Back to the fort

It didn't take long for the orc huntress to join Alex outside the camp.

It was clear from her posture and scowl that she was NOT happy being sent into the human "camp" with a stranger.

Alex took the walk to analyze his companion. Physically speaking she stood just over two meters tall, about average for an orc female, slightly taller than the males of her tribe. Her figure was also striking, even under the layers of traditional fur garments she was obviously muscular and lacking in excess body fats, but the places where the furs hung showed that her form remained what would be called womanly, no orc woman would be categorized as petite or dainty, but their statuesque size and form was enough to set dreams wild even among men who knew they would never be strong enough to impress a real orc woman.

While her equipment looked primitive Alex knew that she was better protected in what she wore than he was in his plate armor. The wild lands where the orcs lived was filled with monsters both mundane and magical, orc tribes herded many, and hunted the others. And every piece of gear they sported was fashioned from the remains of these beasts. The tip of her spear was a large tooth of a monster that Alex had never seen, a hole had been drilled in between the roots and the shaft of her spear was set into it. The axe at her side was made from what appeared to be the hip bone of another animal, but looked sharp enough to cut grass. And the thick furs that she wore could would be difficult to pierce and were layered so that if a monster tried to tear at her they would have to pull off several layers of armor before her flesh would be in danger.

Hunting trophies hung along her belt, mostly eyes since those held less use in crafting tools than a claw or bone would, but some were large enough that they had been turned into small pouches. Alex shuttered a little imagining the size of skull those eyes had come from.

The most impressive aspect of her though was her totem. One of the innate gifts from his possession was the change to his eyes. They were clearly demon eyes now, which was why Alex always wore his visor, but he could see more with these eyes than any normal human could hope for. So he was able to clearly see the incorporeal totem spirit that walked a little ahead of them.

Her totem was a bear, and a large one at that, she had grown it to remain ethereal and magical attuning it for ice magics. Ice magic was a very practical choice, as a spirit her bear totem didn't disturb the physical world, remained invisible to most every creature. So it could pass through solid objects like walls or humans without their notice if she wanted. But with the use of Iceform the spirit could become a solid object in a moment and deal physical damage but shattering the ice wouldn't actually hurt the spirit. Ice would be good for holding prey and would **** any battle out of the realm of speed and into endurance with her having the advantage. Ice attunement was also beneficial to her personally as well, she could use magic to keep herself cool under all the layers of fur, and if the weather dropped below freezing temperatures she would be immune to it.

The final assessment that Alex made of her was this. Her personality could be learned from her totem: the bear spirit is a totem strength and power, slow to anger but full of rage when provoked, it is imposing and straightforward, but normally unconcerned with things that do not directly involve it. Logically she was flexible and valued discretion, so she chose to keep her totem as a spirit, but she was also practical and preferred to act methodically rather than rashly, so her preference was ice magics. And her equipment was strong and selected to fight and hunt in close quarters, and the amount of trophies she carried spoke volumes for her skills and ability to succeed in a fight.

As the future leader of her tribe Alex believed that the tribe would succeed quite well so long as they were left to themselves. In a few generations they might even grow large enough to become a clan of their own if they didn't get swallowed by an existing clan first. Orcs held a great sense of tribal loyalties to their close family, but alliances were not a foreign concept to the people either. As to her ability to negotiate with the fort commander Alex doubted that she would be unreasonable to the desires of the non-orcs here, and if their lives somehow became threatened he was quite confidant in their abilities to fight their way to safety.

However Alex also took note that she did not attempt to asses him with anywhere near the same regard that he did her. Either she was more pissed with the assignment from her tribe shaman or she simply assumed he was uninteresting.

(She has no idea you're stronger than her whole tribe Master)

(Hush Demon) Alex shot back (She's not the only one here who values discretion)

(You're not being very fun. Wouldn't it be more fun to dominate the tribe by ****? Have your way with all the women and let them feel how strong you are when you're angry? Ummmmm, I like angry sex the most)

Alex wanted to smack Demon quite badly, but giving into her goading would only make her happy and draw attention to what would look like a man smacking a cat for no reason. No, it was a better idea for him to simply ignore her and focus on the task at hand.

Demon on the other hand didn't have any desire to behave, instead she rose from her napping position to nuzzle him in the neck beneath the base of his helmet.

Alex reached back and flicked her in the forehead.

(Yay! Affection!) Demon began to purr.

(Demon, you have issues)

(Side effects to living forever, I get bored easily)

(So read a book)

(I've read them all. You can't believe how unimaginative the new publications are these days)

(Then write your own story)

(Really Alex, darling master, you don't even like when I tell a joke, do you expect me to believe that you'd read a book I wrote?)

(Depends on the book, you're knowledge of history would be worth reading)

(People killed each other, made up new religions to gratify their desires, killed each other for having different beliefs. Desired to change their physical appearances for the sake of being 'hip', and then killed each other for that too. There, history.)

(Hip?)

(Yes master, hip. It's a word with a forgotten meaning. Like 'medical marijuana', it was the idea that...you know what? Nevermind. I don't want to talk anymore. I want you to WORSHIP MY BODY!)

Demon climbed over his shoulders and slid into his arms. Alex in turn took to scratching her head behind the ears, making her purr hard enough to make his plates rattle a little.

By the time he and the orc made it to the fort Demon was on her back displaying herself in a very unladylike fashion, purring while he petted her and complaining loudly whenever he stopped. This only got a few glances from various people they passed but didn't even raise an eyebrow from the orc.

After explaining to the guards their desire to speak with the commander about the orc camp they were led to his office and told to wait outside. A few minutes later they were both ushered inside to see the commander.

"I see our mercenary has returned with a member of the tribe. Are you the chief?"

"No." the orc replied. "We have no chief."

"Then what is your authority to speak for your tribe?"

The huntress looked uneasy, Alex realized thought that she might not know how to answer the question so he rested a hand on her forearm to reassure her before speaking. "The tribe is too small for a chief. They do have a shaman, so they are recognized as an independent tribe, but without a chief they cannot enter negotiations normally. The shaman cannot leave the camp and therefore, as tradition dictated, they had to wait for us to approach them first before they can negotiate. By their traditions if you were to go to their camp you would talk with the shaman yourself, but by our customs you have to stay at the fort and do your job so you sent me to talk with them, they are replying in like fashion, sending a warrior to speak with you appointed by their shaman."

"Oh, I confess I don't know much about Orc tribal traditions." the commander began, "but if you say she has the authority to speak for her tribe then I see no reason we cannot discuss their business here."

Alex noted the huntress staring at him, stunned by his knowledge of even basic orc society. He didn't think that she knew some of his more flowery wording, but she understood enough that she finally looked at him with something other than disdain.

The commander spoke again,