Finally, the troop of orcs reached Bala. The orcs stopped for an hour, in the shelter of the forest, only a few hundred meters away from Bala. David felt sick. He had to pull himself together or they would discover him. There was nothing he could do, if he had tried to warn the villagers, the orcs would surely have noticed immediately and made short work of David. The hour was up, the orcs still quiet as mice. The calm before the storm, David thought anxiously. Then came the horn of an orc leader and the entire troop charged. The predators and horses dropped to their flanks and in the middle, the orcs without mounts ran very fast toward the village. David crouched behind a medium-sized stone. He had a perfect view of what was happening. The orcs reached the village before there was even a sign that anyone had noticed anything.
Before the troop encountered the first inhabitants, a loud, wild voice announced: “Do not resist, Munschen! Do not take up arms! And do not flee, you Munschen! Then no harm will come to you!”
David was surprised. Wouldn’t the cruel orcs cause a bloodbath here? Will they spare my friends and family? A small glimmer of hope sprouted in him. David heard screams and saw men and women falling to the ground, terrified. David even saw his uncle Bernd for a moment, he seemed less frightened than the others, but he also knelt and signaled no resistance. Now David heard children screaming and their parents shouting to them to kneel. Now the orcs were charging through the village, most running past those on the ground and kneeling. Some, however, gave a blow to one kneeling on the ground. In five minutes the whole village was trapped and the orcs had prevented everyone from running away. Only one had tried, blacksmith Orland, but he too was still alive. David could recognize the leader of the orcs, he was riding a huge lion and was himself the biggest and strongest of the troop. On his back was a huge axe, certainly two meters long.
He said: “You have chosen wisely, little Munshes, from the village of Bala. And wisdom shall be rewarded. I will keep my promise, none of you will be harmed.”
The leader looked closely at the villagers one by one, cowering in the dirt before him, frightened, and then continued, “Obviously, you are not great warriors, like those who have fought us for centuries. But you are good citizens who probably don’t know much about the world or even about the crimes of your kind. Therefore, it would not be honorable or right to kill or injure you. But my army and my brothers’ army need food and equipment. So from now on, you will work for us. If anything is left over, you can keep it for yourselves.” He grinned coldly. “Wasn’t that also some of the bargain you had with your king?” The orc leader spat on the ground after the word king. “Well then, do your work! My Mannar are hungry!”
After these words, he patted his chest and looked around at his men, who all immediately patted their chests as well. David heard it resounding up to him, the noise of the big fists on the armored chest.