Meanwhile, deep in the forests, a couple of Orcanine tribe guards stood guarded near the entrance of their village. They were tasked to keep watch around their perimeter and make sure that those Orcupine Orcs weren't anywhere near their territory.
The two guards were busy having a great time slapping each other around as a sport, when all of a sudden, their noses perked up.
There was a scent in the air, a scent they hadn't smelled in quite a long time.
It was meat.
It had been a few seasons ago since they caught a whiff of any deer or cows in the forest. The earthquakes caused a wide-scale migration from the forest, leading to a decrease in resources for the Orcs whose main diet came from red meat.
Yet now, they were smelling blood in the air. Fresh blood.
Fueled by their curiosity and their insatiable hunger for red meat, the two Orc guards left their post and followed the scent in the air.
It didn't take them long before they finally reached the edge of the forest, where a single slab of red meat was perfectly placed on top of a flat stone altar-like surface, with blood still pooling beside it.
As the two Orcs moved closer, they saw that a flag had been planted inside the meat, with a single gold letter symbol written on a white canvas.
'R'
Even though it had been years since they saw this kind of 'offering', the two Orc guards knew exactly what this flat meant.
Someone was trying to contact them!
They would have never thought that years after the dissolution of the Golden Road, someone would be contacting them again for their services.
Even though it was weird, they knew that this was a chance for their tribe to earn resources that could help their tribe tremendously.
They took the slab of meat and quickly returned to their tribe, alerting the rest of the Orcanine Orcs as the smell of blood and meat emanated in everyone's nose as soon as they entered.
"BU! TO! TO!" they screamed in excitement. It had been so long since they were graced with the presence of meat.
And this excitement boiled over to more and more Orcs, each one slapping their thighs and chests the same way they worshiped the cacao trees.
It didn't take long before the Orcanine Chieftain finally took notice of what was happening.
He got out of his quarters and approached the two Orc Guards, who presented him with the meat and the flag planted inside it.
"Unfamiliar company," the Chieftain muttered to himself. This flag emblem wasn't anything he remembered back in the glory days of the Golden Road.
"How long ago did you find this?" the Chieftain asked.
"Just a few slaps ago, Chief!" they answered.
"You have done a good job," the Chieftain said. "Not only did you bring this to my attention as soon as possible, you also prevented our rivals from hearing about such an opportunity. Good. Good," he said.
The Orcanines prided themselves in their sense of smells, which came from their half Wolf side.
It would have taken the Orcupine tribe the whole day before they found the meat flag. But because of the fast action of his guards, the Orcupine would have no opportunity to learn about this business deal.
If they played this right, they could monopolize all the rewards for this mission, giving them enough resources to finally tip the scales in their favor.
This was the chance he was waiting for to finally exile those Orcupines.
He then turned to his other attendants.
"Prepare our very best negotiator to meet with the merchant tomorrow morning. Make sure that you show no sign of this happening to those Orcupines."
The rest of the Orcs shouted in excitement, agreeing with their Chief's orders. The prospect of finally eating meat gave them such a rush that they ended up performing their rituals till night time.
"BU! TO! TO!"
…
…
…
The next morning, a group of four Orcanine Orcs set out to the edges of the forest, towards where they found the meat in the first place.
Their excitement was palpable, with their ears perked up and their tails wagging side to side.
But as they got closer and closer to the place, a mix of scents assaulted their noses.
There were a couple of humans in the mix, with a bunch of other unknown species that they had never met before.
But that wasn't what displeased them. It was the fact that they smelled the scent of those extremely familiar to them.
As they finally reached the meeting place, their fears were finally confirmed.
The Orcupine tribe was also in the meeting place!
They, too, sent an envoy of four Orcs to negotiate with the humans waiting on the other side of the forest.
As soon as the two Orc tribes caught sight of each other, their fury and anger flared up like a volcano, almost resulting in them facing off in another shouting match.
But, their Chieftain's words resounded in their heads and kept them cool.
Their hatred for the Orcupine tribe had to wait. Right now, their main objective was to meet with their potential employers and vye for their favor.
The two Orc tribes approached Michael's group while eyeing each other carefully.
"We, the Orcanine Tribe, meet with the human merchant. We offer you our unstoppable strength!" they shouted in pride, looking over at their rival in provocation.
"We are the Orcupine Tribe, and unlike these meatheads, we will offer you unyielding protection! There is no better defense than us!" they retorted back, flaring their quills and spines at their rivals.
"Meathead?! You take that back! You are cowards!"
"Cowards?! Why you!"
The two Orc tribes were already in a screaming match, presenting themselves to Michael in an attempt to curry his favor. They must have forgotten that Michael wasn't an Orc like them and just tried to impress him by slapping their thighs or strumming their quills.
It was a weird sight.