Lights in the Sky

Bortagno and Dragante sat atop the Wortbad skydock and passed a bottle of stolen grog back and forth. In the darkness a single candle inside a lantern illuminated their gnarled faces. Stars glimmered through gaps in the thin cloud that raced across the sky. Around and below them the blackness of the forest was darker than the heavens above.

"How long has it been since we last saw one?" said Bortagno quietly.

"I... uh... maybe a fortnight? Maybe longer." said Dragante between gulps of rum.

"It don't seem right. I was sure there would be more, and more often here."

"I know, but with all them dead not bein' friendly types, you can't blame them for not coming here, now can you?" said Dragante, Bortagno nodded and accepted the offered bottle.

After his swig he said "But it ain't that they ain't stopping here. It's more that they ain't even passing. We haven't seen a sail by day or a light by night for an age now."

Dragante's forehead creased as he made an effort to remember. But he gave up after a minute or two and took back the bottle.

Bortagno put his small spyglass to his eye and made another sweep around the horizon. As he passed the black shape of Mourning Hill, recognisable even in the darkness from it's three peaks that obscured the stars, he stopped. He took the spyglass from his eye and blinked, then looked again. there was a light! It was faint though - further away than Mourning Hill.

"I think there's a ship!" said Bortagno as he passed the spyglass and pointed. Dragante squinted for a moment then nearly dropped the brass telescope.

"We have to tell the Kapitán!" he shouted but neither of the orruk Bosses stood up. They followed the slow-moving light as it drifted along, just above the horizon for several minutes before they remembered themselves and called down to the other Rotmoons who were milling-about at ground-level.

~ 🕱 ~

Bortagno, newest member of The Rotmoons crew to venture into The Harrowmark.










As I can only use one orruk Boss at a time in AoS Skirmish, I will have to swap out Dragante to use him. But I like the sound of "Bortagno and Dragante". They sound like the comic relief in Shakespeare. Or maybe Samuel Beckett.