All Novel Sweet
740
“You mean you will handle it. How can you be so sure that this is the right course? If something happens and he isn’t prepared…”
“I intend to seek out Valise’s advice. Now that we know something is definitely happening out there we should seek her counsel.”
“Oh.” Talina felt some of her frustration abate at that particular concession. “And you’ll listen to her if she tells you we should inform Gregory?”
“Of course. She’s wise in such matters.” For the first time that morning, Emmet smiled at Talina.
“Very well then.” Talina nodded in agreement. “I’ll set about-”
Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by the nearby jungle foliage getting unceremoniously torn open by a very angry looking Algra Strongblood. Both Emmet and Talina jumped backwards a little. They might both have been stalwart in their resolve, but it’s hard not to be startled by an angry orc bursting in out of nowhere.
A few twigs had caught in Algra’s furs, and there were quite a few in that large strip of hair along her head interspersed with a choice selection of small leaves. It seemed like she’d shunned the winding path back from the stream and taken a rather more direct route through anything that dared get in her way.
“He has forgotten the names of his parents,” she said whilst stepping free of the jungle foliage.
It took a moment for both Emmet and Talina to process that information. Then they both recalled that they had all agreed to report any strange behaviour on the part of Gregory. That definitely qualified as strange, and explained Algra’s desire for immediacy. Emmet cleared his throat and composed himself whilst Talina visibly relaxed and glanced over to the old man with a troubled expression.
Realising that he was going to have to be the one to try and make sense of that nonsensical statement, Emmet nodded to Algra and lifted his hand to scratch his chin. He hoped it looked like he was about to say something wise and experienced. Valise made it look so bloody easy!
“Right, when did this happen?”
“Does it matter?” Algra’s tone was uncharacteristically sharp with him.
“It does. Memory loss is a sign that he might have taken one too many hits to the head.”
“That isn’t it.” Algra stated firmly. “I know the signs. Gregory doesn’t show them in the slightest. He barely seems tired.”
“Why should he be tired?”
“Well,” Talina helpfully interjected there, “you see when a boy-person and several girl-persons love each other very much-”
“Oh.” Emmet cleared his throat again. “I see. So, he should definitely be tired. Have there been any other signs of odd behaviour?”
“Yes,” Algra nodded. “He is aware of how strange it is to lose such a memory, and yet he spoke of it as if he was commenting on the weather. Then he left me to bathe and strode alone into the forest.”
“You didn’t go after him?” Talina asked.
“I was shocked. He wished to be alone.” Her words settled upon a disturbing growl rising from deep inside her chest.
Talina decided not to press the issue and there was a moment of silence between the three of them. Algra angrily kicked a shrub and uprooted it completely to send the thing flying over a nearby tent.Material © NôvelDrama.Org.
“I did not know what to do,” she added with more uncertainty and less simmering rage. “I thought he was going to return and so I waited for some time. I thought about going after him. I thought about many things. When he did not come back I dressed and came here.”
“It’s alright, Algra,” Emmet kindly reached out to give her shoulder a reassuring pat. “I think hearing a loved one drop a revelation like that before disappearing into the jungle might be enough to stun anyone in their tracks. Has he been displaying any other sort of odd behaviour?”
“Afternoon, everyone,” said Gregory with a slightly overconfident degree of strained cheeriness.
The three of them turned to where the voice had emerged at the edge of the camp and saw him walking back from the training glade. At that time of day the place was bustling with the usual group of somewhat hung over slaves and passing orcs. Quite a few of them stopped in their tracks as Gregory marched through the centre of the camp towards his tent.
Of course it wasn’t too surprising that he was getting so much attention, since he happened to be stark-bollock-naked.
“Hey guys,” he nodded to the trio with a passive sort of authority before striding past them and into his tent.
There was a moment of silence after he disappeared, and it served to make everyone realise they were all dumbly staring in unison. A tactful orc who had been talking with Valise broke the silence to ask her about the price of a potion she’d been telling him about and the regular bustle and noise soon returned to the place.
Emmet, Algra and Talina looked outright comical in their mix of facial expressions. Emmet had lifted his hand to his mouth and his eyes bulged in terror. Algra was squinting slightly with a single lifted brow in a look that quite simply stated: what the fuck!? Talina had clearly appreciated the view, and despite her wide-eyed wonder she was wearing a rather huge smile on her face.
Each offered a cautionary look to the others, and all silently agreed that walking around in the buff definitely counted as strange behaviour. Algra turned and shifted toward the tent, soon being followed by Emmet and Talina.
“What in all the dark realms are you doing?” Algra demanded as she swept beneath the canopy.
Gregory was stood before a large trunk, still quite bare-assed. He’d dubbed the trunk the “Big Trunk of Stuff”, and it sat next to the larger trunk that Grolfir had given him that contained the remains of Algra’s worldly possessions. It had been given to him by Bolut soon after the tent had been raised, and it held a great deal of useful items for living day to day life. These included a concoction of Valise’s that he could swish about in his mouth to clean his teeth, a selection of soaps from the courtesans that didn’t make him smell too much like an un-manly summer meadow, and also quite a few clothes. The latter interested him the most right then, as he was clearly in need of some pants.