The Mad Raven's Tale (The Accarian Chronicles Book 1) by Andrew Walbrown (the lemonade war series txt) 📗

them as they perused the city, splitting to each side as frightened fish do when chased by a shark. Children hid behind their mothers’ skirts, while the women themselves stood guard like frightened beasts protecting their young. This is strange, so strange. Nobody should know who we are here.

“Why do they stare, Ulam? What is so interesting about us?” Amantius said under his breath.

“Perhaps they have never seen someone as ugly as you?” Ulam retorted with a snort.

Amantius laughed, perhaps harder than he should have. He did not realize how much the stone gazes of the crowd had unnerved him.

They stopped in a square where three separate roads led to different parts of the city. A crowd of people blocked each way, the hustle and bustle of a city preventing Amantius and Ulam from walking any further. As they debated which way to go, a little girl with golden hair, who was no older than five years, ran up to them. Her clothing suggested she was not poor, but also not rich; she most likely was one of the merchants’ children. In her hand she held a flower with lavender petals, the stalk bent from her tight grasp. Despite missing a few teeth she had the brightest of smiles, and she possessed the kind of youthful vigor only children enjoy.

“Hallo!” She said as she looked up at Ulam. “You’re so tall! I wish I was tall like you!”

Amantius was shocked, especially considering how ice cold the residents of Silverwater had been thus far. He was doubly surprised by the fact that she approached Ulam and not him, for it was quite rare that anyone would approach his foster-brother. Being an Orc, Ulam was naturally inclined to wear a permanent grimace on his face. His eyes were intense, his tusks were sharp and protruding, his height and muscle mass alone often was enough to intimidate everyone else. Because of this he was always treated with suspicion and paranoia, for his appearance was one that terrified all but the dumbest. But for whatever reason, the little girl was not the least bit afraid.

Ulam slowly dropped to one knee, his expression unchanged. Even kneeling he still towered over the child, whose golden hair swayed in the wind. “Well good day to you,” he began, his voice softer than usual, yet still gruff. “That is a pretty flower you have.”

The little girl giggled in delight, “Do you think I can be tall like you someday?”

Ulam began to chuckle; the little girl’s laughter so contagious even he could not resist. “If you eat right and take care of yourself, you can be anything you want. You can be twice as tall as me even!”

“Really!?” The girl said with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Of course,” Ulam replied with a smile.

Before they could continue their conversation a panicked shriek came from somewhere in the crowd, drawing Amantius’ attention. Suddenly a woman burst forth from the mass of bodies and rushed to the little girl, grabbing her by the forearm and dragging her away.

“Get away from him!” She screamed as she pulled. “You can’t get too close to them!”

“Why!?” The child squealed as she began to cry. “He’s my friend!”

“He’s a Greenskin!” The woman replied, “They’re savages that eat children!”

“What did she say?” Amantius said as he took a step forward. “Did she say you eat children?” His confusion turned to anger, an emotion he did not experience often. “What kind of nonsense is this!?”

“Easy, be calm,” Ulam said as he grabbed Amantius by the leg. There was a great sadness in his voice, one Amantius had rarely heard before.

“Come back here! Come back here right now!” Amantius continued to yell as he tried to shake Ulam’s grip on his calf, “Let go of me, Ulam, that woman is atrocious and spreading lies!”

“Amantius, let it be,” Ulam replied again, this time tightening his hold.

“Protect the children! The Orc will eat them!” Someone shouted from the mob, followed by laughter.

“Child eater!” Someone else yelled, followed by similar insults and chants.

Amantius’ fury made him want to fight every person in the crowd, but all he could do from his position was shout, and those words fell on deaf ears. Meanwhile, Ulam remained kneeling, staring at the cracks between two slabs of stone.

As the jeering became louder the crowd also became bolder, until someone threw a tomato at them. It splattered on the ground nearby, which did nothing but encourage others to try. Barrage after barrage of fruits and vegetables rained down on Amantius and Ulam until the situation reached a fever pitch, and someone from the crowd chucked a jagged stone.

“Kill the Orc!” A woman’s shrill voice yelled over the crowd. “Cut off his head!”

Men from every part of the crowd stepped forward to do the job, liquor and bloodthirst equal parts in their eyes. Only one of which carried a blade, and unfortunately he looked the soberest of the bunch. Amantius stood petrified to the spot, not sure what to do. He looked down only to see Ulam remaining passive on the ground.

“Get up!” Amantius urged as he took a defensive stance. “Get up!”

Ulam did not reply. He remained still, absorbing countless blows from chunks of stone that continued to pelt him. He grunted as one hit him the ribs, and grimaced when the next gashed open his arm.

“Get up, dammit!” Amantius yelled as the men drew in nearer.

One of the attackers, a rugged man of average height, was the first to approach. He walked confidently, and the rock his fingers gripped gave him even more confidence. He wore a wicked smile on his face, one full of malice.

“Ready to die, you green bastard?” He said as he grabbed Ulam’s tunic at the shoulder.

As soon as the goon’s fingers wrapped around the fabric, Ulam sprouted to his feet and grabbed the man by the neck. He executed the movement with such speed and accuracy that the man did not have time to react, dropping the rock in his hand as