Fimbul took a few trusted guards and followed the pull he felt, emerging from a cave overlooking the valley. From his high vantage point, he immediately spotted a banner fluttering as it moved through the valley below.
Fimbul knew that banner well. Beneath the sunlight, a crown stitched in gold thread gleamed against a green field, with a star formed from three small white gems above it.
The gems caught the sunlight and blazed with a dazzling brilliance, stinging Fimbul's desire-filled eyes.
The pain cooled the Half-orc's excitement a little and even stirred a trace of hesitation. But greed quickly crushed that flicker of unease, and desire once again filled his eyes.
Fimbul had no idea what was guiding him. All he knew was that the thing he wanted was somewhere in the valley below.
Someone in that party of over ninety people had to possess this precious treasure, and he was now determined to claim it.
But he needed a plan. He had to be cautious and take his time. That banner had left a deep impression on him, and he was, after all, one of the few Half-orcs with a working brain.
Even with his desire burning so fiercely, he carefully searched the human party. Only after confirming that the Skin-changer's towering figure was nowhere to be seen did he relax.
At this point, Allen's plan had succeeded completely. The "bait" he had prepared for Fimbul was tough enough to knock every rotten tooth out of the Half-orc's mouth.
But Fimbul, now thoroughly ensnared by the One Ring, could no longer spare much thought for anything else. After watching the humans enter the cave that served as the Half-orcs' main entrance, he immediately turned back toward Orc Town with his Personal Guards.
He would gather every force at