agreed to send him there even though he wasn't part of the tribe. "Let's see… most of my troops are in the level iron, plus about forty soldiers in the level silver. And then there's me, who is at the peak of the level silver and I almost reached the level gold"

Sarpa seemed to reflect. "Nobody else?"

"The strongest warriors were all taken away by my father to fight in the war" Goroth explained.

Sarpa lightly scratched his chin, then he said: "Your level of strength is not bad, but as I told you your soldiers lack experience. Without it, it is very likely that any eventual battle will be very tough and perhaps they will come overwhelmed"

"So, what do you suggest?" Goroth asked.

"My advice is to prepare for the worst-case scenario, which is one in which the fairies manage to defeat you and your soldiers" Sarpa answered. "In that case, your duty is to protect the population"

Goroth raised an eyebrown. "What do you mean? That's what the shelter is for..."

"Chief in charge, with all the respect, you are doing everything wrong" Sarpa told him. "You must not think of your enemy as a group of ogres, who attack the wall and thus give the population time to reach the refuge. No, the fairies are much more dangerous. They fly and have no qualms about hitting anything to eliminate their opponents. If you don't have a well thought out plan, then many of your citizens will die before they can reach the shelter"

Goroth's heart trembled slightly. He hadn't considered those details. Even though he was the son of the chieftain, he too was still very inexperienced. "I understand. So what should I do?"

Sarpa seemed to reflect. "Find thirty soldiers, whose legs are the fastest of all your troops, and place each of them in a precise spot in the city. I advise you to divide the city into ten areas, each with three soldiers. At the first sign of danger, these particular soldiers will have to immediately warn the population of the sector assigned to them, so that they immediately go to the shelter. They will not have to think of anything else than to get the civilians to safety "

"At the first sign of danger? What sign?"

"A warning from the sentries, a fire, a loud noise.... anything that might appear to be caused by fairies"

"Isn't that a bit general? What if it's a false alarm?"

"Then the people will just get a great scare and they will return home with a good laugh. But if it really was an attack, then this method could save a lot of lives"

Goroth considered those words, then he nodded. "You're right, this method can work. Thank you for your suggestion" he said. "I'll get to work right away... and I'd be happy if you'd be willing to assist me as my father's envoy. Your advice might be useful"

Sarpa bowed humbly. "Thank you, but please wait for me to rest. I ran all night and now I urgently need to eat and sleep"

"Of course. You have every right to do it" Goroth said. "I have someone that can take you..."

"I accept your generosity, but at the moment all the guards have to be in place to be able to protect this place well. I'll find an accommodation by myself, don't worry" Sarpa said.

Goroth was dumbfounded for a moment, then he laughed. "You truly are a virtuous ogre. Go ahead, then. We'll meet again when you're more rested"

"Thank you, chief in charge" Sarpa replied, before bowing and exiting the stone house. Goroth was left alone to reflect on what he had told him, and he was happy that his father had sent him such an intelligent and conscientious ogre.

Unbeknownst to him, however, Sarpa didn't immediately go looking for a place to sleep: first he returned from the wall and once he was sure that there were no guards he took a small bow from his saddlebag. Then he wrote something on a piece of paper and tied it to an arrow, and he put on his bow and shot it several tens of meters over the wall.

As he had expected, no one noticed: those guards were far too inexperienced. They didn't see the arrow flying out of the walls and landing nearby. They didn't even notice the scaly paw that emerged from a bush and grabbed the arrow, and then vanished as quickly as it appeared.