New life

The old man listened to the brothers without saying a word. Although his relationship with Granny Karom had been a little strained these past two years because of Solam, he still had complete confidence in her skills. With her taking charge, things should be fine.

Solam had suffered no serious injuries over the past two years, but minor ones were an everyday occurrence. The old lady blamed the old man for being too harsh. Whenever they met, they would barely exchange a few words before they started arguing. Of course, most of the time, she was the one scolding him, to the point that he had grown a little afraid of Granny Karom.

The moment Granny Karom entered the tent, her expression turned serious. One look at Zaira told her that things were not going well. What she had said outside had only been meant to reassure Trick.

If the baby did not crown soon, the mother would pass out from pain and exhaustion, and both lives really would be lost. Granny Karom hurried to Zaira's side, took out a string of beads, and quickly cast a Rejuvenation Spell on her. This was a shaman's most important skill, healing injuries and restoring the target's stamina. Zaira had been laboring since the early hours of the morning and had used up a great deal of strength. Replenishing it now would keep her from collapsing with exhaustion. Granny Karom also cast Soul Prayer to restore some of her mental energy. Beyond that, it was up to the mother herself. Spells could not do everything. All anyone could offer now was comfort and encouragement to help her keep going.

"Come on, Zaira, the baby's almost here. This is going to be a strong child. You've always loved children, haven't you? Take a deep breath. That's right... push in bursts. Don't rush." Granny Karom held Zaira's hand. She had plenty of experience. A mother in labor needed to push in bursts and pause to catch her breath, or she would burn through her strength too quickly and risk both exhaustion and fainting. Giving birth was terribly, terribly painful. Without a moment to breathe, it was all too easy to pass out from the pain.

Following Granny Karom's instructions, Zaira gripped her hand, drew a deep breath, and began pushing again. At the same time, that indescribable agony swept over her once more.

"Aah..." Piercing screams poured from her mouth. Among the Avalon orcs, even the women were excellent warriors, and Zaira in particular had been a skilled hunter back in her homeland, the Frost Snow Land.

(The land of the Frostblade Clan lay in northern Avalon. It had only winter and spring, and the Frostblade Clan lived there as nomadic hunters.)

Even a woman this tough could not endure such agony, which showed just how terrible the pain was. (In fact, every woman who had given birth had a special talent for enduring pain.)

Outside the tent, the sound of his wife's screams left Trick even more distraught, but there was nothing he could do to help. He could only pace in circles, wringing his hands. Karut kept trying to comfort his younger brother. He knew Trick was already in his thirties, and now that Zaira had finally managed to conceive, of course he cared more than anything. Karut had been through this himself, so there was not much he could say. He could only repeat the same few words of comfort over and over. He simply was not good with words. The old man had experienced this several times in his life, but now that it was happening again, he still found the wait agonizing. He did not let it show, though, merely staring silently at his second son's tent with his brow furrowed above his one remaining eye.

At last, around noon, as cooking smoke began rising from the tents, a baby's loud cry released the three men outside from their torment. All three immediately fixed their eyes on the tent flap.

Granny Karom lifted the flap and stepped out, carrying a baby bundled in thick fur. "Congratulations, congratulations! Trick, you'd better thank Zaira properly for giving you such a big, healthy boy." She handed him the child.

Trick still felt as though he were dreaming. Trembling, he took the baby from Granny Karom with the utmost care. Steady hands were essential for a skilled hunter, which showed just how overwhelmed he was at that moment.

"Thank you. Thank you, Granny." Even his voice sounded dry and strained. Trick cradled his son like a priceless treasure, terrified that the slightest careless movement might hurt the infant in his arms. Perhaps because it was much colder outside than in the tent, the baby, who had been perfectly quiet a moment earlier, suddenly burst into tears. Trick flinched as though he had committed some terrible mistake and hastily looked to Granny Karom. "What's wrong... Granny?"

Chuckling, Granny Karom took the child back, tucked the furs more snugly around him, and quickly rocked him a little. He stopped crying at once. "It's all right. Newborns are like this. Listen to how loudly he cries! He's strong and very healthy. He's sure to make an excellent warrior someday."

"Heh heh heh." Hearing that, Trick scratched the back of his head and grinned foolishly. So that expressionless face could smile after all. Paired with his fierce features, though, the result was hardly a flattering sight.

"Stop grinning like an idiot. It's time to name the boy." Beaming, the old man smacked his second son on the back of the head. Then, still smiling, he leaned over the bundled infant and carefully opened the furs. His grin widened at the sight of the baby's little willy. The little fellow showed him no respect, however, and immediately began bawling.

Granny Karom promptly tucked the furs back into place. Giving the old man a displeased look, she turned away and scolded Trick.

"Don't just stand there grinning. Go inside and see Zaira. She's been through an awful lot." With that, she ducked back into the tent without sparing the old man another glance, leaving him looking rather sheepish.

"Ahem. Come on, let's go see Zaira. She's done the family a great service." He spoke sternly to his two sons. He might be helpless against Granny Karom, but he still commanded plenty of authority over them.

Inside the tent, Zaira lay drenched in sweat on a bed freshly covered with clean furs. She was still very weak, but nothing could suppress the smile on her face. The women around her showered her with congratulations. They were all women of the clan who had given birth themselves, and they had come to help before dawn.

Just then, Granny Karom came in with the baby and handed him to Zaira. Zaira carefully took him into her arms, her lingering weakness doing nothing to dim the maternal tenderness on her face.

The men of the family followed her in. The eldest son hurried to thank each of the women who had come to help, pressing small leather pouches filled with cheese and dried meat into their hands as gifts of thanks. It was only right. The orc women accepted without any fuss. Orcs were straightforward in their dealings and had little use for excessive formalities.

The old man also approached with a dignified air. Looking at his son and daughter-in-law, he asked, "Have you thought of a name for the child?" It was a pointless question. For all his lack of talent at choosing names, the old man loved naming people. This was his own grandson, so naturally he intended to claim the privilege. Trick and his wife had no objections. It was only a name; if his father enjoyed choosing one, they might as well let him. They both shook their heads.

"Hmm. Let's call him Iluter. Yes, that's the name." The old man had clearly given it some thought. This was much better than the method he had used to name Karut and Krum.

"Iluter." Zaira repeated the name several times and found it very much to her liking. Iluter had been the surname of an ancient orc hero who had died in a war against devils. Holding Little Iluter, she said, "Little Iluter, your name will be Iluter from now on."

Naturally, everyone offered another round of congratulations and blessings. But Granny Karom felt as though something was missing and looked around. "Where's Ram? And Krum? Where have they gone?" That explained the nagging feeling. How could Solam and Krum both be absent at a time like this? As she spoke, she looked at the old man. Taken aback, he immediately turned to his second son. "Second Son, where are Ram and Ake?" Solam and Krum had been following Trick around for the past two years. Trick was just as startled and immediately looked at his elder brother. "Brother, where are Ram and Ake?" He remembered being in no state to watch the two half-grown boys earlier, so he had left them in his elder brother's care.

Caught off guard by the question, Karut froze too. "They said they were going to find something to help Zaira recover. I thought they'd gone to Granny Karom's..." Seeing her expression, he trailed off. Clearly, the boys had never gone there. Granny Karom had arrived at a critical moment, so Karut had not asked her about them. He had assumed they had stayed at her home instead of coming along. "Maybe they went to play at someone else's place," he suggested uncertainly.

"I did see Ram and Krum," said Agna, a woman from a neighboring tent. "They seemed to be heading out of camp. I was in a hurry to come help, so I didn't pay much attention."

"Eldest, quick! Go check their tents and see if their bows and arrows are still there." The moment the old man heard that those two rascals had gone outside the camp, he knew this could not be good. (I forgot to mention that Avalon orcs each had their own tent from the age of five.)

Karut immediately ran out. A little while later, he hurried back, looking grim. "They took their bows and arrows."

The tent fell silent at his words.

After a while, someone said, "They haven't gone into the forest, have they?"

At that, Granny Karom could no longer sit still. She pointed straight at our Chief Kramsh and launched into a tirade. "You old bastard! How could you let two half-grown boys go into the forest at a time like this? If anything happens to Ram, you'll never hear the end of it!" What is she talking about? Did I tell them to go into the forest? The old man felt deeply wronged. She was simply taking her anger out on him.

Then a thought struck him, and he immediately knew what to do. Without hesitation, he passed the blame. "Eldest, you idiot! Didn't I tell you to watch the boys? What made them think of going into the forest?"

Now Karut was caught in the crossfire. Before he could say anything, however, something went wrong with Zaira. She had been reclining in bed, but the moment she heard Ram had run off into the forest, she sat bolt upright. The shock, combined with her already weakened state, made her pass out as soon as she rose.

For a moment, the tent rang with Granny Karom berating Chief Kramsh, Chief Kramsh berating Karut, everyone else trying to calm them down, and startled cries as people noticed Zaira had fainted. It was utter chaos.