With the glade getting more popular, quite a few of Bolut's merchant slaves approached Gregory and suggested offering their wares beside the field. All that had been offered up until that point was fresh water and basic refreshments, so the presence of a wider variety of food and drink was a welcome one for most of the orcs. Gregory did make a point of not allowing the sale of alcohol until a session was complete, since orcs were easily distracted by such offerings. Practicing complex fighting manoeuvres after downing five tankards of orcish ale also proved to be something of a health hazard; and his chief medic was currently occupied with other matters.

He didn't know what the hell Valise and Talina had come back from the jungle with, but it was obvious that it was something important. For one thing, Valise had barely left her tent in the week since. She'd instituted a firm rule that no one was to come near whilst she worked, and given her tone when she'd made the request no one had thought it a rule worth breaking. It had shown a new side to her that Gregory hadn't seen before, and he realised just how intimidating the normally fair and mild-mannered Lady could be when she wanted to.

So, after checking in with Talina and Janette to make sure Valise was ok, he trusted her to the work she'd assigned herself. Janette had proven to be a capable point-woman in giving him the essential details of how the investigation into Wren was progressing. She'd given him a report on Talina's observations of the elder's habits, and had begun her own Line of investigation using her contacts within Rudd's camp.

Apparently, she'd gotten quite friendly with the people over there, and was one of the few people who could keep the chief diplomat sober long enough to have a conversation. The humans weren't able to meddle much in ore affairs, but the shamans often worked with the human mages in the northern battlefields when the need arose. She'd therefore been able to get some information sent down about how Wren's peers viewed him.

“They don't like the guy," Janette had said between munching on an apple one evening as the orcs began to disperse from the training glade.

"Surprise, surprise." Gregory sighed.

“What do they think of him?" “He's respected for his power. But a lot of the orcs who've fought in the north find their eyes glazing over real quick when he talks about his hatred of humans. Which he does. A Lot." Munch, munch.

Gregory's body was still gleaming with perspiration from his efforts in the glade, and he gladly took a tankard of cold water brought to him by Fiona before she departed to help clear up for the night. A few gulps later and he wiped his mouth contemplatively.

“I don't hear him talking a lot about it down here."

"“Yesh," Janette swallowed some more apple. "I picked up on that too and asked about it. Grolfir doesn't Like it. He sees it as stirring up shit where it definitely doesn't need stirring. Most of the elder warriors agree. The humans need the orcs and the orcs need the humans. But they do not play nice together. A lot of racial tension or something Like that." She took a final bite of her apple and then hurled the core out over the top of the tree canopy into the nearby jungle.

“So fanning the flames is frowned upon, which is why Wren doesn't do it out in public," Gregory nodded his understanding.

"Bingo. But behind closed doors it's a whole other deal. Especially within the shamans' circle. His problem is that the closest humans and orcs get is between the shamans and the human mages. A lot of those guys have fought side by side up in the northern hell-hole. It's not Like they're on each other's Christmas Lists or anything, but there's a respect there. I don't think that Wren gets that, though he's sure got his supporters. Lately he's been getting more traction with the younger ore warriors. They get on a whole Lot Less well with the humans, and it doesn't take much for anger to turn into a whole lotta stupid."

“As an expert on doing stupid shit, I can confirm that." He nodded with a small frown.

“Stupid shit? Says the freakin’ tactical genius.”

“I'm picking fights with orcs on a daily basis. I don't think that shows much in the way of-"

His showing of modesty was interrupted by Nullik appearing behind them seemingly out of nowhere and wrapping his arms across both their shoulders.

“Hey! Huge news! Ulag's in the proving pits and he wants all the pups there!" Nullik grinned with barely restrained glee.

The root cause of his excitement was a mystery to them both, since Nullik usually ended up dozing off whenever Ulag was speaking. The unrestrained enthusiasm seemed distinctly out of character. Before Gregory got the chance to ask about it, Nullik shoved his way between them and darted off toward the tree line. He only momentarily stopped to yell at a few stragglers from the training session

“The proving master's in the pits! C'mon!" he yelled.

That was all the stragglers seemed to need, and they quickly got to their feet and ran after him to disappear into the jungle in the direction of the proving pits.

Gregory and Janette watched them depart in stunned silence, and he started to feel a growing sense of unease. Whenever orcs got that excited it usually involved broken bones in someone's near future. In his experience, that usually meant his broken bones. Still, he composed himself and turned to the redhead beside him.

"I guess that's my cue. Unless there was anything else urgent you wanted to let me know about?"

She had been watching the orcs excitement with some trepidation, and nibbled her lower lip with some concern. His words snapped her out of her darkening thoughts, and she quickly returned her gaze to him.

“No, it can wait. Don't worry about it for now. Go and see what's going on," she said.

“Yes ma'am." He leaned in and placed a casual kiss on her Lips. Except that he always had some trouble with casual kisses and Janette. Every time their lips touched, something in his mind screamed: Oh my god! You're actually snogging Janette Riley! Then things usually proceeded to get a little less casual and a little more steamy.